If I was ever in doubt I have a specific purpose for my time in Oxford, all of my doubts were securely diminished today. Last week was FREE Week, an evangelism week held by the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union. The week consisted of lunchtime talks, dessert/snacks at nighttime talks, and a jazz banquet. I was extremely active in attendance at most of the events, and got to know a lot of my Hertford Christian Union friends quite well throughout the week. Each respective college also holds its own events throughout the week. One event, in particular, was an event trying to reach out and inform people about the events happening throughout the week, held informally in the JCR where Pippa brought her French pancake maker and she and others made free pancakes for people.
I came to the event quite oblivious, not really for any particular reason, thinking I would help with whatever I could and in the meanwhile enjoy some pancakes and say hello to my CU colleagues. Little did I know how the Holy Spirit would use me as a catalyst for what was to come. Two girls, Amy and her friend, came and introduced themselves to me. Both of them are from Beijing School of Technology, and they only came from China to Oxford for a 15-day program. I spoke to them for a little bit and found out more about them. I invited them to a dinner event the following night, but they told me they might not make it to the event on Friday. I told them I would still be willing to speak to them about it on Monday if they didn't come to the event.
The next day, Friday, out of no particular reason, I decide to have dinner at the Hertford dining hall because it was nearby and I wasn't sure if I was going to the talk later on. I go into the dining hall and find Amy and some of her friends. I sit by them and in the midst of conversation, I find out that Amy has a Bible in China with both the English and Chinese version within it side-by-side. She tells me, however, that they will not be able to make it to the event later on in the evening. We arrange to meet on Monday for a lunch and then Bible study at 12:30 pm.
Monday, today. After a not-so-fun night yesterday (bleh, parents) and a crazy trek to get to lunch from my apartment (broken umbrella, anyone?), I was very relieved to sit down for lunch with Chris and two of his friends. Amy, however, was nowhere to be found. A few minutes later, she comes. Not only her, but many of her friends as well. After lunch, the Bible study totalled 8 people. I thought, wow, God, I'm so glad You're the One in control and not me. We headed to the Swift Room, where we made brief introductions and I found out that the majority of the people in the room, while few have read parts of the Bible, nobody has really heard the Word in exact, accurate terms. I give the black pamphlets from FREE Week with Mark's Gospel within it to everyone in the study, and pray before we begin.
I read Mark 2:1-12 upon suggestion of Chris at lunch. Frankly being honest, I hadn't a clue what exactly I was doing and I was fumbling to organize myself. After I read the verses aloud, I drew the Bridge Diagram for everyone to see and really explained the good news of Christ. In my explanation, though, I had left out the resurrection of Christ! I could not believe how senseless I was and how disorganized I was, but I tried to answer everyone's questions to my best ability and at the end, I invited everyone who felt compelled to accept Christ into their lives to read a prayer with me from the FREE black book. Three girls said the prayer which, though I later would find that they had not all accepted the faith, they will continue to investigate and find out more about it. After the prayer, I was quick to correct my mistake and tell the girls about the resurrection, but they knew that Jesus lives. It was not so much news to them as much as a confirmation of what they already knew. He was there, working in their hearts. All I was to do was help them to come back into His arms. One girl in particular I could tell the Holy Spirit was working in her soul, as she told me she felt like crying and as I held onto her, she cried into my arms with absolute joy, saying, "It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay now..."
I sat in that Swift Room for a while afterwards, praising God and crying of joy for these girls. I talked to Peter, an International staff worker, whose number I got randomly from my friend at church, and his wife is from Singapore so she speaks Mandarin and can share the Gospel in Mandarin. I'm hope to meet with him and his wife and the girls sometime later this week to follow-up. They also have translations of the Bible in Chinese, daily quiet time pamphlets in Mandarin, etc. so I'm so, so grateful for their help!
The lesson is clear: God is near us, everywhere, and He has a purpose for every one of us. All we have to do is listen.
Thank You, Lord Jesus Christ, for a brilliant day and all of your unwavering, righteous ways.
'Tis not Valentine's Day yet, but I found something special on that I wanted to share. I always wondered, ever since childhood, why on earth we use the image of a "heart" that has little to no resemblance to our actual human heart to display the affections of the heart, in particular, love. I found the answer to my question today, by this beautiful photograph of two Valentine swans I found on the The Guardian website. The caption goes as follows: "A pair of mute swans at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire begin their elaborate courtship display by making the classic heart shape with their necks as a sign of their affection".
