By Beth Brown
I noticed Susie almost instantly: she had pink headphones and seemed to be stopped mid-walk as she watched the dramas which portrayed Jesus healing people from addictions and breaking them free from their shackles. I have always been nervous when it comes to starting conversations because I never feel like I know what to say, but I took a deep breath and walked quickly over to her. “Do you like the dramas?” I asked her. She shook her head and said something in Cantonese, so I quickly called over my teammate Dickens to translate.
We had only been in Hong Kong for a few days, and this was my first conversation that I had with someone on the streets who didn’t speak English. I was nervous about having a conversation via translator, but something told me that I needed to talk to her. Once Dickens started translating and helping me talk with her, I found out that she did like the dramas, but had no idea what was going on. I briefly shared about how Jesus was represented by the man in the white shirt and then asked her what kind of beliefs she had. She said something to Dickens and I asked “What did she say?” He paused before responding, “Nothing.”
I was only a little shocked. I had met a few people in Vancouver that believed in nothing, but it always surprises me. I then used this to share with her about how God created us to be in a relationship with him, and how this loneliness shows us that we need God. She had a bit of a blank look on her face and started looking around as we talked to her. I thought to myself, She is totally going to bolt soon. She is looking for the point in the conversation where she can excuse herself and then leave.
Surprisingly, Susie stuck around. She kept listening and asking questions, and we shared a tract with her about how to be in a personal relationship with Jesus. At the end of the tract, there are two circles that could represent your life: one has yourself seated on the throne, and one has Jesus seated on the throne of your life. We asked Susie which circle she felt represented her life and she pointed to the one with self on the throne. I then asked her, “Which one would you like to have represent your life?” She looked at us shyly and then looked back at the booklet. After a few seconds, she pointed to the one with Jesus on the throne.
I was thrilled! She was finally starting to understand what it would look like to be a Christian. I excitedly asked her, “Would you like to pray to do that right now?” As Dickens translated, I saw her face tense up a little bit. Dickens then told me that she was feeling nervous about it, and that he explained to her that there was no pressure to make this decision, that we were simply sharing with her and it was her choice. She made it clear that she was not ready, but we asked if we could have her phone number to give to YFC (our local Hong Kong connection, Youth For Christ), where someone would call her and follow up to see if she had any more questions. She eagerly wrote down her name and number on the paper and then said something to Dickens. “What did she say?” I asked. Dickens then replied, “She said to make sure they call her on Saturday or Sunday because she works during the week.” At this point, I knew Susie was interested. If she hadn’t wanted to talk about it or wanted to leave, she never would have made sure that she was home for her follow-up call. I was so excited and asked Susie if I could hug her. She nodded her head shyly and I gave her a hug. Even though I couldn’t say anything to her except by translation, I knew we had made a connection.
I introduced her to one of the YFC volunteers. Wendy, who had been translating for us, talked excitedly with Susie for a few minutes and then said to me, “She told me to tell you that she was touched that you took the time to explain God to her so clearly.” I broke into a huge smile and had a realization that day: even if it seems like people aren’t very interested in hearing the gospel, as long as they are willing to listen and stay in conversation with you, they deserve that chance to hear the truth! If I had looked at Susie’s face and seen the blank look and her wandering eyes and taken that as a sign that she didn’t want to hear it, she would not have been able to be introduced to Jesus that day. I am praying that Susie continues to think about God and how he wants to have a relationship with her. I will be thrilled if one day when I go to heaven I will get to see Susie again and hear the story about how she finally decided to surrender her life to Jesus.
Beth is one of ten team members who spent two weeks in July 2011 ministering in Hong Kong. God is doing awesome things in that city! Stay tuned for more stories from Hong Kong!
