Campus Target

Strolling along down the sidewalk, I had no idea who God had for me
to meet that night. My intentions were for a nice walk on a
pleasant evening, and to grab a bite to eat to satisfy the groaning
hunger in my stomach. Little did I know that there was more in
store for me that night than a nice walk and heap of fried rice.

It’s funny how the hardest times to decide what to eat are when
you’re really hungry. I think to myself, “I don’t want to waste
this hunger on anything less than the perfect meal right now!”
That’s just me though. So I continued my walk of indecision around
the block, passing noodle-shops, restaurants, dumpling stands,
street barbecue vendors, and about every other meal option you
could think of. Options-a-plenty I couldn’t decide on one! O, the
torment!

Coming back around to the vicinity of the front gate of my
apartment, I gave in and just forced a decision. Feet tired, I
traipsed into a tiny shao kao fried rice restaurant. Barbecued meat
and vegetables spiced up in local custom, then thrown on a skillet
and tossed together with some rice and other seasonings. Take my
word, it’s pretty delicious.

After over an hour walk of hungry hunting, I sat in the shop and
waited for my take-out. On the sidewalk in front of the shop sat a
couple other patrons, huddled over a small table on little pink
plastic stools. Looking out, I noticed a light rain beginning to
fall. Picking up their plate of food, the man and woman seated
outside came in for shelter and sat at a table in the back.

A minute or two passed, and the man––mid-thirties maybe––came and sat across from me. “Hi,” he said, “where are you from?” Surprised
by his english I began to chat with him while I waited for my food.
After a couple of minutes of the usual questions––Where are you
from? Are you a student? How long have you been in China? Do you
like the food?––the conversation got very interesting.

“Do you believe. . . in Jesus?” he asked quietly. I replied, of
course, that I do. “Do you?” I asked. “Yes, I do!” he exclaimed.

For the next several minutes he shared how he would really like to
study the Bible with me and about his experience with the
difficulties of finding other christians to, in his words, “enjoy
the Bible with”. Thoroughly enjoying his eagerness and hunger, I
felt a little sad that I’d be leaving to go back to the States
soon. Sharing this with him, his response was, “That’s okay, we can
when you come back!”

Exchanging numbers, I realized I hadn’t got his name as I went to
enter it into my contacts. “My name is Moxi [pronounced muo-shee;
chinese for Moses],” he said.

“You’re name is Moses?” I laughed.

“Yes, Moses.”

“My name is Aaron!” We both burst out in laughter in the tiny shop.
“Hello, my brother!” he chuckled.

This was a fun moment. For one thing, I wandered all around my
neighborhood for a long time looking trying to decide on a place to
eat. Of all the places I saw, the Lord led me to this one. Also, if
it hadn’t started to rain, he doesn’t come in the shop and meet me.
I believe this was a divine appointment and that God has a plan for
it! The sovereignty of God amazes me!

I was also humbled by this. Getting back to my apartment, the Lord
put something on my heart. Sometimes, when things like this happen
we thank God that it’s an answer to our prayers. Yes that may be
the case, most of the time and even in this time. But what God put
on my heart as I took off my shoes was that this wasn’t an answer
to my prayer. This was an answer to Moses’.

In my heart, I was like, “Wow, God. That’s so true. You don’t just
listen to me. You’re not just interested in my prayers alone.
There’s other people. There’s Moses, whose probably been asking you
for somebody to study the Bible with.” It’s true, sometimes I
forget. It’s not just about me and what I want. Sometimes I forget
that. Sometimes I forget God doesn’t just want to bless me, but He
also wants me to be a blessing. Sometimes I think I need to stop
asking God for blessing, and remember to ask that He’d use me to
bless! God let me be a blessing! Use me, God!

This was a reminder for me and let me encourage you with it as
well. It’s good to ask God for things and He desires for us to do
that. Let’s walk knowing that we can go to God and receive from
Him. But, let’s also walk with a heart that says, “Okay, Lord, how
can I be a blessing today? Help me to be a blessing! Can I bless
someone today, God?!” Be encouraged! Be a blessing!

In Him,

Acorn