Campus Target

The first girl we met on campus in August was named Linda. When we made dinner plans for later in the week, she asked if she could bring her friend Sylvia. That was the beginning of a fantastic friendship with Sylvia that has lasted the whole year.

Do you remember when the police showed up to our apartment during our Bible study, and we had pudding all over our hands? That night, Sylvia brought a friend to the study named Sarah. After the meeting, Sarah asked if I knew Target Ministries (our parent organization), named the leaders, and said that she had been involved in Bible studies with Campus Target (our organization) here in K-town a few years ago. I was floored! I knew I was supposed to protect my cover, for my sake and everyone else. I had to say that I didn’t know what she was talking about, but it was an extremely difficult situation. I talked with one of the long-term missionaries working with Target later that night, and he said that Sarah’s brother is one of the Chinese house church pastors working with Target. Sarah is one of the few Chinese that actually knows about what we do and who we are! Out of the millions of Chinese students in all of China, we “happen” to meet her, and she “happens” to be Sylvia’s roommate. I just shook my head and said, “What are the odds…”

Since then, Sylvia has been eager to learn more, comes regularly to our Bible studies, and has been the most interested out of all our friends. She studies the Bible in her dormitory with her roommates, and they talk about questions together. She essentially leads a Bible study in her room! I had been encouraging her to check out Sarah’s house church so she could have something more permanent to hook into when we leave, as well as answer her questions regarding culture and how it works to be Chinese and a Christian. She has gone for the last few weeks, and she loves it!

This morning, Sylvia and I met over rice noodles for breakfast. In that two-hour time period, we discussed again what it meant to be a Christian, and she decided that she wanted to become a Christian! There, in that noodle shop, I prayed with her to join the Family, and we talked about finding a pool to baptize her in before we leave in two weeks. We were both crying tears of joy, and I am incredibly excited for her new journey in Christ!!

Please be praying for her. Since she is connected to the Chinese house church, I am not worried about leaving her without any resources. However, she will be telling her friends and family, and I know she is worried if they will support her in her decision.

This year, we were faithful to sow seeds of truth and talk about the Gospel with our friends. We might see fruit like we did with Sylvia today. With other friends, we might never know what will happen. We are just to stay faithful to the task God has given us, and He does the rest. It has been an honor to be here, serving Him in this way!

That all might know,

Joy

P.S. Lots of new pictures are up on my Shutterfly site! We’ve had Easter parties, book studies, a makeup modeling gig, and lots of other strange happenings since I last wrote. Check it out!