I am overjoyed to tell you that Jane has decided to open her heart to G0d and “whole heartedly believe Him” (her own words)!
You may remember me sharing about Jane before…I met her about three years ago while on a date with Indy and while we were waiting in line for a beverage, she and I exchanged contact info, and over the next two years I met with her off and on (sometimes also with Ruby, a fellow worker here). We were always planting seeds, and many times Jane seemed deeply moved. One time she even texted me, saying she really needed God…could we get together and talk more about how to start a relationship with Him?
When I met with her over a meal, tears began falling down her cheks. It seemed like she was ready to start a relationship with Him then, but when I met with her another time after that, she had recomposed herself and didn’t feel as much of a need for Him. The last time I had met with her (right before Easter 2015 as Indy and I were getting ready to go back to the States for our daughter’s birth), she said she was ok with how much she knew about God and that she didn’t really need any more. My heart broke. Jane is a very caring, very sweet, deeply loyal kind of person, but none of that is good enough to gain an eternal position with God.
Honestly, I felt intimidated to try to connect with her again, especially because she said that she didn’t really want to know more about God. When we returned to Asiaa from the States back in August of last year, I continued prying for her, but I didn’t even have enough courage to try to meet with her. Last month, right after Easter (a whole year since I had seen her last!) I felt prompted to meet with her again. Conveniently, Ruby and I already had plans to share together, so I contacted Jane to see if she wanted to meet with us. She did!
Over dinner, we updated each other on what’s been happening over the last year that we hadn’t seen each other, Ruby and I mostly sharing testimonies of what G0d has done in our lives. I then boldly popped the question: “What have you been thinking about God recently?” Jane shared some questions she had about Him, and we were able to talk them through over dinner. At the end of our time together, I asked her if she wanted to start a relationship with Him, and she said YES!
Over the course of this last month, Jane has come to small group, a prayer meeting, and even a retreat that our Aschurchhrch hosted during a holiday. Would you join us in praying for her to keep growing in her new relationship with her Heavenly Father? She graduates in two months and then moves back to her hometown to start working. Jane is going to start attending a four-week class for graduating seniors on how to start a church where they will be working after graduation. We want to help her grow as much as possible in the time we have remaining!