What is snooker you may ask… Well it is the longest game in the world. I think you all should Google it. Guess how long it took me, my roommate and our one Asian friend Maria to finish a game. It took us one hour and thirty minutes. Autumn and I even cheated when Maria wasn’t looking!!! We were lining up balls and I think we may have even put one in with our hands once. Snooker is what the Asian people call pool. It looks easy and similar to pool but it is not. The table is twice as long as a pool table and the cue stick’s point is very small. The corner pockets are rounded and there are more balls. The goal is first to get all of the red balls in and then once they are all in you have to hit the colored balls in. Autumn and I thought the game would never end. We were down to the last red ball and I hit it in and I dropped to my knees in triumph (which is totally not like their culture) thinking that the game was finally over. Autumn then regretfully looked at me and told me we now have get the colored balls in… a half hour later the last ball was hit in (after some cheating on the American side) and we were off to have some tea with Maria.
Autumn and I were completely tired. We didn’t feel very much liking hanging out with our new friend Maria even during the snooker game we didn’t feel into it. We tried to be the best version of ourselves and engage in conversation with Maria but it was a little hard and to be honest we just weren’t in the mood. We were not having fun with the game and it was not easy to hold conversation. So we headed off to tea with Maria all the while waiting to go back to our apartment. We sat down to tea and I asked Maria if she comes to this tea house a lot and she said… yes I used to come here with some foreign friends to study the Bible. I think my jaw dropped. (not really but it felt like it could have). I then asked Maria if she was saved. She said no but that she really likes Jesus and how He is so kind. She is a Buddhist but at the same time she is interested in Jesus! Autumn asked her if she wanted to study the Bible with us. Maria’s eyes lit up and she got a big smile on her face and said yes she would love that. Autumn and I had to leave shortly after that but we were so blown away by that encounter.
God is soo faithful. He used that meeting to show me that He is the one in control and when we are weak, that is when we are strong in Him. The Lord totally opened the door all by Himself. We were just in the right place at the right time. All I asked was if she comes here often and He blew open the door for an opportunity to help her learn more about Him. It is totally all about God working through us! It is not about us, our strength, or having the right words. It is all about Him!
Autumn and I are meeting Maria this week to hang out with her again and get to know her some more. Please pray for us. Ask that He would open the door even wider with Maria. That her heart would be softened and stirred more towards Him.