A friend who works in China sent the following:

* Twice a week in sunshine, rain, or snow, Little Bean cycles to our apartment from her home in a neighboring village. As this tiny woman lets herself in, greets us, and begins her cleaning tasks, the wood-smoke smell clinging to her clothing tells us how she heats her simple house. The $1.50 an hour she earns helps Little Bean supplement her earnings from a paper route and other odd jobs that make up her main sources of income. She’s a tireless worker, and a resourceful one. We’re hesitant to offer her worn or faded items we no longer use, but Little Bean accepts them all eagerly, her face splitting into a grin that reveals a mouthful of broken teeth. She has had some education and, along with Chinese characters, she’s able to read and write pinyin, the romanized version of Chinese. This is a great help to us since we can read the notes she leaves us without struggling through characters (we know between one and two hundred characters, but there are thousands). Since most days Little Bean comes to our home while we’re away at school, we don’t have many opportunities to talk with her. At Christmas we gave her a bonus and a colorful pamphlet explaining the real meaning of Christmas; she was happy with both. Will she take the words of this message to heart amid the harsh realities of her life?


* Ann was born in this country but has spent the past 20 years living in the US. She and Lynn have been friends for a year and have met together regularly for tea, conversation, and an exchange of books. Ann likes to discuss philosophical and ethical issues, and she reads many current bestsellers dealing with such themes. Last spring Ann became increasingly interested in Christianity, and this past summer she e-mailed Lynn, “I’m finding myself reading the Bible almost constantly these days.” However, Ann’s interest in the Christian faith had cooled by the time she and Lynn met up again in the fall. She now espouses what she calls “a universal light within all of us” and holds that all belief systems are equally true. Spiritual journey is more appealing to her than spiritual commitment. Ann considers herself to be a good person and is offended by the idea that she, like all of us, is in need of forgiveness by and reconciliation with God. She is doubly offended by the idea that this reconciliation can only be obtained through Christ’s atoning work on the cross.



* We met Pete in the Bangkok airport recently during a 1:00-7:00am layover. John offered him a Ritz cracker after he sat down across from us in the waiting area, and as the hours rolled by Pete poured out his story. He grew up in Europe during WWII and immigrated to America in the 1950s. He rose to a respected position in his chosen profession and later married the love of his life, caring for her tenderly until she passed away a few years ago. We were impressed by this vibrant, interesting man’s grateful attitude for the good things in his life. After Pete mentioned for the third time that it seemed as if everything in his life had been planned out so well, John asked him if he believed there was a Planner behind all that planning. Pete eagerly took up this conversation, and the three of us discussed related ideas nonstop throughout that long night. Pete grew up in a church but now believes a little bit of everything. He told us emphatically, “And one thing’s for sure: there are no absolutes!” (He assured us he’s absolutely certain about this.) The authority on which Pete bases his mix of theology is himself, yet at times he hesitated when asked how convinced he was of his own belief.


* Thomas is enrolled in a registered seminary in our city. He is passionate about studying the Bible in its original languages. With permission from the authorities he asked John to teach him NT Greek, and the two of them are meeting weekly. Thomas grew up in a non-believing family and as a young man became interested in a Christian woman who agreed to date him if he would go to church with her. He attended church throughout the course of their relationship just to please her and found himself captivated by the music as well as the message. Thomas was devastated when he and the girl broke up. He grieved not only over the lost relationship but even more at the realization that he had only been pretending to be a Christian. He says now, “I felt God was punishing me for faking a faith I really didn’t have.” He went to visit a trusted friend who sat down with him and explained how he could be made right with God through Christ. The transformation resulting from his commitment that day continues through the present as Thomas trains to be a pastor.




A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.

(Luke 8:5-8)