Coming to America to Find God
The summer before Guangyu left China to come to study at Texas Tech his mother told him, “When you go to America, Guangyu, ask about God. They believe in God in America and you need to ask someone to explain Him to you when you get there.”
Guangyu’s mother is a Christian, but his father is not. His mother wanted Guangyu to know about God, but Guangyu hadn’t been very interested. She gave him a Chinese Bible as he left and asked him to read it.
Making the Connection
When Guangyu came to Texas though, he did not ask about God or read his Chinese Bible. Instead he began to focus on his school work. Then one day in September, he walked past me as InterVarsity students and I were doing our “Why are you here?” outreach on campus.
I engaged him in conversation, shared the Gospel with him, and before long he said, “I want to know God! I have heard a little bit about Him, but I do not know how to know Him!”
That afternoon he prayed to give his life to Jesus! Since then Guangyu and I have been meeting to talk about God and what it means to know Him and follow Him.
Follow-up Bible Study
The first time that I sat down with Guangyu for follow up, I gave him a Bible in English, as I do with all of our new believers. I explained how the Bible is laid out and suggested he begin reading the Gospel of John.
I then told him, “Guangyu, there might be many things in this Bible that you don’t understand at first. But now that you know God, He has put His Holy Spirit inside of you, and He will help you to understand what you read.”
He got excited about reading his Bible and said that he would begin reading that week. We had an amazing follow up session—that even included him teaching me a little bit of Chinese!
A Gift of Faith
When we met the following week, he got a big smile on his face as I sat down with him. He said, “Sara, I have a gift for you!” I couldn’t imagine what it was. He pulled out a book from his backpack and set it before me. While I couldn’t tell by the Chinese writing on the front, something inside me told me, “This is a Bible in Chinese!”
Guangyu excitedly told me, “Sara, my mother gave this to me when I left China this summer, and I want you to have it!” He continued with utmost sincerity, “I know you maybe will not be able to understand because it is in Chinese, but you have the Holy Spirit, and He will help you to understand!”
A huge smile broke out across my face, and I had to fight back the tears at this display of such sincere faith. Guangyu has since told his mother that he has found God here in America and has begun to read the Bible. She is so pleased and grateful to God.
Please pray for Guangyu’s continued spiritual growth. His name means “light,” and I have no doubt that God will help others to see and come to the light through him. Guangyu may only be here in the US for a year, and I am overwhelmed by the realization that we, as an InterVarsity fellowship, have the opportunity to train up a missionary who will inevitably return home to China to spread the Gospel. Pray for us as we love on him and as we teach each other what it means to love and follow God and make His name known among the nations.
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