On my flight home from my recent mission trip, I was seated next to a pilot who was flying standby. He was really friendly and chatted with me the whole flight. He is originally from Pakistan and is Muslim. He asked me, “what is the difference between a church Christian and a Bible Christian?” which led to a conversation where I was able to share my faith. I shared about the blood and sacrifice of Jesus, and how his sacrifice is sufficient to take away sins. None of the sacrifices of the previous prophets could do that. I’m praying that our conversation will keep coming back to him and stir up curiosity in him to discover more about Jesus.

I had a spiritual conversation with R, a girl who I see every Monday at a group vocal class. R was invited to the Well, the Young Adults meeting at our church. When I saw R at the Well, R shared with me that she was not a Christian, which allowed us to begin talking about her spiritual beliefs. 

R shared with me that she grew up in a Sikh family and does not feel connected to the Sikh faith. Due to the religious headcovering worn by Sikh men, her father and brother had experienced persecution and victimization since moving to Texas. She shared that Sikhs believe that there is a universal divine force in the universe, and that souls do not exist eternally. She also explained that Sikhism arose as a rejection of the Indian caste system. Sikhs would serve the poor and all Sikhs would sit on the floor to dine, regardless of social status or wealth. 

R said that she is unsure about whether God exists, but that she believes that faith will become a greater part of her life in the future, because she has seen her family members become more religious as they have aged. I shared with her my personal experience of becoming an atheist in my teens before exploring my faith in my twenties and coming to know the Lord. I suggested that it was good that R continue to explore her beliefs about God.

Through the conversation, I learned that R needs healing for the persecution of her family that she has witnessed. I also learned that she feels isolated from her peers and craves a sense of belonging and meaning. I was surprised to know that she fully expected to become more religious in the future, but did not see it as immediately relevant to her life today.

My experience of growing up in Singapore, around many Sikhs, was extremely helpful in this conversation. I had also visited Sikh temples in India and thus experienced firsthand their compassion for the poor. This allowed me to better understand the context in which R lives.

During the conversation, I was struck by how the conversation with R had been a team effort. She had been invited to the Well by a member of the church. During my conversation with her, my husband and another member of the vocal class were also present to share their own faith experiences and to encourage R.

Due to time constraints (I was singing vocals for the worship segment that night), I was not able to transition to a gospel presentation. However, I will continue to follow up with R at subsequent vocal lessons and young adult meetings.

In other future conversations, I will remember that the Holy Spirit is present to help lead many to faith. I am not alone in my evangelistic mission. I might ask more questions about views on the afterlife in order to get a better understanding of the non-Christian’s beliefs about the soul and divine consequences. I will also seek to better understand what drives agnosticism and how to make Christianity more relevant for young adults. When telling my story, I will focus more on explaining the struggles I experienced as a young adult, particularly the search for meaning and fulfillment.

My friend […] and her family were nominated and received a gift from Northwest Cares. After they received their check in the mail, I went to visit them. The whole family gathered together so we could talk about who the gift came from. I shared with them that the church gave them this gift because we want to share Jesus’ love with them. As we talked about the gift, I glanced at the card that came with the gift and saw a line about the grace of Jesus. God used this to encourage me to share the gospel. I was able to use the check as an example of God’s grace. We talked about how when you work at a job, you get a wage that you have earned. But this check, they did not work for or earn, so that is like a picture of God’s grace. I was able to share the whole gospel with them, about how Jesus came to rescue us from sin and death. God provided a translator so that the whole family could hear the message. I’m so grateful for this opportunity for my friends to hear the truth — this may have been the first time they ever heard the gospel.