I’m not sure what I was expecting when I prayed for God to guide my search for a language teacher. However, I knew that it could be an opportunity to build a relationship and share the gospel.

When I began my lessons with Trung, she would teach me topics related to Sinim culture, and then she would ask for my opinion or personal experience in my culture. What were meant to be side conversations soon took up all our lesson time. Three times a week, for two hours, we would talk about a number of topics such as local culture, politics, relationships, family, work, religion and traditions. We really enjoyed our time together.

With her round face, short stature, high energy, pragmatism, and fun-loving, chatty personality, Trung looks like any other cutesy, young Asian woman. But her petite frame belies her extensive Taekwondo training. Though Sinim culture expects women to be soft-spoken and demure, to smile without laughing, and to feign inferiority in the presence of men, Trung resists these constraints. She laughs freely, pokes fun at soft-spoken people, and (to her parents’ chagrin) continues to simply be who she is no matter what blind date she is set up with.

As we talk, I’m forthright about where I find the wisdom and principles that guide my life: “Regarding that question, I read in the Bible . . .” “When I’m going through this kind of difficulty, the Bible says . . .” “According to what I believe in the Bible . . .”

I didn’t realize how much I must have been doing this until one day Trung opened up about a problem she was having. “I’m telling you this because I think of you like a sister,” she began. Then she shared with me about how one of her closest friends had asked to borrow a significant amount of money after learning that Trung had received a bonus from work. Trung told her that, after taking care of debts and other expenses, she didn’t have the money to lend.

“You don’t have to lie to me to avoid lending me the money,” her friend had said.

“That really made me sad,” Trung continued. “She was only thinking of that present moment, but she had forgotten all the other times I have lent her money. Her words made me wonder if she is even a real friend. I don’t know what to say to her. What would you do?”

“When a person hurts you, it’s normal to ignore them and not talk with them,” I replied. “But I think a better approach would be to tell her how you feel and give her a chance to see her mistake. As humans, we all make mistakes, so we can forgive, too. It’s a chance to help our friends become better people. I have said things I deeply regret, and I am very grateful to the good people who forgave me and offered me a chance to change. There is a saying in English: ‘Love awakens love.’” I fumbled in the Sinim language trying to explain the concept. “It means that when you show love to someone even though they have wronged you, it makes them want to change and want to show love and forgiveness to others, too.”

“Is there a story in the Bible that talks about this?” Trung asked. I was caught off guard that she expected me to have something to share from the Bible. I thought a moment and then told her there was. “I want to hear it. Can you tell me?” she asked.

Wow! Trung had never asked for scriptural guidance before. Provi-dentially, I had been deeply studying the story of Jesus with His disciples in the upper room. I shared about how these 12 followers had been competing and arguing about who was the greatest. When no servant came to wash their feet, none of them wanted to do the task and be seen as lower than the others. Their Teacher, Jesus, was thinking of a way to teach them love, but how could they show love if they didn’t love each other? So Jesus picked up a towel and began to wash their feet.

“What?” Trung exclaimed in surprise.

I had her read what Jesus said. Then I explained how the 12 disciples had learned that being great isn’t about skills or hierarchy or position; it is about love. They stopped thinking they were better than the others and instead chose to honor and to look for the good in others.

“Wow!” Trung said. “If people could be like that . . . what a beautiful picture! It’s typical in Sinim culture to cut down others and step on the competition.”

At the end of our chat, she said, “It seems I’ve learned more from you today than you have from me. Thank you. I will think of how to reply to my friend.”

In a conversation about the theory of evolution, I brought up points about its failings and expressed why a Creator God made much more sense. Trung’s reply floored me. “Most Sinim people don’t really know who the God of Heaven is. Two years ago, a group who said they were followers of the God of Heaven were in the news because they were being very disruptive, tearing down altars, denouncing ancestor worshippers, dishonoring their parents, quitting school and work and leaving their families. This was the first time most Sinim people had heard about the God of Heaven or the Bible. Most were afraid of these terrible people who were seen as a plague on society.

“Honestly, if you were to stand in front of a class and say ‘I’m going to share about the God of Heaven,’ people would immediately hate you, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they threw things at you because of all the reports and news that spread across the country. Sinim people feel that whoever this God of Heaven is, He is terrible. He is bad,” Trung said frankly.
I was so surprised at what she was sharing. I was familiar with the extremist church group she was referring to, called the “Church of Mother God.” Ironically, it is a Seventh-day Adventist offshoot that believes God has a wife called Mother God. However, it seems the government news dropped off “Mother,” so most people mistakenly call this group “Church of God.”

“Sorry to say, when I first heard you followed the Bible, my initial thought was why would she believe in something so terrible?” Trung continued. “There are people who use the Bible to make money. There was once a lady who dressed as a nun and she went house to house in my village. She was selling a red liquid, saying ‘the Bible teaches this,’ and ‘If you drink this liquid, all your problems will go away. You will have peace. You will be able to overcome every problem in your life.’

“I was curious about this Church of God, and I once asked to visit one of their services to see what it was like. I went there with a member, and we had to pay to get in. Then all they did was pray, pray, pray about getting more money. They talked about the last days, and they just went to a room and prayed that all their problems would be solved. I think in the last days all those people are going to be dead if all they do is pray and not do anything else.

“An acquaintance who is a believer in the Bible told me, ‘Oh, if you don’t believe then you’re going to die, and your parents are going to die.’ They were just trying to make me afraid. So, all the things I’ve ever heard related to the Bible have been bad.
“But then I met you and Oppa, and the things you share are different,” she continued. (Oppa is another of Trung’s students, an older Christian Korean businessman. They have developed a good rapport, and she refers to him to as “Oppa,” which means “father” in Korean.) The things you and Oppa share are positive, about how to be a better person. Perhaps you think there are two types of people—those who believe in the Bible and those who don’t believe because they don’t understand it or know enough. But that’s not the case in Sinim. People here either don’t know or they hate the Bible.

“But now I know more about Oppa and you, and I know that what those crazy people believe is not the same as what you believe. So I thank you for showing me more,” Trung concluded with a grateful smile.

After hearing her share her experiences, I realized I’d had unrealistic expectations. I had been hoping for earth-shattering conversions, but God seems to be operating more wisely, and patiently with His still, small voice. Trung and other Sinim people like her need more than an isolated miracle to dismantle a lifetime of Buddhist worldview. The majority of the population has grown up under a communist regime and has no exposure to the Bible. What glimpses they have seen of Christianity have been very distorted, either by imposters or ignorance. The process of conversion will take time, and that’s okay. Still, God encourages me that He is working on Trung’s heart.

Trung and I were recently finishing one of our language sessions, and she was reflecting on Christianity. “It’s different, especially the idea of forgiveness. In Sinim culture, you don’t ever forget when someone has wronged you, and you don’t forgive. But you, Oppa and your coworkers are so friendly and positive. No matter what problems you have, you’re always cheerful and never seem to worry. You guys pray, and God seems to resolve everything,” she said wide-eyed and smiling, more to herself than to me.
Please pray for our team as we learn how to share the gospel with Trung and the many other Sinim people. May God give us wisdom on how to overcome their deeply-rooted beliefs and touch their hearts.

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