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As told by an IW to Asia
“Why did you come to __________ ?” That is a question that the driver asks when I take an “Uber”-like form of transportation in our city. In the past, I used to answer something like “God has called us here. God loves the people in this country and he has called us to love them too.” I felt, and still feel, that that is a solid answer, but for the past year or so, after engaging more with “Bible Storying”, I have found a different approach.
Now I answer the question with 2 questions: “May I tell you a story?” and then, “Is it okay if the story touches on spiritual things?” So far everyone who has asked me about why I am here has also answered yes to those two questions. Once I have their permission to tell a story, I begin with my story; how God called my husband and I to move to the other side of the world. In that story, God used the story of the rich young man from Mark 10:17-22 to speak clearly to my husband, who then shared it with me, about leaving “all” behind to follow Jesus. So, in telling “my” story, I also tell the Bible story of the rich young man.
Just a few weeks ago was my most recent opportunity to share with a driver, a driver from the majority religion in our country. “That is amazing,” he said. “Usually Western people make decisions with logic, but your husband and you made a decision based on a feeling, like Eastern people.” He was astounded that a Western person would be influenced in that way from the Scriptures. Maybe to him it wasn’t “logical” that we would leave all behind and come to this country because we “felt” God speaking to us through a Bible story. Yet that is the power of the True Story and my hope is that that driver will think again and again about the story, and that he would realize that Jesus is calling him to leave all and follow him.
