{"id":2476,"date":"2014-06-26T16:59:30","date_gmt":"2014-06-26T22:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/?p=2476"},"modified":"2016-02-23T01:29:06","modified_gmt":"2016-02-23T08:29:06","slug":"evangelism-with-internationals-at-state-university-an-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/26\/evangelism-with-internationals-at-state-university-an-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Evangelism with internationals at state university\u2013an interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Screen<\/a>Editor\u2019s note:<\/strong>\u00a0One of our GoodSeed staff recently interviewed Veronica,* who spends much of her time teaching English as a second language (ESL) and doing evangelism Bible studies with Asian international students at a large state university. So, how does she\u00a0do it?!<\/p>\n

\n

Read this inspiring interview that is chock-full of typical examples of how GoodSeed tools are used to lead people to a clear understanding of the Bible\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Tom:<\/strong>
\nVeronica, please tell us what you have been doing recently by way of campus evangelism.<\/p>\n

Veronica:<\/strong>
\nWell, I’ve just finished going through\u00a0The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus<\/a><\/em>\u00a0with a visiting Korean professor at\u00a0our university. Because his English language skill was weak, having\u00a0the Korean as well as English edition of the book was advantageous. He would read both before I came. When I arrived, he would already have many parts highlighted along with his questions. We would then talk through his questions about each chapter. Over\u00a0the last eight weeks as we were studying, every so often he would pause, pick up the book, pat it and say:<\/p>\n

Veronica, this book,\u00a0The Stranger<\/em>\u00a0book\u2026 has taught me sooo much better about Christianity. It\u2019s given me a foundation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He always wanted to express how much this book meant to him. He is now a solid believer and has already talked to his next door neighbour who also happens to be a visiting scholar from Korea. His wife wants to start\u00a0studying the Bible, as well. We will be\u00a0beginning this week.<\/p>\n

Tom:<\/strong>
\nHow do you locate people in order to do these studies or do they find you?<\/p>\n

Veronica:<\/strong>
\nIt usually happens by word of mouth. Once I got started, word got out. Friends told friends and family. Now, there is a whole group of Korean students who are on a waiting list to meet me and to do studies\u2026 I have so much to do!<\/p>\n

Right now I\u2019m going through\u00a0The Stranger<\/em> with another couple. Their English ability is quite minimal; they cannot read well. So, I read the book aloud,\u00a0sometimes\u00a0using a children\u2019s picture Bible, telling the story as we progress through\u00a0The Stranger<\/em>\u00a0storyline. We just finished the Passover. This Easter they understood for the first time what the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was all about. The wife just told me:<\/p>\n

Now I understand that man is completely sinful and there is nothing worse on this earth than sinful man and that Jesus is the Lamb of God who made the sacrifice to take away the sins of the world and they were all put on him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She isn\u2019t interested in church yet but she wants to know God. She\u2019s willing to meet with me and read this book and she\u2019s loving it! She tells me that every week.<\/p>\n

Tom:<\/strong>
\nSo you\u2019re just doing one-on-one studies, not groups of people?<\/p>\n

Veronica:<\/strong>
\nI find that those I\u2019m meeting with are much more open to ask questions if they do so one-on-one or as a husband-and-wife couple. If they\u2019re in a group, they\u2019re very uncomfortable and are concerned about what others are thinking. They will ask me, \u201cCan you meet with me one-on-one?\u201d Even some wives will ask to meet without their husbands.<\/p>\n

Tom:<\/strong>
\nHave you ever had a situation where you reach the end and just the wife believes? What about the husband in such instances?<\/p>\n

Veronica:<\/strong>
\nI have this case where the husband is now a believer… his wife quit half way through the study. For three months she would go to church but she would not even come in the room for our study in The Stranger<\/em>. He begged her, \u201cPlease meet with Veronica.” Then, all of a sudden, she agreed. So, I met with her again. Since she had earlier quit, I was praying about what to say. I was a little worried because of her previous lack of\u00a0interest. After meeting again several times, she told me:<\/p>\n

Veronica, when I came here, none of my family was interested in the Bible. Not me. Not my husband. Not my three children. And now I can\u2019t believe that I\u2019m believing God…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She said, \u201cI liked church… but I didn\u2019t like the Bible. but now, after getting into the Bible, I\u2019m realizing I have to believe God for who he is first… not think of him as a good luck charm.\u201d Then she added, \u201cOur three children… were very upset that we were forsaking our traditional religious beliefs and becoming Christians, in spite of what\u00a0their grandparents and relatives believed. So now, every night our dinner is a dialogue about Christianity with our oldest son.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had it go the other way too, where the wife comes to faith in Christ but not the husband (yet)… She believes that her mission is to love her husband and that some day God will break through to him and break down his prejudice and hatred.<\/p>\n

Tom:<\/strong>
\nHow do you typically do\u00a0a study? How do they connect with you for the first time? Do they come with a friend? Do they come to your home or do you meet somewhere else?<\/p>\n

Veronica:<\/strong>
\nIf they are new to town, they\u2019re looking for help with their English. So, I express my willingness to help them learn.\u00a0Sometimes they have heard of me through a friend. So, I start by teaching English. After a time, there is usually a good opportunity to talk about Easter, Christmas or something having to do with the Bible. Typically I don\u2019t have to bring up the subject but they will start asking questions after they\u2019re feeling comfortable with me. Either they ask, \u201cVeronica, would you please teach me the Bible?\u201d or, I might say:<\/p>\n

You know, we\u2019ve been studying English for quite a while and I can tell you\u2019re kind of bored. Let\u2019s have a Bible study. It is really interesting. If you enjoy doing that, we can continue with the Bible or we can stop\u2014it will be up to you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They always say, \u201cI didn\u2019t know the Bible was this much fun or was so interesting! Let\u2019s do more!\u201d If that continues for a few times, I bring out The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus<\/em> and ask, \u201cWould you like to go through this?\u201d And they\u2019ll respond, \u201cOh, I\u2019d love to that!\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom:<\/strong>
\nTell me about your ESL program.<\/p>\n

Veronica:<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s \u201cConversational English.\u201d That\u2019s usually what they want: someone to talk with about common, everyday things. We start with that for a few weeks until they get bored. We’ve talk about plants, food, children, culture, holidays\u00a0until\u00a0they begin to get tired with that. For example, when a professor\u2014who is now a believer\u2014first came,\u00a0all he wanted to talk about was his religion and food. For six weeks he talked about vegetables. I did my best\u00a0to hide my boredom. FINALLY he said, \u201cVeronica, this is boring.\u201d I agreed, \u201cYeah, you\u2019re right. Let\u2019s talk about something else.\u201d He immediately changed the subject and asked, \u201cVeronica, can you tell me the difference between religion and faith?\u201d So many times it will be a big question like that that will open up the door. He liked my\u00a0answer, so, pulling out\u00a0The Stranger,<\/em>\u00a0I said, \u201cI happen to have this book in both Korean and English. If you\u2019re interested in thinking about faith, maybe you\u2019d like to read this and get a better understanding of the Bible.\u201d \u201cOh yes!” he responded. “I would like to do that because talking about vegetables all the time gets so tiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

A couple weeks ago, I got to that point with another Korean wife who has been wanting to practice English. I knew she didn\u2019t have much spiritual interest in anything. So, I just practiced English with her for three months. Finally one day I said, \u201cYou know, I think you need some listening practice. I will tell you a very simple story. It will be from the Bible and then you can tell it back to me. We will practice asking questions and talking about it. Let’s see if you like that.\u201d As I told her\u00a0the story of Mary and Martha, she was fascinated by what she was hearing. She had heard a little of the story before but she had no idea of all that she could learn. I was hoping that she would be ready to go through\u00a0The Stranger\u00a0<\/em>with me, however,\u00a0she is\u00a0getting ready to return to Korea and so the study\u00a0may not happen.<\/p>\n

Tom:<\/strong>
\nWhat are some of nationalities of those you have done studies with?<\/p>\n

Veronica:<\/strong>
\nMost are Asians\u2014Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Taiwanese and Koreans. Two from one particular area in southeast Asia have come to the Lord in the last couple of years. Several others from the same place have also gone through the book and are now thinking about its message. This is a difficult decision\u00a0for them because their country is\u00a0very closed. They\u2019re scared about what might happen if they go back as Christians. They’re having to weigh that very seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n

We also have some who come from the Middle East. I have a friend through whom I\u2019ve channelled my books to several other Christians in town who are working with people from these countries. They\u2019re planning on\u00a0using the book All that the Prophets have Spoken<\/em><\/a> for their study.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also used\u00a0the children\u2019s book,\u00a0The Lamb<\/em><\/a>, with Vietnamese and others.<\/p>\n

Tom:<\/strong>
\nWere you teaching The Lamb<\/em> to adults or children?<\/p>\n

Veronica:<\/strong>
\nChildren. However,\u00a0sometimes their parents would look on. The parents get so interested. They\u2019ll move closer and closer until soon they\u2019re grabbing the book away from the kids! That happens a lot!<\/p>\n

Oh, here’s another story real quick! After a Korean wife went through\u00a0The Stranger<\/em>, she said:<\/p>\n

This has helped me so much. I MUST tell my Korean friends about it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She immediately began taking two religious friends through The Stranger<\/em>. She has now returned to Korea, having taken books with her and her husband. They\u2019re strong believers, so I believe that they will definitely begin sharing the books as the Lord brings people across their path.<\/p>\n

Tom:<\/strong>
\nHow long have you been doing this? How did you learn how to guide studies in this way?<\/p>\n

Veronica:<\/strong>
\nThe Lord started bringing internationals across my path in 1995. I had met with a GoodSeed staff member who was doing a presentation at a church. Friends from there invited me\u00a0to come. I went and soon realized, \u201cThis is what I\u2019ve been needing!\u201d That was maybe 2003. I flew to Canada to attend\u00a0the next\u00a0TERM Seminar<\/a>. I couldn’t wait for it to come to me\u2014I HAD to go! At TERM I realized I was trying to reinvent the wheel and didn\u2019t have to. This was just what I needed! It has helped so much.<\/p>\n

My entire\u00a0campus is full of ministries\u00a0wanting to reach internationals. So, I\u2019ve shared these resources\u00a0with these different organizations\u2014we have a whole supply of GoodSeed books in different languages available when\u00a0we do student lunches for international students. Christians host these events and local churches bring the food. With the books on hand, people are making use of them.\u00a0I am seeing what the Lord can do if we trust in Him to do the work in his time and not be in such a big hurry for results.<\/p>\n

Tom:<\/strong>
\nThere\u00a0are so many\u00a0things that are obstacles to people understanding the gospel: ignorance, biblical illiteracy, confusion, etc. And,\u00a0there\u2019s syncretism\u2014mixing ideas from two different worldviews to come up with a completely different, third worldview.\u00a0Have you seen these obstacles\u00a0in your evangelism efforts and how are they overcome?<\/p>\n

Veronica:<\/strong>
\nI am so grateful for GoodSeed and Trevor McIlwain\u2019s Firm Foundations<\/em>. They\u2019ve helped me recognize and know how to steer people around these pitfalls in order that they might understand the gospel clearly.<\/p>\n

Tom:<\/strong>
\nWasn’t there one last\u00a0story you were going to share?<\/p>\n

Veronica:<\/strong>
\nOh, yes. Several years ago, a Law professor from one of the Asian countries was here. I don\u2019t remember how we met\u2026 but he was curious about the Bible and we began going through The Stranger<\/em>\u00a0in a Sunday School class. At that time, he enjoyed it very much but he was also resisting it. He finally said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe this because if I go back [home], they\u2019ll fire me from my job and put me in prison the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He returned home quite conflicted. I thought that I would\u00a0never see this man again but I prayed for him. That was 2009.<\/p>\n

Then all of a sudden, in the fall of 2013, I got an email that he was back in town. He said, \u201cI\u2019ll be in church first thing Sunday morning. I want to start our study again. I\u2019ve never forgotten what you taught me about the Bible and I want to look at it again\u2013\u2013although I can\u2019t believe it.\u201d For several weeks he kept saying, \u201cI can\u2019t believe it, I can\u2019t believe it\u2026 but I just want to learn it.\u201d About a month ago, as we were making our way at a slower pace through The Stranger<\/em>,\u00a0he said, \u201cI am beginning to change\u2013\u2013I am beginning to believe.\u201d So we\u2019re praying for that man.<\/p>\n

He is inviting everyone whom he meets to come to the study. Just this weekend, he said, \u201cVeronica, let\u2019s start having dinner parties on the weekends. I\u2019ll invite the people, you be prepared and we\u2019ll ask you questions about the Bible after we eat\u2026 because this is really good stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(*Names changed as per GoodSeed policy)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo Credit: \u201cNew Student Orientation<\/a><\/span>\u201d by\u00a0COD Newsroom<\/a><\/span>\u00a0is licensed under\u00a0<\/span>CC BY 2.0<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note:\u00a0One of our GoodSeed staff recently interviewed Veronica,* who spends much of her time teaching English as a second language (ESL) and doing evangelism Bible studies with Asian international students at a large state university. So, how does she\u00a0do it?! Read this inspiring interview that is chock-full of typical examples of how GoodSeed tools … Continue reading “Evangelism with internationals at state university\u2013an interview”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,33,19,24,1,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-that-the-prophets-have-spoken","category-campus-ministry","category-guide-a-study","category-international","category-testimonies","category-the-stranger-on-the-road-to-emmaus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2476"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4751,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476\/revisions\/4751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodseed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}