Tuesday, October 1, 2013

"Accidental" Providence

The second day of school, Charleen and her friend were wandering around campus when they stumbled upon a gathering of a big group of people. They were welcomed in by a friendly, energetic guy and so they decided to see what the gathering was all about. When Charleen realized it was a Christian group, she wasn't sure if she was allowed to stay because she did not have any religion, but she found it interesting and enjoyed herself, so she continued to come back every week. She also joined in the first week activities, including the UH vs. USC football game and an all-day beach BBQ, where she made friends and began to develop community. But midterms got in the way and no one heard from her for a couple weeks.

Flash forward to Friday evening, when Ashley, one of the girls I'm discipling, and I, were hanging out at Starbucks. Ashley and I had just finished a conversation about how she wanted to get more experience sharing her faith with others, when I received a text from Charleen asking if she could come to church with me sometime.

"But is it ok if I don't really have a religion? Am I still allowed to go?"
"Of course!" I replied
"Ok! By the way, you're a Christian right? How do I declare a religion?"

"Ashley," I said. "You're about to get your chance to get more experience sharing your faith."

We picked up Charleen and took her to dinner, where we had the opportunity to walk her through the Gospel and what it means to be a Christian. At the end, we asked her if it was something that she wanted for her life and she adamantly exclaimed, "Yes!"

We could hardly believe how easy and natural it was for her to want to believe. Obviously God's been working on her heart for awhile, we just happened to be available for that last step of showing her how.  I explained to her that all she had to do was pray to God and acknowledge that she was a sinner, that God exists, that she believed Jesus is the Son of God, died on a cross and took away all her sins, and that she wanted to receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior and make Him the center of her life. She prayed and afterward when we asked her she felt, she said "I'm so excited! I feel wonderful!"

The next day I took her to Logos to buy her a Bible, and she got herself a journal for quiet times. We then went to lunch and a coffee shop where I walked her through the Bible and explained some ways to read the Bible. "I am so excited to have a Bible!" she exclaimed. "I cannot wait to get home and start reading it!"

Her enthusiasm, along with Lini's, is such a breath of fresh air, and also a conviction for my own heart- how many times do I think to myself, "I cannot wait to get home and read the Bible!"?

Lord, make us hungry and thirsty for your Word just like Charleen and Lini!


Ashley (left) and Charlene (right) after Charleen prayed to receive Christ
(Something about me wearing my hat...the past two times I've worn it, girls have decided to accept Christ into their hearts...coincidence?) 

Charlene and her new Bible! 


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