Thousand Cups of Tea
It is hard to believe that it
has already been 2 years since I visited South Asia for the first time and it
stole my heart. During my first trip here I was sitting on the beach during a
beautiful sunrise when my new friend began crying from her sadness
that her people group do not know the truth. She began talking about how it was
“a thousand cups of tea” before she became part of the Kingdom through
believing in Jesus Christ. This statement has really stuck with me. Most of us
in America believe that entering the Kingdom is an instantaneous call and
decision to believe in Jesus to enter the Kingdom. In this country, from our
experience and talks with many of the m’s
here, entering the Kingdom happens over a “thousand cups of tea.” Relationships
are built and the people not only hear, but experience what it means to be in
the Kingdom. I love going to the mountains around an hour away from our house
and driving near the tea fields that last for miles. Men and women go out and
pick the tea daily for the ripe leaves and they pick them and take them to the
factory where they dry for 24 hours or so and then are put through a process
and ground. As I think about the name God called me, I realized that it has
multiple parts and meanings. Sometimes I am to be the person picking the ripe
leaves off and sharing with those people a sip of the tea, the good news of the
Kingdom. But, I may only be giving that person their first cup of tea and
thousands more cups need to still be had till they believe in the only way,
Jesus and the cross, to truly enter the Kingdom.
James:
We have a lot of school holidays
here… a lot! During my last two years as a teacher, the seemingly
random Islamic, Buddhist,
Hindu, and Christian days out of school were synonymous with life— I desperately needed time to
catch up on school work! This year, however, I have turned a page, and feel
much differently about these days. On the one side, I love them for the extra
time they give me to spend with Courtney. On the other, I don’t enjoy the
inconvenience of lost time with students. Two weeks ago, however, the Lord had
very, very special plans for one such holiday. James (not his real name) is a
student I’ve known for three years now. He was a sophomore when I came to BAIS,
and I mostly knew him through his 5th grade brother, with whom I immediately
built a strong connection.
Last year I had the privilege
of working with James in both praise teams and my Vocal Ensemble class, and
it’s always struck me as funny how much he and his younger brother’s personalities
remind me of me and my brother, Derrick. James is a senior this year, and he
works as an assistant for me every day during first period. I teach every day
except for Wednesdays, so I’ve tried to set that time aside to talk with him.
See, James’ dad is not a Christian and doesn’t even live in the same city
(though his parents aren’t divorced). It’s a less-than-ideal situation, in my
perspective, and so I’ve always tried to be available for James and his
brother. So a couple of weeks ago, James was talking about his uncertainty over
college—whether to go to Korea or the States. When I asked him he seemed
surprised. No one had really talked to him about it or encouraged him to. James and I got together on a random Thursday holiday
two weeks ago to pray—and what a time of prayer it was! God spoke so clearly
and showed James a completely
different path than
what he was thinking. James has accepted it in faith, even though we still
don’t know all the details. He was concerned his family wouldn’t approve, but
the Lord seems to have taken care of that already. I’m so excited for him,
though the journey is not over. Please pray for the Lord to grant wisdom to
James as an immature Christian and to me as a mentor-figure in his life. Also please pray for us as we continue to share the love of Christ one tea cup at a time!
