Encounter

In the 1830’s, China was a not a very strong country, but there were many missionaries coming to China from all parts of the world. Because my grandfather was a businessman, he used to travel around China. Once by chance, my grandfather went to Guangzhou and met a missionary on board a ship. He felt that the missionary was very kind, so my grandfather tried to listen to him and tried to think about what he said. When the evening rolled around, my grandfather talked with the missionary one-on-one. The man spoke about this religion called Christianity, and my grandfather was intrigued. Finally, my grandfather decided to connect to Christianity. When he came back to my hometown, he promoted the gospel to everyone he knew, especially my whole family. For many years, the change of religious beliefs has not only influenced my daily life, but also my future.

First, my grandfather’s belief that has affected my hobbies. As a Christian, it was not easy to live in the world as usual, because there were too many temptations, such as money, friends, and power. However, my grandfather still believed in Christ and has never wavered, so I grew up wanting to be a man like my grandfather. However, the temptations are going to be stronger in my sensation. First, the computer games were very attractive for me. When I was a child, I liked playing computer games very much. As I grew older and became a Christian, I tried to reduce the love for the computer games and even said no. In addition, my friends influenced me a lot. In China, we didn’t have class on Sunday, so my friends often called me to go out for a party or something else, but I used to have church meeting on Sundays. Nevertheless, it was tempting to hang out with my friends at first, but I still chose to attend the church meetings instead.

       The second effect is that I became a Christian. In my opinion, a real Christian is a person who doesn’t go anywhere bad, is kind, and honest. My parents also told me that Christians should try to go to church once a week or more. My grandfather always said he wanted me to become a missionary like the man he met, so I have tried to be a good person. I still remember the first time I went to my friend’s party. I just drank juice and Coke, but my friends wanted me to drink beer. I told them that I was a Christian and I didn’t want to drink beer, because I knew that anything could happen if I got drunk. In addition, I didn’t go to bars, KTV, or anywhere bad. Chinese KTV is not that simple as American Karaoke, because people do more than not sing on the KTV. Such people pay for sex, and sometimes they fight. My friends knew that I am a Christian, so before they invited me, they knew that I would not go with them.

       Moreover, I came to the United States because of the church. There are thousands of Christians and churches around the world, so many people will travel to other churches for meetings, not only in China, people also travel to the United States, Singapore, Canada, and other counties. My uncle went to the United States for a church meeting in 2008, and he was able to visit Chicago. When he came back to China, he talked about he saw, including how the church life in America, and the educational environment. My sister was the first person in my family who came to Chicago. After a few years, she told me that she wanted me to come to America to study. Hence, how I am here too.

       Therefore, my whole life has changed because of my grandfather. My entire family respected my grandfather, not just because he was the oldest, but also because he guided our family. He was the first Christian in my hometown, so it further strengthen his position in our heart. Although my grandfather has died, our whole family is still Christian. We need to thank the missionary who met my grandfather, and the encounter that changed our lives.