Good Emails

One of the things that I do early in the semester in order to start conversation with students and find people interested in "spiritual things" is tell my story in class. I have several pictures of my hometown, family, etc just like you'd expect. But beyond the usual, I also have some pictures that I use to tell the story of my conversion and some life changes that followed. There's a picture of road in the forest to show my search for direction, a picture of a kid looking bored in church, a picture of the UTC Christian Student Center, and of course a photo of Yosemite. The first time I did this I thought it might be a bit weird or abstract for my students, but it's turned out to be one of my students' favorite things and a really, REALLY great way to discover who I should be talking to and hanging out with. I didn't grow up hearing lots of testimonies, but I've discovered that testimonies (or stories if you prefer) are one of the best ways to get the MESSAGE across to people.

After I tell my story I then tell all the students that their homework is to email me about one thing in my story that interests them or they relate to. They should also ask me one question about my story. Some people ask about my kids, Chinese food, and my hometown, but many ask deeper questions. So far this semester I've sent out abut 20 emails to people who asked deeper, or spiritual, questions. And I have a list of about 20 more. Here's one of my favorite emails from last week (don't worry, I don't know what a "tellurian" is either!):

Teacher Dale:

   I’d like to share my feelings about your story because I really learn a lot from it.

      To tell the truth, I caught the happiness and the harmony when you showed us your family photos. There are your wife, your children, and your other families. These photos left me a deep impression, especially the photo which contains you and your wife. I still remember the big smile on both of your faces.

     You told us that there must be a creator who creates the valley which showed on the photo. I would like to share the same feeling with you. Once I read a story, it told me how the tellurian was invested and how complex and difficulty to invest a tellurian, so people praised the man who designed and developed it, and they considered the man as a talent. Then I suddenly realized that the one who designed and developed the earth must be a real creator. The earth can’t be born and developing regularly without God.

     After the last class, one of my roommates told me that you will be best foreign teacher we ever met in the university, and I can’t agree more. You also told us that have lived in China for eight years. For me, eight years really is a long time. Living in a foreign country must bring you a lot of trouble. May I ask that do you ever regret to stay in China?

     As a university student in China, I wonder that how the students in America to spent their weekends or holiday?

Emails like this aren't 100% sure conversions or anything, but they lead to really good discussions, reveal that the Father is working in ways before I showed up, and He's using me to do some more good stuff. Please pray for the students who I'll be having conversations with as a result of these emails.