Connecting People to God, and to Each Other (Hey, Sounds Familiar!)

This past Sunday we invited Wang Hao, who has been a brother for several months now, and another brother we know, English name Bob, who has faith but needs encouragement, and a girl named Gong Yan Xia who has expressed a deep interest in faith and study, all to our house, for study and worship, and pizza party to follow. All three of these folks are precious, but we hesitated to invite them all over at one time like that. Why? Well, they aren't classmates, they don't even know each other, and that can sometimes be awkward in China, where group mentality rules social settings. And to top it off, I wouldn't call any of them extroverted. But, we felt, still it was the right thing to do and the right time to do it. You see, in the cold winter, and during the cramming for finals portion of the semester, lots of students study constantly and lose perspective. Some need extra encouragement that getting out of the dorm, to a warm family atmosphere, and the focus on something spiritual, can provide. We had the feeling these three were all needing that at this time. And yes, sometimes, it was a bit awkward...but there were some really great moments,and we are so glad we could host them. Wang Hao and Bob each led great prayers in Chinese, we read the scriptures in unison in Chinese, we studied, we sang in Chinese, and after worship, we were able to encourage Bob to explain to Yan Xia the meaning of the Lord's Supper. Later, we were glad to see them exchanging numbers with each other, and agreeing to meet up and go to the local church meetings together in the future. We were positive the time together was a success when they hung around our apartment for a very long time, looked on our computer without our permission, played with Phoebe for about an hour, saw us putting sheets on a bed and offered immediately to help, etc...All of this assures us they felt comfortable and at home here, and they (almost) forgot we were foreigners. Praise God! He does all this, thru the unlikeliest people, namely, thru us Clarks. And also, thru three introverted but faith-filled and seeking people who were, after all, willing to connect to God and one another. Thanks God, for being among us.