I don’t speak their language… how can I explain the good news?

It was very good to be present at 2014 Missions Fest Edmonton. Many visitors stopped by the GoodSeed booth to check out our tools and ask us questions. We were very encouraged by the believers who had people in their lives with whom they wanted to share the gospel.

Bob* was one of the people who dropped by with a question. Some time ago, a young Chinese couple came by his office by mistake. They were actually looking for a clinic and mistook his office for it. Bob saw an opportunity to make friends and he not only helped them out, he kept in touch with them. Over the months, he met with them several times for coffee and a chat.

Both husband and wife had come to Bob’s city for graduate studies. While they were intelligent, their command of English was poor. Here was Bob’s challenge: he had shared with them about the gospel and sensed that they were willing to learn more, but the language barrier was making it difficult to explain the good news. Did GoodSeed have anything that might help?

We sure did! Here’s what we suggested to Bob: Give the couple a simplified Chinese edition of The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus and take an English edition for himself. Then have all of them read their respective editions. Since the English and Chinese editions matched in terms of content and chapter numbering, they could keep pace with each other. We told Bob to meet up with them for coffee or a meal after each chapter to discuss what they had read. This way, he could let the book do the teaching, and Bob could answer any questions they may have.

Bob was excited. He thought this was something he could do. He might not be able to speak their heart language, but in this way, all three of them could be on “the same page” so to speak. He bought the books and thanked us. We told him we would be praying for his friends and the study they were about to embark on.

Resources:
See The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus family of books

 

(*Name changed as per GoodSeed policy.)