“I’m no longer going to be working here,” my language teacher Vina told me. A feeling of despondency fell upon me. Of all the contacts I had made since my arrival, she was the one who had the most spiritual interest and with whom I had the most positive interactions. I had invited her to church a few times, but the timing had never worked out. Now she was moving away. I imagine I can sympathize with the disappointment the sower in Christ’s parable must have felt to watch birds eat his freshly cast seed.

“Who will be my new teacher?” I asked.

“Trung,” she replied.

Up to that time, I’d had minimal interactions with Trung. Our schedules never seemed to align, so I rarely saw her at the language center. But as I began to study with Trung, our lessons went from vocabulary and grammar to sharing about local culture, to discussing our daily lives and our guiding values. Our teacher/student relationship has transformed into friendship as we share about the pressures put on women to marry, family, relationships, career and health. Although I was saddened to lose contact with Vina, I praise God for how He truly works all things together for good. With Trung as my teacher, I’ve been able to share with someone who knew almost nothing about Christianity and the Bible or about a God who is the answer to every situation and is big enough to fill the hole she feels in her heart. Only time will tell what will grow from the seeds being sown.

Please pray for Vina, Trung and the many others in this closed country who are being exposed to the Bible for the first time.

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