WHEN YOU CROSS CULTURES - World Evangelical Alliance

CONVERSION AND CULTURE
accommodation - accepting certain aspects of their cultural background which
they realise are part of their heritage and identity. Finally, they become more
settled and live a balanced life as they find their identity in Christ and in their
culture.
Story of a Young Hainanese Convert
One of my first experiences in discipling was to be involved with a
secondary school student who had received Christ on his own after exposure
to the Gospel.
Nge Liang belonged to a Hainanese family which worshipped idols.
Upon visiting his home, it was clear to me, by his parents’ reaction, that they
were hostile to Christianity which they considered to be a Western religion.
The home was full of altars including two prominent ones, one in the front
and one in the rear.
Nge Liang’s father, Mr Tow Mui, a seaman by profession, was also a
temple leader. He would organise temple sacrifices of goats, chickens and
ducks and the continuous burning of incense. He would also perform priestly
functions to appease the spirits. He would partake in fire-walking ceremonies
with others, each person carrying an idol as he walked over burning coals. Mr
and Mrs Tow Mui brought up their children in the precepts of filial piety -
never to bring shame to their parents and to honour their ancestors. One
member of the family would burn three joss-sticks every evening.
Nge Liang received strong opposition when he believed in Christ. I
remember regularly meeting him for prayer and Bible Study, often meeting
under a lamp-post on a street near his home. We prayed regularly for his
parents. We did this for about two years.
Being educated in English, Nge Liang found it difficult to communicate
spiritual truths to his parents who spoke their dialect. They, however, saw that
their son had obviously changed and continued to be a respectful son. He
had learned that being an example and serving the family was more important
than preaching his faith to his family. Nge Liang decided to be baptised and
to his surprise, there was no major opposition. Astonishingly, his father found
his way to the church to witness his son’s baptism. The Chinese elder at the
church who greeted him was most cordial as he wished him “Peace to you” in
Chinese. This made a deep impression. Mr Tow Mui also noticed that there
were no Westerners at the church service.
55