The OTHER dg

Then Naomi said, 'Wait, my daughter, until you find
out what happens. For the man will not rest until the
matter is settled today.'

婆婆说：“女儿啊，你只管安坐等候，看这事怎样成就，因为那人
今日不办成这事必不休息。”

- Ruth 3:18


Today the cell group that I attend in Beijing studied Ruth 3 and 4, in Mandarin, English and the odd smattering of Cantonese (not from me of course, mm sek gong/teng). Seeing as Waterside studied Ruth over a year ago, I felt inspired to pen my thoughts on what the Christian life in Beijing has been like.

Let me start by saying that as masochistic as my decision to work in Beijing initially was, I did not set out to further flagellate myself by joining a bible study group made up primarily of Chinese speakers. No, that was not the intention. I had envisioned finding a group of ethnic Asian, English-speaking, cosmopolitan trendies who enjoyed fooling around and hanging out together - i.e. another Waterside.

But God, ahem, had other plans.

The first group I attended in this city was an English-speaking one, made up mainly of Singaporeans and Malaysians. But something did not feel right. It was a group of mostly married couples, some old enough to be my mum and dad. Others had little kids who had to be attended to during the bible study, and on some days, there were as many toddlers in the room as there were adults. I prayed about this and did my best to be servant-minded and not thinking only of how my own needs could be met, but it became apparent that I could not relate to the fears and anxieties shared during prayer sessions to be effective in ministering to other members.

After weeks of turning up an hour late for Friday night bible study, I decided to look for a group that met on weekends. In gung-ho spirit, I decided to join a Mandarin-speaking group of Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, Singaporeans and Malaysians, thinking that it might be an opportunity to invite one of my Mandarin-speaking Singaporean pals along - she didn't last though - or my Taiwanese friend (she's reluctant to commit). So it was just me. And I soon realised that attempting to bond with a new group of mainly non-Singaporeans more comfortable with Chinese than English, let alone studying the bible in your second language, is really quite an uphill task.

In the two months or so where I stayed away from any fellowship group out of a sense of alienation, I was forced to confront the fundamental issue of why Christians should meet, pray and study the bible in a small group. This time, there was none of the comfort zone of shared socio-cultural tics that you can sort of groove along to even if you are not actually learning that much or growing spiritually from week to week. All you can take hold of, in this case, is that the Christian life is not an island and that it is in God's plan for Christians to meet and teach the bible. And that there are some struggles in our walk that only other Christians will understand and give wise counsel to.

When I started dragging myself back to the meetings, I would be humbled each time, even as I sat there quietly unable to contribute much to the discussions. Humbled because I could see the commitment of most of the members -- it is actually quite a new group, an offshoot of a Hong Kong, Cantonese-speaking group that decided to start a Mandarin splinter so they could reach out to more people. Many of them are actually more comfortable in Cantonese, although they can speak competent and even eloquent Mandarin, albeit with a heavy Hong Kong drawl.

And once I got to grips with some of the phraseology of theological discourse in Mandarin (acquiring a Chinese bible myself to cross-refer alongside my English NIV helped), I found the discussion and sharing honest, stimulating and moving. The bilingualism of the group helps; while I can't throw around my big words like I used to do in Waterside, everyone speaks and understands English enough for myself and a few others (chiefly the Singaporeans and Malaysians) to pray in English and voice opinions in a mix of both languages.

And so, back to the book of Ruth. Today's study was interesting for me because, well, I guess I am a year older and so much has changed in that year. What I remember chiefly from when Waterside studied Ruth was the whole business of Ruth lying at Boaz's feet and Naomi/Mara's grudging faith in the Lord. It didn't seem like a particularly substantial book of the bible to me.

But several things stood out for me today in sharp relief as the group members unpacked the text and shared personal experiences. The book of Ruth opens with the family of Naomi nearly decimated through the deaths of all its males and no hope of the family line ever continuing. Naomi feels totally emptied of hope and a future, and Ruth doesn't look like she will ever have a husband again or bear children. But by the end God delivers everything they desire and more. The union of R and B spawns a lineage that leads eventually to the birth of Jesus.

Then there is the matter of submission. It sucks, as Naomi said. But Ruth's submission at every step of the way is the crucial ingredient here for the working of God's plan, whether it is submission to her mother-in-law or to Boaz's request for her to wait until the matter of the appropriate kinsman-redeemer (code word for husband) is sorted out.

A Malaysian guy in the group shared his experience over the past year. He became a Christian three years ago and since then, had struggled with some of the practices of the company he works for and which he helped to start six years ago. Stuff like corruption, the giving of a little bit on the side to the other party to cut a deal, which is endemic in China. And improper account-keeping.

He tried to rationalise that it was okay and that the opportunity cost of not doing was too great. But it got to a point where he felt he was at a spiritual crossroads and that God was prompting him to leave the company. His business partners were not happy though, and threatened to make things ugly for him. And then there was the matter of his wife, who had just left her job back home to join him in Beijing. Pushed to the point of complete and utter surrender to the will of God, he prayed, stood his ground, tendered his resignation and waited. Surprisingly, his partners accepted his resignation without a fight. Now he and his wife are unemployed though, and waiting prayerfully to see what God has in store for them next.

There are a lot of stories and testimonies like that coming out of this cell group, of people in a crossroads, waiting for God to reveal His hand as they continue along uncertainly as expatriates in the Middle Kingdom. A few have gone back and a few have stayed, each renewed in their faith and purpose.