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Stories & Blog
Symptoms of a Jesus-Follower
SPAIN — “Where does it hurt?” one student asked Crossworld worker Tonya. “How long have you been sick?” asked another.
A week ago, the university student that Tonya tutors in English had asked for a favor.
“Would you come to my nursing class to help with an activity?” she asked. “We’re learning English terms, and we need to practice on an English-speaking patient.”
So Tonya sat in the front of the classroom, being “diagnosed” by the Spanish students.
“How long have you had a cough?” “What are your other symptoms?” “Have you had a fever recently?”
The students took turns giving a complete medical consult as they tried to determine her pretend illnesses. With every response Tonya gave, 30 pens scribbled down her answers.
After the class ended, the professor thanked Tonya for helping, then invited her to lunch.
Their introductions as they sat down to eat hinted that this conversation might prove even more interesting than the class had been. How did Silvia come to teach the nursing class? She’s one of the only teachers who speaks English, even though her background is in philosophy. Why had Tonya, a young American Christian, come to live in Spain? To share Jesus with the people she met.
“Oh,” Silvia said. “Well I think Jesus was a good moral teacher, but the Bible isn’t true and Jesus certainly wasn’t raised from the dead. I’m agnostic, but I’m intrigued by Buddhism and its teachings on meditation.”
As the two continued to talk and ask questions about each other’s beliefs, it became clear that for Silvia, human philosophy and personal faith don’t go together.
Though Tonya and Silvia disagreed on just about everything, they both enjoyed the opportunity to talk with someone with a different worldview. And as they left, they swapped phone numbers to stay in touch and get together again.
A week ago, the university student that Tonya tutors in English had asked for a favor.
“Would you come to my nursing class to help with an activity?” she asked. “We’re learning English terms, and we need to practice on an English-speaking patient.”
So Tonya sat in the front of the classroom, being “diagnosed” by the Spanish students.
“How long have you had a cough?” “What are your other symptoms?” “Have you had a fever recently?”
The students took turns giving a complete medical consult as they tried to determine her pretend illnesses. With every response Tonya gave, 30 pens scribbled down her answers.
After the class ended, the professor thanked Tonya for helping, then invited her to lunch.
Their introductions as they sat down to eat hinted that this conversation might prove even more interesting than the class had been. How did Silvia come to teach the nursing class? She’s one of the only teachers who speaks English, even though her background is in philosophy. Why had Tonya, a young American Christian, come to live in Spain? To share Jesus with the people she met.
“Oh,” Silvia said. “Well I think Jesus was a good moral teacher, but the Bible isn’t true and Jesus certainly wasn’t raised from the dead. I’m agnostic, but I’m intrigued by Buddhism and its teachings on meditation.”
As the two continued to talk and ask questions about each other’s beliefs, it became clear that for Silvia, human philosophy and personal faith don’t go together.
Though Tonya and Silvia disagreed on just about everything, they both enjoyed the opportunity to talk with someone with a different worldview. And as they left, they swapped phone numbers to stay in touch and get together again.
Your part in this story...
Crossworld worker Tonya asks you to pray for these requests.
- Pray for Silvia and other professors and students at the university. Pray for interactions, conversations, and relationships that point them to the truth of a Living Savior.
- Pray for the local community here in Spain. I want to be a Christ-follower that makes disciples of Christ in this community.
- Pray for our strength and vision as a Crossworld team — specifically for growth in our faith as we invest in the lives of the Spaniards here. May the Lord use us as He continues to work in this area of the world.
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