We often write about the missionaries from China who move into the 10/40 window to share the gospel in closed nations, but who are they and what brought them to this point? To get to know some of them better, we asked them to share their stories with us.
Sam is a quiet and creative young man, barely out of his teens, from a tiny mountain village in central China. His parents and friends were not believers, but he had an uncle who was a Christian. And this uncle became very important in Sam’s journey from his remote little village to places he had never dreamt of.
From the beginning, Sam’s life was marked by loss. At the age of two, his mother suffered from severe mental illness and abandoned her family. She never returned. Sam’s father had to find a way to make more money to support him and his sister, so he also left to a far away city in search for a job. Little Sam and his sister ended up in the care of his Christian uncle and aunt. It was in their house that he learned about Jesus.
Sam went to elementary school while staying with them, but he when left for middle school at the age of twelve, trouble began. The school was not a good place to be. There was a lot of fighting, smoking and drinking among the students. His uncle and aunt were seriously worried about him.
His uncle proposed that he would drop out of school and instead go to Bible school. Sam agreed. It was far away, so once again, Sam lost the people who had cared for him and had to hold his own in a new environment. Most of the students were much older than him.
Still, he did well in Bible school. He memorised Scripture, learned a lot about the Bible and learned to play guitar. Every year they would do a mission trip for one month, so Sam learned to share the gospel and work in the church.
When he was 18, he was given the opportunity to go and work in Nepal with a mission team. He thrived in this new country. With his looks and skin colour resembling those of the Nepalese, and his ability to pick up their language, he was often seen and treated as a local. He enjoyed reaching out to the young people on the streets using his gift for music.
When he returned to China, he went back to the Bible school which had become his home base. However, a police raid led to the closing of the school. All students were detained and interrogated and the teachers were put in prison.
Sam still had a deep longing to go back to Nepal and serve long-term, so his church arranged for him to go abroad to a mission training school where he could start learning English. Because Sam never went to a ‘normal’ school since he was twelve, he had not had the chance to learn much beyond the Bible school curriculum. He is now studying hard, and praying he will be able to return to Nepal. His own experience of abandonment has given him compassion for other young people struggling in similar situations. He wants to share the hope he has found.
