Lutheran Brethren Seminary | Intensive Course Information

During Easter break, seminarian Troy Niemeier accompanied a team of students and staff from Hillcrest Lutheran Academy on a mission trip to China. Here is an interview with Troy conducted by Dr. Gaylan Mathiesen, LBS Seminary Professor of Mission and Evangelism.

Mathiesen: On this trip to China, the students were placed in a totally foreign environment where they would need to rely upon Christ to open doors for sharing the gospel. Can you briefly describe what that experience was like for you?

Niemeier: I think my experience was a universal one for people who don't speak the language of the host country. We spent so much time walking past person after person and felt completely helpless to share the gospel with them. While I was in China I only had two conversations which contained anything pertaining to religion, and neither of them even touched on Jesus. So I felt like I had failed miserably in the mission. But I also knew that I touched quite a few people's lives simply by being there. The only thing I could do was trust the Lord and know that He was working in invisible ways. (It's also convicting to realize that when you return home you similarly walk past people; I have the ability to share the gospel but it rarely, if ever, happens!) I suppose I learned all over again that I need to be listening more for God's leading, and that it’s a supreme privilege to be brought into God’s work, even in the smallest degree. (Click on the link below to read the complete story.)