I tried very hard to find something in my childhood that not only impacted me, but also taught me a valuable lesson. To be honest, my childhood seemed to be so colorless, and I couldn’t think of one thing that would be worth sharing for this essay assignment. So, I began to search my mind for more recent experiences, and I discovered one that stands out above all the rest. It happened just four years ago when I was a freshman in college. Here is my story.

When I was in high school, I wanted to have an opportunity to help the poor, but I was always too busy with my own projects. However, an opportunity presented itself when I was a freshman in college. I had recently joined a student organization called “The Loving Heart Society,” and its purpose was to send volunteer student teachers during the summer to poor villages in rural areas in China. I knew that this was my chance to finally help the poor, and so without hesitation, I applied to be a volunteer. When I received word that I was accepted as one of the summer team members, I was so excited, but also a little nervous, as I had no idea what to expect. I was worried that my preparation would be insufficient to be able to really help poor children to learn, as well as to encourage them in other ways.

Our team was assigned to go to LuoKun Middle School in GuiZhou province. Neither I nor any of my classmates had ever heard of LuoKun before, and that’s because it is deep in the mountains, far from major cities. We left Beijing on a train headed toward GuiZhou which took us 28 hours, and then we got on a bus which added several more hours to our trip, and finally we got into a car that took us to LuoKun. But we still needed to travel to the school where we would find the children, and so we rode motorbikes because automobiles were unable to travel on the primitive dirt roads. 

The town was very secluded and extremely poor. When we finally got to the Middle School, it was hard for us to imagine the primitive conditions we found. The school had only one building, and it was very dilapidated. The blackboards for the teachers, as well as the tables and chairs for the students, all needed repairing. Their playground was just a flat area covered with small stones. All of us who had volunteered to come to LuoKun had all come from large cities, and none of us had ever witnessed conditions like this before. We were in shock at what we saw. 

Before we began teaching, the school administrators told us that the students were physically and emotionally tired, and trying to help them learn anything would be useless. But later, I found that the children were not like that at all. During our first class, I discovered that they listened intently and took notes earnestly, and they even answered my questions enthusiastically. They were nothing like my quiet and restrained classmates in the city where I grew up, nor were they so-called “bad boys” which I thought beforehand that they might be. Quite the opposite, they all loved their school, and were genuine, polite, and kind. Above all, they were so hungry for knowledge and to learn about the world beyond the mountains.

After two weeks of teaching, I gradually found the reason why their grades were not very good. Even though they studied hard and wanted to get good scores, the reason for their poor grades was that their learning methods were deficient, and they didn’t make good use of their time. I was convinced that their poor grades were due to their poor education, not their lack of enthusiasm to learn.

After returning to Beijing, I thought carefully about the meaning of our summer experience in LuoKu. I wondered if these students should even try to go to college, and if so, could they afford the tuition? And then I wondered if they could get a good job after they graduate, and if so, would leaving the mountains and living in the city actually be better for them? My answers to these questions could very well be “no,” as many doubt whether they even need a better education. Of course, we didn’t expect the students to remember all the things we taught them, but even if they remembered just a little, that would be a huge step forward. At the same time, we all realized that this experience was not just for the students, but for us also, as we were all changed by spending time in the mountains with these poor students.

This experience made me realize how blessed I am to be receiving a good education. After I graduate with my PhD, I will probably not go to a rural area to help poor children receive a better education because I am not studying to be a teacher. However, I can still help the poor by giving to those who have needs through the salary I will someday earn. My time in the mountains has given me clarity about my future goals. I want to devote myself to making the world a better place, and I can only hope there will be teachers with good educations who will devote their lives to helping poor students in the rural mountainous areas of China.

Additional Comments – I imagine that all of us who are adults can think of some experiences in life that impacted us in significant ways, and even helped to point us in a direction that would determine our life’s work. For me, it was teaching a 6^th grade boys Sunday School class at the church I attended during my college years. Each year, I remember returning to the church after summer vacation and the Sunday School Superintendent would approach me in the lobby and ask, “Jim, we have a new group of 6^th grade boys coming up, would you like to teach them this year?” Well, I did that for three years, and teaching that 6^th grade class was the beginning point of my love for teaching.

But that wasn’t all. During my year in Vietnam in 1970, I was one of three officers in our artillery battery. I noticed that a chaplain would show up about every four months, and so I decided to begin a Bible Study that would meet every Sunday morning, and many of the men who did not have other responsibilities would join our group. I loved sharing God’s Word with this group of guys, and a few became followers of Jesus during this time. Interestingly enough, just two weeks after returning from Vietnam, Peggy and I moved to Denver where I began my seminary training, and it was during those years that I developed a thirst for God’s Word, and where I came to realize how much I loved sharing it with others. 

My former student learned about “serving” and “sacrifice” during his time in the mountains. Although he was not “called” to be a teacher, he was moved to the point where he was concerned about the poor and decided to care for them in other ways. There is just something about serving those in need that changes us. Actually, I think that it could very well be one aspect of the image of God in each of us as we experience an unexpected joy that comes from serving those less fortunate than we are. 

It was Jesus who said, “I have not come to be served, but to serve, and to give My life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus was certain of His mission before He even came to earth. The Bible also says that “…for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God” (Heb. 12:2). Now, it wasn’t only about the joy He would feel in heaven once the pain of his sufferings had ended, but the joy He would have knowing that he had died for the sins of the world and as a result, He made the “Gift of Life” available to all who desire to receive it.

Yes, there is just something about the joy and fulfillment that comes when we “sacrifice” our lives in order to “serve” others. That’s what it means to be a genuine follower of Jesus. Let’s all find something to do that will bless others, and when we do, the rich reward of “joy” will fill our souls.