People Stories - Elkana & Elena

Elena & Elkana at one of our favorite bakeries/coffee shops

Elkana & Elena began attending BBC during the summer of 2018 upon the recommendation of a counselor connected with the Master’s College in CA. That same counselor and his family generously let us live in their apartment our first year in Beijing.

We have really enjoyed getting to know Elkana & Elena over the past several months by spending quite a bit of time with them. Elkana (he is Italian) and Elena (she is Welsh) married a few years ago and have been involved in teaching English as a second language in several different countries. They came to Beijing so she could teach English while he concentrates on an online biblical counseling degree through the Master’s College. They are both serious and funny, intelligent and passionate, and like most newly married couples, still figuring out married life.

Elkana shared with us the story of how God rescued him from his sin and what God has been doing in his life. As he tells it, he grew up in a Christian family and although he considered himself a Christian and even studied theology, he lived a life of sin. His first marriage ended in divorce then he had a few long-term, live-in relationships. One day after marrying his wife Elena, God used a YouTube video entitled "Are You Really a Christian?" to challenge his relationship with Jesus Christ. Upon conviction, Elkana repented of his sins and placed his faith in Jesus Christ.

In the short time we have known them, we see Elkana growing in his relationship with Christ, desiring to serve the church, and learning how to love his wife. Much of our conversations revolve around what does it look like in real life to love his wife like Christ loves the church, His bride. One day Elena confessed: “he’s not the same person I married.” The gospel continues to transform both of them and we thank God for the privilege to participate in that transformation.

Below is a picture of Elkana’s baptism on September 16, 2018.

Rejoice in the Lord’s work and please pray that He will continue the good work He has begun.

People Stories - YT

Our son Philip once said “Some people have never met a stranger. My father, on the other hand, has met them all.” That skill comes in handy quite often.

When we come home to Greenville during the summers, we use the YMCA fitness room several days a week. We find the exercise helps us all around – physically, mentally, and emotionally. We also discovered that our local YMCA has a very large percentage of internationals. We love the international mix and naturally, Mark uses the opportunity to speak to anyone he can. All the better when they speak Mandarin.

While we spent the summer of 2017 home in Greenville, we met YT at the YMCA. After our initial conversation, she and I (Cheryl) met together a few times at a local park in between where we both live. We walked and talked for an hour to an hour and a half each time and truly enjoyed each other’s company. I got to know YT and some of the things on her heart and mind. We reconnect each time we come back to Greenville.

YT moved to the Greenville area about 2014 so her children could attend SC schools and then progress to US universities. Like a typical family from their culture, her husband works in their native country and visits them in the US periodically while YT and the kids live near extended family here in SC. So she lives here, studies English, and seeks to raise two teens in a culture not their own.

Many of our conversations center around the teenage years, parenting, perceived American teen culture vs heartfelt parental wisdom, peer pressure, etc. God has provided many opportunities to weave in gospel conversation as it applies to these very real things on YT’s heart and mind.

Because Mark has recently been preaching in our home church on the topics of marriage, family, children and singles, we invited her to come with us to hear the Word on these topics. She has consistently come to hear the messages from God’s Word and last time also brought her teen son. She wants her son to find good, positive peers so we used that opportunity to introduce him to teens and teens’ parents from GBC.

One morning recently she joined several lady friends and me for a morning of coffee and conversation at our home. My goal was to introduce her to GBC ladies so she has a broader circle of friends when Mark and I aren’t in town.

Please pray that God would open YT’s heart and mind to the message of the gospel and that she might learn how the gospel applies to parenting. Pray that YT will seek wisdom from God on high and share that wisdom with her teens. Pray that our church would embrace and befriend YT and her family.