At the bus stop

Two Bible storying facilitators had this experience in Singapore.

While waiting to go to the airport we saw a lady at the bus stop reading a book called, ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad.’ We chatted with her and asked about the book. She said it was required reading for her certificate in financial planning. She was waiting for a different bus.

She asked us what we were doing in Singapore. We replied that we were teaching people how to craft and tell Bible stories. I asked her if she would like to hear a story that Malcolm could tell in just one minute. She explained that she was a Sikh, but yes, she would be happy to hear his one-minute story. He told her the story of Jesus healing the paralytic.

We chatted about the atrocities recently inflicted on the Sikh community in the USA, and about the fact that the Sikh religion, Islam, Judaism and Christianity all believe in only one God. Unfortunately the Sikh Scriptures don’t have a Creation story, so I offered to tell her the Creation story. As I was finishing the story, our bus arrived. She said, “I will come with you and hear the next story.”

On the bus I told her how God had made a beautiful garden for Adam and Eve, but then they ate the forbidden fruit and were tossed out of the garden. Then Malcolm told her the story of how Jesus healed the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda. But she wanted to hear the next episode in the Creation story, so I told her the story of Cain and Abel, ending with Cain’s punishment.

Once again we were reminded that Bible storytelling is a natural, inoffensive way to share the great truths of the Gospel, leaving the hearer wanting to know more. Jesus told his disciples, “There are many people who would be willing to hear the Good News, if only there were people willing to tell it.”

Used with permission of KB