Freedom

by Polly Kloster, RN

The heat was oppressive, although it was late in the evening. Our taxis pulled up about a block away from our destination. We made our way through the dark on the unpaved road to the large rural Christian church in the Henan province of China. My son, then a seventh-grader at Oak Grove Lutheran School; a Concordia College faculty colleague; an American physician, missionary nurse, and her husband; a translator; and I were invited to gather with a group of Chinese men and women for their Bible study. Since China does not allow freedom to gather for worship outside of very rigid dates and daytime hours, this was a clandestine affair.

We were met by the group leader and admitted through a locked gate. Flashlight in hand, he brought us around the backside of the church and led us through an unlit passageway to an upper room on the third floor. Curtains were shut to avoid detection. Tables were set up to form a large rectangle where about 20 college-aged students were seated. I could make out their worn Bibles in the dimly lit room.

We were asked to introduce ourselves and share our faith stories. These Chinese students could not fathom that we came from faith-based institutions where we were allowed to profess our Christian beliefs openly and without fear of government retaliation.

They had so many questions. My son talked about daily chapel at his school, his Christian studies classes, the various faith-based trips they provided, involvement in Sunday School and confirmation, and what Jesus meant in his life. To hear this young American boy share the many freedoms he had to walk in his faith at school and in his personal life was so astounding to them that it brought them, and us, to tears! Our group ended the evening singing Jesus Loves Me and then Amazing Grace in unison, the Chinese students in their language and our group in English. A sacred moment I have never forgotten.

I have been blessed to witness Christians in worship across the globe. It is in the most impoverished parts of the world and/or areas where freedom to worship is restricted or banned that I have witnessed Christians praising God with exuberant, unbridled joy, and weeping openly in gratitude for God’s gift of grace. It has not been lost on me that those with the least seem to appreciate the opportunity to gather for worship and praise of Jesus as their Lord and Savior the most. 

Through my encounters with Christians across the globe, I have learned never to take the freedom to worship lightly. I pray that I never do. I am blessed to have the freedom to work and live every day openly expressing my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

While governments and pandemics may dictate the ability to convene for worship, I pray that we who are free to gather for worship will come together with the same fervent joy and humility as those who find ways to gather and praise Him in the dark.

Polly Kloster, RN
First in Mission Director

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