George Yates says he loves the “God moments” and wishes more people could see them. He experienced one of those in mid-April when learning that a non-English speaking man wanted to be baptized at Glasgow Baptist Church.
“He speaks Mandarin, and I don’t speak Mandarin,” said Yates, serving as the church’s interim pastor. What transpired was the Lord putting people in the right place at the right time, along with the right technology, so that the man could share his testimony of trusting Christ and then following in obedience to being baptized.
The man is Ling Zheng, but he goes by Leo and works in a Chinese restaurant owned by his family. Entering the picture is a cousin, who is fluent in English, and Carol Ramsey, a Glasgow Baptist church member familiar with the family. The cousin related to Carol that Leo wanted to be baptized, and the plan was for Leo to attend on a Sunday morning with an interpreter. But the interpreter had to work, so when Leo came forward during the invitation Carol accompanied him. “We were at an impasse,” recalled Yates about the language barrier.
But Leo pulled out his phone and used a translation app — that way Yates would ask a question, which would be translated into Mandarin. Leo would respond, and Yates would see that response in English.
Bridging the gap
After the service the two men met in Yates’ office, using the phone to bridge the gap between the two languages. “I could see how he responded and I felt very comfortable he had accepted Christ as Savior,” Yates said. “I used Scripture to confirm it. He was bubbly, and the next week I baptized him.” At that service, a translator was present and stood beside the baptistry with microphone in hand.
“It was fantastic for the church — the translator would share and translate for Leo. It amazed the church — people had never seen anything like that.” Yates cautioned the congregation not to be distracted by the translation process, and later people told how they “were moved to realize what was going on and they were still a part of the service.”
‘All God’
Leo has been attending church every Sunday, and even though he doesn’t know English he is still able to participate. Using technology, worship pastor Greg Harry translates the music and the sermon outline for him into Mandarin. “Carol talks about hearing him singing the words to the songs in Mandarin,” Yates noted.
As Yates reflects on Leo’s experience at Glasgow Baptist, it speaks to him about how God intervenes and provides a way for people to come to Him. “I knew Leo was coming to church, and I said ‘God you have to do this because I don’t speak Mandarin.’ It can’t be me — it has got to be all God.” He said that at age 67, he is well aware that if you have opportunities and situations you cannot handle, be obedient to the Lord and “don’t worry about the language barrier.”
The language predicament prompted Yates to ask the church to pray about meeting that need.
“If God would lead us, this could be a great opportunity for an ESL (English as Second Language) class. I am praying for people to do ESL — for not only Leo and his friends, but for all the other languages in Barren County.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Chip Hutcheson and originally published by Kentucky Today.
