Xiang Hao* wasn’t sure what to think when she opened up her Christmas present from her sister and found a Bible. Her sister had come back from America recently and announced she was a Christian, but Xiang Hao didn’t know what that meant.

She knew it was why her sister had stopped worshiping their family’s ancestors and stopped eating the food their family offered to idols. Some people called her sister wasteful for this, but Xiang Hao was just confused.

In the months after Christmas, Xiang Hao only picked up the Bible once or twice. She tried reading a few pages in Genesis and then a few in Matthew, but it sounded like a fairy tale. Why did her sister believe this book? She didn’t know where to turn for answers.

Then one day at work, there was a celebration of recent good business. Food and drink offerings were piled at the idols in the office. After everyone burned incense to worship, the food was free to take.

But Xiang Hao saw someone politely decline any. She wondered, “Is he a Christian too?” During lunch she went to meet him. He’d only recently become a believer, but the next day he brought his wife to lunch. She was also a Christian, and they began to study the Bible together.

God began drawing Xiang Hao to Himself. She began to see that what her sister believed was true, and that she could also find new life and new hope in Christ. A few months later, she became a follower of Jesus. Over the next year, her children put their faith in Jesus as well.

Xiang Hao’s Christian coworker had no idea how his simple act of obedience would be used by God. But when believers are ready to give a reason for the hope they have in Christ, it can bear much fruit.

*Name changed for security