True Story #5: When religion impedes progress

Having grown up as a preacher’s kid and massively influenced by the missionaries she frequently met, Rebecca majored in theology with dreams of becoming a missionary in a foreign country.  In 2001, at the dawn of 2002, Rebecca and three of her friends decided to celebrate New Year’s in Hong Kong, China.

Sitting in the reception area of their hotel discussing their plans, an American boy caught their eye as he entered the hotel wearing a uniform, obviously an employee of the hotel.  He paused briefly enough to exchange the “Don’t I know you from somewhere” glance, and then continued to the reception desk to begin his shift.

10 minutes later Rebecca finally got up and walked over to the familiar American boy.

20 seconds of comparing their lives later, the answer hit him.

“Recolt Univeristy.” gt;

“That’s it!” She exclaimed.

John, the American boy, an alumnus from Recolt University, graduated in 2000 while Rebecca was a sophomore, and moved to China to get his masters in international business.  While they had never formally met, their university campus was small enough that they had crossed paths on many occasions, and even knew some of the same people.

“I’d love to live in China!” Rebecca, now a senior about to begin her final semester, told John.

“Well,” he responded, “I found a job through the Chinese embassy that gave me a visa, and that is how I came over.  I’ll email you the website. It’s not too late and if you apply now, you could be here in China in September.”

The two parted ways, John emailed Rebecca the website, and Rebecca applied for the program and was accepted.  John had a small apartment, and knowing from experience how difficult it is to get settled down in a foreign country, he offered Rebecca to stay at his apartment for free while she looked for a place to stay, as long as she didn’t mind sharing the bed with him.  Rebecca, being from a devout religious family that frowned on a woman living with any man but her husband, resolutely refused and checked into a cheap hotel until she could find a female roommate to live with.

“I can’t believe how hard it is to find a place to stay!” Rebecca complained a month later over coffee.

“I warned you.” John responded. “That’s why I offered to let you stay at my place for free.  And I also offered to introduce you to everyone I knew so you could make friends and maybe find a second job and make life easier.  But you never returned my calls.”

“I know.” Rebecca responded. “But I wanted to make it on my own.”

“Well, welcome to the harsh reality that the American ideals of building your own empire by your own sweat and sacrifice is a lie.  You can’t do it by yourself.  Religion will get you so far, but you need other people to help you.”

Two weeks later Rebecca stopped by John’s hotel on her way to the airport to say good-bye.  Unable to find a place to stay, having no more money to continue staying at her hotel, and still unwilling to share a bed with a man that was not her husband, Rebecca’s father bought her a return ticket home.

True Story.