Esther Zhang: from China to the United States, what is her next move?
Jaycee Stone, News and Feature Editor
Have you ever wanted to visit a new place? Maybe New York or California. What about China?
Introducing Esther Zhang. She has the inside scoop of China and her journey of getting here is not only inspiring but also encouraging. This will be her first semester with North Greenville University after gaining many scholarships and is a music worship major.
“I really liked how they worshiped and thought it was good,” Zhang said when mentioning her visits before coming to NGU officially.
Starting with their life in China, Zhang and her family could not publicly express their faith so they enjoyed going to an underground church filled with people who had also had the Christian faith.
She feels that her father was always called to be a pastor, as he would help out with the church. To further their journey within the Christian community and her father becoming a pastor, they decided to move to Kentucky so he could go to seminary.
While in China, Zhang excelled in homeschooling while also attending some co-op classes with others. “I never tried public schooling,” Zhang said. When choosing further education, she made the decision to commute to NGU to save money. She is glad to have had the education that was provided for her in China, since public school was odd and full of bending the truth.
Starting five years ago, they were in the United States pursuing what they wished. Her father got a religious work visa which in turn gives his family a visa to stay in the US legally. Zhang has enjoyed her time here and feels truly blessed to have this opportunity of growing spiritually, but there are downfalls. “I can’t work on campus, because of my visa not allowing me,” she said.
Now in South Carolina, Zhang has mentioned growing in her faith and being more fruitful. When listening to a sermon at the church her father is a pastor at: Church at the Mill in Spartanburg, she was convicted by what was spoken, we suffered because He suffered. This helped her to see that she should be more open with her faith and fully live life to Jesus’ glory.
Furthering her journey with spiritual growth, she has taken a mission trip to Boston for a week and has worked in summer camps helping others seek out Jesus. “If you don’t speak to me, I most likely won’t speak to you. At the camps and on the mission trip though, I just walked up to people,” she said.
These acts of service have helped her to see that there is more to life with Jesus and wants to move in her family that is back in China. She has prayed with her grandparents over the phone and continues to pray for their hearts. Since moving here, Zhang has said she has grown so much spiritually and mentally.
Through moving here, she has learned many things that have helped her. Zhang is excited to continue her education here at NGU. She and her family are hopeful to take the next steps into furthering their journey.
