I want to tell you a story. These stories help make up who i am and what my days look like. I hope these stories paint a picture of my life and somehow encourage you or at the very least give you a good laugh. However, this story is not funny. It’s real. I hope it impacts you like it impacted me. It’s the story of Mr. Tian.

Today i had the rare opportunity of having two hours of free time before i was meeting a large group for dinner on the other side of town. I decided to go early because i knew i could sit at Starbucks and be uninterrupted by phone calls or emails for two solid hours. Today is a day where i am resting. I replied to a couple of personal emails (something i rarely get to do) and then i closed my computer and opened my book. The weather was perfect. The kind of weather where a light sweater is needed in the shade, but it’s a little too warm in the sun. The kind of weather where a light breeze feels perfect, but a steady wind gets chilly. It was the kind of weather where you can sit outside in the shade, but only if you have a hot drink. So i ordered a caramel macchiato. I don’t often order the expensive drinks at Starbucks, but today felt special because i actually had free time for myself. I splurged. And i don’t feel bad about that.

They put my drink in a mug and that somehow made it even more special. I walked outside to the typical Starbucks large wooden tables. I’m not sure if the outdoor tables in America are large and wooden or not, but in China they are big and they are wonderful. I sat down and it was late enough in the afternoon so that the sun was already off my back and safely hiding behind the trees. The shade was the perfect temperature so i had to pull my sweater out of my bag to keep me warm. I propped my feet up on the chair in front of me and dove into my book.

And then i met Mr. Tian.

Mr. Tian was sitting beside a few parked cars. His old, dirty plastic cup was empty. His clothes were worn and torn. His facial hair was long. His skin was dark, wrinkled and leathered. He kneeled on the ground and kept his cup out in front of him. He looked at me and i peered back at him as i could barely see him over the top of my book. He made a motion to me that is very common among the poor in China. He made a motion with his hands as though he were eating with his hands. Then he held his cup out. Then he did it again. He put his hand to his mouth as though he wanted to feed himself something, then he held his cup out. Simultaneously i had about a dozen different thoughts go through my head. Is he faking it? Why won’t he just get a job? When was his last meal? Where does he sleep? Does he have a real apartment with new clothes, but dresses this way to take my money?

I closed my book and called him over to my table. As he slowly made his way over to me i quickly asked God to give me the words. Literally. I mean, remember, this guy only speaks Chinese and probably has not talked to many foreigners in his day so he doesn’t know how to speak slowly for me and dumb things down.

He sat down on the curb next to me and pointed to his cup again. He pulled up his shirt as if to show me his empty stomach. I thought that was funny so i smiled. His stomach was sunken in. I stopped smiling. I asked him if he had eaten today. He said no. I asked him what he wanted money for. He said he wanted to eat. I think in situations with beggars we often try to conceal our money so that they can’t take everything from us. This is wise i think. I tried to do that, but realized that if i was going to give him anything then i was going to have to pull the whole wad of cash from my pocket. So i did. And i looked at him and asked him how much he needed. I think that threw him off. He made a hand gesture to show me that he didn’t need much so i gave him 2 yuan. That’s not much. It’s not much at all. I sorta felt bad for giving him so little, but he was beyond grateful. He told me he was going to go find some food with the money i gave him. I was very skeptical. He walked away. I picked back up my book.

15 minutes later i see him walking down the sidewalk in front of me. He’s about 20 feet away and waving to me. I wave back. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small plastic bag with a large piece of bread inside. He tells me that the rice was too expensive so he bought the bread. I smiled at him and told him to come sit with me. He walked over and proceeded to tell me that rice was 5 yuan, but he could buy 3 of those large pieces of bread with the money i gave him. I was so thankful that he had actually used my money to find food. He stayed with me for another 10 or 15 minutes. Some moments we just sat next to each other in silence. I prayed for him while i sat there on that sidewalk. Then i would ask him questions. I asked him why he doesn’t have a job. He was injured several years ago and he showed me the scars to prove it. He has a bad back now and can no longer work. He has family in the countryside of China. He came Beijing as a migrant worker to find a better life. Now he begs on street corners. I told him that he shouldn’t use money to buy liquor, but to only buy food that he needs. We laughed together about that. Mr. Tian doesn’t like liquor. He told me that America is great. We laughed about that. I asked about his family. He has a family. We smiled together. After our brief conversation and our brief moments of awkward silence he decided to leave. He reached out and shook my hand. In the most polite way possible i told him that it was very nice to meet him. I asked him if he was full. He said yes. I prayed for him as he walked away.   

Mr. Tian is a very nice man. I am genuinely grateful to have met him today. It was my joy and honor to give him a meal and a conversation. I wonder when his last conversation was. “Tian” is also the Chinese word for “heaven.” I am grateful today to be reminded by Mr. Tian that heaven is here on earth. It’s here and it’s now. Sometimes we just have to reach out our hands and our hearts to engage the people around us and suddenly we see that heaven is surrounding us.