When in Doubt, Go Back to Basics!

I had an early appointment with my bank this morning at the WHO building so I decided to have my cappuccino and pain au chocolat (my breakfast combo nowadays) at their café. While having my breakfast, I had a strange conversation with a Filipino. Apparently, we’ve already met once that’s why she recognized me. Aside from that, my landlady baby sits her daughter during the day.

So we talked about how many Filipinos are there in different UN agencies, roll call of the names of the Filipinos working in WHO and for me say if I know them or not, how difficult it is to get an apartment in Geneva, etc. Then all of a sudden, our conversation went to this:

Joan : Sabi nga pala ni Eli (my landlady) Christian ka daw. Nakahanap ka na ba ng church? May dati kasing taga WHO na kaibigan ko na mormons. Pwede kitang i-endorse dun
Icar : meron na po. thanks for the offer.
Joan : Hindi ka ba laki sa Pilipinas?
Icar : Laki po.
Joan : Ah, bakit ka Christian? Uso na ba satin yun ngayon?
Icar : ummm… (yes, there was a pause) alam ko na ate Joan, lunch tayo tapos kwentuhan kita dyan.
Joan : Ay sige, sige! Lunch tayo para ma-meet mo din yung mga ibang Filipinos dito nag mamadali din kasi ako.

When I got home, Joan was in our apartment picking up her daughter. She reminded me about our lunch.

I’ve always been prepared in answering questions about my faith, about Jesus, about being a Christian, etc. But being asked if being a Christian is now a trend in our country in the context of me being a Christian is something that I must say: I did not see that one coming! So in 3-5 seconds, I thought of these (that was long the pause was):

1. I can’t explain this in 1 sentence because she was obviously in a hurry
2. How do I answer her without sounding like I’m preaching to her or without her thinking that I’m being self righteous?
3. She obviously doesn’t know about the term “Christian” so giving her a quick answer is prone to misconception
4. I don’t know anything about her therefore I might say something that might offend her.

I was like: “Lord, what do I say?!” Then I went back to the basics of one to one and small groups: build relationships first! Thus, instead of answering her question, I asked her to have lunch with me.