Page 45 - Abilene Living

he story began in Beijing, China, where a young Daiqing Yuan was approaching his frst year at Peking University. Heir to a family full of rich intellectual tradition, he proudly embraced his heritage by studying the feld of natural science. Challenged by his mother who encouraged him to “become a person of knowledge who can serve the people” he constantly searched for truth. “I thought science was where truth could be found…However, almost everything in science is approximation, and science can only answer questions of the lower level.”

While fnishing his master’s degree in 1987, Yuan’s life took many different turns. Following his mother’s death, the graduate student married his high school friend, Xiaofeng (Rose) and had a fateful meeting with a University of North Texas professor, Dr. Don Kobe. Assigned as his interpreter during his stay, Yuan had many conversations with Kobe, one of which affected him greatly. Yuan remembers that Kobe was the frst person to ever witness to him and propose that the order seen in the world comes from God. Yuan, though not convinced by Kobe’s ideas, did make the decision to follow Kobe back to Denton, where he continued his education at UNT, pursuing a PhD in Physics.

Faced with culture shock and the reality that the forty dollars he brought would not go far in America, Yuan got his start thanks to a few of the international students and the help of the Chinese church. After interacting briefy with the Christian culture, the newcomer discovered, “[Christians] love me for no reason, whereas where I come from love is always for a purpose.” With his new found appreciation, Yuan began the search for God.

Yuan feels as though his search was a three part process: knowledge of God, love for Christianity, and surrendering his will to God. He came to this realization after fnding himself in the hospital, paralyzed after a life threatening allergic reaction and head injury. Instead of a plea made by a desperate man, it was the plea made by his grieving wife who became a believer through the tragedy that saved his life. Within a week, Yuan was released and he walked, not only for himself but for Christ.