MTP 58: Jane Zhang Part 1, How God's Love Embraces International Students Apart from Performance

Dr. Jane Qiong Zhang is a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida. In this episode, she shares her powerful story of moving from China to the U.S. for graduate school and encountering the love of God in a small, remote town. She opens up about her early struggles with performance-based identity, the life-changing moment she embraced God’s unconditional love, and the creative ways she now makes her faith visible to students inside and outside the classroom.

Read more about Jane Zhang online:
 https://meettheprof.com/view/professors/entry/qiong-jane-zhang/

Main Takeaways from the Interview:

• Jane came to faith in a remote Bible study group in Michigan—proof that God can reach people anywhere.
• A turning point in her spiritual growth came when she realized she didn’t need to perform for God’s love.
• She creates simple yet bold opportunities for faith conversations with students through office décor, classroom discussions, and prayer.
• International students are still open to the gospel—but motivations have shifted over the years.
• Students, even non-believers, appreciate and receive prayer more often than we think.

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Transcript

0:19

Hey everyone, and welcome to Meet the Prof. This is the podcast where we interview Christian professors using questions that we get from college students, just like you heard from Alana and our goal is to encourage Christ-centered conversations on the college campus. We're so glad you're here, especially if this is your first time, thank you for joining us. We really aim to help encourage professors to be more bold in their faith, and we hope this will encourage also students to have these kinds of conversations spiritually with their professors. you're about to hear part one of our interview with Dr. Jane Zhang. Jane is a professor of civil engineering at the University of South Florida in Tampa. And there are several things that I'm excited about for you to hear. For one is Jane has an amazing story of moving here from China, being a non-believer in China and then coming to faith in Christ pretty soon when she was here. A second thing we're excited about is that she does such a great job of sharing about how she learned God's love for her. And I think we all need to hear that. And then the last thing is we actually opened this up to a live audience. so you're going to hear some questions in the chat and we interact some with the audience. And we want to do this some more in the future. So if you're interested in getting invitations to live interviews in the future, Just shoot me an email. My email address is shane.hartley @ cru.org, C-R-U dot O-R-G. So, well, let's jump in. Here is part one of our interview with Dr. Jane Jong. Well Jane, thank you so much for coming in for this interview on Meet the Prof. How are you doing today? Good. Very good. So I'm real curious because you're up in New Hampshire now, but you teach at the University of South Florida. So what's the weather like in New Hampshire compared to South Florida right now? Oh, right now in New Hampshire is very nice. I guess in Tampa right now it's hot. But here it's just not too hot, not too cold. It's beautiful. It's the perfect time to go to New Hampshire. That's great. Well, Spence, I'm so thankful for all your help on these and helping to interact with the audience today. How are you doing? Doing great. Yeah. We've got a few people in the audience welcoming, Debbi, Marcus, maybe a few others coming in. you guys in the audience, you're a part of the show, so please get your questions ready and you can drop them in the chat as we go. And there'll be a time we'll answer your, ask your questions and let Jane respond to them. That's great. Yeah, welcome everybody. So Jane, I would love to start off with asking you some about some things you shared on meettheprof.com, especially like, can you tell me what was your first impression of the United States when you first moved here? Like in 1997, I think you came here for your PhD. Do you have any memories of what that was like? because I came for my PhD and that is at Michigan Technological University and that is in Houghton, Michigan. So upper peninsula. It's a very remote area. And I remember when my, when the airplane landed is like during the nighttime and it's dark and the place is so small. The airport is just a one floor building. So my first impression is, is this really United States? It's just not like US what I watched or thought from movie. Yeah, so that's my first impression. And I felt like this is more like a developing country, not like developed country. Yeah. And did you move here in the winter? Like, was it snowing in Michigan? No, I moved here in August. So actually it's a very nice time. It's kind of similar like New Hampshire. It's during the summer, it's beautiful because it's a great lake area. It's just not a lot of building, especially high rise and which is very common in China, like in the city. So it's quite different environment. Yeah. Well, Sue, I am dying to hear some more now of your story of how you came to faith in Christ, because you were not a believer when you were in China. So how did you come to faith in Christ? Exactly like you said, back in China, I was not exposed to Christianity. for me, this is more like a superstition. It's like I thought more about the meaning of life. It's more about the purpose of my life. So back in China, like the Bible, it's for me, it's more like a fairy story and it's not relevant to me and it's not like something can answer my question related to life. But in 1997, after I came to US and I was invited by people on campus to a small Bible study group. And think about that is a very remote area, but even in that remote area on campus, there are still like Bible study group in Chinese. When I think back, it's really how God pursue me. Even I'm not intended to pursue him. It's more about what's the purpose of my life. But God used that opportunity for me to explore. And back in 1997, I vividly remember it's August 28th. That is the day. Yeah, very specific because that's really kind of a turning point for me. went to like a gathering and they invited a pastor from Minneapolis and that pastor kind of discuss the topic. And the title of the topic is, Is Bible Fairy Story? And through all that talk, and he shared the structure of the Bible, prophecy of the Bible, and how the Bible is relevant to us. And it's I think it's just the work of Holy Spirit opened my mind, opened my eyes to see the Bible is not like a story. It's not a fairy story. It's really the story of God. It's God's words. So at the end of that, that pastor also shared the gospel and just I'm convicted in saying I'm sinning against God and I don't have a relationship with him. I separated from him. That's why I don't know why I'm here, why I'm on this earth, what is the meaning of life. But God loves me and through Jesus, especially through Jesus' work on the cross, I can be reconciled back to him, have a relationship. So at the end, when pastor asked who want to trust in Jesus, I just raised my hand. And that is the day was saved. And I remember the feeling. It's just going home, going back home. I felt like I'm wandering and don't know where I will end up. And I felt like I'm a lost child. and don't know where is my parents, where is my home, but that is the day God found me and brought me back. has a truly beautiful description of the gospel. Yeah. Do you remember any specific Bible verse that that pastor mentioned? not specific Bible verse, it's just the whole message and opened my eyes to see this is not story, this is reality, this is truth, this is God's words. so that's just that kind of a conviction. Yeah. That's so powerful. could just pictured you right there. I picture you hearing this from the pastor and your heart going from dark to light. So thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Yeah. Yeah. What about then during your early years as a Christian? Were there any turning points for you personally that maybe were real seasons of growth, things that God brought that really helped you grow closer to Him? Yes, there are so many moments, but one specific moment for me is I can't remember the specific date, but that is just so deeply in my memory. It's one morning after my morning devotion, and I still remember the Bible verse. First Corinthians, chapter one And chapter one is said. Toward the end of the chapter one, it said, but of him you are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness in sanctification and redemption. So that Bible verse is saying Jesus is my wisdom, my righteousness, my sanctification, my redemption. And why that specific? After that devotion and when I kneel down and pray, and the Holy Spirit just worked inside me because for me, even after I believe in Jesus, I'm still pretty much performance-driven and I felt like... If I pursue God more, if I read my Bible, if I do what he wants me to do, he will love me more because all this society like going through colleges, even at home, I have a younger sister. I felt like if I obey my parents more, my parents will love me more. So it's all this performance driven and merit based culture. So that is how I approach God. That's how I understand his love. But that morning, and when I knew that and when I pray, and it's just, it's just like, God embrace me and speak to me. My love for you is full. It's I love you just like I love Jesus. I love my son, and it cannot be more. And at that moment, I just flooded with tears. And I felt like exactly like a Bible verse said, the Holy Spirit shed his love in my heart. And from that moment on, I never doubt about God's love. And I know no matter how I perform and how other people think of me, how I did in my job or whatever, God always loves me and his love is full. And that is, it's just a really, a moment and it takes me through all of those years. And I never forget that. And I know that is the work of Holy Spirit even at because I was still young as a Christian, even I don't know the dynamic of Holy Spirit. I don't know how Holy Spirit work, but it's just experiencing that work is amazing. It's just the grace of God. Wow, Jane, I was gonna ask you, like, what was a step of faith you had to take early on? But it sounds like, like, are you saying that God started ministering to your heart that just you can stop where you are and just let me embrace you? That I love you right where you are without you performing? Hmm. yes, exactly, exactly. that's so good. Thank you, Jane. That's very freeing. So open it anyone in the audience now Yeah, we did have one, Denis wanted to know, just clarifying, did you actually place your faith in Jesus that first time you attended the Bible study? Is that when it actually happened? No, not the first time. I went to the Bible study, as I mentioned, I get to hold on August 28th. That's when I start. And I trust in Jesus Thanksgiving, special gathering during the Thanksgiving. Okay, great. This is a little bit of a pivot, but Marcus had one, which was, do you think that Chinese nationals who come to the US to study are more or less open to the gospel than other young adults in China? I think it's changed over time and I felt like back during over time I felt like the people because I can see a lot of other Chinese people in my age when they came and they end up became believer and I guess part of that is because they come and they want to pursue more in terms of life. And they want to know the truth. That's at least for me, when I came, I want to know the truth about life. But now a lot of Chinese students, because we work with a lot with Chinese students, a lot of Chinese students, what they pursue is more wealth, material. more kind of just the comfort of life, those type of thing. Yeah, so it's really change. But no matter in what time, there's always people who I think that's the part like, we can be saved is not really we pursue is God pursue us, there's always students, they want to know. And for us, it's more just sharing the good news. that shows you the importance of being bold for your faith in any circumstance, either here or there. And you've had such a great faith story. Alana wanted to know if there are any experiences in life that tested your faith in God or times when you doubted, and how did you process through that? there are many kind of, events in the life, like a test it's more like, a decision, for example, after I believed just, after a year, I faced the challenge. I may not have financial support. And at that time, I also was pregnant, pregnant with my son. So, and every time in those like, challenges, I felt like we are facing, just a choice. Do we choose to, trust in him or trust ourself and think of way to provide for ourself. And over time for me, every time it's not like I have a lot of faith. It's more about. somehow God just lead me to lean upon, rely on him and see how he work things out. Many things like actual, I mean, for example, my study, my job, my visa, like for international students, every, one of those details got really kind of leading me it's more like he is before me and he carry me through those. Wow. How did you sense God caring? Like what is it he did to carry you through some of those times? so like I just mentioned that time, like I my pregnant with my son and I face like the possibility without financial support and God just through one of the sisters in our like Bible study group and she just said to me, your son is given. It's like a gift given by God and God brought you here and God lead you trust like a trust in him and God will provide for you. So that encouragement, it's kind of like one way God use for me to trust him. And the other case I remember when I'm was close to graduation, that is back to 2001. And that is after September 11. All the hiring is frozen and there's no opportunity. And I got like an interview, but all interview also kind of stopped. And at that time, I stressed and pressured because have a family and face this finding job and all of that. But again, in my morning devotion, God used Bible verses saying, even a mother will not forget her child. And I will not forget you. so that is just a assuring and comforting and let me know in every part of my life God sees it and he cares for me and he provides for me. So that's why I see many, many those kind of events and memories. And you've got such a beautiful story and such a beautiful fake journey. Do you often get to share that with your students and how do you go about doing that? so, sharing with a student, there are kind of a different way for me. for example, the first thing is to let other people know I'm a Christian. And I have something hanging in my office, the wall, my my kids, they the arts they made like, Jesus is my Valentine. and God is greater than my fear. I just hang those in my office wall. So when students stop during the office hour, they saw those. Those are more kind of a subtle way. Also in the classroom and when like in some of the lecture, for example, one lecture I have is talking about biomimicry. and just saying nature is a design, it's an intelligent design. And I'm able to share and I'm able to kind of put questions in students' minds, asking them if nature is a design, who is the designer? Kind of like that. Also some straight way, like this past semester, spring semester at the first class. I just directly share my pursuit of life, meaning of life and how I became a Christian. So let students know I'm a Christian. So that is one way to share, let people know I'm a Christian. The other way is more like when I see the student's needs, I just offer to pray for them and that is the other way and before Chinese students I all of The Chinese student I know I invite them to our fellowship like every week We have a Bible study invite them to the Bible study and for the students I Directly like I'm a major professor and directly advise them I share the gospel with them and lead them to Christ. So there are kind of a really different way and also depends on how close we are, how much I can share with them. Yeah. Can you tell us about the responses that you've gotten to those? know, some of the, you know, when you do talk about intelligent design or you pray with somebody, do you have any stories of what responses you've received from those? Yes, yes. in terms of because you asked this and in term of that lecture I share and I mentioned intelligent design and I asked have you ever thought who is the designer and after that lecture there is one American girl and came to me and said I can tell you are Christian and I'm also a Christian and she said I just felt so alone on this campus and I don't know like a faculty as a Christian and share this kind of material in the classroom and she just in when she approached me and talked to me and I can see tears in her eye and I can see a lot of time Christian student or faculty feel this I isolated because they kind of like we are minority on especially those campus, you know, and so she she appreciated me and I had a chance to to kind of pray with her. That is one story and for other case, like even non-believer and For example, this past spring semester, I have one student have a very, very challenging family issue, her dad passed away. when I know, like go through the entire process and I sent several email and told her I'm praying for her. so she also kind of saying, that knowing my professor is praying for me and I felt so kind of cared. Those are like the stories. Not every time you will have that, but at least every time when I offer to pray for the student, they accept it. No, I don't remember there's one. time student rejected, they always welcomed and that means they really need help and they want someone to care for them and pray for them. in the States, we're often so worried about what's going to happen if we offer to pray. And I love what you said where nobody's ever denied this when I've offered it. nobody ever turned me down. Yeah. I think we just need to kind of offer. Yeah. Well, there's never a perfect time to pause an interview, but please stay tuned for next week where you'll hear part two of our interview with Jane. And before we go, if you would please remember to subscribe where you're listening to this or click follow. If you're watching this on YouTube, that helps us get the word out to even more faculty and to students. If you are a Christian professor, would you consider going to meettheprof.com and submitting a profile to let others know how Jesus came and saved you? there's over 500 professors now that are on the website, and it's a great way for students to find you, as well as parents and even other faculty. it's pretty simple and doesn't take long to do. And lastly, if you would like to give financially to this outreach that we have, go to give.cru.org /0 42 43 44 and you can give online. So thank you so much for joining us and until next time we hope this encourages you to have a Christ centered conversation on your college campus.