Wednesday Night Stories: The Oil Painting

It was spring in East Asia. Trees were green. Flowers were blooming and opportunities were lining up. Opportunities for eternal impact, yes. But also, grand opportunities for awkwardness.

This is what lead to the most awkward Bible study or meeting I have ever led (even though I think my Bradley study from 06-07 may dispute that or Cole Hall from the year before, yeah, Cole was worse).

Due to the situation in that country, openly meeting the discuss the Bible or spiritual things is potentially dangerous or at very least unwise. So, when Shuo Chi, an art major, told me he'd like to organize a Bible study with me and that we could meet in his class' hidden-away art studio, I was thrilled.

It was a private space. Many of his classmates had recently become Christians and wanted to help out. And on the Saturday afternoon I wanted to use it, no one else was going to need the room.

Perfect.

So, Shuo Chi said he'd arrange the room with a be space in the middle for everyone to meet and when I arrived a circle in the middle had been prepared, but that's not the first thing I had noticed.

When I stepped into the room, I noticed only one thing and a flood of previous details came back to mind.

1. My friend had told me they often painted portraits of live people.

2. He had said oil paintings took days or even weeks to complete.

3. He had said employees of the university posed for these pictures.

And upon entering the room, the first thing I noticed was a large 5 foot by 3 foot painting of a 50 year old East Asian man. Shirtless, shoeless, pantsless. Wearing nothing but a black speedo.

Then I looked to my left and saw another angle of the same man.

And next to that. Another.

And all around the room, in a circular pattern, were paintings, in various stages of completion of this mostly naked man.

Now, as I've mentioned before, awkwardness isn't a commonly discussed or understood concept in that culture, so I didn't even think of attempting to explain all the many feeling and thought going on within me to Shuo Chi.

So we went on with the Bible study, and from time to time I would look over to someone to answer a question and . . .

BAM!

Over their left and right shoulder there would be a picture of a semi-naked 50 year old man. It was like concentric circles, the first circle a group of guys, the second circle a round of oil paintings, all facing inwards toward the center as if they were participating in the conversation.

All in all though, it was pretty great. Because, awkward can be pretty great.

Really, my greatest concern was that the speedo man might serve me food the next day in the cafeteria.