Riverside ESL Students have completed their reading journey of The Pilgrim’s Progress and watched the movie together as a supplement to the course. The students were able to practice their English and be inspired spiritually. Below are their reflections on the experience.
Lily Jia shared, "Through this film, I practiced my English listening and saw the various temptations and difficulties faced by taking the path of faith. I opened my spiritual eyes to hear the truth and decided to take this path. I faced opposition from my family, the temptation of money, the temptation of worldly affairs, and even deviated from the Lord's teaching to take another path. However, as long as we don't give up and obey God's words, we will finally return to our heavenly home."
Pearl Zhang reflected, "Watching the movie 'The Pilgrim's Progress' helped me understand more about the book. The movie visualized the plot, and I could not help but cry several times while watching it. The Lord always helps us when we encounter difficulties. He knows what we will encounter on this path and always gives us the necessary tools to help us overcome obstacles. Even when we make mistakes, he sends his messengers to help us. He prepares feasts for us, comforts us, encourages us, and gives us strength when we are weary. It is his blood that saves us. I love this movie and will watch it again in the future."
Deborah testified, "After watching this movie, two scenes impressed me the most. One is when Christian was walking the narrow road, and the burden on his back kept getting lighter until it fell off. Finally, the burden that fell off fell into a hole at the foot of the mountain, and I knew that the hole was where Jesus was buried. In the last scene, Christian thought he had been killed by the devil because he had shed so much blood, but Jesus told him, 'This is my blood, not yours.' I was very moved by Jesus' love and sacrifice for me. Many scenes in this movie are more visual than in the book, and I was more moved by Jesus' love and sacrifice for me."
"The whole story is very thought-provoking. Every seemingly desperate situation is God's presence with us, just like when Christians and Hopeful were locked up in a cage by the giant of despair. The giant beat them, denied them food and drink, and tempted them to commit suicide many times. However, this was a trick of the devil to make us feel that we have lost hope in life. We should never despise our lives because our lives belong to God," said one student.
Through this reading journey and the movie time, the students seemed to walk a path of faith with the author and experience a wonderful pilgrimage to the Celestial City. May God continue to strengthen them in their faith journey and equip them with academic skills in their studies.