Encounter a preacher on the subway, by Yuanyuan Xu

        I took this picture on a subway, D-line, while I was on my way to have a brunch in the city on the weekend. The train was crowded, and there was no empty seat available. People in the subway were quiet, and most of them looked at their cell phones, put on their earphones, and others were fallen asleep. Then a man holding a white board dressed in a red coat walked in.
It is normal to encounter people who get on the subway to sell snacks, perform, or ask for a donation. Some of them were salesmen, some of them were artists, and some of them were homeless people. However, it is abnormal to encounter a preacher on the subway. This guy who was standing in the middle of the train with a blue backpack was a religious believer. He got on the subway at a station within the Bronx area. He looked like every other passenger that got on this subway for travel, except the white board that he held on his left hand.  He walked in and talked about the misfortune happened in everybody's life, or the difficulties and choices that people may need to face. People usually got mad, depressed, and quarreled with others because of the difficulties in their lives. But that did not work. Actually, it is not hard to overcome these problems in our lives: we do not need to be mad, we do not need to be depressed, and we do not need to have quarrels with others. "Just read the Bible." He said. People sitting in this subway nodded their heads, and some replied "Yes." 
        This scene reminded me of the New York Crusade where Billy Graham made an excellent preaching. During the Crusade, audience interacted with Graham after every strong statement that he had made. The audience replied with "Yes" ,"Yeah" and nodding their heads. The passengers actively interacted with the preachers just like the audience actively interacted with Graham in the New York Crusade. Moreover, I found that most of the passengers who interacted with the preachers were Black Americans. There might be another explanation that D train started from Bronx and the preacher entered the subway within the Bronx area. However, White Americans usually disregarded the people speaking in the subway. I had seen a Black Americans had a good chat with the performers and gave them some tips, but I haven’t seen any White American did this before. The possible reason might be the performers, salesmen or preachers were all black, and they had different culture backgrounds. Personally, I also somehow did not know how to communicate with the speakers on the subway, and sometimes cannot understand what they were speaking about (because they talked too fast), but I always appreciate it. I appreciate their courage even though sometimes what they said was exactly the same, but when you enter a subway that had people performing, snacks serving and religious preaching, you will find the beauty of the subway culture. 
        After all, although I talked too much about the subway culture, I felt that the preacher on the subway taught people at a loss or unsure about their future a bright way to go. “Read the Bible.” This sentence has the same function as “Ask your Mom or Dad.” for those who do not have parents to consult or have no children to depend on. Interestingly, most people who took the subway fit into this category. Thus, I believe this preaching would attract those people who need help and made Christians Christian.