News from China

PREACHABLES (FROM HEART FOR CHINA)

CHINA. The Christian worker thought that he was visiting a small clinic in the slums of his city to connect with some village evangelists who were in town. But God had something else in mind. At the clinic he found a mother sobbing over her deathly ill newborn baby. As Christians prayed over the four-day old baby, six men who worked in construction with the baby's father sat nearby not saying a word. The Christian worker picked up the tiny form and was able to detect a pulse and shallow breaths. He carried the baby outside of the dimly lit clinic to better see what was going on. As the light touched the baby's eyes, the baby boy gasped and started crying. Peasant onlookers thought that the infant had truly been revived from the dead. Accompanied by the parents and their friends, the Christian worker took the baby directly to a teaching hospital with neonatal facilities. There they encountered a Christian physician who was willing to treat the baby, despite the inability of the parents to pay up front. When the baby was out of danger later that afternoon, the entire group went out to eat. Over the meal, the Christian doctor, the village evangelists, and the overseas worker led the baby's parents and the six friends to Christ. It truly was a day of miracles, and a day that caused the Christian worker to renew his commitment to making Christ known in China.

CHINA. A small group of house church leaders felt exhausted when they returned from a training conference. Since it was the first time that three of them had ever flown, it had been quite an adventure. As they piled into a van and began their journey into their city, they bowed their heads while one of them voiced a fervent prayer of thanksgiving. Then they turned their attention to the driver. Although he had heard the gospel many times, he had not yet received Christ. One of the men removed his hat as a sign of reverence as he began to share about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Then another one invited the driver to pull to the side of the road if he was ready to receive Jesus. The driver stopped the van immediately, bowed his head, and accepted Christ. As "hallelujahs", "amens", and other sounds of praise filled the van, the men realized that the fatigue that they had felt at the beginning of the ride was now overshadowed by renewed determination to reach the multitudes of lost people in their city.

CHINA. A Christian was sharing Jesus with a 16-year old seeker in a public shopping arcade when a security guard walked over and snatched the gospel tract from his hand. Feeling as if he had been caught redhanded, he turned to the guard and said, "Yes, I have already talked with this young man. He showed interest. I am not forcing him to do anything. If he should decide to believe, it's his own decision." As the guard flipped through the pages of the tract, the evangelist prayed silently. But when he saw that the guard was on the last page, he simply could not be silent. "Sir, do you know Jesus?", he asked. To his surprise, the guard responded that he did. Then the guard handed the tract to the 16-year old and said, "Here. Read it."