One stone stirs up thousands of waves
Photo courtesy/Wang Qing, Liu Yiwei
If the Holy Spirit is there to help, all things are possible with God, but with humans!
"Isn't this an angel sent by God!?" When my husband, Elder Yang Jingya, was reviewing a work "Amazing Grace" from Sichuan, the Land of Abundance, he was as if a geologist had discovered oil shale, and he exclaimed with ecstasy!
At the end of 2015, with a cup of tea in front of my desk, I started editing the manuscript for the 43rd issue of "Kingdom Community" of "Kingdom of God" magazine. Outside the window, the Florida winter sun shines brightly, and the sky and the earth open up. The uproarious atmosphere of the Christmas season gradually disappears as I fast and pray. In the silence, just like in the past, I listen to the voice coming through the clouds, waiting for the sound of the sky to fall. surprise.
I have this article "Amazing Grace", a student work from the "Genesis Text Training Book Garden Chengdu Family Story Writing Camp" sent by Pastor Su Wen'an, the editor-in-chief. The writing and subtitles are excellent. The content only needs to be fine-tuned, and the author's introduction and pictures are included. The explanation and word count are generally in order, as if the "bride to be married" in beautiful and elegant makeup can be supported into the sedan chair. The so-called "there is still a gap in a hundred secrets" is a dilemma that no matter how careful and seasoned the editor is, I have experienced it at some point. Before releasing "The Bride" to the executive editor, my precautionary strategy was to first pass it to Jingya for review. When he was studying at National Taiwan University, he was highly appreciated by the well-known writer Professor Lin Wenyue in the Chinese language class. I asked him to pick every detail and find any mistakes in words and sentences. For this reason, Jingya jokingly called himself my private "underground". edit".
▲Liu Yiwei (left), who enthusiastically preached the gospel to Mother Wang, was enjoying himself in the Lord with his grandson Marco, son Yan Fang, and husband Yan Jiayi (right).
Feed back the kindness of one’s parents with salvation
Liu Yiwei, the author of "Amazing Grace", describes himself as a typical intellectual of the generation "who was born in the old society and grew up under the red flag". He has never seriously thought about the connotation of faith and can only abide by the principles of "working diligently and being an honest man". Creed life. However, when the trajectory of her life was reversed and she was in trouble, her youngest son, who loved the Lord and was devout, personally came home from the United States and took her and her wife to a house church in Chengdu. She realized her deep affection and filial piety for her son's return from thousands of miles away, and insisted on going to the church. . That day, a hymn "Jesus Praying Alone" appeared before her eyes. The scene of Jesus praying sadly in the Garden of Gethsemane opened her mind and she accepted the gospel truth step by step. (This touching and refreshing testimony was published in God National Magazine Issue 43, Spring 2016).
My church has a large group of young brothers and sisters from China who love the Lord and are devout. Their parents in their hometown are getting old, their health is declining, they have not yet received salvation, and they are very anxious. They worked hard, raced against time, often took part in vacations, cherished the desire to preach the gospel, and returned home with the prayers and blessings of the whole church. Some accomplished their missions and returned home happily; others were like fighting cocks on the field, with their feathers plucked and wings broken, and they came back with tears of remorse and remorse, which is really heartbreaking!
Jingya and I often accompany these filial brothers and sisters, praying earnestly for the salvation of their parents. Among them, Brother Wang Qing has been doing ideological work for many years with his loving mother, Ms. He Xiangyu, in his hometown in Sichuan, but he has not seen a trace of trouble. The atheistic ideas of a generation are deeply ingrained, and what they can do is too limited. In the past, whenever Wang Qing mentioned faith on the phone, he would say a few words and his mother would not be interested, so his son would have to put the brakes on the situation and be helpless!
We have observed that although the road of preaching the gospel to parents and relatives is difficult, it is out of love, but the children do not complain or regret it.
▲Wanderers are like roosters with full feathers. They have the desire to preach the gospel to their parents and return home with the prayers and blessings of the whole church. Some of them fulfill their mission and return home happily. (Left) (Picture source: http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/pamperspakhlava/files/2014/03/Kauai-rooster-2.jpg) ▲Right picture: Some look like a fighting cock in the arena, with its feathers plucked, It’s really heartbreaking to come back with broken wings and tears of self-blame and regret! (Image source: https://cdn.instructables.com/F87/7VKW/GDLVRM9O/F877VKWGDLVRM9O.RECT2100.jpg)
Preach Him with all wisdom
When Jingya read that Liu Yiwei lived in Chengdu, she was shocked, "Sister Yiwei, please go visit Mother Wang! They are close in age, and they both have a son with a PhD in electrical engineering in the United States. Mother's heart is to mother's heart, and fellow countrymen are to fellow countrymen. We must be able to talk!"
I sent "Amazing Grace" to Wang Qing, and the light suddenly appeared. In the excitement, he hesitated a little: "There is still a long way from my hometown Mianyang to Chengdu. Will this request embarrass Aunt Liu?"
I immediately wrote a short letter to Liu Yiwei, asking: "If you have the opportunity to pass through Mianyang, can you visit Mother Wang, talk about your wonderful personal testimony and preach the gospel to her?"
A few days later, on the first day of 2016, I received a response from Liu Yiwei: “The burden I always feel in my heart now is that I hope more elderly people like me who are entering their twilight years can return to the Lord as soon as possible. I am willing to do more of the Lord’s work. , bear many good fruits! So I am very willing to contact Brother Wang Qing’s mother, but there is a distance of more than 100 kilometers from Chengdu to Mianyang, so it is difficult to visit at any time. I wonder if I can use the phone or WeChat method to pray for my benefactor to guide me in person? Follow your footsteps to fulfill the great mission He has given you!”
Wang Qing helped his mother get in touch with Liu Yiwei. Yiwei kept his word. He often talked to Wang’s mother on the phone and sent WeChat messages, passionately explaining the truth of salvation, and even asked the pastor of his Chengdu church to contact the loving sisters of the Mianyang church for a visit. . After meeting Liu Yiwei, Wang Qing felt that his mother was shaken during the phone conversation, and her thoughts changed subtly, and she was no longer so concerned about her faith.
Don't be discouraged
Wang’s mother was hard of hearing and could not say a few words when talking about faith on the phone. The family church once invited her, but she was not interested. Wang Qing took her mother to the United States to experience and observe the church in person. In the past, getting a visa seemed to be even more difficult than getting a visa. I failed three times and tried again. I was very unsure. The church launched a prayer, and Liu Yiwei also prayed for support. Finally obtained the precious visa. On September 15, Wang Qing happily welcomed his loving mother who was escorted by his sister Wang Yao.
The brothers and sisters in the church also received us with love and enthusiasm, which was really touching! The daughter-in-law cherished every opportunity to get to know the Lord and led her grandchildren to attend Sunday worship, catechesis classes, and sisters’ meetings with Mrs. Wang... Wang Yao also accompanied her.
Jingya and I visited and finally met Mrs. Wang, who was always remembered in prayer and had a kind face. She was a sweet-tempered person, and we hit it off immediately. She kissed my cheek, held my hand, and chatted about everyday things. I thought to myself, it would be such a pity if such a lovely old man could not enter his eternal heavenly home!
A cloud of witnesses
Sister Wang retired early to accompany her mother to the United States to visit her beloved son. Her husband is an old revolutionary cadre who serves as a senior leader of a large group company. His immediate boss is a Chinese Christian who often handles affairs based on biblical principles, which is very different from social values. Once, a capable subordinate in the company was embezzling, and everyone proposed to fire him. Only the big boss objected, saying: "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain in the field." (1 Corinthians 9: 9) Instead, consider the actual needs of your subordinates and upgrade them with salary increases. Facts have proved that he did the right thing. This subordinate stopped being corrupt and worked more seriously. As a result, the big boss won the trust and favor of a group of veteran revolutionary cadres. Sister Wang heard about this strange thing and came to the United States with curiosity and interest in Christians.
Sister Wang has been weak since she was a child. She has practiced Qigong and been in contact with Buddhism and Taoism. She can see things in the spiritual world that are invisible to human eyes. She feels very uneasy and vaguely feels that these are not the right path. At her brother's house, she couldn't sleep and had nightmares again and again. After learning about it, Mrs. Xu Caixiu from the church prayed for her with results, and she felt so peaceful that she could sleep.
Living in my son's home, I can feel the emotional harmony between husband and wife, the good parent-child relationship, and the home is filled with peace and joy; especially my daughter-in-law Yaqin, who has watched her grow up since she was a child, living under the same roof, witnessing her love for her mother-in-law, aunt, and My behavior towards my husband and children is completely different from before I believed in the Lord. After going through the ups and downs of life, my mother paid close attention to the little things and made her own judgment on the faith they preached.
God is in control and accomplishes it himself
"Mom, you have been here for nearly two weeks. Do you want to believe in Jesus?" Wang Qing was not sure at all and asked cautiously.
"Yes!" The unexpected answer surprised Wang Qing!
"Sister, are you willing to believe in Jesus?"
"Yes!" Wang Qing was even more surprised!
Originally, I just longed for my loving mother to return to the Lord, but God actually added grace to grace and gave me double grace. Wang Qing was inexplicably moved and thanked him in his heart: "God, thank you! You did it yourself. I can't do it on my own. I can't do anything!"
A piece of stone that had been weighing on my heart for a long time was removed in an instant!
In order to be cautious, Wang Qing took his mother and sisters to church on Sunday, September 25th, and asked Mrs. Xu to lead them in a prayer of decision and review the truth of salvation. He was so absorbed in what he was saying that he lost track of time. After worshiping I originally planned to board a cruise ship, but almost missed boarding. I drove quickly to the pier. There was a huge ship docked on the shore. Several eye-catching English letters "CELEBRATION" were painted on the hull, shining in the sun. What a wonderful sight. coincide! The two souls were saved, and everyone in heaven and on earth was celebrating with joy. This voyage was like a gift prepared by God. It was extremely joyful. In the future, there will be a gift in heaven, which is even more joyful and glorious!
▲On September 25, 2016, Wang’s mother, Ms. He Xiangyu (middle), and her daughter Wang Yao, after making a decision to pray on the same day, boarded the "Celebration" cruise ship accompanied by their beloved son Wang Qing to travel to the Bahamas.
Please believe me, I am a Christian
A month passed quickly, and Wang’s mother and Wang Yao returned to Wang Yao’s residence in Xi’an with the salvation of Jesus. Before leaving, Wang Qing told them to find a church and live a life of fellowship.
While Wang Yao was looking for a church, she was also selling her house. Although a buyer came along who liked the house, he lacked trust and did not dare to put down the deposit for the house. The two parties could not find a solution and were in a stalemate. Wang Yao suddenly felt something in her heart and confessed sincerely: "You believe me, I am a Christian." Unexpectedly, the other party said: "Great, I am also a Christian." On the basis of mutual trust in the Lord, the buyer readily took out the Make a deposit and successfully complete the transaction process.
The buyer took Wang Yao to her church, which is a house church with pure beliefs. Wang’s mother also attended. The two major issues of selling a house and finding a church were successfully solved at the same time. No wonder the buyer said, "God sent me to buy a house to take you to church!"
My church has established a new evangelical social networking website called "Living Water of Life." Wang Yao not only actively participated in it, but also enthusiastically attracted the women of the Wang family who had already believed in the Lord but who did not yet know the Lord—sisters-in-law, nieces, and My brother-in-law’s daughter-in-law, all of them joined in one fell swoop.
▲"Celebration" The cruise voyage is like a gift prepared by God. Mother Wang and her children are extremely happy. There will be a gift in heaven in the future, which is even more joyful and glorious.
Who is the slinger?
My mother and sister were saved in Florida, the true light shined into the Wang family, and the starlight rose close by, bringing hope to light up the family's light thousands of miles away!
A stone thrown into the water stirs up thousands of waves. Who threw the stone? Is it Wang Qing who originally wanted to preach the gospel to his loving mother? Is it Liu Yiwei who is enthusiastic about working for the Lord and bearing fruit? Are you careful to recommend the one-dimensional Jingya? Is it me, an editor who sincerely respects authors and readers? Or is it Teacher Su Wen'an who is devoted to cultivating literary workers of the Kingdom of God...? If you think about it carefully, who is the stone thrower?
Is there any stone in the world that can cause thousands of waves? If there is the help of the Holy Spirit, all things are possible with God but not with humans!
作者小檔案 楊韓甲華，2000年參加高俐理老師創辦的文字營，受教於蘇文安老師門下學習文字事奉。曾任本刊「國度社區」單元企編十一年，交棒後轉任特約撰述。