Hey You! Hope this blog post finds you well & brings encouragement to you today.
Getting off a 21 hour train ride, several friends & I found ourselves in cute City of China, ready to settle down & rest for a day.
After settling into a hostel & meeting with the management, we decided to go grab a bite to eat for lunch. We found a lunch spot & managed to order some noodles, veggies, and accidentily an extra plate of pork. I guess that’s what happens when nothing in written in the language you are familiar with, right? It’s always an adventure!
On our way back to the hostel-we stopped at a fruit store nearby. As we were shopping we met a kind Chinese woman who spoke English. Through a series of small talk conversation-she quietly told us that she was a christian & to our shock & surprise we said “WE ARE TOO! “
This led to her asking us to stay quiet but also inviting us to come over to her house to talk more & have some coffee. So, that is what we did!
We walked to her house about 5 minutes away & my gosh- it was clean, decorated nicely, quaint, and filled with the peace of Jesus i am not kidding! We drank coffee together, she shared her snacks with us & I sat there dumbfounded at the goodness of God for bringing us all together.
My friends & I had the privilege to hear her story & also pray for her to do our best to encourage & uplift her in a place where so much persecution of the church happens.
I want to share with you a glimpse of her life story, in the hopes that wit will be an encouragement to you!
This woman was not born into a believing family, but she did grow up going to places to worship different man made idols. She claimed to be secretly scared of those idols every time her parents brought her there. In her teenage years she began to question, & wanted to know the truth of “Who is God?” and “What is God?”
In this same time period of her questioning and starting to seek out for truth, she met a believing person who taught her who they believe God was through the person of Jesus Christ. Something lit up inside of her.
Though her parents and brother & sisters did not understand, Terri was passionate and excited about going to church with that believing friend.
Soon after-she gave her life to Jesus and for 10 years, she prayed that her family would come to know the love of Jesus one day soon. Though they often made fun of her, questioned her, and thought she was ridiculous, she kept praying for them continuously.
To this day, Terri now has 2 believing parents, one believing sister, and is praying for the other sister to come to know Jesus as her Lord and savor too.
What the what!? Amazing.
The following day after we met this new friend, she invited us out to lunch with her blind friend. We spent the rest of the afternoon with them touring through the botanical gardens-a refreshing sight to see for sure! Then we said our goodbyes & it was time to go to the train station-to hop on our next 14 hour train ride.
I pray that this blog encourages you today in that your prayers & cries to God will not and do not return void. I don’t understand it all-but I do know that prayer is probably the most powerful tool we have access too. Do not stop-keep pressing in and digging deep to whatever it is that you are talking to God about. You are awesome & if I can partner with you in prayer for anything or anyone, please, do not hesitate to reach out. It would be my honor to partner with you in that.
1 Chronicles 16:11 ~ Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
Philippians 4:6 ~ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
With deep gratitude & missing you-
Kailey
