Screaming Without Words

I saw her even before I saw her sign.

She was sitting there, hunched over, hood on, face to the ground, a nameless person on the streets of Guangzhou.

I knelt beside her and put my hand around her.

I asked if she spoke English. Nothing. I explained in Chinese that I don't speak Mandarin. Nothing.
I came around to her front and looked into her face and said, "I see you. I see your pain. God sees your pain and He loves you. And we love you. You were made with a plan and you have a purpose."

I silently prayed.

As I walked away I knew full well that she could be a fraud, there are so many in the city. After all, who just carries around a piece of chalk to scribble on the sidewalk?

But, one thing is certain. She is a girl who somewhere along the way got broken.

We're all broken in some way.

Thank God that He is the master craftsman who can put us back together!

Loving the Unlovely

One of our main ministries is to go into a company and run an English Corner Bible study, which means the people have a chance to speak with a native English speaker and we teach them about the Bible.

This was set up by a Christian manager, who has since left the company.  The new management is allowing us to continue teaching from the Bible, but wants us to include other “more interesting” things like celebrity gossip, sports stars and songs.
I explained that wasn’t the heart of why I come every week and that I’m more interested in seeing lives changed than in talking about the latest fashion trends.

Last week’s teaching was about servanthood and loving the unlovely (Luke 6:32, 33, 35, 36). I issued a challenge to the group and encouraged them to show love to someone they didn’t particularly love.

A couple of testimonies came back, but one man’s really touched my heart. He had grown up with a friend from his hometown. But, as they grew older, there were things about his friend that he didn’t like. So he avoided him for the past five years.

As soon as he heard the week’s challenge, God (but he doesn’t recognize it as God) put his friend on his mind. He took the step of faith and called up the friend and invited him to go back to their hometown together because it was a national holiday. The man said he felt so much happiness in his heart when he called his friend on the phone!

This is real, lasting change that you can’t get from a supermarket tabloid!