The gospel revival in my family was not easy. When I was 8 years old, my grandpa had cancer. My grandpa and grandma accepted Jesus. Now I am 28 years old, and I was the only Christian that had been added to my family. For 20 years, no matter how my grandma shared the gospel, my mom and my sister ignored it and my dad behaved even worse. He rejected and always attacked the faith. He told me that it was old people’s feudal ideas and superstition.
Because the guests visited, they brought gospel revival to my family. My sister accepted Jesus and that was the first good news. One weekend I brought my sister and two nephews to the Grace Family activity. My elder nephew lost control and he hit his younger brother and pinched his neck. They fought over a balloon. Usually my two nephews were very kind to each other, so that fight was abnormal. One of our guests, Wendy, noticed and she felt the need to make an appointment with my sister to discuss how to raise children.
After the conversation, my sister mentioned that the Grace Family activity was very good and she would like to be a volunteer. However, she knew if she wanted to become a volunteer, she needed to be a Christian. Then Wendy asked, “Would you like to be a Christian?” My sister answered, “Sure!” Wendy didn’t expect such a speedy response from my sister. Then, Wendy prayed, “Lord, what should I do? How do I lead her to pray and accept Jesus?” She asked my sister whether she believed in Jesus as her Savior, if she acknowledged herself as a sinner and if she believed in the second coming of Christ. My sister accepted and believed.
Thank God, that He works all things for good for those who love him. My sister was the first person that she led to Christ. Before Wendy came to China, she prayed to God that she could have a chance to share the gospel. Her prayer was answered.
The second bit of good news was that my father’s attitude to faith has dramatically changed.
Last year, the STM of GCAC came to Xiamen and visited my parents. I was scared during the whole time, because I knew that my dad rejected the gospel. I worried that he might feel angry and curse. I felt that visit was wasted when my dad didn’t show any interest.
This year, the GCAC guests came back and asked to visit my parents again. I was a little worried, but I accepted their visit. I remembered someone told me that the messengers came to share the gospel. They were compelled because of the gospel, so they knew God would be with them. During this year, I experienced a lot of God’s work and I was not afraid.
When the guests came to my house to visit my parents, only my mom was there. I immediately thought that my dad might be making up an excuse because he didn’t want to talk to the guests. Afterwards, my mom told me that my dad really had an appointment that had been booked a few days ago.
It seems to me that God had His plan. Four guests came to my house to visit my mom. It was so meaningful to her. My mom has 3 siblings; she was the first-born. Her parents didn’t take good care of her, and she had very low self-esteem. She felt loved when she knew that she was the only reason that the four guests still came to her house. After the visit, the guests invited my mom to join the senior fellowship.
My mom mentioned this visit to my dad. That made him realize that one of the guests, Edward, had visited him last year, but this time he had missed the chance to meet him. My dad decided he would like to go to the fellowship with my mom to see Edward again. Thank God, the seed of the gospel had been planted in my dad’s heart. In my dad’s mindset, attending the activity meant going to church. For other people, it is not difficult, but for my dad, it is harder than winning a 5 million dollar lottery prize. My mom had tried to go with me to the church before, and my dad had noticed it. He told my mom that if she went to the church, he would divorce her.
Finally, my dad really did go to the senior fellowship with my mom; he danced with the group and he felt very happy. That was amazing, because after he came to the meeting, his misunderstanding of the church had been corrected. Now, he really understood how Christians live.
After the meeting, my dad invited the guests to come home to join us for dinner. He asked many questions about faith. That showed he wanted to know more. My mom turned on the machine that played the praise songs. After dinner, the guests asked my dad if we could pray together. My dad said, “Okay!” We held hands together and the guests prayed for us. That was a beautiful picture, and I really wanted to take a photo at that moment.
In the past, when I shared the gospel with my family, I had fear. My family knows me well; they understood my weakness and insufficiency. I thought I needed to wait until I become a good Christian; then they would notice the difference and they might accept Jesus. But actually, I am much the same person as before. I didn’t become perfect. If I really was to say what was my change of this year it was my willingness to submit to the guiding of God and that I trusted Him with faith to move forward.
In my own wisdom, I could never have imagined that God would turn my family around within a week. My dad was so stubborn that I thought I might need to wait at least 20 years. I might need to wait until he become old and had no more temper; then I could share the gospel with him. God’s mind is much smarter than our mind. God’s works are wonderful and awesome. We shouldn’t use our limitations to limit God who is infinite. Each one of us should rise up to fight the battle of faith.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19