Surprised by Joy

What do you think of, when you hear the word miracle?  The first thought I have, is God. In my heart and mind, God is the creator of genuine miracles.  Recently, in my life, I have been asking Him for a miracle.  Professing my love for Him and my desire to see Him move! Well, yesterday, He answered that yearning! Right before my eyes, I watched Him perform a miracle!  Let me tell you about it. 

Two months ago, we went to a picnic with other campus missionaries and a bunch of students. We all met together at the amphitheater park in Cary for their Fourth of July celebration.  Two Chinese visiting scholars sat near Glenn and I and instantly, God gave us friendship.  

After that picnic, our team had another picnic at a nearby lake and invited about 20 Chinese friends. Only one of these two young woman joined us with the others. It was a wonderful day of fun and fellowship and it was at that picnic that Jia Rei asked us if she could go with us to church the next day.  

She went with us, and afterwards we had lunch together. We talked about the message we had heard, and our families and then we asked her if she had any spiritual beliefs. She said she hadn't, that her mother was muslim and her father was nothing. She met us at church the following Sunday and was intently listening to the message.  As we walked to the car, the Holy Spirit prompted me to ask her if anyone had ever explained Christianity to her.  She said "no" and she said that she wanted to know. So we asked her if she would like to do a Bible study and get her questions answered, and she said "yes". The following week, she came to our home and we began the six week study that we brought back from China. It was created by one of our fellow workers in our organization and it is written in both English and Chinese.

As we began sharing with her, we felt that she was curious. Knowing she had only a month before she returned home, we asked God to help us finish this study well with her in the short time that we had to complete it.  He did and when she came to our home yesterday, for some reason because she was late and she was leaving the following day...we just figured in our finite mind that we would finish it the best we could and they would be seeds planted and she would leave.  But, God of course had other plans.  He had been working in this young woman's heart more that we knew and when we finished and asked her if she could believe this...she smiled and said "yes". We were surprised!  I asked her if before she came to America, she had been curious and wondering about God and she said "yes" again. She had a huge smile on her face and we knew that God had certainly been drawing her to himself!  Glenn then asked her if she wanted to pray and confess her sinfulness to God and receive Him as Savior, and she said "yes". Not only that though, she said that she was thinking about how she could ask us to do this and become a Christian!  We were blown away by what God had been doing and was doing in this young woman.  How He knew that He would use us when we met her just two months before.  How He let us be a part of His salvation plan for Jia Rei!  We were so moved, so thankful, so humbled!

Please pray for her! Please pray that as we attempt to get her connected to some of our mature believing Chinese friends in Beijing. God has a plan for her, and naturally we wanted to have more time to disciple her.  But this was God's plan and He brought her to this point and He will continue to carry out His plan for her.  She is excited and she understands, as she refers to herself as a "baby Christian.  She is a mother and a wife, so her desire is that her husband and her son also become Christians. She left today with two Bibles, one from our team mate that is bilingual and a small purse sized one in Chinese only. We also gave her a picture Bible to read to her son.  

I am so thankful to God! We have been praying to bear fruit as we abide in Him and also I have been praying habitually for a miracle! I have had this great hunger to see God move in a mighty way that only He can! I have wanted more of Him as never before! He graciously gave us both and He knows how encouraged we are to continue on.  

Thank you, most precious Father.  The One and Only miracle-worker!