We Went to Dinner

Our ministry here in China started with prayer walks around the city. Here is one of our stories:

“As Natasha and Teresa headed out for a second time for the day, they took a new route. They prayed for lives to be changed, divine appointments, language barriers to be broken, and hearts to be opened. They walked about 3 miles down where they came to a large plaza area. It had large stone pillars with picture carvings.

 

Then they heard someone saying hello. As they turned around, there was a car with 3 Chinese men in it. They pulled over and got out because they wanted to take a picture with these two Americans. ‘Hello, hello’ they kept saying, giggling, and making signs with their hands for taking a picture. ‘Sure, why not; maybe we can tell them about Jesus,’ the two girls said as they walked towards them. Each guy, one at a time, took a picture with Natasha and Teresa. After the picture fun was done, one of the men brought out his phone to start translating. The first phrase read, ‘You that.’ As Natasha and Teresa both looked at each other in confusion, cracking up laughing, he quickly typed in a new phrase. This one read, ‘We went to dinner,’ with a huge smile on his face. Natasha responded with, ‘Oh, that’s great.’ What she didn’t realize was what he was actually trying to say. Teresa, however, knew exactly. They were asking if we wanted to go to dinner with them. The conversation continued with a few more confusing phrases, and many laughs. Teresa asked if they knew Jesus, in which they responded with laughing, not knowing a single word she said. Our time ended with them typing, ‘we go’ on their phone, waving violently, huge smiles on their faces, and giggling.�

Afterwards, we both started praying for these men. We prayed for their futures, that they were able to see Christ in us, and for God to reveal Himself to them. We also asked that they would grow into strong men of God, who would love their fellow people, and be an example of Christ’s love. This wasn’t our idea of a divine intervention, but who knows what God is doing in these men’s hearts and lives. Who knows if we had the great opportunity of being the first people to pray for these men specifically.

Sometimes it’s hard when you don’t see any fruit, or the language barrier keeps you from sharing the Gospel with your mouth (although we believe that God can break language barriers, or bring us into contact with people who speak English). But, in Colossians 4:2, it says, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.� So we continue to trust God. Even if there aren’t divine appointments or opportunities to talk to the people here, we trust that He will hear our prayers and shift the pillars of evil for His glory.