ONE Prayer Update: China

Crew!

The following is our most recent update from the ministry extending through our ONE Prayer partnerships in China.  Enjoy! -sj

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God’s Amazing Choice

Arthur Tian was born completely healthy, but with a hump on his back. For many years of his life Arthur felt completely useless in society. He had no purpose in life at all. Arthur was growing up secluded and reserved because of his physical appearance. Quite often people made fun of him and laughed at him. When Arthur turned 20, his parents died and he moved to live with his older brother. Later on Arthur’s older sister accepted Christ and begun to share Jesus Christ with him also.

Arthur went to church with her and discovered that people in church were different than people in this world. People in the world quite often laughed at him, but in church they showed him love and cared for him. It was here at church where Arthur for the first time in his life truly felt the love of God.

After accepting Christ as his Savior Arthur felt a deep desire to tell others around him about this newly discovered love of God. When Arthur’s parents died, they left him a small amount of money, which they were saving for their whole lives. His parents were afraid that Arthur won’t be able to provide for himself after they pass away and this money would help him a little, at least for a while. After Arthur became a Christian he spent all the money his parents left him to live on. He spent it on mission work. But God has not forgotten Arthur. God continues to bless his life.

This year God has blessed Arthur with a loving spouse, who is helping him now in his ministry of preaching the Gospel. Almost immediately after their marriage the young couple moved to a different town in China with the goal of planting a church there. In the last two months Arthur started a Bible study group and five people already have accepted Christ. PTL!

Please pray for Arthur and his ministry!

“…God chose the weak things of the world …” 1 Cor.1,27

ONE Prayer Update: China

See below for most recent post from China for the ONE Prayer network! -sj

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In July of 2004, the daughter of Victor Zhang became 

seriously ill. The doctors in the city where he lived told him that his daughter had only a few weeks left to live, and could offer no hope for her condition to improve.

Looking for ways to rescue his daughter, Victor decided to take her to Harbin, a larger city nearby, in the hope that the more sophisticated and famous hospitals and doctors would be able to help. These hopes were unrealized, however, when the doctors’ answers were the same in each instance: “sorry, but we cannot help.”

Eventually, a smaller hospital in the region agreed to try to

 help and treat his daughter’s illness, but the prognosis remained bleak in regard to their confidence that they would be able to do more than just try to keep her comfortable.

At that point, Victor and his family turned to Jesus for help, and began praying for his daughter as a result of his newfound faith. Quickly, his daughter began to show signs of improvement, and a month later she was even able to get up from her bed. As a result, many patients, relatives and even the doctors themselves began inquiring about the nature of the dramatic recovery, and that is when Victor started to preach Jesus Christ boldly to those in the hospital.

Even though the 

treatment for Victor’s daughter has continued for two more years at the hospital, groups of believers have steadily begun to meet under Victor’s leadership and pastoral care. In fact, Victor and his family eventually decided to stay in Harbin in order to be able to continue the church planting ministry God so specifically and directly laid upon their hearts.

Now, through the training and help provided through the ONE Prayer Network, Victor is planting churches in the neighborhood where his daughter’s hospital continues to operate, offering worship services at the hospital and helping those in residence there to find salvation for both body and soul through Jesus Christ.

“Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor?” 
Rom. 11:33-34; (NLT)

“This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” John 11:4; (NIV)

ONE Prayer Update: China

Please see below from our field ministry partners in China regarding progress on the ONE Prayer initiative in that country! -sj

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On August 8th 2008 one of our teachers was conducting a baptismal service in one of the lakes near Yian town in the Heilongjiang province. The water in this lake was quite muddy and the lake shore was covered with seaweed. One of the ladies had brought her little boy with her who was playing near the water. Several times during the service she had told him to stay away from the water. But towards the end of the baptismal process the boy still ran into the water and disappeared. Fortunately his mother realized it and jumped to his rescue, but when she entered the water she realized that it was deep and also went under.

The teacher who was still baptizing people interrupted his service and ran to the rescue of mother and her child, but when he jumped in the water where the mother went under he also disappeared in the water. At that point the whole group got together, formed a line holding each other by their hands and lowered one brother into the water who started to search for the three people in the water now. He was able to get a hold of the teacher who held on to the mother with her son. All three were saved in the end. This was truly God’s grace in action. Praise the Lord!!!