October 29, 2010
By anonymous
In the following adapted excerpt, an Alliance ethnic worker shares about a life-changing encounter in an area of the world where love in action is the only way to share Jesus.
K’s story began when our team started water projects in three villages. Our team leader drove us to each place and introduced us to the villagers. Through a series of unrelated events, including a missed appointment with a village chief, we found K sitting on a stool doing cross stitch. Born with a congenital defect in her ear canal, K was 15 but seemed more like a 12- or 13-year-old because of her illness, which had caused a severe skin infection due to fluid build-up. No one knew when the infection began, but she had endured terrible pain for most of her life.
While we waited for the village chief, K’s grandmother approached my wife and me, asking if we knew of any cure for K’s illness. I told her that we didn’t know of one but would like to take pictures of K’s ear and e-mail them to my brother-in-law, a pharmacist. If he knew of any medication that could help or cure it, he could tell us. After hearing this, the grandmother begged us to find a way to cure her granddaughter.
I did not remember sending the picture to my brother-in law, but later a group of believers from the United States came to visit us. We told them of K’s situation and showed them the pictures. They were so moved that they gave some money to help K.
About two weeks later, my wife and I arranged for K’s father to bring her to our city for a medical exam. He was concerned about not having enough money for the bus tickets, but we told him, “Don’t worry about the money—if you don’t have enough, just borrow it and we will give you the money to pay it back.” At this time we did not even know K’s name, her father’s name, or their last name. We just asked them to come. Regarding medical funds, we have nothing reserved for this. However, we decided that if we must, we would use our tax refund from last year to help pay for K’s medical expenses.
The True Gospel
Father and daughter stayed in our city for almost two months during K’s treatment, which included surgery to drain the fluid from her ear (this kind of surgery does not guarantee a full cure but will buy her time and the opportunity to heal). During this time, my wife and I shared the good news with them. The father told us that they had heard about the gospel but in a very different way. He said this other “gospel” taught that whenever people become Christians, one among them will become Jesus. The group would then have to serve this person, who had the right to sleep with any women he chose. We told him that this is not the gospel we believe. This is a work of the devil to scare people. Moreover, evil men will use God’s name to take advantage of people who do not know the true gospel.
We shared with K’s father the true gospel and the work that Jesus had done at the cross for us. K’s father told us that living the old way, they only knew fear and there was no hope. “Your gospel does provide hope and joy,” he said. As a result, he decided to accept Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. The father said, “If believing in Jesus is this good, I will believe and not turn back.”
The following day we went to their hotel and prayed for K. The father said that K does not know how to pray, so he will pray on her behalf. But we said it is her illness, and she needs to pray and ask God to heal her. As they prayed, K repeated several sentences into the prayer, and she broke down. She cried bitterly in sadness and in pain. When they were in the hospital preparing for the surgery, my wife led K to accept Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior.
We had expected to use our tax refund to pay for K’s medical treatment, but we didn’t have to. My wife e-mailed her sister about K’s situation, and she was so moved that she forwarded the story to her friends, and her friends forwarded it to their friends. At the end, they donated enough funds to cover all the costs, almost US$3,000. May the Lord abundantly bless these compassionate friends!
Hope amid Heartache
At the end of K’s hospital stay, we decided to drive her and her dad home ourselves. There are two believers from the States who also came to visit and went with us to see their village. It was already late when we got to their county, so we decided to rest in town and go to their village in the early morning. The next morning, we had just started breakfast when people from the village called the father and told him that K’s mother was very sick and they were taking her to the local hospital.
We barely drove for 10 minutes, and they called back to say that they had decided not to take her to the hospital and called an ambulance instead. As we got halfway there, the villagers called again and stated that K’s mother was no longer with them.
When we arrived in the village, many people had already cried their turn and dried their tears. We got to the house, looked at K’s mother, and discovered that she had passed into eternity around 6 a.m. How precious and fragile life is! She did not even have the opportunity to hear the gospel and make the decision for herself.
Walking the New Way
We stayed with K and her father all day Saturday and returned for about two hours on Sunday. During this painful and uncertain time, many villagers asked about our faith, and we freely shared with them about our hope and joy in Jesus. Many, particularly the women, are very interested and want to come and walk the new way, but their husbands are not ready.
After we left, we thought the father might want to return to the old way because of his wife’s sudden passing, but he is stronger than we thought. Several weeks later, his younger brother, K’s uncle, asked us about the new way. He received Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior right after we shared the gospel with him. He told us that K’s father had been sharing with him, the family, and the villagers. Many have shown interest and want to hear more about the good news.
Remember K in your prayers. Pray that she will continue to walk in the Lord and that her illness will heal completely. Also, pray that her younger brother and her father will be strong in the Lord. May He gave them peace and comfort during this difficult time. Remember the villagers too, that He will call them to Himself.
What You Can Do
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