.tied up.

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

God is AMAZING. beyond description.

I received a sms from a dear friend today. Sara had returned from Sydney for school break. I asked if she would like to meet me for dinner. Thinking that Bishan would be a convenient place for her, I suggested we had dinner at Bishan.
Upon arrival at Bishan, Junction 8, I had a sudden urge to invite another of my secondary school friend, Gloria, for dinner. I called her up, conveniently forgetting that she wasn’t staying at Bishan anymore. However, when I called her, she immediately agreed to get change and meet my friend and I for dinner. (Only, after I had met my Sara friend, did I remember that Gloria is now currently staying in Serangoon North).
Let’s cut the chase and get to the point.
We settled for a drink at Macdonalds after dinner. Gloria started to share about something AMAZING that happened her church. She was in the planning games committee for their youth camp. The committee wondered what sort of games they should play, and a friend decided to ask the pastor for suggestions. Their pastor said, “go on the streets and pull people back”. (what?) It was basically the same concept of the Carlsberg show, where contestants had to make friends along the street and invite them over to a certain place. So, the modified version they played was to bring people along the street back to their campsite for service.
They prayed and prayed about it. The amazing thing that happened was that with the small amount of 70 people, they managed to pull 100 people back to church and of these people, 40 of them received Christ that very night! Think, people wondering along the streets of Orchard Road, somehow agreeing to follow a bunch of young camper back to a campsite… amazing! (By the way, their campsite was the BB GB campsite at Sembawang! Imagine the distance). Yet in all these, God used them and made a number greater than theirs arrive for service.
There was this guy who promised Gloria that we would be there that night. However, nearing the starting time, he told her he might not be able to make it. Amazingly, he came in the end, explaining to her that he quarreled with his girlfriend because of this, but he did promise her that he would come and so he came. Amazing! After quarrelling with his girlfriend he still made it for the service.
The event was called accelerate.

Another instance was when their church youths went to Orchard Road for street evangelism.

Gloria’s group met an old lady with a bump on her head (swell), an arch back (90degrees forward) and a hurt leg. She couldn’t stand up straight and she had to support her leg while she walked. She was selling scratch tickets for soccer betting. The team of four decided to go up to her and evangelize. They soon realized, she couldn’t speak in Chinese or English, and only understood Hokkien. Somehow, they managed to converse with her in Hokkien. A man stopped and asked what they were doing, and when he found out, he encouraged them to continue. They began to pray for her. As they prayer, Gloria was battling with God, she asked God not to let her pray out loud, she didn’t feel comfortable. However, at that very moment, her friend asked, “Gloria could you pray for the old lady?” Gloria, being a afraid and doubtful, she hesitated but finally agreed to pray for the old lady. She lift her hand and placed it on the old lady’s bump. As she prayer, she could feel the swell dispersing and getting smaller. After the prayer, they decided to help the old lady pack up. Gloria went up to the old lady and said, “Aunty, could I throw away all these scratch cards (in Chinese)”. And the Aunty actually agreed to let them throw it away. So they did. While walking out, they met another group of friends. And this group of friends also wanted to pray for the aunty. At this point in them, the 8 of them, huddled around the aunty and prayed for her. As they prayed, many people walked by. This didn’t distract them from praying God’s blessing over her. They prayed for healing for the old lady.
After the prayer, she could stand UPRIGHT and she didn’t need to support her leg anymore! They asked how she was feeling, she said that it didn’t hurt anymore. AMAZING.

Another story of what they did during street evangelism was that they went up to this Indian lady who sells tissue packets. I’m sure many of you have seen her before. She has long hair and she often stands around traffic lights and cross-junctions, offering to sell tissue and often telling a story to why she has to sell tissue. Many remember her as the lady who tells lies, the lady who is out to cheat people, but few know the true story to why she does what she does. Gloria’s team decided to evangelize to her. As they talked to her, they found out that she had a throat infection and a pain in her chest/heart (I can’t remember exactly what Gloria said). They then prayed for healing for her. After the prayer, she was healed! She said it didn’t hurt anymore and she was thankful for their prayers. She then started to open up and explain why she sold tissues and told those lies. She actually has a daughter who, at the age of 14, had brain damage. Till now, her daughter is 18 and has gone through 3 operations, in her embarrassment, she doesn’t dare to tell people of her daughter’s misfortune, thus she comes up with false stories to try to encourage people to buy her tissues.

During their next street evangelism, her team actually spots the lady and with her was her daughter. The then went up to them and prayed for their daughter. As they prayed, they could see her daughter holding back. She held tightly to what she was holding on to, refusing to be set free. After the prayer, the lady told them she had been praying to the elephant god, and they had 2 of it at home. She gave them her address and said because she stays with her brother, they could only visit her from 10-11:30am, when her brother wasn’t around. The amazing openness of the lady to them was just astounding.

However, as they felt they were not prepared and ready, they had not visited her yet.

I just thought I should share this testimony of how God is REAL and how God is the same in the Old Testament, the same in the Gospels, the same in Acts and the same presently, NOW. God is still doing miracles. And God used us. God uses students, youths, teens just like us. Prayer does wonders. God is alive, and He is moving. Indeed, even at this present moment, God can do a miracle.

I thought I’d share this with you guys to encourage you guys that prayer is important and God is indeed wonderful and real. That he heals. He is working in Singapore this very moment. My friend, Gloria currently worships at Revival Centre Church. She is 18 this year. I’ve told her to email me the full account of her testimony, so I could share it with you guys. This is just the introduction to what she told me today. When I do get the final copy, I will send it out to you guys. (:

I’M HAPPY. Very encouraged. If we believe, God can make miracles happen right now. Faith. Passion.

GOD.

I may have forgotten some of the parts, so please bear with me, if some parts of what I typed doesn’t flow or doesn’t connect. I will get the testimony from Gloria by the start of next week. (: cheerios!

[ Jude whispered ][ 11:22 PM ]

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