With All My Heart

May 21, 2023 | by The Fellowship

My daughter loves to go to the park.  There is one particular park that is her favorite and our family loves to ride our bicycles to this park.  In February, when my wife and daughter went to the park, my daughter made a new friend.  We are Chinese and she saw another Chinese girl about her age, and they very soon became friends. Then my wife and the girl’s mother began talking to each other.  They quickly bonded and had so much to share that the new friends invited my wife and daughter to their home to eat dinner.  My wife’s phone had run out of power, so I was very worried until they came home several hours later.

This mother and daughter are Christians and go to The Fellowship.  Recently when the church offered a course entitled Alpha (which provides the opportunity in a small group setting to explore issues of life and faith and the basics of Christian belief in a judgment-free environment), we were invited to attend with them.  Alpha has videos in Chinese and other languages besides English, so we would be able to understand everything in our native language.  After each video is a time of discussion on the topic for that meeting, and our friend is very fluent in both Chinese and English.  She was able to help us understand what others who speak only English were saying.

This class was very helpful for us to learn step by step more about Christianity.  After each video, three questions are presented and each of us had a chance to answer them.  The very simple questions really made me think about my spiritual life. I had been to a men’s Bible study at a Chinese church, but I did not really understand or believe because I had not experienced it myself. Since so much of what was being talked about at Alpha was new to me, I said it would be hard to believe in the Christian God unless He showed Himself to me.

Several weeks ago, my wife and daughter left the country for a period of time because my wife needs to get her Visa renewed. They are doing some travelling and currently are in Malaysia. The only way we can stay in contact is through a Chinese social media source, but messages and pictures between us are constant. One day recently there was no contact from them, and I became very worried that something bad had happened.  I tried messaging them over and over all day, but there was no answer.  By the time night came, I was frantic.  I called our friend who was taking us to Alpha to see if she had heard from my family and explained the situation.  After trying to contact them herself and not hearing back, she told me to pray to the Lord and she would also pray. 

I prayed to God with all my heart and asked Him to keep them safe and for them to get in touch with me.   This was my first time to pray to Him. I was immediately filled with peace.  It was amazing!  Always before when something like this happened, I would be up all night worrying and fretting.  But now, it was possible to go to sleep because I had put my problem in His hands.

When I got up the next morning, I immediately checked for a message.  There was a picture of my daughter with a big smile on her face.  They were just fine!  When they went out the day before, their phone had been forgotten at home.  My relief was so very great!

Since then, I pray every day for God to keep His arms of protection around them.  He has showed Himself to me in a way that is unforgettable.  I have confessed my many sins to Him, acknowledged that Jesus took the punishment my sins deserve, and believe with all my heart.

D. F.

For with the heart one believes and is justified,
and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 
Romans 10:10