(God heard the cry of my colleague's wife and led their whole family to our church.)
God hears every cry of the heart and every prayer. He remembers each one and faithfully prepares the path that is best for us.
As I write this testimony on December 23, 1997, Christmas always reminds me of my former colleague, S.Y., and his family.
Every Christmas Eve, I used to join our church's Christmas caroling outreach. But one particular year, for some reason, I simply didn't feel like going. Perhaps I just wanted to stay home because it was so cold. So I prayed and surrendered the matter to the Lord, deciding to follow whatever He led me to do.
On the evening of December 23, something completely unexpected happened. S.Y. called me, saying he wanted my address so he could send me a New Year's card. As we continued talking, he invited me to a Christmas party at his home the following evening. At that moment, I felt certain that this was the Lord's leading, so I accepted his invitation.
It was the first time I had met his wife, who was from Egypt. Since I didn't know that she spoke fluent Japanese, I spoke with her entirely in English. I eagerly shared how I had become a Christian, told her about Jesus, and explained the gift of praying in tongues.
To my surprise, she was the daughter of a pastor and belonged to a church where people also prayed in tongues. When she showed me a photograph of her father, I somehow felt reminded of our founding pastor.
The couple had been married in a church in Chiba, but because it was so far away, they found it difficult to attend worship services regularly. They also mentioned that they had once seen a poster advertising a Thanksgiving service at a church but had missed the opportunity to go. As we talked, we realized that the poster they had seen was from my church.
I couldn't help but feel that God had arranged this meeting.
That evening ended, and I returned home. Then, on the morning of our New Year's worship service, S.Y. suddenly called me again. He said that he and his family were planning to visit my church and asked if I could explain how to get there.
Although I didn't know the driving directions very well, God faithfully guided their family safely to our church.
That very day, both S.Y. and his wife received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They continued worshipping at our church for several years until they eventually moved away.
Later, his wife told me something that deeply touched my heart. Although she spoke Japanese fluently, she had become exhausted by her husband's work-centered lifestyle. She had even prayed that God would allow her to separate from him and return to her home country.
It was at that very time that God led her to our church.
I had never once prayed specifically for S.Y. or his family. Yet God heard the prayer of his wife and, in His sovereign plan, chose to use someone she had never even met—me.
He simply reached down, picked me up, and used me to accomplish His purpose.
For that, I am truly grateful.
A Little Side Story
Incidentally, S.Y. was the very first person to call me "Heidi."
One day, out of the blue, I said to him, "From today on, please call me Heidi." 🤣
At the time, I had an amateur radio license and was planning to use the handle "Hidy" when making international radio contacts. Later, after I became interested in German, I changed the spelling to the German form, Heidi. 😊
------ to be continued -----
にほんブログ村
にほんブログ村
多言語学習ランキング
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