February 2012: Whom Shall I Send?
February 2012 Bulletin Insert Format [PDF]Febrero 2012 en español
And I heard the voice of God saying, whom
shall I send and who will go for us?
Isaiah 6:8a
Churches in China are growing rapidly. This
growth isn’t the result of massive missionary efforts from the west after
China’s opening, but fruits of the work being quietly done by Chinese believers
who held on to their faith through all of China’s turmoil.
I want to tell you about Mr. K as he told me
his story. Mr. K is about 40 years old and has a smile that makes you want to
hear what he has to say. He was born in Northern Jiangsu province into a family
of farmers.
“I was 19 years old when I first learned
about Christianity from a classmate’s mother-in-law. She had us pray before and
after meals, which introduced us to these ideas for the first time. I had little
interest in religion, but was willing to pray if it meant I could eat. One day
I was walking past a small church and heard the sound of hymns being sung. When
I glanced inside the feeling of comfort and peace I felt in that moment led me
to believe. I realized God cared for me and it was a moment of great joy. After
that I looked forward all week to my Sunday meetings with God. In the
congregation no one else had even a middle school education, and 90% of them
were illiterate. So they started asking me to preach or help them with reading
the Bible. Looking back, it was my happiest year.
Outside of church, my friends had encouraged me to start
raising chickens. I had invested in the supplies: feed, eggs, fences. One
night I was outside, and sisters from the church came looking for me, but I
didn’t hear them knocking on my door. When I heard that I had missed them, I
became focused on why it was they were searching for me. I stared at the sky
unable to sleep, I knew they were going to ask me to study at the seminary, but
I wanted to say “no.”
Then I remembered the verse that says, “Whom can I send? Who
can go for us?” And I realized that for my church I was the only one to do this
on their behalf. It was my calling. The next day a sister from the church came
and asked me to study at the seminary, and I happily agreed.
I had been focused on raising chickens, but God told me
to raise my sights.”
Together we pray for higher visions for ourselves, our
church, our world.
Tom and Linnea Morse, Global
Ministries missionaries, serve with the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital in China in
English communications.