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Faithful servant satisfies her
thirst
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| Liu Suqin serving hot drinks at Henan Tianguang church. Photo: China Partnership (PRC06DJ-30.JPG) |
CHINA — Worshippers begin streaming into Henan Tianguang church on a cold Sunday morning. Many stop at a small table near the gate to get a hot drink to keep themselves warm. The lady who arrived early to boil the water for God’s people is Liu Suqin. She has been performing this duty since 1994, the year the church was built. This joyful, chatty servant of the Lord shares the story of how she came to know Jesus.
She explains that she used to suffer very poor health. Many friends tried to persuade her to seek God and attend church. But she would rebut them. “If people can get well by seeking God, then we wouldn’t need hospitals,” she would say.
If you heal me
Her condition gradually worsened. At one stage, she even began coughing up blood. She had to take so much medication that her hands would shake with fear when it was time for another dose. She finally surrendered and told God, “I will stop taking my medication. If you heal me within a month, I will believe.”
God answered her. She was indeed healed within a month. She gave her life to Jesus and began attending church. She says that, looking back now, she feels embarrassed that she had the audacity to speak to God in this way, without fear. She would not dare to now.
First Bible
She goes on to recount that, when she bought her first Bible in 1987, she was disappointed to find that it was printed in the Traditional Chinese Script. This was too difficult for her to read, as she had not had the benefit of much education. In her desperation to read the Scriptures, she poured out her sorrows to God. “What’s the point of me buying a Bible if I can’t read?” she lamented.
Prayer and tears
But through prayers, tears and faithful attendance at church, God answered and helped her. She can now read most parts of the Bible, and is also grateful that the Bible is now available in the Simplified Chinese Script. Now, she says, she can read and understand it more easily, and satisfy her thirst for God’s Word. (WR 402/24 - 06.06) [1 photo]