One of the Bouyei believers was eager to move to the city to teach in a small school opened to reach out to Bouyei children. He was so eager he sold his only cow, needed to farm his small plot of land, for way under market value. But then, as he was ready to move, one of the believers involved in the city, decided he did not have the qualifications to teach in the school and decided not to hire him. He was so hurt by these events that he stopped coming to fellowship. The leaders of the fellowship took 600 Yuan out of their total funds of 900 Yuan to help this brother buy another cow so he could farm his land and support his family. Even though there were a few complaints about spending 2/3 of the group’s funds to buy one man a cow, the leaders felt it was more important to show this one brother God’s love than worrying about how much was left in their treasury.
- Please pray for them to continue to shine as lights in that dark province.
Out of School to Beg
This patient, who underwent a leg amputation for chronic bone infection, has refused to send her daughter to school, despite offers to help her with tuition. We suspect that the reason is that the girl brings in significant income through begging. Even though ZJQ and her sister are in ways dependent on the 8 year old girl, they have not treated her well. The girl has come to clinic with marks on her face from where her aunt hit her. About two weeks ago, the girl disappeared. While we understand the miserable conditions of her own home, we fear the possibility of her falling into worse hands than those of her aunt and mother. In the past, we heard of cases in which Fagin-like characters kidnapped children, cut off their hands to make them look pitiful and then sent them out to beg.
- Please pray for her protection and safe return.
Evil Spirits Not Good at All
WF’s father soberly, and even regretfully, told me he did not see any way he could break free of the evil spirits since his wife had been a practitioner of divination for over 20 years. He said he had never believed in them and had tried to break with them many years ago. But his wife had never agreed to it and she cherished the fact that she was able to help many people with various illnesses and problems. Moreover, it was a source of income for their poor family. He felt, however, that his daughter, WF and her husband should believe and continue to study and follow God, because he had clearly seen the Lord healing their illnesses and taking care of them.
When I asked, “Well, do you think these evil spirits are good to you and are taking care of you?” He said, “Oh no, they are not good to us at all.” His eldest son died 7 years ago from tuberculosis and now he is raising his son’s two children.
He raises and sells dogs and last month three of his best dogs died suddenly, causing him to lose over 2000 Yuan, a devastating loss for him. He felt the reason the dogs died was because he was trying “to walk two paths.” I challenged him to think of the good of his family and where they would be in twenty years if they continued to serve their harsh taskmasters. Even more importantly, where would they be in eternity, if they continued to follow this dead-end route?
- Please pray for this man, that as he ponders the cost of following God, he would make his decision in light of eternity. WF’s husband returns from the countryside this month. Pray they would seek the Lord together.
