I had been asked to visit this Chinese ship by a colleague in Liverpool, because he said there was a Christian on board. This was very exciting for me as Chinese Christian seamen seem to be very rare.
So I visited the ship and asked if there were any Christians on board. They said no, but I was invited into the mess room (place for eating).
Later I asked about the man I'd been told about, so they brought him to me. We had a wonderful time chatting.
Fred (not real name) said that he had received a Bible (Chinese) in a Korean port and because he read it he thought that this made him a Christian. However, he had many questions and had no peace in his heart. He said it was so bad that he couldn't eat or sleep properly!
He said that he really needed to speak to a Chinese Christian to ask him the questions. Wonderfully I knew the leaders of the Chinese church in Cork and was able to bring my friend Jim (Chinese) to the ship. We then went back to Jim's house for fellowship and food.
Fred really enjoyed chatting to Joseph. Then one lady from the Chinese church said that we should pray. We had a lovely time of prayer and could really feel God's Holy Spirit with us. We sat in silence for perhaps 5 minutes enjoying the peace. Then Fred suddenly said "Now I know Jesus is alive!"
We were surprised and asked him how. He said that as we prayed, he could feel God's love coming to him. He said that this kind of love only exists amongst family members and that since we had opnly just met him this must be God's love!!!
Then he said something really profound. He'd had so many questions bothering him that he had no peace, and couldn't sleep etc...
Then he said "Questions can't do anything, but love can do everything!!"
God's love had reached his heart. In our culture we get so hung up on all the right questions and having all the right answers; on precision and being professional and knowing everything. However without love, knowledge (as it says in the Bible) just 'puffs up'. It's a waste of time without love. Love must be a (or perhaps the) mark of authentic mission.
Fred also began piecing together how God had answered his previous prayers! It was really amazing, and very moving. However he feared going back to the ship when he knew all the temptations and pressures from his crew-mates would surround him again. He asked us for some Christian music to encourage him.
Please pray for Fred who's wife laughed at him when he told her that he'd become a Christian.
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Another story of a lovely Christian Chinese seaman just sprang to mind.
This man told me that in 14 years sailing on Chinese ships he'd never met another believer. Their typical yearly contract last 10 months, with a 2 month vacation back home. Imagine how lonely this is away from family and unable to go to church or even meet another Christian!
This man told me that when he was little there was only 1 Christian family in their village. He was a very sick baby and the doctors told his parents that he was going to die. One old Christian lady in the village said that if the family became Christians then their baby son would be healed. The family agreed and miraculously he was healed! Praise God! Now there are many more Christians in the village.
Pray for this seaman who is often starved of fellowship, but clearly has a vibrant faith. It was such a blessing to meet him.
thanks for the story
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