At the end of each online worship service, Pastor S of a church in Beijing says, "Everyone bless each other before you leave." One sister responded by typing the word "missing" in the chat box. This is what many brothers and sisters say: "we miss the church and each other; we miss our times together of worship, praise, prayer and sharing."
Recently, Sister Fen from Jiangsu Province visited some brothers and sisters from church. "Since we haven’t met for a long time, there must be some brothers and sisters who are weak in their faith, but we are all very happy to be able to share with each other," she said. She earnestly prayed, "Let the church open as soon as possible!"
Because many of the brothers and sisters had returned to work and had to work during the day, Fen and a few other brothers and sisters visited their brothers and sisters in the church on Sunday evening. They spent the time in praise, praying and sharing with each other.
During the outbreak, Sister Feng, who had been helping another sister in her group by talking to her on the phone, was able to visit her recently. The sister became ill during the outbreak and was unable to go to the hospital. She prayed and was not healed. This went on for two or three months and she became very depressed.
Sister Feng, who could only console and encourage her by phone in the beginning, communicated with her at home. The sister, who has believed in God in for just a short time, was very disappointed because of her poor health. Sister Feng understands her situation and will continue to pray for her, praying for God to have mercy on her, so that she can be healed and return to the Lord.
Brother D's Church in Henan has 150-160 elderly believers who were largely unable to attend online worship during the epidemic. Brother D has been thinking of them. Each Sunday for the past two weeks, Brother D has gathered several old believers who live nearby and helped them participate in online worship. He also communicates with them and helps them with their daily lives. This can encourage more brothers and sisters to join in, helping their elderly neighbors participate in online worship.
Sister Z of Henan loves to share words of praise, "God loves us, we should praise our great God anytime and anywhere!" The other day, she and several nearby sisters gathered outdoors to offer praise to God together. Everyone joined hands and sang "Love brings us together."
In Hubei, Sister L, who has been paying attention to merchants, recently visited some ordinary people and ordinary merchants. "Everyone's life is very difficult," she said, "and many businesses have gone bankrupt and people have no money. We pray to God that He will lead China out of today's economic downturn. There is only so much we can do, but there is power in God. We believe that God will make all of China more righteous, fulfilling God's power and goodness." Some brothers and sisters are losing faith because of the economy. Sister L urged them to pray more, to endure this time of trial, and to believe in God's righteousness and power.
- Translated by Heirs Han
