As we’ve been preparing for a big Easter celebration with our friends this Sunday, we’ve been facing some serious opposition from the Enemy. We would really appreciate it if you would stand with us in prayer for this. This evening we were given the following information:
“After attending a government-approved church on Sunday, one of our core believer’s boyfriend, her boyfriend’s parents, and the pastor of that church strongly discouraged her from continuing to associate with us because we are foreigners and said that what we are doing is wrong. [My side note: well, what we’re doing is certainly not legal, if that’s what they mean]. She then proceeded to black list most of us on a popular social media outlet, as well as other Asian believers. Later this week, either this believer or her boyfriend (info not clear at this point) made some accusations to the heads of one of our main campuses that our group is basically a cult that is brainwashing people, putting drugs in their food, and other obviously outlandish charges. This caused the school to begin to make phone calls and ask questions, particularly of one of our other core believers, who has been called in before for sharing her faith on campus. We are continuing to pray for this friend and believe that God will help guide her and her boyfriend and lead them to the truth.”
At this point, we would really appreciate prayers both for our friend, our Easter celebration, and our other Asian friends. This girl (you can call her Lily) is a really sweet, caring friend, and this has all taken us by surprise. She has only been with her boyfriend for about a month; and not two weeks ago she and I were strolling through campus as she told me how happy she is to have found a guy who follows God. And, as our email tonight also stated, “This does not mean that [Lily], or her boyfriend are evil, or that all government-approved churches are bad, but that the Enemy is using them to come against us right now.” It’s so true. Lily is passionate about sharing God’s story, and has even helped two friends come to know God in the past few months.
Right now, we would especially appreciate prayers for:
- Lily, that our relationship with her would be repaired.
- Lily’s boyfriend, his parents, and his “church”, that God would open their eyes to the fact that we are all brothers and sisters in Him (and that we are not a cult).
- Us and our other Asian friends, that we would have wisdom and courage in the face of heightened scrutiny/persecution from various officials. That our friends especially would stand firm in their faith, that they would not be discouraged, and that we all will praise God all the more during this time.
- That we’ll be able to find an adequate back-up location for our Easter service. (It’s been decided that it’s wisest to move the service to another location, given that Lily is familiar with the place where we were originally planning on holding it.)
- The service in general – we have some friends that will be getting baptized together. Two of them have backed out in the past week due to the fact that they will be out of town. Please pray for peace and protection for those still planning on getting baptized this week. Please pray that God will be moving powerfully during the service.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. It means so much to all of us to know that you are thinking of us, thinking of our friends, and standing with us in prayer. I will keep you updated on any other happenings.