Alicia and I have grown quite close over the past few months. I go and hang out in her family’s noodle shop with her in the mornings and we have time to chat, study some English phrases that will help her as she serves the large international student population that likes to frequent the restaurant, eat delicious noodles and develop a friendship.
Alicia is 7 months pregnant with her second child and will soon take a 24-hour train with her 5-year-old son to her hometown in the western part of China to have her baby. She will return in the Fall and plans to bring both children back with her. In a country where parents usually leave their children with grandparents and go work in other cities, she is making a novel choice. But she wants to raise her children. Her husband, Joshua, supports her in this, but feels bad because the noodle shop takes up so much of their time and their son spends most of his day playing on an iPad when he’s not in preschool.
Last night our whole family went to eat noodles, and my husband and I left with heavy hearts for this sweet family that God has brought into our lives. Their faces are burdened with the cares that sit on their shoulders. Alicia is on her feet all day despite her late stage of pregnancy and is in pain. They need to expand their shop because it does not provide enough space and that will mean a move for the family. A newly opened shop is not doing as well financially as they had hoped. A recent visit from a family member caused tension.
I can only praise God that He allows us to have a relationship with this family and that they are so open and willing to welcome us into their lives. My heart’s desire is that they will come to know the One. The One whose Name is Hope. Jesus.
Will you pray for Alicia and Joshua? Pray that their family will be transformed by the Hope that will come only from placing their life in the loving hands of Jesus.
Written by Ruth Raines