Unlikely Encounters Among Harvesters

We pray constantly for more workers to take the good news to the Hui. There are millions of Hui scattered across the entire country of China. Almost all of them have never had the opportunity to accept or reject Jesus as their Lord. As we look at the statistics and plan strategies we always come back to one main conclusion. We need more workers.

My friend and I boarded a plane as we headed off to a different part of Asia to go help at an orphanage. We were sitting on the plane next to a girl who I thought was just like everyone else on the plane, but she was not. “Ni shi na li ren” I asked in Chinese (Where are you from). “My parents are from Beijing,” she answered in Chinese with an interesting accent and then said, in English, with a notable American accent, “but I grew up in Austin Texas.”

She said she was a doctor. I said I was a student. She then hinted that she was a doctor in China who also had time to do some other things. I also consented to having some things that I do aside from studying Chinese. Finally we both got the hint that we were in Asia for the same reasons. It gets even better!

We discussed our passion not only for China but for the unreached minorities within China’s borders. She asked me, “Have you ever heard of the Hui?” Yes I have! She told me that they were one of the largest unreached people groups in China. She continued to tell me all about this people group and that she had even been able to share with some. She told me that, although she did not go to China to reach the Hui, she had such a passion for them that she couldn’t resist. I told her I had shared with the Hui a bit as well. We swapped stories of God’s faithfulness in our lives and ended on this one. God had placed me next to a fellow worker, another harvester, another Christian with a heart for the Hui. We swapped emails and departed, both encouraged to meet another worker.

No more than a week later I met a friendly stranger reading a book at a coffee shop. We began chatting and discovered that we both actually lived in China and were only out of the country for a few weeks. When I asked her what book she was reading she replied, “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus.” I told her I had heard of the book and listened to some of the author’s lectures. After this we both dropped our guard and began a deeper discussion. You only read that book for one reason – to reach Muslims. “I’ve been living in China for over ten years sharing with Chinese Muslims,” she told me.

Two separate women in the same week! I write this to thank you for your prayers. God is indeed sending more and more harvesters. I write this to spur on your prayers. I also write to ask you to pray and ask God if you are the next harvester for the Hui!

Prayer Requests

• Thank God for the harvesters he has already sent out among the Hui.

• Ask God to continue sending out harvesters into the harvest among the Hui.

• Pray harvesters will work together to grow God’s church among the Hui.