Apr 17-18, 2021
From the Pastor’s Desk: Pastor Jeanie Auyeung

I have read a testimony sometime ago. It was about a brother named Randy who was stranded in the desert and how he experienced God’s help in an unexpected way.

While on a two-year trip around the world in a Volkswagen camper, Rendy was stranded in the Sahara Desert for several days. The Hoggar is an area in Algeria where the Sahara stretches; it is a harsh landscape. The punishing terrain caused two shock absorbers in the camper to explode simultaneously, breaking the chassis. After sitting for three days, he saw a traveler pull up behind him in a small van. On the roof of his vehicle, he had some welding equipment. Unfortunately, neither the traveler nor he knew how to weld, and he had no welding rod. Randy prayed and then remembered the steel coat hangers he had packed away. With a torch on one and and a coat hanger in the other, he climbed under the camper and somehow managed to weld the broken chassis back in place.

What touches me about this is that Randy discovered the man with the welding outfit had started his journey in the desert long after his own, but before his crisis had occurred. This reminded him of the word of God in Isaiah 65:24. The Lord says, “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.”

Years ago, I heard a missionary couple from Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) shared their experiences in the mission field. The missionary met an old man there. What surprised him was that the old man told him, God had promised to send someone to tell them about Him 15 years ago while he was still a teenager, he did not know God would send him to Upper Volta in 15 years. More amazing is his wife shared that God told her to bring a wedding gown before she left for the mission field, while she met her husband there later.
There have been countless times I have seen God’s presence and help in my life. We never know what crisis or difficulties might lie ahead or what will happen in front of us. But by faith, we can know that God is on the way even before we call. Let us put our trust in Him. No matter what difficulty we will face, God is in it with us.