1
One year, the church recruited a number of “small stay”, a group of children who had just come from the country, a gaggle, nothing has been done, fellowship, worship need to be carted off. Yong Elder brother should be the main driver.
Brother Yong is a bit of a celebrity in our church.
He was a longtime Christian brother, a new assistant professor in a department that had produced several Nobel Prize winners. On top of that, he got an early pass on the “National Talent” fast track and got green in less than a year. And his new grand cross, on highway I74, is really cool.
Of course, these are all worldly and empty vanities that neither Solomon in the Old Testament nor his brothers and sisters of the church care about.
Of course, even with god’s grace, he was a little unhappy. Yong brother is still single, more than thirty, not only single, even love have not talked about. If the cause is to be found, it is probably his unblessed left hand, except for the sister whom God had arranged for him.
Yong brother’s left hand was shriveled and curled like a chicken’s foot, tightly bound by countless invisible strings.
According to the most powerful king and elder in the church, this is leprosy, which Jesus did not cure when he travelled in Israel, and we must pray more.
For years the whole church had been praying for this left hand in various ways, tentacles, kneels, meetings, and spiritual prayers, but it refused to open, as if to defy God’s good will.
Fortunately, Yong Ge received the Grace of the Lord for many years, and he wanted to be open enough. Every time we prayed, he was sure to add, “Thank god for my right hand. Thank God for reminding me with his left hand at every moment how limited and fragile human life is and how much you are needed. Thank the Lord, praise the Lord, and these prayers are offered in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen!”
Needless to say, yong’s prayer made the church feel that he was a blessed brother.
2
Perhaps being single for too long, Yong brother has given up a bit.
The matted hair showed that he was a bachelor who didn’t know how to deal with girls. He might not even have the motivation to wash his hair unless he had to give a lecture to his students.
In addition to his left hand and hair, he had one more problem: bad skin. A man in his late thirties with acne all over his face. The sisters in the church couldn’t stand it, so they recommended a few skin care products to him. Yong’s withered left hand follows his smile and shakes a few words in front of his chest. But his sisters chase after him and ask, “so many junior new members of the church. You drive so fashionable suvs and send them here and there, but there is no one in love with you?”
A sister in the Lord, after all.
Yong Brother couldn’t make any more jokes. He raised his right hand and said, “I trust God more than I trust man.”
The sisters had no choice but to abandon the gods. Just secretly, they always said to yong Elder brother to introduce a sister – even if not “in the Lord” (Christian) sister, “outside” of the girl also line – let so excellent yong elder brother to the outside of the girl into the Lord of the sister, how good.
It was a good idea to change a girl into a sister, but it never came to pass. Over time, girls turning into sisters has become as important a topic as the US election, the new backpack or parenting education. As the subject of discussion, Yong Brother seems to be less important.
3
Come to think of it, yong elder brother’s suv, also really sat a lot of junior, tall and thin, colorful, various styles have, always let him think of those colorful mobile phone case in the mobile phone shop somehow.
After some real contact, Yong brother found that they have a common characteristic – love late. Be it church or bible study or prayer meeting, or even a meal, you’ll be late.
Yong brother set off, call to tell junior, the phone does not pick up; All the way to the phone, no answer; The car stopped at school sister downstairs, or not to pick up.
Yong Brother had to sit in the car, open the Bible with black leather cover, and patiently wait while he read the scripture for tonight’s study. Just as he was reading this, the phone rang, “Excuse me, can you wait another five minutes? Almost ready!”
Of course, it’s not five minutes. It takes ten minutes to get well and give thanks to God. Years of service down, Yong elder brother early see not strange not strange calm.
Just come to the church of the girls are more such, do not put other people’s time when the time. But don’t worry, God will change them. Even God can’t change temporarily, so don’t come to church. Blessed are they who come to the church cheerfully, who are near God… And just as I was thinking, bang, bang, someone’s knocking on the door, it’s junior, let me in — this dress, this perfume.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“It’s all right, it’s all right.” Yong elder brother dare not look directly, the acne on his face is red swelling.
“What a nice car you have… Can I use a mirror?”
“Mirror?”
Before yong elder brother reacts, junior already took out makeup case.
That’s what it means. Yong Brother quickly folded up his Bible, took the steering wheel with his left arm, and pulled out the makeup mirror behind the sun visor with his right hand.
His curled left hand was visible, right under the eyes of the schoolgirls.
It’s not that the church didn’t advise Yong To wear gloves, especially since he joined the choir. But yong elder brother always ask in reply, this have what good conceal of. Everyone saw him so stubborn, and see the king of the elder also did not make a clear statement, also give up.
So Yong Brother’s left hand has been exposed in front of his brothers and sisters.
As time passed, they even forgot that he had a healthy and blessed right hand.
Sitting in the car, junior couldn’t help but notice the strange-looking left hand. She was a newcomer and didn’t know yongge’s famous name. Of course, she didn’t know the left hand.
Before that, she had never been to church or read the Bible. Study, exam, study, test, promotion… Between the entrance examination, the youth of 20 years old was almost drained, and I never had time to think carefully about whether there was god or not.
What does it mean to have a God or no God? It took Seven days for God to create everything. Eve was Adam’s rib. Jesus rose from the dead and went to heaven… The stories in the Bible sound like superstitions. Nevertheless, she agreed to join the church.
Speechless, the SUV pulls up to the student apartment building. She asked where it was. Yong Brother said this was his house.
“Is your home? Not going to church tonight?” Junior was stunned.
“We’ll improvise in my house tonight. We’ll have dinner first, then bible study. The first sisters should have got everything ready.”
“Sorry, I never go to the boys’ apartment after 7 p.m. Even the boys’ cars are rarely used.”
The car was silent.
“Could you please take me back?”
There was silence, and then the engine started up again.
4
It was also the sisters’ idea to arrange the dinner and bible study at Yong Brother’s house.
They thought it was a chance to “show off our wonderful brothers to the new junior,” so they not only prepared the food, but also had a good time cleaning out the bachelor’s room.
But this night we waited for a long time, only to find that Yong Brother pushed the door and came in alone. Ask what’s going on. He smiled and said, “I mistook the address and didn’t find anyone. Let’s get on with our prayers.”
A few careful sister seemed to guess yong elder brother didn’t tell the truth, the in the mind with a sigh, all also remains the same: began to pray, pray for god’s wisdom read scripture, turn to the Gospel of John, Samaritan woman with well, discuss the scriptures, summary text, ending prayer, thank god’s word, pray that god will continue to visit his brother left hand, on the dessert, talking and laughing, then scattered field, back to their homes.
As the winter approached, Yong’s left hand opened a little. Brothers and sisters throughout the church seemed to see hope – thank The Lord for hearing our prayer.
The blessed right hand went to America
There is, yong elder brother’s marriage also seems to have a promising: he will return to China blind date.
It is said that his parents met a young girl in their hometown. She is a fresh graduate, preparing for the civil service exam, but she is willing to come to the United States. The most important thing is that the two old people “know everything”.
According to yong’s private complaint, his parents strongly opposed his going to church, believing that Jesus was delaying the son’s life’s work. Of course, the two old men did not see how enthusiastic the church was about Yong Elder brother, but just desperately urged his son to return home, return home, return to blind date. Yong Elder brother is very distressed for this.
According to his understanding of the Canon, Christians were categorically forbidden to talk about marriage with “outsiders.” However, he is also an only child, the first generation of the family planning policy, if not according to the parents’ wishes to speed up the marriage, to carry on the family line, will let the two old people in the hometown of the small county live without a sense of existence.
Yong Elder brother even regrets: “the so-called old have no depend on, not live to be too old to have no one to raise, but live to find that the people who raise you don’t live according to your idea.”
Yong Elder brother was thus caught between faith and filial piety, unable to advance or retreat.
For this reason, he often talked with the elders of the king, who advised him, “There are many ways in which God can love the world, and so should Christians. Your feelings for your parents are of course also a kind of love. God’s word is light, God’s word is love, and the core of the Canon is to love God and to love. So listen to your parents, happy to return to China blind date, God will keep you.”
Still the king elder spirit life is deep enough, the weight that speaks is sufficient also. Yong Elder brother asked for leave with the department and booked the air ticket back to China. Yong Elder brother to do so, if according to the Internet that help Chinese say, is not good in the United States, can not find a wife, play endure not, ran back to the country to “carry sister”.
But not in the church: at the farewell prayer meeting, the brothers and sisters held hands, closed their eyes together, and asked God to bless Yong Brother, the girl who “would like to come to America”, and asked God to use Yong Brother to spread the Gospel to her, bring her to the church, and make her a good sister in the Lord…
The more they prayed, the more confident they became, as if the girl were standing in the middle of the church, praying and worshiping Together.
5
Full of the wishes and expectations of his brothers and sisters, Yong Brother flew home. After being bombarded by questions from his sisters in the WeChat group, yong said only that he had met the girl and that “everything was fine.”
Feel all right? Don’t put up the picture now! The sisters grew more excited, as if they were dating themselves.
This time yong brother also surprisingly happy, immediately sent over the photo, is a group photo of two people. Dressed in a jumper and slacks, the girl was as smart and stylish as the juniors who came to study in America.
Yong also played along, wearing a leather biker jacket bought in the United States. At first glance, they seem to match.
In the photo, Yong’s left hand is tucked into a leather jacket pocket. I don’t know if anyone noticed, but no one commented on it. Maybe Yong Brother finally realized something? Or did he fall in love with the girl from his hometown? But none of that matters. The important thing was that his brothers and sisters thought he was going to have a good date. Keep praying.
Just before Brother Yong brought the girl back to the United States, the church had an important event: The elder Wang’s stomach cancer had recurred.
The year before last the first diagnosis, surgery, stomach cut half, and then on chemotherapy, in order to prevent recurrence. At that time, the church not only prayed all night, but also arranged for brothers and sisters to take turns to take care of the hospital, to help his family cook.
Under god’s protection, the elder wang finally survived. The doctor was also pleased with the treatment and said that if it didn’t come back in five years, it wouldn’t.
After he was discharged from hospital, The elder Wang himself paid much attention to his recuperation, and people often prayed for the remaining half of his stomach. But the cancer cells did come back, and with a vengeance.
Whatever god’s plan, the elder Wang returned to the operating table and half his stomach shrank to a quarter. Subsequent chemotherapy doses were higher to prevent the cancer from spreading, and the side effects alone can overwhelm a person alive. But doctors are uncertain about the efficacy. At this stage, cancer can only go so far.
The 60-year-old elder Wang was tormented by cancer cells and chemotherapy. Brothers and sisters watched as they could do nothing but pray and help cook. If the elder survives, it is by the power of God; If it doesn’t, that’s grace, because God is going to take him home. We did not know which of these things we would see, but we prayed and cooked more and more diligently.
Yong elder brother in the country also heard the news, but he was about to become a bridegroom, unable to escape.
Yes, relatives and friends have already planned for this young couple: get the license, married, the groom took the bride to fly back to the United States, but two years, the bride not only gave birth to a baby, but also “dyed green”, two old people take turns to the United States to help take care of baby, by the way travel, isn’t it beautiful? What are you waiting for?
Yong Brother was guilty of not being able to fly back to the United States to pray to the elder Wang. In WeChat, he even suggested that getting married at this point would be a sin. Among the group, the newly married brother left a prayer in his voice: “Lord almighty, we are weak and ignorant. We do not know why the king brother is going through all this pain. We do not know what good things you have prepared for us. We are not worthy of thy love, nor of thy name, but keep thy brother, and strengthen his will, and give him hand through this physical tribulation. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen!”
After praying, he quoted one of his favorite verses: “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” “(John 14:13)
With the prayer of the brothers and sisters, God once again revealed his power and mercy: the elder king not only recovered, but was able to eat and drink again.
By the time Yong Brother flew back to the United States with his bride, the elders had returned to the church to attend the service. Not only brothers and sisters, but Jewish doctors admitted it was “an absolute miracle”.
6
Wang Elder recovery, yong Elder brother marriage, the church this New Year party is really everybody happy.
Only one thing seemed out of place, and that was Yong’s bride. This girl has never been abroad, but she has her own understanding and expectations of America. She couldn’t relate this Chinese church, surrounded by cornfields, to the romantic Seattle, sex and the City, iphones or UGG boots.
At the New Year’s party, she was silent, her eyes alert and hostile.
Didn’t Yong brother mention the church and the Gospel of John to her on the blind date? Brother and sister know elder brother is human, do not believe he can conceal with the girl deliberately what. It was felt that either the two families were in too much of a hurry, or that the girl had misunderstood America too much. It doesn’t matter. Let’s pray together, even the cancer cells are all gone. How hard can it be to get back the heart of a girl who grew up in a small town?
Before the party began, it was customary to pray hand in hand. Wearing a wedding ring on his right hand, He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and offered a prayer: “Dear Lord, thank you for keeping us this past year…”
His bride stood beside him, neither wearing her ring nor touching his hand. Everyone closed their eyes and muttered something to him. Only the bride stared at them, her eyes wide open.
“Love our Heavenly Father, you are god. I will count the abundance of the anointing that you have poured on us throughout the year.”
Back in the county seat, she had seen the pimply-faced man’s prayers. Before “getting married,” she and he had six meals together, in their homes and in the county’s most tasteful restaurants. Each time he would hang his head, close his eyes, and move his mouth as if to say something, but not to speak.
When he got to America, he said his preprandial prayer aloud, and she could hear his words: “Father,” “There is always,” “Counting,” “anointing,” and so on. Each word is a Chinese character when taken apart, but why is it so awkward when put together?
“Father, thank you for strengthening brother Wang’s body –“
“Father, I thank you that you love me as you love Jesus Christ. I thank you, Father, that your love endures, that your love is better than life –“
The more his voice trembled, the redder the pimples became.
“Father, thank you for giving me a family –“
As yong’s prayers continued, the girl suddenly burst into tears.
7
The crowd opened their eyes, looked at the sobbing bride and then at the groom, who simply turned away from his face and joined the food line with the right hand of his wedding ring on a tray. All they could do was ignore it, eat it, drink it — the party had begun.
The girl went to the corner alone. Leaning against the wall, he dried his eyes and was presented with a plate of blueberry cake and pieces of fried chicken. Yong Brother picked it out for her. They met alone for the first time in the most stylish restaurant in the county, mixing Chinese and Western food. She had ordered blueberry cake, and he clearly remembered.
She gobbled up chicken nuggets, took the keys to the SUV, and never looked back from the church.
In the church, the sisters couldn’t help but ask Yong brother: Is the bride sick?
“What’s the matter? I’m still jet lagged.” Yong Brother concentrated on the food on the tray.
A moment of embarrassment. The sisters turned to him and asked how his hand was.
“Still like that. I had a few needles pricked in my hometown. Who knows.” Yong Brother put down the tray and held out his left hand, frowning and looking at it as if he did not recognize it.
And when they had eaten and drunk, they scattered all the people. Yong Brother asked if the elder Wang had a sleeping bag.
“She sleeps in the bedroom during the week, and I in the living room. The sofa at home is too hard, the lumbar spine can’t stand it.” Yong elder brother said.
“We don’t have sleeping bags. Ask the other brothers?” The elder Wang sighed and put his hand on yong’s shoulder. “Da Yong, let’s pray together.”
“Pray? I’m just borrowing a sleeping bag.” Without closing his eyes or praying, Yong Brother turned and walked away.
The blessed right hand went to America
Before long, the bible study class rotated through the brothers’ and sisters’ houses. Seeing it was Yong’s turn, we said we should go to another home first.
“Why don’t you come to my house? Is it too small?” “Yong Brother asked.
By then, everyone had noticed that the wedding ring on Yong’s right hand was gone. Maybe to the left hand? But his left hand had recently been gloved again, and he had no idea where the ring was.
“Dayong hasn’t been quite himself lately.” While Yong Elder brother is not in, wang Elder spoke to brothers and sisters worry. “What is marriage? Marriage is two sinful people bound together. It’s hard to do without God in the middle. Come, let’s pray for him.
After a few prayers, we felt confident again and saw no reason why God should not take care of Brother Yong’s marriage. Although the elder Wang was too ill to go with them, they brought bibles and a hot baked cake to Yong Brother’s apartment building.
The home Yong settled into was much the same as it had been before: the stove was thickly greasy, the old refrigerator was rumbling, the bottle cap of Lao Gan Ma’s hot sauce was thoroughly dried, and the carpet that had never been turned over and washed had been stained several times over with dirt.
The shabby sleeping bags rolled into a jumble in the middle of the carpet. The bedroom door was closed. Yong Brother glanced at everyone: “Are you all here? Hurry up when you’re all here. Prayer -“
They closed their eyes, trying not to think of Yong’s bride, trying not to think of the closed bedroom door. But from the door came the song: “I was in the People’s Square eating fried chicken/and at this moment where are you –“
“It’s not that I don’t know/love needs to be tortured/I’m not praying/I’m eating fried chicken in People’s Square –“
The crowd was at a loss. Yong had finished his prayer, opened his bible, and said, “the Gospel of John begins, ‘in the beginning youdao, the word is with god, and the word is god. He was with God in the beginning. ‘So what do you think John said?”
But that night, no one shared their understanding of the Gospel of John. Only the songs from behind the bedroom door were hammering away.
“You can take the cake back. I won’t go downstairs and deliver it.” Yong Brother packed up his Bible and spread out his sleeping bag.
That’s how the bible study ended.
8
Out of the yong brother’s door, brothers and sisters began to discuss countermeasures.
Someone said: Still have to find the elder king. And some said, The elder himself is yet in health. Another said: Let’s pray. After all, I’m afraid there is only prayer left.
But the result of this prayer overturns everyone’s expectation: before long, the girl who loudly proclaimed “People’s Square to eat fried chicken”, Yong’s bride, was actually sent to the emergency room.
The crowd panicked, thinking that the girl had taken it too hard, and went to the hospital, where Yong brother was sitting at the door of the ward, his haggard face covered with acne.
“What about people? Is everything all right?”
“Acute appendicitis. Did you say something or nothing?” Yong Brother seized his left wrist and stared at the hand with indifference: though still gloved, it moved, opening and closing like a mouth, trying to speak, but stuck in his throat, unable to say anything.
In the United States, without health insurance, the cost of the emergency room is often worse than the illness itself. The bride of yong elder brother did not go up insurance, do not know is she oneself refuse to buy, still yong elder brother did not have time to buy. Anyway, the bill was kind of scary.
There was a lot of talk about the idea. Someone said to write her a low income certificate so that she could apply for a waiver of emergency room expenses. Some people say this is not possible, low income certification is only for green card holders, couples only get married, the woman has to wait several years to get the green card
“No row, no proof. Out of the hospital, I will send her home, divorce, formalities!” Brother Yong’s left hand suddenly harvests his fist and smashes it on the coffee table at the door of the hospital room.
So, in order to pay his emergency bill, Yong brother not only took advantage of the scholarship he had saved for his PhD, but also sold his SUV on the Internet. The buyer was a young man with money in China, and the price was not too bad.
He once again forced himself to ask for leave from the department, booked two tickets, returned home, and got divorced.
In the old days, the church would send off prayers. But this time the situation was a little special. The brothers and sisters did not know what to do, so they had to ask the elder King. But things didn’t look good on the elder Wang’s side either: a shadow had appeared in his lung, a round one that grew larger and larger until it turned into two, a ten-million-fold enlarged cancer that kept signaling death.
As their time on earth was numbered, the elders of the king became more and more faithful to God, and their voice in the church became more and more important.
“Pray. Whether Dayong himself comes or not, pray for him. All is committed to the Lord. A man cannot bear a burden in the world on his own shoulder.” The elders said.
Close your eyes and pray.
At the prayer meeting, Yong Brother came alone, but he did not pray. Like the girl who was going to divorce him, he opened his eyes wide and glanced over each of his praying brothers and sisters.
His left hand and right hand held each other. Without gloves, the left hand would be no different from a normal hand.
“Thank God for his mercy, thank God for his power, thank God for saving our brave brothers.” The elder king was still leading them in prayer, closing their eyes: “I walk in darkness, but I do not see the light of God…”
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