SBC in Bengao)
Johnson is married and has four children with his wife. He was 36 years old when I first met him, when he used to come home late from drinking sprees. I remember always finding him drunk every time I visited his family. In one of my visits, he was in excruciating pain and his wife told me that Johnson has been in severe pain and has been vomiting for several days already. I saw that he needed medical attention and I convinced him to have his condition checked at the Baguio General Hospital. At the hospital, it was found that his blood pressure has skyrocketed way above the normal level. I realized then that had I not came to visit the family that day, Johnson might have suffered a stroke and would not have overcome the possible consequence of paralysis.
After Johnson had sufficient time to recover, I challenged him to join his family in our weekly small group meetings. His children happen to show a lot of enthusiasm in our discussions and they sing with angelic voices. One time, in the midst of a discussion and while we sang Josh Groban’s ‘He Raise Me Up’, Johnson unexpectedly burst into tears. It was that time when he came to realize that he was really blessed to be alive and well in spite of his former vices and all because of God’s intervention. These days Johnson reads the Bible, memorizes Scriptures, and initiates prayers and short Bible discussions with his children. The temptation to go back to the bottle was strong, but he didn’t give up on meeting with the rest of the community every week. In fact, he was able to join our SBC Conference held at Philrice, Muñoz, Nueva Ecija and has been encouraged lately to join the SBC leadership training with me. The community continues to meet in Johnson’s house on Saturday afternoons.
This family of new believers is still vulnerable to persecution from neighbors and friends because of their new-found faith in Christ. But it remains a privilege to see Christ at work in the hearts and souls of his followers. Please pray for the protection of this young follower of Christ and his family. Pray for God to sustain Johnson’s family through his work as a carpenter and provide other opportunities for income.
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