What took you so long?
28/05/2010 2:49 am Admin John Watts <au-mediaSPAMFILTER@omf.net>
A prayer team was taken into an area of the Mekong region, where the majority of the people are Hmong. The terrain is very rough there, and it is very difficult to grow food. Often times the ground is more rock than dirt. The prayer team walked through a Hmong village and found a group of people sitting around talking. They went up and had a little chat with them. In this group there was an older woman who sat over to the side, putting in her two bits here and there.
Afterward, back at the guest house they were staying at, they sat down for their end of the day meeting.
“I feel like we need to go back and talk to that older lady.” One of the group members said.
“Yeah, I feel that way too.” Another person added.
They went around the group, and everyone, individually had been given a little nudge by the Holy Spirit that this woman needed to be reached. The next day, one of the translators and one of the prayer team went to this woman’s house. They knocked on the door, but the person who answered was not the old woman. It was an old woman, but it wasn’t the old woman. It was her younger sister.
“Oh,” The sister said, “She isn’t here right now. She’s out checking on her corn field. But, please come in and wait for her.”
While they waited, the sister brought out some traditional Hmong dress, and called for a photographer. So, while they waited for this 74 year old woman to come back from working in her fields, they had an impromptu photo shoot.
Eventually the old woman came home and sat down with the translator and the prayer walker.
“Tell me,” She said, “about your God who is more powerful than the spirits.”
The translator went through the entire chronological teaching (a shortened version, which takes about 20 minutes), summing up the history of everything from Adam to the death of Jesus.
“I believe!” The woman said as soon as the translator had finished. This was quick, much quicker than normal.
“Let’s go through it again, to make sure that you understand it all.” The translator said, so they did.
“I Believe! I believe!” The old woman said emphatically. This was very hard to believe. Hmong people usually have questions they want answered. The Hmong in that area were known for being especially stubborn. Just to be sure, they went through the chronological teaching two more times.
“I believe,” The old woman said, finally, “I’ve been waiting to hear this all my life, now I can die in peace. Why did it take you so long to come?”
- A Mekong field worker