Sister Freaks

by Rebecca St. James

  That desire to be with Jesus translates into Amanda’s actions on behalf of others. One day she saw a girl she didn’t know at church who seemed distant and sullen. Amanda spent time with her, asking lots of questions. Ellie was homeless, living in a tent where her parents sold meth. “When it was time for her to leave, I was broken,” Amanda said. “I had no way to contact her. I didn’t know if I would ever see her again.”

  But over the next few months, Ellie came to church again and again. Amanda sought her out. “I was always fascinated at how much she could talk. I sat and listened to her stories and dropped snippets of godly advice whenever possible.

  “But she had a hard time leaving her life behind her,” Amanda says. “She didn’t enjoy most Christians because of their rules, and she couldn’t understand why people would choose a pure lifestyle. But for some reason, I found favor in her eyes.”

  Ellie continued to go to church for a year as her friendship with Amanda deepened. Amanda noticed that whenever worship began at church, Ellie started crying. One Sunday afternoon, when they were on their way to Amanda’s house, Ellie seemed ready to meet Jesus. “We pulled over into an empty school parking lot in my little beat-up ’88 Honda and got down to business,” Amanda says.

  Ellie met Christ in the abandoned parking lot. “It was funny because I always thought it would be this huge emotional experience, but it wasn’t really,” Amanda says. “There was a firmness and solitude about it. She had finally come home to the one who loves her most. And in that, we became bonded in the name of Jesus Christ as sisters. We still hang out to this day.” Around church, Amanda calls Ellie “NC”—for New Creation.

  Amanda is currently working part-time in her church with youth and trusting God to provide for her needs. She says, “It is exciting to get a glimpse of what my future will be like when I constantly put it in God’s hands. But it’s not even about the future, or the outcome. It’s about the here and now. It’s about the process of each moment. God is teaching me to walk in the Holy Spirit all the time.”

  Even when it hurts.

  Jesus [said], “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

  (JOHN 14:6)

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  ling

  Willing to Suffer

  It was 1973 and nine-year-old Ling watched her father die of cancer, wondering if there really was a God at all. Ling and her family lived in a tiny bamboo hut in China. They had always been poor, unsure of when the next meal would come. Once her father had passed away, surviving was even more difficult.

  Ling’s mother and father had been inseparable. They never exchanged harsh words. The children saw their deep love for each other and for God. Ling knew her mother was deeply distraught at losing her husband, but nothing seemed to shake her faith in God.

  Winter was setting in and the hut was cold. Ling’s mother asked her to kneel down and pray with her one morning. Ling resented the request, as she really couldn’t see any evidence that God cared for them. Her mother continued to pour out her heart to God with great fervor. Ling just knelt quietly, not wanting to say anything to God, even if He did exist.

  Ling’s mother realized that they would not be able to survive financially. She told the children that the family needed to move in with their grandmother. In Chinese culture, women depended on men for their well-being and happiness, but Ling’s mother was not interested in remarrying. She wanted to go to work and get a job. Her mother was very opposed to the idea.

  After two years, Ling’s grandmother announced that she had arranged another marriage for her mother. “Mother, I don’t want to marry again. I could never love anyone the way I loved Jun.” Her mother’s pleading did no good, and she had to heed her parent’s wishes. Ling and her siblings had to adjust to a new stepfather.

  Shu-tan did not treat the children well. Ling despised him but kept her feelings to herself. She was strong and healthy and began working as soon as she was allowed. In the fields she earned almost as much as any man. She also helped design a machine that made tofu. At fifteen, she desperately wanted to get away from her stepfather.

  Ling didn’t hear her mother pray as often as she once did. The prayers she did overhear occasionally were for Ling and her sister, who labored many hours under Shu-tan’s orders. Her mother was one of the few secret believers in the village of Ru Tain. Disdain grew stronger each day between Shu-tan and Ling. Finally, he suggested she find a husband. He didn’t care for her and wanted one less mouth to feed.

  Ling continued to work harder and harder, avoiding her stepfather’s path. He didn’t press the idea of marriage. Ling was grateful and just kept working all she could. Work took her mind off her family’s situation. She knew her mother was not happy, but she knew she could not change Shu-tan.

  But one day, Ling saw her mother beam with a hope she had not seen in some time. Her mother excitedly told her an evangelist was coming to the village. All Ling felt toward God was bitterness, but to please her mother, Ling attended the evangelist’s meeting.

  While the evangelist preached, Ling felt her heart soften and she began to listen intently. Though she had heard the gospel before, it had never made sense to her. But that night was different. Her heart was stirred and she knew God was real. She wept, realizing the pain she had caused her mother, mocking her prayers and rejecting her faith. Ling’s mother embraced her, offering forgiveness and assurance that God had a plan for her life.

  For the next year, Ling attended Bible meetings with her mother. Her outlook changed, and she felt joy in her life for the first time. Then she began to have dreams about wheat fields. She didn’t know what they meant, until at a prayer meeting, Ling and her mother read Luke 10: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (v. 2). Ling knew God was calling her to preach the gospel. Her mother knew it was time for her to obey God’s call.

  At seventeen, with little money and no Bible, Ling set out to preach to the lost souls of China. She walked from village to village, sharing her faith. Some of the villages she visited had a Bible, so she studied and tried to memorize Scripture when she could. Ling preached with charisma and conviction, and young people particularly were drawn to her ministry. The people of China were starved for a message of hope.

  Ling’s ministry continued to grow. Hundreds gathered to hear her preach and share her faith. Many house churches formed in the villages, and the government began to take notice. Ling was put on the “most wanted” list. Her life on the run began.

  For a while, she was able to keep running, sharing the gospel wherever she went, but finally officials threw her into prison. She became very ill but continued to labor with the other prisoners. Officers beat her at her interrogation, but she never gave them the answers they wanted. Finally, after five months of brutal treatment, they had to admit they had no evidence that she had done anything wrong. Reluctantly, they let her go.

  Ling enjoyed her freedom and continued to preach and encourage the house churches. Later, she faced prison once again. She suffered severe loneliness, illness, and hardships of every kind. But whenever possible, she shared her trials and challenged the crowds to live for Christ, no matter the cost.

  Life on the run hasn’t gotten easier for Ling. But she is well educated in the school of suffering and knows danger will always loom over her path. The house churches of China continue to grow because of faithful believers like Ling. Two-thirds of the evangelistic teams sent to remote villages were women during the early stages of this movement. Who would have thought God could use a skeptical, bitter young girl to bring hope to the villages of China?

  Ling’s ministry continues today, as she continues to look for opportunities to plant more house churches. Imprisonment, illness, hunger, and persecution seem inevitable, but Ling remains resolved to take on the dangerous work of evangelism. She is willing to suffer because she knows the cause is worthy.

  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned
the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

  (Philippians 4:12)

  4

  vicki

  Growing in Jesus

  Vicki always wanted to be a mom and have a family when she grew up. Her childhood was a hard one, and there wasn’t much time for the fun and play other children enjoyed. Vicki’s father was an alcoholic and suffered from emphysema. Money was tight, and fighting and stress filled her home.

  At an early age, Vicki learned to help her mother with the household duties and bought her own clothes. She spent many hours in the hospital visiting her dad. The emphysema was killing him. Though her dad wouldn’t stop drinking, he wanted his children to learn to love the Lord. Vicki went to church every Sunday and at an early age made a decision to follow Christ. Despite all the struggles in her home, she knew that Jesus brought hope.

  At seventeen, Vicki started dating Gary. They met at the bowling alley where he worked. Though he was not a Christian, she was quickly drawn to his kind, gentle spirit. His demeanor was so attractive, so different, from the strife she had experienced at home. The young couple soon found themselves in love. Vicki and Gary were inseparable.

  As a Christian, she knew she should abstain from sex until marriage. But six months into the relationship, Vicki found herself pregnant.

  Marriage was the only option Vicki and Gary considered. Vicki had always wanted a baby girl, but she knew this wasn’t the way to start a family. She had fallen short of God’s best for her. How could she tell her father? Her sister had become pregnant out of wedlock, but she knew her parents expected better from Vicki. And the families at church—what would they think? Vicki feared rejection and judgment. She desperately wanted her Christian family to love her baby despite her mistake. Through all the complications, Gary and Vicki planned their wedding and were anxious for the birth of their baby.

  The pregnancy was difficult. Vicki was very sick. Surprisingly, everyone supported Gary and Vicki in the months ahead. Her church threw them a beautiful baby shower, providing all she would need as a new mother. Cristina Marie was born June 20, 1970. Vicki couldn’t believe how beautiful she was. God had blessed them with a baby girl, and the doctor said she was perfectly healthy! Life was looking up for the young couple despite the rough beginning.

  Vicki loved being a mother and doted on her daughter. But after several months, Cristina became sick. Vicki took her to the doctor thinking she might have the flu. The doctor gave her a shot and sent them home. But Cristina didn’t get any better, and Vicki felt uneasy. The baby’s condition worsened, and she was rapidly losing weight.

  One morning, Vicki went into the nursery to check on her and found Cristina covered in vomit and diarrhea. She rushed her to the hospital. Vicki held Cristina close, praying for God to heal her baby girl. But it was not to be. Cristina looked up into her mommy’s eyes one last time, and then her spirit quietly left her. The doctors tried to revive the infant for forty-five minutes, but her little heart wouldn’t start again. Cristina was only five months and three days old. Gary arrived at the hospital and heard the tragic news.

  Completely devastated, Vicki sought answers from the doctor. The doctor first blamed Vicki, the young mother, for the illness of her child. She knew Cristina had been a well cared for baby and couldn’t understand how he could accuse her of neglect. Such thoughts were more than she could bear. Then the autopsy report came back. Cristina had a rare intestinal disorder—the doctors just didn’t know in time to save her life.

  Vicki couldn’t eat or sleep. The tears kept flowing, and depression took hold. The pain was so intense. Vicki felt paralyzed by grief. Cristina was the little girl she had always dreamed of having. Why had God taken her away? Was it cruel punishment for her sin? What was she supposed to learn through this trial? How would Gary ever become a believer now, knowing God had not saved his child? Vicki distanced herself from her friends and family, enclosing herself in the deep sorrow that she felt no one could understand. She couldn’t bring herself to go to Cristina’s funeral. It was too final.

  Finally, with strength to do nothing else, Vicki began to immerse herself in the Bible. “Never will I leave you; / never will I forsake you” rang in her ears (Heb. 13:5). She wanted to believe His promise that “all things work together for good” (see Rom. 8:28). Visits from her faithful Sunday school teacher offered her healing and comfort. This woman came and prayed with Vicki anytime Vicki called, sometimes at three in the morning. Gary saw the woman’s faithfulness and her deep love for Jesus. Seeds were being planted in his heart. Vicki continued to cling to her Bible for strength. Slowly, God strengthened the young mother through the grieving process.

  Eventually, Vicki and Gary decided to try to have another child. As soon as Vicki learned she was pregnant, her hope was renewed. On December 8, 1971, Timothy was born. Vicki felt the blessing of having another child, and the cloud of depression lifted.

  Looking back, Vicki knows that God used Cristina’s short time on earth to teach her and Gary more about God’s love. Through the time of suffering and loss, Gary came to know the Lord. He saw Cristina as the little one who led him to Christ. After losing her daughter, Vicki became more determined to give God everything within her—all of her life. The couple grew closer in their marriage, committed to God and each other.

  Vicki, now the proud mom of two sons, counsels others in her church who are enduring similar circumstances. She knows that God is using her trials to strengthen others.

  God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.

  (1 John 1:5-7)

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  jane elder

  The Power of Yes

  Jane Elder was born in the tiny bayside town of Palacios, Texas, shortly after the turn of the twentieth century. Rough Rider Teddy Roosevelt was president of the United States, and horses and buggies still outnumbered automobiles. The San Andreas fault line in California was silently shifting toward the great earthquake of 1906 that would rock the city of San Francisco just days after Jane’s birth.

  She was the eighth of nine children, born to a forty-year-old mother who was widowed just four short years later. Jane insisted that the most remarkable thing about her life was its length, but the impact she made for Christ in her ninety years was what really made her stand out.

  Jane’s life hinged on the power of a simple yes spoken when she was twelve years old. She recalls that a traveling evangelist had come to their town, and his message touched her heart: “I was a kid who grew up around the water—swimming, diving, and all. And he told this story about a father who got in the water and told his child to jump, and that he would catch him. When the child hesitated, the father said, ‘You know, you can trust your daddy. Just trust me and jump.’ When he spoke those words, I felt the Lord convict me, and I was saved.”

  Jane later joked that her baptism in Palacios Bay was no geographical coincidence, but an absolute necessity: “I was so mean it took plenty of saltwater to clean me up. Regular water wouldn’t do,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

  Just a short time later, she attended a youth meeting where her yes to Jesus Christ became yes to whatever He might have planned for her still-young life. “[The congregation was] singing, ‘I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord, / on mountain or plain or sea. / I’ll do what You want me to do, dear Lord; / I’ll be what You want me to be.’ And that’s when I stepped out and took the preacher’s hand and said that the message of that song was for me. I didn’t know what a little girl from Palacios could do, but whatever it was, I decided to do it.”

  Jane’s yes began a seventy-eight-year stretch of teaching in whatever church she served. She began teaching the Bible to kindergartners when she was thirteen, and th
roughout her life she taught single women, young brides, and older married women the truths she faithfully gleaned from God’s Word. In later years she led an elderly group of women called the Mary Marthas, who were sometimes joined by what Jane referred to as “the occasional Lazarus”—an aging husband accompanying his wife to Sunday school, or a widower who ambled in and made himself at home.

  Throughout her years of teaching, although she taught every book of the Bible several times over, Jane never repeated a lesson. “I don’t ever save an outline,” she remembered, “because I think you should study fresh for every lesson. And we don’t teach a lesson—we teach people.” Not only did she teach new lessons every class, she was certain that the chief advantage to all those years of study was hers: “It’s always the teacher who gains the most,” she said.

  Although she lost her father at such a young age that she barely remembered him and had her share of sweethearts but never married, Jane’s life was deeply intertwined with two very special men of God. The first, Dr. F. B. Thorne, pastored churches in Houston, Texas, and Wichita, Kansas, in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1933, Dr. Thorne called Jane in Dallas, where she worked for the state Baptist headquarters, and asked her to come work for him in Houston’s Second Baptist Church—a young, growing congregation that was heavily in debt.

  She remembered, “It was during the Depression, and I was afraid to leave my job, but you see, I’d said yes all those years before, and so I did. In April of 1933, I met my new boss, and I worked for him for twenty-nine years.” Jane served Dr. Thorne in Houston and in Wichita, and after his death she cared for his wife until Mrs. Thorne passed away at the age of eighty-four.

  After Mrs. Thorne’s death, Jane returned to Houston and the church she’d served with Dr. Thorne. She was then at an age when most people were planning their retirement, but she continued working tirelessly for the Lord. When her church found itself without a leader in the 1970s, she sat on the committee to select a new pastor.