Unexpected Visitors
Sharon Ngan was all alone in her hotel room; her room-mate had not arrived yet. She felt restless and lonely. She laid down on her bed, but sleep fled from her. She switched on the television, but could not concentrate. Finally, she stood up and prayed aloud asking the Lord for opportunities to distribute the gospel flyers that she had brought along.
Sharon was attending an annual, work-related convention and she had come with great anticipation. For apart from hoping to get the most from the motivational talks, she had another higher agenda – to share the gospel with her colleagues. Sharon and her husband had recently signed up as NewLife volunteers and the convention seemed to be a good opportunity to give away some of the flyers. At the same time, she felt anxious. What will they think of me? Sharon thought. Feeling fearful yet hopeful, she had spent much time in prayer during the days before the convention.
Before leaving her room for the talk, Sharon put some flyers in her notebook. When the meeting was over, she approached a few girls and started giving out the flyers. Telling them that the flyers were very helpful, she asked them to take one back to read. They seemed glad to accept it.
On the way back to her room, she stopped by the room next to hers. One of the girls was a Christian. Together, they shared the gospel with her roommate.
It was already past 11:30 p.m. when she left them. Feeling a bit tired as she walked back to her room, she thought, tomorrow’s program will be very packed and I better get a good night’s sleep. As she turned the key, she heard someone called out, "Sharon!" It was Chin, the boyfriend of her roommate, Nellie. She said, "Hi, and goodnight," and opened the door. Chin walked closer, and the group of men behind him followed. He asked, "Is my girlfriend in?" Holding the door ajar, Sharon had a quick look and replied, "No, she is not in." Chin peeked into the room and said, "I want to go in." Sharon politely refused him but Chin insisted that he wanted to wait for his girlfriend in the room. While Sharon was still holding the door, Chin walked in, and was followed by another man and another and another! Each of them said, "Hi," went past her and into the room.
Now the room was filled with men! Sharon pushed a chair against the door so that it would remain open. With a glance, she saw one man sitting on her bed, one at the make-up table, another on a chair, yet another leaning against the wall. They were looking at one another and didn’t know what to do next. Then an idea came to her, hey, I can give them the flyers! And then I can send them away. So she said, "Guys, I have something to give you." She distributed the flyers. One, two, three, four, five, six. Praise God! There was just enough for everyone, she thought. "What is this?" Chin asked. "Is this free?" his friend asked. "For you it is free, but not for me. I have to buy them," Sharon replied. Chin said, "My girlfriend is also a Christian." That was a surprise for Sharon. Chin continued, "May I suggest that we read it together?" Pointing to one of the men, he said, "Let us start from here." After the first paragraph, another guy said, "Stop, now it’s my turn." They spontaneously took turns to read through the story of the prodigal son. When they had finished, one man commented, "That was a moving story."
Sharon felt encouraged. But at the same time she was feeling very cold and was shivering. Was it because of the cold weather (they were at Genting Highlands) or the excitement? She wasn’t sure. When someone asked, "Is there some more for us to read?" Sharon suggested that they read the Four Spiritual Laws which followed the story. Again, they took turns to read and Sharon explained the diagrams, especially the two circles representing the self-centred life and the Christ-centred life.
Just as they were about to read the prayer, Nellie walked in. She was shocked to see so many men in the room and was a little annoyed. When she saw that each person was holding a flyer, she asked, "Christian material?"
Nellie then joined Sharon in explaining what prayer is and how they could pray to invite Christ into their lives. By the time they finished the flyer, it was late. As the two ladies bade goodnight to their visitors, Sharon encouraged them to take the flyers back to read again.
What a night! She was amazed that the men were so willing to read the flyer. Since taking up her present job about a year ago, she has always regarded it as a partnership with God. That night, she truly experienced God’s extraordinary participation in this partnership.
