Ministering in Korea - Part 2

This testimony was submitted by my friend Mandy Madryga who lives in South Korea. She ministers healing on the streets of a city where where she doesn't know the language.

I was on my way to write an exam at a church for a distance course I was taking. I got on the subway at the beginning of the subway line, listening to a Todd White or Dan Mohler sermon. A few seats away was a older-middle-aged man with thick, bushy eyebrows. I just wanted to sleep, but for some reason I couldn't get his face out of my mind, and I kept seeing him as I tried to close my eyes and sleep.

I figured that I better approach him and offer to pray just to shut up the distraction I had that was keeping me from relaxing and sleeping - plus, after a few stops, I realized that I'd probably loose my seat on the subway if I didn't act soon, because some busy subway stations were approaching.

So, I got up and walked over to the man who was sitting diagonally across from me and handed him my, "Can I pray for your healing?" card written in Korean. He gestured to me that I could pray for him, and I was a bit shocked because I didn't SEE anything wrong with him. I prayed a simple prayer for generic healing, and blessing, and for God to fill him with His love, and started walking back to my seat.

As I walked back to my seat, the man kept holding up both hands and giving me thumbs-up, and smiling. (He didn't speak any English). The subway filled with people - a Korean subway car probably has about 50 people in it on average. He was still on the subway 30 minutes later when I reached my stop...I was surprised he was still there. As I stood up to get ready to get off at my subway stop, the man stood up...10-15 feet away from me (remember that he across from me on the subway)...and kept bowing at me many, many times until I got off the subway.

I have no clue what went on there...but something BIG must have happened. I've never seen someone bow in respect like that to anyone else on the streets . . . plus, he was OLDER than me....so technically, if anyone was supposed to bow, it should've been me -- Koreans are BIG on respecting age (I usually do a little bow gesture as I say thank you to people I pray for, no matter who they are...but especially if they are older, or people who wouldn't normally get respect in Korea).

Yeah, so God did something, and I probably won't find out what until I get to heaven. Don't let language stop you from praying for someone....language barriers just make you learn to smile and express love and respect through body language more!

Ministering in Korea - Part 1

This testimony was submitted by my friend Mandy Madryga who lives in South Korea. She ministers healing on the streets of a city where where she doesn't know the language.

I was leaving house church late one night, and I was tired. I was happy that it was really late, because I figured that there wouldn't be any noticeably disabled people on the subway after 11PM (mostly people going home after partying or work at that hour). I was just hoping to get a seat on the long subway ride and sleep until my stop.

So, I get to the subway, and am standing and waiting for the subway to come...the doors open up, and right in front of me, to my left, next to the doors, was an empty wheelchair. In front of the wheelchair was a young man with his parents sitting on either side of him, They were leaning on him as if they were hugging him, and happy to have him. There were bags around the wheelchair, and it looked as if the young man had just gotten out of the hospital.

Being tired, I just stood there, nearby the doors...I spent about 2 subway stops telling myself (and the Holy Spirit) that I was tired, and didn't want to pray for anyone -- even though it had been my custom to offer to pray for people who looked like they could use healing prayer. However, I couldn't shake the conviction that I should at least offer to pray for the young man...once I had a decline, then I could relax and not feel guilty for not offering to pray.

Well, I offered to pray, and the father accepted my offer and I prayed for the young man. (I live in a non-English country, so I use a card with words asking if I could pray for people's healing, because Jesus told us to pray for healing). After I prayed, I kept standing there...I had a habit of moving elsewhere in the subway after I prayed for someone to avoid the awkward tension that arises in the silence following prayer...but the Holy Spirit told me that morning that I should run away after I prayed.

So I just stood there despite the awkwardness I felt. The father, it turns out, spoke a very little English, and so he started talking to me, and we talked about our families, and he told me that his son, the young man, had just gotten out of the hospital after being hit by a bus. The son was just finishing university when the accident happened, so they were worried about his future, because he had experienced head trauma.

Well, armed with more knowledge on what was going on, I asked in Korean if I could pray again...literally, I said, "pray...two of them?" They agreed, and I prayed a more specific prayer for the young man's future and healing in the areas of his body that I found out had been injured. I always end the prayers with "God loves you, Jesus loves you," in Korean, because I pray in English.

Afterwards, the family were helping their son to get back into his wheelchair so they could get off the subway, and I helped them gather their plastic bags of clothes. The young man was weeping a bit, and held my hand and made many gestures as if he was kissing my hand. He also made hand gestures of praising God (almost like "Raise the roof" gestures). Then, he said in English, "Nice to meet you," and his parents were thrilled. I'm not sure if they were happy that he was being outgoing or if that act was a sign of progress/healing in his memory.

As they got of the subway, I noticed everyone was watching, but trying not to appear as if they were watching what was going on. You could feel the atmosphere of the subway change. When I first got on, there was the usual, late-night dismal feel of the subway, but after I started praying for the young man, there was an excitement and light in the atmosphere. I found a seat and sat down for the final few stops until I was home.

As the subway was approaching my stop, I stood up, excited that God would use me even when I was tired and trying NOT to be used. While I stood next to the door, another young man came up, and stood next to me to also get off the subway. He took out a piece of gum and then offered me one (no one does that in Korea, ever!). I accepted and was happy to find out that it was my favorite flavor...so God gave me an awesome ministry opportunity and ended it all with a tasty piece of gum, almost as an extra reward.

I think the young man who gave me the gum saw what happened earlier when I prayed for the young man in the wheelchair...you never know who's watching and how God's using you to reach people you don't even talk to!