I learned the Holy Bible knowledge especially salvation from God. I began to think about the real meaning of my life.

Before we came here, my wife had a chronic illness, so I prayed for God to let my wife recover from the illness. I prayed, ¡°Father in heaven, you are so kind and almighty, you have the power to heal her illness. I will accept you as my Savior after she is healthy.¡± Thanks to God, He is kind and almighty. My wife felt better and better. This summer, I thought it was time to keep my promise, but my heart was so rigid that it was so difficult for me to accept Him from the heart. I knew the new me in the Lord would be better than the old one, but I could not abandon the old me at that time. What was I waiting for? I did not know clearly. It seemed that I was waiting for ¡°a big event.¡± But what kind of big event would happen in our daily life? That was a time full of struggle for me. Sometimes I did not even go to church on Sunday, then after that, I would feel emptiness in my heart. I knew I needed God¡¯s words.

In September I was so astonished to hear my wife was pregnant. My first reaction was to find a place to abort the baby, because her plan was to learn English good enough so she can continue her career in hospital¡¯s lab. Another reason was I had heard that it is really expensive to deliver a baby in an American hospital, and we did not have proper medical insurance yet. The only place we could find was the Alpha Center. We did not know it is a Christian organization before we met Cris, a very nice nurse and Christian in the Alpha Center. She analyzed the problems we may encounter and gave us some advice to solve them. She told us the unique meaning of every life for God. We read aloud Psalms chapter 139 together. I was so moved and decided to not abort this baby.

The next day after we came back from the Alpha Center, suddenly, everything was clear to me. I knew clearly that this is God¡¯s work on us. My wife could not have got pregnant if she was not recovered completely from her illness. Is it not the big event I was waiting for? I believe God always gives us the best even when we do not know what that is. I know there will be many difficulties with raising our baby, but we are not afraid of anything because God is always with us. It is not our plan, but it is God¡¯s plan. At that time, all hesitations in my heart disappeared. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior from my heart. Praise the Lord.

As a pastor wrote, ¡°We can say no for a while, but sooner or later we must say yes to God. Not because God makes us, but because God¡¯s way is always in our best interest.¡± God has a unique plan for each of us. He always knows exactly what we need although we do not know as human beings. At this moment, I really appreciate all my Christian friends like Randy, Clyde, Shusong, pastor Auyeung and many other American and Chinese Christians. God found and selected me through them. They are the examples of Christianity.

I wish I can be baptized next summer so I can be a better Christian.

(William) Hongliang Yang