From Stroke to Salvation

---A stroke is when someone suffers a severe accident in the brain and the left hand cannot be used or the left leg.

---A few years ago our church was giving out pamphlets in Wenham near Chongni in the Sangju district area.

---My wife and sister Kim (who is currently suffering after a stroke) went together distributing pamphlets at houses.

---They knocked on the Park's home who were apple-farmers.

---The mother invited them in.

---Inside they found a young man, almost 40, who suffered a stroke and could not use his left side including his left hand.

---They sat down and talked to him that he need to cheer up. God can help him. He needs exercise regularly. They prayed for him. My wife promised to come again.

---Next week my wife and I went there.

---He told us his story. He was married to a Korean woman. They had a daughter.

---At the age of 3-4 years old, the wife ran away.

---After finding her and asking her to see his daughter, she told them that she has put her into an orphanage.

---He was so angry, that he got a stroke.

---This is where we came into his life.

---We read from the Bible and prayed for him. Promise to come again.

---The next week when we arrived, he was not there.

---The mother said that he had another stroke and is in the Red-Cross hospital in Sangju.

---We went there and found him there.

---His eyes were wild and very frustrated. He could not speak, move or even shake his head. Only blink his eyes.

---We were so shocked we had a hard time to suppress our tears.

---We wanted to read the Bible but he did not want. We only prayed for him.

---We went there again the next week. They have moved him to another hospital at the Nakhdong River.

---There we started reading for him the Book of Mark. Then they moved him finally to the seventh floor in a Myungyang Hospital.

---We went every Sunday at 3 o clock to see him. Read the Bible, After Mark she read for him a book that my wife translated into Korean: J. L. Shuler, Give your guilt away. Southern Publishing House.

---The eyes became soft. The gospel entered his heart. He was beginning to look forward at our arrival.

---Communication for him was just blink, blink, to say yes and one blink to say no.

---Our routine was simple. We greeted him. Ask how he was doing. Share news with him of us or his family.

---Then my wife read a chapter for him. We prayed for his daughter and him. And his family. We promise to come again and left.

---It was to go on for nearly three years every Sunday.

---Sometimes we brought elders and deaconesses from our church nearby also to come.

---Only his older brother visited him during the week once. His parents did not want to come because they were not Christians and said that it is too painful for them to see him like this.

---So we were the only people with the brother to see him.

---After Giving your Guilt away book, my wife read the Gospel of John with him.

---Then she went through the Bible Studies series or Voice of Prophecy lessons.

---Then the gospel of John. Then the gospel of Matthew.

---I think it was at Matthew 14 or 24 that we had to leave to South Africa for a holiday.

---We bought him a clock and calendar to see when we come and go.

---So we came to tell him that Sunday that the next day we are leaving for South Africa.

---When we left after praying, we greeted him and said we will be back one month later.

---His eyes suddenly seriously ask us to wait a moment. Then he blinked thank you very much, not one time, a few times. We said that we will see him when we came back.

---Tuesday night on the airplane as we left Hong Kong, my wife had the message on her phone. He passed away.

---We cried. But we knew. He was saved from suffering. He moved from stoke to eternal life candidate.

---Salvation morning he will have a perfect body and be happy again. We made a very good friend.

---So can you.