"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."  (Colossians 3:17)

"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.  It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."  (Colossians 3:23-24)

Yesterday I met with my sisters Donna, Kiana, and Katy to minister to our friends, Julie & John.  We've been meeting with them for 2 months now, sharing Christ and teaching them from the Scriptures.  It has been a joyous and special time between us and the Lord as He's empowered us to overcome a steep language barrier to proclaim the glories of God to these beloved people.    Normally, we meet at the food court in our local mall for a 2-3 hour study.  We've been going through the gospel of Matthew and it has been an amazing trip through the first 6 chapters.  God has blessed us with a wonderful Bible that has both our languages side by side.  What an amazing gift and tool He has given us.

This meeting was a little different.  Our friends had to work, so we went to their workplace, which happens to be a Chinese restaurant.  We  had a wonderful lunch and sweet time with Julie as she served our table.  Her husband made us sushi -- I actually ate raw eel!  I may never do that again, but the joy on his face when he made it for me and handed me the plate was beautiful.  They love serving us.  It's not a job to them.  I was touched by their love toward us even as they did their work.  Needless to say, as they worked, it was difficult to get much focused time to talk and discuss the Scriptures.  We had little snips of time here and there, until the Lord brought the greatest opportunity!

Julie said, "I have to break beans, then I have one hour break."  So, before I even realized what was happening, the Lord moved my mouth to say, "We'll work with you!"  Minutes later, all of us went into this big room and sat around a huge table filled with about 5,000 fresh grean beans.  There were 4 of Julie's co-workers, only one of which spoke any English, and all of us, gathered around breaking beans together.  It was a grand time filled with the beautiful sound of Chinese words that we couldn't even understand, smiles and laughs, hugs, and of course, the sharing of the gospel of Christ.   It turned out that Julie had already been talking about Jesus to her friends, so they were somewhat familiar with "Yesu" (Jesus).  We were able to leave them all with Gospels of John in their language and leave with our hearts overflowing with so much joy in being able to serve them this way.  I asked them if a customer had ever broken beans with them before.  Ken said, "No. First time.  First time."   It was a unique but beautiful opportunity.  You never know how God will open a door or what the door will look like.  Maybe it will look like a huge pile of green beans!

May we always have eyes to see and obedient hearts to jump through the doors running with the love of Christ.  I've missed countless doors of opportunity in my walk with Christ.  I pray He'd shove me through doors if that's what it takes for my stubborn flesh to do His will.

As our Chinese friends taught us to say.  "Sia Sia Yesu"  Thank You, Jesus!"