hen first experienced the power of prayer as a child. “My mother had a serious illness, so my uncle came from the city to take her to a church,” Chen recalls. “After the service, a miracle happened. After everyone prayed, my mother got better day by day and recovered from her illness.”

Chen’s mother shared her miracle and God’s Word with others in their village. Soon she was leading a small gathering of neighbours through Bible studies. It was Chen’s job to read the Scriptures, because the villagers were illiterate. He explains, “I recited the Word of God and recorded praise songs for them until I was 14.”

That’s when a devastating flood changed their lives. “Everything on our land was flushed away, so my family could not afford my school expenses,” Chen says. “I thought I must help my parents lead a better life and from then on I believed that only money was the most important thing.”

Soon he was working three jobs in a shoe factory, putting in a 20-hour work day. At 18, he began to play mah-jong, a gambling game and quickly developed an addiction. All the while, Chen’s mother faithfully prayed that God would bring her son back into His Church.

When Chen was 19, worn down by factory work and living in poverty due to gambling his money away, he developed a life-threatening illness. Amazingly, like his mother, Chen also miraculously survived. “In thanks to God, I was determined to go out, study the Bible and live for Him,” he says.