‘Thank you Jesus’
Chuck Sunberg, husband of Carla Sunberg who co-wrote Pulling Back the Curtain on the Former Soviet Union, became very involved with missional work in that area. At one point he joined a group of Baptists and went on a mission trip to a small Siberian village which had a population of about 200.
Chuck and six others boarded a boat and took off up the Ob River to get to this village. It was very hot and uncomfortable - in fact the people in that area of the world prefer winter time, because at least when everything freezes over they can drive along the rivers and lakes!
A Mother's Desperate Hope
Arriving at the village, Chuck found out that many of the people there were exiles, banished to this remote place for speaking out against their government. Chuck and the team set up and did their thing - they introduced themselves, sang some songs, and then he preached about Jesus and told them that Jesus loved them and wanted to touch their lives in a deep way.
Let me read from the book: "A little lady who was part of the indigenous population pulled on his shirt. He looked down at her, and there by her side was a small boy. She asked Chuck if he believed what he had just said, and he told her that he did. She asked him if it was all true, the person he was talking about, and Chuck said, 'You mean Jesus?' She said, 'Yes. Can this Jesus really help me with anything?' Chuck responded that He could. She looked at her small boy. She told Chuck that he was seven years old and had never spoken a word, and she asked, 'Could Jesus touch him?' Chuck thought to himself, 'OK, now this is serious.' She had so much hope and even faith in her voice. She was desperate for her son. Chuck put his arm around her and her boy and prayed a simple prayer for him. When Chuck opened his eyes, nothing had happened with her son, but the woman was weeping. The tears were streaming down her face, and all she could say over and over was, 'Spasibo, Jesus!' (Thank you, Jesus!)."
The team spent some time with her, and came to know that she had lived a very hard and painful life, but kept believing in God through it all. Learning about Jesus in that moment seemed to bring her faith full circle at last.
The Power of Simple Prayer
As the team packed up and got back into the boat some time later, the villagers came to greet them, and waved them goodbye. As the boat pulled away Chuck spotted that little old lady in the crowd. We read: "She was waving. Her cheeks were still wet with tears, and if Chuck was not mistaken, she was still saying, 'Thank you, Jesus.'"
Maybe that simple prayer can be ours today! Maybe the most profound prayer we can pray will be simply repeating "thank you, Jesus" from the depths of our hearts.
Don't think you need to pray like a minister or a missionary or an experienced church-person. Sometimes the most meaningful and helpful prayer can be something as simple and real as "thank you Jesus".
