Growing up in the church, Taiwanese Pastor Shalun Chan's dream had always been to make money. Instead, she has now become a gospel singer and pastor, pairing up with several Christian entertainers in ministry and giving testimonies around the world through hymns.
Recalling her childhood, she said that her room was one of the classrooms in the church. Every Sunday, she had to pack up all her things, otherwise, she would often find her things missing. Therefore, talking about church as a child was not a good feeling for her.
When she left home for college, Chan got on track to fulfill her dream of making money. She shared that she had nothing but work in her eyes, "working and working all the time," even doing four jobs a day; she seemed to be very rich and hardworking, but over time her body collapsed.
Once she went to the hospital for a checkup, the doctor told her that she needed an operation right away and what was worse, she could not have anesthesia during the operation because her body was allergic. When it came time for the surgery, she found the pain unbearable. The doctor suggested that she could listen to music to get some relief, and she started listening to the hymn "Amazing Grace" and silently prayed to the Lord that she did not want to go back to the heavenly home yet, asking Him for help.
Since that prayer, she learned about knowing God. When she was a child in the church, she was very envious of the missionaries' lives. Then she had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Africa together with the missionaries. In Africa, Chan was suddenly caught in a robbery. While many people jumped out of the car to save themselves, Chan, a girl sitting in the middle of the car, was not able to jump out quickly enough, so she cried out for Jesus to save her. Suddenly, a gun was pointed at her head. She immediately rushed out while praying, "Jesus, don't let the bullet hit me, please let me live." She kept running forward, wondering why she still hadn't run out of that garden. Then someone tapped her on the shoulder and told her, "Take it easy, those robbers are gone." By then, her legs were weak and she realized that she had been running on the spot for 15 minutes.
When she returned home, she read Psalm 23. "In the presence of my enemies, you have made a feast for me." It was then that she realized that Jesus, whom her grandparents and parents preached about, was a true and living God.
She said, "The reason why we try to preach the gospel is to let others know about this true and living God. I want to really know you Jesus because you lead me out of utter darkness and death."
Chan confessed that she used to be into making money very much, but what was the point of earning money that ended up being used for her medical bills. Since then, she continued to use Psalm 23 to motivate herself, no matter what time or circumstance, hoping that her friends could also come to know Jesus.
- Translated by Wylie Sun
