The Emanuel Choir, a well-known folk sacred choir in one city with twenty or thirty members, is under Shen's direction. Leader Shen has been a Christian for 16 years. He testifies that it was good to follow Jesus, but he was sorry for his late conversion. “My wife has been praying for 16 years for my faith in the Lord.”
To him, there was a world of difference before and after believing in the Lord. After following the Lord, he quit smoking and gambling and even learned simplified music, despite not knowing how to sing before.
"When I was young, I either raised pigeons for racing or gambled on cricket fighting," Leader Shen remarked. Back in the day, the pigeons he raised won every time, selling for over 10,000 yuan each. If he continues such a life, his pigeons might have been able to win one million yuan. "It is God's grace. He chose me, although I was a gambler," Shen added. After becoming a Christian, he sold all of his pigeons.
It was not the season for pigeon selling, but God listened to his prayer, with someone offering to buy all his pigeons. Even though the buyer first paid him 2,000 yuan less, some pigeons flew back on their own. Therefore, the buyer had to compensate for the shortfall.
Leader Shen felt upset after selling out all of the pigeons and was unable to sing during rehearsal. But the song "Nothing in the World Can Attract Me" gave him hope.
Once, Shen was about to serve in a remote place without any transportation fees. Walking on the street, a passerby just gave him a bird and ran away, just when another person approached to buy a bird, allowing him to have the trip cost to serve. “There are things you’ll never know until you've experienced them. The guidance of the Holy Spirit is wonderful," the leader exclaimed.
Some may say that conversion is easy while baptism is not, following which it will be easily attacked. In response to this, Shen responded, "I was very fervent after my conversion and baptism, without fear of Satan's attacks. Later, I felt the attacks, but God's grace was stronger enough to overcome my weakness." Once, he was sick and had to be carried to a remote county to serve. When he returned, he recovered surprisingly. The choir didn't accept a salary at the time but instead donated to support needy families. Even the relevant departments invite them to work there.
The Emanuel Choir also stepped into the mountains, where there was no public transportation. They could only travel by motorcycle and lived in a house with windows but no glass in the middle of the winter. Shen’s family also donated generously, buying musical instruments for the band in the village and giving free trumpet lessons. Amazingly, after two days, new members of the band learned to perform four songs.
The choir has helped to organize Trinity Holy Choir and other bands from more than 10 grassroots churches. Most of the Emanual members are middle-aged and elderly, eager to serve the Lord while their minds are clear and their bodies are still flexible.
- Translated by Poppy Chan
