In this newsletter we are pleased to announce the fifth book in our series on the mighty revival that has swept China during the past 50 years. The China Chronicles are proving to be a great encouragement to many and are enriching the spiritual lives of those who read them.

Containing more than 18 million Christians (the most of any province), Henan has emerged as the nation's spiritual heart and soul, and is home to both the most powerful revival and intense persecution in China. Much of the book consists of first-hand interviews Paul conducted with key church leaders in Henan. In many ways, this may be the most important book in the entire China Chronicles series. We invite you to discover what true revival looks like in China, and to gain insights into God's faithfulness, to help prepare you for when persecution comes.

The remainder of this newsletter is an excerpt from 'HENAN: Inside the Greatest Christian Revival in History'. It shares a gripping testimony from Timothy, a humble house church leader from Henan, whom the Lord used to raise a man from the dead in the 1990s. This account was shared directly with us by Timothy and has been verified by several other church leaders in that part of China.

To order a copy of the book, please fill out and return the enclosed form or visit our website for details. An e-book version is also available online. View the bulk book prices. You can also buy all 5 books of the China Chronicles Series.

Alternatively, if you send a donation to any Asia Harvest project, please indicate that you would like a complimentary copy of the book and we will gladly send you one.

Raised from the Dead

Brother Timothy is a friend and key house church leader from Henan Province. When he was in his mid-20s he already led a network of house churches spanning several provinces, with tens of thousands of believers.

When asked to share some testimonies, Timothy told about a Communist Party official who was raised from the dead in 1993. The humble and self-effacing way he shared this story was striking. He was careful to give all glory to God, and to help us understand that he had nothing to do with it, apart from being in the right place at the right time.

As you read the following testimony, we encourage you not to judge it by your own experiences, or what may or may not happen in your own church. What God is doing in the heart of white-hot revival in China may not be your Christian experience or make you feel comfortable, but we encourage you to ask one main question when considering this or any other testimony: is it biblical?

"In 1993, while I was speaking at a meeting, we received a request for us to pray for a 50-year-old unbeliever named Chang, who was dying of mouth cancer. This man was very wealthy and a well-known Communist Party leader. By the time he reached the hospital his condition had deteriorated, and was close to death. The staff called Chang's wife and broke the bad news that he would not recover.

Because the man was a public figure, visitors who wanted to see him at the hospital had to get permission beforehand. To help me gain access, I was given the man's name card. The next morning I went to the hospital, feeling nervous and not sure what the Lord's will was in all of this. At the hospital none of the staff paid any attention to me because I was just a poor farmer. Finally, a nurse looked at me with disdain, and said, 'You're too late. Chang died last night.'

I was shocked to hear that he was already dead, and asked to see his body because I had promised his family that I would pray for him. The nurse thought I was stupid, but told me the corpse had been moved to the refrigerated morgue in the hospital basement. I went downstairs and told an attendant that I needed to pray for Mr. Chang. He took me to a line of refrigerated boxes, located Chang, and opened the cover. His body slid out and I saw that he was truly dead. The blood had drained from his corpse, and his identification tag was tied around his big toe.

I felt afraid as his skin was frozen and ice cold. Despite the circumstances, I knew the Lord could do whatever He wanted. As I closed my eyes and prayed for Chang in a hushed voice, I leaned forward and said, 'Mr. Chang, I know that you can hear me. I know that Jesus can bring you back from the dead because He wants to glorify His Name in your life.' By now the morgue attendant had gathered several of his co-workers and they stood at a distance, snickering at the sight of a farmer praying for a dead Communist Party leader!

I had a very simple faith in God. I had read that both Jesus and Lazarus were resurrected after three days, so I thought if God was going to raise Chang I would need to return two more times.

I finished praying, thanked the workers for letting me pray for Chang, and told them I would be returning at ten o'clock the next morning to pray for him again. They laughed and looked at me like I was completely insane. News quickly spread around the hospital, and the next morning more than 20 staff members gathered to watch me pray for the corpse. They were all eager to witness the sight so they could have a laugh. His body was again pulled out of the refrigerator and I closed my eyes and prayed for him. He had now spent one and a half days in the freezer and was still very much dead!

As I laid hands my on the corpse I leaned forward and whispered, 'Mr. Chang, if you are unable to talk, then I command you to move your eyes in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.' I looked closely and it appeared his eyes twinkled a little! This greatly increased my faith because I knew that God was at work. Nobody else in the room was close enough to see his eyes move however, and they thought the whole thing was a great joke.

I prayed Bible verses out loud and asked the Lord to prove that the Scriptures are true, and that He has power and authority over death. In a bid to reach others in the morgue, my prayer included a summary of the gospel. After a while, the onlookers could feel the presence of the Lord and they became serious-minded and attentive. I announced that I would return again at ten o'clock the next morning to pray for the third and final time. His body was placed back in the refrigerator, the door was locked, and I walked up the stairs and returned to the place where I was staying.

On the third morning I was amazed to find an even larger crowd had gathered to witness my prayer. It was difficult to get past everyone into the basement. Dozens of people lined the stairs leading down to the morgue, and many more were crammed into the room. People were talking among themselves, but everyone was watching closely to see what would happen.

The attendant again produced Mr. Chang's body and I prayed for him, asking the Lord to glorify His Name by healing this man and saving both him and the many witnesses in the room. Nothing appeared to change, so I thanked the attendants and left the hospital, as I had to make my way to the train station to travel across the country with a team of evangelists. I never saw what happened after I left the hospital, but a few days later the believers contacted me with an urgent message.

They said that about 20 minutes after I left, Chang suddenly sat up and started coughing. The terrified attendant and his co-workers watched as he coughed up a large ball of blood and pus from his mouth. The cancer spilled out of his mouth and onto the floor of the morgue.

Mr. Chang was healed and alive! He asked for food and water because he was hungry and thirsty. As you can imagine, news of the resurrection quickly spread to the upper floors of the hospital, and all those who had come to witness the prayer came rushing down to the basement to see if the report was true. All the hospital staff saw Chang alive, and his grieving wife was called in to receive her husband back from the dead. Every person who saw this miracle dropped to their knees, repented of their sins, and confessed that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God.