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
在某城里有一支二三十人、小有名气的民间圣乐队——以缦纽圣乐队，队长姓沈。沈队长信主有16年了，他说信耶稣好，但后悔信得晚了。“为我信主的事情，我妻子祷告了16年”。
对他而言，信主之前、之后那是天差地别。信主了，他断烟断赌。他本是不会唱歌的人，信主后他竟然学会了简谱。
“我年轻时，不是养鸽子，就是斗蛐蛐”，沈队长侃侃而谈。当时他养的鸽子一打比赛就赢，1只鸽子曾卖出一万元的价格。如果继续，甚至有机会得一百万元的奖金。“真是神的恩典，玩鸽子、赌博的我被神拣选了。”沈队长说。信主后，他把所有的鸽子都卖了。
本不是卖鸽子的季节，上帝垂听了他的祷告，居然有人要买下他所有的鸽子。甚至一开始对方少给他2000元，竟有鸽子自己又飞回来。于是，买家只好补回那2000元钱。
鸽子卖完了，沈队长心里难过，练唱时他根本唱不出来。但唱着“天下万物不能吸引我”，唱歌的感觉就回来了。
还有一次外出做工，却没有路费。走在路上，就突然有人给自己一只鸟便跑开了，这时候刚好有人要买鸟，路费就有了。“有些事情，走过了才知道，圣灵带领真是奇妙啊”，沈队长兴奋地说。
有人会说，信主容易受洗难，一受洗就受攻击。对此，沈队长回应说：“我信主受洗后非常火热，不怕撒但攻击。后来自己能感受到有撒但的攻击，但神的恩典是更多的，足以盖过软弱。”有一次他被抬着去参加偏远的县里作白事服侍，做完工回来，他的身体就康复了。那次的薪水他们不要，反而奉献帮助困难的家庭。当地相关部门非常欢迎他们去那里做工。
圣乐队也曾深入到不通公交的大山深处，只能乘坐蹦蹦车，深冬住在有窗户没玻璃的房子里。沈队长的家人也踊跃奉献，给那村里的乐队买乐器，免费教吹号。很奇妙，2天时间里，村里的乐队新成员就学会演奏4首歌。
以缦纽圣乐队曾协助办过三一圣乐队及另外10几家基层教会圣乐队。队中成员以中老年居多，大家想趁着自己头脑清楚，身体还灵活，就为主多做工。
天下万物不能吸引我——记以缦纽圣乐队沈队长
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
Testimony: Nothing Can Attract Me but the Lord
