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Chia Vitality
Brother Garlok shared this testimony in Hong Kong in January 1908, which was recorded by shorthand by Morrison. The original text was written in English and published in the January 1909 issue of *Pentecostal Truth*. (Note: Mr. Morrison published this testimony in Chinese in the March 1909 issue of *Pentecostal Truth*, titled "The Testimony of Pastor Garlok." To make it easier for today's readers to understand, this testimony has been retranslated into more modern Chinese, referencing Mr. Morrison's earlier Chinese translation.)
HIS WORDS
No one in this world knows how God blessed my heart. I had been preaching for several years. When God first called me, I was unwilling, made excuses to decline, and continued working on railroads for four years. During that time, both of our children died, and I nearly died myself, so I finally submitted to God. Wherever we went, people resisted and refused to accept the gospel. My wife and I fasted and prayed, using all our strength to hold onto God! For several years, my wife and I actively served God throughout the East Coast, and then we went to Los Angeles (the western United States), where I became a pastor in a church. I looked around and saw people receiving blessings and then becoming lost, which deeply made me feel that unless I received more heavenly power from God, I was powerless and had to give up preaching. At that time, people were far more interested in going to the theater than to church. Seeing people in this state of indifference was heartbreaking, and I felt ashamed as a pastor, as if I myself was walking towards hell. When I walked down the street, I bowed my head, covered my face, and wept to God. We have a beautiful church that can hold 800 people, and a wonderful preacher to help us, but we feel we lack God's power.
My wife and I had enjoyed sanctification for many years, but deep in our hearts there was an unspeakable longing for God. One day, a friend called and told me he had seen people filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues at a meeting. I immediately sensed something that could satisfy my longing for God, so that evening I went to the meeting. When I arrived, I found fifteen people there; one woman was speaking, and I felt the voice of God, His power. The people at the meeting all seemed to be good; the doctrines preached were correct and rigorously in accordance with the Bible. The number of people at that meeting gradually increased, and the scale continued to grow. So I closed my own church meetings and encouraged my congregation to join me in attending that meeting to satisfy our thirsty hearts. I prayed, "If God hadn't given me this experience, could I still be preaching?" I knew in my heart that this pursuit would come at a price; I felt it might cost me all my friends on earth; even my wife initially didn't understand me. I spent many days, including entire nights, in prayer.