My husband, Mark, had just returned from a 2011 Global Awakening conference in Pennsylvania. As he unpacked his suitcase, he told me of an amazing couple he had met. Mark traveled with Randy Clark in the early ’90s and met all kinds of awesome people from around the world. I was happy for him then but felt his connections at that time had little to do with me. That was until he showed me the website of this couple.
The Holy Spirit had powerfully touched Mike and Deena Van’t Hul when Randy prayed for them at a conference in 2000. In 2005 Mike and Deena moved their family to China and began to take in disabled orphans. They renovated an abandoned elementary school in Fuzhou China and opened Hidden Treasures Home. As I looked at the pictures of their beautiful children on the Loaves and Fishes International website, tears flowed freely down my face. I said out loud, “I want to go there.”
It was now 2013, and we found ourselves holding orphaned babies halfway around the world in the place we had dreamt of. We pinched ourselves to be sure it was true. God had made a way for us to go. We held babies, wrestled with toddlers, played games, sang in Donald Duck voices, worshipped and prayed. Some of the children were unable to speak, some unable to walk, some autistic and some blind. I spent 20 years teaching children with severe physical and mental disabilities in the public school system, so the joy that comes from being with children such as these was very familiar to us. The difference was that Jesus was at the center of everything this orphanage did.
The Purest of Prayers
One day after morning circle time, a young boy in the classroom asked the teacher’s assistant a question in Chinese. The assistant was able to speak English and she approached Mark. “An Fu wants to know if he can pray for your arm.”
To understand his request, it’s important to know that Mark was born with a partially formed left shoulder and arm, and only a small bud for a hand. Though he’s lived a completely normal life and his disability has never kept him from living his life to the fullest, still we have spent more than 20 years waiting for his physical healing from God. We’ve received multiple prophetic words about this healing, many of which came through complete strangers. Mark has had the amazing privilege of praying for and seeing many healings take place all over the world. He has witnessed blind eyes regaining sight, deaf ears opening and weak limbs strengthening. Though we’ve stood on the Lord’s promises, we’ve also had to walk through seasons of deep disappointment and grief.
So when this precious young boy asked to pray for Mark, we were pleasantly surprised. Of course we were happy to have him pray! Without hesitation or reservation, An Fu made his way toward Mark on bent legs that made it difficult for him to walk. He held Mark’s small arm in both of his hands and prayed these words in very clear English: “Jesus, Jesus—arm, hand, grow; arm, hand, grow. Jesus, heal. Jesus, heal. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus.”
The presence of the Lord permeated the room. We knew we were standing on holy ground. We came home from China with a renewed sense of awe at how God moves in people’s hearts. Every day there are prayers for missing body parts at Hidden Treasures Home. It was an atmosphere filled with faith. It was an honor and a joy to be in such a place.
One of our favorite verses in the Bible is Hebrews 11:6: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (emphasis added).
This verse doesn’t say that without success it is impossible to please God or without results it is impossible to please God. We please our heavenly Father by having faith.
When sweet An Fu prayed in faith that Mark’s arm would grow out, God was smiling; God was pleased. When by faith Mark let down his guard and allowed this prayer, God was smiling; God was pleased. Faith that steps out in love and takes the risk of praying for others makes God smile. How remarkable that we all carry within us the ability to please God. Scripture says: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1).
We easily believe in what we see, but faith is being confident and assured about what we do not see. We have not seen an arm grow out, but we have faith that it will. How wonderful that this faith does not make our Father shake His head in concern that we have gone off the deep end.
This faith makes Him smile because we are assured of what we do not see, as God’s Word declares. “Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed'” (John 20:29).
Ephesians 5:10 instructs us to “find out what pleases the Lord.” When we understand that pleasing God requires faith (Heb. 11:6), this makes it easier to recognize the exact type of faith that brings the Father such joy.
Curt Landry 
Michael L. Brown 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer