Mann Chau read the challenge in chapter 19 of Pastor Miles McPherson's book, DO Something! Make Your Life Count, and took it literally.

In his chapter entitled "Doc: Your Painful Opportunity," Pastor Miles writes about the night his NFL football career ended.

Sitting on the Chargers bus next to the team doctor, Miles was wrapped in ice and pain and disappointment at getting injured during his very first Monday Night Football game (and it was against the Oakland Raiders!). But he knew everything was in Gods timing and he was there for a reason. In this case, he had a chance to share Gods love with the physician during the two-hour drive home. Then Pastor Miles wraps up the chapter by challenging readers this way:

Today go to your local hospital and sit in the lobby. Pray for the people you see there; try to be an encouragement to them somehow. Then pray that if you were ever to end up there in pain that God would give you the strength to minister to those around you. Remember, some of our best opportunities to heal those around us are when we are in a vulnerable place.

That's exactly what Mann Chau did.

Lifting Someone Up

Mann, a regular Rock attender, had volunteered to lead one of the hundreds of small groups studying DO Something in January 2010 as the entire Rock Church went through the six-week message series based on Pastor Miles book.

Early in February Mann drove unannounced to a local hospital and asked the receptionist if he could pray for someone. The staff was very supportive, said Mann, a lieutenant in the Navy. He got connected to a woman named was recovering from knee surgery. At first he was nervous, but as he was standing in the hall, waiting, he said he felt certain "this was something I needed to do."

The patient was the wife of a retired naval senior chief. I prayed for her and thanked her husband for his service in the active duty Navy, said Mann.

I lifted someone up, and maybe that contributed to her getting better faster.--Mann Chau

She appeared thrilled at being prayed for, and Mann left the hospital feeling good. "I offered something that God wanted me to do. I lifted someone up, and maybe that contributed to her getting better faster."

Then he proposed to his small group that they do the same thing.

Group Community Event

Visiting the hospital with a group was a bit more complicated, but Mann said a hospital volunteer facilitator named Leah, who also was a Rock Church attender, helped with plans. On June 5, 2010, Mann and four others made the trip, bearing cards, candy and caring hearts.

We visited patients recovering from injury, mothers who just gave birth and patients who were recovering from cancer, said Mann.

One patient had fallen off of a ship and broken his arm. "When we entered his room, his two sisters and mother were also present. He was glad to see us and prayed with us for his recovery, said Mann.

They visited two mothers. "We prayed for the newborns' strength and growth in life," said Mann. An older patient had prostate cancer. "The presence of young adults brought a tear to his eyes. We prayed for his recovery, and he thanked us for showing him that we cared."

Mann said all the effort was worth it. We brought joy and touched the patients we visited, he said.

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For more info about Pastor Miles' book, visit www.milesmcpherson.com. For more info about Rock Church small groups, visit www.sdrock.com/smallgroups/.