FSM 302
DO/TS
China Unfolds!
Copyright November 1996, The Family, Zurich, Switzerland
CONTENTS
-- China Unfolds!
1
-- A Message from Beyond! From a Chinese Christian!
8
-- Chinese Martyrs Cry, We Need You!
13
CHINA UNFOLDS!
Our Children Are the Key on a 10,000-km. Road Trip through China!
From Abe (of Mercy), Taiwan
"Oh, you are Christians!" the well-dressed young Chinese lady exclaimed with excitement, when she saw the bold Chinese characters proclaiming `Jesus loves you' written in our photo album. "Please show me how I can get to know Jesus!"
We were dumbfounded to see the literal fulfillment of a vision one of the children had had earlier in the day. But before I tell you the rest of this exciting miracle the Lord did on our trip to China, why don't you join us on our trip? This summer, we traveled 10,000 kilometers by boat, plane, train and bus through rivers, mountains, fields and oceans, to learn what we could about China and its precious people.
It all started one year ago. We have seven children, and our two oldest girls, Esther (12) and Elisabeth (8), began attending primary school to learn Mandarin Chinese (also the main language of Taiwan). To inspire them to take up the challenge of learning this difficult language, I promised them that if they studied hard for one year, I would take them on a trip to China. God bless them, they did study hard, and went from knowing nothing to being able to hold a conversation in Chinese -- in one short year.
During that time the Lord miraculously supplied the funds for the trip, as well as the personnel to keep the home fires burning in our absence. We prayed several times, asking the Lord where He wanted us to go, and little by little He started giving us the answers we needed. In the end the places we visited were quite different from where we had thought we would go, ha!
A couple of times during prayer we got a picture of a ship and on it were written the words "Shanghai-Qingdao." (Note: Qingdao, also known as Tsingtao, is a popular seaside resort about 800 km. north of Shanghai.) We took that to mean that the Lord wanted us to go there by ship.
Our First Soul
So off we went for three weeks, my two daughters and I, each of us carrying a backpack, water bottle, Bibles, tracts, instant coffee for Daddy, and a bag of granola and milk powder for our breakfasts. Our first stop was Wuhan, a large city in central China, right on the Yangtze River and the main Beijing-Canton railway line. I lived in China for a while ten years ago, and was so excited to be back. Many things -- such as the style of dress and people's increased openness in talking with foreigners -- were much changed, while other things -- such as the traffic and public bus system -- looked just the same.
Taking a little walk after checking into a hotel, we started talking to three girls who were walking next to us. It turned out they were on their way to a disco. Somehow I got the inspiration to ask one of them if she would like to meet us the next day, to show us around town. She agreed.
The next morning we prayed desperately that if this girl was a sheep, she would come, and if she wasn't, she wouldn't. We waited for half an hour, and just as we turned to go, we heard her call out as she jumped off a bus! Praise the Lord!
We spent a fun day together, all of us practicing our Chinese, as Rainy (that's her name) didn't speak English. In a park she prayed with the children to receive Jesus, thank the Lord! It turned out that her parents had recently turned to Christianity themselves. We were so happy to win our first soul in China. I know the Lord wanted to encourage us.
Before and during the trip, I often prayed that in the three weeks that we had, the Lord would give the children a true picture of what China and the Chinese people are like. I wanted them to see the sheepy side of people, but also to interact with those that are harder to reach -- such as the newly rich and privileged class, as well as minister to the poor and those who are struggling. I wanted them to see both the affluent coastal areas and the backward inland areas. And that was pretty much how it happened!
Before we decided on any move to another city or on any departure date, we would have serious prayer together and take time to hear from the Lord. It was very encouraging for me to see how many things the children were getting from the Lord.
Boat Witnessing
In order for us to take the boat from Shanghai to Qingdao we needed to get to Shanghai first of all. This coastal mega-city is located 2,000 km. down-river from Wuhan. The cheapest way is to go by boat -- a 48-hour trip. So the next day we found ourselves on an old river boat, sharing a second-class cabin with ten other people.
We really enjoyed the scenery along the ever-widening Yangtze River, as the boat slowly drifted down the river.
We also observed the crowds and hawkers at the frequent port calls. But most rewarding were the many witnessing opportunities the Lord provided on board.
Everybody was curious about us (we were the only foreigners on board), and many came to talk. Sometimes they would visit us in our cabin, at other times we'd visit theirs, or we'd stand by the railing, watching the waters pass by, and use the relative privacy to engage others in more personal conversations. The little photo album of our family was a big hit. People would often crowd around to look at it and listen to the children as they explained in Chinese who was the oldest, who was the next one, etc.
I got the idea to ask my daughter Esther, whose Chinese writing is very nice, to write "Jesus loves you" in big Chinese characters on the inside cover of the photo album. It was interesting how some people didn't even notice the writing but would just look at the pictures, while others saw the little message in Chinese, which opened the door for deeper witnessing.
We felt very free to tell people that we were Christians. Usually they would ask why we had so many children (seven) and many times I told them that we were Christians and believed children were a gift of God. Hardly anybody disagreed, and most of them wished they could have more children as well.
One lady sadly told us that she had become pregnant with her second child and she had really wanted to have it, but it would have meant the loss of both hers and her husband's jobs, as well as their apartment, so she had it aborted. (Editor's note: In an effort to curb population growth, the Chinese government imposes stiff penalties on families who have more than one child.) There will be lots of Chinese children in Heaven!
One man told us that these days in China, the only people who can afford several children are the rich who have their own businesses, and can pay the high fines for having more than one child. Some people we talked to jokingly informed me that if I were Chinese and living there, I would have to pay 120,000 Yuan (about $15,000!) in fines for my extra children! That's about 12 years' wages for the average person!
Children -- The Key to Reaching People
The children were a true key in reaching people and softening their hearts. Many who were too shy to talk to me would be perfectly comfortable talking and making friends with the children. It was a big payoff for us, because it took a lot of work on our part as parents to help the girls make it through their first year of Chinese school. Of course the children had to shtick faithfully day after day, and it wasn't always easy for them either, God bless them!
Many people would admire the children's ability to write Chinese characters; they are even able to do traditional, more complicated characters, in addition to the modern, simpler ones. Though I speak Chinese, I think that if the children had not been able to communicate and witness in Chinese, our trip would not have been so fruitful. That is not to say that you cannot witness if you don't speak the language, because the Lord is not limited, but the children's ability to speak Chinese helped open many doors and win many friends, and made it possible for me to assume more the role of a coach staying in the background and directing and supporting them when needed.
One sweet couple we met, Pete and Jenny, came from the ancient capital of Xi'an. (Xi'an is in central China southwest of Beijing, and was the capital of the Qin dynasty from 221 to 206 B.C. ) They liked the children so much that they invited us to come and visit them towards the end of our trip. I had actually hardly talked to them, but the children's sample and witness had left a deep impression on them.
People were always amazed to see the children help each other, do things together, and keep themselves busy with reading, writing or games. Even the fact that they fixed their own hair left them amazed. Many Chinese are absolutely helpless as far as knowing what to do with their children. Sharing even a few basic principles from our childcare training, which to us seem very natural and nothing out of the ordinary, seem to them like pearls of wisdom they have never seen or heard before! So the children's witness presented a way in itself to reach the Chinese.
Finding Out How Chinese Young People Think
On the third day of our boat trip, the ship made its way up the Huangpu River, and we pulled into the big city of Shanghai -- a real metropolis. We stayed there two days and then boarded a ship to Qingdao, to see what the Lord had in store for us there. This trip took about a day and a half, and was again an excellent opportunity to witness and make contact with people.
We made friends with a group of university students from Shanghai and witnessed deeply to some of them. This was a very good chance to find out more about how young people in their early twenties think. From our limited experience, it seems that many young people are still quite hopeful and optimistic about their future. They want to see how things will turn out by trying the path of education, or finding a good job. If you ask young people what they believe in, a common answer is, "I believe in myself."
Even though you will rarely find someone who believes in Communism, the spirit of Communism ("Man is the answer to his problems," or like Mao said, "The people are God") is very strongly rooted in people, especially the younger generation. This generation was born after the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, and grew up in comparatively peaceful times, during which the country has made a lot of economic progress. The young people we met and talked with were, for the most part, not so desperate for answers in life.
One girl told me, "My goal in life is very simple: I want to find a good job, and if it works out, find a good husband and have a child."
Another young man I witnessed to said, "I will remember what you told me today and I have learned a lot from you, but first I want to try and educate myself. Then if I fail in my efforts, maybe I will believe like you do."
I believe the Lord used us to sow seeds in these people's hearts, which is a very important part of our witness in China -- to prepare the ground of their hearts to receive God's seeds in the future. If Chinese people tell you they believe in themselves, you can show them from China's history over the past 40 years how much evil came out of this reliance on "self," and how much misery it brought.
A Vision Fulfilled!
Qingdao impressed us as the most beautiful city on our journey. This former German colony is very clean and has lots of trees and parks. The government is going to great lengths to preserve the old mansions and the European character of the city. Even new houses are built with bell-shaped red brick tile roofs, as are common in Germany. You can buy nice bread, sausages, ham and good beer everywhere, ha! There are dozens of beaches, hotels and loads of Chinese tourists. Qingdao can also be reached from Korea, as there is a ferry to Seoul.
After resting up from our two long boat trips, we had a good prayer meeting, asking the Lord what He wanted us to do in that city. Elisabeth (8) saw a vision of a lady with short hair who was so happy that we told her about Jesus and eagerly received the Lord. Excited about meeting this lady and everything else the Lord had in store, we started out to explore the city.
After a little lunch we spotted a nice hotel across the street and thought we'd go sit in the lobby for a while to rest. We looked around in the hotel and the assistant manager, a lady with short hair, started talking to us. She really liked the children, and when I showed her the photo album, her reaction was the one you read in the beginning of our story. When she read in Chinese characters, "Jesus loves you," she was so happy to find that we were Christians and asked us to explain to her how she could get to know Jesus!
I called the children over, and this lady, whose name is Emmy, prayed with us right there in the hotel lobby in front of some of her staff. She was so happy and excited. We stayed with her for about two hours sharing from the Bible and answering her questions.
She was very different from the young people we had met. Emmy is about 30, has one child, a good job, and her husband has a good job too. But she was very desperate about life, and wondered why she is living, what the purpose of life is, and what kind of society she is raising her child in. She was just full of questions and really searching.
We had such good, open and deep communication, even though we had just met. She told me that even though she is happily married, she feels that emptiness in her heart that we know only Jesus can fill. Her wish was to be able to read the Bible, but she didn't know where to get a Bible.
God Sends His Words to Emmy
That evening I remembered that as a foreigner you could sometimes buy Bibles at the official government church. We prayed desperately for the Lord to provide a Bible for Emmy. The next time we went to town, we got off the bus and, lo and behold, across the street was a big church. We walked in and, lo and behold again, they were just having a service! We asked if we could buy a Bible, and -- yes, you guessed it! -- they showed us to a little window where they were selling hymn books and Bibles. They happily sold us two Bibles.
Praising the Lord, we returned to see Emmy. She was overjoyed with her new Bible! We sat in the lobby for a long time, sharing the Word with her. Just to show you how little she knew about Jesus, when she saw the map of Paul's travels in the back of the Bible, she exclaimed, "Oh, look at all the different countries Jesus traveled to!"
That same evening she invited us to her home to meet her husband and child. She really wanted her husband to hear about Jesus, so she had me tell him my whole testimony. She also asked me to share with him about the importance of children and of spending time with them. Her husband was not as ripe a fruit as she was, but we sowed some good seed.
When I called Emmy the next day, she told me how she had stayed up late reading the Bible and had enjoyed it so much. She is a very special lady and we believe the Lord brought us to Qingdao because of her. When we explained Elisabeth's vision to her, she agreed that we were the answer to her prayers. It turned out that she usually works the late shift, but the day we met her, she had to suddenly switch working hours with her co-worker. If this had not happened, we would have never met. How wonderful the Lord is!
Through Streams and Over Mountains
After experiencing the prosperous coastal areas, I wanted to give the children a taste of the interior, so we took an overnight train to Taiyuan, about 800 km. west of Qingdao. Taiyuan is the capital of Shanxi province, an area known for its mountains, poor peasants, and heavy industry such as iron and coal.
The street life there looked almost the same as it had ten years ago -- the same old buses and trucks, the dust and confused traffic. Our actual goal was the Wutai Mountains, about 200 km. to the north. The Wutai Mountains are about 3,000 meters high, and are one of China's five mountain ranges that are holy to Buddhists. At the Taiyuan bus station they told us that the road was good and that the trip should only take four or five hours. But the Lord had a different experience in store for us.
As soon as the rickety old bus pulled out of the station, the conductor would have the driver stop at every street corner, while he shouted to the passersby, asking if anybody else wanted to go to the Wutai Mountains. He kept packing more and more people into the bus, regardless of how many were in there already. It was obviously a way for the bus crew to make extra money. Once we got closer to the mountains, the driver left the main road and took all kinds of small dirt roads, passing tiny villages, stopping for the peasants along the way, loading their baskets onto the roof, and unloading at the next village. It was quite an experience, especially for the children.
Three times the driver had to let half of the people get off, while he drove the bus through rivers and over rocks to the other side, where the people got back on. Once he got stuck in the middle of the river. The driver rocked the bus back and forth and back and forth, until finally he made it out of the river bed. At other times, there were rocks falling from the mountainside onto the road. We were sure praying.
The hours went by slowly -- six, seven, eight -- and we were still not there. Elisabeth really needed to go to the toilet, but as we were in the back of the bus, there was no way for her to get to the door because the bus was jam-packed. The situation was getting desperate. Just then the bus stopped for a few minutes. I shouted to a big strong man outside that my daughter had to go toilet, and handed him Elisabeth through the bus window. Relieved, she squatted down beside the bus to do her business "native-style." Then the man passed her to me again through the window. To him it seemed like the most normal thing on earth. Later I thought that I should have climbed out the windows first and helped Elisabeth myself.
As difficult as the ride was, it gave us insight into country life in this poor mountain area. Many millions of Chinese live like this in the interior of the country. It was interesting to see how patient the people are and how they are used to hardship. Some of the folks in the bus were standing in very crowded and hot conditions for hours and hours. Others willingly gave up part of their seat to make room for more people. There was hardly any shouting or arguing.
One husky farmer climbed through the window to his seat behind me, after struggling to get his heavy luggage onto the roof. He was all hot and sweaty and when he saw me studying my map of the area, he exclaimed, "Ah, that's just what I need!" He grabbed my map and started to fan himself. He didn't mean anything bad by it, and I just smiled at him. After a few minutes of fanning himself, he then proceeded to fan me as well, ha!
Finally after almost eleven hours, we reached our destination. We were dirty, tired, thirsty, hungry, and covered in dust, but richer in experience and understanding.
More Chinese Souls
We spent the next two days exploring the beautiful mountain scenery which looked like it was straight out of "The Sound of Music." We got to know some of the friendly and rugged villagers and mountain people, tried to understand their coarse Chinese dialect and tasted some of the local specialties. After praying about our next step, the Lord directed us to go to Xi'an, to try to meet Pete and Jenny, the sweet couple we had met on the boat to Shanghai.
It took us 24 hours by bus and train to get there, and by the time we arrived we really appreciated our hotel with nice beds and hot shower. We tried calling our friends, who live about two hours outside of Xi'an, but it was a big battle getting through. They didn't have their own phone, and we had to go through a switchboard, which is still very common in China. Sometimes nobody would answer the phone, at other times they just wouldn't connect us.
Finally, after desperate prayer, we got through to our friends, who were so happy to hear from us. They had just come back from their own trip -- the Lord's perfect timing! We arranged to meet the next day, and God bless'em, they traveled two hours by bus to see us.
Our heart's desire was to see them saved. After a nice outing in a park, when we sat down for a drink, they brought up the subject themselves, asking us about our beliefs. When we offered them Salvation, they gladly prayed with us right there in the park to receive Jesus.
After that, they took us to their home town in the country and invited us to stay with their relatives who have a big apartment. That was an answer to prayer, as I had hoped someone would take us into their home on this trip, so the children could have the experience of staying in a Chinese home. We stayed with Jenny's sister, whose husband is a computer engineer. I had some good talks with him and he told me that people need religion in China, because there are no longer any absolutes for people's behavior or any moral fabric to keep the country together.
They were hospitable and insisted that we sleep in their own bedroom while they slept on the carpet in the living room. We tried our best to refuse, but in the end we had to give in.
The Olympics and Nationalism
Our trip took place while the Olympic Games (in Atlanta) were in progress, and it was interesting to see how fanatic the Chinese were in supporting their athletes. Even those who were not interested in sports were glued to the tube from morning to night, rooting for their team. If they didn't win, there were long discussions on TV, criticizing the judges or saying they were unfairly treated, and that the others were not really better, etc. There was a very nationalistic spirit about it all, and I had noticed from the Chinese media that the government is now pushing nationalism -- or patriotism, as they call it -- as the unifying force in the country.
Since communism has pretty much zero appeal for the people and has lost its credibility, patriotism is used by the government to encourage the people to work together, and also as the ultimate argument against those who criticize the government. Those who criticize the System are no longer called "counter-revolutionaries" or "reactionary forces," but simply "unpatriotic" and "enemies of China."
That strong nationalism also was apparent whenever the subject of Taiwan came up. Regardless of whether those we met generally supported the government and the way China is run, when talking about Taiwan they would always strongly emphasize that Taiwan was a part of China and needed to be returned to China.
Saying "Goodbye"
While we stayed with our friends, we were able to share parts of the Bible with them, explaining to them more about Salvation. They were very hungry for the truth.
Jenny wanted to be Elisabeth's godmother. On the last day she went all the way to Xi'an with us, traveling two hours on the bus to see us off at the train station. Before leaving we gave her the other Bible we had bought from the church in Qingdao. She was very happy about it, and asked us to show her where she could find the little prayer we say before eating, "Thank You Jesus for this food," ha! Then she asked Elisabeth to write on the first page "For my godmother" in Chinese. We all hugged each other and boarded our train to Canton. Such sweet sheep!
When I asked Elisabeth on the train what she had learned on this trip, she said that when she first thought about going to China, she was scared because China is a Communist country and she thought the people there were bad. But now she understood that the people in China are just normal people, but they don't know Jesus and we need to tell them about Him.
We are so glad we could make this trip. For me, being able to go back to China after having been persecuted and forced to leave the country ten years ago was a dream come true. Having to leave China was a big heartbreak for my mate and me back then, and we were always hoping to return someday. In the meantime we did what we could to reach China in other ways, such as through the mail. When the China prophecies came out more than a year ago, we rejoiced that it was again the Lord's time to turn our eyes towards that great land and more than ever, we want to do all we can to either reach the Chinese in person, train our children as missionaries to the Chinese, or help others to reach them by teaching them all we know.
****
A Message from Beyond! -- From a Chinese Christian!
At Mama's request, one of the members of our WS pubs team asked the Lord to let her hear from a departed Chinese spirit. Following is the message she received, from one of our dear Christian Chinese sisters who was led to the Lord by missionaries to China and later persecuted for her faith, before going on to her Heavenly reward:
I am marching forward. I am marching forward for my people, and I will not let up. Though there are many dark forces fighting against us, I am marching forward to deliver my people. For I have given my life for them once, and I have given my life for them many, many times.
For my people are a great and a wonderful and a beautiful people, with delicate hearts, hearts that reach out to the beauty that the Lord has for them, hearts that care and desire great beauty. This is a people that I care for and that I love. This is a people that I wanted to pour out my blood for, to bring them the great love of their God.
For they have been fought for many many centuries by the wicked and the evil devices of the Devil's own religion. And their desire for beauty and simplicity has often been thwarted, as the Devil has promoted his way and his cruelty and his powers which have run rampant throughout this great nation.
When I was on Earth, I learned about Jesus through a simple missionary in our country. It was great relief, as well as an awakening for me. For many years I had searched for beauty in my life. As a young girl I had been taught obedience and submission, and with these things I was happy, I was satisfied. But there was a desire, a great desire in my heart, to understand and to know the beauty that I was longing for.
The missionaries' love
Then this dear missionary couple reached out to me. They reached out in our little village. They reached out and showed love to us, to my family, and to my friends. What I saw in their eyes was the beauty that I was longing for. I saw that beautiful light that I so longed for. They came and gave to me -- they gave of their abundance, they gave out of their poverty, they gave of their health, they gave in many little ways and big ways.
This giving of theirs was so unnatural. I understood the ways of families giving and caring for each other. But someone coming in as a total stranger, giving to me, giving to my family, giving to my friends, giving to our community, giving when they weren't thanked, giving when they were turned away, this was so puzzling. I had never seen such giving before, and this I wanted.
I reached out with great caution. I reached out timidly, but they responded eagerly to my reaching out. They sheltered me with their love. They understood why I was timid, and they were gentle with me.
They invited me to come and sing songs with them. My family did not understand, for they felt I was turning away from them. They were jealous that I was turning to a new family. It was difficult for them. Therefore when I reached out towards these missionaries, I reached out timidly, because I did not want to offend my family.
My family nodded in agreement when I went to sing songs with them, but they were hurt. However they let me go, and I regularly visited the stronghold of these missionaries, the stronghold of faith, the stronghold of beauty, the stronghold of peace, the stronghold of caring. Oh, there was such caring there. They would always invite me in and throw their arms around me and care for me with such diligence.
I grew in their arms of love. I was twelve or thirteen at the time that I met them. Their beautiful ways of love molded my heart as I learned about the Lord, about the real God, about love, about caring and giving and sharing. Those were beautiful, beautiful days.
My family comes to the light
My family never came along with me. They stayed behind, worried about what was happening to their daughter. But I am thankful that they never stopped me. They worried, they frowned when I would walk away to go visit my friends. When I would go to the stronghold of faith, my family would sit in their dark house frowning, and they would frown when I returned. But they never took action; they never strove against me physically. For this I was very grateful.
Being a young girl, if my family had reacted against me, it would have been very difficult. I am very grateful for how they allowed me to be friends with these missionaries, and to be strengthened in their stronghold of faith.
Many years later, my father told me that he was happy that they did not fight against my newfound joy. For though it puzzled him greatly, and caused him and my mother and my grandparents concern, he could now see that my life had developed beautifully, and he was thankful that they had made the right decision in allowing me the opportunity to visit these missionaries and to not stand in my way.
He explained why it was so difficult, how it was so contrary to the many things he had been taught, how to let me go was for him to turn against the things he knew or had always understood to be right. For I was not only meeting with others, but I was meeting with foreigners. I was not only meeting with foreigners, but to my family it seemed I was meeting with a foreign god, and this was very difficult to understand.
He explained that as he saw the joy in my life grow and continue to blossom, he and my mother too began to believe, in a far-off manner. This was quite a surprise to me, because they had never shown any desire to know about Jesus. They had never questioned me about my faith. They always pretended like it was not there. This was their way of dealing with this. They would pretend that I was just like they were, and go on business as usual. It was a surprise to me to find that in the privacy of their little room, in the quietness of night, they had discussed the joy that they saw growing in my heart and in my eyes. And they had received this.
Saved in the spirit world
Today, my parents are with me in this wonderful Kingdom of Heaven. That little reaching out of faith, that little acceptance of understanding that a great joy had taken over their daughter was honored by the Lord. He did not hold it against my parents for being bound by traditions and the religions that they had been brought up on. He cared for them. The Master saw that their hearts were yielded in as large a capacity as they were capable of. So when their time came to pass through the door, He closed one door. He closed the door that would cause them to follow the way of their ancestors, and He showed them the other door.
He allowed me to introduce them to Heaven. It was a beautiful sight. They were so timid and so humble, as they entered in, hand in hand. Yes, my parents came together. They were old and stricken with age at a time when a fire broke out and took them together. And there they were, with their heads bowed, but peeking up humbly, looking at the beautiful light and love that the Lord was presenting them with.
They saw me, their daughter, standing there in this beautiful place. They moved forward, and I told them it was Jesus, that He wanted to give them this wonderful life, that He loved them greatly. I told them that He had allowed me to prepare a home for them, one that they would be very happy in. They asked to see this home, because they still could not understand, and I was given permission to show them their home.
It was at this point -- when they saw the home that Jesus had for them; when they saw that He cared about them; when they saw the home was built as they would want it built, in simple, humble fashion; when they saw that it was not a foreigner's home, but it was a home very similar to what they had always lived in, yet with a greater touch of beauty and light; when they saw this was truly a Chinese home -- they then said yes to Jesus.
They then allowed the door to be closed on all of their doubts and their fears that they would be stripped of their dignity, of their Chinese ways, of their culture. When they saw that the Lord compassionately cared for them by allowing their culture to be intact, they moved on from the darkness of the past to the light and the bright and glorious future that the Lord had for them. Now my two humble parents live in the wonderful halls of Heaven. And in the years since, many of my brothers have joined us as well, and one of my sisters. It was truly a fulfillment, as not only was I saved but my whole house was saved.
Our Chinese community in Heaven
We have a beautiful community here of loving and caring amongst each other. I have spent many many years now, greeting and helping my dear people to enter into the halls of Heaven. I have spent many years helping them to dust off the shadows of the past and to come into the full joy that Jesus has for them.
I understand their plight. I understand how it was difficult for them to turn from some of their traditional ways and to accept this great beauty. I also understand that great desire in their heart for the beauty that the Lord has for them. And this is my greatest heart's desire, to continue to open the door, to let them peek and to have a glimpse of the glories that Jesus has for each one of them.
I have not only greeted my parents, but I have been given the wonderful permission to greet many, and to offer them this chance. This was my reward. This was the reward that the Lord crowned me with. He asked me when I arrived what great reward I would like to have. He laid before me many challenges. I told Him I wanted to help my people to know Him.
I told Him I wanted to help those who love Him amongst my people to stand strong, and I wanted to help usher in those who had reached out towards Him, to usher them into the Halls of Heaven, to help them know that He was a Chinese God as well as a foreign God. With this the Lord was very pleased, and I was immediately granted my wish. And this has been a ministry that I have undertaken for many many years now with great joy.
Marriage, persecution, graduation!
I followed after the ways of these missionaries, but there were many times it was difficult to follow my faith. The missionaries had to leave when I was about twenty or twenty-one, and there were only a few of us who had followed them closely. One of these became my husband. With this I was well pleased, for it would have been difficult to stand alone in a marriage with a husband that did not understand the ways of the Lord.
My parents had seen fit to marry me to this man from a neighboring family. And the Lord had seen fit to prepare his heart in the same way He had prepared mine. For this I was ever so grateful.
We continued on in our love for the Lord after the missionaries left. We continued to draw others together, to call others in to worship the Lord together, to study the Bible, the text that we had. Through this we grew in strength, and through this we grew in joy, but through this we were also labeled. We were labeled as followers of the foreigners, followers of others' ways and traitors to our own people.
The fear toward us grew among our people. And the stronger their fear became, the stronger our lights shone, as we grew closer to each other and to the Lord, and He continued to grow us and draw us closer to Him step by step. He cared for us! He cared for us wonderfully.
But the fears `round about us continued to grow. There were those in our community who feared that having Christians amongst them would cause the government to withdraw its support from our community in times of problems. They feared that we would be cut off from the protection of our army. Therefore the community began to cut us off. First verbally. Many of those who had watched us eagerly and who had wanted to follow the Lord afar off turned from us. It was a hard time for me and my husband and our two small children, for we were considered to be followers of the foreigners.
When sickness took our children, we were crushed and our spirits began to fail within us. And though we reached out to those around us, telling them that we were just people like they were, that we loved our Chinese ancestry, that we loved the heritage that we had, but that we also loved the Lord Jesus, this did not cause them to open up their arms. It caused them to cut us off more.
One night they threw stones at our windows. They killed our dog. They poured animal's blood around our house. This was not done by the whole community, but those who were not involved also did not stand up for us. And our families stayed away, in shyness.
It was a difficult time, a very lonely time. There were times when we wanted to give up our newfound faith. We also wanted to be able to run to our families for shelter. But we could not bring this torment upon them as well. So we tried to bear the burdens ourselves, and we became weary and tired.
The Lord had mercy. He saw our predicament, how we were cut off and alone, and He did not abandon us. He sent along a sickness which took my husband and I, and we were delivered from that torment. It was while we were sick that my father visited. He told me how he and my mother had admired the joy that they saw in our eyes. It was with great relief that I left my father behind, knowing that though physically they had not cared for us, they had not cut us off in their hearts. My husband and I continued across the threshold and joined our two children, our two little girls, and the pain was over.
Will you reach my people?
Now we have been very busy helping the Lord's Love be spread in the hearts of our people. They are a people with great, great need. They are a people living under a black cloud, but many hearts desire to find the beauty of life. There are many, many hearts questioning and crying out to find the beauty that their hearts desire.
I say to those of you who reach out to my people, do not be weary in well doing. Do not look at the small fruit within your hand. Take heart from my story, seeing how my conversion brought with me a whole household, even though on Earth it did not look so. Take heart in this testimony and believe that each time that you reach another and you draw that one into great fellowship with Jesus, though their family does not respond wholeheartedly, you are still reaching many beyond the walls. You are reaching many through the heart of this one, even though it may not be visible to you or even to them.
There are many who will follow. Some closely, some seemingly distant, and some so far off you will not even know it. In this take courage, take strength, knowing that the one little one that you have reached is helping to reach many more that you know not of. Though you feel that your candle is so weak, remember that it is shining in a place of great darkness.
Take your candle out from under the bushel. Keep your candle out upon the tabletop, so that my people may see its light flickering in the distance. Hold forth your candle! Do not look at how small and weak it is, but hold it forth with great pride, so that my people may look up and see this light in the distance. Hold it forth with great courage, for my people have a great need to look up and see its beauty.
Do not fail them, but hold it forth. Give them the light that their hearts desire, and do not count the results upon your own hands, but by faith count the results, knowing that there are many seeking to follow this beauty. Even though many will follow afar off, this ray of hope will be the beginnings of their entering into the halls of Heaven.
And remember that I am on your side, helping to usher them in. So even though you are not able to completely strip them of the darkness and give them a full understanding of the Heaven that awaits them, even though you feel like you barely scratch the surface in their lives, and perhaps all they did was see the light and smile at it, know that if they have shown an acceptance in their heart, then the Lord is reaching out with long, loving, everlasting arms of love.
He is making it possible for them to come the rest of the way into His Heavenly Kingdom. He has not closed the door on them because of the darkness `round about them that makes it difficult for them to understand. But He compassionately, mercifully and graciously allows those who yielded to a flicker of light in a small way to make the choice to come the full way once they have passed that threshold from life to death.
With great joy I have been given the job of helping to usher them in, to dust away the death of the past and to give them the passport of Jesus into the beautiful Heaven of the future. There are many of us now working in this capacity. There are many who are helping me to help others, ushering them in to the Kingdom of Heaven.
You do your part: Allow your light to shine, hold it forth in great boldness. Be not afraid to hold it forth. Do not hold back. Do not give up. Do not be timid. Do not look at your light and feel so weak that you set it down only on the table. It is a good thing that you set it on the table. But it is a greater thing if you pick it up in your hand and you hold it high, for many more people will see it in this way. Many more people will say, "Ah, this is a light that I want. This is a light that I desire." And even though many will not get past that point, that glimpse of hope, that glimpse of faith, that small seed of faith in their heart is the beginning of them entering into the Kingdom.
Many you will be able to personally lead to Jesus, and you will be able to lead them in a Salvation prayer. But others you will not be able to lead that far. They may only see the light, but not hear the words of instruction as to how to obtain it. Do not be weary in well doing, for we will follow through where you cannot. The Lord has made it thus. He has great compassion upon my people, and He understands the darkness that cuts them off from His light. He understands the difficulties you have in reaching them with the full message, but He has not allowed them to be cut off in despair.
To those who have said, "Yes, it is a beautiful light, I would like to have it," to those who have just acknowledged this in their hearts in a small way, He offers the full understanding when they pass from death to life.
I want to encourage you, His missionaries, to hold that light high, to do your best to feed and to care for those who come to you wholeheartedly. But at the same time, also hold forth that light in places where you feel you cannot do the full job of bringing them in. Do not be afraid, and do not worry about how you will care for them. Just hold forth that light and trust that we on the other side are doing the rest.
We care greatly for our people, and we are very happy and thankful for you missionaries who are reaching out to our people. But you can accomplish much, much more if you hold forth this light with greater boldness. Please do so, so that more people like my parents may see that light, and acknowledge it, even if it is from afar off.
This is a message that I have wanted to give to you, to encourage you that you are not alone in this battle, in this dark land.
****
Chinese Martyrs Cry, "We Need You!"
While attending Summit `96, Robin (SGA) told Gary about a new type of tongues that she had just received which sounded very Oriental. Robin explained that whenever she spoke in these tongues she felt very moved in the spirit. Gary then suggested that they ask the Lord if He had anything He wanted to say related to the subject of Robin's tongues, and/or if He would allow them to receive the interpretation of those tongues.
Following are the prophecies the Lord gave, apparently messages from now-deceased Chinese Christians who were either killed during the Cultural Revolution that took place in China in the late `60s, or during some of the earlier persecutions of Christians in that country, speaking on the behalf of their people. Receiving these prophecies was a very emotional and spiritual experience for Gary and Robin, who both found themselves weeping and sobbing, deeply feeling the emotions of the ones giving this message.
***
(Robin speaks in very moving, Chinese-sounding tongues. Gary then gives the following message:)
Behold, we are those that cry out from the Yangtze River, and beyond the Yangtze River where our people have been slaughtered. We have been herded like sheep to the slaughter because we professed the God of the West. But we profess still, and we are willing to stay. We move, and we meet in small houses. We're willing to cry out to the God of the universe, Who has reached out and touched us in our low estate. For does He not reach down and touch those who are of low estate to make them that are naught what He wants them to be?
Yea, we call out to those of the West. We call out, "Come to shepherd us, to teach us!" For they that have not, call unto those that have. And yes, though you may think that you have not, you have much, for we have not. We have only the desire to hear the Lord our God, to read the pamphlets, to hear the Words of life, that we may be nourished. We can live on but a morsel of rice and we can live on but a morsel of bread and we can live on but a morsel of the Word of God, if you would give it to us.
We seek only to eke out an existence, for each day of our lives is as misery. But when we call upon the Name of the Lord, then we have joy, then we have surcease from our suffering and from our pain. For He has come that we might have this and that we might have life abundant. And though we have not life abundant in this life, we have it in the world to come.
Therefore we call unto you. We call unto you of the West, for we need you. We need the Words. We need you to come and reach out to us. We are a darkened people. We live in a darkened land, but each ray of light will shine so bright if you would be willing to light only a candle, that we may see in the midst of the darkness.
You come from the land with so much brightness. And you who have been bred from a small child, you have been given so much light. Can you not share but a candle with us?
(Weeping) Yes, you take your blessings for granted, and even cast them aside. You have been given so much and we so little. What you have been given could feed whole towns, cities and provinces! We have so little. You have so much!
Can you not share it with us? Can you not reach out to us? Can you not pray for us, and come to our lands? Will you come, reach out to us, touch us, hold us? Bring the light of your countenance, the light of your Savior, that it may shine upon us.
You would bring light unto us; you would bring the Rice of Life which we need desperately! We cry out to you! We are they who can live on but a handful of rice, and you have bountiful granaries stored in your heart, but you give not.
Please give unto us. We seek, we cry unto you from the lands of the Yangtze River. My people have been slaughtered. We have been herded and killed. We have suffered. We cry out to you. Give us even the crumbs that you cast aside from your plate.
We call for the youth of this generation to come to us, to speak to us, to help us. You may come via the airwaves, you may come via the sea waves, you may come overland. Do as your Lord leads you and we will receive you. We will receive of you.
You must be as the missionaries of old who came unto us, whose teachings we still teach, whose morsels of bread and rice we still pass around, whose words we have memorized, whose lives have become legends that inspire us, that motivate us to tell others of the God of the West.
We see our people in darkness. We were taken in the night and slaughtered by the god of this world. The love, the joy that we seek is so abundant unto you that you take it for granted. You know not the blessing into which you have been born and bred.
We call unto you. Please help us! Please, we speak unto you and call unto you! Please help us!
****
(Robin speaks in similar Chinese-sounding tongues, and again Gary gives a message:)
Speak for us! For we speak not the language of the West, to speak with those of the West. Speak for us! We desire you, we need you!
****
(Robin speaks in tongues and then Gary gives the following:)
We speak to you not only from the Yangtze, but from other lands. For these my forefathers have spoken unto you. But I, the new generation, now speak unto you, in the words of the new land to which our forefathers have fled.
They fled to give us a better world and yet we have not. Yes, we have rice. We have food, we have fish, but we have not the Word of God. We call unto you from the lands of Southeast Asia. I call unto you from Thailand. We are the Chinese community which needs you, which cries unto you. For we are strangers in strange lands. We are not part of the world in which we live.
We cry unto you! Please reach us, for we are a different people! We are a strange people, and many people hide their faces from us. But our Savior was also a Man of sorrow and acquainted with grief, and they hid as it were their faces from Him.
Hide not your faces from us. Turn not away from us. We are of the younger generation whose forefathers fled to give us a better world, a better land, something they knew not. They have spoken to us of the God of the West, and we know only what they have spoken.
We long to know and we long to be filled. Speak unto us and reach us. Reach us with the Words of Life, with your songs of life, for our hearts are as yours. Our hearts reach out, for we are of the younger generation. We know that if you will speak to us, your songs will speak to us.
Please forsake us not! Forsake us not! Sing unto us! Hold us! Help us to know the God of the West. We have heard of His legend from our mothers and fathers, our aunts and uncles, but they know not what to teach to us and they know Him not. You must please come, speak unto us.
****
(Gary explains his visions:) I saw a very handsome Chinese boy. My impression was that he was from Thailand or one of the other Southeast Asian nations where there are a lot of Chinese. Because he was born into an ethnic minority, he was like a foreigner within that land, though he grew up there.
When you gave that first message in tongues, I saw an older Chinese woman speaking. Perhaps she was younger than she looked, though, as I got the impression she had suffered beyond her years. But the last message was from someone else, from the younger generation, someone in their twenties, I'd say.
They look to the West for answers, though their hearts are actually crying out for the God of the West, the God of the Christians. They don't know what it is they seek, but they're seeking and the Lord has put it in their hearts to seek from the West. Coming from the West, they'll be open to us as Westerners, and we can give them Jesus. h
(Robin:) It's amazing -- any time I've stopped to pray, I could always feel these people calling and always wanting to speak. They just really are desperat for young people from the West to go there.
The first time I felt that was during a meeting where we were praying about the young people in the States. But after that, each time I had personal prayer time it seemed like they just wouldn't go away. Their message is so important, so desperate, that it seems like they are going to keep calling and calling and calling until we come. They're very desperate!
I was praying for a teen girl in the Family, and I unexpectedly broke out into these tongues I had never had in my life. They were just calling for her to come. They were saying to her: "You are the angel that God has sent to us, that God has put upon this Earth for us. For you have what we need. You have the Words of David. We look in your eyes. You have angel eyes and we can feel so much love and we need this love. Will you come to us?" It was a real call for her to come. That was the first time I got it.
The next time this happened was when we were in a meeting praying about the young people in the States. It was amazing, because four or five of these Chinese people spoke and each one was different. It seemed there was always more, they always had more messages to give, and it kept coming in that language.
So many of the things I've received are about a dark land and how we have so much and how desperate they are -- that the light that we have would shine so brightly in their dark land. Another message said: "We don't want to complain, but you have so much. You already have so much of the Words of David. You have so much and we have nothing." I got something about crumbs too, how they're starving and desperate for anything. It's amazing how it was very similar to what we received just now.
The last time I received something was so sweet. The person said, "Thank you for letting us give our message. Thank you for letting us give our call."
The Lord's given me an incredible love for these Asians in the States. Especially when I started witnessing to the Vietnamese, something clicked like it never did with any other people I've ever witnessed to in my life. I felt a love that was so strong. They felt it, too, immediately. Some people would say they couldn't understand the Vietnamese and couldn't relate to them, but the Lord gave me this connection with them in the spirit. They were attracted to me; I was attracted to them, and they listened.
Some of them would fight Salvation and I just kept going back and visiting them. There was a Vietnamese guy who had already told me all the reasons why he couldn't accept Jesus as his Savior. One day he was saying, "Oh, but I get so impatient with my kids." I just kept telling him about what Jesus could do for him -- that Jesus could give him that patience and that tenderness he needed.
Finally he actually prayed and he couldn't believe it either! He said, "I asked Jesus!" He himself was amazed that he had just done it! He said, "I just asked Jesus into my heart! I don't believe this, but He came in! He's really in my heart!" It was amazing. It was very beautiful!
Then the Lord inspired me with the idea of how much we in the States could help, because when I'd tell different Vietnamese I met that I really have a burden and would love to go to their country some day if God needs me, they'd tell me, "Oh, we'll help you get there!" As soon as they heard that we were willing to help their people, so many people were willing to help -- pastors and churches. I got so inspired to see that there are many rich Asians here in the States, and if they see that we are willing to go and help their people, they could support the work.
Copyright (c) 1997 by The Family