Gao Jing Henan Province
In
1999, I was fortunate to accept Almighty God’s end-time work. Through
reading God’s word, I felt God’s holy, honorable, and righteous
disposition, and knew that all these words are the expression of God’s
life being. I had inexpressible moving in my heart. For the first time I
felt the security and joy in the bottom of my heart brought by the
working of the Holy Spirit. Since then, I desired more and more to gain
these truths. After entering the Church of Almighty God, I saw that it
was a new world completely different from the society. The brothers and
sisters were all simple, kind-hearted, pure, and lively. Though we were
from different places and had different social backgrounds and statuses,
we were as dear as a family and loved and sustained each other, happily
staying together. That made me truly feel that the life of worshiping
God was so happy, joyful, wonderful, and sweet. Later, I read these
words of God, “As a member of mankind and as one of the godly
Christians, we all have the responsibility and obligation to offer up
our body and heart for the accomplishment of God’s commission, because
our whole being comes from God and exists because of God’s sovereignty.
If our body and heart are not for God’s commission and not for the just
cause of mankind, then our soul will be ashamed to face those who were
martyred for God’s commission and will be even more ashamed to face God
who provides us with everything.” (from “God Is Sovereign over
the Destiny of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) From God’s
words, I understood that as a created being, I should live for the
Creator and consecrate and spend my whole being for God, and only this
is the most worthy and meaningful life. Thus, when I heard that in the
remote areas there were still many people who hadn’t heard Almighty
God’s end-time gospel, I resolutely said goodbye to the brothers and
sisters in my hometown and took the train going afar.
In 2002, I
came to a remote and backward mountain area in Guizhou Province to
preach the gospel. There, almost every day we had to walk very long
mountain paths, often through wind and snow, to preach the gospel. But
with the presence of God, the brothers and sisters and I didn’t feel
bitter or tired. Under the leading of the working of the Holy Spirit,
the gospel work there spread quickly, more and more people accepted
God’s end-time work, and the church life was full of vitality. Whenever I
saw that the brothers and sisters read God’s word, sang hymns to praise
God, and enjoyed God’s love there, with happiness and satisfaction on
their faces, I was greatly comforted in my heart, feeling that it was
worthwhile no matter how much I suffered. Though during that period, I
was once weak and passive, God’s words had been encouraging me, “Have
you ever thought how grieved and anxious God’s heart is? How could he
bear to see the innocent mankind he created with his own hands suffering
such torment? After all, mankind are the unfortunate who have been
poisoned. Although they have survived today, who knows that they have
long been poisoned by the evil one? Have you forgotten that you were one
of the victims? Are you not willing to try hard to save all these
survivors back out of your love for God? And exert all your strength to
repay the God who loves man as his own flesh and blood?” (from
“As to the Future Mission, How Should You Treat It?” in The Word Appears
in the Flesh) Under the leading of God’s words, I spent six enriched
and joyful years there until in 2008 a special environment suddenly came
upon me. From then on, my happy and good life was broken….
It was
around 11 a.m. on March 15, 2008. Two brothers and I were having a
meeting. Suddenly four cops broke in and quickly pressed us to the
floor. Without saying anything, they handcuffed us and pushed and pulled
us into a police car. In the car, they all gave out a hideous and
sinister laugh and brandished the electric batons before our eyes. And
they struck our heads and bodies now and then with them and abused
venomously, “You’re so young. What the fuck can’t you do except
believing in God? You’re really looking for trouble!” Facing the sudden
arrest, I was very nervous in my heart, not knowing what awaited us
next. I could only call to God unceasingly in my heart, “O God! Today we
encounter such an environment out of your permission. May you give us
faith and keep us, so that we can stand testimony for you.” After the
prayer, the words of God appeared in my mind, “In any circumstance, you should be faithful to me and go forward bravely. I am your solid Rock. Rely on me!”
(from “The Tenth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Yes!
God is my reliance and my strong and powerful rear guard. No matter in
what circumstances, as long as I can hold on to my faithfulness to God
and stand on God’s side, I can surely overcome satan and make it
ashamed. The revelation of God’s words made me have faith and strength. I
made a resolution inwardly, “I’ll hold on to the true way and stand
testimony for God even if I have to die!”
After we arrived at the
police station, the cops dragged the three of us out of the car roughly
and pushed us into a room. Then, they searched us all over from head to
foot. From the bags of the two brothers, they searched out some gospel
materials and a cell phone. Failing to find money, an evil cop pulled a
brother to him and punched and kicked him, and beat him to the floor.
After that, we were taken into different rooms and interrogated
separately. Having interrogated me for a whole afternoon, they didn’t
get any word from my mouth. A little past 8 p.m. that day, they sent the
two brothers and me to the local detention house with the identity of
“anonymous people.”
As soon as I entered the detention house, two
female officers stripped off all my clothes, cut all the metal objects
on them, and also pulled out my shoelaces and belt. I had to lift my
trousers and walk barefoot into the cell fearfully. Seeing me come in,
those female prisoners rushed forward like madwomen and surrounded me,
asking me this and that. As the light was dim, they drew close to me and
looked at me curiously with eyes wide open, and some of them even
seized my arms and felt and pinched me here and there. I was stunned by
the scene, standing there stiff and not daring to say anything. I was so
scared. When thinking that in the future I would live in this demons’
room with these people, I felt so wronged that I just wanted to cry.
Then, a prisoner sitting on the kang who was silent the whole time
suddenly said loudly, “Knock it off! She has just come here and knows
nothing. Don’t frighten her.” And after that, she brought me a quilt. I
felt a wave of warmth, and was very clear in my heart that it wasn’t
that this prisoner was kind to me, but that God was helping and looking
after me through people around me. Actually, God was always with me and I
wasn’t alone. In this ghastly and horrible “hell on earth,” with God’s
love accompanying me, I felt great comfort. The night gradually grew
late. All the other female prisoners slept, but I wasn’t sleepy at all.
Thinking that in the morning I was performing duty happily with the
brothers and sisters, but at night I lay in this awful tomb-like place,
not knowing when I could leave, I felt an unspeakable distress and
sadness. Just when I was immersed in my thoughts, suddenly a cold wind
blew in, and I couldn’t help shivering. I looked up and found that the
cell was open to the sky. Except that the kang where we slept had a roof
above, the rest was an iron net made of welded thick steel bars. Cold
wind whistled in, and now and then I could hear the footsteps of the
cops patrolling on the roof. I felt my blood run cold. Fear, grievance,
and helplessness came over me, and my tears flowed down despite myself.
Then, a passage of God’s words floated into my mind clearly, “Do
you know that all the surrounding circumstances are permitted by me and
arranged by me? See this clearly. Satisfy my heart in the circumstances
that I have given you. Do not fear this or that. The Almighty God of
hosts will surely be with you. He will be your rear guard and shield.”
(from “The Twenty-sixth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the
Flesh) Yes, God is my rear guard, and what shall I fear? I’m ready to
give up my life. I’ll commit everything into God’s hand. After
understanding God’s will, I was much relaxed in my heart. So I prayed to
God silently, “O God! Thank you for your revelation and enlightenment,
so that I understand your will. I’m willing to obey your manipulation
and arrangement and seek your will in this environment to gain the truth
you want to give me. O God! But my stature is too small. May you give
me faith and strength and keep the two brothers and me, so that no
matter what tortures we may undergo, we’ll never betray you.” After the
prayer, I wiped away my tears and pondered God’s words, waiting for the
dawn quietly.
Early the next morning, with clangs the iron door of
the cell was opened. An officer shouted, “The anonymous one, come out!”
I was confounded for a moment before I realized that she was calling
me. In the interrogation room, the cops asked me again about my name,
address, and the things of the church. I kept silent and sat on the
chair with my head bowed. They interrogated me for a whole week. Finally
an evil cop pointed at me and abused, “Damn you! We’ve accompanied you
for so many days, but you didn’t say a word. All right. You just wait,
and see what awaits you!” After he finished his words, the two evil cops
slammed the door and left. One evening, the evil cops again came to
interrogate me. They handcuffed me and stuffed me into a police car.
Sitting in the car, I couldn’t help feeling somewhat scared, “Where will
they take me? Will they take me to the field and trample me? Or will
they just put me into a sack and throw me into the river to feed the
fish?” I was so scared. Then, these words of the hymn of life experience
“The Kingdom” resounded in my ears, “God is my rear guard; what shall I
fear? I will war against satan to the end. God uplifts us, so we should
give up everything and have a part in Christ’s sufferings. I will ready
my love and offer it all to God to descend with God in glory. …”
Immediately, an unfailing strength spontaneously rose in my heart.
Raising my head, I looked out of the window, silently pondering the
words of the hymn in my heart. Seeing that I was always looking out of
the window, an evil cop suddenly drew the curtain and roared at me
fiercely, “What are you looking at! Bow your head!” I was so frightened
by his sudden shout that I shuddered and then bowed my head. Four evil
cops kept smoking in the car. Immediately the car was smoky. I was
choked so much that I kept coughing. Then, an evil cop sitting in the
front row turned around and seized me by the chin with his hand, blew a
puff of smoke into my face, and said with an ill intention, “I tell you.
As long as you confess everything, you can go home without suffering.
You are a little young girl and look pretty….” While saying that, he
felt my face with his hand, winked at me, and said with an obscene
smile, “Or let me find a boyfriend for you.” I turned my face aside and
warded off his hand with my handcuffed hands. He immediately became
exasperated, saying, “Quite tough, ah? You’ll behave well when we arrive
there!” The car continued driving on. I didn’t know what I would face
and could only call to God silently in my heart, “O God! Today I don’t
care what it takes. No matter what ways these devils may use on me, as
long as I have one breath, I’ll bear a strong and resounding testimony
for you before satan!”
Over half an hour later, the car stopped.
An evil cop dragged me out of the car. I staggered and then stood firm
and looked around. Then, it was already completely dark and there were
only several empty houses around, without any light, so it looked
especially ghastly and horrible. I was taken into one of the empty
houses. There was a desk and a couch in the room, and an incandescent
lamp was hung from the ceiling, lighting the surroundings dreadfully
pale. Ropes and iron chains were on the floor, and a chair made of thick
iron blocks was at a distance. Facing such a ghastly and horrible
scene, I couldn’t help feeling flustered and my legs went limp. So I sat
on the couch to ease my mind. Then, several cops came in. One of them
scolded me loudly, “Where are you sitting? Is it for you to sit on?
Stand up!” While saying that, he came up and kicked me several times.
Then, he seized the clothes on my chest and pulled me up and dragged me
to the iron chair. Another evil cop said to me, “I tell you. This is a
good thing. As long as you sit on it for some time, it’ll ‘benefit’ you
all your life. This is specially prepared for you believers in Almighty God, and ordinary people aren’t allowed to sit on it. As long as you are
obedient and answer our questions honestly, we won’t have you sit
there. Speak up! What did you come to Guizhou for? Did you come to
preach the gospel?” I said nothing. A sturdy evil cop nearby pointed at
my nose and abused, “Don’t you fucking act dumb! If you still don’t
tell, we’ll let you sit on it and have a taste of it!” I still kept
silent.
Then, a woman lasciviously dressed came in. She was sent
by the evil cops to be a lobbyist. She tried to persuade me with feigned
kindness, “Little sister, you’re a stranger here and have no relatives
or friends. Just tell us! If you tell us, I’ll find a job for you, and
you can find a boyfriend here and marry him. I assure you that I’ll
introduce a good one to you. Or you can be a housekeeper in my house,
and I’ll pay you every month. Thus, you can settle down here.” I raised
my head and gave her a glance, but didn’t respond to her. I thought,
“The devils are the devils. They don’t acknowledge God but can only do
bad things unscrupulously for money and interests. Now they want to buy
me off with interests and make me betray God. How can I fall into their
scheme and become a shameless Judas?” Seeing that her “earnest and
patient” words were resultless, she felt that I made her lose face
before the evil cops, so she immediately showed her true colors. She
took off the belt from her bag and whipped me hard several times. And
finally she threw her bag onto the couch fiercely, shook her head, and
stood aside resignedly. Seeing that, a fat evil cop came up and seized
my hair and knocked me against the wall hard several times, and he
roared through gnashing teeth, “How dare you not appreciate our
kindness! How dare you not appreciate our kindness! Speak up or not?” I
was knocked so badly that I saw stars and my head buzzed, feeling that
the sky and the earth were spinning around, and I fell to the floor.
Like lifting a chick, he pulled me up and threw me onto the iron chair. I
rested for a while and then opened my eyes slightly and saw that there
was a strand of my hair in his hand. I was fixed onto the iron chair
from head to foot. A thick iron board was stuck before my chest, and my
handcuffs were connected to the iron chair. With shackles weighing
dozens of kilos around my ankles, my feet were also fixed onto the iron
chair. Like a statue, I couldn’t move at all. The ice-cold and heavy
iron chains, iron lock, and iron handcuffs stuck me fast onto the iron
chair, making me unbearably miserable. Looking at my painful state, the
evil cops mocked me smugly, “Isn’t the God you believe in almighty? Why
doesn’t he come to save you? Why doesn’t he save you from the
torture-rack? You’d better tell us. Your God can’t save you, and only we
can save you. If you tell us, we’ll release you. You don’t live your
good life but believe in God!” Facing the evil cops’ ridicule and mock, I
was very calm in my heart, because God’s words say, “In the end
time, God perfects people with the word, not with signs and wonders,
and by speaking, he exposes, judges, chastises, and perfects people so
that they can see his wisdom and loveliness and know his disposition in
his word and see his deeds through his word.” (from “Knowledge
About God’s Present Work” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Today what
God does is a practical work, not supernatural. God wants to perfect man
with his word, making his word become man’s faith and man’s life, and
wants to transform my life disposition with the practical environment.
Such practical work can better reveal God’s great power and wisdom, and
can defeat satan more thoroughly. I’m willing to obey all the
environments God permits to come upon me. My silence irritated that gang
of evil cops. Like mad, they gathered around me and beat me violently.
Some of them struck my head hard with their fists, some kicked my legs
wildly, and some tore my clothes forcefully and felt my face. Facing
their indecent acts, I was very angry. If not fixed fast onto the
torture-rack, I must fight them to death! I burned with anger and hated
the CCP in power, this arch-criminal, to the core. I couldn’t help
making a resolution inwardly, “The more it persecutes me, the more I’ll
believe in God and believe to the end! The more it persecutes me, the
more it proves that Almighty God is the true God and that the way I walk
is the true way!” At that time, before the facts, I clearly realized
that it was a war between justice and evil and a battle between life and
death. And what I should do now is to pledge my life to hold on to
God’s name and God’s testimony and shame satan with my actual actions
and let God gain glory. The evil cops interrogated me by cruel tortures
for several days in succession but still didn’t get any information
about the church from me. In the end, they said resignedly, “She is
really tight-lipped. Having interrogated her for so many days, we can’t
draw a word out of her.” Hearing their talk, I knew it was God’s words
that supported me to pass through one gate of hell after another and it
was God who kept me to stand testimony. I thanked and praised Almighty
God silently in my heart!
In the over ten days of interrogation, I
sat on the cold torture-rack day and night. I felt as if my whole body
were in an icehouse. The cold directly penetrated my marrow, and I felt
as if my joints all over had split. Seeing that I kept shivering with
cold, a young evil cop seized the opportunity to persuade me, “You’d
better speak quickly! No matter how strong one is, he can’t endure
sitting on it for too long. If this continues, you’ll be disabled for
the rest of your life.” I was somewhat weak and worried, so I called to
God silently, asking God to give me strength, so that I could endure the
inhuman tortures and wouldn’t do things of betraying God. After the
prayer, God inspired me to think of a hymn of life experience I liked to
sing most at ordinary times, “I don’t consider what my future path will
be. I only take carrying out God’s will as my bounden mission. I even
less consider whether my future is to receive blessings or suffer
adversities. Since I’ve chosen to love God, I will be faithful to the
end. No matter what great dangers and tribulations lurk behind me, and
no matter how rough and rugged it is before my eyes, since my goal is
the day God gains glory, I will cast everything far behind me.” (from
“Marching on the Path of Loving God” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New
Songs) Every word of the hymn encouraged me. I hummed it in my heart
over and over again, and couldn’t help thinking of the vow I made before
God in the past: No matter what sufferings or tribulations I may
undergo, I’ll spend for God all my life and be faithful to the end. But
now when I undergo such little suffering, I become weak and timid. Do I
have any faithfulness? Haven’t I fallen into satan’s scheme? Satan just
wants me to care for my flesh and thus betray God. I can never fall into
its trap. Today I can suffer for believing in God and this is the most
worthy and meaningful thing and is a glorious thing. No matter how hard
it is, I can’t be a perfidious mean person and betray God. When I made
up my mind to satisfy God, gradually I didn’t feel so cold and the
misery in my heart disappeared. Once again I saw God’s wonderful deed
and tasted God’s love. Failing to achieve their purpose, the evil cops
didn’t give up, so they took turns torturing me and didn’t allow me to
sleep all day and all night. As long as I slightly closed my eyes, they
would whip me hard with wickers, or jab me forcefully with an electric
baton. Every jab sent electricity through my whole body, and I kept
twitching, feeling worse than death. While beating me, they abused, “You
fucking don’t confess honestly and still want to sleep. See whether
I’ll torture you to death today!” They tortured me more and more
severely and cruelly. My shrill cries constantly echoed in the room.
Because I was stuck fast onto the torture-rack, unable to move, I could
only let them trample me as they liked. They became even smugger and
laughed wildly now and then. The long-time whipping and shocking left me
with wounds all over. My face, neck, arms, and hands were covered with
black and blue bruises, and my whole body was swollen. However, my body
seemed to be numb and didn’t feel so painful. I knew that God was caring
for me, relieving my pain. I kept thanking God in my heart.
When
it was almost one month, I really couldn’t hold on. How I wanted to
sleep soundly, even if for only a little while. However, those devils
didn’t have any humanity. As long as they saw that I closed my eyes,
they would throw a full glass of water on my face, and I was startled
and struggled to open my eyes. I was exhausted and my life seemed to
come to its end. But God kept me the whole time, so that I was very
clear in my mind, and had a firm faith that I would by no means betray
God. Failing to get any information from me and fearing that I might
really die, they had to carry me back to the detention house. Five or
six days later, before I recovered, they again drove me out and
handcuffed me onto the torture-rack, with shackles weighing dozens of
kilos on my feet. They again interrogated me by cruel tortures and beat
and maltreated me for over ten days. They didn’t send me back to the
detention house until I really couldn’t hold on. Five or six days later,
they did that again. Just like that, in half a year, I didn’t know how
many times they repeated it. I was tortured until I was exhausted and
gave up the hope to live from my heart. I began to fast and didn’t eat
or drink anything for several days. Then, the evil cops forcibly poured
water into me. One of them held my head, and another seized my cheek and
pried my mouth open and poured water into it. Water flowed along the
corners of my mouth and my neck into my clothes, and my upper clothes
were soaked. I felt cold all over and wanted to struggle, but I didn’t
even have the strength to move my head. Seeing that fasting didn’t work,
I wanted to use the opportunity of going to the restroom to kill myself
by hitting my head against the wall. Dragging the shackles weighing
dozens of kilos, I went to the restroom step by step with the help of
the wall. As I hadn’t eaten anything for a long time, my eyes were
blurred and I couldn’t see the way clearly. I didn’t know how many times
I fell on the way. I dimly saw that my ankles had been rubbed bloody by
the shackles and bled unceasingly. When passing by the window, I raised
my head and looked out. Looking at the crowd coming and going in the
distance, I suddenly had wonderful moving in my heart, “Among those
thousands upon thousands of people, how many of them believe in Almighty
God? But I’m one of the fortunate. God chose me, an inconspicuous
person, among the numerous people and watered, supplied, and led me
until today step by step by his word. I have received the great blessing
bestowed by God; why do I seek death? Won’t this grieve God’s heart too
much?” At that moment, God’s words resounded in my ears, “…in
the last days, you should bear testimony for God. No matter how great
the sufferings, you should walk to the end. Even if you have just one
breath left, you should be faithful to God and submit to God’s
manipulation. This is truly loving God, and this is a strong and
resounding testimony.” (from “Only After Experiencing Painful
Trials Will One Know that God Is Lovely” in The Word Appears in the
Flesh) Every word of God, with encouragement and expectation, warmed and
encouraged my heart, making me feel greatly moved and have the courage
to live on. I encouraged myself in my heart, “The devils can only
torture my flesh, but my heart belongs to God forever. I must be strong
and can by no means collapse!” So, I walked back step by step trailing
the heavy shackles. In haziness, I thought of the scene that the badly
wounded Lord Jesus carried the heavy cross and went to Golgotha with
difficulty. I thought of Almighty God’s words, “On his way to
Jerusalem, Jesus felt extreme pain as if a knife were being twisted in
his heart, but he did not have the slightest intention of turning back
in his heart, and there was always a strong power directing him to walk
toward the place of crucifixion.” (from “How to Serve Is After
God’s Heart” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) At that time, my tears
couldn’t be held back any more and streamed down my cheeks. I prayed to
God in my heart, “O God! You are so holy and supreme, but for saving us,
you were personally incarnated, underwent all kinds of humiliations and
sufferings, and were crucified. O God! Who has ever sensed your grief
and pain? Who has ever understood and felt the painstaking effort and
price you have paid for us? Today my experiencing such a suffering is
for me to be saved, and it’s even more your perfecting for me, so that I
can see clearly the CCP devil’s evil substance in its tortures and will
no longer be deceived and blinded by it and thus break away from its
influence of darkness. O God! You are expending and suffering for us
mankind at any time, having dedicated all your love to us. O God! Now I
can do nothing. I only wish to consecrate my heart completely to you.
However great the suffering is, I’ll walk to the end and stand testimony
to satisfy you….” Because in over two months, no matter how I was
beaten and tortured, I had never shed a drop of tear, therefore, when I
went back to the interrogation room, seeing my tearful face, the evil
cops thought that I had compromised. That fat evil cop asked with a smug
smile, “Have you come around? Confess or not?” I didn’t respond to him.
His face became purple at once. He suddenly swung his arm and slapped
my face fiercely countless times. I felt hot pain in my face, and blood
flowed from the corners of my mouth unceasingly and fell to the floor
drop by drop. Another evil cop threw a full glass of water on my face,
and roared through gnashing teeth, “We’re not afraid that you don’t
confess. Today it’s the world of the CCP. Even if you don’t tell, we can
still sentence you!” But no matter how they threatened and intimidated
me, I didn’t speak all the time.
Although the evil cops couldn’t
find the evidence to convict me, they didn’t give up and still
interrogated me by tortures constantly. One midnight, several evil cops
came to the interrogation room drunk. One of them stared at me with a
licentious gaze and gave an advice, saying, “Let’s strip her naked and
hang her up and see whether she will come clean.” Hearing his word, I
was very frightened, and called to God desperately in my heart to curse
those beasts, so that their scheme couldn’t succeed. They freed me from
the torture-rack. With heavy shackles on my feet, I couldn’t stand
steadily. They surrounded me and kicked me back and forth like kicking a
ball. They also spat out the husks of sunflower seeds on my face and
shouted unceasingly, “Confess or not? Since you give us a hard time, we
won’t let you live! Where is your God? Isn’t he almighty? Ask him to
strike us down!” Still someone said, “Or simply give her to Lao Wang for
wife! Ha ha….” Seeing their devilish look, I hated them so much that I
was already tearless. The only thing I could do was to pray to God,
asking God to keep my heart, so that I wouldn’t betray him and could
submit to his manipulation whether I would die or live. In the end, that
gang of evil cops exhausted their tricks yet didn’t get anything from
me. Having no choice, they had to call their superior and report, “This
woman is too tough. She is the contemporary Liu Hulan. Even if she is
beaten to death, she won’t confess. We indeed can do nothing with her!”
Seeing their dejected look, I kept thanking God in my heart. It was the
power of God’s word that made me overcome their cruel tortures time
after time. All the glory be to Almighty God!
Although the
numerous interrogations were resultless, in the end the CCP government
still sentenced me to seven years on the charge of “disrupting the
enforcement of the law.” The two brothers arrested together with me were
sentenced to five years on the same charge. After being inhumanly
tortured for eight months, when I heard the judgment at that time, I
wasn’t tormented or worried because of being sentenced to seven years,
but on the contrary, I felt secure and even more felt honored, because
during that period, I experienced God’s leading step by step and enjoyed
the endless love and keeping of God, which enabled me to miraculously
endure the cruel tortures beyond my limits and stand testimony. This was
the greatest comfort bestowed to me by God. I thanked and praised God
from my heart!
On November 3, 2008, I was sent to No.1
Women’s Prison to serve my sentence. From then on, I began my long
prison life. The management system there was very strict. We began to
work from 6 a.m. when we got up and worked until dark. Even when we had
meals and went to the restroom, we were pressed for time, feeling as if
going to the battle, and we weren’t allowed to slack in the least. In
order to profit more from the prisoners, the prison guards didn’t let go
of one second and made the prisoners heavily overloaded with work, and
they were especially crueler to believers in God. Living in such an
environment, I was in constant fear and felt that days wore on like
years. There, every day I did the hardest and heaviest work and ate
meals worse than those of pigs and dogs—a small black underdone steamed
bun and some dry and yellow vegetable leaves. In order to get extra
points for a commutation, I often overworked from dawn to night and even
had to work all night to finish the production quota beyond my limit.
Every day, I stood in the workshop for fifteen or sixteen hours
operating that half-automatic sweater machine without stop. My legs
often felt sour, weak, and swollen. Even so, I dared not to slack in the
slightest, because the prison guards inspected and supervised us in the
workshop with electric batons in their hands all the time. Whoever was
seen to slack slightly would be punished and not be given points. The
busy, hard, and tiring work made me extremely tired both in body and
heart. Though young, I had much grey hair. I didn’t know how many times I
almost fainted on the machine. Without God’s care, I would really have
died. Finally, under God’s keeping, I got two opportunities to have my
sentence reduced and got out of that hell on earth two years in advance.
Having
experienced eight months of cruel tortures from the CCP government and
five years of prison life, I was severely damaged both physically and
mentally. For quite some time after getting out of the prison, I was
afraid to see strangers. Especially when I encountered the chaotic
occasion with many people, the scene that the evil cops tortured me that
year would appear in my mind, and I would become fearful and uneasy
involuntarily. Because of sitting on the iron chair for a long time, my
period was in disorder and I was held up by illness. In those long and
painful days, although I underwent sufferings and hardships, I
thoroughly saw clearly that the CCP government’s repeated claims that
“the religious belief is free” and “citizens’ legal rights and interests
are protected by the law” are all tricks to cover up its crimes. This
even more made me have a true experience and taste of God’s
almightiness, sovereignty, authority, and power. This is the abundant
treasure of life God bestowed to me. God’s work is practical and normal.
God permitted the persecution of satan the devil to come upon us.
However, when the devil tortured us frenziedly, God had been caring for
and keeping us silently, inspiring and guiding us with his word full of
authority and power, perfecting our faith and love, and conquering and
defeating satan the enemy and gaining glory.
Now, I’ve come back
to the church and the brothers and sisters. Led by God’s love, I live
the church life and spread the kingdom gospel with the brothers and
sisters in one accord, and my life is full of vitality and vigor. Now,
I’m even more full of faith in God’s work, as if I’ve seen the wonderful
prospect of God’s kingdom being realized on the earth. I can’t help
singing and praising God! “The Millennial Kingdom has descended among
men, God’s word has conquered the whole earth, reigning on the whole
earth, reigning on the whole earth, and everything has been established
and accomplished because of God’s word, because of God’s word, for us to
see with our own eyes, for us to see with our own eyes. We shout for
joy, and we sing, singing of the Millennial Kingdom having descended to
earth. We shout for joy, and we sing, singing of the New Jerusalem
descending from heaven. God’s word is among us and lives with, lives
with us, accompanying our every act and move and every mind and thought.
… The beautiful prospect of the kingdom is bright and even more
infinite. All God’s people are beaming with smiles in heart, for what
has long been expected has now become a reality. How could we not dance
for joy and give glory to God? We shout for joy, and we sing, singing of
and praising God’s almightiness and wisdom. We shout for joy, and we
sing, singing of God’s work having been crowned with success. We shout
for joy, and we sing. The practical God is personally leading us into
the good land of Canaan to enjoy God’s riches, to enjoy God’s riches.”
(from “Singing of the Millennial Kingdom Descending Among Men” in Follow
the Lamb and Sing New Songs)
from The Overcomers’ Testimonies
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