(A Christian’s Testimony)
Isaiah 1:17 says, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.” In 2014, my Christian faith began to grow after I found and joined a home church. With God’s calling, I started contacting ChinaAid ― an international non-profit Christian human rights organization committed to promoting religious freedom and the rule of law in China ― and posting my articles to speak up for those persecuted Christians in China.
God’s Promise
Having witnessed the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre as a university student, I knew that the Chinese government would persecute me because of my speaking up as a political dissident and giving voice to the voiceless as a Christian. I knew that for a long time I would not be able to see my parents, communicate with them, and take care of them. I was stressed out.
As a doctoral student, I used to go to the library very early every morning. Early morning in a university library is always quiet and empty, as many college students in the U.S. often stay late and get up late. One of the mornings as I was sitting in the library, fretting about not being able to see my parents, I heard a calm and authoritative voice: “Don’t worry; I will take care of your parents.”
The voice was so loud and clear that I began to look around and tried to find who was the man talking to me. The library was empty. “Who is talking to me?” I kept asking myself this question for years until I received the answer recently.
The “White Paper Campaign” in China
In 2022, most people in China had been locked down for 3 years because of COVID-19. More and more evidence has shown that Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist dictator, used the pandemic to strengthen his surveillance system and control over the Chinese people, and in particular, over political dissidents. In November 2022, people began to protest all over the country. Because China is a police state, people found that the only way to protest was by standing silently on the streets holding a piece of A4 sized white paper.
The “White Paper Campaign” was rapidly crushed by the Chinese government. Many protesters holding white papers in public were arrested. In December 2022, Xi and his cabinet suddenly declared victory over the 3-year pandemic and dropped all rules and regulations about COVID testing and quarantines.
My Ailing Parents Got COVID
“It seems so weird that everyone must get COVID,” my brother told me over the phone. He and his wife got COVID in the beginning of December. Then, so did my parents, who had been staying inside their apartment for 3 years except for grocery shopping.
My mother has survived cancer twice. About 5 years ago, she had surgery for her colon cancer. Doctors told her that she had too many underlying conditions to take any COVID vaccine. After she got COVID, she had high fever. She miraculously survived. So far, her only post-COVID symptom is coughing.
My father was 86 years old. Prior to the pandemic, he had a stroke, and his doctor implanted a pacemaker to help control his heartbeat. After he got COVID, he was in serious condition. For the first 3 or 4 days, he had to sit all day and night to be able to breathe. The first time my brother took him to the hospital, they were told to go home because the hospital couldn’t do anything to help. Later, my mother told me that the government had ordered hospitals not to treat COVID patients.
Without any treatment, my father’s heart was failing because of breathing difficulties. My brother took my father back to hospital again. The doctor who implanted the pacemaker in my father’s heart said that the government had just ordered hospitals to admit elderly COVID patients, which obviously was because the government wanted to save its image in the international community. Due to the delay of treatment, my father began to suffer from life-threatening conditions. His heart was very weak. His kidneys were failing.
“The doctor said your father is old and all his organs are failing,” my mother told me after my father had been in the ICU for almost 2 weeks. From her voice, I knew she was trying to spare me from worrying too much. My mother managed her emotions without bursting into tears, and continued telling me what was happening.
“Almost every family lost loving ones who were in their 80s and got COVID. In your father’s ICU room, there were 4 patients. They were all above 80. One died last night; he was only 82, younger than your father. The others were all in serious conditions.” My mother kept repeating herself describing those tragedies. She was stressed out. She was in fear, thinking that she might lose her husband.
Prayers and God’s Miracle
For a long time, I have maintained a rule to protect my parents and my brother. The rule was not to talk about things that the Chinese government may deem “sensitive topics.” Both my family and I live in fear, as we know that the government always monitors phone calls from abroad. That day, I interrupted my mother and broke my rule.
I said to my mother, “Mom, I will ask all my Christian friends to pray for my father.” I knew I must tell my mother that God would heal my father. My mother immediately responded, “Please, please ask them to pray.” As I told my parents, I began to ask all my Christian friends to pray for my father’s healing. I also contacted Radio Vida and the 700 Club, after listening to the advice of some of my Christian friends.
The next phone call with my mother and my sister-in-law became a Divine Moment. My sister-in-law told me that my father had awaken from coma, and the first thing he said was that he had escaped from the devil and his life was restored. Today, my father is completely recovered from COVID.
Hallelujah! Praise the God! I cannot help saying this every day, because if I did, “the rocks will cry out.”
May God bless everyone!