Editor’s note: Sister Xiaohui (pseudonym) born in the 1980s is a fifth-generation Christian. After graduating from university, she studied for four years in a famous theological seminary in China. She is currently participating in a full-time ministry in a discipleship training ministry, and also accepting invitations to serve in some local churches after work. When Xiaohui was very young, her mother began to serve full-time. The fact that she can embark on the path of service today is related to her mother's consecrated life.
Sister Xiaohui's mother had been married for several years without getting pregnant, and her mother's family is almost all Christians. They all prayed for the mother to be able to conceive. Her mother tried her best to check herself, recalling that she unexpectedly accompanied her in-laws to visit a temple after marriage. There were statues of a virgin boy and a virgin girl in front of the temple. Traveling with her non-Christian in-laws, she threw the coins down and said "early birth of a precious child". Thinking of this, her mother confessed and repented her sins for this matter. God gave her a daughter shortly after.
When Xiaohui was probably in the first grade of elementary school, the children were lined up in a road queue to go home from school. One day a classmate who was her good friend invited her to stand in the line of hers, but when she came to a fork in the road, there were several roads there. She did not know where to go. She realized that she was lost. One by one, the children were picked up by their parents to go home, leaving her alone. She got scared, and at this time she remembered to pray, and she said, "Lord Jesus, I'm lost, I need to find my mommy, please take me home." After praying, she walked boldly and casually, praying and walking along the way, and miraculously walked home.
Xiaohui has attended church services with her mother since she was a child. After watching her mother doing ministry, she followed suit.
She said: "I was actually greatly influenced by my mother, especially in life and character. I feel that my mother's service to God's family was very faithful, kind, and knowledgeable. In addition, she was very good at management, and when the church encountered difficulties, she was very brave, willing to stand up, not afraid of offending people, she used wisdom and reasoning to help the church protect its property."
"She can especially endure hardships. At that time, transportation was not developed. My mother often walked dozens of miles of mountain roads to serve in the church, and sometimes went to two or three places to preach in a day. She has always been able to endure hardships. If I were in her position, I definitely could not do it and could not endure hardship like her," she added.
Xiaohui also recalled the house where her mother lived in the town she served. She still remembered visiting her mother when she was about to graduate from university. At that time, the roof of her mother's house was tiled, which might have been in disrepair, especially the kitchen. If it rained heavily outside, it would rain lightly inside. After a long time, there were small insects on it. On windy days, the wind blew over the roof tiles, and the insects on them fell to the place where they had their meals. "In 2005, we didn't even have an electric fan in our house, and we didn't have any electrical appliances except the lights. My mother never regretted it or complained."
Looking back on her growth, Xiaohui was a good girl all the time because her life was deeply influenced by her mother, but there were times when she was very rebellious in her heart. Her mother who is very enthusiastic about ministry always gives tithe and offerings, including raising money to build a church and place for gathering, the travel expenses to the mountains and the countryside are often paid out of her own pocket, and will even donate the last penny she has to believers who encounter difficulties. At this point, Xiaohui couldn't understand for some time.
Xiaohui said: "I haven’t liked her giving tithe and offering for some time. I feel that we don't have enough money to buy food. Do you still give money to the church? In my memory, she went to build churches all day long, so our family had no money. I once said to her, 'You donated all the money I bought for shoes, look! I have no shoes to wear!' In fact, my shoes could still be worn."
"When she was sent by the church to study at the seminary, I was sent to the volunteer's home. At that time, I was in junior high school, and a temptation came over. I saw some students in the class who were proud and just like some kind of stars, and I wanted to join them and play with them. I didn't want to go bad, but I liked that pride. Two laws were fighting in my heart. On the one hand, I wanted to become a 'shining star in the school' like them. On the other hand, I was afraid that my mother would be sad. Thank the Lord, I did not go astray and I chose to be a good girl who reassures my mother."
When talking about how to embark on the path of full-time ministry, Xiaohui mentioned a prayer she had when she was a child, "I want to be a good girl, and when I grow up, I want to be a good shepherd."
After graduating from university, she went to work in a company. She was excellent and quickly became one of the best among her colleagues. During her work, for about four years, she used her vacation to serve in the church every year. Later, the pastor of the church began to invite her to work in the church, and she struggled for a while. Because her job benefits at that time were very good, she had a long vacation, the company's development prospects were also good, and her personality was also very suitable for this job. But in the end, she chose to quit her job and enter the ministry.
After Sister Xiaohui had been serving in the church for a while, the pastor suggested that she apply for the seminary. She prepared very hard and was accepted to several seminaries in China at the same time. In the end, she chose the seminary farthest from her home. After graduating from the seminary in four years, she returned to serve in the church where her mother served. By chance, she moved to the organization she is currently serving. Although she struggles and is weak in her ministry, she has persisted for five years now.
"I want to follow my mother's path, but we wait for God to tell us how. I believe that God has his own plan to raise me and shape me in different circumstances. I also hope that I can become a holy vessel in his hands. In the future, please prepare an opportunity for me to continue my education," she confessed.
- Translated by Nianhong Zou
编者按：80后的小卉姐妹（化名）是第五代基督徒，她大学毕业后曾在国内一个有名的神学院就读四年。目前在一个门徒培训事工参与全职事奉，工作之余也接受邀请参与当地一些教会的讲道服事。小卉很小的时候，母亲就开始了全职服事。她今天能走上服事的道路，与母亲的奉献生活不无关系。
小卉姐妹的母亲结婚几年没有怀孕，母亲家族几乎都是基督徒。他们都为母亲能够怀孕祷告。她的母亲更是努力查看自己，想起自己婚后无意中跟着婆家长辈去游玩经过一个寺庙，寺庙门前有童男童女的像，婆家亲人没有信主，她把硬币丢下去，然后说了句“早生贵子”。想到此，母亲为这件事认罪悔改。之后不久上帝赐给她一个女儿。
在她大概是小学一年级的时候，孩子们放学都排路队回家。有一天一个玩的很好的同学邀请她站到了同学那一队，但是走到一个分岔路口，好几条路，不知道该往哪里走了，发现不对了。小朋友们一个个都被父母接回家了，剩她一个人。她感到害怕了，这个时候，她想起祷告，她说：“主耶稣，我迷路了，我要找妈妈，请你带我回家。”祷告之后她大着胆子随意走，一路上一边祷告一边走，很神奇地走回家了。
小卉从小跟着母亲参加聚会，看着母亲服事，耳濡目染自己也跟着参与服事。
她说：“我其实一路受我母亲影响很大，尤其是生命品格上面。我觉得我母亲在上帝家里的服事，可以说是忠心、良善、有见识。此外她很有管理能力，而且在教会遇到困难的时候，非常勇敢，愿意挺身而出，不怕得罪人，她用智慧据理力争，帮助教会保护教产。”
“她还特别能吃苦。当时交通不发达，母亲去教会服事常常走几十里山路，有时候一天还要去两三个地方讲道。她就一直很能吃苦地走过来。如果我在她的位置上，我肯定做不来，我没有办法像她那样吃苦。”
小卉也回忆了母亲在服事的镇上住过的房子。她还记得大学快毕业时候去看望母亲。当时母亲住处的房顶是瓦片，可能年久失修，尤其是厨房，如果外面下大雨，里面会下小雨。时间久了，上面会有小虫子。风很大的时候，房顶瓦片被风一挂，上面的虫子都掉到吃饭的地方。“2005年的时候，我们家连电风扇也没有，除了电灯可以说任何一个电器都没有。我妈妈却从没有后悔过抱怨过。”
回想自己的成长，由于生命深受母亲影响，小卉一路都很乖，但是也有心里很叛逆的时候。因为母亲服事非常热心，总是奉献，包括筹款建教堂，建立教会聚会点；上山下乡的路费也经常是自掏腰包；遇到有困难的弟兄姐妹，身上仅有的一点点钱也会拿出来奉献。 这一点上，有段时间她不能理解。
小卉说：“我有段时间很反感她奉献，我觉得我们家都揭不开锅了，你还奉献？我的记忆里，她整天去盖教会，所以我们家没有钱。我有一次对她说，‘你把我买鞋的钱都奉献了，看！我都没有鞋穿了！’其实我的鞋还能穿。”
“当她被教会差遣去读神学院的时候，我是被寄在义工家里。那时候我读初中，有一个诱惑过来。我看到班里有一些拽拽的学生，我就想跟他们一起玩儿。我不是想学坏，就是觉得他们拽拽的。但是心里两个律在征战，一方面我想跟他们一样成为校园的‘风云人物’，另一方面我怕我母亲伤心。所以感谢主最后没有误入歧途，还是选择做让母亲放心的孩子。”
提到如何走上全职事奉的道路，小卉提到小时候做过的一个祷告：“我要做好孩子 ，长大要做好牧人。”
她大学毕业之后去一家企业工作。她很优秀，很快在同事们当中成为佼佼者。工作期间，大约有四年的时间，她每年都利用假期参与教会服事。后面教会牧师开始邀请她进入教会服事，她也挣扎了一段时间。因为她当时的工作福利很好，有超长假期，而且企业的发展前景也不错，她的性格也非常适合这份工作。但最后她还是选择辞掉工作进入到服事。
小卉姐妹在教会服事了一段时间，牧师建议她报考神学院。她很努力地准备，结果被国内几所神学院同时录取，最后她选择了离家最远的一所神学院，四年神学毕业之后她回到当年母亲所服事的教会的母堂服事。一次机缘之下，她转到现在服事的机构，虽然在服事中也有挣扎和软弱，但一直坚持到现在，已经有5年的时间。
“我想要沿着母亲走过的路继续走下去，至于怎么走，我们等候上帝的旨意。我相信上帝在不同的环境中培养我，塑造我，一定有祂自己的计划。我也很希望自己能够成为他手中合用的、圣洁的器皿。未来，求主为我预备一个继续深造的机会。” （==当英文summary）
https://christiantimes.cn/news/37564/%E8%AE%BF%E8%B0%88%7C%E7%BB%A7%E6%89%BF%E6%AF%8D%E4%BA%B2%E7%9A%84%E4%BD%B3%E7%BE%8E%E8%84%9A%E8%B8%AA%EF%BC%9A%E4%B8%80%E5%A7%8A%E5%A6%B9%E8%B0%88%E4%BC%A0%E9%81%93%E4%BA%BA%E6%AF%8D%E4%BA%B2%E5%AF%B9%E8%87%AA%E5%B7%B1%E7%9A%84%E6%B7%B1%E8%BF%9C%E5%BD%B1%E5%93%8D
访谈|继承母亲的佳美脚踪：一姊妹谈传道人母亲对自己的深远影响
Editor’s note: Sister Xiaohui (pseudonym) born in the 1980s is a fifth-generation Christian. After graduating from university, she studied for four years in a famous theological seminary in China. She is currently participating in a full-time ministry in a discipleship training ministry, and also accepting invitations to serve in some local churches after work. When Xiaohui was very young, her mother began to serve full-time. The fact that she can embark on the path of service today is related to her mother's consecrated life.
Sister Xiaohui's mother had been married for several years without getting pregnant, and her mother's family is almost all Christians. They all prayed for the mother to be able to conceive. Her mother tried her best to check herself, recalling that she unexpectedly accompanied her in-laws to visit a temple after marriage. There were statues of a virgin boy and a virgin girl in front of the temple. Traveling with her non-Christian in-laws, she threw the coins down and said "early birth of a precious child". Thinking of this, her mother confessed and repented her sins for this matter. God gave her a daughter shortly after.
When Xiaohui was probably in the first grade of elementary school, the children were lined up in a road queue to go home from school. One day a classmate who was her good friend invited her to stand in the line of hers, but when she came to a fork in the road, there were several roads there. She did not know where to go. She realized that she was lost. One by one, the children were picked up by their parents to go home, leaving her alone. She got scared, and at this time she remembered to pray, and she said, "Lord Jesus, I'm lost, I need to find my mommy, please take me home." After praying, she walked boldly and casually, praying and walking along the way, and miraculously walked home.
Xiaohui has attended church services with her mother since she was a child. After watching her mother doing ministry, she followed suit.
She said: "I was actually greatly influenced by my mother, especially in life and character. I feel that my mother's service to God's family was very faithful, kind, and knowledgeable. In addition, she was very good at management, and when the church encountered difficulties, she was very brave, willing to stand up, not afraid of offending people, she used wisdom and reasoning to help the church protect its property."
"She can especially endure hardships. At that time, transportation was not developed. My mother often walked dozens of miles of mountain roads to serve in the church, and sometimes went to two or three places to preach in a day. She has always been able to endure hardships. If I were in her position, I definitely could not do it and could not endure hardship like her," she added.
Xiaohui also recalled the house where her mother lived in the town she served. She still remembered visiting her mother when she was about to graduate from university. At that time, the roof of her mother's house was tiled, which might have been in disrepair, especially the kitchen. If it rained heavily outside, it would rain lightly inside. After a long time, there were small insects on it. On windy days, the wind blew over the roof tiles, and the insects on them fell to the place where they had their meals. "In 2005, we didn't even have an electric fan in our house, and we didn't have any electrical appliances except the lights. My mother never regretted it or complained."
Looking back on her growth, Xiaohui was a good girl all the time because her life was deeply influenced by her mother, but there were times when she was very rebellious in her heart. Her mother who is very enthusiastic about ministry always gives tithe and offerings, including raising money to build a church and place for gathering, the travel expenses to the mountains and the countryside are often paid out of her own pocket, and will even donate the last penny she has to believers who encounter difficulties. At this point, Xiaohui couldn't understand for some time.
Xiaohui said: "I haven’t liked her giving tithe and offering for some time. I feel that we don't have enough money to buy food. Do you still give money to the church? In my memory, she went to build churches all day long, so our family had no money. I once said to her, 'You donated all the money I bought for shoes, look! I have no shoes to wear!' In fact, my shoes could still be worn."
"When she was sent by the church to study at the seminary, I was sent to the volunteer's home. At that time, I was in junior high school, and a temptation came over. I saw some students in the class who were proud and just like some kind of stars, and I wanted to join them and play with them. I didn't want to go bad, but I liked that pride. Two laws were fighting in my heart. On the one hand, I wanted to become a 'shining star in the school' like them. On the other hand, I was afraid that my mother would be sad. Thank the Lord, I did not go astray and I chose to be a good girl who reassures my mother."
When talking about how to embark on the path of full-time ministry, Xiaohui mentioned a prayer she had when she was a child, "I want to be a good girl, and when I grow up, I want to be a good shepherd."
After graduating from university, she went to work in a company. She was excellent and quickly became one of the best among her colleagues. During her work, for about four years, she used her vacation to serve in the church every year. Later, the pastor of the church began to invite her to work in the church, and she struggled for a while. Because her job benefits at that time were very good, she had a long vacation, the company's development prospects were also good, and her personality was also very suitable for this job. But in the end, she chose to quit her job and enter the ministry.
After Sister Xiaohui had been serving in the church for a while, the pastor suggested that she apply for the seminary. She prepared very hard and was accepted to several seminaries in China at the same time. In the end, she chose the seminary farthest from her home. After graduating from the seminary in four years, she returned to serve in the church where her mother served. By chance, she moved to the organization she is currently serving. Although she struggles and is weak in her ministry, she has persisted for five years now.
"I want to follow my mother's path, but we wait for God to tell us how. I believe that God has his own plan to raise me and shape me in different circumstances. I also hope that I can become a holy vessel in his hands. In the future, please prepare an opportunity for me to continue my education," she confessed.
- Translated by Nianhong Zou
Interview: Full-Time Ministry Worker Talks About Profound Influence of Her Preacher Mother
