One difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that whilst in a predicament the former asks for help from God and gets through the hardship with a blessing from him. An example of this is the story told by Sister Meimei: "During the isolation and after I was infected, besides taking medicine, one daily practice of mine was to pray, praise and ask for energy from the embrace and assistance of God's Holy Spirt. Only with the power of God falling upon me, could I have the strength to conquer the illness."
Human beings, who have invented spaceships, rockets and explored the universe, can indeed be great. They can also be so insignificant that they are helpless before a sudden natural disaster, as if they were fleeting waves in the vast sea.
A member of the post-90s generation, Sister Meimei is a Wuhan citizen, who, from "sick" to "suspected", relied on the power and peace brought by her faith while actively taking medicine during her one month of isolation and observation. And in the end, we finally got good news from her!
Sister Meimei shared her personal story as follows:
I can clearly remember that, on 31th Dec., 2019, I overheard someone saying that some SARS coronavirus was out there spreading, but the specifics remained uncertain. Although not sure whether the hearsay was true or not, I asked my mother-in-law to buy a bag of Banlangen Granules and two packs of masks, to be prepared just in case.
Soon after, when official news reports denied the comeback of the SARS coronavirus, I felt relieved and put my attention aside, spending no more time and energy dwelling on the matter.
In January, news pertaining to the new coronavirus began to appear intermittently. Although I had heard some of it, I didn't take it seriously until----
Half a month later, on 19th Jan., two days after I sent my kid to my hometown, I went to the shopping mall to make New Year purchases and started to feel unwell after I came home at night. I felt chilly, as if I was in an ice cellar in winter, and I lost my appetite for dinner. After a quick wash, I went to bed, turned the heat up and wrapped myself up in a thick winter quilt, but I was still shivering. . Then I took my temperature, and finding it was 38.9 degrees centigrade, I was all at a loss and a bad feeling appeared in my heart.
At this time, the coronavirus had already attracted public attention, and I started to worry that I had contracted the disease. After taking my relative's advice and taking some antipyretic, my temperature decreased and my appetite was back. After eating some congee, I felt that things had settled down a little bit.
It didn't last long, however. The next day, my body temperature once again increased, this time to 37.6 degrees centigrade. Now, all self-comfort was in vain and I went to the respiratory department of the hospital. The hospital was crowded with patients, most of whom were wearing masks. Upon seeing this, my vigilance against the disease was all of a sudden greatly enhanced. The doctor asked me to take a blood test and the result proved to be negative. After checking the result, the doctor told me that there were many "suspected" patients and then prescribed some medicine for me to take at home.
To be honest, it felt scary the moment I knew I was a "suspected" patient. But I kept praying in my heart, as I couldn't handle the disease on my own. I wasn't even brave enough to not fear, and thus I could only ask for peace and strength from God.
After returning home, I took medicine according to the doctor's prescription and drank a lot of water, hoping that through this way I could detoxify my body. For the rest of my spare time, I prayed ceaselessly.
After taking medicine for a couple of days, not sure whether I had taken the wrong medicine or that the virus spread too fast in my body, I felt a lack of strength and frequently vomited and had diarrhea.
The situation went on till 26th Jan, and the left side of my face and eyes became visibly swollen.
Once again I went to the hospital and found that the respiratory department on the ground floor had been turned into a fever clinic. The thirty or forty patients I saw last time had become more than one hundred this time. When it was my turn at last after a long wait, I saw the doctor wearing a protective suit and mask and seeing patients from a distance.
This time I went to the ophthalmology department. Upon observation, the doctor told me that he was not sure why my eyes had gotten swollen, as it could have been triggered by multiple factors. Then he prescribed some anti-inflammation and anti-swelling medicine and asked me to have a CT scan.
I was surprised by the scene when I arrived at the floor of the CT scan room, which was crowded with patients waiting for the scan or the result. As my body was in poor condition and it would take another four hours for me to wait for the result, I had to go back home directly after the examination.
After going back home, I continued to take the medicine prescribed by the doctor. Two or three days later, pus drained from my eyes, but my left face remained swollen. Feeling helpless, I had no other choice but to take medicine and pray to God.
A childhood friend of mine from Xuzhou, who is also a Christian, was worried about me upon knowing my illness, and told my situation to her/his church and asked the clergy and believers to pray for me.
Then, all the medicine of the pharmacies in my neighborhood was snapped up by people, and anything commonly used was sold out. So my husband had to buy some medicine from another district, but as it is too far away, the pharmacy could not do the delivery by itself. Knowing this, a minister who lived close to the pharmacy helped me to buy the medicine and sent it to me himself. It is said that during the outbreak, he insisted on helping believers and non-Christians who were in need. Once I got the medicine, I took some according to the instructions, but my low back pain remained unrelieved.
I stayed at home for another three days. On 29th Jan, a minister from a church in Xuzhou contacted me, telling me that a Christian doctor was willing to provide free medical consultation. After checking photos I sent through the Internet, he suggested that I buy some Chinese medicine and I took his advice.
On 8th Feb., I got my CT scan report from the hospital and showed it to another doctor friend. Upon checking the film, he told me that my condition was not that bad, with only the right lung slightly infected, and that I could take treatment while staying at home and continue to take a Chinese herbal medicine according to his prescription. In fact, he didn't know that no medicine could be purchased from any nearby pharmacies. Nevertheless, thanks be to God, who sent angels to assist me in my illness.
Currently, I am at home, taking medicine following my doctor friend's advice, praying and praising frequently. My health has gradually recovered and I feel calm and safe.
In this outburst of disease, a mass of people were infected. When meeting people from all walks of life in the hospital, I found all kinds of emotions and feelings in their eyes. I don't have a clue how panicked I would be if there was no help from those angels and no power sent by God for me.
God, however, who is real and alive, stays with us. During this period, it's God who always has given me strength, peace, courage, and a sense of security. There were angels sent by him as well. As I was isolated at home, workers of our church sent me food and prayed for me. When I needed a purple pottery pot to prepare my medicine, a church member who found one in the supermarket bought and brought one for me, even with some food.
I can never say that people will never get sick after becoming a Christian, but one thing that made me feel different was that I felt secure after I fell ill. With this experience, I have become ever more believing in, seeking for and relying on God. Also, I hope that my husband and others, who are not yet believers in God, will come to follow him. People undoubtedly can pursue things of this earthly world, but if those things are their only pursuits and there is not God's company and grace, it will be pathetic and horrible.
We have access to everything that we are capable of when we are healthy and safe. It's not until misfortune befalls that we can finally realize how vulnerable and incompetent we are. I sincerely hope that all this hardship will be over soon and everyone will be safe and healthy, with their hearts filled with strength and joy from up above.
- Translated by Li Runping
见证：疫情来袭，从"生病"到"疑似"，我靠主内心平安且喜乐，最终战胜了病魔 基督徒与非基督徒若有什么不同，那便是在患难之中能够呼求神，依靠从天而来的平安度过艰难，正如见证里的美美姊妹所言：“在感染后隔离的期间，我每天除了吃药基本就是在祷告、赞美，求主的圣灵来充满我、帮助我，成为我的力量，唯有主的能力降临在我身上时，我才有力量去得胜疾病。” 是的，人有时很伟大，能制造出飞船、火箭，遨游宇宙探索星空；人有时却又很渺小，在突发性的大自然灾害面前会束手无策，软弱的宛如大海里的一朵浪花，转瞬即逝。 90后的美美姊妹是武汉市的居民，从“生病”到“疑似”，在家一个月的隔离治疗与观察期间里，她积极吃药的同时不断倚靠信仰来得着力量和平安，最终传来了得胜的好消息！ 以下是美美姊妹的口述见证： 我很清楚的记得，那一天是2019年12月31日，无意中我听见有人说外面好像在扩散SARS病毒，但具体情况不是很清楚，我不知道这个消息是真是假，以防万一我还是让婆婆去小区楼下的药店买了一袋板蓝根和两袋口罩回来，想着万一是真的也能有个预备。 结果没过多久，有报道出来辟谣说没有SARS病毒，我松了一口气的同时便对这件事情放下了关注和警惕，也没有再花费时间和精力去继续想这个。 到1月份的时候，已经有关于新型冠状病毒的消息在陆续传播，我也听闻了一些，却没有很认真的将它当成一回事。直到—— 半个多月后的1月19日，我在两天前将孩子送回了老家，一个人闲暇无事去商场采购了些过年的必需品，回家后到了晚上突然就感觉人开始不对劲——很冷，仿佛冬天置身在冰窖里一样的冷，食欲急速下降甚至连吃晚饭的胃口也没有，匆忙洗漱完后我就躺到床上，调高空调的热度，裹上厚厚的冬被，整个人缩在棉被里却依然还在瑟瑟发抖。量了一下体温，38.9。看到这个结果时我整个人是蒙的，心里有一种不太好的预感滋生。 这个时候冠状病毒已经开始引起公众关注，我有些担心自己是不是被感染了，按照亲戚的建议我吃了退烧药。果然身体降温不少，饥饿感有了，一边喝粥一边心里稍稍安定一分。 然而好景不长，第二天醒来发现退下去的烧又再度起来，一量，37.6。这个时候我不能再安慰自己没事了，立马去医院挂了呼吸科检查。 到医院才发现，医院里的人非常多，且很多人都是戴着口罩过来的，顿时我心里对这个病的警惕心一下提高了不少。医生给我抽血做检查，出来的结果是阴性，他看完后告诉我，可能是“疑似”，给我开了药让我回去照着吃。 说真的，得知是“疑似”的那一刻，还是害怕的，但我一直在心里默祷——因为我自己没有办法去对抗这个病，我连“不惧怕”都做不到，只能祈求神赐给我平安和力量。 回到家后，我按照医嘱吃药，并且大量的喝水，希望能通过喝水的方式将身体里的一些毒素给排除出去，其余空闲的时间我便不断地祷告。 那几天吃完药后，不知道是药不对症还是病毒在身体里扩散得太快，身体总是没有力气，而且常常呕吐、腹泻。 就这样熬到了1月26日，左脸和眼睛也肉眼可见的肿胀起来。 我去了医院。医院一楼的呼吸科被改成发热门诊，比起上一次我来时这里只有三四十人，这次已经有一两百号人在挂号排队等看病。等了许久到我时，看见门诊内的医生也是，穿着防护服、戴着口罩、隔着一段距离在给人看病。 我挂的是眼科，眼科医生观察了我的眼睛后说，不确定为什么眼睛会肿，引发的原因比较多面性。便给我开了两种消炎祛肿的药，建议我去做个CT。 去到做CT的楼层时吓了一跳，这里人更多，人群拥挤着都是来做CT或是做完等着拿的。做完又要等四个小时才能拿到结果，我那会儿身体虚弱吃不消，就先回家了。 回家后仍然按照医嘱继续吃药、用药，两三后眼睛的脓流了出来，但左边的脸还是肿的。我实在没有办法，就吃药、用药、祷告。 我徐州的一位基督徒发小得知我的情况后非常担心，就把我的情况给那边的教会说了，让教会的牧者、同工和信徒们为我祷告。 那时我所在的这个区已经买不到什么药，药店里稍微日常一点的药几乎都被卖光。我的丈夫就在其它区给我买了一些药，但距离我所在的地方太远，也很难送过来。一位住在那药店附近的牧师就亲自去到那药店，把药取上给我送过来。据说那位牧师在疫情期间，一直都在服事着有需要的信徒、非基督徒们。 拿到药后我按照说明服用了一些，但腰还是很痛，没有任何的缓解。 我在家里待了三天，1月29日徐州那边教会的牧师联系我，说安排了一位做医生的基督徒弟兄帮我义诊，通过网络发照片，他建议我买中药，我照样做了。 2月8日我从医院取出了CT，发给另一位做医生的朋友看，他看完后安慰我说：是右肺单侧感染，没有那么严重，可以在家里隔离治疗，并且我依照他的方子去抓药在家熬着喝。其实他不知道那个时候我家这边的药店已经买不到药。感谢神在这我这次生病中，差遣天使来帮助我——徐州的那位牧师四处帮我找认识的人抓药，几经辗转周折终于将全部的药都配齐后寄给我，我才能坐在家里隔离喝药。到现在喝的，也还是这副中药。 如今我就按照医生朋友的嘱咐在家喝中药，且常常祷告、赞美，现在身体一直在逐渐好转，且心里很平安。 在这个这次的突发事件里，被感染生病的人真的太多，我去医院时看到里面形形色色的人，他们的眼睛里透着各样的情绪，我不知道如果没有那些天使帮助我，没有神成为我的力量，我会不会害怕得六神无主。 而神是又真又活，且与我们同在。在这次整个生病的过程里，祂始终给我力量，让我内心不惊慌、不惧怕，情绪得以平静和安稳。并且祂还派了很多天使来帮助我，那时我因为隔离在家不能出门，教会的同工会过来给我送菜，给我祷告。我需要熬药的紫砂锅，但是无法亲自前往超市购买，正巧群里有人说就在超市，可以帮忙买了送来。那人来的时候，还给我一并带来一些食物。 我不能说信了主就不会生病，但与他人不同的地方是，生病后我内心确实有平安。 通过这一次的经历，我更加的确信主、寻求主和倚靠主。也希望我还未信仰的丈夫和其他未曾认识主的人，都能来认识主。人活着当然可以追求世界上的东西，但如果只是追求世界上的东西，没有神的同在与恩典，是可怜又可怕的。 我们安然无恙时当然能够什么都做，但当我们被患难环绕时，我们就会发现自己有多软弱和无力。希望这一切的患难都快快过去，所有人都健康平安，有属天的力量和喜乐在心里。
One difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that whilst in a predicament the former asks for help from God and gets through the hardship with a blessing from him. An example of this is the story told by Sister Meimei: "During the isolation and after I was infected, besides taking medicine, one daily practice of mine was to pray, praise and ask for energy from the embrace and assistance of God's Holy Spirt. Only with the power of God falling upon me, could I have the strength to conquer the illness."
Human beings, who have invented spaceships, rockets and explored the universe, can indeed be great. They can also be so insignificant that they are helpless before a sudden natural disaster, as if they were fleeting waves in the vast sea.
A member of the post-90s generation, Sister Meimei is a Wuhan citizen, who, from "sick" to "suspected", relied on the power and peace brought by her faith while actively taking medicine during her one month of isolation and observation. And in the end, we finally got good news from her!
Sister Meimei shared her personal story as follows:
I can clearly remember that, on 31th Dec., 2019, I overheard someone saying that some SARS coronavirus was out there spreading, but the specifics remained uncertain. Although not sure whether the hearsay was true or not, I asked my mother-in-law to buy a bag of Banlangen Granules and two packs of masks, to be prepared just in case.
Soon after, when official news reports denied the comeback of the SARS coronavirus, I felt relieved and put my attention aside, spending no more time and energy dwelling on the matter.
In January, news pertaining to the new coronavirus began to appear intermittently. Although I had heard some of it, I didn't take it seriously until----
Half a month later, on 19th Jan., two days after I sent my kid to my hometown, I went to the shopping mall to make New Year purchases and started to feel unwell after I came home at night. I felt chilly, as if I was in an ice cellar in winter, and I lost my appetite for dinner. After a quick wash, I went to bed, turned the heat up and wrapped myself up in a thick winter quilt, but I was still shivering. . Then I took my temperature, and finding it was 38.9 degrees centigrade, I was all at a loss and a bad feeling appeared in my heart.
At this time, the coronavirus had already attracted public attention, and I started to worry that I had contracted the disease. After taking my relative's advice and taking some antipyretic, my temperature decreased and my appetite was back. After eating some congee, I felt that things had settled down a little bit.
It didn't last long, however. The next day, my body temperature once again increased, this time to 37.6 degrees centigrade. Now, all self-comfort was in vain and I went to the respiratory department of the hospital. The hospital was crowded with patients, most of whom were wearing masks. Upon seeing this, my vigilance against the disease was all of a sudden greatly enhanced. The doctor asked me to take a blood test and the result proved to be negative. After checking the result, the doctor told me that there were many "suspected" patients and then prescribed some medicine for me to take at home.
To be honest, it felt scary the moment I knew I was a "suspected" patient. But I kept praying in my heart, as I couldn't handle the disease on my own. I wasn't even brave enough to not fear, and thus I could only ask for peace and strength from God.
After returning home, I took medicine according to the doctor's prescription and drank a lot of water, hoping that through this way I could detoxify my body. For the rest of my spare time, I prayed ceaselessly.
After taking medicine for a couple of days, not sure whether I had taken the wrong medicine or that the virus spread too fast in my body, I felt a lack of strength and frequently vomited and had diarrhea.
The situation went on till 26th Jan, and the left side of my face and eyes became visibly swollen.
Once again I went to the hospital and found that the respiratory department on the ground floor had been turned into a fever clinic. The thirty or forty patients I saw last time had become more than one hundred this time. When it was my turn at last after a long wait, I saw the doctor wearing a protective suit and mask and seeing patients from a distance.
This time I went to the ophthalmology department. Upon observation, the doctor told me that he was not sure why my eyes had gotten swollen, as it could have been triggered by multiple factors. Then he prescribed some anti-inflammation and anti-swelling medicine and asked me to have a CT scan.
I was surprised by the scene when I arrived at the floor of the CT scan room, which was crowded with patients waiting for the scan or the result. As my body was in poor condition and it would take another four hours for me to wait for the result, I had to go back home directly after the examination.
After going back home, I continued to take the medicine prescribed by the doctor. Two or three days later, pus drained from my eyes, but my left face remained swollen. Feeling helpless, I had no other choice but to take medicine and pray to God.
A childhood friend of mine from Xuzhou, who is also a Christian, was worried about me upon knowing my illness, and told my situation to her/his church and asked the clergy and believers to pray for me.
Then, all the medicine of the pharmacies in my neighborhood was snapped up by people, and anything commonly used was sold out. So my husband had to buy some medicine from another district, but as it is too far away, the pharmacy could not do the delivery by itself. Knowing this, a minister who lived close to the pharmacy helped me to buy the medicine and sent it to me himself. It is said that during the outbreak, he insisted on helping believers and non-Christians who were in need. Once I got the medicine, I took some according to the instructions, but my low back pain remained unrelieved.
I stayed at home for another three days. On 29th Jan, a minister from a church in Xuzhou contacted me, telling me that a Christian doctor was willing to provide free medical consultation. After checking photos I sent through the Internet, he suggested that I buy some Chinese medicine and I took his advice.
On 8th Feb., I got my CT scan report from the hospital and showed it to another doctor friend. Upon checking the film, he told me that my condition was not that bad, with only the right lung slightly infected, and that I could take treatment while staying at home and continue to take a Chinese herbal medicine according to his prescription. In fact, he didn't know that no medicine could be purchased from any nearby pharmacies. Nevertheless, thanks be to God, who sent angels to assist me in my illness.
Currently, I am at home, taking medicine following my doctor friend's advice, praying and praising frequently. My health has gradually recovered and I feel calm and safe.
In this outburst of disease, a mass of people were infected. When meeting people from all walks of life in the hospital, I found all kinds of emotions and feelings in their eyes. I don't have a clue how panicked I would be if there was no help from those angels and no power sent by God for me.
God, however, who is real and alive, stays with us. During this period, it's God who always has given me strength, peace, courage, and a sense of security. There were angels sent by him as well. As I was isolated at home, workers of our church sent me food and prayed for me. When I needed a purple pottery pot to prepare my medicine, a church member who found one in the supermarket bought and brought one for me, even with some food.
I can never say that people will never get sick after becoming a Christian, but one thing that made me feel different was that I felt secure after I fell ill. With this experience, I have become ever more believing in, seeking for and relying on God. Also, I hope that my husband and others, who are not yet believers in God, will come to follow him. People undoubtedly can pursue things of this earthly world, but if those things are their only pursuits and there is not God's company and grace, it will be pathetic and horrible.
We have access to everything that we are capable of when we are healthy and safe. It's not until misfortune befalls that we can finally realize how vulnerable and incompetent we are. I sincerely hope that all this hardship will be over soon and everyone will be safe and healthy, with their hearts filled with strength and joy from up above.
- Translated by Li Runping
Testimony: Christian Woman 'Suspected' to Be Suffering from Covid-19 Defeats Disease with Peace, Joy from God
