Sister W has been a member of a church in a southern city for a long time with nearly 15 years' walk with the Lord. Never having a child, she used to live with her husband. But in the spring of 2006, her husband died, leaving her a widow.
The family misfortune made W despondent and full of despair for life. Although her family relatives provided a great amount of help so that she could have a wealthy life, they still could not ease her inner pain. One day, W said she wanted to join the church. Her younger brother was surprised, but the other relatives thought it might be a good thing because the people in the church were very kind that they might help her out of the mood of gloom.
So, her family contacted Elder Zhang of Church D, and he immediately went to her home with other Christians to preach the gospel to her. W soon found comfort in God and decided to accept Christ. Sister L, responsible for the visiting ministry in W’s community, was enthusiastic about church ministry and full of love for believers after she retired.
Seeing that W needed comfort, Sister L always came to her house to talk with her about the faith. This relieved W of her loneliness and L taught her much about the faith. In addition to that, she saw that W, living alone, was physically weak at that time, so she would come to her house to do some housework whenever she was free, which greatly relieved W of her burdens. Once there was a typhoon in the city, L knew W would be afraid of it, so she came to W's home to accompany her, comforted her with the Lord's words, and helped her to prepare to withstand the typhoon.
In the past, W was introverted. Except for with her husband, relatives, and some classmates, she seldom went out and had few friends. However, under L's care, she changed completely and became cheerful. Apart from participating in church activities, she also traveled to various places with other believers. The joyful life finally helped her overcome the pain of her husband's death. Her relatives were very pleased and moved by the kindness of the visitation group.
After more than a year, W fully recovered. She saw that L was really a witness, so she also joined the visitation group. They visited the homes of believers every week to share their faith and care for those believers’ lives.
She saw how hard it was for co-workers to go out and visit, so she talked to a relative and asked him to lend one of his company's cars to visiting co-workers. Seeing the church's love, her younger brother, a non-Christian, readily agreed and commanded his company's driver to take co-workers to do visiting work every Tuesday afternoon.
L was also very concerned about W’s family members. Not only did she pray about it every day, but she also shared the gospel with her relatives when she met them. Therefore, W's nephew also began to think about the Christian faith and later became a believer under the guidance of his junior high school teacher. Now he is engaged in writing ministry and is a contributor to many church publications.
- Translated by Stephen Huang
W姐妹是某南方城市教会的老信徒，她信主已近15年了。她一生无儿无女，与老伴相依为命。可06年春天，老伴撒手人寰，她成了寡妇。
家庭的不幸让W姐妹万念俱灰，对生活充满绝望。虽然她家族的亲戚给予不少帮助，提供了非常丰厚的物质生活，但仍无法抚平其内心的伤痛。忽然有一天，W姐妹说要加入教会，她的弟弟对此感到十分惊讶，但其他亲戚觉得，这或许是好事，因为教会里的人都很有爱心，说不定能让她走出阴霾。
于是家人联系了D教堂的张长老，他立刻带着弟兄姐妹来到W姐妹家，向她传播福音。W很快就从上帝那里获得了安慰，决志接受了基督。而她所在小区的探访事工是由L姐妹负责的，L退休后就热心于教会事工，对信徒充满了爱心。
她看到W需要安慰，就隔三差五地来到她家，与她谈心，交流信仰方面的事。这排解了她的孤独，也借此了解了不少信仰真理。不仅如此，L看到她一个独自生活，加上当时身体虚弱，有些家务事需要打理，只要有空都会到她家做些力所能及的帮助，这极大减轻了负担。而有一次城市遭遇台风，L知道W对此会有恐惧，就来到她家陪伴，以主的话安慰她，并帮其做了一些防台工作。
原来W性格内向，除了与老伴、亲戚以及部分同学接触外，基本很少外出，也没什么朋友。可在L的关怀下，她完全变了一个人，性格变得开朗，除了参加教会活动外，也与肢体们到各地旅游。喜乐的生活，终于让她走出了丧夫之痛，这令她的亲戚感到十分欣慰，为探访组同工的善举所感动。
一年多后，W的状态完全恢复了，她看到L等同工很有见证，于是也加入了探访组的事工。她们每周都会前往信徒家中，与他们分享信仰，关怀其生活。
她看到大家外出探访十分辛苦，于是就与亲戚商量，让他把公司的一部车奉献出来，借探访同工使用。她的弟弟虽然没信主，可看到教会充满爱心，就爽快地答应了，并让公司的司机在每周二下午载着同工们去探访。
L非常关心W家族成员信主的事，不但每天为此恒切祷告，见到她的亲戚也会分享福音的信息。而W的侄子也因此对基督信仰有了一些思考，并在他初中老师的引领下信主，目前从事文字事工，是不少教会刊物的撰稿人。
她在探访组的关怀下，走出了人生的阴霾！
Sister W has been a member of a church in a southern city for a long time with nearly 15 years' walk with the Lord. Never having a child, she used to live with her husband. But in the spring of 2006, her husband died, leaving her a widow.
The family misfortune made W despondent and full of despair for life. Although her family relatives provided a great amount of help so that she could have a wealthy life, they still could not ease her inner pain. One day, W said she wanted to join the church. Her younger brother was surprised, but the other relatives thought it might be a good thing because the people in the church were very kind that they might help her out of the mood of gloom.
So, her family contacted Elder Zhang of Church D, and he immediately went to her home with other Christians to preach the gospel to her. W soon found comfort in God and decided to accept Christ. Sister L, responsible for the visiting ministry in W’s community, was enthusiastic about church ministry and full of love for believers after she retired.
Seeing that W needed comfort, Sister L always came to her house to talk with her about the faith. This relieved W of her loneliness and L taught her much about the faith. In addition to that, she saw that W, living alone, was physically weak at that time, so she would come to her house to do some housework whenever she was free, which greatly relieved W of her burdens. Once there was a typhoon in the city, L knew W would be afraid of it, so she came to W's home to accompany her, comforted her with the Lord's words, and helped her to prepare to withstand the typhoon.
In the past, W was introverted. Except for with her husband, relatives, and some classmates, she seldom went out and had few friends. However, under L's care, she changed completely and became cheerful. Apart from participating in church activities, she also traveled to various places with other believers. The joyful life finally helped her overcome the pain of her husband's death. Her relatives were very pleased and moved by the kindness of the visitation group.
After more than a year, W fully recovered. She saw that L was really a witness, so she also joined the visitation group. They visited the homes of believers every week to share their faith and care for those believers’ lives.
She saw how hard it was for co-workers to go out and visit, so she talked to a relative and asked him to lend one of his company's cars to visiting co-workers. Seeing the church's love, her younger brother, a non-Christian, readily agreed and commanded his company's driver to take co-workers to do visiting work every Tuesday afternoon.
L was also very concerned about W’s family members. Not only did she pray about it every day, but she also shared the gospel with her relatives when she met them. Therefore, W's nephew also began to think about the Christian faith and later became a believer under the guidance of his junior high school teacher. Now he is engaged in writing ministry and is a contributor to many church publications.
- Translated by Stephen Huang
A Widow Walks out of Gloom of Her Life Under Care of Church Visitation Group
