It’s another Thanksgiving Day. The past days have given us much to reflect on and we are totally grateful. Here I share the grateful testimonies of some Christians.
The gratitude of Aunt Huainv
Aunt Huainv is a sister who lives in northern Shanxi Province. Some days ago, God listened to her prayer that people in her village repaired her collapsed cave house.
I got to know this sister five years ago. Her family was very poor: her husband died young, her son became mentally disabled, and her daughter-in-law remarried, leaving a little child to her. She is also blind in one eye. The family was so poor that the cave house they lived in leaked badly when it rained. She had to lay pots and pans all over the place to hold the leaking rainwater. What is commendable is that this sister has firm faith in the Lord who will not abandon her, so she often asked us to pray for her.
Later, we reported her situation to the CC&TSPM in Yaodu District, Linfen. In response, the church’s “One Glass of Water” charity program and fellowship of the disabled took out funds to have her cave house repaired.
The village listed her family as an exact poverty-stricken household, and people from all levels of government often came to visit her, bringing her gifts in parcels of various sizes. Organizations also sent her ill son to the city for free treatment for several months, who is now mostly recovered. Her ‘little’ grandson has been recruited by a college in the provincial capital to study nursing with free tuition fees and subsidized living expenses. She thanked God for not forgetting her and often caring for her, a helpless poor widow.
A pastor’s service
A missionary sister shared her opinion that the church had stopped worship gatherings because of COVID-19 the pandemic, but since last month, the bible study service in her village has been active, and they received special grace.
Once, after a Bible study and prayer, she was moved. Due to the lockdown caused by the pandemic, the spiritual life of believers was also locked down, so she proposed to start a series of Bible studies every afternoon.
After sending their children back to school during every lunch break, the sisters in the village gathered together to study the Bible. They have almost finished studying Genesis by now. Every house takes turns to hold the studying in each afternoon. The hosts will often treat the members with well-prepared fruits and snacks.
During the sessions, they read the Bible together and the main speaker will share the teaching. Then they will have a discussion on a key verse, followed by final prayers in response. Chapter by chapter, they also creatively sum up each chapter into one word. For example, the first chapter of Genesis can be summed up as “division” as God divides everything. The second, “union” as God builds up a family to make two one. The third chapter is “eating” as the ancestors sinned by coveting the forbidden fruit. They thus fell helpless to the power of sin. The fourth chapter is “killing” as the first murder of mankind happened. Such a simple and clear method makes everyone remember the contents of the Bible deeply. This kind of study is very popular. At most, there were more than 30 people, even brothers and sisters from other villages came to the study.
A father saved again
My 80-year-old father has experienced the wonderful grace of God many times. In the winter of 1999, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and God treated him. He prayed with my pious mothers, read the Bible, and testified about the virtues of God.
Two days ago, when he was having a walk in the morning, he fainted on the ground. For nearly 40 minutes, he prayed to God to strengthen him. Then slowly he recovered and insisted on walking home. This near-miss experience really made him feel that God’s grace had saved him again.
A son who commits himself to serve God
After my son graduated from college, I had all kinds of worries about his work. At first, he worked in a local network company. After the "honeymoon" period, he often complained about all kinds of unhappiness: the influence of the working environment, the complexity of interpersonal relationships, the interpersonal struggles and competitions, the confusion when he first stepped into the society, and then he had the idea of resigning.
Later, we asked God to lead us. He yearned for a warm atmosphere of loving each other in the Lord, so he came to an online literature ministry. Gradually, we saw that God led him on the right path and his life changed gradually.
We worked together for his change. Every night, we would “meet” online. We were delighted to see that my child had changed. We attended church services, visited believers, visited famous pastors, and shared testimonies. Many people moved us with their help. The child gradually matured in spirit, and sometimes gave us a lot of encouragement and comfort. He changed from being passively receiving our instructions to being willing to take part in church and fellowship services on his own initiative, and he signed up for a seekers’ class and was willing to be baptized.
(The article is originally published by Gospel Times.)
-Translated by Charlie Li
一年一度的感恩节又到了。数算过去的经历，却给人太多的感动，心里满了不尽的感恩。以下分享几位基督徒的感恩见证。
怀女姨的感恩
怀女姨是河西的一位姊妹，前两天神垂听了她的祈祷，村里来人把我倒塌的窑洞修好了。
与这位姊妹结缘是在五年前。她家庭情况非常可怜，丈夫早年离世，儿子精神残疾，儿媳改嫁，留下了一个小孙子，她也是一只眼睛失明。家境十分贫困，家里的窑洞一下雨就漏得不行，到处接满了盆罐。难能可贵的是，这个姊妹非常有信心，她坚信神不丢弃他，要我们为她祷告。
后来我们向临汾尧都区基督教两会汇报，教会“一杯水”慈善机构和残障团契拿出资金，把她的窑洞修好了。
村里把她家列为精准贫困户，时常有各级政府的人前来看望，带着大包小包的礼物，还把患病的儿子送到城里住院数月免费治疗，基本康复，小孙子也考上了省城的一所大专学习护理专业，免交学费还补贴生活费用……她感恩神没有忘记，时常眷顾她这个无依无靠的穷寡妇。
传道人的侍奉
一位传道姊妹分享，教会因疫情停止礼拜，但最近一个月时间，他们村里的查经服侍却很活跃，蒙受了特殊时期的恩典。
一次读经祷告后，她心里有一个感动，疫情影响，教会的实体礼拜停止了，信徒们的灵修读经生活也止步不前，于是她提议开始了每天下午的系列查经学习。
每天吃过午饭，送完孩子上学。村里的姊妹们就聚集一起，开始了圣经学习，从《创世记》开始，现在已基本查完了一卷书。方法是每天下午在一家，轮流接待，各家提供场所，还拿出精心预备的水果食品。
在学习中，大家一起读经，由主讲人分享，之后大家围绕这一段圣经的亮光启示发言，此后进行回应祷告。逐章进行，他们还别出心裁地将每一章都概括成一个字，比如创世记第一章概括就是“分”，神将万事万物分开；第二章概括就是“合”，神设立家庭合二为一；第三章就是“吃”，始祖犯罪贪吃禁果，从而陷入罪的权下；第四章就是“杀”，人类的第一起谋杀案发生了——这样简单明了的方法，使大家对圣经的内容记得非常深刻。这种学习很受欢迎，最多时有三十多人，甚至外村的弟兄姊妹也慕名前来学习。
父亲再次蒙救
我年已八旬的老父亲，曾多次经历了神奇妙的恩典，1999年冬天胃癌突发，神恩待了医治了他。与虔诚的母亲经常一起祈祷读经还常做见证，述说神的美德。
前两天，一次早上散步时，不慎晕倒在地，将近四十分钟，他向神祷告，求神加他力量，之后慢慢复苏过来，后来又坚持步行回到家中，这种有惊无险的经历，确实使他感受到神的恩典又一次拯救了他。
儿子的委身侍奉
我儿子大学毕业后，我对他的工作有着各种担忧。开始他在当地一个网络机构工作，新鲜的感觉过后，常听他吐槽各种不爽：单位环境的影响，人际关系的复杂，勾心斗角的较量，刚走上社会的的迷惘，后来他有了辞职的想法。
后来我们求神带领，他向往主里面彼此相爱的温馨氛围，就这样来到一网络文字事工。渐渐地我们看见了神带领他走上了一条正路，他的生命也逐渐改变。
我与他一起同工，每天晚上的视频“见面”，我们欣喜地看见孩子变了，参加教会侍奉、走访经历、拜访名牧、分享见证，许多人对他的帮助令我们感动，孩子在灵里逐渐成熟起来，有时还给我们许多劝慰、安慰和鼓励。他由原来被我们强逼到教会的不情愿，到自己主动参加礼拜、参与团契侍奉，还报名慕道班，甘愿接受洗礼。
注：本文作者为福音时报特约撰稿人。
几位基督徒的感恩见证
It’s another Thanksgiving Day. The past days have given us much to reflect on and we are totally grateful. Here I share the grateful testimonies of some Christians.
The gratitude of Aunt Huainv
Aunt Huainv is a sister who lives in northern Shanxi Province. Some days ago, God listened to her prayer that people in her village repaired her collapsed cave house.
I got to know this sister five years ago. Her family was very poor: her husband died young, her son became mentally disabled, and her daughter-in-law remarried, leaving a little child to her. She is also blind in one eye. The family was so poor that the cave house they lived in leaked badly when it rained. She had to lay pots and pans all over the place to hold the leaking rainwater. What is commendable is that this sister has firm faith in the Lord who will not abandon her, so she often asked us to pray for her.
Later, we reported her situation to the CC&TSPM in Yaodu District, Linfen. In response, the church’s “One Glass of Water” charity program and fellowship of the disabled took out funds to have her cave house repaired.
The village listed her family as an exact poverty-stricken household, and people from all levels of government often came to visit her, bringing her gifts in parcels of various sizes. Organizations also sent her ill son to the city for free treatment for several months, who is now mostly recovered. Her ‘little’ grandson has been recruited by a college in the provincial capital to study nursing with free tuition fees and subsidized living expenses. She thanked God for not forgetting her and often caring for her, a helpless poor widow.
A pastor’s service
A missionary sister shared her opinion that the church had stopped worship gatherings because of COVID-19 the pandemic, but since last month, the bible study service in her village has been active, and they received special grace.
Once, after a Bible study and prayer, she was moved. Due to the lockdown caused by the pandemic, the spiritual life of believers was also locked down, so she proposed to start a series of Bible studies every afternoon.
After sending their children back to school during every lunch break, the sisters in the village gathered together to study the Bible. They have almost finished studying Genesis by now. Every house takes turns to hold the studying in each afternoon. The hosts will often treat the members with well-prepared fruits and snacks.
During the sessions, they read the Bible together and the main speaker will share the teaching. Then they will have a discussion on a key verse, followed by final prayers in response. Chapter by chapter, they also creatively sum up each chapter into one word. For example, the first chapter of Genesis can be summed up as “division” as God divides everything. The second, “union” as God builds up a family to make two one. The third chapter is “eating” as the ancestors sinned by coveting the forbidden fruit. They thus fell helpless to the power of sin. The fourth chapter is “killing” as the first murder of mankind happened. Such a simple and clear method makes everyone remember the contents of the Bible deeply. This kind of study is very popular. At most, there were more than 30 people, even brothers and sisters from other villages came to the study.
A father saved again
My 80-year-old father has experienced the wonderful grace of God many times. In the winter of 1999, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and God treated him. He prayed with my pious mothers, read the Bible, and testified about the virtues of God.
Two days ago, when he was having a walk in the morning, he fainted on the ground. For nearly 40 minutes, he prayed to God to strengthen him. Then slowly he recovered and insisted on walking home. This near-miss experience really made him feel that God’s grace had saved him again.
A son who commits himself to serve God
After my son graduated from college, I had all kinds of worries about his work. At first, he worked in a local network company. After the "honeymoon" period, he often complained about all kinds of unhappiness: the influence of the working environment, the complexity of interpersonal relationships, the interpersonal struggles and competitions, the confusion when he first stepped into the society, and then he had the idea of resigning.
Later, we asked God to lead us. He yearned for a warm atmosphere of loving each other in the Lord, so he came to an online literature ministry. Gradually, we saw that God led him on the right path and his life changed gradually.
We worked together for his change. Every night, we would “meet” online. We were delighted to see that my child had changed. We attended church services, visited believers, visited famous pastors, and shared testimonies. Many people moved us with their help. The child gradually matured in spirit, and sometimes gave us a lot of encouragement and comfort. He changed from being passively receiving our instructions to being willing to take part in church and fellowship services on his own initiative, and he signed up for a seekers’ class and was willing to be baptized.
(The article is originally published by Gospel Times.)
-Translated by Charlie Li
Thanksgiving Testimonies from Chinese Christians
