Editor's note: A male believer surnamed Tian was frail and sick when he was a child. Hoping to heal his illness, his mother worshipped local idols, which left a negative impression on his mind as a teenager. Led by his sister to Jesus, he was blessed for working for Him though after a business failure. The following is Tian’s testimony, told from his perspective.
My family lived in a small village at the foot of the mountain at the end of Beiyuan County, Shaanxi Province. My parents gave birth to four children, among which the first three were females.
I was born with poor physical fitness. I either frequently caught a cold or had recurrent pharyngitis. As soon as I got sick, my mother would think that it was because she had offended a "spirit", immediately going to the temple to worship. When I went to primary school at the age of seven or eight, I began stuttering in addition to often being sick.
The "magic medicine" my mother got for me, which was the ashes of burnt paper of Fulu wizardry, really annoyed me. Before feeding me the "magic medicine", my mother would chant me a rune, incomprehensible to me, then dissolve the "magic medicine " with warm water.
Being treated in such a way for many years, I occasionally got better after taking “magic medicine”, which my mother would consider as a "spirit" manifestation. Therefore, my mother was even more motivated to apply this method to treat me when I got sick again.
After graduating from high school, I got married at the age of 23. With my family being poor, I wanted to earn a living in a big city in order to ease my parents’ financial burden.
Arriving in a city, I became a street vendor. Then, unfortunately, I began poker gambling obsessively every single night and kept losing money, over which my wife and I had fights. Affected by my bad addiction, the academic performance of my two children showed a decline.
One day, my eldest Christian sister came to visit me. Seeing the difficult situation in my family, she took me to the church the next day, where I was instantly attracted by the beautiful singing of hymns.
Following that, I started to attend church on Sundays instead of working on the street, which meant I had to give up the most profitable opportunity of the week. As a result, my wife was unhappy about it with criticism from my mother.
My eldest sister came to my house again, saying to me, "Little brother, your wife didn’t understand you, and our mother told you off. That is because you have not shown them the blessing by believing in God." She encouraged me, "Following Jesus can’t be just words, but more importantly taking actions. When they see the changes in your performance, they will change their views on you, not stopping you from believing in Him!"
Since then, besides stopping poker gambling and being freed from my TV addiction, alternatively, I have learned to cook at home. In the winter of that year, I went back to my hometown alone to visit my sick father-in-law. When I left, I quietly gave him 500 yuan (about 78.50 USD) in cash to see a doctor, telling him to take medicine in time.
From then on, my wife did not object to me trusting in God anymore but began to work on Sundays in my place so that I could attend church with a peaceful mind. On Christmas Day 2010, my wife followed me to the church and was baptized into Jesus. Now she has become an important member of the church choir and the pastoral area.
Now, my mother is living with me, becoming a Christian, influenced by our whole family. She said to me, " I shouldn't have believed in those useless clay doll gods if I had known the grace of Jesus." Consequently, my mother attends church services every Sunday together with me.
At the beginning of 2011, I raised more than 300,000 yuan (about 47,100 USD) to open a kitchen and bathroom store in a downtown mall that specializes in furniture. Some were my savings over many years, and the rest was a bank loan,
When it had just opened, a few acquaintances came to shop. Afterward, business went bad.
By the third year, the store was almost shut down due to continuous losses. The 300,000 yuan I invested was instantly lost, out of which more than 100,000 yuan was still owed to the bank. For nearly a month, I was so depressed that I lay in bed, not even wanting to step out of the house.
Every day, believers from the choir of the church that my eldest sister attended, took turns to visit me at home, giving me financial support. One evening, after the believers who came to visit me, were gone, I knelt down in the living room, praying to God. There seemed to be a voice in my ears telling me, ”Suffering is your blessing. The night will be over and dawn is breaking!”
Instantly, with joy I immediately called the female believer in charge of the pastoral area, saying that I would like to host a thanksgiving gathering at home. However, my request was declined at the time. I then called the believer in charge of the church choir for her support. It turned out that over ten members of the choir showed up to the gathering the next evening. We read the Bible, praying and singing hymns together. I cried from beginning to end, talking about my experience and the grace of God. The burden that had been on my heart for more than a month was lifted.
Later that night, the believer in charge of the pastoral area invited me to share my testimony at the group meeting in the area.
After the gathering, the church began its temple building for the third time. With the skills I learned when opening the kitchen and bathroom store, I was in charge of the electrical and plumbing installations of the entire project.
During this period, the elders of the church saw that I worked hard all day on the construction site despite such great financial difficulties. So, on behalf of the church, they gave me compensation which paid for my children's school expenses. Knowing that I couldn’t afford to rent a house, a male believer rented his newly decorated house to me at a very low price of 200 yuan (about 31.38 USD) per month. When I went to visit him to pay rent during the Chinese Spring Festival holidays, his Christian wife refused to receive my money at all, saying that my children could use it for education.
Later, I resumed work on my previous business which was subsequently getting better and better, with the bank loan being completely repaid. In 2017, I got a mortgage to buy an old apartment of 65 square meters (0.016 acres). In less than 6 months, the urban renewal project started, covering my home. The developer pre-allocated me a new apartment of 130 square meters (0.032 acres).
In addition, God has given me a special skill to record videos for church activities and upload them online to spread the gospel.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times.)
-Translated by Shuya Wang
编者按：下面是田弟兄的见证，他小时候体弱多病，妈妈为他拜偶像求“神”治病，在青少年时期的心灵上留下阴影，后来因着姐姐去教堂，后来即使生意失败，因着为主做工得到祝福的故事。
我的家住在西秦北塬尽头山脚下的一个小村，父母生了四个孩子，前面三个姐姐。
由于我一生下来就体质差，三天两头不是感冒，就是咽炎复发。一但碰上我得病，母亲就会认为得罪了“神灵”，立马会前去庙宇求神拜佛。七、八年过去了，我上了小学，在原来多病的基础上口吃起来。
最让我头疼的是，莫过于吃母亲为我求回的治病“神药”，那是一张张黄色符表烧化后的纸灰。母亲会在喂我喝“神药”前，口里先来一段连我也听不懂的符语，然后用温开水化开纸灰“神药”。
在那多年为我治病的过程中，偶尔一次半次的病轻、好转。母亲会认为那是“神灵”在显灵。在以后我再次生病后，母亲用这法子为我治病的劲头就更足了。
高中毕业后，因着家庭经济条件差，直到23岁我才结了婚。为了减轻父母的负担，我萌生了出外打工谋生的想法。
到了城市，我就在街上摆个小摊。在这时候，我染上了打牌赌博，整夜沉浸在打牌赌钱的迷恋中不能自拔。 因着常常去打牌赌钱输钱，妻子和我吵架，两个孩子也被影响得学习成绩下滑。
直到有一天，早已是基督徒的大姐来家走亲戚。看到我家里成了如此模样，在第二天领我去了教会，我瞬间就被那美妙好听的歌声所吸引。
以后只要一是礼拜天，我会不去出摊，放弃一个礼拜中最能挣钱的机会去教会。引来了妻子的吵闹，母亲的严厉家训。
有一天大姐又来我家，对我说：“弟弟呀，你媳妇不理解你，咱妈训你骂你，那是在你身上没有看到信主的福份。”大姐鼓励我说：“咱们信主不能光吊在嘴上，更重要的是要有行动。只有让你媳妇和咱妈看到你真的大变样了，他们才会改变对你的看法，不再反对你去信耶稣啊！”
从那以后，我不再去打牌，也不再独霸电视，在家里学着做饭。尤其在那年的冬天，我独自回老家看望了一次生病的岳父大人，离开时第一次悄悄给了岳父500元现金，嘱咐他及时看病吃药。
从此，妻子不但不反对我信主，更是在礼拜天替我出摊，好让我安心去教堂做礼拜。在2010年的圣诞节，妻子毅然也跟着我去了教堂、信了主，如今已成为教会诗班、片区的骨干了。
现在，我已经把母亲接来家中。在我们全家感染下，母亲也信了主。母亲对我说：“早知道这信耶稣这么好，当初就不该信那些没有用的泥娃娃神。”从此后，每个主日母亲都会跟着我去教会作礼拜。
在2011年期初，我拿出了多年的积蓄，又在银行贷了一部分款，集资30多万元，在市区家具城开起了一家厨卫专卖店。
刚刚开张时，来了几位熟人照顾了点生意。在以后的日子里就没有没有什么生意。
到了第三年，因着连续亏损，生意实在有点做不下去了。三十万元瞬间打了水飘，还欠着银行十几万贷款。有近一个多月的时间我蜗在床上，连门都不想出。
大姐所在教会的诗班，每天信徒轮流来家探望我。还给了我经济上的支助。在一次晚上，送走又一次来家看望我的信徒，我一个人跪在客厅祷告。耳旁仿佛有声音告在诉我：苦难是你的祝福，黑夜过去是黎明！
瞬间，我感到喜乐。我忙打电话给教会片区负责姊妹，说要在家开感恩会。姊妹当时拒绝了我的请求。 我又打电话给了教会诗班负责姊妹。第二天晚上的感恩会，诗班来了十多个弟兄姊妹。大家一块读经、祷告，一块唱赞美诗歌。我从头哭到尾，讲自己的经历和神的恩典。卸下了压在心头近一个多月的重担。
在这天晚上深夜，教会片区负责姊妹邀请我，在片区小组活动会上，让我再为大家做一次见证发言。
感恩会后，恰逢教会第三次建殿开始了。我利用自己做厨卫专卖时学到的手艺，负责了整个工程中的水电、管道安装事工。
在这期间，教会长老见我家遇到了这么大的困难，还整天忘我的辛劳在工地，代表教会为我送来了慰问金，解决了我的孩子上学费用问题。还有教会一位弟兄见我没钱租房住，就把自己装修一新的房子，以每月200元的低价租给我。当我春节去给这位弟兄拜年、送去房租时，弟兄家的姊妹把我交的房租原数退给我，说我的孩子上学正在需用钱……
后来，我重新干起了老本行。生意也越来越好，还上了银行贷款。在2017年贷款，买了一套65平方米的二手房。没有到半年，赶上城市旧城改造。开发商给我预分了130平方米的新房。
另外，神赐给了我一样特别的技能，为教会各项活动录制视频、上传互联网广传福音。
（本文作者为福音时报特约撰稿人。）
信主让他摆脱迷信桎梏 为主做工生命得以翻转
Editor's note: A male believer surnamed Tian was frail and sick when he was a child. Hoping to heal his illness, his mother worshipped local idols, which left a negative impression on his mind as a teenager. Led by his sister to Jesus, he was blessed for working for Him though after a business failure. The following is Tian’s testimony, told from his perspective.
My family lived in a small village at the foot of the mountain at the end of Beiyuan County, Shaanxi Province. My parents gave birth to four children, among which the first three were females.
I was born with poor physical fitness. I either frequently caught a cold or had recurrent pharyngitis. As soon as I got sick, my mother would think that it was because she had offended a "spirit", immediately going to the temple to worship. When I went to primary school at the age of seven or eight, I began stuttering in addition to often being sick.
The "magic medicine" my mother got for me, which was the ashes of burnt paper of Fulu wizardry, really annoyed me. Before feeding me the "magic medicine", my mother would chant me a rune, incomprehensible to me, then dissolve the "magic medicine " with warm water.
Being treated in such a way for many years, I occasionally got better after taking “magic medicine”, which my mother would consider as a "spirit" manifestation. Therefore, my mother was even more motivated to apply this method to treat me when I got sick again.
After graduating from high school, I got married at the age of 23. With my family being poor, I wanted to earn a living in a big city in order to ease my parents’ financial burden.
Arriving in a city, I became a street vendor. Then, unfortunately, I began poker gambling obsessively every single night and kept losing money, over which my wife and I had fights. Affected by my bad addiction, the academic performance of my two children showed a decline.
One day, my eldest Christian sister came to visit me. Seeing the difficult situation in my family, she took me to the church the next day, where I was instantly attracted by the beautiful singing of hymns.
Following that, I started to attend church on Sundays instead of working on the street, which meant I had to give up the most profitable opportunity of the week. As a result, my wife was unhappy about it with criticism from my mother.
My eldest sister came to my house again, saying to me, "Little brother, your wife didn’t understand you, and our mother told you off. That is because you have not shown them the blessing by believing in God." She encouraged me, "Following Jesus can’t be just words, but more importantly taking actions. When they see the changes in your performance, they will change their views on you, not stopping you from believing in Him!"
Since then, besides stopping poker gambling and being freed from my TV addiction, alternatively, I have learned to cook at home. In the winter of that year, I went back to my hometown alone to visit my sick father-in-law. When I left, I quietly gave him 500 yuan (about 78.50 USD) in cash to see a doctor, telling him to take medicine in time.
From then on, my wife did not object to me trusting in God anymore but began to work on Sundays in my place so that I could attend church with a peaceful mind. On Christmas Day 2010, my wife followed me to the church and was baptized into Jesus. Now she has become an important member of the church choir and the pastoral area.
Now, my mother is living with me, becoming a Christian, influenced by our whole family. She said to me, " I shouldn't have believed in those useless clay doll gods if I had known the grace of Jesus." Consequently, my mother attends church services every Sunday together with me.
At the beginning of 2011, I raised more than 300,000 yuan (about 47,100 USD) to open a kitchen and bathroom store in a downtown mall that specializes in furniture. Some were my savings over many years, and the rest was a bank loan,
When it had just opened, a few acquaintances came to shop. Afterward, business went bad.
By the third year, the store was almost shut down due to continuous losses. The 300,000 yuan I invested was instantly lost, out of which more than 100,000 yuan was still owed to the bank. For nearly a month, I was so depressed that I lay in bed, not even wanting to step out of the house.
Every day, believers from the choir of the church that my eldest sister attended, took turns to visit me at home, giving me financial support. One evening, after the believers who came to visit me, were gone, I knelt down in the living room, praying to God. There seemed to be a voice in my ears telling me, ”Suffering is your blessing. The night will be over and dawn is breaking!”
Instantly, with joy I immediately called the female believer in charge of the pastoral area, saying that I would like to host a thanksgiving gathering at home. However, my request was declined at the time. I then called the believer in charge of the church choir for her support. It turned out that over ten members of the choir showed up to the gathering the next evening. We read the Bible, praying and singing hymns together. I cried from beginning to end, talking about my experience and the grace of God. The burden that had been on my heart for more than a month was lifted.
Later that night, the believer in charge of the pastoral area invited me to share my testimony at the group meeting in the area.
After the gathering, the church began its temple building for the third time. With the skills I learned when opening the kitchen and bathroom store, I was in charge of the electrical and plumbing installations of the entire project.
During this period, the elders of the church saw that I worked hard all day on the construction site despite such great financial difficulties. So, on behalf of the church, they gave me compensation which paid for my children's school expenses. Knowing that I couldn’t afford to rent a house, a male believer rented his newly decorated house to me at a very low price of 200 yuan (about 31.38 USD) per month. When I went to visit him to pay rent during the Chinese Spring Festival holidays, his Christian wife refused to receive my money at all, saying that my children could use it for education.
Later, I resumed work on my previous business which was subsequently getting better and better, with the bank loan being completely repaid. In 2017, I got a mortgage to buy an old apartment of 65 square meters (0.016 acres). In less than 6 months, the urban renewal project started, covering my home. The developer pre-allocated me a new apartment of 130 square meters (0.032 acres).
In addition, God has given me a special skill to record videos for church activities and upload them online to spread the gospel.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times.)
-Translated by Shuya Wang
God Reboots My Life After Business Failure
