When I was 20 years old, I came to the Northeast China with some church workers to spread the gospel. It was in the middle of autumn, so it was quite cold. The hostess of the host family saw that we left our homes at such a young age and served in such a distant place, and it was Middle-autumn Festival, so she invited us to have lunch in her house.
The lunch was really a feast. At that time, we often couldn't get enough food, so we were very grateful for her kindness.
After lunch, the hostess said that we could pray for her daughter. Then we followed her to one room. A girl with short hair and pale skin was lying on a heatable brick bed. If the hostess didn't tell us that she was her daughter, we would think that she was just a boy.
The hostess then introduced the story of her daughter. Her daughter had been lying on the bed since she was born. She never walked or went to school. She could do nothing but watch TV or listen to the radio while lying on the bed, with a pillow under her chest. Then we got to know that her pale skin was because she seldom went out and received the sunshine. We also saw the big bulge on her back and many festers on her body because she seldom moved her body. Due to years of lying, her chest was sunk in. With deformed legs, she didn't even have the ability to turn her body around. She had lived this kind of life for twenty years.
I could never even imagine how painful it would be for her to live this kind of life for years, and how could she cope with the loneliness of every single day. That was twenty years we're talking about.
When we prayed, we were all crying pathetically, both for her and for ourselves.
Then the hostess told us that she fell from a stool when she was pregnant with her daughter, which caused the fetal anomaly and premature birth. The doctor said that it was hard for her daughter to live for three months, with a lifetime of no more than two years. But her daughter survived. The hostess and her husband traveled to many famous hospitals in Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, but all doctors could do nothing about her illness. During these years, her daughter had always lived such a painful life.
Later, as someone spread the gospel to her, she often hears the broadcast about the gospel and prays for those who had ever visited her for one hour or even two hours every day. She often said that she could remember every name of the people she had met. After believing in Jesus, she often felt happy and grateful.
We often feel pain when we fail to get something we desire or complain when things don't turn out as we want. But we seldom feel grateful for having a smart brain, the chance to be educated, two healthy legs, and deft hands, and for when we can go anywhere we want to go and do anything we want to do.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
我二十岁那年，随几位同工在东北宣教，中秋的天气已经很冷了，可我们都没有回去，当地一位接待家庭的阿姨看我们这么小就离开父母，千里迢迢在外服侍，又赶上中秋节这万家团圆的日子，阿姨决定中午请我们到她家吃饭。（==当summary）
桌上的饭菜很是丰盛，对于常常吃不饱饭的我们来说，真不知如何报答才好。
饭后，阿姨说要我们为她的女儿祷告，我们便跟着阿姨进了单独的一间屋子。在靠近门边的炕上，趴着一个头发短短皮肤直白的女孩，要不是阿姨事前告诉我们是她女儿，我还以为是个男孩子。
阿姨介绍说，她从小就在炕上趴着，没有走过路，没有上过学，什么都不能做，她唯一能做的就是趴在炕上，胸前垫个枕头，拿着一个摇控器看电视或听广播。我这才知道她的皮肤是因长久不见日光而导致的不健康的白。掀开被子看到她的后背隆起一个很大的包，前胸因长久趴着，本应凸出的胸骨却凹了进去，身上还有许多因长久不活动而导致的溃烂，她的双腿畸型交叉，甚至连自己翻身的能力都没有，就这样整整过了二十年。
我实在难以想象无数个痛苦的日日夜夜，她是怎么度过的；每一天孤独寂寞的生活她是如何面对的？二十年啊，整整二十年……
祷告的时候我们都哭了，哭的很伤心，是为她，也是为自己。
事后，阿姨告诉我们说，她在怀这个孩子的时候因天要下雨，她就站在靠墙的一个凳子上摘丝瓜不慎跌了下来，导致胎儿畸形并且早产，医生说，这个孩子很难活过三个月，再长也不会超过二年。可是出乎意料的是这个孩子竟然奇迹般的活了下来，父母抱着她去过北京、天津、上海许多大医院，医生都无能为力。许多年过去了，她就这样痛苦地生活着。
后来，有人给她传了福音，她就经常听福音广播，并且为每一个去看望过她的人祷告，经常一祷告就是一两个小时，她常能记住每一个她听过的名字，哪怕只是一面之交的人。她自从信了耶稣，心中充满了喜乐和感恩。
想想我们自己，常常为失去的东西痛苦，为不如意的事抱怨，我们有聪明的大脑，有受教育的机会，有健康的双腿，有灵活的双手，我们可以去到我们想去的地方，做我们想做的事情；但却很少为我们所拥有的感恩……
故事｜我20岁那年在东北服事遇到的一位接待家庭 令人难忘
When I was 20 years old, I came to the Northeast China with some church workers to spread the gospel. It was in the middle of autumn, so it was quite cold. The hostess of the host family saw that we left our homes at such a young age and served in such a distant place, and it was Middle-autumn Festival, so she invited us to have lunch in her house.
The lunch was really a feast. At that time, we often couldn't get enough food, so we were very grateful for her kindness.
After lunch, the hostess said that we could pray for her daughter. Then we followed her to one room. A girl with short hair and pale skin was lying on a heatable brick bed. If the hostess didn't tell us that she was her daughter, we would think that she was just a boy.
The hostess then introduced the story of her daughter. Her daughter had been lying on the bed since she was born. She never walked or went to school. She could do nothing but watch TV or listen to the radio while lying on the bed, with a pillow under her chest. Then we got to know that her pale skin was because she seldom went out and received the sunshine. We also saw the big bulge on her back and many festers on her body because she seldom moved her body. Due to years of lying, her chest was sunk in. With deformed legs, she didn't even have the ability to turn her body around. She had lived this kind of life for twenty years.
I could never even imagine how painful it would be for her to live this kind of life for years, and how could she cope with the loneliness of every single day. That was twenty years we're talking about.
When we prayed, we were all crying pathetically, both for her and for ourselves.
Then the hostess told us that she fell from a stool when she was pregnant with her daughter, which caused the fetal anomaly and premature birth. The doctor said that it was hard for her daughter to live for three months, with a lifetime of no more than two years. But her daughter survived. The hostess and her husband traveled to many famous hospitals in Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, but all doctors could do nothing about her illness. During these years, her daughter had always lived such a painful life.
Later, as someone spread the gospel to her, she often hears the broadcast about the gospel and prays for those who had ever visited her for one hour or even two hours every day. She often said that she could remember every name of the people she had met. After believing in Jesus, she often felt happy and grateful.
We often feel pain when we fail to get something we desire or complain when things don't turn out as we want. But we seldom feel grateful for having a smart brain, the chance to be educated, two healthy legs, and deft hands, and for when we can go anywhere we want to go and do anything we want to do.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Story: an Unforgettable Host Family I Encountered When I Was 20
