An elderly female Christian followed Christ after giving a promise to her dying mother. Since a miraculous conversion nine years ago, she has devoted herself to sharing the gospel with others and teaching the Chinese alphabet to senior Christians.
Though her ancestral home is in Shandong Province, Grace was born in Anhui Province and has been working and living there. She entered the church on April 23, 2014, and has believed in Jesus for nearly nine years. Born in Heilongjiang Province in 1985, another female Christian named Panpan believed in and dedicated herself to Jesus at the age of nine. Having been preaching ever since she received a doctorate of ministry degree in November 2022.
Recently Panpan interviewed Grace about her conversion stroy and ministry.
Panpan: How did you get to turn to Jesus? Why are you so strong and joyful?
Grace: As a devout Christian for many years, my mother brought her in-laws to the Lord one by one, giving them the Bible. Though all my younger siblings followed my mother to the church, I didn’t change my faith since I couldn’t understand why I was a sinner for I thought I was strict with myself as a member of the Chinese Communist Party. My mother’s home was a gathering place, where she and believers prayed to God for me to be a Christian for more than 30 years.
When my mother was in the hospital, she tried her best to persuade me, "All our family members have believed in the Lord, why is your heart so stubborn? In the future, we will be together happily after we die, but how can you enter heaven if you don't believe in Jesus? You are the one I worry about the most!" Taking the Bible everywhere after the baptism, she insisted on reading the Bible in traditional Chinese with reading glasses every day during the hospitalization. On April 12, 2014, I took the initiative to read the Bible to her as I intended to please her rather than listen to her nagging. She first found and let me read the scriptures about the Ten Commandments in the Bible, which she told me to obey and some of which she said she did not keep well. And she sternly warned me not to worship idols or false gods. The next morning, my mother suddenly had no vital signs, and there was a straight line on the ECG paper. I held my mother in my arms and called out to her ear, "Mother, wake up soon! Wake up, don’t fall asleep. You take me to the church, and I will never go if others take me. I will follow you to believe in the Lord..." At this time, my mother struggled to open her eyes slowly and I saw the electrocardiogram return to normal. That night, my mother took out the Bible to let me read it to her, saying, "You said you will believe in the Lord, so you should keep this covenant."
My mother passed away on Good Friday, April 18, 2014, and five days later I entered the church for the first time, resulting in sleeping well. One week after my baptism, I participated in a spiritual retreat in which the pastor explained how to live a spiritual life, including reading the Bible, praying, and praising. After more than 20 days, I experienced three miracles within two hours, understanding that He is the true God.
Panpan: I know that your physical examination results are not very good recently and you have necrosis of the femoral head, abnormal liver function, and joint pain due to rheumatoid arthritis. Although in pain, I see that you have been encouraging believers in the “Mercy House” and leading them in reading the Bible and reciting the scriptures.
Grace: I was not nervous when I heard this result, because I have hope and support. Last year, I participated in a physical examination organized by my unit and found high cholesterol. The doctor prescribed me Hypocol which should not be taken for more than three months. However, I have eaten the medicine for nearly a year, which caused liver disease. Suffering from severe knee pain, I went to the hospital for treatment and was admitted to the hospital.
Preaching the gospel in the hospital, I prayed before the operation for two female patients in the same ward who should undergo surgeries of removing metal plates. They followed me saying prayers sentence by sentence, feeling no pain during the operations and recoveries. I taught them the hymn named "River of Life", often sending spiritual messages to them on WeChat.
After being discharged from the hospital, the liver function returned to normal after taking the medicine for only half a month.
Talking about my testimony and experience to my neighbors, I organize them to read the Bible and sing hymns to praise God.
Thank God for setting up for us the Mercy House in which you and your husband nurture us for the past few years, sharing your Bible reading experience and light. Managing the house, some female believers hosted a worship and praise meeting for us on Christmas Eve in despise of the epidemic.
Panpan: How will you devote yourself to the Lord?
Grace: I am a stubborn, rebellious, and foolish sinner. I converted to Christianity in my 60s, and now I am in my seventies, so I plan to serve God every second I can. I will take care of my body which is flawed, dedicating my best time to God!
Panpan: I am very moved to see some photos in which you were leading the literacy class for the elderly in the church. Could you share this wonderful service with us?
Grace: Thank God for choosing me and using me. Not long after I believed in the Lord, the head of the church asked me to teach literacy skills to the elderly. I told them that learning pinyin (a Chinese pronunciation system) could help them recognize more characters and looking up the dictionary could help them read unfamiliar words.
It took us three months to learn the Chinese alphabet, one class a week, but first-year students should spend nearly two months attending classes every day to learn it.
At the beginning of the class, the female believers of Mercy House provided the elderly with school supplies and a Chinese dictionary.
Senior believers from many other churches requested to join this literacy class. Members of nearby churches begged to learn the material by riding a bicycle in the middle of the night when the course was restarted.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
蒙恩大姐祖籍山东，1954年出生于安徽，目前工作、生活都在安徽。她于2014年4月23日进入教堂信主归于基督，属灵年龄近9年。盼盼姐妹1985年出生于黑龙江省，9岁信耶稣，即献身为主，传道至今，并于2022年11月取得教牧学博士学位。
以下为盼盼姐妹对蒙恩大姐的采访：
盼盼：我很想知道，您是怎么信耶稣的？怎么会这么坚强和喜乐呢？
蒙恩大姐：我母亲是一位信主多年虔诚的基督徒，母亲把她的亲家逐个带到主面前，并且还送《圣经》给他们。我的弟弟妹妹也都被母亲带到基督里。母亲劝导我信主，我认为我严于律己，又是D员，怎么是罪人呢？我娘家是聚会点，母亲为了让我信主，与教堂和聚会点的主内家人向神祷告30多年。
母亲在医院住院期间，苦口婆心地劝导我，说：“家里人都信主了，你的心怎那么刚硬呢？将来去天堂家人都能欢聚，唯独你不信，进不了天堂怎么办？我最牵挂的就是你啊！”母亲自信主后，无论到哪里，《圣经》从不离开她的身，住院期间她每天坚持戴着老花镜，用手指头点着字，一字一句的认真读她的繁体字竖版《圣经》。2014年4月12日晚上，我不想听母亲唠叨，为讨好母亲，哄她开心，便主动读经给她听。她首先把圣经中有关十条诫命的经文找出来让我读，还对我说怎样遵守诫命，母亲还说自己也没有守好。并且严厉的告诫我，不可拜偶像拜假神等。第二天13日上午10点多钟，母亲突然没有生命体征，心电监护仪显示屏全是直线。我把母亲搂在怀里，对着她的耳孔大声呼唤：“娘啊，你快醒醒，别睡着了，你带我去教堂，任何人带我我都不去，娘啊，只有你带我才去，我跟着你好好信主……”这时，娘很吃力地慢慢地睁开眼睛，我看到监护仪显示屏恢复了正常。当天晚上母亲把《圣经》拿出来，让我读经给她听，母亲还说：“你给神立过约了，你说要好好信主。”
2014年4月18日受难日那天，天父把母亲接走了。4月23日是我第一次走进教堂后来睡眠改善了。信主后过了一个星期参加教堂举办的培灵会，牧师讲解基督徒每一天怎样过属灵的生活，读经、祷告、赞美。20多天后的一个傍晚，神在2小时内让我经历了三个神迹奇事，我终于明白了神是真神。
盼盼：我知道最近您检查身体结果不是很好，股骨头坏死，肝不好，类风湿各个关节都疼痛，医生们都不知道怎么办。尽管在疼痛中，我看您一直鼓励“蒙恩之家”的弟兄姐妹，并自己以身作则带领大家读圣经背诵圣经经文，您有什么特别想要勉励大家的经文吗？
蒙恩大姐：盼盼老师，听到这个结果，我并不紧张，因我有盼望有依靠。去年参加单位组织的体检，发现血脂高，医生开血脂康让我服用，我是个医盲，不知这种药用量不能超过三个月，我却连续服用血脂康近一年，造成肝脏受损伤。我右膝关节疼痛难忍，去医院就医，医生让我住院治疗。
住院期间我抓住机会向病友传福音，同病房的两位姊妹做取钢板手术，术前，我为她们向主耶稣祈祷，我说一句让她们跟着说一句！她们在手术中和术后恢复中，都感觉没有疼痛，我教她们唱诗歌《生命的河》。我们也都加微信联系，我时常发属灵的信息给她们。在我居住的地方，我经常与邻居们分享神在我身上的见证和经历，组织大家在一起读经认识神，唱诗歌赞美神。
出院后，吃药只用半个月的时间肝脏能功恢复正常了。
感谢神为我们设立“蒙恩之家”！感谢神赐给我们宝贵的《圣经》！
盼盼老师，感谢你们夫妻俩几年来从没有间断过一天，对蒙恩家人的牧养，你俩每一天都把读经心得和亮光与家人们一起分享！帮助我们灵命成长！还有蒙恩之家群管们, 都是姊妹们在管理我们的大家庭。疫情泛滥成灾期间，在平安夜里为蒙恩家人组织了别样的感恩赞美会。
盼盼：接下来，您会怎样使用您的人生为主摆上？
蒙恩大姐：盼盼老师，我是个顽梗悖逆愚拙的罪人，60多岁了才来到神面前，现在已进入古稀之年，我要把亏欠神的争分夺秒地补上。
我要顾惜自己的身体，虽然身体有残缺，仍要把自己最美好的状态和时光献给神！
盼盼：蒙恩大姐，我有看到您的一些照片，特别是看到您在教堂带领老年识字班的经历，很是感动，是否可以和我们分享这美好的服事？
蒙恩大姐：感谢神拣选我，使用我，我信主后不久，教堂负责人找我教老年人识字。我开导老年人，学会拼音能帮助我们认识更多的字，当读经遇到不认识字的时候，查找《字典》就知道怎么读了。
感谢神的同在和带领！我们用了三个月时间，每周一节课，就把拼音全部学完了。一年级学生天天上课，还要学习近二个月呢！
在刚开始学习的过程中，蒙恩之家的姊妹买来学习用品分发给老年人，买来《汉语字典》发到每位老人手中。
教会里有许多老人要加入识字班学习。重新学习拼音时，吸引了周边教会的姊妹们，他们半夜三更骑车子来聚会，参加识字班的学习。
蒙恩大姐的蒙恩见证
An elderly female Christian followed Christ after giving a promise to her dying mother. Since a miraculous conversion nine years ago, she has devoted herself to sharing the gospel with others and teaching the Chinese alphabet to senior Christians.
Though her ancestral home is in Shandong Province, Grace was born in Anhui Province and has been working and living there. She entered the church on April 23, 2014, and has believed in Jesus for nearly nine years. Born in Heilongjiang Province in 1985, another female Christian named Panpan believed in and dedicated herself to Jesus at the age of nine. Having been preaching ever since she received a doctorate of ministry degree in November 2022.
Recently Panpan interviewed Grace about her conversion stroy and ministry.
Panpan: How did you get to turn to Jesus? Why are you so strong and joyful?
Grace: As a devout Christian for many years, my mother brought her in-laws to the Lord one by one, giving them the Bible. Though all my younger siblings followed my mother to the church, I didn’t change my faith since I couldn’t understand why I was a sinner for I thought I was strict with myself as a member of the Chinese Communist Party. My mother’s home was a gathering place, where she and believers prayed to God for me to be a Christian for more than 30 years.
When my mother was in the hospital, she tried her best to persuade me, "All our family members have believed in the Lord, why is your heart so stubborn? In the future, we will be together happily after we die, but how can you enter heaven if you don't believe in Jesus? You are the one I worry about the most!" Taking the Bible everywhere after the baptism, she insisted on reading the Bible in traditional Chinese with reading glasses every day during the hospitalization. On April 12, 2014, I took the initiative to read the Bible to her as I intended to please her rather than listen to her nagging. She first found and let me read the scriptures about the Ten Commandments in the Bible, which she told me to obey and some of which she said she did not keep well. And she sternly warned me not to worship idols or false gods. The next morning, my mother suddenly had no vital signs, and there was a straight line on the ECG paper. I held my mother in my arms and called out to her ear, "Mother, wake up soon! Wake up, don’t fall asleep. You take me to the church, and I will never go if others take me. I will follow you to believe in the Lord..." At this time, my mother struggled to open her eyes slowly and I saw the electrocardiogram return to normal. That night, my mother took out the Bible to let me read it to her, saying, "You said you will believe in the Lord, so you should keep this covenant."
My mother passed away on Good Friday, April 18, 2014, and five days later I entered the church for the first time, resulting in sleeping well. One week after my baptism, I participated in a spiritual retreat in which the pastor explained how to live a spiritual life, including reading the Bible, praying, and praising. After more than 20 days, I experienced three miracles within two hours, understanding that He is the true God.
Panpan: I know that your physical examination results are not very good recently and you have necrosis of the femoral head, abnormal liver function, and joint pain due to rheumatoid arthritis. Although in pain, I see that you have been encouraging believers in the “Mercy House” and leading them in reading the Bible and reciting the scriptures.
Grace: I was not nervous when I heard this result, because I have hope and support. Last year, I participated in a physical examination organized by my unit and found high cholesterol. The doctor prescribed me Hypocol which should not be taken for more than three months. However, I have eaten the medicine for nearly a year, which caused liver disease. Suffering from severe knee pain, I went to the hospital for treatment and was admitted to the hospital.
Preaching the gospel in the hospital, I prayed before the operation for two female patients in the same ward who should undergo surgeries of removing metal plates. They followed me saying prayers sentence by sentence, feeling no pain during the operations and recoveries. I taught them the hymn named "River of Life", often sending spiritual messages to them on WeChat.
After being discharged from the hospital, the liver function returned to normal after taking the medicine for only half a month.
Talking about my testimony and experience to my neighbors, I organize them to read the Bible and sing hymns to praise God.
Thank God for setting up for us the Mercy House in which you and your husband nurture us for the past few years, sharing your Bible reading experience and light. Managing the house, some female believers hosted a worship and praise meeting for us on Christmas Eve in despise of the epidemic.
Panpan: How will you devote yourself to the Lord?
Grace: I am a stubborn, rebellious, and foolish sinner. I converted to Christianity in my 60s, and now I am in my seventies, so I plan to serve God every second I can. I will take care of my body which is flawed, dedicating my best time to God!
Panpan: I am very moved to see some photos in which you were leading the literacy class for the elderly in the church. Could you share this wonderful service with us?
Grace: Thank God for choosing me and using me. Not long after I believed in the Lord, the head of the church asked me to teach literacy skills to the elderly. I told them that learning pinyin (a Chinese pronunciation system) could help them recognize more characters and looking up the dictionary could help them read unfamiliar words.
It took us three months to learn the Chinese alphabet, one class a week, but first-year students should spend nearly two months attending classes every day to learn it.
At the beginning of the class, the female believers of Mercy House provided the elderly with school supplies and a Chinese dictionary.
Senior believers from many other churches requested to join this literacy class. Members of nearby churches begged to learn the material by riding a bicycle in the middle of the night when the course was restarted.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Stubborn Woman Follows Jesus at 60
