When I was 13, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. In my second year of high school, I had an episode that left me bedridden for three months. Someone introduced me to Buddhism, and I was able to move around again. Over the next three days, I experienced many supernatural events, and I started wondering whether a spiritual realm really existed in this world.
Later, I began reading the Bible, discovering that it not only records the power of demons and evil spirits but also the power of God. I gained a new understanding of God, and my life began to change. As I read, I felt everything around me was beautiful, and the people around me were kind and gentle with a sense of wonder.
Parents and Three Sisters Baptized on the Same Day
Before that, in my first year of high school, I had started to go astray. By my second year, I was hanging out with delinquents from the streets, wasting my days. After coming to faith, I grew tired of that kind of life.
Although I had become a believer, my body suffered due to the effects of steroid medication, which led to complications like avascular necrosis of the femoral head and ankylosing spondylitis. After graduating from high school, I decided to study acupuncture, hoping that one day I could help more people through it. I also started learning to play the guitar, to fill my life with the sound of worship songs.
After being baptized, I had a strong desire for my whole family to come to faith. So, every Friday, I fasted and prayed, asking God to save my family. In 1997, nearly two years after I started sharing the gospel with them, my parents and three sisters all told me at different times that they wanted to be baptized. On May 1, I invited a pastor from the church in Gansu to come and baptize them. Later, my second elder brother, his wife, and my eldest brother's wife also became believers.
Proposing After 5 Days of Online Chat
For over a decade, I served in my hometown of Qinghai. During this time, people introduced me to potential wives. One relationship didn’t work out after I prayed and felt it wasn’t right. Another ended when the person found out my illness couldn’t be cured and broke up with me.
Later, while playing guitar and singing hymns in an online Christian chatroom, I met my wife. We conducted video chatting through QQ. On the first day, she wanted to reject me because her parents hoped she would marry someone abroad. She planned to pray with me and ask God to prepare a more suitable partner for me. But as she prayed, she kept confessing her sins and asking the Lord to change her perspective. She said the Holy Spirit illuminated her mind and made her realize her mistaken views on marriage. Five days after we met on QQ, I proposed to her, and she agreed without hesitation.
I later learned that at 16, she had left home to work. By 21, feeling hopeless, she had contemplated suicide by taking sleeping pills. But then she met Jesus and found a new direction in life. Not long after, she read a book about Mother Teresa and learned about her work with homeless and disabled people. After reading it, she made a vow to God, offering herself to serve in this way. In 2005, while working in Chongqing, she began reaching out to street children. After spending three months with her, all the children spontaneously called her "Mom," when they were hiking. This deeply moved me.
Accepting Adopted Children While Marrying My Wife
While we were dating, my wife said that marrying her came with one condition, I accepted the children she had adopted. Over the years, apart from the children who stayed with us temporarily, we have long-term relationships with over 20 children we adopted and still keep in contact with today.
After we got married in 2006, I moved to Chongqing, where my wife was living. Some of the children we adopted would sometimes misbehave and run away. When they did, there wasn’t much we could do. We simply let them know that no matter where they went, they always had a home with us where they could rest. When they came back for Chinese New Year, they would buy us a few apples and tell us, "Mom and Dad, these apples weren’t bought with stolen money. We know you don’t like stolen goods, so we used the money we earned from selling collected plastic bottles to buy them."
Sometimes, we envy families that have raised their adopted children and supported them to study at universities or even study abroad. But my wife and I are clear that the children we’ve adopted require immense love and patience. Without God’s grace, we wouldn’t be able to do it. My wife and I hope that each child can feel loved and respected.
We’re grateful that most of the children now have jobs. One child, named Yong'en, works as a diligent and reliable waiter. The government helped him complete household registration and move into affordable housing. He later married and had a daughter.
Reaching Out to Estranged Children
Recently, my wife and I video-called our adopted son, Yongde, who is of Miao ethnicity from Shimenkan in Guizhou. We reminisced about the past. Yongde’s father had passed away when he was around two years old, and his mother had abandoned him and his siblings to remarry. Their elderly and disabled grandmother was left to care for them. When he was nine, we brought him and his siblings to live with us. However, after six months, the local authorities sent them back to their hometown to complete the nine-year compulsory education.
In his hometown, Yongde fell in with the wrong crowd at school, and people began tempting him to try drugs. His grandmother entrusted the three children back to us. Eventually, he chose to leave us and return to his bad influences.
In recent years, he has been trying to break away from those involved in drugs, as he now has a girlfriend who is pregnant. Yongde said, “The baby is due in June. I’m planning to go to Zhejiang to work in a factory to support my child.” We invited him to join us for online gatherings and to come back to God. He agreed, and we hope that this time he will truly repent and experience God.
Since getting married in 2006, my wife has had a very harmonious relationship with my family. Since returning to Qinghai, I’ve taken my wife and our children to remote pastoral areas every year. I provide free acupuncture treatment to those in need and promote healthy living.
Although my condition hasn’t improved over the past decade and I don’t know what the future holds, I firmly believe that my life is in God’s hands. Despite my poor health, I want to serve others and help them experience God’s love and power.
(Originally published by the Gospel Times, the article has been edited under permission.)
- Edited & translated by Abigail Wu
13岁时，我得了类风湿，甚至高中时一次发病，三个月不能下床。经人介绍去信佛能正常活动了。后来的三天时间中，我经历了许多超自然的经历，我在思考这个世界是否有灵界的存在。
后来我开始读圣经，发现圣经里不仅有记载魔鬼邪灵的能力，更有记载神的能力。我对神有新的认识，我的生命也开始发生变化。读着读着，我觉得好新奇，感觉身边的一切都是美好的，身边的人都是温柔的。
父母和三个姐姐同一天受洗
之前，在我高一的时候，我开始学坏。到了高二和街道上的混混鬼混整天泡在一起。信主以后，就厌烦混日子的生活。
虽然信主了，但我的身体也因为激素药导致股骨头无菌性坏死、强制性脊柱炎等疾病。高中毕业后，我开始选择去学习中医针灸，希望将来可以用针灸帮助更多的群体。我也开始学习弹吉他，让自己的生活充满弹琴唱赞美诗歌的声音。
受洗以后，我有一个非常大的心愿，就是我全家人悔改信主。于是，每个礼拜五我都会禁食祷告，求神拣选我的家庭。1997年，就在向家人传福音将近两年的时候，我的父母和我三个姐姐不同时间告诉我，他们要受洗。5月1日的时候，我邀请了甘肃那边教会的牧者，过来给家人受洗。后来我的二哥、二嫂以及大嫂也相继信了主。
QQ交往5天后就求婚
在青海老家服侍的十多年里，也有人给我介绍女朋友，但是祷告寻问神感觉不合适。其中一个是因为得知我的疾病无法医治，就对我说分手。
后来在网络基督徒语音室弹吉他唱赞美诗，我认识了我的妻子。我透过QQ和她视频语音交流，其实第一天她想拒绝我，因为他父母期望女儿能嫁出国。她已经设想好，先和我做个祷告；透过祷告祝福我，同时委婉地祈求上帝为我预备更适合的伴侣。但是当她祈祷的时候，她就一直认罪悔改，求主改变她的眼光。她说圣灵光照她，让她认识到自己错误的婚姻价值观。我和她在QQ交往5天后就向她求婚，她没有半点迟疑就同意了。
我得知她16岁时便外出打工，21岁时，觉得人生没有出路，想吞安眠药自杀。后来她认识耶稣，找到出路。没多久，她读到特蕾莎修女的书，知道她收养流浪者与残障人士的故事。读完后，她向上帝许了一个愿，想要献上自己做这样的服事。于是，在2005年到重庆打工期间，她开始接触街上的流浪孩子。这些流浪街头的孩子和她相处三个月后，突然有一天在去爬山的路上，所有孩子不约而同地叫她妈妈。这事很触动我。
接受妻子，也要接受她收养的孩子
谈恋爱的时候，她说我们结婚有一个条件，就是不光要接受她，也要接受她收养的那些孩子。这些年，除了短期和我们生活的孩子外，我们长期收养到现在、还在联系的有20多个孩子。
2006年婚后，我来到了妻子所在城市重庆生活。当时一些收养的孩子有时会不听话，跑出去流浪。我们也没办法，只能让孩子们知道，不管他们在哪里，有个家可以让他们落脚休息。过年回来的时候，他们还是会用捡矿泉水瓶子卖的钱买几个苹果给我们。
我们有时也会羡慕一些家庭，他们把收养的孩子培养成大学生，甚至送到国外读书。但是我和妻子清楚，我们收养的孩子，都是需要用极大的爱和耐心去服事的。没有神的恩典，我们做不到。我和妻子希望每一个孩子都被爱和尊重。
值得欣慰的是，大多数孩子有了工作。其中一个叫永恩的孩子，他做服务员，很勤快，做事踏实。我们通过政府帮他落户，他也住进了廉租房，后来结婚，有了一个女儿。
离家的孩子们敞开
前两天，我和妻子与贵州石门坎苗族的养子永德视频聊天，也想起了许多往事。养子永德的父亲在他2岁左右病故，他的妈妈抛弃他们改嫁。家中只有年纪老迈残疾的奶奶，养育他们三姐弟。他9岁那年我们去贵州石门坎接他们出来和我们住。才出来半年，相关部门把这些孩子遣返回他们原来的地方接受9年义务教育。
后来，永德开始在当地学校结交当地小混混，别人开始诱惑他吸毒。奶奶把三个孩子再次交托给我们助养。后来，他选择离开我们去找他曾经在一起的不良朋友。这几年他想挣脱那些吸毒的人，因为他有了女友，并且有了身孕。永德说：“六月孩子出生了，我要去浙江进工厂打工挣钱养孩子。”我们邀请他透过网络和我们一起聚会，重新回到神的面前。他表示愿意，我们期望他这次彻底悔改经历神。
自从2006年我们结婚后，妻子和我家里人的相处非常融洽。自从我们回到青海后，我每年会带着妻子、孩子们到偏远地区的牧区，给需要针灸治疗的群体义务治疗，也给他们宣传健康的生活方式。
虽然这十几年我的病情没有好转，也不知道将来会如何。但是我还是深信不疑，我终生的事都在神的手中。虽然身体不好，但我想要去服事别人，让人认识神的爱和大能。
信仰见证：从类风湿患者到成为20多个孩子的父亲
When I was 13, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. In my second year of high school, I had an episode that left me bedridden for three months. Someone introduced me to Buddhism, and I was able to move around again. Over the next three days, I experienced many supernatural events, and I started wondering whether a spiritual realm really existed in this world.
Later, I began reading the Bible, discovering that it not only records the power of demons and evil spirits but also the power of God. I gained a new understanding of God, and my life began to change. As I read, I felt everything around me was beautiful, and the people around me were kind and gentle with a sense of wonder.
Parents and Three Sisters Baptized on the Same Day
Before that, in my first year of high school, I had started to go astray. By my second year, I was hanging out with delinquents from the streets, wasting my days. After coming to faith, I grew tired of that kind of life.
Although I had become a believer, my body suffered due to the effects of steroid medication, which led to complications like avascular necrosis of the femoral head and ankylosing spondylitis. After graduating from high school, I decided to study acupuncture, hoping that one day I could help more people through it. I also started learning to play the guitar, to fill my life with the sound of worship songs.
After being baptized, I had a strong desire for my whole family to come to faith. So, every Friday, I fasted and prayed, asking God to save my family. In 1997, nearly two years after I started sharing the gospel with them, my parents and three sisters all told me at different times that they wanted to be baptized. On May 1, I invited a pastor from the church in Gansu to come and baptize them. Later, my second elder brother, his wife, and my eldest brother's wife also became believers.
Proposing After 5 Days of Online Chat
For over a decade, I served in my hometown of Qinghai. During this time, people introduced me to potential wives. One relationship didn’t work out after I prayed and felt it wasn’t right. Another ended when the person found out my illness couldn’t be cured and broke up with me.
Later, while playing guitar and singing hymns in an online Christian chatroom, I met my wife. We conducted video chatting through QQ. On the first day, she wanted to reject me because her parents hoped she would marry someone abroad. She planned to pray with me and ask God to prepare a more suitable partner for me. But as she prayed, she kept confessing her sins and asking the Lord to change her perspective. She said the Holy Spirit illuminated her mind and made her realize her mistaken views on marriage. Five days after we met on QQ, I proposed to her, and she agreed without hesitation.
I later learned that at 16, she had left home to work. By 21, feeling hopeless, she had contemplated suicide by taking sleeping pills. But then she met Jesus and found a new direction in life. Not long after, she read a book about Mother Teresa and learned about her work with homeless and disabled people. After reading it, she made a vow to God, offering herself to serve in this way. In 2005, while working in Chongqing, she began reaching out to street children. After spending three months with her, all the children spontaneously called her "Mom," when they were hiking. This deeply moved me.
Accepting Adopted Children While Marrying My Wife
While we were dating, my wife said that marrying her came with one condition, I accepted the children she had adopted. Over the years, apart from the children who stayed with us temporarily, we have long-term relationships with over 20 children we adopted and still keep in contact with today.
After we got married in 2006, I moved to Chongqing, where my wife was living. Some of the children we adopted would sometimes misbehave and run away. When they did, there wasn’t much we could do. We simply let them know that no matter where they went, they always had a home with us where they could rest. When they came back for Chinese New Year, they would buy us a few apples and tell us, "Mom and Dad, these apples weren’t bought with stolen money. We know you don’t like stolen goods, so we used the money we earned from selling collected plastic bottles to buy them."
Sometimes, we envy families that have raised their adopted children and supported them to study at universities or even study abroad. But my wife and I are clear that the children we’ve adopted require immense love and patience. Without God’s grace, we wouldn’t be able to do it. My wife and I hope that each child can feel loved and respected.
We’re grateful that most of the children now have jobs. One child, named Yong'en, works as a diligent and reliable waiter. The government helped him complete household registration and move into affordable housing. He later married and had a daughter.
Reaching Out to Estranged Children
Recently, my wife and I video-called our adopted son, Yongde, who is of Miao ethnicity from Shimenkan in Guizhou. We reminisced about the past. Yongde’s father had passed away when he was around two years old, and his mother had abandoned him and his siblings to remarry. Their elderly and disabled grandmother was left to care for them. When he was nine, we brought him and his siblings to live with us. However, after six months, the local authorities sent them back to their hometown to complete the nine-year compulsory education.
In his hometown, Yongde fell in with the wrong crowd at school, and people began tempting him to try drugs. His grandmother entrusted the three children back to us. Eventually, he chose to leave us and return to his bad influences.
In recent years, he has been trying to break away from those involved in drugs, as he now has a girlfriend who is pregnant. Yongde said, “The baby is due in June. I’m planning to go to Zhejiang to work in a factory to support my child.” We invited him to join us for online gatherings and to come back to God. He agreed, and we hope that this time he will truly repent and experience God.
Since getting married in 2006, my wife has had a very harmonious relationship with my family. Since returning to Qinghai, I’ve taken my wife and our children to remote pastoral areas every year. I provide free acupuncture treatment to those in need and promote healthy living.
Although my condition hasn’t improved over the past decade and I don’t know what the future holds, I firmly believe that my life is in God’s hands. Despite my poor health, I want to serve others and help them experience God’s love and power.
(Originally published by the Gospel Times, the article has been edited under permission.)
- Edited & translated by Abigail Wu
Story: From Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient to Father of Over 20 Adoptive Children
