An old woman who lives alone is over 90 years old. When I first met her last August, she was wearing a crisp short-sleeved dress, her hair messily tied up in a bun, and a black eye patch hooped around her head. This sister goes out on her own to buy groceries and occasionally steams her own groundnuts. When the weather is nice, she likes to sit in the district park, and the neighbors know her.
The old woman has two daughters, the eldest is in Hong Kong and has not returned in the past few years due to the pandemic. The younger daughter lives in the same city as the old woman, but due to their personality differences and the fact that she is old and a bit eccentric, they usually have arguments when they meet. However, the younger daughter still comes to visit occasionally and usually arranges for meals to be delivered to the old woman, and a nanny comes to the house at night to help her take a bath.
Although the old woman lacked nothing in life, she had a longing within her to be loved. She loved going to church, but her age and the pandemic in recent years made it impossible to go there a lot of times.
Two sisters visited her every week for nearly a year (except during the lockdown), read and prayed with her, listened to recorded sermons, helped her clean, cooked, and even cut her nails.
The old woman was from Ningbo and did not speak Mandarin. She would repeat to people who came to visit her that her house used to be a meeting place, showing them that she had many Bibles and that she had never read a book; she would emphasize that her parents believed in Jesus, even her grandfather and that her eldest daughter was a church chorister in Hong Kong; she would lift up the clothes on her back and show the long scars on her body, saying that God had healed her. She would point out her five milk teeth with pride and draw attention to her partly blackened silver hair; She would tell people to repent and preach the gospel. Occasionally, a young brother would visit, and Grandma would start talking to him about worshipping God and the need for holiness in marriage.
Apart from her personal testimony, she loves to read the Bible, and now that she cannot read it, she plays the Bible player given to her over and over again.
The sister's prayers have become her food; she would pray for everyone who visits her. Whenever someone brings her food, whatever it is, she will stand very carefully at the window and pray to thank the Lord before eating. She always says she wants to pray more wherever she is, on foot or in the car, and to pray for everyone she meets.
Grandma's prayers include the names of many countries. For example, when praying for China, she would use the slogan of the era she lived through to proclaim, "Catch up with Britain and surpass America." She would mention the names of more than 10 countries in five or six seconds: "America, Germany, England, France, Australia, the Soviet Union, Japan, Latin America, India, Vietnam, Iraq, Cambodia (gypsies)."
As she prays, the older sister's voices becomes louder and louder than every other young person present. She ends each prayer with "Glory to the name of the Lord": "Glory to the name of the Lord, glory to the name of the Lord, the precious blood of the Lord cleanses me from my sins, glory to the name of the Lord... " She clapped and sang each time she sang this hymn, and at the end of "Glory to the name of the Lord," she would raise her hands with all her might. She loves to praise, and after speaking for a while, she would break into singing and dance with joy.
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
一位独居的老奶奶今年已经90多了。当我去年八月份初次见她时，她穿着一件清凉的短袖，头发凌乱的扎着一个丸子头，一个黑色的眼罩箍在头上。老姊妹自己能出门买菜，偶尔自己蒸地瓜。天气好的时候喜欢在小区公园坐一坐，邻居们都认识她。
奶奶有两个女儿，大女儿在香港，疫情的原因这几年没有回来。小女儿跟奶奶同在一个城市，但是因为两人性格不合，加上奶奶年龄大了，也有些糊涂，脾气也有点古怪，跟小女儿见面会有争吵。但小女儿还是偶尔过来看望，平时会安排给奶奶送餐，晚上有保姆上门帮助奶奶洗澡。
虽然生活上没有缺乏，但是奶奶内心却有对爱的渴望。她很喜欢去教堂，但是年纪大了，加上最近几年疫情，很多时候无法过去。
奶奶有一次独自去教堂，散会的路上被两位姊妹遇到，她们将老姊妹送回家。之后就定期带着教会的信徒到奶奶家探访。每次有人去探望，她都会感谢耶稣，说耶稣很爱她。通常，大家去之前也没有提前联系她，但是差不多每次去的时候，奶奶都在，她还会说，她准备出门，但是耶稣告诉她有客人来。
有两个姊妹近一年的时间每周都来探望她（除了疫情封控期间），跟她一起读经祷告，听讲道录音，帮她打扫卫生、做饭甚至剪指甲。
奶奶是宁波人，不会讲普通话。她会重复对来探访她的人说，她家以前是聚会点，给大家看她有多本圣经，并且说自己没读过书的；她也会强调自己的父母都相信耶稣，爷爷也信，她的大女儿在香港一间教会的诗班；她也会掀开她后背上的衣服，给人看她身上的长长的伤疤，说上帝医治了她；她会自豪地指着自己的5颗乳牙给大家看，会让人关注她有部分已经变黑的银发；会嘱咐大家要悔改传福音；偶尔来位年轻的弟兄探访，奶奶就开始不停地跟弟兄讲要敬拜上帝、婚姻要圣洁……
除了个人见证，老姊妹喜欢读经，现在她看不清圣经，她就一遍一遍放送给她的圣经播放器。
老姊妹的祷告已经成为了她的食物，她会为每个来访的人祷告；有人给她带吃的，无论是什么，吃之前，她都会非常认真对着窗户站立祷告感谢主。她总是说要多祷告，无论走路还是坐车在哪里都可以祷告，要为每一个遇到的人祷告。
奶奶的祷告词会出现很多国家的名字，比如为中国祷告，她会用上她所经历的年代标语宣告说：“赶上英国、超过美国”，。她会在五六秒中提到10多个国家的名字：“美国、德国、英国、法国、澳大利亚、苏联、日本、拉丁美洲、印度、越南、伊拉克、柬埔寨（吉普赛）。”
随着祷告的深入，老姊妹祷告的声音也越来越洪亮，胜过在场的每一个年轻人。每次祷告她都以《荣耀归主名》结尾：“荣耀归主名，荣耀归主名，主宝贝血将我罪洗净，荣耀归主名……”她每次唱这首诗歌都要拍掌唱，到结尾“荣耀归主名”必定用力举起双手。她喜欢赞美，聊天的时候说着说着就开唱，而且一定是手舞足蹈。
一位90岁老姊妹的生活日常
An old woman who lives alone is over 90 years old. When I first met her last August, she was wearing a crisp short-sleeved dress, her hair messily tied up in a bun, and a black eye patch hooped around her head. This sister goes out on her own to buy groceries and occasionally steams her own groundnuts. When the weather is nice, she likes to sit in the district park, and the neighbors know her.
The old woman has two daughters, the eldest is in Hong Kong and has not returned in the past few years due to the pandemic. The younger daughter lives in the same city as the old woman, but due to their personality differences and the fact that she is old and a bit eccentric, they usually have arguments when they meet. However, the younger daughter still comes to visit occasionally and usually arranges for meals to be delivered to the old woman, and a nanny comes to the house at night to help her take a bath.
Although the old woman lacked nothing in life, she had a longing within her to be loved. She loved going to church, but her age and the pandemic in recent years made it impossible to go there a lot of times.
Two sisters visited her every week for nearly a year (except during the lockdown), read and prayed with her, listened to recorded sermons, helped her clean, cooked, and even cut her nails.
The old woman was from Ningbo and did not speak Mandarin. She would repeat to people who came to visit her that her house used to be a meeting place, showing them that she had many Bibles and that she had never read a book; she would emphasize that her parents believed in Jesus, even her grandfather and that her eldest daughter was a church chorister in Hong Kong; she would lift up the clothes on her back and show the long scars on her body, saying that God had healed her. She would point out her five milk teeth with pride and draw attention to her partly blackened silver hair; She would tell people to repent and preach the gospel. Occasionally, a young brother would visit, and Grandma would start talking to him about worshipping God and the need for holiness in marriage.
Apart from her personal testimony, she loves to read the Bible, and now that she cannot read it, she plays the Bible player given to her over and over again.
The sister's prayers have become her food; she would pray for everyone who visits her. Whenever someone brings her food, whatever it is, she will stand very carefully at the window and pray to thank the Lord before eating. She always says she wants to pray more wherever she is, on foot or in the car, and to pray for everyone she meets.
Grandma's prayers include the names of many countries. For example, when praying for China, she would use the slogan of the era she lived through to proclaim, "Catch up with Britain and surpass America." She would mention the names of more than 10 countries in five or six seconds: "America, Germany, England, France, Australia, the Soviet Union, Japan, Latin America, India, Vietnam, Iraq, Cambodia (gypsies)."
As she prays, the older sister's voices becomes louder and louder than every other young person present. She ends each prayer with "Glory to the name of the Lord": "Glory to the name of the Lord, glory to the name of the Lord, the precious blood of the Lord cleanses me from my sins, glory to the name of the Lord... " She clapped and sang each time she sang this hymn, and at the end of "Glory to the name of the Lord," she would raise her hands with all her might. She loves to praise, and after speaking for a while, she would break into singing and dance with joy.
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
The Daily Life of 90-Y-O Christian
