This is the story of an island evangelist who was once a paralyzed patient abandoned by doctors but miraculously healed and has been watching over an Island for the past 30 years.
Doctors declared pastor Tang Xiaomu (a pseudonym) permanently paralyzed due to an accident before he became a pastor. Later, because of Jesus, he stood up and became a channel of blessings for a small fishing village on an island.
Recently, this pastor shared his journey of faith and service over the past 30 years with the Christian Times, a Chinese online Christian newspaper.
Born into an atheist family, pastor Tang worked as a construction contractor forty years ago when he was an unbeliever. He earned a good amount of money but fell into bad habits. Out of boredom and seeking excitement, he obtained explosives and often used them to catch fish by blasting at the seashore of an island. Once, after a fishing explosion, a large rock dislodged due to the blast and fell on Tang, pinning him underneath.
The pastor recalled, "My abdomen was torn open, my lumbar spine was crushed and dislocated, and a stone was inserted into my rectum about 20 centimeters."
"After being hospitalized, my consciousness began to blur, as if my soul had left my body. The doctor said that if I continued to worsen, I might die. Later, my mother, because of my illness, began to get involved with the church."
During Pastor Tang's high fever, his father cared for him in the hospital. When they were at a dead end, his father told Tang to pray.
He stated, "After I finished praying, I felt my soul come back, and then I fell asleep. When I woke up again, the high fever had completely subsided."
Due to his long-term paralysis in bed, Tang's body had withered to around 40 kilograms. His skin was over his leg bones, and he suffered muscle loss.
Lying in bed, he persisted in praying for three hours and reading the Bible for three hours every day.
"After half a year of reading the Bible and praying, one day I suddenly felt a sensation returning to my body. My brain could control my bladder and bowels again. Then I felt the soreness and pain in my legs. As my body regained sensation, I was eventually able to stand up."
Pastor Tang started to practice walking indoors using crutches. After countless attempts at standing and falling, he gradually learned to walk. He then told the Lord in prayer that if he could step out of his house, he would serve Him in the future.
The Lord answered his prayer. However, he considered that if he were to marry and have children, he would need to earn money to support his family. He also found out that being a pastor didn't have a salary. Therefore, he started a restaurant business and even opened a chain of restaurants. But he became so busy that he couldn't even attend church gatherings. One day, a female believer who had traveled a long distance came to visit him in his hometown. She had heard about Pastor Tang's story of healing and was upset to see him running a restaurant. She said with anger, "God won't abandon you because of your opportunism and betrayal. You need to repent."
"These words struck me deeply, and I couldn't sleep all night. The next day, I told the Lord that if all the items in the two stores were sold out that night, it meant that He wanted me to follow the path of serving Him. As a result, the eggs, drinks, and alcohol were all sold out that night. I immediately closed the restaurants and went to study theology."
He barely passed the theological college exam. In 1989, three years after his injury, he spent a year in theological training. After graduating, he became a pastor at the church in his hometown.
One day, Pastor Tang met a man selling rice noodles in the church. He introduced the situation of an island about two or three kilometers from the church where Tang served. He said that almost no one on the nearby island believed in the Lord. After hearing this, pastor Tang felt a strong desire to go there to preach. So, during the day, he went to the island to spread the gospel every day and returned to his church in the village to stay at night.
The first three years of evangelism on the island were very difficult. Due to Tang's back condition, he had to walk bent over, hobbling to the island every day. He went from house to house sharing the gospel, often enduring hunger.
He said, "At that time, almost no one would receive me. Almost no one wanted to listen to me, and some who were educated wanted to argue with me. I didn't know how to argue with my little theological knowledge. I just shared my real experiences and the testimony of my faith."
"One day, after coming back from preaching the gospel, I hadn't eaten all day. I knelt on the beach to pray. After I finished praying, I suddenly found a 50-yuan bill on the sand, which I used to buy dinner. Throughout the three years on the island, I almost picked up all the money that had fallen. There were two dimes, or one yuan, which were enough for me to buy water and sometimes even bread."
After preaching for three years without anyone believing, pastor Tang was considering leaving. The next day, a family came to find Pastor Tang on their own. They told him that as long as he dared to dismantle their temple, they would believe in Jesus.
After Pastor Tang removed the temple, the first family that believed asked him to remove the idols from their home.
After those three years, the fishing village saw new families convert to Jesus every month. The weekly gatherings would continue until around 9 o'clock in the evening. But Tang was injured multiple times due to reasons such as dismantling idols, and he was hospitalized three times.
He continued that he once visited the home of a female believer who had suffered from domestic violence. Her husband was already standing on the roof with an axe, waiting for them. After they entered the house, Tang saw that her child had a high fever and was emitting white smoke all over their body. They began to pray together. In less than a minute, the child woke up.
After those three years, nearly 100 families on the island came to believe. Pastor Tang then established a church.
Tang has a son and a daughter, and he is now a grandfather. The doctor had previously said, "It's impossible for you to have children. You should be content to be able to walk."
Due to the existence of the church, the village's culture improved, and the people became more industrious. Developers began to invest and build factories there. As a result, the roads in the area became more accessible.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
一位牧师信主前，因为一场事故，被医生断定将成为终身瘫痪者。后来因着耶稣，他站起来之后，成为一个海岛小渔村的祝福通道。
近日，这位牧者向中国一网络基督教报纸基督时报分享了她信主与事奉主的30多年的心路历程。
汤小牧（化名）牧师，出生在一个无神论的家庭。40年前，在未信之前，他是做建筑工程的包工头。赚了不少钱 ，但随之学坏了。当时出于无聊和寻找刺激的他，找来一些炸药，常常在一个海岛的海边炸鱼。有一次他炸完鱼之后，因为爆炸引起海边石头的震动，引发了一大块石头滚落下，汤小牧整个人被压在下面。
汤小牧牧师回忆到：“我的肚子破了一个洞，腰椎粉碎性骨折、脱节，我的肛门被一个石头插进去20公分。”
“住院后，我意识开始模糊了，就像灵魂已经好像不在我身上。当时医生说，再这样再烧下去可能会死去。后来我的母亲因为我生病的事情，开始接触到教会。”
在汤牧师高烧期间，他的父亲在医院护理他，在走头无路的时候，他的父亲叫汤小牧祷告。
汤牧师见证到：“当时我祷告完了之后，我发现我的灵魂又回来了，然后我就睡着了。当我再醒过来后，高烧就完全退了。”
因为长久瘫痪在床，当时汤牧师的身体已经消瘦到80斤左右，他的两条腿已经萎缩到皮包骨了，肌肉几乎都消失了。
躺在床上的他，每天坚持都祷告3小时，读经3个小时。
“在我读经祷告半年之后的一天，我忽然间身体有了感觉。开始慢慢可以小便了和大便了。然后两条腿开始会酸，会痛，身体恢复感觉后，再后来我就可以站立起来了。’
汤牧师持续不断地在室内练习拄着拐杖走路。后来经过无数次的站立与摔倒，汤牧师慢慢可以走路了。之后，汤牧师就跟主祷告说如果能走出家门，将来要服事他。”
主应允了他的祷告，但是他考虑到，如果娶老婆生孩子的话，那需要赚钱来养家。而他打听到做牧师也没什么薪酬。于是，他便经营了一家饭店，又开了连锁店。但他忙的连教会聚会也不去了。有一天，远道而来的一个老姐妹到了汤牧师的家乡去探望他。她曾经听过汤牧师病得医治见证，看汤牧在开饭店，那个老姐妹非常生气地说：“上帝不会因为你的投机与背叛而放弃你的，你要悔改。”
“这句扎心的话让我整个晚上都睡不着觉。第二天，我跟主说，如果今天晚上两个店的东西全部卖完，就说明你让我走事奉你的路。结果那天晚上店里的鸡蛋、饮料、酒水都卖空了。我一下子就把店门关掉，就去读了神学班。
神学考试他刚好及格。他1986年受伤，1989年读了一年神学培训班，毕业后，我就在家乡所在的教堂做传道人。
有一天，汤牧师在这个小教堂里面遇见了一个卖米粉的人，他介绍了距离这个教堂两三公里以外的一个海岛的情况，说，附近的那个海岛几乎是没有人信主。听了之后，汤牧师 很想去那里传道。于是，他白天就去海岛传福音，每个晚上都事奉到很晚才回乡村的小教堂里住。
在海岛开展福音工作的开创期的三年里，是非常艰难的。因为汤牧师的腰不好，走路也是弯腰驼背的，每天要一瘸一拐地走路到那个海岛。挨家挨户传福音，很多时候他要忍饥挨饿。
汤牧师说：“当时大家是几乎是不接待我的，几乎是没有人要听我说话的，或者有的读点书就想跟我辩论的。我神学读的不多，辩论这一套我又不懂，我就凭着我与神之间真实的经历去见证我的信仰。”
“有一天传福音回来后，一天没吃饭。那天我跪在沙滩上祷告，祷告完的时候，我突然发现沙滩上有一张50块纸币，吃了晚饭。在那个三年里，整个海岛里面掉的钱几乎都被我一个人捡了。两毛钱的、一块钱的，这些也够我喝水的，有时还可以买面包吃。”
因为传了3年，没有人信，他正打算离开。第二天有一家人，主动来找到汤牧师，他们对汤牧师说只要他敢把这个庙拆下来，就信耶稣。
当汤牧师把庙拆掉以后，第一个信主的家人让他把偶像弄到别的地方去。
在那三年之后，这个渔村每个月都有新信主的家庭。每个星期的聚会要到晚上9点左右。
在海岛传福音的三年的时间里，汤牧师因为拆除偶像等原因，被人打伤多次，住过三次医院。
汤牧师见证说，他曾去一个遭受家暴的女信徒家里探访。她丈夫已经站在屋顶上拿着斧头等着我们 。他们进去家里后，汤牧师看到他的孩子在发高烧，而且浑身是冒白烟，他们就开始一起祷告。还不到一分钟，后来那个孩子就醒过来了。
最后那个海岛有将近 100 个家庭信主了，汤牧师就把教会建起立起来了。”
汤牧师生了一儿一女，他现在也做了爷爷。医生在当年曾说：“你想生孩子是不可能的事情。你都能走路了，你还是知足吧。”
因为教会存在的缘故，渔村的民风变好，更加勤劳做工、开始也有开发商来这里投资建厂，于是这里的道路也开始越来越通达。
故事｜一海岛传道人的见证：被医生放弃的瘫痪病人 奇迹般痊愈后 用福音守望祝福海岛30年
This is the story of an island evangelist who was once a paralyzed patient abandoned by doctors but miraculously healed and has been watching over an Island for the past 30 years.
Doctors declared pastor Tang Xiaomu (a pseudonym) permanently paralyzed due to an accident before he became a pastor. Later, because of Jesus, he stood up and became a channel of blessings for a small fishing village on an island.
Recently, this pastor shared his journey of faith and service over the past 30 years with the Christian Times, a Chinese online Christian newspaper.
Born into an atheist family, pastor Tang worked as a construction contractor forty years ago when he was an unbeliever. He earned a good amount of money but fell into bad habits. Out of boredom and seeking excitement, he obtained explosives and often used them to catch fish by blasting at the seashore of an island. Once, after a fishing explosion, a large rock dislodged due to the blast and fell on Tang, pinning him underneath.
The pastor recalled, "My abdomen was torn open, my lumbar spine was crushed and dislocated, and a stone was inserted into my rectum about 20 centimeters."
"After being hospitalized, my consciousness began to blur, as if my soul had left my body. The doctor said that if I continued to worsen, I might die. Later, my mother, because of my illness, began to get involved with the church."
During Pastor Tang's high fever, his father cared for him in the hospital. When they were at a dead end, his father told Tang to pray.
He stated, "After I finished praying, I felt my soul come back, and then I fell asleep. When I woke up again, the high fever had completely subsided."
Due to his long-term paralysis in bed, Tang's body had withered to around 40 kilograms. His skin was over his leg bones, and he suffered muscle loss.
Lying in bed, he persisted in praying for three hours and reading the Bible for three hours every day.
"After half a year of reading the Bible and praying, one day I suddenly felt a sensation returning to my body. My brain could control my bladder and bowels again. Then I felt the soreness and pain in my legs. As my body regained sensation, I was eventually able to stand up."
Pastor Tang started to practice walking indoors using crutches. After countless attempts at standing and falling, he gradually learned to walk. He then told the Lord in prayer that if he could step out of his house, he would serve Him in the future.
The Lord answered his prayer. However, he considered that if he were to marry and have children, he would need to earn money to support his family. He also found out that being a pastor didn't have a salary. Therefore, he started a restaurant business and even opened a chain of restaurants. But he became so busy that he couldn't even attend church gatherings. One day, a female believer who had traveled a long distance came to visit him in his hometown. She had heard about Pastor Tang's story of healing and was upset to see him running a restaurant. She said with anger, "God won't abandon you because of your opportunism and betrayal. You need to repent."
"These words struck me deeply, and I couldn't sleep all night. The next day, I told the Lord that if all the items in the two stores were sold out that night, it meant that He wanted me to follow the path of serving Him. As a result, the eggs, drinks, and alcohol were all sold out that night. I immediately closed the restaurants and went to study theology."
He barely passed the theological college exam. In 1989, three years after his injury, he spent a year in theological training. After graduating, he became a pastor at the church in his hometown.
One day, Pastor Tang met a man selling rice noodles in the church. He introduced the situation of an island about two or three kilometers from the church where Tang served. He said that almost no one on the nearby island believed in the Lord. After hearing this, pastor Tang felt a strong desire to go there to preach. So, during the day, he went to the island to spread the gospel every day and returned to his church in the village to stay at night.
The first three years of evangelism on the island were very difficult. Due to Tang's back condition, he had to walk bent over, hobbling to the island every day. He went from house to house sharing the gospel, often enduring hunger.
He said, "At that time, almost no one would receive me. Almost no one wanted to listen to me, and some who were educated wanted to argue with me. I didn't know how to argue with my little theological knowledge. I just shared my real experiences and the testimony of my faith."
"One day, after coming back from preaching the gospel, I hadn't eaten all day. I knelt on the beach to pray. After I finished praying, I suddenly found a 50-yuan bill on the sand, which I used to buy dinner. Throughout the three years on the island, I almost picked up all the money that had fallen. There were two dimes, or one yuan, which were enough for me to buy water and sometimes even bread."
After preaching for three years without anyone believing, pastor Tang was considering leaving. The next day, a family came to find Pastor Tang on their own. They told him that as long as he dared to dismantle their temple, they would believe in Jesus.
After Pastor Tang removed the temple, the first family that believed asked him to remove the idols from their home.
After those three years, the fishing village saw new families convert to Jesus every month. The weekly gatherings would continue until around 9 o'clock in the evening. But Tang was injured multiple times due to reasons such as dismantling idols, and he was hospitalized three times.
He continued that he once visited the home of a female believer who had suffered from domestic violence. Her husband was already standing on the roof with an axe, waiting for them. After they entered the house, Tang saw that her child had a high fever and was emitting white smoke all over their body. They began to pray together. In less than a minute, the child woke up.
After those three years, nearly 100 families on the island came to believe. Pastor Tang then established a church.
Tang has a son and a daughter, and he is now a grandfather. The doctor had previously said, "It's impossible for you to have children. You should be content to be able to walk."
Due to the existence of the church, the village's culture improved, and the people became more industrious. Developers began to invest and build factories there. As a result, the roads in the area became more accessible.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Island Evangelist: Overcoming Paralysis, Spreading Faith for 30 Years
