The Chinese Spring Festival holiday is drawing to a close. Here are the seven Christians’ holiday lives.
Y, a female Christian, is a white-collar worker occupied with work. There is not much time for her to worship the Lord except for Sunday services. When the Spring Festival came, she did not return to her hometown but decided to read the Bible and various spiritual books. She feels she has a deeper understanding of the scriptures, and her spiritual life is growing.
W is the first Christian in his family who did not believe in the Lord until last summer. This is the first time that he has returned to his hometown after losing his faith. He was worried that his family would make him worship idols, so he kept praying for it. But instead, his family did not get him involved in superstitious activities, but thought it was a good thing, as it would guide him in the right direction. He has a much better temper after believing in the Lord. He also refused the village gambling, which made his family feel gratified.
Similar to W, a female Christian Z believed in God less than two years ago. Because of the pandemic and other matters, she did not visit her relatives for several years. After she believed in the Lord, she hoped to share it with her relatives, so she took the initiative to visit some of her relatives who had quarrels before. Through communication, they cleared up the misunderstandings and put aside the past. The relatives thought it was good to believe in God, but they did not accept the gospel. Z thought that it was still good as their relations had been repaired.
Female believer A, who is nearly eighty years old, was in poor health because of a serious illness recently, so she could only stay at home during the Spring Festival and communicate with others through WeChat. Many brothers and sisters sent her messages of blessing through the internet; some even came to visit her. She said that when she recovered next month, she would hold a Thanksgiving service for those who care for her.
L, a male believer, is a traveling lover and has been to many scenic spots at home and abroad. After the pandemic, he hoped to visit more churches in his lifetime. So he came to Gulangyu during the Spring Festival. Walking through the crowds, he prayed silently in front of churches, filmed, and listened to their histories.
For Christian X, the church where she has gatherings stopped all activities during the Spring Festival as most believers returned to their hometown. She cannot go to church except for Sunday worship, but she invited some church co-workers who stayed in the city to her home to share the wonderful testimony of the past year. They prayed for the new year, planned, and enjoyed a love banquet together.
After Sunday service on the second day of the new lunar year, I met S, a Christian man who had not contacted me for more than ten years. He did not return to his hometown for the Spring Festival because he could not get the plane ticket. So I took him to a community library. The other day, S sent me a message saying that he was very grateful as he spent all the holiday there. He read many interesting books, including The Story of Christianity by Gonzalez.
(Note: This article is written by a Christian and freelance writer in Xiamen.)
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
春节假期已经临近了尾声，看7位信徒是如何欢度这个春节的。
女基督徒Y是一位公司的白领，平常工作非常忙。除了主日礼拜外，就没有太多的时间敬拜主。而当春节到来时，没有回到老家的她，决定利用这一假期，阅读《圣经》以及各种属灵书籍。她觉得自己对于经文有了更深认识，生命也得到了成长。
W是第一代基督徒，去年夏天才信主的，这是他重生后第一次回到老家。他本担心还没信主的家人会让他拜偶像，因而对此恒切祈祷。可回家后家人非但没有让他从事迷信活动，反而觉得有个信仰是件好事，因为年轻人不会学坏。而W信主后脾气也比之前好了很多，并能拒绝乡里的赌博，让他的家人倍感欣慰。
与W类似，另一女基督徒Z也是前年才信主的。但因为疫情以及某些关系等原因，有好几年都没走访亲戚了。可她信主后，希望能把好消息与亲人分享，于是她主动上门拜访与之有矛盾的亲戚。通过交流，双方消除了误会，摒弃了前嫌。虽然她的亲戚只是觉得有信仰很好，但却并没有接受福音。可Z却认为，虽然对方还没信主，但因此修复了亲戚关系，也是个不错的收获。
年近八旬的女信徒A，前段因为大病身体非常差，春节期间只能待在家里，通过微信与外界交流。不仅很多肢体在网上给她发祝福的信息，每天都有一些基督徒前来拜访她。她说等下个月身体恢复了，要举行感恩礼拜，答谢关爱她的肢体。
男信徒L是位热爱旅游的达人，目前已经去过国内外不少景点。而他在疫情后有个心志，希望能在有生之年，多看看教堂。于是他在春节期间来到了鼓浪屿，穿过人流，在一座座教堂前默祷、拍摄，聆听教会的历史。
女基督徒X所在教会因为信徒纷纷回到老家，在春节各项活动就此停止了。虽然除了主日崇拜外，她无法到教会活动。但她却把留在城市的一些教会同工邀请到家里，一起交通过去一年的美好见证；为新年的规划献上祈祷，并共同品尝了爱宴。
大年初二主日礼拜后，遇到了十年多未见的男基督徒S。他因为抢不到机票，没有回家过年。我就带他到一家图书馆。S给我发信息，说很感谢我带他去一家社区图书馆，这几天都是在此度过的。他看了不少好书，包括冈察雷斯的教会史。
注：本文为特约/自由撰稿人文章，作者系厦门一名基督徒。
这些肢体是如何度过春节的
The Chinese Spring Festival holiday is drawing to a close. Here are the seven Christians’ holiday lives.
Y, a female Christian, is a white-collar worker occupied with work. There is not much time for her to worship the Lord except for Sunday services. When the Spring Festival came, she did not return to her hometown but decided to read the Bible and various spiritual books. She feels she has a deeper understanding of the scriptures, and her spiritual life is growing.
W is the first Christian in his family who did not believe in the Lord until last summer. This is the first time that he has returned to his hometown after losing his faith. He was worried that his family would make him worship idols, so he kept praying for it. But instead, his family did not get him involved in superstitious activities, but thought it was a good thing, as it would guide him in the right direction. He has a much better temper after believing in the Lord. He also refused the village gambling, which made his family feel gratified.
Similar to W, a female Christian Z believed in God less than two years ago. Because of the pandemic and other matters, she did not visit her relatives for several years. After she believed in the Lord, she hoped to share it with her relatives, so she took the initiative to visit some of her relatives who had quarrels before. Through communication, they cleared up the misunderstandings and put aside the past. The relatives thought it was good to believe in God, but they did not accept the gospel. Z thought that it was still good as their relations had been repaired.
Female believer A, who is nearly eighty years old, was in poor health because of a serious illness recently, so she could only stay at home during the Spring Festival and communicate with others through WeChat. Many brothers and sisters sent her messages of blessing through the internet; some even came to visit her. She said that when she recovered next month, she would hold a Thanksgiving service for those who care for her.
L, a male believer, is a traveling lover and has been to many scenic spots at home and abroad. After the pandemic, he hoped to visit more churches in his lifetime. So he came to Gulangyu during the Spring Festival. Walking through the crowds, he prayed silently in front of churches, filmed, and listened to their histories.
For Christian X, the church where she has gatherings stopped all activities during the Spring Festival as most believers returned to their hometown. She cannot go to church except for Sunday worship, but she invited some church co-workers who stayed in the city to her home to share the wonderful testimony of the past year. They prayed for the new year, planned, and enjoyed a love banquet together.
After Sunday service on the second day of the new lunar year, I met S, a Christian man who had not contacted me for more than ten years. He did not return to his hometown for the Spring Festival because he could not get the plane ticket. So I took him to a community library. The other day, S sent me a message saying that he was very grateful as he spent all the holiday there. He read many interesting books, including The Story of Christianity by Gonzalez.
(Note: This article is written by a Christian and freelance writer in Xiamen.)
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
How Do Christians Spend the Chinese Spring Festival?
