Editor's note: This is part seven of the Christian testimony series: the stories of a Xinjiang Pastor
On Tuesday, November 16, 2021, I, living in Dalian, Liaoning, got in touch, through the internet, with the 86-year-old Pastor Li Qingzhen, the head of the Christian Church in Qinghe, Altay Prefecture in the northeast of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. I was very moved to hear the words from the pastor.
In October 2016, I co-operated with the old pastor in Nanning, Guangxi, staying together for more than ten days. This elderly woman had worked for the Lord for more than 50 years, and by faith she led her whole family, old and young, to build the first Christian church in Qinghe with bricks and stones. During "the Great Cultural Revolution", she was beaten by the rebels, causing her to lose her teeth and pass out. When she woke up, she still thanked the Lord, asking him to forgive those who beat her. She refused to admit that she was one of “the monsters and demons”. She stayed true to her faith, preached the gospel, and led three generations of her family to serve the Lord. These things moved me and benefited me much that I could hardly forget them.
Five years later, I met the old pastor on the Internet again. We spent nearly two hours talking with each other. What moved me greatly was that she led me to read Mark 1:1, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God.” With the title "Jesus Christ is the Beginning of the Gospel", she testified about the Lord and preached to me. During the nearly one hour of preaching, the old pastor constantly quoted Bible verses to explain why the Lord Jesus Christ is the beginning of the gospel. At that moment, a pastor in Xinjiang was preaching to a believer in Dalian. After the end of the sermon, Pastor Li began to sing and praise again.
She said that when she came to stay with her son Pastor Song, she had been a few years away from the church in Qinghe County. The church was closed for various reasons, the cross was knocked down, the believers could not meet together, and the flock of sheep lost. When she returned to Qinghe county, she made many trips to the various departments of the county government, making strenuous efforts to resume church meetings and exhort the congregation to return to the church. This old pastor talked about the current situation of the church. As the church is damaged, people were afraid, so few people went to church services, and the conditions of the meetings were very simple. However, she still thanked the Lord again and again without complaining. She did not lose heart but kept praying to God. When she went to the relevant departments in order to reopen the church, she never quarreled with people there, but reported in a gentle manner, asked for instructions, gained sympathy and understanding, and then she would begin to express her own reasons.
Pastor Li said that their church is a poor small church located in a remote mountainous area on the frontier. However, no matter how small or remote it is, it is also God's church, and Christ is still the head of the church. The church is poor, though, God's grace is infinite. The light of God's grace also shines on this small place.
(The author of this article is a special contributor to the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Stephen Huang
