Editor's note: This is part eight of the Christian testimony series: a woman who has dedicated decades to serving the church.
Sister Jie Yingmei, 67 years old, is a believer in Ertaizi Church in Anshan City, China's northeastern Liaoning Province. She turned to the Lord Jesus Christ and became a believer when she was 44 years old. For more than two decades, she has worked faithfully for God in the church.
In the church, she has joined the choir and worked for God with her husband as a volunteer all year round. Sometimes she comes to the church about five o'clock in the morning and starts cleaning from the main sanctuary, offices to the guardhouse, toilets, and the courtyard.
Listening to her testimony, what she said the most was that "church is my home". In addition to serving in ministry every day, Xie dedicates her time to the church almost all year round. Although she doesn't have a good income, she still buys food and supplies for the church.
Sister Jie has a "unique skill", which is bone setting and massaging. The church members always ask her for help if they have any musculoskeletal problems. The most massages she ever gave in one morning were to seven different believers. Occasionally she was called to help by people who couldn't bear the pain because of arthralgia and myalgia at around one o'clock in the morning. She would go there to offer treatment immediately. One of her neighbors had suffered from cervical spondylosis for many years and spent much money but there was no cure. When Xie found out about it and treated it, her neighbor was then completely cured after several massages. The neighbor also expressed their gratitude, “Oh, you are so good, you have cured me.” She still answered, "Not me but God is good."
Xie volunteered to do all this without charging anything. Some people gave her money, but she declined, telling them to just put it into the offering box instead.
One year, her only son was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment due to a serious illness. At that time, he had a high fever of over 40° Celsius. After she who was on duty in the church heard it, she did not complain or give up the ministry. Therefore, she didn’t have time to visit and accompany her son. Later her son woke up and said, “I miss my mother. Let her come to see me.”
After she arrived at the hospital, her son told her, “Mother, I have died twice”. She said, "It's useless for you to think of your mother, you have to think of God. God has arranged a doctor to treat you, and He that your mother believes in will save you.” Later, her son recovered and got back to work as a strong man.
Although Xie is not well-educated, she reads about six chapters and memorizes about 30 verses of the Bible every day. When she is in the church alone, after the cleaning is done, she will sit quietly in the church reading, praying, and praising during her free time.
She serves in the choir of the church. She can read music, sing, dance, and even choreograph. She is in charge of a meeting point in a village and carries on her work rain or shine all year-round. Sometimes, to go to a meeting point, she has to walk for more than three hours.
(The author of this article is a special contributor to the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Shuya Wang
