Serving the Lord for more than half a century, Elder Huang Fumin of Beiguan Church, Tengzhou, Shandong, died at 93 on Nov. 13, 2016.
Born to a poor Christian family, the servant of God believed in the Lord at 9 and was baptized at 18. Before the baptism, he had read the whole Bible for three times. He studied in a primary school run by a local preacher since 1933 and later advanced in a middle school. In 1940, he started to pursue theology in North China Theological Seminary and the word of God was deeply rooted in him.
One of Christian duties is to pray. Elder Huang kept a good habit that he prayed for everything, including the foundation laying of new church building. He insisted on daily prayer after rising very early, even at 90 years old.
In 1993 an accident happened. His two sons stifled in a ginger cellar, assessed as dead by the doctor. Huang and his wife kept praying for them at home and received the word from the Bible, "Lazarus was in the tomb for four days and the Lord Jesus resurrected him" (John 11). They prayed for all the night, at last, the two sons were saved from death. Already having received baptism, now they live healthily.
The elder devoted his life to the ministry of God, contributing the effort and giving donations to the establishment of every church in Tengzhou .During the Cultural Revolution, he was prosecuted for his faith by Red Guard groups, paraded on the daytime and indoctrinated with ideology at night. The groups said that it was okay for him to have faith secretly as long as he confessed to abandon his faith. But he refused to give up his faith, ready to sacrifice himself and lose his family for the Lord. His wife prayed for him and made meals for him.
His perseverance and faith in the Lord led him out of the dark days. His lifetime witnessed his sticking to the Christian faith.
Translated by: Karen Luo
