On August 26, 2017, Xiao Renci, a retired doctor, welcomed her simple 100th birthday party in Fujian, a coastal province in South East China. Instead of a luxurious birthday celebration, her party was hosted by an elder from Shishi Church of Fujian and received prayer and blessings from a local pastor.
A fund of one million yuan saved from the simple celebration was donated to charities. Half of the money was given to a community charitable organization and two churches and the rest to construct a senior center.
Xiao was born into a Christian family in Huian County, in the middle of the Fujian coast. Her father was an experienced pastor of a church in the southern province. Influenced by the Christian doctrines, she bore in mind the biblical teachings her whole life.
In her early years, the Christian doctor resigned from a large hospital in Quanzhou and started a clinic in Shishi city with her husband. The clinic was one of the few medical institutions in the city at the time. In 1956, she supported her husband to unite with other clinics to build the first comprehensive hospital in Shishi, the predecessor of the Shishi Hospital.
The devout Christian used to attend services every Sunday in Shishi Church. In recent years, it was inconvenient to go to church because of her age, but she told her daughters to take tithes to the church on Sundays and for festivals.
(The author is a pastor of Shishi Church of Quanzhou, Fujian.)
- Translated by Karen Luo
