There are many Miao Christians in Ji 'an, China's eastern Jiangxi Province. They made their way to Ji 'an in the early 1990s, built adobe houses next to local villages, and settled down, as they could not get enough food and clothing in her hometown Guizhou Province. Later, they got in touch with the local church in Ji 'an. Since then, the church has started a series of visits and help work for Miao believers.
Around the 2015 National Day, the Gospel Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, visited three local Miao churches with Pastor You Bin of Ji 'an Gospel Church. They deeply felt the enthusiasm and simplicity of Miao believers, also seeling the difficulty and hardship of their lives. Most of the houses they live in are adobe houses.
You introduced that there were nine Miao believer gathering sites scattered in Ji 'an at that time. At first, the church only helped them with life needs by giving them clothes and other necessities. Later, the church found that the children there could not receive education in time due to financial constraints, then they joined hands with the Hong Kong churches to make donations to cover the children's tuition fees.
Through the efforts of Gospel Church, a Hong Kong Baptist church offered help to these Miao children with their schooling problems, providing financial assistance "one-on-one" (one believer financially helps one Miao child). The Gospel Church is responsible for collecting children's information and getting the funds. Starting the aid work for Miao students in 2010, they go to Miao meeting sites at least twice a year to give grants and make some records.
But later, with the policy changes, the Hong Kong church could no longer provide financial assistance, so the children had no stable source for tuition fees. "We will do the aid work according to the contribution received." Pastor You said, "Paying visits to Miao Christians, we also expect more people to care for and help them and their lovely children.
The following is a visit carried out by the Gospel Church on May 21st to give out a male believer's tuition fee aid to a Miao family.
In the early morning, Pastor You Bin and his party set off from Jizhou District to visit a male Christian of the Miao nationality named Zhu Fugui in Huqiu Village, Futian Town, Qingyuan District, bringing a male believer's donation. In addition, they had also prepared schoolbags, colored pen sets, stationery bags, mugs, milk, some snacks, and clothes for the children.
Zhu has eight children, the oldest of whom is 18 years old and has already worked, while the youngest is just over one year old. Five of the eight children are studying in junior high school, primary school, or kindergarten. Moreover, as his right hand was bitten by a poisonous snake in 2003, Zhu became disabled due to financial reasons without timely treatment. In order to make a living, he often rides a motorcycle to a distant place to dig medicinal materials to pay the tuition fees of his five children. Sometimes he rode about 100 kilometers but got nothing. Sometimes a few pounds of medicinal materials were barely enough for the fuel cost of the motorcycle. He could only get enough when he was lucky.
After learning about Zhu's family situation, Pastor You has been thinking about preparing tuition fees for the children and praying for getting help from other church members. A few days ago, a male believer from another place contacted the pastor to ask if there were any believers in special need of help. Immediately thinking of Zhu, You informed him about Zhu's situation, receiving financial aid.
After more than an hour across over 50 kilometers, they finally arrived at Zhu's home. The church group asked the children about their studies. Zhu Juan, the second child, came up with her youngest sister on her back. She is only fourteen years old in grade seven at Xin 'an Middle School. Being an excellent student, she is the leader of the English group. "I asked her to write a thank-you note and some introductions of herself in English. We can see she is proficient in English as she writes very well," Pastor You said.
When the church staff asked the children what stationery they needed, several of them said watercolor pens, which happened to be prepared by the co-workers.
"What we give is limited, but it's really a warm help for this family." Rev. You shared, "I often say that when someone gives, three parties can reap joy and happiness. First, the giver is happy, because he is grateful for the opportunity to help those in need. Secondly, the receiver is happy that someone gives him timely help. Thirdly, there is joy and happiness in the heaven where angels and heavenly armies are cheering and praising for these things."
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
