Your eyes have already seen it!

Su Wenzhe’s ordinary and extraordinary life path

(2022 Editorial Interview Camp Group)

Photo courtesy/Su Wenzhe, Lian Pinwen

Mr. and Mrs. Su Wenzhe look back on the ordinary past and are filled with gratitude; they look forward to the future together, happily looking forward to living out extraordinary grace.

He walked through the valley of the shadow of death, but was able to see the Lord with his own eyes; he once complained about himself and felt inferior, but he was finally able to break through himself; he originally resisted marriage, but later he was happy to become a father; he originally wanted to be alone, but he was able to serve everyone.

All this happened to a child who was born with a special mark and was judged to have only 12 days to live! What profound enlightenment can Su Wenzhe's life-gratitude story that spans both sides of the Pacific and lasts for more than seventy years give us about faith, family, and service?

See the Lord with your own eyes

When Wen Zhe's mother was pregnant with him, she suffered from slight bleeding in the early stages, but fortunately it stabilized later. When he was born, the midwife said that the baby had severe cleft lip, could not suck milk and had difficulty breathing, and was afraid that he would not survive more than 12 days. The parents were unwilling to give up their fifth child, who had to endure many painful surgeries. Wen Zhe saved his life, but scars were left on his nose and lips, and his speech was unclear.

He grew up safely until he was 12 years old. Unexpectedly, he suddenly had bruises all over his body. The doctor diagnosed him with leukemia. He was not only bleeding under the skin, but also bleeding from the internal organs. He could not eat anything, and he had to avoid drinking water as much as possible. Within two or three months, the only way to survive is through nutritional injections.

One evening, Wen Zhe was lying softly, and his mother sat beside the bed and said to him: "Since you were a child, your parents have prayed for you and told you Bible stories. You have come to know God through your parents. Now you are facing such a big problem. If you have any difficulties, pray to God yourself, come face to face with God, and ask Him to save you.”

Wen Zhe urgently called out to the Lord that night and prayed for healing. Within two weeks, these purple spots disappeared little by little, and I was gradually able to drink water and eat, which was beyond the doctor’s expectations. Wen Zhe realizes that God is so real, real enough to be touched.

Before graduating from high school, he suffered from serious eye disease due to unknown reasons. For more than two months, I could only stay in a dark room without being able to see the light. Faced with the threat of blindness, Wen Zhe and his family prayed together, and God miraculously healed him again without leaving a "thorn" in his eyes. His eyesight is still good enough to revise and edit manuscripts.

Just like Job's praise: "I heard about you before, but now I see you with my own eyes." Repeated illnesses brought Wen Zhe face to face with God; personally experiencing God's healing power became a turning point in his life. Since then, Wen Zhe has been in good health, but the defect in his mouth is still a shadow that he cannot get rid of.

Break through yourself

Because he could not speak clearly, he was inevitably rejected by his peers in school. As a child, the literary scholar could not accept himself, and he often complained in his heart about why God gave him such a flaw.

When he was 13 years old, Wen Zhe went to listen to his mother’s short speech at a women’s gathering in Tainan City. Mother Su quoted Psalm 139:15-16:"I was created in secret, connected in the depths of the earth; my form was not hidden from you at that time. Your eyes have long seen my unformed constitution; I have not yet lived the days you have ordained. , You have written them all in Your book.”

When she read aloud word for word in Taiwanese, the scriptures were like keys, opening the door to Wen Zhe's heart, and comfort suddenly poured in like sunshine. Wen Zhe told himself: God has known me since I was in my mother's womb; He knows all my flaws, and with His permission, I want to accept them happily. This life is in the hands of God, and I am destined to be useful, so there is no need to feel inferior.

After graduating from college, all the siblings worked and studied in other places. Only Wenzhe stayed in his hometown to help his father run a Western pharmacy. At this time, the person in charge of the campus fellowship in Tainan invited him to serve as a high school fellowship counselor.

He never thought that he could lead others and be a help to others. When faced with the opportunity to serve, even though I was not confident, I knew the importance of student ministry and did not dare to refuse. He found that students could accept his unclear speech, and that relying on the Lord he could also help and train students and lead them to preach the gospel. Wenzhe's depression was relieved, and with confidence and joy, he devoted himself to building the spiritual life of his students. Some of the students who participated in the fellowship became professors and some became preachers.

After that, he returned to Taipingjing Presbyterian Church, which he attended since childhood, and led a youth fellowship group of forty to fifty people. He also took over as the chairman of the Tainan Graduates Fellowship. He mentored local junior high and high school campus fellowships, received equipment together, and expanded student ministry. .

Psalms and devotion to service became the key to Wenzhe's life turning point. He truly broke through himself, walked toward the crowd, and embarked on the next stage of life that God had prepared for him.

Happy to be a father

Wen Zhe stayed at his hometown in Tainan to accompany his parents, and ten years passed in the blink of an eye. His mother thought that he would probably remain single for the rest of his life and often taught him how to cook and do housework. He himself felt that no girl would be willing to marry him. In 1983, his second brother Wenbo, who had settled in the United States, applied for a green card for him and came to California.

The first job was to find research jobs in hospitals or medical institutions for the approximately 100,000 foreign doctors in the United States at that time. For two years, Wenzhe was stationed in Boise, Idaho, in the northwest United States due to his duties, living a truly "single" life. Being alone in a foreign country, without the daily care of his mother, the warm relationship with his brothers and sisters, and the welcome and affirmation of the church service, he felt deeply lonely and began to think about getting married. "It's not good for that person to live alone," he realized deeply.

At the end of 1985, Wen Zhe returned to his hometown to visit his parents, but little did he know that they had made arrangements for his marriage in advance. His mother said to him, "There is a girl who is very pious and loves the Lord. Go and have a look." It turned out that the old man admired this girl who worked as a church official, and also read several literary and philosophical articles describing his journey from birth to life in the United States. Leave the experience witness to the girl. After reading the testimony, the girl hesitated and declined to meet him at first.

When Wenzhe returned to her hometown and was invited to share at the youth group of the church where she was a director, the girl sat in the audience and discovered that it was completely different from what she had imagined! He is not gloomy, pessimistic, or weak, but healthy, sunny, confident, serious, and funny! So we agreed to meet and get to know each other.

The next day, the two met harmoniously and left a good impression in their hearts. Wen Zhe knew very well that this girl named Li Ting was the perfect match in his mind - she got along well with her parents, was very caring, could lead church fellowships, organize various community activities, and was good at handling big and small things. Wen Zhe stayed in Tainan for less than ten days, and he and Li Ting made a lifelong promise to each other and promised to get married in six months.

As soon as he returned to the freezing Boxi City, Wenzhe's heart gradually became cold, and he suddenly thought about not necessarily getting married! In nearly half a year, he only wrote three letters to Li Ting.

Across the ocean, the two elders of the Su family have been keeping in touch with Li Ting, inviting her to worship at church on Sundays, and showing great love to her. Mother Su also passed on her specialty dishes, as well as her concepts and experiences as a wife and mother to Li Ting, completely treating her as a daughter-in-law and nurturing her.

Li Ting also likes to worship in churches that emphasize holiness and repentance. I am also happy to receive teachings about how to treat others and behave as taught by my elders. I feel that I am spiritually young and how blessed I am to be taught by my elders! In her mind, she believed that Wen Zhe was her future husband. While learning how to cook, she waited for her husband to return to Taiwan to marry her.

The family urges the marriage, but Wen Zhe has no response. After several long conversations with his younger brother Wen An in California, I discovered that his deep-seated inferiority resurfaced. Wenzhe knew that the cleft palate was not hereditary, but he was really worried about whether the child would be healthy. The Su family once again relied on the power of faith and prayed for him across oceans and states together. He finally came out of the shadows and returned to his hometown to marry Li Ting as scheduled, completing a lifelong event. [Note]

After getting married, she immediately responded to the call of Sange Wenfeng, who was already serving in the Christian Messengers Association (hereinafter referred to as the Messengers), and went to Paradise Town, Pennsylvania, to take charge of the operation of the Messengers' study.

The small family is about to welcome a child. Wen Zhe is still worried that the cleft palate will be hereditary, but Li Ting is not worried. She is very happy every day during the pregnancy and feels that pregnancy is a beautiful thing. Wen Zhe breathed a sigh of relief when his two sons were born healthy one after another.

When the children started to go to school, Li Ting was busy dressing them, and Wen Zhe was responsible for making breakfast, blessing and praying for the children, and they did so every day for more than ten years. When her children were young, Liting sent them to Vacation Bible School, one church a week, and seven or eight in one summer vacation. When the child was nine years old, Liting began to attend half-day classes in Messenger's study. When selling books at camp meetings in various places, the whole family always comes out. Wen Zheliting listened to the lectures, and the children also participated in the activities. They knew the Lord and learned the truth from an early age, and grew up surrounded by pastors and brothers and sisters.

The two sons have different temperaments; the eldest is docile, while the second has a stronger personality. They both run on the varsity cross country running team. Unexpectedly, one time the second child and several teammates made a mistake and were fined for half a year and unable to participate in the school team, and were delayed from taking the driver's license test for half a year. The second child was at a low point during that half-year period, but the couple worked together to overcome it without scolding him. The whole family stayed with him until the second child regained his confidence and returned to the right path.

Wenzhe continues the family altar tradition of his parents, praying with his children every day, sharing joys and sufferings. Now his sons are all married, and by 2022, he will have five healthy grandchildren. They also participate in the service of the ambassador camp and even become a co-worker in charge of planning, which makes Wenzhe very grateful.

Wen Zhe, who originally resisted marriage, now builds a happy family with Li Ting. With a solid backing, they were able to devote themselves to running the Messenger's Study Room, and God also blessed many people through their loyalty.

Serve everyone

Messenger Bookstore was the first Chinese Christian bookstore in North America that focused on mail order in the 1980s. At that time, the study area was very small, only two rooms in size. There was no computer and all the documents were handwritten. It was not until the 1990s that digital document records and inventory management began. In 2001, a brother who loved the Lord donated funds to expand the study room into a 5,000-square-foot distribution center, and the scope of service quickly expanded from North America to all over the world.

Later, Chinese Christian study rooms were established in various parts of North America. Some study rooms have few resources and are difficult to maintain. Wenzhe specifically supports them and teaches business concepts and methods so that these small study rooms can serve local churches and believers more effectively. With the rapid expansion of missionary campuses, missions, trainings, camps and other ministries, the need for written ministry has become even more urgent. So Wenzhe started the publishing ministry, while Liting still focused on the daily operation of the study room.

Since the early 2000s, Messenger Bookstore has published more than one hundred wonderful books, including "Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren" translated by our founder Gao Lili and edited and named by our editor-in-chief Su Wen'an. , with well over 5 million copies distributed worldwide. It also publishes the Biblical Counseling [Transformation] series, a series of gospel-centered books, discipleship study courses, and Pastor Su Wenlong’s spiritual leadership and church management series, etc.

Even if it is not published by the messenger, Wen Zhe is willing to help the writers and provide professional advice when compiling the works for publication, including "Flying Over Life" by Liao Meihui, a senior reporter of "The Kingdom of God" magazine.

▲ Two brothers, Wen Zhe and Wen An, are partners in the inheritance and service of literature and family beliefs.

If Wen Zhe has any regrets in his more than 20 years of publishing service, it is that he has not been able to find a pastor as influential as Rick Warren or Timothy Keller for the Chinese church community. The author can inspire believers' life construction, theological thinking, and understanding and love of God's words. God's actions are miraculous and unpredictable, and Wen Zhe still looks forward to seeing such Chinese faith leaders appear in his lifetime.

For more than thirty years, Wen Zhe and Li Ting have been serving God with joy and everyone who comes to the study in person, or buys books by phone or online with the determination to "serve everyone faithfully and live for the Lord every day." . The library mails out more than 100,000 books every year, serves more than 10,000 believers, and serves more than 500 churches. Li Ting has been on the front line answering calls for many years. Not only does she take orders, but she also carefully recommends books to readers who don’t know what to buy and finds the most suitable books. This is not only a familiarity with the business, but also the most cordial encouragement to believers who are determined to make progress.

Due to changes in the general environment and the impact of the epidemic, many study rooms in North America have experienced a significant shrinkage in recent years. However, God provides and the team sticks to their posts, so Messenger Study Room can still operate stably. Wen Zhe, who will retire in early 2023, said that he will continue to care about the Envoy Study Room and provide assistance. He also plans to participate in the family faith inheritance ministry that the five brothers of the Su family will carry out together, hoping to spread God’s miraculous grace from one generation to another.

Ordinary life, extraordinary grace

As he opens a new chapter in his life, Su Wenzhe looks back on the past and can't help but be thankful for all the superpowers he has experienced: A child who was born with a special mark and was judged to have only 12 days to live grew up safely, got married and had children. The husband and wife have worked together to build a happy family and have served in gospel organizations for more than thirty years. Everyone he knows, whether Chinese or Americans, respects and appreciates him. His conscientious efforts have blessed many people.

When Wen Zhe was young, he prayed that he would not have a cleft lip and be able to speak clearly. However, as he grew up, he realized that the mark given by God has His purpose and His arrangements. The scriptures that his mother recited on stage many years ago became a commentary on his life - God's eyes have long seen this seemingly ordinary life, and selected, cultivated and led him in order to display His glory.

Wen Zhe hopes that he will continue to be used by the Lord with "the power of the incompetent and the great use of the useless." Because of God's blessing, he believes that ordinary lives can also live out extraordinary grace.

Note: For the detailed story of how Wen Zhe and Li Ting got married on both sides of the Pacific with their parents and siblings, please refer to "Su Laowu's "Marrying Someone" Notes" (http://taiwaneseamericanhistory.org/blog/ourjourneys225/).