a long night light
Light up for workers and their families, warm and continuous, illuminating all the way to the sky
In the apartment of the diplomats in Beijing, I was practicing spiritually. I was thinking about returning to the United States the next year, so I prayed and asked God about the direction of my future service. Outside the window, the bustling crowds of people on Tiananmen Square seemed to be flowing past my eyes like a rolling river. Suddenly, the words of Proverbs 31:8-9 struck a strong chord in my mind.「You should speak for the mute and avenge all those who are lonely. Open your mouth and judge righteously, and plead the cause of the needy and the needy. "
I was puzzled. It was 1987, the third year after my husband, Rachel and Joshua, and I were sent to work in China following my husband Rong Shen’s deployment. At that time, churches in the country were destroyed, pastors were imprisoned, and the church was silent. “God! The Chinese are the best.” Mute, are there any people in America who can’t speak? What’s more, I’m not a lawyer!”
▲This bronze statue commemorates the early Jewish garment workers and is a landmark of the Garment District in Manhattan, New York.
True love dating
After returning to the United States, I worked for a gospel broadcasting organization, making recordings and soundtracks for gospel pre-work messages. I produced tapes of 30 minutes each and provided them to new immigrants and the Chinatown garment factories in Manhattan, New York. "Does anyone really listen? Can they accept this content? Who will turn over the tape after 15 minutes?..." Many questions circled in my mind like a revolving lantern.
I have never had a favorable impression of Manhattan's Chinatown. The disorganization of the place just doesn't make it worth the $25 fare for me to trek there from my home on Long Island. However, I still took the tape, made many twists and turns, and got lost. I groped my way to a clothing factory in Chinatown to find the answer myself.
The sound of people and machines in the garment factory drowned out the sound of the broadcast. Employees told me that the tapes often lacked people to turn over, and they had no beginning or end, making it unclear what they were talking about. The rhythmic music was inaudible at every stop, so it was intermittent and lost its interest... There were so many problems!
However, I saw that the female workers were busy, but their ears were idle. If I could have testimonial stories of real people and real events to dispel their misunderstandings about Christianity, and through my voice and visits, I could personally win over the female workers. If you trust me, I will have the opportunity to win people for the Lord!
Sister Cheng Wenhui, a relative of Wing Sun, is the first blind person in Hong Kong to obtain a doctorate. She wrote her touching testimony in her autobiography "The Challenge of Blindness" and generously agreed to allow me to use this book. I also received help from Brother Su Chongguang of my mother church, Changdao Abundant Life Church, to install a set of recording equipment at home, and I would record after doing housework every day. I did not add a soundtrack, changed the Chinese style to Cantonese spoken language, and recorded the book into a ten-hour audiobook.
That Friday, I returned to the garment factory carrying the one-hour audio tape. I felt uneasy. I didn’t know how the workers would react.
The noise of people gradually faded away, and the sound of the clothes machine gradually faded away. Wen Hui's experience from Guangzhou to Macau and then to Hong Kong evoked the memory of the female worker. They listened in silence, and at the end of the hour they woke up as if from a dream, sighing that time passed so quickly.They asked me when we would see you next time, and I said softly to Jesus: "Every Friday, I will go on a date with you in Chinatown, okay?"
▲During lunch, female garment factory workers listened with great interest to the sermons and testimonies of pastors, celebrities, singers, etc.
An endless stream of manna falls
After returning from Beijing, in response to God’s call, I enthusiastically performed volunteer work—visiting restaurants, distributing Bibles, interpreting for people in court, and engaging in audio tape ministry… Then, Christians Xiao Liangming and Wen Wenyu wanted to send their mother, who loved the Lord, ──Aunt Wen, who is eighty years old, entrusted me with the garment factory "Duojia Fellowship" she led. Rong Shen disagreed, "Stop doing monkey business (something people despise) and think about how to help me!"
That year, my daughter Rachel was studying at the University of Chicago, and my son Joshua would also go to college the next year, and the tuition was not affordable. I understood the pressure on Rong Shen as a father, and I assured him, "My ministry in Chinatown will not use family money."
On the same day, she received a call from her neighbor in the United States. She wanted to find someone to take her to Chinatown every week for treatment of her eye disease. She would pay 10 yuan per hour. I happily went, but she insisted on driving her car without me paying for gas. On the way back, we were stuck in traffic and crawled at a snail's pace. The one-hour journey took four hours. However, when I hold seventy dollars in my hand, I have never felt so fond of traffic jams, and I thank God for mobilizing a large fleet of vehicles on Long Island to teach my little faith a lesson.
A few months later, my neighbor moved to Florida to escape the cold. Rong Shen looked at me interestingly, "What's next?"
"We'll see!" I said.
What a coincidence. My friend asked me to pick up my children from kindergarten and bring them home from school. I had an easy job and earned an income of 100 yuan per week. This job lasted for more than a year until they entered elementary school.
Thanks to the introduction of my boss, Brother Xiao Liangming, my ministry expanded to nearly a thousand employees in five garment factories in two years. Some garment factories had old and noisy sound systems. Brother Su Chongguang and Rong Shen went to various garment factories after get off work and climbed up and down to install the new speakers I purchased. Many beautiful testimonies were clearly transmitted into the hearts of the female workers.
After the work of picking up a friend's child came home, a friend in Taiwan paid Rongshen 400 yuan a month to collect rent from his factory and look for an opportunity to sell the factory. The market price has been too low for many years, and we couldn't bear to let our friends suffer heavy losses and have been unable to sell. Six years later, I said to Rong Shen, "It's time to sell!" Sure enough, the deal was quickly sold at a good price. Rong Shen asked: "How can you be so sure?" I said: "Joshua graduated from college this year, we don't need this money anymore!"My personal service as a housewife without theological equipment does not meet the conditions for the church to support missionary work, but400Bucks fuel ministry. God is faithful to provide for me, just as He provided for the wife and her children of the disciples of the prophet Elisha (see 2 Kings 4:1-7), until the oil bottle is dry when it is no longer needed.
Rong Shen witnessed it with his own eyes and had to sigh: "This is really God's work!" He drove a 14-year-old classic car and was satisfied with a little soup simply cooked by his wife. He encouraged and supported me to go all out. He retired early two years ago and devoted himself entirely to church service.
▲The Mao family who loves the Lord and is blessed—Rongshen, Qingxian (seated in the second row), their daughter Rachel, and their son Joshua; God once used the wolfdog in the picture to reveal Him the true meaning of finding lost people.
Love deeply without any regrets
When serving employees in a garment factory, I once met someone who was extremely difficult to get along with, and I struggled to give up on her. According to the Bible, God set down ninety-nine sheep to find the one lost sheep. I really don’t understand. This rebellious sheep got lost and deserved it! Why is God not satisfied with owning the ninety-nine sheep, but still goes through all kinds of troubles to find the one that is not worthy of love?
My family has a hybrid wolfdog adopted from a stray dog shelter. It is cute and well-behaved, and I particularly like it. One day, I returned home from the clothing factory. After shivering in the biting cold wind for a long time, I saw Rong Shen driving a car I had never seen before to pick me up. "What happened?" "The car was stolen and the dog was lost in the car!" I said "Wow!" and started crying.
On the same day, a tragic murder occurred in New York. A man who worked in a garment factory fell into depression and sought fortune-telling from Grandma Qianmi. Fortune tellers predict that next year will be the year of the rooster, and killing three roosters will ward off bad luck. He killed his wife and two young daughters.
For ten days, I frantically whistled and called in the streets and alleys, looking for my dog. I even placed advertisements and called the police. The policeman said, "Go and adopt another one," implying that there was no need to waste energy searching for such a mutt. I shouted: "He is mine!" (He is mine!) In an instant, I felt God touching me: "Do you understand? The lost one is also the one I love!"
He then said gently: "You are so sad when you lose a dog, but I lost three lives on the same day!"
From then on, I willingly went to Chinatown to serve in the garment factory. After going through many channels, I found the murderer and did evangelistic work with him for five years. When I accompanied him to court, the judge asked me, "Are you a lawyer?" I replied, "No, I'm here to speak for him!" The vision God gave him was once again confirmed.
Serve together and have deep understanding
In the winter of 1993, I received a call from my old colleague in Hong Kong, Sister Li Pik-ka, who had just finished her theology degree in Maryland: "I'm here!" I was overjoyed. God gave me the biggest Christmas gift, and our long-term and beautiful co-worker began. years.We work together to serve ten garment factories. Bijia had no missionary support at first. She used her life savings to live the simplest life. We used our walks as cars, our backpacks as databases, and we borrowed the boss’s phone number...
In each garment factory, we use different methods to lead the fellowship in response to various circumstances - studying the Bible and singing hymns in a small room; using a microphone to give short speeches to the audience; standing in a circle to pray...Once, we arrived at the garment factory on time and found300The employees were rushing to work nervously. Bijia and I immediately canceled the fellowship activities and joined the line-cutting process.I noticed that the employees were dismantling the wrongly made clothes. There was no sound of the clothes machine, so I signaled to Bijia. She immediately picked up the loudspeaker and talked about "The Book of Esther" for more than an hour. Someone said: "Wow! Fortune teller." No one can defeat your God."
Sometimes, the garment factory had to work all night, and the boss asked for more tapes to boost morale through the long night. When we mingle with female workers, we naturally reveal our life testimony, just as Paul said, "To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. To all men I became all things . No matter what, save some." (1 Corinthians 9:22)
New York is the largest clothing design and garment industry center in the United States. One-fifth of the women passing by in Manhattan are female garment factory workers. Counting their husbands who work in restaurants, their children at home, and their parents and relatives, here are A vast gospel field.
Clothing factories are one of the most effective entry points for Christianity, and they are also a battleground for religions such as Buddhism and Jehovah's Witnesses. The owners of those garment factories where we are "first in line" refuse the entry of other religions.It is good for people to fly to distant countries to preach the gospel, but if the resources of the Kingdom of God are used as laborers in nearby Chinatown, it will not cost much and the results will be greater. There are hundreds of garment factories in New York and Los Angeles. Christians must move quickly to avoid watching this good land being snatched away.
▲Brother Luke Zhang, a pianist and a microphone holder, entered the garment factory to perform and testify for 300 employees, bringing a warm and overflowing atmosphere to the compact garment factory.
Worship the Lord with joy
Bijia and I encouraged female workers to join local churches, where their fragile self-image was often challenged.
Some of the gorgeous sisters wear high heels like jade trees in the wind, while the female workers wear simple cloth shoes. Sometimes they have to rush out of the party to get to work before the party is over. There are many Bible passages in the pulpit, and the female worker cannot keep up with the speed of flipping through them, and the pressure is too great. Their conversation could not hide their low cultural level, and they felt out of place among the high-end intellectuals.
Even if Bijia gave up her English worship in the upper city, accompanying them to local Chinese gatherings would still be difficult for her to integrate. I visited several churches from Long Island to Manhattan to inquire about the possibility of offering female workers worship services, but I was declined at all times and told to do it ourselves. I was too naive to understand that unless there was a vision for grassroots workers, adding a worship service would be a very heavy burden for the church.
When we prayed earnestly for this vision, unexpectedly, God prepared everything for us in just two months. First, the U.S. Department of Labor strictly enforced the regulations that garment factories must close on Sundays, and workers went to church without fear of pressure from their bosses; then the "Christian Horn Evangelistic Group" was willing to lend out a meeting place that could accommodate 30 people and had a solemn atmosphere; two pairs of people who love the Lord Christian couples joined as worship co-workers; brothers and sisters sent support through the church, and a brother sent a donation of US$10,000 from California. On April 6, 1997, "Docas Fellowship" began its Sunday service with praise and thanksgiving.
We did not have a strict worship program. A female worker's daughter played the piano and we started with practicing hymns. As soon as the piano key sounds "dong!", the song starts without prelude, and the tune is off-key without blushing. When the congregation has gathered enough, just sing loudly and start the party! We are required to be grounded in the Bible. In Sunday school, starting from "Genesis", we study in a story-telling way. Those who turn to the chapter first loudly report the page number, and others quickly follow.
Good luck comes unexpectedly
There are more and more children speaking English. Who can lead them? This place is far away and there is a lack of parking spaces. I don’t dare to hope for elites. I asked the mother association in Long Island for the support of the remaining talents. A sister pleaded for our needs and said:“Lord, don’t want any leftovers, but give them the best.”
During my spiritual practice the next day, the name of Larry Tiss flashed in my mind. He was a missionary who drew comics on the streets of Brooklyn to preach the gospel. I called him, and to my surprise, he agreed to teach children between the ages of five and eighteen, explaining salvation thoroughly and clearly using pictures, which was flexible and interesting. Other churches asked, where did such an excellent teacher come from?
After the sister was saved, she had a good testimony. First she brought her children to church, then her parents came, and finally the head of the family also showed up. The number of worshipers increased day by day, and after a year the venue for the shrine was no longer sufficient. Lai Rui informed me: "My mother church in Brooklyn, the First Evangelical Free Church, wants to open its mission to the Chinese. Would you like to come and talk to the pastor?" Over the years, I have learned that if God If there is no provision or way to open the way, we will "stand still". When God gives us a signal, we will move forward courageously relying on the Holy Spirit.
Bijia and I arrived at this church. We were stunned to see such a beautiful church in the city. It is located next to a park and has a parking lot. The pastor asked for letters of recommendation and a "confession of faith," and we responded like fools: "Believe it or not, we don't have one!"
We introduced him to the garment factory ministry, and there happened to be a meeting the next day, so we invited him to come and see it. The pastor really sent someone, and he immediately concluded: "This is what we want to support!"
Later I found out that the pastor had made a mistake. He thought we were another group that he had agreed to meet with. It happened that that group was late and the pastor couldn't tell the difference between the three and the four, so we, Jacob, picked up the blessing.
Unswervingly looking forward to the harvest
The tradition of "First Evangelistic Association" is that men preach. We waited for half a year to hire a pastor. We also received funding from the "North American Federation of Chinese Evangelistic Associations" and established a church in 1999, named "New York Chinese Evangelistic Association". meeting".
The church members moved into the beautiful church in Brooklyn. They looked around and exclaimed "Wow!" I called them "Wow!" The auxiliary hall for our use has 300 seats, and there is a sports ground indoors. What makes the members most excited is the giant kitchen.We give thanks for God’s abundant blessings. He gave perhaps the only church in the city with a parking lot that everyone envied, to the poor who couldn't afford a car. It's quite humorous!
God's eyes have never left for a moment, and we continue to receive His full blessings. The number of people in the church has increased. Currently, there are about 70 adults and about 65 children and teenagers. We have received donations of 150,000 from inside and outside the church. Two pastors and one youth coaching pastor, it's incredible.
Since the members have grown spiritually and understood the meaning of donation, the number of donations outside the church has decreased. When members from Fuzhou and Wenzhou appeared, God led two or three families of mature Christians who spoke Mandarin to come here. At present, we have no pastor. However, he received strong support from the senior pastor Huang Zijia of Ruoge Church in New Jersey, who sent his entire family of seminarians to meet the needs of the pulpit and Sunday school.
Workers work overtime six days a week and can only seek medical treatment, withdraw money, send letters, and shop on Sundays. Continuous gatherings are the biggest challenge. What they are best at is meal service. For only a few tens of dollars, they can cook lunch that leaves a lasting impression on the teeth and cheeks of more than 100 people. The rest of the ministry requires training, especially encouraging rare brothers to come forward.
Rong Shen is the chairman of the co-workers union. Some co-workers are spiritually immature and have not yet finished reading the Bible. As long as they are willing to serve, we have the farmer's heart like Jacob and accompany them to walk happily, "Patiently waiting for the land." "The precious produce of the tree until the autumn and spring rains." (James 5:7) Often, after a crisis occurs in their lives and they receive special care and help, their lives are like saplings that grow rapidly after being nourished by the rain.
▲The "Duojia Center" helps new immigrants adapt to life in the United States and provides relevant information for free. Address: 6611 Fort Hamilton Parkway Brooklyn, NY 11219 Phone: 718-748-5241
Go into the masses and preach the gospel
Reporter─Sister Jia Hua asked me, can blue-collar workers integrate into ordinary churches? I would like to ask, can white-collar brothers and sisters integrate into the labor church?Is anyone willing to step outside the traditional church framework, go to the masses, and walk into them? I sincerely invite pastors and gifted believers to come to the New York Chinese Evangelistic Association to preach and bring the vision back to their churches.We have evangelistic meetings every Saturday during the summer vacation. I hope that each church will take one week. There is no need to travel thousands of miles to a foreign country. The vast fields here are in urgent need of plowing.
In 2000, the United States lifted its import quota restrictions on Chinese cotton fabrics. The U.S. garment industry was severely hit. Garment factories closed and workers lost their jobs. The 9/11 incident, skyrocketing rents, and other complex factors have made it even more difficult for garment factories that had already gritted their teeth to survive. They have closed down or moved to Sunset Park in Brooklyn.
After Manhattan and Queens, Brooklyn has evolved into New York's third Chinatown. There are nearly 300,000 Chinese in the streets near the church. The bustling streets are filled with people looking for jobs and changing careers. The Evangelistic Association purchased a building for urban missionary work, and "Dorcas Fellowship" rented a storefront on the street to serve the community. In 2005, it was registered as a Christian service agency in New York State and renamed "Dorcas Ministries" (Dorcas Ministries). Free Serve new immigrants.
I remember that when I went to the prison to visit the convict who committed parricide and his daughter's murder, he said, "I have been in Manhattan for ten years and could not see the church. If I had gone to church earlier, I would not have committed murder." The church is closed on weekdays. If anyone If an emergency occurs, who can you call for help? The "Docas Ministries" service center is located in a conspicuous location, and its door is always open to those in need.
▲The "Duojia Ministry" service club celebrated its establishment. Looking back on the journey, Pastor Li Bijia and brother Xiao Liangming, the owner of the clothing factory, were full of praise and thanksgiving..
The church strengthens and expands the influence of the gospel of Jesus Christ through community services, allowing the Kingdom of God to rapidly expand and satisfying the Father’s heart.
I met missionary Kari Torjesen, author of Women at the Crossroad, in Beijing, and she encouraged me: "When you are in a dilemma trying to define your role as a woman, there is an upward path available."She influenced me, an ordinary housewife, to keep my eyes fixed on the Lord throughout my life and not to dare to change my mind for a moment.
Over the past twenty years, my life has been woven into a concerto with the lives of female garment factory workers and restaurant workers, including the graceful willows in spring, the shock of thunder in the sky in summer, the warmth of sunset in autumn, and the rushing snow in winter. of haze. Looking back on the past, I kept a low profile and only worked hard, neglecting to share the vision I received with others. If I actively promote it, more people may participate, the pace of caring for souls will be faster, and the level of serving society will be wider.
Mother Teresa said, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, feed one.”Please come and work with us! Step out of the old thinking framework, affirm your calling, and let God lead you forward. In New York and around the world, care for those who cannot speak for themselves, who are lonely, poor, and poor. Christians do not need to aspire to be a dazzling neon light, but to be a long night light that warms passers-by on lonely and cold nights.
Journalist profile
Yang HanjiahuaShe and her husband Yang Jingya have two adult daughters. She has a master's degree in nursing from New York University. She has taught at several universities in Taiwan and the United States and now lives in Florida.