You and your family will be saved
Photo courtesy of Zhang Xie Shuhui
▲Pray for a long time and continue to work with God in preaching the gospel to your family.
The first fruit of the family
When I was a child, I lived in the countryside of Yilan, Taiwan. My parents worked as farmers and worked hard to raise six children. My family was very poor. My parents believe deeply in folk religion and Buddhism. There is a Buddhist temple at home, and I often go to the temple to worship with them. Later, my uncle became a monk. He had a great influence on his father's religious beliefs.
After graduating from elementary school, we moved to Keelung. When I was in high school, a very close classmate, Chen Huiling, preached the gospel to me and took me to a Christmas evangelistic meeting. It was during the evangelistic meeting that I decided to believe in the Lord. After entering college in 1978, he participated in a Christian fellowship meeting at National Central University and was baptized into the name of the Lord. After that, he continued to receive spiritual development in the fellowship. His life gradually matured and he enjoyed preaching the gospel to his classmates.
After graduation, I worked at Central University and met my boyfriend. He was not a Christian at the time, but we got along very well and liked each other very much. I prayed to God at that time. If he was the other half prepared by God, please give me the opportunity to preach the gospel to him. Ask God to confirm to me that he must truly believe in the Lord and be baptized before we can get engaged and get married.
Therefore, when we get together, we spend most of the time singing hymns, reading the Bible, and sharing God’s grace in me. He had just lost his father, and was deeply hurt and shocked, which also made him rethink the meaning and value of life. He slowly opened up to God and was willing to study the Bible sincerely. He loved singing hymns and attending gatherings. After more than a year, my boyfriend finally decided to believe in the Lord and was baptized. Pastor Shao Xu personally baptized him.
His greatest gratitude is that although he has lost his earthly father, he now has the great love of his heavenly father, God. His heart was greatly comforted and filled with gratitude.
After a period of prayer, we held a grand wedding ceremony in Keelung Church during the summer vacation of 1984, with Pastor Shao Xu officiating.
Mother was saved after hearing the gospel
After we got married, we went to the United States to further our studies. At that time, I missed my parents very much. I deeply felt that they had worked hard to raise me, but I was so far away that I couldn't be around to take care of them. How can I repay the kindness of my upbringing?
We were living in a small town in Indiana at that time, and we established a small Bible study group with a few Christians who loved the Lord. After my husband believed in the Lord, he was very enthusiastic about serving in the Bible study class. Colleagues from the Messenger Association, such as Pastor Su Wenfeng and Pastor Lin Guoliang, as well as Pastor Chen Minqin and his wife from Yincheng Church, often come to support us and teach us how to lead Bible study classes and how to preach the gospel. The brothers and sisters in the Bible study class also often pray for each other for the salvation of my parents.
Later, we moved to Auburn University in Alabama, where my husband continued to study for his doctorate. We also participated in Bible study services and continued to pray with tears for my mother’s salvation. After some time, we went back to Taiwan to visit relatives during the summer vacation of 1987. God moved me to invite my mother to read the Bible together and take a course on basic truths.
After praying for her with tears for a long time, the Holy Spirit started a good work in the mother's heart and became good soil. Once the seeds of the gospel were sown, they would take root and sprout. During that period, she admitted that she was a sinner, was willing to pray with me, accepted the Lord Jesus as her personal Savior, and was willing to be baptized into the name of the Lord.
My mother was baptized and testified at the Keelung Church, saying that she had spent her whole life seeking the eternal and true God. Now I finally found it, very happy! Her biological father once treated her as a child bride, and now God, who created the universe, heaven and earth, has become her father in heaven. I am most blessed to be a daughter of God!
My mother was very happy after she believed in the Lord and was baptized. She was very grateful to me for leading her to know this true God. This is truly the greatest encouragement God has given me!
Unexpectedly, two years later, doctors diagnosed my mother with terminal gastric cancer, which was incurable. I was very sad and sad at the time and asked all the Christians I knew to pray for my mother’s healing. The prayers of a righteous man are so effective. My mother did not receive any chemotherapy, but God healed her day by day and made her completely recovered!
Thanks to the prayers of all Christians and the careful care of her family, my mother lived until the age of 89 before passing away naturally. For more than ten years, she has had no stomach problems. The doctor said this is really a miracle! We personally experience God’s grace and healing!
▲After the author (third from left in the back row) prayed for many years and preached the gospel many times, his parents (sitting in the front row) and brothers and sisters (the author’s second brother on the right in the front row) all accepted Christ as their Savior and entered the great kingdom of God. family. (Photo taken in 2001.)
Father prays to Buddha and returns to the Lord in old age
My father received an education during the era when Japan ruled Taiwan. He believed in folk religion and Buddhism throughout his life, and studied philosophy. There was a Buddhist temple at home. He forced his family to become vegetarians and was very strict with his children. After I believed in the Lord, I preached the gospel to him many times, but he did not accept it. I thought to myself, preaching the gospel to my father is really harder than going to heaven!
Rural residents of Yilan often go to temples to burn incense and worship Buddha. One year after the temple official retired, he asked his father to be the acting temple official. My father worked for nine years, but the villagers refused to let him quit. Finally I resigned as an acting temple minister, and I prayed for him even more urgently. I often wrote to him to preach the gospel and share our testimonies and those of other Christians. However, he was unwilling to change his faith, so we had to continue to watch and pray for him.
Many years have passed. Before I planned to return to Taiwan to visit relatives during the summer vacation of 2001, I prayed to God to give me the opportunity to preach the gospel to my father. He was already 86 years old at that time. I wonder how many years he has left? God moved me to prepare a gospel photo video produced by Brother Sun Yue and a course on basic truths.
When I returned to Taiwan, I found out that my father was sick. I prayed with tears, asking God to heal me. Thank you Lord for listening to my prayers for more than ten years. When I invited him to look at the written testimonies of the gospel and read the basic truths of the Bible, he did not refuse and was very moved. From the Fundamental Truths lesson, Dad learned that God loved him and recognized that he was a sinner. Because he not only worshiped idols, but also led people to worship idols in the temple, he had indeed greatly offended God! After we finished reading the basic truth course, he decided to accept the Lord Jesus as his personal Savior and was willing to be baptized.
After my father believed in the Lord and was baptized, he often read the Bible and copied it. His calligraphy was very beautiful, and I still have the Bible verses he copied by his own hand. Every time I called back from the United States, I prayed with him, and I was very happy. My father was 86 years old when he was baptized, and was taken back to heaven by the Lord when he was 89 years old. Now, he enjoys eternal happiness in heaven!
▲God performed miracles in the family of the author (second from right). His eldest brother-in-law (third from left) and eldest sister (third from right), who were originally lecturers in Yiguandao, both became Christians. Their youngest daughter (second from left) married the pastor (first from left) after she believed in the Lord, and the two served together.
Elder sister’s family was saved
The eldest brother-in-law is a lecturer in Yiguandao, and his youngest daughter also believes in Yiguandao. Before I preached the gospel to them, they all argued with me, so I had no choice but to pray for them silently.
Once when I returned to Taiwan to visit relatives, I found that my eldest sister was seriously ill, and her family and doctors had given up completely. My heart was very sad to learn about this situation. Kneeling on the ground, I begged God with tears and tears to save my eldest sister.
At that time, I also asked a church nurse to pray for my eldest sister. After praying, God inspired my wife and asked me to take my eldest sister to see a Christian doctor with excellent medical skills. Sure enough, after a few months, she slowly got better, the medicine she took gradually decreased, and her whole body gradually returned to health. I preached the gospel to my eldest sister, and she also decided to believe in the Lord happily!
After returning to the United States, I continued to pray for the salvation of their family. After a long period of time, finally one year, the eldest sister’s younger daughter, a firm believer in Yiguandao, decided to come to the United States to study for a master’s degree. I cared about and encouraged her to attend Chinese Bible study meetings. She participated in fellowship with her roommate, and also met Pastor Dai Liyue and his wife in Ohio. After hearing the gospel, the pastor and his wife led her to believe in the Lord and be baptized, which helped her grow spiritually and become more mature in life.
After my niece believed in the Lord, she loved the Lord very much and participated in the service enthusiastically. After receiving his master's degree, he returned to Taiwan and continued to love and serve the Lord. God also moved her to marry a pastor and serve full time. After praying and waiting, God really prepared the pastor who loved the Lord very much to become her husband. After their marriage, the couple spread the gospel zealously and served God fervently.
God has done more than I could ever ask or imagine. I never thought that my niece, who once believed in Yiguandao and often argued with me, would marry a pastor after believing in Jesus. What a life change this is! My eldest brother-in-law, who was a lecturer in Yiguandao, later also believed in the Lord and was baptized. His children also believed in the Lord and were baptized. This is a miracle that God has done in my family.
▲"You and your family will be saved" is the author's hope and encouragement. The picture shows the author’s family portrait (from left): eldest daughter-in-law Jiang Peiyi, eldest son Zhang Lien, author, husband Zhang Daozhou, and youngest son Zhang Zhien.
The whole family was saved
Even though we are thousands of miles apart, I still often pray for the salvation of the souls of my family in Taiwan. I always call them to say hello during holidays and maintain good relations with them. After I completed my PhD, I had more time to go back to Taiwan to visit my relatives. Every time I return to Taiwan, I pray to God to give me the opportunity to visit them in various counties and cities, send gifts, express concern, pray together, and spread the gospel.
However, the family is deeply influenced and bound by traditional religion. I prayed fervently with tears, and also read the Bible and explained the gospel to my second sister, third sister, eldest brother, and second brother individually. Finally, with the mercy of God, the Holy Spirit led them one by one out of darkness and into light, and were saved!
Although I have encountered many difficulties in preaching the gospel to my family for more than thirty years, I thank the Lord for listening to my prayers. This was a silent service to my family with my knees and tears. In the end, God helped me complete the mission entrusted by Him, leading my parents and all my brothers and sisters to believe in the Lord and be baptized. What a wonderful gift from God!
The eldest son and his wife both believe in the Lord and were baptized, and they both love the Lord; the younger son is also a very devout Christian. Thank you God for choosing our family. We will continue to preach the gospel and glorify God.
In the process of preaching the gospel to family members and families, there is a long period of waiting and praying, as mentioned in Acts 16:31"You and your household will be saved.", is my hope and encouragement. When I prayed many times with earnest tears, I remembered Psalm 126:5:“He who sows with tears will reap with joy.”indeed so! Because of God’s power and mercy, and working together with God in preaching the gospel, I am happy to see my flesh-and-blood relatives receive salvation and share the happiness of eternal life.
Love advice
• The most important thing when preaching the gospel to family members is to burden their souls, treat them with kindness and gratitude, and maintain good family relationships.
• Be patient, be willing to suffer for the Lord, pay the price, keep praying, never lose heart, and never give up.
• Work together with God and walk with God. Obey the leading of the Holy Spirit and be ready to preach the gospel at any time. • When family members are in need, this is when they need God’s love and care most, and it is also an opportunity for God to open the door to the gospel. You must immediately put yourself on the table and become a vessel for preaching the gospel and a vessel for miracles.
• Don’t be discouraged when family members say no, but continue to pray and care. When they debate, they can answer their doubts in a gentle way, but they should avoid arguing and hurting their feelings. They should pray more and care for them.
Zhang Xie ShuhuiProfessor, received a doctorate from Iowa State University in the United States, and currently teaches in the Computer Department of Iowa State University in the United States and serves as the director of distance learning. Specializing in computer network course design and online teaching, he won the Blackboard World's Best Online Course Teaching Design Award twice in 2007 and 2008. In 2008 and 2009, he won the Best Teaching Award and the Best Professor Award from Iowa State University in the United States twice, and he often serves as a lecturer at the American Distance Learning Conference.
Professor Zhang also loves writing and editing. He was the editor-in-chief of the National Central University magazine and the well-known freelance newspaper. In addition, she loves to pray, is enthusiastic about evangelism, and is often invited to speak.