We often write about the missionaries from China who go into the 10/40 window to share the gospel in closed nations, but who are they and what brought them to this point? To get to know some of them better, we asked them to share their stories with us.
James is a gentle and softly spoken young man in his mid-twenties. He comes, like so many of the house church believers, from a small village in the countryside. His family was heavily involved in traditional Chinese religion and idol worship.
Life was a struggle from the very beginning. While pregnant with him, his mother was badly malnourished. As a result, James was a very sickly baby, who often suffered from severe breathing difficulties. Through his early childhood, his parents kept taking him to the doctor, who tried different medicine, but nothing helped. Eventually he told the parents there was no hope James could recover.
His parents, unwilling to give up, consulted a witch doctor. Whenever they visited this witch doctor, James’ situation improved a little, only to turn far worse shortly after. So, although they kept visiting this person and sacrificed to their idols, James’ health grew more precarious.
In their village were five Christian families. One lived next door to James. They often heard him cry all through the night. One day they came and offered to pray for James. Because the parents had nothing to lose at that point, they consented. After praying, James fell into a peaceful sleep. Soon, his health began to improve. At the age of eight, he was finally healed.
James’ parents were impressed and threw away all their idols and started going to the little three-self church in the village, but all the stress had taken a toll on their marriage. They often fought and James did not feel safe at home. He also did not really like church and only went because the children often got some snacks or presents. To escape home, he went out with his friends a lot.
He quit school at 14 and started to work in a garage, even though that was illegal at his age. He felt depressed and unwanted, to the point that he wanted to die. Although he was not in the habit of praying, one day he was so fed up that he told God, “If you take me out of this situation, I will follow you.”
The prayer was answered in an unexpected way. James had an accident at work and very nearly severed his big toe. It was hanging on by a thread. He ended up back with his parents, and unable to walk for two months. During this time, there came a phone call from an uncle far away, who was a Christian. He proposed James could go to Bible school after he recovered. His father gave him a choice, go to Bible school or back to regular school. Because James really wanted to get away, and the Bible school was far, he chose to go to Bible school.
James quite enjoyed the routine at Bible school. They sang songs, studied the Bible and memorized a chapter of the Bible every day. After two months, during a prayer meeting, God brought back into his mind what he had done for James when he was so sick as a child. James’ heart was opened and from that time on he committed his life to Christ.
A week later, a missionary visited the Bible school. He showed a video which really touched him. It was about how many Christians just enjoy their salvation, but do nothing to reach out to others who were still lost. After that meeting, he called his father and told him, ‘I am going to be a missionary’.
He hardly knew what he was saying, because in the three-self church of his childhood, mission was never mentioned. This is because these ‘three-self’ churches are controlled by the government, which opposes mission work. His father warned him it would be difficult, but James told him he didn’t care. He had found life and he wanted to share it.
So, after six months of Bible school, James went to a missionary training school. After one year, the school was raided by the government and closed. To complement his theological training, James did a year of vocational training in the hospitality branch. Then he went on to do several years of mission work in tribal areas of Western China as a practical preparation for missionary work abroad. During these years he developed as a person, learned to be part of a ministry team and grew less shy.
Now he is in the final stage of his training; learning English. After that, he hopes that he can work in the unreached areas of India. Because of his own background, his heart goes out to people who are trapped in idolatry. His life is a testimony to how God can break the powers of darkness and bring his children into the light.
