Pastor Yang Rongli from Linfen Golden Lampstand Church in China is in prison on charges of fraud, and recently after receiving a 15-year sentence has just written a very moving letter to her son.
With a heart full of peace, she writes that she felt “peace and joy from heaven” when she first heard the news of the 15 year sentence. She even goes on to state, “The sentence is too light.” She tells her son that she has “fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4: 7) and even though she and her family are appealing the sentence, she makes it very clear that their hope is not in the courtrooms but in “God’s greater work.”
Yang makes it clear that she is willing to suffer as a Christian, even in fellowship with Christ who suffered. Looking back over her years of ministry, she notes that she had already spent some time in prison before and knows that her following of Christ has made life difficult on her family. However, she boldly proclaims her faith that “the Lord will restore the years the locusts have eaten” (Joel 2:25). She exhorts her husband and church workers to be strong in the Lord and ends her letter on a note of thanksgiving saying, “Let us thank and glorify Him together.”
Below is the full letter to her son [Letter and article image both provided by China Aid]:
My son, peace to you. Lawyer Wen brought news about you and your family, and my heart is deeply comforted and overjoyed.
On June 20, the judge came to the detention center and pronounced that I had been sentenced to 15 years. This is a great crown given to me by God. At that time, my first words to the judge were: The sentence is too light. That day, I was perfectly calm in my thoughts and had my emotions under control, as heavenly peace and joy were with me. Individuals overseeing the detention center were astonished by my reaction to a 15-year sentence.
Judge Xie Binghua held court for only one hour that day before sentencing me to fifteen years. I told Officer Han, who has been accompanying me all this time, that this outcome is acceptable to me. It is a temporary result, and that brings me release and relief, for I have fought the good fight, run the race I was supposed to run, and kept the faith that I believed in. Now I should rest.
There are countless testimonies, countless evidence of God’s love! More than I can count or finish talking about. For example, lawyer Wen suddenly appeared before me today. The night before, I had prayed: Should I call for a lawyer again? Today I received my answer.
An appeal is not where my hope is; waiting for God’s greater work is where I place my hope. That is my reason for appealing, I believe that Yahweh is still my Father God. The power of the resurrected Jesus will be greatly demonstrated in this age.
I will continue to labor alongside Christ, watching for His works. But this has brought suffering to my son, my daughter-in-law, my grandchild, and my husband, whom I could not care for. What I failed to do in life is fail as a wife, fail as a mother, and even more so, unworthy to be a grandmother to my grandson today. But the Lord has arranged that I first “be a person” for Him. I believe the Lord will restore the days the locusts have eaten.
The people at the detention center say my lawyer has abandoned me. However, today, lawyer Wen came again to the detention center, a beautiful testimony to their assumptions that the lawyer does not care for me and has disregarded me. And may lawyer Huang visit once again so that they may understand: I am not the only one who loves God. My greatest joy today is that lawyer Wen has come; only then did I learn the outcome of the first trial for your father and the other ten coworkers. I can no longer do anything more for them, I pray for the Lord to strengthen them! As for the financial losses, I certainly cannot repay the church; may God bless and help the people of our church.
Send my heartfelt regards to your mother-in-law. She has truly borne so much. Each time I see my grandson Ya Lun (Aaron)’s growth, I think of her sacrifices. I can only thank her with words and lift her up in prayer, asking God to grant her health and long life. You must be filial to her, for she is truly the most worthy mother to you and your household.
If I am transferred to prison, it will happen quickly. I do not plan for you to visit me beforehand, as this will save on expenses. Contact your aunt and give her the daily necessities and books that I will use. I want to bring my 250,000-word manuscript with me to prison, please pray for this 250,000-word material.
Let us together give thanks to Him and glorify Him.
Mom
10:30 a.m., July 12, 2025
