He was 17 when he set off with his father and some other believers on a long journey. From the East of China, they walked westward, with a vision in their hearts. They would preach at every stop on the road, trusting God to provide for their needs. They were planning to make the gospel known among the unreached minorities in the West of China, and then cross into central Asia, preaching and planting churches as they went, hoping one day to reach Jerusalem.
They came as far as Xinjiang in the very West of China, but the political realities of the forties caught up with their vision. When the communists came to power, he and his father were arrested, along with the others of his group. At the age of 19, he ended up in a prison camp.
He was told to dig his own grave, and when he was done, he was forced down on his knees in front of the grave to be executed. He heard the gunshot and felt someone kick him from behind into the grave, but he wasn’t really shot. It was a staged execution, meant to torture and intimidate him.
It may have been a staged execution, but he was by no means safe. Death was a daily reality in these prison camps. Many of his group died in prison. The leader of his group, Simon Zhou, would spend 40 years behind bars. He himself spent years in prison, but was eventually released. He was one of the few survivors of the group.
Now at 96 years of age, he is the last survivor of this original Back to Jerusalem group. He still lives in the province of Xinjiang. He still gives tithes of his meager income to the church, so they can continue to preach the gospel. The church takes care of him. They honor their elders, the generation who suffered more than words can express to lay a foundation for the church in these hostile Western provinces.
He himself never saw the gates of Jerusalem, nor was he able to take the precious gospel message beyond the borders of China. But after many decades of isolation, the doors opened for the Chinese church to start moving Westwards once again. Also, churches in Xinjiang send workers to the nations beyond China.
Every week, when he is visited by the younger members of the church, he asks for updates. It makes him feel as if he has been there himself, seeing through the eyes of the next generation the vision reaching its fulfillment.
They are the generation of the seeds that fell into the ground. They disappeared from sight and were buried. But all over the world the harvest is growing, as God is raising up the next generation to lay down their lives and continue on the road to Jerusalem.
