By Gao Hui, China

One day in July of 2009, a sister rushed to my house to tell me our church leader had been arrested and the police had seized a portion of the receipts issued for the church’s money. Hearing this made me very anxious. My family held some of the church’s funds, and the names of myself and my husband were on the receipt. If it was to fall into police hands, we would certainly be arrested and the money seized. So, we hastily transferred the church’s money elsewhere.

A few days later, we were raided at home by a squad of more than 20 officers, led by the village public security chief. One of the officers held up a receipt and said: “Did you write this? Hand over the 250,000 yuan that you’re holding, right away!” I panicked a bit when I saw the receipt, and immediately prayed to God: “Dear God, please give me faith and strength. I’ll never be a Judas and betray You.” After praying, I thought of God’s words which say: “Of everything that occurs in the universe, there is nothing in which I do not have the final say. Is there anything that is not in My hands?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Words to the Entire Universe, Chapter 1). I thought to myself: “All things are in God’s hands, and I must rely on God to face up to this ordeal.” Then the police officer demanded: “Who gave you these funds to hold? Hand over the money, now!” I was livid about this, thinking: “These funds are offerings to God from His chosen people. What have they got to do with you? Why on earth should I give them to you?” Seeing that we didn’t answer, the officer grabbed my husband and slammed his head against the wall, again demanding where the money was. I was angry and distraught. My husband had health problems stemming from a serious car accident, and was in no condition to take this kind of abuse. Then the public security chief said to the officer: “That one’s not well. He could easily pass out.” The officer reluctantly stopped, not wanting to risk his death. They then took me to another room, handcuffed me to a motor-scooter and began viciously interrogating me, “Where did you put the 250,000? If you tell us, then we won’t arrest you and your reputation won’t suffer. But if you don’t tell us, you’re in for it!” When I didn’t respond, a dozen or so of the officers began frenetically searching the house. They rummaged through every cupboard, checked under the beds and even removed the backs from the TV and washing machine. Some of the officers crawled on the floor, tapping the tiles, while others spread out to tap on the walls. Wherever they heard a hollow sound, they would break open the surface to check. Before long, I heard an excited yell, “Found it! Found it!” and an officer ran over holding a bag of money. Then they started counting. There was 121,500 yuan in total. “It’s our family savings,” I told them, but they just ignored me. Since they still hadn’t found all 250,000, they continued searching. They searched every little nook and cranny. They took apart the doghouse and smashed our marble table to pieces. Even the chimney on our roof was destroyed. They pulled up the flooring in several rooms and dug around the trees in the courtyard. I watched, helpless, as they turned the whole house upside down. I was infuriated, thinking: “Nothing’s too low for the Communist Party in their effort to seize the church’s money. What a bunch of demons!” At the same time, I was also worried. My husband had been unable to do heavy manual work since the car accident, and I’d become the main breadwinner. We’d been as frugal as possible in the years that followed, and had worked hard to save up that money. What were we supposed to do now that the police had taken it all? Our son was grown up and getting ready to marry. Now we didn’t even have the money for his wedding. I really didn’t know how I would deal with this setback. All I could do was pray to God and ask for His guidance. After praying, I thought of when Satan tempted Job. Overnight, all of his livestock were stolen. The wealth he had accumulated over many years was gone, and his ten children all died. He broke out in sores over his whole body, but he never complained, and even said, “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21). Having undergone these enormous trials, Job stood firm in his testimony and humiliated Satan. The crazed search of our house and seizure of our money was Satan’s temptation and assault on us. I needed to be like Job, relying on God and using my faith to get through this. No matter what, I wasn’t going to give up any information on the church’s funds. I had to stand firm in my witness for God.

The police continued searching until 2 or 3 a.m. the following morning. They tossed the place for seven hours but didn’t find any more money. My husband had been knocked unconscious and I was taken to the armed police reception center for interrogation. They brought me to a room where four or five menacing-looking plainclothes policemen were waiting, staring at me with evil grins. I was terrified and my hands trembled uncontrollably. I hurriedly prayed to God and asked that He give me faith. After praying, I thought of how Daniel was framed and thrown into a lions’ den, and yet, thanks to God’s protection, the lions didn’t eat him. All is in God’s hands. Satan may be cruel and vicious, but God sets its boundaries. They couldn’t harm me without God’s permission, so I just needed to rely on God and stand firm in my testimony. Then a political commissar from the public security bureau came in, holding a piece of paper. He told me to sign the paper without even saying what it was about. When I refused, he took up a foot-long plastic baton and started clubbing me on my hands and mouth. They began swelling up after just a few hits. Then he said to two of the officers standing beside me: “Don’t let her sleep. After two days and nights she’ll break down and tell us everything.” Then he turned to me and threatened: “If you don’t tell us where the money is, I’ll have your house torn down!” This really worried me. “It took us so long to get our own home,” I thought, “and now the police have wrecked it in a matter of hours. They’re cruel and capable of anything. Are they really going to tear the place down if I don’t say where the church’s money is? Are they going to torture me to death?” The more I thought about it, the more scared I felt. I prayed continually to God, and then the words of the Lord Jesus came into mind: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). God’s words gave me faith and courage. My life is in God’s hands. No matter how cruel the police might be, they could only ravage my flesh, and without God’s permission, they couldn’t do anything to me. If God permitted the police to take my life and destroy my house, I’d be willing to submit. After realizing this, I didn’t feel as scared. The officers then dragged me to a chair and handcuffed me to it. The second my eyes began to droop they’d kick me hard in the legs, and so I didn’t get any sleep that whole night.

The next morning, several officers took turns interrogating me on the whereabouts of the church’s money. Looking grave, the commissar asked: “What happened to the money you were holding? It says 250,000 on the receipt. Why was only some of it found? Where’s the rest of the money?” I lowered my head and didn’t say anything. He pressed on: “Did you spend the rest of the money? Tell me now!” I thought to myself: “We would never embezzle the church’s money. It’s offerings to God made by His chosen people. People that embezzle offerings to God are demons and will be cursed and punished in hell!” Then the commissar tried a softer tone, to persuade me to give up the location of the money. He said: “You need to tell us promptly. As soon as you tell us, you can reunite with your family.” Then he said: “I was in the army over by where you live; we’re practically from the same town. Just tell us right now and we won’t have any problems.” I thought to myself: “These officers are extremely devious. I can’t fall for their tricks!” Then another officer asked me: “Weren’t you holding 250,000? There’s only 121,500 remaining. How many years do you think it’s going to take you to return the rest of the money to us? Just write a letter of guarantee and we’ll let you go home now. What do you say?” I was angry and resentful when I heard this. They’d stolen all our family’s money and expected me to give them an IOU? Absolutely shameless!

At around one in the morning, the police began interrogating me again, asking over and over about the whereabouts of the money. One of them said: “Do you know where this money came from? It’s the hard-earned money of the people, and it should be returned to the people.” The sight of his ugly face positively nauseated me. This money was earned by the hard work of God’s chosen people thanks to the grace of God, and then offered to Him. It stood to reason that these offerings were for God. It had nothing to do with the “hard-earned money of the people.” That was just a brazen lie! This performance by the CCP police allowed me to see their evil much more clearly. They disgusted me, and I despised them. I wanted to ignore them even more then. When I still wouldn’t talk, two officers took turns slapping me in the face, more times than I could count. When they got tired, they switched to hitting me with a plastic jotter. My head swam, my vision went blurry, and my face was stinging with the pain. Then they used an electric baton to zap me through my handcuffs. The current shot through my body and every nerve seemed to go numb. It felt worse than death. But they didn’t let up, kicking my legs with their hard shoes and stomping on my feet with their heels. It was excruciating. I was completely drained by the beatings and torture, and my head was spinning like I was on the brink of death. I prayed ceaselessly to God, pleading that He give me the resolve to endure the suffering and stand firm in my testimony. After praying, a hymn of God’s words titled “How to Be Perfected” came to mind: “When you face suffering, you must be able to lay aside concern for the flesh and to not make complaints against God. When God hides Himself from you, you must be able to have the faith to follow Him, to maintain your previous love without allowing it to falter or dissipate. No matter what God does, you must submit to His design and be prepared to curse your own flesh rather than make complaints against Him. When you are faced with trials, you must satisfy God, though you may weep bitterly or feel reluctant to part with some beloved object. Only this is true love and faith” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement). Yes, indeed. My flesh suffered to a degree under torture, but God was perfecting my faith through this environment of suffering. No matter how the police tortured and brutalized me, I had to rely on God and stand firm in my witness for Him. Then the officer ordered me to stand, but I couldn’t because I was handcuffed to the armrests of the chair. All I could do was bend at the waist, with the chair, which weighed over 30 pounds, hanging from my wrists. Then the officer gave the chair a vigorous shake, causing the handcuffs to bite deep into my wrists. It was incredibly painful. With a malicious smile he said: “This is your own fault, you can’t blame us.” I closed my eyes and tried to fight off the pain as their maniacal laughter rang throughout the room. How I despised that pack of demons.

By then, I’d been cuffed to the chair for a day and a night. My head was pounding and my back was aching. I felt like I was coming apart and I didn’t know how much more I could take. So I called out to God continually in my heart: “Dear God! I don’t know how much longer I can hold on. Please give me faith and strength. No matter what hardship, I wish to stand firm in my witness.” After praying, a passage of God’s words came to mind: “My work among the group of people of the last days is an unprecedented enterprise, and thus, so that My glory may fill the cosmos, all people must suffer the last hardship for Me. Do you understand My intention? This is the final requirement I make of man, which is to say, I hope that all people can bear strong, resounding testimony to Me before the great red dragon, that they can offer themselves up for Me a final time, and fulfill My requirements one last instance. Can you truly do this?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Words to the Entire Universe, Chapter 34). I could feel God’s hope and encouragement through His words. It was in the midst of this hardship that I needed to bear testimony before Satan. I needed to endure the pain and suffering, stand firm in my testimony and humiliate Satan. With the guidance of God’s words, I felt as though God was always with me. The pain seemed to diminish a little. After a night of beatings and torture, I was black and blue all over. My face was covered in bruises, my feet had swollen up, and I was in a very weak state. The officer working the next shift had seen enough and said: “These guys went way overboard. It’s already hard enough for farmers to make a living, and now all their money’s been taken from them.”

On the third day, the commissar came to interrogate me again about my faith, as well as about the whereabouts of the 250,000 yuan. I said: “The 250,000 yuan was removed. The money you took was my family’s.” The commissar immediately turned to the person taking notes and said: “Don’t write that down.” I said: “Why not?” He rose angrily from his chair, pounded the table and yelled: “Who’s doing the interrogation here? What’s the name of the person who took the money? Where did they go?” When I didn’t reply, he snarled: “If you don’t tell me now, I’ll see to it that your children never get a job. Your family will never survive this!” I was very worried by this. My children were still young. If the Communist Party deprived them of work, how would they fend for themselves in the future? After prayer, I thought of God’s words: “The fate of man is controlled by the hands of God. You are incapable of controlling yourself: Despite man always rushing and busying himself on his own behalf, he remains incapable of controlling himself. If you could know your own prospects, if you could control your own fate, would you still be a created being?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination). After pondering God’s words, I felt much calmer. My children’s future was in God’s hands, and the great red dragon had no say in the matter. I needed to rely on God and stand firm in my testimony. As for my children’s future and the life of my family, God had preordained all of that long ago. I was willing to submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements.

On the fourth day they brought my son in with the public security chief. When my son saw my face all bruised and swollen, he started to cry and said: “Mom, don’t worry. We won’t hold the wedding now, and I’ll find a way to borrow some money to bail you out.” I felt awful when he said that, and shuddered inside. The commissar then instructed the public security chief that he too needed to work on getting the money issue resolved, before slyly adding: “Have they got relatives? Get their relatives to loan them some money.” The public security chief nodded and bowed, saying: “I’ll go back and talk to her brother and sister, and get her husband to figure something out.” Seeing how avaricious they were, I angrily said: “I’m not in touch with my brother and sister. Don’t bring them into it.” Another of the officers yelled: “Doesn’t the receipt say 250,000? We only found 120,000, so you’re going to have to make up the difference either way.” I was up against a wall, so I said: “Then just sell our house.” The public security chief looked at me scornfully and said: “Your place isn’t worth much. Do you really think you can make up the difference by selling it?” When the officer heard this, he went back to bullying my son to borrow money. My son had no choice but to go along with it, and he left in tears. I was enraged, and thought: “The great red dragon is utterly despicable. They always claim they’re for religious freedom, but in reality they suppress, arrest and brutalize the faithful. They use whatever means they can to steal our money and plunder God’s offerings, leaving people destitute.” I saw clearly how the great red dragon is just a demon that resists God and brutalizes mankind. All of this strengthened my resolve to follow God until the very end. I couldn’t help but start singing a hymn in my head: “Through trials and tribulations, I finally awoke. I saw that Satan is despicable, cruel, and evil. Flames of rage were kindled in my heart. I pledged my life to rebel against the great red dragon and bear witness to God” (Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs, I Pledge Loyalty Unto Death to Follow God). No matter how Satan brutalized me, I was going to stand firm in my witness and humiliate Satan.

In the next few days, they used different forms of torture. They cuffed me to a chair and didn’t let me sleep or eat, while they kept on demanding information about the money. My nerves were shredded, all the way through this. On the eighth day, when the commissar still couldn’t get an answer from me, he brought my son in again and told him they wouldn’t let me go until he’d raised 130,000 yuan. Looking troubled, my son said he hadn’t been able to borrow the money. I angrily said: “We’re simple farmers and my husband’s been unwell for years. How are we supposed to come up with that kind of money?” The commissar ignored me, glared at my son, and said: “Go back and find a way.”

On the tenth day, they realized they weren’t going to get any valuable information from me, and let me go home. As I was leaving, they warned me to give them the rest of the 250,000 as soon as possible. They also said: “As for whoever asked you to hold the money, if you find them for us, we’ll give your money back to you.” I thought to myself: “They clearly know that the money they took is my family’s, not the church’s, and they’re just using it to coerce me into selling out my brothers and sisters. But that’s never going to happen.” Only later, I found out that my son had given the police over 80,000 yuan for my release.

We weren’t well off to start with, so when the police took our savings, our lives became even harder. I already suffered from hand tremor, and it got worse after being tortured by the police. I couldn’t even prepare a meal, let alone go out and work, and there was even less prospect of work for my husband. Without any source of income, we had barely enough money to buy vegetables, flour and daily necessities. One time, I wanted to buy toilet paper but had no money for it. The Communist Party had stripped us bare, leaving us with not enough to get by on. How were we supposed to live like that? Thinking about it made me depressed. On top of that, the police would call us every now and then to summon us. It got so that the sound of the phone triggered a nervous reaction in me. To make things worse, our relatives and friends avoided us like the plague so as not to be implicated. And people in the village were always judging us. I’d get anguished and depressed, feeling like I couldn’t take it anymore, and would go on my own into the fields for a cry. As I cried, I prayed to God, saying: “Dear God! I feel so weak in this situation and don’t know how I should get through it. I pray that You guide me and give me faith and strength.” After praying, I thought of a passage of God’s words: “The path God guides us along does not go straight up, but is a winding road full of potholes; God says, furthermore, that the rockier the path is, the more it can reveal our loving hearts. Yet none of us can open up such a path. In My experience, I have walked many rocky, treacherous paths and I have endured great suffering; at times I have even been so utterly grief-stricken that I wanted to cry out, but I have walked this path to this day. I believe that this is the path led by God, so I endure the torment of all the suffering and continue onward. For this is what God has ordained, so who can escape it? I do not ask to receive any blessings; all I ask is that I am able to walk the path I ought to walk according to God’s intentions. I do not seek to imitate others, walking the path that they walk; all I seek is that I may fulfill My devotion to walk My designated path until the end” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Path … (6)). As I turned over God’s words, tears streamed down my face. I realized that believing in and following God in a country ruled by the Communist Party is bound to bring all kinds of hardship and oppression. We may have lost our savings and been reduced to such difficult circumstances because of me being arrested and persecuted by the Party, but this too was permitted by God. I needed to submit and stand firm in my witness for God to humiliate Satan throughout this hardship.

In the days that followed, my husband and I gave each other support and encouragement, often singing hymns together. And later, our brothers and sisters tried to help us out. Some gave us money and others gave us things we needed. Still others supported us with their fellowship. It was God’s love and His words that guided us through those darkest of days.