By Wang Le, China

One day at noon in November 2002, I was at home preparing a meal, when suddenly I heard a series of rapid knocks on the door. I opened the door to find four men and one woman standing outside. One of them came up to me and asked, “Are you Wang Le? Do you believe in Almighty God?” Before I could respond, he quickly showed me his identification, and said, “We’re from the Public Security Bureau. Someone reported that you believe in Almighty God and are a church leader. We’re here to investigate.” Before I could reply, the five of them barged into my home and started rummaging through the yard and the rooms. They found a 50-yuan offering receipt, a copy of The Word Appears in the Flesh, two tapes, and a small recorder, and harshly said to me, “This is evidence!” After saying this, they stuffed me into a police car and took me away.

At the station, the police took me to an interrogation room on the second floor and put handcuffs on me, hanging my hands from a radiator pipe, and I could only stand on my tiptoes. With all my weight resting on my wrists, they began aching unbearably. I overheard a policeman say, “This time we’ve caught a leader,” and my heart caught in my throat, and I thought, “They know I’m a leader, so they’ll definitely torture me to extract information about my brothers and sisters. What if I can’t endure the torture?” I didn’t dare think further and quickly prayed to God, asking Him to give me faith and wisdom, and to keep me standing firm in my testimony. I was hung like this for over four hours, unable to get my feet on the ground, with the handcuffs getting tighter and tighter. My hands were squeezed until they turned black and purple, and the pain was unbearable, and my legs also became swollen and numb. I felt that I could barely hold on and started feeling weak inside, not knowing how much longer I’d be left hanging there. I didn’t dare let my heart drift from God for even a moment. I thought of these words of God: “Toward those who showed Me not the slightest loyalty during times of tribulation, I shall be merciful no more, for My mercy only extends so far. I have no liking, furthermore, for anyone who has once betrayed Me, much less do I like to associate with those who sell out the interests of their friends. This is My disposition, regardless of who the person may be. I must tell you this: Anyone who breaks My heart shall not receive clemency from Me a second time, and anyone who has been faithful to Me shall forever remain in My heart” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Prepare Sufficient Good Deeds for Your Destination). God’s words made me realize that God’s disposition doesn’t tolerate offense, and that if I sold out my brothers and sisters and betrayed God, I would never receive God’s forgiveness and would surely be loathed and eliminated by Him. I resolved that no matter how the police tortured me, I would never become a Judas!

By around 7 p.m., my head was spinning, my whole body was in excruciating pain, and I was having trouble breathing. The police saw that I was about to collapse and finally released one of my arms, and I was finally able to stand on my feet. At this point, a police officer shouted at me, “Alright spit it out, who did the church’s offering money go to? Where does the person on the receipt live?” Seeing that I wasn’t saying anything, he continued, “Even if you don’t speak, we’ve already looked into you thoroughly. We’ve been trailing and investigating you for quite some time!” He then picked up a piece of paper from the table, and read out details about how long I’d believed in God, where I lived, what duties I did, and other information. I thought, “How do they know so much? Did someone betray me as a Judas?” This thought made me very anxious, and I quickly bowed my head, contemplating how to respond. The officer stared at me intently, and brought out a photo, asking if I recognized the person in it. I glanced at it and said, “I don’t recognize him.” He said with a false smile, “Are you sure you don’t recognize him? Do you know who reported you today? It’s the person in the photo.” I saw that the person in the photo was an evil person who had been expelled from the church. The officer then mentioned another sister’s name, asking if I recognized her, and I said I didn’t recognize her either. The officer snapped and said, “Let me tell you something. Even if you don’t say anything, the religious materials we found in your home and the witnesses we have are enough to sentence you to three years of re-education through labor. We’re giving you a chance to confess, and the sooner you confess, the sooner you can go home!” At this point, a female police officer signaled for him to release my other arm that was still suspended, and with a false expression of concern, she handed me a cup of water, took my hand and said, “Honey, let’s sit on the sofa and have a chat. I saw that your two kids are really cute, and they’re at a time when they’re still growing. As a mother, you need to fulfill your responsibilities and make sure they have nutritious meals, because if they don’t eat well it’ll affect their studies. We mothers have a lot on our shoulders. Your husband’s a good man, out there breaking his back to earn money, letting you stay home to take care of the kids. How can you bear to neglect such good kids? Don’t you feel like you’re indebted to them?” The female officer’s words made me feel a bit weak, and I felt that I hadn’t taken good care of my kids and that I was really indebted to them. Seeing that I wasn’t saying anything, the female officer came up to me, patted my shoulder, and said, “Honey, it’d be best if you just confess. Tell us what you know, and we’ll send you right back home, and you’ll be able to go home to take care of your kids.” She also said, “You don’t understand the law, so you might think that confessing will implicate you further, but it’s really not like that. So long as you just tell us what you know, we can just record your statement, and you can go home.” I thought, “This is all just lies and deception. You’re just saying this to make me betray God, and I won’t fall for it! But if I really end up getting sentenced to three years of labor re-education, what’ll happen to my kids? They’re still so young, how will they live without me caring for them?” These thoughts made me feel pretty distressed, so I silently prayed to God. I recalled these words of God: “Who can truly and completely expend themselves for Me and offer up their all for My sake? You are all half-hearted; your thoughts go around and around, thinking of home, of the outside world, of food and clothing. Despite the fact that you are here before Me, doing things for Me, deep down you are still thinking of your wife, children, and parents at home. Are all these things your property? Why do you not entrust them into My hands? Do you not have sufficient faith in Me? Or is it that you are afraid I will make inappropriate arrangements for you?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 59). Yes, God rules over everything. The destiny and suffering of my kids had all been predetermined by God, and no person could change that. I had to entrust my children into God’s hands. It was truly despicable for the police to use affection to entice me to betray God! This environment was a test from God, and He was observing the choices I was making. It was also a chance for me to bear witness for God, and I had to stand firm in my testimony to satisfy God. Realizing this, I silently prayed to God, “Oh God! I am willing to completely entrust my children into Your hands. Please help me overcome the weakness of the flesh and stand firm in my testimony to shame Satan.” After praying, I gained faith, and no matter how the police tried to tempt me, I would remain silent. Seeing that I wasn’t saying anything, the female officer’s expression changed instantly. She yanked me up from the sofa, glaring at me fiercely, and said, “I tried to be nice, but you wouldn’t listen. You’ve just made things a whole lot worse for yourself! Let me show you how I’m going to sort you out!” Saying this, she began to drag me by my hair, pulling and cursing, “Looks like you’re just asking to get beaten!” At this point, a male officer picked up a book of God’s words and smashed it into my face, cursing at me as he hit me, “Just spit it out! How many years have you been a leader? Who did the church’s offerings go to? Tell us what you know. If you don’t confess, I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life in prison, and never see your husband and kids ever again!” I calmly said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The police officer’s expression turned dark, and he punched me across the cheek, and then he began to rain blows down on my face as if he had gone mad. I lost count of how many times he slapped me. One of my teeth came loose, blood streamed from my nose and the corner of my mouth, and my head throbbed and swelled. I felt dizzy and disoriented, was left staggering, and I barely managed to steady myself against the wall. I felt like I couldn’t endure it much longer, thinking, “If this carries on, will they end up beating me to death? Even if I’m not killed, if I’m crippled, how will I live the rest of my life? Maybe I should just tell them something unimportant?” But just as I was about to speak, I suddenly thought of the fate of Judas for betraying the Lord Jesus. I felt frightened, and quickly prayed to God, “God, my flesh is so weak, please watch over my heart, give me faith and strength, and guide me to stand firm in my testimony.” After praying, I thought of a hymn called “I Wish to See the Day of God’s Glory”: “With God’s entrustment in my heart, I will never bend the knee to Satan. Though our heads may roll and our blood may spill, the backbones of God’s people cannot be bent. I will bear resounding testimony for God, and humiliate devils and Satan. Pain and hardships are predestined by God, and I will be loyal and submit to Him unto death. Never again will I cause God to weep or worry. I will offer up my love and loyalty to God and complete my mission to glorify Him” (Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). This hymn gave me faith and strength. I couldn’t be a spineless weakling. This suffering was a blessing from God, and no matter how the police tortured me, I would stand firm in my testimony and never yield to Satan! I felt God right beside me, helping and guiding me at all times, being my rock, and my heart was deeply touched. The police saw that I wasn’t going to say anything, so he kicked me hard in the lower back, causing me to cry out in pain. My lower back felt as if it had been broken. I curled up on the ground, unable to move. Through the pain, I looked up at the police in anger and said, “I believe in God only to pursue the truth and be a good person, and I haven’t done anything illegal, so why are you beating me like this?” The officer said through gritted teeth, “I’m beating you because you believe in Almighty God. It’s hateful to even look at you. You and your kind are all political criminals!” I said, “Our faith just consists of us gathering and reading God’s words. We don’t get involved in politics at all. You ignore those who do drugs and those who cheat and scam others, but you go after us who believe in God. Is there any law at all?” The officer replied, “Addicts and scammers are only in it for their own interests, but you people are different. If we don’t arrest you, no one will listen to the Communist Party anymore if they follow you in believing in God!” At this point, the National Security Brigade captain pointed at me and said to the other officers, “If she doesn’t confess, our mission won’t be complete, and we won’t get our bonuses. We can’t let her off the hook like this; keep beating her until she talks!” Two officers then started raining blows down on my face, splitting open a cut on my lip that bled profusely. They kept hitting me and berating me, “If you don’t confess, I’ll beat you blind, deaf, mute, and leave you crippled for life! I’ll make you wish you were dead!” After more than ten minutes, the two officers who had been beating me were left exhausted, panting and sitting on the sofa, smoking. Then they tried to persuade me by bringing up my husband and kids, threatening that if I didn’t confess, I’d be sentenced to life in prison. I thought, “The length of my sentence isn’t up to you, it’s in God’s hands. Even if I am sentenced to life in prison, I must stand firm in my testimony!” By late that night, the police still hadn’t gotten any information about the church from me, and they left the interrogation room dejected. I was tortured for over ten hours that day, without a drop of water or a bite of food. My whole body was weak and aching and my legs had no strength to stand. Later that night, two officers dragged me into a car and transported me to a detention center.

By the time we arrived, it was already 2 a.m., and the police told the female officers on duty that I was a member of Eastern Lightning, instructing them to have the lead inmate “take good care of” me. When I arrived at the cell, one of the female officers whispered something I didn’t hear to the lead inmate. The lead inmate shouted to wake up the other sleeping inmates and threw me to the ground. She shouted to them, “Beat her! She’s a member of Eastern Lightning.” Six inmates rushed forward. Some kicked me, some yanked at my hair, and all I could do was cover my head with my hands, curl up, and let them hit me. The lead inmate stood by and berated me, “Who had you join Eastern Lightning? Why doesn’t your God come save you? If you stop believing in God, we’ll stop beating you.” Beaten and writhing on the ground, I realized that when the police told the lead inmate to “take good care of” me, they were asking them to torture me. I hated these devils from the bottom of my heart! They beat me for more than half an hour, and then the lead inmate had me sit by the toilet on night duty. I’d been tortured so badly that I didn’t even have the strength to lift my head. I could only move slowly and leaned against the toilet wall. Just as I’d doze off, I’d hear people getting up to use the toilet from time to time, and some would kick me after they were done urinating. The stink from the toilet made me want to vomit. From childhood, my parents had always been very kind to me, and after marriage, my husband had been good to me. No one had ever treated me like this. Just because I believed in God, I was being subjected to this abject torture and humiliation. I felt deeply wronged. I didn’t know if they would continue to beat me, how long I would have to stay in this place, or if I would be able to endure it. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt, and I couldn’t help but break down in tears. At that moment, I thought of the hymn “Seek to Love God No Matter How Great Your Suffering”: “During these last days you must bear testimony to God. No matter how great your suffering, you should walk until the very end, and even at your last breath, still you must be faithful to God and at the mercy of God; only this is truly loving God, and only this is the strong and resounding testimony” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only by Experiencing Painful Trials Can You Know the Loveliness of God). Reflecting on God’s words, I realized that when I wasn’t subjected to arrests and persecution, I always felt that my faith in God was very strong, and I was always at the forefront in everything in the church. In doing duties I could endure the suffering that others couldn’t, and always thought of myself as the person who loved God the most. But now, having been arrested and tortured, I saw just how small my stature was. With just a bit of suffering and humiliation, I wanted to escape this environment, showing that I had no obedience and very little faith in God. I also remembered that every time I was weak, God used His words to guide and lead me, helping me to discern Satan’s schemes time and time again. God’s love is truly great. I resolved to myself, “So long as I’m breathing, I will never yield to Satan!”

The next morning at daybreak, the lead inmate got up, went to the toilet, and kicked me, telling me to get up and clean the toilet. After being tortured by the police for more than ten hours, my whole body was in agony, and I didn’t even have the strength to speak, let alone clean the toilet. Seeing that I didn’t move, the lead inmate called on the other inmates to beat me again. I was beaten to the ground, barely conscious. A convicted murderer said viciously, “Don’t let her off so easy. Make her get up and clean the toilet!” After saying this, a few of the inmates dragged me to the toilet, and forced my hands into the toilet. Looking down, I saw the toilet was filled with feces, and the foul stench made me feel nauseous and vomit. The inmates stood to one side, covering their noses and laughing uproariously. Their laughter was eerie and terrifying and sounded like it came from hell. They didn’t stop humiliating me there. The murderer grabbed my arm, forcing me to wash the toilet with my hands, and warned me, “If you don’t have this toilet spotless, I’ll kill you! No one cares if believers like you get beaten to death here!” After cleaning the toilet, they had me kneel on the ground and mop the floor, and as soon as I finished mopping the front, the lead inmate deliberately made the freshly cleaned area dirty again, and then ordered me, “Go back and mop it again. If it’s not clean, don’t even think about getting to eat!” I had no choice but to go back and mop it again. During meal time, just as I was about to reach for a steamed bun, the lead inmate snatched it, broke it into pieces, threw it on the ground, and kicked the pieces, saying, “If you don’t confess properly, you think you deserve to eat buns? All you deserve is to starve to death!” This was how things carried on, with the inmates making me clean the toilet and mop the floor every day, and at night, they wouldn’t let me sleep.

On the morning of the fourth day, the police came to interrogate me again. It was the depths of winter, and as soon as I entered the interrogation room, the police tore off my cotton-padded jacket and said aggressively, “If you don’t fess up, we’ll have you freeze to death today!” I was wearing only a thin sweater and was shivering all over. The police dragged me over to the wall and hung me from the radiator, with my toes barely touching the ground. After about an hour or so, the National Security Brigade captain walked in, took me down from the radiator, smiled at me, and said, “I never hit people, I want you to come out and tell me the truth. Will you write your own confessional, or do you want to dictate it to me? We’ve investigated your situation again over the past few days. You’re a leader, and we now have witnesses and evidence to prove that, but we want you to admit it yourself. If you confess, we’ll send you back home to your family right away.” A female police officer also sat in front of me, echoing them, and said, “We went to your home, your husband looked miserable, and your children were crying out for mommy. How can you, as a mother, bear to abandon them? Are you worthy of being a mother? Just hurry up and tell us what’s happening in the church, and we’ll send you home to reunite with your family right away.” The things the police said made me feel very conflicted, “Should I just confess, so I can go home and take care of my children?” Then I thought of Judas’ end and realized this was Satan’s scheme. The police were trying to use affection to make me betray God. Their methods were truly despicable! Not being able to take care of my children and fulfill my responsibilities as a mother was all their fault. Doing my duty and believing in God is perfectly natural and justified, and I hadn’t done anything illegal, but they had arrested me and tortured me for no good reason at all, and now they were pretending to be good people, saying I wasn’t a good mother because I wasn’t taking care of my children. They were distorting the facts and calling black, white, and white, black! My children were my Achilles’ heel, so I had to pray more and rely on God. I couldn’t betray God because of my affection and become a Judas without conscience. Seeing that I wasn’t saying anything, the National Security Brigade captain spoke to me in a really gentle tone, “Is it worth suffering for your faith in Almighty God? Others have already informed us of your belief in God; isn’t it foolish to not confess and still cover for others?” I firmly said, “What they’ve said or not said has nothing to do with me. I don’t know anything, and I don’t know anyone!” As soon as I’d said this, the captain slammed his fist on the table in anger, “If you don’t confess, you really will be sentenced to three years of re-education through labor. We arrested you to change you, so stop being so insistent on doing the wrong thing. Just hurry up and confess what you know! Everything you’ve eaten and drunk today was provided by the Communist Party, wasn’t it?” Hearing this, I sternly rebutted him, “The God we believe in is the unique true God who created heaven and earth and all things. The four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter are all managed by God; everything you eat and drink is provided by God, isn’t it? Without the provision and nourishment of God’s creation for mankind, could you have lived until now?” As soon as I finished speaking, his face darkened in anger. He pointed at me and through his teeth, said, “I’ve said so much to you today, and you haven’t listened to a single word. You’re truly beyond redemption!” In the end, he left in a fit of rage. Shortly after, two more police officers came in and as soon as they did, they hung me back up on the radiator. One officer beat my back with a stun baton, and I instinctively tried to dodge, but every movement caused the teeth of the handcuffs to dig into my flesh and cause excruciating pain. The officer berated me as he hit me, “Do you still want to make a martyr of yourself? Even if we don’t beat you to death today, we’ll sentence you to life in prison!” He then grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the wall. I was dazed and disoriented from the impact, and a large bump immediately began to form on my forehead, and my eyes swelled up horribly. Then he grabbed my hair again and began to punch me as if he were hitting a sandbag. I screamed in pain, feeling like my bones were breaking and like my chest was blocked, making it hard to breathe. He beat me while cursing, saying, “You’ve been godized. Let’s see if your mouth is tougher than my fists. One way or another, we’re going to pry your mouth open today!” Saying this, he punched me hard in the head, everything went black, and I lost consciousness immediately. I didn’t know how long it was before I woke up. The police officer yelled at me, “Still pretending to be dead? If you don’t confess, I’ll take you outside and feed you to the guard dogs!” I knew that whether I lived or died was in God’s hands. Without God’s permission, the police couldn’t do anything to me. Even if they tortured my body and took my life, my soul was in God’s hands. This thought made me feel less afraid. I made up my mind, “Even if I’m beaten to death, I will stand firm in my testimony. I will never become a Judas!”

I was hung from the radiator for three days and nights. Because I was hung there for so long, both my legs and feet swelled up. The pain from my waist to my legs became unbearable, so I prayed to God, “God, I don’t know how much longer I can endure. I’m worried I might not be able to withstand this torture. God! Please take my life. I would rather die than become a Judas.” After praying, I felt a chill all over my body. My legs and feet lost sensation and I no longer felt any pain. I witnessed God’s miraculous deeds, as He removed my pain, and I kept thanking God in my heart. The next morning, when the police saw that I still wasn’t saying anything, they yelled at me, “How much longer do you think you can endure? Look at your face—it’s so swollen, and you don’t even look human! To avoid betraying the church, you’re going through all this, abandoning your husband and kids. Do you really think it’s worth it?” He added, “If you don’t care about your own life, that’s one thing. But think about your children and husband; they’re waiting for you to come home. Just confess honestly, and you won’t have to suffer this pain anymore.” Hearing these words, I felt a deep rage, and thought, “It’s clearly you who’s preventing me from believing in God, arresting me, breaking up my family, and making it impossible for me to return home. You even use torture to torment me, and then you accuse me of abandoning my children and husband for the sake of my faith. This is a complete reversal of truth! Like a thief shouting ‘Stop thief!’” I recalled what God said: “For thousands of years this has been the land of filth. It is unbearably dirty, misery abounds, ghosts run rampant everywhere, tricking and deceiving, making groundless accusations, being ruthless and vicious, trampling this ghost town and leaving it littered with dead bodies; the stench of decay covers the land and pervades the air, and it is heavily guarded. Who can see the world beyond the skies? … Forefathers of the ancient? Beloved leaders? They all oppose God! Their meddling has left all beneath heaven in a state of darkness and chaos! Religious freedom? The legitimate rights and interests of citizens? They are all tricks for covering up sin!” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Work and Entry (8)). The Communist Party claims to uphold freedom of belief, but internally, it ruthlessly suppresses, arrests, and persecutes Christians, with the aim of destroying God’s work, making people not believe in or worship God, and controlling everyone to obey it, and to eventually perish along with it. After experiencing the cruelty and torture of the Communist Party, I saw its true wicked essence. It is a demon that opposes God and harms people, and I developed a profound hatred for it. I resolved to thoroughly rebel against and reject the great red dragon. At this thought, I forgot the pain in my wrists, and desperately wanted to kneel down and pour out my heart to God. At that moment, my body suddenly sank, and miraculously, the handcuffs opened. I knelt on the ground, crying and silently praying, “God! I have seen Your marvelous deeds. Though my flesh is weak, You have always been by my side, watching over and protecting me. Your love is so real!” The National Security Brigade captain was stunned to see this. After I finished praying, just as two police officers were about to come forward to put the handcuffs back on me, the captain nervously shouted, “Don’t move, step back!” The two police officers were so scared that they dared not move. The captain then ordered, “She is praying and cursing us; quickly step back!” The two officers stepped back a little, standing there, not daring to move, and stared blankly at me. For about half an hour, the room remained quiet. Later, one of the officers picked up the handcuffs and asked, “How did they open? Could the God she believes in really exist? These handcuffs aren’t broken! I don’t believe it. Let’s put another pair of handcuffs on her and hang her up!” Saying this, they handcuffed me again and hung me up. The two officers then swung my body like a rope swing, and with each swing, the handcuffs dug into my flesh. My hands felt like they were being torn apart with the piercing pain, and I couldn’t help but cry out. The officers stood by, smirking and said, “You’re still crying? Isn’t your God supposed to perform miracles? You still feel pain? We’re going to break your arms today!” Seeing how these devils took pleasure in tormenting people, I stopped crying, and made up my mind, “Even if they torture me to death, I must stand firm in my testimony!” In the end, the police saw they weren’t getting any evidence from me, and said dejectedly, “We’ve interrogated her for three days and nights without getting anything. So seeing as she’s half dead already, let’s give her three years of re-education through labor!” The police then took me back to the detention center.

Back in the cell, the inmates were astonished to see me beaten like this, and they chattered amongst themselves in disbelief, “How could they beat someone like this? We murderers and addicts have beatings like this coming, but she’s just a believer, she hasn’t done anything illegal and gets beaten like this. What an awful place this world is!” One inmate said to me, “You’ve got quite a backbone for believing in God. From your words and actions, it’s clear that you’re a good person. I’ve killed people, so I’ll never have the chance to believe in God in this life, but in the next life, I’ll also believe in God and be a good person.” Hearing the inmates say these things, I knew it wasn’t my own goodness but the effect of God’s words guiding me.

The police couldn’t get anything from interrogating me and ultimately sentenced me to three years of re-education through labor. When I learned I had to serve three more years, I felt very weak, not knowing when all this would end, so I prayed to God, asking Him to guide me to stand firm in my testimony. I thought of a hymn of God’s words “Only Those With Genuine Faith Gain God’s Approval”: “When Moses struck the rock, and the water bestowed by Jehovah sprang forth, it was because of his faith. When David played the lyre in praise of Me, Jehovah—with his heart filled with joy—it was because of his faith. When Job lost his livestock that filled the mountains and untold masses of wealth, and his body became covered in sore boils, it was because of his faith. When he could hear the voice of Me, Jehovah, and see the glory of Me, Jehovah, it was because of his faith” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Inside Truth of the Work of Conquest (1)). I thought of Job, David, and Moses, who, because of their faith, saw the marvelous deeds of God. Today, I was suffering these hardships because of my faith in God. This was permitted by God and I was willing to submit and experience it.

In June 2003, the police transferred me to the labor camp. During my time in the labor camp, I got up every morning at 5 a.m., worked seventeen to eighteen hours a day, and often had to work overtime until two or three in the morning. If I didn’t do the work well, I was made to stand as punishment, had my sentence extended, and couldn’t rest until the work was done. Every night before going to sleep, I had to memorize the camp rules, and if I couldn’t memorize them, I wasn’t allowed to sleep. The long-term overwhelming physical labor combined with mental stress, made my head feel dizzy every day, and with my high blood pressure, frequent pains in my heart, panic when startled, and a herniated disc, I was in such severe pain but the police only gave me some medicine, before making me continue to work. In the labor camp, we were like slaves, entirely at their mercy, with no human rights or freedom. The only thing that comforted me was that there were more than ten sisters who believed in God in the labor camp, and we often snuck notes to one another to share God’s words and songs, encouraging each other. A sister snuck me a letter, and when I saw the letter from brothers and sisters and the hand-copied words of God, I felt really warm and touched. I read this passage of God’s words: “That Peter could follow Jesus Christ was down to his faith. That he could be nailed to the cross for My sake and give glorious testimony was also down to his faith. When John saw the glorious image of the Son of man, it was down to his faith. When he saw the vision of the last days, it was all the more because of his faith” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Inside Truth of the Work of Conquest (1)). I was so touched that I couldn’t help but cry. God knew my weakness, and even more so, the needs of my soul. He had arranged for the sister to send me the letter of encouragement and help, and He was guiding and leading me with His words, giving me faith and strength. I felt just how truly immense God’s love is, and the suffering didn’t feel quite as bad as before.

In September 2005, I was released and went home. Due to the torture, I developed a severe heart disease and high blood pressure, and on rainy days, my arms, waist, and legs hurt really badly, and because of the extended use of handcuffs, my wrists still couldn’t lift heavy objects. Although I was released from prison after my sentence, the police continued to send people to track and monitor me, and they had my relatives and neighbors keep an eye on my movements at all times. Periodically, they sent people to my home to ask if I still believed in God, and if I wasn’t home, they would inquire where I had gone. I couldn’t do my duties normally or attend gatherings, which caused me a lot of stress. Having been personally arrested and persecuted by the Communist Party, I saw the Communist Party’s despicableness and cruelty, and clearly recognized its devilish essence of resisting and hating God. I loathe and reject it from the bottom of my heart, and at the same time, I thank God for guiding me step by step to see through Satan’s schemes, which strengthened my faith, and enabled me to overcome being harmed by demons and walk out of the den of devils alive. I truly tasted God’s love and salvation, and I am determined to do my utmost to do my duties well and repay God’s love.