By Xiao Kang, China

One day in May 2004, I was in a gathering with two sisters when over 20 police suddenly came charging in. They yelled at us saying, “None of you move, sit on the floor!” Then they took pictures of the three of us before proceeding to upend the entire house like a gang of bandits. One of the policemen found in my purse a receipt for 200,000 yuan in church funds. My heart leaped into my throat as I thought: “Now that they’ve found this receipt, they’ll certainly ask me about the whereabouts of the church’s funds.” I hurriedly prayed to God, asking Him to help me to not betray Him as Judas did and allow me to stand firm in my witness for Him. A policeman then asked me: “Is this your purse?” When I didn’t respond, he slapped me hard across the face and kicked me several times. Then they forcibly escorted us into their squad car.

After arriving at the public security bureau, we were separated and taken in for interrogation. The captain of the National Security Brigade asked me how high up I was in the leadership and with whom I typically gathered. When I didn’t respond, he picked up a book and smacked me across the face and head with it several times, leaving my face in searing pain. I thought to myself, “What kind of torture will they subject me to in order to get that 200,000 yuan from me? Will I be able to withstand it? What if I break down and betray God like Judas?” As these thoughts occurred to me, I immediately became anxious and asked God to give me faith and strength. Then I thought of God’s words which say: “Those in power may seem vicious from the outside, but do not be afraid, for this is because you have little faith. As long as your faith grows, nothing will be too difficult” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 75). “That’s right,” I thought. “No matter how vicious these policemen may be, they are all within God’s grasp. Without God’s permission, they can’t so much as lay a finger on me. I should have faith in God and put myself in His hands. No matter how the police treat me, I must rely on God and stand firm in my witness for Him.” I angrily asked them, “On what grounds have you arrested and beaten us? What law have we broken?” Another policeman viciously replied: “Still denying your guilt, are you? Believing in Almighty God is against the law, the party and our country!” I replied, saying: “In our faith, all we do is gather and read God’s words. We never take part in politics, so how could we be acting against the party and the country? You’re knowingly violating the law by arresting and beating us without cause.” He became so angry that he was clearly about to hit me, but just then, another officer came and told them to go get dinner and resume questioning later that night.

That evening, they took me to a hotel and grilled me on who was keeping the 200,000 yuan in church funds and where they were located. One of the officers slapped me so hard when I wouldn’t answer that I began to see stars and my cheeks stung with the pain. The captain of the National Security Brigade tried to intimidate me, saying: “Just a few days ago, we arrested several of your upper leaders. We’ve been following you for a while now and we know you’re a leader. You’d better fully cooperate with us or we’ll beat you to death!” I ignored him and just kept praying to God in my heart, asking Him to give me courage and wisdom so that I wouldn’t fear Satan. After that, another officer affected a forced smile and said: “All you have to do is tell us what you know and then you can go home. Your child is still so young and there’s no one else to take care of your parents. How will they manage if you’re not there at home for them? Just tell us what you know now or you’re going to prison!” Hearing this, I thought: “My parents are both in their seventies and my daughter is still so young. Who will look after them if I’m sentenced to jail?” As I thought this, I couldn’t help but cry. Just then, I thought of God’s words which say: “At all times, My people should be on guard against the cunning schemes of Satan, guarding the gate of My house for Me … so as to avoid falling into Satan’s trap, at which time it would be too late for regrets” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Words to the Entire Universe, Chapter 3). God’s words reminded me that Satan was just trying to use my concern for my family members to tempt me into betraying God. I couldn’t fall into its trap. I thought of another passage of God’s words that says: “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? Why do you always worry about the family of your flesh? You always pine for your loved ones! Do I have a certain place in your heart?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 59). Indeed, the fates of my daughter and parents were all within God’s grasp and were His to dictate and arrange, so what did I have to worry about? I should give them over to God and shouldn’t betray my brothers and sisters out of concern for my family. I made a silent oath: “Even if I have to sit in jail for the rest of my days, I will never sell out my brothers and sisters or betray God!” Just then, another officer came in and said that they needed to interrogate the two other sisters first, at which point they moved to an adjacent room, leaving only two officers behind to guard me. Not soon after that, I heard the chilling sound of my sisters’ repeated screams. I felt enraged—as believers and followers of God, we were walking the right path and not breaking any laws, and yet the CCP had arrested and brutalized us! I thought of God’s words which say: “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 CCP is a devil that hates and resists God. God’s incarnation and salvation of humanity is a truly joyous occasion, but the CCP doesn’t permit God to come to earth. They won’t allow us to believe in God, follow God and walk the right path. They furiously pursue Christ and come down hard on God’s followers. They are devoted to rooting us all out, eradicating us and suppressing God’s work to achieve eternal sovereignty and satisfy their wild ambition to control humanity; they are truly antagonistic. I hated the CCP, this old demon, with all my heart, and the more they persecuted me, the more I desired to follow God. No matter how much I had to suffer, I was willing to stand firm in my witness for God to humiliate Satan.

Later, a little after 4 o’clock in the morning, the guards lay down on their beds and went to sleep. I had an incredible urge to run out of there and escape, but I also worried that if I didn’t succeed and were brought back in, the police would use even harsher torture tactics on me. I hurriedly prayed to God: “Oh God! If You’ve opened this way out for me, please fill me with the faith, courage and wisdom I need to escape from this lion’s den.” After concluding my prayer, 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). God’s words gave me strength: God is almighty and rules sovereign over all things. Satan is also within God’s grasp. I thought of how when Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt and was trapped between the pursuing chariots behind them and the Red Sea before them, Moses urgently called out to Jehovah God and God opened up a path for them, parting the waters of the Red Sea and unveiling a strip of dry land along the middle. After the Israelites had passed through the Red Sea, God swiftly closed up the pathway through the high waters, swallowing up the pursuing Egyptians in the process. Realizing that all things are subject to God’s sovereignty, I felt less afraid and had the courage and faith to flee. I quietly opened the door and gently closed it on my way out before slowly making my way down to the first floor, slippers in hand. There was no one at the front desk, but when I got to the entrance to the building, I saw it was locked. I thought: “I won’t be able to escape now. I’d better head back. If the police find out what I’ve done, they’ll be sure to give me a hard beating.” I was incredibly nervous and my heart was beating out of my chest. Yet, to my surprise, on my way back to the second stairwell, I suddenly noticed there was a back exit. So I slowly walked over to have a look, but that door was also locked—another disappointment. I thought: “Oh God! I won’t try to escape if You do not permit it. I’m willing to submit to Your orchestrations and arrangements. If I do have Your permission, then please open up a path for me.” I carefully tugged on the lock and, to my surprise, it opened right up! I was so happy and ran out the back door as fast as I could. I ran with all my might, and, after a grueling journey, I finally made it to my aunt’s house some 4 kilometers away.

Just after I’d sat down in my aunt’s house, I suddenly heard the piercing wail of police sirens coming from the street—the same kind they used when they were pursuing serious criminals. At the mere thought of the ferocious faces of those officers and their various torture tactics, I became panicked and worried that they’d snatch me up at any moment. Just then, God’s words once again lent me encouragement: “Do not fear, the Almighty God of hosts will surely be with you; He stands behind you and He is your shield” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 26). God’s words gave me an instant influx of courage and faith. With God behind me what did I have to be afraid of? Hadn’t God already helped deliver me from the lion’s den? I had to have faith in God and put myself entirely in His hands. How much I would suffer had already been predestined by God, and if I were arrested again, it would only be with His permission. At this thought, I felt a little calmer, but then I thought about how my aunt’s son and daughter-in-law both objected to her believing in God and had even wanted to send her off to the police station on more than one occasion. I wasn’t sure what they’d do if they found out the CCP was looking for me, so I knew I had to leave there as quickly as possible.

To ensure that I wouldn’t be recognized, I cut my hair short and changed my clothes. Then, on the third morning of my stay with my aunt, at around 4 o’clock in the morning, I slipped out of the house and rode 20 kilometers on my bike along backroads to Sister Dong En’s house. I remembered that I had arranged to chat with a few sisters every day at around noon, but they didn’t know I’d been arrested and the police had my phone—if they called me, they’d be monitored and eventually arrested. So I bought a new phone card and called to tell them to turn off their phones right away. Unfortunately, the police were already monitoring their calls and as soon as I contacted them, they immediately pinpointed my location. A few days later at around 7 o’clock in the evening, the CCP mobilized a massive police force consisting of public security bureau officers, armed police and SWAT operatives to seek out and arrest me in Dong En’s village. As soon as Dong En’s husband found out, he hurriedly told me that the police had the village surrounded and they had probably come to get me. At that moment, my heart began beating out of my chest with fright and I hurriedly ran downstairs without even changing out my slippers. When I got down to the first floor, I was immediately greeted by Sister Liu Yi, who also lived in the same village. She grabbed hold of me and we both sprinted out of the house to a soybean field about fifty meters away. No sooner had we crouched down in that field than a team of seven or eight officers charged into Dong En’s house and began searching every floor with flashlights. When they still hadn’t found me after searching for over half an hour, they took Dong En’s husband instead. Liu Yi and I hid out in that soybean field until around 11 o’clock that night, at which point she decided to go back into Dong En’s house to see how things were, believing that the police had already left. She was gone for a long time, and I felt terribly worried for her, but I didn’t dare act rashly. Then suddenly, a police car pulled up outside of the house and, moments later, I had to watch helplessly as they escorted Liu Yi into the squad car. I couldn’t hold back my tears and I hated myself for allowing Liu Yi to go back in the house, but all I could do then was say a silent prayer for her.

At that time, I didn’t dare go to any of the other brothers’ and sisters’ houses and I didn’t know where I should flee to, so I just began aimlessly running south. But some of the village dogs wouldn’t stop chasing after me and barking. I was afraid the police would come looking if they heard them, so I quickly hid out in a corn field. Not soon after, I heard scooter engines revving around in the vicinity and was nearly scared out of my wits. I thought to myself: “There’s no way I’ll be able to escape with so many police out here looking for me. They know I’m a leader and they have that receipt—if they catch me again, they’ll certainly kill me. Is it really my fate to be murdered by the CCP at such a young age?” Realizing this, I became a bit despondent, but just then I remembered that God’s words say: “Who of the whole of mankind is not cared for in the eyes of the Almighty? Who does not live in the midst of the Almighty’s predestination? Does man’s life and death happen by his own choice? Does man control his own fate?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Words to the Entire Universe, Chapter 11). Indeed, my fate was in God’s hands, and He had the final say over whether I would live or die. If God didn’t permit me to be arrested and tortured to death by the CCP, the police would certainly be unable to take my life. When Satan attacked and tempted Job, it did not have God’s permission to kill Job, so it could only harm his body and couldn’t take his life. I thought of another passage of God’s words that says: “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). God’s words filled me with faith. I knew I needed to put myself in God’s hands and submit to His orchestrations and arrangements. Even if I only had one remaining breath, I had to remain loyal to God and never betray Him. I thought of Peter, who after experiencing all manner of persecution and hardships, was willing to be crucified upside down to bear witness for his love of God. Throughout the ages, countless saints have sacrificed their lives to spread the gospel, bearing an unyielding and resounding testimony to God to foil and humiliate Satan. To be able to experience this persecution and hardship and have the opportunity to bear witness for God was, in fact, a blessing. Realizing this, I felt a renewed sense of courage and so I prayed to God, vowing to Him that I would bear witness to Him before Satan even if it meant putting my life on the line. After prayer, I felt less panicked and I began thinking of how I could rely on God to escape. I knew I couldn’t take a main road, so I circled round to the forest on the outskirts of the village and made my way through it, sometimes running along the river’s edge. With God’s safekeeping, I finally managed to escape from the village unharmed.

When I emerged from the forest, it was already late at night and I wasn’t sure where I should go, so I decided to head for my sister’s house, some 10 kilometers away. I heard scooters driving along the main road and realized that the police were still trying to encircle me and cut me off, so I ran barefoot through small paths in the wilderness. After about two or three kilometers, I passed through some rice paddies and cut my foot on a tile, but there was no time to attend to the pain—I kept on running forward as fast as I could. Eventually I came to a gravel road, which was the only road that led to my sister’s house. The gravel pressed into the cut on my foot, causing me agonizing pain, but I just had to grit my teeth as I didn’t dare stop. Right when I was about to pass by an electric pump station, I heard a scooter coming up behind me and hurriedly ducked into some bushes on the side of the road. The scooter stopped by the station and a police officer asked the old man who was working as an attendant there if he’d seen a woman walk by. The old man said he hadn’t seen anything. I thought to myself: “I can’t keep traveling on this gravel road. I should go back to walking along the rice paddies or backroads; I might be able to evade the police that way.” After another half kilometer or so, seeing that daybreak was slowly approaching, I figured the police might have called it quits after searching for me all night and I could head back to the main road. But to my surprise, I suddenly caught sight of the captain of the National Security Brigade and two police just a few paces away, one sitting on a scooter, one standing beside the scooter and another squatting on the ground. I was so frightened I thought my heart would leap right out of my chest. I thought to myself, “Now I’m screwed, there’s no way I can escape now. I ran all night, but I still didn’t manage to escape their clutches.” I hurriedly prayed to God: “Oh God! All things are within Your control. If You allow me to be arrested by the police, I am willing to submit and let everything proceed according to Your orchestrations.” After praying, I felt a bit calmer and, after smoothing out my hair, I stood where I was for a few seconds and then took a step forward. If they wanted to arrest me, they could have easily done so right then, but to my surprise, they stayed right where they were, as motionless as a trio of wooden carvings. It seemed that they didn’t recognize me because I had cut my hair and changed my clothes, and I looked completely different from when they first arrested me. Seeing that they didn’t seem to be reacting to me, I felt a little braver and more confident and I kept walking forward. As I walked past them, I was holding my breath nervously; it was as if everything around me had frozen. I saw a little road heading east, so I slowly walked toward it, but the three officers still hadn’t budged. I had once again beheld God’s almighty sovereignty. When I had gotten about 10 meters away from them, I heard the captain yell out from behind me, “Xiao Kang, Xiao Kang, is that you Xiao Kang?” He must have yelled out at me four or five times. When I heard him yelling my name, my heart was beating out of my chest, and I broke out in a cold sweat. I wanted more than anything to take off in a mad dash, but my legs weren’t listening to my brain’s commands. It occurred to me that if I made a run for it, they’d know it was me and would come chasing after me. I hurriedly prayed to God, asking Him to keep me calm and not let me panic. After praying, I felt a little calmer and no matter how the police called to me, I just ignored them and kept walking. None of the police came chasing after me. Just like that, with God’s safekeeping, I escaped from right under their noses.

This incredibly risky escape made me think of a passage of God’s words: “Regardless of how ‘powerful’ Satan is, regardless of how audacious and ambitious it is, regardless of how great is its ability to inflict damage, regardless of how wide-ranging are the techniques with which it corrupts and lures man, regardless of how clever are the tricks and schemes with which it intimidates man, regardless of how changeable is the form in which it exists, it has never been able to create a single living thing, has never been able to set down laws or rules for the existence of all things, and has never been able to rule and control any object, whether animate or inanimate. Within the cosmos and the firmament, there is not a single person or object that was born from it, or exists because of it; there is not a single person or object that is ruled by it, or controlled by it. On the contrary, it not only has to live under the dominion of God, but, moreover, must submit to all of God’s orders and commands. Without God’s permission, it is difficult for Satan to touch even a drop of water or grain of sand upon the land; without God’s permission, Satan is not even free to move the ants about upon the land, let alone mankind, who was created by God” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique I). I saw that God is almighty, rules sovereign over all things and has the utmost and ultimate authority. It was God that blinded the policemen, allowing me to slip by unnoticed. Looking back on these two instances of the CCP’s repression and arrest, I realized that there is nowhere that God’s powers don’t reach. When I was arrested, God opened up a way out for me, allowing me to escape without incident. The police mobilized a massive operation to find and arrest me, encircling the house and village I was staying in, but they still weren’t able to catch me. Then they tried to chase me down and cut me off on the road, but they somehow didn’t recognize me when I walked right by them. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that God is truly almighty and, no matter how savagely Satan acts, it can’t lay a finger on me without God’s permission.

Later on, some brothers and sisters told me that the CCP had posted wanted signs displaying my picture with a caption that read “Severe disruptor of social order” throughout the county. Police were also going through city buses with my picture asking if anyone knew of my whereabouts. Because the police were still searching for me, I couldn’t go out at all to do my duties and had to hide out in my host family’s home, and I was constantly on edge. After that, I didn’t go outside for over a year, and I felt so repressed and dejected. Sometimes I felt like it was just too difficult and painful to believe in God in the great red dragon’s country. I saw a passage of God’s words that say: “Because it is embarked upon in a land that opposes God, all of God’s work faces tremendous obstacles, and accomplishing many of His words takes time; thus, people are refined as a result of God’s words, which is also part of suffering. It is tremendously difficult for God to carry out His work in the land of the great red dragon—but it is through this difficulty that God does one stage of His work, making manifest His wisdom and His wondrous deeds, and using this opportunity to make this group of people complete” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Is the Work of God As Simple As Man Imagines?). I realized that God wasn’t intentionally making people suffer, rather, He was using the adverse circumstances created by the CCP’s arrest and persecution of believers to perfect people’s faith and love and make a group of overcomers.

Looking back on this whole experience—from being arrested, to escaping and up until now—I’ve faced quite a bit of hardship, but it’s allowed me to clearly recognize the demonic essence of the CCP’s resistance to God. The CCP is no longer able to mislead me and I’ve rebelled against and abandoned it. At the same time, I’ve seen up close and personal that God has been with me every step of the way, helping me whenever I was in need and opening up a way for me again and again. God’s words have given me faith and strength and guided me out of the lion’s den time after time. I’ve seen God’s almighty sovereignty and this has deepened my faith in God. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I have gained so much through this hardship and persecution. With this in mind, I don’t suffer at all, but rather feel as though God has shown me grace and favored me by letting me experience His work through this difficult situation. No matter how the CCP hunts for and persecutes me, I will continue to pursue the truth, fulfill my duty and repay God’s love!