A message from China: thank you

Du was one of China’s millions of migrant workers, leaving his rural town for the city – chasing work and a decent income. But urban life was grim; Du ended up working in a factory, despondent and lost.

One day, he found a pocket-sized Bible – one printed at Amity Printing Press and subsidised by someone like you – on a bed in his dormitory. Someone had left it behind. Du picked it up and started to read. ‘I realised I had been blinded by atheism to see only the physical world and material things,’ he said.

‘My heart was changed and I committed myself to the Lord.’

Today, Du lives in the town where he grew up and is training to be a church worker. He added, ‘I may not possess great wealth in this life, but I know I have no lack in the one true God.’

Ninety-year-old Ma Wen is full of joy. After 25 years of following Jesus, she’s received her first Bible. Ma Wen got up at 3am to travel to a rural church with her daughter when she heard that Bibles were being distributed. She was one of many who raised her hand to request a Bible.

Ma Wen said, ‘The Bible is very precious to me. When I became a Christian I could not read, but I have learned more and more words.’ She wept as she recalled the verse that speaks to her most – ‘where it says Jesus was crucified for my sins.’

And Ma Wen had a message for people like you, who helped to put the Bible into her hands: ‘I want to thank you a thousand times because you are so generous. I am so happy and thankful to have a Bible today.’

Fruit grower Han Xiaoling never went to school as a child because she had to help out with her family. So before she attended a Scripture literacy class in her village church, supported by Bible Society, Han could barely read a word.

She crammed into the class with 120 others, and within six months she could read basic text. The result? She’s been filled with confidence and passion to share God’s word. ‘There are opportunities everywhere,’ said Han. ‘I want people to know that all we have comes from God and that they should trust him.’

Already her family, her husband’s family and three of her friends have come to faith in Christ. ‘After learning to read I felt more hopeful. I could appreciate the message of God for me,’ added Han.

Preacher Ci Liheng has very few Bible resources and no spiritual mentors. He lives in a remote and inaccessible part of China, and juggles church ministry with farm work. For someone like Ci, born into poverty, Bible training is almost impossible to access.

However, thanks to the generosity of people like you, Ci had the opportunity to receive training from a team of Bible experts, sponsored by Bible Society.

‘It was a real blessing to soak in the word of God, studying and meditating on it under the guidance of experienced teachers and pastors,’ said Ci, who serves a congregation of 250 people. ‘There have been times in the past when I was not confident that I had preached correctly. I even tried to appear knowledgeable. Now I’m much more confident.’