The day before yesterday, my church leader, workers and I drove to visit senior Christians who live in mountain areas of Henan.
After an-hour drive, we arrived in the home of an elderly, bedridden brother. His son and son-in-law were also there, who were in preparation for the final arrangements. We prayed for him and talked with them about where should notice in funeral affairs.
Next, we visited a mountain church I traveled to last year. In an inconvenient location, the church has only twenty or thirty elderly believers. With poor financial conditions, many of them live in stone houses and burn firewood found in the mountain to cook meals. Their children are migrant workers, some of whom have purchased apartments in cities, and return to see them during festivals.
On Sundays, they go to the church on foot and some have to walk as far as at least three miles. But they never feel tried and bitter. One of them told us that when they were young, they attended services in our church. During the years, they woke up at one or two hours after midnight, climbed up and down the mountain to participate in services, and returned to the home in the same way after services.
A retired elder from the local CCC&TSPM resides in a stone house without walls or a front door. Flowers and grass grow in the yard. Inside the house, there are some simple furnishings and a roof made of plastic cloth. The most expensive article is a television.
In his seventies, he only receives a monthly retirement pay of 400 yuan. Despite being retired, he is scheduled by the local church to preach a sermon once a month. He has two sons who are a staff of the local CCC&TSPM of Henan and a migrant worker. At ordinary times, he eats in one of their homes in turns and barely supports himself.
Hearing his stories, I felt grieved for the hard life of preachers. I didn't know when the church would care about the life of preachers who might needn't worry about their retirement and families. What I could do was to pray that God could provide them.
- Translated by Karen Luo
