On June 1, 2019, the brothers and sisters from the Protestant gathering point of the Henan Village in Shaheyan county, Dunhua City, Jilin Province, to help a villager to transplant rice seedlings. Coming from different directions, they all went to his paddy fields and busily began working.
It turned out that that time of year is the transplanting season in the north-eastern countryside. Every household races against time, and it is necessary (for them) to complete the planting of the already-cultivated rice seedlings into the paddy fields before the rainy season starts. However for the villager, Mr Hou Wenju, it was very unfortunate that his wife became critically ill. On the one hand, his gravely ill wife needed care. On the other hand, the planting season could not be delayed. His eight-acre paddy field was still waiting for him to work it. Especially after Mr Hou became aware of some villagers who had already finished the planting, he became quite anxious.
Upon hearing this news, Mr Xu Qinglan, the pastor in charge of the gathering point, immediately convened a ministry meeting. Everyone unanimously decided that whoever was available in the congregation would take one day off to dedicate their time to helping Mr Hou's family plant the seedlings. After the meeting, everyone went their separate ways to prepare.
Early the next morning, they gathered at Mr Hou's paddy field. More than a dozen physically fit, young and middle-aged brothers and sisters from the congregation came to the field that day. Some took on the job of transporting the seedlings, some the transplanting, and all worked in pleasant cooperation. At noon, the brothers and sisters who could not make it into the field prepared and sent a hearty lunch for everyone. Mr Hou Wenju was deeply touched and expressed his gratitude.
(The author of this article is a co-worker of the CCC&TSPM in Dunhua city, Jilin Proviince.)
-Translated by Jake
