On October 20, more than 20 local believers came to a simple farmyard in Xiyi Village, Lifen City, Shanxi Province to attend a short memorial service.
Elder Zhang Xiaohua, a member of the Fellowship of the Disabled of Yaodu District Church, recalled how Jiao Mingqing, a disabled believer, served the Lord.
Born in 1966, Brother Jiao passed away on October 18 at the age of 55. He was crippled in one arm and one leg as a child, which made it difficult for him to move. His parents died young, and he later began to repent and believe in the true God. He devoted himself to God ever since.
In the Xiyi Church, he would ride a tricycle to serve the church voluntarily, carrying goods back-and-forth. He also took Elder Zheng Fengying to each village to preach sermons. He would also help the church with logistics while ordering maintenance and epidemic prevention during major events such as Christmas and Easter. Just a few days ago, he was still active in prayer and Bible study organized by the church and participated in them every afternoon.
The village provided him with the minimum living allowance and proper food, clothing, fuel, and by paying their burial expenses. The Fifth Pastoral Area where he belonged to in the church often offered him help. The Fellowship of the Disabled also visited him frequently. During his illness, they helped him to participate in the free medical check-up service and the believers donated food, clothing, and consolation money to him.
Late in life, Jiao joined the Fellowship of the Disabled of Yaodu District Church. He would ride a tricycle to every activity, riding more than 10 kilometers to the city, and sometimes he also took the initiative to pick up other disabled believers. Although he was not good at words, God gave him the gift of memory. He studied hard and learned to perform the Chinese allegro to preach the Gospel.
His allegro performance became part of the annual Christmas celebration service of the church and the fellowship. He volunteered to collect jokes for evangelizing and saving souls. These jokes were easy to understand and were deeply loved by audiences. He would also often go with the Fellowship to perform for the elderly at nursing homes. He remembered the Bible very well, especially the outlines of the Old and New Testaments. This consisted of more than 200 sentences and he knew them by heart. He once said that in order to remember allegro lyrics, he would recite them before going to bed at night and after waking up in the morning. Whether he was walking or doing farm work, he would always recite.
- Translated by Stephen Huang
