Last night at the family gathering, we listened to Brother Liu Ming, who was on crutches, preach about the crucifixion of Jesus. After speaking with tears in his eyes about the Lord's suffering, His passion, His love, and what He has done for us, Brother Liu shared with us his own salvation experience.
Brother Liu Ming was born in a poor village in eastern Henan Province. As the eldest of four siblings, he dropped out of school at an early age to work. In 1991, he was accidentally hit in the back at a construction site by a steel bar that fell from nowhere, leaving him paralyzed. At that time, Liu was 23 years old and already married; his eldest daughter could not yet walk; and his son was still in his wife's bosom. A family of four, three of whom could not move, went through so much unbearable pain that Brother Liu knocked his head against the wall.
The church members sent rice, noodles, and oil. To this day, Brother Liu still remembers an old woman who wrapped one, two, and five yuan, layer by layer, not wanting to spend it herself but slipping it into Brother Liu's hands. Thus, with the help of the brothers and sisters, Brother Liu bravely faced his suffering and was baptized into the Lord with his wife.
A year later, Liu was able to do some simple things by himself, even with his crutches. After praying with his wife, he moved to Zhengzhou. When she went out to work, Brother Liu set up a stall on the street to repair cars and make keys.
He gritted his teeth and persevered while praying to God for help. Little did he know that business would keep getting better, and in the 90's he could sometimes earn over one hundred yuan a day. In no time, Brother Liu had saved more than 50,000 yuan. His children were about to go to school and needed to do a household registration; the only chance to get it done was to buy a house in Zhengzhou. So, the two looked for a three-bedroom house with an area of 120m². But with 130,000 yuan, the money was far from enough. Liu returned home and tried to borrow money from his father. To his surprise, his father said that his two brothers were not married and even needed their disabled elder brother's help.
During those difficult days, Brother Liu asked his brothers and sisters to pray for him. Unexpectedly, at the prayer meeting, an elderly sister said, "I have 2,000; is that okay?" Another aunt said, "I have saved 30,000 for my son's wedding, the children are still young anyway, so you can use it first" …
In this way, the church members managed to raise the balance of 80,000 yuan. They, who were not related to him, gave all that they could, even when his parents could not help. Three years later, when Liu paid the last and largest sum (30,000 yuan), the lady said that her son was not married and that she did not need the money.
After this, Brother Liu not only read the Bible diligently but also took a correspondence theology course online and gradually began to study the Bible, lead, and preach in various meeting places. This went on for over twenty years.
Every time Liu preached and witnessed the Lord, he was filled with gratitude. He was a paralyzed man, but by the grace of the Lord and the love of his brothers and sisters, he was able to stand up. Now, he has gotten rid of his crutches and can walk on his own, although his legs wobble. Not only that, he has moved to the big city and has his own business and shop, and his son and daughter now have their own families.
(This is a special/freelance article written by a Christian in Henan Province.)
-Translated by Nonye Nancy
