The memorial service of Li Daosheng, also known as " the last member of the Northwest Spiritual Band," was held in Xinjiang on July 29, 2017. About five hundred people attended it. Rev. Li passed away on July 27 at age 94.
On that day, a special team was set up to record the funeral. The team wrote that many churches and institutions across China offered condolences, including several local churches in Xinjiang. There were hymns sung, prayers voiced, and a sermon delivered to bid farewell to the servant of the Lord in the service. After the memorial service, believers carried his body to the cemetery. They prayed and praised God hand in hand in the graveyard.
Born in Shenyang in 1923, Li Daosheng moved to his hometown Weifang with his parents in 1930. When the Second world War broke out in 1937, some local teachers used the village's chapel as a classroom where more than 20 students, including Li, studied. His father converted to Christianity at an early age. He often attended services in Hanting Church with his famiy and was baptized in a Presbyterian church.
He worked as a teacher in a central local primary school from 1942 to 1944 and married Zhang Huirong (originally named Zhang XInzhai, died on August 16, 1996) during that time.
Recommended by one of his relatives, he decided to study theology in North China Theological Seminary situated in Teng County in the south of Shandong province.
In 1945, the railway to Teng County was damaged and, as a result, over twenty theological freshmen including Li had to attend classes and Bible studies at the president's home. More than a month later, the railway was repaired. The batch of students took the train to the seminary. During his seminary days, he experienced a critical change and devoted his whole life to God.
-Translated by Karen Luo
