Sister Lu from Beijing has engaged in the visitation ministry for severely ill patients for nine years. She and another sister provide material and mental support for patients and their families.
Her service began with a prayer request message for a child with leukemia sent to her in September 2009. The surname of the child was Zhao. At that time he was 12. Now Zhao is recoverd from his illness and is in college.
Meanwhile, Lu contacted two other young people suffering from the same disease. Since then, she started to visit more people. "My service was very simple in my early visits. I only brought some small apples." She shared. Despite her "little" gifts, the sick people she visited were really moved. She prayed for them and also helped raise funds for financially disadvantaged patients.
In early 2010, one patient she visited gave up the leukemia treatment and jumped from the hospital. The parents contacted Lu. Sitting on the ground, the mother did not dare look at the deceased child. She didn't have the courage to do it until Lu found his brain not smashed and his body not bleeding.
In May 2010, the parents had no idea of making arrangements for the funeral. Lu and other believers took the initiative to help them and buried him in a Christian cemetery. The father said, "The biggest lesson for my stay in Beijing is knowing God and you brothers and sisters."
For the deaths of patients, Lu confessed that she felt sad and sometimes became weak. Later she learned to trust in God because she knew that God completely controls people's lives. Meanwhile, she kept in contact with their family members and helped walk out of the pain of the losses.
Many patients have leukemia, a disease that costs them hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan. Considering a high rent near hospitals, a portion of patients' family members choose to stay overnight in the hospitals' chairs and the aisle. Then she contacts some Christians who can offer apartments ranging from a couple of nights to as long as three months.
"I believe that I may not be far just by myself." God's guidance and support from other Christians contribute to her persistence to the servanthood.
Xiao Yan, a new worker who just accepted Jesus one year ago, has been involved in the ministry for eight or nine months. She met Lu three months after she became a Christian. She was moved by Lu's loving heart. Xiao Yan was impressed by a story that Lu traveled on a train through the night to visit a family and the next evening she came back.
Asked what kept Lu going, she replied that she approached God for His strength."I feel that there is a fire burning in the heart of every visitation worker. The more we serve, the more powerful we are. Seeing the needs of patients, I walk out of weakness." She added.
- Translated by Karen Luo
