In the morning of June 20, the sacred band played mourning music to bid farewell to a deaconess in the hall of the funeral home in Yaodu District, Linfen City, Shanxi.
The choir presented hymns in the memorial service presided over by Pastor Wang Shuai. Rev. Huang Hailin gave a sermon, while memorial essays were delivered by Elder Chen Li, the person in charge of Yaodu District CC&TSPM and Deacon Chai Feng, representative of the Southwest Region.
Deaconess Liang Caiyun was involved in a car accident on the way to the church on the morning of June 13 and was evacuated to the hospital for treatment. But she passed away at 10 a.m. on the 18th of June.
Born in a farmhouse in Xiandi Town, Yaodu District, she became a Christian after working as a doctor at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Skin Disease Hospital in Yaodu District.
After retiring, she was ordained as a deaconess and elected as the director of the southwestern region of the district, as her life had changed after studying the Bible.
She served in the seven activity sites of the region over the past decade.
Every week, she prepared sermons in advance to meet the spiritual needs of the believers; after service, she discussed with them to solicit opinions and suggestions. She also solved their problems and prayed for them.
In the early days when the Yujing Shuicheng activity site was established, she went to pray for believers who were weak and hospitalized for three hours every afternoon to strengthen their faith.
When encountering weddings and funerals in the families of church members, she always took them as her own affairs, arriving in advance and helping until the end.
Whenever the gathering sites marked Christmas, besides offering fruits, she discussed preparations with staff workers in advance, planning the division of labor. Later, she participated in Bible reading, intercession, service presiding, and sermons.
She always carried a small bag with biscuits and snacks which were given to children to teach them. In addition to visiting the elderly in Xinhe Nursing Home, she also organized and participated in public welfare and charity activities held by the southeastern region or disabled institutions. Furthermore, she donated money and materials to support disabled families.
In the spiritual aspect, she often helped others. No matter who made mistakes, she would tell it straight and unabashedly, just as the Bible says: "Better is open rebuke than hidden love."
She also took on other ministries in the church. Until the end, she died on the way to serve in the church.
(The article is originally published by the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
