The streets were full of people making special purchases for the Spring Festival which was around the corner. For two days, the fellowship members of Yaodu District Church in Linfen City, Shanxi Province, visited dozens of disabled Christians in the chilly wind, bringing cash and basic supplies. Blessings were also delivered following their steps. Despite facing difficulty, the disabled maintained optimism.
Yifen Garden is a large public rental housing complex where many disabled people with limited mobility reside. Among them is Peng Haixiang, a Christian woman over 60 years old with a disability in her right lower leg. She is well familiar with the situations of the believers there and pays frequent visits to them with her husband. They will massage them and take them to church on a tricycle.
Li Maixiang, a believer in her fifties, is never disappointed despite her walking difficulties due to hemiplegia. She even set up a reception and Bible study center in her home. From her view, the joy and fulfillment of serving God triumph over physical handicaps.
A disabled guy over 60 years old has known bits about faith from his recently passed mother, and he now lives alone. The visiting group prayed for him and assured him that the church and fellowship were here for him at any time.
Mr. Cheng Tianhe, a Christian in his forties suffering from cerebral infarction, used to rely on the care of his over-70-year-old father, who died of cancer over a month ago. Fortunately, Tianhe's daughter graduated from college and has a job. Every day, his wife takes him with her to work. He never forgets God's grace and Jesus' love, which saved him when he was a prodigal son struggling in the earthly world.
During the visits, there was also a paraplegic believer in his seventies who caught the virus during the pandemic last year, so his family asked the fellowship's elder to baptize him. Back then, lying on the bed with an oxygen tube inserted, he couldn’t even lift his eyelids. Although he was still bedridden and unable to talk, he appeared grateful and satisfied during the visit. His wife, who is also in her 70s, suffers from back pain. We all prayed for them, hoping to give them comfort.
Another believer who suffers from hemiplegia recovered greatly through exercise after being baptized last year. The couple often engages in devotional life, encouraging each other. The cross on the living room wall bears witness to God's work in this family.
Ms. Peng Haixiang mentioned that there used to be a meeting point in a nursing home for the elderly run by a Christian couple next door. Some fellowships from the local churches often paid visits. Later, it moved to a Christian woman’s home in the community. This sister works elsewhere yet returns to every Sunday service. At the meeting point, they study the Bible and share what they have learned. In addition, a choir member comes to teach hymns. They have also formed a prayer fellowship, praying for the country, society, the church, and individuals. This is a special community, mainly comprised of the aged, disabled, and weak, to whom God delivers salvation.
Wang Junhong, a Christian man who had been receiving kidney dialysis every other day for the past decade, was in the hospital when we called him. When I saw him, he was seated in a wheelchair, smiling joyfully with no signs of despair. He said that he has set up a reception point at home and that believers care about him. Several older Christian women offered to help him with cooking and housework. Medical staff assisted him in filling out various papers in the hospital, and the local office filed relief funding for him. The church also helps him financially. God never left him short of medical expenses, which totaled over 100,000 yuan per year. He was grateful that, without God, he would not be alive today.
Then we headed to the home of Mr. Hao Xinping, who was in a wheelchair. His wife was similarly crippled and had only one arm. Last year, his wheelchair overturned during an outing, and his leg was unfortunately broken. He said that even in illness, he did not blame God. Instead, he engaged in devotional practices with his wife, experiencing a beautiful interaction with God.
These disabled Christians have become gospel witnesses through their unique lives under the fullness of God.
(The article was originally published by the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Poppy Chan
