(Texas) After three years, the Mayflower Church from Shenzhen, China, ended their exile. All 64 Christians are accounted for after the final family arrived in Dallas, Texas, on May 26.
One family left behind
As most of the church arrived in April, one pregnant woman and her family of five stayed behind in Thailand. Their child, Mo Songmei, was born on April 11 with seemingly no complications. So, the Mo family left Thailand and arrived in Dallas on May 26. They soon reunited with Pastor Pan Yongguang and other members of the Mayflower Church.
64 in the USA
Through many twists and turns, the Mayflower escape came to an end. On Good Friday this year, 59 Chinese Christians arrived on “humanitarian parole” status. The remaining five members of the Mo family entered as refugees abroad. Now, all of them have legal residency and asylum applications in the United States. Bob Fu, the president of ChinaAid, worked day and night to seek the freedom of the church over the past four years.
Historical rescue
For the first time, the U.S. government issued and granted direct entry from a third country to a Christian-persecuted group in China. Even the Tiananmen Square student leaders who were rescued in 1989 through Operation Yellow Bird were not an exception. In previous cases, persecuted people arrived in the United States first. Afterward, the denial or approval of asylum is considered according to procedures.
Bob Fu reflects on the rescue
Fu commented on the monumental rescue: “Thank God for his grace! After the efforts of all parties, because the mother was due to give birth, they were unable to board the plane with other members of the church to the United States last month and were stranded in Thailand. The last family of five members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church (Mayflower Church) also arrived safely in Dallas today as refugees and reunited today.”
~Gao Zhensai, Special Correspondent of ChinaAid
