Testimony of brother Zhu Yongping

China Aid Association
My name is Zhu Yongping. I was born in December, 1976. I live in Yingcheng City, Hubei Province. There are five of us in my family: my father, my mother, my brother and my sister. I¡¯m the youngest.
I came to the Lord in March 1997. I graduated from my polytechnic school and went home for an internship. In the beginning, my mother took me to the ¡¡Ã£Bread of Life¡¡Ã€ sect, but I found a lack for spiritual truth. Then Sister Zhang Shuiying, my fellow villager and believer, took me to a worship gathering of South China Church. The Word of the Lord went right into my heart. It was the first time I tasted and saw the Lord is good. On April 1, I went to a co-worker of SCC, and asked to join the ¡¡Ã£life meetings¡¡Ã€. The first day the preacher talked about the law and the sin. Though his words, the Ten Commandments were like a mirror, in which I could see all my sins, numerous as they were, just as the Bible had said. I was so ashamed that I just wanted to find a place to hide. Then the preacher talked about the judgment to come, and the result of sinning. I was brought to the white throne, and the solemn judgment made me tremble with fear. I could hear screaming around me. I was frightened, as if I was at the brink of hell, with the pain from fire and serpents in me. I kneeled down right away, wept while confessing my sins, and cried out loud, ¡¡Ã£Lord, please don¡¯t let me perish!¡¡Ã€ While I was feeling miserable and hopeless in the face of death, the preacher talked about the love of the Lord on the second day. He came for me; He took on Him a bodily form, and was judged and punished for my sins. He was crucified on the cross. I prayed, ¡¡Ã£Lord, you are my savior. You died for me. You shed blood for me. From now on, you are the Lord of my life. Please come into my heart¡­¡¡Ã€ During the prayers the next day, the light of the Holy Spirit dawned on me. I could hear a voice saying, ¡¡Ã£Son, your sins are forgiven. Christ Jesus has saved you.¡¡Ã€ I was so overjoyed that I jumped up and shouted, ¡¡Ã£I¡¯m saved! I¡¯m saved!¡¡Ã€ I spoke to the brothers and sisters around me the experience. After I came back from the meetings, I told my relatives and my neighbors about this, so that they could also believe. On April 10, I took part in a training held by SCC, which introduced the steps of God¡¯s plan of salvation: salvation from the cross¡ªthe road of the cross¡ªsee through the whore¡ªestablish the church¡ªprovide information¡ªcommunication¡ªpreaching. This was the blueprint of the gospel well designed. We also studied History of the Church in China, and I could see how the overseas missionaries came with the gospel, even as the cost of their lives. James Hudson Taylor was a perfect example. He left his mother and his country, just to come alone here to proclaim the gospel. The Holy Spirit moved me; I wept. Those overseas missionaries were no relations to us, yet they loved China. They devoted their lives for China. I am a Chinese born of the Chinese. I got no reason not to love my countrymen and save them for perishing. I was determined to give myself over to the gospel. After I went back, I spread the gospel around the villages, and organized meetings for worship. The Lord blessed me; about thirty people came to the Lord.
On February 14, the Lord called on me. But I struggled hard that night. Shall I go or not? I thought about my parents; they had brought me up and paid my tuitions. Now I had graduated, just to leave them. I really didn¡¯t want to go. But I remembered Robert Morrison and James Hudson Taylor, as well as Ëï´¨®Ã�Ã…. Then I remembered the prodigal sons struggling between life and death. They were my countrymen! My zeal for the gospel and the souls were revived.
On February 15th, I answered the call and came to the church with my simple luggage. I took part in a training on theology, and studied the four gospels, Theology of Salvation, and The Word. These were important lessons. I studied really had during that time. After I gradated on May 15th, I joined the Gospel Legion and became an evangelist. The church sent me on mission to Shangli Parish, Zhongxiang Communication Group of SCC. Then I was transferred to Lushi Parish, Zhongxiang Communication Group.
The church showed her favor on me; I was elected the team leader of Xiangjing Communication Group of SCC.
On August 13th, a co-worker and I were making a phone call in Shipai Township, Zhongxiang City, Hubei Province. On the way back, cops from Shipai Police Department stopped us. Then they handcuffed us and pushed us into the car by force. We were taken to the interrogation room of Shipai Police Department. They frisked me and took away by watch, belt, bank cards, 74 Chinese cents, and a copy of the Bible. They handcuffed me to a windowpane and questioned me. There were two of them, and bother were from Shipai Police Department. One of them was tall, in his forties. The other was of average height, and was about 30 years old. The younger one came up, fist clenched. He said to me maliciously, ¡¡Ã£Confess! Or we¡¯ll fix you!¡¡Ã€ Then the taller one asked, ¡¡Ã£Where are you from? What is your name?¡¡Ã€ I didn¡¯t want to involve in my family, so I didn¡¯t tell them my real name and address. He asked, ¡¡Ã£Are you a Christian? Are you with SCC? Are you an evangelist? Are you Gong Shangliang¡¯s student?¡¡Ã€ I said yes to all these questions. Then he asked, ¡¡Ã£What are you doing?¡¡Ã€ I didn¡¯t tell them the truth, for I didn¡¯t want to give away the other brothers and sisters. The taller guy was angry when he heard this. He struck the table and said, ¡¡Ã£Bullshit! Tell us the truth; what are you here for?¡¡Ã€ I didn¡¯t answer him. The younger one came and pinched at my chin, saying in an evil tone, ¡¡Ã£Guess you won¡¯t tell until we show you how.¡¡Ã€ Then he slapped me across the face, and said, ¡¡Ã£Are you talking?¡¡Ã€ I still kept silent. Then he slapped me again and again. My head swung as he slapped. I felt dizzy, and my ears were ringing. Then something went from my nose to my mouth. I spit it out, and saw it was blood. My mouth and nose were bleeding from the blows. They wouldn¡¯t stop, but continued to force me to speak. I remained silent. Then the younger one knocked my head on the wall again and again, saying, ¡¡Ã£Are you speaking or not?¡¡Ã€ I was so dizzy and sick that I couldn¡¯t stand this anymore. But they still beat me and questioned me without stopping. It went on for over an hour. At about 12 p.m. two men came in. They were from the special team for the case from Zhongxiang Police Department. One of them was fatter, with the name Huang. The other one was tall, and I didn¡¯t know his name. Huang said to me in a mild tone, ¡¡Ã£I¡¯ve heard that you believe in Jesus. Do you know which country he was from?¡¡Ã€ I said, ¡¡Ã£He¡¯s a Jew from Judea.¡¡Ã€ He said, ¡¡Ã£He is a foreigner. Then your religion is a foreign religion. You are a Chinese. Why do you believe in a foreign religion?¡¡Ã€ I said, ¡¡Ã£I have freedom to believe.¡¡Ã€ He said, ¡¡Ã£Sure, but that means you can believe freely in Buddhism or Taoism. These are Chinese religions.¡¡Ã€ I knew I couldn¡¯t talk sense into them, so I remained silent. He continued, ¡¡Ã£Even though you have to believe in Jesus; why did you follow Gong Shengliang? You are pretty clear what kind of a man he is. Doesn¡¯t he sleep around in the church?¡¡Ã€ I was enraged when I heard this. They shouted and cursed me, ¡¡Ã£He isn¡¯t? Others have said yes and you are saying no? Wasn¡¯t he the one that plotted on stabbing people with nails?¡¡Ã€ I said, ¡¡Ã£My teacher would never do such a thing.¡¡Ã€ He began to rail at me again, ¡¡Ã£Others have said yes! Why can¡¯t you testify against him too? If you do, we¡¯ll release you. Don¡¯t you want to get out?¡¡Ã€ Of course I did, but how could I trap my teacher for the freedom? Seeing I wasn¡¯t speaking, they sat up angrily and said, ¡¡Ã£Now you¡¯ll know better!¡¡Ã€ They had me ¡¡Ã£carry the sword¡¡Ã€. My left arm was pulled to my back, and right hand from above my shoulder to the back. Then they handcuffed my arms together. I was thin, so it was easy to have me handcuffed. To make me suffer more, they squeezed a drink bottle between my back and my arms. I could feel tearing pain from my shoulders. They ordered me to kneel, but I wouldn¡¯t. The tall guy kicked me hard behind my back, and sent me lying in the floor. Then he pulled at the handcuffs, up and down. Each time I could feel sharp pain. Soon I was soaked in my own sweat. I clenched my teeth, and asked the Lord to add strength unto me. Seeing I was still silent, the tall guy kicked me again from behind. I fell flat, and my chin hit the floor. Blood gushed out. He grabbed my hair and pulled me up, saying, ¡¡Ã£You talking or not?¡¡Ã€ I still kept silent. He kicked me hard in the chest. I fell backward, and lost all my strength to get up. Seeing I couldn¡¯t get up, he trampled on my left foot with his feet in leather shoes. I was in so much pain that I screamed. He laughed at me, saying, ¡¡Ã£Scream! Where id your Lord? Ask him to save you!¡¡Ã€ Then he went for my right foot. He ground my foot and ankle on the ground. I was in so much pain that I rolled on the ground. They all laughed contently. The torture went on till 3 a.m. the next day. They dragged me back to the interrogation room, and handcuffed me from behind to the windowpane. I stayed there till morning.
At about 6 a.m. August 14th, they took the handcuffs off, and tied me with a rope. I was escorted to a truck, in which I saw many brothers and sisters. They were all wounded, in the faces and hands. I could see it. I felt so bad seeing them like that. The criminal police force escorted us to the lockup, and we were shut in there.
On getting in there, the inmates all saw that I was covered with wounds, and walking with a limp. They all came up and asked me what had happened. After I told them what had happened to me, they were all indignant, saying that those cops went too far; I was simply a Christian. I remembered the Lord¡¯s words when I prayed. He said, ¡¡Ã£Don’t worry about what you will suffer. The devil will throw some of you into jail, and you will be tested and made to suffer for ten days. But if you are faithful until you die, I will reward you with a glorious life. ¡¡Ã€ I was strong in faith, and didn¡¯t think about what I should say in the interrogations, for it was written in the Bible, ¡¡Ã£¡­When someone arrests you, don’t worry about what you will say or how you will say it. At that time you will be given the words to say.¡¡Ã€ So all I did was to pray silently. In the afternoon an elderly man was put in the cell too. He was from Chaihu, Zhongxiang. I didn¡¯t know him before. He said that his house was a reception house. His wife was a believer, while he hadn¡¯t believed yet. On the night of August 13th, cops went to his house to arrest the co-workers. He spoke on their behalf, and was arrested as well. They didn¡¯t even allow him to put his clothes on. All his was wearing was a pair of shorts. I felt distressed when I heard this. The cops didn¡¯t even let go the unbelievers. I encouraged him, and said, ¡¡Ã£Don¡¯t worry! We have done nothing bad.¡¡Ã€ I comforted his with the words of the Lord.
On August 21st, they took me from the lockup to the police station. There were four interrogators. One of them was in his forties, named Liu Congzheng. Another one was Huang, the leader of the special team. There was also a tall guy and a short and thin guy, but I didn¡¯t know their names. After taking me into the room, Liu Congzheng said, ¡¡Ã£We have done a research; all that you had said last time was a lie.¡¡Ã€ Then he took out some pictures from his bag, saying, ¡¡Ã£Check out who this is.¡¡Ã€ I was shocked to see that it was my teacher in the pictures. He was handcuffed and fettered, sitting on the ground. I never knew he was also arrested. Then he handed me another one, saying, ¡¡Ã£Tell me again: what is your name?¡¡Ã€ I kept silent. He said, ¡¡Ã£Then let me tell you. You are Cheng Tongfu, the team leader of Xiangjing Communication group.¡¡Ã€ He took out a notebook, and said that it was all written there. He told me to confess, ¡¡Ã£You know our policy. ¡®Confess, and you¡¯ll receive a lighter sentence; or else, a harsh one.¡¯ As long as you tell us the truth, we¡¯ll let you go.¡¡Ã€ I still kept silent. Then the tall guy and the short guy came up, saying, ¡¡Ã£You should have known better.¡¡Ã€ The two of them tied me up tightly, sent me lying on the ground, and took off the electric club that had been recharged. He turned it on, and put it in front of me. I could see the sparks. They said, ¡¡Ã£Guess you know we have beaten a Christian to death. She was from Zhongxiang.¡¡Ã€ I knew they were talking about Yu Zhongju. They said, ¡¡Ã£Do you think you can survive that? Better confess, or you¡¯d be like her!¡¡Ã€ Still I refused to speak. The tall guy was so mad at me that he swung the electric club at me. Pain permeated through my body, rendering me rolling and trembling on the ground. I rolled and tried to shun the electric club. The tall guy told the short guy to hold my feet. Then he stepped on my neck, making me unable to move. He thrust the electric club all over my body, swearing that he would fix me till I was dead. ¡¡Ã£Are you talking or not?¡¡Ã€ He said. I couldn¡¯t help but screaming. They thrust the electric club into my mouth onto my tongue. This went on for over an hour. In the beginning I was still tough, thinking of myself that I would carry through with the help from the Lord. Later I grew weak. I grew sweaty all over, and lost my strength. I couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. I failed. They stopped when they heard that I wanted to speak. Liu Congzheng came in, turned the rope loose, and pulled me up. He asked me questions, while Huang took notes. He asked my name and address, and I gave him the real ones. He also asked me how many times I had been in the meetings, and I told him the truth. Then Liu Congzheng told me to sign. I wouldn¡¯t, and the tall guy and the short guy came up and struck me. So I did. I blamed myself for that for a long time. At about 11 p.m. they put me back to the lockup.
After I got back, I took my clothes off, and saw that I was covered with black scars. It was from the electric club. The skin all came off; liquid came out of the wounds. Seeing I was beaten into such a state, Uncle Xu wept for me, heartbroken. The other inmates also showed sympathy and tried to comfort me, ¡¡Ã£Why don¡¯t you just tell then you are not believing anymore? You believe in Jesus, but he wouldn¡¯t come to your rescue. You can never beat the cops! What are you so stubborn for?¡¡Ã€ Hearting this, I pitied myself too. I prayed to the Lord, ¡¡Ã£Lord, I had such faith in you. Why did you let them torture me like that? You have seen how they treated me. You know what I can bear, and that wasn¡¯t something I could bear¡­¡¡Ã€ Then the words of the Lord came on me, ¡¡Ã£You are not of the world. If you are, the world would love you. I have chosen you amongst the world; that¡¯s why it hates you.¡¡Ã€ He continued, ¡¡Ã£Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.¡¡Ã€ I said Amen to that. It was a road of the cross; my Lord had gone through, so did the disciples and missionaries. I had to partake in that too. I was strengthened. So I kept singing a song during the days, ¡¡Ã£Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.¡¡Ã€ My faith was greatly strengthened. Sometimes I said to myself, ¡¡Ã£I am ready for another interrogation. Whatever it would be like, I would carry on. I wouldn¡¯t fail like I did last time.¡¡Ã€ But I was never interrogated.
On August 25th, I was escorted from the lockup to No.1 Prison of Zhangxiang City. After I got there, I was more relieved. I taught the fellow inmates to sing praise songs, and preached the gospel to them. One day, all the inmates in my cell sang ¡¡Ã£Don¡¯t Say We Got No Home¡¡Ã€. Right after that, the same song was heard from a women¡¯s cell a few cells away. Only then did I know that there were my fellow sisters there. Since then, we began to pass notes and sing to encourage each other. Time passed really quickly.
On September 12, while I was teaching the other inmates ¡¡Ã£The Heart for Salvation¡¡Ã€, suddenly a voice was heard from the next cell calling my name. I recognized the voice: the teacher was right next door! I cried out, ¡¡Ã£My teacher!¡¡Ã€ I really wanted to see him, but I couldn¡¯t. A kind inmate helped me. He squatted and told me to step on his shoulders. I managed to climb dup that way. My head could reach the iron ceiling of the cell, but I still couldn¡¯t see him. I was so anxious that I shook the iron barb. Finally I reached out my head and saw him. He sat on the ground, and leaned on the wall. He was fettered, and looked very old. He was not the way he used to be. But still I could see he was firm. I looked at him, and he looked at me with his loving eyes. My tears came out, and I called out, ¡¡Ã£My teacher!¡¡Ã€ My throat was blocked; I couldn¡¯t utter a word anymore. The inmates were afraid that the official might find us out, so the kind inmate let me down. An inmate from the cell next door said that my teacher was beaten the night before. He was beaten so bad that he couldn¡¯t even stand up. The officials even told him that my teacher was to be guarded strictly, and forbade him to speak. I was heartbroken when I heard this. So I didn¡¯t speak to him, in case he would get punished again. I was greatly distressed. I called out in my heart, ¡¡Ã£How could I save you from this, my teacher, my father!¡¡Ã€ I didn¡¯t speak to anybody else the whole morning. I put down words in a notebook, to record how I had met my teacher. In the after noon I called out to him again, but no response. I asked the inmate next door, who told me that he was carried out before lunch to be interrogated. He didn¡¯t return at all for the afternoon. No news came from him since then. I was so scared. Could he be beaten to death too? Could my teacher be beaten to death, like Yu Zhongju was? I lived in distress and fear for days. I had never felt so bad before. I often kneeled before the Lord, crying my heart out.
At about 10 a.m. On September 17th, the window of the cell was opened. A man called out my name. It was a young person wearing glasses. He was in his twenties. He handed me three papers, saying it was three copies, and uttered the words maliciously, ¡¡Ã£Three years of hard labor!¡¡Ã€ I took the copies over, and was shocked to see that I had been found guilty for ¡¡Ã£being a member of a cult organization¡¡Ã€. I was rendered wordless. I knew it was the evil power of Satan. I knew in my heart that if SCC was labeled as a cult, numerous house churches in China would be labeled as cults. The orthodox faith that the overseas missionaries had lost their lives for would be eradicated, and God¡¯s plan for salvation would come to nothing in China. Satan would ascend in the throne of God. I was enraged, distressed, and hurt. I said to myself that Satan was evil and mean indeed. So I bowed down before the Lord, cried and prayed all the time. I prayed that the Lord would remove the sins from us. I had been weeping and praying all the time, for my teacher and the label imposed on SCC.
On September 30th, I was escorted from the lockup to Shayang Labor Camp. I regarded as a discipline, in which I would learn my lesson. So I was determined to lead a spiritual life the same way I did out there. So I set up a plan for myself: Bible studies on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, church history, praise poems, and articles in the periodical on February and Friday, praise songs on Wednesday and Saturday, and prayer time for the church and church members on Sunday. I also planned to reading the Bible, pray and keep the dairy. But soon I found out that it couldn¡¯t work out. The labor team I was in was an agricultural team. There were over a hundred of convicts working on about 3000 mu of field. The work was backbreaking. On about 4 a.m. we got up. Then we wash out faces. After breakfast, we went right to work. Lunch was delivered to the filed at about 12 o¡¯clock. Then, we would work till 6 p.m. After that, we would take a shower in the yard, and have supper. In the evening there were wither military trainings or studies on their documents. I got little time of my own. Sometimes I was so busy that I even got no time to wash my clothes. So I had to get up half an hour earlier to meditate on some verses and pray. I would make good use of the time in the field. I worked as I meditated. After I got back from work, I would put it down. Whenever I got time, I would keep a diary. I would also pray for the church and the fellow believers. I was doing this, but was still weak at times. When I got too tired, I might forget to pray. When I returned, I would lie in bed and fall asleep instantly. When I woke up, it was morning already. Sometimes I even forgot to say grace before the meals. I enjoyed rainy days and holidays most. We wouldn¡¯t work during those days. So I would have time to meditate on God¡¯s words, and put them down. I could also teach the other inmates to sing praise songs and proclaim the gospel to them. Later the officials found this out, and criticized me, saying I was spreading cult belief, and forbade me to speak. But the inmates were very interested in what I said, so I talked to them secretly. There was an inmate called Zhao Yumin. He was from Yichang. He accepted the gospel, and asked me to teach him to pray, read the Bible, and sing praise songs. I often talked to him about the words of the Lord while working in the fields. After we got back from work, he would read the verses I wrote down for him. When he got time, he would discus the words of the Lord with me. Within a month, he had quitted many bad habits, and grew fast in the Lord. Once he told me that he was determined to follow my example and become a good Christian. After he got out, he said, he would become an evangelist as well, to work for the Lord and bring the Good News to people. (By the way, before I was released, he wrote a letter to the church, and asked me to deliver it for him. In the letter he asked the church to accept him. I was very happy when I read it. I planned on visiting him more often, and wait for him to be released.)
While in the labor camp, I was weak in faith for some time. I struggled, for my family loved me so much. My elder sister, the one who treated me most kindly, came from Yingcheng to visit me. On seeing me, she burst into tears. She said, ¡¡Ã£What are you doing this for? Mom and dad did all they could to bring you up and send you to school. Now you¡¯ve graduated. There were a whole lot of things you could do other than believing in Jesus! Now you are put to jail. Look at you! You are so thin that I could barely recognize you. Mom and dad wept for you till they got sick. Dad is in bad health, and can¡¯t come. Mom passed out on hearing that you went to jail.¡¡Ã€ She said, ¡¡Ã£Please, don¡¯t be like this anymore.¡¡Ã€ I stood there, as if didn¡¯t hear her words. She came up and shook me, ¡¡Ã£Please! Don¡¯t go on like this anymore! Mom and dad are waiting for you to come home!¡¡Ã€ She was all in tears. I looked at her, heartbroken. After I went back to the cell, I struggled hard. I couldn¡¯t decide what I should choose, my family or my church. The struggle took all my time, and consumed all my strength. I felt as if living in the dark, very miserable. However, the Lord made the brothers and sisters visit me. Seeing that the church was still in trail, that the brothers and sisters were still being persecuted, yet they still came to visit me, comforted me, and encouraged me. I wept in shame. I wrote down in my dairy, ¡¡Ã£How can I go home to be with my parents, while my church and my brother and sisters were still suffering? I am so ashamed to be called a team leader. Maybe I really can¡¯t be a good leader or bring them blessings; but I can stay back with them during the trial as a brother.¡¡Ã€ Since then , I was strengthened again. There was great news brought to me by the people visiting me: God, who knew people¡¯s heart, listened to my prayers, and those of the brothers and sisters in the Lord. He moved the heart of the brothers and sisters, and helped us to win the trial that human couldn¡¯t with his own strength. The label ¡¡Ã£cult¡¡Ã€ imposed on SCC was taken off. I was so overjoyed that I jumped up, saying, ¡¡Ã£SCC has hope now! The church in China has hope now!¡¡Ã€ I knew it was a miracle the Lord did in my life. My faith was stronger, and I was all the more determined to follow the Lord.
Later, I often thought to myself: how could a Christian keep his identity intact, and be the light and salt in that kind of a place. I obeyed the rules, worked hard, and respected the officials and the inmates. They all had high opinions of me. But even so, I could still enjoy no privileges like the other inmates, like lessening of terms and less strict supervision. A kind hearted official said to me, ¡¡Ã£We know you are working hard¡­¡¡Ã€ He told me that he had mentioned it to the officials of the group, but the government had rules that Christians couldn¡¯t receive such treatments. I couldn¡¯t understand why. Even the robbers and thieves were treated better than Christians, who would only do good deeds. I had no idea why this was so. During the three years, I had been categorized as a convict ¡¡Ã£strictly under supervision¡¡Ã€, and had to work in the team of heavy labor. Once I even passed out in the field. I couldn¡¯t even be granted common treatment. All the letters I wrote home were kept by the officials. When people came to visit me, they wouldn¡¯t give them the permit. My parents wouldn¡¯t come. Each time when the brothers and sisters come to visit me, they would have to wait on the road till I came back from work. When they couldn¡¯t see me, they would call out my name. But the officials wouldn¡¯t let us meet. Even so, I was still greatly encouraged. Sometimes I was so excited that I couldn¡¯t feel calm for days. I felt deeply that the Lord loved me, and the brothers and sisters also loved me. Once I received a Bible, just to be confiscated by the officials, who claimed that the Bible was an evil book. I was so angry that I went on a hunger strike for two days. But it was of no avail. But God Almighty showed mercy on me.
I was released seven months earlier. On December 3rd, I went out, and was back to the church.
Orally presented by Zhu Yongping
April 10th, 2004