ADVENTIST LIFE

 

 

By Eve Harper 

 

T

STUDYING INTENTLY: Church members come prepared each Sabbath to study and learn with Bibles, notebooks, pens, pencils, and other materials. They sit at pews designed for study with writing ledges. ell me more,” Meifen* insisted of her neighbor Zhu. “I need to know more.” Zhu’s answer was emphatic, “No, no, not now. I have to go. I’ll come back tomorrow and tell you more.”

 

Zhu was nervous discussing Bible verses of hope and encouragement at her friend’s house. In China some 40 years ago the law did not allow her to talk about God or share the gospel. She and Meifen were good friends, but if anyone—including neighbors or even children—reported what she was doing, there would be trouble for everyone involved, and probably punishment for Zhu. She was afraid, yet she knew she was doing the right thing. 

 

It Started With a Dream 

After finding Meifen sick one day, Zhu visited her friend frequently to help her during her illness. Then one night Zhu had a dream that troubled her because of its vividness and urgency. She felt it held personal meaning for her. She told her husband about the dream and asked him to help her interpret it.

 

“I dreamed I was home and that I had one seed,” Zhu told her husband. “Then a very real voice told me that I should go to my neighbor Meifen’s house and plant this seed in her front yard. Then Meifen and I took care of it and watered it, and in time it grew to be a thin, small tree. The tree grew and had a large trunk and many, many branches that spread out and up, until it was a massive tree with thousands of leaves. Then the dream ended and I woke up.

 

“It was not like other dreams,” she added. “I’m sure there is a meaning and that I must do something.”

 

Zhu and her husband discussed and prayed about the dream. Her husband concluded, “The only seed we have is the knowledge of the good news of eternal life found in the gospel message. I think God wants you to go and take it to your neighbor.

 

“I know it’s dangerous,” he admitted, “but God is giving you instruction to go to your friend’s house and share the only seed you and I have, which is the gospel of Jesus and eternal salvation. You need to do God’s will regardless of the consequences. You are a follower of Christ, and you must follow His instructions.”

 

THE TRUNK OF THE TREE: Some 4,000 believers worship God each Sabbath in this fast-growing church in China, whose roots originated almost 40 years ago in a two-family house church. Zhu agreed with the interpretation of the dream and decided that the one seed would be one Bible verse and its meaning. With each visit to her friend’s house she would tell Meifen one Bible verse of hope and courage—no more.

 

Day after day Zhu visited Meifen, and day after day they prayed together. Each evening Meifen waited for her husband to come home from work to share with him the new verse of knowledge and its meaning.

 

 Eventually, Meifen and her family were baptized, and the two families formed a house church. They met for Sabbath worship every Saturday. Others saw the joy and peace in their friends’ lives and chose to join the believers—and more house churches were formed. These believers had sons and daughters who were studious and hardworking, but they could not continue their formal education because freedom of conscience had not been extended to students who kept the Sabbath. Led by their thirst for more knowledge, they dedicated themselves fully to the study of the Scriptures. 

 

Passing on the Flame 

The house church families felt privileged to own a Bible, but excitement mounted when they began to discover books owned by various members written by spiritual writer and speaker Ellen White (1827-1915). White, an American, had traveled in Europe as a speaker and later lived in Australia. Her books have been translated into numerous languages, including Chinese, and reading some of these books encouraged the new believers and taught them how to live more spiritual and healthful lives. Meifen’s children, who were then in their teens, borrowed some of White’s books from others and copied them by hand, word for word, on paper hand-sewn to form a book.

 

Soon many more people joined the family of believers. The children of both Zhu and Meifen became teachers of the Scriptures and leaders in the growing church. From Ellen White’s books they learned how to plan and organize, how to be healthier and happier, and how to work wisely for the good of the neighborhood.

 

The seed had been planted, and it had grown into a solid trunk that was beginning to have branches. 

 

Fast-forward  

HAND-COPIED BOOKS: Young adults in China hand-copied books from Ellen White’s Conflict of the Ages Series. Now fast-forward to today in one of the largest cities in northeastern China. It is a growing industrial city of 7.3 million that is spreading out and enjoying stability, prosperity, and freedom of worship. Its citizens who believe in God and keep the Sabbath holy enter a large, beautiful church building there each Saturday and worship the God of heaven.

 

In this congregation believers begin arriving for prayers as early as 5:00 a.m., when the morning sunlight bathes the spire, clock, and cross of this huge gleaming church. Once inside, the first impression is of being in an outdoor cathedral, as the light streams in through the glass ceiling four stories above. The members come prepared to study and learn with Bibles, notebooks, pens, pencils, and other materials. They sit at pews designed for study with writing ledges. In front of each member, attached to the pew, is a hook on which to hang their sack lunch, which they eat with friends between the morning and afternoon church activities.

 

The first congregational Bible study starts at 7:00 a.m., followed by additional Bible studies at 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00. By the time the 11:00 a.m. worship hour arrives, more than 4,000 people have assembled to praise God in prayer, worship, and song.

 

Worshippers say they are grateful to have a church facility in which to assemble freely. They add that they don’t forget to pray for those who do not have freedom to worship as they choose. 

 

The Seed Becomes a Tree 

Zhu and Meifen continue to worship here in this church, which represents the trunk of the seed planted some 40 years ago. It is a huge tree of faith with many, many branches and countless leaves. Seeds of it are spreading, and the joys of a pure life are being planted.

 

The shared dream has become a reality. 

 

*The names in this article are pseudonyms.