It was a cold Christmas eve in 1994.

A man in his fifties was found unconscious on the streets of Springfield, Illinois. His name was Wang Yiaodong, a former researcher at the China Scientific Research Institute. It was known later that he was suffering from cholecystitis which could have been easily cured. However, he worked very hard and paid no attention to his health. He wanted to save up all his money so that he could bring his daughter from China. Unfortunately he was not aware that the inflammation ha already spread to other parts of his body.

He had no relative, friend, religious belief or medical insurance. Alone, he lay in coma in the emergency room of the city hospital of Springfield.

After he had fallen ill, one Chinese student several times drove from Chicago to Springfield to visit him. Two Chinese Christian workers in the hospital took special care of him and tried to share the gospel with him and prayed for him earnestly. However it was all too late. The disease had already spread throughout his body. Two months later he passed away. Nobody knew if he had received the Lord or not before he died because he was unconscious most of the time.

Wang Yiaodong just slipped away like that! However, his death had a great impact on us. Like him, we came from the same place and faced similar difficulties. The difference was, we have heard the gospel and received the salvation that came from the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are cared for and loved by God.

"Why didn’t we have more sense of urgency in preaching the gospel to our brethren? Why didn’t we share the love that we received from Jesus more enthusiastically?" we asked ourselves.

We reflected on what had happened, repented and started to pray. We prayed that we could become mature Christians and disciples of Jesus Christ. We should shoulder the responsibility of preaching the gospel to our own brethren. For this purpose, we gathered together at the Northern branch of the Chicago Chinese Christian Alliance Church on April 8, 1995. About seventy people attended the meeting. After discussion, we passed the following resolutions :

Our fellowship will be re-named Chicago Chinese Christian Students and Scholars Fellowship. This will be an inter-church fellowship mainly geared toward the mainland Chinese Christians in the Greater Chicago area. The goals of our fellowship are to:

1. Uphold biblical truth and spread the love of Jesus Christ. Members are encouraged to love one another and help one another to grow in the Lord.

2. Encourage brothers and sisters to actively participate in the ministries of their churches and share their insights and experiences with one another. Co-labor and support other churches and mission organizations in their organized activities targeting the mainland Chinese.

3. Heed the great commandment given by Jesus Christ to preach the gospel to our fellow mainland Chinese.

We also decided to hold a prayer meeting for Mainland China on June 10, 1995. Thus we took our first step towards serving God. Maybe we are a bit slow, but we said to the Lord on the cross, "Lord, we are willing! Here we are, willing to follow you."

Dear brothers and sisters, may the Holy Spirit similarly touch your hearts for the sake of more than a billion unsaved souls. In order to prevent another Wang Yiaodong incident from happening, let us say once again to Him, "Here we are, we are willing"

Oh, My Beloved Country!

-- A reflection on the "Prayer Meeting for Mainland China ’95"

by Fan, Xue De

"The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved. Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people." These Scripture verses, taken from Jeremiah 8:20, 9-1 formed the lyrics of a hymn composed by pastor Yang Yiaohang for this special prayer meeting. They also depict my deep sorrow for my people.

Since I was in fourth grade more than two decades have passed, and I have never really put my heart in singing. Today as a member of the choir singing for the prayer meeting for Mainland China, that long-lost enthusiasm once again rose in my chest. I will never forget this hymn for the rest of my life.

A slide show entitled "Oh, My Beloved Country" presented by Mr. and Mrs. Wang Zejune deeply gripped my heart. I told myself not to cry. But the familiar pictures of my country and the 1.2 billion lost souls there caused my tears to flow uncontrollably. Never in my life had I cried over any song. Now in my forties, after so many trials and difficulties, I thought I was not an emotional person. Why is it that tonight I could not control myself? I heard that other brothers and sisters were crying, too. It was the work of the Holy Spirit moving on our hardened hearts!

The prayer meeting began. One by one, brothers and sisters walked to the podium and prayed for Chinese Christians and ministers, for the 1.2 billion lost souls, for the missionaries in China, for the overseas unsaved Chinese scholars and students, and for the leaders of overseas Chinese churches.

During the prayer, I could not help but remember my eighty-year-old father and my seventy-year-old mother who had suffered so much. Oh Lord, may you help them to see your grace and heal their wounds with your love. I remembered my relatives and friends, schoolmates and teachers, those poor children who could not afford to go to school, and those people who struggle and work so hard just to have barely enough food to put in their mouths. Oh Lord, open their hearts to receive you as their Savior. Give hope to the despondent; lead those in despair over the sea of death. Lord, please care for the abandoned baby girls, and may the orphans find parental love in you. Lord, bring justice for the aborted babies who never had a chance to see the sunlight. Wipe away the tears of the parents who lost their children. Oh God, be the judge for those who were mistreated, and unshackle the chains of the innocent.

At the end of the meeting, we were prompted by the Holy Spirit to call for more prayers for China. We call upon all Chinese Christians all over the world to set aside the second Saturday of June of each year as "Pray for China Day". Let us pray with one spirit for China on the second Saturday in June.

*****

Abridged from pg. 44-45, April 1996 issue of Overseas Campus Magazine