13. My Youth in Prison
Chenxi Hebei Province
People all say that one’s youth is the most wonderful and pure time in his life. Maybe many people’s youth is full of beautiful memories, yet even I myself had never expected that I would spend my youth in prison. Maybe you will cast a different look at me, yet I won’t regret it. Although my youth in prison is full of bitterness and tears, it is the most precious gift in my life, and I have gained a lot from that.
I was born in a happy family and believed in Jesus with my mom from childhood. When I was 15 years old, my family and I were certain that Almighty God is the returned Jesus, and we accepted Almighty God’s end-time work happily.
One day in April 2002, a sister and I, 17 years old, performed duty in a place. At 1 a.m., we were in a sound sleep in the host home. Suddenly we were awakened by a rapid knocking. We heard someone shout loudly outside, “Open the door! Open the door!” The auntie of the host home had barely opened the door when several cops flung it open and piled in, saying aggressively, “We’re the police.” Hearing the word “police,” I immediately became nervous: Have they come to arrest us for our believing in God? I’ve heard that some brothers and sisters were arrested and persecuted for believing in God. Will it come upon me today? At that time, my heart was thumping violently. In panic, I was at a loss. So I prayed to God hurriedly, “God! Please be with me. Give me faith and courage. No matter what happens, I’m willing to stand testimony for you. May you give me wisdom and the proper words to say. May you keep me from betraying you or selling out the brothers and sisters.” After the prayer, my heart gradually calmed down. I saw four or five evil cops rummaging through the room like bandits, searching in the quilts on the bed, every cabinet and box, and under the bed. Finally, they found the books of God’s word and the disks of hymns. The leading evil cop said to me seriously, “These things prove that you’re a believer in God. Come with us. We’ll take a statement from you and make a record.” I was startled and said, “If you have anything to say, just say it here. I don’t want to go with you.” He immediately put on a smile and said to me, “Don’t be afraid. We’ll just take a statement and you’ll be back after a while.” I believed him and got into the police car with them.
Unexpectedly, it became the starting point of my prison life.
