ADHRRF – On Sunday, November 12, 2017, more than 600 churches in France held an event on the theme of opposing persecution. The Christian couple Lila and Pite from a house church in Mainland China were invited to share their experiences of persecution for their belief.
At 9 a.m., the church was fully packed with about 100 people. After four sessions of the event, Ms. Lila walked onto the stage and described the current situation of Chinese Christians being persecuted by the CCP government.
Chinese Christians Are Under Severe Persecution
Lila said that in China, the CCP has labeled Christianity and Catholicism as evil cults and the Bible a cultist book. In their hometown, banners with slogans about harshly cracking down on “cults” can be commonly seen in streets. Surveillance cameras are installed in trees, on electric poles and walls to monitor the whereabouts of Christians. They could only have gatherings with a handful of brothers and sisters and had to change the gathering spots frequently; they had to shut doors and windows tightly and dared not read the Bible aloud during the meetings, nor did they dare to contact brothers and sisters via phone, fearing to be wiretapped and they thus got arrested; they dared not spread the gospel openly, but could only preach it to their family and friends secretly. In spite of all the above measures carefully taken, there have been instances in which Christians were reported and arrested. Some were sentenced to imprisonment. Some are still unaccounted for to this day, without any information about whether they are alive or dead. Many of their fellow Christians have to flee from place to place to escape arrest, unable to return home. Lila and Pite were also forced to flee overseas because of being investigated by the police after the arrest of their fellow Christians and co-workers.
Lila, with tears in her eyes, said that they suffered much and felt weak in persecutions and tribulations. It’s the words of the Lord Jesus that gave them strength and faith to follow the Lord. The tribulations tempered their will, and they were determined not to leave the Lord however hard and difficult the situation was. The French brothers and sisters listened attentively and kept saying “Amen!”
Escape From the Devil’s Clutches, Worry for the Brothers and Sisters in Mainland China
Lila said that she was very excited when she saw in France Christians can worship the Lord freely and praise Him aloud, which is what she dared not think about in China. Now, she has escaped to France under the Lord’s protection; however, she still felt heavy in her heart because tens of thousands of Christians in China who hold onto their faith are still suffering terrible persecution of the Chinese Communist government. Whenever she thought that her two children and her elderly mother in China need to be taken care of, she felt as if a knife were twisting in her heart. She could do nothing but pray for her family and fellow Christians in China, asking the Lord to give them faith and keep them stand in the tribulations.
Lila said that she would cherish the good time of worshiping the Lord freely in France and was willing to stay awake and wait for the Lord’s second coming with the French brothers and sister.
Connected as a Family in Spirit
After Lila finished her narration, the pastor’s wife stepped onto the stage quickly and gave her a long, tight hug. They comforted and blessed each other in tears. Many fellow French Christians automatically lined up to embrace and give the bise to the couple, saying that they were stimulated by their experiences of persecution and willing to do more work for the Lord!
A fellow French Christian said in halting Chinese, “We have the same one Father. I accept you as my brother and sister!” Although they didn’t speak the same language, they could feel the sincerity of each other.
Later, the chief pastor and other church deacons came to the platform and prayed blessings over them. The activity ended at 1:20 p.m. The couple Lila and Pite were invited to join the next event by the organizer.
