full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.” Proverbs 31:10–12.
By God’s grace he found such a wife for me!
Deling chose to marry me because of her love and obedience to the Lord. Our mothers were the matchmakers. Deling’s mother is a very sincere and honest woman who loves God.
The first time Deling and I met I told her, “God has chosen me to be his witness and to follow him through greathardships and the way of the cross. I don’t have any money and am always being pursued by the authorities. Do you really want to marry me?”
She answered, “Don’t worry, I will never let you down. I will join with you and together we’ll serve the Lord.”
We went to the marriage office together. After answering some questions we wrote our names on the registration form. The clerk asked Deling to leave and wait outside for me. I was then told to go to a separate room. The clerk had realized my name was on the Public Security Bureau’s “Wanted” list. Several officers came and arrested me.
This was the beginning of our life together, but Deling never gave up on me and has never regretted the life the Lord has called her to. She has chosen to walk the way of the cross.
Throughout our marriage Deling has been under tremendous pressure from her own family, from the community, from the authorities, and from every side, but she has remained completely faithful. She decided to stand with me, and has even experienced suffering in prison for the Lord.
I couldn’t have asked for a better wife and partner!
A few days after our wedding my wife and I took a bus to attend an important leadership meeting. Outside the station the leader of the Religious Affairs Bureau from my home district recognized me. He grabbed me by the collar and said, “Be still. You cannot go anywhere. You will come with me to the Public Security Bureau (PSB) office.” He also took hold of Deling’s handbag.
Suddenly the Spirit of the Lord urged me to run! I shouted to Deling, “Run!” and I jumped out of the grip of the officer before he knew what was happening. He dropped the bag and chased me. As he ran he shouted, “Spy! Stop the spy!” Pandemonium broke out in the bus station. I jumped over awall and slipped away from the crowd. It was a miracle. People said later the wall was far too high for a person to jump over.
In the commotion Deling also escaped.
The PSB retrieved my wife’s handbag and found the address of the meeting place. They went there and arrested several of the leaders who had already gathered for the meeting.
* * *
DELING : Let me tell you how I first met Yun. After I became a Christian we visited a nearby village where once a year they held a large baptismal service. I was due to be baptized as a new believer.
It was November so it was already very cold. The baptism started around midnight for security reasons. We figured the PSB would never get out of their cosy beds in the middle of the cold night to arrest us, but we were wrong. Around one o’clock in the morning the PSB came and more than one hundred Christians were arrested.
Brother Yun was the one who had been baptizing the new believers, including me. The PSB ordered us to get into two lines so they could register our names and identify each one of us. Yun was also in line, but when they weren’t paying attention he slipped away. It was as though God blinded the eyes of the officers and they just couldn’t see him.
I had seen Yun a few times previously because meetings were held in his home on Sunday nights, but this experience at the baptismal service left a lasting impression on me. I thought he was a little bit crazy!
According to our custom, our marriage was completely arranged by our respective mothers. After my mother was healedand saved, she felt she had to find a preacher for me to marry. Yun was the only unmarried preacher in the whole area! My mother visited Yun’s mother and
Rebecca Berto, Lauren McKellar