For Chinese Christians, persecution doesn’t stop when they leave China

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Pastor Foley

13 Christians who have left China for the United States over the past 10 years due to persecution from Chinese authorities participated in a Bible-based trauma recovery workshop in Midland, Texas on October 27 provided by Voice of the Martyrs Korea and China Aid.

Chinese Christians who came to the US to escape persecution, along with members of the China Aid staff, participate in an October Bible-based trauma recovery workshop in Midland, Texas led by Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley and translated by China Aid CEO Bob Fu.

“For Chinese Christians, persecution doesn’t stop when they leave China,” said Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr Hyun Sook Foley, who led the workshop. “Partly that’s because persecution-related trauma can last a lifetime and even carry into the next generation when it’s not treated properly. Partly it’s because most Chinese Christians still have relatives living in China who are currently under government surveillance there. And partly it’s because many Chinese Christians report that they themselves are experiencing active surveillance by Chinese agents even though they are now living in the US.”

Dr. Foley received her master’s degree in clinical counseling with a specialization in trauma care from Colorado Christian University in the United States. In addition to teaching Bible-based trauma recovery directly to persecuted Christians still living in China, Dr Foley has also provided trauma recovery aftercare to Christians who have left China to seek religious asylum in other countries.

Six of the October workshop attendees were from the Shenzen Holy Reformed Church, the so-called “Mayflower Church” which fled China for Jeju Island in 2019 before relocating to Thailand in August 2022 in their ongoing efforts to seek religious asylum. They were permitted to come to the US in April 2023. Representative Foley said her organization has provided twice-yearly persecution training and trauma recovery sessions for the church members since the church first arrived in Korea. The church’s pastor, Pan Yongguang, who participated in the October workshop, called Dr Foley’s trauma recovery training the church’s “secret weapon”.

Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley teaching Bible-based trauma recovery techniques at a private October training event in Midland, Texas for Chinese Christians in the US, with China Aid CEO Bob Fu translating.

“Counselors know that the heart of trauma recovery is the recovery and strengthening of whatever healthy family and group rituals and routines already exist in the life of the traumatized person or community,” said Representative Foley. “For Christians, the most powerful resource for trauma recovery is daily household worship.”

During the October workshop, Pastor Pan explained to the other attendees that the families in his church had previously prayed and read scripture in their homes daily, but it was only after working with Voice of the Martyrs Korea that they learned how to use daily family worship as the main means of managing and reducing stress and recovering from trauma for each member of the family. “Since that time, whether they were living in Korea, Thailand, or now the US, Pastor Pan has asked each of the families in his congregation to send him a ‘confirmation text’ when they do family worship each day, so that he know they are dealing with their stress and trauma daily,” said Representative Foley. 

Among the other October workshop attendees, who asked to remain nameless for security reasons, many reported living alone or with only a spouse or minor child after other family members had been killed or were still being detained in China. Some reported still being watched by observers who they believe are from China. One had even had their phone stolen recently and credited the theft to Chinese agents. The attendees expressed their uneasiness in being around other Chinese people in the US and their sense that their homes, churches, and workplaces are not safe from surveillance by Chinese agents.

“In situations like this, the traumatized person must of course still focus on their survival and the survival of their family members both inside and outside of China,” said Representative Foley. But she says that doesn’t mean they should postpone dealing with their traumas.

Voice of the Martyrs Korea CEO Pastor Eric Foley and Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley with Pan Yongguang, pastor of the so-called “Mayflower Church” which fled China in 2019, at the private October trauma recovery training event in Midland, Texas for formerly persecuted Chinese Christians now living in the US. The training was conducted by Voice of the Martyrs Korea and China Aid.

“Trauma recovery should not wait until a trauma is over, because as our workshop participants shared, they are continuing to have to deal with persecution and trauma even though they have left China,” said Representative Foley. “The most effective trauma recovery strategies are ones which people can use even in the midst of ongoing trauma. They are strategies which don’t require professional counselors and which can be taught and practiced by ordinary people. That is why daily household worship is so powerful as a trauma recovery strategy: It is something any traumatized person can learn to do and practice for even just a few minutes each day. It helps them remember that God is in charge, even when the circumstances seem to indicate otherwise.”

In addition to the day-long workshop, Representative Foley and Voice of the Martyrs Korea CEO Pastor Eric Foley met the next day for individual trauma recovery sessions with several of the participants.

“Some of the workshop participants have been in the US for a few months, while some have been here more than ten years,” says Representative Foley. “But all are still experiencing high levels of active trauma due to ongoing persecution of family members inside China, as well as suspected ongoing surveillance by Chinese agents in the US.” In such cases, says Dr Foley, trauma recovery strategies are especially important. “It is easy for an asylum seeker to become depressed when they realize that their problems have followed them to their new country and, in some cases, become worse because they are often no longer able to maintain contact with family members in China, who may now be in even more danger because of the asylum seeker’s departure,” says Representative Foley. “In these cases, we should not make false promises that everything will be OK or that everyone will be safe. Instead, we need to equip them with practical strategies for dealing with trauma arising from circumstances beyond their control. As Pastor Pan from the Mayflower Church testified, daily family worship is the ‘secret weapon’ the Lord has given us for this purpose.”

Individuals interested in learning about or supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s work in partnership with persecuted Christians in China can visit www.vomkorea.com/en/china or give via electronic transfer to:

KB Bank: 463501-01-243303

Account Holder: (사)순교자의소리

Please note “China” on the transfer.

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China: Couple who met through persecution is separated by persecution, then reunited

Posted on November 21, 2023 by Pastor Foley

Hao Guiru’s fiancée is a Christian from Guangdong province. She was so attracted to Hao Guiru’s devotion to his Christian faith that she moved 1,500 kilometers to Chengdu in Sichuan Province to date him.

But as Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr Hyun Sook Foley explains, Hao Guiru’s Christian devotion goes far beyond Bible reading or prayer.

“Hao Guiru is a member of Early Rain Covenant Church, a group legally banned by the Chinese government and the constant target of some of the most severe persecution in the world since its pastor, Wang Yi, was arrested along with more than 100 church members on December 9, 2018,” says Representative Foley.

Hao Guiru and his fiancée embrace upon his release from the police station after being held overnight in connection to a graduation event at embattled Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu.

So it was not surprising for Hao Guiru’s fiancée to be waiting for him outside a police station on a recent Sunday morning.

“One day before, on Saturday October 28th at 10 AM, more than thirty Early Rain Covenant Church believers held a graduation ceremony for the church’s ‘servant college’ in a hotel’s conference room,” says Representative Foley. “Suddenly, over twenty national security agents, police, staff of the government Religious Affairs Bureau, and community workers broke into the room. They interrupted the ceremony and claimed the gathering was illegal. Everyone attending was required to register their personal information.”

According to Representative Foley, witnesses report that one national security agent scolded all the Christians aloud and called them traitors. “He said he wanted to catch all of them and parade them through the street,” says Representative Foley.

Representative Foley says that police transported nine of the Early Rain Covenant Church leaders–Elder Li Yingqiang, preacher Ding Shuqi, deacon Jia Xuewei, and six other co-workers, including Hao Guiru—to area police stations. “Many believers and family members were waiting outside the police stations for news,” says Representative Foley. “At around 2 AM, police came out and told them that Ding Shuqi, Jia Xuewei, and Hao Guiru would not be released that night. So the church members had no choice but to go home.”

In the morning, Hao Guiru’s fiancée returned to the police station to wait for Hao’s release. “At around 10 AM, the three Early Rain Covenant Church leaders were released,” says Representative Foley. “Hao Guiru met his fiancée outside of the police station, and they hugged each other and burst into tears as onlookers greeted them with applause.”

Then, says Representative Foley, the couple and the other released leaders did what they always do on Sunday mornings.

They went to church.

“All nine of the Early Rain Covenant Church believers who had been arrested shared their difficult experiences in the police station with the Early Rain Covenant Church congregation, but they also shared how they witnessed God’s grace,” says Representative Foley. “Deacon Jia Xuewei had been taken into the police station bathroom and violently assaulted by an officer there. The officer kept beating Deacon Jia up until other police eventually stopped him.” Representative Foley says that Preacher Ding Shuqi was dragged and beaten up when police took him away.

Still, says Representative Foley, Hao Guiru and his fiancée, as well as the other recently released detainees, remain resolute in their faith and undeterred by the October 28 crackdown. Representative Foley shared a prayer which the church published during the event:

Christians pray outside a police station October 28 while waiting for the release of arrested leaders from the Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church.

“The Lord’s love is in China, the Lord’s love is in Chengdu, the Lord’s love is in the fall rain, and the Lord’s love is among us. During these five years of great persecution, although the synagogue was blocked and the pastor was imprisoned, brothers and sisters were fruitful in patience and gladly equipped themselves to serve the church. Pray that the Lord would watch over each of the brothers and sisters who were taken to the police station, and give them courageous hearts, which You have given them for their graduation, to see the Eternal Savior in the midst of persecution and fire. Pray also for mercy on our nation and government officials, who continue to persecute the Lord Christ and His Church, not realizing that this is the only way of life that can save them from death.”

Early Rain Covenant Church is among the most internationally well-known house churches in China. Initially led by the now-imprisoned Pastor Wang Yi, the church has continued to uphold his vision of worshipping God in public. The church established the “Prisoners of Conscience Fellowship” and set May 12 to June 4 annually as the “Prayer for the Nation Month”, which Representative Foley says increased the church’s visibility to the government. “Police would station themselves at the entrance to their building to prevent believers from entering,” says Representative Foley. “In other instances, authorities staked out the homes of important members to prohibit them from leaving their homes.”

In August 2018, Pastor Wang Yi drafted “A Declaration for the Sake of the Christian Faith”, the text of which can be read in multiple languages at www.chinadeclaration.com, a site maintained by Voice of the Martyrs Korea.  “Pastor Wang Yi wrote it in response to the Chinese government’s implementation of the so-called Religious Affairs Regulations which took effect in February 2018,” says Representative Foley. “He called on other Chinese pastors to come forward, publicly state their beliefs, sign the statement, and refuse to sign the new religious regulations.”

On December 9, 2018, more than one hundred Early Rain Covenant Church elders and co-workers were arrested. Pastor Wang Yi was arrested and charged with “inciting subversion of state power” and “illegal business operations”. The Chinese government sentenced him to nine years in prison in December 2019, confiscating his personal assets and suspending his political rights for three years.

Early Rain Covenant Church Preacher Ding Shuqi and Deacon Jia Xuewei walking out of the police station after being detained overnight on October 28, along with Hao Guiru.

Representative Foley says that since the crackdown on Early Rain Covenant Church began nearly five years ago, police have continued to harass church leaders and members. “Officers stand outside their homes, follow them, disperse their gatherings, and monitor them closely,” says Representative Foley. “Last year, authorities even disrupted a wedding for two of the church’s members by forcing the wedding venue to cancel at the last minute.”

To this day, says Representative Foley, the persecution has not ceased against Early Rain, but neither has the church’s public worship. “The church members continue to evangelize and host worker trainings, leading to events like the servant college graduation that was recently disrupted,” says Representative Foley. “Many other Christians, like Hao Guiru’s now-fiancée, have even been attracted to the church’s faithful witness in the face of persecution and have moved to Chengdu to join them.”

According to Representative Foley, Hao Guiru’s fiancée appears to have found exactly what she was looking for: a man and a church prepared to pay the price for their devotion to Jesus.

Individuals interested in learning about or supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s work in partnership with persecuted Christians in China can visit www.vomkorea.com/en/china or give via electronic transfer to:

KB Bank: 463501-01-243303

Account Holder: (사)순교자의소리

Please note “China” on the transfer.

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The Christian faith is always a journey into weakness

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Pastor Foley

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.

Philippians 1:29

In Philippians 1:29, Paul says that we have been given TWO privileges:

First, of course, we have been given the privilege of believing in the Lord Jesus.

But we’ve also been given another privilege. We would expect that other privilege to be something like: We have been given the privilege of overcoming sin. Or, We have been given a share of his inheritance—blessings here on earth.

But instead, Paul says:

We have been given the privilege of suffering for Christ.

Paul is not the only one who says this kind of thing. Jesus said it all the time. Like when he talked to James and John and they asked him for the privilege of sitting at his left hand and his right hand. And he said, that was not his to give, but he could give the privilege of drinking from his cup—which is the cup of suffering.

See–this was not a burden he gave to them but a blessing It was a privilege.

Today, evangelists offer Christianity as a relief from suffering They sell it as a shortcut to entering into the world’s blessings and benefits without having to work for them, e.g.: Believe in Jesus and you can be rich, healthy, and popular—and you don’t have to work for any of it!

They show themselves as an example:

“See—I’m rich, healthy, and popular compared to you; if you believe in Jesus, you can be like me!”

So when they evangelize, they say things like, “Wouldn’t you like to ask Jesus into your heart?”

But that’s not how Paul and Jesus evangelize.

They say, “Enter into the death of Christ. As you enter into the death of Christ, you will have the lifetime privilege of suffering like we do.”

This confused Jesus’ disciples so much that Peter rebuked Jesus for saying it. And it confused Paul’s churches so much that they turned away from him and followed other so-called apostles.

But Jesus and Paul are very clear: They say that suffering as a result of our faith in Christ is a privilege and a gift, not a disadvantage we are forced to accept.

In order to understand why, we have to remember that suffering means being forced to endure things beyond our control and beyond power to change. When we experience these kind of things, we typically pray for the Lord to remove these!

But when we understand that the Lord is permitting these things to happen SO THAT we have the privilege of entering into his suffering, we can see that these experiences have a purpose.

Here’s the purpose:

As he removes everything we normally depend on (especially our own gifts and strengths), the only thing remaining on which we can rely is his promises.

This is the only thing Jesus had on the Cross: The promises of God.

So Paul and Jesus say to us: Suffering is a privilege because through it the Lord removes our dependence on things that are passing away, and we are left with complete dependence on his word.

In this world, that kind of dependence looks foolish. But in the world to come—which we enter through our resurrection from the dead—we will come to see that Christ did not remove from us anything of eternal value.

Instead, he gave us the only thing that is actually really valuable:

His word, through which he reveals himself fully,

His word, which never passes away.

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