Testimony for Chunxin Wang
I was born in 1965, just one year before the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976 China) began. So, the memory in my childhood was full of chaos of that era. Although Communists called themselves atheists and declared all religions unlawful, Mao Zedong and his communists actually made Mao a pseudo god during that era. After the death of Mao, China opened its door to the outside world. Chinese people found themselves being cheated. Thus, my generation has it very hard to believe in something else including the real truth. The reason is: we have been cheated once, we will not be cheated again.
Long before I came to the US (2000), I learned something about the Bible. I knew that civilization and democracy of the Western countries was greatly related to it. Bible stories are very interesting, but at that time, I did not think they were real and just regarded them as myths.
Four years ago (2000), I came to the US. Everybody knows that the United States is the most developed and the most powerful country in this modern world. Many people in my country have the dream of coming here. I realized this dream. Many people in China admired me and my family, however, the feeling of happiness did not last long. As a matter of fact, I had to consider what I would do in order to survive in this world. Before I came here, I had very good job and life in China, After I came here, I had to start all over again. So, often times I felt worried and unhappy. I did go to church twice in my first year here. The first time, I just wanted to see what the Americans did in church. To speak from my mind, at that time, I just wanted to have more experiences in order to enlarge my perspective and make myself more knowledgeable. The second time was when my landlord invited me to go to his church. My feeling about the church is that it was a sacred place where people worship God and are very friendly, yet, to me, it was a place that was so far away (I mean, in feeling) and also one that I could not understand and I actually did not want to take my precious study time to go there.
Shortly after I arrived at Iowa City three years ago, I was invited to go to the Chinese church. Although I liked the people there, I did not like the ceremonies, which were exactly like what we did to Mao during the Cultural Revolution, such as admitting sins, praying, etc. . I especially did not like the prayer before dinner. I thought people prepared and cooked food, so why pray to God? By and by, I did not go to church. I thought I could not waste time on that. I should put my heart in my own business.
I took the TOEFL, and GRE tests, and prepared materials for applying to schools. I thought I could do everything on my own, as long as I studied hard and worked hard. Finally, I was admitted to the graduate school in a very good program. But shortly after I entered the program, I felt great pressure and stress from my study. Most of my classmates were ten years younger than me. They had more energy and more time to study. Yet, I had a family to take care of, especially I had a baby who needed me to give more time to his care. I could not sleep well during the night. I felt very tried and exhausted. So the next day I could not concentrate on my studies, and besides I was not good at listening to English. During the lectures, I missed a lot of important points. So after a whole “worried” semester, my grades were not good.
I thought that I needed to find someone to help me with my English. Then, I got to know Elva Craig, from Campus Bible Fellowship, who teaches Bible to students on campus. My original thought was that I could learn and practice English with her, without charge, and besides I could learn something about the Bible. That was a good deal.
We began our study at the beginning of the semester and met once a week. Elva gave me a series of brochures, which used as our “textbooks”. Elva is a very nice lady. During the once a week Bible study, we not only learned Bible, but we also talked about other things in life. She gave me a lot of good advice and suggestions. We became friends, and I was eager to meet for the study every week. Bible study became part of my life, which made me relax and enjoy. The most important thing is that after one semester’s Bible study, I began to believe in what was said in the Bible. Last summer, before Elva went to China to travel and speak, she asked me if I would like to receive Jesus as my personal Savior. I told her I was pretty close to the gate, but I still needed more time and more courage to knock at the door. She left another brochure with me before she left for China.
I have several Christian friends who also gave me lots of help. During the summer break, we had more time to talk and play. Sisters and brothers in the Chinese church also gave much help. Finally, on July 5, 2003, I received God as my personal Savior. I experienced the great peace and safety in my mind. I had a strong desire to share my testimony to my friends, Christians and non-Christians. I also had a strong desire to read the Bible every day. Words in the Bible moved me and seemed much easier to understand than before. And also I had the strong desire to be baptized. On Dec 7,2003, the most important day in my life, I was baptized. I became a obedient Christian.