Armed with Only a Pickaxe
To add to his suffering, the guards gave Pastor Han only a small piece of bread to eat each day.
Pastor Han was born into a Buddhist family In China. When he accepted Christ as his Saviour, the Chinese government started tracking his movements which forced him into hiding. He knew if they caught him he would be put in jail indefinitely. Pastor Han dug out caves and spent months at a time underground to stay safe from the authorities that hunted him. Eventually, the police found Pastor Han and put him in jail. On the way to the prison, government officials paraded him around in the back of a truck telling the public they arrested him for social disturbance. To add to his suffering, the guards gave Pastor Han only a small piece of bread to eat each day. However, if they caught him giving thanks to God for providing the food they took back the bread and left him with nothing. They also encouraged the other prisoners to beat the pastor whenever they wanted to without repercussion, and they did so frequently. When he was released, Han and a fellow pastor felt called to start a training school. With only a pickaxe and one shovel each, they began to dig. It took three full months before the first cave was ready, then immediately they began to dig other ones. Their Bible School was a network of four interconnecting caves. There was no water, no electricity, and all the men could offer their students was their own Bible knowledge and a place to study. Most of the students were teenagers, yet they willingly stayed for months at a time, completely disregarding personal comfort and safety. They understood that as believers in China, persecution for their faith was a daily reality. They would inevitably suffer and possibly lose their lives for preaching God’s Word, but it didn’t matter. “There is still much to do,” says Pastor Han, “My work is not yet done.”
We can be encouraged when we read Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Pastor Han has given his life over to the Gospel. He is wholly surrendered to the Son of God and lives in faith each day.
It took three full months before the first cave was ready, then immediately they began to dig other ones.
