Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Update on Yang Caizhen

Yang Caizhen (see my post of March 28), her arthritis and health reportedly worsening, remains in a Chinese labor camp. Sentenced in November 2009 to two years' imprisonment for being part of China's growing "religious problem," she spends 15 hours a day making cigarette lighters.

Caizhen's daughter, Esther, though worried about her mother (and her father, Pastor Yang Xuan, who also was sentenced to a labor camp), noted in an interview that her faith has grown as a result of her parents' arrest and imprisonment: "I had this faith before. But I found it is meaningful for me just recently. Before this, if you asked me to share some testimony, I would tell you God loves you, but I didn't want to share more. But now, I think it is really valuable, really meaningful for me."

If you wish to help Yang Caizhen, you can send her postcards supplied by Voice of the Martyrs for free by calling 1-800-747-0085 or emailing orders@vom-usa.org. Please specify the number of sheets (multiple postcards per sheet) you wish. The message on back of each postcard reads in Chinese: "We are praying for you, your family and the other prisoners. We are also praying for your release soon! Please know that we care about you very much. God has said, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.'" Each postcard requires a 98-cent stamp.