I can never forget an incident that happened in Hong Kong while I was a teenager.  Late one evening, someone came to deliver a gift on behalf of my uncle and aunt in China.  They had heard that I was leaving for America soon, and wanted to send me a gift.  I had not seen them since the Communists took over China.  So, I was pleasantly surprised.  Any gift for a relatively insignificant young person was quite unusual.

The gift was a Chinese Bible.  On the front page was written the following words in Chinese:

      To our nephew:

     "Trust in the Lord and do good. . . Delight yourselves in the Lord and he will give you the desire of your heart.   Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this."                         -- Psalm 37:3-5

                                              Uncle & Aunt          April 1964

     This gift and those words left an indelible impression on me.  It was my very first Chinese Bible.  (Since I studied in an English high school, I already had English Bibles as my text-books.)  As I grew in my faith, I learned to treasure the Bible more.  As I read the Bible, I found it to be indeed "a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."(Ps 119:105)  Nevertheless, I often wondered why I received the Bible from them rather than from other friends or relatives living in the free world.

      Growing up in a fourth generation Christian home is quite unusual, especially for the Chinese.  My great grandfather became a Christian in San Francisco in 1860.  As a result, many of my relatives are Christians, at least by name.  Most of them live in the free world.  It is interesting that the few relatives remaining in Mainland China stayed true to their Christian faith.

 ........

    Some years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to China as an engineer under the auspices of an international project.  That was my first return to China.  It was then that I learned first-hand how much Chinese Christians treasured the Bible.

      At that time, China had already opened up significantly.  A few churches were allowed to reopen.  Sometimes, Bibles were officially sold.  But the supplies were surprisingly depleted in a matter of days even though the cost was prohibitive at RMB$7.5 (about US$2.5) per copy, about a tenth of the average monthly income.  How many of us would be willing to spend a tenth of our income on a Bible?

      Through an amazing coincidence (divine appointment!), I had the privilege of meeting Christians there.  One local Christian shared about the rare supply of Bibles in China.  She shared that during the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards ransacked homes to seek out and destroy Bibles.  However, her grandmother's home was spared.  Thinking that she was illiterate, the Red Guards did not think that she would own a Bible.  Thus, one hidden Bible was spared.  That precious copy was passed on to her granddaughter.  Later, she found out about a village where eight hundred people became Christians.  Yet, there were no Bibles available.  So she passed that precious Bible to them.

      Another highlight of my trip was my visit to my relatives.  My aunt (3) was still living.  In her old age, she was still actively preaching the gospel.  Of my gifts to her, one was a Bible.  I wanted to personally thank her for the thoughtful gift she had given me many years before.

 . . . .

(excerpt from an artilcle published in Challenger February 1999)