By Georgina, Myanmar

In August 2021, I was watering newcomers in the church. For some time, I watered three newcomers online. These three newcomers were very eager to attend gatherings, but their village had no internet, so they had to go far up into the mountains to get a connection, and yet they still attended every gathering. While chatting with them, I learned that in each of their two neighboring villages, over a hundred people had yet to hear God’s gospel of the last days. I felt a responsibility to testify about God’s work of the last days to these people and to bring them before God. During a gathering, I fellowshipped with these three newcomers about God’s intention to save mankind, and I read them a passage of God’s words: “All manner of disasters will befall, one after another; all nations and places will experience calamities: Plague, famine, flood, drought, and earthquakes are everywhere. These disasters are not just happening in one or two places, nor will they be over within a day or two; rather, instead they will expand across a greater and greater area, and become more and more severe. During this time, all manner of insect plagues will arise one after another, and the phenomenon of cannibalism will occur everywhere. This is My judgment upon all nations and peoples” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 65). After reading God’s words, I fellowshipped, “God’s words are gradually being fulfilled, and the disasters are worsening day by day. Not only are other countries experiencing disasters, but our Wa State is also suffering from a severe pandemic. Cities and villages are now under lockdown, and many people are in quarantine. Some, having no food or water during quarantine, have jumped to their deaths, and some, unable to afford the cost of quarantine after contracting the plague, have hanged themselves. Some who went out to work weren’t able to return home due to the lockdown, their family members died, and they couldn’t even see them one last time. Every day, countless people are infected, and the number of deaths is beyond measure. We may be fine today, but no one knows what will happen tomorrow. We are fortunate to have accepted God’s work and to have heard His words. We must quickly preach God’s gospel to our families, neighbors, and friends, so that they too can hear God’s voice, come before Him, gain the truth, and receive His salvation. If we don’t share the gospel with them now, and they get infected and pass away one day, won’t we regret it? But by then, even if we cry ourselves senseless, it will be useless. Are you willing to preach the gospel to your village?” After hearing this, they all agreed to do it. The next evening, they brought several potential gospel recipients. Among them were the village chief’s son and an accountant who had relatively high prestige in the village. The gospel preacher fellowshipped with them on the truth about discerning between the true God and false gods, and about how only by believing in the true God can one be protected in disasters, and about how those who believe in false gods will only fall into disasters and ultimately into the lake of fire and brimstone. Some of them, after hearing God’s words, understood that only Almighty God is the one true God who can save all mankind. They were happy to hear God’s words and were moved to tears. Later, they brought their relatives and friends with relatively good humanity to hear God’s words. In just over twenty days, more than a hundred people from these two villages came to investigate God’s work of the last days, and I was responsible for watering more than sixty of them. I’d never imagined that so many people would accept God’s work of the last days all at once.

Later, more and more people from the two villages came to investigate the true way. A district official from a neighboring village learned that the villagers were listening to our sermons, and he mobilized the village militia to conduct patrols and inspections. Sixteen newcomers who had just begun investigating the true way were arrested, and they were also fined. As the militia patrolled day and night, the villagers didn’t dare to listen to sermons in the village, and some even stopped coming up the mountain for gatherings. Since the village had no internet, unless the newcomers found a way to connect to the internet and contact me, it was really difficult to contact them. At that moment, I felt like it was over. To say nothing of preaching the gospel to others, even the newcomers who had just accepted God’s work over the last two days might not be able to stand firm. Just then, a gathering group leader went up the mountain to find internet access and got in touch with me. He said, “The situation is really bad right now, and the police and militia are patrolling everywhere every day. Can we gather just once a month?” I thought to myself, “That won’t work. The newcomers have little stature; they don’t understand many truths and need continual watering and support. No matter what, we must ensure that the newcomers can attend gatherings.” The group leader and I watched the documentary The One Who Holds Sovereignty Over Everything. I said, “When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, before them was the Red Sea, and behind them were pursuing troops. There was no way forward, but they quieted themselves, prayed to God, relied on Him, and God opened a way for them. They witnessed God’s authority. God parted the Red Sea, revealing dry land in the middle. The Israelites crossed the Red Sea, while the pursuing troops were drowned in the waters. This shows that God will surely guide those He has determined to save.” I then read him a passage of Almighty God’s words: “In every step of work that God does on people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements or from human disturbance. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a wager with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men and the disturbance of men. Behind every step of work that God does in you is Satan’s wager with God—behind it all is a battle” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God). I then fellowshipped, “On the surface, it seems that the official is obstructing our belief in God, but behind this is Satan’s disturbance. Satan doesn’t want us to hear God’s words, so it’s using the official to persecute and arrest us to force us to give up our faith. Just like when Job was tried and lost all his wealth, on the surface it appeared to be the work of robbers, but in reality, this was Satan tempting and attacking Job. When Job faced all these trials, he did not complain against God but instead praised the name of Jehovah God. No matter how Satan disturbed Job, he would not abandon God, and in the end, Satan was put to shame and retreated. Now, facing the official’s disturbance and persecution, if we were constrained to the point of hearing God’s words only once a month, wouldn’t that mean Satan’s scheme has succeeded? If we persist in gathering in such a situation, Satan will be put to shame.” After hearing my fellowship, the group leader said he was willing to go back and invite these newcomers to gatherings. Through the group leader’s fellowship, the newcomers said one after another, “Nothing can happen unless God permits it.” “Whether we are arrested or not is in God’s hands.” “Satan wants to use the government’s disturbance to make us abandon our faith and drag us to hell. No matter how they persecute us, we will surely follow God and never abandon our faith.” Although the situation was very hostile, some of the more eager newcomers still found ways to get internet signal to attend gatherings. However, since their gathering places had been exposed, they could no longer gather in groups of sixty or seventy as they had before, and each gathering location could only have about twenty people at most. Just as we were preparing to arrange smaller gatherings, we encountered another difficulty. Because the newcomers only had two SIM cards that could access the internet, if they split up for gatherings, there wouldn’t be enough SIM cards to go around, so some villagers still wouldn’t be able to hear God’s words. Also, with twenty people using a single phone for gatherings, when the connection was poor, some people couldn’t hear the fellowship clearly, and the gatherings wouldn’t achieve good results. I started feeling discouraged as things felt really difficult. At that time, I thought, “If only I could go there myself, then I could water them in person.” I then shared my thoughts with the supervisor and the supervisor agreed to let me go to the local area.

That evening, I arrived at the local host home. Just then, the newcomer group leaders messaged me, so I asked them to invite the brothers and sisters to a gathering the next day at noon, telling them to invite as many people as they could and to find a hidden place. The next day, we arrived at the agreed place, and I was stunned. To my amazement, the group of over sixty newcomers showed up, and one by one, they came to shake my hand and embrace me, each one eagerly introducing themselves. They were like a flock of joyful birds, and it was like nothing I’d ever seen before. After the gathering that day, they invited newcomers from another village to come and hear the gospel. On the third day, the group leader took us along a long mountain path, and we found a quiet, hidden place. About fifty newcomers came. But while we were gathering, a nonbeliever who was herding cows saw us. I thought, “Will he report me? Will the official or the police come to arrest me?” I thought about running away. But at that moment, I remembered a passage from God’s word I had read earlier: “Antichrists do their utmost to protect their safety. What they think to themselves is: ‘I absolutely must guarantee my safety. No matter who gets caught, it mustn’t be me.’ … If a place is safe, then antichrists will choose that place to work, and, indeed, they will seem very proactive and positive, showing off their great ‘sense of responsibility’ and ‘loyalty.’ If some work does entail risk and is liable to meet with incident, to get its doer found out by the great red dragon, they make their excuses and refuse it, and find a chance to flee from it. As soon as there is danger, or as soon as there is a hint of danger, they think of ways to extricate themselves and abandon their duty, without a care for the brothers and sisters. They care only about getting themselves out of danger. They may already be prepared at heart: As soon as danger appears, they drop the work they are doing at once, without a care for how the church’s work goes, or for what loss it may incur to the interests of God’s house, or for the safety of the brothers and sisters. What matters to them is fleeing. They even have an ‘ace up their sleeve,’ a plan to protect themselves: As soon as danger is upon them or they are arrested, they say everything they know, clearing themselves and absolving themselves of all responsibility to preserve their own safety. This is the plan they have at the ready” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Nine (Part Two)). Antichrists can do their duties and work normally when there is no danger, but when danger arises, the first thing they think of is their own safety. They view their own safety as the most important thing and show no consideration for the church’s interests. Antichrists are exceptionally selfish and despicable, and have no conscience or reason at all. My own behavior was just like that of an antichrist. In the beginning, I was able to go up the mountain to gather with the newcomers, and I seemed to be doing some work and suffering some hardship, but as soon as my own safety was affected, I wanted to abandon my duty and escape. I was putting my safety above all else, and I never considered making arrangements for these newcomers first. So many newcomers, if arrested, would likely fall away because they were small in stature, yet I was only concerned about getting myself out of danger. I was truly selfish! Thinking of this, I quickly got the newcomers to safety. Some hid in ditches, some in the grass, and some in the forest. After the herdsman left, we continued the gathering, and arranged for some brothers to keep watch. After the gathering, we set a time for the next gathering.

Later, more than a hundred people accepted God’s work of the last days. At that time, the newcomers from the two villages numbered almost two hundred. So many people coming to hear God’s words drew even more attention from the official, and he ordered the nonbelievers in the village and even primary school students to patrol the mountain. The official also said that if they found our gathering place, they would be rewarded with one hundred yuan each. At that time, there were patrols not only in the village but also on the mountain. So the situation kept worsening, but every day, newcomers continued to bring their relatives and friends to hear God’s words, and even the village chief and deputy chief from both villages came to hear God’s words. Because of the official’s persecution, we had to change our gathering place constantly. Sometimes we gathered in fields, sometimes in sandy areas, sometimes in woods, and sometimes we had to travel far into the mountains to gather. When I went to water the newcomers, I would pass by the official’s house every day. I couldn’t avoid it on my route, and I was often worried the official and the police would spot me and then suddenly intercept and arrest me right in front of the official’s gate. What would I do if I were arrested and my family found out? They already opposed my faith; wouldn’t they persecute me even more if they knew I’d been arrested? The thought of this happening kept running through my head every day, and just thinking about it made me very scared. Every day when I went to water the newcomers, I was really on edge. When passing by the official’s house, I barely even dared to breathe, and I’d speed past on my motorcycle, not daring to even look back. When I was scared, I silently called out to God in my heart. I thought of a hymn of God’s words, “What God Makes Perfect Is Faith”: “The utmost faith and love are required from us in the work of the last days. We may stumble from the slightest carelessness, for this stage of work is different from all the previous ones: What God is perfecting is people’s faith, which is both invisible and intangible. What God does is convert words to faith, to love, and to life. People must reach a point where they have endured hundreds of refinements and possess faith greater than Job’s, which requires them to endure incredible suffering and all manner of torture without ever leaving God. When they are submissive unto death, and have great faith in God, then this stage of God’s work is complete” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Path … (8)). When I sang this hymn, I felt strengthened inside. I understood that God permitted this situation to come about to allow me to experience His words and strengthen my faith in Him. Before coming to this village, I’d felt I had great faith in God, but the facts coming upon me revealed my true stature. I saw that my faith in God was too small. God was using this environment of persecution to perfect my faith. I became willing to rely on God to experience it. Later, the persecution from the official became more severe. He told the villagers that anybody seen gathering should be reported, and they would get a reward of 500 yuan for reporting one believer and 1,000 yuan for two. I thought that they were utterly wicked. We hadn’t committed any crime by believing in God, yet they went to any lengths to capture us. I truly hated them in my heart. To avoid being discovered by them, we moved the gathering from 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. It was December, and it was very cold, but the newcomers still eagerly came to the gatherings. Some were over 60 years old and still persisted in gathering, some came with their whole families, and some came carrying babies that were just one month old to the mountain for gatherings. Seeing that they actively participated in the gatherings, I was deeply moved and also felt ashamed, thinking about how my faith wasn’t as strong as theirs. I also hated this satanic regime, who, in order to stop people from hearing God’s words, even mobilized everyone in the villages to patrol and report believers. Despite this, the gospel work was not affected at all, and Almighty God’s gospel of the last days continued to spread in this area. Also, the patrols didn’t even find us once. We were truly grateful to God for His protection!

One day, my nonbelieving husband suddenly returned home from the army. He was supposed to come back for the New Year, but unexpectedly, he came home early this time. He saw I wasn’t home and called to ask where I had gone, telling me to come back home immediately the next morning. The next day, when he saw I hadn’t returned, he sent me a message. At that time, I had no internet and didn’t reply to him, and he was very angry. Later, my husband kept calling, urging me to return home, even threatening to divorce me if I didn’t hurry back. I felt weak. My family already opposed my belief in God, and my mother-in-law had often urged my husband to divorce me. If I didn’t go back home, would my husband really divorce me? My heart was filled with pain, and I wondered, “Should I just go home for a few days?” But I knew that once I went back, it’d be hard for me to leave again. Who would water these newcomers? My heart was in great torment, and I couldn’t stop complaints from surging into my heart. “Why has God allowed this to happen to me? My husband keeps forcing me to go home, and says that if I don’t, he’ll divorce me. But if I go home, how can I still do my duty?” In my heart, I kept pondering what God’s intention was. As I pondered, I suddenly thought of God’s words: “In measuring whether or not people can submit to God, the key is whether or not they have any extravagant desires or ulterior motives toward Him. If people are always making demands of God, it proves that they are not submissive to Him. No matter what happens to you, if you do not accept it from God, and you do not seek the truth, and you are always arguing for yourself and always feeling that only you are right, and if you are even capable of doubting that God is the truth and righteousness, then you will be in trouble. Such people are the most arrogant and rebellious to God. People who always make demands of God cannot truly submit to Him. If you make demands of God, this proves that you are trying to make a deal with God, that you are choosing your own will, and acting according to it. In this, you are betraying God, and you lack submission. To make demands of God is in and of itself lacking in reason; if you truly believe that He is God, then you will not dare to make demands of Him, nor will you feel qualified to make demands of Him, whether you think them reasonable or not. If you have true belief in God, and believe that He is God, then you will only worship and submit to Him, there is no other choice” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. People Make Too Many Demands of God). I realized that I was just as God had exposed. When God set up situations that aligned with my wishes, I was willing to submit, but when they didn’t suit my wishes, I was unwilling to submit and kept making unreasonable demands of God. I thought that because I was doing my duty and preaching the gospel, God should watch over and protect me from the persecution and disturbances of my husband and not let him come home early, as I’d no longer be able to preach the gospel if he were to return home. I wanted God to follow my demands, and when He didn’t, I complained that His arrangements were inappropriate and argued willfully with Him. I was truly unreasonable! Before, when I was able to leave home to preach the gospel, I felt that I had grown in stature and that I’d already become able to submit to God. Now, I finally saw clearly my true stature. Although this matter that came upon me didn’t align with my notions, it was a good opportunity for me to understand myself.

I thought about how these newcomers eagerly longed for God’s words. No matter how cold the weather, how far the journey, or how terrible the situation, they still persisted in attending gatherings. If I went back home, who would water them? But if I didn’t go back, I might face divorce. Just as I was struggling to decide, I remembered a passage of God’s words that the supervisor had shared before: “Are you aware of the burden on your shoulders, your commission, and your responsibility? Where is your sense of historic mission? How will you serve properly as a master in the next age? Do you have a strong sense of being a master? How would you explain the master of all things? Is it really the master of all living creatures and of all physical things in the world? What plans do you have for the progress of the next phase of the work? How many people are waiting for you to shepherd them? Is your task a heavy one? They are poor, pitiable, blind, and at a loss, wailing in the darkness—where is the way? How they yearn for the light, like a shooting star, to suddenly descend and dispel the forces of darkness that have oppressed man for so many years. They anxiously hope, and pine, day and night, for it—who can know the full extent of this? Even on a day when the light flashes past, these deeply suffering people remain imprisoned in a dark dungeon without hope of release; when will they weep no longer? Terrible is the misfortune of these fragile spirits who have never been granted rest, and long have they been kept bound in this state by merciless bonds and frozen history. And who has heard the sound of their wailing? Who has looked upon their miserable state? Has it ever occurred to you how grieved and anxious God’s heart is? How can He bear to see innocent mankind, whom He created with His own hands, suffering such torment? Human beings, after all, are the victims who have been poisoned. And although man has survived to this day, who would have known that mankind has long been poisoned by the evil one? Have you forgotten that you are one of the victims? Are you not willing to strive, out of your love for God, to save all these survivors? Are you not willing to devote all of your energy to repaying God, who loves mankind like His own flesh and blood? When all is said and done, how would you interpret being used by God to live your extraordinary life? Do you really have the resolve and confidence to live the meaningful life of a pious, God-serving person?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How Should You Attend to Your Future Mission?). God has appeared and has been working for so many years, but many people still don’t know and are worshiping false gods, living in the deception of Satan. We, who have received God’s gospel first, have a responsibility to testify to God’s work to them so they can hear God’s voice and come before God as soon as possible. Thinking back to the gatherings with these newcomers, when we read God’s words to them, regardless of age or gender, they all had longing in their eyes, like they’d just seen light coming into a dark world, as if they’d been waiting for the light to come for a very long time and finally found hope. Even when facing government persecution and the risk of being arrested and fined, even if they had to embark on a long journey, and even if some of them had a child who was just one month old, they were unwilling to miss a single gathering, and they wished to gather all day to hear God’s words. They weren’t afraid of government persecution, but rather they were afraid of being unable to hear God’s words and gather. Some of the newcomers said, “Sister, don’t be afraid. We’ll fight a guerrilla war with Satan. If they go up the mountain, we’ll go down. We’ll find a way to gather.” Hearing this was really moving. If I just left them like this, causing them to be unable to hear God’s words, my conscience would accuse me. I thought about how God had expressed so many truths to purify and save humanity, and how I had enjoyed the watering and provision of God’s words, understood many mysteries of the truth, and received the path to cast off my corrupt disposition. God had given me so much, and His love was so great! I kept saying that I would do my duty well to repay God’s love, and that I wouldn’t disappoint God or let down His love for me, but because I was afraid my husband would divorce me, I wanted to abandon my duty and leave the newcomers behind. I hadn’t even thought about what would happen if I left: The official would keep persecuting them, threatening that if they were caught, they would be fined or imprisoned. Would they grow weak and timid, and not dare to attend gatherings? Without anyone to water them, would they become negative and withdraw? They longed for the truth so much that in order to hear God’s words, they’d arrive at the gathering place before dawn, waiting for me. If they couldn’t hear God’s words, would they be tormented and in pain? If I just left like this, would I be doing right by God and by them? If I left these newcomers out of fear of divorce, causing them to become weak and fall away, I would be unable to show my face before God! The more I thought about it, the more I felt indebted to God.

Later, I thought of a passage of Almighty God’s words: “When God works, cares for a person, and looks upon this person, and when He favors and approves this person, Satan trails closely behind, trying to mislead the person and bring them to harm. If God wishes to gain this person, Satan will do everything in its power to obstruct God, using various wicked ploys to tempt, disturb and impair the work of God, in order to achieve its hidden objective. What is this objective? It does not want God to gain anyone; it wants to snatch possession of those whom God wishes to gain, it wants to control them, to take charge of them so they worship it, so they join it in committing evil acts, and resist God. Is this not Satan’s sinister motive? … In warring with God, and trailing along behind Him, Satan’s objective is to demolish all the work God wants to do, to occupy and control those whom God wants to gain, to completely extinguish those whom God wants to gain. If they are not extinguished, then they come to Satan’s possession, to be used by it—this is its objective” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique IV). Pondering God’s words, I realized that wherever God’s work goes, Satan’s disturbance follows. God wanted to gain those who truly believed in Him, but Satan was using the government to persecute them, sparing no effort to stop them from believing in God. When Satan saw that such persecution couldn’t achieve its goal, it changed its tactics, getting my husband to threaten me with divorce, trying to force me to leave the village, as this way, there wouldn’t be anyone to water these newcomers. Satan’s goal was to stop them from hearing God’s words and make them gradually withdraw. It is truly despicable and shameless! If I went back home, wouldn’t I be falling for Satan’s tricks? Seeing Satan’s sinister intention clearly, I made up my mind to properly water these newcomers. I then prayed to God, “Oh God, I’m not going home. I will rely on You to water the newcomers in these two villages well. Even if my husband divorces me, I won’t go back.” Having readied myself for divorce, what I never expected was that the very next day, my husband sent me a message telling me to take good care of myself. He said that since it was cold, I should wear more clothes and be more careful when preaching the gospel. He also said I could come back whenever I wanted and he even sent me 4,000 yuan to buy winter clothes. I was truly grateful to God!

In the days that followed, although I was no longer so constrained by my husband, the official’s persecution grew more and more serious instead of abating. Later, I heard a hymn called, “Following Christ, I Will Never Turn Back, Even Unto Death”:

1  Satan, the great red dragon, madly oppresses and arrests God’s chosen people. Those who follow Christ risk their lives to do their duties. Someday I may be arrested and persecuted for testifying to God. In my heart, I understand clearly that this is persecution for the sake of righteousness. Perhaps my life will vanish like a fleeting firework. In this life, to follow and testify to Christ fills my heart with pride. Even if I cannot see the unprecedented spectacle of the kingdom’s expansion, I will have no regrets or complaints, and will offer my best wishes. Even if I cannot see the day the kingdom is realized, today, being able to bear witness to humiliate Satan is enough for me.

2  The Son of man of the last days expresses the truth, awakening countless hearts. I see God’s words are all the truth, so I follow Him. Someday I may be arrested and become a martyr for preaching the gospel, yet countless saints will carry forward the flame of the kingdom gospel. I don’t know how much longer I can walk on this path of preaching the gospel, but as long as I live, I will propagate God’s words and testify to Christ. I run only to follow God’s will and complete His commission. To offer my body and heart for testifying to Christ is my honor. No persecution or tribulation can crush me; the furnace’s blazing flames refine pure gold. In China, the land of the great red dragon, a group of overcomers emerges.

God’s words spread across the world; the light has appeared among mankind. Christ’s kingdom is formed and established through God’s words. Darkness is fading away, and the dawn of righteousness is here. A group of overcomers has borne a resounding testimony for God.

—Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs

I was really moved and inspired after listening to this hymn. Though I might be arrested and persecuted for watering the newcomers in these two villages—even to the point of death before seeing the day of God’s glory—I would not regret it. What an honor it is to be able to accept God’s work of the last days and propagate His kingdom gospel. Realizing this, I gained even more faith to experience whatever was to come.

The official learned that we gathered at 6 every morning, and so he would light a fire in his yard at 5, waiting for us. When I rode my motorcycle past his house, I would turn off my lights or turn off the engine and push it, for fear of being seen by him. We didn’t dare to turn on flashlights when we went up the mountain, and sometimes, when it rained, we would gather at the remote homes of brothers and sisters in the village. To avoid being discovered, when the gatherings ended, some brothers and sisters would carry firewood back home, while others would drive cattle back, and some would pick wild vegetables to take home. Although the official would light a fire in his yard, waiting for us, we were never discovered even once. I knew that all of this was in God’s hands, and that He had veiled the official’s eyes. Experiencing such a situation, I gained some understanding of God’s almightiness and sovereignty. Later, the people in these two villages, except for the official, his wife, and a few people with bad humanity, all accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days. Even the official’s brother, sister, sister-in-law, and father-in-law all accepted it. In the end, we went on to preach the gospel to people in another village through them, and at that time, about seventy to eighty people accepted God’s work. No matter how the official persecuted us, these newcomers still actively came to the gatherings, and the number of newcomers continued to increase. This was truly the result of the Holy Spirit’s work. I saw that no matter what methods Satan uses, it cannot hinder the spread of the gospel work.

During that time, although I suffered some physical hardships, and I also experienced government persecution and disturbance from my husband, which was quite painful at the time, I gained a lot. Thank God!