PERSECUTED CHURCH 
COLLECTION
PO Box 1485
Cashiers NC 28717
Jondee_pcc@surfbest.net
www.persecutedchurch.com
CHINA TRIP REPORT - SUMMER OF 2004
A VISIT WITH THE UNDERGROUND
CHURCH NOW OVER 125 MILLION
STRONG.
"But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently this is
commendable before God." (1 Peter 2:20)
- BAD NEWS RIGHT OFF THE BAT
- TITUS ~ JUST RELEASED FROM PRISON
- ABRAHAM’S OTHER SON
- LETTERS FROM DONORS
- SENIORS ~ 70 PIGS AND FIVE ORPHANS
- LEGAL COUNCIL FOR THE UNDERGROUND CHURCH??
- 100 ARRESTED
- WALKED 20 MILES TO WRITE THE BIBLE
- LEADERS BEING FILMED AS THEY LEFT
- SECOND LEG REGION #2
- EXTREME LOVE
- THIRD LEG ~ ABOVE VIET NAM
- KIDNAPPED BY THE EASTERN LIGHTNING CULT
- CJ’S APARTMENT
- SECURITY
- A FINAL PRAYER
BAD NEWS RIGHT OFF THE BAT
CJ and Hou met us at the airport after our 26 hour trip. After we
were safely in the taxi she had bad news for me. A female student
was arrested and questioned in the South West part of China. She
was interrogated for three days by the National Security
Police. She attended the North East Training Center (T/C)
at the same time that Dan and I taught there. We do not know yet
how much of the operation has been compromised; we do know that
operations have been shut down for the rest of this year.
Noah, the leader, has also been questioned four times this year and is
now on the run with his sister. A lot of our efforts and prayers
have been invested in this training center. All of our teaching
VCD’s were filmed there, which have now been distributed in many parts
of China. No wonder the enemy is angry with the leadership of
this T/C and wants it closed.
I do know bits and pieces about the interrogation. The police
told the student that they knew everything and they just wanted her to
confirm what they already knew. They are very clever and can
easily compromise a young student. The student is very distressed
over all of this. Please pray fervently that what the enemy has
meant for evil the Lord will turn to good.
TITUS
Titus was the first leader that we met. I hugged him hard and I
hugged him long. We were hoping that our timing on this trip
would coincide with his release from prison and he would be able to
meet with us. He was only out of prison about 4 days and what he
shared with us was his first opportunity to talk about his
experience. We met him a little over 3 years ago. Soon after that
he was arrested and served 3 years in prison. Because he was the
leader of a large network, we were told by other leaders that his
treatment was harsh and visiting rights almost non existent.
Testimony of Titus Prison Stay
Titus had gone to a college retreat in another region. At the end
of the retreat, someone asked him to go to another place for
meetings. On the third night the PSB (Public Security
Bureau) came to the meeting place. The PSB discovered a notebook
that belonged to Titus, which contained many names and numbers,
including some from overseas. He was taken to a police station along
with a couple of others.
Titus spent twenty very difficult days in this detention center.
The inmates were forced to work long and intense hours doing
manufacturing work. They
assembled Christmas lights. The other inmates were mostly
in charge of the work. If you were a prisoner who had been there long,
you were given the privilege to hit others.
You were required to work fast and but if you put something together
wrong they would slap you or hit you immediately. Sometimes they
hit you with a pair of pliers. Both prisoners and guards would
hit you. They also knew how to hit you to knock the breath out of
you. Those who were first timers in prison, like Titus, were
particular targets of beatings and mistreatment. The beatings were
mostly bad for the first two days. All of this mistreatment made
a cruel mockery of the sign posted there that said fellow prisoners
were to be treated nicely.
The work pressure was so intense that Titus’s hands became numb.
They worked about ten hours a day. At times Titus had to use his
thumb to apply pressure in an assembly process. Eventually, a
blister formed on his thumb, but he had to keep using it to push parts
into place even when the blood flowed from it. Also, he had to
use his mouth in the process to pull or hold parts. Your mouth
would get sore and dirty, but the others did not care.
Titus could endure the beatings but the humiliation, which came later,
was more difficult for him. Under the excuse of examining him for
disease, they made him take off all of his clothes. While he
underwent this humiliation he had a wonderful experience with the
Lord. He realized Jesus’ great love for him, because Jesus was
willing to endure the humiliation of nakedness on the cross for
us. After this experience, he could endure further mistreatment
easier. The mistreatment of prisoners included tying a prisoner's
testicles with a rope and leading them around with it.
Thankfully, Titus was able to refuse this treatment. Weaker ones
gave into this humiliation.
Titus testified that no matter how much they hit him he was peaceful in
his heart because he felt worthy to be suffering for the Lord.
For a while, there was one other Christian there and they took care of
each other as best they could.
After this twenty days in a detention center, Titus was transferred
back to his home province. During the time at the detention center,
they did not question him but just worked him mercilessly. Now,
at his home province, the authorities began the interrogation
process. They wanted to know about his contact with
foreigners. They wanted to know about the organization he belonged
to. He refused to answer. They told him that other co
workers had been arrested. They intimidated him saying that
others told the facts, so he should do so also. While there he
saw his wife. They used his wife to try to get him to talk.
She is a simple person, so she told the police all that she knew.
The police asked him how he felt about the 9/11 incident, which had
just happened. (Many Chinese felt happy about this attack since
their embassy had just been bombed – accidentally – by the U. S. in
Bosnia.) Titus only replied that God loved those people that were
killed on 9/11 and He had wanted them to repent.
His wife got placed in the detention center also. They used the
reason that she was part of a “cult” that would destroy society.
This was the last time he saw his wife who was later deported. He
was given permission to hug her. He did not know she had been
interrogated by the police until later.
Then he was placed in a room that had all the windows veiled and there
was only one light on in the room. He was made to sit on the
floor with his hands handcuffed behind him. He refused water as a
way of protest. He was told not to move, and if he started to
move he was hit on the toes with a piece of bamboo. This hurt
very badly. If he started to close his eyes, they threw water in
his face to prevent him from sleeping. There were no questions
during the first 24 hours, just this physical abuse. At one
point they tried to cuff his arms together behind him in a fashion that
raised one arm up and over his shoulder. They tried to force his
arms together this way until it seemed his arm would break. They
could not get his arms together this way so they gave up.
After 24 hours they let Titus walk around, but he could not close his
eyes. They intended to deprive him of any sleep in order to get
him to talk. He did have close fellowship with the Lord during
this time.
For five days they deprived Titus of any sleep. Whenever his eyes
would start to close they threw water on him, or put toothpaste or hot
spice in his eyes to keep him awake. They used the confessions of
others to try to intimidate him into talking. They claimed they
had contacted people in his notebook and they knew the details of his
doings. Now, they just wanted him to talk and confirm
things. However, Titus did not say any words because Jesus did
not say any words when He was in custody and interrogated.
After five days of not getting any sleep he began to hallucinate. They
asked him about his belief in Jesus. He told them something about
that and then all of a sudden he realized that he needed to stop
talking or he would reveal something. He bit his tongue to help
himself stop talking. As the investigator tried to get him
to talk some more, he prayed really hard. He was afraid of
letting things be known through his talking.
Titus was very fearful of talking so he began to wonder if he should
lie to protect the church. The Lord spoke to him to not be
afraid, but only say “yes” or “no.” He should not make up any
stories. After that he felt peace and was not afraid any
more. God really comforted him.
Finally, he could not open his eyes any longer, regardless of what they
did to him. His eyelids shut down and he was unable to open them
even if he tried. At that point, the interrogation stopped.
After asking him to sign a document, supposedly regarding the
interrogation, they cuffed him uncomfortably to a chair in a position
where he could not sleep. They cranked up the air conditioning so
that he was very cold and could not sleep. Then they sent him
back to prison with no trial and no charges. Later, he was
sentenced to three years of labor for re-education. He was still
made to manufacture things during the three years but the labor was not
as intense as the first 20 days he spent in the detention center.
To Titus, the most heart breaking thing about being in prison was the
prospect of not seeing his son. His young son is very
sensitive. Titus had lost his father when he was young and his
wife's father was also not alive. So, he had known the pain of
not having a father's love and personal companionship. Now, he
was very concerned about this sensitive young son not having Titus’
love in person.
The Lord appeared to Titus and greatly comforted him. God told
him that He was the true Father. He said that He loved Titus and
his son more than Titus could love his son. This was a great comfort to
Titus. He asked us to pray for his son Caleb that he would
not fear.
ABRAHAM'S OTHER SON ~ A FRESH LOOK AT ISHMAEL
We were staying in this very expensive apartment (by US standards) on
the 7th floor while we were in this city. The apartment belongs
to a remarkable 85 year old Chinese man that teaches in the Underground
House Church.
The other leaders started to arrive. It was a joyous reunion
because I have been praying for them and their families almost everyday
since I had seen them a year ago. I have a deep respect and love
for these hero's of the faith.
For the past several months, the Lord had me return to Genesis to
review the family of Abraham, mostly to concentrate on his son
Ishmael. This review has turned into a teaching that reflects the
Lord's promises to Abraham, Hagar and Sarah. The angel's prophecies about
Hagar’s son, ties Ishmael’s descendants to the current wave of
terrorism in the world. There is now a great struggle
taking place in Islam between the Jihadists who are fighting for world
dominance and Muslims that just want to live in peace. These
insights are valuable to the Chinese believers that are called to the
“Back 2 Jerusalem” movement where Muslims, Buddhist and Hindu's will be
evangelized.
CJ was able to translate this teaching in Chinese and had it printed
into a booklet before we arrived. Tomas was there to interpret
for me and after I finished, my co-worker Tom gave a brief review of
the book Islam and Terrorism, which gives insight into the Quoran and
its conflicting writings of peace and the sword. The author is a
former Muslim professor at a prestigious University in Egypt.
Tomas who is a Chinese graduate from a University in North Carolina was
very impressed by all this new information and encouraged me to
consolidate it and print it in Chinese. I was sure this
would be the response from them as I was encouraged to prepare this by
the Lord. I will make this teaching available in the near future.
YOUR LETTERS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
I took with me to China my folder with your letters of encouragement
and CJ read many of them to these leaders. I must tell you that
they were really touched to get to know those who pray and support
them. They remembered you all in their prayers when we all
gathered to pray over the offerings that we were distributing to
them. They were especially touched by the widows who were sending
their gifts of sacrifices. We prayed that all the supply would be
multiplied like the Lord did to the loaves and the fishes when He fed
the five thousand.
SENIORS ~ 70 PIGS AND FIVE ORPHANS
Last year, we left funds for 30 saints in an old folk's home because
they did not have enough money for food. They had more funds than
they needed so they purchased some pigs. They now have 70 pigs
and they are near fat enough to sell. They have also taken in 5
orphans. We sent Pure Heart with enough to pay for the orphans’
school this year. What a wonderful story, all because of your
love.
Pure Heart also mentioned to us that our teachings on Ishmael, Islam
and the New Forerunners (this can be found in the 8th chapter of my
book Back To The Beginning on our web site) is a confirmation of what
the Lord has been teaching them. They have seven training centers
with 105 students. Five of their missionaries have encountered
suffering and three were arrested in Mongolia.
LEGAL COUNCIL FOR THE UNDERGROUND CHURCH??
An attorney named Lee is gaining a reputation for representing
Underground House Church leaders. He is using the existing laws
on the books to help them. He is also writing a book about his
success for other attorneys and leaders. If they follow his
instructions the police can be challenged if they use improper
procedures. Joseph, a leader who was informing us of this, had
given a police officer a stern warning that they could not arrest him
without a proper reason, and they let him go.
100 ARRESTED
Matthew informed us that seven out of the 100 arrested in his region
were sent to the labor camp. They have two training centers with
40 young people and 50 adults. He brought with him a 70 year old
elder who is a farmer. We named him Barnabus. His farm is
quite large, and Matthew will look at it to see if it can be used for a
secure training center.
WALKED 20 MILES TO WRITE THE BIBLE
Three new elders came to us on the second day. They were
Moses, Joshua and Peter. Peter told us that in 1975, he walked 20
miles to write scriptures from a Bible one believer had. This
fellowship is now 500,000 strong. Moses mentioned that since the
communist government owns all the land they informed the Christians
they could not go the gathering unless they tripled the harvest.
You guessed it, they tripled the harvest and the local officials had to
let them attend.
Persecution has continued through the years, and even now, Moses is
being questioned. Ninety
three members have had their household goods confiscated.
All the leaders have been arrested and put in prison. The prison
officials were amazed at the growing crowd of Christians that were
coming to visit the leaders in prison. Then, a well known pastor
came from Hong Kong and encouraged them and they went out and preached
the Gospel and the church grew very much. Each house church
averages about 30 members.
They have 46 full time workers and 6 training centers. The course is 2
years long for the new leaders. Twenty-five leaders are now on
the run. It is harvest time and they cannot go home to
harvest their fields. They said, the Lord has enough grace for
them.
It is my custom to anoint each leader at the end of our interview with
them. The three knelt with me, and as I touched their forehead
with oil they started to weep. After my prayer, I reached over
and hugged all three together and we wept as time stood still. They would not let go as we hugged
and neither did I want them too. I could feel the pressure
and tension leave them as the Lord's presence covered us. I wish
you could have been there to experience this unforgettable moment as
they received the love that we brought for them. They not only
received the oil and wine from our Lord but we sent them off with funds
for the 25 leaders that are on the run and their families.
LEADERS BEING FILMED AS THEY LEFT
We held this gathering in a major city where there are many
foreigners and much industrial activity, so we felt relatively
safe. Hou, being an accountant, had given the last teaching,
which was Finance and Integrity. This was a blessing for one
leader that had trouble forgiving those that owed him money. Our
last planned event together was a meal at a local restaurant. Tom
and I were not able to leave this apartment for 3 days due to security
reasons. All the leaders had gone back to a local hotel to
sleep. Their activity of coming back and forth may have caused
the guard at the gate to report this activity.
After the meeting, everyone left two by two, so they would not attract
attention. Hou, Tom and I were the last to leave the
apartment. We went out the far gate and as we walked down the
street I noticed the leaders going across the street, well ahead of
us. As we approached the corner Ruth came back across to us
looking very distressed. She said that they have been filmed by
someone and she hurried back across the street. I noticed Matthew
hailing down a cab and away he went. Tom and I went in the
opposite direction as Hou hurried across the street to talk to the
leaders. As I walked, I noticed a silver car parked on the
sidewalk with the driver filming us. As I looked directly at him,
he lowered a camera below the window. Tom and I were wearing our
baseball hats to make it difficult to identify us.
The car left and I noticed all the leaders getting into cabs and
leaving. We prayed for their safety and I felt denied a meal with
all of them before they entered their dark world of being a Christian
in China. Their only light is Jesus and His presence with them,
which they cherish. The next morning we caught a plane to Region
#2.
SECOND LEG ~ REGION #2
As we were coming in for a landing, I noticed the hills were
terraced for farming. This kind of farming is the hardest to do,
which keeps this area very poor. We landed and were instructed
not to recognize Joshua until we were in the parking lot and loading
our luggage into the van. After a long drive we entered the
chicken farm where we were to stay for two days. I was greeted
with “welcome tee-chaa”.
This church started in 1989. A sister went to another province
and married a pastor. They came back to this area and evangelized
this area. They now have about 3000 churches that make up this
fellowship averaging about 25 Christians in each
church. Recently, 3 students graduated from the “Back
2 Jerusalem” training center and 3 more are attending now. They
have sent 4 missionaries beyond the southwest border of China.
There is peace here. The police here have decided not to harass the
church if they will abide within some limits.
Those that gathered for our teachings were leaders and elders for this
fellowship. The men slept in one room on a lower bunk that held
10 men sleeping side by side with an upper bunk of the same size.
This area is very poor and accommodations reflected that. The
food was exceptional with a lot more spice than other areas.
We left the chicken farm (10,000 chickens) with Barnabus and Joshua for
the city to have a meeting there. Moses would arrive a little
later. On our way we stopped to see the T/C we helped to
establish in an old shoe factory. It was not functioning at this
time and I questioned Barnabus as to the reason. He said there
was no one capable of managing the T/C and teaching the students.
We learned that 50% are illiterate in this area. Hou reminded me
that Lucy had some teachers that are available to travel and assume
responsibility like this. As we pray for this need I know the
Lord will provide soon.
EXTREME LOVE
We secured a hotel room in this large city of 34 million people
located on the Yangtze River. As we interviewed the leaders, they
mentioned one of the problems they have is transportation. Many
in this church are farmers and because the area is very hilly. It
takes Barnabus one hour to walk from his farm down the mountain to the
road. We offered to provide two motorcycles so that the work of
the Lord could increase. Too my surprise, they would not
accept this gift until all the elders were consulted and agreed and
only then would they agree to accept this gift.
It took me awhile to understand this as extreme love for the work and for
the unity of leadership. They had every right to
bring the motor bikes home and say look what the Lord provided.
It was in their heart not in any way to hinder the work by disunity
among the leadership. Think about it.
I asked about the chicken farm T/C project that was talked about last
year. The land was taken by someone else. I informed them
of the seniors and the success they are having in raising the
pigs. Come to find out Barnabus is a vet by trade. He
informed me pork prices are very high in this area. Long story
short, he knows of some land that would work for a pig farm and
T/C. He is researching this now. Long term vision is to
tithe pigs to other Christians to get them started to help bring them
out of such poverty.
On the last day of our trip we met with Lucy and talked about sending a
missionary teaching team to the unused T/C in Region #2. She has
a team available and will communicate with the local church to make
arrangements. We will then become part of this project and fund
the majority of it. In the near future, these leaders will assume
the teaching responsibility of this T/C. More on this church and
the farm training center in my next “SOS” PRAYER ALERT.
THIRD LEG ~ ABOVE VIET NAM
Hou’s daughter Ivy and her husband Ty are scheduled in the
spring of next year to come as missionaries to the Hmong people, who
are located well south of this area. We had dinner with Peter and his
family who are missionaries from the states and have been in this area
for 18 years. He filled us in on this area, which is for the most
part in a cautious peace with the authorities. They have a local
saying “the mountain is high and the Emperor is far away”. The
city is called the city of eternal spring. There is farming all
over and the main crop is flowers.
Peter drove us to see an 80 year old man that spent 22 years in
prison. He, like many other Christians put in prison at that
time, was given a 17 year prison sentence. If they did not recant
Jesus, they were given 5 more years. We listened to him tell of
some of his experiences. I will tell you some of them.
First he told of the terrible bombing of China by the
Japanese. Then he mentioned the wonderful hope the Flying
Tigers from the USA brought as they fought the Japanese in China.
He said with a stern loud voice shaking his finger that the older
Chinese will never forget the help that came from the United States.
He was near death in the prison for lack of nourishment. The
Chinese prisons can be some of the worst on earth. They provided
very little food. Soup was there but no bowl. Rice was
provided with no dish. His body was shutting down and a leper
came and took special interest in him and helped him back to
life. All of a sudden the leper disappeared. When he asked “where
is the leper” they said “there is no leper here.”
We then had a meeting with a local house church leader. We had
never met this fellowship, so we were cautious about exposing our
mission. We were invited to attend their gathering the next day
which was Sunday.
To my surprise the leaders was teaching on the Eastern Lightning cult,
while using the Bible to expose and discredit the cult. I was
impressed by his knowledge and rarely looking at his notes. He
confirmed that in the Christian faith the only way to eternal life is
through the Savior Jesus Christ.
After lunch, he asked if I would like to speak at the second
service. He started that service an hour early so I could speak
and he could continue with message #2 on the E/L cult. Without my
notes, I taught from memory (and only the 3rd time) on Abraham's Other
Son ~ A Fresh Look at Ishmael. It went well.
Later that evening Mark came to visit us at our hotel room. He
brought with him 2 booklets that he and other Christians had put
together that expose the E/L cult. In the past 2 months, there
has been E/L activity in this province. He told us 3 stories of
current attempts to infiltrate the local house churches. I will
tell you one of them.
KIDNAPPED BY THE EASTERN LIGHTNING
CULT
This happened two months ago. Sister Zhao is 50 years old
and a member of a local house church and she a very good friend.
Then due to the distance from their house to the fellowship, they
didn't go to the same fellowship anymore. Thus their contact with
each other became less and less. Without sister Zhao’s knowledge
this other sister was captured by the E-L cult and became one of the
E-L cult followers. Meanwhile she began to draw more people to
the cult.
She knows that sister Zhao is enthusiastic for the Gospel, then one day
she called sister Zhao, and invited her to go preach the Gospel in a
certain place. Zhao had thought this place is nearby their city,
and then without prayer and talking with other brothers and sisters,
she went to the bus station with the sister. She was surprised to
learn that the city they were going is 300 miles from the city in which
she lives. She sensed something may be wrong, yet at that time,
she seems to have lost control of herself and felt she was in a dazed
situation and so she followed the sister and got up into the
buss. When they arrived she was kidnapped and taken to a house
where they would not let her go.
Then the E-L sent a man who is her age, and tempted her with very good
living conditions such as, he has a house in Beijing, and that he is
rich and he would share with her only if she agrees to pray in the name
of “almightiness” (the female Jesus). These temptations did
not capture sister Zhao and she refused them. Yet as time passed,
she became weaker and weaker in her spirit especially under the wicked
pressure of continual persuading and threatening. Finally, she
agreed to pray in the name of “almightiness”. The man thought she
has truly accepted the cult and said he will go with her to preach to
more people that she knew in her fellowship, and so they released her.
When the bus arrived, in sister Zhao’s city and they got off the bus,
she said to the man; you leave me immediately, for I never received
your false truth. If you don't leave I will call the
police. Then the man left her.
CJ’S APARTMENT
This was the last event on our agenda. CJ felt
if we went at night and stayed covered we could see the place where she
lives and where all the fantastic work she and her co-worker have
done. This was exciting for me to see all the equipment she
bought to make the VCD’s from the film of a video camera. We
worked for months to research the equipment and then there was the
learning curve for CJ to learn how to use it and become efficient in
production.
We took a picture of her at the computer. I wish I could send it
to you but I don't know everyone that receives my reports. CJ has
a day job and she has spent many hours late into the night in her
service to the Lord's work. She is now 28 years old and has been
with us since she graduated from University.
SECURITY
Every time we have come to China the enemy has tried to find us and
interfere with our mission. I believe your prayers have kept us
one step ahead of satan’s snare. We have tried many ways to keep
our meeting with the leaders safe and secure. We are now praying
for the Lord to show us how we can safely do this on our next
trip. We cannot do what we have done in the past. The Lord
wants us to be wise and invisible when His army meets to be encouraged
and blessed by our mission.
A FINAL PRAYER
Hou stayed another week to spend time with his dad. He took us to
the airport and just before we were to go through security I pulled him
over for a final prayer. I said, "Lord
thank you for the privilege……" I could not finish my
sentence "..…to serve your
suffering church in China." The Holy Spirit came upon me
and that familiar lump arose in my throat and I could not
speak. I truly hope that all of you that pray and support the
Lord's church in China will feel the same pleasure from the
Lord. I wish I could take you all with me to witness what I have
seen and felt over there. Please continue to pray for this
mission and the church we serve. Without your prayers we could
not survive on the battlefield where the enemy has ruled for thousands
of years.
For new subscribers, I ask that you do not email this report to people
you don't know. We are a small mission, and because of the nature
of our work with the Underground House Church, we do not
advertise. This mission expands by word of mouth or those that
find us on our web site. We are all volunteers and do this work
from a love for the Lord. If you want to join the Free Church
that gives to the Lord's suffering church, ask the Lord about your
involvement. It is Jesus to whom we are all accountable.
All of your offerings go to China just like the offerings of the Early
Church went to Jerusalem.
Please consider sharing this report with your friends, Sunday school
class, Bible Study elders and pastor. Your continued prayers for
the staff in the USA and China are appreciated. May God bless
you, all that have prayed and supported this mission. To send a
check simply write it to Persecuted Church Collection or PCC and send
it to the address above. Until next time.
Living in His design, and loving it,
Jon Dee
"Blessed
are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
The words of Jesus as found in Matthew the 5th chapter.
"Honor the Lord with your possessions,
and with the first fruits
of all your increase; so your barns
will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will overflow with new
wine."
The words of King Solomon as found in Proverbs 3:9 & 10.
PCC ~ PO Box 1485 ~ Cashiers NC ~ 28717