Amanda* and her husband come from a small Muslim village in Northern China. While most people in her village thought she was a full-time housewife, Amanda had a secret. She was a fortune-teller.
Word began to spread that Amanda was exceptionally good at her ‘craft’ of fortune-telling, and people travelled from other villages to ask guidance about their future and seek solutions for their problems.
But then Amanda was struck by a mysterious illness. One day she awoke and was unable to move any of her limbs. Her husband rushed her to hospital, but the doctors were unable to diagnose the problem.
“I was so afraid,” Amanda recounted. “Somehow I just knew God was punishing me. I knew I must have done something to displease him.”
Amanda’s sister was a Christian and visited her in hospital. She told Amanda, “Jesus is the only Saviour for all mankind.”
Image: Church service in state approved Three Self Church in Urumqi, China.
That night Jesus revealed himself to Amanda in a dream.
“In the dream, I was in a taxi and it was very dark outside,” Amanda recalled. “We were driving into complete darkness. Suddenly, three men wearing white robes with radiant light all around them appeared on the right-hand side of the car. I couldn’t see their faces, but they told me it was time for me to make a choice. As quickly as they had appeared, they were gone.
“Then two men wearing black robes appeared to the left of the taxi. They approached me and tried to entice me to join them on their side of the car. Something drew me inexplicably to the pure white robes, so I got out on the right-hand side of the taxi.
“I woke from the dream and knew immediately that one of the men in white robes was Jesus, and that I was to follow Him. I prayed right there in my bed and immediately the paralysis left my body. It has never returned.” Miraculously, her husband experienced the same dream months later, and also came to faith.
Amanda’s ‘craft’ has been changed by her encounter with Christ. Now, when people come to ask for wisdom and solutions to their problems, Amanda points them towards Jesus. She prays that he will illuminate their lives with his truth and love.
Image: Children playing in the village streets, Central China.
But Amanda’s conversion hasn’t been free of persecution. When her father-in-law found out that she had become a Christian, he lost his temper and began to treat Amanda and her children with contempt.
“On one occasion, I had to go out, so I left my children in the care of their grandparents,” Amanda shared. “When I came back, I found bruises on their faces. My heart just broke.” To this day, Amanda’s children are afraid of staying with their grandparents.
In spite of the persecution from her relatives, Amanda continues to share the gospel with others. Many have found the Lord, and up until the coronavirus crisis began, they were meeting once a week to read the Bible and pray together.
Even in the hardest places to follow Jesus, his light is continuing to shine through believers just like Amanda.
*Name changed for security purposes