Hokkien Testimony #60
Today we welcome you to the 60th testimony in our Hokkien Harvest series. Each week we have different people from different churches share their stories with us. Today Pastor James Lim interviews Preacher Huang Lili (Jo Jo). As we look at life, we indeed are much like a blade of grass, but God does not abandon us or look at us as insignificant or unimportant. He takes care of us. When we search for him he makes sure we find him. This is much like a person who knocks on a door, and then God opens it. Preacher Huang has a wonderful husband and precious daughter. Let’s listen and learn about her personal Hokkien story. An English summary is also provided below.
Preacher Huang Lili (Jo Jo)’s Testimony:
Today we are so happy to welcome Preacher Jo Jo to share her testimony. God has definitely led her in her life and we look forward to hearing her story.
The first time that I attended church was in my first year of middle school when I went with some of my classmates. I was dealing with some heavy burdens in my life. I actually didn’t know anything about church, so after the first time that I attended and returned home I didn’t say anything to my parents about it. However, people from the church came to visit my home, so the secret was out. And well, my father was very angry about it. In fact, he just drove them or threw them out. Then he just slammed the door behind them. Then he directed me to go kneel down and worship our idols. That made a very strong scary impression on me. But I still had a desire to search for the true God.
There was a Buddhist temple not far from our house and during the week I would daily go there searching for peace. I read through the Buddhist books searching for answers. However, the more I read I realized that he was not God. Instead he was a teacher who wanted to educate people. So I continued searching for the true God. After my third year in high school I was passionate about my faith and followed the teachings of Buddhism. I did this for about 10 years, a pretty long time. During this time my father’s foot was injured, but we discovered that this Buddhist religion was unable to give him any help. So at this time I changed from Buddhism into Taoism. I realized that Buddha was just a teacher, not someone who could really heal my father. I was always very serious about my faith, but as I looked at this Taoist religion and the gods there, I was very disappointed and really miserable. So I left Taoism as well. One thing to know is that worshiping these gods and idols also required a lot of money. As I looked at the situation, I had already spent a lot of money, but I had no peace. Many people think that if they are fervent in their worship then they will have peace and also be blessed financially, but that was not true either. I was very disappointed.
I continued searching for the True God until I once again went to a church. So at this point my father was so upset that he wanted to sever his relationship with me. As far as our relationship was concerned I really never raised my voice when I spoke to him, but this time I did and asked him to go to church with me. I got his attention. At this point if someone really did want to disown their child, they would announce that in the newspaper. However, my father told me that he would go to church with me.
My father was not afraid to go to church, but it was strange for him. For me, compared to my first time, this time it was a very joyful experience. The speaker that day was a foreigner who was using English. My father is Hokkien, so I translated for him. However, a lot of things the pastor said I had no idea how to translate. So what I understood I translated. If I didn’t understand, I just left that out and didn’t say anything. Amazingly enough, when the pastor asked for a response, my father was very moved and raised his hand. I asked him if he understood what the pastor said, and he said that he didn’t but he was moved to tears and raised his hand. The pastor requested those who raised their hands to come to the front, so we went forward. So at that point, three in our family accepted Christ as our Savior. I felt like a huge rock had been taken off of me, and I could relax. I had a smile on my face.
When I returned home and told my husband he said, “Really”. He considered himself a Christian. He thought I was playing a trick on him. God is truly amazing. My husband had not gone to church in a long time, so I invited him to go with me. He was very cold to the idea and even though my parents were going with me, he didn’t feel the need to go. He carried the name Christian, but that was about it because it had no influence in his life. So it was a real blessing to see my husband come back into the church and truly follow Christ.
Before we end this interview, I would also like to share with you one more testimony when as a result of a car accident I injured my neck. I was injured as I said, and I couldn’t turn my head at all. I could only look in front of me. I went to see a lot of doctors and specialists, but no doctor had an answer for my problem. So an orthopedic specialist told me that this was not going to change, and I would have this problem for the rest of my life. Then I heard that there was a gospel meeting. Originally I didn’t think I would go, but I felt the Holy Spirit wanted me there. I did attend and after about thirty minutes, a missionary saw me and directed me to come forward. He prayed for me. At that time I just felt that I needed to completely turn this over to God. Since doctors gave me no help or hope, I felt that I must take it to God. After he prayed for me I returned to my seat. However, I heard someone behind me call my name and told me to turn around and I did. There was no one there, and I started to cry. I was healed. So from this point forward my life has really changed a lot. As a Christian we do have more faith.
Pastor Lim:
This is the end of today’s program, and we thank Preacher Jo Jo Ng for coming and sharing her story from childhood through her adult years with us. She searched for God and she found him. God not only healed her, but also led her entire family to come to Christ. After hearing her story, maybe you too are saying that this story is amazing and this God is definitely the true God, so you may also want to accept Jesus. You can do that. Just follow me as I pray. To ask Jesus into your heart, you too can find this true God and he will change your life. Follow me in prayer.
Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you. You came to this earth to save me. At this time I ask you to forgive me of my sin. Use your precious blood to cleanse me from my sin. Lord Jesus I ask you to come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I know that you are the true God and can change my life. You can heal me from my sicknesses and lead me in the coming days of my life. You will also give me eternal hope. I am so grateful. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
The Lord bless you.