I will never deny Jesus
Chinese Hanna has been put to jail many times. Three times she has been tortured, but still she is not afraid that the police will show up again. - I have experienced that God gives me strength even when I am weak. That is why I'm not afraid, she says.
Hanna is struggling to keep her tears back when she is telling about the first time she was arrested, seven years ago. While the police tried forcing her to reject her faith, Hanna’s kids were clinging to her, crying. But when Hanna is explaining the reason why the police came, a smile shines through her tears.
- A group from the church had been praying for a hospital for two months. After a while, revival broke loose in the hospital. Many got healed, and even more got saved!
The hospital management couldn't stand what was happening, so they called the security police. Therefore, the church was surrounded that night, while they were worshipping. The police came and interrupted, instructing that everyone could leave as soon as they had signed a document declaring that they would abandon their Christian faith. "You can't seriously believe in a foreign religion" was their argument. One by one the people signed. Among the 170 gathered, only eight people refused to sign. Most of the people were new believers. They were not grounded in faith and afraid of the police. They didn’t know what they were doing. She felt the pressure herself, as well; it was almost unbearable. She was alone with two kids after her husband died a few years earlier. What would happen to the kids if she had to go to jail? And how would she be able to provide for them in the future? The police said they would make sure she lost her job if she didn't deny Jesus. Still, the choice was easy. Hanna could not sign; she was convinced that the God she believed in was the only one true God. She was also confident that God would help. She asked her neighbor to take the children to their grandmother, while she herself was taken away in shackles.
In the police station, they threatened to beat me to death with a wood stick if I didn't give up my faith. When I kicked the wood stick they went mad, she says. They tied my hands behind my back, and bound me to a tree. Then they beat my head and whipped me with thorn branches. The thorns tore apart my clothes. It was very painful, she says quietly, but something strange happened. The police officer hit me so hard with the stick that it flew out of his hand and got stuck in a tree which he could not reach. When he tried to hit me with a bamboo broom, it broke in half. I told the police that I never would deny Jesus; it didn't matter if I lost my job, and I was not afraid to die. After that the police released me.
Hanna has also said something good can come out of being in prison. She was once arrested with a large group of Christians, and they shared the gospel with all the prisoners. Some of the prisoners got upset by that. - One man, who was imprisoned because of murder, threatened to kill me if I didn't stop preaching. I told him that God had sent me to preach for his sake. He then started to cry. While the other prisoners kept away from the murderer, the Christians showed him care. - We gave him our food and drink for a long time. In the end, he came and told us that he wanted to repent. The same night he accepted Jesus. Later many more prisoners got saved, Hanna says, and tells us about a special night. - All the Christians were standing in a circle in the exercise yard. We were holding hands and we worshiped, while the new converts were standing in the middle. Two of the guards forgot what was expected from them, so they joined the circle, clapping their hands and showing excitement. The Holy Spirit fell on us. We could feel the earth tremble, Hanna tells us.
