Great things he must suffer

That evening it began to snow heavily. Soon a thick blanket of white covered the mountain. Nearby one could hear the
sound of branches breaking under the weight of the snow. Some of the older homes in the village were also unable to
withstand the heavy layer of snow and collapsed. Outside, it was unbearably cold and drops of water quickly turned into ice.

Inside the meeting place, a fervent fire was burning in the hearts of the brothers and sisters as the sound of intercession and
praise ascended into heaven.

The meeting did not end until midnight and everyone left, going to the homes of different believers to rest. Brother Yun and
several other brethren had not gone very far, when a group of people approached them. There were more than ten men with
torches in their hands. As they rushed toward Brother Yun they cried with a loud voice, ‘What are you all doing?~ The
brethren immediately sensed something was wrong, so they turned and ran. But one of them caught hold of Yun and used the
electric (cattle) rod on him. His whole body was being electrocuted and he felt as if he had been stung by a scorpion or as if
a thousand arrows had pierced his heart. He fell over, unable to move in the snow.

This group of people were from the rural Public Security (police) substation. Without a word, they tied up Yun very tightly.
Suddenly, an intimate voice from above said to Yun, ‘I know.’ (See Revelation 2:9) Immediately all the pain and fear left him.

With a harsh voice someone shouted, ‘Where are you from?

‘What is your name? What are you doing here?

‘How many were with you?

‘Where are they now? Answer quickly, otherwise you will be beaten to death.’

Yun was very tense. He was not concerned about his own safety, but about Brothers Ming, Jian and many other coworkers.
How could he warn them about trouble? He immediately thought of David when he feigned insanity. He called out very
loudly:

The police began to kick him, and said angrily, ‘What kind of nonsense is this? We asked you where you came from and
where are those who were with you!’

Yun answered loudly, ‘They are all in the village back there.’

‘Move, take us to them. If you are not telling the truth we will skin you alive,’ the PSB threatened.

The PSB immediately asked them, ‘What are you doing here?’

One sister said, ‘Watching a movie.’

As soon as Yun heard that, he immediately thought of 1 Corinthians 4:9 and said silently to the Lord, ‘Lord, I ask you to help
me so I can act out a very good play for the world and angels to see!’ Yun walked slowly, dragging his feet.

The PSB asked Yun, ‘Which house is it? Quickly lead us there!’

Yun deliberately acted like he was confused and, feigning surprise, said, ‘It is not this village, it is that village.’

His answer infuriated the police so much so that they used their fists, feet, electric rods, wooden truncheons and gun handles
to viciously beat Yun. If it were not for the protection of the Lord, without a doubt Yun would have been beaten to death.
When the brothers and sisters following Yun saw how cruelly he was being beaten, they all began to weep quietly.

Yun, fearful that they would be implicated, shouted out, ‘I am a heavenly man, and do not recognize any of you. How could
you possibly know me?’

Yun was taken to the police station. Brother Jian and three other brethren were also arrested and taken there. Several old
mothers who were believers came, some on crutches, despite the weather to bring blankets, rice and vegetables. When the
police asked them who these items were for, they replied, ‘For the heavenly people.’

Yun heard this from inside his cell and tears welled up in his eyes. The love of the brothers and sisters gave him such warmth.
In northern ‘A’ county, the temperature seldom fell below – 15 degrees Celsius. Yun’s feet were numb with cold and his
whole body shook all over. The handcuffs made it worse, for the more he shook the tighter the handcuffs felt. Yun likened
himself to an eagle that stretched out its wings but was suddenly put in an iron cage. He continually called, ‘Jesus’ and sang
choruses.

Yun noticed that in his cell there was a large drum so he immediately lifted up his handcuffed hands and began to beat on it.
He sang Psalm 150 to the beat of the drum,

The next morning, Yun, han and three other brethren were taken tothe courtyard of the police station. The snow was piled
high on the ground. The police unlocked their handcuffs and said to them, ‘Today we have been generous with you and have
removed your handcuffs.

You must sweep away the snow in this courtyard. As for this “heavenly man,” not only will we not loose his handcuffs, we
will severely punish him.’

At that the man ordered Yun to kneel. But Yun said, ‘I will not kneel before you, I will only kneel before my Lord, my God.’

Then the man said mockingly, ‘I am your Lord. Only kneel before me and I will immediately release you.’

Yun said angrily, ‘In the name of the Lord I say, you are not my Lord. My Lord is in heaven and I am a heavenly man.’

The man then switched on the electric rod and, with a sneer said, ‘If you are a heavenly man, you will not fear the electric
rod. Come, put your hands on the electric rod.’

He was forced by several other police to stretch out his hands towards the electric rod. As the power flowed through his
body he immediately called out, ‘Lord, save me!’ The electric rod stopped working and he was able to hold on tightly to it
with his hands staring at the one who declared he was the ‘Lord.’ He was so dumbfounded he broke into a cold sweat and,
throwing down the electric rod, ran away.

That day, the five brethren were put into a stuffy vehicle and taken to the detention centre of the Public Security Bureau of
‘A’ county. As Yun and Jian were being taken to a certain prison cell, they realized that without a doubt many brothers and
sisters would be here, too, as a result of this persecution. Yun, therefore, shouted, ‘I am a heavenly man. A heavenly man will
not become a Judas. A heavenly man must be strong and bold.’

A brother was brought in and asked by the PSB officials if he was a heavenly man. He denied it, saying, ‘I am not a heavenly
man, I am an earthly man.’ The PSB official said, ‘OK, since you are an earthly man, you will be locked up with a heavenly
man.’

When he entered Yun’s cell, Yun looked him in the eyes and said, ‘We should tell Satan NO! NO! NO!’ As he said this he
stood up and while repeating ‘NO’ he wrote over and over on the wall ‘NO! NO! NO!’ until his fingers bled and the
characters ‘NO! NO! NO! appeared on the wall in blood. That brother was so ashamed he bowed his head and wept with
sorrow.

The brothers and sisters had brought blankets, clothes and socks for Yun. But what he actually received was only a ragged
quilt with the words ‘Heavenly Man’ written on the top. Still, Yun gave thanks to the Lord. They also brought him a new pair
of boots, but the man in charge of guarding him seized them.

Life in prison was very difficult. For each meal the prisoners ate smelly, mouldy sweet potato paste mixed with some roots.
Once a week they were allowed one small ‘mantou’ (steamed bread). A few days after entering prison it was Yun’s turn to
eat a mantou. Upon receiving it, with both hands he lifted up this mantou of two ounces, knelt down and thanked the Lord.

As he was giving thanks, a fellow prisoner snatched the mantou from his hand and hid it in his shirt. Yun continued to kneel
on the ground with his hands lifted up. The monitor of that cell, noticing the mantou in his hand had disappeared, immediately
began to question each prisoner in the cell. Everyone said they did not know where it went.

The monitor reported it to the prison police who searched each prisoner. As a result, they found the culprit. The prison
police ordered him to kneel on the ground and then urged the other prisoners to beat him viciously. Most of these prisoners
were hooligans and ruffians, full of hatred. They greatly enjoyed being allowed to beat up someone. They immediately began
to strike and kick that prisoner with their fists and feet until blood started flowing from his nose, eyes and mouth. Like a small
chicken they lifted him up and put his head in a bucket of urine until there was no more movement and he fell over dead on
the floor.

Seeing that he was dead, Yun felt a surge of guilt and started sobbing uncontrollably. Brother Jian felt equally so distressed
that he could hardly swallow his mantou. That evening they spent the whole night crying and praying. The next morning, the
prison guard incited the prisoners to beat Yun. This became a daily routine for several days.

His body was already very weak. How could he survive the severe beatings of these ruffians? They knocked Yun onto the
ground and they stamped on his chest and stomach. Yun began to spit out blood. He was barely alive. Brother Jian held
Yun, sobbing uncontrollably.

Among them was a young prisoner whose mother was a Christian, but he had not yet believed in the Lord. Yet having spent
several days with Yun in the same cell he felt strongly that Yun was not a mental case at all, but an outstanding person. He
saw the manner in which Yun was beaten up. His feet were bare and had turned purple with cold. Blood constantly flowed
from his mouth and his body frequently convulsed. He could not but weep tears of compassion for Yun and really felt for
him. He was so moved by Yun’s plight he even used his own ragged overcoat to cover Yun.

The PSB from ‘A’ county interrogated Yun several times. Despite severe beatings they were not able to extract any
information from Yun. So, they sought help from the PSB offices of the surrounding counties, cities and districts, asking them
to send people to identify him. They sent in pictures of wanted men, but Yun was not among any of them.

On January 25 the PSB officials of ‘B’ city came with photographs. When Yun entered the interrogation room, the supervisor
of ‘B’ city PSB immediately recognized him. He laughed loudly, ‘You put on a good act pretending to be insane. You think
you are a very clever man, but there is no way you can elude me.’