Wenya's parents separated when she was two, and after that she lived with her father and stepmother. Her stepmother couldn't stand her and was always arguing with her father. He had little choice—he had to send Wenya to her mother's house, but her mother was fully focused on running her business and didn't have any time to take care of Wenya, so she was often shuttled off to her relatives' and friends' homes to be fostered. After so many years of a life of foster care, young Wenya felt lonely and helpless, and longed for the warmth of a home.
In autumn of 2001, I went back home for the National Day holiday. Before I arrived at home, I heard from a classmate that now there was a very powerful “heresy” called the “Eastern Lightning,” and my mother had been “deceived” by it for seven months. At the news, I was overwhelmed with anxiety, and I hurried to my uncle’s home (who was a preacher I adored). Before I asked anything about my mother, he said to me, “Your mother has accepted the ‘Eastern Lightning,’ and she runs around outside all day long. She went to the brothers’ and sisters’ homes to preach the gospel and even didn’t leave when they drove her. She has really disgraced me. Brothers and sisters in the church all came to ask me what to do with her, and I said to them that I didn’t acknowledge her as my sister anymore, she had been expelled by the church, and they could just drive her away. I heard that those people had discarded the Bible but read a so-called little scroll. That book is very powerful. Once you read it, you will be captivated. Do be careful, Xiao-ni. You must stand the ground. Though she is your mother, this is about belief. That doesn’t count…” Every word of my uncle pierced my heart, and I couldn’t help feeling nervous. “So it is true that the ‘Eastern Lightning’ is a heresy! Otherwise, how could my uncle speak about my mother in that way? How could my mother become like this now? Is it really true that she refused to leave others’ homes even when they drove her? …” I was sad and frightened. How I hoped that my uncle could draw her back! But from his words, I could know that my mother was already “irredeemable.” At that time, I just wanted to go home quickly to see my mother.
