I was once a co-worker in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and I accepted Jesus in 1990. In 2001, I heard many rumors about “Eastern Lightning,” such as, “‘Eastern Lightning’ is a ‘heresy,’ a ‘cult,’ and is an underworld organization. If one listens to their preaching but refuses to accept it, he will be crippled by them. And they like to seduce their targets with money and beauty into committing adultery. They always preach and have meetings furtively and hiddenly….” Without checking these rumors out, I believed all of them and concluded that “Eastern Lightning” could not be the true way. This was because in my view, if their God was the true God and their way was the true way, they would preach it publicly and openly; since they preached it in secret for fear of being discovered by others, they could not be doing anything good, just as the saying goes, “Anything good won’t be hidden from others, and anything hidden from others cannot be good.” Besides, they committed adultery and used violence on those who refused to accept their way. It further showed that this sect was a heresy, a cult, and was an underworld organization. So, I began to spread those rumors wantonly in the churches and warned the brothers and sisters that they should keep a “respectable” distance from the people of “Eastern Lightning” and never come into contact with them. And I also incited them to abuse and drive away those who came to preach it to them. At that time, I was totally hostile to “Eastern Lightning” and even felt contempt for and aversion to those who preached it, wishing to drive them out of our “territory” once for all.

Just when I was zealous in defending against “Eastern Lightning,” I heard that my wife joined it. At first, I did not believe that at all, but then I thought, “There is no fire without smoke, and human heart is unsearchable. I cannot be so sure about my own judgment.” From then on, I began to spy on my wife. And I often told her various kinds of rumors about “Eastern Lightning” I collected from everywhere, yet I found that she was not alarmed at them at all but just listened with a plain expression. And sometimes she showed some aversion, and sometimes she even asked me, “Have you seen those things with your own eyes? Since you haven’t, you shouldn’t take them as something true, much less believe them to be true.” Although I felt something was not right about her attitude and response, I could not be certain that she had accepted “Eastern Lightning.” So, I began to question her closely as to whether she had accepted “Eastern Lightning,” and I even threatened her, “If you have really believed in ‘Eastern Lightning,’ I will divorce you!” “If you don’t want to live with me anymore, I cannot do anything about that.” Her words left me at a loss whether to cry or to laugh. One day when my wife was out, I happened to find a book of “Eastern Lightning” in her bag. At that moment, my heart went completely cold, and I collapsed like a deflated balloon. I knelt down and prayed to God, “O God! May you deliver my wife from filthiness and evil. …” Then I remembered the warning of the brothers and sisters: If your wife converts to “Eastern Lightning,” you must not be Adam who followed Eve. At that moment, my heart surged like rolling waves, unable to calm down. After my wife came back, I asked her about the book while suppressing my agitation. She said that someone left it for her to read. To find out her true attitude toward the book, I said I would burn it. Sure enough, she was stirred and said, “Why should you burn other’s book? I can return it if you don’t want me to read it.” Seeing her so upset, I was quite sure that she had believed in “Eastern Lightning.” From then on, my usual gentleness disappeared. I flared up easily and always mocked and dug at her with innuendoes, and I even restricted her from going out.

Because of my evil deeds, I was disciplined by God. Early one morning, I came back from outside. When I just opened the door and would step inside my house, I suddenly fell to the ground in a dead faint. After I regained my consciousness, I found that my shoulder and face were skinned, and I felt cold and completely powerless. It took me quite a while to crawl into my house. I had never suffered from such a faint before. Afterward, I went to the hospital for an examination, but the doctor told me that my blood pressure was normal and my heart, brain, and other organs were all functioning normally. Although I felt that was very queer, I did not give it much thought nor pondered why it had happened.

One day in November 2003, my wife left home. She left me a note, which said, “There’s no need to spend money on looking for me. I want to have some quiet time outside and do what I ought to do. I’ll be back when I feel like it. Hope you pursue God hard at home.” I was holding her note and looking at the familiar writing, when the words she said a couple of days ago rang in my ears: “For the sake of my belief, I will seek neither for good food nor for good clothes, but to pursue God hard and satisfy God as long as I live.” I could not help asking myself, “Could such an ardent lover of God do filthy things to bring shame to his name? No! Absolutely not!” My wife’s leaving shook my heart greatly. And I was deeply touched by her zeal to follow Almighty God resolutely. “What made her so determined? What is ‘Eastern Lightning’?” I wondered. In order to solve these puzzles and find my wife, I decided to have a talk with those who believed in Almighty God.

The next day after my wife left, I went to a familiar sister who had believed in Almighty God, hoping to find my wife through her. She arranged for me to listen to a testimony given by a brother. The brother was mild in tone and gentle and sincere in manner, which made a good first impression on me. However, I had my own purposes for this fellowship: Firstly, I will listen carefully today and see what this way actually is, since I regarded it as false in the past totally based on the rumors. Secondly, I will share with them during the fellowship the light I have received from the Bible, for I have all along believed that the way I have received is the most correct. Thirdly, I will observe them so as to find out whether their living out of humanity is like what the rumors say about it. Fourthly, I will obey all their arrangements in order to find my wife.