A pastor locked up in a Chinese prison for his faith has written a touching letter to his wife, encouraging her to place her full trust in God.
Originally written in Chinese, the letter by Pastor Li Guozhi, also known as Yang Hua, was translated into English by China Aid, an international non-profit Christian human rights group committed to promoting religious freedom in China.
In the letter he sent earlier this month, Yang reminded his wife, Wang Hongwu, to focus more on God than on the difficulties they are going through.
"Our wonderful God, our Lord forever," he said. "Who can guess His wisdom and mystery? Our faith is built on His words (He never changes and never does wrong; this is the unchangeable maxim)," Yang wrote.
"We listen more to God and less to human beings," he said.
The pastor told his wife not to worry about his health, including his liver disease and scabies, which cropped up since his arrest.
"The fatty liver disease was diagnosed in prison," Yang wrote. "The suffering is bearable. The Lord has grace. The canker sore has not returned since May of this year. Thank God."
Yang finished the letter by trying to lift his wife's spirit.
"Never be dejected and despondent, always look up at our Lord, and always keep the spiritual life above the chaos of the real environment," he wrote. "Rest in God's arms. 'Some rely on chariots, some on horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord.' Be upright and take care. Be prepared for the rest of the road. I will go with you. If the Lord doesn't allow it, not a single hair (from your head) will drop to the floor."
Yang was arrested by authorities during a raid on his church in central Guizhou province last December after he tried to stop the police from confiscating the church computer hard drives. He was initially convicted of "the crime of obstructing justice" and "gathering a crowd to disturb public order."
Yang was initially arrested for "obstructing justice" and "gathering a crowd to disturb public order" after attempting to stop authorities from confiscating his computer hard drive, China Aid reports.
After he completed the two consecutive, five-day administrative detention sentences for each charge, the pastor was slapped with the more serious charge of "illegally possessing state secrets," keeping him locked up in jail.
