 Hallelujah Moment from China: "Older Adult Believers Learn to Read" |
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by Diane J. Allen |
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March 3, 2010 The first words the Hongtuling Church students, almost all between 50 and 80 years of age, learn to write are: “God loves me. God loves you. God loves him and her.” "Although the congregation of Hongtuling Church in Benxi Town, Liaoning Province, has been growing steadily, engaging many of the congregations in Bible study had been difficult," reported the Amity News Services. The reason was that most of the older members could not read. Some of the older members of Hongtuling Church performed menial labor all their working lives; others were sold as child brides; and still others were denied schooling, as it was thought unnecessary to educate girls. As a way to help the aging church members learn to read and write, and study the Bible, the church now uses the literacy primer, Easy Reader for Christianity, published by the China Christian Council. The adult students said they hated being "sighted blind"--able to see but illiterate. The adults in the literacy/Bible-study class take their lessons very seriously, "forming their characters very conscientiously and tidily," reported Tian Feng, the national magazine of the China Christian Council. If the senior citizens need help understanding, they ask their children or grandchildren to help them out. Today, the formerly "sighted blind" can read and write: "God loves me. God loves you. God loves him and her." The Easy Reader for Christianity comes in three lesson books. Each individual lesson teaches characters using Christian themes. Ways to Support this Ministry You can support the ministry of Diane Allen and the United Methodist China Program by sharing your gifts through The Advance: # 10163Z -- Diane Allen, Global Ministries Missionary To learn more about Diane Allen and other United Methodist missionaries, go to: Hallelujah Moments
Date posted: Mar 03, 2010 |
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