From Glady's Aylward's Journal
The communist took over the University in our city. They handed out surveys to all the students and forced them to complete the questions. I asked for one of the forms to see what the students had to do.
At first, the questions seemed like other questionnaires: Who is your mother, how much money do your relatives have, and so on.
But at the bottom of the form, in smaller print, the question which would soon cause great trials appeared. If the person sided with the government, he or she had to write a "O" in the box. If they didn't, he or she had to write an "X".
Five hundred of the university students had asked Christ into their heart in recent days. Some of the five hundred students answered "O" in their box, and others answered "X".
The students who answered "O" were taken to a special room and told to bully the students who answered "X". "Make them feel bad. Scare them into answering 'O' the next time."
The students did what they were told. The bullying hurt many students in more ways then just beatings. The students who marked "X" on their survey met each day for prayer and Bible readings to have the strength to face the day of torture. The communists found the group and placed a guard with each student to prevent them from meeting. The students grew hungry, tired, and beaten.
After some time, the communists handed out the surveys to the university students again. The results: More students showed their faith by checking X! The officials became very angry.
The next day the students who marked X in the box were lined up in a public square. An announcer called a your female student forward from the group. She pressed her thin shoulders back and walked to the microphone as she was ordered. The announcer barked, "I will give you one last chance to speak."
I didn't know if she would surrender or not. Her life was at stake. What would she say?
The girl stepped closer to the mic. Her clothes were torn, her body beaten, and she had lost a lot of weight. She said, "Before the last two weeks of training from the government...I thought I knew the Bible was God's Word and that Jesus died for me. And now...
"Now...I know the Bible is God's Word and that Jesus died for my sins." She stepped away from the microphone. Two soldiers grabbed her arms and dragged her a few feet away where she was beheaded...in front of all the others. Each of the remaining students who marked their box "X" did the same. They chose to stand for their faith in Christ.
There is a verse that comes to my mind, "Only one life will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last." While only Christians for a short time, these students showed the communists and the people of their city a resolve not to surrender their faith.
I have two more stories to share with you before I end my work. See you next week.
Gladys Aylward
"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent word! What more can he say than to you he hath said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled? "Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed, for I am thy God and will still give thee aid; I'll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand. "When through deep waters I call thee to go, the rivers of woe shall not thee overflow; for I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. "When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie, my grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply; the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine
Words by Keen 1787
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