Editor’s note: Melody Hong became a Christian in high school through foreign teachers at her school. She is now a wife and mother, endeavoring to raise her children in the Lord.

This story is part of an ongoing series of interviews with Chinese Christians about how they came to know and follow God, and has been edited and condensed for clarity and length. This is the third and final part of this interview; the first and second parts are linked here.

God Took Care of My Worries

Melody: While I was working with college students, I went to a church that my foreign teachers, the couple who shared the gospel with me, had in their home. Our church was not very formal, so the preaching was not very systematic. After one year, something very shocking happened . There was a brother in the church who was an important player, and our pastors thought highly of him. They wanted to build him up, and maybe have him lead the church after they went back to their country. But it turned out that this brother was gay, and he had gone to a gay bar, found a boyfriend, and was living with him.

This was a shock to me, but it was a bigger shock to the couple, because they trusted him so much. He didn’t tell them. He told someone else in the church, and that person felt so bad inside that she had to tell the couple.

So, the turning point of being a co-worker in ministry makes me think it is easier for me to trust God now. I know he is in control of everything. He gives more than what we even ask for.

China Partnership: Did this have a big impact on you?

Melody: Not really, but I am thankful for it. I feel that it let me see my faith had been kept significantly. God protected me a lot. I felt so thankful that God protected my heart, and kept my faith in him. That was a great reminder to me: it seems that our faith is from God.

CP: What do you think was the biggest turning point in your life?

Melody: I think there were a lot of turning points at different stages. Being a co-worker in ministry was a pretty big point. In the past, my reliance on God was not great. I worried about my parents, about finances, and maybe about other things as well. But I think the decision to work in ministry, and the experience I had there, enabled God to break me and make me trust in him completely. It seems as if, when I was willing to fully surrender to him, God took care of all the things I was worried about, including my parents’ health and financial problems. I didn’t even think I would meet my husband. God took care of all those problems.

So, the turning point of being a co-worker in ministry makes me think it is easier for me to trust God now. I know he is in control of everything. He gives more than what we even ask for.

A Parent Who Relies on God

CP: Tell me about your husband.

Melody: He is very mature. We are almost the same age. I know many couples who are like us and are similar in age, quarrel a lot, about different things. I don’t think that happens too much in our marriage. Maybe this is because he is mature. Even if, sometimes, I act immaturely or emotionally, the majority of the time, he reacts in a very mature way. That also helped me to grow.

Through my relationship with him, I have experienced a lot of acceptance and love. He makes me feel that I can experience a lot of his love even though he is only a human, so I can’t imagine how much God loves me.

Through my relationship with him, I have experienced a lot of acceptance and love. He makes me feel that I can experience a lot of his love even though he is only a human, so I can’t imagine how much God loves me.

CP: Are your life, marriage, and family like what you expected when you were younger?

Melody: No. Actually, before I became a Christian, I never imagined marriage. But after I came to the Lord, and when I saw the American couple who evangelized me and their family, I felt that was what I desired. I prayed to God, “Oh, that is what I want for my family.”

Where I am now is what I want. I am doing what I really want to do. I like to build up my family.

CP: When you look at your children, what do you hope for them?

Melody: I want them to become what God wants them to be. So, I don’t know. I am praying to see what God wants them to be. I want them to be happy, to know who they really are, and to know who God wants them to be. I want them to not be affected by this world.

I pray for them every night. I feel that, as a mother, it is necessary to read the Bible to them, because they are so young right now. When I think about my children’s faith in the future, there is so much more than what my husband and I can teach them. I think that my husband and I live a life of genuine trust in God. We believe this real life is more important than other things.

I don’t really care how weak she might see me be, but I want them to see a parent who wants to rely on God. I want them to see that we are actually parents who cannot live without God’s grace.

I want them to see a parent who wants to rely on God. I want them to see that we are actually parents who cannot live without God’s grace.

CP: How do you show them life as someone who is relying on God?

Melody: By being a mom. Being a mom is not easy! It’s also through many other things, like chores. I think it is just through daily, normal things.

Melody Hong is a pseudonym for a Chinese woman who came to faith as a teenager through the witness of foreign teachers at her school. 

Pray for Chinese Christian parents to show their children God’s grace through their daily lives.