Rob Jones
Joyce Meyer Ministries
Shi Weihan is a Chinese citizen. He is a kind, generous man who gives of himself to others in need. After the earthquake in 2008, he worked tirelessly helping those displaced. He also printed Bibles and other Christian literature including some of Joyce's books and gave them out for free. Because he printed these materials, a criminal court in Beijing sentenced him to three years in jail. His wife and sixty-five year old parents were shocked and his two daughters, thirteen and nine were devastated. "The children just can not accept it," says Zhang Jing, Shi's wife. "Their father is their biggest hero. They cried uncontrollably. They couldn't believe their father was convicted like an ordinary criminal." Shi was also fined about $25,000.
Shi's staunch Christian belief and his humanitarian work in the countryside brought him into contact with many other believers, his wife explains, and he discovered that there was a lack of Bibles in rural China. "He saw that we shared the same belief with those poor people," Zhang notes, "and they didn't have access to Bibles." Believers can only buy Bibles in churches approved and watched over by the government. So, together with a group of friends who ran a printing shop in downtown Beijing, Shi began printing and distributing Bibles for free. The government charged him with illegally running a business operation with the purpose of "gaining profits unlawfully". So Shi is in prison.
We share this story to help us realize that not everyone has the freedom we enjoy. Please keep Shi and his family in your prayers that God would miraculously deliver him and protect his family.
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