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KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA (ANS) -- In
“Red Runs The River,” author and retired missionary to China, Rev. Anthony
G. Bollback “tells an unforgettable, authentic, historical story revealing
the horrific intensity of the persecution suffered by Christians in China
since 1949.” (Pictured: Cover for Red River).
Bollback’s website says that, “Based on personal experience and first-hand
knowledge, the author weaves an intriguing story of two committed young
people who will not give up their faith in Christ even though it cost them
dearly. Imprisoned, tortured, cruelly beaten for their faith, they cling to
the promises of God during some of the darkest hours in China's history.”
A review of the book says: “At the time they are torn apart by the war,
Anching makes a promise that he will find Meiling again even if it takes the
rest of his life. Follow both of them through years of struggle,
unbelievable suffering for the cause of Christ, and an intense determination
against all odds to find each other again.”
Now, “Exiles of Hope -- The Story of China’s Persecuted Church, Vol. 2,”
continues to weave an intriguing story of two committed young people who
will not give up their faith in Christ even though it cost them dearly.
Imprisoned, tortured, cruelly beaten for their faith, they cling to the
promises of God during some of the darkest hours in China's history.
(Pictured: Cover for Exiles of Hope).
As a sequel to “Red Runs the River,” “Exiles of Hope -- The Story of China's
Persecuted Church, Vol. 2” continues the suspenseful story of Anching and
Meiling, two Chinese young people who are determined to trust Jesus in every
circumstance following the bitter takeover of their homeland by the
Communists. Torn apart by war and unable to communicate with each other for
years, they never lose hope of being reunited.
The website review says: “Anching, who escaped into Hong Kong when the
Nationalist army was defeated, finds himself in a refugee camp where
conditions are hopeless and cruelty dominates. Although his life is
threatened more than once as he challenges evil, he presses forward with
urgency to share Christ to the struggling refugees. It is during this time
that he meets a fine Christian woman and questions whether it is foolish to
hold to his promise to Meiling. He wonders if she is even alive, but
eventually puts his doubts to rest and continues to trust God to find her,
even though it might take the rest of his life.
The review states: “Although Meiling does not know if Anching is alive
either, she, too, persists in serving God and believing that He will bring
them together in His time. Confined to a prison commune far away from her
family, she finds ways to share her faith and disciple new believers. Her
eventual release results in more disappointment, but God transforms her
circumstances into service for Him. She becomes a Bible woman, fearlessly
replacing the elderly Bible woman who has been beaten to death for her
faith.
It continues: “It is on a rare visit to her home, that Meiling experiences
the unusual privilege of listening to Scripture being beamed into China via
short wave radio. One day when as she is sitting in a secret padded closet
so she can copy the Scripture being dictated over the radio, she realizes
she is listening to the voice of her beloved Anching. He is alive! Although
she daily struggles to survive, she has renewed hope that one day she will
see Anching.
“What seems impossible becomes an emerging dream when Meiling makes contact
with Anching through a circuitous route, and he decides to do the
unthinkable and return to China to find her. His determination to serve God
along the way results in imprisonment and brutal beatings, but also God’s
intervention and deliverance.
The website adds: “Slowly Anching makes his way toward Meiling. Always
depending on God’s provision as he serves Him in the small hamlets and
villages along the way, he finds that even a dying pig becomes one of God’s
props that helps him reach his goal.
“Throughout the amazing story of Anching and Meiling – who themselves are
composites of the many faithful Christians in China that endured bitter
persecution – the ringing truth is the hope they place in Jesus.
“Again and again, this story demonstrates that with God all things are
possible for those who obey and trust Him implicitly. It is a story of grace
and courage, of setbacks and miraculous interventions, and it is the story
of a determined man and a hopeful young woman who God reunites in the end.”
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