Outside of his prison cell, a woman tirelessly fights to meet him. His 82-year-old mother, Sun Jinhuai, continues to implore the government to allow a face-to-face meeting with her son despite several blocked attempts.
On January 22, 2019, she submitted another meeting request to the Intermediate People’s Court at Pu’er city in Yunnan province.
Pouring her heart out, she wrote, “Sanqiang also has been hoping to see me. In his letter to me, he said, ‘I am incarcerated for seven years, but I was able to bring new life to the children who live thousands of miles away, and this is all very worthwhile. I have not the slightest complaint. Therefore, mom, please don’t feel that I have been wronged. Paul sees this as a crown, something that is better by far. The only downside is that I don’t get to see you often.’”
“My son had to suppress his emotions in his letter to me, fearing that I would be heartbroken. The letters he wrote to his lawyer, however, show his true feelings. He said, ‘Four times my 82-year-old mother came to visit me from Changsha, but to no avail. She doesn’t have much time left in this world, yet in her later years, she has to go through this emotional turmoil. Whenever I think of this, my tears cannot stop rolling down my face,’” she continued.
“Sanqiang was imprisoned for building schools. Whether he is guilty or not, we all know well, our God knows well too, I don’t need to elaborate. The reality of [the] current legal system I also need not to say more. I have prepared my thought accordingly – how Mary saw Jesus crucified on the cross, in the same way, it is how I see my son in jail,” she added.
She went on to say that the court has postponed his appeal for a fifth time, scheduling it for March 22, 2019. At 82 years old, if the appeal is further postponed, Sun might never get to see her son.
She pleaded with the court to give a just and humane response – to allow her to meet Pastor Cao before Lunar New Year, a time where families traditionally gather with loved ones in China.
Alas, her heartfelt message was again met with lack of response from the authorities. She was let down again. But, like mother like son, she will not give up.
One of Pastor Cao’s two sons, Benjamin Cao, told ICC last year, “My father is willing to risk a lot more than seven years of freedom for the Gospel. Even though [the sentence] was a harsh and very unexpected penalty, the expectation is that the Lord will provide and he’s willing to give up everything to serve the Lord.”
The blessings that Apostle Paul experienced when he was incarcerated surely were too abundant to measure. Even to this day, his letters continue to inspire and guide Christians around the world. Pastor Cao is echoing Paul’s experience today. We do not know how God will use his imprisonment for His divine purpose, but we know that Pastor Cao needs all the prayers, encouragement, and assistance he can get in order to run the race that the Lord has set before him.
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