Never Too Late
God’s invitation remains open even after years of delay, reminding us that repentance and faithful change are never beyond reach.
Read Time: 5 minutes
This mid-September, I went back to China. Apart from visiting my parents in Beijing and the brothers and sisters there, I had an important mission to fulfill: to visit and baptize a contact with whom I have been in touch for a little over a year. I call her “Aunty Gong,” and she is 87 years old.
Helping Aunty Gong to understand the gospel has been highly educational and encouraging to me; in many ways, I can see how our God has worked behind the scenes. I document what I have seen and learned from her story. You may find that some of her experiences resonate with you—maybe you’re someone to whom the gospel was preached, or perhaps you also understand the struggles of a teacher and the elation when a student comes to know Christ.
The story of how we first came to know Aunty Gong in September 2024 is a fascinating testimony in itself. Quite a few people were involved, spanning different parts of the world and speaking various languages. Looking back, I feel amazed at how this group of believers—each from different walks of life and at different stages in their own journeys of faith—was brought together as a single team to help this one lady draw closer to God. Once again, we witnessed our Father’s hand at work, showing that all things work together for good for those who love Him.
It began with a brother from a completely different part of the world. Born in Ukraine, this brother moved to Israel with his family seven years ago. Formerly a Jehovah’s Witness, he came across Christadelphian teaching on Facebook and immediately recognized that the JW doctrine regarding the nature of Christ was incorrect. After leaving the Witnesses, he asked the group administrator, Brother Steven Cox, to connect him with Russian-speaking brothers and sisters. Sister Julia Downs reached out and helped him connect with believers in Russia, leading to his baptism in the Mediterranean Sea on July 16, 2024.
This brother had been actively preaching online to contacts across several countries, including Aunty Gong in China. Though he spoke only Ukrainian and Russian, he communicated with her using Google Translate. Realizing she needed local support, he sought Chinese-speaking brethren to guide her. Sister Julia Downs bridged the next gap by reaching out to Brother Andrew Wang in Australia, whose family she knew through mutual connections. Andrew had recently been baptized in Sydney, though his first contact with the truth was twenty years earlier in Beijing. Sister Jenny Jamieson, whose husband had met Andrew during a mission trip to Beijing in 2004, then introduced Andrew to us and passed along our brother’s request for help.
Tracing back through this chain of connections—spanning Ukraine, Israel, Russia, Australia, and China—I am deeply moved by the mercy, love, and providence of our Father. In moments like these, we truly feel the presence of the Lord, who is calling out of all nations a people for His name.
When we first connected with Aunty Gong, we were immediately confronted with practical communication challenges. Yet looking back, starting our lessons was effortless. Her strong desire to learn the truth of God was evident from day one, and her dedication has since become an inspiration to many. We did not need to break the ice; our discussions began naturally and smoothly. She already believed that the world was created by God and that the Bible is His word. However, having attended local churches, she shared that she had never been able to appreciate what was taught there. What she appreciated about our fellowship was that when we explained our beliefs, we opened the Bible for reference and provided reasons—not relying on our own opinions, but letting the Scriptures speak for themselves.
Meekness is essential when learning the ways of God. It holds true regardless of age, culture, or educational background: it is not what we think, but what the Bible teaches that matters.
Despite a promising start, we had to navigate several practical hurdles. Communication was the first major obstacle. While Aunty Gong had internet access, she was not comfortable using video platforms like Zoom. She also struggled with hearing impairment, making phone calls difficult. We adapted by using WeChat, a popular messaging app in China. Two or three times a week, we sent her messages explaining first principles. Sometimes she replied with thoughtful questions that allowed us to clarify specific points; other times, we expanded on themes we had previously studied. It was a deeply rewarding process—not only did we rejoice as her knowledge grew, but our own understanding deepened through the excellent questions she asked.
Before long, we encountered another challenge: while she was familiar with certain Bible characters and stories, she lacked a clear grasp of the overall biblical timeline and occasionally mixed up historical events. To help her establish a clear framework of the Bible’s narrative, we sent her a copy of Exploring the Bible, a story-based introductory course originally in English, but now available in Chinese. This proved immensely helpful, as stories made the overarching timeline easier to remember and meditate upon.
She also mentioned that her old Bible, which she had used for decades, was falling apart and that the small print was becoming difficult to read. We purchased a new large-print Bible for her, along with colored pencils, to encourage her to mark key passages. She received it with great joy and loved the idea of marking the text to make it truly her own.
Because she was self-conscious about becoming forgetful with age, she took the initiative to transcribe every message we sent her into a notebook so as not to waste our efforts. Despite suffering from arthritis, she made up her mind to retain what she learned by taking notes, marking her Bible, and writing out key passages. When we finally met her in person, she showed us her notebook to reassure us that she had been working diligently. We were deeply moved to see a thick, 200-page notebook filled front and back; she told us she had already used up five pens and was starting her sixth.
Seeing such faith in action is a profound encouragement from our Father. Preaching is a deeply enriching experience: both the hearer and the teacher gain a richer understanding of the Kingdom. In helping others, we are privileged to witness the seed sown in receptive hearts, to watch the Father grant the increase, and to rejoice when a student steps forward for baptism. In Aunty Gong, I saw a reflection of the wise virgins in Jesus’ parable who prepared extra oil—her tireless efforts were a tangible expression of her dedication and genuine love for God’s promises.
For her baptism, we booked a hotel room with a large bathtub. Before going into the water, we reviewed the core truths she had learned, giving her the opportunity to express her faith. Many brothers and sisters from mainland China joined via Zoom to hear her confession of faith, and all were moved by the sincerity and clarity of her answers.
Full of joy, she shared these words just before her immersion: “The gospel concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ is that we want to become children of God. We must be baptized, repent, confess our sins, follow the Lord Jesus Christ, and put on Christ. We die and are buried with Jesus and live as a new creation, taking on the character of God. My old self is dead; in me lives Jesus Christ.” With those words, she became our sister in Christ. While by natural age she is the oldest Chinese sister, by spiritual birth she is the youngest.
We spent four days with our new sister before saying our goodbyes. Leaving her was emotional, and we were all in tears as we departed, though I promised to return with my family. We have also encouraged other local Chinese brethren to visit her nursing home to hear her inspiring story firsthand.
We remain in daily contact with her, answering her questions and listening to the insights she discovers during her personal reading. She has recently begun a new project: reading three to four chapters of Scripture each day and summarizing them in her own words, having already completed the Book of Exodus. It remains our constant prayer that our Father blesses her health and that her remaining walk is short as we await the return of our Lord.
Looking at Sister Gong’s journey, I am reminded that God’s hand is never shortened by distance, age, or circumstance. He moved believers across the globe to build a bridge to a quiet room in a nursing home in China, seeking out a humble heart ready to receive His truth. In an 87-year-old sister filling her sixth pen with ink and rising from the waters of baptism, we see that the grace of God knows no boundaries and that His calling is as vital today as it ever was. May her courage and devotion ignite our own faith, helping us see God’s hand in our lives and moving us to continue seeking new ways to connect with Him and become like Jesus.
Russell Li,
Enfield Ecclesia, SA