Atheist parents lose child but find faith
TORONTO, ON-In their newfound Christian faith, the parents of nine-year-old abduction and murder victim Cecilia Zhang have experienced consolation for their grief and strength to bear their sorrow. But they have also discovered that the gospel is good news worthy of sharing.
Daniel Lee, pastor at the Chinese Evangelical Alliance Church of Toronto, says Raymond Zhang and Sherry Xu have brought a number of friends to church in the months since they have become Christians. Some of those friends have also become convinced of the need to have God in their lives.
"Raymond and Sherry have brought several people to church," says Lee. "At least three [of those] people have accepted Jesus Christ." Lee adds that the new believers continue to come to church and are now taking the time to learn and to grow in their faith.
Raised in mainland China, until recently Raymond and Sherry were atheists.
But in the first agonizing days following their daughter's night time abduction from her bed in their north Toronto home last October, atheism offered little comfort for the Zhangs. According to one Toronto newspaper, friends of the couple described them at the time as "bodies without souls."
Within days, Lee and his congregation were praying for Cecilia and her family. At the first Sunday worship service following the little girl's abduction, the pastor asked his congregation of 280 people to sign a card for the Zhangs; a demonstration of sympathy and support. Following the service, Lee and three church members paid a visit to the Zhang's home.
"We speak the same language. The mother tongue is the same-Mandarin. And they live very close to the place where we worship, maybe five minutes drive," Lee says, explaining his motivation for the visit. "So I think, as a Christian, we should do something which others cannot do."
Only Raymond was home when the church members called. But he invited the strangers in. During a visit that Lee estimates lasted approximately 20 minutes, he says they talked briefly, and he asked for permission to pray for Cecilia and her family. Raymond agreed.
"When I prayed for them, Cecilia's father was moved very much," Lee remembers. "He cried. He told me later he had held his emotions in for several days. He didn't know how to let go until I prayed for him.
"After that, he felt relieved and comforted."
Raymond offered the pastor his telephone number and an invitation to call again. A couple of days later, Lee did.
This time, Sherry was also home. "She asked me and my wife to come together," says Lee. That visit lasted about 45 minutes. "We took more time to pray," the pastor explains.
During the first three weeks after Cecilia's abduction, Raymond and Sherry met with Lee several times. During one of those meetings, they told the pastor they would like to come to church. Lee was surprised. "I didn't want to push them, just let them know we cared about them without any other motivations. I just wanted to share God's love; just wanted to support them."
So, when the Zhangs indicated their desire to come to church the following Sunday, there was nothing left to do but welcome them, and that's exactly what Lee and his congregation did.
That first Sunday visit became another and then another. Soon they were regulars-not only at Sunday worship services, but at small group meetings and Bible studies as well.
It was the first time in their lives the couple had heard the gospel, and Lee says they had many questions. "In the first four months [after Cecilia's abduction], I went to their house or invited them to come to my house to have Bible study; to share what we believe, to explain all their questions about faith, life, death, Christianity, superstition and even to explain their questions about evolution."
Lee taught them, using his Bible to explain what he says is the most important reason for belief in God.
"Not because God gave me something or because I got something from Him," says Lee, "but because He is God...because He is. Nothing else.
"Sometimes we pray and there is a miracle. Sometimes it doesn't happen. It is God's sovereignty. We must respect God's sovereignty. That is what we believe-He is a sovereign God, not some Santa Claus."
For the Zhangs, the miracle didn't come. On March 27, a hiker strolling in a wooded area of Mississauga, a city west of Toronto, discovered Cecilia's remains.
The Zhangs were in the midst of baptism preparation classes. Hope for the return of their daughter was gone. But Lee told them that for believers in Jesus Christ, there is always hope.
"Sometimes we don't know the whole picture. But we have hope because we know who He is. He's not just a sovereign God. He's a loving God too. Sometimes, we don't know why things happen to us...but the most precious part is that we can trust Him."
On April 3, close to 3,000 people gathered in a north Toronto church for a memorial service for Cecilia. According to Lee, Raymond said in the service that Cecilia had to lie on the cold ground for five months in order for them to prepare their hearts to know God. Sherry testified that while God did not grant what they wanted, she could not deny that in the months since Cecilia's disappearance, they had truly experienced God's grace and presence.
Lasting peace
On April 25, Raymond and Sherry were baptized.
"In the beginning, they had many questions about God and about faith," Lee remembers. "It was not easy for them to tell the difference between real faith and superstition. They can tell the difference now.
"Now they have peace."
When Lee knocked on the Zhang's door for the first time last October, he admits the move took some courage, but it was not the first time he had attempted such outreach. On other occasions, he had approached other members of the community in the midst of tragic circumstances, to make similar offers of help and support.
"We try our best to give help," explains Lee. "This is a tragedy, but we should look upon God-what He wants us to do. We just sow the seed. Maybe they grow in other places, we don't know. This time, they grow here. So we must sow the seed in faith and commit it into God's hands."
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
