There are always some milestones that recorded the unforgettable things one has experienced in a lifespan. Those things aren’t necessarily about love, family affection or friendship, but they are generally entangled with those feelings.
Coming across a cult follower
“Atishoo—atishoo!” Chen Hong sneezed twice with one hand covering her nose, walking into the hospital with a lunch box in the other hand. She hated this place and the tangy smell of the medicinal liquid. In a moment, she arrived at Ward 401 where her mother stayed recently after receiving cataract surgery. As her eldest and second brothers had been busy with their work, Chen Hong took on the task of taking care of her mother. Chen Hong went back and forth frequently among her company, her home, and the hospital; and she felt an unexplainable sense of loss either because of her worry about her mother or because of her loneliness caused by the long-term separation from her husband.
One day on her way home, when passing the Qingyuntang Church where she hadn’t been for a long time, Chen Hong heard the sound of people chanting poems, which aroused her yearning for Christianity during her college days. So she stopped her moped and walked into the church, where she unexpectedly met Sister Lian and Sister Yin, two of her previous acquaintances. During the latter part of the fellowship meeting in the church, Sister Yin mysteriously took out a book called The Word Appears in the Flesh from her bag and introduced her to “Almighty God”, known in Chinese as “Quannengshen”.
Being trapped into the cult
Accidents, big or small, would sometimes occur in reality, making us just one step short of success. As it happened that Chen Hong’s boyfriend had to deal with some important business for his employer, their original marriage plan was forced to be canceled. Just at a time of great disappointment, Chen Hong suddenly received calls from Sister Lian and Sister Yin inviting her to a gathering at Sister Lian’s home. In such a harmonious environment, Chen Hong was attracted to the “Church of Almighty God (CAG)”.
In the beginning, Chen Hong had some resistance to the fellowship meeting but gradually accepted it. After only a few months, changes occurred in Chen Hong's life. Every day after work, she would keep watching the video materials about “Almighty God”, reading “internal books”, chanting mythical poems, and listening to tape recordings with her fellow believers. As Chen Hong focused all her time and effort on “Almighty God", she turned insensibly into a bizarre woman in the eyes of her friends, colleagues, and even relatives around her.
Returning to the normal life
After the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2014, Chen Hong was held for 15 days in administrative detention for attending the CAG cult activities. In order to help Chen Hong get out of the quagmire of the cult as soon as possible, the local government departments and volunteer organizations made immediate efforts to help and educate her patiently and carefully. Finally, she understood that “Almighty God” is a genuine cult organization. Realizing that she was previously brainwashed by it, she couldn't help but shudder at the thought that she was so close to becoming a cat's paw in the hands of lawbreakers.
After cutting off all contact with the “Almighty God” organization, Chen Hong began to see the light as if awakening from a nightmare. She put her heart and soul back into her normal work and life, and got promoted at work as she wished; also, she could chat with her healthy mother and taste the home-made dishes every day as she wished. What’s more, she fulfilled her wish of tying the knot with her boyfriend, who was always there for her without ever giving her up.
