"All our family are now hoping to find my daughter and live a happy life of unity together." The words from Wei Jinhua, a 47-year-old woman, are filled with thoughts and concern about her missing daughter. Wei Jinhua originally had a happy family of four, but it was broken apart later by the "Almighty God" cult organization.
Being drawn into the “Almighty God” cult by a villager
Wei Jinhua's family of four was once the envy of the people around them in Liyong Town, Liuzhou City, Guangxi Province. Mrs. Wei and her husband usually made a living by laboring in the fields. They had two clever and sensible children and enjoyed a happy and comfortable life. However, at the end of 2008, their good life came to an abrupt end. During a gathering with her friends, Wei Jinhua was given a “book of God's words” privately by a woman from the same village on the pretext of inviting Wei to believe in Jesus. The woman said to Wei Jinhua: "Now God is working at a new level and a new pace, going higher and higher in steps, so we all have to keep up!” Then, he dragged Wei Jinhua to a gathering to read "God’s words," without caring whether the latter wanted or not.
Attending gatherings affected Wei Jinhua’s work in the fields, so she gradually reduced its frequency to allow her family to live a normal life. After all, she still had two minor children to take care of. However, the "Almighty God" cult organization wouldn’t let her go so easily. To draw Wei Jinhua into the evil cult, the cult organization sent a woman to persuade her and her husband. The woman came every day to chat with the couple for an hour or two at noon and in the evening while they were taking a break from farming. Thus, under the sway of the "Almighty God" cult, the couple gradually changed their attitude toward it from half-belief and half-doubt to full belief without any doubt. Finally, they got so addicted to the "Almighty God" cult that they couldn’t get out of it.
Getting obsessed with the evil cult and leading a vagrant life
The couple actively participated in the "Almighty God" cult activities, including frequent gatherings and prayers. More than half a year after joining the cult, the couple left home as the cult organization required them to do their part by "preaching the gospel."
"The day they told me to leave home was Mid-Autumn Festival on lunar August 15. I wanted to have a family reunion on that day, but I was afraid it might go against the will of “God”, so I gave it up and left home," said Wei Jinghua. Before leaving, she watched her two children still sleeping in bed and couldn't help but shed tears. Nevertheless, she had to follow the arrangement of "God" and go away from home.
The "Almighty God" cult has a tightly organized structure. After leaving home, Wei Jinhua lived in a “host family." Every day, she went out by bike to “do her duty” everywhere, rain or shine. To to save more money to be given to the cult organization as “donation money”, Wei Jinhua ate only steamed bread and stuffed buns when hungry and found some running water to drink when thirsty on the road. She tried to pay as much “donation money” as possible by saving on food and clothing.
Wei Jinhua “preached the gospel" outside, while her husband did a night-shift job at his hometown to earn some living expenses for the whole family. Since he was on the night shift, he was free to attend the "Almighty God" cult gathering during the day. To avoid being found by the public security organs, the couple moved away from their hometown later and hid from place to place in rented houses. Under their influence, their daughter and son also joined the "Almighty God" cult. In 2012, Wei Jinhua's daughter was admitted to college, but instead of going to college, she left home and devoted herself to practicing the "Almighty God" cult. Meanwhile, Wei Jinhua's son also followed in his parents’ steps to practice the "Almighty God" cult after graduating from junior high school in 2012. He even became a member of the "Almighty God" Guangxi Regional Video Team.
Wei’s whole family thus fell into the abyss of the “Almighty God” cult and left their farmland uncultivated and their house dilapidated due to years of disrepair. The originally warm family that was once the envy of people had now lost the happiness it used to have for being caught in the vortex of the evil cult.
Cutting off contact with family members to carry out cult activities
Those who oppose “God” instead of believing in “God” are regarded as devils and Satan by the "Almighty God" cult, which requires its believers to cut off family ties, abandon their families, and love "God" wholeheartedly. Being addicted to the “Almighty God” cult, Wei Jinhua and her husband never got in touch with anyone except their "brothers and sisters" in the church. They even cut off contact with their parents and other family members.
Wei Jinhua’s father hadn’t seen her for a long time, and he missed her so much that he got seriously ill and hospitalized. In order to comfort his father, Wu Jinhua's elder brother began to look for her everywhere, hoping that she would come back to see her father. After much inquiry and search, he found the rented house where Wu Jinhua and her husband lived, and he waited outside their rented house all day long. As the saying goes, everything comes to him who waits! Finally, he met her sister Wei Jinhua and painstakingly persuaded her to return home.
Watching the haggard and tired face of her brother who had been looking for her, and learning that her father was seriously ill, Wei Jinhua could no longer suppress her inner thoughts for her family members. She immediately rushed to the hospital where her father was receiving treatment. The moment she saw her father, she couldn't help but cry bitterly. However, Wei Jinhua still failed to get rid of the shackles of the evil cult even at this time. She went to the hospital every day at noon or in the evening to take care of her father for only a short time, saying she had to be busy with her work for the rest of the time. In fact, she was continuing to carry out the activities of the "Almighty God" cult.
Regaining a new life with the help of government departments
After a long period of investigation, the police authorities in Liuzhou City arrested Wei Jinhua and her husband in a rented house in 2018. Under the basic policy of "uniting, educating, and saving the vast majority while cracking down on the small minority according to law," the government departments concerned cared for the couple in their living, guided them in their thoughts, enlightened them with affection, and motivated them with reason. Also, they exposed the harms of evil cults through many examples of the cult victims and revealed the true colors of the "Almighty God" cult that brainwashed people and cheated them out of their money. Furthermore, they guided the couple to establish a correct outlook on life and values and encouraged them to face life positively.
When the couple were followers of the "Almighty God" cult, they had been in a state of high mental tension for being busy with preaching, which resulted in their high blood pressure and frequent dizziness. Believing that the disease was God’s test of them, the couple resolutely refused to go to hospital for medical treatment.
After learning about this, the staff from a government department invited doctors to give the couple thorough examination and treatment to relieve their condition. Besides, to help the couple get rid of the evil cult and return to normal life, the staff found jobs for the couple through various contacts and helped them apply for basic living allowance to solve their living difficulties.
The help and care from the relevant government departments quietly moistened the couple’s hearts like the drizzle of spring. Finally, the couple came to their senses and realized the enormous harm the "Almighty God" cult had caused them. Also, they understood that believing in the evil cult would only harm themselves as well as others. After getting aware of their errors and turning back from the wrong path, the couple called their son who had also joined the cult to come back on the excuse that he should return home to learn driving and help build their house. Then the couple asked relevant staff to help persuade and educate their son. In November 2020, their son broke away from the “Almighty God” cult and returned to his family and society.
Looking forward to daughter’s return from the wrong path
“Thanks to the Party and government for helping us get rid of the 'Almighty God' cult. We believe that with the help of you, our daughter will return to us from the wrong path!" said Wei Jinhua to the staff who had helped her family.
Three members of the family of four were reunited now, with each of them earning a certain income every month. In addition, they had built a new house of 100 square meters. With their life getting increasingly prosperous, Wei Jinhua and her husband were full of hope for the future. But what made them worried was that their daughter still hadn’t returned home. Since their daughter left home to preach the “Almighty God” cult in 2012, they had rarely heard from her except when she called her mother Wei Jinhua in 2016. Wei Jinhua was worried about whether her daughter was well fed and clothed away from home. But what made her more worried was that her daughter was still suffering from the poison of the "Almighty God" cult.
