Lao Yang, who was born Yang Kelin, is 59 years old. He lives in Pipa community, Gulou District, Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Twenty years ago, Lao Yang was the envy of his neighbors around him. He was engaged in transportation when young and earned a lot of money. Thus, he became one of the first people to get rich in the village, living a happy and prosperous life. However, an unfortunate accident changed the fate of his family.
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In May 2002, Lao Yang encountered a car accident while driving for transportation. His life was saved because of the timely rescue, but his right leg was seriously injured, making him unable to work as a driver anymore. The burden of his family fell on his wife. However, to make matters worse, his wife, Zhao Chunhua, died of liver cancer in 2008, leaving behind two minor sons and a pair of elderly and sick parents. Since then, Lao Yang had been depressed, as his elderly parents and two children were left unattended, and he had no source of income to support his family.
One day in February 2009, Lao Yang went to the market to buy vegetables. On his way back home from the market, he ran into Li Mingxiang, an old friend with a northeastern accent. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time, so they went to a nearby tavern for a drink and chat. While chatting, Lao Yang told Li Mingxiang about his health condition and family situation. Li Mingxiang comforted him by saying that as long as he believed in the "female Christ," the "God" in his heart would be able to cure his illness and get rid of his bad luck. Li Mingxiang took out two books, Three Stages of God’s Work and The Word Appears in the Flesh, from his handbag, and asked Lao Yang to read them carefully, emphasizing that only by believing in "God" could he have his illness cured and good luck coming your way. After returning home, Lao Yang read the books carefully and tried to fathom their contents. In the meantime, Li Mingxiang often came to guide him, answering his questions and removing his doubts. Little by little, Lao Yang became more and more obsessed with what he read. However, his injury didn’t get any better but became more serious at this time, making it difficult for him to squat down. Initially, he still did some household chores. Now he simply stopped doing any of them, leaving his elderly father almost dying of anger.
In order to control Lao Yang, Li Mingxiang introduced him in January 2011 to a potential girlfriend named Liu Baolan, who was also a believer in the "Almighty God" cult. Before long, Yang and Liu lived together without marriage. As they were addicted to the "belief in God" all day long, they preached the so-called "gospel" everywhere.
In March 2013, Lao Yang and Liu Baolan were arrested by the local public security authorities in Tancheng, Shandong Province. Later, they were taken back to Xuzhou by Xuzhou Public Security Bureau. When they returned home, Lao Yang’s father had already died a few months earlier due to a cerebral hemorrhage. His mother was paralyzed in bed, relying on the neighbors to take care of her life. His two sons had dropped out of school, working outside away from home. Seeing the family nearly collapsing, Lao Yang and Liu Baolan showed no remorse. They were still obsessed with "preaching the Gospel," regarding those who hindered them from believing in "God" as devils.
In August 2014, Liu Baolan was caught on the spot by the public security authorities for distributing more than 200 copies of the "Almighty God" cult leaflets, 125 copies of the cult propaganda manuals, and books while preaching the "gospel" in Xuzhou Jinshanqiao Development Zone. Lao Yang asked Li Mingxiang to “rescue” Liu Baolan while giving him as reward 5,000 yuan of cash, the only money he had. Li Mingxiang received the money and told Lao Yang that Liu Baolan would be rescued by "God" three days later. However, Liu Baolan hadn’t come back after a week. When Lao Yang went to look for Li Mingxiang at his residence, he found Li Mingxiang had disappeared without a trace. Only then did Lao Yang realize that he had been deceived. It was too late for him to repent at this time.
After returning home, Lao Yang began to waver in his belief in the "Almighty God" cult. He found his neighbors now living in new buildings with fashionable household appliances, while he still had to live in a low and small dilapidated tile-roofed house. The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. He gradually realized that being a devout believer in the "Almighty God" cult hadn’t brought him any benefit, only causing his family to collapse and his illness to get more serious.
Considering the situation of Lao Yang's family, the local community helped his family apply for subsistence allowance to solve his difficulties in life. The community volunteers spent a lot of time talking to Lao Yang, helping him straighten out his muddled thinking. Finally, they made Lao Yang understand by citing his own experience that the "Almighty God" cult was a liar. Lao Yang was determined to break with the "Almighty God" cult completely. Meanwhile, the community volunteers took Lao Yang to hospital for an examination of his injured right leg. The doctor told him that his right leg injury was very serious as it had already produced symptoms of femoral head necrosis. The doctor also said that Lao Yang would be paralyzed if he didn’t receive timely treatment.
Fortunately, it is not too late for him to recover his health as long as he returns to normal life.
