Walking into a small two-story brick and concrete building, you will find the arrangement of the living goods inside is no different from that in an average person’s house: A long modern sofa is placed on the left side of the house, and the wall is hung with a cross-stitch, calligraphy, and a painting. This is the epitome of the family life of Ms. Qiu after she broke away from an evil cult. Ms. Qiu is the first female victim of the "Almighty God" cult from Zhangmulin Town, Zhaoping County, Hezhou City, Guangxi Province.
One couldn't help wondering how Ms. Qiu strayed into an evil cult and how was she rescued from the cult?
She strayed into an evil cult when looking for a job
Ms. Qiu, born in 1965, had been a hardworking farming woman since she came to the village after marriage. Influence by the trend of going out to work in cities, Qiu came to Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province 2013 to seek employment opportunities. While working in Zhongshan, Ms. Qiu met a “big sister” of the same age, who made her feel like she had met an old friend in a place far away from home. The “big sister” told Ms. Qiu about various good ways to make money, taking her to bars, KTVs, ballrooms, and other entertainment venues to drink foreign wine and so on. Also, the “big sister” introduced Qiu to some "big bosses", who Qiu later learned were some "big sisters" from other places. Watching the scene of feasting and revelry, Ms. Qiu decided that this was the life she wanted. Then, the “big sister” taught Ms. Qiu by precept and example the money-making skills, gradually leading Ms. Qiu to fall into the trap carefully set by the “Almighty God" cult. After introducing Ms. Qiu to the "Almighty God" cult, the “big sister” asked her to give out the "Almighty God" propaganda materials in a hideout and required her to pay 5,000 yuan of “patent fee for the money-making skills” every month and give "devotion money" to the “God” regularly.
However, doing the "work" arranged by the "Almighty God" cult organization, Ms. Qiu could barely support her living expenses after paying "patent fee" and "devotion money," not to mention getting rich. In desperation, Mr.s Qiu got an idea of making money. With her rented house as a base, she gave out "Almighty God" propaganda materials around the neighborhood, deceiving people into joining the "Almighty God" cult, organizing them to read books and magazines, and indoctrinating them with heretical ideas. In this way, she could get “learning materials fees” and “devotion money” from the cult believers. Finally, she also became a "big sister" who cheated people out of their money by drawing them into the evil cult.
In 2015, Ms. Qiu found that she had abdominal cramps and was losing weight and spirit. However, she thought she was a "God" with followers praying for her, and that everything would be fine with her except that she had been too busy with her "work" lately. In March 2016, Ms. Qiu was arrested by the public security authorities. Considering that Mr. Qiu was found to have suffered uterine cancer, the court sentenced Qiu to three years in prison, suspended for five years, for undermining law implementation through a cult organization.
She got out of the evil cult with the help of others
After returning home in May 2016, Ms. Qiu began to receive community corrections while undergoing treatment for her illness. The staff from the Zhanmulin Town Party committee, the government, the office of justice, and other units formed a special working group, which launched a working team composed of village-level grid members, community volunteers, and other personnel. The team members went to talk and communicate with Ms. Qiu in batches and at different times, gradually touching her heart and winning her trust. Later, Ms. Qiu's attitude changed somewhat and her mental load was slowly relieved with the help of her relatives and friends. The reason why she had been resisting others was that she had been poisoned by the "Almighty God" cult to such a degree that she believed that learning modern scientific and cultural knowledge was slander to "God" and would bring destruction to the earth.
There are three members in Ms. Qiu's family. Her husband worked as a casual construction laborer in the town, while her son was a temporary worker in Guilin. The family didn’t have much income, so they lived a hard life. Because of this, the town Party committee and the government offered to include Qiu's family in the list of poor households. They helped her apply for the subsidy for the poor and disabled, the temporary subsidy for major diseases, and a medical card for special chronic diseases. National policies had greatly promoted her family's ability to secure their livelihood and provided them with the resources to cope with diseases. When necessary, Ms. Qiu would be sent to the county hospital to receive treatment, which made her condition remain stable and improve a little.
She worked hard to create a better future for her family
Ms. Qiu was once a good daughter-in-law praised by everyone; later she turned into an “Almighty God" cult believer despised by everyone; now she realized after waking up from her nightmare that she must break with her past and start a new life.
In 2018, Ms. Qiu held a family meeting, hoping that her family would work hard to get rich despite the hardships. After that, her husband went away to work with the village construction team as a casual cement worker, earning a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan; her son was admitted to a railroad unit in Nanning by examination and became a worker of the state-run enterprise. Ms.Qiu herself planted three mu of oil-tea trees and also raised broilers at her hometown to support her family's basic living.
Through the joint efforts of all members, the family improved their living conditions a lot in 2018. With their quality of life greatly enhanced, the family was successfully lifted out of poverty. It made Ms. Qiu so happy that she hung on the wall of her house a cross-stitch with the words "A Harmonious Family Will Bring Prosperity" as a souvenir to motivate her to continue working hard.
The dramatic changes in Qiu's family have made Ms. Qiu a celebrity in her village. Like a sun rising up and radiating light after casting off the shadows of darkness, Ms. Qiu’s family is surging with energy and power after starting a new life.
