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Danger in Shanghai
Sixteen-year-old Bo Le wondered what he would do if the police discovered the church meeting. He was about to find out …
fiction by C. Hope Flinchbaugh


Warm rain ran down the back of Bo Le's neck as he walked down Shanghai's shadowy back alleys. It was almost midnight. Sixteen-year-old Bo Le checked behind him for the 10th time to be sure he wasn't being followed.
Fear choked at his throat. He knew the chance he was taking in going to the house church meeting. But that's China. Since only government-monitored churches are legal, any Christian who chooses to join an underground house church risks imprisonment, beatings or worse.
What if tonight's meeting is raided? he thought. What if I'm the one beaten this time?
He turned the corner and quickly entered the abandoned warehouse—his church.
"Bo Le, come in," the pastor's wife greeted him.
Bo Le blinked under the electric lights. The old warehouse was empty except for about 10 scattered wooden benches, a wooden desk in the front, and people wandering around.
Shao En, the pastor's daughter, saw Bo Le enter. "Bo Le, you've made it safely," she said as she walked over to him. "My father isn't here yet. He thinks he's under suspicion by the PSB (Public Safety Bureau) because of the American preachers who are with him. He said they'll all come later this evening."
Bo Le looked warmly into Shao En's eyes. She was 15, and Bo Le greatly admired her zeal to preach the gospel. He'd often seen her quietly witnessing to children at the park or discreetly stuffing tracts into the spokes of the bicycles parked behind the school. And he'd rarely seen her when she wasn't smiling. She was as sincere as she was cute.
"Are you going to preach instead, Shao En?" teased Bo Le.
She laughed. "One day I'll preach, Bo Le! But tonight we will pray. Father asked that we begin the meeting by praying for our guest speakers and their safety. Would you be willing to stand guard at the door tonight?"
"Sure," answered Bo Le, stuffing his hands into his pockets. The last thing he wanted to do was stand guard at the door, but he couldn't tell Shao En.
Instead, he said, "It's been awhile since we were under suspicion. What's the signal?"
"You stand by the door," answered Shao En. "Wait for a call on this cell phone."
"A cell phone?" Bo Le asked. "Where'd you get that?"
"The American pastors bought them for us," she answered. "Brother Wong is patrolling the building outside. If he sees anything suspicious, he'll dial a number on his cell phone and you'll see the red lights flash. When you see the lights, that means we're being watched and we're in danger. Flicker the main lights in here so the rest of us know we're being watched. Then turn the lights off until the danger passes. Got it?"

"Police!" yelled the officer in charge. "This meeting is illegal. You're all under arrest!"

"Got it," replied Bo Le. He tried to smile reassuringly at Shao En, but inwardly his stomach knotted.
If Shao En's father, affectionately nicknamed Pastor Moses, was going through all of these precautions, then there must be a serious chance of trouble.
The meeting started. One elderly woman stood at the small wooden desk at the front and organized the crowd into several prayer groups. Within minutes requests shot up like arrows, flying high above the tall warehouse ceiling, and the vacant old building became a house of prayer.

Shao En joined Bo Le at the back of the room. "Want to pray together?" she asked.
"Yeah, I guess so," he answered. "Only, you pray and I'll listen while I'm watching the windows and the cell phone."
"Sure," answered Shao En, looking deeply into Bo Le's eyes. He felt as though she could see right down to the lump in his throat.
They stood together near the light switch. "Lord God, I pray for courage to enter our hearts tonight," Shao En began. Bo Le shuffled uneasily. Could she really tell how scared he was?
"Lord, you said in your Word not to fear, that you are with us. I believe your Word. I believe you'll show us what to do in all circumstances. I pray for my dad and the American preachers coming tonight. I ask for protection … "
The door opened. Bo Le covered Shao En with his arm.
"Sorry, it's just us," said Pastor Moses as he walked in with two tall American men, each carrying a large briefcase.
"Bibles," Shao En whispered to Bo Le, pointing at the briefcases.
Pastor Moses winked at his daughter. "Keep praying, Shao En," he said.
Bo Le's adrenaline was still shooting through his body. "The door scared me," he admitted to Shao En.
"God will show us what to do in all circumstances," she replied with strong conviction in her voice.
Bo Le nodded. Suddenly, the lights flashed on his phone. Danger!
Bo Le felt his legs turn to jelly. Quickly he flickered the lights. He saw Pastor Moses stuff the briefcases inside the wooden desk. Then Bo Le turned the lights off completely.
Bo Le and Shao En crouched down by the wall, waiting for a signal that all was clear. Bo Le's heart pounded as they waited for what seemed to be hours. Shao En prayed quietly.
Bang! The door shot open.
"Police!" yelled the PSB officer in charge. "This meeting is illegal. You're all under arrest!"
Big officers with flashlights came in behind the one in charge, beaming the bright lights in Bo Le's eyes as they searched for the light switch.
One of the men grabbed for Shao En. Bo Le's heart pounded.
"Let her go!" cried Bo Le as he stepped in front of her. The officer grabbed Bo Le's collar and held his electric rod high to strike him. "You snake!" cried the officer, glaring at him.
The policeman's electric rod whistled through the air, landing on Bo Le's shoulder with a loud thwack. The zap knocked Bo Le into the wall. Shao En screamed.
"No, don't beat him," cried Pastor Moses. "I'm the one in charge here."
The officers turned around.
"Arrest him!" yelled the PSB commander, pointing at Pastor Moses.
Leaving Bo Le lying crumpled against the wall, three of the officers pulled out their clubs and began to beat the pastor.
"I forgive you, in Jesus' name!" cried Pastor Moses as the blows continued.
Bo Le cringed at the unforgettable sound of pounding on human flesh.
Still, Pastor Moses responded, "Don't resist, brothers! Forgive! Forgive!"

"Father!" cried Shao En.
Bo Le suddenly had an idea that was full of heart and short on brains. With his shoulder still throbbing with pain, he plowed into the middle of the beating and somehow managed to partly cover the pastor with his body. The officers tried to pull him off, beating Bo Le around his head and legs.
Within seconds, other church members joined the covering, huddling one over the other until Pastor Moses could no longer even be seen. The American pastors looked stunned.
Angry rods smacked the backs of the Christians. One of the rods hit the same spot on Bo Le's shoulder, sending sharp pain down his back. Amazingly, out of nowhere, Bo Le knew what to do. "Hallelujah!" he cried out when one of the rods struck him.
From that moment on, after every blow, an answer came. An incredible, glorious answer.
Crack. "Hallelujah!" cried an old man.
Thud. "Hallelujah!" moaned a teenager in pain.
Smack. "Hallelujah!" shouted the old woman who began the prayer meeting.
After a few more hallelujahs, the PSB officer in charge stepped forward. "That's enough!" he yelled to his men. "Go outside and wait," he told them, motioning to the door.
Some of the Christians were weeping softly. Others continued in hushed hallelujahs.
"I can't beat you anymore," the officer said. "You Christians are too strong. But I will return here to search for you. Don't let me find you here."
With that, he turned and walked out the door.
Most of the church was piled in a heap in the center of the concrete floor. People moved away, and as Shao En's mother took care of Pastor Moses, Shao En came to help Bo Le.
"Bo Le, I prayed that God would show us what to do tonight," she said as she dabbed Bo Le's blood with her sweatshirt. "I've never seen God so clearly as I did through you tonight."
"I guess you know I was pretty scared tonight, Shao En," said Bo Le, grabbing at his aching shoulder. "Without your prayers, I would never have had the courage to cover your father, much less thought of such an idea."
"You know the saying in the house churches," she said. "Little prayer, little power. No prayer, no power."
Bo Le winced as Shao En cleaned his busted lip. "There'd be big prayer and big power if every church had a girl who prays like you do!"
Does This Really Happen?
Though Bo Le's story is fiction, the Chinese government does allow persecution like this. The Chinese were technically granted religious freedom in 1979, so it's not illegal to be a Christian or to own a Bible, but "underground" house church meetings are illegal and can be broken up by the police at any time. Even so, millions of Chinese believers gather for these meetings every week, in addition to the millions who worship in government-approved, government-monitored congregations.
So is there anything you can do to help? Yes! You can pray for Chinese believers, that they would be protected from persecution and be bold to share their faith. You can pray that the government would change its policies regarding house church meetings. You can also remember the thousands of Christians who serve as missionaries in China (undercover as teachers, social workers and other professionals). You might even consider going there yourself one day.