3132 Edition
March 5~11, 2012
Church Ministry News

Reported by Chen Wei-chien

Written by Lydia Ma

February 25, 2012 will always be a special day for Huang Yueh-chen from now on. This mother of a 14-year-old mentally challenged boy was baptized on that day along with her son at Happy Christian Homes, an organization founded by missionary Joyce Macmillan in Erlin, Changhua in the 1960s, that cares for children who are physically or mentally challenged.

Huang’s marriage was shaken and tested at the birth of her son in 1997, who was diagnosed as mentally challenged. For the past 14 years, her son Cheng-Cheng has been living at Happy Christian Homes (HCH) and she has been visiting him every week – staying with him over the weekends and attending Sunday worship with him. Seeing her son grow up and seeing his life filled with peace and joy was a touching experience for her and one of the reasons she decided to be baptized along with him on this day.

During a monthly worship service attended by HCH employees, Huang and her son were baptized by HCH CEO Rev. Chuang Hsiao-Shen. Chuang later commented that Cheng-Cheng’s confession of Christ during the ceremony was both confident and memorable. “Of all the people I’ve baptized, his voice was the most beautiful voice I’d ever heard,” he said.

Before do HCH, Huang said she spent a great deal of time and energy caring and teaching her son. Seeing her son worship and praise God with such exuberance and enjoyment has convinced her that her child is also a child of God.

“His transformation captivated my attention though I come from a I-Kuan Tao religious background, which was an impediment for me,” she said, adding that beside reading the Bible with a pastor, God’s response to her prayers was the key turning point in her life.

“One day, one of the nurses here told me that Cheng-Cheng’s liver exam results were abnormal and there were signs of liver fibrosis,” Huang said. “I was dumbfounded and could only pray to God for healing. Thanks to the prayers of so many people, the second set of test results came back normal. I experienced God’s love for us then and I now believe that he will always be with me throughout my life. I want to receive him as the savior of my life.”