Truth Compendium

(continuation of Obstacles: Betty's story part 1) Leaving China was difficult. Not that Betty was sad to leave, but it had taken so much effort to get to where she was: She had endured many obstacles getting her education. Her family interfered with her education. She was verbally and sometimes physically abused. She was also the family “maid” who toiled at hand washing the soiled laundry, while her spoiled brother and sister got to indulge in idyllic pastimes like playing the piano. This disruptive family life lead to anger, and caused her to act out by fighting other kids at school, even taking out her anger on boys who happened to get in her way. The communist government was another factor in Betty’s difficulty with education. They decided to punish bourgeois families, considering any family that knew English, had their own business, or had money to be in need of reeducation, so they sent them to work farms. The communists, however, did not believe this reeducating ...

Overcoming Obstacles to Faith Sheila Zimmerman, writing for Betty Hawkins I’ve known Betty Hawkins for a while, but it has only been recently that I decided to undertake this difficult task: to write her story in such a way that it doesn’t turn into a book, but to give enough information to attest to the fact that God worked a miracle in Betty’s life. Our church has been learning from the book of Joshua about the victories God that brought about in his life, and in Israel’s history, as they undertook the initial conquest of Canaan. How would they get past the massive walls of Jericho? Pastor Bruce asked people in the congregation to write their own personal stories of victory and post them online for others to read. When I told Betty I thought she should share her story, she asked me to write it for her. Born in 1951 in Shanghai, China, Betty was the middle child between two spoiled siblings. Irene was the oldest. She could play the family’s piano all she wanted whil...