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Yang Zhen-Li was nearing thirty but at times felt twice that old. Her back was becoming permanently bent forward from the heavy pails she carried daily, one attached on each end of the thick bamboo rod that stretched across her shoulders, mirroring the heaviness of her heart. There had been a time when she’d been acclaimed as a beauty, but she could scarcely remember why…or imagine that it would matter.
She tried to fight the encroaching darkness, tried to hold fast to what she knew was true, but the constant lies and propaganda were taking a greater toll even than the physical labor and abuse or the burning, gnawing hunger. If her situation didn’t change soon, she knew she would never live long enough to see her husband or son again. And with nearly eight years of her ten-year sentence left to serve, the possibilities of her emerging from prison alive grew dimmer by the day.
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. She forced herself to focus on one of the many scripture verses she’d had opportunity to memorize between the time she accepted Zhu Yesu as her Savior and her arrest by members of the Public Security Bureau (PSB) on charges of teaching religion to children, including giving them papers containing religious writings. Even before her arrest, her parents had written to her—warned her, begged her, threatened her—and finally had her kidnapped in an attempt to convince her to go along with the government rules, especially the one limiting each family to one child. After all, she already had a healthy son. Why would she want another baby when they could scarcely afford to feed the first one? But though her abductors had forcibly aborted her second child, they had not succeeded in convincing Yang Zhen-Li to abandon the faith she had adopted before marrying her Christian husband. If anything, the ordeal had only strengthened her resolve to take a stand for the meaning of her name—Zhen-Li, “Truth,”—and spurred her to begin actively sharing the Good News of Yesu every chance she got. As a trained teacher, that quite naturally included talking with children about the gospel, a practice expressly forbidden by the government.
And now she was paying the price. Separated from her family and sentenced to ten years of hard labor and “re-education,” Zhen-Li struggled to survive against pain, exhaustion, and bitter loneliness. Worst of all were the times she felt God had abandoned her. It wasn’t enough to know in her mind that He promised never to leave or forsake her. She needed a visible reminder—soon—if she was to continue to remain faithful behind these prison walls.
Here’s what reviewers are saying about Red Ink!
“Red Ink follows a variety of characters on opposite sides of the world and shows their different spiritual journeys. It’s a beautiful and sometimes brutal story about the power of unconditional love, of ultimate sacrifice, and of the faithful, unshakable allegiance of several believers toward their one true God. Though there are many players in this novel, their lives intersect in an unseen tapestry of faith that is crafted by the loving hands of a merciful God. This is a life-changing story that is not to be missed.”
–Michelle Sutton, author of more than a dozen novels including It’s Not About Me, Danger at the Door, In Plain Sight, and Never Without Hope
"...Macias does a great job of putting readers into this frightening world where even in the midst of incredible darkness, God continues to show His face to the ones He loves."
--Christy's Book Blog
"Five stars does not do this book any amount of justice."
--Book Reviews by Molly
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You can find out more about Kathi and her writing/speaking at www.kathimacias.com or her blog at http://kathieasywritermacias.blogspot.com.
