Usually those who needed prayer would stand up. But it was quiet.
Then the pastor continued to say, "I don't mean injury of your body. I mean hurt of your soul. May be you don't like to stand up. Then let us all stand and pray for those who are hurt."

I was back from Teochew, China for more than a month then. I felt released when I just reached home. But the feeling of "I finally back home" was faded day after day. I became more and more unhappy.

I thought I was very imaginative. I recalled the book of Life and Death in Shanghai written by Nien Cheng.
Writing about her painful experience during the Cultural Revolution was traumatic.
When she left Shanghai on 20 September 1980, she went on deck to have a last look at Shanghai, her hometown where she has grown up.
She wrote at the end of the book that:
God knows how hard I had tried to remain true to my country. But I had failed utterly through no fault of my own.
I was very sad after reading it.
Oh yes, Zhou Enlai who helped her much has passed away then.

Many years ago I had a bad experience on Internet Chatroom. When I mentioned that my homeland (祖國) was Singapore, a netizen from mainland China criticized at once that I forgot my origins (數典忘祖).
Initially I was baffled. I then explained to him that I was born and grew up in Singapore. I am a Singaporean. Singapore is my country. But he insisted that I forgot my origin (忘本).
A few netizens from Hong Kong and Macau explained to him too. They told him that I was a Singaporean and my country was Singapore. But he did not understand.
He was unreasonable. I was angry. I wrote that "Without the support of my ancestor, where are you now? You are ungrateful (忘恩負義).

I did not want to waste my time with a short-sighted and narrow-minded person. I then left the Chatroom.
I then made a report to Beijing.
A few months later, I noticed a new phrase in the Chinese magazine published by Beijing and distributed to Overseas Chinese. The phrase was Ancestral homeland (祖籍國).

A few friends from Radio China International (RCI) visited Singapore during Christmas 2007. When we first met, I mentioned that we are Singaporean Chinese (新加坡【華人】) and not Overseas Chinese (華僑 China National).
We then had a meeting with a group of friends who were with a Teochew Opera Singing Class the day later. A RCI friend who was in-charge of the Teochew Program talked to us. He started with Teochew and said, "Nang Si Kar Ki Nang (people of our own 我們是自己人)."
All of us laughed and everyone started to say, "Kar Ki Nang", "Kar Ki Nang". Our friends from Beijing were surprised.

I liked to have a free mind when traveling. But when I felt that the evil spirit of Revolution was surrounding, I was upset.

On the day when I was returning home, I took my lunch at a shop. An old man walked to the door step of the shop and said loudly, "It is good to have Chinese Economic Reform ....."
I was very angry. It had been more than 40 years for the Chinese Economic Reform, why did he shout the slogan?
I tried hard not to add on more unhappiness to my mind. I wanted to go home soon.

Praise the Lord! While the prayer of more than 4 thousands was on, I felt my left chest beating heavily twice....

It was written in the Bible Proverbs 17:22
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.