There are two male Christians who have been locked in a wooden cage on the high mountains of the Nujiang River Grand Canyon in Yunnan Province for almost a decade. They both suffer from aggressive psychosis and their family has no other option but to lock them up. The wooden cage is made of thick tree trunks, of only four to five square meters. It’s divided into two rooms with no windows or doors.
One morning in late December 2021, the author and several Christian believers drove from the county town to the wooden house located in the remote mountains at an altitude of more than 2,200 meters.
In front of the house, a thin old man who looked even-tempered shook hands with us one by one and said: "Huahua" ("Hello" in Lisu language).
Passing the wooden cage where the two patients lived, these Christians looked in through the cracks between the wood slabs. One of them was sleeping under a quilt, and the other was wandering in the cage.
With wild honey as one source of family income, the old man began to share what had happened to his family.
The old man himself as the father is 72 years old, two years older than his wife. They have four sons and two daughters. The eldest son (47 years old) and the second son (45 years old) live in the wooden cage. The two daughters are married, while the two younger sons are still single.
Different factors caused the mental illness of the two sons. When the eldest son was building their family house, his head was hit by a stone, which affected his mental health. Later, when working out of his hometown, he killed someone accidentally. With the hospital assessment, he was considered mentally ill when committing the murder, then he was released. However, this incident aggravated his condition. The second son started suffering from epilepsy when he was fourteen or fifteen years old. With seizures all day long, he ran around in a grave.
Since 2010, the two sons have been locked in this wooden cage. Their parents deliver meals to them through gaps between wood planks, mixing drugs for mental illness into their food. Outside the wooden cage, there is a TV set and a DVD player with which the parents sometimes allow them to watch programs.
In the past ten years, the two sons have lived outside of the cage a couple of times. Once it was about two to three months, and the other time was for between one to two years. Becoming aggressive again, they had to be locked up. After that, they never came out of the cage.
"Did your son believe in Jesus before?" a female Christian surnamed Li asked when the old man paused during his sharing.
He said that the whole family believed in Jesus. The eldest son received the communion before he fell ill. Now, the father is still the head of worship (a similar position as “the person in charge”) of the church near his home. His third son preaches on Sundays in the same church.
After a short silence, we began to sing the hymns The Sun Above the Clouds, Amazing Grace, Lord When I Say I Love You, and prayed aloud. Chen, who was praying for them, cried to God. She did not understand why this family was infected with such suffering, but she knew that God is good and in control of everything. She asked God to comfort and heal this family.
They tried to talk to their second son. Some prayed for him, asking God to heal and release him. Someone told him "Jesus loves you"... While they were talking to him, he started to get down on one knee, holding his hands together. He seemed to be praying.
A male believer with the surname of Lin said that this was a spiritual battle in which the family was attacked. Even so, their family was still able to hold on to their faith and even served in the church, so he believed that this family would receive great grace.
Li, who specializes in visiting people who are mentally ill, said that the local government gave the brothers a monthly subsidy of 900 yuan RMB each, providing psychotropic drugs for free. So far, their living expenses were entirely covered.
Li added that the two elderly parents needed more emotional support. For taking care of such children every day, they would seek companionship, care, encouragement and understanding. They would need to chat with people about their feelings. But very few people could climb such high mountains to accompany them.
Li and the church staff once came to visit on foot. It would take a whole day for the trip. Sometimes they chartered a car which was too expensive and cost 600 yuan RMB.
This ministry is very difficult. Nevertheless, Li considers it meaningful, for which she perseveres in doing it.
Li has visited a total of 35 patients with mental heath issues. Some of them are seriously ill, and some can take care of themselves. She was pleased that two of them had basically recovered, hoping that they could join the serving team in the future.
"Although I can't do something as important as Pastor Fu Nengren, I will do my best to serve," said Li. In addition to visiting the people with mental illness, she also hoped to have a small studio in the county town to accommodate those in need. She could talk with them and bring them to Jesus. Nowadays, people are not short of material things but spiritual companionship.
- Translated by Shuya Wang
兄弟俩被分别关在云南怒江大峡谷的高山上的木笼中，差不多有十年了。他们都患有攻击性精神病，家人没有别的办法，只能将他们关起来。木笼只有四五平方米，被隔成两间，由粗壮的树干制成，没有窗，也没有门。
2021年12月下旬的一天上午，笔者和几位基督徒从县城驱车来到了海拔2200多米、地处深山之中的木屋前。
一位消瘦、平静的老人在木屋前跟我们一一握手，并说着“化化”（傈僳语“你好”）
大家经过了两位患者所住的木笼，从木头缝中向里望了几眼，只见其中一人在盖着被子睡觉，另外一人在笼中徘徊。
野蜜是这个家庭的收入来源之一。老人家开始讲述他家庭的遭遇。
老父亲72岁，比妻子年长两岁，育有四个儿子，两个女儿。在木笼中生活的是大儿子（47岁）和二儿子（45岁），两个女儿已出嫁，两个小儿子还未成家。
两个儿子罹患精神病的病因不同。大儿子在为家里建房时，头被石头砸到，精神上受到一些影响；后来外出打工，误杀了人，经医院鉴定，杀人时他精神病发作，便放了回来，这件事也加重了他的病情。老二在十四五岁时患上癫痫病，整天不停地发作，到处乱跑，住在坟墓中。
从2010年开始，两个儿子被关进了木笼里。父母通过木头缝给儿子送饭，将治疗精神疾病的药物掺在饭中。在木笼外面，放了一台电视机和DVD，父母有时会给他们放电视看。
这十多年来，两个儿子曾被放出来一两次，有一次两三个月，有一次一两年。但他们又出现攻击行为，只好再次关起来。此后，他们就再也没有出来过。
“您的儿子之前信耶稣吗？”在老人分享停顿的时候，李姊妹问道。
老人家说，全家都信耶稣，大儿子发病之前还领过圣餐。如今，老人家还是家附近教会的礼拜长（类似负责人），三儿子在该教会主日讲道。
沉默中，大家一起唱起了赞美诗《云上太阳》《奇异恩典》《主当我说爱你》，并出声代祷。代祷的陈姊妹向神哭诉，不知道为何这样的苦难临到这个家庭，但知道神是良善并掌管一切，求神来给予安慰、医治。
大家试着跟二儿子说话，有的为他祷告，求神来医治、释放他；有人告诉他“耶稣爱你”……在大家跟他说话的时候，他开始单膝跪地，双手握在一起，看似在祷告。
林弟兄称，这是属灵的争战，这个家庭在争战中被攻击了。即便如此，他们家还能坚持信仰，甚至还在教会服侍，相信他们家会得大恩典。
专门从事精神病患者探访事工的李姊妹说，当地政府给兄弟俩每人每月补助900元，并且免费提供精神类的药物。从目前看，他们在生活上是够用的。
她说，两位年老的父母更需要心理上的支持。每天都守着这样的孩子，他们需要陪伴、关怀、鼓励和理解，需要跟人聊聊天，讲讲他们的心事。能爬那么高的山来陪伴，这个是很少的。
李姊妹和同工曾徒步来这里探访，探访一次需要一整天的时间。有时他们会包车探访，这样太贵，路费就需要600元。
这个事工很艰难，李姊妹因为能够看到它的意义，所以可以坚持做下去。
李姊妹目前探访的精神病患者共有35位，其中有的病情严重，有的可以生活自理。李姊妹欣慰地说道，目前有两人已经基本康复，她希望他们之后可以参与到这个服侍的团队中。
“虽然不能做富能仁牧师那么大的事情，但我可以尽我的力量服侍。”李姊妹说，除了精神病患者探访事工，她还希望在县城有一间小小的工作室，接待那些生活中遇到困难的人，陪他们聊聊天，把他们带到耶稣面前。因为现在的人不缺物质，最缺心灵的陪伴。
【特稿】木笼中是绝望还是盼望？
There are two male Christians who have been locked in a wooden cage on the high mountains of the Nujiang River Grand Canyon in Yunnan Province for almost a decade. They both suffer from aggressive psychosis and their family has no other option but to lock them up. The wooden cage is made of thick tree trunks, of only four to five square meters. It’s divided into two rooms with no windows or doors.
One morning in late December 2021, the author and several Christian believers drove from the county town to the wooden house located in the remote mountains at an altitude of more than 2,200 meters.
In front of the house, a thin old man who looked even-tempered shook hands with us one by one and said: "Huahua" ("Hello" in Lisu language).
Passing the wooden cage where the two patients lived, these Christians looked in through the cracks between the wood slabs. One of them was sleeping under a quilt, and the other was wandering in the cage.
With wild honey as one source of family income, the old man began to share what had happened to his family.
The old man himself as the father is 72 years old, two years older than his wife. They have four sons and two daughters. The eldest son (47 years old) and the second son (45 years old) live in the wooden cage. The two daughters are married, while the two younger sons are still single.
Different factors caused the mental illness of the two sons. When the eldest son was building their family house, his head was hit by a stone, which affected his mental health. Later, when working out of his hometown, he killed someone accidentally. With the hospital assessment, he was considered mentally ill when committing the murder, then he was released. However, this incident aggravated his condition. The second son started suffering from epilepsy when he was fourteen or fifteen years old. With seizures all day long, he ran around in a grave.
Since 2010, the two sons have been locked in this wooden cage. Their parents deliver meals to them through gaps between wood planks, mixing drugs for mental illness into their food. Outside the wooden cage, there is a TV set and a DVD player with which the parents sometimes allow them to watch programs.
In the past ten years, the two sons have lived outside of the cage a couple of times. Once it was about two to three months, and the other time was for between one to two years. Becoming aggressive again, they had to be locked up. After that, they never came out of the cage.
"Did your son believe in Jesus before?" a female Christian surnamed Li asked when the old man paused during his sharing.
He said that the whole family believed in Jesus. The eldest son received the communion before he fell ill. Now, the father is still the head of worship (a similar position as “the person in charge”) of the church near his home. His third son preaches on Sundays in the same church.
After a short silence, we began to sing the hymns The Sun Above the Clouds, Amazing Grace, Lord When I Say I Love You, and prayed aloud. Chen, who was praying for them, cried to God. She did not understand why this family was infected with such suffering, but she knew that God is good and in control of everything. She asked God to comfort and heal this family.
They tried to talk to their second son. Some prayed for him, asking God to heal and release him. Someone told him "Jesus loves you"... While they were talking to him, he started to get down on one knee, holding his hands together. He seemed to be praying.
A male believer with the surname of Lin said that this was a spiritual battle in which the family was attacked. Even so, their family was still able to hold on to their faith and even served in the church, so he believed that this family would receive great grace.
Li, who specializes in visiting people who are mentally ill, said that the local government gave the brothers a monthly subsidy of 900 yuan RMB each, providing psychotropic drugs for free. So far, their living expenses were entirely covered.
Li added that the two elderly parents needed more emotional support. For taking care of such children every day, they would seek companionship, care, encouragement and understanding. They would need to chat with people about their feelings. But very few people could climb such high mountains to accompany them.
Li and the church staff once came to visit on foot. It would take a whole day for the trip. Sometimes they chartered a car which was too expensive and cost 600 yuan RMB.
This ministry is very difficult. Nevertheless, Li considers it meaningful, for which she perseveres in doing it.
Li has visited a total of 35 patients with mental heath issues. Some of them are seriously ill, and some can take care of themselves. She was pleased that two of them had basically recovered, hoping that they could join the serving team in the future.
"Although I can't do something as important as Pastor Fu Nengren, I will do my best to serve," said Li. In addition to visiting the people with mental illness, she also hoped to have a small studio in the county town to accommodate those in need. She could talk with them and bring them to Jesus. Nowadays, people are not short of material things but spiritual companionship.
- Translated by Shuya Wang
[Feature] Is There Only Despair or Still Hope Living in a Wooden Cage?
