by Carla Williams
The truth set Xaio Mei free. It also put her in prison.
When she arrived at the His Hands center for pregnant women, Xaio Mei was not living in the truth. She had been delivered to His Hands as a desperate, lost cause with a swollen belly and a lifetime of baggage. And some very unsettling rumors.
She’d arrived in Taiwan only a few months before. She’d basically been purchased from her family in Vietnam as a bride for a man in Taiwan. Her family had been struggling with an overwhelming financial burden, and she’d been willing to help.
After a couple months, Xaio Mei realized she was pregnant, and that there was a possibility that the baby was from the boyfriend she had before she left Vietnam. When she told her husband about the pregnancy, she told him about the boyfriend as well. She was homesick. She missed her family and her country, and she was hoping that her husband would send her back home if he knew that the baby might not be his.
That night, there was a fire in her husband’s house, and two people died.
Her husband’s family accused Xaio Mei of starting the fire, and she couldn’t go home because of the investigation. She eventually ended up at the His Hands center, where she began to hear and experience the Truth of Jesus for the first time. She learned about hope, purpose, and salvation – about the God who loved her despite anything she had done.
Even after the birth of her son, Xaio Mei stayed at His Hands, helping with the other moms and babies. As the investigations continued, she maintained her innocence in the circumstances surrounding the fire. But she was learning about the Truth, and this was transforming her life.
Before one trip back to court, Xaio Mei’s friends at His Hands encouraged her to tell the truth, no matter what the consequences. When she got there, she confessed everything.
In her home culture, if there was a fire in the first years of marriage, it was considered a bad omen and the new wife was returned to her parents’ home. Xaio Mei had been overwhelmed with homesickness, sadness, and loneliness. She had hoped she would be sent home when she told her husband the baby might not be his, but when that looked unlikely, she hoped to secure her return with a small fire. She had started what she hoped would be a little fire in one part of the house, having no idea or intention of it spreading and consuming the entire building. She certainly had not wanted anyone to be hurt or killed, and she’d been deeply saddened by the destruction she had caused to that family.
Despite the circumstances and intentions, Xaio Mei was responsible for the fire and the resulting deaths, and she knew it was time to admit it.
After her confession, Xaio Mei was immediately arrested and taken to a local prison for holding until her sentencing. Her friends and co-workers from His Hands weren’t sure what would happen to her, but whenever they’d go to visit, she was always full of peace and joy. She was shining with hope, serving as an encouragement for her visitors and her fellow prisoners.
Xaio Mei has been sentenced to life in prison, without parole. She has been moved from an open, low-security prison to a much stricter facility. Only her immediate family is allowed to send mail or visit. Her loving friends and Christian family have no access to her, but they continue to pray. Her faith is very young and there are many opportunities for her to lose hope or become discouraged in her lonely walk with Christ, but they hold on to hope that her faith will continue.
Xaio Mei was relieved that she had told the truth, even though it had put her in prison. She couldn’t change what had happened, but she could chose to do what was right. In all the ways that truly mattered, the truth had set her free.
