Feng Shui and fatalism have almost become a tradition in the Chinese culture, with many firmly believing in the words of fortune tellers. When one faces adversities in life, one often attributes these to "fate" or "destiny", or feels that one's life is controlled by this so-called "fate". "A Dream Team", a Gospel movie produced by The Media Evangelism Limited, focuses on this topic, and attempts to unveil the secrets of this so-called "fate".
On the evening of Sunday (the 27th), hundreds of people, including the Chinese community in San Francisco and neighboring cities, attended the premiere of "A Dream Team" at the San Francisco Sunset district, with many starting to line up half an hour before the movie. "A Dream Team" stars Sammy Leung (a famous DJ in Hong Kong) as Xu Wen Qiang, who had been deemed "the Lone Misfortune Star", and the one who brought on the death of his mother, by a fortune teller who claimed that Wen Qiang was born on a dark year, a dark month, and a dark day. He was beaten and yelled at by his father, who believed that Wen Qiang could not be kept in the home beyond the age of 7 years. Thus, his father gave him away at a tender age, when he started to then live a life of no firm address. Someone even once told Wen Qiang, that he had been cursed, and that he could not live past the age of 30 years. Wen Qiang had always thought that his father was the one who cursed him.
At ten days before his 30th birthday, he landed a job as a guard at the Noah's Ark Museum. He wished that this ark could somehow save him, but on his first day of work, he received the bad news that the museum had to be closed down soon due to lack of business. As he thought that he really could not escape his fate, he saw God in the museum. God revealed to him every single moment in his life, and told him that God heard every little wish that he had, saw every single tear that he shed, and counted every single strand of hair on his head. However, the vision stopped at age 30, and Wen Qiang again doubted whether God could really help him. God did not answer him, but only left him with a bottle of 'Water of Life". Wen Qiang then realized that this bottle of "Water if Life" had the power to revive: everything that this water touches will come back to life. He accidentally made everything in the museum come back to life, and thought that he could use this to attract more visitors to the museum, and therefore "revive" the museum. He gave the title of "A Dream Team" to all these revived historical characters, and became friends and comrades with them, resulting in prosperity in the museum.
When Wen Qiang thought that he could finally escape from his fate, the representative of evil power (namely, the owner of the museum) reminded him of the curse, and spread rumors among the Dream Team, saying that they were not warriors but losers in history, thereby dividing the Dream Team's friendship with Wen Qiang. Wen Qiang again blamed himself for his cursed fate, and also blamed God for not helping him. God then revealed himself to Wen Qiang, and brought him back to the time when he left his father at 7 years old. In reality, Wen Qiang's father never wanted to let him go, but due to the saying that "if you do not let him go, both of you will end up dead", he had to let Wen Qiang go so that Wen Qiang could live. Wen Qiang never knew that his father had continued to try to help raise him at all costs, until he passed away 2 years after, and even then, he thought about Wen Qiang all the time. Wen Qiang finally felt comforted, and understood that there was no such thing as a cruel curse, but only his own misunderstandings of his father's hatred for him. God told him, the page of his 30th year is not empty, because "I am your God, I love you, and I wish to compose your life story with you".
At last, Wen Qiang found renewed strength, and with faith, he fought off the evil spirits with the "Water of Life". He was no longer afraid of dying, and on the contrary, he risked his life to save the others. He survived his 30th year without event, and thus was reborn in Christ, where he continued to live a free and victorious life.
Fiona Leung, a renowned actress and representative of The Media Evangelism Limited, shared her experience of "rebirth" at the premiere. She stated that she followed her parents when she was young in folklore beliefs, and worshipped those such as Wong Tai Sin, Che Gong, and Guan Yin. She also used to believe in Feng Shui, fortune telling, astrology and such, and dubbed herself the nickname of "the little Godmother". After entering the entertainment industry, she became even more superstitious, partly due to the stresses and uncertainties associated with the industry, which led her to change her name or re-organize her surroundings in aims of changing her fate. During the 1997 global economic crisis, the entertainment industry was severely affected, and so was she. She did not know what to do, searching out the "mighty ones" for help, almost to an insane degree, but to no avail. Finally, a friend invited her to church, and told her: why not believe in the mightiest God of all? She therefore went to church somewhat doubtfully. Listening to various hymns, and listening to the pastor telling her that "Jesus loves you unconditionally", she was immensely touched. She had hoped for love all along, but felt that love was difficult to come by, and she did not wish to fight this fight alone anymore. She finally decided to believe in God. She testified that in the 10 years following her decision, her life became more meaningful, and that God had heard her prayers every time, saved her from peril or even death time and again, and showed her miracles time after time. She no longer feared for her future, but only followed God's lead with her whole heart. She wished that the audience could also experience this wonderful kind of life.
Andrew Man-Fai Yuen, the CEO of The Media Evangelism Limited and the producer of "A Dream Team", shared with the audience the message of this movie: many people think that their lives are cursed, and thus use many ways to try and bring fortune and rid misfortune. What they do not realize is that God is the true master of life. God loves man, even to send his only son Jesus Christ to be cursed and crucified for man, so that man may have the chance to be reborn, and to live a life of freedom.
Yuen encouraged the audience to ponder on what it is to be "reborn". The meaning of "reborn" is to "start over again". Jesus came to this world, and met many people including tax collectors, fishermen, and prostitutes. These people all had different past experiences, including those experiences that one would rather not be reminded of. However, God said, "You can start over again". Every man's life is plagued by various regrets and incidences that cannot be undone. For instance, the debts that we owe our family, friends, and colleagues, or the things that we cannot control, such as which family, environment, or parents we are born into are just a few to name. But, God has known us since we are in our mothers' wombs, has counted every strand of our hair, and does not ignore our tears or our ideas. Although we cannot predict our future, God knows our life span. Every person who has met God, regardless of their past experiences, can live life over again.
Yuen also invited the audience to willingly accept God as their God, and to receive this chance to be "reborn". Close to 10 members of the audience made the decision to follow God that night on stage, and many more were deeply moved to tears.
"A Dream Team", aside from being a story that the audience can identify with, also touches the audience via the theme song "Cannot see enough in this world" (sung by Sammy Leung) and many other songs in the soundtrack. This soundtrack, including the international version, is now on sale. If interested, please contact the American branch of The Media Evangelism Limited at 408-425-2441 or 877-223-6341 for more information.
[Editor's note: Carol Lee translated this article.]
