An Amazing Journey

God miraculously made a way for this young Chinese man to find a new country and a new life in Christ.

The hymn entitled “Amazing Grace” is very special to me. The beautiful words cause me to feel grateful for what the Lord has done in my life. Every time I think of my past, I am amazed at His grace, His love, and His power.

Born to non-Christian parents in a small town in Southwest China, I grew up in a traditional Chinese family where my parents taught me traditional Chinese virtues and customs. I grew up knowing very little about God because China is a non-Christian country. The missionaries who came were not allowed to preach freely. In fact, at times it was dangerous for Christians to worship because the Chinese leaders wanted the people to believe that only the government could save them.

As a child, I was educated in evolutionism and understood very little of the story of Jesus. My earliest recollection of any Christian influence was from my great aunt. She was born into a rich family and, about sixty years ago, she married a chieftain in that area. Later, when her husband was murdered, she was driven out of his family. Due to the war, she lost all of her property and became very poor. A few years later, her only son died at the age of fifteen. She had lost everything, including her hope.

One day she went into a church near her hometown, and there she met God. Her life was changed and she became a faithful Christian from then on. She witnessed World War II, the Chinese Civil War, and the Chinese Cultural Revolution. I last saw her when I was sixteen, and I still remember her peaceful and lovely smile.

In 1988, I graduated from high school and entered a university in Canton. I dreamed that one day, through hard work, the world would be a wonderful and blissful place. There would be prosperity instead of poverty, happiness instead of sorrow, and peace instead of fighting. The Student Movement started, and I participated because I believed, like all the other students, that it was our job to devote our lives to improving our government. At that time, I trusted the Chinese system of government. However, gunfire and bloodshed destroyed my trust. In minutes, the Student Movement became illegal, and its leaders were blacklisted. I was scared that all of us involved would be punished.

During the following months we were required to write down all that we had done. To avoid punishment, we were encouraged to expose our leader. They wanted us to betray each other. I felt so helpless, and sank into deep despair and began drinking and smoking. In my heart, I wanted to believe that there was still true justice in the universe. It was at this crossroad of my life that I was introduced to Jesus Christ.

My English teacher was a foreigner and the only person I trusted. Often, I would visit and talk with her. At that time I did not know that she had been sent by a Christian organization to teach in China. She did extensive missionary work through the avenue of teaching and helped build an underground church with another Christian teacher in my university.

On a windy afternoon in September of 1990, she handed me a book she wanted me to read. I saw that it was a Bible, and I became scared. At that time, if anyone were found possessing a Bible, he could have been expelled. Unsure as I was, I took the Bible anyway and hurried back to my dormitory. There was no one else there, so I began to read. I had only read a few chapters when I began to feel something different. There was power in the verses, and for the first time in my life, I felt that I needed to search for something more than I had.

God came to me and saved me when I searched for Him. My fears and worries were gone. My simple faith brought God’s blessing and great salvation. He was so merciful and powerful that I cannot explain how I felt. I soon became a member of the underground church and it became my favorite part of university life.

After graduation I was chosen by the Chinese government to work in a state company in Beijing. I worked hard and was soon promoted to the management position. I was involved in decision-making policies for the company and was given power to do many things, but through all this success, I felt lonely and isolated. As a result, I lost my salvation and returned to my old way of life.

One day, I was called to the Human Resources Department and was told that I would be transferred to an office in Canada where I would be in charge of the Financial Department. I did not understand why I had been chosen to work overseas, because the requirements were that one was to be married, close to the leader of the company, and a member of the Communist Party. I met none of these requirements. How could I be chosen to work in a position such as this? I accepted this series of events as being from the hand of God, for nobody else could perform such a miracle.

After arriving in Canada, I began searching for a church. One Saturday, a friend asked me to join him at a Korean Bible study. There, I met a young lady from the Apostolic Faith Church. She invited me to her church for a service. I accepted her offer and discovered that it was the church I was looking for. I felt like the lost sheep that had finally found its way home. I asked the Lord to forgive me, and He truly saved me. Later, I received the wonderful experiences of sanctification and the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

Although I was working in Canada, I was still under the control of the Chinese government. The Apostolic Faith Church in Vancouver was still an “underground” church for me, since I had to keep my activities secret from my employer and coworkers. Had they known where I was going, I would have immediately been transferred back to China. I learned that God is greater, and He protected me as He had protected me in China.

Serving the Lord and still being under the control of Chinese policies limited my freedom. At one point, my boss was unhappy with me and wanted to talk to me on Sundays. I couldn’t be with him and be in church too. This caused much grief between us. I was suffering a lot in this situation and wanted a way out. The only way out, I decided, was to leave the system altogether, so I began praying. I secretly applied for landed immigrant status in Canada. I made my intentions known to my pastor who was at first shocked and worried about me. Without any explanation to the congregation, he continuously asked for prayer on my behalf. The people were faithful, and I learned the meaning of “bearing one another’s burdens.”

In November of 1997, I received mail from Immigration Canada. They informed me that my application had been processed and that the next step was for me to be interviewed at the Canadian Immigration office in Seattle, Washington. I asked everyone I knew to pray for me, and my name was put on a prayer list in Vancouver, British Columbia; Seattle, Washington; and Portland, Oregon. On the scheduled day, I passed the interview easily, and I could hardly believe it was true. Some of my close friends were with me, and they said I was shaking so much that I could hardly speak.

To complete the process, I needed to return to China and obtain a personal passport. Up to this point I had only a government-issued passport which was not acceptable by the Canadian government for immigration. To get this passport I had to have a record of good standing with my company. I proceeded to request a transfer back to China where I could resign from the company without further ramifications. Following these steps, the company found out about my intentions and became quite upset. My heart sank, and I feared that the worst would happen: I would be transferred back to China, fired from my job, and then be refused a passport by the Chinese government. I planned to leave for China on November 1, 1998. Immigration Canada had informed me that I must have all my necessary documents faxed to their office before December 25. I had only two months to do all the necessary work. I had been told that the process would take three months. But, if God be for us, who can be against us!

When I got back to China, a leader in the Human Resources Department informed me, “Julius, you are lucky because you are the first person in the history of this company to be forgiven for what you have done. The board has decided to cooperate with you as much as they can.” I was speechless. I continued with my resignation process, and although the process took longer than I had anticipated, every door was easily opened before me. The whole process should have taken three months, but I had the passport in four weeks, and my Canadian visa before Christmas. I felt that it was God’s Christmas gift to me. God had led me to the Promised Land just as He had the Hebrews in the Bible.

When I stepped off the airplane in Vancouver, BC, in January of 1999 and proceeded through the immigration office, I finally felt like a free man, and I actually kissed the ground. I can only thank God for all the things He has done for me. I have been in the valley many times, but I have proven that God is faithful and He has always led me out. Each time I look back, I see that there was just one set of footprints and He has carried me. I have done nothing to merit His great love. All I could do was use the strength He gave me to hold on to Him.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound . . .” The song still rings in my heart.

Julius Liu is a member of the Apostolic Faith Church in Langley, BC, Canada.