Gospel Testimony, Vancouver, January 2024: The Love of God and the Love of God's House Meet Every Need

Good evening, everyone. My name is Isaac Hsu, and I am from Fujian. I am currently a PhD student at UBC.

Seeds Sown in My Youth

My parents believed in the Lord when I was very young. My mother especially was very zealous in serving. From childhood she brought us to all kinds of meetings, and when we were teenagers she tried every way she could to draw us to read the Bible and pursue the Lord. I remember that in high school, to encourage us to read the Bible, my mother asked a young working sister to buy snacks ahead of time and wait for us at the school gate every day at noon. During our half-hour break she would read the Bible with us by the river.

Meeting the Lord Subjectively in University

Influenced by the so-called "scientific" education I received in China, I found it hard to believe there was a God, and I did not understand my mother's intention. Most of my time and energy went to schoolwork, basketball, and having fun, and I thought reading the Bible together was just another activity. After I got into university, I had many new experiences—clubs, friends, sports, the choir; I tried everything. Yet gradually I sensed a thirst within me, and my life began to lose its focus. During that time, two or three young brothers would call me at a fixed time every week, invite me to take a walk on campus, read a little of the Bible, and ask about my life. At first I did not know them well and often hung up on them rudely. But their steady, persistent visiting, shepherding, and care made me a little curious about what drove them to pay the price to come find me week after week.

Before I could think much about it, terrible news came: my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, already at a late stage. At the time I did not really understand what this meant, but my mother and those brothers on the Nanjing campus far away shared a strange insistence—they wanted me to read the Bible more, to know the Lord, and to attend more meetings. Even though she was seriously ill, she repeatedly asked me to attend the week-long winter conference for college students. I went reluctantly, but because I could not understand much, I often dozed off in the sessions. After two or three days immersed in the meetings, and recalling how persistent and urgent my mother and the Nanjing brothers had been, I began to think seriously about what this faith really was—why it was so at odds with the mainstream education I had received, yet so real to these people. One brother told me 1 Corinthians 2:10: "For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God." It was as if I received a revelation. As scene after scene from the past came back to me, everything became clear: the education I had received was not necessarily right; it had all been told to me and crammed into me. I needed to break out of my narrow thinking and reconsider whether there is a God and what faith really is. In that very week I had a complete turnaround. I clearly saw that knowing God is in the realm of the spirit. My heart was greatly watered, and I found that the words of the Bible were so living and fresh—no longer a religious, unreal, sleep-inducing book. I can say that I met the Lord subjectively.

A Wonderful Marriage

When I returned to campus after the winter break, everything was different. Reading the Bible and the meeting life became my focus. I clearly understood that in university I should put my energy into my studies and live the church life seriously. So I completely broke off an ambiguous relationship I had with a girl at the time and stopped spending time on things that did not matter. By the second year of my master's degree, marriage and my career became matters I had to face. Every day I set aside half an hour in my busy schedule to pray about them. At that time I made two wishes to the Lord: one was to go to Anaheim in the United States to be perfected and to learn the truth; the other was to go and see the church life in Taiwan. The more I prayed, the clearer it became that the Lord wanted me first to learn English well and prepare to study abroad, so that later I could serve on campus. Although my English was very poor, the Lord's leading and strengthening were greater than everything; He Himself gave me strength and grace so that I passed the English exam. I knew the Lord had answered my prayer to study abroad. As for the wish to live the church life in Taiwan, although I felt peaceful when I prayed about it, from a practical standpoint it seemed unrealistic, and gradually I forgot that prayer.

When I was about to finish my master's degree, a sister suddenly appeared in my church life—the sister beside me today. Our two universities were actually far apart, a 50-minute subway ride with transfers. But because the church in Nanjing had bought a new meeting hall, both of our universities were assigned to the East District. We both served the young people and were both quite active in our brothers' and sisters' houses, so we had many opportunities to be in contact. Although I was deeply impressed by her fervent service and her love for the Lord and the saints, I did not dare to have any thoughts about it; I only held it in prayer. Once there was a wedding meeting at the hall, and the responsible brother of the East District arranged for me to be the host and for Ling to serve as an usher. But on the day of the meeting I suddenly had severe stomach pain and could not stand up. Early that morning I went to the emergency room for an IV. I had always been very healthy and rarely got sick, yet for some reason this happened at the critical moment. Just as I was regretting losing the chance to coordinate in service with her, to my surprise she came to the brothers' house after the meeting to visit me. At that point I felt I had received a confirmation from the Lord that I should get to know her further. Later, as my wife puts it, this was the Lord's discipline—disciplining me for being so wooden and slow to respond. In any case, I then called the local elders and reported to them that we both wished to move forward in our relationship. After that, everything seemed to fall into place. Looking back, I realized this was the Lord answering the wish I had made years before—to go and see the church life in Taiwan.

One Accord as a Couple and the Support of the Body

Although I had passed the language exam, my plans to study abroad did not go smoothly. I applied to more than a dozen universities, and only one gave me an offer, without a guaranteed scholarship. After fellowshipping with my wife, we decided in one accord to first attend the training in Taiwan. That year of training not only equipped us with the truth and gave us a burden for people, but also gave us a deeper knowledge of the vision of Christ and the church. We experienced what 1 Peter 3:7 says—that husband and wife are fellow heirs of the grace of life. Later we started an e-commerce business in Taiwan. The Lord blessed it greatly and the business kept growing, but I gradually realized that I was often physically in the meetings while my mind was on how to expand the business. In prayer the Lord reminded me again of my youthful desire to serve on campus. Seeing that my language scores were about to expire, I decided to try applying one last time. Unexpectedly, I received a scholarship. At that point we faced a major life decision: keep running the business or go abroad to study. Ling was then pregnant with our third child, the business had just received a loan, our life was fairly stable, and our wallet was fairly full; on top of that, studying abroad had many uncertainties, and we were not sure about it. So we prayed to the Lord together, and in the end we decided together to come to Canada.

For new immigrants, transportation and housing are the biggest challenges—let alone for a family of five. When we contacted the brothers and sisters of the UBC small group, saints took the initiative to help us find a place and prepare furniture. We had never met them, yet while still in Taiwan we were already experiencing the supply and support of the Body. As soon as we got off the plane, a brother drove his pickup truck from Coquitlam to pick us up. When we arrived at the house, we found pots, dishes, beds, tables, and all kinds of furniture already prepared for us, and the sisters had thoughtfully stocked the fridge with food, afraid we might go hungry. We were deeply moved and experienced the great love of God and the warmth of God's house. God also caused all things to work together: because we had three children, we happened to qualify for the largest type of university housing, and only one month after we landed we got a unit, so we moved smoothly from a basement suite onto campus. The location the Lord arranged was also ideal—surrounded by saints' homes, with us right in the middle. We never imagined that with three children we could still open our home to serve the Lord.

During that period my wife and I would set aside time before going to bed each night to pray together before the Lord in one accord. We prayed by name for the saints in our small group, for each other's families, and for the GTCA cities in North America—those cities where churches might be raised up. The Lord also wonderfully added one family after another to our small group. In our oldest child's class of 21 children, five were children of saints in our small group. Praying together in one accord like this has kept our marriage fresh, and it has also let us enjoy together the sweetness and joy of the Body life.

Gaining Companions

We have not been in Vancouver very long—about a year and a half. Every time we move to a new place, it is not easy to find a close companion to whom we can entrust ourselves. Sisters seem to have less trouble with this; they easily form groups of two or three and build companionship. Brothers, on the other hand, are rather solitary creatures who won't ask for help unless they are dying. Some would rather let things rot inside than tell anyone, and I was no exception. But in the church life we are all sheep, and we need companions to be healthy. When I first came here I felt I should find a companion, but after a while, finding no one suitable, I stopped caring. I often acted alone and kept running into walls. Eventually my wife could not stand watching it anymore, and she mobilized her companions to pray together for me to have a companion. Not long after, the Lord "airdropped" a family from mainland China into our small group—Brother Liu's family. Brother Liu is very knowledgeable, loves the Lord, and serves fervently; he is a great encouragement to me. Now we have morning revival together every day, and we can fellowship about everything—small group matters, family matters, and work matters.

Conclusion

Looking back, people truly have many needs—studies, marriage, family, career, companions, and more. At every moment the Lord has arranged our environment to meet all our needs, and to meet all the needs of our family. How rich God is! Thank the Lord.