By Maddie,
Contributing Writer
“When the love of Christ is living inside of you, you don’t have to try to pour love out. Like a full glass of water, you just overflow.”
That’s the way Xian Dong describes the transformation she has experienced through Jesus. As Xian and I sat together in a park this summer, I had the incredible privilege of hearing her story.
Xian Dong has lived in Canada for almost six years and has regularly attended Centre Street Church for the four years since she became a believer.
Born in the southern region of China, Xian was raised in a Buddhist household. Her family visited the temple regularly. Xian’s mother was unsure if she believed in a greater power, but she worshipped Buddha nonetheless.
The religious and social climate in China had profound effects on Xian’s mother. She attempted three times to abort Xian, but God’s Spirit was present and moving in her situation. All three attempts failed. Xian was born healthy and full of life; and despite the religious confusion present in Xian’s home, the love she felt from her mother was constant and unconditional. Xian told me that the love her mother gave her caused her to chase after something similar in the years to follow.
Xian met the man who would eventually become her husband online. He was Canadian, and came to China to meet Xian in person. They wed in 2008. Xian recalled the feeling of finding a love that was steady and constant. She and her husband enjoyed a year of marriage before they welcomed their first son into the world in December of 2009.
Then Xian moved to Canada. The year was 2011, and she knew only a little English. This language barrier soon became a point of stress in Xian’s marriage. When Xian and her husband were first married, she carried optimism that the love they had for each other could conquer any struggle. A couple of years later, in a foreign country, she felt less sure of this every day.
In the midst of all this, Xian’s marriage was beginning to deteriorate. Her husband was no longer the same man she had married. He had lost his gentle spirit and had become angry and, at times, violent. Xian was pregnant with her second son, Gabriel, and became concerned for her safety and that of her children. The stress of raising two young children and trying to learn enough English to navigate Canadian life was becoming too much for her to handle on her own. So Xian made an appointment with a social worker to try and find a solution to her situation. Although the meeting did not offer any immediate answers, the social worker offered to pray for Xian—a gesture that Xian remembers to this day.
A year passed, and Gabriel was born. Not much changed that year. Her husband’s behaviour got worse, and she felt trapped in her marriage. It was around this time that Xian discovered the New Canadian Friendship Centre, CSC’s community centre in northeast Calgary that provides immigrants with practical help for successful integration into Canadian life. At the time NCFC was located in Temple, right beside Xian’s home. Xian felt isolated and alone, and she rarely went out. God, however, put NCFC where Xian could not ignore it—right in her neighbourhood!
Xian started attending the sewing classes, and she describes NCFC as “a lifesaver.” Amazed by the unwavering support, friendship and love she found at NCFC, Xian began to inquire about where support for this outreach came from. She was told that NCFC does not run on government support; it is supported by Centre Street Church with the help of volunteers.
Xian was curious as to why people would donate their time, resources and energy to something like this. Finally, she asked Aboli, Pastor Ashwin’s wife, about Jesus, and why he inspired people to love, serve, and give in the ways she had encountered. Aboli told Xian that the love of God, that compelled God to come down to earth to save the world, in turn compelled Christians to love one another.
Taken aback by the idea of a God who would come down to rescue humanity, Xian wanted to know more. She started attending a Bible ESL class at NCFC; and by reading God’s word in community, she was able to clearly see and experience the love of Jesus. Xian then attended the Alpha program there. She soon accepted Jesus as her Lord and Saviour. Xian recalls the feeling of being accepted as a child of God, and the comfort that brought her.
Xian experienced life change almost instantly. The unconditional love that Xian received from her mother she now experienced in Christ. She began to learn that the love of God was different from any love she had ever experienced. It did not change with physical distance; it did not falter through relational strife; and it was completely independent of her own feelings and actions. From that moment on, Xian has never doubted God’s presence in the world and in her life. Xian has a beautiful, God-given gift of faith, and it is so evident in the way she trusts in the Lord through all circumstances.
Sadly, Xian’s husband left in 2019. She lost her job during COVID, and the family vehicle broke down and was written off shortly after. Her children all have emotional and behavioural struggles in school that she needs additional time to care for.
“Although I am in all of these complications, God is with me and my children” she says. “God made my house as a church that I can worship at home and listen to sermons and conferences online at any available family time. My two boys were baptized in August of 2021. God has brought same-minded believers to come to my house to have fellowship.”
The impact that a relationship with Christ has had on Xian’s life is astounding. Xian volunteers at NCFC three times a week and has led seven people, including her mother in China, to Christ. In addition to her gift of faith, it is clear that Xian has a gift of evangelism. She shares the love of her Lord with almost everyone she encounters, and her relationship with the living God is evident in all she does and says.
“God made a University available for me to study at home. I graduated with an Associate Degree in Bible and Theology and am currently pursuing a Bachelor Degree in Bible and Theology. I am fully submitting to be faithful to God and live in faith, knowing the hope of His calling, that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that He finds in us, His Holy ones!”
Hearing Xian’s story was an incredible reminder that God will not only rescue us from despair, but He will also grant us a heart that continues to love God and God’s world.