I am from China originally. I went to Australia by myself when I was 19 and I returned to China with AM-CCSM some 18 years later along with my family. So what brought me to this ministry?

Firstly there was a fairly innocent prayer I made over 18 years ago in China. It was not just a simple prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ. It came from a sense of desperation and I prayed it to all kinds of gods. I was not a believer then. So I prayed to whatever god there might be out there, whether it be Allah, Buddha, Jesus or Chairman Mao, saying that if he would bring me to Australia, I would believe in him.

Little did I know that this prayer would result in me landing in Australia with absolutely nowhere to go. The morning of my arrival I ended up begging for help on the street and being taken to a church. That night, sleeping on the floor of a house that a group of Christian students had rented, I was in tears, partly because I was missing my parents a lot, partly because I felt a strange sense of relief. I felt safe, as if I had come home, even though I was surrounded by a bunch of strangers. I became a believer two months later in 1988.

I knew God had a call on my life for China right from the first day when I said the sinner’s prayer. One of the brothers who prayed for me told me that God would use me in China one day. That became my greatest fear! To be honest, I did not have the slightest intention of ever going back to China. I had come from there and I vowed that I would never return unless I became rich and famous.

Then in 1995, I met Ross Paterson at a student conference. As I was one of the organisers, I had to talk to him. I was very afraid of him asking me, “Why don’t you go to China and serve God?” So I made sure that someone came along with me whenever I had to speak to him. That way I thought he could not ask me any personal questions.

Still he left me with a deep impression. I started to question why a Westerner like him would be willing to leave behind a comfortable life and go to Taiwan to learn Mandarin in order to serve God in China. Had I not just run away from China in order to seek that comfortable life that Ross was so ready to leave behind? So I could not understand or accept the fact that someone would love God so much that they would go to China for Him. I was both ashamed and afraid.

It was a terrible feeling to know exactly what the will of God was for my life yet to simply be unwilling to obey Him and let my dream of a comfortable life go. For several years, I tried to suppress the voice of the Holy Spirit in my life, but He just kept coming to me.

In 1998 I moved to Sydney to work and met my wife in the local church. I got to know her because of her great love for God and for China. We got married and settled into a happy married life.

Then one day we received an email saying that the Australian director for AM-CCSM, James Goss, was coming to Sydney and asking if anyone would be able to provide accommodation for him. We ignored the email for a few weeks, but the request kept showing up in our inbox. Finally, believing that there was no one else who could put him up, we offered. That proved to be a big mistake! Not only did we get to know James and this ministry called AM-CCSM, but to my horror I found out that Ross Paterson is the international director of the ministry. God certainly has a sense of humour!

We started to act as representatives for AM-CCSM in Sydney and God began to perform surgery in my inner heart. The coldness I had concerning China was gradually replaced by warmth and a new desire. I would think to myself, “Maybe I can do something for the Lord in China.”

That year, I led several Mainland Chinese people to the Lord. Through that I suddenly had a revelation that God loves Chinese people and He desires them to come to Himself, not in ones or twos, but in one millions and two millions.

In early 2001, my dad was diagnosed with cancer, but God turned this very serious situation into something very good. I was able to lead my parents to the Lord. That really turned the whole thing around. I was greatly encouraged by the grace of God.

In October 2001, my wife and I went on an AM-CCSM short-term intercession trip. On the way back, God spoke to me about the need to be equipped and trained for future ministry. I went to Bible College and did a one-year intensive course on the Bible and missions.
Halfway through the course, Ross approached me with an email outlining a need within AM-CCSM. It was the question that I had not wanted Ross to ask me in 1995! Now it resurfaced again: “Why don’t you go to China and serve God?” This time I felt quite different. God had prepared my heart. Instead of fear and panic, I had faith and peace in my heart. Of course, my wife and I still struggled over issues, but we did not doubt that this was God’s will for us. I began working with AM-CCSM in January 2003.