In August 2012, I crossed the ocean to come to Canada with my seven-and-half-year-old son. After we got settled, I faced the problem of looking for a job. Because of not knowing local people and the language barrier, I had to work as a dishwasher at a Chinese hotpot restaurant. There I worked from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m., and could receive an hourly wage of 7 dollars. On my first day at work, what was waiting for me was a heavy task: All over the floor were basins of dishes and the sink was also full of dishes. Though the work period was merely about three hours, it was the dinner rush when there continued to be dishes that needed washing. I had to quickly clean pans and wash dishes by alternating and could hardly stop for breath like a robot. This job was hard and tiring and did not pay very much, and at night my son was left alone at home and was frightened, so I resigned.

It was just after my resignation that something unexpected happened. My phone bill was actually 920 dollars for the first month. I thought that the phone company must have made a mistake, because the set monthly fee was 36 dollars and I made all the long distance calls when there were no charges for long distance calls. The next day, I went to the mobile shop to explain to them the details of my phone bill, but they said that they only sold cell phones and signed contracts but did not deal with phone bill. They then asked me to call the relevant department and I did. However, the problem still remained. In the end, I had little choice but to pay the phone bill. As a result, life became difficult for us, and we had to rent a cheap house.

Afterward, I began to work for a clothing factory. Since workers were paid by the piece there, I always worked overtime, and even didn’t take a rest on weekends. However, two weeks later, I only got wages of 260 dollars. I thought that they had calculated my wages wrongly, so I went to the relevant department and asked the staff there: “I actually made four thousand pieces of clothing, but why I was only paid for four hundred pieces?” They replied: “For now, we only pay you for four hundred pieces. We will get the total number after this batch finishes.” Hearing this, I considered it to be an excuse. The boss did not pay us workers based on how many pieces we had made, and had the final say in the number and piece rate. Given that this factory lacked transparency and treated employees unfairly, I quit once again.

Following that, I started to worry about finding a new job. One day, my landlady told me that manicurists made a lot of money, and they worked easily and flexibly. I was tempted, and so I paid 300 dollars to do courses in manicure. For this, I also needed to pay to take a bus every day, for it was a long trip to where I took courses. But unexpectedly, before I finished the courses, the boss suddenly went back to China for some things. This caused me to lose the chance to get a job. Due to lots of pressure in my life, I was exhausted mentally and physically, thus catching a fever. In addition, I also faced the plight of the language barrier and having no relatives or a job. Because of all this, I felt life was so hard, tough, with tears streaming down my face. I did not know what I could do to look for a job.

God begins where man ends. The landlady spread the Lord Jesus’ gospel to me. She told me: “God loves the world. In our most painful and difficult time, we have God and He is our rock. When we encounter situations that we are unable to deal with, we just need to rely on God. He can do all things.” In addition, she talked with me about her experiences of believing in the Lord. The Lord’s great love moved me, and so I was baptized to become a Christian.

In the church, I saw the brothers and sisters were very happy and joyous, and I admired them and also wished to live happily, but I always couldn’t muster up any happiness because of anxiety, distress and great pressure. Thereupon, I told my confusion to some sisters, and they said to me: “We need to pray more, rely on the Lord, and praise the Lord at any time and place. The Bible says: ‘Rejoice ever more. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you’ (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Each day we spend is a gift from God. Whether we encounter good or bad things the day, as long as we keep praying and seek God’s will, we’ll find that behind all things there are God’s good intentions. At this time, we’ll change our mentalities and look at things in a different way. The Lord is our rock. He is merciful, and He could help us out of difficult situations.”

From then on, I read the Lord’s words every day and told the Lord about my suffering in life and asked Him to arrange a job for me. At the beginning, I was still anxious because of not getting work. However, one day, I read the following Bible verses: “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof (Matthew 6:34). “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26). Yes, the Lord is my pillar, so I needn’t be anxious for tomorrow. I believed the Lord would guide me. I then saw another two verses: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). “And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). These verses comforted me greatly and gave me hope at the lowest point in my life. I believed that the Lord was my refuge and was always there to help me in adversity. I resolved that I would rely on the Lord and His grace to become strong in spirit, and believed that He would lead me. After that, I liked reading the Lord’s words more and more. And I prayed to the Lord and sought Him daily, asking Him to guide me on my future path.

One day, I read an advertisement for workers at a clothing factory. Unexpectedly, I got the job after the work trial and received 980 dollars two weeks later. This was a pleasant surprise. When I got the salary, I became so excited that my tears gushed out. I was deeply aware that the Lord had heard my prayer and miraculously arranged this job for me. This allowed me to see the Lord is trustworthy and reliable, and that His grace is sufficient for me. When meeting difficulties, as long as we depend on the Lord, then we will see His great power, and that He has already arranged everything for us. Thank the Lord for His grace. I will certainly love the Lord and follow Him as best I can.