I began attending a women’s Bible study this fall, where we often were asked, “Who influenced you?” At the end of the semester, I had the chance to share my testimony with my classmates. I felt deeply blessed, realizing how God had sent two remarkable American women to shape my Christian journey.
Ms. Norris — The American Professor and Secret Missionary Who First Introduced Me to Jesus
I was born and raised in Communist China, where most people are atheists. From kindergarten on, we were “educated” to believe that the Communist Party leaders were our saviors—rescuing us from poverty, suffering, and darkness. I had never even heard the name Jesus until I was almost 20.
In college, we had an American professor, Ms. Norris, who taught spoken English. One cold winter morning, she knocked on our dormitory door before sunrise, woke us up, and asked who wanted to go to church with her for Christmas. It was still dark outside. I had never heard the words church and Christmas before and was curious, so I joined Ms. Norris along with several classmates who felt the same.
We followed her to a shabby old building that looked like a rundown warehouse. Inside, we found about ten elderly people in their seventies and eighties sitting in front of a table covered with a red cloth. Later, I learned that the red cloth was the only decoration the underground church used to celebrate Christmas.
An old man, speaking gently, like a teacher, began telling us about Jesus—how He was born, and how He died on the cross. At the end, he explained that it was Christmas Day. Then he walked around the room, giving each person a tiny piece of bread and a small cup of wine. He said the bread represented Jesus’s flesh and the wine Jesus’s blood.
When he reached me and my classmates, he asked whether we had been baptized. I didn’t know what that meant and simply shook my head. He moved on without giving me the bread or the wine.
At that moment, I felt something deeply. Silently, in my heart, I said to myself: One day, I want to have that bread and that wine.
Ms. Norris quietly left after one semester. She never had the chance to tell us more about Jesus or even much about herself, because the Chinese government banned foreign missionaries. Later, we learned that she had returned to Hong Kong, where her parents operated a church. At that time, Hong Kong was still outside Communist China’s grip.
Ms. Norris was the first American woman who introduced me to Jesus, to Christmas, and to the idea of a church.
Anna Dee — The Hospital Champlin Who Ministered to and Baptized Me
Between the ages of 20 and 40, I made no real progress in learning more about Jesus. I was not a Christian. I was lost. And then God sent another American woman into my life to guide me.
Anna Dee is the second American lady who shaped my Christian journey. She was serving as a hospital chaplain.
I met her in a small town in Idaho. At that time, I was working as a private teacher for the children of a wealthy family — a job that was extremely stressful. One day, wanting to escape a particularly depressing morning, I took my bike out for a ride and stopped in front of a beautiful building. I saw people dressed nicely walking inside, and I assumed it was some sort of art center.
As I stood at the entrance, unsure of whether to step inside, I heard a gentle, sweet voice behind me say, “After you.” It was Anna Dee. She walked in behind me, smiling, and asked me whether I knew where I was. I shook my head.
“Welcome to church!” she said in a joyful tone.
Church? I thought to myself. I was so blind that I had not even noticed the cross on the front of the building.
From that day on, Anna Dee prayed with me and prayed for me. Later, she baptized me.
Two Great American Ladies, One Faithful God
Looking back now, I see that none of this was an accident. God placed these two women at turning points in my life—one to plant the seed, the other to bring me home. Their faithfulness shaped my life, but it was ultimately God’s grace what transformed my heart. I am forever grateful.
Through these two remarkable American Christian women, God opened a door I had never imagined. “Seek and you will find.” (Matthew 7:7)