Growing up in a Vietnamese Buddhist household, my spirituality was more cultural tradition than personal connection. For years I pursued a career and family without ever asking why. I was building my life on a foundation I had never truly examined.
Everything changed when I learned that I had been adopted, something I had never known before. It felt as though the floor dropped out from under me. The life I thought I understood suddenly felt like a script someone else had written. It was a difficult season, a time of deep uncertainty that left me feeling unanchored. I turned to every self-help tool I could find, but nothing quieted the fear that I did not truly belong anywhere.
In the middle of that struggle, I came across a prayer on social media. In that moment, I felt a warmth and security I cannot fully explain, a sense of being accepted exactly as I was. The next day, I bought a Bible. When the cashier asked if I was “beginning a journey,” I could barely hold back my emotions. For the first time, my search was met with a tangible sense of love.
Lauren, my girlfriend at the time and now my wife, walked with me through this season. Together, we began learning about Christianity, watching sermons, and exploring different perspectives online. We were searching for something true. Eventually, we found a YouTube sermon that resonated deeply with us. To our surprise, the pastor was right here in our community.
That search led us to Pastor Caleb Schultz at Cross of Life. Coming from a non-religious background, we arrived with many questions. Pastor Caleb walked alongside us. Through the Faith Builders program, I came to see the gospel not as a set of rules, but as the good news of Christ.
I learned that my true identity is not found in my past or in unanswered questions about where I came from. It is found in Christ alone. Lauren and I saw the Holy Spirit quietly at work in our lives and our relationship. I was baptized in 2025, and today we are grateful members of the Cross of Life congregation. What began as a desperate search for identity ended with finding a place where I am truly known.
From Andrew Lu, member at Cross of Life in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
