Jing Wei* clutches a small Bible, opened to Romans 8:28. Through an interpreter, his softly spoken words assert: "I believe God is true, God loves us and I believe all things work together for our good".
Jing Wei fled to Australia after being imprisoned several times in China for involvement in Christian activity.
He recalls his whole Bible study group was arrested one night, and he was detained alone for two weeks in a small cell containing only a small bowl for a toilet.
"At the beginning, when I was first put in detention, I thought, "Why didn't God help me and put me in that situation?'," he says. "Two or three days later, I thought of Bible stories and I believed God also had a good plan for me."
Jing Wei " a factory worker " says he "worried that if I continued living in China, there would be more trouble and pain".
Entering Australia in July 2005 with false documents " a tactic Sydney Anglican Villawood volunteer John Fry says many have to use to escape " he was sent to Villawood Detention Centre weeks later for working without a permit.
He appreciated the freedom he had in Villawood to read the Bible during his two years and seven months there and attended Mr Fry's Next Steps program on Australian life and culture. "But it was also difficult " there was a lot of pressure in that situation because I didn't know when I would be released."
Jing Wei was released on March 3 with a temporary protection visa soon to become permanent.
As he walked out of Villawood, he says he was "delighted and I was also determined to follow God all my life."
He now works full-time, is a member of a Chinese church and says the transition into Sydney life has not been difficult, due to the sizeable Chinese community here.
"I don't worry that the police are going to catch me anymore," he says.
"I am studying the Bible very hard and I hope one day God will help me to spread the good news."
However his fears continue for his wife and three children who remain in China, just getting by with the basic essentials.
"I believe they will join me here one day," he says.
* Not his real name
