From Kuldja to Canada: A remarkable journey of faith and perseverance

Irene Goossen’s life story is one of resilience, loss, and unwavering faith. The Elim Village Garrison Crossing resident was born in 1932 in Kuldja, a city in the Uyghur region of China, to Mennonite immigrants who had already endured profound upheaval. Her parents were from Kyrgyzstan and fled to China following the Russian Revolution, hoping eventually to cross the Himalayan mountains into India and make their way to Canada. That plan never came to pass, and instead, they began again in an unfamiliar land.

Against all odds, Irene arrived in Canada in 1948 as part of a small group of refugees granted entry during a time when the country had closed its doors to many. Now, decades later, she reflects on a life shaped by perseverance and a deep trust in God’s provision.

What do you remember about your childhood in Kuldja?

It was hard. We were refugees in a foreign country, just our little group with no other Mennonites around. I grew up among the Uyghur people and spoke their language. They were very kind to us. My father was a teacher, but when I was six years old he was arrested in the middle of the night. I was in bed and woke up with a gun in my face. I had to walk to the prison to bring him food and one day when I brought the food they wouldn’t take it. They took him back to Russia and later we learned that he was found innocent, but executed anyway in 1943.

When did your family leave Kuldja?

We were under city arrest but in 1946, there was a war and they gave the government to the Uyghurs for about four months. My mother asked whether we could leave and they said yes, but we had to leave in three days. She had the wagon ready, everything packed, and the first 500 kilometers we walked. It took about three weeks. We slept outside and sometimes we woke up covered in frost. My mother hired a flatbed truck to take us through the Gobi Desert. We didn’t have water, and at one point the radiator went dry. The driver got out a bucket and we all had to pee in it. He used that until we got to water. I don’t know where our pee came from, because we had no water to drink. I always say it was God that did all this. I have nothing else to say.

What happened when the truck arrived?

My mom had no money so the driver wouldn’t let us off the truck. Finally, my mother went to look for help. It was dark, and when she didn’t come I got worried. All of a sudden, she showed up with a priest and three nuns. They spoke Chinese and told the guy his money would be there in the morning. She had found the Catholic church, and they all spoke German. They contacted the China Inland Mission who said, “the money is here for them. We’re just waiting for these people.” Now, if that isn’t God, I don’t know what is. I thought the heavens had opened and God had just dropped this money down. So the truck driver let us go and we went to the China Inland Mission in Lanzhou.

How long did you stay in Lanzhou?

We stayed for two months and then we took a bus. We had a sick lady on the bus and she died, but they couldn’t stop the bus anywhere. It was really a bad trip and I was so scared. At one point, we got to the top of a mountain and the bus couldn’t switch gears and was rolling back. We were all very quiet because we knew what was going to happen. All of a sudden, I just see this whoosh, and the bus stopped. There is no way, humanly speaking, but my uncle went through the window and found a rock, put it behind the wheel, and the bus stopped. We were right on the edge. Eventually, the bus got going again, and we came to Hsian. There was a mission there, but they refused to help us. But God has other helpers. A Chinese army officer took us to a restaurant and got us train tickets. We wanted to thank him, but we couldn’t find him. I always call him my Chinese angel. The train was full and people were hanging from everywhere so we got in the coal car. When we got to Kaifeng, there were two MCC workers to meet us. After that, our life was much better, and we finally made it to Shanghai.

Is that when you were able to leave China?

Yes, but in Shanghai, when the ship was in harbour, all our papers were stolen. We thought, now what? My mother said, “we’ll have a prayer meeting.” So we had a prayer meeting and we got on the ship. In 1997, we went to Kansas for a reunion with the MCC workers and they told us what happened. John Friesen, our MCC worker, went to the American Embassy and said, I’m not moving till you promise me you’ll have all these papers done in two days. We were on the ship for about 21 days. We stopped in Hong Kong and Manila and then we came to San Francisco. From there, we took the train and a representative of the MCC met us and we went to our sponsors, the Giesbrechts, in Yarrow. We arrived in Canada on April 22nd, 1948. That was another miracle. Canada didn’t accept any refugees in 1948. Our little group was the only one that came through. When we came to Vancouver at one in the morning, some people from the MB church took us to a church to thank the Lord that we arrived safely in Canada.

What did you think of Canada when you arrived?

I was just in shock. The next morning when I woke up, I saw these milk cans outside and I asked, isn’t anybody stealing them? They said, no, they’ll be fine. Where I came from, if it wasn’t nailed down, it was gone. The Giesbrechts had a farm in Arnold. The first summer we lived in a shack and the first winter we lived in a chicken coop, but we were happy to be here.

How did you meet your husband?

Our families knew each other in Kuldja, China. When he was 20, he worked at the American Army Airport in Shanghai and he drove the VIPs around. One day, he was allowed to have a Jeep, so he came and gave all of us a ride and asked me to sit in front. I was only 14. We all went to an American movie and I sat next to him. The next day he tried to kiss me and I ran away. Then for three years, there was nothing. He was in Alberta and went to Bible school, and I was here. One day I felt that I should send him a Christmas card and he sent a letter back and said, “you know exactly how I feel about you.” Later, I found out he had put out a fleece to the Lord, saying if I would send a Christmas card then that meant we would get married. When this letter came, I knew in my heart that I was supposed to marry him. In summertime he came and proposed and I said yes and we got engaged. He went back to Alberta and nine months later he came back and we got married. I was 18. He had a good job at a ranch in Alberta and after we got married they hired him back and they built a house for us. Our three children were born in Bassano, Alberta. Eventually, we decided to move and most of our married life we lived in Richmond. We were married for 65 years.

How did you come to Elim Village?

When my husband died, my daughter took me here and I just looked around. I didn’t know what to do so I asked the Lord, “What am I supposed to do?” I phoned my kids and said, “We better go and see if there’s a suite left.” Here I am, eight years later. I am happy I came here, and my kids are happy. I have four children, six grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.