The story:
It's been 2 year and 6 days since my baptism, and on this significant moment as the church crossed into its 25th year, I think I'd just like to share a little about how wonderful God has been to me over the eventful year of 2010. A year ago when I was still an employee in Cocoa Tree, I came up to share once, about the little incident on monetary matters. God was good and faithful to me- my sentiment back then was, " God is so good to us that it's almost natural for us to have at least one thanksgiving everyday as long as we choose to acknowledge." That mentality, I am grateful to say that our Lord has imprinted it hard upon my heart, that every week as I attended Poiema, despite the kinds of tiredness and the bad things that may have happened over the week, I would still be able to give thanks to Him. By that, I can only say that those moments, it has really been His grace and mercy that seen me through numerous ugly moments- such as a back injury in BMTC, a spiritual encounter in Thailand while doing Serve, yet came through each of them unscathed, or at times even stronger than before. God is still very good and faithful to me.
For many, 2010 is an exceptional year of changes, especially for the new batch of pre-U school leavers. The lot of us from All Saints, some have gone for NS, while others have gone for further studies. As such, we had to deal with many tough decisions. For myself, one such was the signing of the contract that will ultimately tie me to the force for an additional 3 years on top of my NS liability. My time in OCS had not been the best time because I experienced confidence-shattering moments and at some point of time, relationship problems. I couldn't really adapt to life in MIDS wing as a Navy Officer Cadet. Til today, I've completed close to 5 months of the extended course. Situation has improved since then, but what followed is a period of uncertainty. Now, I'm facing the dilemma of an OOC (out of course) possibility because of a suspected heart disease, which came out of nowhere. Initially, I was boasting to many that I can finally "get back my life", but as that possibility was confirmed, I didn't quite like the sound of it. As of now, my life is simply filled with a lot a lot of uncertainties, but one verse speaks to me aptly: Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." For that, I thank God for His faithfulness, comfort, assurance, and His wonderful promises!
2010 also marks a significant milestone, not only in my life, but that of my entire family as well. I've had come from a Buddhist-Taoist family background. Christianity was nothing more than an alien subject before the wonderful inclusion of my best friend Joel in my life 3 years ago. As a new Christian, I was really on fire, and I brought many people to church, but my closest kins were never part of the consideration. I never though about bringing my sister, nor my mother, nor my dad. There've been moments when the church staffs told me to pray about it, but I merely nodded it off, perhaps still unable to comprehend the reality of hell back then. But the beginning of this year, maybe because of Serve, I sense something different. In the past, sharing about God's Word within the family had never been easy, and the best that I could muster were really many failed attempts. But because of Serve, my sister became envious of my involvement in church work (from my facebook photos) and subsequently my 7 days- mission trip to BanChang Thailand. I believe that was the trigger, and together with the improved relationship that I have with her, church invitation became one of the most common topic whenever we had HTHT. God continued to soften her heart and that only served as an encouragement and affirmation for me to press on.
Then, there was Insomnia, during which the relentless attempt finally paid off and my sister gave the nod. She came,enjoyed herself, and perhaps for the first time in her life, she experienced something different, unlike even the churches that she has gone before. At the same time, my commitment in camp didn't permit me to have time to follow up on my sister's progress, and I am guilty. Occasionally, when I felt like it I would have sort of like a mini bible study with my sister over the weekend, but that only remained at occasional basis, hence the guilt. For that, I thank God for Aunt Stephanie who is now my sister's Godma. Ask Gerry and you might find out how uneasy I was when my sister first came to church, but I had to be absent. But because of Aunt Steph, I learnt to commit. Even when I went away for my 3 weeks voyage, I knew my family was in good hands, and that God was watching over them. Earlier on, on the 10th October 2010, my sister got baptised in the Lord's name and joined the big family of All Saints English congregation. That same week, my mom got baptised too at the Chinese Congregation after reading the Chinese bible I got her during Mother's Day this year.
It had seemed impossible before, but our God is all-powerful. Right before my own eyes, I witnessed the transformation of 2 lives. As of now, I am still reaching out to my dad subtly, but I continue to trust in His timing. For all these, together with the small daily encouragement, I thank God for who He is!