BAPTISM TESTIMONIES II

I Am Living a Life with Greater Purpose and Meaning

I was born in 1991 to a non-Christian family. My father is an atheist, while my mother is a Taoist. My two siblings and I grew up as freethinkers, though we occasionally accompanied our mother to a Taoist Guan Yin temple. Having attended a Catholic girls’ school from Primary One to Secondary Four, I had some, though minimal, exposure to teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. That was when I had some understanding of God. I had always felt that there was an almighty God who was in control of the world, but I also questioned whether or not it was a Christian God. I had always believed that everything happens for a reason – a reason that possibly only God knows. Yet, despite this, I made no effort to find out more about Christianity and did not put much thought into it since it seemed to be something absurd that would never be approved of in my family. Furthermore, what hindered me from learning more about the Christian faith were the many poor examples of Christians I knew. It gave me the thought that I was better than them and that I was less of a sinner, even without being a Christian.

In January 2014, a close friend invited me to Calvary Pandan B-P Church for a Sunday service and I agreed to it despite being skeptical initially. It was an eye-opening experience as it was my first time attending a worship service in a Protestant church. I continued to attend Sunday services fortnightly and sometimes attended Sunset Gospel Hour. I could only attend worship services fortnightly as my parents were not happy with the idea of me attending church, and I did not want to displease them. I had doubts and questions, but the Holy Spirit was already starting to work in my heart and mind and giving me the desire to learn more about the gospel. Slowly, I learnt that I was a sinner, just like the poor examples of Christians I knew. I learnt how self-righteous I was to have thought that I was superior to them. I learnt that I too have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and I realised and felt the need to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour.

Despite knowing in my heart that I was ready to accept Christ as my Lord and Saviour, I was apprehensive as I was filled with worries regarding my family’s reaction to my choice. I thought of the possibility of my parents disapproving and disowning me, and thought of how my siblings would ridicule me. Such thoughts dampened my spirits and I was in a state of despair and helplessness. I then came across a verse while scrolling through the Holy Bible app on my mobile phone. It was a verse that brought about a major turning point in my life—“Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.” (Ps 62:8). It was then that I realised how futile it was to fill my mind with such worries and negative thoughts. Worrying about such problems was pointless. It greatly moved me when I realised how all I had to do was to pray to God unceasingly and to trust in Him. That day, I repented of my sins and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour.

Having accepted Christ, I knew I had to tell my parents about it. I prayed about it every day and finally garnered up enough courage to tell them after several days. As expected, my mother was extremely upset and angry when I first told her. That in turn made me very upset as well. However, each time I prayed about it and asked God to soften my mother’s heart, I would receive peace and comfort in my heart knowing that He would lead the way. I am grateful that God has been extremely gracious to me. It turned out that my worries had indeed been pointless, and my parents and siblings are increasingly accepting of my faith. For instance, sometimes my mother would fetch me to the nearest MRT station so that I would not be late for morning service. This is a stark contrast from the first day she found out about my new faith. Such incidents have conveyed very clearly to me that God is watching over me and that He listens to my prayers, and knowing this indeed fills my heart with gratitude.

Ever since God’s merciful providence in my life, I know I am living a life with greater purpose and meaning. I spend time praying and giving thanks to God each day. Before accepting Christ as my Lord and Saviour, I used to complain a lot and was very pessimistic. Now I have learnt to be grateful to God for the good and even for the bad I have received in life, and have learnt to pray and trust in Him during difficult times. I started attending True Life B-P Church since July 2014 and by God’s grace, I have been able to attend weekly YPF meetings where I have the chance to study God’s Word and deepen my faith through insightful messages and sharing sessions with fellow brethren.

Just a week after professing my faith in Jesus Christ, I was offered a job I liked, after months of sending out resumes and attending interviews. I had prayed about it and was extremely grateful that God had heard my prayers and answered me. As I entered the company, I learnt that a majority of my bosses and colleagues are Christians and that they have weekly fellowship meetings. Finding out about this greatly moved me, as I knew this was part of God’s plan for me as a new believer to strengthen my faith and for me to continue to grow in Him. Indeed, I had learnt a lot from my fellow Christian brethren at work through the sharing we had during fellowship meetings.

As a new believer, I know that there is still a lot for me to learn and I am having a growing desire to study God’s word and to continuously strengthen my faith. As such, I have started attending a night class at FEBC this semester. God willing, I pray that I will be able to attend more classes over time and that I will study God’s word increasingly fervently. I also pray that God will continue to lead me and guide me by His perfect word. Lin Ziqian

I Realised I Must Know God More

I was born in Vietnam to a staunch Taoist family. Since young I would go to the temple with my family the first and 15^th day of every lunar month to pray for safety, success, and happiness. I would pray earnestly with joss sticks and all the offerings I could afford, thinking to gain blessings from my ancestors and the idols I prayed to. In 1995 I met my husband, York Chiu, who was then working in Hanoi. He was a born-again Christian. I heard the gospel because he shared it with me. Also, at his asking I sought out a Christian church in Hanoi (Hanoi Evangelical Church) and accompanied him to the services there. As the sermons were in Vietnamese, often I had to interpret them for him in English. Nevertheless my ears were closed to the gospel as I always thought that there was nothing wrong with my life and my religion. I thought as long as I continue to do good deeds I will be blessed and surely would go to heaven. But in 1996, the LORD moved my heart and I received Jesus as my Saviour when my husband shared the gospel with me again. My eyes were opened to the fact that we are all sinners. I realised that often I was sinning even without me realising it. We only deserved hell and that whatever good or whatever righteousness we can do are but filthy rags before God. But with God there is help. For salvation is by grace. Jesus paid for our sins with His blood. He died and rose again the third day to give us eternal life. The only way to have forgiveness for sin is to receive Christ and let him wash away our sins. In late 1996 I was baptised in a private baptism ceremony at the Hanoi Evangelical Church.

Since receiving Christ as my Lord and Saviour, my life has had many ups and downs. Being a foreigner settling down in Singapore 17 years ago took me a lot of courage. Adapting to the new environment, setting up family, getting a job and finally starting my own retail business about seven years back, took a lot of sacrifices and adjustments. Especially after the opening of my third shop I encountered a lot of difficulties. But instead of leading to questions about God’s goodness, I thank Him that the trials I faced had strengthened my faith as I saw how wonderfully God blesses and provides at crucial moments. “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble…” (Nah 1:7). All in all, I thank God that He was always there with me whether in good times or difficult times. Isaiah 41:10-11 says, “Fear thou not as I am your God…” was always close to my heart. I thank God that over the last two years my business is going well. But the more of God’s blessings I see in my business, the more sinful I felt as I realised I have not done much for Him. I realised I must know Him more. I want to know His will, to follow Him closely, to serve Him, to trust Him and rely on Him more. For Jesus said, “I am the vine, ye are my branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5). Seek God first; trust in Him; rely on Him; know more about Him. That should be the way. Sarah Le Nguyet Ho

I am Saved and a Child of God

I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour in 2013 when I was 8. I remember it was Aunty Jenny who prayed the Sinner’s Prayer with me after Sunday School one Sunday. My parents were so happy that day. And I was very happy that my parents are Christians and they brought me to church. I thank God that my parents often told me about the Gospel before that, even though I did not really understand then. There were many times I asked my father if I were to die would I go to heaven or go to hell, and he would tell me, “If you believe in Jesus Christ who died for our sins, you will go to heaven.” And one Sunday after church my father asked Aunty Jenny if she could explain the Gospel to me again. She did and that day I accepted Jesus as my Saviour. I was very happy. Now I am sure I am saved and I am a child of God. Now when I am nervous about something, like when I was taking my exams, I can pray to God. And I would feel better after that because I know He loves me and hears my prayers. I do not feel lonely anymore because I know that God is there with me wherever I am. My parents and my Sunday School teachers always teach me that God hates sin. So I try very hard to be careful about what I do or say. I want to make God proud by studying well and becoming a good Christian. Cherie Ng Yi Ning