God’s Unique Program of Study

The Time Had Not Yet Come

　　I did not come from a Christian family, however, I am thankful to God that I came to Christ when I was a child. When I was five, my aunt took me to the Children’s Worship Service at her church where I also joined the Children Sunday School. At that time in the Sunday School, there were only 3 children and there were two tutors who taught us passionately. That was when I came to Christ. When I grew up, I went to study engineering at a university in Canada. During the first year, I joined a Winter Conference for Chinese Students of Western Canada. When the speaker asked if anyone was interested in ministry in the marketplace, I responded by raising my hand and walking to the forefront. After that, I was involved in campus fellowship and also served as a volunteer in various Christian organizations. My friends teased me by saying that I took up full-time ministry work and only studied in my spare time. At that time, despite being very busy with the Christian ministry, I experienced the joy of serving God.

　　In my final year at university (which was right before the end of 1999), many people were worried about the coming of the new millennium. Then God reminded me once again that that date will soon arrive and that I should let go of everything and follow him. Then the idea of me working as a full-time minister emerged. That year the speaker of the Vancouver Spiritual Revival Meeting was Dr. Milton Wan. During the final evening of the meeting, I stayed behind to ask him how I could affirm that the voice in my heart was in fact the call of God. He told me to keep praying for God’s verification and leading.

　　After graduation, I returned to Hong Kong and wanted to serve in a Christian organization. However, my family objected. I did not want my parents to feel like I was wasting my degree, so I became a mechanical engineer. But in my heart I always had an urge to serve God through ministry. In 2007, when I was finding it exhausting to travel frequently, I wanted to change my job in order to only work within Hong Kong. It was then that I again thought of going into the Christian ministry, but the time had not yet come according to God’s purpose and time. In fact, He prepared and molded me through a series of incidents.

Learning through Ten Years’ Challenges

　　I met my husband, who is an engineer, while at work. We dated and after three and half years, got married in 2004. I never could have imagined that in the following ten years, I would have to withstand so many struggles in my marriage, family relationships, and in raising children. Soon after our marriage, I discovered that my husband was having emotional problems, and as I got to know his non-Christian parents, I found them difficult to get along with. My son, Enoch, began to have severe eczema which causes his skin to bleed all over within a month of being born. Finally, after the eczema cleared, we discovered that he could not utter a word and was always feeling anxious. We discovered that he is a child with special needs.

　　After many painstaking efforts, when Enoch’s condition began to improve, we bought a home and I became pregnant with a baby girl, Elim. However, just before Elim was born, my husband lost his job. Fortunately, several months later he found another job again. We would have enjoyed this good fortune more if we had known the difficulties ahead! Five months after Elim was born, we discovered that she had neuroblastoma, which is a rare childhood cancer, and the cancer was in its fourth stage. Because of her tender age, all the side effects of the medication quickly emerged. In the worst instance, she had a hepatic vein obstruction which gave rise to an internal hemorrhage. I clasped my daughter tightly as I saw blood coming out of her mouth and nose. Her heart seemed to stop beating. That night, she was admitted into the intensive care unit. As I waited outside, God said to me, “I will have to make signs and wonders.” Sure enough, after two hours of emergency surgery and seven injections of blood clotting medicine, Elim managed to pull through.

　　I thank God that our family was able to have one more year to see Elim grow up, jump, and sing along to the hymns praising God. In fact, the grace of God has never left us. Even though times were tough and my husband once again lost his job, we lacked nothing. After battling cancer in the hospital for one and a half years, Elim went to be with the Lord in August of 2014.

A Radical Change

　　However, the story does not end here. Through Elim, God blessed many people, our family in particular. He also changed my husband, and so I have been blessed to have a husband who supports me and my studies at the Seminary and provides the resources to pay the school fees and meet my other needs during that difficult first year.

　　Over these past ten years, I have experienced a lot and also learned a lot about myself and counseling—about how to make breakthroughs and changes in myself and in counseling other people. Eventually, God helped me understand that changes come not from anything I do but from the power and work of God! When I let go of my own sovereignty to God, He made a radical change in my difficult family life through my daughter’s life journey from illness to being with the Lord.

　　I must thank my heavenly Father for even though I did not come from a Christian family, I came to Christ through children’s Sunday School so that even through those tough times, I could still hold on to God tightly. His gracious hand has never left me, sending angels and pastors to comfort and walk along with me. That is why I long to bring the gospel to children—so that they can clasp God tightly at an early age and know His love throughout their lives. Before I was married, I had taught children’s Sunday School at my mother church, and I loved this ministry post. I love small children, and I know the Lord Jesus Christ, who also loves small children, does not want to lose any of them.

　　Before my daughter got sick, I had known that God called me to devote myself to teaching small children and their parents. Therefore, I enrolled in HKBTS’s Early Childhood Ministry Certificate Program of the Lay Theological Education Department. But because my daughter’s sickness was severe, I had to suspend my studies temporarily and devote all my attention to looking after her. Then interestingly, a brother who arranged the funeral service asked me, “Have you thought of becoming a pastor?” I readily answered him, “I have already been preparing myself.”

Sow One More Seed

　　An article from Rev. Rick Warren that talked about his father touched me deeply. On his deathbed, Warren’s father uttered these words for almost a hundred times: “Save one more for Jesus.” I am willing to be a seed-sower for the rest of my life although I do not know when the seeds I sow today will sprout and grow, what I know is that to spread one more seed is one seed more.

　　I was once involved in leading the children’s worship service. I loved this ministry very much. Even if it was not easy to deal with today’s children, I was also pleased to prepare for them each week’s service the best I could. When I prepared the topic, “Jesus called his disciples,” God spoke to me once again, “Let go of everything and follow me.” At that time, I was considering applying to take the Master Program in Family and Marital Therapy. The superficial reason is that children’s problems are mainly originated from their parents and family and I hope to help parents make changes. The underlying reason was that I wanted to have one more professional qualification. I am thankful for the advice from my seminary teachers and friends who helped me to reflect on my consecration oath and once again affirm that teaching children is what God calls me to do.

　　Later, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Milton Wan again and when I told him about entering into a seminary to equip myself for the ministry of teaching children, he then prayed for me. In his prayer, when he mentioned “being children’s spiritual mother,” I could not help bursting into tears. Fifteen years hurriedly passed by. God indeed gave me extra-ordinary experiences in these fifteen years. Although I still do not know how God uses me in the days to come, I know for sure that God helps me find great meanings in these experiences, which can be of further use for His ministry.

　　Today I learn to live for God, not for fame, status, or the sake of learning; learn to trust in the Lord, straining to fulfill what He wants me to do. I am willing to bear in mind the word of God: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.” (Pr 3:5-8)