Pray that You Will Change Me
An Interview with Student Wong Mui-ling and Brother Mui Tak-man
It Began from a Prayer
A life of stability has been rippled with surge again and again.
In June 2003, God moved Mui-ling to pray this way: “O Lord, I am willing to offer myself up to you, pray that you change me…” She then prayed that she would follow the will of God.
A month later, she and her husband Tak-man went on a sightseeing tour of Greece where they encountered an unforgettable adventure. It happened when they were returning from a small island in the Adriatic Sea to Greece in a cruise liner. After more than an hour’s voyage, the cruise liner began to sway violently sideways, causing Mui-ling to vomit. Many passengers felt seasick and some began to scream in panic. Suddenly, the electric lights and television went out, and even the liner’s engine stopped functioning. The liner was tossed here and there at the mercy of the wind and the waves. In her state of panic, Mui-ling immediately came to associate what was happening with scenes from the movie, Titanic. Tak-man began to console her, saying, “God will take care of us!” At that time, a sense of peace came over Mui-ling’s heart, and she began praying to God and entrusting their lives to Him. Right after the prayer, the captain announced over the intercom that one of the liner’s engines was out of order and the engineers of the liner were busy sorting out the problem. Mui-ling felt grateful for she finally knew what had happened. At that moment, she prayed, “Thank you, Lord, that we finally know what has happened to the liner. If we can safely return to Hong Kong, I am willing to do whatever you want me to do.” Suddenly, when she remembered the passage in Mark 4:35-40 in which Jesus calms the sea, she prayed again, asking the Lord of the sea and the waves for help. Miraculously, after that, the captain issued the message that the engine had been repaired! Mui-ling and Tak-man were then able to return safely to Athens.
Returning to Hong Kong, Mui-ling continued to feel that God was using that particular experience to say something to her. In the following few months, she continually had chances to share the power manifested in that voyage with non-Christians, and she gradually came to realize that God wanted her to devote herself to spreading the gospel. As a result, she enthusiastically joined the outdoor mission team in her church, the Evangelism Explosion III Training Course and a short-term mission trip to the Mainland.
It was not until May 2004 that Mui-ling began thinking about changing her job, after years of working as a structural engineer. This job demanded much of her time and energy, and she always had to court the favor of her supervisor to get a “better project.” Soon, in a Sunday Service in May, the pastor called upon the congregation at the end of his sermon to respond to God’s calling for full time ministry. It seemed more than a causal coincidence that the pastor’s plea came just at the point when she was thinking of seeking a new job. Her heart was beating uncontrollably fast.
Here am I. Send Me!
To affirm that she was responding to God’s will, Mui-ling continued to seek after His guidance through reading the Bible, prayer, fasting and listening to sermons that drew her closer to God. One early morning in June, she woke up at 4 am and began praying silently to God. When she could no longer find anything to pray about, a verse popped in her mind: “Here am I. Send me!” She finally prayed to God, using that verse. Soon after that, she and her husband together joined a summer camp in July. On the last day of the meeting, God helped Miu-ling bring a young man to Christ, and this incident affirmed her conviction that God was calling her into full time Christian ministry.
She responded to God’s calling with a thankful heart. She was especially thankful to God for preparing her husband and her recently converted parents to be her support. She said, “I have been waiting for years for my parents to become Christians. It is beyond my wildest expectation that they committed themselves to Christ right at the time when God called me! I am the only child in my family. If my parents are non-Christians, I am afraid that would put additional obstacles on the path of my commitment to God’s calling. Thank God that He has paved the way before I received His call. I am truly thankful for my parents’ acceptance of Christ and support for me. In fact, they have always been eager to nurture me with love and care, but now they do not even utter a single complaint because I have given up my profession.”
Mui-ling embarked upon the path of full time ministry and began studying in the M.Div. program in the Seminary in August 2005. She had already resigned from her job at the end of the year to have time to prepare herself for seminary study. Ever since answering God’s calling, Mui-ling has experienced quite a number of changes and so has Tak-man.
The Couple Went Through Experiences Together
Tak-man understood well that Mui-ling was to embark upon a road that would demand that the couple make adjustments and go through new experiences together. What he had to face first was that a major source of family income would stop. Tak-man said, “We were not too worried about family finances. Come what may, we only felt that if we have more, we can spend more; otherwise, we will just spend less.” But then God is a wonderful God. As a secondary school teacher who has been working for several years, Tak-man suddenly got a promotion soon after God had called his wife. Since these two incidents had happened almost at the same time, we saw how God prepares and cares for His children.”
What Tak-man also had to face was Mui-ling’s commuting problem. After returning from school, Mui-ling would always have to immerse herself in her homework assignments. What is more, as they live in Tin Shui Wai, it took Mui-ling three hours to commute between the Seminary and home so that her transportation alone made her weary. The couple had to make a decision: Mui-ling would stay overnight at the Seminary for one or two nights each week.
Tak-man shared his own feelings, “She is always busy with her homework, and we have talked about this more than once. Is it because she sets an extra high standard for herself? Is it a time management problem? On the one hand, I want her to lower her standard, but on the other hand, I understand that it is hard to change her way of thinking. After all, she has always expectations for herself and others also share these expectations of her. These expectations become her pressures and thus her driving force. During this semester, she stays in the Seminary for two nights each week, and I think this will reduce her commuting time and allow her to concentrate more on her studies. When she returns home, we can eat and talk together. We then have more quality time and thus treasure our time together. Of course, this is just my rational calculation, since I am a “home-alone solitary teacher” who cannot help but feeling lonely! But I always remind myself: just two evenings. Then too I must remember that it is not just my wife’s decision to pursue seminary study but our mutual commitment.”
Mui-ling talked about her deepened understanding of her husband, “Our lives have changed dramatically. Through all the changes I can see he can be so considerate. Going back home after school, he always make sure whether I will be busy that evening before deciding where to eat out. When I am really busy with my homework, he would choose a light supper. Through such thoughtful acts, I feel my husband’s support and understanding.”
Taking Up the Post of Chairperson of Student Union
Mui-ling took up the post of Chairperson of the Student Union this year, and this is something neither she nor Tak-man had anticipated. Tak-man said, “She is shy by nature and she has never been a leader. This time some students had nominated her to be the chairperson and she has even agreed. This is really not an accident! I believe that through this serving post, God is preparing and changing her so that when she becomes a minister, she can take up a leadership role. At first, when she discussed this with me, I was worried that she would be extra busy. But after weighing gains and losses, I realized she should treasure this opportunity of refined training even before finishing seminary and entering her full time Christian ministry.”
Mui-ling, agreeing with her husband, explained, “I think these three years of seminary study should not just be confined to studying alone but should involve more participation and service in the campus. I was the Missions Officer in the Student Union last year, and this year, through my own prayer, and through the corroboration from my classmates, I could affirm that it was God’s will that I should be the Chairperson. I dared not evade my calling but needed to submit to His will.”
Once Mui-ling takes up the office of Chairperson of Student Union, it is probable that her time with Tak-man will be further cut short. She made it clear that she needed to discuss this with her husband. “When I first decided to resign earlier from my former job to prepare myself, I discussed my decision with Tak-man. I felt that through the cruise ship crisis God had reminded me that it is not God’s will that she walks life’s road alone. In that crisis, she was reminded that God had given her a husband of strong compassion to walk with her. Even if her call has been affirmed to be God’s will, the couple should experience God’s guidance together. That is why when I later sent in my application, selected subjects of study, learned time management and was nominated for Chairperson, I discussed each of these steps with him.”
From the Change of Environment to the Change of Life
Tak-man similarly realized that they as a couple needed to seek God’s will together. By nature he likes stability, and yet God continually challenges his wife and him to make major changes in their lives and their life style.
Tak-man has marveled at how God has changed his wife. He said, “God allows her to exhibit her inner firm and unyielding character. I could not have imagined that she would dare to be the Chairperson of the Student Union, or the instructor of the Boys’ Brigade in her practicum church. I could only advise her, based on my years of teaching experience, not to teach youngsters because I was afraid that she could not handle them. However, it is God who is sending her out and allowing her to manage them properly! God has also taught her how to care about others and be more sensitive to their needs.”
Tak-man goes on to say, “God not only has changed Mui-ling but has also changed me. This school year, God has led me to leave my former school where I have taught for ten years and switch to a secondary school at Tung Chung. I have been teaching in a well-established secondary school with students scoring fairly on high public examinations, and I have assumed that this is what I deserve in exchange for my hard work. How could I ever imagine that God first allowed me to get a promotion in my former school and then one year later led me to transfer to this new school as a pioneer teacher? Now I am teaching students from complicated family backgrounds and in need of much personal counseling. With fear and trembling, I took up the challenge of this new job, but I am amazed to find that as long as we walk on God’s road, God gives us the strength to shoulder our responsibility. What Mui-ling and I have experienced helps us to see God’s sovereignty and the way God governs throughout all the changes.”
Mui-ling has also felt that her seminary study has broadened her vision and knowledge of the Christian faith. At the same time, her spiritual life has also grown. She said, “In the past I seldom thought in depth about problems in theology and my faith, but now each course I take demands that I should give serious thought to integrating theology with my daily life. After taking various subjects, I have come to understand that they are all important. I should set up a good foundation on these different subjects so that in the future, when I minister to brothers and sisters, I can help them face various problems. On the other hand, even if in the seminary’s spiritual environment, there are times when I face my own struggles and depression. In the tug-of-war between various spiritual forces, my faith will continue to be tested, but I can learn to submit to God’s sovereignty.”
Only Blessings and No Fear
Right after Mui-ling responded to God’s call, she and Tak-man began to experience changes, one after another but in it all, God was able to bless them through all the changes. At first, when Mui-ling was faced with God’s call, she was worried that once she embarked on the road to full time ministry, her husband might also face tests from God. However, God soon assured her with His own words, “The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and He adds no trouble to it.” (Prv 10:22)
From the moment of God’s call until now, their once stable life has rippled with surges of change again and again. But each of the surges and each of the changes is governed by God’s hand – and His hand gives only blessings and never trouble.
To everyone who is willing to be changed by God, one’s life is always subject to surges, but each change brings new opportunities for God’s blessings.