In the name of our Lord Jesus, I bear testimony of His wonderful grace in my journey of faith. Being a believer in the True Jesus Church has been the most precious thing in my life and truly the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus.
1. How I came to be a member of the True Jesus Church
I was introduced to the True Jesus Church by my Primary 6 teacher, Ms Ang, at the end of 1968. Ms Ang was a member of the True Jesus Church at Peel Road, Kuala Lumpur. She was a very likeable person—caring, gentle and kind—a person with the “fragrance of Christ” and this was the very thing about her that attracted my classmates and me. It was the final day of our primary school term, and the following year, we would be moving on to a new secondary school. We thought we would never be able to see our class teacher again. So, a group of my classmates and I asked Ms Ang how we could keep in contact. Ms Ang replied that she goes to the True Jesus Church at Peel Road, and that we could meet her there. Out of our eagerness to meet up with her, a few of my classmates and I went and that was the first time I stepped into the True Jesus Church.
I started truth-seeking in the True Jesus Church when I was in Form 1 back in 1969. My classmates and I (five of us) attended a “newcomers” class where we learnt more about the basic doctrines of the True Jesus Church. This was also the beginning of my difficult early teenage years. I come from an idol-worshipping family and my parents were in the business of selling joss sticks, and other paraphernalia for idol-worship. Hence, my parents scolded me, and of course, forbade me from dabbling in Christianity. Despite the strong opposition, I was drawn to the True Jesus Church, so I often had to tell “white lies`’ in order to go to church on Saturdays. At that time, my parents thought that Christians only went to church on Sundays. So, on Saturday afternoons, I would dress in school uniform and tell my mum that I had extra-curricular activities in school to attend. When I arrived at church, I would change into casual attire and when it was time to go home, I would change into my school uniform. During that time, my classmates and I were fervently seeking God. I remembered that even during the weekdays, we would go to church immediately after school hours to pray on our own! I envied the other members who could go to church so freely and joyously with their families. On the other hand, I had to lie to go to church secretly, “play hide-and-seek” with my parents and endure misery at home. I was only 13–14 years old then, and I pondered why I had to suffer like that. Why not just forget about the True Jesus Church and follow my parents? I would be happier without so much anxiety and scolding.
At home, my prayer place was the bathroom. I would turn on the tap water (so that the sound of running water would muffle my voice) and then kneel on the bathroom floor to pray for God’s mercy and grace. Usually, after prayers, I would feel much more comforted and deep inside my heart, I know that there is a true God. I could not see Him, but I could feel His presence, care and love. Despite the difficult environment, I had peace in my heart. Then I came up with a prayer plan—I prayed to God to change me to become a better person, to be a good and filial daughter so that my mum could see how good it was to be a Christian. This went on for 2–3 years. I guessed by then, my parents had turned a blind eye to my going to church. Years later, my mum related to me that she had asked my brother to spy on me to find out where I went and what I did.
I felt like an “outsider`’, especially during the Holy Communion. I was not a member of the True Jesus Church, and I could not partake in the Holy Communion. By then, after 4 years of truth-seeking, I decided I was old enough to get baptised. So, I put this matter into prayer, that God would open the heart of my mum to allow me to be baptized in the True Jesus Church. One day, I decided to ask for her permission to be baptised. After prayer, I approached my mum but the moment I saw her, I froze up and retreated to my room. I prayed but again froze up when I was about to approach my mum again. Then I scolded myself— “Have faith in God, have courage. Just trust Him!”. So, after the third prayer, I plucked up the courage to go to my mum and asked her directly, “Mum, can I get baptised in church?” To my surprise, my mum responded,” Ok, when is your baptism? I’ll come and see you!” It was so wonderful! No scolding, no opposition—I was overjoyed! I was finally baptised in 1972 by the late Dn. Peter Chin in a river in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. I truly thank the grace of God for sustaining me during those years. Some of my classmates who were with me have left the church because of the same strong opposition from their parents. I remember one of them had even received the Holy Spirit.
On reflection, Ms Ang did not preach to us. Instead, it was her good personality which was like the fragrance of Christ that brought my classmates and me to God. This is as what is written in Matthew 5:16 that we should be like a light that shines before men so that when others see our good deeds, they will praise the Heavenly Father. Secondly, as I was alone and facing many difficulties in my early days while truth-seeking, the fellowship and love of the brethren were a great comfort and strength for me. Thirdly, being involved in church work also gave me a sense of belonging and fellowship in the Lord. I would diligently stack Bibles and hymn books after services, sweep floors before and after service, and other tasks that I could find in church.
2. God’s care during my pregnancy
After my marriage, I had some difficulty in childbearing because of a medical condition called, endometriosis. Finally, after five years, I could conceive. During the second to third month of my pregnancy, I had an ultrasound scan done during the routine check-up. The screen showed a clear image of a tiny foetus but upon further probing, there was a distinct image of a big cyst near the foetus. I was very worried and asked the gynaecologist for advice. The doctor told me that he would do another ultrasound scan the following month. If the cyst persisted and grew, he would have to abort the foetus as the growing cyst inside me would endanger my life. So, for the entire month, I prayed earnestly for God’s mercy and received the laying of hands by the ministers during prayer sessions in church.
The following month, I went for the follow-up ultrasound examination. Thank God, the uterine cyst had simply disappeared. Instead, the foetus was growing bigger and I could even see the image of its pulsating heart! God’s grace is wonderful! Later, when I was in my seventh month of pregnancy. I noticed some bleeding. Immediately, I went to the hospital for a check-up. Thank God, the gynaecologist said it was nothing serious and that it was probably due to some polyps (small cysts) on the uterine wall. The doctor just made some incisions to remove the polyps. Praise the Lord for His mercy and for giving me a beautiful and healthy son.
(To be cont.)
