Joy of believing in Christ – Sister Lee Yan Chork

My family used to be farmers. As in the local tradition, ancestral and idol worship are a norm in those days for my parents. After my marriage, I too followed in my parent’s footsteps in ancestral and idol worship at home. Life after marriage is plain and simple, as any couple should be. Whenever I encountered trouble, I would head to the temple to pray. In so doing, these troubles seemed to fade away. My heart, too, seemed to be put at ease.

When my father passed away, my mother started to feel helpless and lonely. Life for her seemed to have lost its colour and meaning. At that point of time, a friend started to bring her to church. Since attending church, my mother became more cheerful and at peace. Her worries and feeling of helpless seemed to have disappeared. Not long after, my mother was baptised. I too followed her to church at times. I saw how the church members showered her with selfless love, visited her at home, brought her on outings. It made me wonder how nice it would be to believe in Christ. Eight years ago when my mother was 92 years old, just one week before she passed away, she told me that she saw heaven. It is a beautiful place and she will be living there. One of the sisters in Christ came to visit her one week later and told my mother: “when death approaches, do not be afraid. We will meet again in heaven.” Not long after that, my mother left for her heavenly home with a smile and in peace while talking to me.

I had personally witnessed the transformation of my mother. The joy she had was both real and great. Her hope for heaven also touched me. I wanted to believe in Christ too. I want to get baptised! Due, however, to my husband’s objections, I had to put off the idea for a while. 2 years ago, my husband collapsed at home due to a blocked vessel. I frantically prayed to God to save him, and God listened to my prayers: he was out of danger and was discharged home soon after. Other than a weaker body, there were no major issues. As his main caregiver, I am physically tired everyday.  I prayed to God for strength, peace and happiness to go through each day.

This year, when I brought up the matter of me becoming a Christian and getting baptised, not only did he agree to it, he too wanted to believe in Christ and wanted to get baptised with me! Thank God! Although I am a sinner, God forgave my sins, made me His child, allowed me to rely on Him, and gave me peace and joy and the hope of heaven. God has given salvation to me and my husband and allowed us to experience His love. How happy it is to believe in Christ!

I do not fear death when I believe in Christ – Brother Ng Liong Fat

My father worked in Sembawang Shipyard. As in the local tradition, ancestral and idol worship are a norm in those days for my parents. After my marriage my wife and I followed in my parent’s footsteps in ancestral and idol worship at home. Life after marriage is plain and simple, as any couple should be. Whenever I encountered trouble, I would head to the temple to pray. By doing this, these troubles seemed to fade away, my heart too, seemed to be put at ease as well.

When my father-in-law passed away, my mother-in-law started going to church. She had become happier and trouble free. My wife, too, followed my mother-in-law to church. She would come back happy, and would share with me how nice is it to believe in Christ. I saw how the brothers and sisters in Christ cared and loved my mother-in-law. However, I thought nothing of it then. Eight years ago when my mother-in-law was 92 years old, one week before she passed away, she told my wife that she saw heaven. It’s a beautiful place and she will be living there. One of the sisters in Christ came to visit her a week later and told my mother-in-law: “When death approaches, do not be afraid. We will meet again in heaven.” Not long after that, my mother-in-law left for her heavenly home with a smile and in peace, while talking to my wife. After that, my heart started to develop an insistent doubt: does heaven really exist?

Two years ago, I collapsed at home due to a blocked vessel, but was saved after emergency rescue measures. During my rehabilitation days, my body is very weak. I have difficulty with mobility, and my wife has to be there for me all the time. I felt so useless then, and death seems to be lingering around me. Since my admission until today, Pastor Andrew Tan from Tree of Life Christian Church and many brothers and sisters had been visiting me, caring for me, and sharing the gospel with me. When sister Lee Wah and sister Chen Ming visited me, they told me that I would experience peace and not be afraid of death if I believed in Christ. That set me thinking of the time of my mother-in–law, when she was so joyful with the hope of heaven when she became a Christian. In my heart, I had already put my trust in God. Once I asked sister Chen Ming, if heaven really existed. When she read to me the Bible’s description of heaven, it gave me even more confidence in believing that heaven exists.

Not long ago, when my wife brought up the subject of baptism, I made up my mind that it was time to get rid of all the idols in the house, and start believing in a true God. The one God that could forgive my sins, save me from being tortured in hell, and give me a hope in heaven. Therefore, I and my wife sought the help of Pastor Andrew to throw away the idols at our home. I believe in God and I want to get baptised! I thank God that my wife and I will have our baptism ceremony on the 29th July 2018 at Tree of Life Christian Church, to finally become children of God. From now onwards God will take care of us, give us peace to overcome the fear of death.