Homecoming – Brother Feng Hai Xuan

My father was a doctor and my mother a midwife. both were Christians. My maternal grandfather was also a pastor. Thus, I grew up in a Christian family and believe in the existence of God and heaven. Deep down inside me, I knew that only by believing in Jesus could our sins be forgiven, and that God would protect our family and give us peace and happiness. From the time I was a child my parents taught me to be forgiving, patient and resilient. As far as I could remember, my parents never fought. They were always gentle to their patients and were popular among their peers. Our family went through major changes during the cultural revolution. My maternal grandfather became sick due to the constant harassment and passed away.

My parents were persecuted as intellectuals which knocked out all my mother’s teeth. My father survived due to the power of the Bible and God’s grace. After the cultural revolution I graduated from the university and became a secondary school teacher. Life gradually became better. In China there is no freedom in worshipping God. My parents had to read the Bible and memorise the Lord’s Prayer in secrecy. My wife was brought to Christ by my mother, and she started organising fellowship meetings at home with five other sisters-in-Christ. Pastor Xing from another province even came to baptise them. Although the church in China was established in 1998, it is the Three-Self Patriotic Church, which was under the strict governance of the central government. This was also the main reason why we were hesitant in being baptised then.

Since coming to Singapore, I understood a lot of truths under the guidance of Pastor Andrew Tan. I truly believe that only Jesus can save me. Spiritual growth and salvation come from total dependence on God. Therefore, I decide to be baptised in Singapore at Tree of Life Christian Church, and to be part of the Church, as well as be a child of God. Amen!

Jesus is with Me Always – Sister Han Yan

I grew up in a non-Christian family. My family members engaged in ancestor worship. This was the very reason that my marriage to my husband was faced with serious objections because he comes from a Christian family. Eventually, however, we got married. I had gotten myself married into a “God believing” family. After marriage I too became a Christian under the influence of my parent-in-laws. I knew that I could only be saved by God. I have a sense of security with God in my heart. There was no church in our small town. So, I started a family fellowship with five other sisters-in-Christ. I thank Pastor Xing from the province in giving us immense support. In June 1998 some of us were baptised. This made us servants of God. Thank God! In 2005 our fellowship had increased to 50 members. With offerings from our brothers and sisters-in-Christ, as well as a sister from Hong Kong, we managed to acquire a 60 square metre plot of land.

With it we built a two-storey building to serve as our church premises. We named it “Peng Lai Christian Church.” Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Thank God for preserving our family. All is well. In 2006 Hainan encountered one of the worst typhoons. When a category 12 typhoon was set to come to shore that night my husband was still driving outside. The typhoon had caused serious damages with fierce storms and strong winds. Trees were uprooted which caused traffic to come to a halt. Houses around the town were lifted. Even the electricity supply was cut off. I had no way to contact my husband. I could only kneel to pray and asked God to protect him while the typhoon was creating havoc. The next day, when I went out to inspect the damages, I found the town being ripped apart with debris everywhere. Nothing, however, happened to our house, and my husband returned home safely! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! When my husband recounted last night’s encounter, I was totally shocked. He was driving back home when the typhoon landed. Trees around him were falling down like dominos. Just when he thought that he was stuck and would be crashed any minute by another fallen tree, a brightly lit path appeared at his right. He instantly drove into it and stopped at where the light ended. He was shrouded in darkness from the surrounding and did not know where he was. He could only stay in the car and wait. When he woke up in the car the next morning, he was shocked to find that his car was in the only flat ground within that area. He felt something in his heart and knew that God was protecting him from all these dangers. From that day onwards, he truly believed in God. But for some reason he was still hesitant about being baptised.

Now, however, he is willing to be baptized. My daughter and I feel very happy. How could he not treasure the love that God gave to him? I hope that he would continue to grow in the Lord. Amen!

Jesus Loves Me. Therefore, I am Blessed – Sister Feng Jing

I grew up in a Christian family. My grandparents were both Christians. Burning joss sticks and praying to ancestors were all done by “the others” but never by our family. But in a traditional Chinese family unit residing in a small town, this was practically unthinkable! As a child, I knew Jesus to be our Saviour from my grandparents, and we are to follow God for generations to come. As there were no churches in my hometown, I followed my auntie to be baptised in a church in another province when I was 13 years old, and when I was studying there. There, I declared before the crowd that I believe in Jesus, and am willing to let Him be the Lord of my life and to follow Him all my life.

With God’s grace, I passed the university interview in 1998, and came to Singapore to study nursing with a scholarship. Others may find this strange: why would a medical student downgrade herself to study nursing instead? In fact, however, I did not want my parents to worry about money that they had to pay for my four years in medical school. That said, however, others may think that being able to study overseas is a cool thing. But there is nothing cool about it to me. I had never thought of being separated such a long distance from my parents, and to study in a country which is totally foreign to me. On the day I was set to depart, my parents left me with two things: the instruction to find a church to worship, and the RMB $500 that my father scrapped out for me.

There was no need to search hard for a church in Singapore. It found me instead. There were Christians among my mentors, lecturers, classmates and friends. I followed my senior to Calvary Pandan Church in Jurong East for regular worship and Bible study. These helped me grow spiritually. It led me to understand that a true Christian must read the Bible, pray and submit to God. Thus, the salvation of my father, brother and uncle had always been on my mind. They were fortunate to be born into a Christian family. If only they would humble themselves to follow God, they would have eternal life and salvation. Due, however, to many obstacles, they were still pondering about baptism. “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1). “‘Therefore,’ Jesus said again, ‘Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep . . . I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved’” (John 10: 7, 9). And now, my father, Feng Hai Xuan, is willing to enter the door of Jesus’ salvation with the help of Pastor Andrew Tan. I and my mother are tremendously happy. How could we not be happy? My mother and I are willing to transfer our memberships to Tree of Life Christian Church so that we could worship God, study the Bible and walk the path of heaven as a family. Amen!