Sui Hong Bo & Zhang Xin Ping
Brothers and Sisters, Peace be with you, I am Sui Hongbo, and this is my wife Zhang Xinping. Today is Easter· My wife and I decided to be baptised and become Christians. We came into contact with the church very early through Regina, Daniel and Mei-Lin, we got to know many brothers and sisters, and felt the warmth of home. I remember that on November 4, 2020, we asked Regina for a Bible. When we wanted to know God, our lives begin to face challenges.
What made my wife and I want to know Jesus and become a Christian was in April 2021, the new coronavirus attacked my heart. My pericardium was severely calcified, my heart failed severely, and my body was edematous. I needed operation as soon as possible.
At that time, Northern General Hospital only had a 20% success rate for both of my assessments and neither of the assessment was approved. Mr. Mohammed from the cardiology department asked the cardiology departments of many large hospitals in the UK for help, and those hospitals responded by saying that the surgical evaluation was the same as that of Sheffield’s hospital.
Our family was in despair, there was no way out, we can only wait silently for death to come. During my hospitalisation, Enoch from our church and Pastor Pan from Doncaster Chinese Church came to the hospital many times to preach to me and pray for my condition. They also brought blessings and love from brothers and sisters, and at the same time, our church brother Ah Nuo and the Rose’s couple also gave us great help.
One day in June, we received good news from St Thomas Hospital in London, they accepted me, and I was treated by the best cardiology team in the UK. I was finally saved. After one and a half months of treatment in London, I finally recovered and was discharged from the hospital. I was very close to the point of death. I knew that God’s care for me and our family. At the end of January this year, we had a new addition in our family. We have become grandparents. This is a blessing from God.
We are determined to belong to the name of the Lord and join the church to praise God with our brothers and sisters in Christ. May all glory be to God.
~ March 2024
Siu-Ann Lai
These are the questions I have always asked myself for a long time since coming to church in 2016.
Why am I here?
Why am I seeking (if I haven’t accepted)?
What am I seeking?
What is the meaning of this?🤷
I first went to church because one of my sisters started service leading and I went to support her. My brother-in-law then service led the following week, so I attended again. From then on, I started going because I enjoyed the singing during worship and my journey in seeking Christ began…😇
Although I had gone to a Catholic School, sung hymns every day, and had Mass every Thursday, my faith in any religion did not grow… or so I thought…
I remembered, one time back in the takeaway days, I was in constant stubbornness in asking my now, brother-in-law, about God and Christians, mockingly… One thing I remembered most about the conversation was at the end, when he mentioned, “There’s no harm in Christianity because there is only Good in it”… It was something along those lines. That has stuck with me since many moons ago🤔
During 2020, COVID came, life at work and in general was very different and I still struggled with my beliefs and faith, though I was also grateful it came. Two friends, around the same day, on the 2nd March 2020, asked if I prayed to God yet. Both similarly said,
“Did you ever try to pray before bed?”
“Speak to God every night before sleep. Leave everything in His hands and share your happiness with Him too.”
“Just speak to him freely as a friend with an opening like ‘Dear Heavenly Father or God’, closing with ‘In Jesus name, AMEN’ “.
… from then on, I started to pray at night before bed, prayed and thanked Him when I woke and continued to since then… it actually did help me fall asleep better too (for those who know I’m an insomniac), and I confess, I mostly never finished my prayers with “in Jesus name I pray, Amen”.🙂I highly recommend this technique in letting go and as in Matthew 11:28-30 ~ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”.🙏😴
I also started watching a funded show called ‘The Chosen’, which helped me explore and learn the life of Jesus more in a visual way than having to read (because I’m not a confident reader). This show helps bring the characters to life and helps me to understand them and their life. They have now managed to translate them into a lot of languages, I recommend watching this: The Chosen
When I went to my first retreat back in 2018, a sister from church sang a song called “Christ is Enough”. The chorus has stuck with me since, as I blinked back teary eyes from an overwhelming feeling to the lyrics “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back”, and it was then that I wanted to accept Christ… and, was this my calling as I felt so overwhelmed? This song touched my heart then and I felt ready, but my stubbornness pulled me back.
I had felt constantly being pushed to accept Christ each week I attended church and I felt my own decision was being taken further away from me. So along with my stubbornness, I held back even more. I needed to know the decision I wanted to make came from myself, and not from anyone else’s ‘want’. I wanted it to come from my own heart and God’s Will, in God’s time, as this is an important decision for me. So I decided to seek Him myself, as this was between me and God Himself.
Although I know, there have been family members and a few sisters and brothers from church who have quietly supported me and been patient with me in my journey of decision-making… for which I thank you.😘
I hardly prayed in view of the public, because I felt fake and that God wouldn’t hear my prayers because I wasn’t yet a baptised Christian, so often I would let a sister or brother do so. I did accept Christ into my life on the 22nd of September 2022 though🙏
What can I say, my heart was tainted with pride. Along with my stubbornness, I also thought I’d do all the naughty stuff before committing to God, so there would be less to be forgiven as I didn’t want to commit any offence under the name of the Lord (I’m not saying I’ve been up to no good though). I felt I needed to clean myself up before coming to God, but I know now, this is not true for Him. The truth is, God loves me and you right where we are today. He meets us in our mess and leads us out of it.
So for my journey with Him today, I will be a ‘Labourer of the Father’. I am ‘Under Construction (as with all my other DIY stuff). Because I know God’s not done with me yet. He is my maker, my creator, and a far better designer than I ever can be, but he will guide me, as I will follow Him👣 Who else can lead us perfectly if not God!!!
I pray, God, thank You for carefully creating me. I was not a mistake, I am a creation You thoughtfully designed. Thank You! Today, please help me to see myself the way that You see me. Show me how I can take part in the plans You are preparing me for. Each day, help me to become more like Jesus in my character, speech, and actions. So I may contribute to the flourishing of those around me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.🙏
I HAVE BEEN LOST, AND NOW I AM FOUND🐑
~ March 2024
Phoebe Ng
From a very young age, I have been going to church with my mother, and therefore I have been exposed to a lot of biblical teachings very early on.
Thereafter, at the age of 8 or 9 years old, I had a deeper connection with God and decided to become Christian. Also, since I was a child, I have been practising rhythmic gymnastics and have been taking part in competitions and training sessions.
These activities have made me tired, nervous, frustrated, and injury prone and therefore, I turn to prayer as a habit and form of faith to give me strength.
It is also because of this sport, I realised how much I need God. It was the hardship of this training that and experience with God during this time that became the foundation of my faith. In terms of my studies, I can see how I have been greatly blessed by God. How I progressed from being average in high school to vast improvements in my Diploma results is nothing but God’s grace. Additionally, the school has waived all my Degree tuition fees. My graduation thesis was not only recognised by my teacher, it was subsequently successfully published.
When I was studying for my Degree, I felt that the coursework was numerous and difficult which made me feel helpless and full of complaints. Yet, I feel that God’s grace was bountiful, and He has rewarded me in ways I could not have imagined. The biggest of all God’s grace is that I survived two serious car accidents, one of which the car I was in flipped over and ended up being totalled, yet I only suffered a few minor scratches on my body. Just before coming to the UK last year, I have had a major surgery due to an injury. Throughout the process, I felt God’s peace, presence and protection. The surgery was timed so well that it did not affect my schedule to come to the UK.
During the interim period when I was injured and the time I had the surgery, my mental health and mood were very good, and the surgery was a success. Although I was not able to continue my rehabilitation in the hospital because I was coming to the UK, I believed that God will grant me full recovery. When it comes to studying abroad, God has paved the way and guided me step by step. Initially, I felt helpless and hesitant about finding a suitable university, but through constant prayer, I was able to find a suitable university and received a 50% scholarship. In addition, I am grateful that my grandmother has funded most of my tuition fees, reducing the family’s burden greatly.
I know that without God and without His grace, I would not be standing here in Sheffield, sharing my testimony today. I believe God has a plan and a special mission for me.
During this life journey, I have grown closer to God through prayer. I have come to understand my own weaknesses and shortcomings and changed my attitude towards others and I have learned to love others more.
Although I still have many weaknesses and am broken, but God is always mending and moulding me. I hope that in winding journey of life, I can continue to encourage and help others and be a good witness for God.
Everything I have, my life is dedicated to God for His greatest glory. As my life journey continues, so will my testimony to God, just like God’s never ceasing grace for me.
~ March 2024
Wenle Du
Brothers and Sisters, greetings to you all in name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
My name is Wenle and I am an Engineering student. I am very happy to be here today to declare myself into the name of the Lord and to be baptised as a child of God.
I am very grateful to be born in a Chinese Christian family, and my maternal grandparents are Christians. I heard the gospel at the very early age, but I was lazy and didn’t read the Bible.
I didn’t even pray. I didn’t let God to control my life and I thought I could solve the problems by myself.
Gradually, I began to drift away from God. I stopped going to church on Sundays and spent several years in a state of confusion.
Thank God for His protection. Last year, the Holy Spirit reminded me I cannot no longer be lazy and I should come to church to attend Worship service on Sundays.
Every time during the worship I could not control my overflowing tears especially when I read Psalm 139, which written by David, it says “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
Only then did I realise that God’s love for us is unconditional. He is always with me, and He cares for me. I began to feel guilty that I did not pray or read the precious words of God.
Later, when the church open to sign up for baptism, I was struggling internally. I wanted to be baptised, but I thought I had not read the Bible thoroughly, so I became afraid of baptism.
After attending the baptism class, I understood that Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, buried, and resurrected three days later to bear the sins of the world. His precious blood saved me from my sins. He is the only way, and baptism is allowed me to testify in front of everyone that I accept the salvation of Jesus Christ that He has prepared for me and is a journey to begin the Christian life.
Today I want to be baptised into Christ, obey Christ, and let Christ lead me in the path of righteousness. Amen!
~ March 2024
Cheryl Liao
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ. My name is Cheryl, and today is Easter, the day I receive my baptism.
Looking back from childhood to now, I have always felt blessed by the Lord. Due to my involvement in music since high school, I had to perform on stage and prepare for various exams. The pressure during this time gradually eroded my confidence and there were several occasions when I couldn’t help but cry whenever I picked up my instrument.
The stress was so overwhelming that I often ended up in the hospital. Later, I prayed for the Lord to grant me the confidence to face all difficulties and after that, all the big and small challenges were successfully overcome one by one, and with the help of my family and many brothers and sisters in the church, I regained my former confidence and courage.
Therefore, I want to say that due to my family and my past experiences, I have known God for a long time and have experienced many of His blessings but I have never had the opportunity to be baptised.
While I was studying for my master’s degree, my family and boyfriend supported me wholeheartedly and helped push me to do my best. This support alongside the presence of God gave me the strength to carry on and achieve my desired grade.
I believe that God has always blessed me from birth and has guided me from afar, and His support alongside my loved ones inspired me to apply for an internship at my former university, in which I succeeded in acquiring. His support has been prevalent and noticeable throughout my life and I firmly believe that He will continue to support me and illuminate my future path, and this is why I would like to be baptised to show my unwavering belief. Thank you, everyone.
~ March 2024
