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Life stories

Every face has a story to tell. Here you find real people and real life stories. One word to sum up what they have shared is TRANSFORMATION - a life that has been transformed for something greater and more powerful!

One of the greatest promises God has given us is said plainly in Jn 10:10. "The Lord came to give life and life abundantly!!!" In this testimony, I shall give you a synopsis of my adverturous and fulfilling journey with Christ thus far.

I became a Christian over 10 years ago through my younger sister. She came to know the Lord through her primary school teacher. This amazing teacher used to share with her classes about God. And year after year, she brings a whole class about 30 to 40 children to God!!!

Since becoming a Christian, God has began His work of refinement in my life.

The first area that He had to deal with is in the area of deceit. I used to be quite comfortable to give a white lie! The society..., the world..., everyone condones it and even encourages it. It is the easier way out in many instances. I learnt about the consequences of deceitfulness the hard way! When I first became a Christian, I was too afraid to let my parents know of my faith. Since church was held in the university, I had the best excuse to be in the university every Sunday. It took a car accident for my parents to find out that I was in fact going to church!!! My parents were extremely upset as one can imagine. To reconcile with my parents, I chose to compromise my Christian walk. I became a non-committing pew warmer. This went on for months. I was frustrated at my walk with God. In the end, I had to make a decision - God all the way or no God at all! Thank God I chose Him.

God worked on my pride in a more progressive manner. When I first joined Hope nearly 10 years ago, I was asked to be in the worship team back up singing. During one of the occasions, the microphone was pulled away from me in the middle of the worshipping session. I was mortified. I thought to myself, "What did I do to deserve such humiliation? Did I sing out of tune? Was I too loud? Too soft? What is it!!!" It took me a long time to resolve and forgive. God brought me through many situations to help me reflect and deal with my pride. I have indeed seen the fruits of His work as when I joined Hope UK and was asked to join the worship team, I was told by one of the leaders to not to play the timbrel so loudly. Rather than feeling defensive, I was willing to accept the criticism and made positive steps to observe from others so that I may improve!

It is no doubt that God has brought me to the UK. I wanted to learn from this smaller church to gain a greater passion for God, His people and the great commission. For me to come, God has to deal with one of the weakest area of my life and that is to trust in Him for a future life partner. Prior to my coming, I was very close to a guy from church in Brisbane. God challenged me to trust Him by letting go of this potential relationship. It was so difficult that in the end, God had to speak to him. God made His point loud and clear to both of us that I only look back at the situation in awe of His divinity. Since coming to the UK, I have experienced renewal in all areas of my life spiritually, socially and personally. Morever, I have had the priviledge of bringing 4 people to knowing Christ!

To conclude this testimony, I would like to share with You something God has taught me. Our Christian walk is like riding on the back of God's bicycle. Only God can see clearly where the bicycle is heading. As a passager, I can become nervous, irritable and impatient. I may look to the sides, complain at God and even rebel against His driving. In the process I endanger my own life by not cooperating with Him. On the other hand, my journey becomes abundant, enjoyable and adverturous as I choose to know my driver and learn to trust in Him!

Joanne Mak