"the day I came to receive Christ"

This is a wonderful testimony written by my dearest friend who have just received Christ. I was deeply moved as I read this article and it is my prayer that many will come to know Christ after reading it. Praise be to God for salvation belongs to Him and Him alone!

Written by: Anonymous

17^th December 2010, a day I will never forget.

That was the day I came to know Christ, and here is my testimony to His greatness.

It all began when I first got to know Grace through a mutual friend. One day, she asked me whether I was keen on joining her church camp in December. I told her I would, without hesitation. At that point of time, all I thought was it would just be a normal holiday to Johor Bahru where I’d learn a little more about Christianity. Little did I expect that those 3 days would be a turning point in my life.

(Disclaimer: Many miracles have occurred in my life, thank God! However, this is the first miracle, relevant to the camp)

God’s First Miracle

Being a Permanent Resident of Singapore holding a Chinese passport, I required a Visa permit to grant me entry into Malaysia. When the date of departure drew nearer, after much procrastination, I finally decided to go down to the travel agents to get my Visa done. Thinking that visa applications would take only 3 days to be processed and given to me, I went down to the travel agents (the Malaysian Embassy doesn’t handle walk-in visa applications anymore) on a Friday afternoon – 3 working days before the departure.

Upon arrival, I enquired about visa applications and to my horror, the agent told me that processing time would require 5 to 6 working days. This meant that I would receive my visa only on the following Friday, which was also Day 2 of the camp.

I began to panic. I tried calming myself down and started looking at the options I had:

1. Call other agents and whine

2. Call my mum and whine

3. Call the Malaysian Embassy and whine

So I tried everything I could, 1 didn’t work very well because they sounded like they couldn’t be bothered; 2 didn’t work very well either because my mum was not sure what else I could do.

Left with no other option, I decided to call the embassy, already knowing that the embassy does not do direct visa applications. After relentless re-dialing, the personnel at the embassy finally answered the phone. To my extreme joy, the person told me that Visa-On-Arrivals (VOAs) were available at the customs (VOAs were actually visas with an expensive price tag that could be acquired directly at the customs, for the convenience of travelers who could not get their visas in time in their own country).

Taking that for granted, I sat back, relaxed and waited for Thursday 16^th December to come.

On Tuesday, two days prior to the trip, Grace asked me to check with the embassy again regarding the VOAs. This time, another person answered the phone and (I almost fainted, really) she told me that VOAs were revoked in August. Simply put, there was no way I could enter Malaysia.

Utterly defeated by my own procrastination, I was lost. I didn’t know what else I could do to gain entry into Malaysia. On Wednesday, one day before the trip, I texted Grace to apologize and tell her I couldn’t go anymore. I even called my camp to cancel my leave. Agnes tried to email the embassy but received no reply. It was then when Grace’s mum, Pastor Charis, told me to go down to the embassy personally.

I hesitated. I’ve read online and I’ve called them before, they don’t do visas anymore, would it be of any use if I went down? Someone in my head told me, “You have nothing to lose.”

So I went down to the embassy. I headed straight for the Visa counter which was closed but with people handling visa applications from travelling agents there. I tried to explain my situation and asked for their help but to no avail. The only replies I received were “No” and “Here’s the list of authorised travel agents, please go to them, thanks.” No matter how hard I tried talking to them, they just ignored me.

Defeated once again, I decided to head home.

At the very moment, somehow God spoke to me. At that point of time, I didn’t know it was Him. He told me that I came all the way down here for a reason, that I had nothing to lose, why was I giving up just like that? I stopped at the door and turned back.

“I want to see your superior.”

After waiting for 10 minutes, I was asked to meet the superior in an interview room. Feeling extremely hopeful, I walked in only to get reprimanded by her. She told me off for requesting for an urgent visa even though it was ultimately my fault for applying for a visa at the very last moment and that I had so many excuses to cover up for my mistakes. Knowing that it was pointless to negotiate with her, I was ready to leave.

“Sit down.” She said, as I was heading towards the door. “Write down your name and your contact and I’ll see what I can do, let me talk to my superior.” Those were the exact words she said. She asked for a copy of an official invitation to the camp from the camp commandant which,  thankfully, Agnes, Grace and Pastor Charis helped me with. She told me to go home and wait for her call, but she had no guarantees.

I reached home at roughly 1.40pm and at 2pm, she called.

“Can you get down here in 30minutes? Bring your IC and your relevant documents.”

I almost fell from my seat upon hearing that, I sped (sorry traffic police) down all the way to the embassy in 15minutes. There, everything was settled and I was to collect my visa the following day before I left for JB.

As I look back, I wondered why God put me through all the trouble and still gave me the Visa. I realised that He was teaching me a lesson – never to procrastinate. Being the merciful Lord He is, he still gave me a chance and granted me the visa. J

God’s Second Miracle - Accepting Christ, the day I embraced the Holy Father

On the day of departure, my mind was everywhere. What was I to expect from the camp? Was it going to be really awkward for me, being the only non-Christian? Was it worth all that trouble just to come for a camp that I might potentially feel like an outcast?

However, thank God for the awesome family of brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ, not only was I not an outcast, I was treated like an awesome guest (really, couldn’t thank everyone enough).

After a day of ice-breaking games and sumptuous meals, we reached the highlight of the night, the night service. Pastor Elijah was invited to this camp to speak to us in relation to the camp’s theme “Empowered to serve”. Listening to his captivating talk, my understanding of Christianity grew so much in those few hours! However, it ended there, I thought we could call it a night and feel happy that we learnt something new.

However, God’s work didn’t just end there. Then came the ministry. We were all asked to step forward to be prayed for, one by one.

Standing there, waiting for my turn, my mind started to wander. I thought about my paternal grandfather who passed away one year ago, I thought about my parents and how my family wasn’t close-knitted like many other families, and I thought about a rough relationship I had with a girl. Somehow, I just couldn’t get those thoughts out of me and I was overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed with sorrow, disappointment and guilt, so much so that I began tearing.

Pastor Elijah finally came to me, and that was when God spoke to me.

“Before I can pray for you, I need to ask you, are you ready to accept Christ?”

At that point of time, I felt His presence. It was so strong, my knees began shaking uncontrollably, and I felt warmth inside me and everywhere around me. I began tearing and I opened my eyes and looked at Pastor Elijah for a moment. Then I closed my eyes again and there I was, in the face of God. He was there, reaching His mighty hand out to me and ready to hold me like how a grandfather would embrace his dear grandson.

“Yes, yes, yes I am ready.”

I couldn’t articulate my words properly as I felt so overwhelmed by His presence that my mind just went blank and I felt like I submitted myself to Him. Having never thought that religion was my cup of tea, feeling His presence was another miracle.

Pastor Elijah led me in a prayer, and there I was, a newborn child of God.

It was at that point of time, my sorrows, disappointment and guilt vanished as if an emotional atomic bomb was dropped, wiping out all the demons in my heart.

This is the testimony of my journey which led me to accept Christ. Praise God!

As I look back at that very day, it all came to me as a revelation: All this time, God had it all planned out for me. He sent Grace into my life, then her family, then He brought me to the church camp and it was there, did He embrace me.

And it was there, did I feel safe, peace of mind and utmost joy.

I hope that whoever reads this will understand that every single word I have written here is nothing but the truth and none of it is from the figments of my imagination. My only wish is that this would serve as in inspiration to fellow brothers and sisters out there who have yet to accept Christ as their Saviour, that you would open up your arms and embrace Him as I did; and to fellow brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ, that you will never forget God’s love for you and that He will never forsake you.

Thank God and may God bless all of you.

27/12/2010