Augustine

What my life was before Alpha?

I came from a Buddhist or Taoist family (always confused) and being an obedient son (who is also the youngest and most prone to be bullied) I followed my mother’s orders to do things that I don’t quite understand and for fear of retribution from the ‘gods’. I thought that my compliance would bring me a trouble-free life.


Turning Point

However, after 6 years of marriage, my wife asked me (on 13 March 2005) whether ‘I was HAPPY’. I knew immediately something was amiss and was giving some silly answers to her. Things started to turn sour after that. My mind grew stressful and I didn’t know where or who to look for help. I was faced with a humiliating situation. I couldn’t sleep. Of course my first thought was to consult a medium. I went to one whom my family had just known and was very ‘chun’ (accurate). She asked for our horoscopes and concluded that it would never end well with me. My mother was equally anxious and sought Kuan Yin’s help, but to no avail. I also got a Feng Shui master’s help who also said he could not find the reason behind my problem and even offered me some tips to win back my wife. Then one day, while talking to my friend Joyce, she urged me to go to Novena to have a quiet time with God and ask him for direction. With nothing to lose, I went one noon and spent some time there. That evening, I just felt very peaceful and slept like a log. To me it was hard to rationalize but I experienced something I hadn’t had for a long time. I knew I did not get this peace by chance.


The Alpha encounter

After the encounter at Novena I faithfully attended church but it was unfulfilling because there was no head or tail. I was like put into the middle of a class where everyone else knew what was going on except me. There were questions in my mind which I needed answers.

God heard and one day my friend Kar Yin called me to invite me to the Alpha Intro dinner organized by Kum Yan Methodist Church. My first impression of Alpha was that the environment was friendly and not pressurizing. The video sessions were informational and humorous.

In between there was a weekend away and my faith grew during that fateful weekend for 2 things:

1. Pastor Then who was teaching us mentioned one afternoon to ‘have faith in God and the rest will take care of itself. Do not try to understand everything before you believe in Him, like many people do.’ Well, I tried that and it worked, because after I took the step to ask God to take over my life, and released my anxieties to him, I felt a great sense of peace come upon me.

2. On the night where we received prayer for our lives to be filled with God’s Spirit, I was touched by the healing of my left knee! It had been painful as I had a torn meniscus. I could not balance myself on the left knee and needed to keep shifting my weight to the right one. However, after I was being prayed for that day, I felt that my left knee grew stronger the next morning! Praise God!


How my life is different since becoming a Christian?

After Alpha, I began to grow spiritually. With faith and prayer, I felt that my life began to change for the better. During this short span of time, I managed to kick many bad habits. And also, my left knee which had a torn meniscus grew stronger and I’m playing tennis today just like I did before (without knee guards). I find myself approaching life with more zest, and I am no longer that shy person that I had been. I am confident. I don’t worry unnecessarily and find solace in God through prayers. I have now joined a cell group which is made up of brothers and sisters from all walks of life. We study the Bible together, and we confide with and pray for one another. I am a happier person now.

To conclude, I must say that if you are hungry for transformation in your life, don’t waste your money on motivation books or talks for I have been there and done that. But rather, have faith in Jesus, for He will show you the way and will open doors for you that no book or course can. The Alpha course is a life transforming course that is free of charge. It just requires your FAITH. And you can also have your LIFE TRANSFORMED!

Thank you.

Irene Tan

I was introduced to the Alpha Course in Kum Yan Methodist Church at the time when I was going through an inner crisis. I was sad and in despair, so I came to seek God and the Answers to Life.

Alpha was a life-changing experience for me and the best decision I ever made. I accepted Christ as my God and Saviour.

Since I took the step of faith, through the Holy Spirit I gained new spiritual insights into the meanings of Hope, Peace and Joy. Life becomes meaningful as I find stability in God’s Love and Truths.

The road to becoming a Christian differs for each individual. I probed with my mind, and was touched emotionally and spiritually. God has a way of drawing us to Him, whatever our station in life is.

Alpha helps the non-believers understand the Christian Faith through the systematic modules, interesting talks and lively discussions. It is based on fellowship and the sharing of personal experiences. I enjoyed the course tremendously and made many new friends.

IRENE TAN
26 May 2008

Lisa

Well, a month ago, client of mine said this to me, “Lisa, you look much better than when I first met you few weeks ago when we started looking for office together” Being ladies, we started chatting about facial and make up etc…that is the logical answer to that glow, I assumed. That remark came after I started Alpha not long…

The same client , I saw her yesterday when I handed her the key to her new office, she said “ Lisa, I do not know what you did but you really are glowing and radiant!”

I did not say anything but this time ……. The first thing that came to my mind was “because LORD is part of my life!”

LORD has touched me in many ways and forms. My relationship with Lord did not start with a significant event but nothing is too trivial in HIS eyes. In fact, my experience is a lot of trivial events that are happening to me everyday that brings me closer to LORD…

To make the long story short,

I felt that I have born anew as a Christian

I was a Catholic for quite many years, for as long as I have in Singapore. I did go to church for a while but soon after slack off as I felt no connection…Church then was a place to worship and everyone was quite reserved about their feelings …

During Alpha and certainly the Alpha weekend, I felt that I have been “adopted by LORD” again and “adopted by all of you brothers and sisters who are here today” I felt that I become part of the church, the people who made up the church…

Since I became Christian, I felt that I have been guided in many occasions and I felt connected to the LORD

I was hesitating going for the Alpha weekend as I wasn’t sure who will keep my son occupied over that weekend….I then sms my son’s best friend’s mother asking whether during my weekend away, whether my son could just go over to swim on a Saturday afternoon …guess what was my friend’s sms reply was

“Sure, he can come over anytime, he can even stay over till Sunday…we can pick him up anytime, the kids will have a good time playing…”

This arrangement by LORD was better than I could have asked….

Then the Friday’s nite before we left for JB, like 8pm, I started having this ear pain…I thought, how, should I still go to JB? The 1st thought I had in my mind was someone was trying to stop me from going to Alpha weekend….

but of course I went….

So a lot of ways, LORD will be our light, showing us the way…so long as we keep the channels open to HIM

Finally, to those who have not accepted LORD, think of this analogy….

Christianity is like going on a holiday…..The ticket to board the plane is like starting the Christianity journey, very exciting. We should embrace with open arms…

When you on holiday, we normally will follow the brochures and execute the itinerary. This is like us following Lord’s words and the purpose he has assigned us.

On holiday, you absorb all the fun, shopping, sightseeings, and that is like Lord giving us all the wonderful things in life which we should be grateful for….

Well, occasionally if you are caught in a jam, flight delay or even lost a luggage, that is like Lord placing obstacles in our lives and somehow he will guide us to manage in unplanned situations…

On hind sight, if all of us can be grateful for this holiday or the Christianity journey, we will all come home enriched and in no time you will also be glowing and be looking radiant….

So let’s fasten our seat beat and I wish all of you a wonderful journey….

Garen Yap Age: 41

Garen is married to Alfie Loh and has two lovely children Eugene and Eunice (age 12 & 13). The family are now attending Kum Yan Methodist Church.

This is her testimony...........

First of all, I would like to thank my brother-in-law and sis-in-law, Patrick and Rosemary for recommending me to the Alpha Course.

Actually, I have been attending Sunday School when I was a little kid. I also graduated from Geylang Methodist School. As I grew older, my relationship with God went further and further away.

Since January this year, most of the nights when I lie down on my bed, there is this image of myself lying in the casket and being push into the crematorium and I was very phobia of death.

During the 3rd session of the Alpha course, the topic was “Why Jesus die?” Nicky Gumbel mentioned that God said “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, whoever believe in my Son, Jesus Christ shall not perish but will have an everlasting life.” Since then, I was not afraid of death anymore.

So I accepted Jesus Christ into my life and during that time, I felt the Holy Spirit touched me and tears just rolled down my eyes. The tears are not due to sadness but happiness because I know that God has taken away my burden and He is willing to bear all these sufferings for me and He is the only one whom I can depend on.

After accepting Christ, I felt so blessed in many ways, things go on so smoothly in my career, my family and my financial. Pastor Boon Chiau told me that I will never regret accepting Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Yes! Till to day I have no regret being a Christian and no regret for attending Alpha. My only regret is…..not accepting Christ earlier then I will not have to suffer so long. I feel my life has changed physically and spiritually.

Last Wednesday, when I was on my way to the church for the celebration party. One of my colleague who was with me asked me: Where am I heading to. I happily told her that I am going to church for Alpha Course. And I said:" Ya, finally this is the last session, but now…(sign..) still got post Alpha for another 7 sessions."

Frankly speaking I am rather “reluctant” to sign up for this (please don’t mistaken not that Alpha is no good, it is the travelling distance between the church and my house. I always reached home about 11 pm after each session) My colleague then encouraged me to sign up because she has noticed that I have changed for good and if I continue the course, it will make me even better, so I got the answer from God.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Alpha group members though ours is the smallest group, but the bonding and encouragement from them is so great and they have been praying for me all these while and most of our prayers have been answered. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord.

Ruby Gwee

I came to the Alpha Course through my good schoolmate Kar Gaim. Before attending the Alpha course, my spiritual life is indifferent and not consistant. Though, I have been a Christian since I was young, it is during the session of the Alpha Course that I feel more at ease and relief to share some problems with members and pastor. Basically, I am a quiet person and tend to keep things and problems to myself. As a result, when confronting with a problem, I began to throw my temper occassionally at my servants, children and other family members.

During my Alpha Retreat session, I suddenly struck the courage to appeal to our Lord for miraculous healing of my womb which has been troubling me for the last five years. When I confide to sister Lai Uin of my medical problem, she began to pray to God for the spiritual cure. Soon I feel a heat running through my body and felt dizzy.

On 14th May, I went for my regular check-up and was told by my doctor that the tumour marking had shrunk from 55.2 to 7.9ml. I was happy and praise God for answering my prayer. It is true that the Lord has promised that with God's help, everything is possible. I hope that an operation on my womb could be avoided. I will continue to have faith with the Lord that my ailment will be contained or solved. Praise the Lord, Hallelujah!!