In the year 2001, God led me (Yan Chee) to Singapore where I spent one year in City Harvest Bible Training Center, School of Theology (SOT). Although I was brought up in a Christian family, I was never properly trained and discipled in the Word of God. As a result, I often found it hard to serve effectively in my church and many times I felt very discouraged. When I was in SOT, I began to discover my destiny and calling, and also learned to overcome my weaknesses and develop valuable ministry skills that enabled me to become a better servant and leader. One of the most useful things I learned was the skills for effective preaching. Through this, my communication skills were sharpened and my passion for teaching and preaching was ignited.
It was in SOT that I met my wife, Jia Qi. Before SOT, she used to be shy and introverted. But through SOT, God restored her confidence in Him and she did so well that she topped the entire cohort and received the Best Student Award for the year.
In church, we learnt the powerful principle of sowing and reaping and the importance of giving to the house of God. It’s been a privilege for us to participate in all the Arise & Build campaigns since 2001. In the year 2005, the Lord challenged me to give an amount that is equal to 90 percent of the entire savings that I’ve saved up for my wedding. This meant that I would have to stay in a rented room with my new bride. Although it was a great challenge, I trusted God and was convinced that He will make a way for us. With many tears in our eyes, we gave all our savings to the Lord that year.
The blessings of God were more than what we could have imagined. Jia Qi gave three months of her salary while I gave four months of my salary to the Building Fund. Within six months, God blessed us financially through friends and family who gave us generous red packets for our wedding. With that, we bought our first car and our first home in Singapore. God provided for us and covered all the expenses for our three weddings in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Taipei. Another person blessed us with a sponsored honeymoon trip to Europe. The total amount of blessings we received that year alone is more than three times of what we had given.
Knowing that God is looking after every aspect of our lives and our home, I’m looking forward to exciting times ahead as we continue to grow the church and meet the needs of people. As we serve Him wholeheartedly, He will take care of all areas of our lives!
