The thing I am most grateful for

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The thing I am most grateful for in my life is knowing Jesus Christ and accepting Him as my personal Saviour. In 1970, God led me to meet a teacher at Kwong Hua Secondary School, and he is my husband now, Pastor Philip Ang.

I was born in a Christian family. My home was near Kwong Hua School. My mother who loved to share the gospel of Christ was a devoted Christian and served diligently in Ching Ang Methodist Church. Her dedication influenced me a lot.

When I was dating my boyfriend (my husband now), I came to know that he was not a Christian. The Hokkien family practiced ancestor worship. I was cautious because the Bible forbids such marriage. Thus, when we were still dating, I made a firm decision to tell him about the gospel and leading him to Christ. I would only fully commit myself in this relationship if he accepted Christ or else I would choose to end it. This is because I fully believed that a husband and wife needed to have the same faith in order to journey together in life.

Thus I prayed fervently over it and preached to him as well. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would touch his heart to believe in Jesus. At first, he strongly resisted and struggled hard; I didn’t give up and prayed harder. At last, he was willing to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. In 1970, he was baptized at Ching Ang Church and we got married two months later. I was so happy and grateful.

We Walked All The Way Hand in Hand
My husband was the first Christian in his home. At first, his family strongly rejected him. We didn’t give up and tried our best to tell them the good news at all occasions possible. After many years of prayers, caring, leading and the work of the Holy Spirit and God’s mercy, my parents in law accepted Christ followed by other family members. After his retirement from the government service, he accepted God’s calling, from a teacher to become a pastor.

I was very grateful to God that I could serve with him at Wesley Church for a year and at Faith Church for another five years. After retiring from his pastoral tasks at 65, he joined Sibu Methodist Theological School as the Chaplain and lecturer there for another five years. We often took care of the Theological students and short term mission students together.

Lastly, we settled at Rejang Park, but he continued in his attitude of learning. He graduated with Pastoral PhD at 72. He is still assisting at Zion Church and a part-time lecturer at the Theological school. I would do visiting with him; join the senior fellowship and women’s fellowship devotional studies. Of course, helping out with the care of my three grandchildren!

My life is filled with joy and gratitude; everything comes from the grace of God. I will share with you the verse which I treasure most.

By Tiong Kiew Shian, Zion Methodist Church, Sibu