Stories of Grace

In John 5:17, Jesus tells us that “My Father is always at his work, to this very day…” In Philippians 2:13, the Apostle Paul reminds us that “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” This month, we begin a new feature in which church members are invited to share a particular instance of how God has been at work in their lives.

Rose Chipojola

This month, our contributor is Rose Chipojola.

I got my Bachelor’s degree from the University of Malawi, Kamuzu College of Nursing in 2011, and I told myself to start applying for Masters scholarships after two years of work experience. Well, how time flies! I started the applications and managed to get an admission offer at Sheffield University in the U.K. This was on condition that I sit for the IELTS exam and get an average of at least 7.0 bands.

I was so excited, I actually thought the road would be easier and that I would automatically get a scholarship once I applied for one. I kept on contemplating if I should really register for the IELTS, considering that it’s quite expensive in my country. But someone told me to consider it as an investment. This really pushed me to sit for the exam—which I passed. My admission offer changed from conditional to unconditional, but I still had to apply for a scholarship.

My first attempt was for the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship and the Sheffield University Scholarship. After a month, I got the response (two emails, consecutively). The emails read, “We regret to inform you…” Now, we all know what happens when one receives this type of email. To be honest, I really felt demoralized. But I still didn’t give up because of the faith that I had in God. I kept praying and fasting, hoping that, one day, God would answer my plea.

I tried applying for several scholarships, some of which included the Beit Trust, Common Wealth (twice), Commonwealth Shared Scholarship (twice), Chevening Scholarship (twice), Australian Government scholarship (twice), Diamond Women Education Grant, and the Norwegian Quota Scheme. But I kept on receiving negative responses. I must admit, this really pushed me down, and I decided to stop applying because I had become convinced that it was really not possible for me to get a scholarship.

Two months passed, and I was still on my “strike” from applying for scholarships. Then one day, as I was going through my Facebook account, I came across a link which someone had posted for a certain Malawian scholarship group. At first, I tried to ignore it. Later on, I decided to follow the link, which led me to the online application system. I took a chance and completed all steps of the application process, then submitted it.

Three months down the line, I had totally forgotten that I had applied for the scholarship until I received an email that I’d been short-listed for Taipei Medical University (TMU)! I interviewed by Skype and, after a month, I received an email that I’d been offered admission and a scholarship to TMU. There, I pursued a Master’s degree in Nursing, majoring in maternal child health. I recently graduated, and decided to apply for a PhD. This time around, I applied for three scholarships and by God’s grace, I got them all. I now had to choose between three scholarships!  I am currently pursuing a PhD in Nursing at TMU.

Through it all, I have learnt that it was not by my might that I got the scholarships, but it was God’s grace manifesting in this situation. My hope is that my story may encourage someone out there not to give up, despite getting negative responses--in any aspect of life. Instead, it should be a motivation to keep pressing on, and above all to learn to trust God in everything. I noticed that three key weapons which helped me in this situation were meditation on God’s word, prayer, and fasting. They really do wonders, and you will be amazed at how God will act in your life. When we ache over challenges and fear the situation won’t change, we may be tempted to think that the Lord will not pull us through. But we should never lose faith in him, and never should we underestimate the power of prayer, for our living God hears our prayers. We may not know how or when he will move in response to our petitions, but we are assured that our Father longs for us to embrace his love and trust his faithfulness.

End-of-Year Giving

Dear Friends,

We are coming to the end of a new year, and even though we are in a period of transition, the future is bright. Along with our own ministry, we are part of a church-planting movement that is planting churches all over the world. We also seek to enable people to grow in Christ, whether they are with us for a short or long period of time, so that when they leave us, we trust they are more equipped to share the good news of the gospel. From that standpoint, we truly have a worldwide ministry.

Here are a few things we can celebrate as we look toward Advent and the end of 2017:

• A diverse congregation of around 300 souls—around 75% single adults and 25% young families with children.
• A growing small group ministry where we have more groups meeting than ever before. Thanks to Peter Brown who heads this up.  
• A vibrant Sunday School led by Anna Furness. I truly think it is perhaps the best Sunday School you could attend in the city. That is because of Anna’s love for the gospel and commitment to grounding the children in the gospel and the redemptive-historical narrative of the Bible.
• A growing college ministry. Peter Kim and his wife Polly and three children moved from Beijing over a year ago. He is a pro with lots of experience in college ministry. We had twenty students gathered at the apartment on a recent Sunday evening, and it is hard to overstate the joy they have in Christ.
• An expanding missions outreach. Our people and financial resources are being directed to people with whom we have a strong sense of identity and partnership. They are Kalan and Kayt Spencer, Michelle Ko, and Toon and Pam Yeo. We look forward to sharing plans for 2018 that we trust will get us even more engaged, particularly in the Sanchong church plant, and secondly in the Banqiao church plant.
• A vibrant worship ministry. Donna Warren organizes four teams each week as we seek to offer hospitable worship where we seek to make the gospel accessible to both believers and seekers. And thanks to all of you for being so welcoming to our constant stream of newcomers.
• A generous diaconal ministry. Jesse Turk, who leads our deacons, will be leaving for the States in February. Eline Liu will also be stepping down after 3 years of service as deacon but will remain serving the church in the Sunday school. Along with providing necessary, but often overlooked tasks like ushering, hospitality, finances, the deacons provide financial assistance to people in need. Your generosity has lifted some people out of some very difficult situations.
• A church-planting connection. I help organize a community of church planters which meet monthly for training, encouragement, and prayer. Also, Tim Keller is coming on March 8th for a large public meeting to help galvanize churches to work together to see the gospel flood our city. Redeemer City to City also holds an annual intensive in Taipei that trains church planters. Kalan and Toon were able to take advantage this past year and I was able to attend some of the sessions which always provide rich encouragement.

Every year, we receive around 20% of our operating budget through end-of-year gifts, and you have always been faithful not only to meet the budget, but also to provide a surplus. We are using a considerable part of the surplus to renovate the church apartment which will be helpful in attracting future pastoral candidates. We are also a young congregation, with many students and single adults who are just getting established in life.

In 2018, the elders are proposing a bold plan and budget to continue to move the church forward. We really need everyone’s financial support to reach our goals. If you have fallen behind in your giving, December would be a good time to catch up. If you are new to the church and beginning to consider this as your church home, please consider joining with us.

Paul thanked the church of Philippi with these words. They had “fellowship with me in the manner of giving and receiving” (Phil. 4:15). Joyful giving to God’s work increases our sense of fellowship together as the gospel is advanced.

Thank you for your partnership in the gospel, and may your holiday season be blessed!

Dennis Brown

5 Questions With...Elder Alan Fiol

Elder Alan Fiol

1. How did you first get involved with Friendship Presbyterian? Fifteen or so years ago, when my wife and I were serving at Christ's College in Guandu, we drove out to Friendship for worship.  It was a bit far to drive, so after about a year we switched to a closer church.  In 2011, when we moved to Taipei, we got back into FPC right away.  We're so blessed to be here!

2. What do you do when you're not working for the church? I teach music lessons and help my wife, who is a full-time Chinese teacher, on the home front with cooking and boring things like that.  Actually, not boring. For the most part, I enjoy it!  Also, when I'm not so busy with church work, I write music material for my teaching, as well as arrange and compose music.

3. What is something people might be surprised to know about you? Having grown up in the Himalayan mountains, I sometimes yearn for camping and hiking (even though I seldom actually get out in nature).  Maybe this is not such a "surprising" thing to hear, but I surprise myself sometimes when I remember this desire that is "sleeping" most of the time.

4. What do you find most challenging about being a Christian today? As a Christian parent, it is daunting navigating the pitfalls of modern society and knowing how to guide my children in this wide open and spiritually/intellectually void and confusing world.  For myself in my walk with Christ, I can too easily fall back to relying on myself rather than God.  I need constant reminding to go to the Lord in prayer and feast on His Word more, instead of depending on my ability to think my way through life.

5. What is your favorite book of the Bible? I guess it depends on what I'm reading at the moment.  I'm currently in Matthew, and am drawn by the beauty, truth, and strength of Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.  Each time I come back to Romans, I feel like a thirsty man coming back to the bottomless well of life, limitless in its message of grace.  When I've been away from Genesis for a while, I begin feeling the pull back to this exciting beginnings-book of the Bible.