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.” In our "Stories of Grace" feature, church members are invited to share a particular instance of how God has been at work in their lives.

Our contributor this month is Judy Bigby.

I was born in a culturally Taoist and/or Buddhist family that did not practice religion heavily. But they did practice it during special festivals, and lived within the worldview of a pantheistic Eastern religion. Ever since I was a little girl, I believed that there must be a lord of all the gods, the king of all the gods, the chief amongst the gods, and all the gods would have to listen to this greatest god of all the gods. I also would see ghosts. They would scare me by showing up in human forms out of nowhere, coming out of the wall, or just in a white cloud form, at first, and then turn into a white human form. None of the Taoist or Buddhist ways to appease these ghosts would work. Calling out the name of Buddha was useless. 

One day, I asked my mother if she knew whether there is a God, or if she knew God. My mother answered me by saying, “I do not really know--some call that God ‘Buddha,’ some call it ‘Allah,’ and still some call it ‘Jesus.’ ” I thought to myself, “If she does not know, I will just ask him myself.” So I started praying to this lord of lords by myself, introducing myself to him and asking for his name and for his guidance in my life. I told him that I wanted to know him and follow his guidance, if he would reveal himself to me and show me the way to the right path.

Ever since elementary school, I had been blessed with very good Christian friends. This was true all the way up through high school, where my classmates formally introduced the whole message of the gospel to me, including sin, hell, and Jesus’ salvation available to me if I repented of my sins and received him into my heart. In the beginning, I thought it was crazy to believe that we did not all evolve from monkeys. It also seemed to be totally disrespectful to burn other people’s gods. This foreign God was definitely not for me! But the more I interacted with my classmates, the more attracted I was to the special kind of love they had between themselves and among their immediate family members. I envied it, and wanted it for myself.

After debating with them for at least a year, I had to admit that I was sinful like everyone else, that I had no righteousness of my own before God, and that I was heading to hell if I did not accept this Jesus they were talking about. As my friends prayed for me fervently, the Holy Spirit worked in my heart. Then, one day, when I was alone in my bedroom, I prayed to this God that I had been praying to my whole life and said, “God, if your name is Jesus, please let me know by answering three prayers of mine so that I would know for sure. And I will follow you all of my life, do whatever you tell me to do, and be loyal to you to the end.” 

God answered all three of those prayers. One of them was for me to not have to see ghosts anymore. I stopped seeing them after that. As a matter of fact, when I sensed one, all I needed to do was call out the name of Jesus, and it had to flee from me. I then realized how powerful the name of Jesus was and how demons are terrified of his name. I did not know exactly what I was getting into, but God had mercy on me and helped me receive Jesus into my heart that day when I asked for the three things, and as I admitted to my sins and my need for a savior and lord over my life.

After that, as described by my mother years later, I was blissfully happy for an entire month. I told my parents that I had become a Christian, that God had answered my prayers, and that my sins were forgiven. What a relief to have all my sins forgiven!  I personally do not remember that honeymoon month with God when I first believed, but I could imagine it to be a honeymoon high of the relief of the burden of my sin’s punishment and the start of having a personal relationship with God. After that first month, a constant joy has remained in me as I continue to walk with God in my everyday life.  

I was not very well discipled after that because I had moved away from my high-school friends. But God’s grip on me never loosened. During my university years, I had a very good mentor from Campus Crusade for Christ who discipled me, challenged me to live for God, and changed me forever. All these godly friends and mentors shaped my spiritual walk, and I am forever grateful for these many individual witnesses that have made a lasting difference in my life. I would happily do the same for others, should God give me the opportunity to do so.  
 

Michelle Ko - Mission Update

Friends! 

My last newsletter was in March 2015. Where I have been since then? Many places, but mostly in Australia and Taiwan. I am still happily alive and in a transitional season, waiting to go on an exciting mission journey. I will move to Tanzania, East Africa in 2018.

“Why?” you might ask. As you know, I spent nine years living in Kenya, ministering to HIV positive orphans. I had accomplished my first calling which was building a home for those who are HIV+ infected orphans. But by the end of the mission I was very much running on fumes. I realized it was time for me to take a break from Africa,  and I left Kenya in May 2011. After I left Kenya, God unexpectedly opened a door for me to be a mission mobilizer and pastor in Australia. Two months of praying later, I accepted His new challenge for me. It has been an incredible six years serving God in the "down under," and Australia is one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

So, why shouldn’t I continue to stay in Australia? I’ve had a few tempting offers from organisations to stay in Australia and continue my work here. But deep down, I knew I missed Africa. I missed all the friendships I had made, especially the children. I had spent my very last day in Kenya with one of the orphans, who was suffering from an illness. He was only 8 years old and had to be hospitalized due to the severity of his illness. Saying goodbye to him was the hardest goodbye I’ve ever experienced. Our last talk ended in tears, and I cried throughout the six-hour journey back to Nairobi. But in my heart, I knew this goodbye was not the end. This goodbye was not forever. There are great needs all around the world including Australia and Taiwan.

However, we have only one life and we can only be in one place physically at one time. I’m not 21 years old anymore. I don’t have a whole life in front of me. So why not spend what I do have following God’s calling at this time in my life? Be in Africa. Reach the unreached. Make Him known. Let His light shine in the darkness. Once again, I’m starting a new faith journey, serving with the same organization, SIM (Serving in Mission), and preparing to go to Tanzania.

A faith journey means totally relying on God’s provision through partnerships, unceasing prayer, and financial support. It’s a familiar missionary path, yet a challenging one and there’s a surprise around every corner. “His mercy is new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:23

More details of my new faith journey will be coming soon via newsletters.

I will be in Taiwan from December 5th, waiting and preparing for Tanzania.

Click here for a look at my experience in Kenya

Praises and Prayers:

Thank God for providing me with everything I needed. As I start preparing, let me experience His amazing grace every step of the way.

See you in Africa,

Michelle Ko

Email: michelle.ko@sim.org

Here's how you can give:

AUSTRALIA

Online giving in Australia: www.sim.org.au/ko

USA

USA website: A gift can be given by check, credit card, debit card or a transfer using electronic funds. Here is the link to our website: https://www.simusa.org/get-involved/give/

UK

Account Name: SIM UK Account Number: 90461164 Sort-Code: 20-94-67 Reference: Ko. Please email the finance supervisor Jonny Green (email below) and let him know the amount of your gift and that it is for me. jonny@sim.co.uk t: +44 (0) 1449 766464

SINGAPORE

Direct deposit into SIM DBS Bank Account Beneficiary Bank: DBS Bank Account name: SIM East Asia Ltd. Account number: 025-011051-0 A deposit notification has to be emailed to eastasia.giving@sim.org with each gift.

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.