TESTIMONY
BY SIS RACHEL TEO

I grew up in a family of idol worship. When I was younger, my parents would bring me to mediums or temples to pray for prosperity and good health. When I refused to go, I remembered I would be scolded or punished for being difficult. I probably grew up in fear of "these gods" and believing in good works and retribution.

The first time I heard about Jesus Christ was during street evangelism when I was in Secondary One. I did not receive Christ then but the seed of the gospel was sown. During that year, I had a serious car accident. I thank God for preserving my life for me to come to know Him and be given eternal life. God has been gracious and merciful, having surrounded me with classmates and friends who consistently invited me to SYFC events and shared the gospel with me. By God's grace, I was led to Christ by Kailing, a classmate, during a barbeque in Secondary Two. After my conversion, Jenny, a SYFC volunteer, gave me bible studies to help me grow in my walk with God while Boon Jin actively involved and encouraged me to serve in the east ministry.

After my initial wave of enthusiasm and fervor for Christ, I started to fall away. For a long time, I turned away from God and sought after the things of the world. I was spiritually bankrupt. Though at times, I felt a nudging urge to seek God, I would dismiss it insisting that I had no time or the cost of discipleship was too high. I led a self-reliant and prideful life, not recognizing my wretchedness and defiant attitude. However, God is faithful and He did not give me up to my sins, humbling me in many ways to seek a right relationship with Him. I regret over the lost time of fellowship with Christ and my slowness of growth in Christ-likeness all these years of being a Christian. Thank God for the joy to be able to seek and serve Him again!

As someone encouraged me before to be "More of Him, Less of me", this is what I pray to be this day. To be more Christ-like in my attitudes and to be a good steward of what God has blessed me with. To be obedient to God's word is at times still a demanding task for me as it often involve a total submission to God's will and a strong conviction to want to glorify God over self-love which comes naturally to me. Still by God's abundant grace, I pray that my walk with God can be a slow and steady marathon race through self-discipline and development of good habits of prayer and reading the bible where I can cast back on God and draw on His limitless resources.