Walk through the Valley, and Respond to the Calling

　　When I was young, I studied in a Christian primary school. I was asked to memorize biblical verses in Religious Education classes, and gradually God’s word was put into my heart. In my first year of secondary education, I accepted Christ as my Savior in the school’s evangelistic meeting. Since then, God has been working in my life. He changed my perfectionist tendency, taught me how to entrust everything to Him, and helped me to accept my God-given self-worth.

　　2021 was my first year studying in HKBTS; it was also my tenth year involved in church life. Looking back, from a very early stage, God had already put the will of full-time serving in my heart. I was first called in the 2012 Hong Kong Bible Conference when I was still a secondary school student. Since then, the will to serve God has been deep in my heart.

Trusting God in the Valley

　　Looking back to my past twenty-and-more years of life, 2013 was the year that I experienced the most significant change.

　　That year, I was overwhelmed by stress because I was sitting the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination. I was exhausted both bodily and spiritually, feeling extremely depressed. Sometimes, I even wonder whether God can save me from my sadness. Probably my faith in God was not enough, and I let my negative emotion occupy too much of my life. Because of this, I decided to turn back to God, allowing God to rule my life. I learned to seek God and rely only on Him. My problems did not immediately resolve themselves, but this experience taught me about the presence of God.

　　Nevertheless, my soul was so weak that I was unable to continue my tertiary education. To find rest for my body and soul, and to have room for reconsidering my future, I left school. During this time, I got baptized. I found that God accepted my whole life, not only my present self but also my past traumatic memories; everything was in His hands. I began to realize that God was turning my whole life into a perfect offering. After that year, I knew that I had to walk a different way: to offer myself totally for God’s use.

Equipment after the Reset

　　After those stormy days, my soul was gradually restored. I returned to school; now God helped me overcome the old burden of stress, so I was able to enjoy the study process. God also led me through the valley of sadness, and taught me about my unique character: a sensitive heart that can enter others’ hearts, listen, and accompany others. This is what I learned about myself at the university; I believe these qualities would also aid my ministry in the future.

　　With God’s goodwill, I worked in the library of HKBTS after graduation from university. In the community of HKBTS, my heart was always encouraged by teachers and students; I increasingly looked forward to studying at the seminary for better training, so I may use my gifts fully, and have a further growth of my spiritual life.

Confirmations in Prayers

　　God gave me two confirmations for my applying for theological studies.

　　The first confirmation was a prayer experience in a retreat. While I was praying, God led me into the scene in Matthew 9:35-38. I saw myself walking through an endless field with Jesus, and we saw that all of the crops were ripe and ready for harvest. Jesus, however, sighed, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” I sensed the humbleness of Jesus: He was not going to finish the harvest alone but invited me to be His worker and work with Him. I felt the urge to respond to this calling, so I decided to study theology.

　　The second confirmation came from the biblical verses that were deeply meaningful to me. In Ezekiel 13, prophet Ezekiel denounced those false prophets in his time, who only proclaimed peaceful messages that the people were fond of, but not the message of judgment and repentance. Ezekiel said that they were like jackals, who find food among the people without bearing the duty of rebuilding them and helping them stand firm.

　　When I meditated on these verses, I asked myself: Being in Hong Kong in this time, am I willing to stand out bravely and repair the breaches on the wall? No matter whether it is the breach between humans and God, or the one between the Christian communities and the world’s challenges. How can my ministry repair these breaches, build the church and prepare brothers and sisters to endure in difficulties? This is my greatest wish and target in ministry. I hope to work together with brothers and sisters in one heart, and watch and defend Hong Kong and the church. May glory be to the Triune God!