Grace Beyond Imagination

A Friendly, Yet Strange Environment

　　I still think about three years ago when I participated in the Spiritual Formation Camp with the teachers and students of HKBTS. At that time, I was apprehensive and worried about whether I could fit in with all the other young and energetic classmates and cope with the next three years of study, internship, and subsequent pastoral work.

　　Having been out of school for a long time and caring for my family as a housewife over a decade, I was excited but found it nerve-racking to be a full-time student and enter a new environment. Those challenges were real, yet the grace was unimaginably abundant. I met a sister from my mother church, the Fanling Baptist Church (FBC), a former administrative staff of FBC, and also a former seminary intern at FBC. All three of them were third-year students at the seminary who became my seniors. In addition, a sister from my fellowship group in FBC was also a part-time student at the seminary, so we could occasionally take the same subjects and attend classes together. Encountering them at the seminary gave me a special sense of warmth.

My Supportive Classmates

　　Moreover, my classmates were full of love. I remember my experience during my first test in the “Philosophy and Theology Methods” course. Despite my preparation, I failed because I did not fully grasp the content. When my classmates noticed and discovered my struggles, they shared their learning insights with me. As a result, my score doubled on the second test.

　　Theology was an unfamiliar subject to me; I could not understand the lectures, let alone ask or answer questions. Even though I had questions, I could not articulate them clearly. My classmates often acted as my translators, rephrasing my questions so that the teachers could understand my queries. Sometimes they even shared their perspectives, so we could exchange ideas.

Teaching Beyond the Classroom

　　Apart from my classmates, the teachers at the seminary also exceeded my previous impressions of the role of teachers. They were unpretentious, helping to set up venues and move tables and chairs during events. Although we didn’t have Dr. Andres Tang’s course in the first semester, one of our assignments was to write reflection on his book. When he knew that we did not understand his book, he tutored us in his spare time. Over the three years, despite my not staying in the dormitory, our class and I often stayed together, along with teachers like Dr. Tang and Dr. Chang, for meals, morning prayers and breakfasts, casual chats, word games, karaoke, bowling, and even having “graduation trip.” Learning happened not just in academic settings but also in our daily living and practicing our faith.

Being With: Those Days We Walked Together

　　We all played volleyball together (even though I last played volleyball as a teenager). During the pandemic, we chose to eat takeaways so that we could dine together, did Hebrew assignments together via online video conferencing, used “dark memory methods” (our collectively invented mnemonics) to review Hebrew vocabularies together, welcomed our classmates’ newborns, and went on outdoor retreats together. We served each other as Student Union executive committee members and by praying together for peers’ surgeries, family issues, and other difficulties.

　　Despite differences in ages, backgrounds, personalities, interests, and abilities, we accepted each other, watched over each other, and walked through these three years together. It is hard to imagine how we could have come together without God or completed this program without the fellowship, help, and companionship of my teachers and classmates. I am grateful to every staff member, teacher, and classmate at the seminary! Thank God for bringing us together and letting us to experience and witness His abundant grace! May we be faithful to what God has entrusted us, and may our work be pleasing to Him!