Our Beloved s Garden School of Ministry 2016

Transcription

1 Our Beloved s Garden School of Ministry 2016

2 mission statement contents Our Mission Tung Ling Seminary Malaysia is committed to TRAIN, MENTOR and SEND workers to the harvest fields of Asia and beyond. By the Grace of God, we are committed to : TRAIN men and women to be strong theologically in the Word of God and full of the Holy Spirit so that they can effectively preach the Word and demonstrate the power of God in their lives. MENTOR men and women by combining sound mission statement 2 editorial note 4 chairman's address 6 principal's address 8 board of directors 10 staff 12 lecturers 13 class photo 18 class song 20 class of student testimonies 22 featured articles 40 class activities 48 tung ling houses 52 pip english 54 pip graduates' testimonies 55 som india 56 pip tamil 57 tung ling ipoh 58 som 59 som mandarin 60 sponsors' messages & advertisements 61 acknowledgements 82 theological teaching with on the job training supervised by a mentor. SEND workers into the harvest fields of Asia and beyond.

3 editorial note editorial note This year s School of Ministry consisted of people from several different nations, numerous different walks of life, and of very different ages. How did this seemingly random collection of people end up together in Tung Ling Seminary for three months? The answer is simple. We were all brought together by a common desire: to get to know our God better and to grow in the Spirit and the Word. You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices. You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon. Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that it s fragrance may spread everywhere. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choice fruits. I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends, and drink; Drink your fill of love. The Church is to be the Bride of Christ. In Isaiah 62:5 it is written, as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. Also, in the New Testament Paul writes in Ephesians 5:23, 31-32: For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. There are differing interpretations of the book Song of Songs. Aware of this, our Tung Ling SOM students still felt that the imagery was a relevant portrayal of the Church - of which each of us are a part, no matter where we come from, what we do or how old we are. Song of Songs is one long, elaborate allegory that can be interpreted as presenting a most beautiful image of the Church and her relationship with Christ, her Beloved. This Most Excellent Song, as it is also called, has taught all of us in the SOM so very much about Christ s longing for intimacy with us. The outworking of the rest of our lives must come out of this intimate relationship with our Lord. He sees us as a beautiful, desirable bride. Son 4:12 calls us 'a garden locked up... a spring enclosed' and in 4:13-14 describes the precious fruit of the Spirit that reside in us. We are all fruit in His garden, and He delights in us. But also, we are to bear fruit. The nine fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5 can only dwell in us if we first dwell in Him, and if His Spirit is truly manifest in our lives. In Tung Ling we have learnt that the ultimate goal of our lives as believers is to become more and more like Christ by allowing the Holy Spirit to take total control of our lives, so that His fruit alone may grow in our hearts. Our Lord s heart is for us to say, as the Shalumite does in 4:15, "Awake oh north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden that its fragrance may spread everywhere". In Tung Ling we have been discovering the ways in which we, the Beloved's garden, are being pruned and shaped so that ultimately we can spread His fragrance to the ends of the earth. The fruit are too good not to be shared! The final verse of our chosen passage, Son 5:1, says Eat, friends, and drink; drink your fill of love. Once we are filled to overflowing with His incredible, wonderful love, others can then recognize and partake of that love through us. This is the Father s intention for us. And as graduates of the Tung Ling SOM 2016, this is what we seek; it is our prayer and our pledge, both now and for the rest of our lives. The Editorial Team Pass It On 2016 left to right: Richard (Finance), Doreen (Finance), Amanda (Editing), Ruth (Editing), Joey (Finance), Rachel (Graphics), Jason (Graphics), Pearly (Layout Artist - not in photo) Song of Songs 4:12 5:1 (NIV) 4 5

4 chairman's address chairman's address Eu Hong Seng, Chairman Enclosed, Watered, Fruitful, Fragrant and Refreshing Congratulations to the SOM class 2016! In the Song of Solomon (4:12-5:1), Christ's Church is depicted as a garden. The bride of Christ acknowledges herself as His garden (4:16). And the Lord Himself speaks of her as My garden (5:1). There are five features of this garden mentioned that underscore what the Lord expects His church to be. As His garden, the Lord expects the garden to be an enclosed garden (4:12). This speaks of a heart separated from the world, preserved from evil, and set apart for the Lord. It is not simply our time, our finances, our talents, or our service that our Lord desires, but first and foremost, He claims our affection, our undivided affection. The spring and the fountain in the garden will turn it into a fruitful garden - a paradise of pomegranates with precious fruits (4:13). The Holy Spirit will produce in our hearts the fruit of the Spirit, which, the apostle Paul tells us, is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, selfcontrol (Gal 5:22 NKJV). Another feature of this garden of the Lord is that it is a watered garden (4:15). Plugged into the Holy Spirit always, the believer has this source of joy. Whilst the world is entirely dependent upon surrounding circumstances, things and people for its passing joy, the believer has a spring of joy within, which is a life lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Not only is the garden of the Lord an orchard of precious fruits, but a garden of spices from which sweet odours arise (4:16). It is a fragrant garden. In Scripture, the spices, with their fragrance, speak of worship that has Christ as its one and only object. There is no thought of receiving blessing from Christ, but of bringing the adoration of our hearts to Him. We are also to be the fragrance of Christ to the world (2 Cor 2:14, 15). Lastly, the garden of the Lord is a refreshing garden (5:1). The Lord would have His garden be a source of refreshment to the world around. Has not our Lord said, "Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water" (Jn 7:38-39 NKJV)? The Shulamite speaks of being refreshed with apples (2:15). No doubt, in the garden of His presence, all can and will be refreshed. May you be His garden - enclosed, watered, fruitful, fragrant and refreshing. As you graduate, may you be the bride that touches not only the heart of the Bridegroom but also the hearts of others and turn them to Him. 6 7

5 principal's address principal's address Ng Wah Lok, Principal Incense in the Bible is often symbolic of worship. Our worship is as fragrance to our God. The next time you worship, remember that God views your worship as fragrance. sources of life and places of refreshing. No wonder God calls us to be a fountain that flows out so that we will bring life wherever we go. Bring life to people wherever you go. Fruitful, Fragrant and a Flowing Fountain Ex 30:35, 'And make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred.' 3. Flowing Fountain Israel and the surrounding nations are full of deserts and very dry. Rivers and fountains are As you graduate from the School of Ministry, remember to serve God and make an impact on the people around you. God has called you to be Fruitful, Fragrant and a Flowing Fountain. Son 4:13-15, 'Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, fragrant henna with spikenard, spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.' Congratulations to the School of Ministry You are the largest class since we started the SOM in The theme Our Beloved's Garden reminds me of 3 things. 1. Fruitful As God s beloved garden, we must bear fruit. In our journey of sanctification, we will develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit and become more like the character of Jesus. The fruit of the Holy Spirit are equally as important as the gifts. When we bear fruit, it shows that we are maturing in our walk with Jesus. 2. Fragrant When there is a sweet perfume in a room, we are immediately attracted to the perfume and will want to find out where it came from. Jesus calls us to be salt and light. When we are fragrant, non-believers are attracted to Jesus through our lives. 8 9

6 board of directors board of directors From left: 1. Bishop Andrew Phang Andrew Phang, consecrated as an Anglican bishop in 2008, is overseeing the mission works in Penang, Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Terrengganu and Pahang. He continues to serve as the Board Chairman of St. Nicholas' Home for the Visually Impaired People. He is currently the Chairman of Council of Churches of Malaysia, Penang Branch. 2. Rev. Elisha Satvinder Elisha Satvinder is the Senior Pastor of New Covenant Community Church, Sentul, which he and his wife Petrina pioneered in They were graduates of Portland Bible College and were ordained as pastors by City Bible Church. His primary calling is evangelism and he moves powerfully in the prophetic gifting. 3. Rev. Dr. Eu Hong Seng (Chairman) Eu Hong Seng is the Senior Pastor of Full Gospel Tabernacle. He also serves as the Chairman of National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (NECF) and Vice Chairman of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM). He is also a Board Member of Tung Ling in Singapore and Manila. 4. Pastor Phua Seng Tiong Phua Seng Tiong was the Senior Pastor of the Sungei Way Subang Methodist Church. Under his leadership, SSMC has become a dynamic church with a heart for missions. 5. Pastor Richard Toh Richard Toh joined Community Baptist Church (CBC) on his return from studies in the United Kingdom in He first served as deacon, and then as Elder of the church. He later served as Senior Pastor of CBC which now has 7 preaching centres. CBC is a cell church, and is involved in various missions, both local and overseas. In 2010, Pastor Richard stepped down as Senior Pastor and is now Pastor Emeritus of CBC. He is also the Vice Chairman of the Malaysian Baptist Convention. 6. Rev. Ng Wah Lok Wah Lok serves as Principal of Tung Ling Seminary. He is a pioneer member of Full Gospel Tabernacle (FGT), and also pastors FGT Sri Damansara

7 staff lecturers Phua Seng Tiong Phua Seng Tiong was the Senior Pastor of Sungai Way-Subang Methodist Church, Petaling Jaya. He had been a teacher and principal of government secondary schools for 31 years and retired in the year He is a founding pastor of SSMC which began in Presently he is retired and has passed the church to another pastor. Under his leadership, SSMC has become a dynamic church with a heart for missions. Seng Tiong and his church have been actively involved in mission work in countries like India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Indonesia. He also serves as a board member of Tung Ling Seminary. He is married to Ai Swee and together they share a passion for missions. Rev. Ng Wah Lok Principal Rev. Jagadeesan Kalyanakumar Principal (Tamil Division) Ong Guek Ju Guek Ju has been serving as the Dean of the School of Ministry since 2003 and now, is also the Principal of Tung Ling Bible School, Singapore. She is a regular teacher and lecturer at churches, classrooms and conferences. She has taught in many church-related missions, Pastors Conferences and Bible Schools in Cambodia, Kazakhstan, India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam. She speaks at Women s Conferences and her passion is to encourage the younger generation to love and study the Word of God for themselves. Guek Ju is a trained professional coach and adjunct faculty at the Haggai Institute for Advanced Leadership Training. She has written a book entitled From Strength to Strength. Colin Hurt Rev. Paul Huang Dean (Mandarin Division) Ps. Chan Theam Lai Dean (Tung Ling Seminary, Ipoh) Subashini Achari Dean (Tamil Division) Dr. Colin Hurt has been in the ministry for more than 50 years, which includes pastoral experience with Assemblies of God (AOG) in England and USA, teaching in the AOG Bible College, England, missions all over the world and setting up the Church Planting Institute in Cambodia. He is also currently serving as the Principal of BCW (Bible College of Wales). He has taught on a wide range of subjects from Missions to Homiletics to Eschatology. Married to Julia, they serve God together, believing that their commission from God is to prepare God s people and train leaders for the harvest anywhere that God calls them. Voon Yuen Woh Wong Chin Yee Administrator Linda Ho Administrator Steven Vijayan Administrator Yuen Woh is the Malaysian National Director of Evangelism Explosion (EE), an international evangelism-equipping ministry. He is one of the pioneer leaders of Full Gospel Tabernacle (FGT). Prior to coming out into full-time Christian ministry in 1990, he had served as a financial controller in an insurance company and as an audit supervisor in an international accounting firm. Yuen Woh also represents the Christian Federation of Malaysia and the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia for matters within Negeri Sembilan. He is one of the pioneers of the Seremban Pastors Fellowship. He is married to Swee Leng and they have 3 girls, Vivienne, Rachelle, and Rosanne

8 lecturers lecturers Philip Ong From a CEO of an international Ad Agency, Philip is now the Dean of the School of Leadership at Tung Ling Bible School, Singapore. His calling has always revolved around business, church ministry and leadership. Having spent more than 30 years in the advertising business, he has always been passionate about using business as mission for the kingdom of God. In 1995, Philip started an advertising company in Jakarta and at the same time, together with a group of believers, they started a local church - Jakarta International Christian Fellowship (JICF). On returning back to Singapore in 2002, he became the founding chairman of Equipping Leaders for Asia (ELA), a non-profit organization challenging men to rise up as Spiritual Leaders in their homes, workplaces, churches and community. Having dealt with leaders and leadership pitfalls at different levels, Philip felt a compelling need to teach about character formation. He had been teaching the subject of Character Formation since 2007 at Tung Ling Bible School. Joy Dyson Joy Dyson is recognized by many as a very competent counselor who delights in helping people find their true identity, understand their unique personality and learn how to build successful interpersonal relationships. Married to Kevin for more than 50 years, they have served both as pastors of local churches, and as seminary faculty, teaching students around the globe by campus classes and online mentoring programs. Originally from New Zealand, they now live in Australia where they are able to interact with their 3 adult children and spouses, plus 12 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Jagadeesan Kalyanakumar Jagadeesan Kalyanakumar is an Indian national and is married to a Malaysian Chinese, Jessie Choo, and they have two children, Jeanette Nithyaa and Jayden Nithish. Kumar graduated from Tung Ling Bible College, Singapore in the year After working with the Indian migrant workers for 7 years in Singapore, he returned to his home country India in He pioneered Harvest Apostolic Ministries and has trained more than 500 church planters and planted more than 70 churches. His vision is to see 1000 churches planted by He is the Principal of Evangelical Theological Seminary, Tung Ling Seminary s Tamil Faculty. Alan Tan Alan Tan (M.Th), is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God Malaysia (AOG). He has been in ministry since 1982, pastoring churches in Kota Baru, Kelantan and Klang, Selangor. He currently pastors Harvest Christian Assembly, a multi-lingual congregational church in Klang which he pioneered in August Alan also gives oversight to two churches which are under the spiritual covering of the church. He serves in the Inter-Denomination Group called Kingdom of God Malaysia (KOG), a Christian group of about 20 churches seeking to mutually encourage smaller churches. He and his wife, Lai Forng, are blessed with three children and three grandchildren. Their children and families are loving and serving the Lord in their own capacity. Eu Hong Seng Rev. Dr. Eu Hong Seng is the Senior Pastor of Full Gospel Tabernacle (FGT), Malaysia, and oversees all the daughter churches in Malaysia and overseas. He holds a number of positions, among them being Chairman of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) which represents approximately 95% of the Christians in Malaysia via the Roman Catholic Church, the Council of Churches of Malaysia, and the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF); and Chairman of NECF. He is also Chairman of Tung Ling Seminary Malaysia and sits on the board of Tung Ling Bible School, Singapore. He is also qualified as a Certified Public Accountant and is married to Gaik Sim. They have two married daughters and 3 grandchildren. Kevin Dyson Kevin, together with his wife Joy, have been actively involved in church planting, Christian education, pastoral leadership and biblical counseling for over forty-five years. Originally from New Zealand, they have a passionate understanding of a biblical worldview that enables them to serve those wanting to be trained and equipped for the work of Christ s Kingdom. In latter years Kevin and Joy have functioned as pastors to pastors all around the globe, building a mentoring network of pastoral church leaders and front-line mission workers on five continents, who desire to see their own local flocks trained and equipped for the task of fulfilling the Great Commission through the Great Commandment. Currently he is the President of New Covenant International in Australia. Chan Theam Lai Theam Lai is the former Pastor of Canning Garden Baptist Church, Ipoh. With 20 years experience as a pharmacist, he took the church to a new dimension when appointed as pastor in Presently he serves as Dean of Tung Ling Seminary in Ipoh. His passion is to explore strategies for Church Growth and to encourage God s people to respond to His calling upon their lives. Married to Lye Hoon, they have a son and a daughter. Arnold Rajan Arnold Rajan, together with his wife, Santhana, are the pioneer pastors of City Tabernacle, Kuala Lumpur. Besides pastoring, he also lectures in the Evangelical Theological Seminary (the Tamil division of Tung Ling Seminary) and Harvest Apostolic School of Ministry, India. He is also the Principal of LifeNet Bible College and the Director of Logos Academy. Arnold holds two Advanced Diplomas in Business Management and degrees in Theology and a M.A. in Leadership. He is the author of several books and has published his first book, Divine Tools

9 lecturers lecturers Ng Wah Lok Graduated with a Masters Degree in Engineering in 1988, Wah Lok worked as an engineer and subsequently as a Senior General Manager in the Soon Seng Group. In 1999, God called him to full-time service and he took the position as Principal of Tung Ling Seminary, and pastor of Full Gospel Tabernacle, Sri Damansara. He has served as worship leader in Full Gospel Tabernacle since He has written over 100 songs, many of which have been used in the local church. His signature song Every time I pray is sung in many churches across Asia. With fervent passion for music, he has released 2 albums, Every time I pray and Shining Stars and has also developed extensive teaching materials. Wah Lok is married to Bessie and they have three boys, Garrett, Nicholas and Victor. Chew Weng Chee Dr Chew was a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist before he gave up his medical career to serve the Lord full-time in He graduated with a Masters degree in Theology from the Regent College Bible School, Vancouver in Up until March 2007, he was the President of the SIB (Sidang Injil Borneo), Semenanjung, overseeing 31 Bahasa Malaysia churches throughout West Malaysia. Ps Chew is also the Senior Pastor of SIB (KL), a rapidly growing English congregation. He is married to Ps Dr Lew Lee Choo, a paediatrician, and has 2 sons, Jonathan and Christopher. Tan Beng Teong Tan Beng Teong is an elder with Community Baptist Church. He is married and has 3 sons. He is currently managing a Human Resource Development Center in Shah Alam. He teaches leadership principles and areas related to interpersonal relationship. His teaching techniques are very unique and effective. Beng Teong s calling is to seek the Law of the Lord and to do it, to teach God s word and oracles in Malaysia. His passion is to see useful management and leadership tools made available to churches and Christian leaders. Elisha Satvinder Elisha Satvinder is the Senior Pastor of New Covenant Community which he and his wife Petrina pioneered in They were graduates of Portland Bible College and were ordained as pastors by City Bible Church. His primary calling is evangelistic and he moves powerfully in the prophetic gifting. His church in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, is involved in ministering to the squatter community around them. He has also traveled to many different countries such as Australia, Singapore, Philippines, Canada and America to preach. Elisha and Petrina have 2 lovely girls, Hanna and Davina. Alvin Tan Alvin Tan is pastor of High Praise Church, a dynamic church located in the heart of Subang Jaya. He is a very gifted pianist and worship leader. Prior to being a Pastor, he served as a Music Director in a para-church Creative and Music Ministry. He also served as worship leader and musician in many National Rallies and Conferences and had the opportunity to work with people like Larry Lea, Bob Weiner, Reinhard Bonkke, Claudio Friedzon, Sergio Scataglini, Carlos Anacondia and John Bevere. Some of his ministries extend even to the Philippines and Nepal. Alvin graduated with a Bachelor of Ministry from Tung Ling Seminary. He is married to Lynda and they have a beautiful girl, Chantel. Kindah Greening Rev. Kindah Greening was the Senior Minister of King s Christian Centre, a growing Pentecostal church on the Gold Coast of Australia. Kindah has pastored for over 50 years, fathered several churches and traveled worldwide because of his propheticteaching mantle. He has ministered in international crusades, conventions, men's camps, ministers conferences and conducted large healing crusades. He also lectures on Pneumatology and The Anointing and has conducted many Coping with Grief and Crisis seminars. He is a family man, married to Joan. Des Short Des Short is Founder and Principal of Faith Bible College in Tauranga, New Zealand. The College began in 1969 and today has over 9,000 graduates with many of them involved in full-time ministry in countries all over the world today. Des is well known as a Bible teacher and ministers often in different parts of Asia. He has a prophetic mantle on his life and opens the Word of God with clarity and insight. He spends a good portion of his time ministering in seminars, churches and Bible Colleges overseas. David Searle David Searle was a secondary school teacher when he felt the call to full-time ministry. He received his training at Melbourne Bible Institute, after which he served as a lecturer for the Australian Institute of Archaeology in Melbourne, and curator of their museum. Since then, David and his wife headed up the pastoral department of Waverley Christian Fellowship and were very involved in the teaching ministry with Dr Kevin Conner, in the WCF Leaders Training Bible College, and for over 30 years, the Key of Knowledge Seminar. In 1994, he became the Senior Minister at Good News Fellowship, and since 2001 has been in travelling ministry. David s learning and practical experience has made him an excellent teacher, helping students discover for themselves the truths in God s Word

10 SOM Class of

11 class song Love Pour Out (a Tung Ling SOM 16 composition) [verse] E C#m Love is patient, love is kind A B Love rejoices in the truth E C#m Love protects & always trusts A B Always hopes & perseveres [pre-chorus] C#m E All of our strivings they will cease C#m B His perfect love always remains Class of 2016 [chorus] A E B Oh this love, is where it all began A E B This love, will conquer all this land A E B Cause this love, will never ever fail A B E So let it pour, let it pour (Let it pour out) 20 21

12 student testimonies student testimonies Brandon Teoh Meng Hui SOS Assembly Rhosanna Ruth Rigden Rupantaran Church, India Allison Sushmita Jacob Full Gospel Tabernacle, Seremban Josialyn Martin A/P Michael Guy Revival Sanctuary, Johor The last three months studying at Tung Ling Seminary has truly been an eye-opening experience for me. I have learned to view many things differently and as a result, my attitudes have changed for the better. I am well pleased with the change in me. Honestly, I never had any intentions of enrolling into TLS and I was rather hesitant at first when both my pastor and my mother approached me with the idea. However to my wonderful surprise, ever since I stepped into the class on the first day I found that many things began to change. I have become much more prayerful and my faith in the Lord and in His Word has taken a big leap. Just to quote one example, one of the first things I learnt is that one has to be submissive, sensitive and committed, apart from simply having our learned skills, in the worship ministry. During this three-month intensive course, I have acquired a different level of self-discipline, for example waking up early, time management, handing in assignments on time and studying through different modules accordingly. One of the most notable improvements I have seen is my communication skills and my openness with others. I believe this course has accelerated my overall growth. It will most definitely be beneficial when I begin my higher learning in college in the near future. With a better understanding of God s Word and a more mature disposition and character, I will be able to share Christ s saving grace with others and God shall save many more into His kingdom. That is His loving promise. I would like to thank my mother Jasmine, Pastor Samuel Wong, Pastor Ng Wah Lok and both sister Chin Yee and Linda for their caring support, continuous encouragement and Christ s love that they have collectively extended to me and all in the class during these wonderful and memorable three months at TLS. Most of all, I thank God for His providence and protection. My lips shall always praise You Lord. Back in 1988 my parents went to Tung Ling Bible School, Singapore. It was their launchpad into mission in S E Asia, and the lessons they learnt and the words from God they received then are still influencing their lives today. The friendships that were formed there are still going strong now, more than 20 years later. These testimonies were what persuaded me to join the SOM at Tung Ling Seminary in I was on my gap year, taking a break in between A levels and University, and I knew that I wanted to set apart a certain period of time during that year that was dedicated to Him, and to Him alone. So off to KL I went! I am a real cultural melee. British by nationality, I grew up in a little village in Northern India and then in Singapore, going to local schools in both countries. The first time I actually lived in my passport country was when I was 16 and moved to Wales, on my own, to do my A levels. I look very much an angmoh, but I tell you, I feel very much Asian! I think it took my classmates at Tung Ling a few days to get used to this blonde girl spewing lah s & Singapore-Malaysian slang all over the place! Tung Ling is a treasure-trove of wisdom. Do not come here expecting to leave the same, because you will be challenged and I warn you: it may not always be comfortable. It certainly wasn t for me. God dealt with plenty of things in me during my time in the SOM, including sorting out my identity as the Asian angmoh, helping me realize that He knew exactly why I d had the upbringing I d had and was going to use it to accomplish something only I could do; forcing me to find out if I really, really loved God enough to submit my entire will to His, as Jesus did and therefore as we are called to do; teaching me to love others as He does, that is selflessly and endlessly. These are lessons I know I needed to learn before heading back to the UK and starting University this coming October. Living in the Tung Ling hostel really helped cement what I d been learning in class, bringing the lessons to life, in life. Not having much personal autonomy was not something I was used to, but God knew what I needed to learn. I am so grateful for the friendships I have made here at Tung Ling, and I expect them to stay strong and true for many years hence. Our God is a faithful God; if you trust Him there is no limit to what He will show you and how He will use you! If Tung Ling has taught me one thing, it is that there is no point living a lukewarm Christian life. I want to live for Him completely, 100%... because believe me, God makes life worth living. It had been a dream of mine to join Tung Ling SOM ever since I was 16, when I saw one of my church friends graduate from SOM with a great story and amazing experiences to tell. As time passed by, I must admit it no longer seemed like such a great idea. However, I still took that leap of faith and decided to sign up and I soon realized that my fears and doubts were banished. So, my journey began. Indeed I have truly been blessed and inspired by the lecturers who have walked into the SOM building. Through Rev Des Short s lectures, I have definitely discovered the joy of reading the book of Song of Songs. It s as if my eyes have been opened to a whole new world. I had always thought the book Song of Songs was the weirdest part of the Bible, but instead I now find it to be one of the most beautiful parts of the Bible, as it speaks of our most Beloved so beautifully. I have also made some really awesome friends here in SOM. Regardless of how different each of us might be, we have been able to mix around and build encouraging friendships really easily. Leading worship and conducting devotions was not as scary as I thought it would be, because everyone really cheered and helped each other on. We supported and motivated each other throughout! I strongly recommend that you join the SOM at Tung Ling, as it will definitely be a chapter in your life that will bless you tremendously. It will draw you closer to God, plus it will be an unforgettable milestone in your life. I was born and raised in a Christian family. I had all the Bible knowledge and knew all the rules that a Christian should follow. I was living a Christianity is a set of rules kind of life without realizing that bad roots were taking a hold of me, producing bad fruits in my life. I had never had a personal encounter with God until a few years ago when I started questioning the things that were happening around me. I started seeking God. Soon after, God started speaking to me through His word, situations and people around me. However, I still had so many unanswered questions in my heart. I heard about Tung Ling through my mother and brother. After graduating from university, and before I got a job, I decided to take some time to learn and grow in God. The SOM classes have changed my life tremendously. Each and every day, my unanswered questions were being answered. The first lesson on Christian Character Development impacted my life deeply. I could feel God s love and forgiveness surrounding me throughout the whole lesson. I couldn t stop crying the whole time! Everyday, being surrounded by a bunch of classmates who all have the same desire to know God more and are trying their best to please God has been the most encouraging thing for me during my time at Tung Ling. I feel so blessed to see each person taking care of, helping and supporting one another as one big family in Christ. We also have a lot of fun sharing food and preparing for worship together. Here, serving one another is never a chore! My experience at Tung Ling has changed my life in many ways. I have seen my faith increasing as I put the things I have learnt into practice. I can see my relationship with God growing when I do things out of love, not out of obligation to a set of rules. I am so glad that I made this decision to come to Tung Ling. My life will never be the same! Amen! 22 23

13 student testimonies student testimonies Celestine Amenda Linges Waran Calvary City Church, Pelangi Indah, Johor Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old, Isaiah 43:18. God impressed upon my heart these words as I set foot into SOM In life, I have had my fair share of journeying through mountains and valleys, and every phase of the journey has moulded me into the person I am today. Although I have been actively serving our Lord Jesus Christ since the age of five at various ministerial levels, there have been times I have felt that the attached suffering or "wilderness" seasons were unbearable. At the end of last year, I went through such a time. I had to lose a group of people who had laboured with me and whom I loved dearly, to take a stand for what was right without compromising my principles and despite great opposition. As a servant of God, I was utterly devastated and my bones ached with great emotional pain. It was a lonely journey and the pangs of being forsaken by those who laboured with me tore my soul. However, as David encouraged Himself in the Lord, I allowed God to sustain me through His Word. I was introduced to SOM 2016 and encouraged to attend as I was still young and have many years ahead of me. After much prayer, I took the step of faith despite my hectic ministry schedule. It was here God restored a double portion of everything I had lost. I was refreshed, revived and restored. God brought new divine connections that will last a lifetime. It has been a great privilege to sit at the feet of Jesus these three months and learn life and life abundant through God's anointed vessels; our beloved lecturers. They have exemplified lives walking in the Spirit in obedience to Christ, implanting divine seeds into our spirits that will last a lifetime. I believe as we abide in Christ and Him in us, in due season we, SOM 2016, will bear much Godly fruit. I am greatly inspired to run my race with my eyes fixed upon the Author and Finisher of my faith. God has used SOM 2016 to once again quicken my spirit to rise up and become a channel of change and a vehicle for transformation. I desire to leave a legacy to my generation and the generations to come that will bear true Christian conviction, character, conduct and charisma. Special thanks to the staff of TLS for pouring their life into us. Also to Rev Benedict Rajan, Rev Beatrice Rajan, and Ps Brett Chandra of Calvary City Church, thank you for having faith in me, that the Lord who begun a good work in me shall bring it into completion. To the pillars in my life who taught me the ways of the Lord and to seek first the Kingdom of God, my beloved Appa and Amma, I am all that I am today because of your enduring love, encouragement and support. My crazy beloved brothers, I love you to bits! Thanks for always standing by me. With the foundation TLS has given me, I will help churches and individuals lay solid Biblical foundations for effective and successful living. Ivan Chan Jing Ming Full Gospel Tabernacle, Subang Jaya Pursuing this three-month School of Ministry program has always been my dream. Therefore, I planned my schedule around it even before my SPM examinations because experiences shared by those who had undergone Tung Ling previously spurred me to follow in their footsteps. I would describe Tung Ling in two words: God-given. The tremendous amount of encouragement, knowledge, revelation and friendships that I have gained throughout these three months will be something I hold dear for years to come. I have learnt to submit to God s plan and will for me. The living testimonies of my lecturers and fellow students have been evidences of His goodness. Waking up early to commune with God at 6am became my to look forward to activity, especially after a long weekend. The long weeks of Spirit-filled mornings and nightly quiet times have been golden nuggets. Tung Ling opened my eyes to God s wonders. I always remind myself that the greatest lesson we can ever learn about life is that there is always more to learn. I received far more than I expected from Tung Ling. I just want to thank God for this life opportunity to know Him closer and build many wonderful friendships with my classmates, which I know will last a lifetime. A special thank you to my parents and siblings who encouraged and supported me throughout Tung Ling. Much appreciation to Pastor Cheng Tyan Min, Lum Ye Sheng, Rachel Ho and many others for their prayers and impartations of wisdom given to me during these three months. Last but not least, thanksgiving to the Almighty for His steadfast love never ceases. Joey Ng Pei Yee SIB Likas (E), Sabah The Tung Ling School Of Ministry! I was so excited to come when my mentors first mentioned it to me. Unfortunately, my parents initially disagreed with it as they thought that career was more important. "Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord" Colossians 3:20. Therefore, I honoured their decision. This was until the end of last year, when during our family devotion time they told me they d decided that if I still wanted to go to SOM, I could I was overjoyed! Why was I so excited to join SOM? Because God had done so much for me and my family, even when I didn't really know Him that well. I desired to know God more, and felt the need within me to equip myself more for His purposes. So, that's how I ended up at Tung Ling! I really thank God for my parents who allowed me to attend SOM, and were supporting me in prayer; my mentors and pastors who encouraged me to take up the course; my core team who backed me up on my duties and responsibilities at PowerHouse (the youth ministry back home); my boyfriend who encouraged and assisted me in the process of growing closer to God, and loves me even though I am often impatient with him; all my SOM lecturers who are passionate to impart the Word into my life; and last but not least, Ms Chin Yee and Ms Linda who taught me discipline and consideration. What did I learn from SOM 2016? Appreciation: At home, I had never needed to do many house-chores, especially washing the bathroom, but I had to do this while staying in the Tung Ling hostel. I really appreciated my mom whenever I washed the hostel bathroom! Purpose: I found out that God has already predestined a plan for me from the verse Romans 8:29. I know that I can't be as perfect as Jesus, but I need to improve my characters and attitude to be more like Him. I need to move forward and press on to fulfil His purpose. I need to pass on the Word to my youth as my lecturers have done to me. God's always right: I had always thought that having expectations was good, because without expectations we can't hit our goals. But God doesn't work based on my expectations; He has a plan, and I should be working for His plan. I should never measure God's unlimited power by my limited expectations. Love: I found out that I always sought for people s approval instead of God's approval. The book Song of Solomon really inspired me, because I felt the touch of His love towards me. I saw myself like a precious gem in His eyes. So yes! I really feel contented and revived after the three-month course (even though I needed to take at least an hour-long nap each afternoon!). It was really worth the time, as it helped me to build a solid foundation in my life. I would definitely encourage you to attend SOM, too. Sophia Ho Hsin Fong SIBKL Chinese Church Before coming to Tung Ling Seminary (TLS), as a new mother it was challenging for me to find time for God. My time was mostly spent at work and looking after my daughter, who was less than a year old. Without realising it, I went into a spiritual wilderness. Earlier this year, I felt God telling me that 2016 would be a refreshing year for me, as quoted in Jeremiah 31:25: I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. I prayed about it and God just told me to go to TLS. So by faith I resigned from my job and applied. Through the studies on Song of Songs at TLS, I learnt that God has created a garden in us. When we yield to God, the garden flourishes and bears many fruits. my own vineyard I have neglected Song of Songs 1:6 Unfortunately, while caring for the needs of others, I had neglected my own garden, causing it to become dry inside. In that garden, there is a fountain, a well and springs that had been blocked up. I resonated with this because I knew that fruit was not flowing through me to be a blessing to others. During my time at TLS, like a gardener God came and made my garden beautiful and refreshed again! The wind of the Holy Spirit came and blew upon the garden so that my Beloved could enter and flow through me. I am now REFRESHED, like the fountain, the well and springs from Lebanon, filled with living waters (Songs of Songs 4:15-16)! I would like to thank Pastor Inky for supporting my decision to take this course, and also all the anointed lecturers who were willing to be God s mighty vessels passing down the knowledge to us! I have indeed been very blessed by this Tung Ling SOM

14 student testimonies student testimonies Jason Tang Tat Weng High Praise Ministries Ealiza Martina Simon Alpha Colors Church Faye Goh Chea Hui Charis Christian Centre, Kuala Lumpur Connie Chan Keo Ni Basel Christian Church of Malaysia (English), Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Actually, attending a three-month course in Tung Ling was not what I in mind for after High School. It never crossed my mind that I would end up in Bible school in March because it was not what I had initially planned. Seeing my friends registering for colleges really convinced me that I should do the same and join them. However there was a twist: I did not want to start college early in January, but rather relax until the July intake. It turned out this plan coincidently converged with the one my Mother had for me, which was to join Tung Ling in March, only then to continue with my secular studies. Initially I was a bit hesitant as I knew that my Bible knowledge and spiritual life were not up to par with the level at Tung Ling. Tung Ling was not a new word for me as many of my church mates had attended it before in 2013, 2014 and The three batches of students all had immensely positive reports of Tung Ling, and they encouraged me to join SOM But I had a question: What was Tung Ling really going to be like? This was what kept me afraid of registering. I did not know what would really happen there so I was relucant. Eventually, I asked my church mates this question and they advised me to just join Tung Ling with no expectations, letting God take control of my time there. So, I took a step of faith and signed up for Tung Ling. The times I have had in Tung Ling have certainly been memorable. My earlier thoughts about it have indeed changed, from fearing the course to loving it. God has really opened my eyes about venturing deeper into knowing his Word, and eventually realising what He has in store for me. Other than studying God s word, I have met an entirely diverse range of people: students from around Malaysia as well as international students. It has been a pleasure getting to know my phenomenal classmates for they have made my time in Tung Ling all the better. I would like to thank both my parents and church for supporting my decision to join Tung Ling. Most importantly, I would like to thank God for giving me an opportunity to delve deeper into learning about Him and also to experience leading a truly righteous life. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18 I had spent almost all my life chasing for temporary highs. But life always seemed to get emptier inside. Working as a nurse for almost three years had been a great journey in my life. I have always loved helping people meet their needs. But every day I would wake up and find myself asking, Is there more to life than this? Wanting to upgrade my lifestyle, I applied for a nursing job in Singapore. A part of me hoped that they would not hire me as I sat in the interview room. I am not sure why I felt that way. To my surprise, they did hire me. I had mixed feelings after receiving their congratulating me. The idea of getting triple the pay I had been getting here, and working in a very well known hospital in Singapore, sounded like a good plan; something I m sure every nurse would want. But I was not at peace, in fact was never at peace about accepting that job offer. There was always this little nudge at the back of my mind saying, Is money all that matters? Will you be happy getting that pay increment? Is that what defines your life happiness? Will that bring you fulfillment in life? So I kept praying, and kept seeking God. As a worship leader in my church, it has always been my desire to serve God and to do more for Him. But every time I heard God calling me, I would falter. Maybe not now God. Maybe once I m more stable? Maybe when I m ready? I would say. But the question is: when will you be exactly ready to serve God? It took three years, three conversations with my pastor, and a book by Steven Furtick, Sun Stood Still, to bring me to where I am today. My pastor always reminded me that the need is the calling. And my third conversation with him at the beginning of the year changed my life. I decided to cast away all my fears, putting aside what I wanted to pursue for what GOD really wanted for me. Thus with the help of my pastor Ps Justin, his wife, Ps Lai Keng and the support of my church, I made it here. The SOM has encouraged me, grown me, moulded me and stretched my faith in God as I offer my life fully to serve Him. I know this is just the first chapter of my journey with God. And I m so excited to be equipped here to see the rest of the stories that God has written for me. Quoting Rick Warren, You will only find your purpose in God s hand. Until you figure that out, life does not make sense. I have been so blessed that this SOM has helped me find my purpose in God. I was on a sabbatical and after taking a six-month break from work, I was not sure if enrolling at Tung Ling for another three months would be the right decision. I only decided to join this course two weeks before the class began. This was after much encouragement from Pastor Nellie, who was also going to join the course. Unsure of what was in store, I did not have many expectations. I just joined the SOM with an open heart and an ounce of faith. The class kicked off with the topic on Christian Character Development, which we learnt is the most important aspect in God s Kingdom and yet is being greatly neglected and ignored most of the time. We were inspired by the teaching and learned that true character-building is not seeking a complacent and comfortable life, but developing a Christ-like character. This also means learning to embrace the pain and suffering that may come our way. It is what eventually brings us through the storms of life, and prepares us for our eternal home. What we learnt was immediately put to the test, as our class is made up of individuals from diverse ethnicities, ages, personalities and cultural backgrounds. Staying in the hostel together put us hostel girls outside of our comfort zones. By living together we were learning how to bear with one another, accept and love each other with the love of Christ. Despite the numerous challenges, we actually enjoyed one another s differences and had fun most of the time! One thing that I desired as an outcome of this course was to know God more intimately, and to encounter His amazing love for me. I am truly glad that Tung Ling has shown me the path that will deepen my walk with him and has enabled me to embark on this life-time journey to experience His presence and His love. Over the mountain and the sea, your river runs with love for me I could sing of your love forever. This was the first song that I led in Tung Ling Seminary. Recalling the whole process of my applying to Tung Ling Seminary, it went pretty smoothly. At first, I prayed to God and asked if this was His will. I had been working in the church for about four years but I knew that my foundation was not strong. As a result, I often struggled to lead groups in church. However, God never forsakes me and His love endures forever. I am astounded by His love. He opened the way for me; He knows all my struggles and problems. After the Seminary accepted my application, I was indeed over the moon. I thanked God for Pastor Renny who encouraged me to take the three-month course. I believed that Tung Ling would be a good choice for a personal experience and exploration of theology. Therefore, I decided to go for it. Before I came, I was struggling with an inferiority complex. I did not know what the Tung Ling SOM would look like. I have always believed that I am not an academic student. I was excited yet worried at the prospect of the course, imagining every day and night about the classes, friends, and housemates. I asked God to give me good friends, help me to stay awake during classes and give me a more focused heart. To be honest, the first few days in Tung Ling weren t the easiest; as we had to sit for exams and discovered that we had to complete ten reading modules. Besides that, I really missed home! I missed my family, friends and colleagues, and above all, KK s food! However, all because of His grace and love, I managed to break the chain that hindered me from moving forward. I was quite settled down by the second week. After actually attending a few classes, I found them very impactful. I knew that the lessons being built would form a strong foundation in my ministry and life. My knowledge has grown tremendously. My housemates in Tung Ling House 2 have been very encouraging. I appreciated every moment that we laughed, shared, and prayed together. We bore each other s burdens and learnt from one another. Although we had only known each other for a span of three months, it felt like we d been friends for years. Now, our relationships are as close as that of a finger and nail. They are like my family, who never fail to love and care for me. On the other hand, all the lecturers are very experienced and I loved hearing their life stories. Sometimes, I just can t quite comprehend the goodness and faithfulness of God over their lives. His love is like a river that flows into our hearts endlessly. This is the reason why I could sing of His love forever. Last but not least, I will continue to pursue God s calling in my life knowing that God is building us, His people, to be more like Him

15 student testimonies student testimonies Kong Choke Kee Full Gospel Tabernacle, Subang Jaya Celine Foo City Harvest Church, Kuala Lumpur Doreen Lee Chwee Guat City Community Church, Melaka Joseph Chuang Khai Jun SOS Assembly My sincere thanks to my Senior Pastor Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng for giving me an opportunity to attend the three-month Tung Ling School of Ministry (SOM) Back in my secular full-time job, I was not able to attend SOM due to my work and family commitments. I have been tremendously blessed by the daily feeding on God s Word for these three months in SOM, despite needing to catch up with my daily work every night. One of our lecturers, Rev Des Short, gave us a verse from Isaiah 27:6 which has really spoken to me. In the NKJV, it says, Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, And fill the face of the world with fruit. Firstly, God called me to come to Him and take root in His Word. Like a tree, we all need to be deeply rooted in order to possess Godly attitudes and Godly character. Those who come to Him shall be grounded in His Word. That is the foundation I am to build upon in order to be strong in His ministry. SOM has helped me to be more equipped in His Word. By attending SOM, I have been reminded that I should continue to attend different seminars and courses to improve myself in His Word. Secondly, the Word of God says we shall blossom and bud like a fruitful tree. As Christians, we are called to be fruitful. We are commissioned to go out to the world and make disciples. That should be our number one priority. We are to be salt and light in the world. We need to bring non-christians out of darkness into His marvelous light. That should be my personal goal. Lastly, we are asked to fill the face of the world with fruit. As we are living in the last days, God commanded us to get out of our wilderness for the last time. We are not ask to give our 30% effort (bud) nor 60% effort (blossom) to God. We were commanded to give our 100% effort to God in these last days. Then only, God will help us to fill the face of the world with fruit. I pray that I will obey His Great Commission. I am grateful that by attending Tung Ling I learnt to be like a tree, being rooted and therefore fruitful for His Kingdom purposes. I have always believed that God has His purpose in all that happens, even if it feels insignificant to us. I have always struggled to do well in my studies, trying to make my family and God proud. And so it happened that when I didn t do well for my SPM, it made me want to prove to the people around me that I could succeed, that I could eventually go into studying biology (which I thought was my passion at the time). So I took my A-Levels. During that season of my life I struggled a lot as I was just trying to fulfill a goal I had set for myself, even though it wasn t God s plan for me. And so in the end, I did terribly for those exams. I also became very selfconscious about my external image, which eventually developed into an eating disorder. I was always hurting myself and asking God why He was putting me through all of this. Didn t You say that You loved me? was a question I often asked. When God shuts one door, He ll always open another. God opened another door for me to do a Diploma in Mass Communication. Going through the first lecture at Tung Ling where we were taught about Christian Character Development, I then realized that it was God s plan all along for me to learn how to surrender everything to Him and not struggle to become someone He had not made me to be. My testimony is that for the first time in my life, in this Diploma course I was able to not just pass my exams, but to graduate with flying colors. I have been able to fully overcome all that was negative in my mind, not repeating my insecurities any longer, and instead I could solely believe that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by Him. I thank God that He gave me the opportunity to experience Him even more at Tung Ling. I believe I will become a communicator for Him one day, to use my skills to spread His love and the Good News to people around me. First and foremost, I would like to thank God, my Senior Pastor Rev Joanne Lee and my church Elders for giving me this opportunity to attend the School of Ministry (SOM) and Pastoral Interns Program (PIP) in Tung Ling Seminary. In this season of my life, it is an honour and privilege to be able to come into His presence to sit at His feet together with my husband to learn the word of God and to be equipped to serve. I have been truly blessed and inspired by God's anointed and dedicated lecturers who taught us the Word. Also extremely excited by the profound meaning and truth that Rev Des Short explained in the Song of Solomon - the Most Excellent Song in the Bible which shows the progressive development of the relationship between Christ and the Church. Indeed, it is amazing to know that Christ, the King of Kings, desires such an intimate relationship with us. How beautiful it is to dwell in His presence knowing that He longs to hear from us. This has lead me to have a new understanding of God's highest purpose for my life, which is to be conformed to the image of His Son. Thus, everything else is secondary. As I desire to know Him more each day, the Holy Spirit will empower me to do His will. Lastly, my appreciation to my husband and my two sons who have been giving me encouragement during my studies in TLS. "You who dwell in the gardens, with friends in attendance, let me hear your voice! Beloved!" - Song of Solomon 8:13 The last three months studying at Tung Ling Seminary have been a delightful experience. I have gotten to know many wonderful and awesome friends during this tiring, but absolutely rewarding, period. I have been imparted with amazing scriptural knowledge and insights that I did not know before through all the lecturers. What impacted me most was the realization of what is required to be a successful servant leader in Christ's kingdom and a Godly influencer in the world. I have come to understand that Christ Jesus is our perfect role model. The Lord certainly has His divine plan for all of us. However, we need to pray unceasingly for revelation and direction as to how to lead others to Him. I am thankful to God for giving me this precious opportunity. Also, many thanks to my pastor, Sam Wong, as well as my father for sponsoring me financially to study at Tung Ling Seminary I would like to give special thanks to the principal, Rev Ng Wah Lok and the respective administrators, Chin Yee and Linda who have taken good care of all of us during these three months with patience and kindness. I feel that these three months is just too short a period for us to get to know one another better and at the same time, learn God's word and His way as He has purposed to show us. However, there is a time to gather and there is a time to depart. I hope all of us will meet again by God's grace and His divine appointment, and our good Lord shall complete whatever He has begun. I would like to become a certified fitness instructor/trainer in the near future. I believe that God shall direct my paths and my endeavours will surely be blessed if I remain faithful and obedient to Him. With the help of the Spirit, I want to share Christ's saving grace as I embark on this career path and I believe that God will save many more souls as we serve Him faithfully. Lastly, I want to thank the Lord, for He has made me wiser, with more Scriptural understanding. Lord, thank You for drawing me closer to You. Help me to be a vessel of blessing that will bring you glory and to be a living testimony that will inspire others. Praise You Lord. May the Joy of the Lord be our Strength

16 student testimonies student testimonies Josiah Chong Chin Tong Seremban Life Assembly, Negeri Sembilan Rebecca Teh Poh Yi Full Gospel Tabernacle, Seremban Geraldine Villegas Calvary Charismatic Church, Lahad Datu, Sabah Mahendran Munian Sungai Way Christian Church, Petaling Jaya "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 This verse made the greatest impression on me during my time in TLS, where God has been revealing things to me since Day One through the things happening around me. I thank God for letting me experience Him and His work during my time in TLS. Our God indeed is a living God! A brother who was also at the time studying in TLS introduced me to the school. Back at that time I was looking for a seminary to further equip myself with the Word of God, and it so happened that at the right time this brother strongly recommended that I take up the Pastoral Internship Program (PIP) at Tung Ling. During my time in the PIP, other brothers also encouraged me to take up the SOM and indeed it was a place where I felt I belonged. Praise & Worship every morning, which brings down the presence of God, and the application of invaluable personal experience in ministry by lecturers, has blessed me tremendously. I would like to thank my beloved pastor & his wife, as well as my family for being supportive during my time here in TLS. It was not easy travelling back and forth for work in church and studying at the same time but I thank God for His protection and the strength He has given me. Last but not least, I would like to thank the wonderful staff of TLS - Ps Ng Wah Lok, Ms Chin Yee and Ms Linda for their hard work in TLS, which has been a blessing for all of us! At first, my friends and family in church encouraged me to join the Tung Ling SOM. I was still wondering whether or not I should, because I had just finished my Form 6, which was very tiring. I was not sure if I was prepared to start a three-month course or not. After thinking it over twice and with encouragement from friends and family, I finally decided to sign up for SOM. I was looking forward to it, and wanted to discover more about God and build a deeper relationship with Him before I started university. In SOM, I have truly been blessed to have our speakers here to teach and share their experiences with us. I hae learnt a lot and it has encouraged me in many aspects. For example in the book Song of Songs I have discovered many things that are all new to me. Here, I have been given the chance to lead worship and share a devotion in front of the other SOM students. I led my first devotion here (yay!), and I really thank God for this. As for friends, I have met a bunch of awesome new friends here. From being just strangers, now we are all friends. We have spent time together and truly experienced the love, joy and peace of God. Worshipping and praying together every weekday has definitely built up our friendships. Encouraging and supporting each other throughout these three months has become our daily joy. I don t think you will have the chance to experience all this unless you join SOM. So, I encourage you to join too! As for me, I thank God, SOM, my friends and my family for giving me the awesome chance to be here. We serve a God who answers our prayers! I had prayed for divine connections and when I came to Tung Ling, God gave me a group of special and incredible friends. I love them so much and feel so blessed to have them as part of my life s journey. Dear friends and especially the Princesses of Tung Ling House 2, all of you are awesome! Before coming to Tung Ling, I shared with God my dreams to pursue further studies and to develop more ministry-based skills, but I really did not have any idea how this could happen; it seemed so impossible for me because I have always been so busy with work and various ministerial tasks. However, things took a turn and in November last year, God opened a door for me through my Pastor and pastoral staff-member. They encouraged me to go to Tung Ling (that was the first time I had heard about Tung Ling). At first, I struggled and refused to go because I could not speak fluent English. Once again, God intervened and gave confirmation through a dream. In the dream, I saw one of my pastoral staff members handing me a cheque. I looked closer and was shocked to see such a large amount! She asked me to sign it, and it would be mine. Looking at it again, I saw that it was valid for three months. When I woke up, I pondered the dream, and God gave me wisdom to understand it. I divided that amount into three months and then realized that the first number was 7. 7 is a perfect number! Finally I understood that a great blessing and the perfect will of God were coming. So I made a firm decision to study at Tung Ling. I was inspired and spiritually revived by the anointed lecturers. Finally, I would like to thank my pastor, Rev. Daniel Chong and the pastoral staff-member, Teacher Celia, for being a great support to me in serving the Lord. All glory to Jesus! Before stepping into Tung Ling Seminary (TLS), I was unclear about the direction my life should be taking. I was struggling and confused due to a lack of clarity and confidence in my God-ordained destiny. As I was from a shaky background, the phase of my life I was journeying through made everything around me seem even more complicated. It was during this period of personal struggle that I had two caring and loving individuals around me: Ms Carol Davamani and Mr Frederic Foo Chen Wee from Malaysian Care. It was they who introduced me to the School of Ministry that was annually organized by TLS. They fervently encouraged me to attend this fruitful and Godly programme as they felt it was tailor-made for people like me. Due to the silent struggles within me, it was not easy to bring myself to say yes to attending this course. However, I sought the Lord fervently as to what my course of action should be and I felt the affirmative prompting of God in my heart to attend the SOM. I believed that God would provide the answers for many of my internal questions in TLS. Holding on to the promises of God, I took a step of obedience and gave my decision to Ms Carol and Mr Frederick. After a couple of days, I received good news that brought me so much joy and peace. My application to TLS had been accepted and I had been sponsored for the SOM! Without much ado, I started preparing and packing my things with great excitement bubbling inside me, as I knew deep within me that God was charting my course, and answering my prayers. I must say that this has truly been an inspiring season of my life. On the first day of class, as all the other encouraging and supportive brothers and sisters came and spoke to me, I felt a burden lifted off my shoulders. I realized that I could be myself with everyone and my experiences here have been truly life-giving moments that I will cherish for a lifetime. I have been tremendously blessed, empowered and inspired by the work that God has been doing within me here at Tung Ling. Without a shadow of doubt, I can boldly testify that all the classes have been designed in such a way as to transform my life to become more like Christ in character and conduct. Everyday, God is moulding and shaping me into all that He has created me to be. God has placed me in the right place at the right time to equip me and change me from strength to strength. I thank God for all the lecturers and for my classmates who never fail to inspire me with the Word of God. May God bless each and every one of them. Jeremiah 29:

17 student testimonies student testimonies Mark Nawn Ak Nawn Full Gospel Tabernacle, Miri, Sarawak May Michelle Tan Peng Chean SIBKL Ps Monthon Aphichaipumarin True Vine Church, Chaingrai, Thailand Michelle Tan Lay Tin Full Gospel Assembly, Prai After I finished my Form 5 and received my SPM results, I was asking God, "Father, I have another three months - what do you want me to do?" To be honest, at the time I had not been to church for five months. However, our God always has better plans for our lives. I spent one month with God and, five months later, I was going back to my home church as before. God touched me so much with His Love, so much more than I could ever imagine! Before I came to Tung Ling s School Of Ministry, the Lord had spoken to me by His word "Seek first my kingdom (Matthew 6:33). I was invited to join this course by Full Gospel Tabernacle, Kuala Lumpur. This church has blessed me so much by introducing me to this course. While I ve been here, I have learnt so much about God. This SOM has opened my mind and it has been such a great blessing and privilege to be taught by the various anointed lecturers. The lecturers who are from different countries have helped improve my knowledge about the Bible and truly have exemplified in their own lives how to serve God as a son. I have also been blessed through the Morning Prayer sessions in SOM What a wonderful experience it has been with the other students! They really cared for each other; supportively building one another up to become more like Christ. SOM has taught us to be committed with our times with God because it is a place where you can learn to discipline yourself. SOM has also given us the opportunity to grow with new friends from different cultures. In our class, we have students from Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, India, United Kingdom, Sabah and Semenanjung Malaysia. Everyday, I would learn something new from them, especially during the morning devotions. I am taking my sabbatical year this year. Last year, I met many admirable Christian brothers and sisters in my church district camp who are Tung Ling alumni. Earlier this year, at the 2016 early dawn prayer altar led by Pastor Dr Chew at my home church SIBKL, the Lord convicted my heart with the realisation that I needed to grow deeper in the word of God in order to build spiritual roots to support my further spiritual growth. So, I decided to take a leap of faith to dive into His Word at Tung Ling SOM this season of my life. By God's grace, my faith has been affirmed. I have learnt from many inspiring and excellent teachers here at Tung Ling. Some examples of the pearls of wisdom that have spoken most to me are: "Do not put God in a box". - Pastor Jagadeesan. He calls us "poeima" (workmanship in Greek) - Pastor Voon Yuen Woh. I was also very blessed by Rev Des Short demystifying the Song of Solomon. Our God is a refiner's fire. The God who structures carbon into diamonds and turns caterpillars into butterflies is the same God who is working on people called for His eternal purposes into Christlikeness so that we are fit to enter His eternal Kingdom. I am going to continue seeking the Lord on my next move after Tung Ling. I remember someone asking me, Why do you want to go to Tung Ling Seminary? Is it for youth leadership? No, you have already graduated from Bible school and will be soon finishing a Master s degree in Ministries why still go to Bible School? If we trust God s planning without a shadow of doubt, God is definitely able to lead us into His blessings. At Tung Ling Seminary, I found my rest physically, emotionally and spiritually in God. It has fulfilled my heart. It has also increased my Bible knowledge more and more according to what Jesus said, For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him (Matthew 25.29). The lecturers are experienced and skillful. So I came here to learn how we could receive from one another; by, for example, learning to ask for help and being humble enough to cooperate in class activities. I was very impressed and so happy to meet, here at Tung Ling, the composer of my favorite worship song Every Time I Pray - who is none other than our Principal, Pastor Ng Wah Lok! I am also grateful to Ms. Chin Yee who has been very helpful and patient in guiding the students in developing their characters while performing their duties. Every student coming to Tung Ling Seminary has the desire to be trained to become a better person for God. I did not have the slightest idea what I would be getting myself into when I signed up for the School of Ministry at Tung Ling Seminary. All I knew was that I needed to know what God wanted me to do in 2016 as I was reluctantly taken out of my so-called comfort zone where I was giving tuition in Bukit Mertajam. In October 2015 I made a trip down to Kuala Lumpur, my hometown, to attend to the needs of my brother who had suffered a stroke in I then had to make a hasty, quick decision to give up all of my 2016 teaching engagements. Not only that, I was being pruned and refined while addressing issues with my other siblings. Prior to coming down to KL last year, God was already dealing with my heart, telling me that there was much more to be found in life than living the way I was living: a peaceful, complacent life, something I had always longed for. You see, having a schizophrenic mother took a toll on all of us. We did not have a happy, functional environment throughout our growing years. I realised I needed to address my constant bursts of anger, especially towards the brother who had suffered a stroke. I was so drowned in my family situation all my life, being the eldest, that I could not fly out of my eagle s nest and spread my wings to discover the world around me. Through the recommendation of Pastor Nellie, I signed up for Keys of Transformation, and the Schools of Ministry both at Tung Ling and at Elijah House. I have never looked back since then, for it has been a life changing experience for me. I want to be embalmed with the aromatic fragrance of myrrh, depicting the meekness yet unwavering characteristic strength of Jesus in me. I hope all the things that I have learnt here will be put to good practice. My desire and hope is to be able to share with others who are yet to realize that our Lord really wants us to be good gardens of God, and to be like sons. I want them to know that the Heavenly Father really loves all of us, and He always wants the best for us; bearing in mind that He also wants the best from us. I want to give thanks to Full Gospel Tabernacle Kuala Lumpur for giving me the opportunity to be a Tung Ling student for the SOM I have been SO BLESSED by this course

18 student testimonies student testimonies Nellie Wang Lin Shang Spring Rain Revival Centre Peniel Elijah A/L Sugumar C3 Subang Church Rachel Ho Kitt Yeng Shah Alam Gospel Centre Jason Goh Kok Wei Full Gospel Tabernacle, Subang Jaya After many years of ministry, I thank God for providing this season of renewal, refreshing and replenishing. In this Tung Ling SOM, I have enjoyed the fresh Morning Prayer, exuberant worship and delightful devotions. Morning after morning the Lord never failed to minister. I have been so thrilled to be in His presence. Break and snack times were fun too. Each morning we would get surprises, both from what was shared and what was not shared. We would chat and get to appreciate one another. And sometimes we would try to get more out of the lecturers than what had been taught in class. SOM is truly carefully planned under the Lord's guidance. Daily I was able to draw strength, insights, inspiration and illumination from Him. At times I was so moved during the lectures that I just had to pause in awe. The teachers don t just share knowledge, but also their life experiences and aspirations. They are such treasures to me. In SOM I have learnt about character building and forming, which is so practical and helpful in the life-transforming ministry. The course has taught us to be focused on what the Lord is saying and doing in and through us at this time of our lives. The weekly assigned reading was a great learning and life-transforming experience for me. I literally devoured those materials. I thank God, the staff and the student body at SOM for all their hard work, inputs, tears and laughter in this season of my life. I was once weary and lost, but now I can march on with Christ in my vessel. To God be the glory, great things He has done! I came to Tung Ling because I wanted a deeper relationship with God, and I wanted to enlarge my knowledge of God's Word. God has done great things for me and I have seen His love, forgiveness, and faithfulness in my life. I want to be bolder and be effective in witnessing for Christ, and that is also why I came to Tung Ling. I have learnt a few things in Tung Ling. Firstly, I have learnt more about God and how He works in our everyday life. Secondly, I have made new friends and I am glad God has put them in my life. Through them, for the first time, I'm learning to relate to people who have different personalities or talking styles to me. God created diversity for a purpose, and we must respect each other. Unity is togetherness in diversity, which builds up the body of Christ. Finally, I have learnt to be disciplined and set goals in my daily life. We must take advantage of every second, for time does not wait for us. After SOM, I plan to serve God in some sort of ministry. I plan to enrol in the PIP program that Tung Ling offers, enabling myself to serve God in a greater way. I want to be a Pastor or possibly work with certain groups of people that God has put in my heart. Nevertheless, I will go where God leads me. I encourage all Christians to take this SOM course. It is a possibility that you will not agree 100% with everything that the lecturers say, but that is okay. I can guarantee you that your life and how you view certain things will be transformed, in one way or another. God bless! Even before choosing to attend this course, coming to Tung Ling SOM for three months was something I could see myself growing in and learning more about God each day, thus being a chance to make the most of my free time after high school. I also saw it as an opportunity to help me improve my spiritual discipline that I lacked very much in my spiritual walk with God. I knew that this was a bad habit that had to change. True enough, through the lessons that have been taught here in SOM, I have felt God talking to me day by day, at His own pace showing me what He is really like. The topics taught are so applicable. It really is an exciting journey each day to see what God has in store for me to learn. The lessons learnt don t just become head knowledge, but they truly touch the heart as well. There were certain days during the course when I would feel moody and tired, but I have discovered that God really has His own way of cheering me up through the teaching, and comforting me by showing how He is always there for me. Spending time with God became more exciting and talking to Him became very natural. It is truly a blessing to have spent three months here at Tung Ling, learning and growing closer to God daily. I have really benefited much from the lessons and the encouragement I get from people here. To strive and finish this race faithfully fixing my eyes on Jesus is my goal! Joining SOM was quite an impulse decision for me. The option was open and the timing was great, so I went for it, especially after listening to testimonies by previous students. What you learn in SOM is quite deep and causes you to think and want to find out more. One subject I really enjoyed was Music and Worship. Growing up with a music teacher as a mother, I constantly heard music being played and probably took it for granted. However, in SOM I realized that there is much more to music than just playing songs and singing. It s also about concepts like harmony, rhythm, and how music affects you. The most important thing that SOM has taught me is the discipline to get to sleep early and wake up early. If you ask anyone who knows me, trying to wake me up in the morning is probably not going to end well for either of us. Before SOM started I was struggling with insomnia and depression. I couldn t sleep even if I was completely exhausted. At night, I would feel hopeless, anxious, and guilty, feeling like the world was pointless. There were even some nights I would just sit up and cry to myself. I was sleeping at 4-5am every day, and waking up at 2 in the afternoon. It felt like a burden just to get up, and when I did I would spend most of the day locked in my room. Getting over this required God s help, and of course, effort on my part. Not using any electronics before bed, for example, really helped. And prayer works wonders. This is something that I think many people take for granted. At Tung Ling the lecturers really helped give me a purpose. They helped me see the world in a different way, and to see them teach with such passion was very inspiring to watch. Having something to look forward to the next day really helped me fall asleep the night before, so I could wake up and not be late for class. What I have enjoyed the most here however, are the friends. One week was all it took for everyone to bond and start joking around. Worship practice sessions especially were chaotic, in the best way possible. Discussions were one good idea after another, and really loud. We have shared plenty of things, from personal stories to food (by the way Ps Wah Lok s kuih is really good!) SOM is a very non-judgmental environment. Having people that were so supportive was really encouraging. Overall, if there s one thing I want to say to people considering to join this SOM in later years, it would be that yes, this is a Bible school. Some classes may appeal to you more than others. But all you have to do is pay a little attention, and you find yourself learning things you never knew you wanted to know. Listen to every word the lecturer says and ask plenty of questions. It really will benefit you. You won t be here forever, and the weeks will just fly by and before you know it, it ll be over

19 student testimonies student testimonies Marcus Lee Jhen Shen Damansara Utama Methodist Church Stefanie Chan Hui Hsien Full Gospel Tabernacle, Kuala Lumpur Sarah Soo Hooi Mei Full Gospel Tabernacle, Subang Jaya. Htang Htin Healthy Church of Myanmar To say, "When I first attended Tung Ling, I didn't expect much." might make this testimony sound better, but I cannot honestly say it. I seriously expected a lot and I was not disappointed. I have really learned a lot from all the teachers here, and I believe that this learning will help me a lot in my life. How did I end up in Tung Ling? After graduating from high school, it was decided that I would attend Tung Ling's School of Ministry (SOM). Actually, it had already been decided long ago. My older brother attended it, so have I, and so will my younger brother. One of the things that have really impacted me has been the clear explanations of topics such as the rewards of the Kingdom: that salvation comes by grace but rewards come by works. I will continue to grow spiritually like a garden, in order to bear much fruit. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. Those that don't bear fruit will be cut off and thrown into the fire. After this, I will be continuing my studies, while always doing what I need to do. And what I need to do is what God wants me to do. But whatever I do, I will do it for God's glory, so that this generation that has strayed from the truth will know that God exists, and is living in me. Special thanks to Pr Ng Wah Lok and the administrators Wong Chin Yee and Linda Ho, for everything they do to make SOM really enjoyable and worth it, and to all the teachers that taught us throughout the three months. I was encouraged by my parents to join Tung Ling. So, knowing that here I had the opportunity to learn more about God and to grow spiritually as a Christian, I decided to join the SOM. I thought, Since I'm still waiting for college to start, why not join? Let me be honest, the first few weeks of classes were not easy for me. Having to get used to travelling to and fro for a long distance everyday was physically and mentally very tiring. However, God has always been there to continually strengthen and protect me throughout my journeys. He has sent people along the way to encourage me when I'm down and tired. That is why I can proudly say that I do not regret joining Tung Ling at all. In Tung Ling, the first activity we have is Morning Prayer. It has always been hard for me to put God as the first priority in my life because I get so easily influenced by the distractions in the outside world. So Morning Prayer has really helped me to develop a good habit in my daily life - a habit of looking and praying to God first thing when I wake up everyday. From Christian Character Development to Hearing God's Voice, from Christian Leadership to learning about the books of the Bible, I have learnt so much from the lecturers in every single subject. Their testimonies and stories have been so inspiring. Tung Ling has helped me to understand God and the Bible better than I did before. I have also been able to find answers for the questions that have always been on my mind when facing difficulties. Not only have I learnt so much, but also I am truly blessed and grateful that I have gotten to know amazing people from different backgrounds whom I can now call my friends. I am so thankful that I did not have to go through everything in Tung Ling by myself because they were always there to help, support and encourage me. My experience in Tung Ling would have not been the same if they were not around. After SOM, I will be continuing my studies in college but I will also continue to serve God in the are-as that He wants me to serve. I believe that this is only the beginning of a new, fresh journey and walk with God, and I am looking forward to discovering the plans that God has for my life. I am a pharmacy graduate, and last year was by far the toughest season in my life. Following my graduation I was not offered a training position at a government hospital so I took up a temporary job in order to support my stay in KL. I started with strong determination and worked hard, hoping that things would turn out for the better later on. However, things did not get better and just months into working, I was burnt out physically, emotionally and spiritually. I confided in a close church friend who prayed for me and encouraged me to seek God in this season, and I heeded her advice. Two weeks prior to the new Tung Ling semester, I suddenly awoke one night and the Lord brought to my mind two words: Tung Ling. I felt that God was leading me to go for the School of Ministry (SOM), so I took a step of faith and left my job. Here at SOM, I have been able to take big chunks of spiritual food, enjoy His presence and became more God-centered - which I believe was possible because of the prayers of His people and an earnest desire to seek the Lord. The Song of Solomon and Christian Character Development modules reminded me that Christian life will inevitably involve a few - if not many - seasons of wilderness, so I do not need to worry about the wilderness itself but rather focus on my response and attitude towards God in those times. In these last months, I have picked up a habit of laying everything, both good and bad, before the Lord daily, and slowly I gained much peace and joy which led me to have faith in God that His plans really were to prosper and not to harm me. While I was focused on re-aligning myself with God, to my surprise I was offered a government hospital placement: exactly what I had wished for earlier! Indeed, if I remain in God and Him in me, I can ask whatever I wish and it will be given to me (John 15:7). I consider this as double blessings. Firstly, there was growth in the fruit of the Spirit and secondly, I received the provision of a job! After this SOM I will go back to my church and serve the younger ones in my youth group. I will share the love of God and assure them of their potential in God. I also pray God will give me understanding and wisdom to bring words of encouragement to different youths who are silently undergoing a wilderness period. Finally, I want to give thanks and praise to God, giving Him all the glory and honour for the work He has done in me while I have been at Tung Ling. Our God is more than able to use our struggles for something good. I also want to take this opportunity to thank my church members who are like family to me, and also the leaders over me for always bearing with, loving, and praying for me. Firstly I would like to thank God for the wonderful opportunity to study at the Tung Ling SOM this year. I came to know of Tung Ling from Pastor Thang Mana and my friend Shing Mana of the Victoria Christian Fellowship. This same friend has blessed me by covering some of my expenses for this course. Before attending Tung Ling, I had been serving the Lord for three years with the Healthy Church, Myanmar. I am involved in ministry as an evangelist in Saw Town, Magwe division, which is one of the densest Buddhist population areas in Myanmar. To be honest, it has been difficult to understand the lectures here because I am weak in the English Language. I had to use the dictionary whenever I studied in the hostel. I also had to memorise by rote when necessary. I would like to thank God for Pastor Ng Wah Lok, Sister Chin Yee, the other lecturers and my fellow classmates for their untiring kindness and impartations to me throughout my school days. I felt God was speaking to me through the subjects that I learnt from the SOM and I truly believe that what I learnt will be very useful in my future ministry. I have absolutely no regrets about coming to Tung Ling SOM this year. All the honour and glory be to our great God! 36 37

20 student testimonies student testimonies Richard Lim Lian Keng City Community Church, Melaka Vivian Lee Soo Yee SIB Emmanuel, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Stephen Lawrence Charis Word Centre, Klang Rachel Hilary Khoo Kings Church Horsham, West Sussex, UK After spending 28 years working in Singapore, in 2011 I decided to move back to Melaka to get away from the hectic city life and start an early retirement, with the aim of spending more time with God and to learn His Word. Nevertheless, I found that it was difficult - not so much because of the money, but because work seemed to be my security and my identity. It felt good telling others what projects I had been busy with when asked. Ironically, I was even busier than before my retirement. Eventually, I was back to working full-time and serving God only in my spare time. With my pastor's encouragement, I began to shake off these many work commitments one by one. Finally I signed up for the Pastoral Internship Program in Tung Ling Seminary last July and now the School of Ministry. Studying full time in Tung Ling Seminary has helped me to focus on the things of God and away from the things of the world. I have been so blessed by all the lecturers and their teaching, in particular the lectures on the Song of Solomon by Dr Des Short. I am my beloved s, and his desire is toward me. (Son 7:10) Oh what a change of perception I needed, in order to turn away from the self-centered spiritual walk! Also how great a need to change from the phase of Growing Love to Transforming Love, and eventually to Mature Love. From now on, I want to be identified by serving God fulltime and working only in my spare time. Let this hymn reflect my daily desire to deepen my devotional relationship with Him: "I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses, And the voice I heard falling on my ear the Son of God discloses. And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known." -C. Austin Miles Lastly, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to my pastor, Rev Joanne Lee, and the elders of City Community Church, Melaka, for this sponsorship; my good friends David and Jaclyn for their hospitality in giving us a whole house to stay in during the three months in TLS; my sons, Darryl and Daniel, for they have grown up and are now independent thus we can study in peace in TLS; my dearest classmate and beautiful wife, Doreen, for studying together with me - praise the Lord for such a blessing. All glory to my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! The possibility of attending this SOM at Tung Ling was something I had come across, but had never thought could come to actual realization. Having been admitted into Ecclesia Theological Seminary, Hong Kong for my Master of Christian Ministry (MCM) with a full sponsorship, I was so ready to leave and start my lessons. This was supposed to have happened in January. However, although I had waited patiently for the approval of my student visa from HK immigrations, it did not come in time. January came and I still had not received my visa. That really made me doubt a lot while asking, "Father, I don't understand. If you have opened the door for my theology studies and even provided the finance for me, won't you also give me my student visa?" With much doubt and perplexity of mind, I ed my spiritual mentor in Singapore. He told me to re-seek the Lord for a new direction for the season. What would His purpose be if MCM had not been His plan for me? I did as I was told, although I could not understand the plans and ways of the Father (Isaiah 55:8). Although my mind failed to comprehend, I surrendered all in prayer. While I was seeking, Tung Ling Seminary came back to me and I had a strong conviction that I wanted to do it. My mentor encouraged me and indeed I heard good testimonies from a sister in Singapore who was still doing the course at the time, and from another brother in Singapore who had completed the course. They told me it was enriching, and full of life-changing encounters not just with the Lord but also with people. Decided, I then raised my funds and by the Father's grace, I had gathered almost all that was needed. Strangely, just after I had enrolled myself into Tung Ling, I received the approval for my HK student visa. So, I am going to start the MCM this coming September. Here I am at Tung Ling SOM as a prerequisite from the Lord for me, to be better equipped in all the areas that we have been very much engaged in during the course (Word, Prayer, Devotion, Worship, Fellowship). I believe that after all this training, I will be a good worker in the field of the Father, helping Him to gather more and more wheat into His barn. Glory, Kingdom and Honour are His alone, amen. Jeremiah 1:5 There was a time when God began to unfold the purpose of my life. After a deep time of confirmation and an inward sense of God s Spirit compelling me, I entered into fulltime ministry as a church worker despite facing of a lot of challenges. Here at Tung Ling SOM, I have had a chance to have a fresh encounter with Jesus, and a time of refreshing and renewal. My questions have been answered. My doubts have been cleared. During the last three months, God began to clear many of my doubts and inner struggles through the teaching and thrilling life experiences of the lecturers. I have been tremendously blessed throughout all the lectures, and especially during those on the Song of Solomon, taught by Rev Des Short. My spiritual passion for God and His Kingdom work has been revived. I feel renewed in every way, and especially in my perception of life and ministry, and the action required subsequent to that. God has revived me and clarified His calling. I am now ready to serve the Lord with a renewed passion. I am very grateful to my Senior Pastor, Ps Mathen, who is my role model and spiritual father, and to my local church, Charis Word Centre, Klang. I thank him for introducing and supporting me to study in Tung Ling Seminary. It has been used as a tool to shape me more into His likeness. All glory to God! I have been so blessed by my time at Tung Ling Seminary. I heard about the SOM course through Ruth Rigden while on a prayer and missions trip to India and Nepal last June. Initially I disregarded the idea of coming to Tung Ling because I thought it was too random and whimsical I mean, why Malaysia of all places? But my heart changed over the months that followed and it felt like there was a higher purpose for being here. Being on a gap year, I had the time and I could save the money I needed. In the midst of interviews for Art School next year and still evaluating whether I should come all the way here, I chose to attend the final two months of the course. Despite initial weather shock and culture shock, I felt settled in the TL hostel so quickly. My housemates were crazy, funny and love food, so it s safe to say we had some things in common. It took some time however before my English accent wasn t a barrier in conversation. They all made it their mission to transform me into speaking like a local and I think by the end they had succeeded pretty well! Day-to-day, I found it so refreshing that all the students took turns to lead devotions, prayer and worship. It made each morning different and meant everyone could be blessed by each other s leading. Lectures also varied tremendously, from ones that look into the deep issues of our hearts to ones about understanding how books like Ezekiel are interpreted! Being part of the editorial team for the magazine also has been an exercise in communication and organisation and has encouraged me in using my own talents. Every experience at Tung Ling has helped me grow in several areas of myself: learning to lead and trying new things, learning to put skills into practice and not just gaining more knowledge. Over the time here I have felt God speaking to me about my fears. I have felt challenged to trust in God and not in the acceptance other people can give. It is so easy for me to want to people please all the time, fearing the rejection and criticism of others. But God s love is enough. Understanding and taking confidence in his perfect love that casts out fear is what I want to continue permeating my life as I go back. I have been so encouraged by surrounding myself with a group of people who are so fun and kind and really seek after Jesus everyday. Moreover, I did not expect to feel God with us so much and to enjoy learning so many new things. I would recommend SOM to anyone who desires to seek more of Christ and grow in maturity, understanding and the knowledge of His love

21 featured article featured article Grace upon Grace by Vivian Lee, Sabah I was born into a strong Taoist family, of which three members of the extended family were mediums used by evil spirits in the past. When I was little, I used to stay with each one of the family households due to my family background. My parents separated when I was just four months old. I do not know precisely the story of my parents except being constantly told that if I ever happened to see my biological mother, I must sweep her off with a broomstick. When I turned four, my dad remarried to a Christian who is a native of the land. Since then, I lived a poor life. My stepmother used to beat me up a lot and she would also threaten me not to tell anyone about it. At the age of 10, my dad found out that I had been beaten up constantly by my stepmother and thus, warned her sternly not to do so anymore. However, that was only the start of another kind of abuse: verbal abuse. As a result, I grew up hating her a lot. I spent most of my early years with my stepmother and stepsiblings as my dad was not living with us at that time. He worked and lived in a different place instead. My dad was a man of violence and abuse too. He really 'whacked' me in the past especially when I was caught lying. I grew up being labelled a 'whore' and a drug addict by my own dad. Cutting it short, my past life was full of verbal abuse and curses from them both. Due to such a background, I lived life like a nomad since I was young, moving from one house to another. Witnessing how my uncle, cousin sister and cousin brother practised and performed their spiritual rituals with the so-called gods 'Guang Ying', 'Ji Kong' and others, I grew up in awe of them. When I turned 13, another problematic phase of life began: the teenager's life. I joined a group of seniors from my school who had associations with a local gang. From being top student in kindergarten and achieving academic excellence in primary school, I became corrupted. I was a severe truant and a big bully. Smoking, watching movies and indulging in arcade games were our daily routines. Our activities later involved more severe ones such as beating up others, picking fights with another group of people from a different gang, running away from the police, drinking, and spending whole nights at the pubs. I became 'well-known' among both teachers and peers, but not for a good reason. However, at 16, the Father came to my rescue. I suddenly had a strong desire to go to church. What a contrast it was because I used to quarrel with this Christian girl on the school bus when I was in primary school. She always criticized me for 'worshipping idols' while I always cursed her with 'Jesus'. I accepted Jesus Christ after a year of attending service in church. During the year of my baptism, God showed me two verses. "You did not choose me, but I chose you " [John 15:16] and "...not that we have loved God but that He loved us " [1 John 4:10]. These two verses powerfully told me this: it is not that I have chosen Him to be 'my God', but He has indeed chosen me to be 'His child'; it is not because I have loved Him that He ought to love me back, but simply because He Himself is love. He restored me from all the damage caused by my stepmother and my dad, constantly delivering and healing me from the past wounds that I received, particularly from my dad. He also reconciled me with my stepmother at the age of 19. During my turbulent years, I used to be telling others that I was a nobody's child and was born out of a rock, especially when I had to experience being chased in and out of one household after another. Father in Heaven somehow assured me that He is the father to the fatherless [Psalm 68:5] and He is my Father. In 2014, God fully restored my life and I began to share the gospel with my dad. Within a year, my dad accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour. He asked for my forgiveness. With repentance and tears rolling down his face, he embraced me in the church. That was the saving grace of God and His promise in Acts 16:31 that says, "Believe in The Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." "You did not choose me, but I chose you " John 15:16 I see my life experiences akin to the life of Joseph in the Bible and I know that God has His purposes. He allowed me to go through so much pain and ordeals in life so that I will be able to understand the weak and broken ones in future. I am convicted of the calling of God in my life to be a shepherd bringing life, restoration, grace and mercy into the lives of broken ones. He also intends me to be a role model among other believers who would build the foundation wisely on the solid rock of Christ Jesus Himself, so that we are able to stand when the storms of life hit us. Here I am in Tung Ling Seminary going through SOM as a prerequisite for me before I start my Master of Christian Ministry in September. SOM is truly the foundation to our Christian growth, particularly in forming our Christ-like character so that not only can we walk right in our personal journey with the Lord, but we can also be an effective witness for the Lord in the marketplace or the ministry that we are called to. I thank God for this opportunity to be in TLS. Here, I have gotten to know many brothers and sisters who practise love and grace in their lives. My heart feels so blessed seeing the young ones shining for the Lord and I hope that we will press on and keep marching forward till we all reach our final destination in Christ (Romans 8:29). Lastly, I thank HIM for who He is in my life. May all glory, honour and the kingdom be unto the Father alone. Amen

22 featured article featured article In a Foreign Land #1 by Htang Htin, Myanmar My name is Htang Htin and I am from Myanmar. Firstly, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to be here in Malaysia attending the SOM at Tung Ling Seminar. I had been a nominal Christian since childhood because my father is a pastor. When I was young, I had no interest in anything except for drinking. My parents were very upset with me but they never stopped praying for me. Later in life, my parents decided to send me to Bible school in Yangon, because they felt it would be better for me to stay away from them. To be honest, I was reluctant to go but I had no choice. After only ten days in the school, I decided that I wanted to leave. I badly wanted to go back home. Unfortunately, I had no money at all, so I could not even buy the bus ticket back. At that moment in time, I remembered that my parents were praying for me; I remembered that they had always been praying for me to come to know Jesus, personally. Remembering their prayers motivated me to go to a prayer garden called Mhawpi, in Yangon. I fasted there for three days and that was my first ever experience of fasting and prayer. Although my original intention in going to the garden was to seek God for the money to buy a bus ticket back, instead God graciously gave me His salvation in His Son Jesus Christ. I received salvation and was water baptized on July 17, My life changed entirely after that. I had interest in nothing but God alone. At that time, I felt God was stirring me to serve Him full-time. Therefore, I served the Lord as an evangelist in our church for one year, and then spent four years being an assistant pastor before I graduated as a fully-fledged pastor. I have now been serving the Lord in Saw Town since April 2015 as both an evangelist and a pastor. I am so proud to be a part of SOM This is a place where I have been exposed to so many central teachings of the Bible, and the subjects are extensive. I have learnt many new things in the school such as punctuality, effective new ways of sharing devotions, self-discipline, and how to help others in various different ways. I have also learnt about different cultures, and have benefited a lot from my housemates as they always help me improve my English. Tung Ling SOM, with its emphasis on the development of our characters to become more and more like Christ, is definitely a place for those who have the intention to serve and be a witness for the Lord not just in the ministry but also in the marketplace

23 featured article featured article In a Foreign Land #2 An Interview with Rachel Khoo and Ruth Rigden Rachel Khoo Ruth Rigden So, what brought you two girls to Tung Ling Seminary, KL, all the way from the UK? Rachel: My story begins in Nepal last June, whilst I was on a prayer and missions trip lead by three youths, one of whom was Ruth. She had told me about her plan to go to Tung Ling the following year and asked me if I d like to go too. At the time the idea seemed quite abstract and I was scared about the prospect of travel and being in a different culture for so long. However, as the year progressed I prayed about going, because the idea had stuck with me. I asked God to close the door if it wasn t His will, and at no point was it closed! I even received money I had not expected from relatives to help with fees. I arrived at Tung Ling one month into the course, as I had some interviews for Art School next year and I was worried about spending so long abroad. However, as soon as I arrived I knew it would have been so much better to come for the full three months. Not being here for the first month has been a wake-up call and motivation for me in learning what it is to have greater faith and not to live with my fears. God is Whom we can trust wholeheartedly; we can always lean on Him. Ruth: Well, although I am British I have lived almost all my life in Asia. Being an MK, or a Missionary Kid, I lived here in KL as a baby, later growing up in India and then in Singapore. So KL isn t too far from where my parents are living now, in Singapore. But the reason I am here is because my parents actually went to Tung Ling Bible School in Singapore back in It was their very first experience of Asia, and they were incredibly blessed by the SOM course. Being here has been interesting for me because many of the lecturers who are teaching on the SOM today were either my parents classmates, or actually taught them then and are still teaching today! Tung Ling really set them up for mission work in Southeast Asia, and the friends they made there are still ministry partners and good friends until today. It was my parents testimonies that brought me to this SOM this year, and it is really cool to be experiencing firsthand the rich heritage that Tung Ling is to so many. Has it been worth it, being here and attending the SOM course? What have you learnt? Rachel: Yes! Even though I had less time here than the others, I have found the time spent here so valuable to my walk with God. Every day holds a new challenge and a new adventure. Focusing on God daily meant I have been more alert to all that He could be saying. Certain concepts and themes would be repeated in lectures and in personal conversations, and Ruth and I would be like, I think God s trying to say something here! I have felt God gently speaking to me about the importance of having a vision in my life, coupled with the challenge of if I will fully trust in Him and His love for whatever He has in mind. I feel that this is a message for myself not just for future plans, but also in the everyday, within personal relations and the small things of life. I can be very shy as a person, and over my time here I have learned more about my own nature and how I am around others. God has been doing a good rummage around the rooms in my heart and giving me the prompt to deal with certain things. Without time away to reflect I think it is harder to move forward, so I am thankful I ve had this time. I want to live more boldly and more freely, with a deep security in Jesus, as part of my vision of whom I would look like if I were living more like Him. I want to live more boldly and more freely, with a deep security in Jesus... Ruth: Has it been worth it? Absolutely! I must admit that it was not exactly what I expected, but our God doesn t always work in ways we expect, does He? I have learnt so much about God and about myself in the three months I have been here. If you choose to dedicate three months of your life to God, He will not fail to speak to you. He has spoken to me all right! While at Tung Ling, God slowly but surely deconstructed the pride that quietly pervaded my life. I had never thought that pride was one of my issues, but I came to realise that so much of my identity was caught up in myself: in my achievements and in my life experiences. I have always been very academically able, and honestly have never been used to failing at anything, in school or outside. Father God began to nudge me in my spirit right from the very first lecture at Tung Ling about the hidden pride in my life. About two months through the course, there came a point when I just sat and wept uncontrollably after being strongly convicted of having been overly judgmental of a fellow SOM student. God was speaking into my heart; He slowly but surely progressively revealed the impurities that existed in me. Father God has also been speaking to me about my identity while I ve been here at Tung Ling. Any MK will know that living life as a global nomad, belonging everywhere and yet nowhere, is not easy. I have had my struggles with this in the past, but during SOM God used certain lecturers words to really speak into my heart about this issue, showing me why I ve had the experiences I have had and helping me discover who I really am, in Him. I am not going to pretend that all this was easy for me. It was not. I am also sure that He is not done with me yet. Life with Christ is a constant journey but that s part of the adventure! After this time at Tung Ling, one thing I can confidently say, along with Paul, is that He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Our God is faithful, and life with Him is so, so worth it! 44 45

24 featured article featured article Moving from Faith to Faith An Interview with Connie Chan, Sabah Hello Connie, let me ask you a few questions. First off, how did you come to know Christ as your Lord and Saviour? I was not raised in a Christian home nor born into a Christian family. However, I came to Christ when I was still a child, in a small village church in Sabah. Since then my whole family has come to faith, and we are all living for the Lord. If you were to describe God in one word, what would it be? I would say that God is my perfect Father. Since my younger days, whenever I had to make a decision I had no one to turn to. No one is to be blamed. When I was a child, I yearned for my own father s love and presence greatly because he never lived with us. He lived in Lahad Datu, very far away from me. He would visit us once or twice a month; probably less than ten times in a year in total. I would long for and anticipate his visits, and always got so excited whenever he bought something back for me. I always wanted to spend more time with my father. I often put up a tantrum and cried whenever he was about to leave for Lahad Datu. My mother was busy working in a small canteen in a developing area, trying to help make ends meet. I grew to be very independent, and whenever I wanted something I learnt to get it on my own. God was the One I could depend on. In Sunday school the teacher taught us to pray to our Father in heaven in both our good times and our bad times; whether we were happy or sad. Thus, when I was younger and I had to make a serious decision, I would simply talk to God, because He was always present. Once I found out that I had a perfect Heavenly Father who loves me unconditionally and was always to be relied on, it changed me. So, what brought you to Tung Ling SOM 2016? I have been working in the church as a member of the full-time staff for the last four years. The initial agreement was that I would work at BCCM for a year, and then if I was interested to further my studies in theology, they would send me to a seminary. This year was already my fourth year at BCCM and I still did not know what I wanted to do next in life. I was unsure about going to seminary because I have often felt that I am not really an academic person. Frustration flooded in whenever my overseeing Pastors enquired as to my next course of action, because I had a lack of direction as to what to pursue next. It was in my third year of full time work that Pastor Renny Khoo introduced me to Tung Ling Seminary and encouraged me to give the three month course a try. I came to Tung Ling because I wanted to hear from God; I wanted a clear sense of direction as to what I should be doing next. Tung Ling is the first step, a breakaway step of faith that I have taken before moving into the next phase of my life. Have you found yet the reason why you re here? Yes, I have. I am here because I need to equip myself in His Word as one of the leaders of my church. I serve among the youth and the young adults, and in the children s ministry. Oftentimes, I have felt that if I don t continue to grow and equip myself, I will not be able to lead people effectively. Nowadays many people are very highly educated and I felt in some way that I needed to keep up. I have been greatly blessed with the Tung Ling experience as I have learnt so many new things, and I can t wait to go back and share this knowledge with others in my home church. Also, here in Tung Ling Seminary I have begun to understand myself better, which has helped me decide my next course of action. For example, in one of the lectures a self-test was conducted to help us discover and understand what our spiritual gifts were. I was taken by surprise when the outcomes of my results were exhortation and shepherding/pastoring. I cannot quite describe my feelings at finding this out. I find great joy in sharing the gospel and in fact, in doing exactly what I am doing right now in the church. It was so encouraging to be affirmed in what I am doing. Now, I heard that you ve had an interesting faithencounter recently. Would you like to tell us about it? It was not only interesting but also at the time, terrifying. While I was at Tung Ling, I had a very unusual experience, along with two other friends of mine. It was a Saturday night and I was not feeling too well, so I went to bed early. Sometime in the middle of the night I was awoken out of a deep sleep by a loud banging sound, as if someone had either just dropped something very heavy, or had just slammed the door. Immediately I jumped down from my top bunk with all kinds of fears and misgivings flooding my soul. I then heard very clear, audible footsteps coming up the stairs into the adjoining room. Adding to my fear and sense of helplessness, I heard a sound as if someone was clicking open the door of the room next to ours. Immediately, I checked if our room door was locked. It was. Now, my room shared a bathroom with the next room, and my heart almost stopped beating when I heard the toilet door of the next room being opened. I was so scared that I ran towards our bathroom door and clutched its knob as tightly as possible. I began to call for help from my two roomates, who were both still fast asleep. One of them jumped up, hearing my cries. I then found myself in a very challenging, faith-testing situation because my friend ordered me to remove my hands from the door knob. At first I refused to let go, because I thought there was a physical intruder or robber on the other side of that door, who might be armed. But she insisted and finally I let go of the door knob. I felt the last drop of my strength leave me, I was so frightened. It was too much to bear at 3am in the morning! Courageously, my roommate flung open the door, switched on the bathroom lights and -- lo and behold, there was nothing there! But the story does not end there. My friend was opening the bathroom door that opened into the other room when suddenly she shouted, with a terrifying expression on her face, Did you see that? Did you see that?! I had not seen anything as I was hiding behind my own door. Immediately, she insisted that we start praying and calling on the name of Jesus. We prayed fervently and begin to sing praises unto our Almighty God, bearing in mind that no power is greater than Him. Our other friend, woken from her sleep, joined us as we prayed and praised our Lord together. After 20 minutes, we decided to go downstairs and check if all the doors were properly locked. Everything was just fine, in its place; all doors and windows locked. After we settled down back in our room, I asked my friend what she had seen earlier and she said it was a demonic spirit, which appeared like a strong gushing wind. We decided to stop talking about it and instead start praising God. I believe it was a spiritual attack meant to test our faith. We began to renounce all evil things, declaring scriptures together, praying and worshipping God until daybreak. Wow so what did you learn from that experience? I learnt a whole lot of things through this experience. Personally, I felt that my faith was really tested. I learnt that when we find ourselves in dead-end or helpless situations, turning to God is the best thing we can do. Praise breaks strongholds and ushers in the presence of God. Even though the very foundations of my faith were being tested, I had faith in that situation that God would intervene. At the same time, I want to thank God for a courageous and faithful friend who taught me to fix my eyes on Jesus when I really did not know what to do. She encouraged me to praise God boldly and ask the Holy Spirit to come and fill me, removing any negative thoughts and fears. His perfect love casts out fear and we are never alone; it is our place to praise and honour Him, and He is always, always with us. Well, thank you so much for sharing that Connie. Praise the Lord, indeed

25 class activities class activities Life at Tung Ling 48 49

26 class activities class activities 50 51

27 tung ling hostels tung ling hostels House One by Vivian Lee House Two by Joey Ng, Josialyn Martin and Ruth Rigden The 2016 SOM Tung Ling House One was peopled by seven of us: five brothers and two sisters. We were quite a diverse group, as all of us came from different places and were of multiple nationalities. Here we had Pastor Monthon from Chiang Rai, Thailand. He is married with two kids, and has been serving the Lord in the pastoral ministry for 14 years. We also had Pastor Htang Htin from Myanmar, also married with three kids. Then we had Michelle, originally from KL who used to be an English teacher. Josiah is from Seremban, a full-time church worker who serves in the administrative and music ministry in his church. We also had with us Mahendran, who is from Malaysian Care, a non-profit Christian organization. Hailing from the East, we had Mark from Sarawak who is the youngest in our house, aged 18; and myself, Vivian from Sabah. I am waiting to get into Ecclesia Theological Seminary in Hong Kong for a full-time Masters in Christian Ministry after the completion of SOM. Although we are uniquely different in terms of culture and background, we have been able to mix and get along well with one another, as no individual, but only Christ, was the centre of the house. As most of us are adults, most of the time at home we spent on our own studying, reading our books and reflecting on the things that we learnt in the SOM classes. Despite all, we would never forget to lend a hand to those seeking help in their studies. Mondays were the days we all gathered for dinner fellowship, and besides that we had a 'once-a-month' house meeting. One thing remarkable about us was that we had five guitarists in the house. So you can probably imagine how impromptu we were whenever we felt like singing unto the Lord; one of us would just grab the guitar and start playing and singing, then those in the living room or at the study table would just join in and start singing along. It was always so good to see that we were all true worshippers of the true living God. Tung Ling House One worships the Father in truth and in Spirit as He has demanded us to! Lastly, we would all like to express special thanks to Michelle for helping Pastor Monthon and Pastor Htang Htin improve their English, which is not their first language. We are also appreciative of Josiah who acted as our 'Transport Minister' despite his hectic daily schedule. Thanks to Mahendran as well, who has been a tremendous help to us in so many ways. I think that's all from us, the 'hostelites' of Tung Ling House One! Can you imagine? Ten girls living in one house with only three bathrooms and we all had to bathe and be out of the house by 7am every morning! So much potential for conflict, and yet miraculously we never fought over the bathrooms, or over anything else. Now that is a testimony, if anything is! Tung Ling House Two has been our home for the past three months. On Wednesdays we would have our weekly cleaning sessions and house meetings, where we brought up any issues, shared what we had been learning in the week, and prayed for one another. By the end of the first week of living together, we already felt like we had known each other for years. We have all learnt so much from one another, and honestly, would not have changed our housemates for the world. The residents of Tung Ling House Two consisted of two pastors, two angmohs, a coffee maker, a foodie, a hidden genius, an intercessor, a drama queen and a 'cili padi'. Let me introduce you briefly to the lovely members of the House: Firstly we had Ruth, our dynamic house leader, who is an 'angmoh' but inside is as much an Asian as any of us! Then there was Joey, the house treasurer whose incredible organization skills and never-ending stockpile of food saved our lives many a time. Next we had Connie, the drama queen and Malaysia's next top model, who brings shouts of laughter wherever she goes. Rachel is one of the funniest girls you'll meet, especially when she has her head stuck in the freezer to combat the heat! We also had with us Amenda, a dedicated pastor with responsibilities back home in Johor, who at times looks very serious but nonetheless has the most contagious laugh around. Josialyn, our pretty 'Coconut Princess', was also the coffee maker and our role model for healthy living. Next there was Geraldine, the most disciplined student in the house, who may seem quiet and unassuming but actually hides skills and abilities you'd never guess she had! Faye we called our 'cili padi' - she is small but fiery, and is a most dedicated friend. May was the intercessor in the house. She would lend a helping hand anytime, but before anything else, prayer would be her suggested solution. Finally, we had Pastor Nellie, the 'Mama' of the house who watched over us all and made sure we went to bed on time. A very varied mix of ladies, but we all grew together and loved one another, living out the true meaning of church: sharing, caring, eating, laughing, crying, praying, worshipping and simply 'doing life' together in community. Staying in Tung Ling House Two has been a precious experience for us all, and the friendships forged here will surely last a lifetime! 52 53

28 PASTORAL INTERNS PROGRAM (2016) Degree/Diploma Program TERM 2 : July 4-14, 2016 Day Class Theology 1 (Soteriology, Pauline Theology, OT and NT Theology) Date/Time July 4-8, 2016 (Monday-Friday, 8.00 am 1.00 pm) Course Description: This course gives a basic understanding of theology. Lecturer: Dr Neal Patterson Dr Neal Patterson has been in the ministry for over 50 years. Together with his wife, Ruth, they have pioneered and pastored several churches in New Zealand and established Bible schools in Singapore and Indonesia. In particular, Neal was Senior Minister of a large thriving church, Napier Christian Fellowship located in Napier, New Zealand. Neal also served at Tung Ling Bible College, Singapore for 7 years and during 4 of these years, he was the Principal. Night Class Survey of the Old Testament Dates July 4,5,7,11,12,13,14,2016 (Monday-Thursday, pm) July 9 (Saturday, pm). Course Description: This module gives an overview of the Old Testament which will help you understand how each book of the Old Testament relates to another. You will also gain an understanding of the historical setting of each book. Lecturer: Ruth Patterson Ruth Patterson is a gifted Bible teacher and has been in the ministry for over 50 years. Together with her husband, Dr. Neal Patterson, they have pioneered and pastored several churches in New Zealand and established Bible schools in Singapore and Indonesia. Ruth holds a Bachelor of Theology and Masters in Christian Education. She served as Dean of Tung Ling Bible College, Singapore from For registration or more information, please contact: Tung Ling Seminary WISMA EAGLES 2, Level 3, No.11, Jalan TP6, Taman Perindustrian UEP, Subang Jaya,Selangor. Tel: , info.tungling@gmail.com, Website: PASTORAL INTERNS PROGRAM GRADUATES' TESTIMONY BOBBY MAJIMBUN (SIB Likas, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah) Bachelor of Ministry My three and half years in Tung Ling Seminary doing my diploma/degree program has been the most stirring time of my life and undoubtedly a milestone in my spiritual journey. Honestly, the purpose of doing the program was exclusively for ministry but without realizing it, I have grown much spiritually. Not only my theological knowledge has increased but most importantly, my walk with God has grown deeper. The lectures has impacted my life deeply and the reading assignments have challenged my thinking and taught me discipline. I want to thank Dr. Colin Hurt, Dr. Neal Patterson and Dr. Kevin Dyson for their teaching and impartation into my life and ministry. Through TLS, I have discovered my passion for teaching. 2 Timothy 2:2 'And the things you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also ' has been my motivation to do what God wants me to do now. I want to continue to have the hunger to pursue deeper knowledge of the Word of God. Currently, I am pursuing my Masters degree in Intercultural Studies.Today, I travel to many countries around Asia to teach, preach and plant churches. The invaluable learning process has built my confidence and trust in God to fulfill the ministry that He has called me to do. SUSAN PAN YIN HSIA (SIB Likas, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah) Bachelor of Ministry I am thankful that I have completed my Bachelor of Ministry (Pastoral Interns Program) with Tung Ling Seminary as the experience was priceless. It is a privilege to study under so many experienced bible teachers who love and fear the Lord. One thing that stands out for me in the PIP programme is that it is not just about theoretical and academic knowledge. The practical application of what we have learnt and experiential learning process added a deeper dimension to the learning process for me. Our lecturers are not only of great academic standing but also practitioners in their field of expertise. Their testimonies of God s goodness and faithfulness in their years of ministry as pastors, teachers, missionaries, evangelists bring the classroom lessons to life. As they model Christ in their life, I am also inspired to go deeper in my relationship with Christ. The Word of God is the core to all our lessons and the way the lecturers teach and expound the Word of God has given me a greater insight and hunger to learn the scriptures.pip has also given me the opportunity to make many new friends. Relationships forged during the years I attended PIP have continued on after we have completed our studies. We still keep in touch and encourage and network with each other for ministry opportunities and share life together. Friends you make through the PIP will be friends for a lifetime. AMILY OW (Sanctuary of Praise, Kuala Lumpur) Bachelor of Ministry First of all I want to give thanks to God for HIS Grace upon my life. Because of HIS Help, I m able to finish the Bachelor of Ministry. Thanks to my family for supporting me and also to all the lecturers for teaching me new truths from the Bible. All the experiences in Tung Ling Seminary have made me a stronger person in my walk with God. To God be the Glory. I have learnt to discipline myself in completing my reading assignments on time. Even though it wasn t easy but God is good, He gave me the strength to complete all my coursework and pass all the exams. I also learned to minister with faith and love and deepen my character and foundation in our Lord Jesus Christ. God has taught me not to give up and He only asked me to trust in Him. Being in Tung Ling Seminary was a challenging and a good learning experience for me, meeting with lecturers from around the world and also working together with other students. I know that I will be able to use all that I have learnt for God s Glory. THANK YOU to all the staff in Tung Ling Seminary for helping me complete my studies here. I really appreciate all the work you put in for me. And lastly, I want to thank my LORD again for HIS joy and love that overflows in my life and during the course of my studies here. I m really blessed. GOD bless you

29 SCHOOL OF MINISTRY (a missions initiative by Harvest Training Institute, India in collaboration with Evangelical Theological Seminary, Malaysia) Since 2001 April (15 years now), Tung Ling Seminary has been involved in building God's kingdom in India by investing in the School of Ministry (SOM) there as well. SOM in India is headed by Rev. Kalyanakumar and Mrs. Jessie Kumar (both graduates from SOM, Tung Ling Bible College, Singapore in 1988 and 1989 respectively). Rev. Kalyan is also the Guest Principal of Tung Ling Seminary (Tamil Division), that is, Evangelical Theological Seminary and a regular faculty in the SOM (English) in Malaysia. So, we do have an experienced hand running this program in India. Kalyan and Jessie were also part of the Master Degree programme hosted by Tung Ling Seminary in Malaysia (2008) where they obtained their Masters of Theology degree with the University of Wales. To date, 850 plus students have graduated through this partnership and we are grateful to God for the wonderful work He has done! Most of the students who have graduated are now in full-time ministry, serving in various capacities and a good number of them in church-planting settings! It is a joy seeing our investment bringing Kingdom returns. CHENNAI, INDIA India presents great ministry opportunities. A huge land mass with a population of 1.33 billion, more than two-thirds of 630,000 villages are without any local church. The number of evangelical Christians on the overall is less than 3%. Training the nationals is the strategic thing to do and that is exactly what Tung Ling Seminary is doing. It has been investing in India and sending some of the best faculty from overseas to us, to train the students. Truly, the feedback from the students and the pastors has been very encouraging. About 300 plus churches have been planted through these trained workers in the last 16 years! The graduates are spread out in different parts of India (and some even overseas), either as a pioneer missionary or a church planter sowing the Good News of Jesus Christ in cities, towns, villages in India. We certainly appreciate your help and support thus far. The SOM course here has just started on the 18th April with 29 students from 19 different churches of different districts in Tamilnadu and by the end of the course in June, we pray that we will be able to send even more workers into the harvest fields of India! EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY PASTORAL INTERNS PROGRAM (TAMIL) Diploma /Bachelor of Ministry Program Term 2: September 2016 The Pastoral Interns Program (PIP) offers both Diploma and Bachelor of Ministry courses. To gain credits, the students must complete the following:- a) Attend lectures, sit and pass an examination for that module. b) Complete reading assignments and elective texts c) Complete practicum supervised by a mentor, PIP lectures are held every year as follows: Term 1: March (2 weeks of night school and 1 week of day school) Term 2: September (2 weeks of night school and 1 week of day school) COURSES OFFERED FOR YEAR OF 2016 TERM 2: SEPTEMBER 2016 DAY CLASS Module : Bible Survey Date : 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 Sept 2016 Day : Monday- Friday Time : 8.00am 1.00pm NIGHT CLASS Module : Bible Times and Customs Date : 12, 13, 14, 15 Sept 2016 Day : Monday- Thursday Time : 7pm -10pm Date : 21, 22, 23 Sept 2016 Day : Monday- Wednesday Time : 6pm -10pm When a student accumulates sufficient credits, he will be awarded the Diploma/ Bachelor of Ministry. A student will take approximately 3 years for the Diploma and 4 ½ years for the Bachelor of Ministry Lecturer: Bro. Shelton Johnson For registration or more information, please contact Ps. Subashini : Evangelical Theological Seminary Wisma Eagles 2 (Level 3), No.11, Jalan TP6, Taman Perindustrian UEP, Subang Jaya, Selangor Tel: subashini.tungling@gmail.com 56 57

30 TUNG LING SEMINARY IPOH SOM (Mandarin) 2015 (6 weeks Tuesday to Friday, 6.45 to 10.45pm) SCHOOL OF MINISTRY Certificate of Ministry : 6 March to 26 May, 2017 The 2nd Module for the 30 full time students began on 21st April and ended on 28th May. Coming from 9 different Ipoh churches, 1 from Hong Kong and 3 from China, they enthusiastically study, fellowship; challenging and encouraging each other. Tung Ling Ipoh has also introduced Ministry Training Program to facilitate their ministry exposure during the 10 months when they are away from class lessons. Through the support of the Ipoh Pastors Fellowship and local churches, Tung Ling student-teams were invited to conduct children, youth, community and church services. Many of the students have grown spiritually as these programs emphasize ministry skills, team-spirit and servant-hood attitude. The School of Ministry is a 12-week intensive Bible course designed to train the student to attain the following: - Spiritual Formation - Cultivation of the Inner Life - Seeking Purpose - Spiritual Renewal - Breaking Bondages - A Changed Life - Experience the Power of God - Equipping for Ministry Daily Program Below is a typical daily program from Monday to Friday 7.30 a.m 8.00 a.m. Prayer 8.00 a.m 8.15 a.m. Worship 8.15 a.m 8.30 a.m. Devotions 8.30 a.m 1.00 p.m. Lectures 1.00 p.m 2.00 p.m. Lunch (provided by school) SOM English 2015 (6 weeks Tuesday to Friday, 6.45 to 10.45pm) There were 24 registered full time students from 10 different Ipoh churches in The 3rd Module ran from 4th August to 11th September, This was an exciting year as Tung Ling, Ipoh graduated the second batch of 14 SOM English students on 12th September In selecting the theme Awaken, Be Amazed, the students desired to express the impact the 3- year course had affected their lives. Indeed, we rejoice with them as they now take on new ministry task in their churches. The graduation ceremony was well attended with more than 300 guests, comprising pastors, leaders, families and church friends. We look forward to another fruitful year in 2016 as we prepare for the graduation of the first batch of SOM (Mandarin)students. NEW PROGRAM COMMENCING! Pastoral Interns Program (Mandarin), 2017 Topics ** Christian Character Development Temperaments (DISC Profiling) Song of Solomon Feasts of the Lord Prayer and Fasting Homiletics Music and Worship Father Heart of God Hearing God s Voice Breaking Bondages Discovering the Anointing Spiritual Gifts Personal Bible Study Romans Timothy and Titus How We Got the Bible New Testament Survey Church History Introduction to Leadership Secrets of Successful Leaders Keys to Successful Shepherding Comparative Religions Missions Perspective Mentoring Discovering your Call Lecturers ** Voon Yuen Woh Tan Beng Teong Elisha Satvinder Des Short Colin Hurt Jagadeesan Kalyanakumar Ng Wah Lok Arnold Rajan Kindah Greening David Searle Ong Guek Ju Philip Ong Chew Weng Chee Chan Theam Lai Alvin Tan Alan Tan Phua Seng Tiong Eu Hong Seng ** Topics and lecturers are subject to change The PIP (Mandarin) will be launched in January Classes will be held every 2nd week of January, April, July and October, from Monday to Friday (nightly 6.45 to 10.45pm) and Saturday (8am to 1pm). Tung Ling Ipoh is excited to begin this new program as we are committed to equip the Christian community of this city! Enrol for SOM 2017 Now! 58 59

31 立刻报名 科目基督徒品行聆听上帝的声音圣灵论音乐与敬拜 DISC 及人际关系技巧基本讲道法禁食祷告和医治基本研经法内心医治及释放圣经综览国度与我 - 神救赎的计划 华文事奉学校 2016 年 9 月 5 日 - 11 月 25 日 每日活动内容 ( 星期一至星期五 ) 7.30am am 敬拜晨祷操练属灵恩赐 8.15am am 灵修分享 8.30am pm 课程及小组动力 1.00pm pm 午餐, 清洁 之后返回个别教会实习, 学习报告撰写等 2.00pm pm 小组布道 禁祷 主任约见等 12 周密集课程 基督教领导学后现代主义对教会之冲击罗马书 1-8 章研经宣教概论及华人宣教属灵恩赐及恩赐操练职场事奉与恩膏新约历史及地理生命导师教会历史导论宗教比较教会牧养 Tung Ling Seminary c/o Wisma Eagles 2 (Level 3), 11, Jalan TP 6, Taman Perindustrian UEP, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia 60 Tel : /5 Fax : -. E Mail : info.tungling@gmail.com \\ Website: 61

32 Kong Choke Kee & Class Richard & Doreen lim on your graduation from Tung Ling SOM 2016 on your graduation from Tung Ling SOM 2016 Blessings, Blessings, Andrew & Audrey Wee Danny Tang, Wong Sheue Ling & Family

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35 Celine foo Kong choke kee on your graduation from Tung Ling SOM 2016 on your graduation from Tung Ling SOM 2016 Blessings, Daniel Foo & Lanie Ling Blessings, Shofar Lau Hui Hong Ju Khee Stefanie & Mark dundang on your graduation from Tung Ling SOM Blessings, Chan Siew Mei

36 CONGRATULATIONS Faye ON YOUR GRADUATION Kong Choke Kee Sarah soo on your graduation from Ivan chan Tung Ling SOM 2016 Jason goh Blessings, From All of Us From: David & Lydia Eng, Gabriel Cheong, Brian Hew, & Jeannie Tan 70 71

37 Ps Nellie Wong on your graduation from Tung Ling SOM 2016 Blessings, Spring Rain Revival Centre HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS! to JASON TANG TAT WENG on your graduation from the TUNG LING SEMINARY School of Ministry 2016 From REV. ALVIN TAN PASTORS, BOARD MEMBERS HIGH PRAISE MINISTRIES HIGH PRAISE MINISTRIES No, 5, Jalan SS 13/3C, Subang Jaya Sunday Service & Kidz Church : 10.30am Saturday High Praise C.O.O.L Youth : 2.30pm Delta Cells: Wednesday, Friday & Saturdays highpraiseministries@yahoo.com 72 Website: 73

38 Jason goh on your graduation from Tung Ling SOM 2016 Blessings, Hock Keat & Michelle, Kelvin Lee & Christine 74 75

39 A New Season, New Hopes The Lord has so many wonderful things ahead for you. Be encouraged that His plans for you are good. Heartiest Congratulations! JOSEPH CHUANG KHAI JUN & BRANDON TEOH MENG HUI On your School of Ministry 2016 Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. The Lord bless you and keep you SOS ASSEMBLY L3-17 & L3A-17, Times 89 Business Plaza Jalan Sri Sentosa 8A, Taman Sri Sentosa Kuala Lumpur sosassembly@gmail.com Ealiza Martina Simon Richard & Doreen lim On your graduation from Tung Ling School of Ministry 2016 on your graduation from Tung Ling SOM 2016 Alpha Colors Church Shah Alam City w w w. a l p h a c o l o r s. o r g Be Blessed Be Inspired & Be Encouraged Blessings, Francis & Moo Young Pavri

40 The SOM class of 2016 would like to sincerely thank all the lecturers for their patient & inspiring teaching. God bless you~ Richard & Doreen lim on your graduation from on your graduation from Tung Ling SOM 2016 Tung Ling SOM 2016 Blessings, 78 Pa & mom (Richard & Doreen lim) Susan Chow Blessings, Darryl & Daniel Lim 79

41 Ealiza Martina Simon On your graduation from Tung Ling School of Ministry 2016 Congratulations Joey Ng! We are so proud of you. May you grow closer to God with deeper knowledge, and also be a more effective servant of Christ. We're so proud of you Love from Subang Touch Group w w w. a l p h a c o l o r s. o r g Love, SIB PowerHouse Joey Ng on your graduation from Tung Ling SOM 2016 Josiah chong Ivan Chan Jason goh Kong choke kee Sarah soo on your graduation from Tung Ling SOM 2016 With Love, Daddy Mommy Sister Brother Blessings, on your graduation from Tung Ling SOM 2016 Shirley Pang Blessings, chan Yip Sing & Lim Fang Say

42 acknowledgements Janet phang Desmond madumere Nicole liew John chew Hin foong Andy moey Jason & adelyne majimbun Luther house chapel Tina yap li yan Siemens yee Michele High praise ministries Tan sherng shiun Andrea villegas Marion tey Evelyn kua Melissa ong Hon wei Yong choo lan Yong yin yan Vivian lee Lydia & david eng 82 83