My Testimony

My name is Ashleigh. Being born in a Christian home, I’ve grown up not being a stranger to church. I’ve attended Sunday School, learning lessons from the Bible and being taught to pray. But this did not mean that I knew who God was, or that God knew me other than someone who read His word and learnt what was deemed ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. In fact, I never really knew what Christianity was about, having been so numbed to its influence. Just as many Singaporean children would relate Buddism to the Chinese, Islam to the Malays, or Hinduism to the Indians, for the longest time, I had thought that Christianity was a Western religion. And because of that mindset, I felt that it was just a religion that merely taught people how to lead better lives. It was less real to me than say, stories I’ve heard and believed about bomohs, witchdoctors or voodoo. I always wondered whether if a priest were to come to religious blows with such a practitioner of these arts – who would win?


I said the Sinner’s Prayer when I was twelve or thirteen. At that time, I was genuinely so touched to the point that I believed strongly in the love of Jesus. I continued to go to church, but I never took the step to draw closer to God, or experience Him deeper in my life. Many times, I would see others in the Youth Service go to the front to praise God with so much joy, but adolescent awkwardness held me back. Slowly, I found myself never experiencing life with God leading me through. As my circle of friends in church slowly dwindled because I saw them only once a week, and as I never thought to draw closer to them except during those few hours, I found myself losing interest in coming to service altogether. Sometimes I would still try to go to church, standing alone in the congregation, listening to the pastor’s message, but steadily, I lost heart.



Being deeply rooted in Christ, my mother would never allow me not to come to church. While I tried hard to create excuses not to go every week, she would never accept them readily, always admonishing me that my reasons were still feeble. If I insisted on not going, she would stop trying to persuade me eventually, knowing that my reluctant submission means I would only go to church in body, but not in mind or spirit. And yet the issue would not rest easily, and it would later provoke conflict between us. She would express her concern for me, and I would tell her that I simply did not want to go to church. I dreaded such incidences because I knew that my mother would worry for me, but at the same time, I simply did not wish to go. I dreaded going to church because I would be alone in service, and I was not the type of person to take the first step to make friends.

So, I began to cheat my way out of my dilemma. Under the guise of going to church, I would instead spend a few hours, every Sunday, whiling away my time at various places like Borders, the nearby park, or even taking a bus from terminal to terminal just to let the time pass. Deep down, I would always feel a sense of disappointment in myself, because even as I chose not to go to church, it was not because I really didn’t want to. I wished strongly to draw close to God, but I could not bear to go to church feeling that sense of loneliness and awkwardness. Sometimes, I would feel so bad that I would ask God to bring me back to church. I really wanted to return to God, but I simply didn’t have the desire to go to church.




The answer to my prayer came early in the year, when a classmate of mine invited me to Faith Community Baptist Church. I was so excited, because finally I could go to church without feeling the isolation I experienced before. With people I already knew coming to church with me, I quickly drank in the spirit of God. In a sense, I believe that those years of spiritual drought that God had put me through had the purpose of giving me a thirst so great - that I would return readily to church when the opportunity arose. It was a thirst that I would not have had if I had not left church in the first place. It was a thirst that saved me from being a shallow Sunday Christian who did not really believe in the might of the living God. I saw clearly that it was all in God’s plan for me. After all, you’ll never know what you’ve got until it is gone.



Through another classmate, I joined a cell, and gained a solid support of peers who became the safety net for me not to feel isolated in church. Instead, I had a cell group of people whom I could have fellowship with. This spiritual support helped me through my growth as a Christian, and through my times of discouragement.

I believe that I was never truly saved until God put me through that period of emptiness, so that I might return to Him filled with enthusiasm and a strong desire to grow in Him. That is what I am most thankful for in my walk thus far.

Ashleigh Low
(Isaiah's 12)

A Renewed Spirit

Last Friday was our network meeting and i stepped in, feeling a bit lost. The past week of holidays was not as enjoyable as i expected it to be, with work starting. In fact, i felt far from God and very burdened by things happening around me.

Every night for the past week, i asked God, "God, are You there? are You sure You are in control?" because subconciously, i knew i was trying to be the one in control of all the situations and wanted everything to go my way. i was tired and burdened.. i was walking with the wrong strength.

I was looking forward to friday because i long for the Holy Spirit to fall afresh on me, and assure me of the Lord's presence in my life.

Longest Leg hair ice breaker game.................

As praise and worship started, i knew that in midst all the singing and dancing, i had to be still and tell God that i was wrong, that i was not to be the one taking charge. and i prayed that He will free me of any negative thoughts and that He will restore the joy and peace that i had in my heart. and i could sense the Holy Spirit reminding me that He is in control, that God wants me to walk with His strength, with a joyful spirit, without burdens and with no worries of what is going to happen in the future, because we all know that He will give us the best...

Halfway through the worship, Karen went up to share a word that God has put in her heart and she said that God wants us to stop running in our own ways, that we should start running in His strength. God wants us to know that He will walk us through the valley of darkness, that He is with us no matter where, when, what.


I felt the word was for me, though i wasnt sure, but it felt so relevant to what i was going through and as though it was a personal message from God. the little doubt of my heart vanished, when Karen came to pray for me. she knew nothing about what was happening in my life, but however, she said that she sense the word is for me and i knew it was a prompting from God..

Indeed, God wanted to assure me that the message was really from Him to me, that He wants that joyful spirit to be in me again, a spirit i once had. and He wants to remind me that He is there, doing something, though i might not see it now.. that we should all be patient and wait for His plans to be revealed.


I walked in lost, i walked out renewed and all thanks be to God.

There are times when we feel lost, feel that we are burdened, remember that God will lead us to green pastures, that He will not leave us in misery. He wants us to be happy. Let the verses Pastor Feifei shared from Psalm 23 encourage us each and every day:

" 1The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Jocelyn Tay
(Meijin's 12)

We are proud of you

Check this out:-
http://jsp.triathlonsingapore.org/news_events/events_results/aqua/Sprint_IndividualsSWO.htm

Samantha Koh, we are proud of you.








This is her testimony.

The Lord never fails

On Saturday, 2nd September, I went for my first actual aquathlon at East Coast Park. Before that, I had only swum in the sea once, and completed a so-called aquathlon at a pool with no proper transition and everything.

As such, I was just going for this race for fun, just for the experience. I did not have much expectations because, it was my first time and I did not know who was competing in the race, and well, I was afraid to fail.

Spot the cross! ;)

So anyway, I just went there with a light heart and prayed that God will help me do my best. Surprisingly, I was in the top few positions after the swim. I wasn’t that far off from the top two swimmers, which I thought I would be since I knew their standard from other swimming meets.

During the run, I was constantly communicating with the Lord, and he was ‘running’ with me throughout the race. The weather wasn’t fantastic and I didn’t know how far the rest were behind me, but the Lord motivated me to keep on running. It was by his grace that I was able to come in first, and bring glory to his name. :D

I thank the Lord for giving me this talent, and being with me all this while! May the Lord be with all of us as we participate in more of these sports activities. All the best! (:
Samantha Koh
(Pamelia's 12)