New Life Church Baptism – February 7th, 2010

Last month marked the first anniversary of the Kaohsiung Bilingual New Life Church! We celebrated it with our first-ever baptism of four brothers and sisters, Ricci, Candace, Jason, and Alan. Each of them have their own story.
The four who were baptized: Candace, Ricci, Jason, and Alan


Jason, as I have mentioned in previous updates, has been attending our Wednesday night Bible Study for two years. He went there during one of his lowest point in life and found God there. His change has been tremendous – from a soft-spoken guy to a joyful and loving brother! He's been meeting up with one of the Partners and going through the foundations of the life of a Christian. Pray for his Christian walk, especially since he's the only son and the only Christian in the family. Pray that his faith will continue to grow even after some of us Partners leave in the summer.




All the other three also found Jesus through the Bible Study. It's amazing how God draws people to Him through this tool! Alan wanted to improve his English and became a believer along the way. His family doesn't know of his faith or his step of obedience in being baptized (this is very common for many Taiwanese Christians). At the moment, Alan is trying to establish a business in Taipei, so he had told us he will no longer be attending the Bible Study or New Life Church. Please pray that this brother will not lose his footing in Christ Jesus. It will not be easy for him to find a stable church during this transition time. Pray that he will be fed through Good TV (a Christian channel founded by an American missionary) and that he will read the Bible on his own. Also pray for a group of believers around him.



Ricci's testimony is one of the most teary. She came to know the Lord after her mother suddenly became bedridden and paralyzed from a stroke. The day she got baptized marked the third year of when she received the news about her mother while she was studying in the UK. The people who helped her during those dark times were Christians, and they prayed with her and comforted her. I've attached her testimony for you to read :) Please pray for her family – they all know that she is Christian and there is great pressure for her, especially being the oldest in the family. Please also pray for her mom, whose health continues to be mediocre.
Ricci sharing her testimony

Candace came from a Christian family but has been un-churched in recent years. She only came to our Bible Study recently, and heard about the baptism the day before when our pastor called her. After a one-hour conversation on the phone, she voiced her desire to be baptized as well! It was a very joyful day for her. Pray that she will committed to God, to be passionate, and to find time to fellowship with other brothers and sisters.







Ricci’s testimony~ a remarkable story!

Hello everyone nice to see you all on this lovely afternoon!
My name Ricci, and I come from a typical Taiwanese family. My mother is a devout idol worshipper, so I knew nothing about Christianity before age 24.
About 4 Years ago I went to the UK to study. There, I met a very kind and gorgeous lady, her name was Lynn, from Singapore. She taught me how to read the Bible and to learn about God's words, even though I was not believer then. She spent a lot of time with me patiently, because she not only just cared about my school study but also showed concern in my life in Edinburgh.
However at that time, I still had many doubts about Christianity.
I have a close Christian friend from Junior high school, Phoebe. She was also studying in UK at that time. Phoebe wanted to visit me and we tried to meet up so many times, but she studied in London and I was in Edinburgh. It is a totally long distance just like Kaohsiung to Taipei. Therefore it was very hard to meet up.
On 7 Feb, I finally met up with Phoebe after handing in all my papers. She came to Edinburgh that afternoon and we just did some shopping. That night I felt some uncomfortable feeling in my heart. But I just ignored it. The next morning, I found out I had more than sixty missed calls from Taiwan.
My sister told me that my mother was sent to the emergency room. My hands were shaking and I felt speechless. I was so scared if I were to lose the most important person in my life. So, Phoebe helped me buy the plane ticket to fly back to Taiwan; and during our 5-hour train journey from Edinburgh to London, Phoebe taught me how to pray. I couldn’t imagine if God didn’t let Phoebe come to help at that day.
I flew to Taiwan then I went to the hospital right away. My mom was in a coma and she was unconscious. She wore an oxygen mask, worse, she could not breath by herself. I felt hopeless and desperate for help because she was nearly dying. My family were even planning for her funeral.
So my family still went to bai-bai. When we were worshipping the idols, I suddenly doubted “Can I still trust them?” Because my mother had done enough to worship idols. At that moment I didn’t believe they could help my mother and us.
About 4 or 5 days later, I still felt hopeless. .Suddenly I remembered Lynn’s words to keep praying and never give up hoping. So I thought “OK, let’s try!” then I prayed to God for help. That was the first time I prayed in Taiwan.
A few days later, my mother opened one eye and when I talked to her, she was crying. This encouraged me a lot. After that miracle, I prayed for her every day and she eventually started to breath by herself.
As Matthew 19:26 says “Jesus, looking at them, said, With men this is not possible; but with God all things are possible.”
That’s why I started believing Jesus and because of that I wanted to go to church.
Last August I prayed to God, "Lord please improve my ENGLISH and let me know your words better"
Then I met Diane and Sara at ORTV, they not only just taught me God's words, or how to understand the Bible, but also to improve my poor English. 
Matthew 7:7 says "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
 
I am so blessed feel so warm because from now on, WE ARE OFFICIALLY ONE FAMILY!!
  And I believe deeply, I will get more and more grace from our heavenly Father. I know He is always besides me and takes care of me!!
Today is the 7th February, I am going to be baptized on this same day that my mother went into hospital 3 years ago. So, Today is very meaningful to me.
I am so grateful that God saved this day for my baptism. Thanks for coming to witness this special day in God’s place.
Amen!