(SATURDAY PRAISE SERVICE)
Jenny was invited to Chapel of the Resurrection (COR) by Rachel Ang in 2006, and attended her first Praise Fellowship Camp. She joined COR because she felt so welcomed and well taken care of. Michele had left COR earlier on, but because of a telephone call by Jermaine Toh in reaching out to her, she returned to COR in 2008.
Proverbs 27:9 “..the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice”
We were placed in the same cell group. Despite several changes including leadership and cell reformation, we got to know each other better. Being in the same stage of life helped in drawing us closer.
While we were still singles, we enjoyed life together, fondly remembering our rounds of girls’ fellowship, wine, parties etc. We not only lamented about our struggles and disappointments in life but we encouraged and prayed for each other too. Praying and waiting for a life partner then seemed like the most difficult prayer for God to answer.
Unexpectedly, God’s first wave of blessing for us came in the form of Joshua, who entered Jenny's life as her boyfriend. Meanwhile Michele was still waiting, and she wondered if God had forgotten her. Nevertheless, Jenny continued to believe and encouraged Michele that “it is going to be a matter of months.” Indeed, Jenny married Joshua in Nov 2010 and Michele married Alvy in Oct 2011, a difference of 11 months.
Hebrews 3:6 “But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.”
If the wait for a life partner was tough, our wait for a child was even longer and more torturous. We prayed and cried along with our friends and cell group. It was especially painful for both of us when we miscarried one after the other. We even thought that enough was enough and wanted to give up waiting, reasoning that perhaps that wasn’t God’s plan for us. But we remembered and often reminded each other about how God had blessed us in our struggle for a life partner, and continued to hold on to the hope.
Miraculously, both of us had a baby girl each one year apart. We are thankful to God for His blessings. Challenges will continue but God has blessed us with the gift of friendship. We will press on along life's journey to support and encourage one another.
丽君在2001年受 Rachel 邀请来到复活堂。她参与了第一次的 Praise Camp，因为感受到会友们的热情招待，决定加入复活堂的大家庭。孝琨离开复活堂后因为 Jermaine 的一通电话，受感动，于2008年重新回到复活堂。
“……朋友诚实的劝教也是如此甘美。”-箴言27:9
我们被放在同一个细胞小组。虽然小组内经过了许多领袖或小组的改变，我们反而更认识彼此。因为我们彼此都处于相同的人生阶段，我们的关系变得更亲近。
单身的时候，我们经常聚在一起团契，一同享受人生。我们不单单向彼此诉苦，也为彼此代祷，互相鼓励。在当时，等待上帝为我们拣选的“另一半”出现，似乎遥遥无期。
出乎预料中，上帝的第一波祝福出现了：Joshua走入Jenny的生命，成为她的男朋友。同时，Michele仍然在等待，有时会想：“上帝是不是把我给忘了呢？”。无论如何，Jenny一直鼓励着Michele，激励她继续相信上帝，明确地对她说：“或许几个月后就会出现了。”果然，Jenny和Joshua在2010年11月份结婚；而Michele和她的另一半，Alvy，也不久后在2011年10月份结婚了。
“但是基督为儿子，治理神的家；我们若将可夸的盼望和胆量坚持到底，便是他的家了。”-希伯来书3:6
如果等待终生伴侣的过程艰难，等待孩子的到来更是漫长艰苦。我们先后怀孕，却也先后流产。朋友们和小组组员陪着我们一起流泪，一起祷告。在艰苦的等待与期盼中，我们甚至想要放弃，认为没有孩子或许是上帝的旨意。但是我们互相提醒，想起当时上帝是怎么样帮助我们寻找终生伴侣的过程，也因此继续紧紧抓住同样的希望。
今天的我们，因着上帝奇般的祝福，我们俩都生了个女儿，相隔一年。我们对上帝只有无限的感恩。虽然生活的挑战依然持续，但是上帝所赐给我们的友情，使我们能勇往前进，相依为命。
This article first appeared in Issue 19, April 2019 CHORUS Magazine.