BAPTISM.

If you haven't already heard, I just got baptised last Sunday 04/05/2008, together with JeremyL, Nian Chee and 8 others. Most of their testimonies include their whole past whereas mine was just the recent week that happened before the baptism. Not my fault! Abby said strictly 3 minutes! They all definitely went over 3 minutes. Don't know if anyone timed me hehe.

I grew up as a non-christian. Parents are not-very-stonch buddhists and they worship ancestors. I wouldn't call mysef a buddhist then as I never really believed in those idols my parents worship. I merely went to the temples 'cos I was being forced to, just like most kids.

Life wasn't all that easy for me. I was a kid who got picked on pretty easily by other kids and got bullied throughout my whole childhood. As I reached my adolescence years, I started having problems with my family and it led me to many attempts of suicide. When my parents found out, and I saw the tears and sadness, I told myself it's not worth it to end my life just like that.

So I came over to Perth after my O levels and I was 17 that year. A few friends invited me to church and cell but I was really stubborn then. The excuse I gave them was that I wasn't 18 yet and I didn't want to make any decisions out of impulse. But in the end, when my ex-housemate decided to join them, I told myself, OK la, go take a look.

Before I knew it, I was accepting Christ on Easter 2006! It's been a good two years now and as I look back on life, I realised God has actually pulled me out of danger (REAL dangers) countless times. I couldn't have survived the suicidal attempts that easily. Friend pulling me off the parapat, cars jam braking when I cross the road blindly, slit wrist healing ever so miraculously. And as a Christian, there were many times I nearly gave up on myself but God chose not to give up on me. He placed SO MANY angels around me and I've pushed so many of them away one by one so many times but they never gave up on me. God could have just gave up on me and left me alone in one corner but He didn't. He held on to me ever so dearly and that's the reason why I can stand here perfectly well.

As cliché as it may sound, my decision to get baptized was a really last minute decision considering how I’ve been considering baptism for about a year already. If you have not already known, I’m one of the biggest procrastinator you would meet and my mum can tell you it’s true.

Last Tuesday, I had an argument with my mum and it brought me to ask myself this question. Should I get baptised? I was very desperate for an answer from God as it was only days to go before baptism and so I prayed and randomly flipped open the bible and I came upon 1 Kings 12. In verse 24, it says the Lord asked the people to stop fighting and go home. I did not immediately comprehend what God was trying to tell me but that part of the verse got stuck in my mind for days.

As I did my daily devotion on Wednesday, I stumbled upon more verses. Ecclesiastes 8:5 says “For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing...” A while ago I had been asking myself repeatedly, what if I died. I definitely do not wish to die anytime soon but accidents may happen and we’ll never know. The moment I read that verse, the first thing that came into my mind was, I do not want to die without getting baptised.

There were definitely other factors that made me hesitate. Like, I gave myself a time limit (by end of this year) and the time limit is not up yet! Or, I want to use my DSLR to take photos of people getting baptized! And then I realised someone important will not be able to watch me get baptized if I delayed it till next semester. That person, very obviously, is my mum.

So I was weighing between all these factors and the “weight” of the God-factor came down REALLY heavily when I finally understood what God was trying to say to me in 1 Kings 12:24. He wanted me to stop fighting the war of emotions out there in the world and come home to Him and seek shelter. What more can I ask when God is so willing to provide this shelter filled with love? I knew I can only fully accept His Love by getting baptized and come home to His forever endless Love.

Hence I stand here today, having made this decision to be baptized and I dare say I’ll never regret this decision.

Those who were at the baptismal service will realise this is the extended and uncut version of my testimony haha. Sounds like a DVD advertisment. Anyways, photos here. You can view the full birthday and convo photos there!

signing off~DE XIN