Hebrews 10:25 reminds us, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching
Celebrating the Chinese New Year
The Sixth Interim Annual Conference
The New Zealand Chinese Methodist Church held its Sixth Interim Annual Conference in Auckland from March 17 to 19, 2023. At the same time, the Auckland Hong En Church celebrated its 30th anniversary. Founding advisor Pastor Xiao Zhaohe, along with Bishop Lin Baoqiang from the Australian Chinese Methodist Church and Brother Lin Guodi, a leader among the congregation, attended the interim annual conference. During the conference, four pastors were ordained: Pastor He Mingdao, Pastor Fang Lingai, Pastor Chen Qingming, and Pastor Huang Da. The New Zealand Chinese Methodist Church will establish a formal annual conference next year, so please keep this in your prayers.
Lastly, we have a testimony shared by Sister Iris!
Reflecting on my past life and circumstances, John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." I believe everyone is familiar with this scripture; it marks the beginning of my journey in knowing Jesus Christ. This verse was the first Bible verse I had to memorize in my elementary school Bible class, and it remains the most memorable one among all the verses I have learned over the years, the only one I can still recite today. The Bible was always like a subject I had to study; I read it for many years but never truly understood it. I recited the Lord's Prayer almost every day at school, yet I didn't realize it was from the Bible and that it was Jesus teaching us how to pray. To me, Jesus Christ felt like a historical figure; I could only say I knew of Him, but I had never truly known Him or invited Him into my life. Although I had not been baptized and did not consider myself a Christian, I knew that praying to Jesus during difficult times was helpful, and He would assist me. Because of this, I thought that whether or not I was baptized or attended church gatherings was not important, as long as I sincerely believed in Jesus, I would receive help. As I grew older, I heard stories of people becoming Christians to have weddings in churches, or for their children to gain school admission points, or to meet potential partners at church. Knowing that many attended church or even became Christians for specific purposes made me somewhat resistant to the church and Christians, as I felt they were not sincere. I wondered how I could become a Christian until before immigrating here, my husband and I were looking for schools for our child. When we applied to Bethlehem College, we discovered that the acceptance rate for students who were not Christians or did not have church recommendations was very low. Despite this, we did not join a church for that reason. When our son was about to enter Year 1, we received an email from BC for an interview. During the interview, the teacher asked if we attended church, and we replied that if given the opportunity, we would go, but at that time, we were not actively looking for a church. A month after receiving the school offer, during the Christmas holiday of 2020, our family encountered a group of Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong people at a restaurant while dining out with friends. Since we rarely met Hong Kong people in Tauranga, we tried to strike up a conversation. As we talked, we mentioned that our son would be attending BC, and they asked if we went to church. We said we wanted to find a Chinese church but had not yet found one. They then introduced us to Ron, who brought us here to meet the pastor and everyone else. Looking back, I see that this was all arranged by the Lord, as the Hong Kong people we met had actually moved to Auckland and were not living in Tauranga; they were just on holiday. How Jesus Changed My Life and Living From my first visit to this church in 2021 to today, when I am about to be baptized in 2022, it has taken nearly two years. I remember Pastor Fang asking me if I was ready to be baptized, and I told her I wasn't yet because I didn't know how to be a Christian. I didn't even know how to pray publicly and had not truly known the Lord Jesus Christ. Later, we had the opportunity to participate in the Truth Class led by Ron, and through the Alpha course, I began to truly understand the Christian faith. It was different from the forced Bible study I had experienced before; this time, I genuinely wanted to understand the foundational beliefs of Christianity. During the classes, I struggled to understand the Mandarin version of the Alpha course videos, so I specifically sought out the Cantonese version to watch again. This year, I started the Journey Together program, beginning to read the Old Testament properly for the first time. I also participated in the course on the life of Christ. Through these experiences, I finally understood Matthew 7:8: "For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Previously, when I said I believed in Jesus Christ, it was something I had been taught; I had never truly allowed Jesus to enter my heart and my life. However, as long as we sincerely seek Him, He will surely reveal Himself to us. Additionally, my reluctance to be baptized and become a true Christian stemmed from fear. I noticed that many Christians shared their testimonies during their lowest points in life—when they or their family members were ill, when loved ones passed away, or faced various unexpected hardships. I couldn't help but wonder if God wanted them to share their testimonies by allowing them to experience these trials, but I feared that I did not have enough faith to overcome those tests and bear witness for God. Later, I recalled a story I had heard about footprints in the sand. A man dreamed that he was walking along the beach with Jesus, and they left two sets of footprints, symbolizing his life with the Lord walking beside him. However, he noticed that during the hardest days of his life, there was only one set of footprints in the sand. He asked the Lord, "Why did you leave me during my most difficult times?" The Lord replied, "My dear child, I will never leave you! During the hardest moments of your life, it was I who carried you, so you only see one set of footprints in the
