AS I SHARE THIS TESTIMONY

Theya Lagapa

As I share this testimony
Of my 6 years at FEBC,
Allow me to do so by a poem
Though it may not rhyme or have rhythm.
The method will be simple and easy
It will be by walking through the compounds of FEBC.

Let’s start at Life Church Sanctuary with the Opening Day of Prayer
The day we will always remember.
Whether as a new student or old
We tremble with our fingers cold,
To share of our salvation and calling
Or to see our grades that we’ve been dreading.
But with this the lesson I learned
To God we must always turn,
At the beginning of a new phase of life
Or even at the start of each day’s strife.

As we walk out through the front door,
We would see flowers that plants bore.
Gardening, since my 2nd sem I have come to enjoy
But the plants had to stay alive, or I’ll be deployed.
I thank God for the memories I had with Mrs Tow here
Either encouragement or scolding I had to hear
How we fed with bread the fishes
And how to catch the big, bad catfish and be thrown into the drain, she wishes.

Now let’s walk through the pathway of fear
As the FEBC kitchen draws near.
Here I cultivated the famous “common sense”
Where if I don’t learn quick, my life will be a mess.
If I just stand at the side when the need is great, I would get scolded.
If I help when the assigned group’s members are present, I also will get scolded.
Through this I learnt what it means to discern
And for this, God’s wisdom must be learnt.

Of course, FEBC Hall is no strange place for us
For chapel, for lessons, for exams, to sit through we must.
Yet for all these compulsory meetings
We must remember our lecturers who were teaching.
God’s Word from them must be learnt by heart
Only then to others we can impart.

Up the stairs and through the corridors
Cleaning toilets or mopping floors.
Duties inside and outside the dorms
With many assignments, that is FEBC’s norm.
Hard work is implemented.
Yet only a little of the ministry out there is tasted.

The boys’ dorm we cannot touch
Because I’ve not seen inside to know that much.
But for 3 years, I was at the girls’ dorm side
Until COVID broke, it was where I reside.
Challenges are bound when we live together.
We cannot not care or not bother.
My prayer for the girls who remain is this—
It is the Heavenly Father that we must please.
Whatever that we have to deal with must be done with compassion
Because it is not a place for competition.
Do not despise to choose kind words
For rude and inconsiderate words by God it will be heard.
There are times I know, you must be firm
But before that, to God’s Word you must confirm.
Lately, I have learned the danger of gossip
So let spiritually edifying words be found in our lips.

Yes, there are many more places that we can talk about
Like the Library, Beulah classrooms, or the carpark where we played and sweat it out
But let me share one lesson as the Lord laid on my heart,
I know I’ll not have peace if from here I just depart.

I see a majority of younger people in FEBC
And the Enemy will not hesitate when the opportunity he sees.
I pray that you will be wise
And run from Satan’s lies,
When your heart gets gripped with emotion
Seeking for a life companion.
It is not wrong at all
When to marriage you are called.
But it is better to form strong friendships first
As brothers and sisters in your studying years.

In the long run, we can be of help to each other’s ministry,
Rather than broken relationship and misery.
But if it is God’s will while studying, to find the one
And you need not look beyond,
Obey what you have heard from God’s Word and lectures
Forsake the world and allow no mixture.

Thank you for bearing to listen to this
FEBC is a place I will miss
And all the lessons that I shared to you
Are from experiences that I went through.

Here ends my testimony and the lessons I learned
Because FEBC is not only a place for a degree to earn.
It is like a furnace with a great fire
To remove from our lives the mire
Where God Himself is the Teacher
And to murmur, we should never.
There are so much more tales to be told,
But the food for tea break might get cold.
So, I thank God for providing me teachers, friends and family
Who have seen me through FEBC.

TBS SUNDAY

The Rev Craig Dennison from the Trinitarian Bible Society (TBS) will be ministering to us on the Lord’s Day, July 23, 10.30 am (DV).

Born in N Ireland, the Rev Dennison is an ordained minister of the Free Presbyterian Church and a Deputation Speaker of the Trinitarian Bible Society.

“The Trinitarian Bible Society was founded in 1831 with the principal aim of promoting the Glory of God and the Increase of His Kingdom through the circulation of Protestant or uncorrupted versions of the Word of God.”

The TBS promotes the traditional Hebrew and Greek texts underlying the AV/KJV as the authentic and infallible texts of God’s Word.

Come and hear...