Diary of a ministry apprentice (Part 5): August to almost-the-end-of 2008

Everyday Ministry

Here is the fifth instalment of Guan’s six-part series, covering his time doing ministry training (MTS) at the University of New South Wales in 2008. He is married to M.1 By now, it is the latter half of the year. We last left Guan at the end of Mid-Year Conference (MYC), amazed at how the week has reminded him how many things in life are bigger than us as individuals: the body of Christ, Jesus in his sovereign reign, and the God with a plan for all of his creation. (more…)

Give up your life: When you’re sick

Life

This is my third year of suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)1 and I often pray that it will be my last. It has turned me from a confident, extraverted, active, independent person, who hardly ever said ‘no’, into someone trapped in a frail, exhausted, pain-filled body desperately desiring to be able to get out of bed. In a few days, I went from being a young, enthusiastic and highly-driven ministry trainee to being someone stripped of their ability to work, study, go for a run or travel very much; to someone often limited to their bed or couch, missing church, parties, or hanging out with dear friends. It has changed my life so dramatically that it has shaken me to the very core of who I am. (more…)