I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to meet Nicky Gumbel, Pippa, his wife, Tim Hughes, Al Gordon and Jamie Haith from Holy Trinity Brompton Church. It was really a great experience to hear from the pioneer of Alpha course, Rev. Nicky Gumbel, and also his team members. The above photo was taken with Nicky Gumbel and Pippa. Nicky is a very good and funny speaker, and his wife is a very gentle and demure lady. It was really a blessing to have the chance to know them. Besides them, we were also blessed to have Tim Hughes as our worship director during the two-day conference. Jamie and Al also gave good sessions.
Not only I got the opportunity to see these people who work full time to spread the Good News through Alpha, I also found joy in meeting new people, and a priest, Fr. Simon Poh from St. Joseph's Cathedral. I met him years ago when I went to Kuching for YCS Encounter 3 in Dec 1998. That was almost 12 years ago! All the photos were uploaded to my Facebook. I will try to upload them here. Currently the internet is crawling slowly at its own pace. Argh!
The whole conference really opens a new arena for me to consider - the evangelizing part of our faith as Christians. Alpha is a non-threatening evangelistic tool, and indeed, we are witnessing the conversion in so many individuals around us. It was a blessing from God, truly, for me to attend this conference, and my eyes are opened to the possibility of spiritual renewal through Alpha. Do I want to serve in this area? I would love to speak to youth (be it teens or young adults), but am I called? I may be called. But... Am I invited?
I'm going through a desert phase in my spiritual life right now. But I know that Jesus, the Living Water is building clouds over my desert, so that He can rain down His Spirit unto me after this phase. I'm not ashamed that I am going through phases like such, because I'm made of flesh and I do have struggles. Many times I see people pretending they are alright when they are not. They seem spiritually high, but they are not even managing their lives properly.
I may be deafened by the noises around me for a moment, but I believe that I will eventually walk towards the voice of Jesus, like how Paul, whose eyes were blinded, was healed and converted.
Like what I shared with a student yesterday, it's all about the willingness to receive from Jesus. If there's nobody who was willing to offer his five loaves and two fishes to Jesus, would there be a great miracle to feed 5000 men? I am willing to allow Him to work through me. So I pray that He will use me the way He finds me deem fit. He knows what I can do best, though sometimes we think we know ourselves better.
And you out there, do you want to offer yourselves willingly to Jesus so that He can do His wonders in you and through you?
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