“So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him (Luke 15:20). When I was still a teenager, around 14 or 15 years […]
I grew up in a non-Christian family but attended a Catholic school where talking about God or Jesus was part of the environment. I recall very strongly that we prayed during assembly every Monday. On one occasion, I was invited to a children’s camp and one memory from that time was imprinted on me and […]
The first Bahasa word I learned during my visit to Borneo was ‘awas’ meaning ‘watch out’. I saw it again and again on signs along the highway of the island’s north coast, warning of impending dangers. Sometimes, when there is an especially sharp turn, or rise or dip in the road, ‘awas’ is preceded with […]
I was born into a non-Christian family. Through the religious classes taught during secondary school and attending youth fellowship, I heard about Jesus Christ and was baptised on Christmas day of 1981. Ten years later, the Lord called me to serve full-time in ministry and I took up my theological training in the Malaysia Baptist […]
Time truly flies. I graduated in June of 2017 and now it is almost the end of 2019! Having completed my Master of Theology degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary (LTS) Hong Kong, I returned to Sabah, Malaysia to serve in the Sabah Theological Seminary (STS) as a lecturer. In my first semester at STS […]
We thank the Lutheran Women of Australia, for their support of the LCA International Mission scholarship program. This has allowed the further training of pastors and lay people in Lutheran theology from our overseas partner churches. In the past year, the following people have been recipients of an LCA International Mission scholarship: Emmanuel Som Yalamu […]
Each of us knows the importance of supporting and encouraging our youth in their walk with Jesus. Most of us also know the challenges this can bring. Many have been touched by the disappointment of seeing a young person slide away from the church. I suspect the topic sits heavily in many of our hearts. […]
More than 450 participants gathered in Malaysia for the 38th Synod of the Protestant Church in Sabah (PCS), focusing on the theme ‘Memberkari Sesama Membangun Tubuh Kristus – ‘to bless each other to build the body of Christ’. Three were from the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) – volunteers Ilene and Pastor John Thiel and […]
Josip is a pastor of the Protestant Christian Church in Sabah, Malaysia, and he is one of the students with whom I recently worked at the Sabah Theological Seminary (STS) in Kota Kinabalu. Josip is working towards his Master of Divinity, and my task was to act as his tutor in a guided study unit […]
It’s 7am as I wake to the sound of children down below. I’m at “Rumah Agape Kundasang” school, located on one of the many mountain slopes here at Kundasang in Sabah, Malaysia. Through my bedroom window is a stunning view of Mt Kinabalu (when it is not completely covered in cloud). School doesn’t start until […]