Proverbs 16:9 says, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” This verse beautifully captures how God can guide us in unexpected ways, leading us to faith. This week, we share the amazing and transformative journey of Dawn Chin’s family towards Christianity:

I would have never thought of becoming a Christian. Being brought up in Singapore, and exposed to all religions, it just didn’t cross my mind. It was the usual narrative of being born into a family of another faith. I was introduced to another belief system a few years back, but I didn’t feel the connection at that point in time.

My girl Eva-Maria has been curious about religions for a while now, particularly Christianity. However, our lack of knowledge in this area was not helpful in answering her questions. Then through a friend, we learnt about the Alpha course, and it has been life changing for some of us in the family.

Eva-Maria was the first in our family to be enrolled in the course for teens, which began on 23rd Aug 2023. My husband Herve, who would drive Eva-Maria to these sessions, decided he “might as well” just join the course for adults.
They always came back home and shared what they learnt on those eight Saturday afternoons, which led to many interesting and thought-provoking conversations between Herve and me.

Then came March 2024 when the next Alpha course was due to start. Eva-Maria was keen to do it again (the catered teatime snacks were always a big hit for her). This time she got Ah Ma (her grandmother) to join and to be exposed to God and what He was doing. We told Ah Ma to go with an open heart and mind. Like me, she was not born a Christian, so we were not too sure how receptive she would be.
I joined in too since I had questions of my own and I had to ferry my daughter and mum to and from the sessions anyway.)
Alpha did not actually answer a lot of my questions. But what it did was open my eyes to the fact that Jesus was well documented, and my heart to believe in Him.

In the first Alpha discussion (as I recall), we brought up the topic of faith – which is to believe with your heart. This was not easy for me as I have always been a very practical person – the typical Singaporean who needs proof or evidence to have a belief or to be convinced. But at the end of the course, I learnt how to have faith; to believe in order to understand, rather than to understand in order to believe.
During Holy Week this year, I took the leap of faith. I felt God could and would help me with my issues and I was ready to accept Him. I just hope I will do enough to be worthy and well-deserving of His love.

The Alpha sessions have helped a lot in my leap of faith. My fellow course mates, whom I spent eight Saturday afternoons with, have been a great source of support for me. Their kind words and gentle nudges towards the right direction have been a very important part of my faith.
What about Ah Ma? To our delight, she was receptive from the first session. Her facilitator, Jacob, was amazing with his knowledge of God and His work, which really guided the newcomers.

So, with the happiest ending possible, Ah Ma and I are working towards getting baptised in Trinity Methodist Church soon!