Stories

Death and Suffering: Reflections from a Medical Student

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NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New Death and Suffering:Reflections from a Medical Student Written by: Christoph, Medicine year 4, Giant Grapes SG Published on: 12 April 2022 “Lord, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them? They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.”    Psalm 144:3-4 I once read a post that said the walls of hospitals have heard more fervent prayers than the walls of churches. In the four years since I started medical school, I’ve certainly found this to be true. I’ve seen the first breath of a child, the agony of the dying and the untimely demise of souls. In times like this, I find myself in turmoil as I try to reconcile my experiences with the God I know. This world, filled with so much joy and happiness, is also marred by suffering and inevitable death. We praise God for the good times, but blame him when things go wrong. Sometimes, when everything within me screams injustice, the only response I can manage is to weep in the presence of God, confessing my inadequacy and asking him to justify his injustice. One such instance was during my Pediatrics posting. A child is wheeled in with giddiness and headache. In hours, he is fighting for his life with a massive bleed in his brain, his skull removed and his airway intubated. If he makes it, he is unlikely to ever walk or talk again. I watch as his mother walks in, having said goodbye to the child as he left for school earlier that day. Little did she know that it might be the last conversation they would have. My heart and mind go numb. Everything within me screams foul play. Evil. Injustice. Unfairness. Crime. Straight from the depths of stinking hell. How can a loving God allow such injustice? I remember sitting in the rain, huddled up tight, tears freely flowing before God. Watching such suffering ripped my heart to pieces. I could but manage a fleeting whimper of a prayer to Father God. In my tussle with death and suffering I am reminded of the story of Job – a man who went through unspeakable suffering in this world. In his lament he points his finger directly at God. He demands that God justifies himself for allowing this unfathomable calamity in his life: “let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing”. And God does not even dignify Job’s accusation with a direct answer. Instead, he asks Job which puny human dares to question his plans with words without knowledge? Where was Job when God laid the foundations of the earth? Where was he when the universe was made? Is Job the one who creates and sustains all things? And God says to him: how dare you discredit my justice? How dare you condemn me to justify yourself? And the response of Job is this: “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” One glimpse of God’s power and Job was too busy repenting in dust and ashes to question God’s authority. And so when everything within me screams injustice, when the only feeble prayer I can pray is “why?”, it’s in these moments that I flee into the arms of Adonai. As sure as I am weak, God is strong. As sure as I am blind, my God sees it all. My humanity is as sure as my God’s sovereignty. The only appropriate response is to clap my hand over my mouth and repent, for who am I to approach the God of unapproachable light and call Him to account? Can the dust of humanity stand and cogitate before the Ancient of Days? How can the finite endeavour to reason with the infinite? Sterile gown worn before operating on a child To the unsearchable and inscrutable God (Rom 11:33), may our ignorance never lead us to accuse you of injustice. Help us not to ask for a better fate, but for a stronger faith. May we find rest in your sovereign hand, for you know the future and are working all things for our good (Rom 8:28). Help us to step out in faith and find peace in the God who helps us to walk upon the deep waters (Matt 14:29). Amen. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”    Isaiah 40:28 Back to the top © NTU Christian Fellowship 2023

The Rhythm of Rest

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NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New The Rhythm of Rest Written by: Jason, Chemistry Year 4, Bread Fish SG Published on: 7 April 2022 With the academic year coming to an end for most university students, many of us are making preparation for this final stretch before the long semester break starts. It’s crunch time in every undergraduate’s journey as our schedules are filled with deadlines, project meetings, revision, and examinations. With so many things drawing our attention, sometimes, it takes a toll on us as we strive and hustle to finish strong, especially when immense stress kicks in. Fatigue and burnout are very real struggles that many if not all, students face that would make us question this process of university life. Thankfully, we have our Heavenly Abba whom we can look to in prayer, trusting that He will see us through. As His beloved children, it is important that we know His heart for us as we lean close and abide in Him. # thought 1 your worth is found in chasing after the blessing of the lord.    Let’s start by seeing the opposite of rest which is hustle and its definition. In short, the hustle is humanity’s quest to transform our time and energy into value, gains, growth, increase or profit. We expect to obtain a desirable outcome and succeed, given the time and hard work that we put into something. In the book of Isaiah, it says that God is the one who teaches us to profit and leads us by the way we should go (Isaiah 48:17). The Lord’s heart is not against gains and profits, but He wants us to go about it in His way. His plan for us is that we may be complete and equipped for every good work as we discern the Scripture that He breathed which is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17). King Solomon is known to be called a man of rest (1 Chron. 22:9 & 1 Kings 5:4). As he ascended to the throne, he prayed for and received wisdom and a hearing heart from the Lord (1 Kings 3). During his reign, Israel was in the most prosperous period and King Solomon achieved much more than those before him (Eccl 2:4-10). However, all that his hands hustled and toiled, in the end, he counted all was vanity and grasping for the wind (Eccl. 2:11). The man of rest ended up becoming the king of the hustle life. The moment Solomon started to hustle, he began to look within and was occupied with himself. In the proverbs of Solomon, it says: “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.”   Proverbs 10:22 (NKJV) rich = to grow, accumulate; abundance (health, finance, relationships, etc.) sorrow = wearisome, toilsome, stressful painful labour True riches and the abundant life in God’s economy are not found in the self-occupied, painful pursuit for worldly wealth. The Lord invites us to chase after the blessing of the Lord, the source of all our needs. He loves you too much to leave you in a state of painful hustle and His heart for you is much greater than worldly treasures can offer. # thought 2 rest is not inactivity. it is jesus-directed activity.  Now, let’s talk about rest! In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus illustrates a picture of His yoke as He calls us to Him, wanting to give us rest (Matt. 11:28-30). The yoke is a tool for oxen to work the fields, so it’s not talking about inactiveness. Rather, Jesus is inviting us to be yoked with Him and learn from Him, just in common practice where a younger ox is yoked with to an older, more experienced ox. He wants us to follow His rhythm of grace as we journey life together with Him. The yoke is a picture of the cross that our Lord has already bore for us and it is a finished work. The Lord cares for us so much and He wants us to be concerned with the things concerning His heart. # thought 3 faith is a rest. be rest-conscious, not giant conscious. And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? and why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet i tell you, even solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.   But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’    For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. but seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.     “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.   matthew 6:27-34 (esv) Jesus compared Solomon to the lilies of the field that neither toil nor spin and yet still grew to what they were. Being fully man, as He is also fully God, Jesus knows the struggles and anxiety of the world that we live in. The Lord calls us to have faith and to seek first the kingdom of God of His righteousness and the things that we need shall be added to us (Matt. 6:33). Faith is believing what God has said in His Word and being fully persuaded by His mercies and grace – faith is having a good opinion of God. The more we discover how good God is, the

One NTU; One body; One God

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NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New One NTU; One Body; One God Written by: Ezra, Sociology year 4, Giant Grapes SG Photo credits: Bill Yap, Kimberly Tan Published on: 30 March 2022 It goes without saying that the past two years of COVID-19 life has been incredibly challenging. In the past, we had been able to worship together in our hall lounges for Small Group sessions, today, we have to sing silently in the Arc, where we would be seated in groups of less than five. Previously, we were able to mingle with one another and enjoy buffet dinners with new friends during Fellowship Night (FN) sessions, whilst FN now consists of us having to log in online and have breakout room sessions with fellow CFers. I had greatly missed this physical aspect of fellowship, and though I understand that God can still use these online platforms to carry out His will, I would nonetheless find myself reminiscing the times when we could really fellowship together as one, standing side by side each other, feeling each other’s physical presence. So, when the COVID-19 measures in Singapore had started to loosen up, and the opportunity had arisen to plan a session where not just CFers, but all Christians associated with NTU can come together to worship and pray, I jumped at the opportunity without hesitation. In fact, even before the pandemic, I had a deep desire to see body of Christ in NTU gathered as one, united in our faith and love for the LORD, so this opportunity also seemed like an answer to that prayer and desire. HE GOES BEFORE US Thus began my journey to be part of the team to plan for this year’s Campus Day of Prayer (CDOP), a gathering for believers in NTU to spend time in worship and prayer, that had been held in previous years as well, albeit with stricter safe distancing measures in place. Together, our team of 5, consisting of members from NTU-CF, NTU CRU and NTU Harvesters, set about to pray and seek God for what He envisioned for our campus. I had been deeply encouraged by the fellowship and the earnest desire to move in the way that God wanted to move, and I can safely say that every step of the way, despite the small team, God showed His hand throughout, speaking through our weekly prayer sessions, through the encouragement from students and faculty from other universities and campuses, as well as through our own devotion and reflection of His word. The team’s deep passion for the things of God, and their genuine heart for seeing God’s will be done in NTU meant that throughout the whole planning, I learnt so much about what it means to genuinely seek the Lord and be obedient to His will. All He asks is for us to trust Him, for we knew that ultimately He will go before us, revealing more and more about His goodness and faithfulness along the way.   The CDOP planning team  CALLED FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:14 (ESV) In the early stages of the CDOP planning team’s meetings, it was brought to our attention that the time period we had envisioned the CDOP to fall on coincided with the Jewish festival of Purim. With this in mind, the team committed to understanding the story of Queen Esther in the Bible, which the festival commemorates.  The story of Esther is a beautiful account of how God intervenes at just the right time, calling people into positions and situations to do His work, so as to overthrow and reverse what the enemy had meant for evil. In the same way, the team explored the situations and cultures in our school that needed reversing and needed God’s intervention. As we were preparing and praying for the school, yet again, God’s hand was observed when He opened up doors for us to get into contact with a staff from the University Wellbeing Office, who happened to be a fellow believer, and he shared with us about his deep burden for the mental wellness needs of the students in NTU. It was thus towards this direction that we planned the prayer and worship segments for the CDOP, seeking God to use His people to bring His peace into all areas of the campus, and committing the existing initiatives by campus ministries and groups into His hands. We truly believed that it was no accident that God has placed us in NTU, and that He has called us into this university for such a time as this. LET US BE ONE VOICE THAT GLORIFIES YOUR NAME Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:15-16 (NIV) In the blink of an eye, the day of the CDOP had dawned upon us. We were thankful that God had continued to show His hand at work, moving obstacles around throughout the planning process, even holding the skies for us so that students would not be hindered from making the short walk to the event venue. Personally, I also got to experience how God was still speaking to us even on the final moments of preparation. I had been reading Isaiah 66 as part of my Bible reading plan, which articulated how God was selecting priests and levites (v21), and I thought that this again was another way that God was speaking to us through His word, reminding us that

Loving your (hall) neighbor

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NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New Loving Your (Hall) Neighbour Written by: Kai En, Psychology year 1, Giant Grapes Small Group Published on: 12 March 2021 /In the first half of semester two this year NTUCF organised a hall hackathon, a 2 day event inviting people living in hall to think deeper about their hall cultures and speak into it. The following is a reflection from one of the participants./ “Home away from home”- that was the theme of my hall’s orientation program when I first entered NTU, looking forward to finding my second home in hall. However, one semester in, I found myself having quickly adapted to a hall life that was quite the opposite of what I expected- one with closed doors and unfamiliar faces, built on an unspoken agreement to lead parallel but not intersecting lives. Albeit the occasional lonely hours, I enjoyed the solitude and personal space which came alongside the lack of engagement in my hall. After listening to my friends share their various hall experiences at the hall hackathon event, it dawned on me that not everyone in my hall was as fortunate as me to have friends outside of school or even a family to spend time with every weekend. For international students who stay in hall every day, how stifling and alone they must have felt in this community. In Luke 10, when Jesus said to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’, the man asked in response, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ and Jesus replied with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. A neighbor is not merely someone who physically resides next to us, it is anyone we choose to love and show mercy to. And there is truly no better way to love and show mercy to someone, than to extend to them a choice of knowing God. This was something a friend shared during SG a few weeks ago where we were discussing about hall hackathon, and it was a thought I was continuously reminded of over the course of the hackathon event. How can I expect to have loving neighbors, if I myself would rather much hide in the comfort of my own room than to step out and interact with the people right next to me? This hall hackathon event was more than just a platform to share experiences and be inspired. For me, it was a challenge to step out of my comfort zone and be the neighbor that I would want in my hall life. There were many ideas exchanged over the two days and it was exciting to meet people who are passionate to change their hall cultures for the better, in one way or another. Be it through the planning large events or just changing the little things that we do each day, let us choose to accept and not judge, to have courage to step up for what is right and most importantly, to let everything we do be out of love. This way, we will be able to be true neighbors wherever God places us in. Back to the top © NTU Christian Fellowship 2023

Cancel Culture

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NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New Cancel Culture Written by: 3 Pecks of Flour Small Group Published on: 12 March 2021 What is cancel culture? It has been defined on Christianpost as such: “Cancel culture is rooted in the postmodern assertion that all truth claims are individual and subjective. Each of us interprets our experiences of the world in ways that are unique to us. As a result, we are told, there can be no such thing as ‘objective’ truth.” In its most official definition, cancel culture refers to a ‘structural cancelling’. It is mostly done by the public to people with platforms of influence, where they are thrusted out of all social spheres such that the person loses his/her legitimacy in every context. However, among our own social circles, we do observe a sort of ‘casual cancelling’ culture. This can be observed in how the phrase “you are cancelled” is so often thrown around among friends. In cancel culture, everyone upholds their own sense of justice and has their own spin of the narrative. This often becomes contentious because due to many differing views on the truth, there is no Truth. But in God, God who is Holy and the embodiment of Truth and Light, He is the truth that we hold on to. As Christians whose standard of truth is found in God, let us not rush to be part of cancel culture. Before we speak, let us pay attention to what is God’s truth. (Proverbs 4:20-22) Let us speak out of love, instead of engaging in quarrels. (Romans 14, Ephesians 4:29-32) For cancel culture focuses on cancelling the person, instead of the idea. With this judgment that we place on people instead of their actions, this absence of grace does not allow for repentance and restricts their redemption. So as disciples of Christ, may our posture in engaging be pure and approved by God. (2 Timothy 2:14-17, 23-26, Philippians 1:15-16) May our speech always be gracious and seasoned with salt, that we may know how we ought to answer each one. May our spirit be sensitive and prioritise seeking and waiting on the Lord. When the time comes for us to obey, may we be filled with boldness and diligence in praying for others. And above all, may love that covers a multitude of sins guide our responses. Shalom. Back to the top © NTU Christian Fellowship 2023

Conversations on Mental Health

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NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New Conversations on Mental Health Written by: Breadfish SG Published on: 12 March 2021 What is mental health? Is poor mental health the same as having a mental illness? Do you struggle with asking people for help when you need it? These were some of the questions that we tackled in our conversation about mental health. Mental health is a topic that has been growing in prominence ever since COVID-19 came to Singapore. During COVID-19, there have been reports of an increase in the number of calls to suicide help hotlines because of the pressure that Singaporeans were under. According to the Institute of Mental Health in Singapore, mental health is about how we think, feel and act as we cope with our lives. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices. Good mental health isn’t just the absence of mental health problems. Being mentally or emotionally healthy is much more than being free of depression, anxiety, or other psychological issues. Periods of prolonged stress and the inability to cope can also put us in a position where we have poor mental health. Stress will be present in everybody’s lives. Therefore, we can see that poor mental health does not only affect people who struggle from types of mental illness, the everyday person can suffer from poor mental health too.  Our SG also acknowledged that there were certain stigmas about having poor mental health that were present in society today. One example is that many feel that it is shameful to suffer from poor mental health and this causes people to keep silent about their problems. Armed with this knowledge, we then set out to talk about mental health in our daily lives. We talked about some issues that we faced during circuit breaker and how we were able/not able to cope with the changes. During our discussion, some mentioned that they felt anxious about what the future will be like. Others spoke about the struggles of feeling isolated because they were not able to physically meet up with loved ones. The conversation progressed to some of us also admitting that we had trouble asking for help due to various reasons. We realised that the struggle in asking for help affected everybody. We then moved on to identifying people who are struggling to say “help” for the struggles that they are facing. Many of us identified friends as a group that we wanted to help. Some of our friends were struggling with loneliness, depression and mental illnesses and we wanted to be that listening ear to them. Some talked about setting aside intentional time for prayer so that we could intercede for our friends and we also brought up the importance of conversations as a means to show God’s love to people.  From this session, we were able to have a better understanding of mental health. Mental health is a topic that is important to God and we wanted to start creating conversations about it with our Christian and non-Christian friends.  We need to normalise speaking about mental health and share what the Christian view on mental health is. In the process of doing so, we can be salt and light to the people who are hurting and we can be conduits of God’s grace and love, in our actions and relationships.  Love,  Breadfish SG Back to the top © NTU Christian Fellowship 2023

Speaking the Truth with Love

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NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New Speaking the Truth with Love Written by: Jacob’s Lentil Stew SG Published on: 21 December 2020 / This post is the first of our CE spotlight series, written by our CF members. / To live a life of integrity, a life that pleases God is hard. While the Bible speaks of the importance of truth, it is increasingly difficult to speak the truth in today society where many prize “truth” as subjective. From a seemingly mundane thing such as doing an online quiz with a friend to simply copying our friends’ assignments when we are clueless, these temptations are constant reminders that we are often standing on a very fine line between right and wrong. Our words have the power to heal, comfort and hurt others – be it intentionally or unintentionally. Yet, it is often because of this that we hesitate to speak the truth in certain situations. As such, we end up hedging the truth or avoid speaking the truth altogether just to avoid a conflict with our peers. However, let us not forget that we are also living testimonies for God and our actions and words reflect who God is. Thus, we should always humble ourselves and look to God with confidence that He’ll guide us when we put our faith and trust in Him. Finally let us speak the truth of God with love, in our actions and words as Christian students. Back to the top © NTU Christian Fellowship 2023

A meetup with our regional friends

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NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New A Meetup with our Regional Friends Written by: Gabriel Hsu, Year 3 Mathematical Sciences and Economics, 3POF SG; Chia Kai Tiak, Year 2 Public Policy and Global Affairs, Breadfish SG Published on: 25 July 2020 / The East Asian Regional Conference (EARC) was held on 17 and 18 July 2020. Members from the East Asian region came together and had a conference, talking about issues related to their every day and God’s task for us. This year, the conference is held online as supposed to the usual physical meeting. Let’s hear from our CF-ers on what they have reflected from the sessions. / Day 1 I found out about EARC earlier in the year in March. It was going to be held in Thailand and I was initially hesitant to register due to the worsening pandemic situation. I did not know what to expect from EARC when I heard that it was shifted online and registered for it. Hence, it was both frightening and somehow reassuring to log in and find hundreds of people in the room: fellow students from different movements around Asia hoping to learn from each other. Worship reminded me of the first time I stepped into NTU-CF where I first participated in worship with the Chinese and Indonesian Students sections of CF and I immediately felt a bond with the other conference-goers, knowing that despite our different languages and cultures, we all find our identity in Christ and were able to worship as a whole. This also made the group sharing after the exposition much easier. We dived into introductions and I was surprised to find out that quite a few of the participants were older students who had attended the previous EARC and were returning to attend again. Everyone was keen to hear more about the movements back home and the unique challenges each were facing, I had the opportunity to hear more about six other countries and schools, and their experiences differed greatly from what I thought I knew about those countries. I was especially amazed to hear that many of them are trying to reach out to movements from neighbouring countries, something that we have never thought about in NTU-CF. I wish more time could have been spent together with the group as everyone seemed to have more that they wanted to share about and it’s easy to understand why so many of them were so excited to return after their first experience at EARC.– Gabriel Hsu, Year 3 Mathematical Sciences and Economics Day 2 EARC was conducted online this year due to the COVID outbreak and its original plans of having it physically at Bangkok had been cancelled. This breakthrough provided a window of opportunity for more Christian students, including myself, to participate in. Indeed, it was a fulfilling experience after re-examining our Christian identity and mission, as well as exchanging our views with students of various nationalities and backgrounds on pertinent issues. The second day of the conference had us understood better about social issues that concern Christians in the world today and what are the desirable responses we can adopt in dealing with these issues. This year’s conference’s theme – “Unfinished” – speaks about how we as part of the Universal Church are not, and never, done with fulfilling God’s restoration plan for the world. The workshop I attended discussed on “Serving the Marginalized”, with the marginalized described as a prominent group of people who require our attention and assistance. Issues involving inequality, unfairness and injustice were surfaced within the forum, and what I had in mind was, what can we do to help and deal with these issues the vulnerable faced? Truly, this was something I found perplexing, given my limited financial capabilities as a student now. However, as the forum continued, exhibiting love and compassion was the ultimate way in reaching out to the unheard. Just as how Jesus loves us all, regardless of who we are, we are told to “love thy neighbors as thyself” (Matt 22:39). And through this same love, we first help to amplify their outcries of pain and prejudice which the rest of the society had previously ignored. The next step, was to engage with them and point them to our faith in God and the Gospel. Brewed from this same ingredient, love, we ought to let them know that Jesus died as a ransom and hence, He loves us all as His beloved children. At this point, I felt encouraged that there is hope for the marginalized to depend on, and this hope is Jesus. Only with the love that Jesus exemplifies, the world may gradually shift their focus on the marginalized, and with an added ounce of compassion and awareness, appropriate action can be done to change the status quo. As we approached towards the end of the forum, a concise summary of the forum was done by the speaker – “As Christians, we recognize that service to the marginalized as evidence of our faith, as actions done in love, and they are done to point them to Jesus and the Gospel”. Certainly, I was comforted in this succinct maxim when reaching out to the marginalized comes into play. Thereafter, there was a short group discussion on the forum in a Zoom breakout room where we shared various issues that disadvantage the marginalized from our respective countries. After the forum ended, I thought of the public protests to George Floyd’s demise, which reflected violent and barbaric acts protestors including the marginalized Black community adopted. They were fighting for a cause against prevalent racism in America and certainly, I feel that their cause is justified. Many were known to voice out bitterness felt by the Black community and were sanguine in supporting the Black Lives Movement. However, their modus operandi was rather disappointing, as we adhere to Christ’s call to love and never to be “angry

My CF experience

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NTU-CF About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New About Stories Resources FAQs Contact I’m New My CF Experience Written by: Jethro, ADM Year 4, Giant Grapes SG Published on: 21 June 2020 Hello everyone! I am Jethro and I am the President for this current AY. I am in my final year in NTU, studying digital film making in ADM. As we embark on the new academic year, I thought it would be good to reflect upon my past 3 years in CF. I remember my first experience with CF in their annual camp and I had many fears in me. I had never interacted with any Christian groups outside my church and I was not sure that I would fit it. I was also afraid that what I believe in might clash with what others believe in, starting a conflict. It was also difficult for me to start a conversation because I did not know anyone then and I was quite introverted. My first camp experience The camp proved me otherwise. I realized that everyone’s church experience is slightly different from each other and it reflects the diversity of churches in Singapore. Meeting then in an interdenominational organisation like CF provides the platform for an exchange of ideas and opinions. I remember vividly about my conversations with other CF-ers about how they viewed the first few chapters of Genesis and their views of creationism. Even though I was doing a fine arts degree, it was interesting to hear from my life science friends about how they contended with such a topic. I also remember from this camp the variety of opinions when it comes to scripture engagement and I enjoyed all of it. I participated in most of the CF activities, such as our small group sessions to our fellowship nights and community engagement sessions. What I really appreciated was how the activities in CF are geared towards gospeling in all areas of our lives. We are not just viewing the gospel from the point of view of spiritual salvation, but in our day to day actions, in our academic fields and in our communities. This gave me the handles to think deeper about what I study in school and how I can participate in the conversations that the university is concerned with. I am also thankful that I could share my ideas freely and contribute back to the CF. My Monday Small Group My bible camp group in 2018 (I have no idea what I happening here) As part of my final year project, I have to do a short film and I have the freedom to pick my topics. I decided to do a documentary on a topic close to most people’s hearts- food. The angle which I am entering is though urban farming and our state policies. I thought that this was also a good time to reveal our broken relationship with food and to recenter our food production with a focus on creation care. Though my research phase, I had good conversations with my other CF friends about food and its relation with our faith. Food is in an abundance in Singapore and we should consider it as a blessing and not as a given. The conversations that I had helped me in understanding the topic better and when I pitched it to my school friends, they could understand where I am coming from. I am also hoping to start a larger conversation over this and I am doing a series of blog posts on my project website www.stateofthegardencity.com Looking back, I am really quite grateful for joining this campus ministry because it has broadened my perspectives and given me an image of how a Christian community can be like. It might seem scary and overwhelming at the beginning but as you commit yourself to it you would end up learning a lot. Back to the top © NTU Christian Fellowship 2023