Relationships at Hope London

When I first came to this church I knew that I hoped I could make some friends and meet some nice people that could help me feel comfortable and also feel more settled. I understand that we all want to make many friends and be liked by everyone but that is however impossible. I know good wants us to get along with each other and have a good fellowship but things don't work out the way we want.

We have different personalities, attitudes and sometimes react in different ways. What I have found is that some people may not like us or stand us for no apparent reason. Some people we get to know quite quickly and others
it proves very challenging and takes a very long time, sometimes many months. From my personal experience it is people who are similar and share the same interests that are easy to connect with and get to know.

From my own experience I have come across people who I thought could be a good and close friend but didn't quite work out or actually happen. Some people are quite open and friendly and others can hold back and be quite cautious and resistant. You do get people who are perhaps selective of who they want to talk to or be friends with and others that are completely open. I also believe that maturity, patience and understanding plays a part in friendships. All this helps to build a good and friendly environment.

There are no perfect christian relationships, we make mistakes and hurt others without realising it and sometimes we see some one's reaction as inappropriate or even unacceptable but it may appear normal to them. We may offend others or have some sort of misunderstandings with our brothers and sisters but it is important to be mature at all times. Acting impulsively or aggressively is not something that helps anyone. It is important to show some patience and understand but also allow the other party to explain themselves.

Te best thing is not too worry about the people we can't get on with, connect with or be friends with. Instead it is best to stay around those that are close
and maybe in the future more, better relationships will follow. We must also not think anybody as an enemy even if they don't want a friendship or any sort of social interaction with us.

Life Transformation (Live Testimony at Hope London)

Life Transformation (Live Testimony given at Hope London on 2/9/07)

This was my first live testimony at Hope London.

If I go back several years I was a different person than I am now, I was quite unhappy as a person and very isolated. I used to be highly introverted so I avoided social interactions. I also had problems that I kept to myself and felt responsible for them. I felt comfortable spending lots of time alone as I knew I wouldn’t get judged or evaluated. I always felt that I would struggle to be accepted; make friends and that people would find it hard to be motivated to talk to me. In that instance I felt I had nothing to offer.

However after a while I felt that this I was expecting an unrealistic life and this is what I didn’t want. I felt I was missing out on a lot of things. I wanted to be different, enjoy life more, interact and connect with people better. For me that was my biggest frustration.

Prior to my arrival at Hope London church I always wondered if people would accept me here but also felt I had nothing to lose. I came here with an objective to get to know God and serve him. I also came here with the challenge or trying to get to know people. I was blessed on my first day after meeting seven people, however I knew it would take a while to get to know people and vice versa. Interacting with people in big groups is something that I find very daunting but God has helped me to keep going, given me faith and the ability to be more patient. God has also taught me to make the first move if I wanted to improve my chance of good friendships.

I had no intention of going to Sunday Service and care groups every week as it was about an hour and a half on average distance so I had committed to go once a month to Church and care Group. I had no intention and didn’t expect to be going to Birthday parties, dinners with others or going away to Easter camp, Euro Camp trips. For me all this seemed very uncomfortable but somehow when there is a will there is a way so I went along. I found myself coming every week to church and care group although a care group on a Friday might not have been the best day for me. I am always excited my coming to church every week as I enjoy the worship and fellowship.

I have had my moments where my behaviour has been a bit erratic, sometimes I appeared quite friendly and at other times not so. Believe me I do want to get to know you all and have quality friendships. Being an amateur Christian I have had lessons to learn, been corrected as a result of upsetting a few people with my actions but have learnt from my mistakes and pray for forgiveness from God. I do hope that those who have been affected by me will try and forgive me as well.

I have been blessed to see how patient people have been with me and the encouragement that I have received. I have confided in a few people who helped, encouraged and supported me emotionally. I do hope to make a difference and play a part in this church as I believe I have a lot to offer. I do hope to continue my self development further in the future. God bless the lord, I must have done something right.

My new life as a Christian

Life is full of challenges. In my life, I have found that I have had many difficulties, problems, and setbacks. Yet, I also have achievements which I am happy to look back on.

I would describe my life as fairly dramatic. At times, there has been plenty of difficulties when I want to achieve something. I find that there are challenges coming my way but in recent times I have learnt to fight and work for my dreams.

After a long absence from Christ, I have started a new relationship with Jesus and He has begun to accept me. The relationship has been progressing smoothly, although there has been more
setbacks and difficult situations for me to deal with.

I am grateful for Jesus, not only for accepting me, but also forgiving me. I am a human who makes mistakes, bad decisions, an behave in a way that can hurt or offend others. I realised that we cannot be liked by everyone no matter how good we are. This is something we have to accept. Nevertheless, I believe that I have more friends now.

I came back as a Christian so I could have a good relationship with God; gaining in faith, improving and developing my life further.

Euro Convention 2007 Experience

It was my first time in Prague and there were many people there to meet and get to know. This camp has allowed me to spend time with God and with others. God has given me encouragement in many areas of my life, he has allowed me to develop and given me the opportunity to be open and do what I think is best.

God has also put me through some tough tests but has insisted that I am more than capable of overcoming them. He knows the kind of difficulties that I am facing but telling me to have more faith within myself but also within other people around me. I find that I am becoming more understanding, more patient and becoming more respectful. God has also told me not to worry about believing that I am an amateur at Church as I have lots to learn. He has also insisted that making mistakes and being corrected by different people is all part of a learning process and should feel no shame about it provided that I learn from it.

God has praised me for my efforts in trying very hard to spend time with him but also for not giving up on many things. Even when things haven't been going well I am still made every effort to spend time with god and not a feeling of hopelessness. I know myself all this is good as I still want to develop myself further and know I have a lot of things to work on.
God Bless for a wonderful Camp

New members Dinner Testimony

After a very long time I found myself accepting Christ and becoming a Christian again. During early 2005 I was staying in an Island called Penang in Malaysia and met a brother in the swimming pool near where I was staying. This brother called Bryan from Johor Bahru (Malaysia) invited me to come and join a Care Group on a Wednesday evening.

I wasn’t quite sure what a care Group was but decided to go anyway, being there felt strange but the people were nice and friendly. I enjoyed it very much but wasn’t sure if I would come again. However I decided to return and after a few care Groups I got more into it and was invited to come to church, I wasn’t sure at first but decided to go along although I wasn’t really a Christian. I felt really encouraged by what went on at Church and eventually found myself accepting Christ.

I returned to UK three months later (May 2005) and although I was put in touch with people like Pastor PK, Vincent and Felix. However I still resisted joining Hope London although I met up with Kenny from Hope London who invited to come to church. I felt at the time that Hope London was too far to travel and it would cost me more on travel.

In November 2006 I went back to Malaysia for a 3 week holiday and again returned to Hope Penang. They were very happy to see me after a long while and then asked me whether I had visited Hope London. I told that I haven’t, because it was too far and had no time. Lee King, Care Group leader from leader persuaded me to go and visit Hope London at least once a month. I promised that I would do that.

When I returned to London at the end of November I continued to resist going to hope London as I didn’t manage to find the time. I eventually went on 17^th December 2006 for my first ever Sunday service. I intended in going to YMCA in Errol Street but checked the website and found it was at Kings Cross Baptist church. I was quite anxious going there as I didn’t really know anyone. I met 11 people there including Pastor PK, Anchalee, Vincent, Jo, Eldos and Kim. I told Vincent that I would come once a month because of the distance but ended up coming every week. However at times I struggled to really commit to pray, to worship and to even come to the front. I was really happy with being in Hope London as the people were friendly, understanding and kind towards me.

The more I came It got a bit easier and found myself opening up to God more and found that I became more excited in coming to church then I used to. At present I feel that I am closer to God and when I worship or pray tears do fall from my eyes. I do also enjoy fellowship with others as I get many chances to know them, attend birthday parties and go on holiday with them. I have even given my personal testimony in the church and two other testimonies in the Easter and Euro Camps.

I do hope to become more active at church as I hope to mature as a Christian. So far I have carried out care group and church duties and hope to carry out more challenging duties in the future.