Faith Story by Jimson Ambus
I am the warden of the Skycommunity Hostel. Together with my wife, we take care of the students that come from the surrounding rural areas.
I was raised in a very poor family, the third child of eight children. My father and mother work the hills paddy. Sometimes they would also hunt. Life was hard – “kais pagi makan pagi, kais petang makan petang” (living from hand to mouth). My parents were animists, and followed all the rituals, such as animal sacrificial and the likes.
In April 2001, I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior at the Student Christian Fellowship in our school. Through that fellowship, I began to change the way I think, and the way I behaved. My eyes were opened to the truth in the Word of God that Jesus is the way, truth, and the life, as is written in John 14:6. The Christian fellowship was guided by my former teacher. Some other students and I were trained to be leaders through discipline, discipleship class, and prayers.
When I finished my secondary school, I wanted to pursue my studies in university together with my friends from the Christian Fellowship. I realized that education alone would help to pull me out of the poverty cycle that was in my family. However, I couldn’t afford the fees and expenses. My parents did not have money. Nevertheless, I trusted God. By faith I told my parents that “My father in Heaven is rich, and He will guide and provide all I need”. The course that I wanted was not eligible for me, but I trusted God that He has a plan for me, as is written in Jeremiah 29:11, “plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans that give me hope and a future”. Praise the Lord, in 2008, I graduated and received a dean-list bachelor’s degree in management.
Management was not my first choice, but as I look back on the journey that I took in faith, I can see that the Lord is truly a good father and provider. Without His grace, and through the people He sent in my life, I could not have achieved it. I was not the only one to witness the miracles. My Bumiputeras friends with whom I studied in the same college, and stayed in a house called “Emmanuel Home”, witnessed them too.
I thank God that through Skyline, I have grown deeper in faith and in the word of God by serving in ministry. As such, I want to give back to God by serving Him in the area I have passion for – the young generation, and especially the Bumiputera students. This is the reason why I am where I am today – managing the Skycommunity Hostel.
Yes, there have been ups and downs in my life. I’d admit that along the journey I have been hurt, and have got impatient because of the hardships I have had to face. I often grumbled to God. However, I have never lost hope, and I continue to persevere in the faith.
Just as Romans 5:3-5 says “3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. s And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us”.
Brothers and sisters, no matter what challenges you are facing, remember that God is still in control. Continue to persevere in Him. Tetaplah untuk terus “Percaya” “Taat” dan “Setia” kepada Tuhan Yesus. (Continue to “Believe”, “Obey”, and “be Faithful” to the Lord Jesus.
Amen.