PLMC Stories
Rev Jacob Lim, Charmaine & Baby Eliza
Credit: This article was first published on Salt&Light.
Phone call from God by Tan Weilun
I didn’t expect God to speak to me through a handphone.
I share this story first to glorify God, for He has showed me an amazing miracle. Also, I pray that you may enjoy the sweetness that comes from having faith in God.
My father had taken his handphone to try to get it revived. The repair technicians told him that his phone was beyond repair – it was dead. It was difficult news to take. Our sweet family memories saved in pictures and videos would be lost. When my father told me about it, I asked him to pray to our Lord, because we had not prayed about it before that.
To our surprise, when he next tried to revive the phone just a few minutes later, its screen immediately lit up. How was this possible? The technicians had failed to even switch the phone on.
But it still couldn’t function properly. Although my father was about to give up since he had already exhausted all technical means to fix the phone, I told myself to have faith that God will fix it. I didn’t tell anyone else about this, because I must confess that I still had some doubt that God would fix the phone – it was such a trivial matter, after all.
I prayed and waited. I played worship songs on the piano, which is my hobby. My father joined me in singing.
As we praised the Lord, the phone’s memory began to be restored. How was this possible?
After each hymn we sang, my father checked the progress of data recovery. Each time without fail, it increased. This was amazing. We continued praising God.
From being impossible to fix, the phone’s original function was restored 100 percent, no less. All glory to God!
This surprise “phone call” from God on 2 March 2025 reminds me to trust Him as I go through a difficult and uncertain time now.
God has comforted me many times through music. As I wrote this testimony, God placed the melody of a beautiful hymn in my head.
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take him at His word,
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know ‘Thus saith the Lord.’
It was indeed God who spoke to me through these lyrics; I could not have remembered it because I had never sung it before. I knew only the first line and had to Google the rest of the lyrics.
It felt liberating when I stopped doubting. It was sweet.
Take Jesus at His Word, the hymn says.
Our Lord tells us Himself in Mark 11:22-24,
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
We can take Him at His Word.
When I look back at God’s many miracles in my life, I know without a doubt that I can trust Him.
My life itself is a miracle.
Three of Singapore’s top gynaecologists told my mother it was impossible for her to have a child. For seven difficult years, my parents prayed for a child and continued to worship God. When my mother conceived me naturally, by God’s abundant grace, the doctors were astounded.
When our family faces challenges, we pray and praise God at home. Even when we don’t fully understand our situation, we trust that God will be faithful no matter what – after all, He is the same God who gave me life.
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take him at His word,
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know ‘Thus saith the Lord.’
To God be the highest praise and glory!
Getting to know Rev Emanuel Goh
1. Welcome back to our PLMC family, Ps Emanuel! Can you share your history with our church please?
I was born and raised in Paya Lebar Methodist Church as my parents has been worshipping here since the 1980s. I attended Sunday School, youth service and served in the Beyond 12 Ministry before working in church as an intern from 2012 to 2013. Thereafter, I was sent by PLMC to Trinity Theological College for my Master of Divinity (MDiv) and after graduation, I worked in PLMC as a Young Adults Ministry Executive for three years before applying to be a Member-On-Trial (MOT) in 2019.
2. Congratulations on the arrival of your baby! Please introduce your family.
My wife, Belicia Tan, is a pre-school teacher in Australian International School and my baby girl, Hope Goh, was recently born in the first week of January.
3. What are pivotal moments in your faith journey?
Growing up in a Christian family, I always knew about God, who He is and what He has done for us. It was only in my young adult season of life that I searched for Him and found Him in my struggles to understand Christianity better. The church community and their love for Jesus helped me to find who Jesus is to me. Through the church community, my faith in both my knowledge in God and my personal experience grew. It is through this journey of growth; I learnt to surrender my life to God and join the ministry full-time.
4. What is your favourite Bible verse and why?
Psalm 23:6, “Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Through this verse, I am always reminded of God’s goodness and love for me such that it doesn’t just follow me but His goodness and love chases after me. Also, I am reminded of God’s house, the church, His people. In other words, I am reminded of you and me as we come before the Lord to worship and serve Him. Through the coming and serving, may we all continuously dwell in His wonderful and gracious presence.
5. What is your hope/vision for PLMC in your season here?
To grow and journey with God’s people as we serve God as a spiritual family.
6. You had mentioned about enjoying sports and movies in a previous interview in the Methodist Message. Are these still hobbies you enjoy? What other ways do you rest and recharge?
Yes, they are still hobbies that I enjoy. I would love to go for a hike, cycle or run. A good sleep is always good to rest and recharge especially when I have a newborn.
7. PLMC is a family who loves our food. What is your favourite cuisine and dishes?
My mum was a Peranakan, so naturally, I like spicy food and anything homemade. I think homemade food is the food of love. Other favourites include fried chicken wings, Bak Chor Mee and Wanton Mee.
8. Foodie quiz: Which do you prefer – Coffee, tea or bubble tea? Chocolate or vanilla? Meat or vegetables? Cafe or kopitiam? Rice or noodles?
- Coffee, for sure!
- Chocolate over vanilla
- Hands down, meat!
- Kopitiam, because you never know what treasures you can find in those random stalls you chance upon
- Noodles, but I do love a plate of fried rice
9. Would you have any allergies, food or otherwise?
Nothing I can think of right now, but maybe that’s because I am sleep deprived!
10. How can church members support you in prayer?
Pray for my family and me as we adjust to a new season of our lives in PLMC and as new parents. May God continue to lead us in parenting and serving in PLMC!
痛苦中的安慰 – 胡秋萍姐妹见证
我虽然行过死荫的幽谷，也不怕遭害，因为你与我同在；
你的杖，你的竿，都安慰我。(诗篇 23:4 和合本 )
24年12月22日，我在停车场不慎摔倒，后脊椎骨和头向下冲击跌倒，顿时疼痛袭遍全身。过了很长时间，我先生才可以扶我起来慢慢走回住所。我原以为休息一下就会康复，哪知隔天凌晨腰椎间盘疼痛难忍，我们立刻去了盛港医院紧急部门看医生，照了x光片得知脊椎骨第十二节有裂痕(Hairline Cracks )，于是医生为我打了强力止痛针和吃强力止痛药。
药物的副作用使我没胃口进食。连续两个星期，每次半夜下床去如厕时，腰部神经线都撕心裂肺的痛。这过程需要最少半小时，并且痛到全身大汗才能站起来。因此，每晚上床睡觉时，我心里都恐惧害怕。于是我立刻转向神，呼求阿爸父挪去我的负面想法，让神的平安覆盖我！每次在疼痛中，我唯有呼求阿爸父，救救我！非常奇妙，每一次我呼求阿爸父时，都感觉到有一股力量扶持、安慰我。感谢有主，祂确实是我随时的帮助，祂的杖和杆在困苦时都安慰扶持着我！
圣经说，神使万事互相效力，叫爱神的人得益处！事情发生在圣诞节和农历新年期间，过去几十年里，这双节期间我会非常忙碌，忙着做糕饼、繁杂的年菜，很少停下脚步。然而，疼痛使我今年必须完全停下忙碌的脚步，每天倚靠、仰望主的恩典。藉着这次的经历，神要我学习的功课是：休息、忍耐、等候。虽然至今我仍在康复中，不能久站立或行走太远。但我每天都仰望祂的恩典，经历祂的医治，並相信祂必按着祂的时间使我完全得痊愈。
我要感谢亲爱的天父时刻与我同在！我也要感谢主赐给我好的先生，对我无微不至的照顾，也通过教会的牧者、弟兄姐妹和小组组员来探访慰问我，也为我祷告。这些都带给我无限的暖意和力量。感谢上帝，感谢活石大家庭，荣耀归主！阿们。
Engaged and Ready to Say YES to Missions by Missions Team
We are grateful to our Lord Jesus for a good turnout of about 230 participants for the Missions Engagement Event on 26 Oct 2024.
During the first session, Missions Director Scott Tey spoke on the call for believers to do missions:
He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.” – Luke 10:2
From this verse, he added, there are three very important points to from Jesus’ call:
- Jesus is the Lord of the Harvest!
- The harvest is plentiful, while the labourers are few.
- Pray for the harvest, and for more labourers.
Scott added: “To achieve the extensive mobilisation of PLMC to missions, we need to pray for the Lord of the harvest to convict and we need to pray for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for the missions endeavour of PLMC.”
The session closed with time spent praying for God to move in the hearts of His people, so that they will say YES to Missions, which is the tagline for our Year of Expansion.
During the second session, Lucy Lo shared about what to expect on a Missions Exposure Trip (MET) while Sim Ting covered what Short-Term Missions Trips (STM) are like. Members who had gone on MET previously also talked to the participants about their experience.
Having gone on Missions trips as a cell group and family, Desmond and Meilian Chung said: “Serving in missions enables our children to learn how to be a blessing to others through the act of giving. When we give our money, time and talents, we give a bit of our own selfishness away in the process. We become less self-focused and more ‘other-focused’.”
Another member, Francis Lee, shared how God has used him in Missions in the last couple of months since he retired from work.
“Every challenge is an opportunity to glorify God. Pray to ask God what He wants you to learn from it,” he said.
Three workshops followed, which were well attended. The one with missionaries and missioners helped participants understand the essence of missions and the missions endeavour of PLMC. The second workshop focused on working with refugees. Participants went through some simulation scenarios to gain a better understanding of the plight of refugees. The third workshop showcased the ministry of ElShaddai which prompted a number of participants to show interest to go on an MET to serve in this ministry.
In John 4:35, Jesus stated: “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.”
The call to action here is a strong reminder that the time for missions is now. Let’s say YES to Missions!
Prepare to say YES to Missions with the training programmes here. Check upcoming Missions Exposure Trips here.
God’s Perfect Timing by Su Mei Lenden-Hitchcock
It was day 8 post-tonsillectomy and I was frustrated. For a few nights now, I had been unable to sleep at night. I would be utterly exhausted and struggling to stay awake but the moment I turned off the light and lay my head on my pillow, I would be wide awake. I had been taking melatonin to help me sleep, with limited success. That night, I was fed up and didn’t want to take it.
After tossing in bed for almost 2 hours, I decided to sit up and scroll through Facebook. About 20 minutes later, I felt a lot of thick saliva in my throat. I thought I had better check as I had suffered a small bleed earlier in the morning. True enough, my throat had started bleeding again. I quickly sucked on some ice and the bleeding stopped. Less than 15 minutes later, the bleeding restarted. I didn’t want to go to A&E because I figured it would stop again soon, but I felt a sudden sense of urgency to get to A&E. As I prepped my bag, I realised that the blood wasn’t stopping and I just kept spitting blood whenever there wasn’t any ice in my mouth.
I rushed to A&E, where the doctors tried to cauterise the bleed to avert the need for an operation. However, the ENT doctor could not stem the flow of blood. Whenever she cauterised one area, another would open up and bleed again. The specialist surgeon was called and I was prepped for emergency surgery.
Other than constantly spitting out a lot of blood, I was generally feeling ok. But just as I was about to be wheeled in to surgery, I suddenly felt woozy. Everything looked a bit grey and grainy and I didn’t feel good.
As I lay down on the operating table with the oxygen mask, I could feel the blood pooling in my throat and prayed for God’s protection because I didn’t want to leave my children (Isaac and Iva) without a mother.
When I awoke after the surgery, I was told that just before I went under general anaesthesia, the bleeding suddenly became severe. Within the short time between intubation and finally cauterising that troublemaker of a blood vessel, I had lost 500ml of blood from a tiny hole.
It was only when I was discharged that the gravity of the situation hit me.
It had taken 30 minutes for the specialist surgeon to get to the hospital and for the doctors to prep for my surgery. Had I gone to the A&E a little bit later than I did, I wouldn’t have been in surgery to stop the bleeding in time and would have lost even more blood.
I had been so frustrated with God for not giving me sleep the previous few nights. Yet if I had taken melatonin and it was effective, I might not have woken up in time.
I felt the weight of God’s protection, grace and mercy over me. In protecting me, He showed me His immense love for my children too, whom I value very much. This incident was also a reminder to me that God is always good. Even when He does not answer my prayers for simple things, He has a good reason for it. The original date of my tonsillectomy had been postponed from August due to a bout of tonsilitis. This was also His mercy because if I had done the procedure as planned, this post-op bleeding would have required me to take no pay leave from the school where I teach, as it was not yet the school holidays. All these things I could not see except in retrospect.
This incident drove home the message of His grace, sovereignty and goodness over my life. Indeed His goodness, mercies and grace abound. All praise and thanksgiving to Him who is most High.
