So many different emotions stir up inside me as I reflect on these past two years as a Howie. Stepping into my first official day as a Howie in January 2019 I was full of excitement yet also nervous. I was eager to be trained and work alongside an amazing staff team, to meet students and see the Word and the Spirit at work in their hearts and lives. I’d heard that it was going to be challenging and stretching, and expose the deep desires of a person’s heart. But I was ready for the journey.

This journey has certainly been challenging and stretching, but also very encouraging.

God has humbled me, changed me and grown me.

I have come to learn and experience just how powerless and limited I am. I am powerless to change a person’s situation, to move someone’s heart that they might see the beauty of the gospel and to open eyes that they might understand God’s word and be changed by it. However, it’s in these moments that I learnt to rest in the sovereignty of God and appreciate the fact that I’m not independent of Him. God is the one in control and in charge of growing His Kingdom. Ministry principles and skills are also things that I’ve learnt and grown in. In particular, learning the importance of being adaptable and innovative has been especially relevant in light of COVID-19. It was very encouraging to see the response of EU staff and students to COVID-19 restrictions, and their perseverance and determination despite the constantly changing situation.

I’m definitely a different person from the one who signed up to become a Howie Ministry Apprentice 2 years ago.

I understand more about the realities of vocational ministry; its joys and challenges. It’s been such a blessing to serve alongside the EU staff team and to see God work within the hearts and lives of students. I’m so grateful to God for this opportunity.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
-Rom 1:16-

Chenway Liu

Howie