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Eventually, I was able to sign up for BTW on the very last Sunday of registration. Perhaps it was a divine appointment to begin with.
I have been struggling in the area of marital intimacy & being transparent to my wife for many years. Somehow, I lack the courage and boldness to confess to her my past sins & failures for fear of rejection & increasing my vulnerability. However, my facilitator had told us to pen a letter to God telling him of the greatest issues that we are grappling with in the innermost recesses of my heart and also about what breakthroughs we expect from this BTW.
The last 2 weeks before BTW were most trying & draining due to multiple adverse events encountered at work & other domestic issues. My faith was wavering as I felt my self physically & mentally torn apart. But praise God, somehow He gave me the strength & conviction to prepare myself spiritually for the breakthrough once I signed up.
As I spent the early mornings (& sleepless nights) praying & meditating upon God’s words, the following verses kept resonating in my mind: (Isa 41: 10): Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isa 40:31): But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run & not be weary; they shall walk & not faint.
Amazingly, even though I was physically exhausted, I began to experience a spiritual breakthrough never experienced before (even before I entered the actual BTW). I began to experience a deep hunger for God’s words & fervency in my daily prayer. I began to understand what the phrase “draw near to God & He will draw near to you” means. It was as if God was cleansing & purifying my heart & mind in preparation for the BTW.
On the Thursday night before BTW, I managed to type out the letter to God in which I bared all the innermost secrets of my life: my past struggles, sins committed, victories experienced, unspoken needs, etc. Miraculously, God gave me the courage to show the letter to my wife! And indeed she was pleasantly surprised and touched by my willingness to come clean before her.
Of course I experienced further breakthroughs and got to forge strong bonds of friendship with fellow church members (interestingly they were all new to me although we could able to share with no inhibitions) during the 3 days at Batam. In retrospect, perhaps the most amazing and unbelievable thing is that even before BTW starts, I had already experienced a tremendous breakthrough in my life as I begin to open the door of my heart to God in faith and obedience & allow His Holy Spirit to go in to do a mighty work of restoration & redemption in the innermost recesses of my heart! As a result, my marital relationship with my wife has grown much more intimate and I have the freedom to be totally transparent to her. Praise God for his mighty work! |
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BTW Testimonies and Photos |
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TH, 39, Married
First of all, I must say that it is indeed God’s hand at work that I could make it for the BTW in the first place. To be honest, it was not my heart’s desire to come for BTW.
When Bernard called me 1-2 weeks before the closing date, I was at a loss of what to do. 2 of my colleagues had already taken leave over those 3 days.
My boss was concerned that with my absence, the functioning of the department would be much crippled. But somehow, as I came before the Lord & surrendered the entire event into His hands; one thing led to another in an unexpected turn of events.
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