The Journey Continues

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The Journey Continues

by Sis. Pearl Bong, January, 2005

How time flies, as I was counting my blessings, the Lord reminded me of His goodness and the Spirit of God prompted me to take this opportunity to share His amazing work with our beloved brothers and sisters once again. There is joy unspeakable as I poured out my heart to share of God's abundant love and mercy with others. If you recall my last two sharing, titled "A special gift from God" and "Spiritual lessons which I learned through raising up an autistic child", those two sharing covered the events that had happened until the year 2000.

As a child of God, I have experienced God's protection and deliverance as He carried me through the trials and tribulations which I encountered in my daily life. He has done so much wonders in my family in the last three and a half years. There is no word to describe His greatness. All that I can say is," I am truly amazed!"

I asked the Lord as to what should the title of this sharing be, He had highlighted to me that Christian life is a continual journey of striving to enter the kingdom of God. Acts 14:22 says," Through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God." Christian life is a constant walk; a continual journey with God which is filled with many challenges ahead of us as we engage in Spiritual warfare. However, we will always triumph if we function by the power of God. Our gracious God continues to perform more wonders and He has made ways where there seemed to be no way. He had opened many doors for my family, particularly for my beloved son Brendon who is indeed a special gift from God.

As I embarked on my Spiritual journey; learning to walk hand in hand with Jesus, there were many occasions whereby I received encouragements from the Lord. My walk with God has become more exciting and challenging each day as I perceived God's marvelous work which was indeed indescribable! There were moments of joy, sorrow, defeat as well as victory. Nevertheless, God's unfailing love consumes me and His divine love lifted me up when I stumbled and I could only come humbly before Him and say, "Lord, You are wonderful! I am forever grateful to You."

In my daily walk with God, the longing of my heart is to know God in an intimate way; to experience a living relationship with Jesus so as to comprehend what it means by walking in newness of life. I must admit that I have failed the Lord in the past as I have lived many years wondering in the wilderness yet thinking that I have acquired the new life in Christ. God took pity on me and revealed to me that I was living in self deception. I thank God for leading me out of the spiritual desert and led me to the river of life, so that I can learn to comprehend what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Tim 1:12,"For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day." As of today, I can finally say confidently, "I know whom I have believed."

When I look back, the year 2000 was a significant year for all of us at home. God had granted Brendon the gift of speech and his words become clearer and more comprehensive to the hearers as the days gone by. That was truly remarkable! The gift of speech is readily available to all normal kids but for our son Brendon, the gift of speech was granted because of God's mercy. Every word which he utters reminds me of God's love and mercy for my family. The Lord has given Brendon the ability to sing; to pray and say Amen. How lovely that is! God is so good to all of us.

For all these years, God has provided teachers to teach Brendon in accordance to His will, purpose and perfect timing. Although I have lived with Brendon for so many years, I often encounter difficulties in dealing with the complicated aspects of life of an autistic individual. There is always an unknown zone in the world of an autistic individual. I marveled as I looked upon God's creation. God has created autistic individuals in such unique ways whereby human thinking can never understand. I was unable to get through to Brendon but the omnipotent God knows his heart and thoughts. God knew Brendon from the inside out and I have to plead before Him to reveal to me as He deems fit. All that I could do was to submit to the will of God in total obedience and to walk by faith as I believed with all my heart that God's intervention will come as He makes all things beautiful in His time. I sought after God's will and to fulfill them by His power, wisdom and strength.

As I ponder, the many challenges in my life were in fact God's customized training package for me. I began to see God has placed me in such training ground to transform me; as well as to keep me humble all the time. It is precisely at those moments that I can do nothing on my own that I can be humbled and to understand what is meant by "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me." (Galatians 2:20)

According to God's wonderful plan, Brendon had spent six eventful years in Margaret Drive Special School. (From1998 to May 2003) It was through countless prayers of intercession that many obstacles were removed, thus enabled Brendon to grow and learned. Indeed glory be to God for His never ending provision for Brendon.

I recall an incident which took place in August 2001, Brendon participated in the Singapore National Day celebration at school as one of the participants in the dragon dance for the first time. I was told that he was not selected to be in the event as he could not follow the instructions. It came as a pleasant surprise when his teacher shared with me that he "volunteered" to be in the event during the rehearsal. Everyone at his school was amazed that he could cope well and he was given the opportunity to participate. I could not hold back my tears when I saw Brendon performed on the stage with the other kids. That was too good to be true. It has to be God's enabling for Brendon to be able to follow the crowd and performed. At that instant I could sense God's hands were leading Brendon as he paraded gracefully on the stage. A miracle indeed! Glory be to God!

My heart was full of joy and thanksgiving to God as I shared with our brethrens concerning God's mighty hands of love at work so beautifully in Brendon. The joy was so overwhelming that I literally experienced God's love consumed me. Indeed God is awesome and beautiful beyond description.

In the following year, Brendon's school participated in a sport event for the disabled which is known as the "Special Olympics". To my amazement, Brendon was given the opportunity to participate in an event called the "Standing Long Jump". It was an eye opening experience for my husband and I as we have never attended such sports event before. We were full of curiosity and wanted to have some exposures. Our immediate thought was to join in for some fun. However, God has turned our fun-filled thoughts into laughter as Brendon won a gold medal for the event. We had never expected Brendon to win at all, much less a gold medal! In my heart, I thanked God for He was the one who has presented that medal to Brendon. At that instant, God had reminded me once again that He can do the impossible as His word says in Matthew 19:26," With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

At the end of year 2002, we went on a ten days trip to Perth, Australia. The purpose of the trip was to bring our kids for some exposures to life in the foreign land. My greatest concern at that time was that Brendon might have difficulties with the meals while we were at Perth. Nevertheless, we were truly amazed that he ate everything which he would not have eaten before. I scratched my head as I watched him enjoyed every meal offered on the table. God had increased his appetite for food during that trip and he enjoyed every single meal. After that trip, he began to eat so much until he put on 10kg within two months. We had a wonderful trip as we explored the country in admiration of God's handiwork. Indeed He is mighty and He is the marvelous creator of the entire universe. How I praise Him over and over again.

At the closing of year 2002, we were told that Brendon had to leave Margaret Drive Special School by June 2003. There are very few schools which accept autistic kids above twelve years of age. We gathered that only two schools have indicated that they might accept Brendon. We submitted the applications for admission into the new schools in November 2002. By January 2003, we received news that those two schools had declined to offer a place for Brendon.

During that period, I had no clue as to what step should I take. In desperation, I came before the Lord and enquired of the Lord as to what was God's will for Brendon at that time. I prayed and prayed, "Lord, if all the doors in Singapore schools are closed for Brendon, and if it is Your will that Brendon should remain at home, I believe You will teach him through Your own channel." Amazingly, I found new hope in God's answer to my plea. He directed my husband and I to a school which was founded by two churches in Singapore. However, we faced strong objection from the principal and psychologist of Brendon's school. They felt that Brendon was not ready to join that school. As a result of that, they were reluctant to provide us with the supporting documents for the application.

Deep within me, I knew God's way is higher than man and if it is God's will for Brendon to join the new school, He will certainly make the way for him.

After many days of prayers as I sought after the Lord, my husband and I decided to submit the application without seeking help from anyone for we believed that God was our only source of help and strength at all time. Since we did not have the required supporting documents to accompany the application, we had to engage a psychologist in private practice to conduct an assessment test and to write out a report for Brendon. Throughout the whole assessment test, Brendon fared badly due to the fact that he was totally distracted in an unfamiliar setting.

The outcome of the whole assessment test seemed to indicate that the only hope I had was shattered. However, I had total trust in God as I turned my eyes upon Jesus for an answer. The Spirit of God comforted my heart and gave me the assurance that He is Jehovah Jireh, our provider and His grace is sufficient for me.

It was beyond our comprehension when the Psychologist decided to give the scores to the whole assessment test as unrated for most parts of the test as she believed that Brendon could have performed if he was in a familiar setting. I was thankful to God when I received such unexpected explaination from the psychologist. All that I could testify is that God was at work mightily at that instant. We committed the whole matter to the Lord as He knew what is best for Brendon.

A few weeks later, we received news from the new school. We went for an interview and further tests for Brendon which was conducted by an Indian Psychologist of the new school. While we were communicating with the Indian psychologist, we encountered some difficulties in understanding his English as he spoke with a strong Indian accent. I was thinking, "Oh no, how on earth is Brendon going to understand his English?" Well, my faith was once again put to the test. A little reminder from the Lord came to me, "Don't you have faith in the almighty God whom You worship and adore all this while?"

The word of God came instantly into my heart and mind, He said, "If you have faith as the mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you." (Matthew 17:20)

As I looked to the Lord, there was a sense of joy and peace within my heart. I prayed, "Lord, I believed. Yes, I believed with all my heart and all that is within me praise His Holy name."

After the assessment, we were shocked to know that Brendon was the "A-Star" kid of the day. The psychologist had assessed a few other kids on the same day but none could understand him so well as our son Brendon. We were so thrilled when Brendon was accepted by the school immediately. After a good laugh, we wondered," How on earth did Brendon manage to understand the psychologist?" The only explanation was God is able! He is able to do all that is beyond our imagination. He has once again paved the way for Brendon. Praise the Lord!

The good news concerning Brendon's acceptance into the new school soon spread around quickly. Despite the objection from his school principal and psychologist, God provided for Brendon at His perfect timing. Everyone at his school was stunned. Indeed God works wonder as He is able to do the impossible.

There were other pleasant surprises which came later as we discovered that Brendon's new teacher is in fact his ex-teacher from Margaret Drive Special School. She had joined Brendon's new school in May 2003, just a month before Brendon was accepted into the school. As it has happened in the past years, God has provided a teacher for Brendon once again. That was absolutely marvelous!

After joining the new school, which is known as "Grace Orchard School" for a year, Brendon continued to progress by leaps and bounds. In June 2004, he was transferred to another class consists of fourteen children with mild learning disabilities. I gathered from Brendon's teacher that he is the only autistic child who is eligible to join that class for that semester. It was the greatest blessing we received from the Lord.

Although Brendon was given the opportunity to join a class with normal kids, my deep concern was that Brendon might have great difficulties in relating to the kids in his new class. Besides, what was taught in class is quite academic. I thought, "How is Brendon going to cope with all the changes?" I must confess that there was certain degree of fear and doubt within me at that time. Time and again God has to assure me that He is constantly keeping watch over Brendon and I have to surrender every aspect of my life to Jesus.

I have come to the realization that it is in living a life that abides in Christ at all time that I can experience victory and the freedom in Christ. As God's word says in John 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing."

Throughout the past few months, God kept watched over Brendon by assigning three buddies from his class to take care of him. They have been great friends to Brendon. Although Brendon is unable to socialize, they were most willing to tag along and help him when necessary. I thank God for loving and caring for Brendon.

The other challenge which I faced was to tutor Brendon in his studies. He used to live a carefree life, learning everything through fun and play in his previous class. As for now, he has to learn two subjects (English and Maths); which is quite tough for an autistic kid. I recall in one occasion that Brendon could not understand the subject at all no matter how hard I tried to explain to him. I had to acknowledge before God as to how incapable I was and humbly sought the Lord for direction. Amazingly, God enabled him to understand and it was within a short moment that he could complete his homework. It was an instant victory! Indeed God is faithful and true!

All these years, it has always been my desire that Brendon will have the opportunity to be exposed to the teaching of Christ. My heart longs for him to know that it is God who has created him as a child with special needs. The prayer of my heart is that Brendon will come to know that there is a true and living God who loves him dearly.

God knew the burning desire of my heart. I have never expected that there is prayer time and the teaching of Christian values at Brendon's new school. That is exactly what I have been seeking for Brendon and God had heard the cry of my heart. Indeed God knew what is best for Brendon; it is to know Him and to draw near to the ever living God.

As I have shared earlier, Brendon's new school was founded by two churches. Some brethrens from the churches had started a Sunday school for students to come and learn about the teaching of Christ. Through the Sunday school, Brendon was exposed to the teachings from the Bible. I am grateful to God that Brendon learns to participate in art and craft sessions and prayers. It truly melts my heart as I saw Brendon brought home the art and craft from his Sunday school. He has learned many spiritual lessons about loving God and caring for others. I thank God for His unfailing love for Brendon.

Throughout the past three and a half years, God has been exceedingly merciful to my husband and our fifteen year old daughter, Sharon. With the Lord's constant leading; we as a family are able to live together in harmony. We learned to work things out together as we look to the Lord for guidance.

We would like to thank our brothers and sisters for their unceasing prayers all these years.

Above all, may the name of our Lord Jesus be exalted on high! Amen.

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