By Elizabeth Tan

Jeremiah School (JS) was launched in 2003 and since that year 215 youths from our Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC) churches have gone through the training offered by the school. God in His grace sends the right number of students and mentors each year and it is such a joy to see lives transformed and challenged through the nurturing program drawn up.

The vision statement: “To raise a generation of God-fearing, faithful, persevering and selfless young leaders who will be of a different spirit.”

Scripture Model: "But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it," (Numbers 14:24).

Objectives:
1.To develop Godly disciplines & habits
2.To facilitate the discovery of God’s Calling.
3.To develop basic leadership skills.
4.To impart a Vision for the World.
5.To develop basic people skills. 
6.To facilitate a meaningful and personal encounter with God.
7.To facilitate an experience of authentic Christian community.

Testimony: Jeremiah School 2012
Since the age of 10 I have been making annual visits to Jeremiah School held at different campsites. I had wondered why my daddy (who has always been a JS Mentor) often went for long periods to that JS-thing and only came home on weekends when JS was on for that period of 6 weeks. And when I visited JS as a kid, or when the JS groups visited my church, I would always wonder, "What’s so special about these young people, laughing together and expressing great joy?" And when JS was over, they would talk, and talk, and TALK about JS and had all sorts of reunions. It’s like… they had become a happy family.

With a blink of an eye, I realized that I was old enough to be able to go for JS. At first I wasn’t very keen, for the thought of Bible studying every morning, praying, fasting and all that didn’t seem very appealing. But the JS alumni students kept asking me to go, saying that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. With all their persuasion I agreed to attend only half heartedly.

A few months before JS registration’s closing date, I stumbled upon a few JS Alumni’s Articles in their blogs about their experiences in JS. Reading through, I felt in my heart a strange eagerness to attend JS, especially when I read the part on how God refreshed, filled, and transformed their lives. To be honest, it had been quite some years since I felt refreshed in my heart. I had been feeling spiritually dry and I did not feel that joy serving God in the ministries of the church while in that condition.

I promised myself that I would sign up for JS and experience the wonderful touch of the Lord that the others had testified on their blogs.

And, finally! JENG JENG JENG JENG! I went through JS and graduated. It was such a life changing experience! The most significant thing that I learned or experienced was God’s Love! His love was expressed when he came down and dwelt amongst us, to save us, even to DIE for us! He did all that while we were all still filthy with sin, selfish in our own life and choices. The fact that He came in love to fill the deep, lonely corners of my heart, was totally overwhelming! One of the verses that describes this love is Romans 5:5 that says, “God has poured his love into our hearts!” It’s like, God picking up a filthy, ugly water bottle, takes a huge tank of water, and whoooosh, pours the water into the already-overflowing-with-water bottle.

Of course I learned lots of other important stuff as well. I learned about Evangelism, resolving conflict, missions, Methodism, freedom in Christ, the Trinity... And to my surprise it wasn’t as boring as I had expected! In fact they were quite mind-opening! All those, I learned with 23 other young people... classmates, whom I’ve come to call best friends... no, wait! It’s more than just that, I’ve come to consider them as family!

All of them are dear brothers and beloved sisters; siblings whom I hold dear in my heart. This really is the first time when I get so close with my peers! We slept together, cried, ate, washed dishes and clothes, sang songs, laughed, brushed our teeth, hugged, played and shared personal stuff together. Moreover, there were also the 5 loving Mentors who worked their white hairs off in trying to help us learn and get the best experience out of JS. I really thank God for them!

I realize that somehow I am now a changed person... I have changed! With lots of time to reflect on my life and living during the Quiet Retreat days, I can summarize those changes in a few points:

Firstly! I have learnt some spiritual disciplines. One of it is doing Daily Devotions. Previously I was too lazy to do it, let alone start! But now it has become a good habit, integrated into my daily schedule. Thanks to the motivation of doing it with my Devotional Group and specially The Trio.

Secondly, I notice that I now enjoy serving others. I guess all the time spent in washing plates, doing secret services and all that have cultivated in me a servant’s heart. Previously I would feel totally lazy when it comes to serving others. All I wanted was to relax in my bed and let others serve ME instead.

Thirdly, I feel the fire of passion for Malaysia burning in me with an even bigger flame. I used to complain and ramble on about how bad Malaysia is politically. You know, you go for meals and hear all the Aunties and Uncles talking about it, and you start to ponder about the ugly facts. Now think for a moment.

What if I change all my complaints into prayers? What if everyone changes the complaints into prayers for Malaysia? For every complaint we utter, we transform it into a short, one-line prayer for our Country. Wow! I bet if that happens, miracles and revivals would be happening everywhere by now! I know that God can and will change Malaysia if we trust and have faith in Him!

Last but definitely not least, I have discovered more about my inner-self. And for once, I have a real, main, purpose in life. Discovering God’s will for my life through the Sound-Mind principle by Bill Bright was one of the things that changed my life. Praise the Lord! Now I have a goal and vision! I hope that God will use me to influence many lives and use my talents to glorify His name. To God Be The Glory!