by Shinta, Ex-hostelite of Sundermeier Home, Timor-Leste.
My name is Shinta. I’m 24 years old this year. I joined Sundermeier Home in February 2018, and I finished my senior high school in 2020. I did not continue to further my studies because parents could not support me.
When I first came to Sundermeier Home, my friend asked why I joined a hostel that was different from my religion. So, I planned to run away from the hostel. But God had a better plan for me.
I remember a time when a Singapore team visited us and there was a time of worship. I started to cry a lot during the worship, and I did not know why. A team member approached me while I was still crying and she said, “Do you want to give your life to Jesus because He is waiting for you right now?” When I said, “Yes!”, I felt something different I had never felt before. I felt freedom in Him: Jesus has forgiven me and died for me to set me free from my past life. I could feel the love from Jesus and it was meaningful. I was speechless. From then on, I was different. I am a changed person after God’s word touched me. The word of God is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12) and I learnt how to forgive others.
Papa Joseph and Mama Grace helped me a lot. I learnt English from them. They also taught me and trained me to be a good leader. They helped me to develop physically and spiritually. Because of them, I am standing here today as a student leader.
When I first started out as a peer leader in 2019, the journey was not easy. It was very hard when some of my fellow hostelites did not like me. But I continued until I finished my studies in 2020. After my final exams, Papa Joseph and Mama Grace decided to groom me further as a student leader for 2021. The hostelites did not like me and they did not pay attention to my teachings. They even tried to beat me up and gossiped a lot about me. They said I was Papa and Mama’s favourite daughter. I persevered on for a year, but I was very broken by all that had happened to me.
I decided to attend a Bible course in Dili. But a day before my interview for the Bible course, I received a text from Pastor See. She was running a hostel in Dili for Sundermeier Home graduates who had opportunities to study or work in Dili. She wanted to train me and have counselling sessions with me. So, I cancelled my plan for the Bible course and stayed with her for one and a half years.
Later, I heard that Papa and Mama were going back to Singapore for their medical check-up, and that they needed someone to stand in for them. I prayed that they would not call me as I did not want to go back to Sundermeier Home to be hurt again. However, God spoke to me through Romans 8:26: “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
Verse 28 says, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I asked God how to talk with the hostelites again and what if they didn’t want to pay attention when I share the word of God. Then, God said in verse 31: “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
So, when Papa Joseph asked me to stand in for three months, I immediately and obediently said, “Yes!”
These verses encouraged me a lot. So, I am here today because God is with me. There is nothing to fear. I’m grateful to God because He chose me to be His daughter. I no longer belong to the world; I belong to God!
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Dear Shinta, Thank you for sharing your 'ups & downs" in your faith journey. Praise God for sustaining you along that path, and that you have experienced the assurance of His Presence too. Glad that you are cultivating a deeper relationship with Christ our Lord, and that you have assumed leadership roles as well. May the Spirit of Christ continue to energize, empower and enable you to fulfil His divine call for you. Take care. God bless!