i just completed writing a testimony for my church. i felt the Holy Spirit telling me to share it in my blog too. so, here it is!

hi church, i am Joel Kuek from N01 and i have a dream, a vision. i desire to be a cellgroup leader, leading youths for the kingdom of God, to be on fire for God and to love and serve Him whole heartedly.

then, my dream, vision brought me further. i saw myself standing before huge crowds preaching the word of God like how Pastor Kong always does. i always wanted to be like Pastor Kong and Pastor Sun, who made a huge impact in the lifes of youths for the glory of God, but not themselves.

before coming to the Emerge Conference 2004, i was at a total loss. i felt that i was heading no where and my fire for God was fading. but thank God i was given the chance to participate in the Parade of Schools.

it was in Parade of Schools that i suddenly "woke" up from my slumber. my brothers and sisters from Ngee Ann Polytechnic inspired me greatly whenever we came together to train. their never say die attiude and strong bonds made me work as hard as them because i didn't want to be left behind in the group!

i experienced the power of God when we were training for Parade of Schools and it made me so excited that i could not sleep at night, cause i missed the presence of God.

i would like to take this opporunity to thank God as we were very blessed with his protection and strength that was upon us throughout the training.

i faced a very strong challenge during the week of training for the Parade of Schools, - my family. it was hard explaining to them why am i so involved in church because they are not Christians. but, after much prayers and believing, my parents didn't scold me, but instead, they encouraged me when i told them i'll be doing stunts for my school in church!! praise God!

on the first day of the conference, when Pastor Kong spoke about the revival in schools, i have a burning desire in me that says, "Bring revival to NgeeAnn Poly!" and till now, its still burning in me.

the second session got even better. i learnt many things from Pastor Richard and most of all, we prayed for healing powers to be upon us.

then its the Parade of Schools. excitment filled the air, and everywhere you looked, there would be groups of 2-3 students praying. i could not help myself, and i started praying too. i felt the peace of God coming upon me, and i didn't freak out when its our turn to perform.

after the performance, everyone gathered in the overflow room. who says that the overflow room isn't good!? everyone was so excited and it was also the first time i jumped for the Lord in the overflow room. after which, i could not stop jumping for joy and shouting His praises!

on the second day, my heart was filled with expectancy. i learnt that we should learn from Abraham, who obeyed the Lord's instructions, even though he had to sacrifice things that are covering him of God's vision for him. i challenged myself to be like Abraham when pursing my dreams.

although the second session was extremely short, i learnt to be totally dependant on God in times of trouble, to seek refuge in His shelter.

the last session for the day, and Pastor Kong preached about the Presence of the Holy Spirit. during that period of time, i wished that i am able to dwell in God's presence like how Obed-edom did, to serve God all days of my life. i felt the presence of the Holy Spirit rain down on me even stronger. now, i know how did Obed-edom felt and why he desired it so much.

the last session! the best saved for the last? the moment Pastor Kong revealed the topic, i started to smile to myself madly. The Journey of A Dream. i had a dream, and i didn't know what to do. but, after listening super attentively, i knew what to do next.

looking back for the past 2 weeks, it has been phenomenal and i thank God for such a wonderful conference Pastor Kong has organised.

i never felt so thristy for God's word and presence before, and the fire's thats burning in me is getting stronger, and hotter. i could not stop dancing for the Lord whenever we sang praise songs.

i would like to thank God for the support, encouragment and love from my cellgroup members and friends i made during the Parade of Schools.

lastly, i would like to encourage every single person here, young or old, to dream, to believe and most of all, to emerge for the kingdom of God!!