My sister, S. Beryl, was in Singapore on home leave for three weeks. Decades ago, she joined a Protestant, ecumenical and interdenominational Christian community. It is called the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary. She stayed with me for a week. I requested a written interview, and she was willing to do it. Here it is:

How did you come to experience Christ and his transforming power?

I accepted Jesus in my heart during the charismatic revival in Singapore in the 1970s. I was the rebel in the family. My dad was the first one to see the change in me and commented on it to my mum. Each time I sinned against God, the Holy Spirit convicted and granted me repentance. Joy then flowed in my heart, knowing that I had been forgiven. Repentance changed my heart and shaped my Christian walk with Jesus. Black became black, and white became white. Grey areas in my life eventually departed. My transformation did not happen overnight – it was a long process, and it will continue till the Lord Jesus takes me home. The Lord had to use the chisel and hammer to chip off the rough edges of my character. I thank God that he still has his eyes on me.

How did you discern your calling to the Sisterhood?

My brother, Pastor Kenny Chee recommended a book titled “My All For Him” by Mother Basilea Schlink to me. This was in the 1970s. Wow, this book had a profound impact on my spiritual life – it described a life that I wanted.  My desire to love Jesus with the first love grew so deep, but there were many hurdles to overcome, including bondages of all kinds. But, yes, it was worth it – each time I had a breakthrough, Jesus filled that empty spot. I remembered that when I was thirteen years old, before I became a Christian,  I looked up at the sky and told God, “God, I want to marry you!” I believe God heard that innocent desire of mine.

In the 1980s, the Sisters of Mary visited and spoke at my home church, World Revival Prayer Fellowship. They were invited by Bishop Chiu Ban It to give talks at St. Andrews Cathedral and other churches. This was organised by Derrick Jacobs of the Christian Library. The Sisters were radiant as they spoke and reflected the love of Jesus. That was what I wanted: to love Jesus as a Sister, consecrated only to him.

From then on, my calling began to take hold within me. However, questions and temptations came as I finally wrote in to the Mothers in Germany. They invited me to be a Canaan Helper for one year in Darmstadt, to discern and confirm my sense of calling.

After one year, the Mothers felt that it was not yet my time, that the Lord had not confirmed my call. I went home with this prayer: “My Father, I do not understand you, but I trust you!” I was in pain because God had earlier confirmed my calling through his word, circumstances, a vision and the witness of the Holy Spirit. The Lord was testing me during this time back in Singapore. It was a healthy test.

I sensed deeply in my heart the pain and suffering of God over the world, much more than the pain of my disappointment. I began to sing songs of comfort to the Lord Jesus, and he assured me of my calling in each song I sang. It was a two-way communion!

Finally, my calling to be a Sister was confirmed by the Mothers during their time of prayers for me.  Jesus said, “Yes!” What a great joy it was to receive news of acceptance, and to this day, I have never regretted it. He holds my hand!

What are some of the special blessings you received in obeying God’s calling?

One of the greatest blessings I received in the Sisterhood is our three o’clock prayer. We meditate on the sufferings of Jesus. Every day, together with the Sisters, I prayerfully meditate on each Station of the Cross because there is a tendency to forget the price Jesus paid for our sins.

How blessed it is to live in unity, says the psalmist. I experienced this unity while living in a community of women from eighteen different nationalities speaking various languages, cultures, and denominations. Denomination was not a barrier. Loving Jesus covers all the doctrinal differences. We discovered that loving Jesus makes unity easy. Language sometimes causes misunderstandings, but sitting down and clarifying things helped a great deal in laying aside our differences. Reconciliation is crucial for unity and building God’s kingdom in our Sisterhood.

Another blessing is learning the journey of faith. Before I became a Sister of Mary, when I prayed, God answered me in many different ways. However, the word “faith” was abstract to me until I learned that it meant trusting a living and loving Father who always wants to answer our needs according to his will. Our Sisterhood has been living by faith since its founding during a revival in war-torn Germany, after World War II.

In the Sisterhood, we prayed for all our needs. For example, in the mother house (in Darmstadt, Germany), I was helping out in the laundry with Sisters from Germany and other countries. During prayer for what we needed for the laundry, I had the easiest task: they prayed, and all I had to do was agree with a big “Amen!” after each prayer. I left the believing to these more experienced Sisters! God has a sense of humour: I landed in a place where I had to tell Father God what we needed for the Sisters, but also for our family of volunteers.

On one occasion, I prayed from the depths of my heart for cereals, and lo and behold, a bus drove in with loads of boxes of cereals. I learnt that the deeper the cry, the greater the blessings that came in. This was the first time we had experienced a huge supply of cereal boxes, so we could share them with other people.

What is the calling of the Sisterhood of Mary?

We are called the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary because our co-founder, a Spirit-filled Methodist Superintendent, heard from the Lord to name us the “Sisters of Mary.” This is because Mary, the mother of Jesus, followed him all the way to the cross and stood by him. Therefore, we too follow Jesus just as Mary did, which means loving Jesus and serving our neighbours. You can discover more about the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary HERE.

In Australia, I was assigned to cook for the Sisters. In Germany, I primarily served in the laundry and assisted with gardening, or with publishing when needed.

What would the S. Beryl of today advise the younger S. Beryl of yesterday?

Continue walking on the path of repentance and loving Jesus – this helps to keep other things in their place. And do not worry!