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What was growing up like for you?
Lynn: Growing up in a broken family without a father
figure was not easy. There was a lot of instability and
fear at home. I never knew what the next day was going
to be like. We also moved to many different places for a
season of time. It was difficult not knowing where home
really was or where I belonged.
Elisha: I, too, came from a family that did not know
peace. There was a lot of hostility between the parents
and children, and amongst us siblings. Uncontrollable
emotions and sinful desires were the masters in our
family. Voicing my thoughts was regarded as rebellion
and there was little space for communication. This
shaped me into a shy boy in search of my identity. I tried
to find love in many different places – in school, girls
and football. I struggled with a lot of insecurity, anger,
distrust and loneliness. Deep down in my heart I did not
know who I was and did not have a good sense of my
purpose on earth. I lived like an orphan.
How did God redeem your childhood
experiences?
Lynn: I think God’s redemption has indeed come a long
way in my life. I always wanted to find a place where I
could belong and feel significant in. I tried all sorts of
things but somehow, they did not satisfy.
One day, while staying over at my cousin’s home, I was
introduced to my current home church. It was there that
I met God’s love through His people. They were
authentic and made conscientious efforts to know me.
Despite my brokenness, they chose to love and pour
into my life. In 2013, I did my Discipleship Training
School (DTS) with YWAM Singapore and met a group of
people who, through an intense time of knowing God,
accepted one another and desired to grow in truth and
love. I count it a privilege to serve and grow together in
the same community still. It has been such a gift to see
each other step into different life stages.
Elisha: God has been so good and brought me on a
journey of discovering His heart and intentions for me.
The Holy Spirit ministered to my heart at different
moments and brought me healing and freedom. He used
prayer and scriptures, but a large part of my healing
came through the community in YWAM Singapore. The
initial few months were especially tough but this family
took care of me as one of their own. God used different
people to speak into my life, to encourage, affirm and
correct me. This helped me grow and slowly discover my
identity as His son. He showed me that His love is
enough and no one or nothing else can take His place.
How did the both of you become a couple?
Elisha: As I discovered my identity and grew content in
Him, God gave me the green light to pursue one of my
good friends. I’d known Lynn for five years by then. But
I had a missions call to a specific location that not many
are called to, and I needed to know if she was called to
this people group too. I knew that she had another
country on her heart. Amazingly, two weeks before I
broached this conversation with her, the Lord had
asked her if she would serve the people group I was
called to and give up her desire for the other nation on
her heart. Her response to the Lord was, “Yes, but I do
not want to go alone. Would you please send someone
or a team to go with me?” Two weeks later I asked her
to be my girlfriend!
What has the journey of becoming ‘one
flesh’ been like?
Elisha: Two broken people coming together in union is
not easy. There is bound to be pain and conflict. Though
we knew the Lord’s hand was in our relationship,
learning how to walk in love was still needed. More of
our unresolved brokenness started to surface. We had
to allow God to bring it all to light and be open to
people whom we were accountable to. We learnt to
move from being controlling and self-centred, to being
trusting of and giving towards each other. Healthy
communication in the midst of our conflicts called for
reliance on the Holy Spirit to restrain our emotions and
selfish desires.
What are your hopes for your family?
Elisha: During a counselling outreach trip to South Asia,
Lynn and I shared about God’s longing for families to
be restored. Through this, He changed the minds of a
couple contemplating divorce, to choose forgiveness
and love instead. We see how powerful this message is.
As we understand God’s heart for families, and see Him
heal the broken relationships in our own families, we
believe that He will use us to bring hope to others. With
our first child on the way, we pray that He will use us to
bring hope to the orphans, the marginalised, the lonely
and broken-hearted so that they may experience what
true family is.
Elisha and Lynn recently welcomed baby Ezekiel into the world on 20 January 2019.
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