My First MELT

The Ministry Exposure and Leadership Training (MELT) programme was organised by FES to equip and empower polytechnic student leaders on their leadership journey. From 6 to 10 March 2025, 11 of us from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, and Temasek Polytechnic gathered and embarked on a five-day camp in Johor Bahru. The training gave us insight into what the Christian Fellowship is, which helped us to better understand the community we are serving. We also researched our school to understand the different communities among us and realised that we have a blind spot as we do not often see the trends of the school.

During the session on culture, we watched an anime called Frieren and talked about what the Bible says about friendship and how the Bible views death. This is an area where the character has a shift of perspective, and she values her friends even more after losing her friend. It helped me to see that we need to understand the prevailing culture before we can engage with it.

Through this MELT camp, I learnt what God’s mission for us is and how we can all serve as salt and light of the world. God calls us to be a blessing so that others can be blessed through us. Something new I learnt was how to have dialogues about the films and movies we watch and many more. I also learnt about intentional rest as an actively conscious behaviour when we set aside time to have peace in Christ. We then practised rest as we sang a liturgy. One song that I will continue listening to when times get chaotic is the Prayer of the Breastplate of St Patrick – it gives me so much peace and comfort, knowing that God acknowledges and hears me.

– Charis Lau En Xi, NP Early Childhood Development and Education, Year 2