Pain – Fullness – Hope
In late August, a student, graduate, and a staff from FES Singapore attended the regional student conference of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). The East Asia region, of which FES Singapore is a part, has a long-standing partnership with the MENA region, and it was our honour to be invited to the conference and witness their faith in these troubled times. The theme of the conference was “Pain – Fullness – Hope”. Two of us share our reflections below.
Coming from Singapore, I often imagined that believers in the Middle East would be worn down by the political struggles they face. Yet, being in their presence, what stood out most to me was their deep rejoicing in the hope of Christ. Many of them have experienced injustices beyond their control, and some have even lost loved ones due to political unrest, yet they continue to worship the Lord wholeheartedly. God spoke to me through their faith, reminding me that true hope is not tied to circumstances, but to Christ Himself.
Their testimony has encouraged me to share the gospel more boldly with those around me, not taking for granted the freedom I have in Singapore. I want to live in a way that reflects Paul’s words: “to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
East Asian participants at the conference
At first, I wondered why they would go through all the effort of putting together a conference for students to attend. But having experienced it myself, I learned that suffering within a community can strengthen hope. Suffering does not need to be a lonely journey; when we walk through it together, we see more clearly that the hope we have in Christ is everlasting. Going forward, I will keep our brothers and sisters in the Middle East in prayer and strive to build a community of faith that lifts one another up in Christ.
– Kwok Xiu En graduated from SUSS in 2025 with a degree in Accountancy.
Again and again, the message that was repeated by our host, the regional secretary, was, “We are so honoured, so honoured to have you here. Thank you for coming here.” We were guests from various countries, even countries that have been complicit in the ongoing conflicts in this region in one way or another. “We are so honoured to have you here. Because Christians in the Middle East feel abandoned by the world, but you have come a long distance to witness our faith and our pain.”
“What can we even do?” I cried after listening to a staff share how she does ministry amidst the threat of bombings, making long drives so that her family remains further from the conflict. “We can pray,” was the wise reply of the one who walked beside me, “We don’t know how it will encourage her.” During his plenary, Rev. Dr Munther Isaac, a Palestinian pastor-theologian, shared that in ongoing pain, we may be tempted to isolate, but it is solidarity with brothers and sisters, and with God, that gives us strength to stand firm. His concluding remark was striking: “One day God will wipe away all our tears, but until then we need to wipe each other’s tears.”
In sunny Singapore, so often news of wars remains just that: news. On social media, we see the faces of Christians caught in the various conflicts. Yet it is hard to care. But the reality is that we are already one Body. In a neatly compartmentalised world, solidarity is a gift – we step briefly into their world so that they may challenge our view of the world. Through prayer, we participate in the mystical unity of the Body of Christ. I have been praying, but this conference has given me human connections with brothers and sisters who share the same mission of discipling students for Christ. So, helpless as it may sound, I will continue to pray, hopefully with eyes clearer than before.
– Rebecca Lim is currently a campus staff worker in FES.
