Alumni: We came to the right place
When Baatarsuren “Baataraa” Buyanmandakh (Mongolia), came to Singapore in Dec 2012, he was “heart-broken.” His younger son, Munhuul, three and a half, had passed away the year before. He and his wife Zulaa have another son, Odko, 12. Before the tragedy, the former Mongolia Campus Crusade campus leader had already planned to go for theological training. “We want to build future church-planters for the 200 unreached villages and towns in my country,” he says.
At first, the Buyanmandakhs were offered places, with free housing, to study in the USA. “But after visiting two schools there, we felt that their teaching contexts may not be relevant to our future ministries,” says Baataraa. “So we came to EAST. As soon as we settled down, we knew we’d come to the right place.”
Alumni Get Together (July 2020)
Recently, at an EAST Alumni Get Together in July 2020, we heard from the outgoing EAST Alumni Chaplain, Mr William Lim Aik Ghee, who gave us his farewell sharing and encouragement to press on. Hosted on Zoom by Ms Esther Tan, EAST Alumni Coordinator, those present then broke into small breakout groups for sharing and prayer.
Alumnus: New Confidence through Love and Patience
“At EAST, I see God restoring my confidence to serve Him on the mission field,” says Peter Lee, an EAST alumnus. “My wife and I were both totally exhausted after serving for ten years in East Asia.”
Read on to find out why Peter feels that EAST has provided the shelter for him to renew his strength to serve, and courage to lead in his life, family, and ministry.
Alumnus: Japanese TCK Tak
Takashi (Tak) Funatogawa (japan) came to Singapore through the encouragement of Rev Edmund Chan to serve as an intern in Covenant EFC, and, a year later, to study in EAST. While studying, he and his wife, Suzuko, worked with a team of locals and Japanese to reach out to 32,000 Japanese expatriates and their families, through outreach and informal home meetings.
The former EAST Student Council President (2015) spent most of his formative years in the UK, and the USA. “As a third-culture-kid,” he says, “I know what it feels like to be an outsider.”
Alumna: God’s Perfect Plan for Me
When Koh Li Ting, came to EAST in 2012, she was already diagnosed with stage-3C melanoma cancer. “I never dreamed that I’d complete my studies,” she says.
Not only did the former Cru Singapore campus staff reach the finishing line, she was preparing herself to serve in a land God had called her to since she was 17 years old. “Ten years ago, I spent six months in one of its cities,” she says, “and saw how God could use a Singaporean like me to reach out to the minority people groups.”
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