New Graduate: Japheth Chew, Malaysia
Japheth Chew, Grad Dip in Intercultural Studies (2023)
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page” (Saint Augustine).
Japheth Chew is no stranger to road trips.
Before EAST, he had lived in Brisbane (Australia), Kansas City (USA), and Swansea (Wales) for missions, worship and prayer training.
Besides serving for three years in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with YWAM and Open Doors, he ministered among the disadvantaged in Darjeeling (West Bengal), and Mother Theresa’s “Missionaries of Charities” in Calcutta for three months. He also served for a year in missions at Cornerstone Community Church in Singapore.
This early exposure has given him a hunger to “keep learning new things.”
New Graduate: Sarah Angela Ong Pantaleon, Philippines
Sarah Angela Ong Pantaleon, MDiv Christian Ministry (2023)
“Sometimes the most scenic roads in life are the detours you didn’t mean to take” (Angela N. Blount, award-winning author)
Many classes at EAST have blessed Anj.
“Amy Lau’s ‘Bible Study Methods’ taught me to study God’s Word contextually,” she says, “and Dr Jeannette’s ‘Teaching’ class showed me how to write lesson plans.”
“These and many other classes are important for my future ministry,” she says.
But to move forward, Anj also discovered that she had to take a few steps back to “unlearn and learn.”
New Graduates – Kim Hak-Soo & Park Ok-Hee, Korea
Kim Hak Soo (MDiv Christian Ministry) & Park Ok-Hee (Partners in Ministry)
“If life were a road trip, I conclude that the roughest, windiest and steepest roads lead us to the most breath-taking views” (Allie Penner, The Well Blog).
In 2019, Kim Hak-Soo was invited to a chapel service at EAST. As the worship team played, he felt a deep connection with God which extended that short tour into a four-year road trip.
One of the first things that impressed the associate pastor of Korean Church in Singapore was “Servant Leadership.” “I’d heard the term before,” says Hak Soo, “but at EAST I experienced it.”
“Through the teaching and lives of Leadership professors like Dr Chan, as we were invited to professors’ home for meals, and the camaraderie of my mentoring group guys in prayer and ministry weekends. I saw servant-leadership – the willingness to serve like Jesus – in action.”
New Student – Ms Pang, MAICS, Singapore
Ms Pang at a Bible Study in Japan
Ms Pang is a new student enrolled at EAST. She is a Singaporean who grew up in a Christian family with a first degree in pharmacy. She worships in a Brethren church where an EAST alumnus has served as a pastor. Below is a brief interview to get to know her journey to EAST better.
1. How did you first get to know about EAST and become interested in enrolling as a program student?
I got to know about EAST through an online search, and also heard about the school from my church pastor who is an EAST alumnus. I got interested through the EAST website, and attended the online eOpen House 2022.
Graduate’s Story – Lee Poh Chin, MAICS 2023
Lee Poh Chin (Singapore), MA Intercultural Studies (2023)
“The journey, not the destination matters” (T. S. Eliot, poet, essayist, Nobel Prize Literature laureate in 1948).
“I’m here for the ride,” says Lee Poh Chin, principal-mentor of an international school ministry in Kampong Speu, Cambodia, before she came to EAST. The PhD holder in Human Movement and Exercise Science from University of Western Australia wanted a school that prepares her to serve among Khmer people. “EAST has not disappointed me,” she says.
EAST Library Catalogue
EAST Populi
National Library Board eResources
The Digital Theological Library
