Vanessa Ong | CERC Blog | Christ Evangelical Reformed Church (CERC)

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Vanessa Ong

An encouragement to do children’s ministry with love

(This article was originally written for and published in Moore College’s publication Societas) I focused on every other ministry but children’s ministry in my entire first year of ministry apprenticeship with my home church in Malaysia. I was formally assigned to taking care of the ministry but effectively neglected to

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Posted on 15 Oct 2020

What you can’t see from these photos

What you can’t see from this photo – Hiding under my blanket is a hot water bottle & extra thick socks for my feet. – Exam time is crunch time – literally! My room floor is hidden under books, exam notes and enough snacks to feed an army.   – Reminders

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Posted on 7 Aug 2019

Why my life is not boring (Bonus section: Why I listen to BTS)

Do you ever get that feeling of just wanting to do something crazy? How often do you get that feeling? After comparing myself with others for some years, it seems that I am one of those types who get that feeling slightly more than others. Without hesitation, I’d be on

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Posted on 8 Apr 2019

Goodbye Again (I’m jealous)

1. Dan and Van are back! I feel sooooo far away from Australia. Even Newtown (The place I live in Sydney) sounds like…a familiar yet new[?] town… Basically, so much has happened since I got back, I have almost forgotten I am a full-time student in the middle of my

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Posted on 9 Feb 2019

Van in Sydney (with Dan!)

I’ve been told I’ve underperformed in being a proper tourist in the five months I’ve been here. (But I can only handle one kind of exploring at a time. I’ve been a ‘tourist’ in the ancient languages – SO MANY new sights and sounds with Greek and Hebrew!) But now,

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Posted on 2 Aug 2018

Time in seminary — Not what I expected!

Before I arrived in seminary, I imagined college would be: Learning Greek and Hebrew. Learning lots of content from lectures (e.g. New Testament, BT). Doing assignments to sharpen theology. Asking tough content questions. However, after looking back at my previous blog post, I realized how I imagined life in seminary

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Posted on 31 Mar 2018

Goodbye with last words, survival tips and mushy stuff

Goodbye When I am not too busy being nervous about leaving Malaysia and my beloved church for three years, I’d daydream about the children’s lessons that I will write after coming back from seminary. I’d imagine the depth and precision the children’s syllabus will have and the children’s resulting sense

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Posted on 26 Jan 2018

Is it “less Christian” to travel?

Perhaps some of you may have had your conscience pricked. “Is it right for me to travel away from the church for so long?” And maybe there are some of you who have never had your conscience pricked. “What’s wrong? I can just find an English-speaking gospel-preaching church in Spain

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Posted on 4 Aug 2017