Cassie Lam

LATEST NEWS FROM CASSIE @ MATTERSEY NOV '09
It actually feels insane to think that this is my final year at Mattersey Hall! It has seriously flown by so quickly and I feel like I’ve learned so much, yet so little when I really think about it, haha! So I’m in the middle of, what feels like, a million assignments to do! Although I’m loving being back to the grind again and getting my head in books and learning more about God each day! Read more...

May Newsheet

 New Email from Cassie Lam - 27th March 2008

Hi TCF!

A lot has been going on lately. We’ve started the second semester of the year and so have all different subjects to study which have been really good so far. I really feel like I’m learning a lot and I’m beginning to find out what areas of theology I’m particularly interested in.

I’ve just returned from a mission trip in Romania where I spent 10 days in a village called Santana near the city of Arad. It was such an amazing experience. We were working with a local pastor who was truly inspirational – he has such a love for people and his village. Most of the work we did was social action work and building up the local churches. I was in charge of the kids work and we ran a kids club everyday plus we went into two orphanages so it was a lot of work to deal with but I enjoyed it all the same. The people of Romania are amazing people with such a heart for God. During church services I would often glance over at the children during worship and it was truly amazing how little children really put their heart and soul into worshipping God and you could see the passion in their faces. We went to a couple of orphanages in Romania which I thought I would really struggle with but, although the children were not really in the best situation they could be, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The pastor worked with the orphanages and knew the people well so I was reassured that the children were actually being cared for well.

We went to this lady’s house which was one of the hardest days for me out there. She was unable to move and the state of the house was incredibly poor. Her two little girls cared for her and the household. The house itself was pretty much a shack with no running water or toilet. We prayed for the lady there and then the boys (Romania is a country where women’s involvement in ‘manly’ things and preaching etc. is still very limited) the next day went and helped clear the garden of the house. I was very touched by the Pastor’s heart for this woman. She lived a while away from Santana and did not attend any of his church plants but despite not knowing anything about her he felt burdened to find help for this woman and her family.

The team was made up of students from the college with the leader being a lecturer. The team really bonded well and it was great having the opportunity to get to know people better, hear their stories about what God is doing in their lives and just helping each other in this completely different culture that we found ourselves in.

The mission trip really revealed to me the realities of serving God. Having just watched how the Pastor works and connects with people showed me the importance of really loving the people around you and that this love should call you into action. He was truly inspirational and worked so hard. I have hopes of returning to Romania at some point and I know a lot of the other team members are thinking the same. There are a lot of building projects that they need help with and also, because of the new church plants that the Pastor has been organising, a lot of the churches just need encouragement.

I went to Romania with the hope of being able to bless the church out there and bless the people of Romania. I hope I’ve done that. But one thing is for sure, the people out there have truly blessed me and their hearts for God have really touched my heart.

Also I’ve just received news that I have got a job back in the summer camp in Canada. I am working with the special needs guests that come to camp. I have also received a scholarship to go and it has really been an answer to prayer.

New Email from Casiie Lam - 9th November 2007

Hey TCF! So, most of you know that I started Mattersey Hall Bible College in September and I'm having a blast so far! It really feels like home! A lot is going on at the moment and I think this is the busiest I've ever been! I'm part of one of the morning worship teams here and have joined two choirs so I've been singing and practising pretty much 3 days a week! It's all good fun though and it's great to be able to be part of a the team and be a little bit more involved in how things are led here.

I've also joined a prayer group which is really exciting. I'm praying for a homeless project in Rotherham and also volunteering there one evening a week helping make teas and coffees, cook and clean up afterwards! I've never done anything like this before so I was a bit apprehensive at first but I'm really enjoying it now and just loving the opportunity to be able to serve the homeless people.

I'm also heading to Romania in March which I'm unbelievably excited about. It's part of the course here that everyone goes on a short term mission for ten days (so people are going all around the world e.g. philippines, thailand, greece, czech republic, france). I don't know a lot of the details as to what I'll be getting up to over there, so far all i know is that we'll be working in orphanages and within local churches.

Finally, every residential first year student here also gets placed in a local church to help them with their ministry and also learn from local pastors. I've been placed in two churches and they both seem really good so far. They are both small churches but a lot of exciting things are going on so it's great to be able to get stuck in and help with their vision for their church and their community!

The lectures are also really good, the only downside is that they've set six essays for us to do and there's not enough time!

So things are going really well. I would ask that if anyone can remember in your prayers the college as a whole - a lot of people have been coming down very ill recently and we've had cars being broken into/vandalised as well!

Looking forward to seeing you all closer to Christmas!!
God Bless
Cassie

Email - 26th September 2007

In September 2006 I began a degree in Politics and International Studies at Warwick University. I was so excited and had worked really hard to get there and received a scholarship to go and so was really happy about everything.

However, once there I just felt completely dissatisfied and this dissatisfaction grew as the year went on. I found myself questioning the reasons why I was there. I came to the conclusion that I was making choices that the world was telling me to make rather than listening to what God was saying to me. I decided that I would be obedient to God and found myself becoming more reclusive and began to really listen to God.

My boyfriend had just recently applied to Mattersey Hall Bible College and had been accepted. I looked more into the place and became really excited for him. Over time I began to realise that being there was what God wanted for me as well. I realised that God hasn't created me to be someone who is sitting on the sidelines watching what everyone else was doing but that I can get involved as well. I prayed about it and went for an interview at the college and got accepted. I'm hoping that being at Mattersey will equip me with the skills I need for a life in God's ministry. I'm really just taking one step at a time ensuring that I'm obedient to what God is saying to me.

Something I've learned through all this is to keep re-evaluating where you are in life - whether you're christian or not. It's important to just take a step back and to question your choices and not get too comfortable in who you are listening to regarding your choices e.g. whether you just solely listen to yourself and don't take advice or whether you listen too much to what the world is telling you to do.

God has completely switched my life around in the last year but I live with no regrets. He taught me important things in that one year and has blessed me so much since leaving Warwick University. I spent the summer in Canada at Muskoka Woods Sports Resort working as a counsellor to girls aged 12-13. It was an amazing experience living in community with other christians and showing the young people there what it was like to have God in your life!

There are many more stories to tell but I don't want to overload you too much with stories and information!! If you would like to get in contact with me then feel free to email me at cassie@jonny-mac.com. I also blog occasionally on this site with my boyfriend www.jonny-mac.com - it's a good read!