Testimony of Milena Chen

I would like to give my testimony concerning my experience in the Lord’s recovery.

Nine years ago, when I consecrated myself to serve the Lord with all my time and for as long as the Lord would allow me to, I not only consecrated myself to Him, but also to this ministry that opened the life-gate to me.

In the Spring of 2008, after finishing law school and working for two and half years, I attended for the first time a class of the Full-Time Training in Anaheim. As a short-term trainee, I sat in the back of the class and just watched all the trainees, which at the time were mostly younger than me. I was completely mesmerized by seeing all the trainees enjoying the Lord and bubbling over with joy in the Holy Spirit. I clearly remember, until this day, praying silently right there, “Lord, all these ones are younger than me but, spiritually speaking, it seems that they are a thousand years ahead of me. I don’t quite know what they have, but I WANT what they have! Lord, I give myself to You.” From that point on the Lord worked everything out for me to be in the Training full time for 2 years.

I can testify, and even shared this at my wedding ceremony, that the two years I spent in the Training were the best years of my life! It was in the Training that the Lord opened His Word to me through the ministry of brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee in such a real way, and Psalm 119:130 became my experience, “The opening of Your words give light, imparting understanding to the simple.”

In the Training, I was always encouraged to have a real relationship with the Lord. Not to follow a person, but to follow the Lord. Not only to study the Word, which greatly helped me to see so much, but mostly to learn and to practice contacting the Lord in my spirit through the Word. When I started practicing this, I had a deep realization, that nothing sustains our Christian living except a daily, hourly, moment by moment fellowship with the Lord. This is still a salvation to me in my daily living today. As long as I am not in the Spirit, everything becomes an ordinance. Only the Lord in us can live the Christian life.

Through practicing this fellowship with the Lord and praying back to Him the things I was receiving in the Training, so many doors were opened in my being, and slowly I was released from so many concepts which were binding me. Ultimately, I was brought into a sweet life of freedom in the Lord. The truth really sets us free (John 8:32)!

During my two years in the Training I had many times of one on one fellowship with some of the trainers, one of them on a monthly basis, and I can testify that all I saw in all of my contact with them was the simplicity and purity toward Christ and all the saints. That was a strong testimony to me that what these brothers were preaching was not a mere doctrine to them, but it was clearly expressed in their words and behavior. Through them I saw Christ manifested in the flesh. Every single time I sought fellowship the brothers welcomed me, and I received encouragement and I received God. And even today, after having graduated from the training nine years ago, I am still encouraged, and I still receive God, by all the fellowship I receive from the brothers.
In the past, I could not fully understand why the brothers regarded brother Lee so highly, but today I also highly regard and appreciate the brothers taking the lead in the Lord’s recovery, for they have been faithful to pay a high price to minister spiritual food, just as brother Lee was. So I honor them and regard them as my spiritual fathers.

My appreciation for this ministry was so great, and the help I received from it was so immense, that before graduating from the Training, I began to seek out fellowship with many brothers in the Training and Living Stream Ministry, sharing with them my desire that others in the Portuguese-speaking world would receive the same benefit that I have received. All that led me to start serving full time at LSM, which I have been doing for the past nine years.

During this time, I got married and had two kids. As a family, we live a sweet church life in our locality, we have our home open where saints come to eat with us, fellowship with us, and play with our kids. In this healthy environment of the church life, my husband and I hope that our kids will grow and find one day, as we did, the purpose of their lives.

What a blessing it is to be a sister in the church life! In spite of the current philosophy of the age to turn the God-created woman into something not of His purpose, we can hold on to the Word of God and bear a testimony that contradicts the course of this age. I love the church life!

 

Milena Chen