75-year old Stanley Iek had been lonely, and worried about what would happen to him after death. His parents had been Methodists who migrated from China, and all of his siblings had lived their lives as Christians.

Stanley describes himself as the rebel of the family, not wanting anything to do with Church. But recently he found himself thinking more about the faith of his parents.

“I would sit down alone doing nothing every day. TV, radio - day in and day out it was the same thing. And I didn’t know any god, so I was worried about where I would go when I died,” he says. “So I thought back to my parents who were Methodists, and I decided to follow them.”

In November 2010, Stanley started attending church and the Seniors cell group at DUMC in Petaling Jaya. After a lifetime of avoiding church, he finally found himself within one, and enjoying it. Soon afterward he made a decision to put his trust in Jesus Christ. But his faith was not yet firm, and when he heard about the Alpha Course through an Alpha Sunday at the church, he immediately decided to attend.

“Cell group couldn’t teach me everything [about Christianity] from the beginning because I was entering into it halfway,” says Stanley. “So Alpha helped me to see things from the beginning.”

“My first day at Alpha I felt at home. At the beginning, of course I felt out of place because I didn’t know anyone, but that didn’t last long because everyone was so friendly. The church environment is so good, and it makes you feel so happy and comfortable to talk. I had a really good group with about eight people and the host was
really good.”

Stanley says that the key things he learnt on the course were forgiveness, prayer, how to love your neighbours, and how God teaches us to be good.

“Other religions don’t teach forgiveness, but Christianity teaches that Jesus died for our sins,” says Stanley. “I’ve been transformed to be a Jesus Christ follower. I’m committing less sins everyday which I had been committing all my life.”