Gospel Tennis Life
My name is LaDe Labya. Here is the story of my gospel tennis life calling. Currently, I am the tennis coach at Prem Tinsulanonda International School, Mae Rim (Chiang Mai), Thailand. I have been the tennis coach at Prem Tennis Centre since August 7, 2013. I am married to Yumie Labya since 2003, and we have no children.
Early Life
I am the fifth born of six children. I was born in Shan State (Myanmar) in 1977. Both of my parents are from the Kachin tribe and living as Christians. I loved to play tennis since I was small. I went to the tennis court almost every day and spent lots of time practicing and playing matches in my childhood.
In my teenage life, God worked in my tennis player life. My Christian parents told me to pray to God before playing tennis matches. So, I did and often had good results in my matches when I prayed for it. Through many experiences, I became more interested in God, whom I didn’t know at all. God listened to my prayers, even though my faith in God was not yet from all of my heart.
Beginning of my Gospel Tennis Life
In 1994, I won first place in the Myanmar national junior tennis tournament. Therefore, from that time, my tennis life was fully supported by the government. From 1995-1997, I gained international experience participating in the youth international tennis matches (ITF), representing Myanmar as a youth tennis player.
Unfortunately, due to the instability of the political scene in Myanmar, I could not continue tennis in Myanmar. Therefore, in 1998, I moved to Japan because of my tennis career, but this happening was unexpected in my life. I couldn’t speak Japanese at all and didn’t have enough money to live there. The bitterness of my new life in Japan was far beyond my expectation. It was so severe that I often felt I was going to die.
However, at that time, I found the Tokyo Peace Church in which people from my Kachin tribe gathered and had worship services. I started to attend Sunday services at this church. From the darkness of the hard life and bitter experiences, I was led to the world of true faith in trusting the love of Christ by the grace of God. I was baptized at the Tokyo Peace Church two years after moving to Japan.
Gospel Tennis Life Call
Between 1998 and 2008, I belonged to the Tokyo Peace Church. Filled with the love of Christ, I volunteered to bring people of faith to the Oyama Peace Church in Oyama Province. I was responsible for transportation of around 80 people on these trips, including the pastor, Makoto Tanno.
In 2010, I moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand and joined the Tale Thiri Buga Church in nearby Myanmar. My wife and I continuously support a project there for giving education to children from low-income families run by the church. The plan covers children from years three to fourteen.
In 2011, my wife and I donated money for buying land to build a multi-purpose building used for education, community services, church services, and other events. From 2012 onward, Reverend Hkangda Tu Lum (from Yangon) and Reverend Makoto Tanno (from Japan) came to celebrate for the opening ceremony of this building. The money that I donated for these purposes was from my work as a tennis coach at Prem Tennis Academy.
Ministry Training at CLI for my Gospel Tennis Life Call
Since 2014, I am also supporting a Christian Community of Samong province in Northern Thailand. I built a new chapel which opened in November of 2017. The reason why I did this is for people from all walks of life to come together and get to know the love of Jesus Christ and to become united in faith.
Now I feel led to get a ministry education, and God led me to Christian Leaders Institute. This opportunity for free tuition at CLI is a blessing. As I serve God in my Gospel tennis life call, this free training gives me more excellent knowledge and understanding. Thank you, CLI, for this opportunity.
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Called Christian Leader: God Chose Me
My name is Wanda Ingram, and God chose me as a called Christian leader. I am from Washington, DC, in the United States of America. I am the youth leader at my church. Sadly, I was lost for a long time and did not realize it. I have been married twice, and both of my husbands have passed on to glory.
My first marriage, I was in my late 20s and did not overthink about God or church. When my husband was murdered, I stopped talking for a long time after he died. However, four years later, I fell in love again. This time it was with a high school love. We had not seen each other for years. But, we reconnected and married two years later. He passed away in 2014 from heart failure. That left me unsure about my future, but, thankfully, that marriage led me back to Christ.
Free Called Christian Ministry Training at Christian Leaders Institute
I love God with all my heart and want to serve Him wherever He leads me. God has taught me to love others. Also, He placed me in leadership to help the younger children of my church. Christian Leaders Institute will help me learn more about the walk God places before me. Right now, my church home is going through some hard times. Therefore, as a younger member, I feel God telling me to strengthen my walk with Him and my knowledge of His Word. I want to learn to be a strong Christian leader. I pray that my studies here at Christian Leaders Institute will help me grow in all of those areas and more. God led me here for a purpose. All praise goes to God!
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Free Education and Free Missionary Support
My name is Sheree Jarman. I am receiving free missionary support and free education through CLI from anywhere in the world! I was born in Australia. Currently, I serve as a missionary in Asia and have been for the past four years.
As a Christian leader in Asia, God has touched my heart for His people in many ways. Partnering with the local church has been an invaluable experience. Through this partnership, God has opened up many doors for us to preach the gospel. Through outreach community programs, we have seen many saved and lives changed for the glory of God. Even though this has been the most exciting time of my life, it has also been difficult. Often, the support and encouragement I need to continue to do the work of the Lord are limited. Living in another country can be isolating when you are not used to the culture, and you do not have your church family with you.
Early Life and Conversion
I grew up in a Catholic environment until the age of 11. Then my parents got divorced, and we stopped going to church. At that time, I never knew Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. When I stopped going to church, I also stopped learning about God because my family never prayed or talked about God. I always remembered that God loved me, but I didn’t know I could have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.
In 2008 at the age of 32, my life was spiraling out of control. My father passed away and I questioned the purpose of this life. I had an alcohol addiction like my father and masked my emotional pain with it. My heart became so heavy that I could not lift my head from the pillow. I had to have time off work because I had become very sick from my addiction. As I lay in bed, all I could think of was a story I read about a lady who said: “God take control of my life.” After thinking about that story for a while, I said: “Okay God, that’s it. I give up; take control of my life.”
After I said that prayer, my life miraculously started to change. God brought a lady into my life who befriended me and eventually led me to church. Within five months of saying that prayer, I had received Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Jesus instantly set me free from my alcohol addiction (John 8:36), and later He also healed me from a broken heart (Psalm 147:3).
My Spiritual Dream and Free Education at CLI
My spiritual dream is to raise up a generation of people who will lose their life for Christ (Matthew 10:39). God placed this scripture within my spirit at my salvation, and it has never left me. Some of the obstacles I have faced in my journey with Jesus have been the fact that I am the first of my generation to receive salvation. No one in my family except for my great-aunt was saved, which I found out later, but I was not in contact with her. This has been difficult, but praise God He strengthened me through His Word, my church leaders, and church family. Thanks to God’s Grace, I have seen many of my family members and the next generation receive Jesus.
Christian Leader’s Institute (CLI) has provided me with support and confidence. I know that I have been called by God to bring the gospel to the community around me. CLI is like a friend that helps me to stay strong in God. It keeps me moving forward no matter where other people are in their spiritual journey. As a missionary, I need further education to keep me motivated and connected to the Body of Christ to impact the community around me for Jesus.
Free Education Whenever and Wherever You Are
Whenever I do any classes through CLI, I feel built up in the Lord and equipped to continue in my spiritual journey on a deeper level. We are only as great as our teachers, and as I learn and advance in my studies, I feel more confident and supported to help those around me. I am excited to see what CLI is going to teach me each day. In fact, I don’t usually look forward to studying, but with CLI, I am interested to learn and hungry to know more. CLI’s free education and learning model have helped me to study whenever and wherever it suits me. Sometimes, I travel, but if I have access to the internet, I can always continue to do my studies.
Learn about ordination with Christian Leaders Alliance.