God ’s Guilding Fingerprints by Ethel Ding
Ethel Ding never planned on studying abroad. She was content staying in Malaysia and was fully against the idea of leaving her country. No one could change her mind – or so she thought. Two years ago, when I was in my last semester of a pre-university program in Malaysia, my parents heard of a scholarship being offered to a Malaysian student to study at Tennessee Wesleyan. They tried to get me to apply, but I wanted nothing to do with it… at all. That shows you how much I did not want to leave my country. So, what changed? How did I end up at Wesleyan? The answer is God, and only Him. I prayed about my situation, though I honestly was not expecting anything. Through a divine appointment that has His Name written all over it, God revealed to me that He wanted me here, much to my surprise. I had asked God to speak to me
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through my Psychology professor, if He wanted to tell me anything. That same day, that professor called me before class and talked to me about studying in the States. It took me a while to realize that this was, in fact, God answering my prayer. At one point I even zoned out because I was too shocked! To this day, I am still in awe when I think of how God planned everything that led to that life-changing conversation. I finally applied for the scholarship, and the rest is history. In January 2019, I set foot on the Wesleyan campus. I was in a new school halfway across the world, in a new culture, in freezing weather, and surrounded by strangers. Not intimidating at all, right? Where God guides, He provides – he definitely did and still does! He has blessed me with beautiful people who have helped me in my journey, people who have taught me to love this place and made leaving home at the end of each summer less painful. He gave me friends, some of whom are Wesleyan’s faculty and staff, who are always willing to help me. This was especially evident