5 Questions With...Joanna Cheng

1. How did you first get involved with Friendship Presbyterian? I used to attend the Mandarin service in Hsin-Yi FPC in Taipei for a while but was not involved in their activities, except for attending a few sessions of Sunday school. When I met a new Christian friend from my hometown, Manila, who was looking for an English-speaking church in Taiwan, I brought her to the FPC English service. After attending for a few Sundays, since I was not yet a member at the Mandarin service, I decided to stay in the English service. I have been attending FPC for quite some time now and it is a wonderful privilege to be a member of this church.

2. What do you do Monday through Saturday? I work as an export sales secretary in a manufacturing company located in Hsinchuang district. The company specializes in producing industrial machines and spare parts. My job basically involves writing emails to foreign customers and arranging shipments. I sometimes help create an electronic catalogue of our products using software like Photoshop, Paintbrush, and Microsoft Excel. I also get to help in assembling spare parts once in a while.

3. What is something people might be surprised to know about you? People often mistake me for a pure Filipina, but I am actually half Chinese and I can understand Mandarin and a little Taiwanese language.

4. What do you find most challenging about being a Christian today? For me, the most challenging part of being a Christian is to wake up really early in the morning to spend time with God before going to work. One important truth I have learned lately about spending time with God in the morning is that when I give God the first part of my day, it is like giving Him the first fruits of my crops. I also believe morning is an ideal time to spend with God before other things invade my mind. If I spend enough time with God in the morning, I can handle whatever comes my way throughout the day with His grace.

5. What is your favorite book of the Bible? My favorite book of the Bible now is Romans because I have just finished studying this book at BSF recently, and I have also been listening to the pastor’s preaching for the past 8 months. I found that there were so many wonderful biblical truths that I have overlooked before. One of the truths I learned is from Rom. 12:3. It says that even our faith, the very thing that enables us to commune with God, is itself a gift from God. It is also written in Rom. 9:18 that God has mercy on anyone He wishes to, and He makes stubborn anyone He wishes to. This truth changed my perception of the secular world, especially when trying to share the gospel. It shows me that I have no right to judge or look down on the unbelieving world, because I am no better than them. Left to myself, I am just as capable of sin as anybody else, given the right circumstances. The only difference is that I have been saved by God’s grace, and His power enables me to overcome temptation. So instead of judging, I should learn to have compassion on those who do not know Christ.