Seng Eng's Story

Seng Eng studied the Pastoral Care Course in 2010. Her original intention was to understand more about the practicalities of pastoral care with the hope of growing the ministry in her own church. Her plans were small and she was unsure of how God would use the things she would learn. But God had more planned for her than she had ever imagined!

While studying, Seng Eng also worked for Uniting Care as a community care worker. Because of her interest in pastoral care, Seng Eng was encouraged to apply for the position of Pastoral Care Worker.

"Some of the questions I was asked in the interview I answered directly from the things I had learned in the Pastoral Care Course," Seng Eng said. "Later I heard that this was what set me apart from the other candidates. My answers showed a deeper understanding of the needs of people, especially the emotional and spiritual needs, and their needs for physical care."

Now Seng Eng works 16 hours a week visiting and caring for the elderly. She talks to them about their lives and offers to pray and read the Bible with them. "Even those who don't have a faith," she said, "are happy to be prayed for!"

Seng Eng also has a caring role with the staff and leads devotions at the beginning of staff meetings. "I use the things I learned in the course constantly," she said. "Some things I may have known intuitively but now I understand why it is more helpful to people."

But what about her original intention of growing the pastoral care ministry at her own church? "That has happened too!" she says. Her rector, Reverend Cliff McDonnell, has given Seng Eng the freedom to reinvigorate pastoral care at their church. Reverend McDonnell said, "Seng Eng has had a great track record in pastoral care, but the (Mary Andrews College) certificate gives the rest of the church confidence in what she is doing. The course has really helped Seng Eng focus her intention and spur other lay people on to pastoral care."

It only took Seng Eng two semesters to complete the course, yet that short amount of time has profoundly affected the way she looks at pastoral care. "What attracted me to the model taught at Mary Andrews College is that it is a discipleship model. We want to grow people, not just do some kind of band-aid, patch-up job which would leave them much the same as they were."

Go back to the Inspiring Stories of Students page to read other stories.