Ministry Update: July 2009

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. AMEN.

The Doxology is sung by traditional churches towards the end of the worship service and is a good reminder to us all that indeed it is from God that all blessings flow. I am back from the mission trip to Johore and Malacca. When I arrived in JB, it started to rain. Apparently, it was hot and dry for a long while and I brought the rain. Actually, I did not realize that Penang rained too but it stopped when I returned to Penang .


I dropped by Singapore briefly to meet my thesis supervisor and returned to JB not feeling well. I was pretty afraid I might have caught the H1N1 virus while in Singapore . But praise God, the good Lord restored my health. The team had a lot of fun in Johor Bahru and in Kluang. It was the first time the Anglican churches there received a mission team. We ministered to the Sabah and Sarawak indigenous people there. Some were there because they are working in the army while the rest were there because Singapore offers better employment options. I preached at St Christopher’s Church on the first Sunday and at Kulai Anglican Mission Center the second Sunday. The team was in Johor Bahru till Monday when we traveled to Kluang and spent 2 days there. We slept everywhere in the church building and I took the “privileged” spot of sleeping before the altar (of sacrifice). We proceeded to Malacca on Wednesday morning. There was some miscommunication with our contact there and the hiccup messed up the trip quite a bit. However, we were still able to find time to visit the historic Christ Church , St. Paul ’s Hill, A Farmosa, although I did not have the opportunity to savor the famed satay celup! I returned to JB on Saturday afternoon while the team stayed on till Sunday. I had to leave the team early because Firefly changed its flight schedule 3 hours earlier. Not wanting to miss a worship service, I traveled back to JB and preached at the daughter church of St. Chris in Kulai. The rest of team were split into two back in Malacca, with one team ministering in Straits Baptist Church and the other at the SIB church.


I came back to the office on Monday morning to find a long list of emails that need to be attended to. And guess what? I was so surprised, happy, blessed to read of one email from a church in Ipoh asking me for my full name and mailing address because they want to bless me with RM3000 to pay partially for my school fees or to get a new laptop. WOW! It was so unexpected. It was a casual discussion with some students back in Ipoh after class when we were discussing how pathetic pastors are paid. I never expect anyone to pursue any further on that discussion. But apparently some students did and I am blessed. I planned to pay partially for my school fees, which is still pending unpaid since my official admittance into the PhD program in January. And I think I can also spare some to get a netbook.


Thus, the opening doxology…Praise God, from whom ALL blessings flow. I was standing at a cross road, undecided between two directions. At one hand is an offer from an NGO offering me a senior position and a good pay. On the other hand is my present ministry, where I am being paid peanuts and almost in a “cold storage” but impacting a growing work. But the first few days in JB had helped me decide. It will be extremely foolish of me to leave a growing ministry where I am strategically placed to churn workers and equip workers for effective ministry in the BM work. I realized that I will be extremely selfish if I opt for the NGO offer. Sure it pays more and I will get the “glamour” of my own office and proper recognition as I see myself as the second in command in its organization chart. But the problem with this picture is simply that it is not home missions and I am too in love with the indigenous people and too passionate in this ministry. So, I have decided to reject an offer that the former me would have eagerly grab. The present me would rather pursue an adventurous and exciting journey with a loving, caring God.


I was going through a difficult time. Torn between the person I was and the person I am. In fact, I was practical forced to confront what I really want in life. Am I still the ambitious, career-minded person or have I truly surrendered all to God as I pledged when I entered the so-called full-time Christian vocation? It was a depressing time having come face-to-face with who I really am today. I asked myself searching questions and it was indeed a tough decision. Buckets of tears were shed…no, I am just exaggerating. But to realize that the Lord had prepared me to be strategically placed in the BM work that is fast growing in such a time as now, it’s simply too awesome. And I know I can never forgive myself if I took an option that is self-centered and selfish.


Please pray for me. Please pray that every hindrance to the progress of the BM work will be removed and for fruitful opportunities to bring an impact and to make a difference to the vast and fast expanding BM work in this nation. Also, do remember me in prayer for the ministry appointments such as…TARC CF on 21 July, preaching at BJAC on 25 July, weekend mission trip to OA villages in Simpang Pulai on 1-2 Aug, class with the FGAC BM pastors on 5 Aug, class in MBTS 10-14 Aug on prophetic ministry in contemporary church, another visit to OA villages 22-23 Aug. There will be three preaching engagements in September, a one-week class in October, one preaching engagement in November and a speaking engagement for a youth camp in December with a pending mission trip planned for early December.


Once again, I thank you for your partnership in ministry.