Last weekend was the soft launch of PLK Semenanjung. PLK, or, Pusat Latihan Kristian is a joint initiative to establish a training center for the indigenous community around the region of Cameron Highlands. It was birthed last year when I was chatting with a group of students and realized we share the same vision and passion to develop the indigenous community in a holistic manner. So, what is PLK? It is an organization to train Christian leaders to be credible individuals in the church and an effective Christian witness in the community. It will take a modular approach where students will come for a full day study. Upon completion of 12 modules, they will receive a certificate. A module will be offered once every two months and will cover three areas: Basic Bible Knowledge, Ministry Skills, and Living Skills. Last Saturday, we conducted a class on Christian leadership and the next module will be held in November for Church administration. 6 participants turned up. Although the number was lesser than anticipated, we are happy because those who were present were very hungry for training. We are also happy with the participation because we realized we failed to publicize the school adequately and planning should be better organized. The venue was at Hosana Church in Kampong Pawong and meals were prepared by church members. For the next module, we will hold it at an unused kindergarten belonging to the Methodist church in Gopeng town itself. Although this venue may incur some additional expenses, the facilities are better; there are classrooms, bedrooms, tables/chairs, etc.
The organizing committee of PLK includes me, 2 OA pastors from the Anglican Church, and 2 OA pastors from the Methodist Church. Our partners include individuals from various church denominations that share the conviction to minister in raising the OA community in Peninsular Malaysia. At present we are seeking a church/Christian organization to adopt our work so that we have an accountability in terms of spiritual coverage and financial assistance. We realized that for any effort to grow efficiently, we must have someone focusing on the effort on a full-time basis. I pray that I have the opportunity to fully work in this ministry. It will be the first of its kind in Malaysia where we are training Christians in a holistic manner that prepares them not only to be good Christians but also enable them to earn a living in an honest and profitable manner. The Malaysian church is indeed the responsible of Malaysian Christians.
Some time ago, I was asked why I want to invest in this ministry. After all, the training needed is only basic and I am pursuing a PhD. I was both upset and disappointed at such a question. Who decides which group of people deserves this and not that? Who decides but men ourselves? In God’s eyes we are all created equal and beautiful. Sure the OA community may not be as “intelligent” as we understand intelligent to be. But who are we to decide that they do not deserve something better? I know I can only lead people to where I have been. If I have the highest qualification, then that is as far as I can lead them to. And surely the OA community has the potential. They only need an opportunity and a little attention. Both of which our urban society failed to give them, because we consider them “not intelligent.” That is why we are starting this training center. The present training structures just do not minister to them and the curriculums offered are just not relevant. The approach of our center will have a two-tier training where pastors/senior pastors will be upgraded from their bachelor/diploma level to master level and they will be training the new candidates for a certificate/diploma level. At present, we seek the recognition of participating churches before we can actually acquire ATA accreditation which will need a lot of effort and a long journey. Better still if an existing Bible School can adopt us into their organization. Then, we can “ride” on their accreditation.
Please pray for us. Our Anglican partners will meet with their bishop with the proposal and pray with us for a favorable response to this ministry. Pray with us for the networking with other churches that have their own OA outreach in various places scattered throughout the region of Cameron Highlands. These include the Methodist, Lutheran, FGA, AOG, etc.
Pray with us for the next module in November. Also, please remember to pray for me and my role in this new, exciting ministry venture. There’s a lot of uncertainty but a lot of opportunity to grow in faith. If God gave me the passion and conviction for this work, He’s got to help me accomplish this task He’s given me. It is God-sized and a mere sinner like me is powerless to do anything apart from Him.
Please pray for me to make wise and Godly decisions with options available and also to have the faith to venture into unchartered waters for the glory of God in this nation, in this generation. I have a week of classes in MBTS in early October, PLK training module in November, a preaching engagement in November, a speaking engagement at a youth camp in December.
Thank you for your partnership in ministry.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Ministry Update September 2009
August was a busy month, filled with activities. But I enjoyed myself tremendously. I have come to feel so at home with the indigenous community. And it is truly both a privilege and honor that they accept me as one of them. In fact, they have become so much a part of me.
Pastors and student pastors from Sabah, Sarawak, and central Peninsular came for four weeks of classes. On the three weekends here, there were activities aimed to bond us as a community. The first two weekends were the gotong royong in campus. Despite the physical challenge to trim trees, cut branches, and other landscape tidy-up, it was a great time of community work. And I have the pictures to prove it. The third weekend, we chartered a school bus to take us to Gopeng. About 40 of us were divided into 4 teams and each of the teams went into villages in the interior of Perak. One team went to Kampong Pawong, another to Ulu Groh, another to Ulu Kampar, and the other to Kampong Kapayang. It was an exciting trip. Despite being just a weekend trip, it was truly enjoyable. All participants had fun encountering new challenges and environment. We arrived in Gopeng on Saturday afternoon and made our ways to the four villages, arriving late afternoon and relaxing indoors from the pouring rain outside. There were night meetings scheduled for Saturday and the usual Sunday morning worship. After the morning worship, each team made our way back to Gopeng for the Sunday afternoon worship. We arrived back in MBTS campus at about 10pm.
The amazing testimony is that God truly loves us. He held back the rain till everyone reached our destination. He answered the honest prayers from our hearts when we prayed for wild boar to be caught. I was with the team that went to Ulu Kampar. It was a village that required about 55 minutes’ hike through muddy, narrow pathways into the jungle. We walked along muddy paths with thick greeneries on both sides. It was drizzling and made the muddy paths even more slippery. We arrived at Kampong Ulu Kampar at about 3pm and the moment the last team member stepped on the church ground, the rain poured super heavily. It was as if God was holding back the rain till we arrived at our destination. With the heavy downpour that lasted more than an hour, water supply was cut. It was because the water source came from the jungle and somehow, water supply will be cut when it rain heavily. Minutes after we arrived, news came that two wild boars were caught in the trap. The guys were very excited because they had been praying for it. The ladies, Ps Madia and myself were arranged to spend the night in a church member’s home while the guys slept in the church. Actually, I was a bit disappointed at that arrangement, knowing that the guys would be barbequeing the wild boar head late at night for supper. And if we joined the guys, it’ll be improper to return to a host’s home at midnight! After the morning worship on Sunday, we made our ways back to Gopeng. Upon arriving at the church in Gopeng, there were leeches on the floor brought back by those of us who went into the jungle. I did not realize that I was one of those “carriers.” I was wearing a black track-pants and suddenly felt as if it was wet in my right knee. When I pull up my pants, it was so bloody. Apparently, I was bitten by a leech. I just wanted to run to the bathroom to remove all clothes and take a good shower. When I was in the bathroom, I removed my t-shirt only to find a leech sucking my blood right on my stomach! What an experience…2 love bites from jungle leeches!
We had a student joining us for the first time. He’s from Pulau Bintan near Singapore. He’s an Indonesian Chinese and wrote a very inspiring song for Malaysia. I must confess that the lyrics touched my heart so deeply because it really echoes my cry for God to heal our land. The video is posted in my facebook site. (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/SB.anakbangsaMalaysia?ref=profile)
Such talent, and I must add further that there are such talent among our own Sabah, Sarawak, and Peninsular students. I must further add that since my four weeks stay in the interior of Sabah in May, I have realized the vast potential in the Malaysian church. And it is this realization that prompted me to do more for them. And it became more attractive for me to invest into the Christian Training Center that I am initiating together with 2 Semai pastors. Jesus did not come to earth and stationed Himself in the city, requiring His followers to change their context in order to be His disciples. Instead, Jesus came and contextualized into our context to reach us at where we are and call us to be His disciples. Thus, the approach of our training center where we will go into the interior to reach the people, to teach them at where they are. In this approach, the teachers go into the interior to teach, instead of bringing the students out from their contexts. Please join us to pray for this God-sized project. It was last year when we were just chatting among ourselves when we realized we share the same burden to train the new generation of OA Christians and we devised this approach where we hope to raise the standard of the OA Christians from where they are, in their own context and familiarity.
September is a month for me to catch up on some paper work. There are term papers to grade, two preaching engagements, and two Saturdays to visit the new organization for me to get acquainted with. But I am still very hopeful for the Christian Training Center to take off through the network with another Seminary. I truly covet your prayers and your partnership in this huge dream. But I dare to dream it because I know I serve a big God.
Pastors and student pastors from Sabah, Sarawak, and central Peninsular came for four weeks of classes. On the three weekends here, there were activities aimed to bond us as a community. The first two weekends were the gotong royong in campus. Despite the physical challenge to trim trees, cut branches, and other landscape tidy-up, it was a great time of community work. And I have the pictures to prove it. The third weekend, we chartered a school bus to take us to Gopeng. About 40 of us were divided into 4 teams and each of the teams went into villages in the interior of Perak. One team went to Kampong Pawong, another to Ulu Groh, another to Ulu Kampar, and the other to Kampong Kapayang. It was an exciting trip. Despite being just a weekend trip, it was truly enjoyable. All participants had fun encountering new challenges and environment. We arrived in Gopeng on Saturday afternoon and made our ways to the four villages, arriving late afternoon and relaxing indoors from the pouring rain outside. There were night meetings scheduled for Saturday and the usual Sunday morning worship. After the morning worship, each team made our way back to Gopeng for the Sunday afternoon worship. We arrived back in MBTS campus at about 10pm.
The amazing testimony is that God truly loves us. He held back the rain till everyone reached our destination. He answered the honest prayers from our hearts when we prayed for wild boar to be caught. I was with the team that went to Ulu Kampar. It was a village that required about 55 minutes’ hike through muddy, narrow pathways into the jungle. We walked along muddy paths with thick greeneries on both sides. It was drizzling and made the muddy paths even more slippery. We arrived at Kampong Ulu Kampar at about 3pm and the moment the last team member stepped on the church ground, the rain poured super heavily. It was as if God was holding back the rain till we arrived at our destination. With the heavy downpour that lasted more than an hour, water supply was cut. It was because the water source came from the jungle and somehow, water supply will be cut when it rain heavily. Minutes after we arrived, news came that two wild boars were caught in the trap. The guys were very excited because they had been praying for it. The ladies, Ps Madia and myself were arranged to spend the night in a church member’s home while the guys slept in the church. Actually, I was a bit disappointed at that arrangement, knowing that the guys would be barbequeing the wild boar head late at night for supper. And if we joined the guys, it’ll be improper to return to a host’s home at midnight! After the morning worship on Sunday, we made our ways back to Gopeng. Upon arriving at the church in Gopeng, there were leeches on the floor brought back by those of us who went into the jungle. I did not realize that I was one of those “carriers.” I was wearing a black track-pants and suddenly felt as if it was wet in my right knee. When I pull up my pants, it was so bloody. Apparently, I was bitten by a leech. I just wanted to run to the bathroom to remove all clothes and take a good shower. When I was in the bathroom, I removed my t-shirt only to find a leech sucking my blood right on my stomach! What an experience…2 love bites from jungle leeches!
We had a student joining us for the first time. He’s from Pulau Bintan near Singapore. He’s an Indonesian Chinese and wrote a very inspiring song for Malaysia. I must confess that the lyrics touched my heart so deeply because it really echoes my cry for God to heal our land. The video is posted in my facebook site. (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/SB.anakbangsaMalaysia?ref=profile)
Such talent, and I must add further that there are such talent among our own Sabah, Sarawak, and Peninsular students. I must further add that since my four weeks stay in the interior of Sabah in May, I have realized the vast potential in the Malaysian church. And it is this realization that prompted me to do more for them. And it became more attractive for me to invest into the Christian Training Center that I am initiating together with 2 Semai pastors. Jesus did not come to earth and stationed Himself in the city, requiring His followers to change their context in order to be His disciples. Instead, Jesus came and contextualized into our context to reach us at where we are and call us to be His disciples. Thus, the approach of our training center where we will go into the interior to reach the people, to teach them at where they are. In this approach, the teachers go into the interior to teach, instead of bringing the students out from their contexts. Please join us to pray for this God-sized project. It was last year when we were just chatting among ourselves when we realized we share the same burden to train the new generation of OA Christians and we devised this approach where we hope to raise the standard of the OA Christians from where they are, in their own context and familiarity.
September is a month for me to catch up on some paper work. There are term papers to grade, two preaching engagements, and two Saturdays to visit the new organization for me to get acquainted with. But I am still very hopeful for the Christian Training Center to take off through the network with another Seminary. I truly covet your prayers and your partnership in this huge dream. But I dare to dream it because I know I serve a big God.
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