Updates for Oct2007

Dad’s health

It’s been more than 2 months since my last update. The main event in my life when I last updated was that my dad was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Since then, it has been a really trying time for my family and me. It was crisis mode to say the least. But praise be to God! My dad accepted Christ on the second day of his admission to hospital. That has brought great joy and assurance to us as a family. It reminds me of the importance of salvation and the finality of eternal separation from the Father. My dad is now undergoing his 3^rd round of chemotherapy and so far, he has been responding very well. We are very grateful to God and still trusting in Him for complete healing before the full 8 rounds of chemotherapy is administered.

Please pray:

· For positive response to current treatment (3^rd round) and complete healing

· Family to manage stress, fatigue and expectations of each other

· Dad’s spiritual growth as new believer

Internship

I have shared previously that I was supposed to be in Perth doing an internship with Pastor Benny Ho, a dear pastor and mentor to me. That was my plan after finishing my initial training in Youth With a Mission (YWAM) Perth. I came back to Singapore for my sister’s wedding in April and as I sought the Lord because of a lack of peace in my heart with regards to the destination I planned. I sought and waited on the Lord for 3 months and I finally heard Him direct me back to my home church for my internship instead of returning to Perth. I realized that while the internship destination has changed, God’s direction for me has not. I spoke to my leaders and pastors back home and they affirmed my decision to come back to serve in the church pastoral team.

I felt led specifically to contribute to missions awareness back in my home base. As a youth, I had the opportunity to make many short term mission trips and that exposure helped me identify and define God’s call on my life. I believe that the youths in my home church will benefit from such similar exposures and it will help to bring about a sense of destiny and purpose in their own lives as they see the “lostness of man” in the nations of the earth.

I also hope to serve in the Youth Ministry back in my church because I believe God is calling me to invest in the lives of youths and challenge them to a life of purpose and destiny. Many of these youth were my ex-students and I feel called to continue to invest in them and equip them as leaders.

I have started working in church as a member of the pastoral staff and I hope that my time in church will equip me with the knowledge and ministry skills of growing and nurturing a local church. This, I believe, will help me as I work towards serving God in the mission field.

Honestly, coming back to Singapore was not my “preferred choice”. I felt I should “keep the momentum” and “roll” on to a field location immediately. But I felt God speaking very clearly and He put an intercessory cry in my heart for the youths in my home church. I know I’ve not been “distracted” by serving back home or deviating from my call to missions. In fact, during my time in YWAM, I felt God calling me to the place of intimacy in hearing His voice clearly and that has helped me know the voice of the Shepherd in this time of seeking.

The face of modern missions is always changing and I know as God laid the clear direction for me to build the missions base at home, I am confident that He will lead me to the next step out to the field for a longer stint, or whatever plan He has for me. I know I cannot put God in a box and just do “Hudson Taylor” style missions. Being in YWAM has exposed me to many different strategies for outreach and evangelism. I hope to utilize my training to serve the Body back at home, as well as the nations of the earth.

Please pray:

· God to show me specific roles I can play in ministries concerning youth and missions

· Mentors who can guide me in these areas

· Anointing to function in these ministries

Work

I work part time in church so I have to find some form of employment during the week. Currently, I am starting to do relief teaching in a school for 5 weeks with the possibility of extending it to a longer contract and also exploring the options of working at 2 different tuition centers.

Please pray:

· Right decision in choice of part time career

· Provision for every aspect of my life

· Balance between work and church ministries

God has been really good. I’ll be the first person to admit it’s not easy to live by faith without a regular salary in Singapore. It may seem easier to do that in a foreign land without family and friends who may inevitably put some form of pressure to keep up with the Jones.

But our God’s arm is not too short in anyway. And as I have experienced His goodness since the beginning of my journey of faith, I want to keep seeing and knowing it, even in Singapore. Would you believe that as I was about to start work in church, a friend decided to lend me his car for almost a year while he’s overseas? And we’re not talking about someone giving me a slice of bread. This is our God. He knows what we want and need and meets us at our level of faith as we give and surrender all that we have to Him. He doesn’t short change us.

Please continue to partner with me and I covet your prayers as this new chapter back in Singapore continues. I look forward to meeting up with you and if you pray and discern anything, I’ll love to hear from you.