The things I saw

It's probably sensible for me to let out my testimony now considering I've been away for a month or so now and you guys are probably overjoyed to hear from me right? ;) haha dun answer that. I've been thinking about what to share and although it is tempting to write many things like why I chose to join this mission trip or even the encounters that God allowed to follow after, but I think I would spare both you and me, and share one thing which struck me just as I started to write this testimonial.

Many of you will say, because of the sharing you’ve heard from us, that our activities were more focused on the children and youth in Philippines. Indeed it was such an honour that God has chosen me to be part of this – to have this lifetime opportunity to impress something in these children’s lives and them, on my life. However, the one thing that really called me to pay attention and learn was the adults I’ve met there. They just showed me a kind of love that is unconditional, a kind of faith that is solid, a kind of service so humble and a kind of worship so full of passion.

Whether it was our own host - Ate Lita who left her job at a Broadcasting Company even though she did not know what her next step would be, but just because God had called her to serve Him full time. Or a woman and her family from TayTay who willingly open her humble home to set a church for her neighbourhood and brought many to know Jesus. Or Pr. Larry from River of God Church who had his own home and three cars but sold it all off to fund the ministry God wanted. Or Ate Jemah from the same church, who chose to teach the children living in the squatters instead of getting a job that could support a 'wealthier' lifestyle. Or this teenage girl I’ve met, who gave up her accounting course in order to chase her passion for teaching and envision involving herself in the street kids ministry. Or Pr John who was not physically well but spontaneously stood in front of many students to share the word of God, and later prayed with his whole heart till tears in his eyes and his voice broke loose. I’ve honestly have never seen a person prayed so passionately about people he barely knew.

These people are changing the WORLD. Doing exactly what Jesus said in Mark 1:17, “Come follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”

And it made me wanna do too no matter where I was~

Then I question myself and the way I live my life – am I not suppose to be the same? We live so comfortably in this country called Malaysia – with our families and our jobs/studies supporting us through the way that we forget many a times about how to be completely passionate for the Lord. It would be so easy for me to say “...but it’s so hard” or “I’m not in a place to do it”, but this just all reminds me of what Pr.Tan shared the last few Sundays before I left. Are we already like the chief priests who were stuck at mere knowledge? Of knowing the meaning of worship or the importance of worship, or even the many ways to worship but never really surrendered ourselves as living sacrifices willing to do the Lord’s will each day. Have we become like King Herod and chose self-preservation over the truth – that we have become so cautious of where God would fit into our “Life’s Big Plan” that we finally give up His way to preserve our own. Are we to continue to watch from the sidelines instead of the ones standing out in the crowd like how Jesus did in His time here on earth?

Because of what I’ve seen, I begin to pray for that passionate heart which burns with unconditional love, unmoving faith, and humility. The passion that will burn so brightly that it’ll melt the lead in our feet and light up the whole city. This experience did not just show me awesome people doing remarkable things but the Maker of all remarkable things in life who chose us to be His awesome instruments. If you ask me, that’s an honour no one else could ever afford to give and one I’m not planning to let down!

signing off,

Xinn.

My Story

For the past few years I’ve been watching a lot of videos about people from other places experiencing poverty, about children with no home, no food to eat and etc. Whenever I do see such videos I always feel like going to the place, that I may be there to actually help them out, give them a hug, let them know that there is a God who loves them. There was also a few times where my Sunday school class was asked if we were interested in going into the mission field. A few of us were, but I guess that just wasn’t the time for us to go. So in the beginning of the year it was my cell group leader’s turn to ask, “If there will be a mission trip this year, who wants to go?” That was when I put my name in.

In the middle of the year, when they asked again who wanted to join this mission trip that D-Way was leading, I put my name in again with a little prayer. Preparing for this mission trip, I did not think much of anything. To me, whatever comes comes. In terms of children, I spend a lot of time with my younger cousins which are 4, 9, and 10 years old. I do play, and be a nanny but I also try to keep my distance from them when they are dirty, like after playing and sweating or after a meal. Playing with them or not usually depends on my mood at that time because they are really spoilt and I usually feel like using a cane on them.

As for preparing for the trip, it was not till the last week before going for the trip that I started worrying if I’ll be able to get along with the children as I remembered how sometimes kids don’t really get along with me and also the times where if the child is dirty, I would not dare to go near, especially if they smell bad. I started worrying about this but I did pray that I’ll be able to accept the children, as they would accept me. I kept reminding myself to smile, and the reason I’m in Philippines is to spend time with the kids and to share God’s love with them. So, when we went to Tay Tay, I told myself the same thing, and praise God, I was able to get along well with the children there. It was also my first time getting hugged by so many children at the same time and yet I did not think much of if they were dirty or smelly. It just felt good to play with them and to get to know them. Having to leave them and seeing one of them cry was difficult.

As for the street kids ministry, I did not really get much contact with the kids, as I was wondering if they would understand me if I said anything, and Pastor Salzi did most of the talking and giving the milk and bread, so I just kept quiet most of the time, mostly in my own world wondering why were we in the rain, and how the kids survive the really cold weather, but later figure it out to be part of God’s big plan. After that, we went to the kids in Delpan. Seeing the children, seeing how they keep trying to get out from the rain, wiping the water of their faces, seeing how their situation is far worst than in Tay Tay made me wonder how they survive. During the praise and worship, when the first boy came up as a volunteer and got drenched with cold water, I felt really bad, felt that this shouldn’t happen to them, I did not want the second volunteer to get wet as well, as such I switched places with the kid. When being told that I would get wet if I stood there, I just felt, where else could I stand? Would you rather if the kid got wet again just because I might get wet? I did consider the fact that I’ll get wet if I switched places with the kid, but we were there for the kids, and they do not deserve getting drenched with cold water just because I wanted to stay dry. Therefore, I rather get wet than letting the kid get drench.

Right after the 2 ministries in the morning, going to the Mall of Asia was a real impact for me. I got really worked up seeing the spoilt children in the mall and wonder if these children know how the other not so privileged children are living outside. It was an upsetting sight. How it will apply to me, and what I am to learn from this, I’m not quite sure, and still figuring it out, but I’m sure God is working and teaching me something through this. Since I’m back, the one thing I’m really learning to do is to not over react like a spoilt child when I’m given a task that I seriously do not want to do.

pinx

The Power of Prayer

Time flies by
A new year begins
But we still won't forget the places we have been
The friendships we've made and the joy we have seen
The people worshiping God with all of their being

And so in prayer we must always support
This reminds me of one man we have sought
A man, no doubt, after God's very own heart
Who started a ministry surrounding the children who felt lost

The street kids ministry we were involved in during our mission trip to Philippines was started off by a street kid himself, Pr. Larry. We may no longer be there in person to help out on the growing ministry, but as we enter the new year... Let us continue to keep them in prayer!

• Pray for the ministry and church's provision and that God will continue to provide for them (physical strength, finacial needs, etc.)
• Pray for the wonderful workers and volunteers that has put in a lot of effort to minister to the kids and glorify God's Name. Pray that they will not grow weary or lose faith, and that their passion will continue to grow strong for God. May God continue to bless them in the things they need and in accordance with His perfect timing.
  
• Pray for each and every action taken by this ministry, that it will continue to touch the hearts of both the kids and the adults. Pray that God's Almighty Hand will continue to lead them as they reach out to the many street kids in their area.
• Pray for the other churches surrounding the area, that they will come to realize the awesome things this ministry is fulfilling and lend a helping hand to reach out to more people.
• Pray for the leaders of this ministry; that they will always know that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Pray that God will continue to manifest in their hearts and give them visions of wonders that they could never imagine possible.
• Pray for the street kids - that their hearts be soften to the Word of God and allow Him to change their lives for the better. Pray for those who have come to know Him, that they may not only be interested in His Word but also in serving Him with their lives.
  
• Pray that the Philippine government will also see these efforts put in and will stand to join and support this purpose.

John 15:7

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

Seven years later...

“It's back to reality. Waiting for job offers and my heart still cries "Here I am Lord, send me!" – that was how I ended Mission 2001 to Cambodia and Vietnam. I even shared with few close friends that I would like to be involved in short term mission trip every two years. However, nothing did really take place until June 2008 - when I said yes to be part of the A-team to Manila, Philippines =)


BEFORE :
Our team made a commitment to meet every Sunday. We prayed, we sang, we danced, we acted, we watched video, we rehearsed testimony, we learnt paper and rope tricks, we ate bread, drank milk and we also went through an interview with our advisors (hmm, it was more like a catching up session though).

Personally, I struggled with having to do and remember so many things; from the drama roles to the rope trick to my own testimony =( Knowing that in my weakness, He is glorifed, I persevered on =)

27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."[1 Corinthians 1:27-31]

DURING :
I learnt to be
… Flexible, Adaptable and Teachable (as summoned by D-Way, haha) – a story teller to the children one day and an emcee for a Youth event the next day.
… grateful and content with what I have. My heart saddens to see a young girl saving her rice during one of the feeding ministry for her next meal, and how many of their homes are no bigger than my own room.

On the other hand, I also felt helpless and frustrated seeing the many homeless street kids sleeping on road pavements. The only comfort I have is that God is keeping watch over them and most important is their salvation =)

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? [Matthew 6:25-26]

AFTER :
Now that I’m back, I want to give thanks and glory to God for keeping watch over us, for the many answered prayers, for friends and most important, for reminding me again that missions is exciting, sharing Christ’s love with others should be something all Christians should be passionate about.

In my lifetime, in this generation, I want to be a part of those who make a difference, come join me =)

18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." [Matthew 28:18-20]

P/S : The next time around, I pray and hope it’d be sooner than “Seven years later …”

May

It's not the last

It's back to the Philippines again. The last family that we visited in Tay Tay during the house-to-house visitation was Joselynn's family.

Joselynn' family

In the picture: Joselynn (in blue), Charmy (lil girl in pink), Eva (lady in pink), Kyle (boy in red)

Joselynn's family is a family of 6. Joselynn and her husband, Melchor, and four children, Jansedrick, Charmy, Clarjin and Kyle.

Let us pray for...
1) Joselynn as she is training to be a song leader in the church.

2) Protection upon her husband, Melchor, as he is working as a mineral water vendor, which is a very dangerous job as he workplace is on the road whereby, he tries to sell the mineral water when the cars stop at the traffic light and so on.

3) The 4 children, that they will have good health and will be able to finish their studies.

4) Joselynn can help her husband earn a living.

5) Parents to have long life.

6) Sister-in-law, Eva (lady in pink carrying baby), to someday go to church. And that her daughter will recover from sickness.

7) Joselynn's brothers, have a few bad habits which includes drinking, smoking, etc. That they'll get rid of that and also that someday they'll come to know God.

This may be the last house that we visited in Tay Tay and were asked to pray for, but, this is definitely not the last prayer request that we have from the Philippines. Spend this week praying for this one family, and next week, we'll pray for more people that we visited in our following ministries in Philippines. =)

John 15:7

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

signing off, Pinx

Our Night

Many would think that missions is about exposing oneself to evangelistic opportunities in a far away rural village
Which is undeniably true during our mission trip to Philippines
But besides all that, what is also important is what we (A-Team) do with the wonderful experience God has graciously blessed us during our journey

We're glad to say that God has given us the opportunity to bless His Name and His faithfulness through this night of sharing our experience with the youth of our church

Plus we are extra extra glad to be given the opportunity to cook some Philippine delicacy for you guys
(hope no one had any tummy aches :)
We were all so excited that we came really early to prepare
yes ping and i helped cook
so probably that's why the soup was sooo.....yummy?





We thank all of you for coming to hear what we have to say and for all your support :)

Now We went, We cooked, We shared...
So we hope that through all these, we have somehow implanted seeds in each of your hearts that will continue to grow with passion for our Lord and Savior - to serve Him and His people through missions

Hebrews 10:24
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Signing off, Xinn

ATTENTION EVERYBODY!!

Hey all!!

The A-Team will be having our Mission Sharing about our mission trip to the Philippines about 5 weeks ago! We will be sharing about our experiences there, and how God has worked in our lives and the lives of others throughout that short period of time we had there. There will be videos, photos, food and games and it will all be about what we have seen, learnt and experienced in the Philippines! =D Well, I won't tell you much about it, so you've got to come join us to find out more!

Date: 8th November, 2008
Time: 7.00 p.m .
Venue: KCMC English Service Hall

EVERYONE is WELCOMED!

P/S: Don't be late!! We hope to see you there! =D and remember to invite friends and relatives!