i'm back. a 2 days mission trip to Batam felt like a dream...so many things happened and passed so fast! a total of 13 of us , young adults + youths went, including Ps Kieran. The theme of the trip was " the language of Jesus is love". God taught us several lessons on the trip. We learn about;worship that comes from the heartThe way the Batamese people worship God really puts us to shame. We all reckoned that the village church congregation of around 50 people sings much more louder than our church congregation on sun! And it is not only the decibels that we are concerned with, we saw their fevour and passion in worship. They were praising God with all they have, even the little they possess. They sing with all their might. a particular poignant moment struck me when i saw a 12 years old Batamese girl beside me stretching out her hand while she worshipped, with tears in her eyes, crying out Bapak, Bapak, Jesus, Bapak....Jesus! She was crying out in earnest plea. Bapak means Father in BAhasa Indonesia. I don't understand fully what she meant but i felt so ashamed of my own worship compared to her. She is so hungry for God! Am i?......... are we?the spirit of sacrificein the village, some of the Batamese live next to rubbish dumps. there is no dustbins, no cleaners who clear the rubbish everyday. they rear chickens and dogs. water is taken from the well. houses were made mainly of wooden planks. their children could be seen playing with nature, running about in the mud tracks, occassionally seen riding bicycles. many of the young girls came to Batam to work in the local factories, separated from their kin and relatives in another part of Indonesia. many families in the village lived in slum conditions. They have enough food to eat, a few furniture in the house and probably nothing more. Yet upon our arrival in the village church, they served us snacks, tea and coffee almost immediately! during the house visitations, they did not request anything from our team. their prayer requests were general and minimal. they seemed afraid to impose on us. even our presence in their houses, they expressed much thankfulness...a teenage girl who came alone to Batam to work told me that she came to the village because she was told that we would be coming, in fact she did not need to work that day. She came especially because she was told we were coming. woa...what did she saw in us that she made the trip down? faith that transcends circumstancesThey have enough food to eat, a few furniture in the house and probably nothing more. when we were finding out more about a family during house visitation, the husband revealed that they do not know if they should move back to their home country and that he has been praying. When asked if they have enough food, they replied that God provides! despite the uncertainty of the future and survival, they still pray, worship, and trust God!!! the same man also plays the keyboard for the church worship. He learnt the instrument by himself, by listening. what motivated him?at one of the worship session, the people sang "s'mua baik, s'mua baik..." which means everything is good. One of the youths, Melody, brought up a good point when she questioned if we would still be able to say that if we were the Batamese. would we say "s'mua baik, s'mua baik" if we lived as they did?God's unconditional providence for his peopledespite the unhygienic environment the villagers live in and the simple food they consume, the children there grow up healthy, active and bubbly! they are really beautiful children. children are almost as numerous as the adults. Praise God! God's divine interventionwe went to a newly built christian based school and went to pray for them. bascially the owner of the school and the teaching staff were there. Ps Keiran shared a sermon on how Paul and Silas were persecuted and how God delievered them. A few of us did not see how the message would relate to the owner and the teachers. At the end of it, the owner told us they faced many obstacles prior to the set up of the school, resulting in their low morale. He said that Ps Kieran's message and our prayers for them had lifted them up, and was like the earthquake that shook the prison and broke the prisoners' chains. it was then that we saw the purpose of our presence and Ps's message. How timely... even before we came to the school, God prepared the way for us. God intended for us to minister to them, through his word and his holy spirit. Can you sense God's love?It is more blessed to give than to receive!woa..on this... we were blessed so much more than we had given. we were well fed. the weather was cool and windy for the 2 days. we were ferried around everywhere by the bible school's van. we came back safe. God protected us from harm everywhere we went, even in a country where tensions between the Christians and Muslims are sensitive. None of us fell sick or was injured. The smiles and handshakes of the locals there were priceless. The smiles on the children's faces when they saw themselves on the digital camera- i wouldn't trade off for any amount of money. *God's love for all his people*God's love transcends language, culture, educational levels, words, circumstances! For i am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Rom 8:38-39
during this trip i was convinced by God that i had been too selfish prior to the trip. i had centered most of my attention to my own needs, desires and comfort. i had forgotten to pray for those in need, to be God centred and thus others centred in my life. i had focused on fulfilling my own needs more than those in need. i was selfish, only wanting to look after myself. but during the trip, God reminded me to pray and intercede for his people elsewhere. there are many needs, i ought to pray and intercede more. This is what God wants of me. I am able to give only bcos God is my giver. I am only able to bless others bcos God has blessed me. God does not want me to be selfish. God has blessed me far more than i have to give. God is a God who meets his people's prayers expectations and more! So pray and expect God to work!!!For i am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Rom 8:38-39
