Breakthroughs upon breakthroughs

"Breakthroughs upon breakthroughs." I was blessed with these words by Lay Leng before the trip and as I recount the events leading to the Shenyang trip, and even up till today, I bear witness to breakthroughs in my life. And as SP heralds a season of spiritual breakthroughs for the church in his sermon, I am getting excited, what with the impending and ongoing forays into new territories by the tribe. At the same time I am reminded of this catchphrase we have on our previous tribe T-shirt: "Give me this mountain." The season of conquest has been ushered in and the time is now to shine in a spirtual climate shrouded in darkness. First up: Christmas@Orchard. What a way to begin our conquest as warriors of light. Whoah now I am really excited for spiritual breakthroughs.

In all respect, the Shenyang trip was a breakthrough in my opinion. There was indeed much favour granted to us by the Communist Party Youth Wing officials in conducting Project SMILE and while I was there I felt privileged as a guest because of the treatment accorded to us. Well I'd just highlight 2 breakthroughs for this trip.

I see a change in myself. I did not believe with all my heart that I can influence and impact lives. Before the trip I prayed for God to use me as a conduit to effect change in the PRC students' heart and I am thankful that many hearts had been tranformed, judging from the testimonies received. So now I understand better that while possessing leadership capabilities is certainly helpful in establishing influence but insofar as the heart is concerned, only God can effect change. He has done that both in the PRC students and in me.

This trip is also significant because we have started, in Ps Seng Lee's words, a 'fire' to clear new grounds for social infrastructures to be built. As SP had mentioned in his sermon, the Shenyang door is now effectively open for us to bring in expertise and systems to effect social changes. But what makes the trip a breakthrough I feel, is that the Lord has blessed us with a new lot of territory in the spiritual world to conquer.

Now I really look forward to returning to Shenyang and seeing my new-found friends once again.