Testimonies from Tribe Prayer Meeting

These are 2 testimonies from the prayer meeting on Sunday. I hope you are encouraged and blessed to continue to press on in your prayer life as you read them.

"I think it's a good thing to be praying. I felt the word yesterday for healing was timely too - both spiritual and physical. In fact, I was feeling a little flu-ish, but praise God the sickness was averted and I am perfectly healthy now. "

- Daniel Lee -

"When I just came to FCBC, I could not get used to the environment, especially the way of worshipping. I also struggled with Pastor Khong doing the magic shows. Some of the negative comments that I have have heard before also didn't help. These all caused me to not be able to trust what he preached.

Last week, during the first tribe prayer meeting, Esther prayed for me that God will open and soften my heart for the service later. I didn't expect that I amazingly found my barrier was gone and I would simple enjoy the worship. I felt the peace and all the uncomfortable feelings gone! Also, last Sunday, when Pastor Khong reported the success of the magic show at Chingay, I started to tear. I think God is using him to glorify God's name and I felt my bias suddenly going away. Instead, I was filled with love and respect for Ps Khong!

I know that these 2 changes did not come from myself but from God. It happened because I decided to release my burdens to Him. Praise God!"

- Grace -

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Loving our neighbour at Canberra Sec School

The voted N7 Monthly Best ESSS for the month of Nov '08 goes to... Canberra Secondary: "Emergency Examination Packs for Sec 4 and 5 sitting for the O Levels".
It all started out when Joshua and I were thinking about how to bless the 'O' Level students in our cell group. We wanted to do something practical that would encourage them and let them know that the body of Christ cared for them beyond whether they came for service or cell group. We brainstormed and finally came up with the idea of putting together an Exam Blessing pack for each of them. Each pack would contain a standard list of items that include extra pens, mint sweets, 2B pencils, etc. and an additional Small pack for the parents which includes encouragement cards that they could use to bless their kids too. ... [+]

Since then, it became a culture to do these Exam blessing packs when our members or cell brothers were having exams. It was received well by our guys and we even extended it to the rest of our tribe people so bless them.

In Oct 2008, I came up with a proposal to Amos (Captain of 99th BB Coy) for Exam packs to be distributed to the Sec 4 cohort of Canberra Secondary School (the school where 99th is in). We thought it would be a good application for that week's Christian Education lesson. I was going to speak on 'Love Thy Neighbor' and believed that doing the exam packs for the students would be a great gesture of love to the school. By doing the exam packs, we will encourage the Sec 4 students and spur them on through our love and good deeds. Having the experience of previously doing this for the group of boys in church with a budget of $7 per pack, we did some groundwork to find out the School's Secondary 4 cohort's size and budget we would need to set aside from BB.

Since I had it all conceptualised, in the beginning I thought it would be something easy to carry out. But only during the execution, I realised that it was a major and tedious task. Nonetheless, we pressed on with the Boys and I was proud that we had completed 144 Exam packs (just in case we did 2 more extra packs) within 10hr 30mins and spent about $515, about $3.60 per pack. It was well below the budget of $710 set aside for it. Most importantly, many of the Boys verbalized that they enjoyed the whole experience. They found it fun, new (interesting) and meaningful to have spent their time doing the exam packs.

The following day, the exam packs were transported from one of the BB boy's house to school with the help of the BB Teacher-in-charge, Mr Chew. The boys proceeded to give out the exam packs to the students. The O level students were also informed to collect their 'Emergency Exam Pack' from the booth. We even kept the booth open over the next 2 days to ensure that all the students were covered. It was well received by the students and some of the teachers were pleasantly surprised as well.

On 2nd Jan 2009, we received news from Mr Chew that BB 99th Coy together with Canberra Secondary School had won the N7 Best ESSS (Education Staff Suggestions Scheme ) for our Emergency Examination Pack idea! The ESSS teacher-in-charge in Canberra Sec was so impressed with what the boys had done that she encouraged our Mr Chew to submit it in for this award. Indeed, it was amazing to see the Lord's favour upon 99th Coy all these years. I still remember how when we started, we were struggling with poor enrolment. Today, we are able to be a blessing to the school in more ways than one. I see this as an unexpected affirmation from the Lord to Love thy Neighbour. God is indeed good and faithful! May you be encouraged to go out and love your neighbour too as we begin this new year!

Narash

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Thanksgiving from My Hope

Seeing my friends and neighbours come to know the Lord was something I’ve always dreamt of, imagined, hoped for and prayed for, but for the first time on a Friday, it came into reality. Seven of the 21 pre-believers came to know the Lord while 4 believers rededicated their lives to Jesus! The following night, 6 of the 11 pre-believers received Christ! God often does more than our expectations! On Saturday night, I prayed for my parents in their presence for the first time in my life. The presence of the Holy Spirit was strong, and tears flowed. My father’s eyes were red by the end of the prayer. Even though they have yet to make the decision to accept Christ, I know that a seed has been sown in their hearts and there is new hope for their salvation!

Sharon

Editor's note: Sharon's testimony was also featured on the My Hope Prayer Pointers for Dec 21-28, 2008. We rejoice with you in what God is doing in your family, Sharon!

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A special Christmas for me

This Christmas is a special one. Why is it special to me? Because I am celebrating my first Christmas as a Christian. Unlike other years, Christmas no longer means turkey, feast, chocolates, gifts in the socks, Santa Claus, gathering with friends. It meant so much more. ... [+]

First of all, thanks be to God's grace for Christmas. For without it, He would not have sent Jesus to us. 2008 Years ago, our saviour was borned to us and to be sacrificed, despised, tormented and eventually cruxified on the cross. Jesus died on the cross and brought salvation to all. Such was the love of the Father.

Well, not all will be able to agree in the same light as me, so here's a little video to re-enact God's love for us:- (see above)

Are you one of those on board the train - the undeserving that were saved? If you feel a little sad about it, perhaps it is time to rethink your actions and your lives. How much does it take for the Father to sacrifice his own son? I hope you realize there was no anger involved but a great smile in the end. That is His Grace.

"For God so loved the world, he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

Teck Hao

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A blessed Chirstmas to you and your family!

Today I was asked a question, "What is the greatest Christmas gift I have received so far?” I paused for a moment and started to list down the most expensive, the most memorable…the list goes on. Basically was trying to match one of them to the question asked. At that moment, someone in the group answered it was Jesus. It sounded like a Ten year Series answer. But, suddenly a dawning came upon me. Indeed I accepted the Lord during Christmas one year. I FORGOT!!!

I believe God knows that and in many ways, put markers to remind us of what He has done and can do for us. E.g. Lord Supper, in the OT how certain names and songs were reminders. ... [+]

Sometimes we can be so caught up with the party and yet forget the VIP whom we are throwing the party for…Jesus. We sing the Christmas jingle and forgot the worship. Take a moment to pause and think about His goodness and love. Think about the G.I.F.T. Here’s my gift to us all.

G….is for Gratitude
Let us respond to the Lord with gratitude. Take time to lift thanksgiving to the Lord. To remember the good things He has done and response with a grateful heart.

I….is for Intimacy
Take time to pause and enjoy intimate moments with Jesus. Christmas is all about Jesus after all.

F….is for Family
Appreciate the relationships and be grateful for the friends and family that God has given us. When the Spiritual Family gathers make thanksgiving to God a must-have in the agenda. Spur one another on…In this Spiritual Family, we have always been taught about the importance of thanksgiving. We will still continue to do that.

T….is for Tell
Make it a habit to tell others about Jesus. Don’t just wait for a Christmas party. Christmas is but an occasion that we use to remind us, as well as the world, about Jesus. We don’t just celebrate Jesus on Christmas. We should celebrate Jesus everyday. Go tell the world….

So what is the greatest Christmas gift you have received?

Blessed Christmas to all!

Ps Tim

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Little Miracles

I am currently in the Naval Undersea Medical Institute and training to become a Submarine Independent Duty Corpsman. I'll be in the state of Connecticut for another 11 months. I have written my thanksgiving before the time I left till now.

Firstly, I want to thank God for all the people He has placed in my life.
Even before I left, many friends were there to encourage me, gave me all kinds of advice, met me and had a meal with me, prayed for me, made/gave a card to me, gave me chocolates, pass his safety shoes (last minute), gave gifts to me (ie: an aussie shirt that says "to be old and wise You must first be young and stupid", a mighty mouse) and some came to send me off. However, I told some of my friends (ie: Charles) that it’s not that "one farewell session" which is the most important to me but the quality time we have spent together that matters. And just because it was difficult for some of them to be there before I leave, it doesn't affect the depth of our relationship that have already been built. I do really thank God for the friends there for me at the airport before I left. It made a difference! ... [+]

Thank God for my Mac book, Skype and Face book – it is because of great technology and advancement of the IT world has it been possible to keep in touch with my family and friends. This has definitely made my transition even better even though at times I do still feel a bit home sick. Who wouldn't be right!

But even that God has taken care of that. He has placed in my life an officer named Brandon. He is married and with 3 kids (and the 4th one on the way). I have been to their house for thanksgiving and after church meetings. They have been very accommodative and a great host. He is a very caring, matured and good-natured man (some people call him 'the preacher'). And he has been taking good care of me. At times, I feel so ‘paiseh’ meaning embarrassed (Asian traditional man). Recently, Brandon told me that at first he was trying to be a good host but slowly he feels I have become a family friend. I also rejoice in the fact that I do feel at home with them. Recently, I did the Christmas tree decoration with them which they do it yearly as a family. I do believe this is totally God's plan and His blessings!


Secondly, one event to highlight God is in control.
When i arrived at the Providence airport, one of my luggages went missing. Going to the Airlines Customer Service, I found out that they sent it to wrong airport. Somehow, I still had peace in my heart, as I knew God is control. I knew then something GOOD was to come out of it. Interestingly, the luggage that I was holding on to had all the essentials I needed change and all. The missing luggage contained all of my uniform and other stuff. I thank God that the missing luggage was the one that went missing.

To add to all of that, the people that were suppose to pick me up to the base were not there. And the customer service guy needed to make arrangement to bring the luggage to me the following morning and therefore he called up the school. Guess what the school was close by that time. The customer service guy (named John) knew one of the officer's hand phone number. Coincidentally? NO, I won't accept that. Then I realized that the school didn't know that I was coming. Ironic but true. But if that's the case, and I have had all of my luggages, then I may have been able to contact the school, as it was thanksgiving holiday the next day. Not exaggerating! But I have to call back Singapore (note there's 12 hour difference) to ask for assistance in connecting me with the school.

Yes, I choose to believe that all of these were divinely planned by God. Why? It is because; I would not have gone that customer service guy (John) if my luggage has not gone missing. It was because of him that the Officer from the school found out that I was at the airport and had Brandon to come and fetch me to base. The customer service guy is from the United Airlines and not from the Airport Customer Service. Just for the info: If your luggage went missing, you need to go the Airlines Customer Service. And that's the amazing part. You see God's hand was upon me all the time. And I had the assurance all that time because Daniel lee prayed for me and said "things may not go they way I expect it but God is in control".

Lastly, I want to thank God for the church He led me to.
I have not really started my classes yet. It will begin a week later (next Monday). But during these few days, I have been studying the Old Testament online course, reading books and doing some self-study. It has been a powerful journey of knowing the Lord. I have been blessed by it.

The first Sunday in Connecticut, I went to a church nearby (not the one planned) because of it rained, I got lost caused by some miscommunication between Brandon and I. It was a nice traditional church, but I felt there was something more that God wanted me to do or somewhere else he wanted me to be.

So last Sunday, I went to another church called Seaport Community Church. I like the service, pretty much like TC (my previous church building but it has one level). The people there made me feel so welcomed. One cell group bought me a breakfast meal (even though they had a meeting going on) as I was sitting alone in the cafe. The person who brought me to church was rehearsing for the session later. Many people came to say Hi to me and talk to me. Even the little ones said hi to me as they passed me (some were not with their parents). During the service, I felt in line with what the pastor was saying. Then I was reading their bulletin and saw the words like: Win, Connect, Disciple, Send. Then I went like, Well this is interesting! Ha ha it sounds like my church stuff. Then I saw a big poster of a lion and the word 'encounter'. Ha ha ha, hmmm another familiar word. I felt this was the church for me also because I felt at home and peaceful about the church. They had newcomer welcome gift for me. When I came back, I opened it and saw that they had a website on it. Interested to find out more, I went into the website before I make a decision. Guess what?! They had the similar vision (like G12? to be confirmed) as my church back home. How often do get that. ha ha..


By the way, the guy (Steve) who brought me to the Seaport Community Church is Brandon's neighbour and it was Brandon who connected me with him (because I said I was from a Baptist church). If not for the rain and miscommunication, I would have been to Seaport Community Church on the first week I was in Connecticut. But I think searching for a church and later finding the one for me is a much sweeter experience. Perhaps that’s because we value things more when we have to search, wait for them and find them. How not to believe this is the work of God?

Don’t you agree? Merry Christmas...

Narash
Reporting live from Connecticut

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Ladies' Meeting with Pastor Josephine

The princesses from our tribe met up with Pastor Jo for 4 sessions. Even though I have already been in this tribe for more than 2 years, there were still many girls whom I did not know and I looked forward to knowing my spiritual family better during the meetings. God also ministered to me during the meetings, especially during the first two meetings.

During the first session, we broke the ice by arranging ourselves in order of our age. It was quite a challenging task since we were not allowed to communicate with one another verbally. Some of us nearly fell off from our chairs, but none of us were injured because we helped one another out. It was truly heartwarming to see how God had united all of us who were from different backgrounds together even in a game like this. [...]

Ps Jo then asked us to prepare our personal testimonies in the form of drawings, reminding us that every one of us had a special story to tell. Knowing that I had to complete the drawing within a short time, I quickly began preparing my testimony without praying. When Ps Jo asked those who had called upon the Holy Spirit before they drew their testimony to raise their hands up, I was sad that I could not raise my hand up because I had neglected the Holy Spirit. Ps Jo gently reminded us of one of our tribe's core values:

"The Holy Spirit is our first recourse, not our last resort."

Indeed, God has given us the Holy Spirit as our Counselor, but turning to Him as our first source of help is a choice that we must exercise actively in all that we do. My personal testimony is not about how I had overcome trials in my life or how I had changed; it is about how Jesus came to take the place in my heart and how God carried me through the low points in my life - Who else but the Holy Spirit can guide me in writing the story of God's hand upon my life?

The memory verse for the first meeting was 1John 5:11-12
" And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the son has life, He who does not have the Son of God does not have life"

During the second meeting, we watched the movie "The Prince of Egypt" together. As I listened to the lyrics from the theme song, I was reminded that God can indeed do miracles through me and in my life if I believe, because the God I worship is the same as the God who led Israel out of Egypt. We were all asked to pen down the dreams that God would help us to fulfill in 5 years' time. Even though I have encountered many setbacks for the past 19 years, I know my future in the Lord is bright, because God says in Jeremiah 29:11- 13:
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord,"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Thanks to Cindy, Esther and their girls, we all had a fun playing games together when we met for the third time. God taught all of us through Ps Seng Lee that in a family (ohana), no one gets left behind. (I believe that our successful completion of the games due to our combined efforts was an illustration of the truth that if we were united as a spiritual family, we would be victorious in the Lord)

After the meeting, we gathered in our clusters to reflect on what we had learnt from the day's events . We also agreed as a cluster to look out for one another during service, to make it a point to sit together and to pray for one another because we are to be one another's keeper. I now know that I am not just a member of my G12 group, but I am also a member of this big family.

During the fourth meeting, Sook San led us in a time of worship and we sang the song "How lovely is your dwelling place" I felt that I could not sing the words of the song " My heart yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord" because that was not the attitude of my heart. There and then I knew that I had to ask God to help me to get rid of the rival thrones in my heart so that I could thirst after Him again. My G12 leader Lay Ching prayed for me that the condition of my heart would be that of the psalmist who says in Psalm 84:10 that "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere". God helped me to further understand the meaning of this verse in the later part of the session.

It was interesting that Ps Seng Lee then asked all of us a question, "How should a Christian look?" , to which one of us replied, "Happy!" Ps Seng Lee reminded us once again that the word "blessed" in the Bible, in usual terms, means "happy", and shared with us from Matthew 5, which says that " Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". We can only be truly happy and blessed if we first confess that we are poor in spirit apart from the Lord, secondly invite God to be on the throne of our lives and choose to wait on Him. Indeed, if I allow God to make my heart His dwelling place, I will be able to have abundant joy in His courts. I know that before I can share with others about the hope that I have in God, I must first come before Him daily to receive His love for me.

I am really blessed by the meetings and even more blessed by this spiritual family! Praise God! Praise God!

Cheryl Tan
Lay Ching's 12

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What a wonderful plan!

And Now we have Ernest who is ready to share with us his baptism. I was reminded that in Romans 10:11-13 (New American Standard Bible)11For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." I was asking myself why would I not be disappointed? And after reading this, I realised its because He never Fails. His love for us never fails.

Seed Planted:
I came to know the Lord when I am in Sec One. Through the sermons and prayers at my secondary school, I came to know this one true God. Young as I was, he seemed distant to me. But somehow or rather I felt that he is real and he must be the God who is all mighty, the one who created the heaven and the earth. I began to develop a fear of this God. After one of the sermon, I said the sinner’s prayer at that time without realizing the full extent of what it meant and without really understanding what Jesus had done when he died at the cross.

Struggled:
But the seed of the awareness of God was planted in my soul then. However, I didn’t pursue my faith in this one true God or to seek knowledge of him. I tried to read short sentences in the bible every now and then, but it was just to satisfy the fear of God in me and to feel better that I did my ‘duty’. I was just deceiving myself and although I know about God, I never really know him at all. This went on for many years and even though I was invited to church by friends before, I never felt comfortable and stayed long with any church.

A Persistent God:
Thanks to God that the urge in my soul to come back to him was growing in intensity after I graduated and started working. It must be that He didn’t want to let go of me and was hanging on to me and waiting for me to go back to him. Through Touch Community Services, I came to know about FCBC and I decided to attend their service and on my second visit to FCBC, I said the sinner’s prayer and rededicated my life to Jesus.

Growing in FCBC:
Ever since I came back to God, I felt the presence of him in my life and I have found myself growing spiritually with the help of my spiritual family. Through the support of my cell leader Kenneth and my cell members, I have learnt to know God more and to grow deep in his words.

The redemptive gift:
Before re-accepting Christ, I easily felt anxiety, fear and nervousness. After re-accepting Christ, I began to see myself feeling less fearful and anxious when I am faced with difficult situations and I know that this must be the transformation that Christ is seeking to bring about me.

The Work of Change:
I also felt in my spirit that God wants to mould me and to build me up. Sometimes, he put me through testing situations and I know that it is his way of moulding me into the person that he would like me to become. I now know that whatever difficulties I may face in the future, I can always count on his strength to help me deal with them. I will always find peace, comfort and solace in his assuring and unwavering love and I know I can also count on my spiritual family support and help in my walk with him.

Trusting God:
As I surrender all areas of my life to Jesus as he is the Lord of my life, I know that he shall show me his will and guide me in my daily life. I want to fulfill God’s purpose for my life and I will do my best to honour and glorify God in all I do. I pray that he will do great works and perform miracles in my life. This is so that I can use whatever that he has blessed me to be a blessing to the people around me and I can be a living testimony of his great love and the mighty God that he is.


Ernest Fu Check Chung
Kenneth Tan / CSL

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Mary Yeo’s Baptism Testimony on Fri, 31 August 2007

Mary was invited up on stage to give her testimony during her baptism day. As she spoke, I saw how awesome God was and is. A story of how God's LOVE is real and life-changing. This truely shows that God has a wonderful plan for those who love Him.

1) Before I trusted Christ, I always kept my emotions to myself, always putting up a strong exterior when actually I was very hurt and empty inside.

When I was young my parents often have violent quarrels very late at night and police officers often visited my house. I always had fear – “Would my parents get hurt? Would they get arrested?” I questioned why my family is different from others, who are happy and the children are so carefree, I hated my family then and I wanted to die. I attempted suicide when I was nine, but I guess it didn’t succeed, if not I wouldn’t be here. But I never ever told anyone what I went through – sometimes, it hurt even more when you share but others don’t understand or don’t bother.

What was ironic was the fact that I held many key leadership positions in school – prefect, President, Officer, and Treasurer. I even became a listening ear to many of my friends who poured out their problems to me. I appeared so strong to others, but I was just all empty inside. There was a period when I would cry every single day over what I was going through; I was simply broken to the core. Yet I still kept everything to myself, nobody knew what I felt, not even my family. (Read on...)

2) It was a miracle how I came to give my life to Jesus.

In 2005, during one of my community service involvements in SMU, I got to know Pastor Seng Lee. Later that year, one of my JC teachers, John Lim, passed away with his wife in an accident, on their honeymoon. I went to the wake, not knowing that Pastor Seng Lee was going to preach a message there. What touched me the most in his message was “how much the couple would like to see the people they love believe in Christ, how much they yearn for them to be reunited with them in heaven.” I thought of my family, my loved ones, I cried uncontrollably, I received Christ at the wake.

3) When I came to FCBC, what I found and felt most was love. I was welcomed into a spiritual family who loved me unconditionally, with no strings attached. Through them, I was shown the love of God! Thank God for Camilla, my spiritual mummy, and for the SengLee-Josephine Tribe.

I still remembered at the very first tribe meeting I attended under Pastor Seng Lee, he prayed for me using the story about “Footprints in the Sand”. The times that I was hurting, God was carrying me, protecting me. That explains why there was only one set of footprints in the sand. And as those hurting scenes of the past flashed, I can see that God was there with me in every scene. I wasn’t as alone and as helpless as I thought I was. When I was doing wrong or crying, He was there with me, weeping even more for me.

God helped me to release many of my strongholds and baggage of hurts. I can enjoy the fellowship and openly share with my spiritual family here in church now. When I knew that God is with me always, when I finally understand what it meant when Jesus died on the cross to wash away my sins, I saw life in a different light. A lot of things which used to matter – being self-centered, defensive, being easily hurt, they don’t matter anymore.

For my real family, it is so much more peaceful as compared to the past. There are fewer quarrels now; I really could feel so much more love in the family. Reflecting back, this transformation can only be described as a miracle. God is so good. And I believe this happened because my spiritual family here at FCBC always helped to pray for my own family… and they also helped out physically, to reach out and to support my family.


Right now I want you to touch your hearts and ask yourself, which one of you here do not have a family problem? If your family doesn’t, praise the Lord for your family. But there are many more families I know that are facing so many problems, so much hurt, don’t you just wish things would change? You know what? God changed my family. There is so much more harmony in the family nowadays. He wants to do the same for yours.

And I also want to say, no matter how much you think you have backslided and drifted away from God, how much you think you have been behaving sinfully, or you felt that God has forsaken you and given up on you, or that you are unworthy to be loved by God, I want to tell you, it is NOT TRUE. God is the father who wants to receive you back with wide open arms. He is always waiting for you to turn back to Him, He is always waiting for you to give Him a chance to love you. Give Him that chance..


Mary Yeo
Camilla's Sub-tribe

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I'll walk with You in my Heart

I have the honor to yet again present another baptism testimony. John Koh from Kenneth's tribe!! He has an exciting piece of his life he would like to share. It truely displays How Graceful God has been and what a Loving family of God this is..

Purpose-less:

My life before Christ was somewhat different from the life I have right now. I didn’t know what I was living for and would just live for the purpose of living out my life. It was purposeless. I did many things that I didn’t think was wrong back then, but it was hurting other people. I didn’t know. Many a time, I would tell myself that I only have a few years to live in this place, so why not enjoy myself to the fullest? I couldn’t be more wrong.

The Road to Salvation:

My friend Elaina, who is now my girlfriend, and her cousin Ben, led me to Christ. There wasn’t any big occasion or any need. In fact, thanks so my parents, I lead a very comfortable and easy life. But the one thing that I was lacking was a purpose for living. I attended service a few times and my heart was touched almost every time. And one day, I decided to take a step of faith and accepted the Lord.

I didn’t know at that time if it were the best thing to do. I even went home and questioned myself if I did something I would regret. There wasn’t any immediate transformation, or any beam of light coming down from heaven the day I accepted Christ. But I was transformed gradually. And today, I am extremely happy to have the Lord in my life and living out God’s purpose for me.

Transformation:

God has opened my eyes and opened my heart. Reality has not changed, but the world looks so much more different now with God guiding me. Now I realize that many things that I did in the past were hurting and wrong. And what a fool I was to be blinded by the evilness of this world. God has transformed my life in so many ways.

Overcoming Addiction:

Just one little example, with the Lord’s power, I manage to overcome the addiction to smoking overnight. Come to think of it, I feel like a fool being a slave to something like cigarettes. I now see God’s purpose in my life and what I must do for Him. His grace overwhelms me at times and His love for us all incomprehensible. O how He still loves us even though we hurt and grieve Him day after day after day.

The Family:

My spiritual family has been a blessing to me. It was a strange idea to me at first. How can a group of people care so much about me? I love my spiritual family and my leader Kenneth and pastor Seng Lee has been nothing short of a blessing in my life. My brothers and sisters have been extremely supportive and caring through my days of being a Christian, especially when I was a new believer.

A Dream:

Lastly, I want to thank God for everything in my life - My family, my spiritual family, my friends, my home, my school, my health and all the things that I have. I’m praying that one day; my family and the entire nation will come to know the Lord for his awesome and amazing Glory, Love and Grace.

John Koh Tai Wei
Kenneth Tan's tribe

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Thank You for the Cross, Lord.

Last week, we had a Stay out Encounter for our youths (below 17). It was the 1st time we were having a Stay out Encounter. I was somewhat excited and curious to see how the sessions were going to structured. More than that I was praying that God would touch and transform the youths that were coming for the camp. I went there as a guide for 3 of my brothers' guys and 2 of my guys.

- God is good all the time
One of my guys, before the camp was telling me that he wants to know God more but not going to be a Christian. He had said the sinner's prayer during the 100k Miracle Catch. But he insisted that he is not a Christian. But during the camp, he proclaimed that he is a Christian. He told me that he wanted to doing that was not right (outside encounter time), but somehow he knew it was wrong and did not do it. I told that God has given him power over sin. He can now choose say No to sin because of Jesus...

At the end of the encounter, all of them said they experienced God in way like never before. When I told them to rate their experiences, most of them gave 10. And that they have never experienced God in such a manner before. Truly, God is good all the time. Although, I felt the time spent to minister to them was much lesser compared to the Stay in Encounter camp. God works in ways we can't comprehend. God made an appointment with every individual and met them there.

- Generations are rising up
I was very blessed to have George, a 13 yr old in my group. Something beautiful took place during one of the last few sessions when we were praying for them to receive spiritual gifts. At that moment when I was praying for one of my guys, I saw George gently moved over to one of my other guy to pray for him. He was even checking with the other guy if he received the gift of tongues and kept on praying and encouraging him. It was as though someone had taught him how to do it. But this young christian most probably caught the spirit of it just by seeing others. It was really a beautiful sight. I felt the Lord telling me ' See the generations rising up to take their place'.

Before the Testimony time, I encouraged Ernest (15yr old) to share his testimony with the rest of the participants. During thanksgiving, he went up with me. While we were waiting for his turn, he told me that the last time he gave Thanksgiving was during our tribe camp07 and that now is the 2nd time. He told me that he was nervous and would never really do it. However when he took the mike and fluently spoke about God's goodness during the sessions. Looking back in time. I saw how far he has come in Christ.
A Brave boy. A Mighty God.

Oh, How Awesome and Amazing!

Narash

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Who's Your ROCK?

Would you like to climb barefooted at your first attempt at rock-climbing?

That was what one of Kenneth Tan’s guy did at a rock-climbing outreach event on the 11th Aug at Safra Yishun. There were about 30 of us split into 3 groups trying to conquer the 18m rock walls. There were students from TPJS, SAJC and some of them were first time climbers.

Some find it a breeze to reach the top while others find it a struggle but didn’t give up until they reach the top. But irregardless of that, the people below gave them support through the encouraging words and clapping along their climb. At the end of the climb, all of us were privileged to listen to an inspiring sharing session by Mr Lim Kim Boon who was a Mt Everest Climber who is in every sense a born climber and adventurer. He shared on his experiences through the many climbing expeditions that he have had and how God have been his source of strength and have kept him protected all these while. And of course, we shared the gospel and praise God that we have many people rededicated or keen to know more about God. All Glory to Him!

There are parallels that I can draw from rock-climbing and our walk with the Lord. Rock climbing is a sport that requires not only strength and techniques but also determination, endurance and perseverance.
Irregardless of our background, strengths or talents we have, we all have difficult times in our lives and in our walk with God. Sometimes, God uses these difficult times to shape and mould our character so that we can be the finished article that he has set to build us into. Recognising this and realising that he has a better plan and future for us shall be the source of motivation to live out the life and path that he has set for us. This shall also be what keeps us enduring and persevering for him even though many times we may not understand all of his ways.

And what makes this easier is knowing that you have a spiritual family with you and your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ will be always be there supporting you and encouraging you though the thick and thin.
So my dear brothers and sisters, take heart in that and let’s continue our spiritual climb and grab the prize that he has in-stored for us!

Ernest Fu
Kenneth's tribe

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Fellowship- Soccer

On the 11th of August 07, Evan and his subtribe organized a mini soccer competition at Mt Faber SAFRA to reach out to our friends and build our contact base. We had just 4 teams participating but one team calling themselves “The Conquerors” really stood out for their grit and determination.

This team is none other than a bunch of Sec 1 guys from Bukit Merah Secondary School. We got to know them through the “Take The City Walk” when their school participated in the walkathon. As a follow-up, we organized this soccer competition and invited them. Well, they came and truly played their hearts out against much bigger and stronger opposition. It was a great encouragement to those of us who were present. (Read on...)

I would like to thank God for giving us this chance to organize this competition and get to know more friends. It was a truly enjoyable experience. Thank God for His faithfulness too because the morning started with dark clouds hovering and a light drizzle which soon turned into a passing shower. Then the sun came out and the court became dry once again! There were no injuries sustained as well=)

I enjoyed the time spent with my cell mates and spiritual family. It was a great time of bonding and just spending time together. Thank God for all you guys and for placing me in this family!


Kelvin
Evan's tribe

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Effects of 100k- still felt

During the 100K blessings, I prayed for one of my boys - Chia Tuck Ming, a boy from low income family. His mum is the only breadwinner supporting 3 schooling children after his dad's death. Mum works from 10am to 10pm. She has no time for her children as she has to make ends meet, her income is $1000 per month without CPF etc.

Tuck Ming has to settle his own 3 meals with $5 per day. He hardly eats a proper meal. He is a skinny boy. He goes to the temple nearby for his meals after helping in the temple. He said that he is a Buddhist. I felt led to bless him. He knows what he wants, he asks for financial freedom and wisdom and intelligence.

Last week, a Tamil Methodist Church and a parent donated some money to the school, he was given $1.50 for his pocket money for his recess. Praise the Lord!

On top of that, our JPO - Job Placement Officer found him a job in MacDonald at Serangoon Garden. I prayed for him on Monday, 13 August to get this job. He has speech problem, tried very hard, but at times, difficult to understand him. I prayed for him to speak clearly and loudly so that the interviewer can hear him. The Lord's presence is there, he passed the interview. He would be going for the job evaluation this Wednesday for 4 hours, continue to pray for him to have the stamina, do his job well and get accepted by MacDonald. All glory, all honour and all blessings belong to GOD!

Sally

Sook San's Tribe

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A testimony of God's plan

I've recently attended the Teaching Scholarship Presentation Ceremony to receive my MOE Teaching Award. Receiving this marked a milestone of my life as it stood as a testimony of God's great plan and direction for my life. Back when I was still in army, the future held much uncertainty for me. But I pressed on, asking the Lord to reveal His plan for me. After one of the tribe meetings last year when a speaker from NICE came, that night itself, God lay the path ahead of me. Teaching had never been in my slightest consideration as a career until that night. It became clearer when He solved many of my problems and concerns that this is God's plan for me. (Read on...)

Life has been purposeful since then. Straight after national service, I embarked on the first step of this path through relief teaching. Throughout the months, God has been working through the lives of my students through me. It was one of the most memorable periods of my life as I developed a stronger passion for teaching as the days passed by. This journey was not all smooth-sailing but as I know this is God's path for me, so everything I go through are part of His purpose for me. Never has I questioned whether this path was the right decision from God. Indeed, He has never failed to deliver me from all circumstances and I honour Him for all that He has done for me.

Applying for a scholarship had never been in my consideration in the past as I've often doubt my own abilities in successfully achieving one. However, when God reveals His plan, there can be no obstacles and I took the faith and courage to believe and trust Him in the application process. This achievement was can only be made possible through the grace of God and the obedience to follow faithfully what He has planned. Another reason why I'm thankful for this achievement was that I have honoured my mum through this and I hoped she was proud of her son.


I'm sharing this testimony to show how God can indeed reveal plans for the future and I hope it encourages those who are still uncertain over their future to ask God for His great and mighty plans and to continue to persevere in His journey for you. And I pray that as I continue to persevere in His journey for me, my passion for this profession will never die, that this love will always keep me focused on living a purposeful life for Him!


Jelvin
Kenneth's tribe

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Thanksgiving

I seriously have to write this thanksgiving as I feel guilty after robbing God of quite a number of glories that He has done in my life.

I want to thank God for healing me this week. As on this Thursday of the week, I was unexpectedly struck with diarrhoea, felt nauseous, had an awful headache, and irregular hot and/or cold spells in the middle of my work.

Due to certain complications in my workplace, and financial problems in my family, I couldn’t leave my workplace to take MC and that I don’t even have the means to self-medicate myself; much less see a doctor to take an MC. I know that I could have asked those who were close to me for help, and that they would definitely help me. But I didn’t, as I felt that there isn’t a need to trouble them with more of my problems.

It was at this point of time, where I felt vulnerable. Vulnerable to the attacks of the evil one; lies and thoughts of death that will happen; as I was seriously very weak and that I know that I don’t have any medication to take. That night, I made it home safely, even though I felt like fainting throughout the journey; perhaps from skipping of meals, as I didn’t have any appetite to eat and thought that if I didn’t eat, the diarrhea would go. Which I learnt, isn’t true. All of these got worst in the morning before I reported to work on Friday, but somehow, I believe that it can only be by God’s grace, that I’ve been healed almost instantly by noon.

It is at this point of time that I really want to thank the Lord for sustaining me, even without food, comforting me, even while the devil is attacking me with his lies, healing me, even without the means to visit a doctor, and most importantly, the love that He’s displayed through all of these, even as I’m totally undeserving of it.

God’s Learning Objective for me:

I felt that this experience was in a way beautifully orchestrated by God to once again allow me to reflect on how I’m living my life, even as the devil forces the word DEATH into my hurting head, and at the same time, reminded me to depend on God, and not on my mere strength.

To all my brothers and sisters, I hope that this thanksgiving will in one way bless you with God’s love even as you read of it. =)



Lance

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Simplicity in Him‎

Dear God, thank you so much…

Saw the paper plate? Read the words? My heart just thanked God for such a simple yet great gift on this Mother’s Day. It was given to me by my beloved niece, Jalena. More than the fact that she sees me as a spiritual mum, I am thankful to God for her relationship with Him. She is 7 years old this year and she wanted to receive the gift of tongue during Jackie Pullinger’s seminar. I prayed for her and she spoke in tongue though a little anxious and uncertain in the beginning. That was Saturday.

On Sunday when Jalena came to my house, she, together with my sister and me, prayed for her younger brother, Jerald, to accept Jesus. Jerald gave his life to Jesus! Jalena practiced her tongue again and became a little more assured and shared with her brother about this new language. We then prayed for Jerald to receive the gift of tongue. He spoke a little and was anxious and uncertain too. We encouraged him to practise and not to be fearful as it’s a special gift from God to every one of us.

Everything happened in a very simple manner, yet my heart is touched deeply by His grace for my family. The kids are my love and my prayer is to see them knowing Jesus and living for Him. Life is actually very simple, isn’t it? Just open your heart and let His love set you free…


Angela Tan

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Walk my Faith not by Sight

Last year, during one of the Miracle Catch I asked my mum to come to church and she did together with my aunty from Malaysia. I thank God that it was during this service that she raised her hand to accept Christ. But as I asked her to go to the front she said she was not prepared. Being her son, I didn’t dare to push it too much.[ I still stayed under her roof]

These few weeks I’ve been persistently asking her to come to church. But to no avail.

This morning as we were having breakfast, she called one of her friends, and THANK GOD, her friend was not feeling well. So my mum told her about the miracle healing services that we have, and both of them came. I was so pleased when both of them came up for healing and subsequently altar call. I was so surprised because it was not until 3 hours before service that my mum wanted to come to church. That’s why I realized that we should not be discouraged when people turn us down when we ask them to church. Because God is in charge, and he has planned for my mum to come without me asking her .

I had just realized that I have been praying for 7 yrs for my parents salvation, and sometimes I have felt that it was so hopeless. I am so thankful that I did not give up.

Because our God answers Prayers!

Just as Joshua 24:15 says “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

God can use us to bring the people around us to HIM.

Press On!

Eugene

Evan's tribe

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Evan and Peiyi's subtribe TGIF

On the 6th of April 2007, a group of guys and girls from Peiyi and Evan’s subtribes put together a simple outreach event for friends on Good Friday. Joel kindly booked his condominium’s function room for us and we had a simple program consisting of ice-breakers, watching a portion of the Passion film, hearing 2 wonderful testimonies from Cassandra and Guang Rong, a Word shared by Evan before sharing our own life testimonies with our friends.

I would like to testify that the love of God filled the hearts of the people even as we watched the portion of the Passion film where Jesus was whipped by the Roman soldiers to the point where he was nailed to the cross and crucified. There were many tears and a general inability to comprehend how such cruelty was possible. The love of God was projected to us in a very vivid way – He loved us so much that he would send his one and only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. I want to thank God for His love to me afresh and His grace in my life=)

The testimonies shared by Guang Rong and Cassandra were powerful examples of how God can come into the life of a person, touch that person and change him/her for the better. The people heard how God is able to restore relationships between parents and their children, help addicts break out of their seemingly hopeless situations and take away fears from the hearts of people. God provides hope, peace, safe refuge in Him and most importantly, brings LIFE to that person. This enables him/her to live out to the fullest the destiny of God in his/her life.

I give thanks to God for His faithfulness in the lives of people. Even as the people heard Evan give the Word and through the subsequent sharing of personal life testimonies with friends, I was reminded once again of how faithful God has been in my life. He never fails=).

Through the organization of this entire event, I have been the one most truly blessed – perhaps more so than the friends who came. Why? This is because I have come to understand afresh the love that God has for me – a love that is neither based on feelings or compatibility between people. Instead, it is a love that is unconditional in every sense of the word. God is such a personal God and He never fails to amaze me with His love. I pray that I will be secure in His love each and everyday of my life.


Psalm 86:5 “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to You.”
Psalm 89:2 “I will declare that Your love stands firm forever, that You established Your faithfulness in heaven itself.”


In Christ,
Kelvin
Evan's tribe

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Joshua's tribe TGIF (2)

thank God it was Friday.
a little backdated, but still,
the Good Friday event went something like this..

Angus' cell group was to hold the event on their own, and so we were initially pretty anxious as to how the whole thing would turn out.

thank God for Angus who readily supplied us with the venue for the event. as well as accommodation for the night before.

D-1 DAY.
at Angus'.

on the right, u see our dedicated cell members "hard at work" on planning for the next day's activities.


D-DAY. H-4 HOURS.
preparation stage.


we dressed the place up in anticipation of our guests.
and we identified the chao-geng kias among our midst. heh heh.

and after a time of seeking the Lord in prayer.


of course, there was the necessary lunch break, too!


D-DAY H-HOUR
the arrival.


thus began the arrival of our dear guests.
we labelled them with their names, plus the one thing they wanted most in life.
so we see they want: love.. playstations.. success.. world peace.. and jessica alba. (Read on...)

Stage 2:
and then the fun begins proper!
first and foremost we definitely have..


ice-breakers!

we had Charles Tan the balloon man to lead us on..


it's aliveee.. it's aliive..!

next, they were split into 4 teams,
and then the BIG game ensued..


it was a treasure hunt of sorts, which took them through several tasks including piecing together a jig-saw puzzle, and solving 10 (*er-hrm) mind-boggling mental sums.

the hunt culminated with them searching for a mysterious car number plate.
and then it was back to the function room for..


dinner!
yum yum, must be hungry from all the running around.

and to top it off,
we had some after-meal entertainment courtesy of..


Angus Sham and Luke Wee the professional dancers!


our guests definitely enjoyed it!

but wait, the best is yet to come,
it was time for the highlight of the day..

our very own skit!


introducing..
Mr. S. A. Tan!


and all his evil schemes to trap us!

then we ended off with 2 testimonies,


simple yet powerful.

we proceeded to watch an excerpt from a video reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

and then it was up to Angus to give the altar call..


Ps Sham says, yes, i see ur hand..

and praise be to God! we had 4 salvations that evening!


WHAT i have learnt through the event is simply this:
salvation is the Lord's.
no point in worrying too much about the event itself.
after we have done all we can, scrappy as it may be,
as long as God shows up, that is all that matters.

and finally,
all's well that ends well..


happy faces all around

means that
our guests would hopefully not be forgetting this Good Friday event for a long time.


Daniel Lee
Joshua Teo's tribe

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