Asian Mission Report

Since the campaign ended, the enthusiasm hasn’t let down. It especially remains high amongst the kids.

While my sister was here, she taught a class for the little ones (from ages 10 down to the baby) about why and how we worship. They talked about singing, praying, giving, communion, and listening to the Word of God. On the last week she was here, they had a “pretend worship” in which the young boys were offered the chance to lead. They all did, and took the whole event very seriously. She told them, at the end of class, that if they’d like to lead in the “real worship,” they could speak to the uncles in charge of it and offer their services.

Before their family left, several of the boys did just that. One helped pass the communion trays, and another led a song. One volunteered to lead the prayer over lunch that day, with the whole congregation gathered. A week later, when my sister and her family weren’t there with us anymore, the zeal for service continued. One of the boys, a 4-year-old, wanted to join the men when they prayed before the service began. During the service, he helped pass the communion trays and the collection bags. Another of the older boys helped with passing the communion trays as well, and another helped lead the closing song. It is very exciting to see them working so hard, and showing a real desire to serve.

And not only during the weekly gathering, but the kids are eager to serve at other times too. Some are helping with the clean-up of communion trays on Sundays, and some are helping take care of the transparencies for the songs we sing each week. Best of all, to me, was last week when a group of 4 kids and 4 adults met at the church building on Thursday afternoon to give the place a thorough cleaning. These are the same kids who have been gathering for door-knocking, helping in the services on Sunday, and helping just wherever they find a good thing for their hands to be active about. I can see that the adults are taking note, and are encouraged by the attitude of service that the younger ones are displaying. I hope it will spur all of us on towards a similar joyous service.

We have finally seen some fruit come of the efforts to get a counselling service off the ground. We’ve been trying to get the word out in the community that we have this service, but haven’t been very successful over the past half year or so that we have been about it. During the recent campaign, we handed out announcements to about 20 apartment blocks (over 2000 homes), and have had several calls about the counselling service. Two have already begun counselling, and will be continuing in upcoming weeks and months. I know that the counsellor has invited them to our Christmas celebration that we will have on Sunday afternoon this weekend — a BBQ and small gift exchange. I believe one of them will be there, though the other is more doubtful. Either way, it is good to see that we are now more actively offering a service to the community, and that there are some who are in need of that service who are coming to take part.

I will be heading up to Shanghai again in the early morning hours of the 26th. I will not be able to post to this site while I am there, but will post an update when I am home.

Happy holidays to all, and may God bless you with a happy beginning to 2007!

This past two weeks have been very busy — the very best kind of busy, for the most part. Last week, we began each morning with a VBS. We set up several activities stations, and the kids said they felt like it was a fun fair atmosphere. All of them had a very good time, and were sad when it was over at the end of the week. It was nice to see them getting into the various activities the way they did. And they especially loved storytime with “Uncle Paul” (that’s my brother-in-law in costume, telling Paul’s stories from the book of Acts).

Each afternoon last week, the 4th - 8th graders gathered for a special class on world religions. The mother of one of these boys had approached me some months back expressing a concern for her son. She feared that, having grown up in the church, he might take his conversion as a given, or take it for granted. As he grows older, she feared this might lead to him questioning or resenting, feeling that he’d somehow not been given any choice in the matter growing up. She wanted him to learn about and understand the other religions that surround us here in Singapore, and to make a choice about what he will believe based on the truth of whichever option he goes with, and not just because that’s what Mom and Dad do.

So, we held a special class for the kids, exploring what each religion teaches and trying to undo some of the misunderstandings they might have about the various religions (including Christianity). I think the class went well. We only opened it up to our own kids in that age group, not publicizing the event in the community or anything, and so had 5 in attendance. They interacted well together, and with the material we were discussing. On the last afternoon, we talked about how one should go about discerning which religion is true, if any. I think it was good for all who participated (even — maybe especially — us adults who were involved).

On Friday last week, we did not have VBS or the special class for older kids. Instead, we took the 4th - 8th graders on a tour of temples and a mosque, to give them a hands-on view of the other religions and their practices. I think they enjoyed the day together, and that the trip was a beneficial one.

Our evenings during the week (last week and this) were filled with our regular small group studies. I think we all enjoyed being a part of those. They are where the real study and interaction of the congregation generally takes place, I think. It is good to have these groups, where members feel comfortable raising questions and trying to get a hold on issues they may not otherwise understand. For instance, at the Chinese Bible study on Thursday last week, in studying 2 Cor. 5 the question was raised, “What is ‘the righteousness of God’?” It seems like such a simple question, and yet it is so profound. We had a good discussion of the whole concept, and I think it left an impression on all who were there.

This week started out with our first-ever youth camp. It was a small by the standards of most congregations, but for us it was huge. We had 9 kids in the 10-20 age, and 4 adults who stayed for the whole camp. There were an additional 5 (1 youth, 3 adults, and 1 child) who joined us for part of the activities, but did not stay at night. We stayed for one night at a Kelong (fishing village) in Kukup, Malaysia. It was a good facility for the activities we had going on. The kids really enjoyed themselves, and didn’t want it to end. I was very pleased to see some of them begin to come out of their shells in visible ways during the short camp, and I am excited about what the future holds for all of these kids. Do continue to pray for them. There is real progress here, and we need to build on it actively. Pray that we, the other members here, will be faithful in guiding and supporting them.

After we got back from the youth camp, the kids wanted to be together every day. The first day we were home, their parents wanted them to rest, so we took a day (all of us!) to catch our breath and all. The next day, 5 kids (ranging from 4 years old to 14) came to the church building and joined us for an afternoon of community evangelism. All of these kids came without their parents, which I thought was a great testimony to the enthusiasm this campaign has generated. We took our team of 11 and went to distribute between 1100 and 1500 flyers to the community. The kids enjoyed themselves, and were sad to see the day end. We didn’t have more flyers ready for them the next day (they work so fast we can’t keep up!), so we took all of them to the museum on Friday, for another day of fellowship together.

I am pleased to see this sort of cohesiveness developing in our kids while they are young. We have to do that. When they get older, even as early as 7th or 8th grade, the demands on their time become a huge force to fight against. It is amazing how busy the schools keep them, even during holidays, at a very young age. We hope that they are forming good habits now that will carry over as they grow up. We want them to feel the importance of giving their time in ministry and outreach through the congregation’s efforts, and we hope to see them beginning young to have a sense of commitment to the Lord and to one another. There are 2 children now who have grown up in the congregation here, and I think they set a bright example for those behind them of the sort of service and commitment that they need to have. I hope these younger ones will follow, and excel even beyond those going before them.

It has been a very good campaign, especially for these young people. I hope you will continue in your prayers for them. There is still such a long road ahead, and I am prayerful that our God will keep them close to him as they move forward.

The first couple of weeks of November, before the campaign, I had a little time to get caught up on some reading. It’s been busy again this past couple of weeks, and I haven’t got as much reading done then. But I’ve really enjoyed several of the things I’ve had a chance to look at in November:

Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin

I almost always enjoy reading a book by Ursula Le Guin. She is a very thoughtful writer, and makes me think when I read her. This is the first of her books I’ve read in a while, and I really liked it. It ties in with some that I was reading earlier in the year, such as Stephen Lawhead’s Dream Thief, and Malcolm Campbell’s The Sun Singer. I especially like how it linked with Campbell’s novel. Le Guin’s explores the idea of a man who is plagued by “effective dreaming,” in which his dreams can change reality, often in horrifying ways. It reminded me of how Robert Adams, in The Sun Singer, feared that his dreams had actually had an impact on the events of that fateful day. Anyway, Le Guin’s book was a fun read, and would be a good one for anyone who likes these sort of dreams-woven-with-”reality” sorts of stories.

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I really enjoyed this journal, which I was reading for the first time. It is an engagement between literature/art and Christianity. It was a very well-made magazine, with excellent poetry, articles, interviews, and some amazing photos. I picked it up while I was in the US, and it seems it isn’t something I can get here in Singapore. I did very much enjoy reading it, though, and will most likely subscribe to it.

y grec by Madeleine Lee and Eleanor Wong

This is a collection of poetry written by the two authors on a trip to Greece. It is very nicely done. I particularly like the format of how it seems to flow through history as it flows through a geographical location too. The book is not available at Amazon or Barnes & Nobel, and it may be out of print. The publisher can be found here though (or you can contact me), and there are other of Madeleine Lee’s poetry collections and Eleanor Wong’s drama texts available at that website. I believe I could still get my hands on a few copies of y grec too, if that is of particular interest to anyone. The publisher is one of our regular visitors in Woodlands.

The Mark of a Christian by James Thompson

This book is one that was very important to me in my formative years, and remains so to me today. I read it first when I was 16 or 17 years old, and was astounded by the profundity of that little volume. I’ve read my beaten and battered copy many times since, and bemoaned the fact that it was out of print all these years. I’ve stopped whining now — it is back in print.

We are presently studying 2 Corinthians in Woodlands now, and for the next couple of months, and I couldn’t not read this book again when we are studying 2 Corinthians together. It is a very simple book indeed, but it is packed with such depth of insight. It’s a not-to-be-missed one for anyone interested in 2 Corinthians, as far as I can see.
(In fact, with Thompson’s focus on “authentic Christianity” as the theme of 2 Corinthians, I would say it’s a good choice of a read for any Christian, whether studying 2 Corinthians at the moment or not.)

A Daughter’s Devotion by George MacDonald (originally titled Mary Marston)

I am a huge George MacDonald fan. I haven’t yet finished this book, but am enjoying it as much as I always do his books. He weaves a wonderful story, and sustains it so beautifully throughout. Many modern readers don’t quite enjoy his work, finding him a bit too “preachy” at times, but I enjoy his little meanderings here and there. In his day, he was one of he better-known and -loved of his group of pals, which included Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope. The turn of society away from such contemplations in novels as MacDonald is prone to has more or less left him in the cold, but there are many new editions of his work (such as this one that I’m reading, edited by Michael Philips), and many edit some of the meanderings. I hope this move to bring out new editions of his work will revive general interest in MacDonald’s novels. He certainly deserves the attention.

Antioch Review

I have only just started this journal, and like what I see so far. It’s another that I picked up when I was home in the US (I’ve got a stack of 5 more to make my way through), and can’t easily get here in Singapore. I am really enjoying the theme of this issue, which is the blurring of the line between fiction and reality. This is a favourite topic of mine, and one I enjoy seeing explored in literature.

Studio Magazine

This magazine comes out of Australia, and is “a journal of Christians writing,” as the front cover says. I can’t seem to locate a website for it, and it isn’t available through Amazon either. But I am enjoying the work I see there so far. This issue highlights emerging Tasmanian poet Leanne Jaeger, devoting about 16 pages to her poetry. I’ve enjoyed reading the poetry there so far, and have smiled at references to some of the Australian musicians a friend at another blog site has introduced me to over the months.