Rejoice!

Sept 7, 2007

Dear Prayer Partners,

1. Today I am celebrating my 21^st birthday again! Apparently I am a recyled and reused teen-turned-adult.

2. There is much to be thankful to the Lord for all these years. It has been a great privilege to serve Him and to see Him touch and transform many lives. I have enjoyed the opportunities that He in His sovereignty allowed me to serve Him among the various people groups.

3. The East Malaysians (EM), especially among the tribals, whom I still keep in touch with regularly ever since I got involved with them in 1978 (seventy eight!). I remain their spiritual father and would like to see them rise up to be spiritual leaders in their churches and beyond.

4. And as an effort to fulfill parts of that vision, I have proposed and have been in discussion with a Bible School for the past few months to start an off-campus site over in EM. And PTL, this weekend (Sept 8-9), will be the beginning of the first course in a series of formal theological training to be held in Kuching. In Oct, the Miri course will begin. And sometime early next year, will be Tawau’s turn.

5. Pray that this part-time off-campus modular-style format will be used by God to equip the working professionals to be the next generation of spiritual leaders for the EM churches. I was supposed to fly there for the inaugural course (and to eat the Sarawak laksa!), but I am unable to do so as I have to finish my DMin assignment.

6. Besides the EM tribals, I also thank the Lord for the privilege to mentor the West Malaysian (WM) working professionals, some whom I knew since their undergraduate days. They are the ones that I had spent a considerable amount of time motivating them to consider part-time theological studies so that they can be further equipped for the Lord’s work. Unfortunately most of them are way too busy with their careers and family commitments, and have chosen not to make this their priority.

7. I am praying for a whole new generation of people to mentor, while still maintaining relationships with the present group. I no longer directly challenge them, preferring to commit to the Spirit to convict them. My priority has always been to mentor and develop spiritual leaders, even before the church recognizes them as such. Some time we spend more than a decade waiting with them before they decide to respond to the work of the Spirit.

8. I am also thankful for the joy to minister to the undergraduates and working professionals in Singapore. If God permits, I hope to see more harvest and fruits in the future as we keep sowing into their lives. Like most 20somethings, they need to have deeper roots in the Scriptures. They need to acquire the heartbeat of God and rise up to become all that God has for them.

9. 7 years ago (in 2000), we intentionally applied to move into the university students’ residential hall to avail ourselves to reach out to the different students. We saw that as an opportunity to make disciples of all nations. Since then, we had led several of them to the Lord and discipled those who were already believers but had no follow up.

10. I also rejoice in the Lord for the privilege to minister in Indonesia for a season. It was a great time to mentor the pastors and church leaders there, especially the various ethnic groups. They need a lot of Biblical teachings as they are confronted with many delicate situations in their society. I still have several open invitations in the various Bible Schools to go over and minister there. But due to time and finances, I have turned down a number of invitations. God willing, may be next year.

11. I praise the Lord for the privilege to minister for a season among the Unreached People Group (UPG) here in Singapore. It was most unfortunate that I was unable to develop further with them, due to their internal disunity. I trust the Lord, that in time to come, He would bring different ones so that the UPG can have a community of their own to worship the Living Word.

12. I look forward to the future, singing the song that He holds my tomorrow. As I consider Anastasia and all the ministries involvement, I can only hang on to the promise that God is the faithful Jehovah Jireh. He is my provider. Whenever I forget that truth, I get depressed and discouraged. But when He reminds me of His promises, I celebrate His goodness.

13. Pray for us that the Lord will continue to be glorified through our lives and ministries, as we avail ourselves to Him. Pray that He will rise up more regular financial supporters so that I can be further released to do other ministries. Cost of living and Anastasia’s expenses has caught up on me. L

14. Thank you for taking the time to celebrate my recycled 21^st birthday by reading and praying. It has been a great joy and blast to walk this journey with you – to see all the different things that God has done, as well as to cry at all the wrong choices that individuals have made.

Thank you for your years of prayers and encouragements! Thank you for your generous and regular financial support. Thank you for releasing and empowering me to do the work of the ministry!