BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

23 Dec 08

Dear Prayer Partners,

1. TQ for your prayers and encouragement! The 3-week ministry trip was relatively hectic and fruitful in different ways.

Week One

2. I departed to Port Dickson (PD), Malaysia with a fellow Singapore church member. We met another brother in Johor Baru who drove us up to PD. We had a great time of fellowship in the car, sharing about diverse preaching styles.

3. Upon arrival, without bathing, I preached to the campers and encouraged them to become spiritual leaders for God. Throughout the camp, I believe the Lord was ministering and touching the church as they face a period of transition in their church life.

4. After the PD camp, I went to KL to give follow up to college students and to provide premarital counseling. I flew off to Miri, Sarawak where I reconnected with some ex-students whom I have not met for close to 20 years.

5. On Sunday, I preached in one of the larger evangelical English congregation in Miri. The HS in His mercy, touched many lives as they dedicated themselves to the Lord.

Week Two

6. Mon-Thur, I preached in the camp among the Iban youths on the theme of Love, Sex and Dating. The first few sessions, I prayed for them to receive Jesus and the power of the HS in their lives. Out of the 50-55 participants, almost 40 for the first time had an encounter with the HS.

7. During the night sessions, it was open to parents and the public and I took the opportunity to address on marriage-related issues as many of them were struggling with this problem. There is a great need to teach the Word of God in this area.

8. Incidentally, one of my ex-students, who use to attend my camps in the 1980s when she was 13 years old all the way till she was 18 years – sent her 14-year old son to attend this camp. I jokingly tell her, I hope I don’t have to preach to her grandchildren too. Man, do I feel recycled!

9. Immediately after the camp, the same day, I took a 4 hour journey to Bintulu to meet up with another ex-student whom I have not met for 20 years. She is from the minority tribe of Kenyah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenyah), and married to a German man. Now she is residing in Germany with her 3 kids, and just came back for Christmas holidays.

10. I shared this to show what God has amazingly done in the lives of these students whom we innocently sowed 26 years ago. We did not know where they will go but we knew they had the potential in the Lord. And indeed many of them are scattered all over the world.

11. I took some time to track her down but finally got her number in Germany, a couple of years back. Its only this trip that we were able to connect again. I think I still have another 500-600 ex-students to contact, on top of the 300-400 that I have already connected, and see what God has done in their lives.

12. I went back to Miri the next day to catch up with various people. On Sun, I preached in a Malay language service and English language service. I felt the Lord challenged them to continue to seek to expand the Kingdom of God despite the economic slowdown. We must complete the task of preaching the gospel of Christ in our generation.

Week Three

13. Mon. I flew off to Kota Kinabalu (KK), Sabah. In the Airasia plane, I sat beside this man. He smiled at me and shook hands with me. He introduced himself and he was another ex-student whom I have not seen for 20 over years! He recognized me instantly, and we caught up throughout the journey. As the flight was a short one, I told him I will visit him in Ranau, a 2 hour drive from KK. Not in the original plan, but I decided it has to be divine.

14. In this trip to Sabah, the Lord reconnected a number of pastors and church leaders whom I have not met for a number of years. He even reconnected a pastor that I had invited in the 1980s but I had lost contact with him. He had went back to secular job and was headhunted by a Singapore recruitment agency.

15. The recruiter discovered that he was a former pastor (he is now almost the CEO of a MNC in KK). In the midst of the conversation, the recruiter who happened to be one of my mentorees in Singapore, realized that he knew me. She immediately sms me when I was still in Miri, and I connected with him again. I may be doing some ministry for him next year.

16. Another ex-student wanted me to meet her ex-classmate. Both of them are in the mid-30s. When the ex-classmate came, I mentioned her colleague in another branch of her company. She asked how I knew her colleague. I mentioned that I used to take care of a lot of Yayasan Sabah students.

17. And she mentioned that her older sister was also a Yayasan Sabah student. She immediately called her sister in Keningau. Turned out that her sister is another ex-student whom I have taken care of 20 over years ago in Sg Patani, Kedah! Her sister, now married with 3 kids, was very happy over the phone to talk with me. Another one more connected … accidentally or is it providentially?

18. There are so many of such stories that I wish I have the space and time to share. But there are new stories to tell. Pray for me as I will be preaching in Petaling Jaya during the Christmas season.

19. Christmas Eve, preaching in an evangelistic Malay Language service. Christmas morning, preaching in an evangelistic English service. Christmas evening, when you are eating your turkey, I probably will be preaching in an Orang Asli village. Pray for the anointing of the HS as God’s Word is being proclaimed.

20. BLESSED CHRISTMAS! MAY WE CELEBRATE HIS LOVE BY LOVINGLY SHARING ABOUT HIS LOVE TO OTHERS.

From
Bro Ong, Jessie, and Anastasia

P/S: Thank you for all your sms and emails to Jessie during her b/day last month. She really appreciates them.

P/S: You can contact me through several ways :

Blog: http://global-south.blogspot.com/
msn : acrazee@gmail.com
yahoo messenger : acrazee@yahoo.com
skype : acrazee, singapore
facebook : Acra Zee