R-Sabah

5 Oct 2009

Dear Prayer Partners,

Drunk Again?!

1. TQ for your prayers during the Hari Raya camp in Cameron Highlands. The Lord moved and touched many lives by the power of His Holy Spirit.

2. Many of the campers testified that the Lord challenged them through the preaching of His Word as well as during the prayer time. The campers were from the various tribes of Sabah and Sarawak, especially from the Kelabit and Lun Bawang.

3. Historically, they were among the first tribes that had accepted the Lord in the 1940s. Their ancestors were well-known for their drunkenness and headhunting ways. But when they were confronted with the gospel of Christ, their lives were transformed.

You can read about it in the 1979 book Drunk Before Dawn

or watched a short youtube

4. But unfortunately the present (probably the 3rd and 4th generation after that revival) is reverting back to alcoholism, becoming nominal in their relationship with God, and even converting to other religion due to marriages.

5. They do not have a strong foundation in the Word and neither do they value their spiritual heritage. Pray that these tribes that had one time produced thousands of pastors and evangelists, will return to Him and worship Him alone.

Next Gen?

6. After the camp, I was back in Klang Valley and gave Bible study to uni students and fresh grads. I feel the need to pass on the baton of leadership to the next generation. Pray that the new generation will rise up to take over the responsibility of fulfilling the Great Commission. Nothing else matters except that the Kingdom of God expands. Pray that I can do more with them.

From Intellectuals to Villagers?

7. Over the weekend, I was preaching in revival meetings for the indigenous people (Orang Asli) in their village. They were quite reserved and need a lot of prayers and encouragement. Pray that they will be open to the Lord and change their attitudes, especially towards education and modernization.
Crazy Schedule?

8. Pray for me as I prepare for the next hectic schedule. I will be teaching a whole day seminar on Spiritual Warfare in mid-Oct, followed by Interpreting the Bible in early-Nov. Then in mid-Nov, it will be busy writing assignments before attending classes for my Doctorate in Ministry (DMin) module (5th out of 7th).

9. Then end-Nov, I will be flying off to Kuching to preach for the Iban conference. (Time to eat Sarawak Laksa again!) Organizers are anticipating 2,500 participants. Early-Dec, I will be flying off to Klang Valley to preach for an English Youth camp.

R-Sabah!

10. Then mid-Dec to year end, I will be in Sabah, preaching in several camps and revival-Christmas meetings. After that, it will be a rush time to finish the last part of the DMin assignments, to be submitted by mid-Jan. I hope I can take a short break after that!

11. Pray for me as I am considering how to minister more effectively, especially since the Lord has opened many various doors. I need to have divine wisdom for the next step. I am particularly praying about Sabah. The number of believers has declined significantly over the past few years.

12. I would like to spend some time to minister there and allow the Holy Spirit to revive them. Praying that God would raise up spiritual giants from the state, especially from the tribal people who will proclaim the good news to the whole world! I am nicknaming it R-Sabah – Reviving Sabah!

13. Pray for divine wisdom, mighty anointing, and strong financial support. Hope to organize camps, Bible Study, leadership seminars, etc. If you have any ideas and contacts, let me know and we see how God lead us from there.


God has blessed you. Count your blessings. But don’t stop there. You are blessed to be a blessing. God’s intention is that all the nations of the earth should be blessed by the actions of God’s people. Who have you blessed recently?


Bro Ong