the candy cane

I wrote my first tract in time for Christmas Carolling! We ended up giving these out with mini candy canes attached to them to people that we met when we went carolling. Thought I would share it here...

The Candy Cane

It is not known how the candy cane came to be a Christmas tradition, but we can view it as a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.

Firstly, it’s shape. Turned upside down it is the letter ‘J’ for Jesus, turned the right way up, it is the shape of a shepherd’s staff to show that Jesus is the great Shepherd sent by God the Father to care for His sheep (us!). Secondly, it’s colours. A white background shows that Jesus lived His life on earth with purity – He never sinned. Unlike us, in His entire life Jesus never lied, stole, cheated, swore, envied, or did anything that broke God’s law (the Ten Commandments). The red stripes of the candy cane reflect the blood that Jesus shed on the cross – the three thin stripes remind us of His suffering, the one thick stripe shows that Jesus ultimately died on the cross to pay for the sins of all mankind.

Christmas is such a big deal because it celebrates the fact that God loved us so much that even though we did nothing to deserve it, He gave us the BEST GIFT we could ever hope for: eternal life through Jesus Christ – wrapped in the form of a baby in a manger!

If this is a gift that you would like to receive this Christmas, pray to God…

1. Admit that you are not perfect, that you have broken God’s law, and that you no longer want to live a life of sin
2. Believe that Jesus paid the debt of your sins on the cross, and accept the gift of being saved from the punishment of your sins (Hell)
3. Read the Bible and obey it. Find a good church that preaches the Bible to help you grow. And tell others the good news!

breaking the golden rule

Though I have done 30in30 many times before, I had always followed my golden (fear of man) rule - don't give tracts to people I will see again. This included people that caught the same train or bus, people I regularly go to to get food or coffee, colleagues, shop keepers of my favourite stores. Shameful I know.

Last year I recognised I had a problem but didn't really do anything about it. This year I was determined to make sure I did something about this bad habit.

I think it was about here (marked on the map) during my journey home from Perth Underground Train Station on Friday that I overcame my paralysing fear of man and broke my golden 30in30 rule. despite some moments of hesitation, I reached into my handbag to grab a tract and gave it to this man sitting next to me.

I gave it to him fully knowing I could see him again someday cos he caught the same train home as me. This was BIG for this wussy serial tract-and-runner.

Thoughts raced through my head such as 'what if I see him again - it'll be awkward!' 'he doesn't look like he'd be interested' 'can't I just give him the tract when he leaves?'... But I knew God wanted me to at least try talk to him so I gave him the tract saying 'this is for you, it's a gospel tract'.

He then looked at it for a while, turned it round and read the address of our church. 'Ullapool road... where is that? I think that may have been the church I got married in'

We talked more and it turns out it wasn't the same church, but he then went on to say 'the problem with this is that I am an engineer and I believe in logic, so I won't be able to believe in God'. We talked a bit more about that and then he had to get off the train because he had arrived at his stop. We parted with him saying 'we could talk about this for hours, but I need to get off here'. He handed the tract back to me and I told him it was OK and that he could keep it and read it properly later. He thanked me and popped it into his pocket

I kinda regretted not starting the conversation sooner cos I ran out of time, but at the same time, I was happy that I overcame my fear of man and that I didn't just wuss out with another tract-and-run. I think God was gracious enough to even give me a pleasant experience too.

Maybe someday I will see him on the train again and we can continue our conversation. Instead of dreading this day, I'm kinda looking forward to it!

it's been a while...

...since the last city evangelism. But today we went out once again and it was a great experience. I was reminded of the joy of serving God, and once again reminded of His love for me. I think that's one of the best things about street evangelism, as you tell people about how much God loves them, and the sacrifices He made for them, you can't help but reflect yourself about how much God loves you.

It's good to see also that God is with our church and He is continuing to work in it by bringing new people almost every week. I honestly don't know where these people are coming from, but it is so encouraging to see new faces every week. It reminds me that God is with us and that He continues to bless us as we trust in Him!

the man who was dying

There are moments in life when, as you're sitting there, you know will become one of those moments that you will remember - for a while at least. Today, I met a man who was dying - like few-weeks-to-live-dying. The conversation started normally, and then I asked a simple question (I can't even remember what I asked, because I was too distracted with the answer) and he told me he only had a few weeks to live.

He then explained to me that palliative care was commencing next week - two nurses were going to come over to his house and assist him with preparations for dying. I don't know why it affected me so much, but it did. It was not like he was young or healthy and the impending death was unexpected, he was just an old guy who had abused his body. He had it coming.

He explained his situation very matter-of-factly, like he was reading a story about someone else. This man had a terminal illness and was in a great deal of pain. But not once did he complain. Not once. I kept sitting there expecting him to either get upset or angry, but he continued with his emotionless state. It was intriguing. I just kept thinking, if I was this guy, I would either be in tears or really angry that i had to sit through a lousy assessment even though I was in pain and only had a few weeks of life left.

It didn't cross my mind until after he had left that maybe I should've tried to pass him a tract (something I could get mega-busted by my work for, but something this guy really needed). After some quick encouragement via email (thanks Truc!), I ran out into the crazy weather to try to find him, but he was gone, never to be seen again. I definitely regret not thinking of it earlier.

All I can do now is hope and pray that one day, hopefully in the next few weeks, someone will talk to him, pass him a tract, or he himself will be prompted to read the Bible and invite the Lord into His heart.

manna evangelism

Post 30in30, I have made an effort to carry tracts with me in my handbag - now when I shop for a bag, one of the requirements is a 'tract compartment' :D. However, I still chickened out of giving tracts or sharing the Gospel with people I knew or came across regularly (e.g. people who catch the same bus).

On Friday, during the 30in30 briefing, I heard a testimony from a sister that really convicted my heart. You can read the testimony (kinda sorta what what was shared on Friday night) here. She talked about how in previous years during 30in30, she would 'tract and run' and would only choose to give tracts to people she didn't know or didn't have regular contact with (sounds familiar huh?) - and how this year, she made it a point to tract people she knew.

On Sunday, a few of us watched The Way Of The Master (evangelism video series) and again, I felt convicted that during the two years of working at my work, I had only shared the gospel with a small handful of my unsaved colleagues. Even during 30in30, as I was part of the Gospel Rally Skit Team, and had been rehearsing the skit in the weeks leading up to the Gospel Rally, I had Steven and Yorkie's voices in my head who spoke and sung this poem:

My Friend, I stand in Judgement now, and feel that you're to blame somehow.
On earth, I walked with you day by day, and never did you point the way.

You knew the Lord in truth and glory, but never did you tell the story.
My knowledge then was very dim; you could have led me safe to Him.

Though we lived together on the earth, you never told me of the second
birth,
and now I stand this day condemned, because you failed to mention
Him.

You taught me many things, that's true, I called you friend and
trusted you,
But I learn now that its too late, you could have kept me from
this fate.

We walked by day and talked by night, and yet you showed me
not the Light.
You let me live, and love, and die you knew Id never live on
high.

Yes, I called you a friend in life, and trusted you through joy
and strife.
And yet on coming to the end, I cannot, now, call you my friend.

But even after all that prompting, I still refused to open my mouth for God and bring up the gospel with my friends. I had no problem talking to strangers at Street Evangelism, or giving tracts to randoms - but talking to someone I knew? No way Hose!Though I really really really wanted to share with them, thee fear of man had such a grip on me that I felt overwhelmed with thoughts of what people would think about me, and hence, just kept my mouth shut. So I guess God decided if I wasn't going to make opportunities, He would give me one - which is what happened this afternoon.

I was walking to the train station with one of the girls from work and she started telling me that she ran into a friend who had recently started going to church. I can't remember everything that was said, but she told me that she had been thinking about going with that friend to church. The opportunity landed into my lap like manna from heaven! I ended up sharing the gospel with her as we walked and she listened receptively. I felt a bit breathless as I was walking and talking, because I was still very nervous about evangelising to someone I knew, but the words were still able to flow out relatively smoothly.

As we got to the train station and started waiting for our trains on the platform, she asked
'So, do you believe that there is something after we die?'
'Yeah I do. The Bible says that there is Heaven and Hell. Those who believe in Jesus and believe that He saved them from their sins, will go to Heaven'
'So those who don't will go to Hell?'
'Yeah'
'Will it be hot down there? Should I pack my sunscreen? (hehe this friend is a bit of a joker) I think I might go with my friend to church'
*My train arrives*
'Cool. But if you want to talk more about this, let me know OK?'
'OK.. See ya!'

God is good. The opportunity just came so unexpectedly which is why I named this post 'manna evangelism'. That little experience made me so happy. As I was talking to her, I couldn't help but think that God had given me the opportunity to witness to my friend, not only for her sake, but for mine as well. It may seem like a small thing to you as you read this, but I believe it was a turning point for me. I just pray that I will be able to have more opportunities to do the same with the rest of my friends too, and that God will continue to give me the courage to open my mouth for Him.

30in30 recap

"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"

Once again in September 2008, people around Australia rose to this challenge and responded ‘Here we are Lord, send us’. In BPCWA alone, there were 87 people participating in 30in30 – they each committed to giving out one tract every day in the month of September, with the goal of eventually making evangelism a part of their everyday life. In Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Esperance (WA), and Ingham (QLD), many others joined in. A total of at least 1380 tracts were given out by God’s grace.

Numbered tracts travelled via the pockets and handbags of participants to places all over the Perth Metropolitan Area and were subsequently scattered as far south as Canning Vale, as far east as Ellis Brook, as far north as Marangaroo, and even overseas? By the grace of God, Perth was inundated with small little booklets with the title ‘This Was Your Life’. Recipients of these little booklets were challenged to take a long hard look at their spiritual state and as a result, the precious seed of the Gospel was planted in the hearts of many.

Though at times, the task may have seemed daunting to those who had accepted the challenge, managers brimming with enthusiasm set out to encourage and cheer-on their group members. On a weekly basis, logs were collected of the tracts that had been given out in the previous week – where they had gone, who received them, at what time they had been distributed, and other details of the encounter. Collectively, people from all walks of life had been offered a tract by 30in30 participants – bus drivers, skate-boarders, check-out attendants, pastors, teachers, classmates, colleagues, homeless people, grandmothers, children, neighbor and friends.

Overall, most participants came away from the experience with a new-found burden for evangelism. The fear of man was challenged with compassion for the lost, and in the process, the wonderful good news of Salvation through Jesus was proclaimed.

The challenge now lies with each participant as well as each reader today – will you continue giving out tracts beyond 30in30? Will you say ‘Here am I; Send me’ today?

gospel olympics 2008

I took three days of leave this week to serve in the first ever Vacation Bible School for our church. The theme was Gospel Olympics 2008. It has been pretty fun hanging out with the kids, though I do start to feel a little old when I realise that I am officially more than twice their age!

I have posted before about teaching Sunday School - I really think it's a blessing to serve the children in this manner. But one of the best things about it is that it allows you to see things from a child's perspective. I believe we can learn a lot from children - they are so innocent and unassuming, yet they never fail to surprise me by their intelligence too. It's a joy to make them laugh and smile, and to see them enjoy coming to church. It's great spending time with little humans who have not yet metamorphosed into grumpy, grouchy, and cynical grown-ups.

VBS has been really fun so far and I'm looking forward to this being an annual event. So many kids that have come this year have been totally new to our church - so really thank God for that! There was even one girl who told us she asked Jesus to come into her heart before she went to sleep last night. With such receptive hearts to the Gospel, this is such a great opportunity to give these little hearts a Saviour to trust in, who will love them forever and ever!

Below are some pics from VBS including bags we decorated for Art and Craft - kids are so random sometimes huh?

games

err... this was done by a bigger kid....
also the product of a bigger and slightly older child..

google-mapping!

30in30 this year has been made more fun with Googlemaps. A few of us have been plotting our tracts on the online map and it has been so cool watching the little icons pop up all over Perth! Check out a screen shot of the Perth Metro Area!

What's even cooler is that people have been plotting their tracts around Australia - Bro Pete in Ingham, Minh in Darwin, bretheren in Esperance, and even me when I went to Sydney. Screen shot of Australia is here:

If you want to check the map out for yourself have a look at this link. It's so much more fun knowing that there's others out there doing the same thing as you. Happy Tracting everyone!

my weekend in sydney

Last Thursday I went to Sydney for my third work conference. Admittedly, I wasn't too keen on going as I was still recovering from a yucky cold (again! I seem to be getting EVERY bug that has gone around this year - really dodgy immunity huh?) and I was kinda scared that my head would explode while flying to and from Sydney. Thank God it didn't. On top of that, I had been feeling really stressed at work and didn't really have the heart to do much more than just stay at home and feel sorry for myself. But I'm really glad that I got over my little emotional slump and went to have a bit of R and R in Sydney. It turned out to be a blessed time.

Blessing One. Catching my flight. For work, I needed to do a Case Conference with one of my clients and his doctor. The Dr not only rocked up one hour late, he also saw someone ahead of us because my client had popped off to the loo just before he called us in! I was already cutting it really fine having booked the Case Conference on the afternoon I was supposed to leave, and the doctor couldn't even wait a few minutes! Thank God I made it in time, and thank God even more that the flight ended up being delayed as well (giving me even more time to settle down).

Blessing Two. As I lay in my bed reading my Bible, the girl I was sharing my room with asked me if I read the Bible every night, and then the opportunity came for me to share the Gospel with her! Though she listened to everything I shared with her, I think there's a lot more watering that needs to be done on that little seed.

Blessing Three. The food at the conference was great.

Blessing Four. I learnt heaps. And the location of Coogee Beach was beautiful.

Blessing Five. I had the Friday morning off, and was able to not only have a wander around the shops, I was also able to give out some of my 30in30 tracts in Sydney! You can see some of them here. I also, later that weekend, was able to give out a tract on George Street! If you don't know why I am excited about this, you should click here and then press play.

Blessing Six. Now this one's a good one. On the Friday night of the conference, there was a dinner that all delegates attended. Traditionally, it's a time where people fill their stomachs so they can have a big night afterwards involving pubbing, clubbing, and lots of alcohol. It's a difficult time as a Christian to stand alone and not participate in such activities, especially if EVERYONE around you is doing it, and encouraging you to do the same. I ended up following them down to the hotel bar for two minutes before I had enough and went back upstairs to my room. That night, I felt very alone and very different to everyone else - and I started missing home and wishing that I was in Regen instead of being alone in a hotel room in Coogee Beach. That was until a song came into my head...

Tho dark be the night and long be the day,
Lord make me follow in Thy perfect way.
Tho cometh sorrow, tho great be my pain,
Lord make me serve Thee, come sunshine or rain

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And he delighteth in His way.
Tho he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord, For the Lord
For the Lord upholdeth him with His hand.

This gave me great comfort in knowing that I had done the right thing, and even though in the process I may have isolated myself from everyone else, I had followed in the path that was ordered by the Lord. The night was dark, and the day was quite long, but the Lord really upheld me with His hand at that time.

What makes this blessing even cooler was that I was told that this same song was sung at the combined meeting of Regeneration and Youth180 on the same night, and that one sister even thought of me when she sung that song. It was exactly what my soul needed at the time, and it gave me the peace to go to sleep and find true rest in the Lord.

Blessing Seven. My cheap Sydney Hotel on Saturday night. Good location, clean, new, comfortable and with FREE breakfast.

Blessing Eight. Meeting up with brothers and sisters in Sydney. On Saturday night and Sunday morning I was blessed with the opportunity to meet with our ex-Perthies-who-now-live-in-Sydney, Yew Jinn, Gavin, Yanny and Shih Pei. It was so encouraging to catch up with some familiar faces and see them in their new church - Sydney BP. Though they miss the fellowship in Perth, I could really see that God had moved them to Sydney for a reason and that He had plans to use them to encourage our sister church. I also realised that Sydney BP (especially the youth) need our prayers and encouragement. I was also able to catch-up with Tina, after about two years, and spend the afternoon with her, Gavin and Shih Pei over some hot chocolate and a serve of probably the best waffles I have ever had the blessing of tasting in my life.

All in all, it was a great weekend, and one that was full of some real blessings. I'm sure there are plenty more that I have forgotten about, but I'm pretty tired now and I need to get some rest.

Thank You God for a great weekend :D

30in30 warm-up

After a long day at work on Friday, I sat at Murdoch Bus Station waiting for my bus to come. About 10 minutes earlier, I had seen the previous bus (along with Caleb sitting inside it, looking at me) pull away from the stop - just as I realised which bus it was. I had blisters on my feet, and I was cold, hungry and tired. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.

After a while, the next bus pulled up and I hopped in. The bus driver smiled at me as I greeted him, and a thought came into my head - give him a tract - this was closely followed by an internal dialogue that lasted for the duration of the 2 minute journey from the bus station to Murdoch Drive.

'Give him a tract - go on'
'Do I have to?'
'30in30 is starting next week - think of it as a warm-up'
'It'll look weird because I'm sitting next to the rear door and I'll have to walk all the way up to the front door! I have blisters you know, every step counts!'
'C'mon, be an example! You're a manager this time round - just do it'
*sigh*

And then as the bus pulled up at the Murdoch Drive / Leach Highway intersection, I saw an old man walking up and down Leach Highway wearing a sandwich board that said something like 'Pray for Persecuted Christians', and on the back there was a verse that I can't remember. There I was, sitting down in the warm bus having an argument with myself about giving out a measly tract, when there was a man outside in the cold walking along Leach Highway wearing a sandwich board.

So I took out the tract and held it in my hand as I waited for my stop. As I approached the stop, I walked up to the front of the bus, tagged off and gave the tract to the Bus Driver saying 'This is for you, have a good weekend!'. I did it! Thank God for the courage.

But the icing of the cake came when the Bus Driver replied 'Praise God! I'm a Born-Again-Christian!'. He then told me which church he went to and handed the tract back to me. I told him to hang on to it to give to someone else. We smiled and I hopped off the bus.

The whole experience not only lifted my heart and turned my crummy day into a not-so-bad-day-after-all, it also reminded me of the blessing that comes from obedience to God. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

who dares wins

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

[Proverbs 11:30]

City Evangelism - 29 June 2008

Register TODAY

compassion day

Just wanted to remind everyone out there that Compassion Day is on 15 May 2008 (this Thursday). I have blogged previously about my sponsor child, Ardchai. Since then, the letters and pictures have been coming in (letters come via the pen of his teacher, as he is too young to write) regularly from the little cutie - and it seems as though he has been going to church and sunday school regularly. He's an inquisitive soccer enthusiast who is about to start grade one! Oh, they grow up so fast these days! haha

Ardchai is cool. And knowing that I am making a difference in his life just through a few bucks every month is amazing. $44 a month isn't much, and to be honest, if I wasn't donating it to Compassion, I would probably just be spending it on selfish means anyway. So I really thank God that an organisation exists that helps people in geneuine need - and the best thing of all - that does so in Jesus' name.

If you want to sponsor a child, I would encourage you to go through Compassion Australia. I think they do a great job.

battle ready

It was 1400 hours and the soldiers were preparing to leave Base Camp for battle. Armed with swords in one hand, tracts and surveys in the other, and filled with the Holy Spirit - they made their way out to the battlefield in their four-wheeled-engine-powered chariots. Shortly after this, they assembled at the front line - Forrest Chase, and Murray & Hay Street Malls - and marched out in twos and threes.

Some dedicated soldiers remained in the Base Camp to uphold the troupes in much needed prayer. Troupes in the battlefield communicated with the Base using a highly-cryptic-code of telecommunication signals to relay their needs. Communications Officer, Private Wendy, interpreted these codes back at the Base and communicated these needs to the other troupes at Base.

Meanwhile in the Chase of Forrest and the Malls of Murray and Hay - the troupes continued to battle. I was privileged to accompany Cadet Claudia who entered battle for the first time. Cadet Claudia and I encountered hostile after hostile and managed to block several bullets with our shields of faith. We made contact with Base on a few occasions and were boosted by their prayers. As we continued to fight, we looked around and were encouraged to see our fellow soldiers in the heat of battle, fighting on for the name of our Saviour.

Time continued to pass and at 1700 hours we made our way to the pick up point where we returned to our chariots and headed back to Base. Following the debrief at Base, the soldiers enjoyed their home-cooked mess prepared by Private Jason and his crew. Though the battle was over today, we realised that the war continues to rage on outside of Base and we look forward to the next time we are called to battle.

OK... that went on longer than I planned. I was only supposed to do Army talk (albeit Rowena try-hard style) for the first paragraph and then share a bit about what I had learnt, but I got a bit carried away and three paragraphs later here I am... So the lesson I learnt starts here :)

I think one thing really stood out to me today as I walked around with Claudia for Street E. It just seemed as though we talked to one hardened heart after another - an old self-righteous lady, a middle-aged evolutionist/skeptic, a homeless man who just didn't seem to understand what we were saying, and a young Muslim girl (who was smoking and had no veil thing) who was obviously not devoted to her own religion but chose to continue with it without any real reason.

I felt kinda sad for them - their hearts had all been hardened to the point where I just thought is there any hope of salvation for them? Will they ever come to that point where they realise that the Bible is true, that they are sinners, and that the only way of salvation is through Jesus Christ? Some verses came to mind...

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Psalms 126:5-6 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

I don't know what's going to happen with these people - whether they will die without Christ or go home and somehow have the desire to find out more and, through God's grace, come to the saving knowledge of Christ. But whatever happens, I know that it is God's will and that I had done all that I could to let them know the truth. The rest is up to God.

I also realised that maybe, just maybe, if these people had been reached out to with the Gospel in their earlier years (especially the old lady and the middle-aged evolutionist), things may have been different and they may have ended up being one of the people in the group singing hymns with a piano accordion on Murray Street Mall. Wow, makes you wonder eh. It just really makes me want to evangelise more and more to people my own age lest they become another hardened heart in the city.

makes you wonder...

Today while sitting at the City Evangelism Registration Table, I was looking at the registration list thinking about all the people who had not signed up. Part of me started to get a bit disappointed because out of the many youth that we have at church, only a fraction had signed up to serve next Sunday. (As I have posted before, it's not that I feel sad that people aren't actually doing it, it's more that I feel as though they are going to miss out). But the thought that if more Christians got over their fear and went out to evangelise to strangers, then we would truly see a revival in this world wouldn't leave my mind.

I kind of realised today that despite my enthusiasm for people to sign up and join in, there will always be some people who will never, no matter what I or anyone else says, come along to City Evangelism (or if they do go once, will not go a second time). And though it is difficult to accept (knowing that it is a commission from God Himself), I realise it is true and that frankly, I can't do anything about it.

What struck me however, was that God must feel the same way - but even more so and with other stuff. I believe that God has a whole heap of blessings that He wants us as His children to enjoy, but often we end up making the choice to disobey Him and we ultimately end up missing out on the blessings intended for us. It must sadden God to see what we end up with especially while He also knows what we COULD have had. God must look down from Heaven at us all the time thinking 'Noooooooo! Don't do that! Oh how I wish you could see what you just missed out on! You would have loved it sooooo much - it was perfect for you!'. It must break His heart - especially because He has to pretty much sit on His hands and watch as we do what we do using the autonomy God gave us to make our own choices.

God doesn't (and never will) force us to do something. If He did, our response to Him would not be one of true gratitude and love, but rather one of inanimate, feelingless, meaningless, remote-controlled-obedience. In the same way, if I (or anyone else for that matter) try to get people to go to City Evangelism through persuasion, guilt, peer pressure (maybe not so much peer pressure seeing as the majority don't actually go), or any other means, the response of the people will likewise be less than genuine.

God can really only hint to us what the right thing to do is through His Word and I guess, similarly, with City Evangelism, all I can do is try my best to encourage people to go and just really hope and pray that God will continue hinting to them and through that give them the true motivation to serve.

sharing is caring

(pic by Angeline Yong - designer extraordinaire)

When you are on to something good - you want to share it. Right? Well I do. The other day the Evangelism Committee decided on the date for the next City Evangelism - 30 March 2008 (I've been hanging out for this, because it feels like ages since the last one). And since then, I have really wanted to encourage as many people as possible to go to City Evangelism.

I love seeing God change people. It makes me so happy. I love it. And I really think that when a Christian starts to share the Gospel and to share his or her testimony, they really take one step further toward spiritual maturity. There is a difference between an evangelising Christian and one who doesn't. I am always so encouraged when I see people go out there for City Evangelism, and then come back to share a testimony about their experience with excitement and joy in their eyes.

I think that's why I can come across as a bit pushy and over the top when it comes to getting people to go to City Evangelism, or EVEReady Workshops, or Evangelism Prayer Group, or the various events we hold at church. And I guess that's why over the years, one part of my ministry that I have continued to serve in has been in the Evangelism Committee. To me, evangelism isn't just about winning souls, it is also about firing up saints! It's about making the church look outward instead of inward. It's about learning about the reason of the hope that it in us, and knowing how to defend our faith with the Word.

I may be pushy but at least I'm not like this... yet.



I have experienced how God has used evangelism in my life to increase my faith and understanding of just how awesome and amazing and gracious and loving and faithful and everything else God is. I want everyone to experience what it is like to really depend on God and see Him work before their very eyes - changing the heart of the sinner right in front of them.

It's been a while since I shared the Gospel with someone, but just yesterday after church I had the opportunity to do so with one of the new girls at church. And it was such a blessed experience. I felt a bit 'rusty' and at times I felt my voice shake a little - but my heart was so emotional the whole time. I think it's because when you talk to a complete stranger and share the Gospel with them, you cannot help but feel overcome with the depth of God's forgiveness and love. And although you are talking to them about it, you can't help but remember that it was for YOU and YOUR sins that He suffered and died too. I often tell people It seems too good to be true but that is Calvary love - there is nothing in the world that is, ever was, or ever will be like it. That's real love.

So yeah, if somehow you have been moved to read this far, I sincerely hope and pray that you will sign up for City Evangelism and encourage those around you to sign up too. Even if you have been before and you got rejected or had a bad experience, don't let that stop you. Remember that those who sow in tears will in time also reap in joy. Don't miss out on the blessings that God has in store for you.

testimony on the tube

I came across this testimony of a serial killer in New York named David Berkowitz. I started watching this video thinking that it was just a short video but it was surprisingly interesting, and even when I found out that it was 3 videos long, I ended up watching to the end. And, posting it up here for anyone who is interested too.

God can change the hardest heart.

This video was a reminder to me to never write off anyone because they are so into their sins that they won't be interested in the Gospel. It may be that the person we are thinking about sharing the Gospel with needs to know about God much more than we'd ever imagine.

welcome dinner

Thank God for the Welcome Dinner tonight. There were so many people! Thank God also for the opportunity to serve in chairing for the program. Yorkie, HengLee and myself all had a good time - especially when filming the video (they are pretty talented actors hey?). We played this video at the beginning of the program to help lighten the mood a little bit before the program kicked off.

I thought it would be good to give the video a longer life by blogging it onto here for the rest of webdom. Caleb did an awesome job of making our video come alive with awesome editing and filming - I've said it before, and I'll say it again, that Caleb is one talented little fella.

Enjoy the video!

O-what-a-hot-Day

Yesterday was the orienation day for UWA and as usual, our church set up a stall there to welcome new students, invite them to our church through different welcoming events (like the Beach Games today and the Welcome Dinner next Friday), and also to share the Gospel.

I joined the group late, but a bunch of them started at 7:15am(!) for a prayer session at church before heading over to UWA (you guys are soldiers!). It was a warm day because even at 9:30ish when I arrived, I had already started to feel the beads of sweat accumulate on my nose. It was hot! And it pretty much stayed hot all day (as you can see in the pics below, everyone has a shine on their skin). But it was worth braving the heat because we had an awesome response from the Freshies.

Our little stall was nestled between some Indian dancing group and the rather rowdy 'Leisure' group (complete with wading pool full of jelly and other organic substances I'm sure! Might have been a good way to deal with the heat, but might not have been too). We weren't located in the 'Religous Corridor' as usual which we all thought was a mixed blessing - less 'competition', more traffic, but more erm, other stuff (like the guy a couple of stalls down from us who was wearing an apron... by itself *shudder*). We also had a monopoly on sunscreen it seemed, because even a guy from St John Ambulance came up to us and asked if it was OK if he sent people to our stall to get sunscreen (we eagerly said 'yes').

This year we organised proper sandwich boards (well, proper compared to last year's makeshift carboard + permanent marker style sandwich board) to 'advertise' the Beach Games and Welcome Dinner. We also brought with us costumes and props to go with the boards! (the Chef outfit Victor wore all day may not have been the best thing to wear while standing in the heat, but it was consistent with the 'theme' of the Welcome Dinner sandwich board). We also gave out invites to the events (really pretty ones designed by the talented Ms Angeline Yong) sunscreen (as I mentioned before), ice cold drinks, and mentos.

Thank God for the turnout, for the people we met and for giving us all the energy we needed to withstand the heat (He provided us with lots of free drinks throughout the day and sent us a few nice sea breezes to cool us down too).

A few of us took an annual leave off work to serve at O'Day and we all agreed that it was well worth the sacrifice. We will all keep praying that God will continue to add His blessings on our efforts.

Photos courtesy of Truc Pham (photographer extraordinaire)

burswood does it better

Victor organised a Chinese New Year outreach yesterday at Burswood Park to coincide with the Pasar Malam (night market) and fireworks display that Burswood had organised for their high-rolling-gamblers (apparently they fly these players in and let them play golf and watch fireworks in return for 'investing' a significant amount of money at the casino).

It was a really fun afternoon where we ate food, played cricket in the park, fellowshipped with what turned out to be a fair few people (including some newbies!), and sat down to enjoy some fireworks later that night. Thank God some of us got the opportunity to share the Gospel with some of the new people too. I didn't get pictures of all the stuff before, but here are some of the group waiting for the fireworks to begin...

And then it began... Fifteen minutes of full-on-firework-action just above our heads. We were so close to the action that at times we thought the shells would drop on us! After going to Aussie Day and thinking - man I think I have grown out of fireworks, this had well and truly restored the interest ! It was clear that Burswood does it better. Here are some piccies...