4th Miri BB 2008 Year End Party

We had our year end party last Saturday, then we were off for a holiday break until 10th January 2009. The party was jointly organised with 4th Miri GB. Here are some of the photos taken:-

Lt. Roseline receiving her certificate from our Chaplain, Rev. Pastor Law.

Sim shaking hand with Rev. Law, after receiving his badges.
Yong Shiuan getting his Gold Award. He and Ming Yih (who was away for the youth camp) were the 1st two recipients of this award from 4th Miri. Well done!!
Playing games.

Thank you Siew Yew ... you are always there to support.

The party begins!

This is a short video showing the 2008 activities:-

Cambodia Mission Trip (Part II)

Last Sunday I shared my testimony during the church service, both the morning and evening sessions. The key point was we as Christians should make mission work as part of our Christian life. There are some members of our church who do just that: going for mission after mission. Praise the Lord for giving them that vision and a humble heart to serve in this manner.

Cambodia opens its door to the world. Along with progress and development came certain negative influences. Christian organisations around the world are working very hard to bring the Gospel to this land. An important strategy would be to help the local Christians to be on their own footing and be self sufficient. To this end both short term and long term mission works are an essential part to realise this vision. I am glad to know that there are already a number of brothers and sisters who have already signed up for the 2009's trip. Amongst them are two of my young colleagues in my department.

It took me 4 years before I signed up for mission work. The Disciple (I) course and the 40DOP campaign helped me to realise the importance of doing mission work. We as children of God need to offer ourselves as vessels for Him to use to bring the Gospel to others. The love of Christ and the grace of God is not for us to keep to ourselves, but to share with others.

I used these two videos during my sharing:-

(1) Cambodia Mission 2008


(2) Cambodia Children


Most of the photos used in the videos are taken by Dr Edward Tiong.

Glory to God.

The Candy Cane Story

Received this story through email from a friend:-

Legend has it that in the 18th Century somewhere in Europe any public display of Christianity was forbidden. No crosses or Bibles were allowed and the Christians were greatly oppressed. One old man, a candy maker by profession, was particularly distressed by this. He loved the Lord with all of his heart and couldn't stand to not share that love with the world. His heart especially went out to the children when Christmas drew near and no one was allowed to have a nativity scene (or crèche`) on display in their homes.

He prayed for God to show him some way to make Christmas gifts for the children which would teach them the story of Christ.The answer was the candy cane. The candy cane was in the shape of a shepherd"s staff to show them Jesus is our Shepherd and we are His flock. A sheep follows his own shepherd, knows his voice, and trusts him and knows that he is totally safe with him. The sheep will follow no other shepherd but their own. This is how we are to be with Jesus if we truly follow Him ( John 10:11; Psalm 23:1; Isaiah 40:11).

Upside down the candy cane was a "J", the first letter of Jesus' name. ( Luke 1:31) It was made of hard candy to remind us that Christ is the rock of our salvation. The wide red stripes on the candy cane were to represent the blood He shed on the cross for each one of us so that we can have eternal life through Him. He redeems us and cleanses us with His shed blood - the only thing that can wash away our sin. ( Luke 22:20) . The white stripes on a candy cane represented the virgin birth, sinless life and purity of our Lord. He is the only human being who ever lived on this earth who never committed a single sin. Even though He was tempted just as we are, He never sinned. ( I Peter: 22) The three narrow red stripes on candy canes symbolized that by His stripes, or wounds, we are healed and the Trinity - the Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit. Before the crucifixion Jesus was beaten; the crown of thorns was placed on His head; His back was raw from the whip. We are healed by those wounds. He bore our sorrows and by His stripes we are healed. ( Isaiah 53:3)

The flavoring in the candy cane was peppermint, which is similar to hyssop. Hyssop is of the mint family and was used in Old Testament times for purification and sacrifice just as Jesus sacrificed His life for ours. ( John 19:29; Psalm 51:7) The old candy maker told them that when we break our candy cane it reminds us that Jesus' body was broken for us. When we have communion it is a reminder of what He did for us. ( I Cor. 11:24) If we share our candy cane and give some to someone else in love because we want to, it represents that same love of Jesus because He is to be shared with one another in love. ( I John 4:7,8)

God gave Himself to us when He sent Jesus. He loved us so much He wants us to spend eternal life with Him... which we can do if we accept Jesus in our hearts as Savior and Lord. ( John 1:12; John 3:3,16) Some people believe this story of the candy cane is just a legend. Others believe it really happened. We do not know for sure exactly how the candy cane was invented, but there is one thing for certain... it is an excellent picture of Christ and His love for you.

Cambodia Mission Trip 2008

21 of us from different churches in Miri, Bintulu and Sibu participated in the mission trip to Cambodia this year. The team had the opportunity to do medical treatment/screening, social concern and children ministry at a number of locations, both in the province and Phnom Penh. The team departed for Phnom Penh on 15th November. Rev Jessica Tiong, Brother Steven Yeoh and wife Jennifer greeted us at the airport. We travelled by bus to the Cambodian Methodist Bible School, where we spent a night doing briefing and unpacking (of our luggage) and packing (for the supplies at the province). Early next morning we set out for the Takeo Province, and after two hours we arrived at Trapeng Reang Methodist Church. We stayed at the province for three days, during which time we carried out our medical mission at Trapeng Reang, Angkrosang and Prey Cheul Teal. After that we went back to Phom Penh, where we continued with our work at the Methodist School of Cambodia and the Cambodian Methodist Bible School. We also had time to visit places of interest, like the Faith Engine Vocational Training Centre, Khmer Life Vocational Training Centre, Central Market, Russian Market etc.

Here are some of the photos taken by me and Brother Peter Ting. More photos and stories will come once I have a chance to collect them from other team members.

Group photo taken in front of Trapeng Reang Church. Pastor An Meng Thai and his wife, Pastor Chanti were posted to this church at the beginning of the year.

Sharing of testimony at the church. I had the privilege of having the DS, Rev Prak Vuthy as my translator. Devotion - spending time with God. This is a very important part of the mission. Team photo at Prey Cheul Teal Church. Patients are many, doctors are few ....... Shirley helping with eye assessment.

Dispensary.
Working till night fall. Children ministry. Nail cutting.

Colouring contest.

Grace, our youngest team member. She's only 11.

Delousing.

Hair cutting.

After the haircut.

After shampooing and delousing. Doesn't she look different?

The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Children ministry at a local school. Julia, Siew Ping and Candy did a great job.

The young men at the Faith Engine, which provide a 3 months technical/vocational course on car repair.

The Methodist School of Cambodia, where Bro Steven serves as the principal. The school has 540 students now and has become the top school in the country.

The Cambodian Methodist Bible School, one of the two leading bible school in Phnom Penh. This was our "base camp" when we were back in Phnom Penh.

The BB and GB team. From left: Private Egbert Lau, Lt Margaret, Captain Andy, Lt Candy, Captain Siew Ping, Lt Julia and Shirley (she's from 3rd Miri, while the rest are from 4th Miri)

I mingled with some youths who were waiting for a concert. I chatted with the boy on my left (his name is Pol) while his friends looked on. He had not heard about Jesus. I shared the Gospel with him and then prayed for him. May God raise up a generation for His Kingdom.

Many thanks to all the people who made this mission trip a successful one - Rev Jessica, Victoria, YuXia, Betty, Bro Steven and wife Jennifer. Also not forgetting all the local pastors - Pastor Som Sarun, Pastor An Meng Thai and wife Pastor Chanti, DS Rev Prak Vuthy, and Principal of CMBS Rev Svay Youtheroath. Above all, many thanks to our Lord.

Ladies Groups Combined Fellowship

The 4 Ladies Groups had a combined fellowship at Maggie's place this morning. No men allowed except little Nathan! They all had a great time together with food, sharing, music, etc. I must say we men have a lot of catching up to do! Here are some of the photos taken by Siew Yew.

Group Photo. Unfortunately some late comers are not in the picture.

All smiles .... having a great fellowship.
Maggie and Mary working hard in the kitchen.
Yummee.
The birthday girls (and boy) in November and December.
The food prepared by the ladies.
One for the album.
Singspiration.
Sharing a light moment.
Friends are Friends Forever.
This little fellow is having a great time. Wish I was there.

No Limitation

A colleague sent me this video couple of weeks ago. She said, "There are no limitations. The only limitations are ourselves!"

Rise & Shine - the BB & GB Annual Camp

After weeks of preparation, the annual camp was held on 12th-14th September at Petronas Games Village, Miri. We were not able to go to the Lambir National Park as in previous years because the Park was closed for renovation. This year the response from the Boys and Girls was equally good, with a total of 71 participants including the officers.
The objective of the camp was to help develop good Christian characters amongst the children. There were many activities from which the children can learn, e.g. tents building, various fun and educational games, praise & worship, mission story, sharing on "rise & shine", church model building, drama performance, and even washing the dishes and cleaning up the place.
Many thanks to the officers, helpers and parents. And above all, we thank God for His grace and protection. As in previous years, He blessed us with good weather and smooth running of the camp activities. In the days leading to the camp, it was raining almost everyday, but God answered our prayers! We can trust Him in all things.
Here are some of the photos taken:-

All participants in the Camp T-Shirt, designed by our GB.

Part of the camp site early in the morning.Group Galatia won the overall competition. The team did superbly in the drama performance.
Another group in their drama scene.

Yet another group........

The GB girls with their "makeup" for the drama.

Grace Methodist Church.

Hair washing competition - the group with the tallest bubble wins.

Girls are not spared ...... and they are very sporting!

What a way to cool down after a hot day! Do you recognise the one with the bucket of water? Yes ..... Siew Yew.

Building the tallest tower with just newspapers, with an egg on top!

The food counter, manned by officers and parents.

Writing the theme verse.

Find your group with just "meow meow" or "arf, arf"!

Praise & Worship