June 2011 Report

 Hi friend,

                  Training Nationals for Nationals in integrity and skills (Psalm 78:72)

(Ecc 11:6)  In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

As I reflect on my life, I find out that I am more disappointed by the things that I did not do than the ones that I did do.  There have been so many “if onlys” and “what ifs”.   As I pray towards finishing strongly and strong, I am reminded of and am meditating on God’s truths.

One truth is that I have been wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14).  I have been set apart, unique and distinct, with His special destiny as His gift.  There is nobody just like me.  I am His designer original to fulfil His unique purpose in me.  Oh, how my desire is to learn to hear only His voice among the various distractions of persons and circumstances.  Yes, to learn how to live, love and labor in the Audience on One.  You have also been wonderfully made and may you desire to be and to do all He pleases in and through you.  That is His design and His testament to you.

Another truth settles and steadies me:  (Eph 2:10)  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.   The circumstances before us are God’s providences.  There are no coincidences as we walk by faith.  God is preparing our good works in advance.  We will have lots of God-prepared opportunities.  And He Himself will work in and through us : (Eph 3:20).  Now unto  Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.   What we do with the opportunities would be our gift back to Him.  That gives us a tremendous sense of destiny for God and for eternity.

Thus it was with our Lord Jesus Christ:  (Act 10:38)  How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.   Therefore He preached the Gospel to the poor, healed the broken hearted, preached deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of sight to the blind, set at liberty those that were bruised and preached the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19).  Yes, that is our incarnated Lord of lords.  How we need His incarnational life-style as our model for living, loving and laboring well!

The appeal to us is that we cultivate the self-emptying mind of our Lord Jesus and be controlled by the Holy Spirit.  This would involve dying to self daily (1 Cor. 15:31), yielding every member of our body to God (Rom. 6:13) and allowing Him to control us, body, soul and spirit (Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:18).   Furthermore, we need to slow down and re-order our private life.  Then using the disciplines of solitude and surrender, as the abiding habits of our lives, we will be able to be refreshed, re-charged and re-filled so as to know His heart and His will.

Recognising and seizing God-prepared opportunities is an under-emphasized and un-appreciated  dimension of our walk with God.  Every day, there are opportunities to love, give, serve and learn.  One well-done opportunity would open the doors to bigger and better ones (Luke 16:10).   Today, let us pray and ask God to enable us to make the most of every opportunity: (Php 2:13)  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

Today, let us seize the moment.  Carpe Diem!

I.         A. INDONESIA – BANDUNG (23-27 May) – Praise the good Lord for the great times with the pastors and leaders from Sumatra, Java and Papua Indonesia.  It was our privilege and joy to see God’s working in the different parts of Indonesia.  Some years ago, I had the privilege to have spent a mission week in cities, the length and breadth of Java.  It was thus a joy to be back in Java and to be so used of the Lord to train Nationals for and to their own.  We were also invited to be with the good people of Papua, the largest and the eastern-most province of Indonesia, Feb. 8-12, 2012.  This would be God’s door of opportunity to enter into the regions beyond.  May God’s will be done!

B. INDONESIA – MEDAN (June 27 to 1 July) – God opened this good door of training in His own timing.  We are in our third year with some 60 wonderful pastors and leaders.  A good team will be there to train.  ASM Ebenezer Hall will be ready as the training centre.  Plans are being made to re-start the Bible Institute in Medan.  God in His will and timing will provide all the needs.  Two more sessions this year will be held (1) in Sept. 12-16) and (2) in Nov. 21-25.

II.  MYANMAR - JOURNEY WITH REV. JAMES  - We are entering the 25^th year of partnership with Rev. James.   The years had been exciting and challenging with the ups and downs, victories and defeats, appreciation and misunderstanding.  Through them all, God has been faithful and we have been learning and growing together.   At present, there are a fellowship of 30 churches and a Bible Seminary to up-grade the present leaders and to train new ones.  9 were graduated February 2011.  A great team was there for the 25^th Anniversary of the Seminary and we also took part in their Spiritual Convention.

This 15^th June, the Seminary will have 38 students.  We need prayers and partnership in providing scholarships for these.  For the whole year of study, the need is US$200 (about S$250) per student for a grand total of US$7600 (about S$9500).  God, who has provided year by year, will surely provide.  Jehovah-jireh!  Please let us know if you will be praying and sponsoring some scholarships.  We are training these to reach their own for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and for eternity.

III.  NEPAL – PARTNERSHIP IN THE TRAINING CENTRE – We praise the good Lord for some good responses for the purchase of land for the centre.  Dil and his leaders are looking for 7,000 square feet of land and they are planning to build hostels and classrooms, building by building over the next three years.  Please continue to pray with us as we await His leading and provision.  We will keep you up-dated.Thanks again for your prayers and support in so many ways. Please visit Faithatworks Facebook or our blog at http://faithatworksfellowship.blogspot.com/

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