4th Christian Educators’ Seminar @ Singapore
In schools, the students are being socialized with the knowledge, skills and values necessary to function in the society in which they live. How can they be taught to live life and not just make a living? Christian teachers can be excellent teachers and models for their students in their conduct and practice because of their love and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, to enable Christian teachers to integrate Christian faith and education, a group of concerned Christian educators organized the Christian educators’ seminars. These seminar are designed to address the spiritual, emotional and social questions that Christian teachers face. Teachers will benefit both professionally and personally from the messages, workshops and interaction with fellow teachers.
This fourth seminar is organized in partnership with East Asia School of Theology and Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ.
Deep in December, Jumping into January
Ying Kheng (left) & Sonia
Roland and I (YK) spoke twelve times – at church, the YMCA, two Christmas parties, four youth camps, our 400-strong campus conference, and a wedding in Hong Kong (where I spoke for Sonia, a staff I’d mentored for years).
Our church also had three days of gospel campaign where we served as counselors. Praise God that 60 persons received Christ.
But it was not all work and no play.
With gratefulness
Our family in traditional Cambodian garb (June 2009)
Dear supporters & friends, we want to express our heartfelt thanks to you for your support in our lives and ministry through your friendship, prayers and giving. Thank you for your love for and trust in us that has enabled us to join God in His work at various fronts. The following are three interesting comparisons of changes in our lives and ministry since we last served in Cambodia.
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- With gratefulness, the Mahs (PDF, 628kB)
It’s a special privilege
Roland Tan (2nd from left)
It brings us great joy reaching out to teenagers and campus students (this year I spoke 21 times to youth and campus groups). Teaching seminary students at EAST brings with it another kind of satisfaction. Here we mentor people who have already made that commitment to serve Christ. It’s a special privilege to help shape the hands and hearts of these future shepherds, missionaries, and church-planters.
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- 2009 highlights (PDF, 1.3MB)
Sowing & reaping
Class photo (Janice in pink dress, 2nd from left)
I just finished teaching Advanced Evangelism and Discipleship at East (East Asia School of Theology). As I was preparing this course, I asked the Lord for His input as to how I could help to grow the students in the practical aspect of evangelism and discipleship. The Lord impressed my heart to do field ministry with the students so that there would be a mutual observation, evaluation and learning. In the course of ten weeks, we had the privilege to witness to more than thirteen people and five accepted Jesus into their lives! I thank God for giving me the privilege to witness to the family members of some students. Besides witnessing, I also had the privilege to observe some students as they led their cell groups or discipleship groups. It is encouraging to see how God is equipping our students so that they can better equip others.
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- Sowing & reaping (PDF, 174kB)
We felt very grateful
We were not renewing our marriage vows. Just a fun intro to a talk on letting go before we could let others in.
LAST week, Julienne graduated with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts (honors, second upper) degree in Visual Communications. As we watched her walk across the stage to received her degree, we felt very grateful.
That this gentle and talented human being is our child and God’s child.
That our Heavenly Father had provided for all her needs (we had only enough for her first year when she started).
That throughout the four years at NTU, she had lacked nothing: joy in learning, grace through the many lonely nights of projects and computer crashes, and solid Christian friends.
Above all, we are grateful that God has given our daughter a heart to obey Him. Next month, Julienne will spend ten days in Japan to reach out to abused and abandoned children.
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- Go & make disciples of the nations (PDF, 456kB)
“I’m 31 years old; can I be a baby again?”
For me (YK, 2nd from right), speaking to 100 teachers in two schools. Most of them were non-believers but they listened to my talks attentively. I'm grateful.
Battsenger said, when I (YK) shared the gospel with her.
The manager of the GoldStar Hotel, where we stayed during our 10-day trip in Ulaanbaatar (UB), was my “man of peace” (Luke 10:6).
Every day, she would check if we had enough hot water (temperature between -3°C and 20°C). One evening she prepared for us Indian curry (she’s married to a Pakistani). Another day, she surprised me by doing all my laundry, and at no cost.
Though she didn’t receive Christ through my sharing, I know Battsenger’s salvation is near. “You have something special,” she told me.
When I replied that the “something special” is Jesus in me, she nodded. “Yes, I know,” she said. “My maid, who’s the purest person I’d ever met, has the same thing.”
“She’s also a Christian.”
On our last evening, I introduced Battsenger to Boggii, a local worker who would follow her up. Here’s the amazing thing: when the two women met, they realized they were neighbors 30 years ago in Hovd, a village 1,500km from UB.
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- “I’m 31 years old; can I be a baby again?” (PDF, 700kB)
- Jeremy Chew: Open door for the Word (PDF, 532kB) The Mongolians not only opened their door to welcome the Word of God. They also opened their hearts to us. They received us with warm friendship, food and gifts that were beyond their means. We might have taught them the New Testament, but they showed us how to live it.
Reaffirming God’s Call
Hiking with EAST family group members at MacRitchie Reservoir
Mentoring has been God’s blessing in our lives. We praise God for people who have faithfully mentored us in the past at various points in our lives. These include not a few of YB’s Sunday School teachers who proudly came forward to reconnect with him (after more than 30 years!) when YB spoke at different churches.
We are also thankful for countless people in Singapore, Cambodia and Canada that God has enabled us to disciple. Presently YB is mentoring two key young adults in church — John & Alethea. At EAST, he mentors Andrew (Singapore), Bataa (Mongolia), Christopher (Korea), Kwang Sik (Korea), and Sang Hyuk (Korea). These are members of YB’s Family Group (a ministry where each faculty coaches a small group of students). Elaine mentors Angeline, Gerlynn, and Joyce in church and takes care of a group of students’ spouses as part of EAST’s holistic ministry to the family of each student.
… One of our greatest statisfaction in mentoring is to see spiritual multiplication. It’s thrilling to first teach John and Alethea, and then to empower them to teach the teens which include our very own boys, Caleb and David! It has also been a rewarding time to assist them pioneer the teen ministry in our church.
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- Reaffirming God’s Call (PDF, 1.6MB)
