~5 min read
Ps Paul Cheng
“…a trip to visit those ministries…”
My recent trip to Singapore, and Batam, Indonesia, was due to the invitation of a group of transformed former drug addicts and prisoners whom I had ministered to prior to my pastoral call to Bethel BP Church, Melbourne. These brethren are all actively serving the Lord in reaching out to drug addicts, prisoners, feeding the homeless and orphans in both Singapore and Indonesia. Previously, they had invited me to share the Word in their ministries on multiple occasions, but due to my own pastoral work at Bethel, I was unable to oblige. Upon prayerful consideration, and after discussing with Bethel's session, I agreed to organise a trip to visit those ministries.
My first stop was at the “House of Anatole” in Singapore. The word “anatole” in Greek means rising up, or rising again, e.g. the dawn or rising of the sun (c.f. the word “dayspring” in Luke 1:78). The name suggests an encouragement to the residents of the home who are former drug addicts, alcoholics, and criminals of different vices, to rise up again, believe in the gospel and live a transformed life, through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a Mandarin and Hokkien-speaking ministry. They have a very strict in-house residential program with Bible studies conducted throughout the day, regular physical exercises, work therapies, etc. The director, Ivan Lim, who is my dear friend, explained to me that the concept of the ministry is to take in only 10 residents, and upon completion of their one-year program, they will return to their families, integrate into society, and be gainfully employed. Then he will take in another new batch of 10 residents. The reason is because he feels that it is much more beneficial to concentrate on helping a small number of residents rather than to take in more and lose the focus. The “graduates” or alumni would return to the home regularly to encourage the new residents. I totally agree with his ministry's concept, and applaud his understanding, love and commitment to the work. Ivan is married with grown-up children, so both he and his wife live in the premises together with the residents.
It is a three-storey building situated near Bukit Timah Hill. By God's grace, one of his church members paid for the house rental, and the Singapore government gifted them with a truck to support the ministry’s work therapy. We bought dinner for all the residents, alumni, staff and helpers. As I was invited to share the Word, I had to preach the message in Hokkien. I was quite apprehensive at first, because having spent almost 16 years in Melbourne, my Hokkien is a bit “rusty.” Thank God, I did manage to spend some time brushing up my Hokkien, especially those theological terminologies. I preached on the theme “Victory in Christ alone” focusing on the need to abide in Christ not only in our justification, but also our sanctification, and all the way until our glorification. I gave them some practical steps on overcoming their drug habits and living a transformed life. The worship service was from 6.30 to 8.30 pm. After that, we continued our fellowship with a “durian supper.” For those of you who may not know, durian is indisputably known as the “King of the Fruits.” Durian is not cheap, so to the residents, it was truly a feast. It was a memorable experience for all of us. All praise to God!
My second stop was to visit the Christian school and orphanage in Batam, Indonesia, known as “Panti Asuhan Gappi Filadelfia.” Our group, which comprises former drug addicts and their families, together with my sister, cousin and myself, set off from Singapore Tanah Merah ferry point to catch the one-hour boat ride to Batam. Batam is the largest city in the Indonesian province of Riau Islands.
As we arrived only in the afternoon, we spent the rest of the day, planning and purchasing items which we would bring to the school and orphanage. As there were 12 of us, we booked a mini-bus to take us there. It was located in the rural area of Batam, the epi-centre of a cluster of squatter-houses. The Christian kindergarten and primary school has about 160 students. Out of all the students, 20 of them are orphans, and they live within the premises. As our visitation time was after school hours, we only met up with the orphans who immediately presented a Mandarin song item for all of us. We were all surprised that the children are taught both English and Mandarin in school which is quite rare in Indonesia, as Bahasa Indonesia is the country’s official language. The person-in-charge, Sis Ang Liang, is a graduate of FEBC and a former student of Pastor Stephen Khoo. She gave an introduction of the 17-year-old ministry, and briefed us about their gospel work to the children. I was invited to share a gospel message to the children, the youngest being 4 years old and the oldest being 21 years old. Many of the orphans had since grown up, went on to take on secular jobs, and established their own families. One of our group members presented an Indonesian gospel song, and we all sang several hymns. Then Sis Ang Liang brought us on a tour to the kindergarten and school which was situated at the back of the orphanage. Finally, we took the mini-bus to visit their church, Philadelphia BP Church. The land size is similar to Bethel BP Church, Melbourne, with a large worship hall, fellowship area, and many guest rooms. We ended our visitation with a time of prayer - praying for all the orphans, staff and helpers.
My visit to the Indonesian prisons was cancelled due to some issues with the application. But I managed to meet up with my Christian friend, Silas Rajagopal Selvakumar, who was married to a Singaporean-Chinese piano teacher. He was my former army colleague, and he would visit Batam regularly to feed the homeless. Praise God for giving us the opportunity to be engaged in the work of feeding the homeless living under the bridges and along the railway tracks.
My final stop was at Breakthrough Missions, a Christian drug rehabilitation ministry. It was located in the former Lloyd Leas work-release prison (Singapore), given to them free-of-charge from the Singapore government. The premises consist of several buildings on a vast land, near the infamous Changi prison. Those buildings serve as the main worship hall, dormitories, counselling rooms, offices, kitchen, etc. Amazingly, my visit coincided with their 42nd anniversary, so I was able to meet up with many former colleagues in the Singapore prison ministry. About 300 people attended the anniversary celebration. They had a worship service in Mandarin, testimonies of former drug addicts, and songs presentations. After the service, we were invited to a buffet dinner and had a wonderful time of fellowship.
In between my visits to the various gospel works, I was able to spend some time with my parents, and also had a meal with Bro Joshua Nah and Bro Timothy Biak. Both of them had just finished their FEBC semester’s examination and thanksgiving worship service, and were preparing for their end of the semester’s trip to Mersing, Malaysia.
Praise be to God for a meaningful and fruitful trip!
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