“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” 2 Cor 2:15
I surrendered certain privileges when I made the decision to retire early in Nov 2016. Life is a lot simpler now. Instead of conference calls and meetings, I now spend time talking to little children, parents and residents in the neighborhood. Outreach activities and mission trips fill my calendar now instead of business trips and unending deadlines. It wasn’t an easy decision but nonetheless a very rewarding one as we will never get a higher calling or more important invitation than God’s invitation in Matt 28: 18-20 to work with Him in extending His Kingdom on earth. Of course, you can still impact lives for eternity in your vocation.
I thank God for a dedicated team of like-minded sisters-in-Christ who comes faithfully every Tuesday and Thursday to befriend the parents and guardians of BCK children. Once the children are in their classes we will spend time praying before we head out to the HDB estate in Lengkong Tiga to bring the good news to the residents. We generally follow-up on residents that members meet during BC’s door-to-door outreach events coupled with making cold calls. Initially we struggle when we encounter resistance. And we are not particularly excited about cold calls. In fact, we dreaded it if not for the urgency to reach the lost for Christ. After all, we are but strangers intruding into the residents’ time and privacy. Besides we are not very fluent in Hokkien, Cantonese or Mandarin. Praise God He could use our very limited language skills to engage and connect with the residents. God is faithful, He promises to be with us when we go about doing kingdom business.
We thank God for both open and closed doors. We leap for joy when residents invite us into their homes. We treasure every opportunity to pray and share the gospel with them. Many residents appreciate us for taking the time and effort to listen to their life stories and to show love and concern by praying for them. Most of them are aunties and uncles in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
Most of them will not feel comfortable stepping into a church since they have been Taoists or Buddhists all their lives. Hence, we need to bring the gospel to them, where they are, where they feel comfortable. Many of them are open to the gospel. A group of the uncles and aunties meet daily at the resident’s corner at Block 115 and we are planning to bring some nice home cooked meals to share with them, have a sing-along of local favorites and share our personal testimonies.
These days we are no longer afraid to knock on doors because we believe that God is actively drawing people to Himself. He is at work in our families, communities and nation. Let us be His faithful witnesses wherever He has placed us. If you have not signed up for the call to 40 days of Grassroots Prayer and Fasting for Singapore, may I encourage you to do so. Together let us pray for a revival in our families, communities and nation. Let us avail ourselves to shed light in dark and hopeless places and show practical love to the lost.
(Visitation Team: Margaret Lui; Lily Poh; Margaret Tan; Moi Suan; Irene Lean and Soke Fung)
Sister Teo Soke Fung
