36-01 Jalan Permas 10, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, 81750 Masai, Johor, Malaysia Tel. 016-742-2228
16 August 2008
Dear Pastor Wee, Pastor Tan, Members and Friends of Shalom
Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise Him, O ye servants of the LORD. Praise God for preserving Praise since her inception eleven years ago. Praise God for her people, with the oldest members since its founding and the youngest at 1 year old. Praise God for our sending church, Shalom Baptist Church, Singapore, who has always been for and with us. Praise God for the other sister churches of like faith who play various important integral role in her ministry. Praise God for those individuals who are our Barnabases. Praise God for those who have crossed her path, who were blessings to her and to the ministry. Praise God for my beloved wife, Cindrell, entrusted, faithful, reliable helpmeet. Praise God for Deborah, our daughter, who with her God-given musical flair has been the tireless pianist for Praise since Day One. Praise God for Nathanael, our son, who connects well with the young people. Praise God for those whom we have witnessed to and have given them the Gospel. Praise God again for those eleven years as Evangelist-Pastor of Praise and it was worth it all!
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Reflecting those precious eleven years....Seeking for a place to start His work, we were told that a new township, vis-à-vis, Permas Jaya, has been built and developed which might overtake Johor Baru as its new administrative centre. With an initial population of a few thousand people, it swelled to some forty thousand people today. It was the ideal site to start the Lord’s work. It seems that this is an idyllic setting for evangelism with its large Chinese population, many of whom are either Taoists or Buddhists. Though they were and still are diametrically opposed to our belief, we rejoice in our Lord as we continually sow the Gospel to them. We will not relent for we know the great responsibilities that are laid before Praise. There are still so many lost souls in Permas Jaya and those around her who have yet to know the true and the living God. It is disheartening to see the amount of incenses and joss sticks being burnt and they kowtowing to one who cannot redeem them. But we rejoice for all was not lost as the Lord has been kind and merciful to Praise in bringing many people along our way. Some of them have since received the Lord after hearing the Gospel. Hallelujah!
And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD. In Singapore, we always take safety for granted. Whilst in Malaysia, this is not always the case. We realized, even in the early years in Permas Jaya, that safety and security are the twin sisters of well-being. From tales told by the residents of Permas and from our members, we heard dreaded tales of crimes, kidnapping, robberies, drug paddling and paid assassins, but nevertheless, we thank our Lord for His grace and mercy to us and our people. I recounted on one occasion after a Sunday Worship and Praise Service, a member nearly lost her handbag after a failed attempt by snatch thieves on a motorbike. Another member one-month-old Honda Odyssey was stolen from his apartment. He laughed it off as if theft was a legal institution but promptly reported the lost to the local police as mere formality. The stolen vehicle was never recovered but we thank our Lord that lives were neither affected nor afflicted in this case. In another incident, a member’s car was trailed by a car as he was making his way to his company. Sensing that the four male occupants of the car, as he found out, were up to some menacing act, he stayed in the company until it was safe for his to leave for home. This was close to night time. It would have been a disaster if he proceeded to head home oblivious to the waiting foursome ready to pound on him. We thank the Lord as we further heard of some near disaster that could have caused hurt to some members but He truly averted these and preserved their lives.
In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths. Changing lives is like hoping that a child will go the Biblical way. However, man ways is unlike God ways. Being in the ministry for a number of years, I can certainly say that God’s tutelage is the best. I have seen this in the ministry at Praise. One of the couple’s marriage was heading south. The husband was not saved then and his wife has ceased attending church. After attending Praise for some time and hearing the Gospel preached each Sunday, their lives turned for the better. Shortly after, the husband received the Lord and they became members of Praise and have since being regular attendees! Another member used to be a heavy smoker. Again, after attending Praise, she kicked an eighteen years habit and walked the Christ-like life. Was it Praise? We dare not and will not take the credit. The central theme of Praise is Jesus Christ, His Work and His Word. We preached nothing else! All glory and honor and praise have to go to our Lord Jesus Christ. When we first saw the people who first attended Praise, we knew that we lack the human strength to help them. We could only provide love, understanding and the little assistance we can lend at that time. But when they personally realized that Christ and Christ alone is the answer to their struggles, they saw for themselves the gradual change in their own lives. We felt the joy as the angels of God over sinners that repented.
Sing unto the LORD a new song, and His praise in the congregation of saints. The people have now begun to serve the Lord. This is their reasonable service, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. It pleases the Lord that we serve Him wholeheartedly. Nearly all the church members are involved in serving in our Savior. Praise is not looking for pomp and splendor but willing hearts. Some served as Sunday School and Youth teachers; others, in leading Praise and Worship. One member began classical guitar lessons with the young people. They even tried bringing visitors to the church. One invited a mother and her young daughter to attend Praise. They did the following Sunday. Initially, those who came to Praise were Christians. Later, some non-Christians were invited to Praise. Of the twenty members we have at that time, Praise have seen a conversion rate of about sixty percent. We truly thank our Lord for His goodness and kindness to us.
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. The themes and vision of Praise has never changed! Christ is the central theme in all our preaching and teaching. The vision is in the fulfillment of His Great Commission that has being given to the local church of which Praise is one! We know that without Him we can do nothing! We will continue to challenge our people to live a Christ-centered life and to be more concern for the lives of their lost ones and those whom they know and are in contact with. We are still praying that God will bring to us men and women who are willing to surrender their lives to the Lord to serve Him.
GOD is so good. God is so good. God is so good, He’s so good to ... Praise. As of today, Praise has thirty members and regular visitors. Our last baptism was held in December 2007 but we are praying for a few more individuals to be baptized in the latter half of 2008. Two persons were saved in July and August (will elaborate further in the next half-yearly Mission Report). We had 6 visitors during this period of time. We covet your prayer for the spiritual growth in the lives of the people and the continual evangelistic fervor of the people in Praise. I trust that the Lord will continue to give Praise a good harvest for the rest of 2008.
Your colaborer in the work of our Lord
John, Cindrell, Deborah & Nathanael Tan