Me with the kids at SalnganToday was day 6 at Iloilo, please say yi-lo-yi-lo.
I was sent as an indivdual, alone, to Pavia. (Just think Toa Payoh) Without my team members, I felt less gung-ho. Thank God the youths there were very friendly, especially the girls. The young people in Iloilo are generally very hospitable but awfully shy! With all the PR skills I could master, I tried to overcome the language barrier and draw them out of their shells. Before long, they were asking me all sorts of questions, even to the point I was quite distracted to listen to the pastor!
So for the first time in my life, I stood before a congregation of 30 to preach. Because it is Mothers' Day, I specifically had to talk about mothers! Initially I thought I was quite ready with my message, and I started off quite well, but as I reached the middle part, I got quite kan chiong! Anyway, the service ended off with me praying for all the mothers individually.
I used to wonder if I could worship God out of Singapore and now I know that because God is everywhere and as long as His presence is there, you can worship Him!
After a hearty lunch, Ps John of Pavia gave me a ride on his motorcycle to meet Laureen at Oton. (Think Ang Mo Kio) Picture this: I sat on the back of the motorcycle, WITHOUT A HELMET, cruising along the streets of the villages in which I saw not a single traffic light. I was quite neurotic, in my mind and not in front of Ps John cos that would have been real rude, that I might die. If Singaporeans can blow up a matter of school children not having to wear seat belts in a safe and covered school bus, much less the commotion about the lack of a helmet! Without a helmet, the wind was blowing into my face and eyes so I had my eyes shut. Pretty soon, I fell asleep in the middle of the ride [you can't blame me, this was after lunch!] and woke up with a sharp jerk when the motorcycle went over a bump. Later when I confessed to Ps John of my dozing off, he said that he felt the slackening of my hands on his shoulders. God, thank you for protecting me!
After meeting Laureen and Ps David at Uton, we were off to minister to children at Salngan. [Think Khatib] This place is a lot more rural and that means a lot more cows, mosquitoes, grass, poverty, dirt tracks, trees, grass and whatnots that come with the word 'country'. There were 50 children and man, they were all lovely. So what if they were quite dirty? All that matters is that we want them to know that Jesus loves them. After leading songs and a short sharing, done by me and Laureen, we started giving out sweets and balloons that were twisted into crosses. They were so excited and crowded around me as if I were Santa Claus or better! It was stressful though cos we knew we didn't have enough resources to go around.
After Salngan, Laureen and I were given a ride on Ps David's motorcycle. Yes, that's 3 of us, WITHOUT HELMETS, on a motorcycle. It was a squeeze but what an experience. You can forget about riding on a motorcycle without a helmet with two other people for 30 minutes in Singapore. No siree, it'll never happen!
I've learnt so many things in Iloilo, Philippines. If I thought I was already grateful for what I have in Singapore, I couldn't have been more wrong. But I'll tell you more on another day!
I was sent as an indivdual, alone, to Pavia. (Just think Toa Payoh) Without my team members, I felt less gung-ho. Thank God the youths there were very friendly, especially the girls. The young people in Iloilo are generally very hospitable but awfully shy! With all the PR skills I could master, I tried to overcome the language barrier and draw them out of their shells. Before long, they were asking me all sorts of questions, even to the point I was quite distracted to listen to the pastor!
So for the first time in my life, I stood before a congregation of 30 to preach. Because it is Mothers' Day, I specifically had to talk about mothers! Initially I thought I was quite ready with my message, and I started off quite well, but as I reached the middle part, I got quite kan chiong! Anyway, the service ended off with me praying for all the mothers individually.
I used to wonder if I could worship God out of Singapore and now I know that because God is everywhere and as long as His presence is there, you can worship Him!
After a hearty lunch, Ps John of Pavia gave me a ride on his motorcycle to meet Laureen at Oton. (Think Ang Mo Kio) Picture this: I sat on the back of the motorcycle, WITHOUT A HELMET, cruising along the streets of the villages in which I saw not a single traffic light. I was quite neurotic, in my mind and not in front of Ps John cos that would have been real rude, that I might die. If Singaporeans can blow up a matter of school children not having to wear seat belts in a safe and covered school bus, much less the commotion about the lack of a helmet! Without a helmet, the wind was blowing into my face and eyes so I had my eyes shut. Pretty soon, I fell asleep in the middle of the ride [you can't blame me, this was after lunch!] and woke up with a sharp jerk when the motorcycle went over a bump. Later when I confessed to Ps John of my dozing off, he said that he felt the slackening of my hands on his shoulders. God, thank you for protecting me!
After meeting Laureen and Ps David at Uton, we were off to minister to children at Salngan. [Think Khatib] This place is a lot more rural and that means a lot more cows, mosquitoes, grass, poverty, dirt tracks, trees, grass and whatnots that come with the word 'country'. There were 50 children and man, they were all lovely. So what if they were quite dirty? All that matters is that we want them to know that Jesus loves them. After leading songs and a short sharing, done by me and Laureen, we started giving out sweets and balloons that were twisted into crosses. They were so excited and crowded around me as if I were Santa Claus or better! It was stressful though cos we knew we didn't have enough resources to go around.
After Salngan, Laureen and I were given a ride on Ps David's motorcycle. Yes, that's 3 of us, WITHOUT HELMETS, on a motorcycle. It was a squeeze but what an experience. You can forget about riding on a motorcycle without a helmet with two other people for 30 minutes in Singapore. No siree, it'll never happen!
I've learnt so many things in Iloilo, Philippines. If I thought I was already grateful for what I have in Singapore, I couldn't have been more wrong. But I'll tell you more on another day!
