Ipoh trip

Ps Robert & Ruth

1st AOG Church

January 2012

IPOH Mobilisation trip (6-8 Jan)

Ps Robert & Ruth

1st AOG church

4 of us (Iris, myself plus 2 volunteers, Heng Sau and Koon Yong) took this journey up to Ipoh, although 1 nearly didn’t make it as heavy traffic caused her to be delayed for 10 minutes beyond the departure time. It was an excruciating 10 minutes as we tried our best to persuade the bus company staff  to wait for her, otherwise, she would have had to take the next available bus in the night or the next morning. Normally, they do not wait beyond 5 minutes, but the Lord’s favour was with us as we kept assuring them that she was not far away. After a long 9 hour bus ride, we finally reached Ipoh. Praise God for giving us the opportunity to re-connect with our dear fellow WEC missionaries, Robert and Ruth, who had served in Ghana, Africa for many years before returning to Ipoh. They are now the Missions Pastors of 1^st Assembly of God Church in Ipoh. It is a Cantonese speaking church which was planted by an American missionary who used to serve in Hong Kong. WEC was invited to be co-partners for their Missions Sunday, which we thought was an excellent way to start the year, with their eyes focussed on the Great Commission.

Heng Sau & Koon Yong enjoying local durian

The program began with their Friday night prayer meeting where we were asked to share about the culture and opportunities in East Asia. I was prepared to share to this small group in my simple Chinese, but after 5 minutes, I was told that there were some members who just walked in and did not understand Chinese. So I had to quickly also do English translation in between, which I wonder how I managed that. Normally, I think and speak in English, then translate into Chinese, but this time round, I had to think and speak in Chinese, then translate into English. Is this not the grace of God at work in my life again. Thank you Father! We had fantastic teamwork, as Iris chipped in with a pop quiz and Koon Yong shared her testimony of how the Lord is calling her to long term service in East Asia with translation by Heng Sau. These 2 volunteers are such an encouragement to us.

Manning our booth

Sat. Youth Group

The next day, Heng Sau, conducted a sharing on missions with the youth group, while the rest of us supported by getting to know the youths. The group was mostly girls, with only 2 boys, who were extremely shy. After some initial tense moments, the group warmed up a little and was more responsive to Heng Sau’s questions. They are quite a talented group, able to play musical instruments and were quite bilingual too. By Sunday morning, some of the youth came up to us and greeted us as we manned our booth to share to the rest of the church more about our work among Unreached People Groups. Another of our co-worker, Gary, who is a Malaysian and just returned from East Asia not too long ago, drove up from KL to preach the Word in Cantonese that morning. The congregation was rather responsive to his sharing and with jokes thrown in, the people were laughing in agreement to his message that all of us are able to share the good news, even those who are not eloquent or stammer. Praise God that a Short Term team will be formed from this church to go for a trip to East Asia in April 2012. We pray for more of such partnerships. Send forth your labourers, O Lord! Amen.

Radical Love, Deep Trust, Joyous Service.

 Roy & Iris Low

Manning our booth

Gary preaching

Gary preaching

"I Have My Rights! They Can't Do That To Me!"

»Front Matter

January 26: "I Have My Rights! They Can't Do That To Me!"

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Oh, really? You have "rights"?

Here is how Jesus viewed "rights":

• "If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it.
• "If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff.
• "If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, gift wrap your best coat and make a present of it." (Luke 6:29, 30; Matthew 5:40 – The Message)

Why is it we find this teaching of Christ so difficult to accept? Let me suggest two reasons:

1. It seems so unfair. But where in the Bible does God guarantee us fairness — this side of eternity? The fact is, LIFE IS UNFAIR. Your character development is of far greater interest to God than your guarantee of "fairness".

The story of the rich man and Lazarus powerfully reminds us that it is in eternity when God will equalize the books. (See Luke 16:19-31)

2. We might not survive if we allow people to take advantage of us.

Where is it written that you are to survive? Jesus submitted to evil people to the point of allowing them to murder Him. And He calls us to exactly the same standard of surrender:

"Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.

• "When He was reviled and insulted, He did not revile or offer insult in return.
• "When He was abused and suffered He made no threats of vengeance." (1 Peter 2:21, 23 – nas; Amplified)

QUESTION: Can we trust our Sovereign God in simply obeying His Word without rationalization? Without compromise? And leave the outcome to Him? Jesus did, and He calls us to the same quality of faith and obedience.

—Facts of the Matter