2018 Singapore Trip Report
International travel is tricky because you lose time going east and gain time going west. So we left for Singapore on June 6th and got there June 8th, but we left late from Singapore on June 17th and got home early on June 18th!
Our hosts are the folks at Life Bible Presbyterian Church. We were with them in November of 2016 and were delighted with the prospect of fellowship and ministry there again. After a day to re-cooperate from the journey, we started ministry with meetings with the youth, Tedd speaking from 1 Timothy 4:12, “Let no one look down on you because you are young, but be an example in word, in life, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity.”, and Margy talked about Redemption in Relationships, followed by Q&A.
The Life Bible Presbyterian Church that we are at has planted twenty churches in Singapore. This denomination in Singapore was started by Dr. Timothy Tow, a Chinese man, in the 50’s, who studied under Dr. Carl McIntyre at Faith Seminary in Philadelphia.
Tedd preached in two services on Sunday from Genesis 29. Margy taught the Ladies Bible Class in between the services on Redemption in Relationships.
We left early on Monday for Kuala Lumpur for the church camp, to be held at The Palace of the Golden Horses! The seven session conference over the next three days was entitled, “Behold, the Glory of God!” The first message was “The Love of God”. The Chinese church in Singapore is a very well taught, articulate church. They are very self-conscious about their theology, but also very hungry for the Gospel and centrality of Christ in daily life. They are so attentive and responsive to teaching. After the session, there was a Q&A about the message.
The other messages were, “The Fatherhood of God”, “The Friendship of God”,
“God, the Lover of Our Souls”, “God, the Righteous Judge”, “God, the Shepherd of Our Souls”, and the last sermon, “God, the Sovereign King”, followed by an hour Q&A. All the messages were received with enthusiasm and great joy in the hope of the Gospel.
There were opportunities for one on one counseling throughout the camp time.
Meal times afforded many opportunities to meet different folks. We deliberately moved to different tables for each meal. It is delightful to fellowship with these dear sisters and brothers in Christ. They were warm and accepting of us. Our server for several meals was a Pakistani man who is a Christian. He was beaming as he told us in broken English of his love for Christ. Malaysia is heavily Muslim, so he is in a minority here.
After four days in Kuala Lampur, we returned to Singapore. On Saturday, Tedd and Margy taught a mini marriage seminar. Then on Sunday, we repeated the ministry of the previous Lord’s Day, Tedd preaching and Margy speaking to the women’s Bible Class.
This was a brief time of ministry, but packed with opportunities to encourage others with the Gospel, and to be encouraged with God’s work in Singapore, to enjoy fellowship with dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, many of whom we have come to love in the Lord from previous visits. We also witnessed the ways in which the Gospel is always at work changing culture! The Asian culture is a driven culture – always seeking to achieve and excel – but as God’s children, both our motivation for achievement and excellence and our goals stand dramatically apart from the secular culture! Colossians 3:23
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