Jolyn Tan works for Metro World Child, a ministry in New York City that reaches at-risk children, early this year. She tells City News how she found her place in this world when she turned to God.

For Jolyn Tan, it’s all about the kids

The girl sitting across from the table smiles. She looks comfortable with herself and is ready to share her story with me. It seems incongruent that just a few years ago, Jolyn Tan struggled with depression and found it hard to talk to others.

Jolyn joined the staff of Metro World Child early this year, and is now based in Brooklyn, New York. The ministry, founded by pastor Bill Wilson in 1980, reaches out to at-risk children in inner-city neighbourhoods across New York, as well as urban centers and rural communities around the world.

She was back in Singapore for a two-month break when City News caught up with her. During her time here, she found time to join the first medical aid team City Harvest Church sent to Palu, Indonesia in the wake of the Sep 28 tsunami. The 24-year-old has found her calling making time for those in need.

“When I was young, my parents didn’t have time for me,” she says. “Now that I’ve grown up, I find myself drawn to kids whose parents have no time for them. I want to be there for them.”

Metro staff come from all around the world and Jolyn is the only one from Singapore. Each week, together with her team leader and two other Metro Staff, she visits the homes of inner city children, conducts programs and buses children and their parents to church each week. Jolyn calls them “my kids”.

“We do home visits on Thursdays,” Jolyn shares. “After lunch on Thursday, for the next eight to nine hours, we  visit over 400 children in the area we’re assigned to. We do visitations alone, so it can be quite dangerous. Sometimes I can hear loud music coming out of the apartment and I don’t know if the people inside are drunk or on drugs. Still, I have to knock on the door because the kid lives there. I’ve had people high on drugs running after me and I just had to run away. There are safe houses around the area that we know to run to if we meet with situations like these. They are homes of parents that we know.”

During these visits, the team invites the children to the sidewalk where they are conducting an outreach session the next day. “We have this truck which we drive to our target area. We open up the in-built stage and run a program that lasts 45 minutes to an hour. After that, we will spend time talking and playing with the kids.”

The program includes praise and worship, Bible stories and games. “What the program involves depends a lot on the leader of the team. My leader Peter Brown loves worshiping God so he’ll say, ‘Let’s sit down and teach the kids how to worship God.’”

Metro sends out 16 of these trucks to the ghettos across New York each day, with each truck doing three to four site visits daily. The children they reach out to are often abandoned, neglected or abused. The goal of the Metro staff is to build relationships with them, and demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ.

One particular site walk sticks in Jolyn’s memory. “After the last site walk of the semester, my leader was on stage telling the kids a story. He was pretending to be on a beach in Jamaica, so my friend and I decided to burst water balloons over him,” she recalled laughing. “He later got his revenge on us by getting the kids to get us with 80 water balloons. We retaliated by pouring a whole lot of water on the kids.”

One of 16 Metro World Child trucks that goes out daily to bring God’s Word and His love to inner-city children

After the water parade, the team sat the kids down and taught them that when bad things happen to them, they can go to Jesus. “We had a chance to share our life stories with the kids and to teach them to worship God. We took the guitar and sang simple songs like ‘Jesus Be The Center of It All’. It was nice to see the kids tearing and encountering Jesus. Even the parents who brought the kids were crying. We got to worship God with them, speak into their lives and pray for them—all in the open space. It’s not something you see in Singapore. Some of the parents also opened up their lives and shared about their own traumatic childhoods with us. At that moment, I wondered who am I that God would use me to minister to these people. I feel so honored to be used by God in this way,” she shares.

The life story that Jolyn told the children was one of redemption. “I told the children that I grew up in an abusive environment and I always felt that I was never anything that anyone wanted me to be. I never fit in anywhere. I always wondered why was I never invited to parties, but when I turned to God, He showed me His plans. I was happy because God showed me a whole new life.”

It had taken Jolyn a while to reach that point of happiness. Her journey in Metro so far, though short, has been eventful.

“The work is not hard, but I still struggled with depression when I first arrived,” she shares. “I broke down a lot, I started cutting myself and wanted to kill myself. I don’t know why. I felt I wasn’t called for this kind of stage ministry even though I like doing missions. In the past, I couldn’t speak very well in the past and people would laugh at me when I tried.

“There were times when I felt like I didn’t want to do it anymore. But then I told myself, if I don’t go and visit my kids, no one will. All I really wanted to do when I went to New York was to reach out to the kids. I think that was my turning point. No one was going so I had to go.”

The pastors and leaders at the campus prayed for Jolyn and walked alongside her till she came out of depression.

“There were nights where my nightmares were so bad I couldn’t sleep—my roommates had to call the pastors to come down to pray for me. Thank God for my very nice roommates who would pray for me every day!” she says.

THE CALLING THAT CHANGED HER LIFE

Jolyn suffered from depression from a young age. Growing up, Jolyn was told that as a girl, she was born to serve others and to eventually find a guy to marry. “When I grow a little older, the schools taught us that we need to have good careers and earn lots of money—to be ambitious, “ she remembers.

“That was never part of me,” she adds. “I was never ambitious and I never wanted anything more than what I already had. I felt that that wasn’t a good thing about our society; my parents always feel that I can earn more, that I can do more.”

She could not find acceptance anywhere and sank into depression.

A friend invited her to church when she was 16 and that changed her path. She heard Pastor Bill Wilson preach for the first time when he visited Singapore. “I was about to commit suicide when a friend invited me to church,” she admits. “I didn’t’ believe in God, but I thought that since I wanted to die, there was no harm in going to church just once.”

Listening to Pastor Bill, Jolyn realized that there was more to life. “I wanted to go to New York (and serve with Pastor Bill) one day.”

But life was not easy for Jolyn and her struggle with depression continued. She did not continue her studies after her O Levels because she could not talk to people around her.

When she was 20, she spoke to an uncle who was dying of cancer. He had been in prison for drug abuse all his life and met God in prison. When he was diagnosed with cancer, a pastor from CHC, Kenneth Sim and his wife, Vivien, came to baptize him in the hospital.

“They started reaching out to me and things changed,” says Jolin. “I only knew my uncle for the three months leading up to his death but during those three months, he always talked to me about Jesus, and I picked up the guitar  to worship God with him. Before he died, he told me to hang on to Jesus no matter what happens.”

After her uncle passed on, Pastor Kenneth and Vivien became Jolyn’s spiritual parents. Under their care, she began to understand the love of God. She joined CHC’s children ministry, Harvest Kidz and her love for children grew.

“[On a recent humanitarian trip] my team members even joked that all I cared about was the kids and not about them,” she recalls with a laugh.

She went back to school and attained a diploma in early childhood. In the same year, she enrolled in CHC’s School of Theology.

“I started going for mission trips during SOT. God spoke to me saying that I have to be all things to all man and He told me that He was going to remind me of the things I dreamed of as a kid,” she shares.

Kids praying during a Metro sidewalk session

True enough, God started healing her heart during inner healing sessions at SOT and reminded her of the dream to go to New York City to serve in Pastor Bill’s ministry.

“I re-read Pastor Bill’s book and I felt that the time was coming. The year after I graduated from SOT, I went to the Philippines, Setiawan, and basically, anywhere God called me to.”

Jolyn would buy an air ticket, fly out on her own, meet people over at whichever city, and do what she can to help. “Some of these people I met were friends from SOT, and others were connections I made over time,” she explains.

One memorable trip Jolyn made was with Glordia Goh, a CHC Harvest Kids pastor who is now doing mission work in Indonesia.

“We went out to reach out to the kids in the village—they don’t have proper housing. My heart really broke for them and God reminded me of the verse, ‘Teach me to number my days’ (Psalm 90:12) for the Lord is coming. He also gave me two Bible stories and they kept running through my mind. The first was on Abraham who gave up everything to follow God and the other was the rich young ruler (who couldn’t give up his wealth to follow God). God told me to choose one. I went to talk to Vivien and she said, ‘I think it’s time I let you go’. So after that, I decided to go (to New York).”

Jolyn (front row, first on right) with her Metro colleagues

THE JOURNEY TO METRO

Jolyn applied to join Metro World Children and was accepted after four weeks. She served as an intern for the first four months, learning the ropes of the ministry and became a Metro staffer.

“In the first year, we don’t get paid so I live by God’s grace,” she says with a laugh. “Lodging is provided and my leaders cook every meal, so I don’t have to worry about food. My team leader drives us to the visitation areas and picks us up afterward so there’s really nothing much to spend on.”

Jolyn has plans to stay a few more years and learn all she can at Metro World Child in America before venturing to its global offices in Africa or the Philippines. Will she ever leave Metro? “No, unless God calls me somewhere else,” she says.

Being part of Metro marks Jolyn’s transformation from her old self to a new creation in Christ. “You need a lot of self love; you need to be authentic to yourself,” she says about what she has learned through ministry. “If you can’t be authentic to what God made you to be, there’s no way you can reach out to others. People don’t want to see a fake you when they are already so broken themselves. You can’t wear a mask and pretend to be someone you are not, they will never open to you. These people just want to see that someone, who is not afraid to be themselves, really care.

“I think when we are ourselves, we carry God’s love and presence more than when we try to be someone else. So in this season i learned a lot about loving myself and being who God made me to be.”

Running up to the roof level of a carpark, having to conquer real-life versions of Candy Crush and Tetris made CHCSA’s first Carpark King event a truly memorable—and meaningful—one.

Carpark King. The only time you would ever see nearly a thousand young people dashing up a carpark on foot.

Organized by Higher Productions, the youth wing of City Harvest Community Services Association (CHCSA), Carpark King is Singapore’s first ever mobile game-inspired vertical race.

Players levelled up by going through various obstacles and racing up five levels of the carpark at Shaw Towers. The fastest to reach the top would be crowned Carpark King 2018 at the rooftop, where all participants gathered for a party at the end of the race.

Held on Nov 25, the event kicked off with players heading up to the first level of the carpark in waves. At every level of the carpark, each participant had to play a real-life version of popular mobile games like Candy Crush, Temple Run and Tetris. They could move up to the next level only when they completed the obstacles.

Beating out the keen competition, student Lee Yong Liang, 16, emerged the Carpark King.

Upon reaching the top of the car park, players were treated to a carnival-style celebration that included live performances and food, clothing and even temporary tattoos. The entertainment—a dance performance by Motus, song performances by Annette Lee, Brann Lum, Jason Yu and Sherman Zachary, and Zouk’s renowned deejays, Caden and Jared Kong—culminated in a massive rooftop party.

To end the night, Wayne Choong, a pastoral supervisor at City Harvest Church shared a short, but powerful message titled “What If” that encouraged youths to press on with their dreams. After the message, youths wrote down their biggest dreams on helium balloons and set them free in the sky.

SERVING THE COMMUNITY AND GOD’S HOUSE

While Carpark King offered a fun way to foster new friendships, the event was more than just a social gathering. It aimed to benefit youths at risk by creating an avenue for them to be integrated into society.

A number of at-risk youths were invited by Higher Productions to take part in Carpark King next to the youths of CHC, and they all spent a great afternoon together.

Many attendees had only good things to say. CHC member, Cally Ho described the event as “exciting and one-of-a-kind”, stating how she especially loved the Diner Dash live game.

Timothy Kok, 17, a student, said that releasing his “dream balloon” into the atmosphere was “especially memorable” for him.

Service to the community does not only benefit society, it also builds up the individuals who serve. For many volunteers at Carpark King, serving at such a large scale event was a first. Nicole Soeprantono, 21, an undergraduate, shared, “I served in the program team and I really enjoyed watching our ideas come to life! We went from brainstorming, to eliminating, to critiquing to troubleshooting, to logistics-sourcing and finally to executing the event.”

Children from Harvest Kidz visited the elderly folks at Toa Payoh during the recent school holidays to bring them some Christmas cheer.

What do Singaporean kids do during the year-end school holidays? Those who attend City Harvest Church’s Harvest Kidz spend their time visiting the elderly.

Bright and early on a Thursday morning (Dec 13, 2018), 26 children from Harvest Kidz gathered at Suntec Singapore with one mission in mind: to touch the lives of elderly folks by visiting them and holding a special Christmas party for them.

These children were part of a bridging program organized by Harvest Kidz and CHC’s Dialect Service. The aim was connect the young ones with the Silver Generation and to teach the children compassion and selflessness through serving.

Studies done by the National Health Service in the UK have shown that  befriending programmes where young people interact with the elderly yield positive results in the mental well-being of the elderly.

“The idea of bridging program came about when I was having a conversation with Pastor Bobby (Chaw, CHC’s executive pastor) about the fact that the church congregation is growing older,” said Joanna Sin, a pastoral supervisor with Harvest Kidz. “I hope that the kids will have a heart for the elderly and understand that the elderly are not difficult to engage. This is important as Singapore is an aging population.”

PREPARING TO SERVE WITH LOVE

“I want to bring the elderly joy,” said one young girl when her teacher asked the children what they wanted to achieve that day.

The first activity of the day was a sharing session with Dialect Service pastor, Maria Tok. During praise and worship, some of the children were jumping and dancing to the songs and lifting their hands in worship.

Speaking on the topic “Love The Elderly”, Pastor Maria set out to debunk a few myths about elderly people, such as the belief that they are very grumpy or that they suffer from many illnesses. Her message to the children aimed to open the minds of the young ones so that they would know how to interact with the elderly. Teaching the children what to say, Pastor Maria reminded them that they should tell the elderly that Jesus loves them.

Once Pastor Maria concluded her sharing, Joanna split the children into two teams. One team would go shopping for things to put into goodie bags to be presented to the elderly, and prizes for the Christmas party lucky draw, while the other team practiced their song item for the Christmas party performance.

When the children heard that they were going to buy snacks to make goodie bags, they were all smiles. Among the many things the children bought were instant coffee packs, rice and potato chips. They also chose a kettle, a slow cooker and a standing fan as prizes for a lucky draw that the elderly could win.

The other team got busy practicing four songs they were putting up with some children playing tambourines, shakers, and the violin and the teachers playing guitar and cajón to accompany the singing.

CHILDREN IN ACTION

That afternoon, the children travelled to Toa Payoh to visit the elderly in their homes. Armed with goodie bags, the children and teachers knocked on a few doors. They introduced themselves as members of City Harvest Church, presented the goodie bags, and asked if they may pray for the elderly residents.

At one of the units, a teacher explained to an elderly man that she would speak on the kids’ behalf because they could not speak Chinese fluently. He gave them a smile and replied in Mandarin, “That is all right. It is their effort of coming down here that makes me happy.”

While the first team visited the elderly residents, the second team rehearsed at the community center where the Christmas party was held. Once everyone gathered and the elderly guests were seated, Pastor Maria began to share the good news of Christmas and salvation. She explained that the birth of Jesus brought hope to the human race because He went to the Cross to bring salvation.

At the end of the event, lucky draw winners were picked. One of the winners was seen tearing up with joy when she won a slow cooker. When the program ended, the kids went back to Suntec Singapore, tired but satisfied.

Ennabelle Tan, 11, a student who played the violin, shared her thoughts on the day’s events. “Honestly, I expected the elderly to be ignoring us. But that changed when I saw them looking so happy to be with us. It’s exciting to see them being contented and it makes me happy as well. They received prizes even though they didn’t earn it and I think that also taught them a little about the unconditional love of God.”

Five elderly athletes from CHCSA’s House of JOY participated in a fundraising CrossFit competition, Operation Broken Wing and raised $1,350 in support of Singapore Children’s Society.

It was an eye-opener, to put it mildly. Last Saturday, in a space filled with hardbodies—young, ultra-fit athletes that have put in thousands of hours at the gym—there were five participants few would have expected to see.

The 2019 edition of Operation Broken Wing, a fundraising CrossFit event, took place at the Tampines Hub. The beneficiary this year was the Singapore Children’s Society. Each athlete participating got friends and family to donate towards the charity, which extends help to children in need.

This year, CHCSA’s House of JOY sent a team of athletes too, aged between 63 and 82. House of JOY is the organisation’s eldercare centre, which offers out-of-the-box engagement activities for the elderly in the Pine Close estate. In a society where the elderly are mostly beneficiaries of help, HOJ provides opportunities for their clients to contribute to society. In this case, the five participants in Operation Broken Wing raised $1,350 for Singapore Children’s Society. “At House of JOY, we empower the elderly to chase their passion and enrich their golden years,” explained CHCSA program executive, Victor Wong.

HOJ has been running CrossFit classes for their clients since May 2018. Lionel Choong, founder of CrossFit gym Innervate is their regular instructor, and these five participants came from this class.

“I feel very proud of these silver citizens,” said Choong. “They’ve really come a very long way from being afraid and unsure of performing certain movements to being willing to do them in front of a crowd and for a good cause too. It warms my heart to see that they have moved to become part of a wider community and changed from being a receiver to a giver!”

On Saturday, Operation Broken Wing was graced by the Minister for Social Development and Family, Mr Desmond Lee, who gamely joined in the workout. He was impressed by HOJ’s “elderletes”, who had aimed to complete a total of 600 reps among them, but finished at an impressive 899 reps!

Their circuit (they did four out of the five circuit exercises as they had not learned shoulder presses yet) comprised burpees, squats, kettlebell swings and step ups. And all five ably completed many reps with great stamina—Madam Tang Poo Hong achieve an impressive 220 reps, the highest of the five.

“The seniors [of House of JOY] are a real inspiration,” said the minister.

It’s easy to understand why, judging from these images of Saturday’s event:

Madam Yeoh Kim Bee, 82, concentrating on her squats.

Madam Cho Fong Ying, 68, doing step-ups.

At the third station, Mr Per Kim Eng, 73, powered his way through burpees.

Madam Tang Poo Hong, 63, completing a squat in perfect form.

Madam Yee Mei Mei, 65, going strong with the kettlebell swings.

Minister Desmond Lee (left) with Lionel Choong (center)

The House of JOY team beam with satisfaction at completing 899 reps in total

Old is gold! (From left) Victor Wong (program executive, CHCSA), Per Kim Eng (73), Yee Mei Mei (65), Tang Poo Hong (63), Minister Desmond Lee, Cho Fong Ying (68), Yeoh Kim Bee (82), CHCSA volunteer Mayce Wu and
Lionel Choong (founder, Innervate Fitness)

Photography by Eleanor Tan, Jefferson Khoi and Danny Ooi.

One City Harvest zone decided to usher in the Year of the Pig by throwing a Lunar New Year party for the elderly.

Last Saturday (Feb 16, 2019), 32 members of Ian Chong’s zone—plus three of their children—threw a special party for the elderly clients of CHCSA’s House of JOY to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Held at the Katong Community Club, which kindly sponsored the venue, the party kicked off at 10am with games, followed by a lohei feast and a time of karaoke.

“I think the main highlight of the day was the mingling of the members with the elderly, bridging that gap to let the elderly know that the younger generation is still interested in them. It’s wonderful to see them talk and connect, enjoy each other’s company playing games, and listening and singing along to old songs together,” said Ian Chong.

The zone had approached CHCSA in search of a special event to organise for the elderly. The idea, planning and execution of this Chinese New Year party had come from the members. Ian shared that about 25 percent of his zone participated in the event, which took a month and a half to plan.

It’s not the first time the zone has done such a community project; they have also worked with other charities before. But their enthusiasm for this party was just as strong. “There was much excitement from the beginning—my members really desired to be a great blessing to the elderly that would come to this party,” described Ian.

“It is always more blessed to give then receive,” he adds. “That is why I want my whole zone to always have an attitude of giving and blessings others. They have all been greatly blessed in their own lives and they feel strongly that we should always contribute and support others when we can.”

Zone member Eunice Ng, 28, a junior social media manager, was one of the volunteers. “The highlight for me was the games segment,” she said. “I was blown away by the vibrant energy and strength many of the elderly possessed. We have the misconception that elderly people are frail, but no! Seeing them all smiles, running about and hitting the tower cans down with all their might just goes to show that many of them are in fact cheerful and healthy.”

House of JOY client Lim Siew Hua, 74, enjoyed the party tremendously. Her favourite segment was “The singing! I really liked listening to the songs and singing along.”

For Eunice, what was special was also the camaraderie she experienced with her fellow churchmates. “I guess through such an event you see the power of teamwork,” she says. “When everyone comes together, we can do a lot more to be a greater impact. What’s more, it’s fun serving as a zone, spreading a little joy this festive season.”

CHCSA welcomes such event ideas conducted by CHC members and Ian highly recommends that other cell groups and zones try this out. “More members should support CHCSA as they bring about meaningful engagement at each of their events,” he says. “If you want to know how, just show up! We can all contribute in our own ways through time and effort.”

CHCSA has a schedule of 2019 events that zones and cell groups can adopt! Coming up on March 16: Games Day at Toa Payoh. For more details on this event and many more throughout this year, talk to your cell group leader or zone secretary.

This year’s UNVEIL conference, Breaking Free, focused on the topic of pornography, addressing important issues such as how sexual addiction happens, and what to do to break free of it.

At the recent UNVEIL: Breaking Free, a two-day conference on the impact and pervasiveness of pornography addiction, youths and adults alike discovered the truths behind sexual addiction.

UNVEIL is an annual conference that aims to empower every Christian youth to love God with all of his and her heart, soul, mind, and strength. From Mar 15 to 16, Cru partnered with City Harvest Church and Kallos to organize this year’s edition, Breaking Free, which focused on dealing with pornography and sexual sin.

The six speakers over two days included renowned apologist Dr Josh McDowell; neurosurgeon Dr Donald L. Hilton Jr; Jessica Harris, founder of beggarsdaughter.com, a ministry that supports women addicted to pornography; Quek Shiwen, director of Kallos, a magazine for young Christian women; Rev Chua Chung Kai of Covenant Evangelical Free Church and Pastor Ian Toh of 3:16 Church.

WHY PRE-MARITAL SEX IS BAD FOR MARRIAGE
Dr McDowell opened the conference on Friday night sharing on the importance of addressing sexual addiction. He explained that a person’s beliefs form their values, which in turn form their behavior. Building on this, he said that abstinence was about saying yes to waiting because “sex is beautiful.”

He noted that there are four reasons for sex. First of these is procreation. In the Bible, God called Adam and Eve to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. Second, unity. Dr McDowell explained that each person has a number of hormones in his head that help him bond with another person. The main hormone released in females is oxytocin, while males release vasopressin— these hormones help humans feel closer to one another. This explains why couples who break up after having sexual intimacy tend to feel they have left a part of themselves in the other person.

Thirdly, recreation. Recreation between man and wife, he stressed. Not with your boyfriend or girlfriend. Lastly, to glorify God. The Bible says to glorify God in all things and that husbands and wives are to have sex and enjoy it. When the couple obeys God in this, they are glorifying God.

When porn comes into the picture, it is hard for a couple to have healthy and realistic expectations of sex. That will destroy the marriage. “Don’t let something you can control destroy your life,” he said.

HOW ADDICTION TO PORNOGRAPHY TAKES ROOT
The second speaker, Dr Donald Hilton Jr talked about how pornography addiction is different from other kinds of addiction. Dr Hilton is a neurosurgeon from San Antonio, Texas.

He explained that when a person is born, 75 percent of the prefrontal cortex—where decisions are made based on future consequences—is not fully developed. So between the ages of 5 to the early 20s, decisions are made from the limbic system, which means they are based on pure emotions with no sense of future consequences. Thus, when youths engage in porn, it affects their moral choices in life and changes the way they view marriage and intimacy. Sources of authority in their lives will start to diminish.

This explains why 38 percent of those who watch porn are prone to losing their jobs; 52 percent of young men who watch porn end up not interested in marriage and 56 percent of Christian marriages are destroyed because of porn.

Dr Hilton stressed that porn addiction is an addictive disorder. It has three hooks: it wears out the brakes of the brain, it creates a stage of pleasure craving and it bonds the viewers to the screen instead of to real people.

IS SEXTING OK?
Saturday’s conference started with Jessica Harris sharing on sexting and why it is unhealthy. “When you are sexting, you are separated from the intimacy and how God intended sexual relationships to be. You are getting all the glittery things without the good stuff.”

The speaker also talked about the “True Love Waits” movement that was popular in her high school days. Youths were taught to protect their bodies and abstain from sex, instead of learning what true intimacy and sexuality were about. They signed pledges to remain pure for God. Yet, porn became accepted because it was not considered sex, just as how sexting today is accepted because it is “no big deal”.

“Even if you don’t sleep together, you’re crossing a line because you end up disconnecting from reality and your true worth,” she explained.

Jessica Harris encouraged the people, “God knows all of our past, He loves us in our present, and we have the promise of a future with Him. That’s intimacy. When you sext or play around, that’s not intimacy; there’s no sticking. If you are struggling with sexting or pornography or anything, I want you to know: you are healed, redeemed and loved.”

“Since we were young, we are taught not to have sex before marriage. So we think that as long as we didn’t have sex, all other activities were fine,” shared conference attendee, Joann Paul, 18, a student.

“We get pulled into the world’s excuse that porn and sexting are acceptable, even though we are Christians. As a teenager, I’m always given rules that I need to abide by and sometimes you just want to break them out of frustration. But after today, I have a desire out of my heart to honor God in all that I do. I know that everybody has their weak moments, but surrounding myself in God’s Word and just taking a moment to think before I do anything will help me make the right decision. I’m glad the church is talking about this because it allows the youth to learn things from a better place and be more open to sharing their struggles.”

FINDING HELP TO OVERCOME SEXUAL SINS
At the workshop for women, part of Jessica Harris’ sharing was derived from John 4, which chronicles the powerful encounter the Samaritan woman at the well had with Jesus. She was a woman who was living in sexual sin, and as Jesus revealed to her what she had done, she perceived Him as a prophet and her next question was, surprisingly, on worship. Even though she struggled with sexual sin, the hope of her heart was still to worship God.

Jessica Harris read from John 4:31-34 and assured the ladies in attendance, “It satisfied the heart of God so much to offer hope to this woman who was struggling with sexual sin.” He wants to do the same for women today.

At the men’s workshop, Rev Chua Chung Kai shared with the men how an addiction to porn often starts with a longing for intimacy, acceptance, and affection that they could not find elsewhere.

Undergraduate Damien Huang, 22, felt encouraged by this session. “What Pastor Kai shared today reminds me to build healthy relationships around me, so we can keep one another accountable as Christian brothers.”

At the next session, Dr Josh McDowell shared practical steps to help those struggling with porn addiction succeed in their journey towards recovery. He advised the use of filters on electronic devices and introduced the idea of tech accountability through a website like covenanteyes.com. He encouraged the people to be decisive like David did in Psalm 101:3, to actively stay away from porn and other vices. “When we make such a decision about purity, the fruit of this decision will be revealed,” he explained.

Dr McDowell also encouraged those struggling to seek professional help, and to depend on the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit changes us from within,” he said. “Most people don’t say they need help until they hit rock bottom. You must tell Him that you really need help.”

He ended his session by sharing four common threads that ran through all the sessions. One, sharing your struggles with someone else helps in the recovery process. Two, people who are struggling with addiction usually suffer from a deeper wound; they need to let that wound heal before they can deal with the addiction. That is where professional help comes in.

Three, the smartphone is a key factor to falling into sin because it is so accessible. Get rid of it, or put a filter and be accountable with your usage. And lastly, remember that God loves you and wants the best for you.

Lee Xiuqi, 19, a student, received the conviction to live a pure life. “I think we have to be careful what kind of movies, images, words we expose ourselves to, especially online. We need discipline and focus to lead a life that is pure before God. I don’t want to be distracted by the world, or even by my friends.”

WALKING OUT OF SHAME
Pastor Ian Toh of 3:16 Church spoke in the final session. “Secret shame strangles the soul and suffocates the spirit,” he explained. “Shame is the hook that Satan uses to hold onto us, but the Son wants to set us free.”

Pastor Ian went on to share his personal testimony. After being molested by a friend of his father at the tender age of 5, he started to masturbate without knowing what that action meant. When his father saw him touching himself, he punished him instead of showing concern.

In his teens, Pastor Ian also became addicted to porn. That lifestyle caused him much shame and guilt. Thankfully, his girlfriend brought him to church and God ministered to him. Not only did God set him free from his struggles, He also led him to share his story with his church one Sunday morning. His father, who happened to be sitting in the service that day, came up to him after service to apologize. He had been carrying the guilt of beating his son for 30 years. That day, they reconciled.

“God loves us so deeply and freely! Nothing we do can make Him love us more or less,” said Pastor Ian as he concluded with a time of ministry and prayer.

In its third year now, the annual youth sports event Come Play Play creates a time of bonding between the young and the old.

Held on Mar 17, Come Play Play 2019 brought students from different secondary schools together for an exciting time of sports and competitions. This event, now three years in, is organized by Higher Productions, the youth wing of City Harvest Community Services Association. For the first time, Come Play Play was held at the Singapore Sports Hub.

This year’s event saw its highest attendance yet: 599 participants. The youths were divided into groups of 10 to compete in games like Dodgeball, Captain’s Ball and track and field events.

The games helped to forge friendships and release potential in participants. First-time attendee Agnes Ong said, “I am very happy and excited to gain new experiences and make new friends.”

The 18-year-old student, who participated in a track event for the first time, also discovered her talent for running. “I never knew I could run so fast!” she exclaimed.

A CHANCE TO SERVE THE ELDERLY
In “Generation Fun Run”, each participating youth was attached to an elderly person to complete an 8 x 50m relay. This activity helped to bridge the generation gap and build a relationship between the young and the old.

Tew Ah Moi, an 80-year-old participant with five great-grandchildren, was beaming with joy after the run. “This is very exciting,” she said in Mandarin, showing no signs of tiredness. “It’s a rare opportunity to spend time with you young people. It reminds me that as an elderly person, we can do anything!”

The event ended with a prize presentation ceremony to celebrate outstanding achievements by the youth and their new elderly friends.

On June 9, in celebration of the 121st Philippines Independence Day, the Filipino Ministry in CHC gathered its Filipino members and SOT students, as well as Singaporean mission teams that have been doing works in the Philippines.

BY JATHNIEL GATCHALIAN, WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JOLO MALONZO

Photo by Dave Ramos

“The Filipino Ministry in CHC aims to provide a spiritual family for the Filipino here in Singapore, where they can find warm fellowship and grow their relationships with God,” said Kenneth Sim, pastor at City Harvest Church and the pastor-in-charge of the Filipino Ministry. Pastor Kenneth had taken over the ministry two months ago and has begun getting to know the members and raising up leaders in the ministry, with the aim of growing the group to 180 people by the end of the year.

The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, declared independence from Spain after 333 years of colonial rule on the 12th day of June, in 1898. This year, the country celebrates its 121st Independence Day.

The Filipino Ministry marked this remarkable event with a fellowship at Tipsy Penguin in Tampines. It was attended by a total of 150 adults—including current members of the ministry as well as School of Theology students from the Philippines—and 12 kids. The celebration started with an ice-breaker that tested everyone’s knowledge about the Philippines, followed by praise and worship.

Pastor Kenneth Sim, who took over the Filipino Ministry in April this year, told the attendees about what CHC has done in the Philippines over the past years. CHC’s relationship with the Philippines goes back to even before the church began.

Photo by Dave Ramos

In 1989, “Brother Kong Hee” was all set to become a missionary to the Philippines. “He came to a crossroad because but Lord said, ‘No, build Me a church that will take Asia by storm’.” Pastor Kenneth remembered. Pastor Kong sacrificed his personal goal to obey God, but as the church grew, it became involved in many works in the Philippines—mission teams go regularly to the Luzon area and up North to Visayas, Iloilo, and Bacolod. In 1996 and 1997, they also helped to train about 12 leaders and pastors. However, in the early 2000s, the church mission focus moved from the Philippines.

Until November 8, 2013, when the super typhoon Yolanda devastated the Philippines. CHC sent a humanitarian team to the Iloilo area, which was severely affectedly by the typhoon. Pastor Kenneth shared that during those times, God spoke to him that the church should resume its work in the Philippines, that something needed to be done.

Since then, CHC has been sending teams to the Philippines to train leaders and pastors, as well as conduct missions to various parts of the country. Pastor Kenneth shared a report with the estimated outcome of their trips over the past years up until now.

“This year, 19 trips with 93 members have gone to the Philippines from January to May, ” he added. The church also opened up opportunities for Filipinos to study at its School of Theology so that the Filipino churches have trained workers. At the same time, the church also conducted an Overseas Bible Study Program in the Philippines.

In six years, CHC has helped produce 64 Filipino Bible School graduates, and a total of 936 graduates from the Overseas Bible Study Program.

Photo by Jeffrey Roque

Pastor Kenneth went on to introduce the people he referred to as the key people for missions to the Philippines. “The post-Yolanda mission trips would not be possible with these people, the key people who play a very significant role in what City Harvest is doing now in the Philippines,” he said. “When I was sharing with them about the Philippines, they just came out and said ‘Pastor, I want to go! Send me!'”

Six of these missionaries answered questions from the crowd and shared their passion for these missions to the Philippines. They were couples Stanley and his wife Jaques, Keith Lim and his wife Mabel, Catherine Tey and James Sin. Many of these are CHC cell group leaders, and all have been to the Philippines on missions multiple times. Stanley, for example, has made 35 trips to the Philippines in the last four years. His wife Jaques shared her story with the crowd: “There will come a point that you will start to search for more with God. We went to Bible school and that was when God spoke to Stanley to go on mission trips. Initially, we went to China, to Taiwan… and when Stanley and Pastor Kenneth talked about going to the Philippines, I was rather nervous because I had never been there, and I didn’t know what to expect. All I knew was, ‘if God wants us to go, then we will obey the call and go’.”

When asked what they would say to encourage the members of the Filipino Ministry, each of the missionaries shared their burden and passion for the Philippines and how great it would be if Filipinos who live in Singapore could on such missions and bless their fellow countrymen, as those in the Philippines would relate to them more easily and naturally.

Photo by Jeffrey Roque

Stanley shared that sometimes when the teams go to barangays (small communities) there is a language barrier. When they speak with the elderly Filipino people would just stare at him blankly because they cannot understand what he is saying—this makes him feel discouraged. But he believes that the sharing is not as important as the altar call.  As the people responded to the altar calls, many of them receive healing. “I have been praying for the last four years that all Filipinos in Singapore can actually go together and you guys can impact more than what we impacted, you guys can do more!” he encouraged. “I pray that one day I will see you guys back in your hometowns, serving the people. I can see the revival—the breakthrough is coming!”

Jaques added that the need to share Jesus to the people was great, especially in the remote areas as they see no hope. The team preaches Jesus to them, as He is their source of hope. She said, “And Filipinos in Singapore, [why not] make one trip and show the people there what Christ has done in your life, how God brought you thus far, how God has prospered you, how God has changed your life. And when you go back you do not need to preach—you just need to share your testimony, and let me assure you many many lives will change. They will see what God can do in their circumstances.”

Photo by Dave Ramos

Keith Lim spoke prophetically to the crowd, who nodded in agreement and contemplated his words: “The Philippines has been colonized, has been invaded at times, but this final push, this huge harvest is coming. It’s going to be a harvest and the Filipinos are gonna be the vanguard. In the Bible, it says that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. You have been on the receiving end many times, but God’s gonna change that, now, you are going to usher in the harvest!”

The people gathered prayed and interceded for the Philippines, believing God for a great harvest of souls in their nation, and committing to the Lord to obey the call to reach out to their fellow citizens.

The Q&A session ended with the six begin presented gifts that the Filipino Ministry leaders had prepared for them in appreciation of their unwavering passion for the Philippines. The program continued with musical numbers from City Radio’s Filipino DJs and SOT students Ellene Cubello and Paolo Tuballa. They entertained the crowd during their fellowship over a sumptuous lunch.

The fourth edition of the Unlabelled Run was held at East Coast Park on July 20, 2019, graced by Singapore’s Speaker of Parliament, Tan Chuan-Jin.

Themed “See The Able, Drop That Label”, the Unlabelled Run goes beyond advocating for a second chance for ex-convicts, to promoting efforts to remove labels from people of all walks of life.

Organized by The New Charis Mission (TNCM), the race aims to challenge society and community to see people without prejudice, to recognize them for who they are. Studies have shown that it takes a mere seven seconds for someone to make a first impression upon meeting someone new for the first time. TNCM wants to create an inclusive community, one where people do not label others based on their appearances or their past but empower and encourage them to reach their full potential.

This year’s event—a 5km fun run and 10km competitive race—was held at Angsana Green, East Coast Park. Guest-of-Honor, Speaker of Parliament, Tan Chuan-Jin, was the guest-of-honor for the event and flagged off the first wave of 10km runners. An avid runner, he joined in the run on the second wave.

The race was supported by many local celebrities. Chew Chor Meng, Zhu Hou Ren, Joel Choo, and Jeffrey Xu were spotted in the event, mingling with the other participants at the Race Village. Besides the usual hydration points and lucky draw booths, the Race Village also featured a photo booth and a Boosaball pit. The main stage area was buzzing with life as the runners sang along to a series of musical performances put up by local artists like Maia Lee, Max Low and Nic Lee. There was also a special dance performance by Jump District.

Participating in this race for the first time was runner Ivan Lim who appreciated the meaning behind the run. Ivan said that from this event, he saw how labelling people in the community could adversely affect their lives. This race was an opportunity for runners to come together to create a better community and promote the end of labelling people based on their past. This was what motivated him join in the Unlabelled Run. “[It’s important to] Define people not by who they once were but by who they have become,” he said.

Back for the second time, race participant Jeffrey Teo echoed Ivan’s reason that advocating the need for “un-labelling” people was his motivation to participate in the event again. He added that the community should help ex-convicts gain the confidence that they are able to reintegrate back into society in a positive way.

Fun awaited the elderly participants, as well as the young volunteers, at the recent Dialect Harvest Carnival.

By Calista Lo

The main auditorium at City Harvest Church’s Jurong West building was decorated with colorful banners and balloons. It was packed with people, young and old, bustling around in excitement.

Such was the scene on Jul 28 at the Dialect Harvest Carnival organized by the church’s Dialect Service. This ministry, which began in 1996 with visitations to the destitute and the elderly, reaches out to local Cantonese and Hokkien-speaking communities, in particular, senior citizens. Services are conducted in Cantonese and Hokkien,  every Sunday from 4 to 6 pm at the church’s Jurong West premise.

Games at the carnival included basketball, ping pong, fishing and darts. The games were modified in creative ways so that the elderly and young children could both participate and enjoy them. Reward cards could also be won at the game booths and used to redeem attractive prizes.

“My favorite game was the spinning wheel,” said Chen Pi Er, 77. “It was a very easy game for me to play. I simply had to spin the wheel, and I managed to redeem an umbrella and a pouch with my reward cards!”

Chai Fong, 77, enjoyed the basketball booth. “The game was challenging but fun. I wanted to play it over and over again, but I was worried that I would end up hogging the booth,” she laughed, adding, “This event has been very enjoyable for me. It would be nice if the Dialect Ministry could organize more events like this in the future.”

More than just being used to redeem attractive prizes, the reward cards were also a creative way of helping participants learn the Word of God. Bible verses were printed on the cards in both English and Chinese. The cards were attractively designed so that they could be used as bookmarks or be passed on to others as a word of encouragement and blessing.

One of the attractions was the fishing booth. A mini inflatable pool had been set up on the floor area. People could scoop up fish from the pool and bring them home. Another popular one was the photo booth, where people could take photos to remember the fun they had experienced with their family and friends. Many of the elderly could be seen surrounding the props table, carefully selecting and putting on colorful wigs, hair accessories and other fun props.

Aside from the games booths, singing and cooking competitions were also held during the carnival. The participants put in maximum effort to prepare themselves. Decked out in their Sunday best, they boldly stepped up onto the main stage to sing familiar Hokkien and Cantonese classics. Near the main stage, a small crowd of curious people gathered around a table where participants of the cooking competition prepared sumptuous-looking dishes for the judges.

The carnival was not only attended by elderly members but also the young. More than 20 children from Harvest Kidz’s Camp Cayo helped out at the carnival. Besides serving at the refreshment counter and game stalls, they also participated in arts and crafts activities together with the elderly.

“The Dialect Carnival allowed our members and friends to experience church in a fun and enjoyable way,” said Justin Chiang, 38, a pastoral supervisor in Dialect Service. “There were 30 children and 10 teachers from Havest Kidz, coming to help out and to serve the elderly. The carnival was a good opportunity for three generations to come together and have fun in the house of God. More than 400 people attended this event, and seeing the smiles of everyone really made all the preparation worth it.”

There were also others who helped organize the carnival. Before the event, Dialect Ministry members, which included CHC’s School of Theology students, arrived early to set up the booths and decorate the main auditorium. They also helped to man the game stalls.

“This was my first time serving the Dialect Service and I honestly did not know what to expect,” said SOT student Sherman Mak, 27. “However, my interactions with some of the elderly members have shown me that many of them are still full of life and energy in spite of their physical condition. I also feel that the carnival games were well prepared, and I could see that everyone enjoyed the activities. This has been a really great day of celebration and bonding for the Dialect Ministry members and volunteers.”

Ivan Lim, 31, a part-time church worker, said, “I decided to help out at this carnival because I wanted the elderly to have fun and to feel young again. Throughout the event, I truly enjoyed serving them. I could also see that they thoroughly enjoyed the carnival games. Overall, I think the carnival was a success not just because of the large attendance, but also because of all the people who helped out. I thank the Dialect ministry for the chance to participate in this event.”

CHCSA’s recent Higher youth event City King was nothing short of heartwarming—inspiring youths to chase their dreams and bridging generations.

A dark cloud loomed over the streets of Clarke Quay, followed by a heavy downpour that wiped the “Dream Wall”—a chalk wall for youths to write their dreams on—completely clean. Despite the gloomy weather, participants of City King donned their ponchos and continued registering for the event in the hope that the rain would stop. 

Held on Nov 24, City King was an orienteering race supported by Osportz and organised by Higher, the youth wing of City Harvest Community Services Association (CHCSA). The 620 participants were split into teams of four and above. Every person in each team was assigned one of seven character profiles: teacher, straight-A student, designer, YouTuber, green ambassador, fitness enthusiast and social entrepreneur. Each team was given maps to navigate the area stretching from Fort Canning, Downtown CBD and Suntec. The mission was to complete all the game stations, collecting dreams for each team member’s profile. Participants could opt for either a 60 or 90-minute gameplay. The team that collected the highest number of dreams would be crowned City King 2019.

Miraculously, the rain stopped as the horn sounded to flag off the first batch of players. Each team planned its own route and set off in a different direction from others to hunt for game stations.

Mickel Ydan Chua, a 16-year-old student who participated in City King, felt that the fun was in the challenge, as the maps provided were without street names. “It was very intense,” he said. “We didn’t know what to expect when we were walking to our very first station, but we slowly got the hang of it!”

Another participant, Ryan Angelo Wong, enjoyed City King as it was a novel and creative concept. The 19-year-old student said, “I really love that the playing area was super huge. It gave us free rein to go anywhere we want and still be in the zone.”

Apart from having fun, Ryan bonded with his teammates, which consisted of two new friends and a new member. “City King allowed my friends to be involved in the gameplay, and that really aided our integration process!”

As the game concluded, participants were entertained by singer-songwriter Sherman Zhuo, who showcased his works from his debut album that was to be launched the next day. The event concluded with a sharing by Phang Yu Zheng, a youth leader from CHC, who encouraged young people to chase their dreams. Participants were then told to write their dreams on pieces of paper, fold them into paper aeroplanes and watch their dreams take flight.

FOR YOUTH, BY ALL
While City King is designed to impact youths, the event served as a bridge between generations. Among the 174 volunteers were adults, making this the first Higher event to see “parent volunteers”. The event also witnessed both spiritual and earthly families coming together to serve God as a household.

An adult group with ages ranging from 34 to 60 also participated in the gameplay to support the younger generation, making this youth event an exceptionally special one.

A CHCSA volunteer shares her experiences serving the different aspects of the community, which sparked her journey to love.

In 2012, I enrolled in City Harvest Church’s School of Theology (SOT). As part of the school’s curriculum every student has to find at least one ministry to serve in. I chose to serve in the News Media Ministry (now called the Media Comms Ministry), and that opened doors of opportunities for me to learn more about City Harvest Community Services Association (CHCSA), the social service arm of City Harvest Church, through reporting on its events for City News.

While I was in SOT, God gave me a revelation when I worked after school as a telemarketer in an insurance company. For three months, I made thousands of phone calls, pitching to people the importance of insurance and hoping to arrange a meet-up session with them to tell them more. However, I didn’t quite succeed at that. On my last day of work, I recalled picking up the phone as usual and dialling the numbers on the list. Finally, one person was convinced by my sales pitch and agreed to meet for a session. I was elated. And, at that moment, God spoke to me, “Sandy, as happy as you are when one person accepts the invitation despite thousands who rejected you, that is how happy I am when one is in the Kingdom.” This revelation propelled me to desire to serve and connect with every individual.

Young and old came together to Come Play Play last year—the youth from CHCSA’s Higher had a great time with the elderly from House of Joy

Because of City News, I started attending events held by CHCSA. I recalled my first event was House of Joy’s first anniversary. House of Joy is an eldercare centre set up to provide a sense of home to elderly persons in Pine Close, and to facilitate programmes to prevent cognitive/physical degeneration and social isolation while cultivating a positive attitude towards ageing and death.

The elderly were so welcoming. They saved a seat for me at the carnival, ensured my plates were full, shared with me their day’s amusement. That day’s interactions warmed up my heart and taught me what it meant when Pastor Kong Hee, the senior pastor of City Harvest Church always told us to do: “Find a need to meet, a hurt to heal.” The hearts and the dedication of the CHCSA volunteers showed me how a simple act of love goes a long way. Since then, I’ve attended many CHCSA’s events and signed up to volunteer my time to serve the clients of MS Care, a support group for multiple sclerosis patients who suffer from the chronic autoimmune disease that attacks its nerve tissues. MS Care also offers support to their caregivers.

WHAT I LEARNED
My first interaction with MS Care patients was an inspiring one for me. Every individual sat there, celebrating the ninth anniversary of MS Care had a unique story to tell, even the volunteers. One long-time volunteer of MS Care shared with me that sometimes as a volunteer you could be there for the patients from start to end. The journey could begin when one sees the patient get his or her diagnosis, or when the disease has affected them and caused them to be wheelchair-bound or bedridden, and sometimes, we are even there when they pass away. He added that as volunteers, we are the ones who help the patients and encourage them, but in fact, from his time with MS Care, he has learned so much about thankfulness, resilience, tenacity and positivity. Every word he said to me was true.

Sandy (second row, first from left) with her fellow MS Care volunteers

I used to be someone who is quite closed up and I always felt too inadequate to be part of anything. But through the multiple interactions with people at CHCSA’s events, it taught me how to interact and connect with others, and most importantly, to love my neighbor as I love myself.

Volunteering at MS Care taught me important things about life: how to be meticulous and detail-oriented when looking out for the needs of others, how to be thankful for the small things, and how to live life with passion. Every MS Care gathering is a time for patients and caregivers to get together, and I’ll see them asking each other how their conditions are and giving each other words of encouragement. Each time I witness it, it moves me tremendously. These patients’ passion and positivity for life seem to rub off on the people around them.

This year, MS Care will migrate from CHCSA to be a support service under the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI). CHCSA is grateful to have hosted such a groundbreaking program that has made a difference to MS patients and their loved ones, and its volunteers will continue to extend support to the group.

We’re at the start of a new year and I would like to encourage everyone to take some time off to volunteer with CHCSA. Volunteering opportunities at CHCSA range from event-based participation to regular commitments—you can even commit to serving as a cell group! Beneficiaries include children, youths, seniors and families. I believe that as you sow into someone’s lives, your life will flourish too.

Things may look alarming to civilians, but Singapore has built upon its experience with infectious diseases to fight COVID-19 in an organized way, including roping in healthcare workers to serve the nation on the screening frontline. City News speaks to healthcare workers who are members of City Harvest Church, two of which are frontline workers at the NCID.

The swift development of the novel coronavirus situation in Singapore, which has the second-largest number of people diagnosed with the virus, has sent the country into a state of alert—but not panic.

If there is one thing Singapore can be proud of, it is that its medical community is well-equipped and situationally-prepared for infectious diseases.

The 1999 Nipah outbreak was the first major infectious disease that caught Singapore off-guard. Profession Leo Yee Sin, Executive Director of the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) said in a 2014 interview that “The ground was totally unprepared and disconnected [for Nipah]. Cases were drained to CDC (Communicable Diseases Centre), public health aspects such as contact tracing, epidemiology done by then the Quarantine Epidemiology department in Ministry of Environment, food control and operation by Ministry of National Development.”

By the time the SARS epidemic came round in 2003, taking 33 lives in Singapore, “much of the immediate response we put in place for SARS in fact were lessons learned during Nipah outbreak,” Prof Leo said in the same interview. “We were the first to institute triage, one-stop screening clinic, health monitoring of healthcare workers, for example, temperature monitoring.”

Thanks to Prof Leo and the healthcare workers at NCID and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the way Singapore is handling COVID-19 has become an example for other nations. World Health Organization spokeswoman Olivia Lawe-Davies said, “Before the detection of the first case in Singapore, preparedness activities were already under way for the rapid detection and response to 2019-nCoV, including enhanced surveillance and communication with the public and healthcare workers.”

Although the interview was done six years ago, Prof Leo’s vision for a strong and supportive system has come to pass during this latest outbreak. She said, “Every outbreak tells a story and every outbreak provides new learning points. For every outbreak we’ve been through will enhance and add on to our knowledge and capability. We are as ready as where the current knowledge allows, there will be new things and fresh challenges ahead.  It is prudent the system is flexible and responsive. I believe we have come a long way since Nipah and SARS, the system in place will support us through future challenges.”

CHC HEALTHCARE WORKERS ON THE FRONTLINE
Among the 160 frontline healthcare workers manning the 24-hour screening centre at NCID are two Advanced Practice Nurses who are members of City Harvest Church.

Xanthe Chua, 43, and Audrey Wong, 42, volunteered to serve on the frontline when they learned of the urgent need.

“I feel it’s natural to volunteer when you see the hospital’s needs,” Audrey, a psychiatric APN in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) explains.

Xanthe is an APN in rheumatology department of TTSH. Seventeen years ago, she also volunteered to do screening during SARS. “I was very junior then,” she recalls. “Mentally it was very different for me—I was more afraid, there seemed to be a lot of unknowns.”

The mother of three explains that she volunteered at the screening center because she knew NCID “really need people. But also because I wasn’t scared—we are more prepared as a hospital. Having gone through SARS, MERS-Cov, Ebola, we know the procedures. Also, being Christians, we are well-protected through prayer.”

A photo from a Facebook post by Joyce Chan, who was referred to the NCID by her GP because of a cough and her travel history. She detailed how organized and professional the frontline workers were.

Audrey summarizes the screening procedure: “We screen anyone who walks in or comes via referral. We screen them to determine if they are of low or high risk. Then we triage them to determine their physical health status. Every patient gets a chest X-ray. Depending on the doctor’s review, we will do procedures on patients such as taking blood, setting up an intravenous infusion, run an electrocardiogram (ECG), conduct urine tests and swabs to test for COVID-19.”

Most of those that go for screening do not test positive for COVID-19. The ones that are go to the isolation wards, and contact tracing begins.

Xanthe marvels at the timeliness of the NCID building, which was only officially opened in September 2019. The isolation wards were set up for such an emergency.

“Initially screening was at TTSH’s A&E. When more and more people were affected and coming for screening, the hospital decided to open up the screening center with 130 nurses to run it 24 hours a day,” describes Xanthe. “This number barely runs three shifts. The hospital had to source from every department in TTSH. We’re at 160 frontline workers now and we need more people.”

The frontline workers do shift duties: night duty, morning and afternoon duty. They get the day after a night duty to sleep. This is a challenge for APNs like Audrey and Xanthe as their jobs usually have regular hours. “There is some physical adjustment to be made,” explains Xanthe, “because your body clock needs to adjust.”

“It’s intense,” says Audrey. “You see between 100 and 300 persons daily. You work with people you never worked with before. You have to adjust to working shifts. People who come through screening center have different expectations. Some face a language barrier. Some are the worried, and many are sick, coughing away. You have to manage each person differently.”

Xanthe notes that each time there is a new case from a new location, the screening center will swell with numbers coming to be tested.

“Some people walk in demanding to be swabbed,” she says. “But we will look first to see how closely you have been in contact with the confirmed case.”

Though they are in hot zone, neither Xanthe or Audrey entertain fear of bringing the virus home to their families. The personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by frontline staffers are left behind before they go home, and laundered specially for them. Frontline workers go through disinfection procedures when they exit the screening center.

It is an exhausting job, and the situation can be demoralizing. Audrey shares that she holds on to 1 Samuel 30:6, which says “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” “The worship song ‘Way Maker’ also gives me strength,” she adds.

Xanthe admits that there is some discrimination when people see them in their PPE, or when they find out they are healthcare workers. But she draws strength from 1 John 4:4: “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” She adds, “The prayer that Pastor Kong and Sun prayed for us which was sent to us by WhatsApp is awesome. I play it every day before I start my shift, and pray in agreement.”

On the other hand, there are times they feel the love from the community.

“I think we have received many forms of help and kind gestures,” says Audrey. “One cell group initiated getting coffee for us [with the #BoosterShot movement]. Some sent us sweets and nuts.”

“There are members of the public who would bless us with donuts—one sent 120 donuts to the screening center,” shares Xanthe. “One church pastor came with muffins and cards with encouraging verses—even the non-Christians felt blessed. We also get liang teh (herbal drinks) and one caterer offered to provide lunch for two weeks.”

Part of the PPE are N95 masks and balaclava-style goggles, which are worn tightly to prevent infection. These leave bruises or even broken skin on the face. “Some doctors who are not on the frontline buy us skincare to treat our faces,” says  Xanthe. “All these little things make us feel we are not alone.”

BEYOND THE FRONTLINE
It is not just the frontline healthcare workers that are affected by the outbreak. A CHC member who is a doctor working in the A&E department of a hospital shares that at the A&E, he comes into contact with suspected cases often. “But thank God that these cases have all been negative so far.”

Photo: SingHealth

The A&E is busier since the onset of COVID-19. “We have seen a surge in the number of people coming in or being referred by polyclinic or private GPs to us for fever and flu cases,” he adds. “We also have to constantly stay updated on the virus’s characteristics and infective process as scientists and clinicians learn more about them. As this plays a huge role in how we identify suspected cases and manage them accordingly.”

Work is physically and mentally exhausting, says this doctor. “In this present time and situation, I think one of the greatest challenge is to stay always vigilant and alert in order to accurately pick up those who are or could be infected with COVID-19, to be on our toes to manage and treat them swiftly, especially when patients conditions acutely deteriorate.”

“I thank God for a strong unity between the healthcare workers, good leadership from the government and cooperation with the general public to work together harmoniously,” he says. “Several new protocols and existing arrangements were able to be adjusted adequately to enable a swift and effective response  to try to curb disease spread and provide the right treatment to those who are sick. Ultimately God is still our main hope and as believers, we don’t have to fear for He is with us. He will carry and rescue us, He will sustain us.”

COVID-19’s arrival has meant certain restrictions that affect every hospital worker, not just the ones in the frontline. Radiation therapist, Mabel Lee, explains that across the board at public hospitals, all staff leave has been canceled until at least March 31, including leave that was approved prior to the outbreak. All workers have to have their temperature recorded twice a day, wear masks at all times in all work areas, keep good hygiene, learn processes pertaining to what to do should they suspect a patient might be infected with COVID-19 among other measures.

But it is all for the greater good. Mabel adds, “I feel reassured that the hospital is taking all precautions to ensure that the staff are protected from unnecessary exposure, which also in turn ensures that we are able to give the best care to our patients.”

WHAT TO DO & HOW TO PRAY
The A&E doctor has this advice for the public: “Take care of yourself and look out for your loved ones, especially high risk populations like the elderly and children, or those who have preexisting medical conditions, such as heart or lung conditions—these can be more vulnerable. Do seek medical consultation especially if you have flu symptoms or fever, or f you have had contact with a confirmed patient, or have recently traveled. Avoid crowded places as much as possible and stay hygienic—wash your hands regularly.”

“Clean your hands with soap and water,” Audrey echoes. “Shower. Cover your mouth when coughing. Maintain basic hygiene. And boosting one’s health is good!”

This weekend at service, Pastor Bobby Chaw leads City Harvesters in praying for our healthcare workers and those at the frontline. How would they like us to pray for them?

“Pray for strength to sustain us and wisdom in managing the situation,” says the A&E doctor. “Also it’s important to pray for us to have God’s supernatural protection from the viral infection and all illnesses so that we can remain fit and healthy to continue treating and providing help not just those who are affected by the virus but also the rest of the patients who are in hospital for various other medical conditions.”

“Pray for us to have strength, grace, mercy and compassion,” says Audrey.

Xanthe adds, “Please continue to pray for the frontline people; pray for protection, especially, that none of the medical staff get infected, because that can be scary for the frontline workers. During SARS we lost colleagues. So please pray for our safety and protection.”

Pay tribute to our healthcare workers and those on the frontline by posting your gratitude with the hashtag #sgsalutesyou

INSIDE THE NCID SCREENING CENTER

On Feb 14, Facebook user Joyce Chan posted a very interesting and detailed post about undergoing screening at NCID. She had gone to her GP for a cough, but as she had recently returned from Taiwan, she found herself in an ambulance headed for NCID. Her informative yet funny account was shared by many Facebook users.

She took photos of what the inside of the screening center looks like and what the process is.

She wrote:

“Sure, it was troublesome and just slightly alarming that I was sent to NCID but the experience gave me 100% confidence in Singapore’s preparedness to contain and deal with the current #Covid19 situation (or coronavirus / wuhan virus / 2019-nCoV).

“I’ve heard that people are now less willing to seek treatment when they are unwell as they fear being sent to NCID.

“As humans, we often fear what we don’t understand. As such, I decided to document the entire journey in NCID through instastory @joycechansg (from admission, triage, diagnosis to discharge) to help others understand what goes on inside NCID and to give people a greater peace of mind. The medical professionals were efficient and empathetic, and they have a good process and system to ensure that patients have no contact with one another.

“With such dedicated medical professionals and good systems and processes in place, I have full confidence that Singapore can handle this situation well.

“Now, more than ever, is the time to seek treatment if you are feeling unwell (instead of potentially passing any virus on to others).

Kudos to the medical professionals in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), Raffles Medical Group and everywhere else in Singapore. You guys are truly the real MVPs and I truly appreciate your hard work during this difficult period.”

Excerpts of post reproduced with permission.

School curriculum home-based learning is covered these four weeks, but does your child need a boost to understand tough concepts in his curriculum? Project Lightboard to the rescue!

What if you could pay just $12.80 for tuition classes every month?

City College’s new Project Lightboard courses bring you the next best thing now that in-person private tuition is not possible due to COVID-19. Project Lightboard offers online educational content with a difference—you will know what we mean when you click on the sample video below. You can expect great presentation and useful content geared to help school-going kids reach that “eureka!” moment in his or her learning journey.

Courses run on a monthly subscription basis, and prices start at $12.80 for each month of usage— the price for an assessment book or 15 minutes of private tuition. Prices differ according to courses, but nothing costs more than $20 a month. Like Netflix, you will have access to all the lessons in the course once you subscribe, and if you can finish all the lessons and quizzes in the course within a month, you can end your subscription right there. “They can actually binge watch and finish the syllabus,” Kenny said.

The launch of Project Lightboard comes just in time as Singapore’s COVID-19 multi-ministry task force recently announced the closure of schools and non-essential services that include tuition and enrichment centers as part of its “circuit breaker” move to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Online learning has become the new norm practically overnight.

“We started developing Project Lightboard courses more than two years ago,” explained Kenny Low, principal of City College, which produces these courses. “The dream is to make engaging teaching affordable and accessible. We have since recorded more than 500 videos and developed about 200 quizzes.” The City College team taught their students in the mornings, filmed these courses in the afternoons three days every week, over 96 weeks to arrive at this content. (Read the story of how it began.)

What sets Project Lightboard apart is that it offers effective teaching by tried-and-tested instructors who have strong track record of helping students succeed in their learning.

The courses currently available include Mathematics and Science at primary school level, as well as Combined Science (Physics) and Geography at the secondary school level. Each course consists of bite-sized video lessons and interactive quizzes. The learning experience is facilitated by the award-winning platform Canvas by Instructure.

“I teach the Physics course and the primary Science and Maths are taught by educators who are CHC members,” Kenny says.

“As we run the courses, we will continue to make improvements and additions to the curriculum, at no extra charge,” he adds. New courses are being added to the site.

Project Lightboard offers an additional perk that live tuition cannot: both the video and the quizzes can be accessed multiple times. This is useful for students who learn differently, who may need to repetitions or a longer time to absorb and apply concepts.

Kenny has a great testimony of just such a student, who was among early users of the Project Lightboard material. “Last year we had a student with social anxiety challenges so his attendance was patchy in school. But just by watching the videos and doing the quizzes, he got a distinction for O Level Science.”

Kenny is hoping that City College can rely on word of mouth for marketing to keep the subscription fees affordable. If you know of someone who could benefit from these online courses, check out City College’s website to start subscribing.

Watch a sample lesson here:

Living out the call to “find a need and meet it”, Pope Jai Thai’s boss, Daniel Teh, has given out more than 40,000 meals since COVID-19 hit Singapore.

When the Circuit Breaker kicked in on Apr 7, Thai restaurant Pope Jai Thai’s operations were disrupted—in fact, things came to a standstill when eateries had to close, as part of the fight against the spread of COVID-19.

Although it was a tough period for his business, owner Daniel Teh was moved by the needs of many Singaporeans affected by this disruption—from low-income families to people who lost their jobs overnight, to the disadvantaged and the vulnerable. Daniel felt that he could play a part in helping these people,  to ensure that at least they would not have to worry about their daily meals. This was right in line with his gift and calling: providing great food.

Bento meals for those in need, made fresh daily at Pope Jai Thai

Creating great-tasting food and giving back to society are two things Daniel lives for. Pope Jai Thai is part of the PJ Group, a local social enterprise founded by the 32-year-old. The name “Pope Jai Thai” means “comfort heart” in the Thai language, and the business’ slogan reads, “From the heart, for a cause”. He staffs his team with individuals with special needs, and actively advocates for understanding and kindness towards those who are different.

Besides the restaurant, Daniel also founded PJ Cares, a community outfit  which serves to impact and meet the needs of Pope Jai Thai’s eight different beneficiary groups and their caregivers through advocacy, outreach, and empowerment. Both entities are part of PJ Group.

Daniel has hired across eight groups of beneficiaries: those with intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health issues, the deaf, the visually-impaired, youth-at-risk, the disadvantaged, and the vulnerable. Many are referred to Pope Jai Thai by Touch Community Services, Society for the Physically Disabled, Project Dignity, and SG Enable, a government agency that enables people with disabilities to function independently. Pope Jai Thai is creating social impact by offering employment and training opportunities to those with special needs.

PUTTING FOOD ON THEIR TABLE

“Instead of providing financial assistance, I thought, ‘Why don’t we put food on the table for the disadvantaged and vulnerable households?’,” Daniel told City News.

He shared his idea with Lin Jun Xian, a pastor at City Harvest Church, and decided to pilot this initiative with some other church members. Pope Jai Thai provided bento meals while volunteers helped with the deliveries.

“We found that really meaningful and wanted to reach out to more people,” Daniel said. After discovering that CHC was helping members who were facing financial difficulties through the Care Fund, Daniel reached out to City Harvest Community Services Association to offer complimentary meals to applicants of the Fund.

Pope Jai Thai’s kitchen crew get to work by 6am to cook and pack free bentos daily

That was the beginning of the program “Rice & Shine” under PJ Cares, which aims to provide hot, nutritional meals to the underprivileged communities and those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. “We aim to lighten the burden of the community by putting rice on the table, creating smiles that shine on people’s faces,” he explained.

Under this initiative, Pope Jai Thai has also provided meals to beneficiaries of social organizations including People’s Association, MINDS and AWWA.

Running the program has been challenging. Financially, Daniel had to tap into the emergency funds under PJ Cares to support the beneficiaries in this time of crisis. “It is okay to earn less, as long as we can continue to feed those in need. As we do that, I believe that provision will come.”

In order to prepare the meals for the beneficiaries, which was on top of their usual workload, Daniel and his staff had to put in additional working hours. He said, “We have had to come in at 6am daily to prepare for the lunch bentos and cut down on our afternoon break to get the dinner bentos ready.”

In addition, Daniel and his chefs had to constantly source for new food suppliers and design creative new menus so that the recipients could enjoy a variety of dishes.

CN File photo of Daniel Teh, 2017

“We hope to continue giving out bentos until COVID-19 stops,” says Daniel. To him, giving back to the community is a calling from God: he believes that everything that his business is doing should ultimately serve the needs of the community.

Daniel appeals to others to join his cause by participating in the Dine For A Cause, a pay-it-forward scheme to provide meals to its beneficiaries. Diners can purchase tokens ranging from $5.50 to $22 to support the cause. This will help the staff with disabilities at Pope Jai Thai, the delivery personnel as well as the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups supported by PJ Cares.

Pope Jai Thai is located at Scape, 2 Orchard Link, #03-03, Singapore 237978. For more information, visit https://www.popejai.com/social-arm.

When Clement Tan witnessed a man attacking a bus captain, he had to step in. He tells City News that his reaction came from years of training with City Harvest’s security ministry.

City Harvest Church member Clement Tan, a Security Ministry member, was recently commended for stopping an attack on an SBS bus captain.

A divine appointment. That is what Clement Tan feels it was.

On any ordinary day, the 29-year-old financial advisor would have been in the office at 3pm. But it so happened that on September 15, Clement had taken the day off to study for a test he had the next day. He had planned to head to Changi Airport, and was walking towards a bus stop along Pasir Ris Drive 1 that afternoon when he saw that that a bus for service 21 had pulled up and all the passengers seemed to be alighting.

The next thing he noticed was that a commotion was happening at the head of the bus between the bus driver and a passenger.

“I saw that the driver was shaking his head, and the guy was pulling the driver’s collar, trying to punch him,” Clement described, adding that he called the police and monitored the situation closely while awaiting the arrival of his bus.

Five minutes later, the man began hitting the bus captain repeatedly, and Clement sprang to action. He and two other men hopped onto the bus and restrained the abuser.

“At that time I really wasn’t thinking,” Clement admitted. “I saw a guy being hurt and had to do something.”

With the help of two other passers-by, Clement dragged the perpetrator out of the bus and pinned him down to the ground until the police arrived and took him away.

For their courageous intervention, Clement and Muhammad Mu’tasim Kassim were commended by SBS Transit on Sep 25 at a ceremony at the Tampines bus interchange.

Clement Tan (second from left) with SOS Hong Tat Chee (left), Acting CEO of SBS Transit Cheng Siak Kian (center), NTWU’s Executive Secretary Melvin Yong (right) and LTA’s Group Director Yeo Teck Guan at the ceremony.

According to a post on SBS Transit’s Facebook page, the bus captain was abused by the passenger for trying to enforce mask-wearing. “The man boarded without a mask and only put it on after. He then started to hurl vulgarities at our Bus Captain (BC) and this continued all the way for two more bus stops.” It has been reported that abuse against transport workers has been on the rise, and half of the cases are mask-related.

The 52-year-old man was charged for causing hurt and for carrying a weapon.

GOD’S DIVINE APPOINTMENT

Clement is a team leader in City Harvest Church’s Security Ministry. He practiced taekwondo in school and served as a commando in the Singapore Armed Forces. He felt that while all these contributed to his swift reaction at that situation, it was the training in the Security Ministry that taught him to be alert to the things happening in his surroundings.

“I thank God that He had placed me at the right place, at the right time,” he says. “In the Security Ministry, we always pray that God will put us in the right place at the right time each week before the church service starts. So when this thing happened, I feel like I’m experiencing what we’ve always prayed for, because I wouldn’t have been there on any other day. So it’s quite divine.”

He continued, “I was also thinking that if God allowed (that to happen) he would provide a covering over me. And He did protect me—things could have gone a different way.” Clement later discovered that the man was carrying a 12cm kitchen knife—that made him thankful that he stopped him before he had a chance to reach for his knife or someone could have been seriously hurt.

In his 10 years in the Security Ministry, Clement has been well trained to be hyper-alert while serving the congregation. He explains, “There could be some individuals who are up to mischief; or sometimes there are medical emergencies in the middle of service, and we need to react fast.”

Clement Tan (center) and his fellow Security Ministry members.

Since its inception back in 1995, CHC’s Security Ministry has trained a few hundred volunteers to serve as its security personnel. The total ministry member count stands at around 180 today. As part of the training, the volunteers run through potential scenarios.

“In one training session, we plant people in the auditorium who pretend to be sick, and the security volunteer in charge would have to tend to the situation,” he describes but adds that is usually quite peaceful in church and there haven’t been many issues, apart from a few instances when churchgoers needed medical assistance and the security team stepped in to help.

“I believe being in the ministry taught me how to be more aware of the surroundings. There was an incident that became a learning point for me last year. During Christmas service, a lady came in alone and sat in front of the sound console. She lay down across three chairs throughout the whole service—we saw her but we didn’t approach her. Later, someone from the congregation alerted us and we had to call the ambulance,” he recalled. The lady turned out to be a cancer patient who had not been feeling well during service.

“I learned from that experience to react more promptly and to take decisive action,” Clement went on. “We thought she was just feeling unwell and we didn’t want to cause a commotion by bringing in the stretcher during the Christmas drama. But then again, she might have collapsed and that would have been very serious.”

That taught him to be more aware of the things happening around him and to always be ready to help. “If God wants me to be there, I will help in whatever way I can,” he says.

Cell group E391 gets into the Christmas spirit of giving by volunteering at soup kitchen Willing Hearts.

As we ring in the Christmas season this year, City Harvest cell groups are not taking a back seat when it comes to doing good for the community.

E391, a cell group from JJ Zone is one in a series of CHC cell groups that decided to serve at Willing Hearts, a volunteer-run soup kitchen that prepares, cooks and distributes about 5,000 meals a day to beneficiaries such as the elderly, the disabled, low-income families and migrant workers every day of the year. City Harvest Community Services Association (CHCSA) has been organizing cell groups to serve at Willing Hearts this season.

This writer decided to join E391 on December 5. It entailed waking up at 4 in the morning, to arrive at 5am at the meeting point in Kembangan, we met with the CHCSA representatives. I was excited to get in on the action.

Leader of E391, Arissa Wong, 28, explained why her cell group has committed to this effort. “I think every year, it’s good for members to come together and contribute to the community. Since we had this opportunity from CHCSA, why not give it a go? Our members were happy to give their time to do a meaningful thing for the community, to bring joy to people this Christmas season.”

WILLING HEARTS, WILLING HANDS

The moment you step into Willing Hearts’ industrial kitchen, what greets you is someone barking orders to you to take a disinfectant shower—totally necessary, especially because we are in a pandemic. Following that, you’re led to a table where you may put down your belongings, and then suit up in a disposable apron, hair net and gloves. Now you’re ready to get to work.

Willing Hearts is all about efficiency. Multiple tables are set up around the compound for volunteers to scoop and pack the food, and get the packs ready to be sent out to beneficiaries. Though it was 5am, the cell group was pretty cheerful and energetic. While some packed food, others were tasked with cutting vegetables or to the packing tables to ready the meal boxes.

Arissa admits that “it was pretty tough for all of us to wake up at 4am. But I think we all felt quite energetic. It’s good that we get a hands-on experience of how Willing Hearts actually works. It’s not easy to clean, cook and cut the vegetables and to pack the food early enough to be distributed for the day. It’s an experience that I don’t think you can have in very many places.”

Similar to a factory’s production line, each volunteer plays a specific role: one scoops rice into Styrofoam box; the box is passed on to the next few volunteers who ladle in two different types of vegetables, and finally a meat item. The boxes are sealed, and then stacked into large red plastic bags, ready for delivery.

I would say that the staff at Willing Hearts are pretty sharp—they never failed to notice when a tray of food was getting empty, and would come back with a full tray of freshly cooked food. By the end of the three-and-a-half-hour experience, the cell group was pretty tired, but fulfilled by the work they had done.

A CELL GROUP OUTING WITH A DIFFERENCE

For E391 member Han Ting Clarice, 26, the whole experience reminded her of the phrase “every joint supplies” from Ephesians 4:16.

“Everybody plays an important role. When someone slows down, I would slow down and the next person has to slow down too. ‘Every joint supplies’ was etched into my mind, because we came with a heart that together, we were helping other people. Even though we were tired, we just pressed on.”

Serving the community at Willing Hearts also gave the cell group a chance to bond and fellowship together. With physical meetings of more than five not permitted due to COVID-19, this was one of the first few times the whole cell group could meet after the onset of the pandemic.

In a normal year, E391 would gather together at the end of the year to volunteer in various areas in CHC, such as Harvest Kidz or visiting the elderly from the Dialect Service. However, with all such activities suspended this year, the group was happy to be able to serve in a different way.

“In previous years, we would serve the people in church such as the newcomers. Here at Willing Hearts, it’s what Pastor Aries preached about—Gospel neighbouring—where we don’t just love other people because they have the same culture and beliefs as us, but we love all, whether they believe in Jesus or not,” explains Arissa.

“Who knows, through such volunteering, we may get to know new people and be able to spread a message to them about the season of love.”

CHCSA has many volunteering opportunities for cell groups and members of City Harvest Church. Check with your cell group leader for more details or email volunteer@chcsa.org.sg

CHC members Jerry Ng and Fiona Lim are the couple behind Chun Seng Noodle House, a bak chor mee stall that serves up delicious noodles and feeds the needy as well.

Run by husband and wife team, Jerry Ng and Fiona Lim, Chun Seng Noodle House boasts bak chor mee (minced pork noodles) made even more luscious with thick slices of tender, well-marinated lor bak (braised pork belly).

But the goodness doesn’t end there. Each bowl is generously packed with springy noodles (springy even after having been delivered), a heap of minced pork, slices of fish cake, fishballs, meatballs and topped with chunks of fried lard. This hearty meal, seasoned with a tangy, spicy vinegar and chilli sauce is a well-balanced symphony of flavors you would think was whipped up by a Rolex-toting grandmaster hawker.

Photo: Michael Chan

But the taste and texture are a culmination of months of research, arrived at after many, many hours spent slaving away at a boiling hot stove by the young couple.

HOW CHUN SENG NOODLE HOUSE CAME TO BE

“I stumbled upon NEA’s incubation stall program one day, and it felt like a sign from God,” recalls Fiona, adding that her husband was at a point where he was contemplating a career modification.

The couple’s extended families all run F&B businesses. In fact, Fiona’s mother runs her own hawker store at another center. The signature Chun Seng Noodle House lor bak was also based on an old family recipe passed down through the generations. The stall was named by Fiona’s mother: “Chun Seng”  is an amalgamation of her name chun (春) and seng (成) in Chinese.

This family background in F&B gave Jerry and Fiona, who have two children, the confidence and courage to join the incubation stall program.

In October 2019, Chun Seng Noodle House opened. The roles were established: Jerry was to run the store with help from his mother-in-law, the experienced hawker. Fiona would dedicate her time to the children and to the business-side of the stall.

“I love to cook too!” Fiona adds quickly with a laugh, “but Jerry’s really way more consistent when it comes to putting out really delicious food!”

It wasn’t easy at the start of their journey. Facing stiff competition from well-established hawker stalls at their chosen hawker center, ABC Brickworks, the couple were forced to find a way to stand out. They were also struggling to find the best suppliers, and working hard to perfect the balance of flavors in their offerings.

“Everything we cook is freshly made,” Jerry says proudly. We are speaking during a rare two-minute break before the lunch crowd arrives. “We don’t use anything frozen, which is how we can promise that you are getting the freshest quality from us.” With that, he runs off to attend to a growing line of customers.

Their attention to detail comes down even to the springiness of the noodles. After several changes, Jerry and Fiona finally found the supplier that could provide noodles with the right bite, the right taste and the lasting power to travel to the four corners of Singapore.

PANDEMIC PLANS, PAYING IT FORWARD

It was fortuitous, because this became exceptionally important just a few months after they had opened—the COVID pandemic saw Singapore enter its Circuit Breaker phase, making food delivery an essential service.

“We had no income for a few months!” Fiona exclaims, remembering those difficult days when no dining was allowed. “We were really worried, but thank God, the Circuit Breaker coincided with the renovation works ABC Brickworks had planned a while ago.” This meant they did not have to pay for rental during that period. “Really, it was God’s hand. There’s no other way to explain it.”

“When I was so stressed back those three months, I often read the Bible to find my strength. There are a few that I highlighted and bookmarked.” She lists ‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.’ (Matthew 6:34). ‘The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him’ (Nahum 1:7); and ‘That clinches it—help’s coming, an answer’s on the way, everything’s going to work out.’(Psalm 20:6, MSG).

The inevitability of slower income had arrived, but that also gave the couple time to start building an online following and to explore other avenues of income.

That was when Fiona came across an ongoing campaign started by hawkerpreneurs during the Circuit Breaker called Pay It Forward. She reached out to Member of Parliament Eric Chua to ask who she could link up with to work on this and he pointed her to Leng Kee CC, whose team designed and printed out the vouchers, which were distributed by volunteers.

How the campaign works is, it allows patrons to support local businesses such as Chun Seng Noodles and at the same time, provide meals for the needy. For example, if you order the signature minced meat noodles from Chun Seng, you can include an extra $3 (or more) to the Pay It Forward fund which will be converted into meal vouchers for the needy. Each meal voucher (worth $3) provides one needy person a dish of their choice from Chun Seng.

Generous patrons have donated 1,000 bowls, out of which 200 have been claimed since September.

A volunteer with CHC’s drama ministry, Fiona is also a mother of two beautiful children

“I really have no idea how I came about the campaign, I really think God has just been providing us with opportunities and all I’ve had to do is to reach out to them,” says Fiona.

A little sheepishly, she admits that joining the Pay It Forward campaign was not entirely unselfish. It was also born out of the need for income during the difficult down-time just after Circuit Breaker.

“While we do benefit from patrons buying these Pay It Forward vouchers, we are thankful that it at least does good and feeds those in need as well.” Fiona proceeds to share an Instagram post of a friendly uncle who had come to redeem his voucher. “It really is a meaningful project.”

The laborious task of running a hawker stall is not easy, but Jerry and Fiona are pushing through. Out of the batch to come out of the NEA incubation stall programme, they are one of the more successful ones and have been picked for several television programmes. Fiona’s social media savviness has also attracted attention from popular foodies such as ieatishootipost, eatbook, danielfooddiary and more.

As their business continues to grow, they plan to continue supporting the Pay It Forward campaign.

Visit Chun Seng Noodle at ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre; open 5:30am to 2pm, closed on Fridays. You can also get the noodles delivered to you through their Instagram page: @chunsengnoodle. Visit and support the Pay It Forward campaign today!

To be Christlike is to have the character profile of Jesus, which is essentially loving God with all your heart, and your neighbour as yourself. Last weekend, Pastor Kong Hee expounded on the topic of “loving thy neighbour”.

Over the weekend of July 24 and 25, City Harvest Church’s senior pastor Kong Hee expanded on the practical ways of living out the Kingdom of God in this world. Spending time in silence and solitude with God, speaking face to face with Him helps the believer to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit and be more Christlike. Out of the overflow of this divine fellowship, the believer will love and serve God and his neighbour.

So who is our neighbour, asked Pastor Kong? He explained that the term “neighbour” in the Gospel does not only refer to the people who live near by, but it also speaks of the poor and needy, the broken and wounded. These are the people Jesus cares deeply about.

UNDERSTANDING GOD’S HEART

God’s heart for the poor is evident in the ministry of Jesus (Luke 4:18) He cares for the working class, the poor, the illiterate, the sick, the sinners, women, widows, foreigners, the marginalised and most of all, the children.

“The Kingdom of God is an upside-down kingdom. You go up by going down,” Pastor Kong described. “The measure of success in the Kingdom of God is not how famous, wealthy or powerful you are, but by how we treat others who have no earthly power and influence.”

He brought the church to Mark 8:22 to 10:52, where Jesus revealed what discipleship entailed. Jesus started and ended this portion by healing the sick, and within these chapters, He talked about what it meant to follow Him. Sadly, the disciples were too busy with their own agendas to see how Jesus loved and cared for the poor and needy.

“Personal salvation must translate into helping the poor and needy,” declared Pastor Kong. “When we are changed by the rule of God, and the kingdom of God comes within us. When the King is ruling, we must have the same compassion that He has.”

He added, “Greatness in the Kingdom is not measured by possessions, power and prestige, but by how we serve others. Especially the marginalised, the outcasts, specifically, the little children.”

The Gospel of Mark featured children who were sick and in need. The children who came to Jesus were not healthy and happy, Pastor Kong noted, but they were sick and in need of a touch from the Miracle Worker. These children included Jairus’ daughter whom Jesus raised from the dead and the demon-possessed boy with epilepsy.

Pastor Kong recalled his early days of ministry when he and Sun would encounter many desperate parents with gravely ill children at evangelistic rallies. The pastors developed a desire for the Holy Spirit to work miracles in the name of Jesus to heal the sick.

He said, “The disciples were arguing over who was the greatest among them. So, Jesus was telling them that the call of discipleship is more than just following a Miracle Worker. It is also about taking up the cross.”

5 COMMON RESPONSES OF THE CHURCH TO THE POOR & NEEDY

The pastor highlighted the common responses of most Christians and churches when it comes to serving the poor and needy. The first is apathy towards the poor and needy. Christians often take John 8:12—”the poor you always have with you”—out of context and give the excuse that and that there is no end to helping them.

The second response is that they expect the government to fulfil the role of helping the poor and needy. However, he reminded the church that God has put this responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the Church.

The third is that many consider ministry to the poor and needy to be of marginal importance—optional at best, or a distraction at worse.

The fourth response is that a ministry to the poor and needy is only for those inclined, gifted or anointed in this area and not a church’s central mission. “But Jesus is saying it is!” countered Pastor Kong. “All of us are empowered by the Spirit to share the love of God to the poor.”

The final response is that caring for the poor and needy is not seen as a mark of a disciple. However, Pastor Kong emphasised that it is actually “front and centre of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.”

Addressing the intentions of the heart, Pastor Kong reminded the church that they cannot help others on their own terms. “We don’t help the poor because of our own selfish reasons. We help because we love God and we know he loves us, and his love overflows in our hearts for others,” he preached.

CHURCH WITHOUT WALLS

Pastor Kong showed the church a video that re-introduced them to Church Without Walls, an initiative that began 26 years ago in 1996. In those days, CHC was housed at Hollywood Theatre along Tanjong Katong Road. The love of God overflowed in the hearts of the members, and answering the call of God to take the church beyond the four walls of their building, they ministered to the poor and needy, applying the Luke 10 principle taught by Jesus: first, bless the lost and encourage them; second, fellowship with them, visit them and befriend them; next, meet their needs and pray for them; and finally, preach the kingdom of God and if their hearts open, share the love of Jesus to them.

By 2008, the church was helping more than 15,000 people. Today, many they have helped are no longer poor, but successful, with families of their own.

“We started small, but year by year, God allowed us to minister to more of the poor and needy. The more we reached out to them, the more the Holy Spirit came upon us,” the pastor explained. “The more we blessed the poor and needy, the more God blessed us. This is the whole purpose of being blessed by God: so that we can be a blessing.”

Next, the church watched several recorded interviews Pastor Kong conducted with the heads of the Church Without Walls.

The first was with Pastor Eileen, who was involved in the early days of Church Without Walls. “I remembered you and Sun shared a vision about going out to the highways and byways to love God and love people fervently,” she said. “With that fire, we went with our team, without much skills, knowledge or experience. We just wanted to reach out to the poor and the needy.”

Pastor Eileen and her team discovered that in Ghim Moh, where poorer families lived in one-room flats, children in loved playing basketball, so they gathered to befriend and play basketball with them every Friday. Over in Ang Mo Kio, when the team realised that children there needed help with their studies, they set up tuition groups to meet the needs of the people. The team also reached out to the residents around Haig Road and Geylang, which were near the church. Pastor Eileen recounted even befriending and helping a mamasan with her children.

Things have not changed that much the last 25 years. Pastor Eileen shared two recent encounters she had with families living in one-room flats in Singapore, including a single mother of five whose ex-husband was in and out of jail, and a teenager of transnational parents who had never been to school.

“Helping the poor and needy is never outdated,” said Pastor Eileen. “When you encounter people with needs, you will be filled with compassion, and then you will meet their needs.”

The church watched a video testimony from Chiong Xiao Ting, one of the beneficiaries living in Haig Road in the ’90s. At the age of 11, she was living with her uncle as her mother was terminally ill with cancer. It was the most difficult time of her life, but her days were brightened by the support and love of the children’s church teachers who regularly visited her. “One year later, my mom passed away. The teachers were there for me, encouraging and supporting me,” she remembered. Xiao Ting excelled at school and as she grew up, became a youth cell leader in CHC. Today, she works for CHC as a Chinese translator and is happily married and the proud mother of two girls.

“I often wonder where I would be if Children’s Church did not reach out to me during my difficult season and transition; if Pastor Eileen and the teachers didn’t go the extra mile for me then,” Xiao Ting said. “I was so broken, and I came from a very broken family. But God found me, He rescued me, and He turned my life around. And He gave me my own beautiful family. When I look back at how far I’ve come, I know that it can only be God working through His people. I am eternally grateful.”

REVIVING CHURCH WITHOUT WALLS

Pastor Kong rallied the church to gradually revive the work of Church Without Walls and help the needy, beginning with disadvantaged children and the elderly.

Together with Lynn Tan, a pastor from Harvest Kidz and Maria Tok, the pastor that oversees Dialect Service, Pastor Kong went through two five-month plans that individuals and cell groups can get involved in to serve the children and elderly. These two programmes aim to reach 185 children and 380 elderly persons.

“These are just two out of the many groups of people we hope to reach out to, and we know that the Holy Spirit is moving in all our hearts, and He is going to lead us,” Pastor Kong said in closing. “Jesus says that when we feed the hungry, and quench the thirsty, and clothe the naked, and care for the sick and do home visitations to the lonely, we are doing it as unto the Lord.”

If you wish to be part of Church Without Walls in CHC’s outreach to the needy, please contact your cell group leader. If you are not part of a cell group yet, please email info@chc.org.sg

City Harvest Church’s ministry to children took to suburban Singapore during Church Without Walls in 1996, and transformed thousands of lives with lasting impact. Longtime members of the ministry share their memories.

In 1997, Glordia Goh had a first encounter with CHC’s Children’s Church that blew her mind. “I brought my boss to attend a service at CHC at Hollywood Theatre along Tanjong Katong Road—she owned a childcare and before-and-after school care (BASC) centre,” she relates. “I remember when I stepped into the children’s service, Pastor Eileen (Toh, the pastor in charge of the children’s ministry) was leading the children in singing ‘I love you Lord’, and I felt the presence of God, which shocked me—I had never encountered that in a children’s service before!” CHC had an arrangement back then to conduct a service at the BASC every Friday.

Her experience with CHC attracted her to joining the church. “I would help wherever I was needed. When Pastor Eileen needed help to visit children, I would go with her. I also helped in the bussing and at the service,” she remembers. CHC used to offer weekly transport by bus to children who wanted to come to the weekend services at the church at Hollywood Theatre.

Pastor Glordia (centre, with flowers) with the Children’s Church team during the years of CWW

Today, Glordia is a pastor in CHC’s Harvest Kidz (the updated name for Children’s Church). In her 23 years as part of the church staff she has overseen the spiritual well-being of hundreds, maybe over 1,000 children.

Pastor Glordia was deeply involved in the Church Without Walls outreach to children living in suburban areas across Singapore. The CWW movement took volunteers and staff across many housing estates, from Haig Road and Geylang to Ang Mo Kio.

“I had only eight kids to visit in Ang Mo Kio,” she recalls. “I started to knock on doors to invite children to church and to befriend them. I met this group of kids who were delinquents—they created problems in school, spewed vulgarities, vandalized walls… yet, they were very evangelistic! They brought friends to church almost every week. I spent a lot of time with them helping them with school work and hanging out with them, correcting their behaviour.”

The numbers grew as Pastor Glordia and her team faithfully visited the children who came to church, and reached out to many others to invite them to CHC. The Children’s Service would hold “Big Days”—special outreach events around Christmas, Easter and Children’s Day—that would attract huge numbers.

“During those days of revival, every Big Day we would hire three big buses, and each bus carried more than 50 children and adults in it. We saw kids coming from across Singapore: Ang Mo Kio, Toa Payoh, Bukit Batok, Commonwealth, Tampines, Jurong West, Marsiling—the buses were packed every time. I looked after an average of 60 kids who attended church regularly.  Every week, it would take me six hours on foot to visit the kids in Ang Mo Kio.”

Working with children in these areas, the Harvest Kidz teams would be called upon in times of emergency. Pastor Glordia smiles as she says there are too many to list, but once, the Harvest Kidz team helped to stop a mentally unsound husband from killing his pregnant wife in front of his young children. In another case, the grandfather of one of the children in their care attempted suicide, but was helped by the team before it was too late.

In many cases, when the children receive visits from the Harvest Kidz teachers, the family get their physical and spiritual needs met too. One such case was Justin Chiang, who now works as a Dialect Service zone supervisor in CHC. “I visited Justin and his brother in Ang Mo Kio,” Pastor Glordia recalls. “His brother was reserved and aloof, but he came to church, though irregularly. One day, he suddenly became regular in his attendance. When I asked him about the change, he told me that he wanted to go swimming one time, and it was going to rain. Remembering the lesson he learned during the Sunday school service, he challenged God and said that if the rain didn’t come, he would believe in Him. Immediately, the dark clouds disappeared and the sun came out. He was shocked, and kept his promise to follow God. He became so active in church he would even follow me to visit other children!”

“Visitations are important,” Pastor Glordia points out. “We don’t only reach children, we also reach their family.” A number of the children she has pastored are now leaders in the church.

Some are long-term cases for the Harvest Kidz team. “There is this family we are still reaching out to,” she says. “We’ve known the boy since he was 5 years old. His dad had a heart issue and was often in hospital, and the poor boy would sleep under the hospital bed as there was no one to look after him. One of our leaders who lived near him took him in while his father was hospitalised. He would come to church having gastric pains as he didn’t get enough to eat. A few years later his father passed away, and he went to live with his mother who remarried. All these years, the family experiences many challenges—financial, health, teenage rebellion—we saw them through all of it. Years later, his mother was saved, and she is now fervent for Christ. The boy is in one of our youth cell groups and his step sister is in Harvest Kidz. Last Christmas we surprised them with a big bag of groceries. We have been reaching out to them for 12 years!”

AS GAMEMASTER, HE MADE THE KIDS CLEAN THE HALL

The suburban outreach that began with CWW caused great growth in the children’s service and expanded its congregation rapidly. Chew Eng Hock, better known as Teacher Yongfu, has been serving the children’s ministry since around 1994, when CHC’s services were held at Westin Hotel.

Teacher Yongfu conducting games during children’s service in 1999

A “gang leader and fearsome businessman” during his university days, he was invited to CHC by a tall girl who stayed in the same residential hall. Unimpressed throughout the service, even though he was surprised by the friendliness of the church members, Yongfu found himself responding to Pastor Kong Hee’s altar call. “I only remember this part: he said, ‘Some of you are looking for friends who love you, and know how you feel… He knows who you are, and He understands you.’ Suddenly, tears just start flowing down. I was very embarrassed. When Pastor Kong said, ‘If you are the one, please come out… and I will pray for you and you will know Him.” Automatically, I stood up and and walked to the front. That was the day I started my journey with Jesus.” Incidentally, he married the tall girl, Janavy, who also serves in Harvest Kidz.

Though mightily saved, Yongfu did not experience the drama 180-degree change in his life that he had heard so much about. “I was determined to change, to do something for God. So I volunteered to help out in Children’s Church,” he explains. “My first ‘glorious’ job was to clear  rubbish bin after the children church service ended. I was promoted after six months… to arrange and keep the chairs before and after service!”

One day, one of the teachers was sick and asked Yongfu to help her conduct games with the children. “That was my opportunity,” he remembers. “So I made up a game where the kids had to go around the hall and find all the rubbish to fill the bin, and the one who picked up the most rubbish was the winner. The whole idea was for me to not have to pick up rubbish after service! To my surprise, the game worked like a charm. The kids were so excited, and the teachers were happy, and I didn’t need to pick up rubbish that day!” That was the first time Yongfu was officially a games master in the children’s service. “Till today at Harvest Kidz, I’m still serving as one of the games masters during main service,” he says.

Now a Harvest Kidz tradition, the Big Day was a great unknown the first time they tried it out, but one of Yongfu’s most enduring memories.

“I dressed Uncle Flabo, the clown,” recalls Yongfu. “It was a big event—we fasted two weeks, practised dry runs more than 10 times, and for two months, we did street outreach to get children to come. We rented buses to bring the kids, and bought over 500 presents for them. The night before the Big Day, we rehearsed till very late, and slept only two hours. Then came the real thing—man! The number of kids was overwhelming! Their praise and worship was so loud, our hearts melted. We didn’t have enough presents so we had to drive out and buy more presents! The kids swarmed all around Pastor Kong and Sun when they gave out the presents.

“The presence of God was indescribable. At the end, with our exhausted bodies, we cried and prayed after the Big Day service. And that’s how the Big Day was started.”

Yongfu as Uncle Flabo the clown

Apart from serving on weekends, Yongfu, along with other volunteers would pay weekly visits to the children at Chen Su Lan Methodist Home, which housed kids whose parents were incarcerated. “Paul Chong and I would conduct a small children’s service for them every Friday, and each time we reached, they would run towards us and jump up to hug us,” he relates. “People think we bless them, but I think Paul would agree with me when I say it was the other way round: we felt blessed. We will never forget that feeling of unconditional love.”

Today, Yongfu, now 51, and his wife continue to serve Harvest Kidz. Their daughter Carman was among the first babies to be dedicated in CHC; she is now 22 and serving in JAMs ministry. He has seen the children who used to be in his care as kids grow up and become leaders in the house of God, such as Kelvin Tan and Leila Tan, both pastoral supervisors now, and Jackie Tan, a Harvest Kidz staffer. He has seen whole families saved through the consistent outreach of the staff and volunteers of Harvest Kidz.

“The greatest rewards knowing ‘my kids’ have grown up to have a family of their own and their own kids, like Lalani Gunawan and (worship leader) Regina Kam,” he says. “I hope that all of them still remember Teacher Yongfu and know that I love them a lot.”

HELPING CHILDREN FIND GOD

Michael Choy was in the church service where Pastor Kong told CHC about CWW. “

I remember being involved in numerous overnight prayer meetings, crying out for the lives of the children and elderly as we pushed forward with the first wave of CWW. We also caught the anointing and the compassion for the lost and needy when Pastor Bill Wilson came to CHC to share his work on helping children living in slum areas.”

Pastor Bill Wilson is the founder and senior pastor of Metro World Child. His outreach to the children living in New York’s poorest areas became the model for Harvest Kidz, and for many years he visited Pastor Eileen and the children’s team at CHC, inspiring outreach methods such as driving or hiring buses to bring children in poor areas to church and send them home.

Michael Choy (back row, second from right) with other Children’s Church volunteers and staff during CWW days

Michael was a trainee teacher when he first joined the children’s ministry—it made sense to him since he was going to be a teacher. “I was involved as a transportation helper together with Teacher Paul [Chong], who drove our minibus to bring the children to ad from church, and to move chairs and other sorts of equipment for CHC,” he recalls. “I helped to organise the bussing ministry together with a few other ‘bussing heads’ (leaders in that ministry]. Together with Pastor Eileen, we worked out the roles and responsibilities of the bus leaders and helpers. We also provided resources, such as a handbook for the leaders and helpers, and some training sessions to ensure safety was maintained. There was also a push to organise games and sing Praise songs on board the buses so that we got the kids excited and spiritually warmed up before they reached church. That was fun!”

One of his favourite memories was the “Praise song fight” that would take place on these bus journeys. “The children on the left side of the bus would try to out-sing the children on the right,” he describes. “Back then, some of the buses were not air-conditioned so you can imagine the attention we generated as the bus coursed through the various estates [picking up kids]! We sang so loudly as we passed by the Kentucky Fried Chicken next to church that the customers would look up at this bus with kids singing ‘I love You Jesus deep down in my heart’ at the top of their voices at 9 a.m. on Sunday mornings! They—most were CHC members, probably—looked like they were impressed with the kids’ singing!”

Reaching out to children across the island was both uplifting and challenging. Michael was also a visitation helper in the teams that reached out to children living in Ghim Moh estate. He has many stories but one that he shares is about a 12 year old boy with autism. “He was quite tall and strong, and he would sit next to a curtained wall on the second level of Hollywood Theatre where service was held. I would sit next to him to calm him down or help him along when he got too excited. He would secrete mucus and spit from his nose and mouth quite frequently. He typically used a handkerchief but often, he used the wall curtains to wipe his mucus! I would try to stop him but if he was in a bad mood, he would push back. Once, he threw a tantrum and wiped all his mucus on my clothes and face. I was totally grossed out but maintained my composure and held him firmly in case he injured himself. I only got to wash up after he calmed down, which took some time. What was encouraging was that he would try to clap along during Praise and listen to parts of the lesson when he could. I knew deep inside that the service was making a difference to him. For me, it was a meaningful time of engaging and helping him and the rest of the children find God and themselves.”

As the Bible says, he who waters is himself watered. Today, Michael runs his company Tech Tree, which develops online courses for corporations, educational institutions and government bodies. “We have teams in Manila, Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore. We also partner UNESCO and sponsors to produce free chatbots for learning to educate children in Myanmar, Thailand and regional countries about digital literacy and English literacy. I also speak at local and regional conferences and am a mentor for adult educators in Singapore.”

He and his wife have three children aged 12, 10 and 5, and they have dedicated Harvest Kidz teachers— Teacher Wendy and Teacher Winnie—who have been supervising and visiting them for more than 10 years. “We’re thankful for the spiritual and social support that our kids have received, especially during this pandemic season,” says Michael. “Indeed, the Bible is true: God will not forget the work of our hands. We reap what we sow, together.”

WHAT WILL CWW 2.0 LOOK LIKE?

“I think God will do new work through CWW 2.0,” says Michael. “I also sense that this time, it will be different from the first CWW and we need to be mindful of how the Spirit of God will lead us. It should not be new wine in old wine skin. The manner in which we reach out to the children, elderly and needy will vary although their needs may remain the same. I also feel that the real needs are in the regional countries where people are starving and children are not going to school.”

Pastor Glordia, on the other hand, is mindful of the challenges. “I would say it was easier to do outreach 20 years ago,” she laughs. “Fewer churches conducted outreaches to their communities back then, and also, today, we have more restrictions for what we can or cannot do.”

She adds, “But certainly, we still can reach out to children! I believe these cases would very much be based on referral and relationship. Jesus said the poor we always have. There are still people who are hurt and have needs—we just need to sniff them out!”

A Big Day event in 1999

Yongfu believes that the basic rules to CWW outreach that applied 25 years ago still apply today. “Our motive is always the same: to get children to know Jesus and to let them experience His love through us. But methods are always changing: kids in the past and kids today are different, they have different interests. The door is always there, but using the right key to open the door is important. The key is their parents: the parents must trust you.”

At the right time, he adds, it will bear fruit. “God always has His plan. Just like a wise farmer, He will always harvest in the right season. If you know God’s season, you will know when to harvest. Be humbled by God’s power and His commandment. Love Him fervently, love one another wholeheartedly.”