Thursday, July 23, 2015

My Pa’Adang Story 29.6.2015 to 6.7.2015


MY PA’ ADANG STORY by Colin Wong
GREETINGS and may the peace of the Lord be with you!

I joined Pa’ Adang mission trip as I was invited by my senior, Jason Soh. At first I was reluctant because I intended to proceed with my research project during the semester break. However, he asked me this question: “God or study comes first?” I was shaken and persuaded. I was then assigned to the Children’s Sunday School ministry.

Before the mission trip, our pastor kept on reminding members that we were not going for a holiday. To serve, we had to adapt and be prepared for any circumstances and changes, he warned us.

The life in Pa’Adang is completely different from that of a city. There are no 24-hours electricity supply, no internet connection, no air-conditioning and inadequate water supply (where all men including pastor were required to bathe in the river). Due to the need of building a new church, all men were required to do physical labor (to move stones and sand) while women were mostly in charge for the Children’s Ministry and meal preparations. I was excited and energized on the first day work as it was a new experience.

Nonetheless my physical strength started to diminish after a few days. I was tired and unenthusiastic. My feet and hands were bitten by sand flies. The irritation made me uncomfortable and frustrated. I began to complain inside my heart. I forgot the objective of this mission trip, that was – to serve.

Thank God, my attitude and thoughts changed when I was working with Pastor Jabez. He did not complain – neither did he show any grievances or dissatisfaction albeit the trying circumstances. At that moment, I felt embarrassed and ashamed. I realized how weak I was – spiritually, physically and emotionally! Instead of complaining, I could have thanked God that He provided us good weather, breathtaking scenery and sufficient food and drinks. Although some fell sick, I could thank God that He has not let anyone of us be injured or harmed. If only I could be faithful in these little things, then I can be entrusted with the larger ones.

On the fifth day, the second mission trip team arrived in the evening. The team comprised of brothers and sisters -in-Christ with distinguished professions. Due to the rain, they arrived slightly later than expected. Therefore they had to work overnight after dinner to build the foundation. I joined them. When I saw all of them working collaboratively and wholeheartedly, my heart was deeply moved. Everyone was faithful in their work for the Lord, and not for men. The scene reminded me that we are each part of the body of Christ, and we are gifted in different areas. When we act on the gifts given and work together heartily, we can do great things.

I hope that I am able to apply my knowledge not only in my future job, but also in God’s work. I hope I can serve more willingly and faithfully.

Proverbs 3: 5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight.”



My Pa’ Adang Story by Jason Soh
IT WAS a wonderful 8-day mission trip travelling from Miri to Lawas, and from Lawas to Pa’ Adang, and back.

I spent a total of 6 days there to have a better experience with God. Technology has been one of the factors that causes the ignorance of God’s creation. Throughout this journey without any distraction from hi-tech devices, I was to able see Mother Nature with a better insight.
I could see and hear the cries of the needy to build up their physical and spiritual needs. From this mission trip, I have realized that it is insufficient to support the natives financially only; manpower is also very crucial. One of the limitations of the natives has is education. Therefore it will be good to focus on education to secure the future of the younger generations and create awareness in the world’s happenings.

The sermon preached by Pastor Yahya struck me in living my daily life. He preached “Strengthening our faith in the world today”. An example given by him was “building houses on rock and building houses on sand”. He reiterated an underlying basis that we have to be strong in our faith by reading the Bible and doing God’s work to prevent our “house” to fall.

Furthermore the preaching from Pastor Yahya brought a great impact to my life. He spoke on his acceptance of Christ and his experience of being a pastor in Pa’ Adang. It was a great testimony seeing how God has chosen His people to commence His ministry in the great place Pa Adang. It is my pleasure to meet Pastor Yahya and to know more about him. His sacrifice of moving from the urban town to a rural place has humbled me greatly.

In Matthew 19:26 – Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” This has inspired me that “with God everything is possible”. No matter how small and insignificant we are, if we have faith in God, everything is achievable.



My Pa’Adang Story by Adam Tiong
AS WE disembarked next to the river, I jumped off the pickup truck and stretched. A little distance away was the 50-meter wide river that we had to cross to reach Pa’Adang, our mission field. We all began to unload all the equipment, materials and personal luggage. We began forming a relay line across the river to move all the things from one side of the river to the other.



Our mission to Pa’ Adang was to assist the Penan people living there to construct a new church so that their old church can be converted into a school. Pa’ Adang is not accessible by road hence all the materials used for construction have to be carried into the Pa’Adang village.

Our mission team’s objective was to pave the way for the next mission team that would be arriving the following week. That team was led by Rev. Ling Biu and would continue the construction of the new church which they hoped to complete. Our team would attempt to collect as many raw materials such as sand and stones for the team, including doing some other preparatory work such as road construction and hostel building.

While I was helping to carry all our equipment from the river to the village, I decided to carry two items; a heavy piece of roofing felt and another smaller plastic bag filled with odds and ends. It was approximately one kilometer walk to the village. At the beginning, it was relatively easy even though the roofing felt was quite heavy. Overtime though as I began to tire, I couldn’t hold the roofing felt properly as the plastic bag of odd and ends became quite troublesome.

Looking back while writing this testimony, I realized that this situation reflects certain parts of my walk with God. In becoming a disciple of Christ, I have learned to carry my Cross through life. However along the way we become so bogged down with other worries of life that carrying the cross seems harder than ever and we are sorely tempted to put it down. The opposite in fact should be the case. By setting aside all other worries and focusing on carrying our cross, our journey through life will be a lot easier and purposeful with Christ by our side.

For the first two days that we were there, the men were divided into two groups. One group was to collect and transport sand and stones from the nearby riverside to the building site, and another group to clear and prepare a temporary road up to the building site from the existing church. I volunteered to join the group that was going to create the road, seeing as I had never done that before.

Under the supervision of Bro. Gilbert Hii, we began to clear and level a road from the bottom of the hill where the old church is located, up to the top of the hill where the building site for the new church is located. We began by clearing away the undergrowth that blocked a straight path up to the building site, and then leveling any uneven ground with gardening hoes and shoveling the excess dirt into holes or low parts of the road to make it more even.

During the first day working on the road, I decided to do all I could and put all my energy into it. I tried to work and hard and as fast as I could, and at the beginning declined to take a break even when I felt tired. By the end of that first day I had lost all my energy and even fell sick going into the second day. I had to take the second afternoon off to recover from my sickness.

While recovering, I realized that I had fallen into the trap of taking too much pride in myself. Most of the time, we become prideful in the form of boasting or recognition. However from this experience, I realized that choosing not to admit our weakness is also a form of pride that is equally dangerous. By admitting that we are weak or lost in certain parts of our lives, we can then allow God help us in those areas. By allowing God to work in our lives, we can then benefit ourselves, the people around us and the work we do for our Lord.

Going back to work the following day, I decided to go join the group collecting sand and stones at the riverbank, as I heard that there would be more shade there so I could recover better. Working slowly, I understood that I had reached my limit the day before by overextending myself in the work process. By focusing too much on the work and what I myself could do, I forgot to focus on God in the process of the mission. It was a sharp reminder that we all are God’s tools and we need to be humble enough to set aside all our worries and pride to let God work through us.


All throughout the mission I was constantly reminded at the beauty of God’s creation. As we woke up at around 6am every morning for daily devotion, we could see the breaking of dawn as the sunlight hits the hilltops surrounding Pa’Adang that were still covered with low hanging clouds. Cold crisp air gave way to a clean fresh earthly smell as the day progressed to noontime. After work each day, all the men would bathe in the river to conserve water in the hostel. The river is very clean and we used it for bathing and washing our clothes. There is a part of the river that rushes over a bed of rocks which is ideal for scrubbing our clothes. The water is clean and cold, and rushes along quite fast which makes it ideal for rinsing. In the deeper part of the river, the current slows and turns greenish as it becomes deeper, making a very refreshing scene. As night, the air turns fresh and cold again, and due to the lack of night activities, we sit around the dining table talking and singing along to songs from our mission pamphlets until we went off to sleep around 10 pm.

This mission trip helped me understand more about myself in terms of my values and understanding God. It also enabled me to be closer to God’s creation; to understand why and how we go about doing His will. Although it was a tough week, all in all it was one of the most memorable missions I have ever been and I thank the Lord for leading me to Pa’Adang.


Sunday, July 12, 2015

成人小组 22.5.2015

卫理禧恩布道处于2015522日,在牧师屋开始了第一次的成人小组。


美里教区嘉年华 4.5.2015

卫理禧恩布道处于201554日(星期一)参与了美里教区2015嘉年华会,地点于卫理福儿院。



康乐活动 31.5.2015

卫理禧恩布道处青年团契团契组于2015531日傍晚举办了康乐活动,目的是为了让契友们在准备考试和学业的忙碌之余,也能纾解压力并互相联谊。







聖樂讚美晚會《你的名何等尊貴榮耀》 6.6.2015

201566日(六)晚間七點半,位於美里市禧納定區一間店屋傳來陣陣扣人心弦的歌聲。這裡是衛理禧恩佈道處,一間大約150人參加崇拜的小堂會。從來沒有人想過,這麼小的佈道處有幸接待60名民都魯的聖歌團及聖詠團,舉辦聖樂讚美晚會《你的名何等尊貴榮耀》。
沒有寬敞舒適的場地,沒有一流耀眼的音響及燈光,也沒有專業的鋼琴;有的是一顆愛主的心,有的是讚美的靈,以及對聖樂的熱愛。 聖樂不是一種表演,而是一種讚美;聖樂不是個人秀,而是一個團隊;聖樂更不是高舉自己,而是高舉基督!誠如聖歌團指揮馮國宏的分享,唯有基督徒懂得音樂,因為音樂是從神而來,而且是唱給上帝聽的。 詩班員不僅要達到合音,更要達到合一。若不合一,如何能唱出和諧優美的音符呢?
講求紀律的聖樂服事更講求生命。因為每一首聖詩的背後都有一個故事,透過歌詞和旋律去述說對上帝的讚美和感恩。 若詩班員本身沒有如此的體會,就無法呈現出震撼人心的聖詩,反而流於表面的技巧。感謝主! 當晚的每一首聖詩對聽眾來說都是一種對話。只要閉上雙眼,用心體會,你就彷彿聽見上帝直接對你說話,鼓勵你,激勵你,挑戰你要靠著主給你信心去面對人生的風風雨雨。
            台上十分鐘,台下十年工。 聖樂服事是一條漫長的道路。 一首好的聖詩從作詞作曲,到詩班的練習和呈現,每一個環節都需有神的恩手帶領及聖靈的感動。今天,神依然透過最棒的樂器(歌喉)和最美的心(謙卑委身的心)來向世人宣告《神的名是何等尊貴榮耀》。


By 禧恩佈道處代理牧師:張鴻恩

【独唱】

【诗琴】

【诗班献诗】


【诗班员分享】

【诗班员分享】

【诗班员分享】

【全体照】

眼睛检查义诊活动 10.5.2015

卫理禧恩布道处于2015510日举办了眼睛检查义诊活动。该活动于早上930分开始,一直进行到下午3时结束。该活动共有5名医院人员,2名杨柳眼睛专科人员和22名禧恩布道处义工维持活动程序。

捐血活动吸引了98名民众参与,并成功配出了30副眼镜。





捐血活动 22.3.2015


卫理禧恩布道处于2015322日举办了美里教区2015年上半年捐血活动,也是本布道处第一次举办。该捐血活动于早上930分开始,一直进行到中午1230分结束。该活动共有10名医院血库工作人员和12名禧恩布道处义工维持活动程序。
捐血活动吸引了111名民众参与和注册,大多数都是来自美里教区的弟兄姐妹。此次捐血活动共有88名民众成功捐血,成功率约79%