1) Can you describe a regular day in your life?

JJ: Wake up 07:30, School 08:00, Finish school 15:10, Basketball practice till 17:00, Homework, Dinner at 19:00, Devotion, Homework, Sleep 21:30 (sometimes 23:00-24:00 due to homework)

K: Wake up at 6 30 to 7 and use my phone till breakfast. Pack my school bag and brush my teeth if I still have time. Use my phone till 7.55 then walk to school. After school, I go to football club for 2 hours. At home, I will bathe, do homework. I use my phone or my laptop if I don’t have homework, Then, I eat dinner followed by devotion. I usually sleep at 9 30.

J: Wake up and play with Lego till breakfast, Pack my bag, brush teeth, wear shoes and go to school, After school, go to Taekwondo, Then bathe, dinner, family devotion, brush my teeth and sleep.

2) Name a challenge and a best thing about being a missionary kid.

JJ: Attending Nepali church is tough when I do not understand the language well enough; The best thing is getting the chance to see more of the world than I would when I am staying in Singapore.

K: The hardest thing is that people expect me to know a lot of things about the Bible but I don’t really know much. The best thing is having friends from different countries.

J: It is easy to get sick in Nepal. The best thing is the delicious food in Nepal. My favourite are Roadhouse’s pizzas, momos, papadum, lollipop chicken and naan.

3) What characteristics of Nepal’s culture have become a part of you?

JJ: Shaking my head from side to side to say okay.

K: Eating Nepali food. I eat dhal bhat (lentil and rice) every week. Dhal bhat is the typical Nepali meal that everyone eats.

J: Drinking Nepali milk tea, especially the ones served in my school.

4) What scares you most about visiting/returning to Singapore?

JJ: Not knowing the people we/who visit; leaving friends, going to army and school (fitting in)

K: Meeting people who know me but I dont know them because I am shy.

J: Studying in Singapore’s school and the weather is always hot.

By Gopal Sebastian and Family

The post Life in Nepal appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

1) 可以形容你如何度过平常的一天？

JJ: 早上七点半起床，八点去学校， 下午三点十分放学，练篮球到旁晚五点， 之后做功课。晚上七点吃晚餐，之后灵修， 做功课。晚上九点半睡觉。 （有时功课多的时候，睡觉时间就延迟到十点至十一点之间。）

K: 早上六点半到七点醒床，用手机直到早餐时间。 然后，收拾好书包就去刷牙。如果我还有时间，我就会用手机直到七点五十五分，才走路去学校。放学后，我就会去足球俱乐部呆两个小时。 之后，回家洗澡，做功课。如果那天没功课，我会用我的手机或笔记本电脑。吃晚餐后，我们会灵修。 我通常晚上九点半睡觉。

J: 早上醒来，玩乐高直到早餐。吃早餐、 收拾书包、刷牙， 穿鞋， 上学。放学后上跆拳道。回家后， 洗澡、吃晚餐，做家庭灵修、刷牙、睡觉。

2) 你认为当一名传教士的孩子最困难的地方是什么？最好的地方又是什么？

JJ: 最困难的是参加尼泊尔语崇拜， 应为我还没完全明白和掌握尼泊尔语。最好的事是有机会见识更多东西。

K: 很多人都认为我的圣经知识应该很好，可是事实并不如此。作为一个传教士孩子最好的地方是可以结交来自不同国家的朋友。

J:在尼泊尔容易生病。最好的事 – 在尼泊尔享受美味的食物。 我最喜欢的食物是Roadhouse的比萨， 馍馍(尼泊尔饺子),papadum, 窜鸡丁和馕。

3) 有哪些尼泊尔文化已成为你生命的一部分？

JJ: 摇头以表示“OK”。

K: 我已经适应尼泊尔的食物。 我每个星期都会吃dhal bhat (扁豆和饭) 。 Dhal bhat是每个人都吃的典型尼泊尔餐。

J: 喝尼泊尔奶茶。我最喜欢学校的奶茶。

4) 想到探访或回新加坡，有什么地方会使你害怕吗？

JJ: 探访：探访我不认识的人。回新加坡：离开在尼泊尔结交的朋友，当兵还有适应新的学校。

K: 遇到认识我的人，但我不认识他们，因为我有点害羞，

J: 在新加坡读书，还有新加坡的天气总是很热。

撰稿: 斯巴祥和家人

The post 尼泊尔生活点滴 appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. – Isaiah 43:18-19 (NKJV)

At the turn of each year, many of us would look backwards to review the year. Many times, this process of looking backwards forces each of us to examine our past. Everyone has a past. Our past often contain regrets, hurts and disappointments that have failed us again and again. Yet, why do we still hold on to it?

Israel had tried for almost 1500 years (before Christ came) to keep the Mosaic law; they tried to gain righteousness by the works of their flesh. No one succeeded. The best of them failed. Israel went into cycles of failure. Their failures eventually made them go into exile. Jerusalem was sacked, the temple was destroyed. By God’s grace they returned as a nation through His servant Nehemiah. The temple was rebuilt. Still Israel continued their old ways.

The law was given through Moses, but Jesus Emmanuel came in-person to bring grace and truth (John 1:17). Yet Israel rejected Him. They refused to let go of their old ways. In AD 70, Jerusalem was razed, the nation of Israel gone, the temple was again destroyed.

The Mosaic law failed because men attempted to fulfil it through human effort; Christ became flesh and through his death on the cross, sin is once and for all put away in the flesh (Romans 8:3). Through his atonement, the Holy Spirit can now dwell in us. We can now fulfil the righteous requirement of the law not through the flesh but by the Spirit (Romans 8:4). We receive the Spirit simply by faith and through the means of grace, each one experiences God’s strengthening and empowerment.

Christ came to put away the old through the cross. The flesh can be considered as the old, the Spirit as the new. Are we still trying to hold on to the old? Jesus told us to not put new wine into old wine skin (Mathew 9:17), otherwise we will lose everything.

Paul in Galatians 4:21-31 explains “Cast out Hagar and her son Ishmael”. They do not have anything to do with the promise of God to Abraham (the promise eventually is also to us through Christ Jesus). Hagar the slave and her son Ishmael who was born of human works (i.e. the flesh) represent the old. Sarah was a free person and Isaac was born by God’s promise through spiritual means. Like Isaac, we are all children of the promise born of the Spirit.

God by his grace and promise will pursue and rescue Israel again. As indicated in the Scriptures, Israel will finally call out to Jesus. Christ will come again, and Israel will recognize him as their King. Peace will finally come and stay forevermore.

The new year is here, let us not hold on the old anymore. Cast out the old, throw the failed past out. Through the Holy Spirit in us, we can put away bitterness and unforgiveness and rid ourselves of fleshly arrogance.

Stop believing that our past failures will define our future. In Christ we have new beginnings. God declared that he will make new road and rivers to appear even in the wilderness and the desert (Isaiah 43:19).

Believe in the Spirit and do not go back to our fleshly efforts. Christ does not live in the old rituals and man-made monuments; Christ lives inside us.

By Keith Khor

The post A New Creation in Christ appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

耶和华如此说：“你们不要记念从前的事，也不要思想古时的事。看哪，我要做一件新事，如今要发现，你们岂不知道吗？我必在旷野开道路，在沙漠开江河。” 以赛亚书 43:18-19

每到年终， 我们都会回顾过去的一年。很多时候， “ 向后看“ 的整个过程会迫使我们审视自己的过去。

每个人都有一个“ 不舒服” 的过去。往往含有遗憾， 创伤和失望。但为什么仍然紧紧握着不放开呢？

以色列人在基督降生之前的将近1500年尽力地遵守摩西律法。他们尝试用有限的方式使自己称义, 成圣，最终还是失败。以色列人进入了失败的恶性循环，最终使他们流亡。耶路撒冷被彻底摧毁， 圣殿被毁坏。靠着上帝的恩典，他们通过祂的仆人尼希米归回成为一个民族，重建圣殿。但以色列人仍然继续着古式的 “靠自己” 方法。

上帝的律法是通过摩西传的, 但以马内利的耶稣亲自带来恩典和真理( 约翰福音1 : 1 7 ) 。然而, 以色列人拒绝了祂, 因为拒绝放弃他们的旧方法。公元7 0 , 耶路撒冷被夷为平地, 以色列的国家消失了, 圣殿再次被摧毁。

摩西律法之所以失败,是因

为人们试图通过人类的努力来实现它。基督成了肉身,在十字架上死了,罪就一劳永逸地从肉体里被除去(罗马书8:3)。通过耶稣的赎罪,圣灵现在可以住在我们里面。现在，我们不用通过软弱无力肉体遵守律法而是靠圣灵(罗马书8:4) 来实现律法的正义要求。我们只是凭信心领受圣灵， 并通过恩典的途径， 操练和经历其中的大能。

基督来借着十字架把破旧的拿掉。肉体可以被认为是旧的, 灵命是新的。我们还在努力抓住不合适的老方法吗？ 耶稣告诉我们不要把新酒放进旧酒的皮中(马太福音9:17),否则我们会失去一切。

保罗在加拉太书4 : 2 1 – 3 1 解释“ 驱逐夏甲和她的儿子以实玛利” 。他们与神对亚伯拉罕的应许没有任何联系( 最终的应许也是通过基督耶稣给我们的) 。

奴隶夏甲和她的儿子以实玛利是由人为( 即肉体) 所生的, 代表着旧人。撒拉是一个自由的人, 以撒是由上帝的应许, 通过灵性的工作诞生的。像以撒一样,我们都是圣灵的应许所生的儿女。

上帝藉着祂的恩典和应许, 将再次追逐和拯救以色列人。正如经文所示, 以色列最终会呼喊耶稣。基督必再来, 以色列人也必认出祂为他们的王。和平终将到来，并永远长存。

在新的一年,我们不要再老古董了。抛弃旧的,把失败的过去扔掉。通过圣灵,我们可以把痛苦和饶恕交给祂掌管,并摆脱肉体的傲慢。

不要相信过去的失败就决定我们的未来。在基督里,我们有新的开端。上帝宣告, 他将开启新的道路和河流, 即使在无望的旷野和沙漠(以赛亚书43:19) 。

相信圣灵,不要再靠肉体努力。基督不活在古老仪式和人为的破旧纪念碑里; 基督活在我们里面。

撰稿 许智信

The post 在基督里成为真正的新人 appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

Seeing the older children lead prayer and worship really touched my heart. I truly cherished the times where we could share our life experiences and God moments with one another.

Besides putting in practice what I have learnt in school, having the kindergarten ministry as my main focus also gave me an opportunity to share God’s love. I taught English but that itself was a test of my faith as the children barely understood English. Therefore, they needed translation from the local teachers.

I always asked myself, so what do I do with these children in front of me? I have minimal experience in early childhood and minimal confidence in myself, what do I do? So, I prayed very hard and took crazy faith, to just trust God to lead me throughout the lessons. Of course, God proved Himself faithful once again and I can only say thank you Jesus!

Other than being amongst the children, interacting with the teachers and seeing them so passionate about their job really inspired me to be a better early educator myself.

The entire month here was not easy. Just a girl in this foreign land, I often thought, where do I start? What do I do next? What is going to happen to me tomorrow? Am I doing this right? The list goes on, I struggled and it was painful, but I saw God’s hand in all of these situations. He was dealing with the deepest and darkest corners of my heart, things I do not want to show others, things I try so hard to cover up. I often sit in my room and just cried out to God for help, praying desperately for Him to come and be with me. The devil will come and tear me apart but I saw how important the Word of God is when fighting against the devil. However, God remained faithful and He provided for all of my needs.

After opening up to the missionaries there, it struck me that I have been carrying too much extra baggage with me over the years, and God said its finally time to lay it all down. They were things I did not want to face but if I truly wanted to live for God, I had to embrace total surrender.

I took time to reflect and I concluded that I have been building walls around to protect myself from others, while I should be building a solid foundation to base myself on. That solid foundation is none other than Jesus Christ. With Christ as the cornerstone of my life, nothing can ever waver my faith.

At the end of it all, I learnt that as a precious child of God, I have nothing to fear, for Christ is always near. Also, it is about letting God work through me and the gifts He has given, making a difference beyond myself all at the same time. As I put God’s gifts for me into good use, I saw how much more I could bless others.

Till now, I am still communicating with some of the children from COSI and the youths from the University Hostel and even the teachers from the Methodist kindergarten over Facebook. I really miss them so much and I pray that I’ll get the opportunity to see them again someday.

I want to encourage you to keep seeking God, and to keep waiting upon Him. God will reveal His amazing plans a little by little in His own perfect time.

By Teo Kai Ting

The post Faithful Till The End appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

见到较大的孩子们带领祷告和敬拜， 这真的触动了我的心。我很珍惜那段在一起互相分享生命经历的时光。

除了能学以致用， 参与幼稚园事工也让我有机会分享神的爱。教英语是我信心的巨大考验， 因为孩子们几乎听不懂英语， 需要当地老师的翻译。

看看眼前的孩子们，我时常问自己，我到底该怎么办？我对幼儿教育也没什么经验，对自己也没信心。所以，我以信心迫切恳求神在教课过程中带领我，当然，神是信实的，而我只能说，感谢祢！耶稣。

除了孩童们， 与老师们的交流， 见他们对工作的热诚， 都激励着我要成为一个更好的儿童早期教育者。

这一个月的日子实在不容易过。一个女孩子，身在异地，我时常想，我该从何做起？下一步该怎么走？明天会如何？我所作的是对的吗？ 我心里挣扎， 痛苦。但在这些困境中，神施予援手。我心深处的幽暗，那些隐藏，不想让人知道的事，想要掩盖的事，神都帮我处理了。我时常独自在房里向神泣求，求神来帮助，来与我同在。 那恶者仿佛要将我撕碎， 我学到，要对付那恶者，神的话是多么的重要。神依然是信实的， 祂供应了我一切所需要的。

在与那里的宣教士交流后， 我觉悟到自己这些年来， 背了许多不必要的包袱。神说， 该全放下了。有些事我不想面对， 但若我要真正的为神而活， 我必须完全降服。

我思考和反省，发现自己在不知不觉中已建立起一些“围墙”来与别人隔离。其实，我应该建立一个稳固的根基，让自己立在其上。这稳固的根基就是耶稣基督。有基督为我人生的房角石， 就没有任何事能动摇我的信心。

最后，身为神宝贵的孩子， 我没有什么可惧怕的，因为基督就在身旁。我们应该献上自己为神所用， 这样，我们的恩赐就能使人蒙福。

直到现在，我仍与那里的一些孩童和老师们通过面簿联络。我好想念他们，希望有朝一日，能有机会再见到他们。

我要鼓励大家，继续寻求等候神，祂必将祂的计划，按着祂的时间，一点一点的向你们显明。

撰稿 张愷娗

The post 坚守信心持续到底 appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

I still remember vividly the eventful day of departure. At the airport, family and friends encircled us as the pastor prayed for us, Although the prayer was a brief one, but it gave me a boost of encouragement and reinforced my awareness that we were really leaving on the mission trip. Due to travel disruptions and bad weather, our flight was delayed and we did not arrive at our destination on time. Yet, the disruptions did not dampen our spirits or team morale. I deeply felt everyone’s joy and readiness to serve on this team.

After more than a day’s disruptions and delay, we finally arrived at our destination. We had to be ready to make changes to our schedule and many of our rehearsals and preparations had to be done within a much shorter time. Despite the long days and late nights, and the physical toll especially on the older members of our team, their perseverance demonstrated that God’s strength was with us throughout. It also truly impressed upon me the meaning of our team verse, Psalm 121 – God Himself strengthened and empowered us, His protection and blessing was with us so we could continue with our mission effectively.

At the end of our time there when we were about to leave for home, I reflected on everything over the few months leading up to the trip. All the preparations each of us had to go through as individuals and as a team were truly necessary as they enabled us to be better able to do the work God had called us for.

Although in the beginning, it was not easy, but in retrospect, we all benefited greatly and was a period in my life filled with wonderful memories of learning to trust God.

By Lynn Koh

The post My Help Comes from The Lord appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.

还记得出发的当天，我们一群人围站着一圈，牧师为我们祷告，虽然祷告简短但是却实实在在的给了我打了一只强心针， 我们即将开始我们的宣教旅程。然而到达旅程的目的地出现了一些小插曲，我们的班机没有准时到达目的地，但是我深深感觉到大家的喜乐，并没有因为班机误点而耽误了团队的士气。

延误了一天，终于顺利的到达目的地。因为班机延误，我们准备的时间也变得有点仓促，后面的许多彩排和节目安排也需要时间。即便我们天都是早出晚归，对于团队里年纪较大的长辈们是那么的吃力，但他们的毅力却让我看到神的力量在我们团队里是如此之强烈。这让我明白我们团队经文的真正意义，我们的团队经文取之于诗篇121。因为有神的力量在我们里面行走，我们得到神的眷顾和保护，我们才能够在东亚遊刃有餘的宣教和分享。

当宣教到了尾声后，在即将离开的时候，我回忆起几个月前的准备，这些准备是那么的必然，因为有了事前的预备， 我们才能更加顺利的实行上帝要我们做的事情。

虽然开始的时候，有点艰难，但是我在最后收获的却是最真挚的感受，也给了我一段很美好的回忆。

撰稿 许苑玲

The post 我的帮助从造天地的耶和华而来 appeared first on Sengkang Methodist Church.