PLMC Stories
Chang Qing Outreach
– Lung Talk
长青外展 – “帅医生讲肺话”
PLMC’s Livingstones Mandarin Service often hosts outreach events through its various ministries to share the Gospel and spread God’s love to pre-believers. On the morning of 29 June 2024, in partnership with other ministries, 长青 Senior Fellowship held an outreach event, “帅医生讲肺话”, which included a talk on lung health.
Praise The Lord! Some 125 people attended this event, of whom a quarter were invited guests. We kicked off by welcoming newcomers, followed by a warm-up exercise which was accompanied by an upbeat tune. Radiance and laughter filled the room as the congregation moved to the rhythm of the music. It was fun indeed!
Then came the sing-along of worship songs to adore and praise our Lord. Thereafter, the guest speaker, a pulmonologist, gave an informative talk on the respiratory system. This was so well received that after his talk, there was a lively Q&A session with a flurry of queries from the audience. There was also a quiz with attractive prizes.
The most important segment of the event came, when Mandarin Service Director Judith Ng shared the Word centred on Ps 139. She also explained how one could secure salvation through Jesus Christ.
By the grace of God, her sermon touched the hearts of many and five persons accepted Christ! Praise the Lord! There could also others who could had quietly offered their hearts to God. It is our fervent prayer that these new believers will grow in Christ in the coming days.
Of course, the whole program could not end without exclusive door gifts and a sumptuous lunch, where members and guests enjoyed a time of meaningful and joyous fellowship. Indeed, all attendees were abundantly blessed and touched by the Holy Spirit that day.
To God Be The Glory!
长青外展
2024年6月29日上午，在与其他事工的合作下，长青举办了一场主题为“帅医生讲肺话”的外展活动。共有超过125人参加了此次活动，其中四分之一是受邀的嘉宾。
活动一开始，我们欢迎了新朋友，然后进行了一场伴随着欢快音乐的热身运动，大家都玩的很开心。接着，我们一起唱了敬拜歌曲，敬拜我们的主。随后，特邀嘉宾，一位肺专科医生，进行了关于呼吸系统的精彩讲座。讲座受到了大家的热烈欢迎。讲座结束后，观众们纷纷提出问题，医生一一解答。活动中还进行了有奖问答，参与者赢得了丰厚的奖品。
最重要的环节是雅春传道的分享，她以诗篇139篇为中心讲解了的神的话语，并解释了如何通过耶稣基督获得救赎。在神的恩典下，她的讲道触动了许多人的心灵，有五个人公开接受了耶稣。我们确信还有一些人默默地将心献给了神。我们热切祈祷这些新信徒随着时间的推移会在基督里成长。
当然，整个活动的最后少不了丰盛的午餐与精美的礼品。在午餐时间，成员和嘉宾们愉快地交谈，享受着有意义的交流。随着活动的结束，我们确信所有参与者都得到了圣灵的丰盛祝福和触动。
荣耀归于神!
God’s Word through Prophetic Stone Painting by Abigail Teo
My encounter with God through prophetic stone painting began during my Crossover in Secondary 3 leading the Primary 6 to the Youth Ministry. This was in 2019 when prophetic painting seemed only like fun and games to us teens. We would pray and ask God what was on His heart but turn to apps like Pinterest for ideas to reference and copy.
During the Crossover, we laid the completed painted stones along our makeshift Jordan River and one by one we would pick a stone in faith that resonated with us. I picked a stone with a painted rainbow with the words “The rainbow represents my never-ending promise” written on it. I knew this verse Genesis 9:16 where God said He would remember His covenant between Him and all living creatures of every kind, a covenant promising His everlasting and living presence in us.
Then 15 years old, I was unable to grasp the depth and breadth of the meaning of the verse. I wondered… what covenant? What promise did He give me? Little did I know that He promised to journey with me through my valleys and assured that He would never forsake nor leave me at all times.
In my growing years, I struggled with fear, rejection, abandonment, loneliness and failure in many aspects of my life. The turning point came with the Holy Spirit’s manifestation when I saw that dusty painted stone rainbow parked in a corner of my room five years later. Somehow it captured my attention that afternoon. I was feeling anxious and overwhelmed as I was rostered in the band to play drums that weekend.
God has gifted me a passion for music and I yearned to serve and worship Him. My fear is that I’m not good enough! Yet.., over the years, I’ve been given opportunities to serve and play drums in many ministries such as Silver Boxes, Youth and Filipino Services before advancing to the band at the main service.
I do feel inadequate in my drum skills and had started off poorly – once, the video camera had even captured me carelessly dropping my drumsticks while playing, much to my horror and embarrassment! I am thankful for some great leaders/mentors in our church family like Uncle Alex, Uncle Tach and Uncle Jamin who built me up with so much TLC, encouraging and comforting me, giving me constructive feedback to better myself. The church family has given me a safe place to be nurtured and refined so that I can draw close to God.
And I am thankful for the inscribed stone painting of God’s promise of His presence in life’s challenges. I have gained much confidence in my drum playing now. Working in partnership with the Holy Spirit has made me realized that it is not through my effort alone, but that every good and perfect gift truly comes from heaven above.
Prophetic stone painting is now not just about a simple art activity to me but also a powerful tool to edify and encourage. It reminded me of a truth that I did not see immediately but experienced many times over since.
Thank God I’m Now Pregnant! by Nishanthini Tharmarasa
For over a year, my husband and I have been trying to conceive a child but had not been successful. Our hope began to wane, and the emotional toll was significant.
One Sunday, I attended church feeling particularly disheartened. During the service, the pastor and the congregation prayed for a couple who had been trying to have a baby for five years. I saw this as a sign and prayed fervently for my own situation.
As the entire church prayed, I poured my heart out to God, crying and pleading for His blessing. I visualised the joy and gratitude I would feel if I were to become pregnant. That moment of prayer was incredibly powerful, and I felt a renewed sense of hope and peace.
Miraculously, the following Sunday, I received the joyous news that I was pregnant. I was overwhelmed with gratitude and disbelief at how quickly our prayers were answered. This experience has profoundly strengthened my faith and made me realise the power of collective prayer and God’s responsiveness to our deepest desires.
I now understand that when a community comes together to pray, God listens and acts. This journey has been a testament to the power of faith, prayer, and the support of a loving church family. I am eternally grateful for this blessing and for the prayers of everyone who supported us. My story is a reminder that God hears us, even in our most desperate times, and that miracles can happen when we least expect them.
A Lifetime of God’s Faithfulness by Irene Qiu
I wish to share how the Lord has been faithful to my late grandmother throughout her life. She was bought up by her grandmother (my great-great-grandmother) since birth after her parents abandoned her.
Her grandmother was 80% blind and struggled to take care of her. However, she was a very faithful believer, full of joy and energy, and she always said God would provide and help them. One day, she prayed to God to let her see so that she could continue to take care of my grandmother, and dedicated my grandmother to Him.
God is good and a miracle actually happened. Great-great-grandma’s eyesight suddenly regained to 50 percent! She remembered her promise and my grandmother was baptised at the age of five.
Grandma got married at the age of 18. My grandfather was a gambler so she was forced to work as a part-time maid to help bring up their five children. Though her life was not smooth-sailing, she always believed God would provide and help her like He had always done, continued to give thanks to Him and do her best for the family. She even helped others around her with whatever little she had.
Once, her employer wanted her to wash clothes in water that was burning hot. When the family knew about it and asked Grandma if she was angry with the employer , she answered no, because God has forgiven us and as children of God, we should not bear anger or hatred towards others too.
Grandma took care of three grandchildren, including me. She did not have much money to provide them with toys they wanted but God never forgot her. Many times, she would suddenly find money on the floor to pick up!
Grandma moved in with my family in her later years, and attended the Mandarin service at Paya Lebar Methodist Church. After she had a fall and was wheelchair-bound, she could not go to church anymore. She continued to look at the Bible (as she can’t read) and pray faithfully for her family, giving thanks to God daily.
God brought Grandma home on 22 October last year, without much suffering, My mum and I were with her when she passed away.
I thank God for Grandma’s example of faith that has passed through the generations, and for His faithfulness to her and the family. His great love and compassion never fail, and His mercies are new every morning.
Delivered from the Deep Ditch by Leong Oi Leng
On 8 December 2022, a bright and sunny morning at about 9.30am (US time), my family and I were making our way to Las Vegas after holidaying in Lake Tahoe when we had a car accident. We were making a turn into a side road to check our map, not knowing that it was a ditch covered by tall bushes. Our car plunged right into a nine-foot deep ditch, hit a sign board and came to a stop.
My son and my husband who were seated in front were not hurt but I was badly injured. My collar bone, sternum, four left ribs and lower spine were fractured. I was conscious but I couldn’t breathe or move. I just cried out to Jesus to save me.
The Lord provided many angels in the form of passersby to help us. The driver in the car behind us called an ambulance and I was taken to Carson Valley Medical Centre. Because of the multiple fractures, though, I was then sent to the Renown Medical Hospital in Reno. I was put in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for observation. I activated my friends and staff team to pray for me.
Just before going through the MRI scan, I was anxious about having to go through any surgery. As I prayed, I felt a lightness come down over my heavy body and I knew that I was healed. God heard our prayers. The next day the orthopedic surgeon told me that there was no need for surgery, I just needed to wear a brace and continue to be monitored by a spine specialist back in Singapore. I stayed in the hospital for five days before flying to Los Angeles for the evacuation flight to Singapore. I was put in a business class seat so that I could lie down during the 16-hour flight home.
Back in Singapore, there were waves of healing when I was being prayed for. After just four weeks of medical leave, I could go back to work. Today, I am able to resume all my daily routines. The doctor told me that it would take six months for the fractures to heal. In June 2023, I went to Perth and could move around with ease. Indeed, I was completely healed. All glory to God!
After the accident, my son was traumatised and did not dare to drive again. In December 2023, when we went for a family holiday in Japan, we decided to drive for a day to visit the different lakes in Gotemba. Praise God, after we prayed and encouraged him to drive again, he did. it was a breakthrough for my son.
We can truly testify that God is with us and He is good all the time.
Being a Neighbour Workshop by Ian Yap
“I can’t see, I really cannot see!” Teresa Ng tried repeatedly to convince the disbelieving supermarket cashier who had just pointed her to the payment terminal, instead of guiding her there.
To be fair, there is little in her appearance to suggest that Teresa suffers from a degenerative eye condition, which causes blurred vision. It took a bit more explaining for the cashier to realise the situation and change her tune to be more helpful.
Teresa ‘s point was that one need not wear dark sunglasses and hold a white cane to be a person with impaired vision. Another encounter she shared was how a “kind soul” had pushed a wheelchair user down a ramp he had just taken great pains to mount, without being asked!
These were examples from the Being a Neighbour introductory workshop on 4 May that illustrated how many of us do have stereotypes or assume to know the needs of people with disabilities. It was conducted by Koinonia Inclusion Network (KIN), where Teresa is a consultant,
The sharing helped me understand the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) landscape better and how our church can be more welcoming for people of all abilities. The speakers provided an overview of various types of disabilities and their characteristics. Universally, there are many forms of disabilities and each person may have varying degrees of impairment, but they fall under three main categories – physical, sensory and developmental.
What was important for me were the ways that we can ensure the safety and accessibility of our spaces and events, and the respectful way to communicate and interact with them. I group them into three buckets using book analogies (sorry, occupational hazard of being a librarian!):
• Don’t judge a book by its cover
People with hearing loss or who are on the autism spectrum may not visually display a difference in abilities until we interact with them. Therefore, don’t assume that they are ignoring us when we speak to them, and get upset. Understanding the characteristics helps us to be more sensitive to people who are differently abled, and allows us to interact with them better. The church’s role in Disability Inclusion can be seen in the parable of the Good Samaritan, where Jesus taught us about the extent of being a good neighbour. In building relationships with people who are different from us, the Good Samaritan demonstrated 4Ps in showing love: To be Patient, Perceptive, Persistent and Prudent. And it all starts with having empathy.
• Give it the right title
The workshop shed light on a people-first language that aids to remove misconceptions and stereotypes. This refers to preferred words to describe people with different conditions, such as ‘wheelchair user’ as opposed to ‘wheelchair-bound”, and ‘person with hearing loss’ instead of ‘hearing-impaired’ or ‘deaf’. The main idea is that we are all differently abled, made and loved by God.
• If God created the story, stick to it to the end
The Good Samaritan did not just stop to assess the injured victim, but he also took care of his wounds, brought him to an inn to be taken care of, and told the innkeeper that he would come back to check on him. Our quest to be an inclusive church is not a one-time encounter or effort, but needs to be a life-long or long-term commitment. Our Lord is giving us the opportunities, so let us embark on this journey for the long haul.
Basically, all of us can do our part to fulfil our mission to be a family blessed to bless the community and the nations. It all starts with a simple prayer and an open heart.
