FBC Church Camp 2014

We had our Church camp from 26th July to 28th July 2014 at One Hotel, Santubong.

Our speaker is Pastor Liaw Yong Lam, his wife Mrs. Liaw and their daughter Grace.  Pastor Liaw had been a missionary to Papua New Guinea (PNG) for 14 years, his job was the translation of the Bible to the local language.  His story of how his family is blessed by God because they were obedient was inspiring.  Before they went to PNG Mrs. Liaw was already suffering from kidney disease so much so that doctor said she needed a dialysis machine.  However, by grace of God she could cope with the usual medical care.  They were obedient to God and trust God in their stay in PNG.  Their two daughters were also blessed with scholarships to study in USA.  Grace has graduated and she has been a missionary to China for more than two years now.

During our camp Pastor Liaw spoke on the subject of "Mission" and he is most qualified to speak on this subject as he has practical experiences in PNG.  His teachings had been inspiring and also helped us to understand the real meaning of mission.  He said in mission, it is not necessary one needed to share the Gospel to the people we are helping.  There are missionaries who are purely teachers in the mission fields and they not necessary share the Gospel with their students.  It would be good if they can do so.

Another good point about serving is that we must be intentional in serving.  We can not be a "convenient" Christian.  He shared a story of "convenient" Christian, he said most time we will give lifts from church to our church friends if it is convenient for us, meaning if we are going the same way as our friends, otherwise we will not help.  He joked that most time, the pastor is the one who will give lifts to church members because he is located at the church, and their is no specific direction for him.

Overall, we had a good camp and our speaker has imparted valuable messages to us.  We pray that most of us can be involved in mission.  It is not necessary to be away from our country, the mission fields are also numerous in our own country.

You can red an article about some of their work in PNG here : http://www.sil.org/story/its-time-school

To see pictures in PNG go to this link :  http://s529.photobucket.com/user/Liaw/library/?sort=3&page=1

Note : Top picture is Pastor Liaw, bottom picture Mrs. Liaw

Nursing Home

It is inevitable that we face old age.  When we are old there are limitations to what we can do physically as well as mentally.  It will come a time when we need others to care for us.  This is what my mother is facing.  In her case, her mind is deteriorating because she has dementia.  Over the years it seems her mind has lose many abilities including recognising people.  Sad to say, now she cannot remember all her children.  Because she could not take care of herself any more and because of our family circumstance, we have decided to admit her to a local nursing home, Lions Nursing Home, Kuching which is a non profit ran by Lions Club of Kuching.  As much as we do not want to send our mother there, the circumstances left us with little choice.  She has been admiited there since 9th July 2014.

Thank and Praise God that these few days my family members have been visiting her there and observed that she has been well taken care by the care givers there.  We had heard of unpleasant stories at nursing homes, and thank God this one is alright.  At least we know that our mother is well taken care off there.  We need not worry unnecasserily.  While there I have spoken to a number of residents and most of them are happy living there.  There are a few who yearned to go home.  Who wouldn't ?

Dementia is a serious dieases which caused the patient to "lose his/her mind" over time.  They can be totally dependant on others at the late stage.  Over here in Malaysia facilities for such patients are limited.  There is no specialised nursing home for such patients.  However, it is different in Holland.  There is a dedicated village meant for patients with this diease.  Watch it below:

Allah case in Malaysia

Recently, the Malaysian Federal Courts ruled that the Catholic Church's magazine, "The Herald" cannot use the word "Allah" to refer to God.  This controvesy has been dragging on since 2007 when the courts ruled in favour of the Catholic Church allowing the word "Allah" to be used in their magazine to cather to the Malay speaking believers mainly in East Malaysia.  The recent federal courts decision is most unsettleing to the Christan community in Malaysia, because the decision has wide implications to all Chrustians in the country and not only the Catholic church.  Nevertheless, Chrustians especially in East Malaysia say they will continue to worship as usually using the word "Allah" to refer to the Christian God.

Many see that this controvesy is a result of the ruling coalition's indecision or a lack of political will to put this controvesy at rest.  This has created very much uneasiness in this country, and unless the politicians are sincerely in resolving this issue, things could get worst.

Peter Truong Healing Services

Pastor Peter Truong and his wife Ruth had been ministering to our church since middle of this week.  Pastor Peter is from Brisbane, Australia.  He is Vietnaness Chinese.  His wife is from Vietnam.  They are married for one year.

Pastor Peter had visited our church two years ago.  During that visit he also ministered to Calvary Family Church (CFC) and a paralysed sister was prayed by him.  Over these two years, this sister is recoverying by God's grace.  She used to lay flat on bed, now she is able to sit on the wheelchair.  Amazingly during her paralysis she gave birth to a healthy baby girl !  Doctor advised her to abort, she had none of that and praise God she has a beautiful child.  Both her legs used to be paralysed, but now one of them is moving!  Hallelujah!  Praise God!  While praying for her at church this morning, Pastor Peter get the congregation to stretch our hands toward her while he prayed, he prayed and said he expect her complete healing soon.

Pastor Peter encouraged our congreagtion to pray for those who are infirmed.  Those needed healings are prayed over by our members, as he also prayed for everyone who needed healing.  The ordinary way that he conducted the healing service is amazing.  We realized that we as part of the body of Christ are empowered to heal in the name of Jesus.

Another sister of our church has been healed of deafness on her right ear.  Sometime ago she went for a brain surgery and that had destroyed her hearing, but Pastor Peter prayed for her on Thursday night and she is healed!  Hallelujah!  Praise God!

A grandfather testified that his grandson has also been healed of stomach problem.  His grandson had been to hospital three times, yet his condition persisted, he could not drink and eat and was weak.  On Wednesday, the Holy Spirit prompted his grandfather to attend Pastor Peter's healing service and when Pastor Peter sensed that he needed to pray for someone with stomach ailment, this grandfather brought his grandson to be prayed by Pastor Peter.  This morning, the grandfather testified that after the prayer that evening, the grandson took a banana where previously he refused to eat because of the pain.  The following day he had chicken rice and pizza!  He is completely healed!  Praise God for His mercy and healing!

There were many more healings and the congregation could feel the presence of God in our church this morning.   Thank God for bringing Pastor Peter and his wife Ruth to minister to us.

Peter Truong Healing Service at FBC - Video Maker

America's No. 1 Confidence Coach

Last week our local FUll Gospel Businessmen (FGB) fellowship brought in America's No. 1 Confidence coach for a two-sessions workshop.  It was indeed a blessing for Kuching's folks because Keith Johnson came all the way from America and the entrance fee to attend was just RM10 each!

The seminar was a success, the room was packed with at about 200 people of Thursday evening.  Friday morning;s session was also well attended.

Keith Johnson was a funny speaker and he kept everyone on his toes with his many jokes.  Jokes aside, we learn many valuable tips about building confidence and how to have confidence in our lives.  Confident seems to be everything in a successful person's live.  Lack of confidence is usually a person's reason for failure.  Success is not necessary measures by monetary returns, but a productive live in areas of your passions.  Like a Pastor can be successful but not necessary rich in a worldly manner.

One great point about this seminar was that it was based on Christian principles and Dr. Keith Johnson has a graduate degree in Theology.  He sharing was backed by Biblical principles.  Unless we have God, we cannot be successful.  In one of his "triangle of confidence", it contains God as one factor.

All in a useful and beneficial seminar on confidence building.

We Can't Care About Everyone All The Time

 http://www.christianitytoday.com/amyjuliabecker/2014/may/we-cant-care-about-everyone-all-time.html

Recently read an article of the same title.  Sometimes we may feel overwhelmed by the many bad things that are happening around the world or in our neignbourhood.  Certainly we care about what misfortune others are experiecing and our hearts go out to them.  However, can we care for all these not within our control and many times far away from us?  The author rightly said she cannot care for all these happenings.  Recently the MH370 tragedy is one such issue, certainly in Malaysia many of us are stunned by this mystery and sufferings, and yes our hearts go out to the victims and their families.  Yet, in God's scheme of things He most likely did not expect us to be imobilized by such incidences around the world, if He had, He would have equiped us.  I share the same feelinsg like the author, I care for all the bad that happened but I can't do anything, what I can do to impact others lives I will do.  Like many of our church members are involved in helping communities around us and in neighbouring countries like Indonesia.  Our Life Group is supporting a number of less privilege students at a home in Kalimantan, just about a couple of hours drive from Kuching.  We believe this is more impactful, because the money we give every month goes to buy foods, supplies for the students.  Of course this is one example, there are many to cover here.

I believe God instructured us to impact our immediate communities where we can really help, and not those places beyong our reach.

Praise God and thank Him that our Life Group cna be of service to people who needed help.  That is a command of God to help the needy.  We need not be overwhelmed by bad things far away from us.  Important is that we are of service to others who are in need.

Pre-Gawai Celebration at FBC

Our Church celebrated pre-Gawai 2014 last evening at our Church.  It was organized by our Iban Church to usher in this year Gawai.  Gawai is actually the harvest festival of the natives of Sarawak, and it is usually treated as the main festival by our natives like the Iban, Bidayuh, etc.

Our Iban folks have been gracious and they organized this celebration to celebrate with our English and Chinese congregations.  Beside our members from our main Church, Iban Church has also invited about a 100 members from Sebuyau and Engsengi about two and half hours drive from Kuching.  Beside the various performances, our Iban folks treated us to a sumptous meal, all foods cooked by themselves.  They even cooked the "Lakcheong", Cantonese for sausages Chinese style.  They are good cooks!

All in about 300 people came to celebrate.  Thank God for a eventful and meaningful evening!

FBC Pre-Gawai 2014 - Video Maker