Grace upon Grace

Two Sundays ago, we were on the way to my sister-in-law's place for dinner when Dinah asked how I felt about the upcoming commissioning. This triggered a flashback. Memories started flooding my mind. I was brought back to 1996 when we discovered that Dinah was pregnant – with twins. We were going to be first-time parents. Everything was going to change. Just 1 month later, I was asked to serve as Senior Pastor of our former church. I had just turned 28. And this invitation came out of the blue. Everything was going to change for our church. After much prayer, my pregnant wife and I stepped into this assignment with fear and trembling. Looking back, God’s grace was on us as parents and for the ministry assignment.

In recent years, I was led to pioneer sexual wholeness and then whole life discipleship. Working with different churches was new. Again, there was grace. It was serving here when Dinah and I got reconnected with RiverLife Church through Pastor Lionel. Eventually Pastor Lionel and Elder Aaron would invite Dinah and I to serve with them in RiverLife. You can read that story here  http://benkclee.blogspot.com/2018/03/another-transition.html. Once again we were not expecting this – but it happened. Here is another perspective of the same story  http://www.riverlife.org.sg/leadership-succession.

After 5-10 seconds of flashbacks, I answered Dinah - "I feel God’s grace again being invited to serve as Senior Pastor the second time." (The difference this time: Dinah is not pregnant and I am no longer 28.) The moment I replied was when I realised the date of the commissioning was 05/05. Right then it struck me that the number five is associated with grace and redemption. There were two fives on the date so double grace. That's what I told Dinah - double grace. She replied, “grace upon grace”. And so we both came to this Scripture.

"For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace" John 1:16 (ESV)

Today is 05/05. This morning I was commissioned by our elders and senior leaders to serve as Senior Pastor. Our outgoing Senior Pastor Lionel Goh was smiling radiantly. He has been very happy for quite a few months. In his final message today as our Senior Pastor, he smilingly said that he and I are the happiest persons present. He was certainly very happy. The emotion I felt leading up to this morning and this morning was not quite happiness but a range actually.  

I do feel a sense of excitement for what's ahead that's mixed with the realisation of what's needed.This might have been how I also felt in 1996. I am sure there is happiness in there somewhere : ) Today I felt very encouraged. Our close friends were present, standing with us. Our twins could witness today's commissioning. They missed the first time because they were still in the womb during March 1996. Then the commissioning service today was very authentic and very honouring. Both services moved many hearts deeply. It felt like something shifted today.

In my message as incoming Senior Pastor, I encouraged our people that when everything seems to be changing, Deuteronomy 31:2-3 (from Pastor Lionel's message) reminds us that God remains the same. He never changes. He is faithful, and that:

“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” John 1:16 (ESV)

With this assurance - I called our church to join hearts and walk together to prepare the Bride of Christ for the imminent return of the Bridegroom.

Another Transition

It was May 2014 when I joined Focus on the Family. I started with pioneering sexual wholeness. This morphed into pioneering the Whole Life approach to discipleship together with Dinah who was also at Focus. This initiative was well received. Over 30 churches have taken or is about to take the Whole Life Inventory. Of these, 6 churches invited Dinah and I to coach them in the Whole Life approach.

With Whole Life taking off, Dinah and I began waiting on our heavenly Father for longer-term direction. Our prayer: Do we go deeper with Whole Life - including sexual wholeness?

As we prayed, several things became evident.  The first were two words. 

Go Deeper

Over the past 4 years at Focus we have gone wide with Whole Life as we worked with various churches and leadership teams. For our next season, we felt that we will continue with Whole Life but that we needed to go deeper. The question was: Is Focus the platform to go deeper?

Church partners could not see Whole Life fleshed out in a local church. We can probably go a bit further in a para-church. But going deep in a local church will enable us to pilot Whole Life and implement the full outworking -- going right into the cell groups and homes within a congregation. We became more convinced that we had to go deeper. There was another development.

Prophetic Words 

My year of Jubilee started March 2017. Over that February-March period, I received prophetic words from three persons in random situations. The words received combined "50" (meaning 2018) with both "Pastor" and "Senior Pastor". One went like this – “You will pastor a church that will lead people in the narrow and winding path that leads to salvation.” 

Signs seemed to point back to the local church in 2018. Dinah and I intensified praying towards the fact we would deep dive -- into one local church. Our sensing was to move on in March 2018, with or without jobs. However, 1^st March 2018 would be the annual luncheon that Focus hosts for Lead Pastors and Senior Leaders. We both felt that that we needed to stay on until 1st March help at this gathering. Then we received another piece of guidance. 

Just Wait Upon Me   

As we continued to pray, we felt the Lord asking us not to apply for any positions. After all, we desired a calling and we already have jobs. At the same time, we sensed that the next assignment would involve both Dinah and I. This meant that the eventual church, where we would deep dive, would make the approach and invite both of us. We noted that the approaches since 2010 were for me rather than for both. Finally, we also sensed it needed to be a Whole Life church. 

Accordingly, I turned down approaches for me only. Several churches approached both of us. And some were Whole Life churches. These senior leaders shared their hearts with us. We shared our heart for holistic lifespan discipleship. Then we committed all this to prayer and fasting, keeping close friends and our children in the loop. We finally shortlisted after rounds of discussions. The best fit was RiverLife Church. It was end-Oct 2017 when Dinah and I said yes to RiverLife, just as Dinah entered her Jubilee. 

RiverLife Church has invited Dinah and I to be part of their Senior Leadership Team.  The church is part of a family of Singapore churches known as the Bartley Family of Churches (BFOC). There are 4 local churches who are part of this extended spiritual family.

Dinah and I approached our bosses at Focus to share all this. We gave over 4 months’ notice. Our last day was yesterday (sob). Focus was gracious and invited us to share our Whole Life journey with the 260 church leaders present at the event yesterday. The pastors and leaders present prayed for our transition led by the Singapore Anglican Bishop Rennis Ponniah. 

My jubilee will end today. Today will also be the start of Dinah and my mini-sabbatical. We will enjoy a breather before we join up with RiverLife in end-March. Another adventure awaits... 

Jul 2015

Our highlight in July is the North America annual conference. There was much work and multiple night-time meetings before the trip. There was the farewell for Paul. And JDOP was amazing. 

Dinah and I did not sleep on the night before our early morning flight. It was a blessing to be on oversold flight and to be upgraded - on one of the three flights. Then the Vegas airport with its slot machines was a bit of a shock. The dry 38C temperature was not fun. We checked in to the hotel room in Henderson and then caught up with the leaders over dinner. The sleep afterwards was :)

The next day was one full day of pastors with the pastors. The following day saw meetings and  evening time was our first session. I felt the Lord tugging my heart to switch messages during worship. It went well. Meal times were spent with different leaders. After conference, our friends took us to the strip for dinner. Then we flew home. We thanked God for the positive atmosphere of unity. Upon arriving, we rested and took care of errands. There was time with the twins.  

But there was one night where jet lag hit and sleep was disrupted. So my throat went funny. I tried out drinking freshly squeezed lemon juice. It was very sour but also very effective.

We resumed family prayer. Our car COE expired and we got a replacement. There was one day of heavy rain  when we went jogging. Then the Focus staff retreat was fun. Our family enjoyed VSION at the Esplanade. We watched 7 Letters with Li Chuang at the new Capitol. Later Inn Siew joined us. Elvira’s birthday party was a blast and I reunited with aunt Mui Lan. There was time with Lionel and Han Hui. There was dinner with Jan's family.

Ministry wise, there was global polity work and the NA follow-up matters. 

All the above

June was slightly less packed. There were more fun moments. Dinah and the twins took me out on Fathers Day. Jan invited us over for a meal. Our family also had dinner with the Luns.

Dinah and I could catch up with Hock Lin and Dora, and with Shih Fen. We also caught up with Chiew Bong and Dora, and with Simon. Vincent hosted our pastors gathering. And I got to know Richard.

It was a privilege to speak at the Glad Tidings Church camp in Johor. It was a great opportunity to serve this church that helped us when we first pioneered our church. We were blessed to know the church leaders and members too.

There was a weekend when Dinah spoke at Bartley Christian Church as I spoke at Yio Chu Kang Chapel. And there was marriage mentoring. Then I spoke for Focus at Grace Methodist Church. Ministry wise, there was also CATALYSE, NA camp prep and Global Polity drafting.

Then I felt unwell one Sunday evening. Afterwards I fell ill for four days. Was this due to the weather, the schedule, weekend ministry trips or all the above?

The low point happened on Friday, June 26 when the SCOTUS redefined marriage. No words could describe my feelings...

Packed & Cold

The month of May was packed. Dinah and I helped a friend's church in Bangkok over a weekend. There was a one day workshop, a Sunday message and 2 talks on Sunday afternoon. But it was good to catch up with Kobchai, Nuey and many old friends.

It was also exciting to pioneer a new training on sexuality. Dinah and I also had marriage mentoring. We spoke for Focus at the Singapore Life Church. There was one Sunday when Dinah spoke at Living Waters Methodist church whist I spoke at Cherith Baptist church. Then I also ministered at the Glory Joy Christian Church. 

   

The low point in May happened after the trip. The first day after happened to be a long work day. Two days later, a sore throat arrived. Next I was thoroughly sick with a cold virus for four days. Sigh. 

In a full month, our family did enjoy one day out along with a movie. We also joined Momentum 2015. On Mother's Day, Dinah's extended family celebrated with her mom. Dinah and I got to know Daniel and Janice. And the COE for our car runs out in 2 months...

I was thankful for one particular hot day with much rain. There were several hot days with some rain. But the forecast is for more hotter days ahead - without rain. Sigh.

The heat is on

Easter weekend was memorable. Our family joined a Passover Meal on Good Friday. The long weekend was also nice. Then Deb started her internship. And there was Momentum 2015.

There was a catch up with my former CEO Hyong. There was Anthony and Hui Ling’s 20^th anniversary celebration. It was good to have  time with Mabel, with Nic, with Richard and Yuet Mei, with Wenjiang and Claramae, and with Nam Seng and Sok Mian. There was also time with my pastor friends.

One forgettable moment was opening a pastor friend's email and getting phished. So there was damage control (sigh). There was also the late tax return submission but thankfully not too late. 

Dinah and I ran a focus group for singles ministry. We trained a new generation of marriage mentors. We also spoke at Bethesda Frankel Estate Church. There was an interview for HIM's anniversary publication. There was the CATALYSE report. And there was the global polity meeting and the follow-up.

There were many hot days with some rain on a few afternoons. The heat is on.

Intense Emotions

March was a month of intense emotions.

Days, nights and weekends were all building up to the the sexuality conference. There were multiple local partners, speakers and speaker books to manage on top of the conference proper. I had a plenary session as well. The conference saw many walk-in registrations. The night session was virtually full house. I felt exhausted but joy-filled. After 2 days, we said our good byes as Dinah and I took the twins who volunteered at the conference for a special treat. Straight after, we began preparations for the special pastors tea.   

Again days, nights and the weekend were spent on preparations. There was broken sleep. This special pastors' tea was also the first of its nature. Mr LKY passes 3 days before. Affected, we continued and launched the Whole-Life Discipleship framework to pastors. Afterwards, Dinah and I took the twins who volunteered at the conference for a special treat. 

The final week was very intense. We cried throughout as we watched Farewell to LKY on Mar 29. It’s been an emotional week for the nation. My batteries were flat but tried to wrap up matters from conference and pastors tea. Treated our team to a special meal. Dinah and I went to the movies one night.

The first half of the month was less emotional except for the first day of the new office IT system. This impacted online registrations. This drama spilled over to our family outing. Also, Dinah and I had an interesting dinner with Che Ahn, Larry Bolz, Vincent and Genevie, Simon and Ping, Daniel and Joy. We had an unexpected meal with Pear, Derek and Gideon and then with Glen. 

Our family celebrated my birthday. Leonard took me out to lunch. There was an extended birthday meal with Vincent and Jenny.The guys in the office and our team took me out. The support group celebrated too. The staff team celebration was special with a watermelon as cake. I took this to symbolise fruit from gardening in the Sacred Garden.

This first half afforded some ministry time. Dinah and I spoke at Elim Church. Dinah spoke at Zion Full Gospel church. I also spoke at the English Presbytery Co-Workers Fellowship, the Board of Children's Ministry TRAC and Grace AG church.

March started out hot and humid. Days were mainly warm with clouds in the afternoon. Grateful for some drizzle and even rain. 

A welcome rest

February was Lunar New Year celebrations. The 5-day break was a welcome rest after an intense early 7 weeks in 2015. It was great to chill with our family, with Dinah's extended family and with friends. I called dad and mom. We had dinners with Dinah's family. We visited Esmond and Sue, Yu Ming and Linda, Vincent and Jenny, and Jacq visited us. We caught a movie and I caught up with writing. The weather was warm but cloudy.

There were good times outside LNY celebrations. There were catch ups with Kok Hiang and Sharon, with Henry, Melvyn, Boon Hup, Vincent and Kok Hiang, and with Charmaine too. There was jogging and family prayer.

Ministry wise, there was the launch of the new support group. Dinah and I spent Valentine's Day with couples from True Way Presbyterian Church. I did a mini-series at Living Waters Methodist church and spoke at the Fellowship of Christian Care Professionals. And church polity drafting.

Weather wise, there were cool days at the start. It became warm but cloudy with some rain. There were more hot days though. The last day of the month was a real scorcher. A sign of days to come?

Cushioned with breezes

Spring cleaning extended into the first weekend of the new year. Decluttering included scanning so to discard hardcopies. Then the first day of work was stepping into a newly renovated office. The first work week involved unpacking and rearranging furniture as contractors touch up. Work days are packed with multiple meetings since most of us were away for much of December.

January felt particularly hectic because of 2 work trips within 2 weeks. The first was Summit 2015 in Malacca. It was good to reconnect with pastor friends. The plenary sessions and testimonies were refreshing. Dinah and I joined the very early morning prayer. It was an enjoyable first and only regret was coming back with a cold. The second trip was to a family life pastors' consultation in KL. It was my first outing with this fraternity. It was good to meet Sabahan pastors, connect with Fung Fong, and catch up with Willie, Tryphena and Sylvia.

One January highlight was to catch up with Wee Leng, Wan Phing and Sharon. It was also good to gather with Glen, Swee Tin, Dennis, Laura and Paul. There was Skype catch up with Todd and Joan. And it was good to get to know Hock Cheng and Camelia along with Calvin and Grace plus their 3 girls. 

The new ministry year re-started too. I ministered at the Shekinah AG church and for the Eagles youth seminar. Mentoring and global polity work also resumed. Then sermon preparations featured on evenings and on weekends. 

Early parts of January saw some rain. Days are getting a little warmer but are cushioned with morning and evening breezes. Breezy times are when walk-a-jogs continued.

Quebec, Sabah & Singapore

December played out in 3 parts.

The first 10 days was all about ministry in Quebec. We reunited with our friend Eric for ministry but this time in winter. It was great to meet the new team in Montreal. This trip was both fruitful and freezing for Dinah and I. After this very cold climate in Canada, we spent 3 short days in Singapore re-acclimatising. I met Sebastian from Germany. During this time Dinah fell ill.

Then our family spent 10 days in Sabah. Dinah took this time to recuperate. My brother was back from UK so the whole family was together. Sabah was all about family. We conversed with dad, mom and my siblings. The family hung out together. It was very nice to enjoy home-cooked dishes that we grew up with (pic). I also caught up with childhood friends - Albert, Martin and Robert as well as an old friend from SG - Chiew Bong. Then I spoke at the Hope KK church too.

The last 8 days was Christmas and New Year in Singapore. There was Christmas celebrations with Dinah's extended family. Jan hosted a Christmas dinner. There was an extended evening with Charmaine and Li Chuang and then with Michael and Lean Choo. Jefferson dropped by. Li Chuang visited. Seng Hock called from Cambodia. I spoke at the SJSM church. And we spent 3 days spring cleaning. Needed to get our home more liveable now that we are staying.

Got no complaints about the weather. The 31 days in December were simply beautiful.

Change in the air

It was very special to have Stan and Samuel visit us. This was a very memorable evening. Here's a pic by Daniel.

In the month, Dinah and I got to know Richard, Silas and Mona from Shekinah AG church. We caught up with Simon Eng. There was a fun dinner with Yiu Wah, Yeow Chuan, wife, kids and Daryl, There was the extended evening with Tiong Howe. There was time with Henson and catch-up with Vincent and Jenny.

Otherwise, November felt very much like a month of preparation. There was planning and preparation including late nights and weekends for LEGACY, for Quebec and the upcoming wholeness conference.

Ministry wise, there was LEGACY. Dinah and I also ministered at the Faith AG church marital sexuality workshop. I spoke to AG ministers and at Shekinah AG church. I also spoke at KCC. Then I joined the Yale-NUS Christian Fellowship. There was a thank-you dinner for long-time church members. There was a conference call as well as mentoring.

Whilst jogging in the middle of the month, I felt the humidity retreating with a familiar incoming breeze. There is a temperature change in the air. Cooler season is coming. There were also a few afternoon showers during the month and a bit of nice weather at month-end. 

Birthdays

October is when three quarters of our household celebrate birthdays. The first celebration for Dinah was at the office. Different ones also took her out for lunch. Our family took Dinah to lunch and to dinner. Jan celebrated. Then Dinah and I took the twins out to lunch, for shopping and to dinner. Jan also celebrated. The care group surprised them. In between celebrations, we caught an awesome movie. At month-end, the twins went on live radio to share a teen perspective on parenting at 938LIVE.

Our buddies gathered and celebrated Dinah and Paul's birthdays. Our family caught up with Charmaine. And she sprang birthday gifts. Dinah and I celebrated Leslie’s birthday too. Stan, Norhaya and family had our family over for a meal. Calvin and Charis took us to dinner. Don and Su Ching hosted us at their place. I also caught up with Jason. Our family loved the WTA matches with Christian and Michael. 

Ministry wise, Dinah and I continued with marriage mentoring. We joined a session with Mark Sandford. We visited David and Alice's family ministry group. I had mentoring and also moderated at the Female Intimacy session There was the Global Polity meeting and ministering at Grace AG and SJSM. 

The hot days became hazy too (sigh). And I find myself thinking of year-end weather.

Pretty Intense

One big part of Sep was Mark Holmen's ministry trip. Dinah and I helped to host him at seminars, consultations and meetings. This 12-day visit took up much of the first half of the month. It was pretty intense. Then we helped host Michael Brown for a seminar during month-end.
In between the visits, it was a lot of catch up with work piled up during Mark's visit.  There was a visit to a support group. There was a NA conference call. There were mentoring sessions. I also spoke at Wesley.
Dinah and I did take time off to hang out with the twins. We managed some spring cleaning. Family prayer continued. Jogging and swimming continued too. The highlight was the Cavalia show, courtesy of the twins. My down side in Sep was the 2 days of broken sleep. Also had to fix one part of the car.
It was great to bump into Francis one morning. Then Betty cooked us dinner and Chin Sim hosted lunch. The Luns got us to celebrate the Maks birthday birthday together. There was a great time with Alan and Jason. And we hosted dinner for Evelyn and Benni.

A Spike

August saw a sudden spike in ministry and meetings.

Our family volunteered at Liberty League's Lasting Lessons. Dinah and I had marriage mentoring and Dinah and I spoke for Focus at Pasir Panjang Methodist and at Prinsep Street Presbyterian. Then I spoke at at New Horizon and to a team at Wesley Methodist. It was fun to be part of the forum panel at the quarterly Baptist Convention Pillars of Leadership (pic).
I had mentoring sessions. 

There were conference calls with NA leaders and with the Global Polity team. Then there was an endless stream of internal meetings as well external work meetings. Hope its a once-off. Or maybe the work is picking up. 

One memorable meal was catching up with long-lost friends at Christina's place. Another was catching up with Gift after years. Henson's launch of Archippus Awakening was special. Thankful for special times with Andy, with Paul, with Charmaine and with Joy. Here we come September...

HARVEST

HARVEST: 2014 North America Annual Conference was the big date in our annual calendar. This year Dinah and I were in Seattle spending time with individuals before conference. Next we conducted a 2-day pastors retreat. Then it was ministering in the 4-day conference.  So glad to reunite with folks from Canada and US. And I shared that our relocation is off after trying 5 years. Managed to catch up with more people after conference. In total, 8 days in July went into HARVEST, excluding post-trip jet-lag.

Ministry included working on global polity and ministering with church leaders at a Methodist church. Then two friends approached at different times to talk about same-sex attraction issues.

Dinah and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary. It was a memorable day... And our family finally watched Frozen after a 6-year old friend loaned us her DVD. Weekly family prayer and work-outs resumed after HARVEST. We made time to join the Burning Hearts conference as well as Tryphena's seminars in Singapore.

There was a pastor friend's surprise party which turned out to be a real surprise when the organisers realised they got the date wrong. It was also a surprise to bump into Sue-Ann and her kids two Saturdays in a row. My circle of friends got to visit Kok Hiang and the new CRU office. 

Work wise, we were back in the office the day after arriving from Seattle. Had to organise an important event for church leaders. And then work on follow-through into August. 

New Season

Dinah and the twins took me out on Father's Day to celebrate. Another family highlight was time at a camp with Eddie Ma. There was also a memorable dinner with Paul.

Dinah and I met Benjamin and Ailene. We finally caught up with Wee Leng and Wan Phing. Kenny connected Tony Siew and I. Then I met Hon. And it was good to catch up with Edmond.

The adventure in Focus continued. There were
so many meetings. There was time for existing ministry. Dinah and I hosted an amazing session on marital sexuality. There was a global polity meeting. I spoke at Life United. Got to know Darren, Angela, Phoebe, Victoria, Emily and Chau. I continued with mentoring.

  

Much of June evenings and weekends were spent preparing for HARVEST. There were Skype calls, message preparation, packing and praying. Dinah and I flew off on Jun 29 via Taipei. There was time to connect with Seattle folks before HARVEST and prepare for the retreat and conference.

A developing story

May weather is my least favourite. But I'm thankful for the intermittent rain to cool the scorching heat and incessant humidity. Overall, May has been a month of two parts.

The first part was a time of waiting. Dinah and I have been praying intensely since November. Just like over 3 years ago, I was convicted to wait and not apply for positions. In waiting, it was becoming clear to focus on wholeness. And I got a download to help build spiritually and sexually whole people and families.

I have always desired to mentor and to pioneer. And trans-local ministry has been in my heart for years. Trans-local ministry is to minister across congregational, denominational and 'secular'-sacred boundaries as part of the Kingdom mandate. This call meant that I began to decline church offers coming in. Trans-local ministries also began approaching. So I asked myself - Do I start a new platform or plug in to an existing one to leverage start-up time...

Several things did continue throughout the month. Our family discussed and prayed over my next season. Weekend jogs continued. Dinah and Deb ran at the Sundown Marathon. We celebrated Eat With Your Family day, Mothers Day dinner with Dinah then with Dinah's mom. We were interviewed on the Between Us radio programme on 938LIVE. And I watched highlights of Arsenal's FA cup victory more than once.

There were some great moments with friends. There was the lunch with Jason and Leslie, and with Kevin. Edwin and Rosie had us over for dinner. Alan and Natasha also had us over for dinner. Dinah and I enjoyed times with Joshua and Claramae, and with our old friend Quan too.

Ministry also continued throughout May. We stepped up preparations for HARVEST NAAC 2014. Dinah and I volunteered at Liberty League, a community service organisation. We ministered at Grace Baptist church. There was one weekend where Dinah spoke at Wesley Methodist as I spoke at KCC. I ministered at KCC's inaugural ministry team gathering and also spoke at Life United church.

The other part of May was pretty exciting. It began with signing on the dotted line with Focus on the Family Singapore. The arrangement is that I would continue ministry with HIM. This effectively starts a new chapter. There remains uncertainty and challenges. But will take it one step at a time. So I humbly ask for you to uphold us in your prayers. 

This is a developing story.

Wrap Up

This is my final month in the business world. Colleagues called to say goodbye. On the last day, I sent a goodbye e-mail to all my co-workers. It's been an exciting 3-year adventure into the topsy and turvy world of the mobile industry. Now it's time to wrap up.

Good Friday was a public holiday here. Our family was able to spend some time out together... It was also a blessing to have an Upper Room experience at KCC with Noel Goh (see pic).

April featured a time of catch-ups. Lawrence, Pat and Jono stopped by SG. Caught up with Joshua, Charmaine, Yu Ming and Linda, Glen and Jean, Shih Ming and Wendy, Robin and Eileen. And I finally had a meal with Henson, Rick, Jan, Sarah, Ian and also a drink with Leo.

April also turned out to be fruitful for ministry. There was a MY trip for the regional pastors' advance. Dinah and I joined the new Life Network gathering. We also joined the SPPA symposium. We met Dr Melvin Wong. We conducted a marriage workshop for Zion Bishan B-P church. Then we helped out at the Liberty League's equipping on Male Intimacy. And I spoke at Elim church's Easter service and at Wesley Methodist church. 

Testings & Transitions

The first days of March were about birthday celebrations. Jan cooked a special dinner. Dinah and the twins took me for a special lunch and to a special dinner. We caught a movie. Andy also took me out to lunch. Glen, Swee Tin, Paul and Andrew celebrated. Then I led the church to pray for Vincent on his birthday at their church service.

Dinah and I continued to ponder our future. Family prayers continued weekly. Our family took time to go out for a second movie date. And I also had a date with Dinah.

Rachel came to visit. Dinah and I caught up with Tor and Wanda from Norway. We joined wedding celebrations for Raphael and Shirley, and Wenjiang and Claramae. I caught up with Raphael, Justin, Jeffray and Darren. Also caught up with Kok Hiang, Boon Hup and Vincent, and with Robin, Melvyn and Eng Han.

Ministry wise, I was invited for a live interview at 938LIVE. Then I ministered at All Saints Presbyterian Church and got to know Leonard and Jennifer, Ronald and Ai Tee, Yew Huat and wife. I also ministered at at World Revival Prayer Fellowship and got to know Kenny, Jenny, Shaun and Kaye. We had meetings with the Canadian missions team and the Polity team. Then I volunteered at Focus on the Family.

Weather wise, it was warm, dry and humid. A nasal virus came uninvited, probably due to the haze too. So we were thankful for the rain in mid-month breaking the dry spell.

An intercessor wrote about the time we were all hoping for rain. The Lord had told this friend 1.5 years ago that we will not relocate and now was the time to reveal that to us. The intercessor wrote that the Lord was testing whether we were willing to sacrifice the Isaac in our life and that we both passed this very important test. Thus the passing of this major test marks the end of our 5-year transition.

An Overture

Dinah and I have prayed over Isaiah 30:21 every night since Nov. We re-read prophecies received in the last 5 years. Then on Feb 7th, a visiting minister prophesied that I will speak to pastors and ministers... around the Singapore coastlines and that the islands will sing praises unto the Lord. Just 2 weeks later, Genesis 22 spoke to me about Abraham walking in faith to step out. He then obeyed to sacrifice Isaac. God was pleased... and stopped him. At about this time, a dear friend wrote to say that there is no conviction that we will relocate. Another dear friend said that the Lord wanted us to take a step of faith to expand and learn new things rather than actually relocating. Okay...

The Lunar New Year holidays was a good time to ponder and process the downloads. There was rest and relaxation. There was also a chance to visit Garrick and Magdalene, Aiilena where we caught up with Anne and Wendy, and have Jeff and Esther visit us.

Our weekly family prayer continued. We shared and then prayed over the big issues. On Valentine's Day, we had dinner out and talked to the twins about our romances during our younger days. This was quite fun. The weekly swim and jog also continued.

It was special to catch up with Chan Pong and Christin after 24 years. It was good getting to know Darren, Robin, Timothy and Eng Han. We enjoyed catching up with Wilson and Suzanne, Nam Seng and Sok Mian, and Vincent and Jenny. Then Charmaine took our family out for my early birthday treat.

Ministry wise, we joined a gathering of start-up churches. Later Dinah and I spoke to marriage mentors. It was special to speak at the Lasting Lessons equipping series. Then I was part of a new church+marketplace prayer initiative. There were several ministry meetings too but the memorable one was the one with Greg, Alan, Joshua, Mohan and Leslie. Here's a pic. We started with dinner and intros. We opened our hearts. We talked ministry. We prayed out in the open at Raffles Place, till late. What an evening!

Weather wise, the dry spell continued with no rain. Initially mornings were slightly cool. Then it warmed up. Days became warm but cloudy. By mid-month it was mainly warm and humid. Sigh.

Work wise, the IT business decided at end-Feb not to relocate me to North America. And I was actually prepared for this news. That early-Feb prophecy and various sensing and words prepared my heart. So this near 5-year transition process is an overture to something else. Praying that things will be clearer soon...