PrayerConnect (September - December 2017)

PRAYERconnect September 2017 to December 2017

A prayer letter of the Methodist Missions Society ď Ž Not for circulation ď Ž For Mission Partners and Volunteers only

I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers.

Philemon 1:4 (ESV)

dear prayer partners

Never Forget to Pray Paul and Silas had a habit of praying, and nothing could disrupt their routine. Once, they were on their way to a prayer meeting (Act 16:16-26) and they encountered two distractions that could derail their prayer time.

The first one was when they met a slave girl who had a spirit.

She caused them much distress by shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.� She did that for many days and eventually Paul decided to command the spirit to leave the girl.

The second one was when they were seized, flogged, and thrown into prison for healing that girl. When she was set free, her fortune-telling ability, which earned much money for her owners, halted. That upset her owners who dragged them to the magistrates to order them to be incarcerated.

Despite these distractions, they had never forgotten to pray! At midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Act 16:25) What a testimony!

As we thumb through the pages of this PrayerConnect, may we not let any setback distract us from persevering in prayer.

Rev Philip Lim Executive Director Methodist Missions Society Cover photo showing a group of children from Timor-Leste praying.

All Scripture quoted is based on English Standard Version (ESV), unless otherwise stated.

2. Thank God that COSI Children’s Village is granted the certification of operation. Pray for wisdom and guidance as we upgrade the training programme and ministry to the women in Emmaus Women Centre. Pray that we will reach out effectively to many more Cambodian women. Pray for co-workers to serve as Ministry Workers, certified Culinary Trainer, and English Teachers.

ONDAY

3. Pray for the outreach ministry of COS-Youth Hostel in partnership with Antioch Methodist Church. Pray that many friends of the COSY youth will know Jesus, and make a positive impact to the community in Baek Chan area. Pray for empowerment, perseverance, wisdom, and joy for the missionary and staff.

CAMBODIA

1. Pray for the follow-up with the youth and young adults who attended the Discipleship Rally on 19 June. May they grow in Christ. Pray for effective and fruitful discipleship as the missionaries minster to them.

4. Pray for the salvation of the children, youth, and teachers in the Methodist School of Cambodia. May their lives be touched by the love of Christ through the daily morning Devotion, Christian Education classes, and Boys’ Brigade and Girls’ Brigade programmes. Pray for effective ministries in evangelism and discipleship. Pray for all the missionaries, school board, national staff, and volunteers to be empowered with wisdom, and to serve with joy and grace from the Lord.

5. Pray for members of Methodist Church in Cambodia to be faithful disciples of Christ, and respond to the call to serve as pastors and evangelists. Pray for an increase intake in the Cambodia Methodist Bible School (CMBS).

Pray for empowerment, wisdom, and courage as the CMBS trustees and faculty make changes to have an effective discipleship training programme with vocational skill training to better equip for ministry in the villages and market places.

2. Pray for a smooth transition of the relocation of Stamford Consultancy from NC to SH. Pray also for a smooth adjustment of our MWs to their respective fields in the next few months.

3. As WT will be setting up a meeting point in ZJJ, pray that he and his wife CZ will be effective in their outreach to bring in new people. Pray that God will also provide strong support from our home base here.

UESDAY

EAST ASIA

1. Pray for the running of BTC programme in TP. About 10 people are attending Bible teaching on the Pentateuch (First Five Books of the Bible) on a weekly basis.

4. Pray for the two candidates who have started in July for the training & mobilising programme @ KS of the northwest region.

5. Thank God for the annual Summer Leaders’ Conference in August at the snow mountain @ KM of the western region.

6. Pray for the training trip in XA of the central region to connect with young people and colleges.

7. Pray for Mo and his family who have just relocated to DL of the western region for the exploration of expansion.

8. Pray for open doors of creative access for all our staff entering into East Asia.

9. Thank God for giving strength and health to AC (our new missionary pastor). May God continue to grant wisdom and anointing for him to stay focused and be aligned with the strategy of MMS.

EDNESDAY

LAOS

1. Thank God for seeing us through the preparation for and running of our Summer School term (3 July to 18 August) and for the 41 children that came. Pray for the staff and children to be refreshed and eager to be back to school in the new school year from 28 August.

2. Pray for the SMS children in their faith and for outreach to the parents and staff, that many more may also hear the word, ask questions, and come to His saving knowledge.

3. Thank God for our teachers and staff. Pray for Him to send us the right people for His growing work at SMS and INSPIRE (Centre for English and Chinese). Pray for fresh labourers from Singapore: • Teachers with the suitable skill sets in the teaching of English at all levels (Kindergarten, Primary and TESOL).

• An Administrative Executive to help review & establish systems of managing the school operations and accounts.

• A Christian Ministry Staff to further the Christian Education programme.

4. Thank God for the members and advisors of the School Board, for keeping them safe and in good health, and for their invaluable assistance to the school. Pray for the cordial and supportive partnership to continue, and for ongoing guidance and wisdom to achieve a balance between the distinctive academic appeal of the school and sustainability.

5. Pray for and uphold the Lao Government as they strive to improve the welfare of the nation and maintain relations with its neighbours.

6. Pray for God to guide the growth of the church in Laos and the role of SMS in His grand scheme.

2. Pray for the Vijayee Methodist Church building project in East Nepal, which started in June and it is expected to be completed by end 2017. Pray that the building project will be completed without any delay, and for God’s protection over all who are working on the project.

HURSDAY

NEPAL

1. Pray for the 9th Annual Meeting which will be held on 10 October. Pray for God’s wisdom as Bishop Dr Chong Chin Chung presides over the Annual Meeting.

Pray also for the Pastors and leaders as they assume their appointments for the coming year.

3. Pray for Rev Sabashtain Lepcha and his team as they continue with the rebuilding programme to provide safe homes for those who were affected and suffered losses to lives and properties during the Nepal earthquake in 2015.

4. Pray for the team members as they prepare for their Medical Missions trips. MMS partners churches from Singapore will be sending their medical teams to Nepal in the last quarter of 2017 to minister to the needs of the Nepali people. Pray for our National Pastors as they prepare the ground to enable our medical teams to bring God’s love to His people.

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Source Code: PRT_PRAYER_C

my gift for his great commission through mms

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2. Pray for all the Vineyard Methodist School teachers and staffs to honour God and exemplify Godly characters. Thank God for an increased in student enrolment for new academic year 2017/18.

RIDAY DAY

3. Pray for New Ministry Songroi-pi tuition centre, that more children and youth will join the after school care programme and sport activities centre. Songroi-pi is situated where the first Rangsit Methodist Church was originally located - next to a major train station. Pray also for another New Ministry Nong-yan preaching point. It is the second outreach point started by Shineforth Methodist Church.

There are currently 10 church members.

THAILAND

1. Pray for a new place for the Klong 8 Methodist Church to worship and operate the church office. The owner of the current premise is putting the place for sale. Pray for a suitable candidate to take the place of a Children Ministry worker, who is spiritually mature and loves children from the heart.

4. Pray for unity among the church leaders, staff and members in Rangsit Methodist Church. Pray for bold as the church leaders make godly choices and decisions.

May they learn to work closely with the new PIC, Rev Henry Yeo, and the supply pastor, Ps John Lim. Pray also for a new pastoral staff to come on board to give daily guidance to the church leaders and staff.

2. Pray as we explore the recruitment of two more local teachers for the school by October.

ATURDAY

TIMOR-LESTE

1. Pray for God to open up the minds of the students in the Methodist School in Timor-Leste - to understand English and to be disciplined in their learning.

3. Pray for good favour with the various government ministries as we process the school licence.

4. Pray for the students in Sundermeier Home to grow in obedience to the Word of God. John 8:32 - You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

5. Pray for the student leaders in Sundermeier Home to take up initiative and be observant and alert.

6. Pray for the salvation to the students in Sundermeier and also their families.

7. Pray for the Methodist churches in Singapore to send their members to participate in the MITE Programme.

2. Pray continuously that God’s favour to be upon the ICF leadership. Pray for a strong united leadership under the pastor to propel the church to the new phase of discipleship and equipping of the saints.

VIETNAM

1. Thank God that the International Christian Fellowship in Ho Chi Minh City (ICF-HCMC) celebrated our 7th Anniversary of His faithfulness.

3. Pray for a Spirit-filled community who will minister in God’s grace and power.

5. Pray that the Methodist churches in Singapore will understand and appreciate our kind of works of mercy here. May they come along to partner and support us with sensitivity as we carry out community development projects for the betterment of the lives of the poor and needy.

NDAY

4. Pray for our Sunday School and Youth ministries to grow in God’s Word and also in numbers.

Testimony

Thank God for the Opportunity ~ by Felix dos Santos, Sundermeier Home (SH) in Timor-Leste since January 2016.

In these 20 months, I have learnt many things. Among the many other things I do in the Hostel, the greatest lesson that will always remain in me is the reading of the Bible. Before coming to SH, I never have had a Bible neither did we have one at home. Our house parents, Papa and Mama, have taught me to read the Bible every day, and also its importance.

Now, I am able to share God’s word with my school friends and my family. This also helps me to pray for my family and friends, and the community around.

God answers my prayer too. For example, when my mother was sick, I prayed for her and she was healed! I was very happy.

I am learning more from Papa and Mama as they teach me God’s Word. I am learning to worship, pray, obey, and follow Him. God’s Word is changing my character and I am learning to love one another. I read in 1 John 4:8: Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. Now, I know that the love I have is a love given by God. Papa and Mama also teach me English every day. We also learn from Singapore teams as we speak with them in English. This helps me a lot to improve myself. I also learnt new games, how to play guitar, and also how to worship God through dance.

In addition, I also have learned to plant flowers and hydroponic vegetables. These are valuable lessons and I enjoy gardening. If I have stayed in my village, I would not have had the opportunity to learn stuff even like gardening.

I want to thank God my Saviour for this wonderful opportunity He has given me to stay in SH. I want to give my best while I am staying here. God tells me that whatever I do, work at it with all my heart as if I am working for the Lord. (Colossians 3:23)

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