2018 Penang Mission Trip
Joshua Chai
Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. - Matthew 25:40
From 11 to 15 November 2018, a group of 5 youths led by Aunty Lucy, Mark and Benedict went on a mission trip to Penang. During the trip, we primarily visited two locations, Kawan and House of Hope. Kawan was a drop-in center for the homeless run by YWAM, providing breakfast, lunch, showers and other basic necessities on several days of the week.
Under the direction of the Kawan staff, we were able to help with the preparation of more than 100 portions of food per meal time, no easy feat for such a small kitchen. Additionally, we played simple games with the people there, such as “guess the price” and Bingo, and also sang simple Hokkien Christian songs to lighten the atmosphere.
We were touched and surprised by the warm hospitality of the Kawan staff in how they continually showed God’s love to the people who dropped by. We were able to see how easy it is for us to practice our faith in Singapore under ideal circumstances, but the Kawan staff did not have the same luxury we do, yet they extended God’s love to strangers who came by seemingly just for a meal.
We also visited House of Hope, a non-profit organization that supports low-income families who live in the rental flats in Rifle Range. It was God’s divine timing that we were to visit that day as there was initially supposed to be an external group come and prepare meals for those there to eat. However, due to a miscommunication in the dates, the group who was supposed to prepare the meals was not present, but the invited residents from the surrounding low-income flats had already begun pouring into House of Hope’s premises. Despite the challenges, God provided the opportunities to serve Him and we were able to help in preparing the meals, and all those who came, by God’s provision, received food to eat. Following that, we also hand-delivered meals to certain individuals who were unable to come down to the House of Hope premises for their meals. As we delivered the meals we were able to get to know some of the residents there as they shared with us about their lives and various struggles that they were facing.
We also got to meet Aunty Cheng See who runs House of Hope. To be able to return after several years and see how God has continued to bless the ministry that she leads was extremely inspiring. To be able to see how God rewards her ever-growing ministry as she leans upon the Lord was a pleasant reminder of His faithfulness to His people. The team also learnt the importance of placing Him first and setting aside time for Him. The team at House of Hope would daily set aside time to seek after Him together, going into the office to pray together after lunch, regardless of how busy they were. It is a practice that has continued since the last time I had the opportunity to visit, several years ago. It taught us that no matter what happens, God rewards us when we place Him at the center.
We would like to thank God for this opportunity to go to Penang to show His love to the people we had the privilege of interacting with. He revealed Himself to us through the divine openings of opportunities to serve the various communities and showed us what it meant to display His love to those around us. However, it was also an eye-opening experience for us to be able to go out of our own comfort zones in Singapore to see how God is working beyond our small city.
