UPDATE FROM LYDIA LEE (feb-march)
06-Dec-2007 10:32 Hey… Thanks 4 teaching me at media serve… I have learn a lot…Haha… Nw I won’t sleep during sermon n became very interested abt god’s word… thanks alot
Dear friends,
I received the sms (above) from a 14-year-old student last year, after our Media Project Serve ended in December. To be honest, when I first met him, my heart sank. He looked like the rebellious student who was apathetic towards anything and everything. I soon discovered that while he was not apathetic towards his interests like computer games and Japanese anime, he was apathetic towards the Word of God. In his own words during our first Quiet Time session, he described his attitude towards God’s word as “bo-chap”. (Translated: Don’t care). There, I challenged him: If you do not care for God’s word, why do you want to believe in Him and follow Jesus? At that moment, I saw him frown- out of a sudden realization that perhaps, this attitude he held was not correct. Nobody, it seems, has ever challenged this attitude of his! Ever since then and after several times when I brought him to see his error from God’s word, I saw him begin to desire to understand God’s word and struggle to live it out. God melted the heart of this outwardly rebellious Ah-beng to receive His word. At the end of 2007 he popped me this sms. You can imagine the joy I felt! God had used this boy’s transformed life to encourage me.
Many of us may look at our youths today and shake our heads or wag our fingers at them. They seem to be more anti-authoritative in schools and at home. Those who call themselves Christians and pride themselves from coming from Christian families behave just like non-Christians. I tend to get impatient at them, wondering how they can be so ignorant of their faith, so hypocritical in their conduct and not even realize it! But it is in times like these that God teaches me to pray- to pray for their hearts. God reminds me that I too, was once like them until He sent an older Christian to come and challenge me, to provoke me to think about worshipping God in the right way. God uses His people to challenge these youths out of their complacency and apathy. They need someone who will encourage them in their Christian walk. And for that, I remember that is why the ministry of SYFC continues.
PROJECT SERVE 2008 We want to Engage, Equip & Encourage our generation of Christian youths to rise up to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus, for the next 10 weeks, the staff team from across the different ministries is devoted to helping 48 Christian youths grow in their faith and to share their faith. There are 16 and 18 year olds, from all sorts of backgrounds and are all at different levels of maturity in their faith. It is a challenge to help them grow but it is a necessary ministry. It is about Christian young people reaching another young person for Jesus Christ. Personally, I will be supervising 2 girls: Linda (16 years old) and Rachel (18 years old). You might find Linda’s name familiar. I write about her often in my previous letters. She was a student I met 2 years ago at our 1st Media Project Serve. Ever since then, I had been meeting her for bible studies and involving her in subsequent holiday programs. God gave me the joy of seeing her grow to become more serious and pro-active in understanding her faith and living it out. It is a great encouragement to see her commit to these 10 weeks. In many aspects, the acts of service in this ministry in these 10 weeks will be out of her comfort zone and will require her to push her limits constantly. One example was:
PROJECT SERVE’S 1ST WEEK: ADVENTURE CAMP On the 1st day, they had to learn how to use the GPS* handset and track all over Lim Chu Kang area. Then there was 16km night cycling out to do a Cemetery Walk. Being a non-sporty person, this was physically very tough for Linda. On Day 1, she had a very bad fall from the bicycle and suffered a deep cut on her knee. We rushed her to the hospital to get the wound disinfected and bandaged. She was in tears and shock but after several hours, she recovered. Despite her bleeding wound, she went for the cemetery walk with us. On the 3rd day, she even participated in the Adventure Race, which consisted of 25km of fast walking! She did not complain or use her injury as an excuse to stay out of the activities. She did her best to keep up with the team in the race so she will not slow them down too much. In our reflection, she shared that the reason she endured was because she wanted to learn the lesson of perseverance- perseverance in the race and also perseverance in the ministry. This Adventure Week helped me learn something new about Linda. It was a joy to see a growth in character in this young lady. Through the different Project Serves and opportunities to get involved in the lives of different youths, the importance and transforming power of God’s word in a person’s life crystallizes. I dare not, for a moment, think that the change in these youths are due to my competence because I remember vividly the nights I cried over them because I was at my wits’ end and desperate moments I prayed to God to help me help them. With that conviction, I will strive to make God’s Word central in my own personal walk with Him as well as in the way I lead any student placed in my care. Please keep us all- the Staff Team, the Project Servants and myself- in prayer. We, like the youths, need God’s grace and your encouragement as we labour together for God’s glory!
Lydia Lee.
