Dear Brethren,

“The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”  Psalm 121:8

I left for Kemaman Life BP Church previous Thursday night on 23 May 2013 to preach at their worship service on Friday 24 May 2013. As it was a public holiday on 24 May 2013, I knew the causeway will be crowded. I needed to be at Johor Larkin bus terminal by 9.45pm to catch the night coach to Kemaman at Terengganu. The night coach journey is about 6 to 7 hours.  I left promptly from work on Thursday just after 6pm to go home to change and bring my bag to Kemaman. I prayed and trusted God not knowing how bad is the jam and what time could I make it to Larkin bus terminal. The Lord gave me the peace of heart.

I went to Queens Street at Bugis to take the Singapore-Johor express bus. I was shocked to see the unexpected long queue. Usually the queue is only about 20 people. This time, there were about 80 to 100 people in front of me. I just prayed and trusted God for the bus to come quickly. At the 3rd or 4th bus, I managed to get up the bus. The journey was smooth till Woodland where there was a heavy jam. Again, I could only pray and trust God for His leading and protection. The bus took a detour and after a while managed to reach the causeway. Praise the Lord! I got another shock when I reached Malaysia custom to see a very long queue. Each time, I could only pray and call upon the Lord for His mercy and grace. Finally, I reached Larkin bus terminal at 9.40pm. I did not have time for dinner but the Lord took care of it as the coach leaving for Kemaman came late. Hence, I had time to take some food for dinner. Each step of the way the Lord was good and Psalm 121:8 was made so real to me. Let us learn to trust God in every step of our journey whether going out and in. Pray and commit every journey to the Lord and trust Him for protection.

Another thanksgiving item in this trip is that I woke up on time to alight at Kemaman. I would sleep very well in the coach and worried if I could wake up. I hesitated to set the alarm in my phone as I did not want to wake other passengers up and also not sure what was the best time to set. Thank God that I decided to set the alarm at 4am. The Lord was good that I managed to wake up and the coach reached Kemaman at 4.10am.

“I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”  Luke 15:7

Kemaman Life BP Church has a Sunday School class on Friday afternoon. The Chinese preacher would teach the class. It was also a public holiday in Malaysia on 24 May 2013 when I was there. Many families left for vacation and some were tempted by worldly affairs to skip Church that day too. Only 7 children came for the Sunday School class at Dr. Wee’s house. There were 2 younger girls of 5 and 7 years old. They were newcomers. I was asked to teach them at the last minute as they would have difficulty understanding the upper primary class taught by the Chinese preacher.

The Lord gave me the wisdom and grace to teach them of Jesus Christ and to share the Gospel to them. Praise the Lord that they were both ready to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. We prayed the sinner’s prayer together. It was a great joy to see them coming to believe in Jesus Christ. Indeed the heaven rejoices even over one sinner that repents. Is it worth the journey to Kemaman just for 2 souls? It is worth every bit of it. How wonderful to see the working of God and His salvation grace.

In the night worship, there were only 8 who attended the English worship service. In fact, 2 of them were the visiting former senior pastor of Pasir Panjang Christ Church and his wife, Rev. and Mrs. Yeow. Was I discouraged to preach less passionately? No, by God’s grace, I told myself whether it is 8 souls or 80 souls or 800 souls, I will still preach the same way to give my best for the Lord to preach with all my heart and soul. Thank the Lord for His strength and grace.

Let us always be fervent in spirit in serving the Lord. Do not be slothful. There is only a limited time that God gives to us to labour for Him. When it is night, no man can work. We will be organizing a 3-day VBS for Kemaman Church in the last week of November 2013. Would you be willing to come to serve the Lord? The harvest is plenteous but the labourers are few. Would you be the few labourers for the Lord to serve Him faithfully and zealously?

Elder John Leong