“I’m 31 years old; can I be a baby again?”
For me (YK, 2nd from right), speaking to 100 teachers in two schools. Most of them were non-believers but they listened to my talks attentively. I'm grateful.
Battsenger said, when I (YK) shared the gospel with her.
The manager of the GoldStar Hotel, where we stayed during our 10-day trip in Ulaanbaatar (UB), was my “man of peace” (Luke 10:6).
Every day, she would check if we had enough hot water (temperature between -3°C and 20°C). One evening she prepared for us Indian curry (she’s married to a Pakistani). Another day, she surprised me by doing all my laundry, and at no cost.
Though she didn’t receive Christ through my sharing, I know Battsenger’s salvation is near. “You have something special,” she told me.
When I replied that the “something special” is Jesus in me, she nodded. “Yes, I know,” she said. “My maid, who’s the purest person I’d ever met, has the same thing.”
“She’s also a Christian.”
On our last evening, I introduced Battsenger to Boggii, a local worker who would follow her up. Here’s the amazing thing: when the two women met, they realized they were neighbors 30 years ago in Hovd, a village 1,500km from UB.
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- “I’m 31 years old; can I be a baby again?” (PDF, 700kB)
- Jeremy Chew: Open door for the Word (PDF, 532kB) The Mongolians not only opened their door to welcome the Word of God. They also opened their hearts to us. They received us with warm friendship, food and gifts that were beyond their means. We might have taught them the New Testament, but they showed us how to live it.
Reaffirming God’s Call
Hiking with EAST family group members at MacRitchie Reservoir
Mentoring has been God’s blessing in our lives. We praise God for people who have faithfully mentored us in the past at various points in our lives. These include not a few of YB’s Sunday School teachers who proudly came forward to reconnect with him (after more than 30 years!) when YB spoke at different churches.
We are also thankful for countless people in Singapore, Cambodia and Canada that God has enabled us to disciple. Presently YB is mentoring two key young adults in church — John & Alethea. At EAST, he mentors Andrew (Singapore), Bataa (Mongolia), Christopher (Korea), Kwang Sik (Korea), and Sang Hyuk (Korea). These are members of YB’s Family Group (a ministry where each faculty coaches a small group of students). Elaine mentors Angeline, Gerlynn, and Joyce in church and takes care of a group of students’ spouses as part of EAST’s holistic ministry to the family of each student.
… One of our greatest statisfaction in mentoring is to see spiritual multiplication. It’s thrilling to first teach John and Alethea, and then to empower them to teach the teens which include our very own boys, Caleb and David! It has also been a rewarding time to assist them pioneer the teen ministry in our church.
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- Reaffirming God’s Call (PDF, 1.6MB)
Growth
Jeremy & Jane's tribe
Growth… is a mystery. It happens all the time, yet often goes unnoticed. Sometime back, my 8-year-old daughter remarked as we were walking across a basketball court, “Daddy, the net seems to be lower now!” I smiled, knowing that she had grown taller. Sometimes we don’t even realize we have grown. What used to seem unattainable suddenly comes within reach. That’s the mystery of growth.
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- Growth (PDF, 300kB)
A New Sheriff (Chief) in Town
Caleb is growing 1lb a week, almost cooing, and smiles often. Ethan loves his brother, but is still getting used to less individual attention, as is to be expected.
This semester they faced the re-occurring challenge of nearly half the student leaders moving on to jobs or 4 year schools. They continue an emphasis on prayer for their ministry and God has been working. Fred and the faculty advisor both felt led to invite the new Orlando Police Chief—a professing Christian—to speak on leadership and her faith for a campus outreach. It was a bold request and would she even have the time? Fred shared this about the outreach:
“We had about 85 people (students and faculty) come to our CCC meeting, which was up from our normal 10 students. Some of the students took the initiative to invite some friends. The school also let us send an email to every student… and do lots of publicity around campus… Chief Demings did a great job of connecting with the students, and told us to invite her back. I believe that lots of seeds were planted… and although there was some spiritual battle, I think our prayers eliminated most of it. This was the largest attended Christian event we have had since I’ve been there.
“There is a monthly faculty bible study that has started and the next meeting is in a few weeks. Prayer is the topic.”
I think of the saying “When man works, man works. But when man prays, God works.” It can be a real challenge for us, even in ministry. But when our staff and students grow in dependence on God He is invariably gets honored in the events and lives changed.
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- A New Sheriff (Chief) in Town (PDF, 102kB)
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