Short Term Missions2019-07-18T14:12:22+00:00

Short Term Missions

Updates from Jane and Monica

Monica – Update August 8

Hi everyone,
I didn’t forget about this! Sorry I’m so late… combination of jet lag + laziness + processing time 😌 But I came back home a little over a week ago! It’s been nice to take some time to relax and reflect by myself and with the missions org (which is still ongoing, there’s some debriefing and financial things to finish up). This is probably going to be my last update, so it’s kind of a long one, even for me… whoops
The Last Week of the Trip
I think the last update I sent was about the second week of the trip. The third week ended up being very different from the first two. A small short-term missions team from a church in the States (it’s called Westover Church in North Carolina) flew in for our last week to run an ESL camp for some students from a Christian school for refugees. They basically absorbed Laura Beth and I into their team for our last week; we helped them run their camp and got to tag along for their tourist activities too.
The camp itself was very different from teaching classes at the other school. Our team, the students, and their teachers were all living in the same building, and there was a lot of time to get to know the students through small group English lessons and other activities. The students were aged 18-27, with most of them hovering around 18-21, so the young people on our team were able to connect with most of the students as friends. A few were more closed off, but most of them were pretty willing to answer questions about where they had come from. Most them didn’t have families or were missing family members. As a team we talked about how getting to know these students and their fun, kind, genuine personalities broke our hearts for them and their nation. But there was a lot of hope in knowing that some of them were Christians, and in seeing how their teachers and principal continue to show God’s love to them.
One of my main focuses during the week was the small group of students I was assigned to teach. There were 5 of them, and it seemed to me like they were the only students at the camp who really did not want to engage. They were polite and showed up for lessons, but they made it clear that they weren’t enjoying themselves like everybody else was. A couple of nights in, when I was out of ideas and wanted to give up, I found that God really came through for me just in time. That night, He put an idea in my head that ended up working really well on the last day of lessons, which helped the students laugh and bond a little bit with me, which then put me in a position to mention Jesus in some notes I wrote them on the last day. God also gave me a lot of patience and unconditional love for them when I felt like I didn’t have the energy to try again. It was really cool to experience God keeping his promises in a more obvious way than I’m used to at home.
Overall Stuff God Has Taught Me 
This whole thing is already too long so this is the shortened version of things that God taught me through this whole process. If you’re curious, ask me about it!
  • Prayer makes a difference. A lot of times, I don’t bother with prayer because I’m pretty sure things aren’t going to change anyways. But even if things don’t change, prayer is time for God to reset my brain and remind me that I’m not doing this alone and that I’m not in charge, thank goodness. And I’ve gained more experiences where God has answered prayers and come through right on time – so that can happen even when I think it won’t.
  • I can persevere because I know that God is faithful in his own time. A lot of my fundraising support came in either right before my deadline, or after. So now, instead of being right at my goal, I’ve surpassed it, which is not something I could have imagined in May and June. On the trip, there were so many times that God worked in ways that I didn’t expect or think were possible. And that’s not even mentioning the impact that I won’t ever know about. Having this more realistic view of God’s abilities helps me to persevere through other circumstances and tasks.
  • God calls me to be bold in the way I live for Him, and when I am more bold I see more of His faithfulness. I was more motivated to be bold with the students (i.e. talking to them, smiling at them, acts of kindness, sharing about Jesus) because I knew that I had such a short time with them. But that’s still true when I’m here at home. The more risks I took for God on this trip, the more I saw His power, faithfulness, and calling for my life. I want more of that here, too.
Prayer Requests 
  • Super thankful that we all got home safe and for everything that God did during the trip!
  • That my life would change based on the lessons that God has taught me
  • That all the Christian workers I’ve met, in North America and Asia, would be safe, healthy and have the strength to persevere in their ministries
  • That more of the refugee students would find healing and new life in Christ
  • I’m still in contact with a few of the refugee students that I hit it off with, so pray for them too (I think almost all of them are Christians), and that God would work through me to support them if He wants to. If people are interested in updated prayer requests from them and their schoolmates, maybe we can make something happen…
Ending Stuff
Click here for some pictures! You can also click on each picture to read a short caption I wrote (let me know if they don’t show up). I only chose pictures that wouldn’t give away my location, since I already committed to not giving that away in these updates. I can show you all my other pictures (and there are a LOT more) in person sometime!
As I mentioned before, I ended up having extra money in my fundraising account, so I’m going to be donating that money to TEAM, the organization I went with.
I’m hoping to have it go directly to my supervisor, who is a long term missionary and has done some amazing work. Your money will definitely still be used to glorify God. Let me know if you have any questions or problems with this!
And finally, we did it! Thank you for everything! None of this would have happened without your time, donations, prayers, and encouragements. Together, we’ve repped Jesus to people that need Him on the other side of the world. I’ve also gotten to know so many of you a little better too. I’d love to keep that going by talking more about my experiences and hearing about yours. Food’s on me, and you can hold me to that! Hope to see you soon!
By |August 8th, 2019|Categories: Uncategorised|Tags: |0 Comments
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Monica – update July 22

Hi everyone,
Hope all is well! It feels like I’ve been out here for a while, but it’s only been a couple of weeks! One more to go – I’m flying home on the 28th!
Updates
This past Thursday, we finished up teaching English at a school for refugees. The first day didn’t go very well, to say the least. We weren’t sure what level of English we were dealing with, and struggled to fill a 2 hour class with no feasible plan. The students, all older than us, were also pretty closed off and clearly uncomfortable. But thankfully, we talked and worked on a plan for the rest of the day, and started praying the mornings before we left to go to the school, and the rest of the days turned out much better. We found a few activities that worked, got to know some of the students better, and helped them try out English words with a little more confidence. We didn’t have an opportunity to share the gospel with them, but we left some Bible verse packets with our first class. Hopefully, because it is a Christian school, our short time there contributes to the impression that the school gives off as a whole.
Thursday afternoon, we went to the airport to meet the American church team that we’re sticking with for our last week. The ESL camp they were planning didn’t start until Monday, so we got a chance to do some tourist things for the first time this trip! Learning about the history and the context of the country was interesting, and so was trying to become part of another team. Thankfully, they’re very open and welcoming, and it’s clear that they want to love God and others. Today was our first day of the ESL camp, and it was a lot of fun! I think we have something good going here, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
I think the main thing I’ve learned (or re-learned for the hundredth time) from all of this is about how important prayer is. Both LB and I agreed afterwards that there was no way we could have had a positive experience at that school on our own. And beyond doing it because the Bible says that God will answer, I’ve seen some of the ways it helps me. Praying before our English classes this past week helped me to give up wanting to control how well the class was going to go (because obviously I have no control in that area). It reveals sinful thoughts that pop up in my head during the day, and gives me time to counteract them with the truth about God. This leaves me much more open and ready to be used by God each day. Plus, I know that our work with these students is not even close to the amount of help that they need, so the need to pray for them is much more obvious in my mind. Praying for them gives me hope for them, and reminds me to trust in God’s plan and not my own.
Prayer Requests
  • Thanks that God has allowed us to link up with a church team with a real heart for Him and the students here
  • Thanks that we were able to enjoy a few days touring the country and city we are in
  • For the health of our team! I have a little bit of a cold, and a couple of people are dealing with injuries and pain.
  • That God would reach out to the students through the next few days, in whatever way is in His plan
Thanks! I think I’ll be able to send one more update after the camp before I come home, so I’ll catch you then!
Monica
By |July 24th, 2019|Categories: Uncategorised|Tags: |0 Comments
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Monica – update for July 16

Hi everyone,
Hope y’all are doing fine! I meant to do this update a few days ago but haven’t gotten around to it until now, sorry!
Updates
In terms of the being-in-a-new-environment stuff, I’ve thankfully adjusted pretty well! The jet lag only lasted a few days, I haven’t gotten sick, and the weather hasn’t been too hot. It’s just the interacting-with-people part that is more nerve-wracking. I didn’t realize how much you have to not care about what people think of you, just in order to survive and do necessary tasks. It’s inevitable that I’m going to screw up and people will think that I’m incompetent, especially because I look like I could be from here. But I guess that’s part of the learning experience.
We just finished a three-day VBS with a church, where the majority of the kids were non-churchgoers. Parents that weren’t Christians were sending their children to our camp because they wanted their kids to have a chance to learn English from native English speakers. We had to revamp a lot of our plans after the first day, but on the whole it was really fun! The kids were really cute and were starting to mimic a lot of our English words by the end of the three days. The people at the church were also really kind to us, and it was cool to feel a connection with them through shared faith, even though we couldn’t really talk to most of them. Some of the people that we worked more closely with on the camp mentioned to us at the end that we had encouraged them a little bit in their ministry, which was nice to hear. I found that taking some time out of my own contexts also re-energized me for some of the work that God has called me to at home in the future.
Right now, we’re in the middle of teaching English to refugee classes at a Christian school. It’s been very new and a lot more challenging than the VBS, because these people are around our age and much more closed off than the kids were. The first day we definitely didn’t do so well, but thankfully we’ve improved a little since then. I’m finding that this part of the trip definitely demands more trust in God’s ability to work through us, even if we don’t see results.
Prayer Requests
  • Thankful that there are a lot of people here taking care of us and watching out for us
  • Thankful that God was able to work through us at the VBS and that people were so accommodating to us
  • For faith and courage! So far this week has been something new every day, and it can be a little scary to just jump into it the way I know we need to.
  • That God would work through us somehow and continue to teach us more about Him
Thanks for reading! The next update might be in a few days because I put this one off for a bit, but we’ll see. Until next time!
Monica
By |July 18th, 2019|Categories: Uncategorised|Tags: |0 Comments
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Monica – update July 9

Hi everyone,
Hope you’re all doing okay! As an FYI there are probably about 40 of you receiving this email now, and it’s also being made available to my church as a blog! It’s a lot more people than I expected would read this when I created it, but it is a good thing to be open to my communities so I’m going with it… 😬
 
Updates
The past couple weeks has been a lot of planning and emailing back and forth, trying to come up with programs. A few of our contacts and supervisors have given us feedback on some of our ideas, and it looks like we may have to throw out a good portion of what we have planned. Even though I was expecting that going into this trip, it’s been a good reminder to not attach my sense of worth to any of my ideas and just keep trying to do the next thing that I think God is calling me to do.
Some of our main supervisors and contacts picked us up from the airport and helped us settle in for our first night. We also had dinner together and got to know each other a little. My first impression is that it is definitely their plans that we are fitting ourselves into, rather than us running around trying to figure out how to help people that we don’t know very well. We’re definitely no saviours, just here to play our very specific role to help people improve their English. I’m really appreciating how great this kind of setup is – it’s the most effective way everyone can make a difference and it’s also going to keep me humble.
We haven’t actually started talking about anything officially yet; we have orientation later this morning (I’m just up too early right now because of the time change) and our first camp starts tomorrow. I’m a little nervous but hopefully I can carry a good mindset through this whole process, no matter how well or badly things turn out,
Prayer Requests 
  • Thankful for our supervisors and contacts that have been extremely helpful and welcoming
  • Thankful for a safe, smooth, and relatively comfortable journey on the plane
  • That we would trust in God’s ability to work through us, but also be open to whatever He has planned even if things don’t work out the way we want
  • That God would continue to bring healing to the refugees here
Thanks for reading! I’m gonna try to keep praying for everyone’s requests, but let me know if you have any updates on those too. Until next week!
Monica
By |July 10th, 2019|Categories: Uncategorised|Tags: |0 Comments
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Monica – update June 24

Hi everyone,
I’m excited this is finally happening! Thank you for committing to taking time to pray for me and Northeast Asia this summer.
There are about 35 of you here. Some of you are my family, some are friends I’ve made in Markham, London or Ottawa, and some of you are also part of my churches in Markham and Ottawa. It’s a little weird for me to think about you all as one community, but it’s also kind of cool. We’re all part of a secret team makin’ moves for Jesus 😎
What is this? 
These emails will share updates about the trip process, and ways that you can pray for everybody involved. I’m planning to send one more email right before I leave in a couple of weeks, an email after each week while I’m away, and then a follow-up when I get back. Hopefully this will help us to be a more effective Christian community, working together in our different roles towards a common vision.
Security-wise, I was told I can use Christian words without needing a secure email address, but I’m still not going to name any specific countries or places. I’d appreciate you also being discreet about mentioning the country to people you don’t know very well (and not at all in writing). Thanks in advance!
Updates
My fundraising was due last Monday, and thankfully all of the donations came in on time! There was some stress in the last week because I wasn’t able to purchase plane tickets until much later than anticipated, which pushed my budget up, but it all worked out in the end. Another change was that our supervisor, who was organizing everything and planning to help us get around while we were there, had to back out of the trip because of family health issues. We are now being taken care of by a few different people for each section of the trip, although I don’t think any of them directly work for TEAM. It’s not as comfortable of a relationship, but I’m thankful that they are responsive and willing to answer any questions.
Now, I’m beginning to work with my missions partner (her name is Laura Beth) on some of the things we’re going to be doing there, which have also changed from when we started this whole process. We’re planning a short VBS for young kids, as well as conversation circles and ESL lessons for high school seniors. Most of them are already involved with Christian schools and churches. It turns out that we’re not so much extending the gospel to the unreached ourselves (although we will be to a few kids) as we are helping to support people that are already involved with the Christian work there, which is probably the best use of us as first-time short term missionaries.
What have I learned so far? 
A lot more than I expected! These are just a few of the main things.
  • How to send people: I’m guilty of not really paying attention to my friends going on missions trips, but now I know a little bit more of what they’re going through and how much different kinds of support can mean to them. Even if I never go on another trip again, I’m excited to support future missions trips in a much better way than I’ve been doing. Thanks to all of you for showing me how!
  • Understanding my Christian community: I didn’t realize the kind of community I had around me until I started asking for support. So many people have been generous in ways that I didn’t expect, including people not on this list, and it makes me want to become more involved with my different communities when I get back. Thank you for donating money, making time to talk to me, asking me thoughtful questions, telling me how I can pray for you, checking up on me, giving me really great advice, and signing up for this email list. Everything is super appreciated 🤗
  • Being generous myself: I had to admit to myself that there was a temptation to push for more financial support just so that I wouldn’t have to pay for this trip, and I learned that I also can’t hold onto my own money too tightly just because I’m giving a lot of time. Tithing is actually a huge help; setting aside money to give beforehand makes me a lot more generous when something like someone’s missions trip comes up. Thanks to my family for being great examples of that!
  • Giving up my own agenda: While a lot of the budgeting and fundraising and logistics problems were coming up, I realized that a lot of my stress was about my own plans being ruined. My entire summer has revolved around this trip, and because I gave up a few cool job opportunities to be able to go, it felt like if I didn’t go then I was a failure and an embarrassment. All of that reminded me to trust in God’s plan for me. Even if I didn’t get to go, I had definitely still learned a lot from the support raising and training process. And that would have really forced me to give up my own agenda, which is a good thing.
Prayer Items
  • Praise that fundraising and logistics are almost done and are in good shape, and that I’ve learned a lot through the whole process
  • That Laura Beth and I would get to know each other better, and be able to plan activities and lessons that would really speak to the people they are for
  • That I’d continue to give up my own agenda and trust God through any changes that might come up in the next couple weeks
  • That God would continue to be with and speak to the people overseas
Thank you for taking the time to read this and to pray! Feel free to reach out and let me know how I can keep praying for you!
By |July 3rd, 2019|Categories: Uncategorised|Tags: |0 Comments
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Jane – final update

July 1st –Street Evangelism/Outreach

My apologies for the super late updates.

Before I start, I want to give you some information about the hosting church and the missionaries.  The hosting church is called ‘Southall Baptist Church’ which is located in the South-West part of Great London Area.  Southall is a very diverse town with the majority of the demographics of South Asians (Indians and Pakistanis).  Although there is a British Senior Pastor at the church, my team and I have been working with a Korean pastor family (Rev. Kim, Mrs Kim, and Hayoung Kim, the son) who is currently serving at Southall Baptist Church as a pastor. Rev. Kim and Mrs Kim’s main ministry work is evangelism—street outreach, and door-to-door visits— and serving homeless people, by providing them meals and necessities at church. They have been serving homeless people for over 11 years.  Rev. Kim and Mrs Kim have built strong relationships with the homeless people, to the point they regularly visit the missionaries and volunteer to help out any chores at church. Mrs Kim shared that God has given her the heart for children’s ministry, and Rev. Kim and Mrs Kim have been praying about it for about ten years.  Finally, this year, through Arise mission 2019, children’s ministry work took place at Southall Baptist Church.  Praise the Lord for the prosperous ministry work for the first year!

 

On Monday, July 1st, my team and I spent the day on the street for an outreach. In the morning, about six evangelists from the town came to Southall Baptist Church for the prayer meeting. We prayed for our hearts, the people in Southall, and the revival in the UK. It was devastating to see many British Christian Churches have closed down, while other religions’ worship places are growing in London, UK.

We went for the outreach at Southall Town Hall.  Whether the evangelists are pastors or not, it was inspiring to see these people gathering every week to go out on the street to proclaim Jesus Christ. We sang hymns and worship songs, gave out the gospel tracts, spoke with some people on the street. There was a missionary who carries a wooden cross when he goes out for outreach and proclaims the gospel. He invited me to join the walk.

As I carried the cross and proclaimed the gospel, I was surprised that people on the street would look at me and listen to what I said. I remember I said,

“Hello, everyone. I am here to share the Good News! Did you know that God loves us so much that He gave His one and only son to pay for our sins? Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. If you die today, do you know where you are going? I know where I am going. I am going to be in heaven where my Father God is! Jesus is the only way to heaven! It is by grace we have been saved. Not by works so that no one can boast! Believe in Jesus! Thank you for listening to me. Have a great day.”

Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I was grateful for the opportunity to proclaim the gospel, which also was an opportunity for me to confess and remind myself of the truth and the love that God has shown through Jesus Christ.

The evangelists, usually the pastors, took turns to proclaim the gospel so that people on the street could hear them. I pray that the Holy Spirit works in the people we met so that they could believe and confess that Jesus is the Lord and Saviour!

 

 

Blessings,

Jane Oh

 

 

July 2nd—Door-to-Door Evangelism

The time has come!  Although door-to-door evangelism was the major part of Arise 2019, it is the most challenging ministry work for me, while children’s ministry being the most comfortable one.  I am very friendly, but when it comes to knocking on the door and sharing Jesus, there is indescribable fear making me hesitate. During the Arise training sessions, one of the speakers shared this powerful verse:

 

1 John 4:18 (ESV)

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

 

I prayed 10,000 times that I would cast my fear; I would exchange that fear with Jesus; do this with love; and may Holy Spirit guide me to find the lost sheep.

My team members went in pairs, one man and a woman, to the neighbourhood in Southall.  Each pair has a survey question sheet to start the conversation when tenants open their doors.  Here are some rules about door-to-door evangelism:

  1. Pray for yourselves and the people you will meet.
  2. Go in pairs or three max., mixed genders. An evangelist of the same gender to the tenant start the conversation.
  3. Knock the doors melodically.
  4. Greet and introduce yourselves with a big smile on your face.
  5. Conduct the survey. One person asks the questions and the other scribe the response. Make sure to write the address (door number) so that the pastors of the hosting church could re-visit the house.
  6. The survey is only to start a conversation. The goal is to share the gospel; let them know about Jesus.
  7. Avoid any arguments. Our goal is to win people, not the argument.
  8. When the tenant invites you to come in, accept the invitation and continue the conversation.
  9. When the survey/conversation is over, thank them for their time and leave.

Rev. Kim (Korean missionary at Southall Baptist Church) added, “if you happened to spend quality time with one or two people, and you run out of time to take the survey of other houses, that is ok (Rev. Kim set the door-to-door evangelism session to be 2 hours).”

I was paired up with a young Korean pastor, Rev. Park, who currently serves at God’s Vision Church (Korean Presbyterian Church in Central London). We knocked on 40 houses in two hours, and only five people opened their doors. The tenants who responded to the survey and had spent quality time with us were Sikhs and Muslims.

We shared the gospel with them that Jesus is God’s son, who died on the cross and rose again to pay for our sin. God did this because He loved us so much!  Also, we asked if they want to know more about Jesus Christ. The politely rejected, and we thanked them for their time.   There was a woman we’ve met, who claims to have no religion but admits there is a god.  She shared that she has been ill for a few years and has been going to the hospital regularly.  She seemed open to hearing about Jesus, yet she kept sharing about what she believes.  During our conversation, we shared the gospel with her.  Just like others, she also politely rejected to accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour, but she appreciated that we, young individuals, have come to visit her and have a quality conversation with her. When we said farewell, Rev. Park and I took a moment to pray for the woman we just met, that one day she would accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour.

Although we were aware of the typical response to sharing the gospel, we were discouraged that there was no Christian in the neighbourhood. Rejections after rejections and houses with no response, Rev. Park and I desperately wanted to meet a Christian who could give us a boost (encourage us) to continue our visits to numerous houses.  Then, there was.

We met a British woman who is a Christian. Her presence truly encouraged us.  She said that we are doing a great job sharing the gospel to her neighbours.

My words could not express how devastating it was to see dead churches in the United Kingdom.  I kept praying, ‘God, what happened here? This nation used to send out dedicated missionaries who would give their lives for Christ!  God, You love this nation. Please restore this land.  Use me to take part in bringing your people back to you.’

In the midst of darkness, there still was light.  It seemed hopeless, yet there still was hope.  It is our Lord, who is the hope of the hopeless.  It is our God who is the light of the darkness.  God uses His people to be the salt and the light in the world.  Even though our work seemed very small, I am hopeful that people in the UK would come to God and confess, “Jesus is our Lord and Saviour!”

 

Blessings,

 

Jane Oh

 

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July 2nd-Part 2: Amazing Balloon and Bubble Show   

 

In the late afternoon of the same day, there was ‘Amazing Bubble & Balloon Show’ hosted at Southall Baptist Church.  A Korean pastor who is a balloon & bubble artist came to do the presentation for the community in the town of Southall.  He does his ministry work in Cambodia, but he comes to the UK during the Arise missions period.  With the Arise headquarter team, he visits the hosting churches to perform.  By inviting the community to come to special events, it gives a great opportunity to share the gospel.

My team went out every morning during our stay at Southall Baptist Church to give out the invitations (flyers) for the Balloon/Bubble Show, as we invited the children to come in for the children’s program in the previous week.  We also prayed that God would bring many people to this event so that they could hear the gospel.

Then it happened.  Hallelujah!

The church hall was filled with people in the community, men, women, and children!  There were about 350 people.  They came with big smiles on their faces, looking forward to seeing the artist’s performance. Rev. Daniel Chae, who is the executive director of Amnos Church planting school, and the founder of the Arise short-term missions program in the UK, came to give a short message, ‘Jesus is our friend.’

Then my team played ‘Jesus loves me’ with handbells.  Children who participated in the children’s program last week have played this song before, during their music session.  I pray that these people would realize how much Jesus loves them.

After the successful event, the headquarter team and Team Southall gathered for the briefing. Each team member shared their Arise Mission 2019 experience. We all shared that we have witnessed God’s amazing work in the ministry, the team, physical and spiritual health, and the people in Southall.  I shared that Arise 2019 was filled with joy and thankfulness.  Also, I shared that people of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Canada are supporting me through prayers. Throughout this mission period, I could feel and see God answering the prayers.  As a short-term overseas missionary, I was able to do God’s work confidently because of all the prayers.  Thank you all for joining me through prayers on this Arise 2019 Mission in the United Kingdom!

 

Blessings,

 

Jane Oh

 

 

July 3rd-Central London Tour

Team Southall went to Central London for sightseeing.  We went to the British Museum in the morning.  Rev. Park, a young pastor who paired up with me for door-to-door evangelism, took our team members around in the museum and explained the historical background of the kingdoms/civilizations presented in the Bible—Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonia, Persian, Greek, and Roman.  It was fascinating to see historical/Biblical evidence in person.

Spending time with my team members by sharing joy and laughter truly was a blessing.  I couldn’t stop thanking God how everyone worked together, balancing strengths and weaknesses as a body of Christ.

 

July 4th-Arise 2019 Missions Report/Celebration

 

Everyone—all team members of 8 hosting churches—went back to Trinity Church where Arise 2019 missions training took place, a.k.a. headquarter.  Everyone seemed ready to share their experience of practical evangelism and outreach at their hosting churches.  After the praise and worship, each team was given 5 minutes to share what God has done.  A pastor from a hosting church shared they have visited 2000 houses, 169 houses have opened their doors and conducted the survey, and two people have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour!  Hallelujah!  At many hosting churches, not only the Arise participants have done the evangelism, but also the members from the hosting church have joined.  It is more effective when church members do door-to-door evangelism so that they could take care of the newcomers regularly and revisit the houses.

Hearing stories about God’s amazing work at each mission field was very encouraging.  This year, I took part in sowing the seeds of faith.  It is God who makes the seeds grow and bear fruit. Indeed, God’s words never return empty-handed.  One day, I want to take part in harvesting by witnessing people deciding to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.  Further, seeing them living their lives for Christ Jesus.  I pray that God continues to use me, bringing His people to Christ.

 

Blessings,

 

Jane Oh

By |August 16th, 2019|Categories: Uncategorised|Tags: |0 Comments
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Jane – update June 30

How are you?
I am well here in the UK.
After the training period at Amnos Church Planning School in Brentwood, Essex (North east of London), I was sent to Southall Church in South-west London (near Heathrow Airport).
Praise the Lord that I have wonderful team members and the team leader.
At the hosting church, my team was asked to do children’s ministries, which is three days of VBS from Friday to Sunday.
I have four team members from South Korea. They have prepared children’s ministry programs (Arts and Craft, Music, and Sports). There are three team members from London, UK. In fact, they are from the church I used to attend. One of then is my church friend in Toronto.
We invited people in the local community. Thankfully, many parents and children have come to the church and participated.
I have been leading children’s worship songs and Bible program. I didn’t know that I would be leading actions to ‘Amazing Grace, Stand on the Rock’ and other Christian Children’s songs.
The children are so diverse that all their religions are different–Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and Christians.
It is God’s grace that He sent these children to us so we could lead them to Christ.
Things have been going well too.
Today is the busiest day, for there are Sunday services and the children’s program.
Door-to-door evangelism is starting tomorrow.
I pray that God continues to touch these children and their parents’ hearts for Jesus.
Thank you for praying for me.
I can feel that St. Andrew’s Presbyterian church is participating in this mission through prayers.
Sincerely,
Jane Oh
By |July 3rd, 2019|Categories: Uncategorised|Tags: |0 Comments
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Jane – update June 24

How are you?
I have arrived safely at the Amnos Ministry Church Planting School for 4 days of practical evangelism training.
They use Trinity Church buildings and facilities for this training period.
Many people have come from the US, South Korea, and the UK for the missions.
I am the only one representing Canada (yay~!!!)
Today, I had an orientation in the afternoon and the evangelism training (worship services+sermons).
The speaker for the evening session was ‘Andy Hawthorne’, and he delivered such a powerful message.
The passage was from the book of Luke 5:1-10.
Simon Peter tried to catch fish all night yet he couldn’t. Jesus tells him to “put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
The part when Peter said “But because you say so” highlights his obedience to Jesus.
Also, the passage demonstrates the humility, the heart do what Jesus said, the fact that revival needs hard work, and the work is done in teams (requires unity and teamwork).
I am encouraged that Jesus will be with me and the people as He is going to make us ‘fishers of men’.
Jesus calls us to be His witnesses, and tells us not to be afraid.
Tomorrow, we are going to find out our hosting churches. I am looking forward to meeting my team for this missions.
I am keeping in mind that St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church is praying for me and the people here.
It truly gives me strength and courage.
I will update you as more things will come.
Thank you for the support and prayers.
Blessing,
Jane Oh
By |July 3rd, 2019|Categories: Uncategorised|Tags: |0 Comments
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