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Watchnight Service 2015

Watchnight Service 2015 saw a good mix of members, the young and the "not-so-old", coming together not only for fellowship over food but also testifying of God's goodness and grace in their lives for the year.  And as you read snippets of the testimonies (some on anonymity) that have blessed and encouraged us, please also be in prayer for these brothers and sisters in Christ :

"......In this past year, Kayla had to visit the doctors (paediatrician, oncologist, surgeons) for checks and assessment. All is well so far. As she turned one recently, we rejoiced and gave thanks for how the LORD had brought us through so much and preserved and delivered her. One lesson we came to learn from this ordeal is that God's way is not our way. Recall how every man-made plan went "wrong" — the planned induced delivery; the planned discharge for monitoring before surgery; the planned keyhole surgery..., and how God unfolded everything according to His plan, in His timing.............And we also pray that this testimony will be read by Kayla someday as she come to realise how great God is, in such a personal way to her." (Wei Quan)

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"The last quarter of 2015 was an eventful one. There were two encounters of loved ones with damaged hearts. God mercifully intervened and preserved their lives. God's presence, power and peace were my constant companions. His lovingkindness makes me thankful every day......We praise and give thanksgiving to God for the opportunity to share God's love when he (brother-in-law) was no longer sedated. He readily believed and prayed after me to receive Jesus as his personal Saviour & Lord......TO GOD BE ALL HONOUR, GLORY, & PRAISE & BLESSING." (Carol Leong)

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".......Prayers did make a big difference. In Phil 3:10, Paul wanted to know Christ not only in the power of His resurrection but also in the fellowship of His sufferings. My small encounter with pain helped me to appreciate a bit better what Christ went through for me leading to and at the cross, the pain and suffering. I had a new appreciation for pain. The very young and the very old and women in general go through a lot more pain then men. Pain is there. Not everywhere does pain-killer comes readily. We can be thankful for the fact that we live in a place where painkillers are easily available. Yet in some situations, pain remains when even painkillers cannot help alleviate. Yes prayer may help but pain is something that the Lord allows even if it is for a temporary stretch of time for us to learn to look to Him. I am grateful for this learning experience......" (Kim Meng)

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"......as I shared with my CG members about the need to pray, support and minister to this family (family of my friend who was terminally ill then but had now passed on), they were forthcoming with their support. They came alongside us in visiting the family on a few occasions and shared the gospel with my friend's husband. They also prayed with us. If not for their prayers and support, we would not be as effective in reaching out to this family. That's the beauty of being a part of God's family and in a CG..........On reflection, I was reminded of a Navigator conference we attended in August on 'one on one makes a difference'. One of the workshop speakers shared on faithfulness verses fruitfulness. Outreach and discipleship are never easy. However, it is still worth the effort even if it is just investing and winning one person for the Lord in our entire life time..........The focus of our church for next year is community. May I challenge all of us to join a CG to be encouraged or to encourage and pray for one another? Or The Lord may have placed us as sowers, reapers or disciplers in the community out of the church, be it in Macpherson estate, Potong Pasir, or even to our friends or relatives. Whatever the role, may we be counted as faithful and not faint-hearted......" (Lai Sai & Patsy)

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".......We see the guiding hand of the Lord along the way and His help to us in overcoming many difficulties. To name a few things, the agreement on design, seating capacity, reduction on the strict requirement of car park lots, timing of contract with cost saving, renting of CHS, renting of temporary office space, and many people who stepped up to head the various tasks needed to get the project moving. All these give us confidence that God is leading us and preparing us for the work ahead...........I experience deep joy knowing that He has given me the privilege to contribute towards building His kingdom. This will count for eternity. It is my sincere hope that we will experience deep joy as we give sacrificially towards GBC rebuilding project.........." (Chong Tien)

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"...........  One of the more valuable lessons that I learnt during my course is not related to language learning or linguistics, but rather on servanthood and ministry.......being sensitive to the cultural landscape while remaining true to the Scripture............I went to the UK to learn specific skill sets to serve in my future ministry effectively. But I also learnt other things that are not so tangible but no less important: improving my ability to relate and adjust to cultures that are very different from my own. I will start my assignment in the early part of 2016, and I will be going to a place and culture that is similar to my own culture in many areas, yet vastly different in others. Please pray that God will help me be sensitive to the needs of the people there, and to provide opportunities to learn and understand their culture........." (A Beloved Member)

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"............1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 the Apostle Paul writes — "For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy." That is really another way of saying that at the end of the day, what matters to this ministry is not the amount of things we do but how many will stand blameless and glorified at the Lord Jesus' coming..........What encourages us also is when the Young Adults, having known the gospel of love of Jesus Christ are willing to step outside and serve, whether in the ministry or outside of it. In our study of Philippians this year, Paul writes —"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ." It is heartening to see folks seize on this............"  (YA member)

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".............Before leaving for Pua, I thought of the many things I wanted to do with the children.......But instead of being welcomed with open arms and having the children warm up and share their lives with me, I felt awkward and unfamiliar........I was confused and couldn't comprehend what plans God could possibly have in mind for me.........But God was gracious to me and he taught me in the weeks that followed to trust in His plans.....I realised that maybe God didn't want me here to teach them or help them in their academics. He wanted me to be present in their lives, to 'rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn'. (Romans 12:15) I learnt what it meant to laugh and celebrate with the children, and also to cry and pray with the hurting.......I really thank God for the many lessons he has taught me and continues to teach me. I thank Him for putting the joy of the gospel in me and showing me how the world is our mission field and there are so many people that need to hear of this great hope we have in God. I know that on this Earth I will continue to struggle with different obstacles and sins but I hope that I can spend the rest of my life growing in imperfect understanding of my loving God......." (Agnes Ng)

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"..........But what stood out to me this year, particularly at Christmas, was how God desires to dwell with us and make Himself known personally to us.......No matter where I am, His truth remains- that He is powerful, He is loving and desires what is good for me according to His will......As things seem to increase in stability for me here in Singapore, I have to remind myself what the source of all blessing is. Things change and people change, but God does not change, and He keeps reminding me of how much He wants to dwell with me, to love and guide me to Christlikeness.....I have learned this year about commitment to others and about love for those I'm not naturally inclined to.......I have dealt with changing relationships and resolution of conflict with other believers. They are not to be avoided but celebrated as we live together. We sharpen each other as we learn to forgive each other as Christ forgave us..........As the year ends, may we remember the God who sacrificed his Son so that He could dwell with us, wonder about what that means, and allow it to result in worship and a renewed commitment to walk with Him and with His community in the light of His love......." (Andrea Lim)

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".........I am so grateful that my small group has never been a gathering for group therapy, but has always been rooted first and foremost in the word, very much so uncompromisingly..........and my small group has slowly yet surely gravitated away from the pull of our own flickering orbits to pray for what we/people really need.......I have witnessed members of my small group very distinctively, through meditating on the Word and being speaking of/praying for specific individuals, stepped out of their own shyness and self-shame (and its prickly bouts of self-doubt) to 'increase and abound in love for one another and for all' (1 Thessalonians 3:12), to both believers and those in varying stages of unbelief. These signs of fruit really continually encourage me to be intentional and conscious about the way I approach my spiritual life as well as how I may affirm others.....i do believe that there is still much my Small Group has to look forward to in the year to come....I know we will continue to struggle welcome and disciple others, and I can only look 'to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Toby Wu)

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".......I was approached by Beh Soo Hee sometime in mid-2014 to consider taking on the role as project manager for GBC rebuilding project. As nothing was concrete then, I just brushed it aside. However, in early 2015 when the rebuilding program was firm, Soo Hee raised the issue of my involvement again.....he told me to pray about it....... I struggled with this as I have been in retirement for almost 5 years then..... I had many reasons for not wanting to be involved:.......I shared with my wife......she reminded me that when God calls, I should never turn it down...... that it is more important to be willing and available when God calls....... that God would equip me when the time comes....... Finally it was a book entitled "Halftime" that I read a few years before my retirement that convinced me that this was what God wanted me to do at this stage of my life to serve him.....God blessed us with  an experienced and capable RTO.....who relieves me of my concerns about technicalities at site......every sub-contractor was willing to share information and their knowledge with me....the opportunity to get to know other members of GBC especially from the Chinese congregation....My prayers are that .....every church member involved in this project will conduct themselves in a manner that projects a good testimony for our God and Saviour to all our service providers......to give of their best so that the project can be completed on time.......God will protect everyone involved in this project at the site......God will humble me and to use me in this project for His honour and glory....." (Hon Lin)

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".......We have experienced God's faithfulness in seeing how so many brothers and sisters in the DS classes have continued to faithfully attend the lessons.....demonstrated an eagerness to hear and learn from God's Word.....have grown in their understanding of God's Word..... deepened their walk with God......wonderful to see people of different ages, eagerly learning God's Word together and growing in community here in GBC. I'm thankful for the members of the DS team and their love for our church...thankful for the grace of God given to us to allow us to serve the church in this way....It gives us great joy to see how God has used the teaching in DS sessions to grow and bless both the teachers, and also the wider church. I have been extremely encouraged and inspired to see how God is glorified in our church and in the service of our members. Witnessing the faithful, quiet obedience of many brothers and sisters in our church has strengthened my faith. I have also been very blessed to see how God has worked through us despite all our shortcomings and struggles. I would like to give God thanks for all this! .....we humbly request your prayers for the DS ministry: that it will continue to glorify God by serving the needs of the church and that together, we will see that God is holy and worthy of our unending praise and worship. (Matthew Koh)

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"........One of the blessings I treasure in serving in Grace News is how it draws me closer to the GBC family because of the need to liaise with people for articles etc. Lily has been one of them....I am very grateful for how God has placed different people in my life to guide me in my walk, she being one of them. Through my regular email correspondences with her, her close walk with God and seeing how God is working in and through her, has been most encouraging and edifying....So as I was thinking about writing a testimony about that, I remembered Lily's latest prayer request for the boy she has been looking after for the last 2-3 years. She's very burdened with the current situation and whatever decision that she makes will just leave her either feeling guilty or exhausted. So I thought instead of a testimony....I put up a prayer request that the church would pray for her and uplift her....pray for wisdom for Lily and for His guidance and protection for the boy......" (Sze Gar & Lily Pang)

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".......Through the Sanglir family, God has opportune us (the CG and now others) to be partners with them at Kathy's Home. The purpose is to share the love of God and to help the children advance beyond their present state and on to tertiary education, breaking the poverty trap. God has blessed us through this partnership and we have been much encouraged by the increased number of participants over the past eight plus years.To ease the cost of visiting Kathy's Home.....the plan was to build a three storey building between the two blocks at Kathy's Home, Pua. This fell through and permission was sought from the donors for virement to build a self-catering hostel in Chiangmai instead. This was readily agreed to. This project will be self-financing. By allowing them to cook and charging reasonable rates, it will help to reduce the cost of education to the students....Lessons learnt ; be prepared to change course, providential and faithful God who will provide the resources, be patient, God's timing......I am confident that God will direct our path. Here, I am reminded in Eccles 3:1-8, there is a time and season for everything: BE PATIENT. Finally, God will PROVIDE the right PEOPLE, right RESOURCES and right TIMING to accomplish HIS PURPOSE. TRUST HIM.
"Sarai and Abram Lenn" are ready to begin a new season at Chiangmai in June 2016. We will follow as he directs....." (William Lenn)

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".......My journey in the past year has led me to reveal and appreciate the financial, cultural, and structural complexities involved with missions. It provides a clearer perspective for me as I continue dialoguing with God about my own calling to full-time missions. I have learned that missions is a life-long relational journey and that ministry can only continue as long as there is connection back with the church......My challenge to all of us in GBC is to ask ourselves how we can truly further the gospel or support the advancement of the gospel in the year ahead. Please pray for the committee that we will have unity, clarity and humility in adapting and changing to the financial and cultural changes and climates of the years ahead — while the gospel is the same, humanity's ideologies, societal issues and cultural leanings are ever changing. The church of Christ must continue to adapt to illuminate the world effectively lest it gets relegated merely as an ancient relic. The gospel is alive, gospel is real and the gospel is the same, but the church as vessels must be effective to be salt and light in this world." (A Beloved Member)

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We look forward to the continuing work of grace by our ever loving and faithful God in the year ahead for GBC and to be edified once again at the next Watch Night service in 2016.

For those who want to have a copy of the testimonies, please contact the church office.