Guest Workers Outreach
At our prayer meeting in April, Steven Ngiam shared about our outreach to guest workers in Singapore. We replicate his sharing here.
Introduction
It has been more than two years since the outbreak of the pandemic when Pastor Oliver, Thomas Hamilton and myself were involved and are still serving our guest worker friends staying at Wan Tho Avenue and Little India areas. I will be sharing my involvement with the eight guest worker friends under my care living in an apartment near Little India. Thank God for the dedicated team comprising Noel Chow and Leong Kuan Yew.
What motivates me to serve with the guest worker outreach?
Scripture in Leviticus 19:33-34 states “Do not mistreat foreigners who are living in your land…” and Hebrews 13:2 states, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers...”. In our context, this means that we should treat the guest workers in our midst as we would treat the local citizens and love them as we love ourselves. Hence, the love of Christ compelled me to spring into action to do something and show compassion to the foreigners in our midst at the outbreak of the pandemic.
During the initial phase of the pandemic, we connected and befriended them by meeting some of their practical needs. Subsequently when the restrictions eased, we followed through by building lasting relationship and impacting them for Christ.
WHAT WERE THEIR STRUGGLES AND WHAT DID WE DO?
During the circuit breaker and heightened alert phase in 2020, their main struggles were their physical, emotional and psychological well-being. Many lacked a proper living environment and did not have nutritious food or access to daily essentials. They feared losing their jobs and income and were uncertain about the future for their families back home. Many also experienced loneliness and struggled emotionally and mentally.
During the circuit breaker when their movement was restricted, we arranged for packet meals to be dropped off at their apartment. We also lent a listening ear to them through Whatsapp and phone calls on a regular basis.
After the circuit breaker, we continued to deliver fruits and daily essentials monthly to their doorstep. When the restrictions eased slightly at the end of 2020, we were able to meet them face-to-face for coffee and engaged in conversations. This allowed us to build friendships to reassure and encourage them.
The pandemic situation has improved slowly from 2021, and most of them began to see some light at the end of the tunnel. They were more calm and hopeful when some jobs slowly resumed for them. They were more comfortable to meet us for meals, and on one such occasion, we shared with them the Gospel tracts in Bangla (heart language) and a short video titled “The Prophets’ Story – From Creation to Gospel”.
When the opportunity arose, we would gently share the truth of the gospel and also explained who Jesus is and what His finished work on the cross means for us. We also had the chance to share our faith and testimonies during our meeting. We also celebrated with them during festive occasions like Hari Raya, Christmas Day and Chinese New Year to bring them cheer. At the last Christmas meeting with them, each of them was presented a gift bag, generously donated by my Care Group members and some other GBC members. We seized the opportunity then to explain to them the “Good News” and the true meaning of Christmas.
What are the positive things that I learnt so far?
I have learnt that we can all learn to love strangers in our midst because God is love! (1 Jn 4:16, Ps 16:11). God’s love is boundless and unconditional and we have received and experienced His love. As a disciple of Christ, we should emulate Jesus to love others, including the strangers in our midst.
From this experience, I've learnt that we can make a difference in someone’s life by stepping out of our comfort zone to help them. Unless we take the initiative to come alongside and befriend the strangers in our midst, and to meet their needs, they will never see Christ’s love in us.
We are grateful to God that our friendship with the foreign guest workers has deepened after two years. We wish to continue to be involved in their lives, as God wills. To this end, we pray that God will continue to open doors for us to continue to be able to share the gospel with them, impacting them for Christ.
WHAT ARE SOME WAYS THE CHURCH CAN BE PRAYING?
Here are some ways you can be keeping us in prayer. For the outreach group, pray that the Lord will sustain our passion to care for and love our guest worker friends, and that we persevere and strengthen our friendship with them beyond this pandemic. Pray that Christ’s love will be manifested in our service and through our conversations and interactions and we will also have opportunities to share the gospel with them.
Pray for the guest workers. We thank God that the COVID-19 restrictions have eased and their daily routine have returned to normalcy. Pray that they will be protected from all harm and would have developed mental resilience going forward. Pray also that God will open doors for gospel opportunities, and that their hearts will be softened and open to the gospel through our sharing and interactions.
If you are interested to find out more about this outreach, feel free to contact Pastor Oliver (oliverchia@gracebaptistchurch.sg), Steven (stevengiam28@gmail.com) or Thomas (thomasandjulie2010@gmail.com).
You can also read more about the Bangladeshi in Singapore, which was shared at April's prayer meeting.