2010 Year End Thanks Giving Sharing of the Kwan’s Family
Dear Life Long Friends & Prayer Supporters in Christ,
As we are getting older, time seems to have been passing by in a quicker pace. I am just alarmed to find that 11 months have gone already in 2010, but there seems to be still a lot of work that have yet to be done ahead of me. I have been thrilled by a lot of positive and spirit lifting events in the world stage like the success of Jessica Watson to finish her solo circumnavigation in 210 days defying initial negative criticism, the rescue story of the Chilean miners. In the meantime, there are more so many social injustice happenings in our mother land that make you feel so outraged that you could not help but trying to at least raise a voice about it. This ambivalent mixed feeling about the progress of China as a world new economic and political power but failure in many domestic social injustice issues keep driving me to find a way to make some positive contribution to our beloved mother country.
As usual, there have been a lot of twists and turns in both ministry and family in 2010. With the aforementioned ambivalent mind set, I started the year asking the Lord what is the open door and focus for me after being a church planter in Brisbane for 13 years? My options are: -
1) Just focus as a pastor of the small Christ’s Family Church 主家堂 (CFC) congregations that has yet to be lifted up in term of numbers.
2) Keep CFC running but continue to engage in China ministry as led by God
a. Focus in the Post-earthquake relief work in Sichuan四川with LISAC International国际活泉基金會 ( LISAC means LIving SACrifice)
b. A shift to care for the abandoned orphans in Hunan湖南 under the care of International China Concerns 國際關心中國慈惠協會(ICC)
I was so desperate to seek for a new path that I even ventured to ask ICC for a guaranteed spot in the Walk On the Wall (WOTW) trip in September by my past contribution that may allow me to visit Changsha 長沙and Hengyang 衡陽for the first time after ICC lobbying me repeatedly in the past to go and have a look of their ministry there. The Lord acted even quicker to show me His way for me. Out of the blue, the Rapha Foundation 拉發基金會 Counselling training ministry suddenly appealed for group leaders to go for a church training camp in Yongzhou永州. Upon checking on Google, I was amazed to find that this small town is just a couple of hours by coach to Hengyang衡陽. Without doubt, this was the first sign of the Lord for me to visit the ICC disabled orphan caring ministry even ahead of my human plan in September. Thus I went to ICC after the Yongzhou camp not only by myself but with the head of Rapha and many counselling team members. The Lord put in our hearts that the counselling program will be most useful and beneficial for the carers and those parents who are struggling to keep looking after their born disabled child under ICC’s Community Outreach Program. Once they find peace in their lives, they would be empowered and equipped to love the once least loved people group in the world, the born disabled children. The leadership team of ICC formed mainly by all the foreign expatriates welcomed this idea but were a bit too cautious to dare to take the lead to host the program. So the proposal was put on hold unless there is a local church in Changsha or Hengyang who is willing to be the host. So human path met its dead end and yet another open door was needed.
As for me, with this first sign bringing me to ICC, I am still not fully satisfied and kept asking for more signs from the Lord as Gideon基甸 did in Judge 6士師記第六章. In defying the global economic crisis and the donation fatigue amongst many of my usual supporter donors, I changed my mind not to rest for a year but to keep rasing fund for the ICC Walk On the Wall campaign. My promised spot to go again in September hinges on my ability to raise at least for the costs of my free trip which is A$2500. God unambiguously showed me that he did not just want me to go but two others from our CFC small congregation. At the end of the campaign, we raised a smacking A$23,859 more than double our last year best record of A$11,120 and also topped the ladder of the world wide list. This trip was of course not just a sight seeing trip to have a chance to walk on the Great Wall. It was a divine appointment for me to meet with the Chinese Operation Director that I missed last time in June. He is also an expatriate from Singapore, but God put in his heart the fire for caring for the souls not just the physical well being of the orphans as well as the carers and the parents. So, just in 45 minutes of a short meeting, God clicked us with the same vision that Counselling training could be a right start to achieve the purpose of life transformation for the ICC Community. We made no consideration on costs, and other local political issues but just made this commitment by faith. So that is the third sign from God that I am to take part in the life transforming ministry with ICC in Hunan. Another Counselling training trip is now planned to train up 20 to 30 ICC managerial staff first with an aim to conduct another round for the carers and parents later in 2011 as God may find us the best timing.
In home turf, I have to share my vision with my CFC family members about the need and importance of overseas mission work. I am frequently asked that should we care first for our small church needs first instead of caring too much about other people’s needs? From human perspective, I have no answer for that and may run the risk of being seen too unrealistic or trying to boost my own ego at the expense of the church. Thanks God that Chinese Kairos中文把握時機課程was introduced this year and I was moved and called to help promoting it for all the Chinese churches in Brisbane including of course to our small congregation. I had to enrol in a local English Kairos class first so that I can be a facilitator trainee when Rev James Chak came from Hong Kong to conduct the course in July/August. It was particular hard for me to juggle time for the Kairos while I was away in June for the Rapha counselling training and in September for the ICC revisit. But nothing can stop my ministry as long as God has paved the path for me. Now right after the post Christmas Rapha training in Changsha coming back on 8/1/11, I will conduct the Kairos course out of the box using the Sunday worship time on a fortnightly basis starting on 9/1/11. This will ensure no one in the congregation will be excused from this course because of time availability during the week day and night. I am looking forwards to conveying the Biblical thought about Great Commission大使命that every believers should and could play a part in assuming this great commission from God that the top line blessing of salvation He bestowed to us has to be channelled as a bottom line blessings to all the unreached people groups that God may call you to serve. For me, and for CFC, the born disabled and abandoned children are the people group that I believe God has entrusted to us through so many signs as mentioned above. The Sichuan ministry for student scholarship may go on and the past involvement in Sichuan may be seen as a training ground for me to understand the rules and culture of serving in China. So, I am looking forwards to a thrill finishing in 2010 and an even more excited beginning in 2011.
In home front, God's grace is enough for each and every one of us. Despite my general fitness, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure 160/120, which was even more serious than Ling who was diagnosed last year and eventually resorted to take low dosage after six months monitoring period. It was discovered almost on the eve I had to set off for the tough walk on the wall journey. But God is good, the blood pressure came down to an acceptable level without the need of medication. My secret is to ponder on the creation of God when measuring blood pressure. It is immediately effective to reduce my reading to 120/75 when I set my eye sight through the sky window first on the tip of the leaves on the tree top and then zooming out into the infinite sky above the drifting cloud. Ling’s health in general is good after the double knees replacement operation 2 years ago. Her only stress is from me, a sometimes grumbling husband and pastor. Johnny, my eldest son is having his own way of life in Hong Kong. He changed job lately hopefully with the blessing of God and helping him to start his own family at His timing. David is awarded for his diligent and faithful work as a contract teacher in the same school for 4 years. He was able to take advantage of the first home buyer scheme and has secured a mortgage to buy a house near ours. He is also making steady progress in spirituality attending Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) and being very active in his own worker fellowship. He went with me for the walk on the wall trip to the Great Wall but more importantly to the orphanage in Changsha and Hengyang. He became the mentor of two orphans that accompanied us for the trip. David is moved to be sponsor of these two cute boys that saw David as their big brothers. Alex is also blessed with a good Information Technology (IT) job after a long job search period. He seems to have been enjoying his work that brought him a lot of bonus including training trip to Sydney and Singapore, and a free flight lesson from his boss. He has now ended up in attending a pilot course fulfilling his dreams to be a pilot that he once sought after with Cathay Pacific Airline. Though there are still a lot of uncertainty in each of us about our ministry and career, we thanks God that we are a blessed family as we know the top line blessing is holding hand with God and walking in His path for us even without knowing the destination. One thing we always know is we are blessed to bring bottom line blessing to the nations. So, let His will be done in us and through us.
Hung and Ling
28/11/2010
Dear Life Long Friends & Prayer Supporters in Christ,
As we are getting older, time seems to have been passing by in a quicker pace. I am just alarmed to find that 11 months have gone already in 2010, but there seems to be still a lot of work that have yet to be done ahead of me. I have been thrilled by a lot of positive and spirit lifting events in the world stage like the success of Jessica Watson to finish her solo circumnavigation in 210 days defying initial negative criticism, the rescue story of the Chilean miners. In the meantime, there are more so many social injustice happenings in our mother land that make you feel so outraged that you could not help but trying to at least raise a voice about it. This ambivalent mixed feeling about the progress of China as a world new economic and political power but failure in many domestic social injustice issues keep driving me to find a way to make some positive contribution to our beloved mother country.
As usual, there have been a lot of twists and turns in both ministry and family in 2010. With the aforementioned ambivalent mind set, I started the year asking the Lord what is the open door and focus for me after being a church planter in Brisbane for 13 years? My options are: -
1) Just focus as a pastor of the small Christ’s Family Church 主家堂 (CFC) congregations that has yet to be lifted up in term of numbers.
2) Keep CFC running but continue to engage in China ministry as led by God
a. Focus in the Post-earthquake relief work in Sichuan四川with LISAC International国际活泉基金會 ( LISAC means LIving SACrifice)
b. A shift to care for the abandoned orphans in Hunan湖南 under the care of International China Concerns 國際關心中國慈惠協會(ICC)
I was so desperate to seek for a new path that I even ventured to ask ICC for a guaranteed spot in the Walk On the Wall (WOTW) trip in September by my past contribution that may allow me to visit Changsha 長沙and Hengyang 衡陽for the first time after ICC lobbying me repeatedly in the past to go and have a look of their ministry there. The Lord acted even quicker to show me His way for me. Out of the blue, the Rapha Foundation 拉發基金會 Counselling training ministry suddenly appealed for group leaders to go for a church training camp in Yongzhou永州. Upon checking on Google, I was amazed to find that this small town is just a couple of hours by coach to Hengyang衡陽. Without doubt, this was the first sign of the Lord for me to visit the ICC disabled orphan caring ministry even ahead of my human plan in September. Thus I went to ICC after the Yongzhou camp not only by myself but with the head of Rapha and many counselling team members. The Lord put in our hearts that the counselling program will be most useful and beneficial for the carers and those parents who are struggling to keep looking after their born disabled child under ICC’s Community Outreach Program. Once they find peace in their lives, they would be empowered and equipped to love the once least loved people group in the world, the born disabled children. The leadership team of ICC formed mainly by all the foreign expatriates welcomed this idea but were a bit too cautious to dare to take the lead to host the program. So the proposal was put on hold unless there is a local church in Changsha or Hengyang who is willing to be the host. So human path met its dead end and yet another open door was needed.
As for me, with this first sign bringing me to ICC, I am still not fully satisfied and kept asking for more signs from the Lord as Gideon基甸 did in Judge 6士師記第六章. In defying the global economic crisis and the donation fatigue amongst many of my usual supporter donors, I changed my mind not to rest for a year but to keep rasing fund for the ICC Walk On the Wall campaign. My promised spot to go again in September hinges on my ability to raise at least for the costs of my free trip which is A$2500. God unambiguously showed me that he did not just want me to go but two others from our CFC small congregation. At the end of the campaign, we raised a smacking A$23,859 more than double our last year best record of A$11,120 and also topped the ladder of the world wide list. This trip was of course not just a sight seeing trip to have a chance to walk on the Great Wall. It was a divine appointment for me to meet with the Chinese Operation Director that I missed last time in June. He is also an expatriate from Singapore, but God put in his heart the fire for caring for the souls not just the physical well being of the orphans as well as the carers and the parents. So, just in 45 minutes of a short meeting, God clicked us with the same vision that Counselling training could be a right start to achieve the purpose of life transformation for the ICC Community. We made no consideration on costs, and other local political issues but just made this commitment by faith. So that is the third sign from God that I am to take part in the life transforming ministry with ICC in Hunan. Another Counselling training trip is now planned to train up 20 to 30 ICC managerial staff first with an aim to conduct another round for the carers and parents later in 2011 as God may find us the best timing.
In home turf, I have to share my vision with my CFC family members about the need and importance of overseas mission work. I am frequently asked that should we care first for our small church needs first instead of caring too much about other people’s needs? From human perspective, I have no answer for that and may run the risk of being seen too unrealistic or trying to boost my own ego at the expense of the church. Thanks God that Chinese Kairos中文把握時機課程was introduced this year and I was moved and called to help promoting it for all the Chinese churches in Brisbane including of course to our small congregation. I had to enrol in a local English Kairos class first so that I can be a facilitator trainee when Rev James Chak came from Hong Kong to conduct the course in July/August. It was particular hard for me to juggle time for the Kairos while I was away in June for the Rapha counselling training and in September for the ICC revisit. But nothing can stop my ministry as long as God has paved the path for me. Now right after the post Christmas Rapha training in Changsha coming back on 8/1/11, I will conduct the Kairos course out of the box using the Sunday worship time on a fortnightly basis starting on 9/1/11. This will ensure no one in the congregation will be excused from this course because of time availability during the week day and night. I am looking forwards to conveying the Biblical thought about Great Commission大使命that every believers should and could play a part in assuming this great commission from God that the top line blessing of salvation He bestowed to us has to be channelled as a bottom line blessings to all the unreached people groups that God may call you to serve. For me, and for CFC, the born disabled and abandoned children are the people group that I believe God has entrusted to us through so many signs as mentioned above. The Sichuan ministry for student scholarship may go on and the past involvement in Sichuan may be seen as a training ground for me to understand the rules and culture of serving in China. So, I am looking forwards to a thrill finishing in 2010 and an even more excited beginning in 2011.
In home front, God's grace is enough for each and every one of us. Despite my general fitness, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure 160/120, which was even more serious than Ling who was diagnosed last year and eventually resorted to take low dosage after six months monitoring period. It was discovered almost on the eve I had to set off for the tough walk on the wall journey. But God is good, the blood pressure came down to an acceptable level without the need of medication. My secret is to ponder on the creation of God when measuring blood pressure. It is immediately effective to reduce my reading to 120/75 when I set my eye sight through the sky window first on the tip of the leaves on the tree top and then zooming out into the infinite sky above the drifting cloud. Ling’s health in general is good after the double knees replacement operation 2 years ago. Her only stress is from me, a sometimes grumbling husband and pastor. Johnny, my eldest son is having his own way of life in Hong Kong. He changed job lately hopefully with the blessing of God and helping him to start his own family at His timing. David is awarded for his diligent and faithful work as a contract teacher in the same school for 4 years. He was able to take advantage of the first home buyer scheme and has secured a mortgage to buy a house near ours. He is also making steady progress in spirituality attending Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) and being very active in his own worker fellowship. He went with me for the walk on the wall trip to the Great Wall but more importantly to the orphanage in Changsha and Hengyang. He became the mentor of two orphans that accompanied us for the trip. David is moved to be sponsor of these two cute boys that saw David as their big brothers. Alex is also blessed with a good Information Technology (IT) job after a long job search period. He seems to have been enjoying his work that brought him a lot of bonus including training trip to Sydney and Singapore, and a free flight lesson from his boss. He has now ended up in attending a pilot course fulfilling his dreams to be a pilot that he once sought after with Cathay Pacific Airline. Though there are still a lot of uncertainty in each of us about our ministry and career, we thanks God that we are a blessed family as we know the top line blessing is holding hand with God and walking in His path for us even without knowing the destination. One thing we always know is we are blessed to bring bottom line blessing to the nations. So, let His will be done in us and through us.
Hung and Ling
28/11/2010
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