5 minute read
When ‘Going’ Can Mean ‘Staying’
Find out from Revd Andrew Raman, SJSM’s Missions Pastor, and Care Connexion Leaders Gavin Chew, Leo June Kit, and Vernon Martin, what missions really is, and how everyone — yes, literally everyone — in SJSM can play a part in it.
Most of us first heard about Care Connexion (CC), also known as our missions department’s Guest Workers Outreach (GWO), when it launched a coordinated effort during 2020’s Circuit Breaker period to care for the migrant workers in the dormitories, supporting them with basic supplies that their financially strapped employers were struggling to provide. Ramadan (23 Apr–23 May) saw many SJSMers rallying to the effort, ferrying suhoor meals to the Muslim workers at 3am. English classes were also provided over Zoom, as an upskilling option as well as a respite from the stresses of social isolation and loss of work.
Advertisement
Guest workers pose for a photo at a Christmas event in 2020, held at Kaki Bukit Recreation Centre
Since Phase 2 of Singapore’s reopening (19 June 2020), CC has maintained contact with our expat brothers by continuing to drop off comfort snacks, drink sachets, and other care pack items. Whenever possible, we take time to chat, getting to know them individually as peers and equals to build authentic friendships anchored in God’s unconditional love for all mankind. We’ve also engaged the fun factor — recreational activities including games and movie screenings, and carnivals and funfairs in conjunction with festive celebrations, have been well-received.
Friendship has opened the door for us to pray for the brothers, giving them glimpses of how Christians relate to God. This unobtrusive way of sharing our Father’s heart has led to some of them actively asking for prayer, for help in overcoming challenges as well as for blessings at happy events like a child’s birthday. We’ve even seen some healing miracles happen! Earlier this year, we also had the privilege of facilitating a Bible story reading and discussion group with a few of the brothers.
After completing English lessons conducted by SJSMers, a guest worker proudly receives a certificate of completion; many, like this brother, also present a card of thanksgiving to their teachers
Another one for the camera!
While the heightened safety guidelines at the time of production are making engagement a little difficult, Vernon is hopeful that things will get better soon. “We are thankful that God opened our eyes to how foreigners working in our midst are our neighbours too, and that He’s placed it in our hearts to serve them in this way,” he says. “It hasn’t just been because of COVID-19; my family has been interacting and sharing food with those in our neighbourhood since 2017. But when lockdown happened and those of us who travelled for missions could no longer do so, God opened this door for us to serve in a local mission field.”
How you can serve
• Join us on Befriending Visits
• Pray with us for our expat brothers (join our WhatsApp group)
• Serve at ad-hoc events and activities, e.g. practical workshops, games events (current need: pro bono services by doctors and dentists)
• Contact us via www.facebook.com/, CareConnexionSg, careconnexionsg@ gmail.com, or 9368 8494 (Gavin; WhatsApp or Telegram)
WHAT MAKES MISSIONS MISSIONS?
“To quote John Piper, ‘missions exists because worship doesn’t’,” Ps Andrew says. “God made us and calls us to worship Him. We who’ve found this highest fulfilment should want it for others — not in a forced manner, but in presenting a true picture of Him to them via His impact on our own lives, and enabling their coming to worship the God who loves them, the Father who wants to adopt them.”
“Missions goes where the gap between God and people is widest,” Gavin adds. “In our local context, the gap is small. People can walk 10 minutes to the nearest church, and most have friends who are Christian. (“And there’s access to gospel messages in both English and Mandarin on all kinds of media,” Ps Andrew quips.) Missions goes where people can live and die and never meet a Christian, where they can live their entire lives without a chance of hearing the gospel.”
“The emphasis is the intentional crossing of cultures with its accompanying challenges,” Ps Andrew says. “Educational, financial, and sustenance needs are doorways, but the crux is that if someone does not cross cultures to reach them, they will never know the gospel. Japan, for example, is a highly developed, wealthy nation but there are few Christians among them. So this is a land where there is a huge gap and a great need for missions work.
“Generally, our efforts engage people who are culturally similar and who are within casual reach — family members, friends, colleagues, neighbours. With the expat brothers/guest workers, there’s a big cultural, linguistic, and social gap to bridge. They are in a very different situation from us. It’s impossible to go in among them as if ‘we’re just like one of them’. No, we have to put in effort to understand them, walk in their shoes, feel their pain—this cannot be irregular or quick. It needs to be intentional and over a significant period of time.”
“The heart of it is simply loving our neighbour,” June Kit says. “If you love someone, you want the best for them, you want them to taste the good things you have. If we strive to love our neighbour, we’ll inevitably end up sharing the gospel with them — first through our lives and then through our words. They’re not projects or targets for evangelism. There is no deadline or endpoint in mind, no strings attached and no expectations. We don’t go in saying ‘I’m just here to support your physical needs for a particular crisis period’, ‘I’m here to be your friend for two weeks’, or ‘I’m here until you convert (or I give up)’.
“Their choices are theirs. Even if they decide eventually — after years of our ‘investment’ into them — that our faith is not relevant to them, we continue loving them, and praying that the Holy Spirit will move them. Because it is God, not us, who works in hearts.”
