Singapore: Love for a Prostitute

Although I had visited the clinic and knew the ministry there since abt 4 mths back, I had not mustered enough courage to "walk the streets" as they call it. To befriend, talk to and pray for the people.

The house church is located at Geylang Road, where they pray and meet daily. On Wednesdays, they have a worship time and then they walk the streets. After worshipping for abt an hr odd, we went to the street in 2 grps.

I went with a grp of about 8 to the "Indian" streets, unsure of what was to happen. We squeezed past crowds of migrant workers, walked past a street of gambling tables ( I swear I only saw those in HK TV dramas). Along the streets were rows of women standing/ sitting down. We came to a grp of ladies, and someone asked if they wanted prayer. They said yes, and another embraced one of them, and another held another's hand. And before long, we were all standing in the circle, in the middle of the dark dinky alley- Praying.

Jesus was there though. I felt like He was walking with us in the streets. He wasn't just there when we walked. He was there, walking with them daily.

I asked S if she wanted prayer. She hugged me and laid her head on my shoulders. I thought she didn't understand, and asked again. Again, she hugged me. I prayed for her- for healing, for God's love. And at the end of the prayer, I asked her to call to Jesus, to tell Jesus what is in her heart. Soon after she said she gotto go, as there was business coming. It stirred my heart with a mixture of feelings.

But I knew Jesus loved each one of these. The bible came alive as I read Isaiah that night when I got home- of healing broken hearts, of setting the captives free, of bringing light into the darkness. There it was, in the dark alleys, incarnate love. Jesus walked and fellowshipped with the tax collectors and the prostitutes on earth. Jesus came to die for these ones. God wants to redeem these lives, each woman created uniquely and beautifully in His image.

I have a feeling that this is how christianity is meant to be. Christianity, according to the bible, is radical.

(From "A story of incarnate love", My Spiritual Journey)

Kenya: The Little Girl Who Said "Thank You"

In August this year, I went trekking in one of the Kenyan hills. To my surprise, dozens of Kenyan schoolchildren dressed in no more than their uniforms - the girls in full pinafore no less, with ankle-length skirts - scampered uphill excitedly past us.

Well! When I reached the summmit, I took video clips of the children. They were all very curious about the Strange Object I was holding in my hand, so I flipped my LCD and let them see themselves on video. Whoa. They instantly swarmed around me, buzzing excitedly like bees in a hive, until the teacher stepped in. (Thank God for teachers...)

So I let them peep through the video camera. They were all so so excited. The teacher explained to me that they were all from a school in the rural areas. Most of them had never seen a video camera in their lives before (until a blur tourist showed them).

While they were all taking turns, I spied out of the corner of my eye a girl standing all alone by herself.

What made her stand out even more was the huge orange polka-dotted sash that she was wearing around her waist, over her uniform. I wondered why she was standing there all alone, so I went over to her to say hi. At first, she looked away shyly, and didn't say anything in reply to my hello.

So I asked her, "You want to take a look through the camera?"

A smile grew on her face. She happily nodded.

I passed her the camera, and she peeped through it... and after she was done, she looked at me, and shyly said in clear English, "Thank you."

I was very surprised - and touched. 'Cos all the other kids hadn't said thank you, but this girl, all alone by herself, said thank you.

That day, I had a tiny glimpse of how God must feel everyday when, out of all the billions of people he blesses daily, one or two of them stop and pause and run back to thank Him for blessing them.

(Personal story)