MEM #5 (23/9/07)

Bahhh. From my rantings about Qld Roar's inadequacies in the previous post, now let's move on to something considerably more edifying (!) - Missions Encouragement Meeting.

The latest MEM at church drew a smaller crowd than normal (perhaps a lot of people are too busy doing other stuff, or are away). But it was no less enjoyable than previous ones. Those present the past Sunday evening learned more specific details about the upcoming short-term mission trips by various church members to Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, & even a local trip to Dalby - which is some 2-3 hours drive (possibly more?) from Brisbane. The overseas missions are organised by various organisations, & our church members will go together with people from other churches. There was a mixture of video & verbal presentations about those mission trips, & prayer points relating to the trips were shared by the various people going on the trips. Not everyone going on those trips were present at MEM on Sunday. And because the projector was not working, we had to huddle around the laptops to view the videos.

The details about those short-term missions trips:

Taiwan

A couple of YFers went last year. This year a few YFers will head over to Taiwan, to join up with the same church which was visited by the 2 YFers who went last year. They look forward to interacting with the local church people & share God's love for them, as they seek to continue building up the relationship.
Prayer requests include for personal walk to be more like Christ, energy & preparation, confidence in own abilities, & being a blessing to the people.

Japan

The crew heading to Japan include two married couples from my Bible study group, Clay. Both couples will join a few other people from other churches. Among other things, they will fellowship with the local Christians, meet Japanese students & get up to doing various tasks (organising Christmas parties, sharing the meaning of Christmas, cooking classes etc).
Prayer requests include advice on how to cope with the cold weather, support by prayer (re. preparation etc), & financial support as they discovered that the cost of the trip will be higher than initially expected. One of them even mentioned that it would be good if we could pray that the Australian dollar will grow stronger against the Japanese yen, so that it will help with the cost of the trip.

Thailand

Just one person from our church will be heading to Thailand - our church's Sunday School co-ordinator. And by virtue of that, it's not surprising that her work in Thailand will relate to children. She will be running a program with the children, which will involve teaching, looking after them, singing, doing arts & other stuff, etc. (I didn't catch much of what she'll be doing in Thailand).
Prayer requests include provision of energy, wisdom, creativity, good health, bonding with others, prayer & encouragement, & people to hear (not just listen) to the word of God.

Hong Kong

One Clayer will go to HK this year. She will join other people from other churches & even other countries. These people are placed there by those who set the HK program. There will be lots of singing & dramas, & the Clayer is looking forward to the HK trip to meet other fellow believers, help spread the gospel & be changed by the trip.

China

A couple from church will go to China. I didn't catch much of the specifics of what they will be doing there. That's because we weren't given much - at this stage, there are lots of unknowns & the couple await more details as they come. Nevertheless, they did leave us with a lengthy prayer request! They include training & preparation, team bonding & serving, being equipped & refreshed, communication in Mandarin, spiritual & physical fitness, diligence & faithfulness in prayer, & good time management, & preparation for the upcoming intensive training.

Dalby

A number of people will spend 1 week in Dalby doing country ministry. They will be partnering with the local Anglican & Presbyterian churches in doing that ministry. The aim is for 10-12 people to go, & they are currently looking for more team members (especially males). Some prayer requests include courage to step outside comfort zones in sharing the gospel, & for God's blessing which will grow awareness of His greatness & opportunities to share the gospel.


Overall, everyone was clearly eager with the missions trips, excited about the opportunities to evangelise to others & proclaim the gospel. Some of them will encounter barriers (e.g. language), & I pray that the various barriers faced will not be insurmountable & not hinder the effectiveness of sharing the gospel. I also pray that they will have a blessed time, that God will be with them all the way tendering to their needs, & that God will use them effectively to further His kingdom & be an encouragement to those that they meet.