These 6 months have been a really busy time for both of us (so much so that this newsletter has been long overdue!). Jon completed his 6-month full-time AgriTech course with a training institute in Singapore, being blessed that our home church caught our vision and saw God’s preparation for him in this season, allowing him to take unpaid leave to go for the course.
During this course, besides learning about agricultural methods and techniques, Jon was also able the do some hands-on practice building greenhouses as well as to carry out daily tasks in farm management in a local farm. It was a good time of learning but also forming new friendships, all of whom had a passion for agriculture in Singapore. With these skills and experience, it is his hope to be equipped to set up an agricultural project in Thailand in the future when we return in order to generate employment and benefit the community we live in.
Despite this uncertain time when the timeline for our return back to Thailand is still uncertain, one important consideration that lingered in our minds throughout these 6 months is what Jon can do after this course. With many seemingly good options before Jon, we decided to take the decision to God and after much prayer, we sensed God’s affirmation for him to return back to church to serve in the Missions Dept during this time before our eventual departure. He hopes that this will be a cherished period of time that he can bring what he has learnt and experienced to serve the Church in missions as well as have the opportunity to learn how missions work in the local church so as to have better mission partnerships in the future.
Meanwhile, Phoebe has also been equally busy in this half a year, being fully immersed in her role as a pastoral staff overseeing the ministries in children, youth and elderly outreach in the lower-income neighbourhood of Singapore. With the volatile COVID-19 situation in Singapore, face-to-face ministry has been limited, but Phoebe is thankful to have many meaningful conversations and to build relationships with various people in the neighbourhood.
Through a recent mooncake distribution as part of the Chinese mid-autumn festival in Sept, Phoebe were able to connect with many families and had an opportunity to invite one of them to attend our church’s Chinese outreach service! In return, the mum of the family made a yummy kueh lapis, an Indonesian layered cake, to bless us (see photo below). It is totally unexpected and foodie-loves-to-eat Phoebe is overjoyed. On reflection, Phoebe is reminded that this is what outreach ministry is about – to not only give, but to receive from others, recognising that the people we aim to serve also have the capacity to bless us back in return.
Jon and Phoebe's thetomyumkongs journey. 