MINISTERING TO OUR ELDERLY

We have elderly people in our church, and we do our best to minister to them. I am thankful to the many brethren who automatically and spontaneously avail themselves to help the elderly. We do not have a “Golden Age Committee”. What we have is the Holy Spirit directing and gifting certain members with a burden and love for the elderly. And they go about ministering to them with joy and gladness. They themselves experience the Lord’s blessing when they serve the Lord in their own quiet way.

Chinese Service

Many of our elderly are Chinese-speaking. The Lord in His good time led us to start a Chinese service held at the same time as the English service. Church members can conveniently bring their parents to church with them to hear the gospel and learn from God’s Word. We have seen quite a few of our elderly parents come to the saving knowledge of Christ through the Chinese service. Praise the Lord the Chinese service is growing. Tanglin 1 is now quite packed. Young people are joining the Chinese service to help the elderly to their seats, helping them turn the pages of the Bible, and helping with dialect translation when necessary. I have advised Elder Mern Yee to open up Tanglin 2 for more space.

St John’s Home for the Elderly

For a good number of years, our sisters Jenny Kan, Deborah Mae, Sok Sin and Mrs Lim Siew Yong (Suzanne’s mother who speaks Teochew) have been sharing God’s Word to the elderly at St John’s Home (Wan Tho Avenue). I have baptised about a half dozen who had come to the saving knowledge of Christ. Those who have been saved come for worship service on the Lord’s Day with the help of Katherine Go, Miranda Hew, Miranda Soh, David Soh and Dr Chng Hiok Hee who take turns to drive them to church.

Hospital Visitation

As pastor, it is my duty to visit the elderly and the sick in hospital to encourage them with God’s Word and to pray for them. Lately, I have visited Aunty Bee Geok (Mabel Koh’s mother) who was baptised last year. She is warded at NUH for an obstructed intestine which prevents her from eating. Although physically thin and weak, her faith is strong. She says she is always praying and trusting in the Lord. She has a thankful spirit and wants to get well and come to church.

I am thankful for Dr Jose Lagapa, Elder Joseph, Elder Mern Yee, Elder Douglas Ho, our deacons and church staff, and other brethren who assist me in this needful ministry. Dr Lagapa reported in the Filipino Bible Fellowship Weekly (Sep 24):

Last Saturday, September 16, was a busy but blessed day. I went to Simei Care Centre to preach. It is a community project of the Singapore Anglican Community Services which provides psychiatric rehabilitation services and aims to be a place of recovery for the clients. They described it in their homepage as “… a purpose-built psychiatric rehabilitation centre. Psychiatric disability refers to a wide range of mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and many others. The mental illness may significantly impair the person’s performance in major life activities such as learning, thinking, communicating and sleeping, resulting in great disability. Psychiatric rehabilitation is the integration of social, educational, occupational, behavioral and cognitive interventions aimed at achieving long-term recovery and maximising the client’s self-efficacy.”

From this description you can have the idea that the audience of this meeting was mentally disturbed people. They were very different from those I saw roaming around the streets in the Philippines. Though they are mentally troubled, they are not rough. But I can see in their faces the internal struggle in them trying to grasp the problems that they went through. This is one of the miseries caused by sin in this world. I was able to talk to some of them and their worries were all centered towards the material needs of this world. They are so worried how they will live and survive.

Many of them still do not know Christ. They do not know what true joy is. They are constantly and easily shaken by little trials in life. They do not have God to help them. They live miserable lives. If only they know how to be reconciled back to God and become children of the heavenly Father, “therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (Matthew 6:31–32).

Monday, I joined Elder Douglas Ho to visit Mrs Chew (she is the mother of one of the members of True Life BPC) in Tan Tock Seng Hospital. She is already old and I doubt she was aware we were there beside her bed. Nevertheless, Elder kept on whispering to her the gospel in Chinese. I prayed for the Holy Spirit to work in the words shared into the heart of Mrs Chew for nothing is impossible with God! I gave to the maid from Myanmar an English tract. It was just a short visit but I thank the Lord for the opportunity to pray for Mrs Chew. Indeed, the Bible tells us, “For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:9–10).

Wednesday morning, I asked Elder Ho to join me to visit Mr Joseph Chiang in Orange Valley Nursing Home at the back of Changi Hospital. Orange Valley manages nursing homes island-wide and provides comprehensive eldercare services to cater to all senior needs. Mr Chiang is already bed ridden but his mind is still sound and converses to us about recent world news. Together with the wife, Mrs Angeline Chiang, we went to share with him the gospel once again. The verse was from John 15:1, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.” He was very responsive this time nodding and saying “yes” every time I asked him of his personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Elder Ho added the emphasis of acknowledging his sins and receiving Christ as the only way where he can be forgiven. We sang a hymn and we prayed for them.

I thank God for these few visitations. The Lord is telling me many things of what I need to do. Indeed, life on this earth without God is in vain and it is so short that soon I have to leave this earth. But there is a need to continue doing the work of the gospel, there are babies expected to come and there are old people ready to go, and all has to hear the good news of Christ’s salvation.

Birthday Fellowship

We have a total of 61 members who have either reached “threescore years and ten” or passed it. This is 12% of our membership; of the 61, 16 are octogenarians, a handful have reached or passed 90. Just three Sundays ago, Mr V Mahadevan (affectionately known as Uncle Devan) celebrated his 90^th birthday. A few True Lifers celebrated the auspicious occasion with him. Here’s a sharing from Dr Chan Kay Heem:

On Sunday evening, 24 September 2017, 19 True Lifers of various ages dropped by Uncle Devan’s home at Marine Parade to celebrate his 90^th birthday with him. When all had arrived, we sang a few hymns from song sheets provided by Dn Charles. Pastor gave a short devotion from Proverbs 20:29 which reads, “The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.” Pastor reminded us that while the youth are known for their strength and vigour, the elderly are also to be admired for their experience and wisdom. Even in their old age, they can still serve the Lord in whatever capacity God has placed them in.

A group photo was taken, followed by the cutting of the birthday cake by the birthday celebrant. When asked to say a few words, Uncle Devan said he was very happy to have us over to celebrate his 90^th birthday with him, especially when his own relatives were overseas at this time. This simple gathering did not come about with elaborate planning and preparation, but through the love of and for our brethren in Christ. In fact, some sisters who brought food testified how the Lord made the way smooth for them.

“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” (1 John 3:22–24).

We praise God for brethren in our midst who have a burden for our elderly members, who automatically and spontaneously minister to them in their own ways often behind the scenes. (There is even one who regularly places flowers at the gravesite of our departed members. This encourages relatives and friends who visit the tomb.) These brethren have been given the gift of encouragement by the Spirit, and they lovingly use their gift to serve their fellow members, old and young.

What is your spiritual gift? You will know what gift you have if you are active in church worship, fellowship and prayer. The Lord will show and guide you accordingly, and you will soon find yourself doing good things for Jesus here and there. “Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt 25:37–40). “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor 15:58). JK

Uncle Devan celebrating his 90^th birthday with True Lifers.