KEMAMAN VBS

Tai Mei Lan

“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 19:14)

Brimming with expectation, 14 True Lifers assembled at FEBC on Tuesday 5 December at 6:30pm where two minivans waited to take us to Larkin in J.B. We were headed for Kemaman to run the annual children’s Vacation Bible School 6–8 December. Half the group was under 30 years old including three teenagers who were part of three mother-and-son pairs, this younger half of the team was a great encouragement to the older half.

After boarding the Kemaman bus at Larkin at 10pm, we began a high speed almost 6-hour journey through driving rain, sharp curves and potholes. When we arrived without a hitch around 4am in Kemaman, we knew our omnipotent God had guided us with His eye.

Dr and Mrs Wee the overseers of Kemaman Life BP Church very kindly accommodated us at the Lighthouse and the Upper Room. We tried to catch forty winks and by 7:30am, gathered at the Lighthouse for morning devotion and prayer. The children started to arrive after 8:00am, about 40 of them, ferried by Dr and Mrs Wee in batches, and after registration, the VBS opened with prayer and a rousing time of singspiration.

The theme following True Life VBS was “In the Beginning God” with five lessons from Genesis spread over three days, interspersed with art and craft, object lesson games, singspiration, Christmas song item rehearsals, and free time for fellowship and getting to know the children more intimately.

The VBS culminated in the Friday night church gospel service. The children and VBS helpers rendered a stirring Christmas song item, followed by a gospel song item by our group of 14 helpers. The gospel message was shared by Eld Mern Yee and translated by Bro Bee Heng. After the service, photos were taken and fellowship shared over red bean soup, before we said goodbye to the children with hugs and reminders to follow Christ daily.

Serving in Kemaman VBS was a privilege. Though we are small and unworthy, God is so good to use us and so kind to smoothen our way and protect us. The Holy Spirit was powerfully at work to help and enable us in our service. We can testify how the Lord loosened our tongues so we could share the gospel, conduct lessons and interact with the children in the Chinese language. Once during an intermission, one of our youths regaled the restless children with a story in Mandarin, and when asked later by some of us to repeat it, said he could no longer and that it was the Holy Spirit at the time of need who somehow gave him the words to tell the story in Chinese. More encouraging testimonies are appended below.

The children in Kemaman like children everywhere are all precious in God’s sight. Every day of the VBS, and though it rained on the last day, they came to hear the gospel and learn from God’s word. Some of them were believers, but many were not or were not sure. Thank God for the opportunity to share with them as a group as well as individually the good news of Jesus Christ. Though we had to bid them goodbye at the end, we must not forget to pray for them now we are back in comfortable Singapore, that the good seed of the gospel sown in their hearts will take root and bear fruit in God’s time. May we also remember Dr and Mrs Wee in our prayers. When we mentioned to Dr Wee that True Life prays for them at our weekly prayer meeting, he smiled and said that it was prayer support like this that is sustaining them in their ministry. To God be the glory!

Testimonies

“VBS Kemaman was my first VBS that I took part in as a helper in the kindergartners’ class and the experience was a fulfilling and meaningful one. Honestly, it was a last minute decision to take leave from NS and help out in VBS; but it was ultimately the right decision as I got to serve the Lord in ways that I normally would not be able to. Being my first mission trip, it was definitely an eye-opening experience as I saw how it is like to spread messages of God’s grace and the gospel to unbelieving souls or young believers. I thank God for this trip that allowed me to serve Him even in small ways.” Lucas Tan

“God works in mysterious ways. I am grateful for the time I had to interact with the children. My heart was moved when the children shared of the mocking, beatings and oppositions they experienced when choosing to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Though young they may be, they had the faith to continue believing in Jesus despite persecutions. Praise the Lord for His Word which we could share to encourage the children to keep trusting on the Lord: “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.” (Ps 27:10)” Grace Teo

“The existence of the church in Kemaman after all these years on such ‘hard’ ground stands testament to God’s grace and promise to preserve even His elect to be a witness for Him in these last days. Personally, I conducted one of the station games where the children were tasked to form Bible verses out of the words given to them. I thank God that many of them recalled the memory verses that were taught to them throughout the VBS at such short notice and some even recognised verses which were not explicitly taught as well (surely largely the result of previous VBSes). It is my fervent prayer that the gospel seed sowed during these three days will not return unto the Lord void and that the children who professed Christ will be found regularly in church learning the Word of God and also, God willing, in subsequent VBSes as well.” Khoo Jun Jie

“It was my first time in Kemaman, I was glad that my younger son could join me for this mission trip. This year, Mrs Wee requested additional help in the kitchen which opened an opportunity for me to serve. I helped in the preparation of food while sisters from Kemaman Life BP Church did the cooking. They were efficient and worked seamlessly, whipping up yummy food in no time. In the kitchen, we fellowshipped over food...literally! They were very friendly and shared with me their testimonies and also some of their favourite recipes. I also witnessed the love Dr and Mrs Wee have for the work of God and for the children. They are very energetic seniors. May God continue to bless Dr and Mrs Wee with good health. We pray that the lessons taught would stay with the children and touch their hearts one day.” Irene Tan

“Thank God for granting Dr and Mrs Wee the burden to evangelise the children especially the needy and less privileged ones. They were attentive during the lessons and were eager to learn God’s Word, as evidenced by the efforts put in to memorise the verse for each lesson. The children enjoyed themselves during the lesson-based craft sessions and ensured that they brought their completed pieces home. A video on Noah’s ark and the global flood shown on the second day, impressed upon the children the wickedness of man’s sins and the mercy of God upon Noah’s family. We thank God for this precious opportunity to serve Him in Kemaman.” Bee Heng & Yee Fong

“Praise and thank our Heavenly Father for the Kemaman VBS, and for the forty odd children who came daily, some for the first time, and many others we met some years ago and are so thankful they are still found in church. Thank God for making His word available to these children, many of whom are from pagan background. The Holy Spirit convicted and converted those who came to confess Him as personal Lord and Saviour. We praise God for the love and unity of the VBS team as we served together, for His glory.” Jenny Kan

“I was delighted to go for the Kemaman VBS together with my son especially since my last visit there was 20 years ago. With much anticipation I travelled up to see the church after all these years. As the lessons were in Mandarin, I was quite nervous and kept rehearsing the Chinese terms in my head on the overnight bus journey there. Elder Mern Yee gave us morning devotions before each day’s activities started. The Lord gave Jenny and me the lower primaries’ class. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of children to teach. Jenny talked to them individually and made sure they understood the gospel. All in all, the experience was a very good one. I see a small church trying to maintain her testimony for the Lord. May the Lord keep the church growing in His truth and grace and as a beacon of His light in Kemaman.” Tan Chew Ying

“It was a privilege to serve my Lord as an unworthy servant. The extension of God’s mercy towards us reminded me how we ought to be gentle and loving towards the children, even in challenging times, and that we ought to be longsuffering, patient and supportive as we served together. Thank God for His grace towards the children, as the Gospel was presented, many of them repeatedly expressed their wish to follow Jesus. The Lord encouraged a few of us as we met some brethren at Calvary Jaya BPC who attended the Kemaman VBS when they were children. Surely, the Lord is the one to bring about good fruit in this ministry in His good time.” Tan Kee Sing

“I thank the Lord for helping us teach children from Upper Primary and conduct station games. We could see God working as a few of them became increasingly serious about the gospel and were asking more questions about the faith. Thank God for active participation and safety throughout. I praise and thank God for safety while shuttling around the area in the church van. All praise and glory be to God.” Jason Lim

Vacation Bible School, Kemaman Life BPC, 6–8 December 2017