29.04.2010

Rev. Tapio told me that 15 Thai Pastors would be arriving in Singapore when I attended the Prayer Meeting. I knew about the visitation about a month ago. I was glad to hear their arrival and decided to go to airport to receive them too.

When we prayed for this visitation three weeks ago, an idea came into my mind. As it was popular for us to use e-mail, we could set up a prayer network amongst the Thai Pastors. They could send their prayer request to each other. And if there is a coordinator, he could gather the prayer requests and send them to us. Hence, we could pray for them during our Prayer Meeting.

Tapio thought it was a good idea and we pray for it. But I faced a resistance when Tapio and his wife went to the washrooms after the prayer meeting.

It was a very heavy downpour when we were leaving for Changi Airport. We waited for 20 minutes and decided we had to start our journey. Instead of walking to Lavendar Station, Tapio, Kajia, Rickson and I took a bus to Kallang Station to take a train to airport.

The flight was delayed and we met the Thai Pastors around 6 p.m. Amongst the 15 Pastors, four of them are ladies. Visanukorn, the present Bishop of Lutheran Mission in Thailand (LMT) came with the group.

It was great to meet the Pastors. I was glad to see Sudajit, Suthin and Suriya. They had left Singapore for 18 years.

Tapio, Kajia and Rickson brought the Pastors to their hostel at Little India by train. I continued my journey with the same train towards home.

30.04.2010

I went to Zhujiao Centre (Tekka) to meet the Pastors in the morning.

I chatted with Subin and we exchanged name cards. I did not have any name card after retired. I designed and printed my own name cards with the computer as many people like to have my contact e-mail address. I have set up different mailboxes for friends from different countries since I registered my own website in 2007.

Subin looked familiar to me. He did not mention the Fahoan Church, so I did not realised he was the person I met in 1996. I remembered well the "buffalos bank" project he had in Fahoan Church.

While waiting for the other Pastors, I talked to Visanukorn about the Prayer Network. He was pleased to hear about this idea. We worked in Thai Good News Centre 18 years ago. We ever went to Johor Bahru to conduct Bible Study for a Thai Christian. We had the same frequency while serving the Lord. Hence, we had mutual understanding. God is good. God removed the obstacle with a clever move.

Tapio, Kajia, Rickson and I went to Yishun Lutheran Church with the Pastors by train. We visited the St. Lukes ElderCare Centre near the Church.

The person-in-charge gave us a briefing on the Centre. The Thai Pastors sang a few Thai songs for the elders. We also visited its keep-fit room.

We later walked to the Church. Pastor Fredric Lee briefed us on the organisation and ministries of the Church. As it was lunch time. He would like us to have lunch at a Thai Restaurant and would continue visiting the Church after lunch.

I seldom visited Yishun Lutheran Church. I remembered I attended the opening ceremony of the Church in 1985. In 1991, I brought Pastor Chamraeng to visit the Church before he left for Thailand.

In the afternoon, we visited a Thai Christian staying near the Church.

A few Thai Christians were there to receive us. We had fellowship and shared the experience of joy we had in God. I shared about the Prayer Network with the Thai Pastors, they were glad to hear it. God is great. Those who love God understand God's will.

After the fellowship, the member took us to the coffee shop nearby. She sells Thai food in the coffee shop. She treated us with three different dishes of Thai salad Somtan.

When Tapio, Kajia and Rickson took the Thai Pastors back to their hostel by train. I took the train of different direction to go home.

It was the Labour Day on 1st May. But I did not meet up with the Thai Pastors.

I visited the elders at Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home with a group of friends from sgwritings. In the evening, I went to the Temple of Thanksgiving to watch a Liyuan Opera - Mulian Saves His Mother.

02.05.2010

I did not attend either Bedok Lutheran Church or Queenstown Lutheran Church with Solomon as usual on 2nd May. As Solomon was tired after the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. bicycle ride on Saturday, I went to Thai Good News Centre by myself.

There were five Thai Pastors amongst the 15 of them were baptised in Singapore. They were the members of Thai Good News Centre. I recognised Sudajit, Suthin and Suriya. Boonma was baptised in 1993 when I was already resigned from the Centre. Another Pastor Somporn remembered me but I could not recall who he was. I saw a prayer list on the wall of my computer room on Saturday evening and I found Somporn was one of the eight persons on the list. I then recalled Salli ever told me about him and I wrote his name in the list.

When I met Somporn in the Centre, I confirmed with him his birthday. Hence, I remembered Salli ever mentioned that Somporn would like to study in LITE and asked me to pray for him. When Visanukorn saw my 18-year-old prayer list, he was amused that I still remember those Christians who received Christ in Thai Good News Centre. He said that the eight persons completed their study in LITE and served God in Thailand.

We started our Sunday Worship Service at 1 p.m. Many old Thai Christians turned up because they knew that some of our old friends revisited Singapore. Some members from Bedok Lutheran Church came to support the old friends too.

Suthin gave the sermon. He said that he was one of the workers who drank and idle around Golden Mile Complex 20 years ago. As the hard work of the workers in the Centre, he came to learn English and later knew about Jesus. He was baptised and became a Christian. He went back to Thailand and did his Bible Study in LITE of Bangkok. He went back to his village to be an evangelist after graduating from LITE. For the first three years, he was scolded by people. In the fourth year, the first Christian was his mother. I wept when I heard his story. I always wanted to know about them after they went back to Thailand. How many people pray for those Christians who went back to Thailand? How many people pray for those members who studied in LITE and later became evangelists?

We had our meal in the Centre after worship service.

After that, the Thai Pastors went around the Complex and the surroundings to invite that Thai people to attend our fellowship.

Many of them came. We sang traditional Thai songs. We danced. The four female Thai Pastors performed two Traditional Thai Dances. The Thai people were far away from home, yet they were at home in the Thai Good News centre.

Sunday Worship Service

Music of the Native Land	Gracious Love from Our God

Co-workers Fellowship

I went to the ElderCare Centre in Taman Jurong to carry out my volunteer work on 3rd May and did not meet the Thai Pastors. That evening Tapio told me that they had been to Christian book shop to buy some books.

04.05.2010

Visanukorn went back to Thailand on 3rd May. The rest of the Pastors went back on 4th May. I went to Changi Airport that morning to send them off.

Other than Tapio and Kajia, I was pleased to see a few Thai Christians came to the airport too. Those lovely ladies bought different types of powdered drink for the Pastors. I gave them each a package of Milo yesterday. This morning I gave them each a CD with photographs take during last few days.

Many Pastors asked me when I would visit them in Thailand. Some of them I had met only these few days. Some of them were old friends whom knew each other for 20 years.

After the blessing prayer, the Pastors passed through the custom. They kept waving to us.

When will we meet again?