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By Choon
Hua "Andes" Poh
Andes is from Singapore and has been a prayer intercessor
for many years. She has evangelized in many nations. She
loves Israel and spends a great deal of time praying for that
nation and its people. Andes is a nurse by profession and uses
her natural, professional and spiritual gifts to serve the Lord.
Andes speaks Chinese and English.
Contact Andes at:
andes55577@gmail.com
St. Vincent Work & Sites
St. Lucia Work & Sites
Granada
Work and Sites
Barbados Work
Barbados Sites
The Barbados Jewish
Legacy
Bumula
Congregation
Maliki
Evangelism & Teaching
Photo Album Uganda
Little Miracles
Machu Picchu Video
Peru Newsletter 2008
Photo Album Urubamba
Photo Album Machu
Picchu
Photo
Album Cusco
Photo Album Arequipa
Photo Album Pucallpa
Pray
Walking America Newsletter Nov 2008
New York City
Newsletter Oct/Nov 2008
▲
Please
scroll pass Andes' testimony for her updates, thank you!
Journey of my Life
Andes' Testimony
I was born in a Taoist-Buddhist
family where we worshipped our late ancestors and other kinds of
idols such as the kitchen gods, the wealth gods, monkey gods,
goddess of mercy etc. We used to have a huge table full of all
kinds of Chinese gods. My family was very superstitious and
observed many Chinese religious festivals such as birthday of
certain deities. It was a norm to have slaughtered chickens and
ducks offerings to appease all these gods lest we offend them if
we failed to do so. Ever so often I would give the gods a good
wash to make them look clean and nice. I was adopted as the
god-daughter of the goddess of mercy without knowing when I was
a child. There would always be some kind of seal on our clothing
to show that we had worshiped the gods and are “blessed”.
My family was very poor and my
father was often in debts because he lost his business as a
coffee shop owner. He was being accused by relatives for having
failed in the business. He worked very hard and tried to pay off
the debts but the accusations from the relatives put a lot of
stress on him he ended up having heart disease and diabetes. He
was wounded in many ways and worst off is our relatives began to
stay away from us because we were poor. I remembered we used to
have only green beans soup for our lunch and only had new sewn
clothing on Chinese New Year day.
I have seven siblings and I am
the second daughter in the family. We were very independent and
most of the time we were left to fend for ourselves as both of
our parents was busy trying to make ends meet. I was a very
playful child and dislike going to school as my form teacher was
very unkind and biased towards students who were poor in their
studies. Obviously I did not do well. I remembered when I was
seeking for my PSLE examination at the age of 12, I stood
outside my corridor and prayed to the heavenly god whom I don’t
even know about that I would pass this major examination as I
did not want to disappoint my parents especially my father. In
an amazing way I did quite well in the examination and went on
to high school. Looking back I know the one who I prayed to was
the God who created the heavens and the earth.
I was blessed with good
classmates and I had a good friend who was a catholic and used
to tell me that she went to church and worshiped Mary. Even
though I was not a Christian then, somehow something inside me
told me that if I should be a Christian I should worship Jesus
and not Mary because I learnt vaguely from the school that Jesus
died on the cross for our sins. But I never got to discuss
Christianity with my friends because I always thought it was a
western religion and I am Chinese and therefore I should worship
the Chinese gods.
It was during the first year of
my nursing training that one of my nursing friends invited me to
church. I decided to explore and visit the church and I told
myself there is no harm in getting to know more about what
people do in the church. The speaker in the church spoke about
the love of God from John 3:16 and invited us to receive His
love. For the first time in my life I experienced the purity and
holiness of such love which was not found in my Taoist Buddhist
background, as I sat there listening to the word. I found myself
wanting to receive this love and so I moved forward to be prayed
for. At that time I do not know what it all meant to me. After
that, my friends began to follow up and teach me about the
bible. I experienced their love and care for me as their new
friend. I accepted the Lord Jesus as my personal Lord and
Saviour after I had studied with them for a while. I saw changes
in my life. I became more caring and helpful in my family. The
Lord granted me success in my nursing training and I had an
opportunity to go to Scotland for my midwifery training after my
graduation as a registered nurse in Singapore General Hospital.
This was the highlight of our
family and my father was very proud that he had a daughter who
did well in her career to go overseas. At that time there were
very few people who could afford to go overseas and I was the
first among our relatives. This has also brought about healing
to my father in some ways. He became more open to Christianity
and later became a Christian before he passed away.
In 1989 I was able to use my
midwifery skills to serve the Lord in Niger for three years in a
mission hospital. I am very thankful to our Lord Jesus because I
saw that not only is He working in my life but also in the lives
of my family, changing each one of us for better use in His
Kingdom. We became more united and forgiving, more accepting
towards one another because we had experienced the power of His
love.
“So may all your enemies perish
O Lord! But may they who love you be like the sun when it rises
in its strength.” Judges 5:31.
▲
9/23/09
During the last year the Lord
kept reminding me to go to the nations and share about His
passion for His chosen people the nation of Israel. Indeed He
had open many doors for me and had provided many resources and
connections so that I could do this and I am really amazed. When
I was in Barbados, my mission partner told me that the Lord is
sending me to China this year to share with the believers there.
And surprisingly, on my way back while transiting in London, I
met some Israelis. I know somehow I have to make the Jew/Chinese
connection even though I have no idea how it is going to happen.
I almost gave up going to China
after I tried in vain to get a connection from various sources
to go there. So when I received an email from one of the
brothers who recently returned from China about the need for a
volunteer to go and help a missionary couple in their needs, I
was prompted by the Lord to go. Before this email, I also
received another email from a Jewish friend who wanted to know
more about the “Back to Jerusalem Movement” and the next day I
attended the “Back to Jerusalem” conference whose main speaker
was from Israel. This “Back to Jerusalem” conference gives me a
clearer picture about the mandate that the Lord had given to the
Chinese more than 60 years ago, to bring the gospel through silk
route heading westward through the nations and all the way to
Jerusalem as the final point. In this way all the silk route
nations will have received the gospel. When I saw on the video
the testimony of an elderly lady whose son was one of the
pioneers in this movement, I knew that I was on the right track.
So within a week of preparation
I was on my way to “D” City. My main responsibility was to help
with some household chores in the “J” family. I did some
household chores like marketing, cooking, cleaning and drying
the clothes. It turned out to be a challenge when I have to cook
for more than 20 people for their weekly Bible study meeting.
All my exhaustion was gone when the people came and we had a
good time of studying and fellowshipping with each other. They
were very warm and open to share their needs. Everyone related
to each other in a joyful way.
After the meeting, we prayed for
some needs and one new comer came to know Christ. Besides my
chores, I also had many opportunities to visit other groups and
on last Tuesday together with some of the members we visited the
12th May 2008 earthquake epicenter disaster region of
Yin Siu village. We saw much damage to the buildings, roads,
bridges and the school that still remains. We stood at the mass
graveyard and prayed for the families of the victims that the
Lord will return them 7 fold of what was lost. We met a few
families of the victims and through the prayers and sharing of
the word, 4 came to know the Lord. We found out that two of the
women who lost their daughters were now pregnant. Praise the
Lord!
The service was conducted in a
house and very much like our church, with young leaders mainly,
whose faith is only less than 3 years. I witnessed a young
student baptizing the believers. One of them was the guy who
received Christ one week ago. The baptism was done in the toilet
on a square shape boat float. These people were both young in
faith and physically as well but I could sense their sincerity
and their passion for God. Many of them even brought their
parents and friends to the fellowship as soon as they received
Christ. On the 2nd Sunday, a pastor shared about the
gift of tongues and the Holy Spirit empowerment and at the end
everyone raised their hands indicating their desire to pray to
receive this gift.
On one of our sight seeing trip
back at Panda bear garden, I met some Israeli tourists. I know
this is not by coincident. And on the last day before I left the
city I shared with a small congregation about the need to pray
for Israel. They were much opened; in fact one of them attended
a prayer convocation last year. At the end of the service the
members prayed for me.
The Lord had given me the
privilege to see His work in the region of China and also to
have a glimpse of what He desires the church to be. Romans
11:11-15 … by the love for the God to Israel to provoke the Jews
to jealousy……I believed this is why the mandate was given to the
Chinese.
▲
The Caribbean Experience (16th
June to 15th July 2009).
Barbados from 16th June to 2nd
July and from 13th July to 15th July.
Ps 66:8 “Bless our GOD, O people, And sound
His praise abroad.” “Commit your work to the Lord. And your
plans will be established.” “When the man’s ways please the
Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” Prov
16:3,7 These were the verses that the Lord impressed upon me on
the morning before my departure to Barbados, Grenada, Caricou,
St Lucia, St Vincent and Bequia islands.
I arrived in Barbados on 17th
June. Barbados is a very small island like Singapore, it has an
area of about 166sq miles and are divided into 11 parishes. It
has a population of about less than 300,000 that are mainly
blacks with their origin from Africa. It has a fairly stable
political rule and economy doing well till recent crisis.
Literacy rate is about 98% and the about 67% are Christians and
Catholics. Many of them are very religious and practiced their
faith only on Sunday. The Bible is taught in school.
During the 1600s, the Jews were received in
Barbados when they flee from the Spanish inquisition. The Jews
brought with them the sugar cane industry, windmill technology
and started the first development bank in Barbados. They help to
establish the economy through trading and built the first
synagogue here.
Both Joy and I stayed at her niece, Katrina’s
friend’s apartment which is about 20 minutes from the capital of
Bridgetown by bus. We bumped into a local pastor who has been
travelling to Ethiopia to do mission work and he gladly joined
us in giving out tracts on the first day of our evangelistic
work. We did most of our outreach in Bridgetown, and distribute
about more than 13,000 tracts at the bus stations, shopping
lanes, market places, on the beaches and throughout the island.
We also did door to door evangelism with Joy’s cousin who is
also a pastor of the local church and his church members. He led
us to some of the dark alleys, the red light districts where we
could reach out to the gamblers, drunkards, prostitutes and drug
addicts.
To my surprise, most of the people welcomed
the tracts and received them very well. Many read it aloud
immediately and were stunted for a moment by the question
written on the tract, “If you were to die today?” Some said they
do not want to die now. Some said they want to go to heaven, but
some stop to check out which denomination we are from, others
would debate about the Christian’s practices such as: Do you
work on Sunday? Why are Christians wearing make-up? Some asked
if this is money… we found out later in St. Lucia, that the
Chinese government had once given out money to the people in the
streets in order to gain political favor. Apparently the Chinese
government had help to build schools and tourist sites all over
the Caribbean and had and still has some political influence in
the Caribbean.
We also encountered members of the Jehovah
Witness who debated with about the deity of Christ and their
doctrine on the non-existent of eternal hell. They do not
believe that Jesus is God and denied the Holy Trinity.
One morning during our devotion time at our
apartment at Worthing we were delighted to see a rainbow when it
was not raining at all, we took it as a sign of our Father’s
approval of what we have done so far.
On 24th June, Tyrone, Joy’s first
cousin, who is a fisherman has been doing outreach whenever he
is not out to the sea. He brought us to a whole sale fish market
where we did evangelism. We shared our testimonies and songs
while the people were busy preparing their fishes for sale and
doing their trading business. May these fishermen heed His calls
and become the fisher of men just like what the disciples did in
Jesus’ days. In the afternoon we went to a nursing home and
there we sang and gave words of encouragement to the elderly
folks.
In the evening, we shared our messages at
Paynes’ Bay Pentecostal Church in St. James parish. The
congregation received us very well and was encouraged by what we
were doing. At the end of the service, an elderly couple gave
Joy and me $20 BD each. Later, Pastor Payne, his congregation
members and Tyrone gave us a love gift of $1080 BD. This is the
first time we received a love gift from the church. And this
amount served to cover half of our flights to the other three
islands, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent.
On he evening of 25th June, at the
Methodist church, the pastor opposed the stand concerning Israel
after I shared with the church about the uniqueness of Israel.
He claimed that church has replaced Israel and God would not
show favor to the Jewish people because they had rejected their
Messiah. However, towards the end of Joy’s sharing about how
Barbados has been blessed because of the Jewish influences in
the early days, he said he might change his view later!
On 27th June, The Lord also opened
the door for both of us to do broadcasting recording over the
Christian radio channel. It was a very humbling experience for
me as that was the first time for me. I did it so badly that I
almost wanted to buried my head under ground after that but Joy
encouraged me to trust in the Lord’s doing that He is able to
take our weaknesses to bring glory to Himself. Indeed may His
Name be magnified through the broadcasting that many who heard
the program will be aware of the “One New Man” in Christ.
Grenada – the land of the Spice (from 3rd
July to 5th July).
We arrived at about 12.30pm and Joy’s
contact, Lucille picked us up from the airport and took us to
her house which is in the outskirt of Georgetown. Lucille is a
business woman and her children live near her. The house is
seated on the slope of the hill and had suffered some damaged
from hurricane Ivan in the past. Both of us were each given a
small room to stay in. My room was facing the backyard it was
hot and I could not open the window or door because of the
mosquitoes at night. On the first night, It took me a while to
fall asleep and just when I was about to do so, I saw a dark
huge hand with some spirits in front of me and oppressing me on
my chest so much so I could not move or shout. I fought for a
brief moment to set myself free from this hand and I finally
shouted “Jesus” loudly and immediately the darkness dispel and
the hand was gone. I spoke to Joy the next day and we prayed
over this. Subsequently the following two nights I could sleep
well. This is a reminder that I must not take for granted the
spiritual warfare that we are in that just because I am in a
Christian family, that everything is going to be ok. I have to
be vigilant and watchful, and this is when I recognize my need
for my prayer supporters.
Emmanuel, Lucille’s son took us to Georgetown
in the morning and that day we gave out about 2,000 tracts at
the market area. As I stood there watching the youths, I felt
burden for them, they were very secular and lost, even though
they were taught bible in school and most of them come from
Christian backgrounds but they do not read their bible nor go to
church regularly and many do not have a personal relationship
with God. Christianity is a tradition, a religion without a
personal experience with their Savior.
At the museum, we met a British lady who is
against the Zionist because her aunt and family were being
chased out during the Gaza takeover when Israel became
independent in 1948. We could sense her anger and unforgiving
spirit asking why a good God could allow such a thing to happen
to her family. We tried to explain our stand for Israel, but she
could not accept it. Later on our way home, we prayed for God’s
mercy upon her that she will forgive the wrong done to her
family and asked God to remove any anti-Semitism spirit within
the nations in the Caribbean.
We visited the Fort nearby and there I
declared Psalm 2 for the nation. We also saw a Presbyterian
church nearby, and I was disturbed that this church has been
supported by the Freemason for more than 150 years. No wonder
the church looks so dead. I was reminded of the Sardis church in
Revelation 3:1 when our Lord rebuked this dying church. We
prayed and confessed on behalf of this church for compromising.
We asked God to break the connection with these ungodly ties.
On 4th July, both of us managed to
get a cargo barge after missing the ferry to get to the nearby
island of Carricou. Upon arrival at 3.30pm, after three over
hours of a choppy water ride at sea, we found out that the last
ferry to bring us back to Grenada was in one hour’s time! So we
spent the next one hour giving out our tracts before we catch
the last ferry back again. Anyway, Joy was able to seize the
opportunity to preach the gospel on the van that took us near to
the ferry point. On our way back on the Orisey ferry, Joy
spotted a beautiful rainbow. We were overjoyed to know that the
Lord has been with us despite of travelling over 5 hours and
just do an hour tract distribution and without seeing much in
Carricou. I managed to speak to an Indian couple and a nun of
mother Theresa order about the blessings of the rainbow.
While I was sitting at the lower deck of the
ferry, a few rows from where I was, I saw a little boy and his
father interacting with each other. What caught my attention was
this daddy was so loving and giving full attention to the boy
throughout the two hours journey. They spoke to each other
tenderly, play and just having fun together. This reminded me of
Emmanuel’s daughter, Ponsau. Ponsau is about 7 years old, very
lively, chatty and fun loving girl. She always wears a short
pant and has no shirt on the top. We teased her for being
topless but she said she wants to be like her daddy who
apparently dressed like her, with bare chest. One could easily
tell that she really loves her daddy a lot as she keeps calling
out for him. She likes to be around him and would fuss around
him to get his attention. She follows him wherever he goes,
farming, swimming, fishing, picking mangoes or feeding the
rabbits. She especially likes to show off her mini bicycle
skills and her daddy would often warn her of the road traffic.
She does not seem to demand anything from him except his
attention. Obviously her daddy loves her a lot too. This loving
relationship of a father and daughter reminds me of how we
should loves our Heavenly DADDY, to be able to freely come to
Him and drawing attention to Him without demanding for anything
but just being around Him and be delighted with Him only. How
beautiful and sweet this fellowship would be if we could just be
like Ponsau in relating to our DADDY GOD.
St. Lucia – Helen of Troy (from 6th
July to 9th July).
We stayed at Maria’s (Joy’s relative’s) guest
house which is about a short distance from the airport and town.
She is a Roman Catholic and a nurse and spends her off days
making roti and cakes to sell to patients and staff in Vieux
Fort Hospital. Upon knowing what we are doing in her nation, she
invited us to join her to do her “roti” rounds in the hospital
so she could introduce us to her colleagues and so open an
opportunity for us to reach out to them and the patients as
well. We were very grateful for this opportunity to share the
gospel and to pray for the sick. Maria is such a kind lady and
very diligently runs her guest house besides her nursing work.
She also allows us to stay at her guesthouse for free, such
generosity! What a treat for us after those mosquitoes vested
places that we had been in before.
We met Maria’s neighbor, Ann Margaret who
attends Bethel Tabernacle church. She brought us to her church
after we get to know her by divine appointment and shared her
burden to pray as we walk along the road for almost 2 hours. The
Lord led us to pray for the wellbeing of this nation that it
will be released from the deceptive spirit of “Helen of Troy”
and truly enthrone King Jesus.
We went to Soufriere to visit a nurse friend
of our host and to do outreach in that town. As I walk into the
outpatient department, I saw a young female patient who was
crying because she was stung by a jellyfish. I took out the
anointing oil and prayed for her healing. That was our brief
visit to Soufriere.
St. Vincent (from 9th July
to 13th July).
At about 8pm, we had arrived at a guesthouse
which we someone had booked for us. It was next to the airport
and once we arrived we realized that this guesthouse is part of
a clinic. The room that we were to stay in was next to the
runway; very gloomy looking and we both had a sense of
uneasiness when we entered. We guessed it was used as a ward
before and now converted to a guest room. We discussed briefly
and felt we should not stay there. We searched for the cheapest
hotel but it was fully book. We found one which is in town and
the man on the phone agreed to send us a cab to take us there as
it was getting late by now. On arrival at the hallway, a very
hostile man confronted us and intimidated us with words, saying
that we have nowhere to go this night and yet we want a cheap
place. He claimed that he could give us anything we want and
offer us food and wine. We sensed that he is not a decent guy
and so we decided to try another place even though it was
getting late. We took a cab and found out that the driver was
quite drunk. Somehow he managed to deliver us to a decent hotel
along the Sion (Zion) Hill road only to find out that it was
fully booked. The kind lady manager helped us to find another
nearby hotel. Finally we managed to book into one decent place
to stay. We got EC$10 discount for each night and we took it as
God’s sign of approval for our stay here.
St Vincent is another small island but more
impoverish than the rest of the islands that we have visited.
The streets and houses look old and dirty and not as organized.
On 10th July, we went to Kingstown market place to do
our evangelism. Many of them were very receptive but there are
some who said they are alright and believed they can go to
heaven. We met some Rasta men who claim they are the lost tribe
of Israel; they lived a carefree lifestyle and believed that
they should live as naturally as possible. They lived like
hippies, unkempt, grew long dredged hair, and took their showers
at the beach. Most of them are drunkards and drug addicts; they
could not see the pathetic look on their bearded faces. They
adamantly believed that they can go to heaven despite of their
sinful lifestyle.
We finished our last bit of tract at Bequia
Island which was a 1/2 hours boat ride from St. Vincent. We
managed to do some sightseeing as the van driver took us around
the island and also visited the turtle farm. On the last evening
of our stay in St. Vincent, we saw another rainbow as we were
swimming at the beach near the hotel. It is so reassuring at the
end of our islands outreach that we saw the rainbow.
When we return to Barbados in the afternoon
and on our way to visit Joy’s cousin Girly, we saw the fourth
rainbow.
Isa 45:8 “ Rain down from, you heavens from
above. And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth
open, let them bring forth salvation, And let righteousness
spring up together, I the LORD have created it”
On 14th July, the day before we
depart Barbados, we were able to revisit the synagogue and
present them with the gifts of a prayer shawl, Jacob’s out reach
book “Why me?”, gospel tracts and some donations for the
building. Joy also presented some of the coins which we had
picked up on the streets as a prophetic act of returning the
blessings back to the Jewish people. Our prayers were that the
Lord will advance His Kingdom from here and all the way to
Israel, the Apple of His eye. We were thrilled when after this
act, we met a Jew from Atlanta at the synagogue and we took some
pictures with him. That afternoon we saw the 5th rainbow. By
then Joy has gotten her Barbados passport and her ID card and is
a full pledged Bajan again!
On 15th July at 1pm I left the
apartment at Worthing, praying in my heart that I will be able
to hitch a hike from someone who can take me to the main road to
catch the bus to the airport. Praise the Lord, at the end of the
first stretch of lane, a kind man who happened to be going to
work in the airport agreed to give me a lift.
My flight took me to Gatwick airport, I
arrived at 05.30hrs on 16th July and I took a coach
to Heathtrow airport for my transit at 21.25hrs. I decided to
have a shower at the airport and then go to Buckingham palace to
pray for England. It was about 20yrs ago that I passed by London
when I was on my way to Africa. I recalled that I was pick
pocket and lost all my money. Praise the Lord, He used the
church there to give me a love gift which was the exact amount
that I have lost. I recalled also of the many good blessings
that I have received from Britain when I first came here for my
midwifery training. I was a young nurse then and this country
received me well and allowed me to be trained. It was after the
midwifery training that I went to serve in Africa for three
years.
I stand in the gap for Singapore and Britain
as Singapore as a nation had been blessed under the British
rule. Now my heart was filled with joy and gratefulness for
being blessed by them and being able to stand in the gap for
this land. May the good Lord bless the queen and her royal
family. I sensed that we need to continue to pray for them.
While window shopping near Trafalgar Square,
I met some Jews from Tel Aviv. I greet them shalom and was
prompted to give them tracts. Later on we met again in another
shop and had a brief conversation with them.
I arrived home on 17th July, I was
relieved that there was no restriction from my entry after
coming from oversea. I was glad that my well used luggage bag
and the wheel broke only when I step into my flat. Hallellujahs!
He looks into all our details in life. This is the God we trust
in.
Shalom,
Andes Poh
▲
Insertion by K. Joy Sandiford: I just
now received an email from a friend in Pakistan that said, "I
also want to tell you that in Pakistan all people still call him
Mohammad Obama. They think that he is still Muslim." What
does that tell you about the times we are living in? Every
nation in Africa I visited Obama's picture covered vans and
buses, t-shirts and all types of clothing -lassos, magazine
covers, newspapers, calendars in many of the houses I visited.
It was impossible to move around in Africa and not see his
picture. He is the great black hope for all of the world. But I
caution you that God will not share His glory with anyone, He is
a jealous God. Read this newspaper exert:
By Stan Goodenough
May 05, 2009US President Barack Obama
appears to be setting course for a major
confrontation with the Israeli people and
government.
Reports from both sides of the Atlantic
indicate that the new American president plans
to show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and
the people who elected him, just who calls the
shots.
Tuesday Ha'aretz disclosed the
ominous contents of "a classified telegram
received in Jerusalem a few days ago" in which
Obama's National Security Adviser, General James
Jones, advised an unnamed European foreign
minister that "unlike the Bush administration,
Obama will be 'forceful' with Israel."
"The new administration will convince Israel
to compromise on the Palestinian question,"
Jones wrote. "We will not push Israel under the
wheels of a bus, but we will be more forceful
toward Israel than we have been under Bush."
For the last month Andes
taught on the nation of Israel in Kenya how God
has not forgotten Israel as seen in Romans
chapter 11. Anti-Semitism is on the up rise and
many congregation around the world think that
the church has replaced Israel. These are the
scripture verses used by Andes to teach about
the nation of Israel while in Kenya.
Ezekiel 5:5 - Thus saith
the Lord God; This is Jerusalem: I have set it
in the midst of the nations and countries that
are round about her.
Zechariah 1:17 - Cry yet,
saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities
through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad;
and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall
yet choose Jerusalem.
Zechariah 2:12 - And
the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the
holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
Zechariah 8:3 - Thus saith
the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will
dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem
shall be called a city of truth; and the
mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.
City of Truth, the Holy City, the City of Peace,
the City of David, etc.
Zechariah 8:2 - Thus saith
the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with
great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with
great fury.
Micah 4:2 - And many
nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go
up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house
of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his
ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law
shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 39:23-25 - [29]
And the heathen shall know that the house of
Israel went into captivity for their iniquity:
because they trespassed against me, therefore
hid I my face from them, and gave them into the
hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the
sword. [24] According to their uncleanness and
according to their transgressions have I done
unto them, and hid my face from them. [25]
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I
bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have
mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will
be jealous for my holy name;
God hid His face
Romans Chapter 1-8 -
Salvation by grace
Romans Chapter 9-11 Israel
to be saved not cast away
Romans Chapter 12-16
Put Christian principles into practice
Romans 11:11 - I say
then, Have they stumbled that they should fall?
God forbid: but rather through their fall
salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to
provoke them to jealousy.
Romans 11:12 - Now if the
fall of them be the riches of the world, and the
diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles;
how much more their fulness?
Zechariah 8:23 -
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it
shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold
out of all languages of the nations, even shall
take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew,
saying, We will go with you: for we have heard
that God is with you.
Romans 11:13-15 -
[13] For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I
am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine
office: [14] If by any means I may provoke to
emulation them which are my flesh, and might
save some of them. [15] For if the casting away
of them be the reconciling of the world, what
shall the receiving of them be, but life from
the dead?
Romans 11:17 - And if some of the branches be
broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree,
wert graffed in among them, and with them
partakest of the root and fatness of the olive
tree;
Romans 11:16-23 - [16] For if the firstfruit be
holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be
holy, so are the branches. [17] And if some of
the branches be broken off, and thou, being a
wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and
with them partakest of the root and fatness of
the olive tree; [18] Boast not against the
branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not
the root, but the root thee. [19] Thou wilt say
then, The branches were broken off, that I might
be graffed in. [20] Well; because of unbelief
they were broken off, and thou standest by
faith. Be not highminded, but fear: [21] For if
God spared not the natural branches, take heed
lest he also spare not thee. [22] Behold
therefore the goodness and severity of God: on
them which fell, severity; but toward thee,
goodness, if thou continue in his goodness:
otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. [23] And
they also, if they abide not still in unbelief,
shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff
them in again.
Romans 11:24-27 - [24] For if thou wert cut out
of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and
wert graffed contrary to nature into a good
olive tree: how much more shall these, which be
the natural branches, be graffed into their own
olive tree? [25] For I would not, brethren, that
ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye
should be wise in your own conceits; that
blindness in part is happened to Israel, until
the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. [26] And
so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written,
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and
shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: [27] For
this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take
away their sins.
Rev. 7:4-8 - [4] And I heard the number of them
which were sealed: and there were sealed an
hundred and forty and four thousand of all the
tribes of the children of Israel. [5] Of the
tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of
the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.
[6] Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve
thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed
twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were
sealed twelve thousand. [7] Of the tribe of
Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe
of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the
tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.
[8] Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve
thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed
twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were
sealed twelve thousand.
Romans 11:28 - As concerning the gospel, they
are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the
election, they are beloved for the fathers'
sakes.
Ephes. 2:14-17 - [14] For he is our peace, who
hath made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us; [15] Having
abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law
of commandments contained in ordinances; for to
make in himself of twain one new man, so making
peace; [16] And that he might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross, having slain
the enmity thereby: [17] And came and preached
peace to you which were afar off (Gentiles), and
to them that were nigh (Jews). Christ is the
peace between the Jew and the gentile - together
we are one man.
Isaiah 62:6-7 - [6] I have
set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which
shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye
that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence,
[7] And give him no rest, till he establish, and
till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Psalm 122:6 - Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love
thee.
Genesis 17:8 - And I will give unto thee, and to
thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a
stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an
everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Zech. 14:16-18 - [16] And
it shall come to pass, that every one that is
left of all the nations which came against
Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to
worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep
the feast of tabernacles. [17] And it shall be,
that whoso will not come up of all the families
of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King,
the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no
rain. [18] And if the family of Egypt go not up,
and come not, that have no rain; there shall be
the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the
heathen that come not up to keep the feast of
tabernacles.
Is there any doubt that God has an eternal plan
for Israel? These are the days of deception and
popularity. I assure you, God is not deceived
but we will be and although he is not popular on
the earth, Psalm 24:1 states, "The earth is the
Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and
they that dwell therein."
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4/28/09
Muna asifuwe! (praise the LORD!). Ps
Titus, his mum, Joy and myself went to visit an home run by
Bishop Buyi and wife Allen in Uganda on 16th April to 19th
April. It is about 3 to 4hrs by local bus to their home in
Mbale. Praise the LORD that the custom border check was a
smooth one as sometime the immigration officers may tried to
find fault in order to get some money.
The bishop and his wife take in about 40
orphans in their home. Some of them their parents died of
AIDS, their age ranges from about 5yrs to 20yrs. They have 6
children of their own and the eldest daughter died last year
at the age of 22. Bishop Buyi works as a welder to help to
pay for the needs of the home and the children's education.
Some of them are in high school whereas others in their
primary school and kindergarten.
They also run a kindergarten in their
church call New Jerusalem church which is about 5min from
their home. They are now in the process of getting a
license for the orphanage.
In the day time, some of them will go to
school and some helps in the household chores when they are
off from school. All the older girls learn how to cook, sew
and do house work. His older son helps the father in the
welding shop in Mbale town. Every evening about 8.30pm they
have a family devotion and older ones takes turns to share a
bible passage before their dinner. Liz is about 12yrs old
and she preaches to us and encourages us to learn to love,
respect and forgive each other in the family. It is good for
the children to remember to show love and concern for each
other as so many of them stay together under one
roof. The younger ones worship together with the rest and it
is a family affairs. They were trained also to pray and
everyone prays even the youngest knows how to pray. It is
very encouraging to see them standing up and worship and
pray earnestly even though they were so young.
On our first morning we went to the
kindergarten and taught them songs, games and tell them
bible story. There were about 30 children in the class run
by two teachers and they had very little teaching aids, only
a blackboard that could hardly write on. Most of the
learning are done by just repeating what the teacher say.
On the last evening, Joy suggested that
we mend the children's clothes because we saw that some of
them were wearing clothes that were torn and tagged. As we
mend those clothes they began to bring us more torn ones,
and some of the clothes would have thrown away and beyond
repair! Ps Titus told us to pray for the orphans and as we
laid hands and pray for them, two of the ladies broke down
and cried uncontrollably. We do not know their background
but we sensed that they have many past hurts and so we to
speak, encourage and pray for them.
Even though our stay were short but we
could sensed that they were very appreciative and joyful to
see us extending our hands of friendship to them. We gave
them about US$100 and prayerfully it will help them stretch
their resources for a long time. Please do pray for these
needy ones that the LORD will help them to grow up as godly
men and women and being independent and useful in their own
communities.
Shalom,
Andes
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4/1/09
Dear praying friends,
Mungu akuburiki! that's God bless you in Swahili. Praise the
Lord for providing the rain for the last 3 days. We went to
Maseilo again yesterday morning as the response was very good on
Monday. It is about an hour drive from Bungoma where i stay with
Pastor David and his wife Susan. Pastor Titus lives in Bungoma
but he pastors the church in Maseilo where we visited. His
church members help to build a small house next to Pastor
Leonard, his assistant pastor so that he could stay over the
weekend to minister to the congregation. I could see that the
members respected and love him and his wife. There were about 10
-12 of us in the team including Pastor Titus and Pastor Leonard.
We split into two teams with Joy leading one and I lead the
other team. My team visited about 16 families and many were
backsliden Christians. Most of the backslidden were men of the
house. Many became disillusion about their Christian faith
because of poverty, lack of rain for the crops, diseases and
immorality. As our team spoke and share the word with them many
confess their willingness to come back to the Lord. We anointed
them with oil and encouraged them to re dedicate their lives to
the Lord. We also pray for those who are sick. I gave out some
of the vitamins, iron and Panadol tablets to some of the women.
We also encounter some encouraging people. One elderly lady,
named Grace had 5 cows and were able use the profit made from
the cow's milk to help some of the poor children. She is the
main bread winner of the house. We encourage her to share the
gospel with those whom she has helped. We sang and danced with
one family as they rejoiced over the goodness of the Lord. Helen
a team member was especially encouraging to me and she was very
zealous to share with her people about the word of God. She told
me next time when I come back she will give me one big sweet
potatoes. On Thursday we will go back and help Pastor Leonard to
plant the peanuts on the ground that was leased. All profits
will go to grow more peanuts and hopefully the profit will be
good enough to bless the community there. Joy gave some money
for Pastor Titus to buy 4 Swahili bibles and we gave them away
to the members who do not have the bibles. I believed that this
early morning rain is an encouraging sign to the people. God
indeed is good and He has responded to the cry of their hearts.
The people here do need encouragement as they had gone through
hard life, struggling constantly with poverty, diseases and
corruption that is so prevailing at almost all level, one member
expressed that it has also creep into the church and this is
indeed very sad. Please continue to pray that the word that is
sown will bear eternal fruits and multiply in the kingdom. May
the Christians repent and rise up to shine as light in this
dark and needy country. May the Name of Jesus is really lifted
up high so that all men may drawn to HIM, may His Name not be
put to shame because of our poor testimony. Thank you once again
for sharing this work with me through your prayers.
Shalom,
Andes
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3/28/09
Dear Friends,
I arrived safely in Nairobi and was welcomed by Joy, Ps David
and Hilda. Joy and Ps David travelled about 10 hrs from Bungoma
to fetch me. We spend one night with Ps Caleb and his family in
Nairobi and travelled to Bungoma the next day. On our way we saw
the vehicle of the President Kibaki and him waving at us as
though to welcome us the foreigners. We stayed at Ps David and
his wife Susan's place. I understand that there are about 80%
catholic and many Christians are not born again. Many of them
can speak English and Swahili. The people were very friendly and
very easy to strike a conversation with them. On 28th March we
went to the market place, we sang a Hebrew song and gave out
tracts to the traders. We dropped by at two shops and started
our conversation with the shop owners, to my surprise they were
very open to be prayed for. They requested that we prayed for
their businesses and one of the owner was a Muslim lady and she
too was open for us to pray for her. We invited them to join us
in the worship service the next day. I saw indeed they were very
open and keen to know more about Christ. On Sunday, Joy and
myself shared in the church. I shared about why we need to pray
for the nation of Israel and encouraged the church to pray for
the land. We kneel down to confess the sin of neglecting Israel
and asking God for mercy. We also pray for the rain as this was
their main concern and I blew the shofar at the end of the
prayer. Praise the Lord indeed He is merciful and He heard the
cry of the Kenyans. it rained in the afternoon. I recognized
that this is indeed a sign to encourage them to continue to pray
for Israel and Kenya.
We went to a nearby village and give out quite a lot of tracts.
At one of the compound we saw a drunken elderly lady kneeling on
the ground, half was naked and speaking nonsense. Joy went
forward and speak about Christ's love to her. It was amazing how
she calm down after that although she understood God's word
spoken English. She began to cover herself as we brought her
clothes and brought her to her house. As we move forth the
children began to follow us and very soon there were about 20-30
of them surrounding us. So I taught them two simple Sunday
school songs and have them sang with us. At almost the end of
our evangelism along the way, we saw a big bully grabbing hold
of a younger guy and threatened to beat him up unless he pay up
his money. We do not quite understand what the dispute were all
about but it was quite clear that he was trying to have his way.
Joy tried to be the middle man and calm the situation but to no
avail as he wanted the money. We did not have any money with us
and so was unable to solve the problem with it. We prayed and
hope in our hearts that the matter will be solved without anyone
getting hurts. The passerby just stood around and watch the
scene and no one try to help. I guess this is quite a common
scene and everyone get use to it, they just want to see what is
the outcome but will not want to get involved lest they
themselves also get into trouble. Later we found out that the
younger guy paid him only 50bobs (only a few cents, I think),
and the matter was solved. Was the Lord trying to teach us to
rise up when we see injustice and fight for the rights of human
being? Was He trying to tell us do our bit, pray and leave the
outcome to Him? Was He telling us not to do anything since we
don't really know who is really in the wrong for what we see may
not necessary be what it really is? I leave the judgment to you.
May the Lord grant us wisdom and quick to know what to do when
such a dispute rises again.
Shalom,
Andes
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12/22/08
Last evening is the first day of of the 8
days of John 10:22. We saw Jesus in Jerusalem in the temple
area of the Solomon's Colonnade during this feast. So what
is Hanukah all about? It is called The Holiday of Lights --
celebrating the miracle of a little oil that lasted eight
days, and continues to illuminate our lives to this day.
Hanukkah (also
spelled Chanukah or Hanukah), is an annual festival of the
Jews celebrated on eight successive days to honor the
restoration of divine worship in the Temple after it had
been defiled by heathens. The return of their religious
liberty was to them as life from the dead and, in
remembrance of it, they kept an annual holiday on the
twenty-fifth day of Kislev. Kislev is the third month of the
Jewish calendar corresponding, approximately, to early
December in the Gregorian calendar. Jesus kept this festival
John 10:22
The biggest
lesson of Hanukkah was the power of the spirit, the ability
of God's people to live by God's commands. …Not by might,
nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts
(Zech. 4:6). In between the Testaments, around 164 B.C., the
Maccabees (or Hasmoneans), led by Judah Maccabee, wrested
Judea from the rule of the Seleucids–Syrian rulers who
supported the spread of Greek religion and culture. Hanukkah
commemorates the recapture of Jerusalem by the Maccabees and
the establishment of the Temple. The Temple had been
profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of Syria and
overlord of Palestine. The Maccabees ruled Judea until Herod
took power in 37 B.C.E.
In a miraculous
way God supply them with the oil to light up the temple for
8 days when the supply of the little oil could only last for
one day.
It is a reminder
for us that God is able to use the little that we have to
stretch His resources so that our body the temple of the
Holy Spirit can continue to do His work. God has proved this
to be true during my recent Peruvian trip when our little
"5 loaves and 2 fishes" financial resources was stretched by
Him to serve not only our needs but the needs of others. It
multiplies miraculously!
Have a blessed
Hanukah!
Hasamech! (happy
holiday)
▲
12/17/08
Current status in Singapore
About 18-20% of the
Singapore's population is Christians, including the Catholics.
Buddhist is about 65%, Muslim about 20-30% and Hindus about 10%.
There is some degree of religious freedom but we cannot out
rightly preached to the Muslim population.
The Protestant
churches are very busy churches filled with all kinds of events
in evangelism and other outreach activities. The last 10yrs or
so I saw an increased awareness of prayer networks and also an
increased flow of teachers from all over the nations far and
near, even from Africa to come and speak and prophesized over
our nation. Singapore has experienced some revival but not very
significant as yet. The Christian population has actually
increased. People are hungry and discontented; they desire
spiritual food and many Christians visit other congregations and
attend different teaching sessions after attending their own
church service. Some churches are very gifted in healings and
those who needed healings tends to go there for obvious reasons.
There is also an increased
influx of other religious groups which was not here before like
Falung Gong, Nepal Buddhism, Thai Buddhism etc. This could be
due to our nation having many foreign workers about 1 million
out of 4 million of our population. At the same time
Singapore has become very affluent and many people travel
frequently either for leisure or for work. These gave them the
opportunities to bring in other kinds of religious influence.
Recently we have begun considering passing laws for euthanasia
and alternative lifestyle such as the gay and lesbian lifestyle.
We are now in the process of building the first two casinos in
Singapore. Our teenage pregnancies, rape cases and violence
activities are increasing. There is a recent report of our HIV
cases jumping by astonishing rate since 10 years ago. All these
developments are only found in these recent years. In the past
these issues were not even thought of.
Sad to say the churches in
Singapore are not very united especially between the
evangelicals and the charismatics. There is a recent court case
about a certain bible Presbyterian Church suing a bible school
due to some doctrinal changes. There is also a division among
the older Chinese leaders and the English speaking
congregations. In 1978 Billy Graham prophesized that Singapore
will be the Antioch of Asia as of yet, she has not rise to this
status yet.
There was a time when we sent out many missionaries
and funds overseas but I am not sure if there is an increased of
the amount. We have mega churches about 15 to 20 thousand
people, the biggest so far and many small churches felt
intimidated and insecure, fearful of loosing the members. At the
same time the economic crisis had hit us hard and many lost
their jobs. Our divorce and suicide rates are increasing. Yet I
see the grace of God upon us. It was also about 10 years ago
that Singapore churches began to embrace Israel, there is an
increased number of people who passionately support and pray for
Israel frequently. We have an increase in the number of people
going to Israel. My sister is going with her church in February.
So you can see there is a lot that we
need to pray for Singapore. I
believe the Lord is giving us a window of opportunity to prepare
ourselves for greater breakthroughs and shakings. Many believed
that we have been spared from many natural disasters and crisis
because of our connection with Israel right from the very
beginning when we became independent. Our first Chief Minister
was a Jew. I believe he had strong influence in our government
and up to now our government always emphasized on righteous
ways of leading the country. There are only about 2000 Jews here
and most of them are religious from European countries. We also
have two synagogues.
Please do join me and pray
for this nation that Singapore will reach her God given
destiny...the Antioch of Asia, the gateway of mission in the
east. Many nations are waiting for us to lead and we must rise
up! Rise Singapore! Isaiah 61:1
▲
12/3/08
I arrived in
New York on 20th Oct not knowing that I was in the midst of the
most challenging time of American history…. The Presidential
election and the economic crisis, both has global effects on
many nations in the East, like the nation of Singapore. I
counted it a privilege to be able to be in New York at such a
time as this. And was glad to stand in the gap for America with
my American friend, Joy, whom I got to know when we were in
Israel. She was very concern about the current state of her
nation and we soon join hands in prayers, one from the west and
the other from the east, as the Lord has purposed it.
We visited
Ground Zero and St. Paul’s Church, which is just a few meters
away from Ground Zero. Apart from the construction works that is
going on, there is hardly any traces of the destruction from the
9/11 terrorist attack. Life goes on as usual and there seems to
be a quick removal of the traces of the disaster as if the
people are trying to erase the tragedies and buried their pain
for all who were and all that was lost. We saw many visitors,
some still trying hard to forget the pains as they pay their
respect to the lost, others stood in awe of what evil can do to
innocent lives. We stood there asking for God’s forgiveness and
mercies over wicked deeds of the terrorists. We pray for healing
and restoration of those who lost their loved ones. Above all we
prayed for salvation because only Christ has the answer to the
world’s pains.
We also
prayer walk at the nearby government building, asking the Lord
to grant wisdom and understanding for the current leaders to
lead with the wellbeing of the people in their hearts. At 67th
floor of Rockefeller Center we saw the beautiful skyline of NYC
and I was reminded how Jesus also was taken to the high mountain
by the devil in Matthew Chapter 4. The devil showed Him all the
kingdoms of the world and their splendor and challenged Him to
bow down and worship him and He will be given all that He saw.
Our Lord’s reply caused the devil to flee! I wonder how the
leaders of the world would react if the same challenge was
given to them. We prayed that they will not betray their own
nation and sell the lives of the people away for their own
selfish benefits. We prayed that the leaders will have the fear
of God in their hearts as they rule the nation. Psalm 33:12
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He
chose for His inheritance.”
In Washington
DC we prayed for the Holy Spirit to come upon the land as we
sang and worship Him in the midst of the falling rain… we
declared that He is Holy and there is none like Him, the Lord
God Almighty. Revelation 4:8. May His holiness influenced every
aspect of the society, the government, family, education,
business, arts, entertainment, health and the church.
On 29th Oct
we prayer walk in the downtown Wall Street area as we heard that
Cindy Jacob and her team will also be there to pray for the
economic crisis. We did not know how and where the prayer event
will take place. But the Lord led us. The weather was cold with
rain and hailstones falling on and off. We stood at a corner of
the building next to New York Stock Exchange Building, praying
for God to intervene during this time. After praying for a while
we suddenly spotted a woman speaking to a TV camera, we soon
founds out that she was Cindy Jacob and the God TV crew
broadcasting this prayer event. She kindly allowed us to join
her team as she lead us to pray at the site of the bull statue.
She asked the team to kneel down and confessed the sins of Baal
worship. As she spoke we saw a ray of bright light shining
through the group.
One of the
leader shared that as he was praying for this event the Lord
showed him the vision of the Lion of Judah standing above the
bull and the bear (the symbols of economy control), it was an
assurance of God being in control over the financial situation.
Hallelujahs! The Lord reigns!
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