Finding God in China

News from Jubilee International Fellowship

 

When Ione and I returned from the States on October 11, we were pleased to see that a baptism had been scheduled for the next Sunday. (video above)  A typhoon signal had been hoisted and the surf was really heavy. At Jubilee International Filipino Fellowship we ask the sisters to do the baptism, but in this case I helped to prevent anyone from washing out to sea.

The ladies who are doing the baptism are called the "godmothers", and according to Filipino culture they know that they also have the responsibility to do as much as possible to help the new disciple get well established as a follower of Jesus. 

For all of October our church is focusing on missions. It is so exciting to see these new Christians begin to have a burden for the nations. Most of them have not been Christians more than 2 years but already they are thinking of themselves as missionaries, who God has placed in the homes of Hong Kong employers. They want to be salt and light, and hope that they can demonstrate the love and power of God to their employers. 

Please pray for Pastor Jorge and Bolen as they lead the church. Pray for Beverly and Shy who work with new arrivals and new believers. 

Thank you for praying!

Allan and Ione, Hong Kong

Money Talks

At JIFF (Jubilee International Filipino Fellowship) we've just started a month long emphasis on money.  The members of our church earn less than US $500/month. They have left their families to work in HK because of poverty. Learning to manage money in a godly way is essential. Last Sunday when we started the series, I gave them a pop quiz. One of the questions was:

  "I have a broken relationship (family or friend) because of money issues. (T/F).

I think almost everyone there answered yes. This week our homework is simply to track our income and expenses, a fairly simple thing, right? After the service one of our members, Rosie, came up to me and showed me her notebook. Here is the essence of what she said:

"Pastor, is this what you mean?" Her notebook had a detailed record of all of her spending. "I was so happy when you passed out the expense record sheet," she went on. "My employer taught me to do this." (We encourage HK Chinese employers to teach their helpers about money, because they are fantastic manager's of money. This employer took my request seriously.) "My employer taught me how to save money by finding bargains, avoiding name brands, etc. and then she had me save the savings in the bank." Here's the kicker. Rosie went on, "My savings saved the life of my brother." Her brother had acute appendicitis. In the Philippines the hospitals will let you die rather than treat you if you don't have money. Because Rosie had saved up money, she was able to wire it immediately to the hospital, who then took out her brother's ruptured appendix. They told her, "a delay of one day and your brother would have been dead." 

This is the reality of the lives of most of our church members. Many of them have had family members die of preventable illnesses because they have no money. When an American suffers a stroke, we often recover because we get immediate and adequate health care. In the Philippines stroke victims spend the rest of their lives without the use of half of their bodies, being cared for by family members. 

One of the big questions people have is "Does God care about me and my family?" "Does He have anything to say about money? 

Our church and ministry is highly gospel centric. We are seeing many people come to Christ and become dedicated followers of Jesus. We will not move "off center", but our members desperately need to learn what the Bible says about how to view and handle money. I hope you'll pray for us this month.

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Ione and I are travelling to the States on Aug 11th. We'll be in the Washington, Oregon area until the end of September. We are planning to visit a few churches, go the home office for some debriefing, and get some much need R & R with our family.  Before we leave in 10 days we have around 3 weeks worth of work to do! Please pray for us. Our stress level is through the roof.

A NOTE OF PRAISE: Our grandson, Ethan, age 10, was admitted to International Christian School here in HK. It is difficult to get in, with long waiting lists, and we are grateful to God for this answered prayer.

News from Jubilee

The following prayer update was written by Bolen and Jorge de Ramos. Please read it and pray for our Filipino ministry.  Allan and Ione

JIFF MOVED TO YAUMATEI

We've moved to another auditorium. It is an auditorium of Pui Ching Academy, that is large enough to seat as much as 400 people.  It has an enormous platform and ample furnitures and fixtures.  This is more than enough for our need for more seating space at church.  Our former auditorium could seat only up to 50 people.  We had as much as 80 coming every week.  Now we have so much space to accommodate 4 times our present size.  

EE Graduates posing at the platform of JIFF's new worship hall

We were given a three month contract at first by our hosts to test our relationship with them.  We see it as God's way to see if we would be faithful in pursuing his purposes.  

We find the staff and leaders of the Pui Ching academy excited about having a church to use their facilities on weekends.  We were welcomed warmly.  Allan Smith and Jorge were invited to help out in their English conversation program for their students.  They also would like us to share God's word with them in their social activities like teachers' fellowships and students' assembly.  This creates more open doors for the work in God's Kingdom.  

We do look forward for a more fruitful ministry.  

EVERYDAY EVANGELISM

Last week Malen excitedly shared with Bolen her encounter with her employer.  She was greeted for the Chinese New Year with two wishes: that she will have good health and that she will enjoy life.  Malen says, this greeting is a far cry from her greeting in the previous year where she was given five wishes related to her work. 

The employer noted that she liked the joyful countenance that she always displays at home.  Malen responded by saying that it is her faith in Jesus that brings her joy. She continued by challenging her employer to place her faith in Jesus as well.  This brought her to think about the matter again.

This has been one of the number of encounters with her agnostic employers where she has shared with them the gospel.

Do pray for Malen as she sustains her witness them.

Practicing for the on the job training at the park

This is the kind of story that we would like to see happen dozens of times all over.  This is the reason why we are in Hong Kong:  to see OFWs shining for Jesus Christ not merely among fellow Filipinos but also among peoples of other cultures.  We want to see them engage in cross cultural witness where they are.  Join us in imploring God to see this happen.  

Malen is one of those who have recently completed the Everyday Evangelism (EE) training offered at JIFF.  There were seven others who completed the training.  Most of them are very enthusiastic in bringing other people to Christ. 

Chinese New Year is the longest and biggest holiday in Hong Kong.  Most helpers are given as much as two days holiday.  We use these days to do a special conference entitled "Sa Aking Pagbabalik:  Preparing For Your Homecoming,"  We had Rev. Rey Avante minister God's Word to the participants.  His wife Gloria trained them in putting together fashion jewelries that can be used to raise funds for the OFW Family Camp.  Allan Smith and Eugene Sebuela talked about "How to Start a Small Business" and "Principles of Financial Freedom" respectively.  There were fifty women who participated.  Thank you for supporting us in prayer through this conference. 

Stringing beads for the Psalm 23 bracelet.  They memorize Scriptures while working on the jewelries

Schools are closed

Yesterday the Hong Kong government closed all the schools for two weeks to avoid the spread of the H1N1 virus (swine flu). One local school had 12 students come down with the illness, and seeing the writing on the wall, the government closed all schools. 

Last Sunday I participated in the dedication of the new Yan Lam Church. Their new facility is beautiful! In the afternoon, Andrew Pang was ordained! What a great day!

Next week Rev. Pang and I are travelling to India to visit our worker, Angela Chang. We also want to build relationships with local pastors and churches, and perhaps initiate some partnerships.  We have another worker going for 8 weeks this summer (Florence Leung) and we hope to finalize preparations for her stay and ministry also.

I am also trying to visit some possible homes for Pastor Jorge and his family. They are  scheduled to arrive August 1st.  Please pray for our trip to India.  Pray for Florence who will be spending the summer in India. Please also pray for a good affordable place for Pastor Jorge and his family to live.

Ione is in the States visiting family, so pray for safe travels for her, and sanity for those of us who are muddling through without her. Thanks for praying. 

For the Smiths,   Allan

 

Jubilee Filipino Fellowship at 2 years old

Last Sunday we celebrated the 2 year anniversary of Jubilee Filipino Fellowship, and the 1st anniversary in of our Jubilee Center in Shatin. We had a fantastic time, but as you can see from our pictures, we are fast out-growing our location. Please pray for Jubilee Church. We are hoping this group can expand into other venues around Hong Kong, but we need to develop leaders first. Thank you for praying!

Can I tell you a story?

Stories are powerful.  A good story sneaks past our defenses and opens us to truth. This Fall I attended the Cell Church Missions Network Missions Summit. One of the presenters at the summit was Dorothy Miller from "The God's Story Project" and www.SimplytheStory.org.  Dorothy brought some church planters with her, and they shared how "Bible storytelling" has changed their ministry and speeded up the work of church planting in India. I attended her seminar and was convinced to try Bible storytelling as a way of making and multiplying disciples.

For the past 4 weeks I have told Bible Stories (following the Simply the Story methodology) and I am amazed at the results! First, the ladies in our Filipino fellowship remember the stories! If you think this is a small thing, let me ask you, "do you remember what your pastor preached on 2 weeks ago?" The ladies in our fellowship can retell the stories with good detail, weeks after we taught them. Secondly, they meditate and think about the stories all week long as they work. One week I told the story of a master who entrusted sums of money to 3 of his servants and then went on a long trip. One of our ladies, said that during the week, while she was ironing clothes, she felt the Lord speaking again to her through the story. She told me, "I fell on my knees, and said  'Jesus, are youreally  here with me? I haven't been a good faithful servant,  but Lord I want to be one!'" And thirdly, I have found it extremely challenging to learn and tell Bible stories. It is much easier to prepare a powerpoint sermon. Learning stories, in all their details, drives me deeply into the story, and forces me to notice details, and to think deeply about the meaning.

Of course, our goal is not just to tell stories, but rather through storytelling, make and multiply disciples. Over the Chinese New Year holiday we are hoping to have "storytelling" training for our church members, and equip them to be study and teach the Word through this method.  So far, we are thrilled with the results.  Keep praying for us, and we'll keep you posted on the progress. If you want to learn more about Bible storytelling, go to www.simplythestory.org. 

Allan 

Overseas Foreign Worker Outreach in Hong Kong

Pastor Jorge and his wife Bolen have been a tremendous blessing to our ministry and our church. Here is their latest prayer update, that contains pictures and comments about the weekend they spent with us in Hong Kong. Partnership makes things happen. We could not do anything without our ministry partners.

Click below to download the full newletter from Dr. Jorge de Ramos and his wife, Bolen.
 Download 2nd quarter update.compress

Star Ferry Outreach

On June 29, 2008 we worked together with Grace Church, Glendora, CA., and 8 other Filipino fellowships in Hong Kong to conduct a unique outreach event. Grace Church funded 2 Star Ferry Cruises and flew in a popular Filipino singing star (Christian Bautista) to perform for OFW's working in Hong Kong. Here are some pictures from outreach. Two days later (July 1) was a public holiday for Hong Kong. Our church conducted a baptism, and I've included a few pictures from that as well.

Star Ferry Outreach to OFWs in Hong Kong

On June 29, Jubilee Filipino Fellowship will be partnering with a group of local Hong Kong Filipino churches to conduct a very unique outreach. The Star Ferry Outreach was initiated by Grace Church in Glendora, CA. in partnership with the Conservative Baptist Association, Hong Kong. The idea is to serve those who serve Hong Kong people by giving them a very special day out on the beautiful HK harbor. We are hoping to have 3 harbor cruises with 300 people per cruise. The guests will Filipinos working in Hong Kong. We have organized local Filipino churches to pray and invite at least 2 guests each. A Filipino music artist, Christian Baustista, is flying in to help with this outreach. Grace Church is sending a team of 5 to help with last minute logistics. During the cruise Mr. Baustista will perform and share his testimony. There will a lucky draw, free lunch and small group sharing. Please pray for us!! This date is rushing at us like a freight train and we still have much to do to be ready. Pray also for the follow-up. We are asking church members to use this event to reach out, and we hope by using the personal touch, that the follow up will also be more natural.

Thanks for praying!

Jubilee Filipino Fellowship

Our Filipino Fellowship does not have a pastor. We are beginning to discover and develop the gifts of the different members. Last Sunday, two ladies, Christine and Tajmahal led for the first time. Both did a great job. Please pray that we will be able to train up our a strong core of leaders.