I love God more than ever

verse of the day....i love it.

Habakkuk 3:17- 18 "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation" .

To Daniel from nissi knights: this verse is actually describing a scene, a very discouraging scene. Imagine if the tree does not blossom, or the grapes do not grow even if you spent a lot of time cultivating the fruit. Imagine if the farm you are working in does not produce any CROP after one year's of hard work, or imagine all your sheep and cows escaped from your farm, will you still rejoice in God your Saviour? will you still thank Him for this circumstance or will you curse Him? or will you await patiently for His plans to unfold? for Prophet Habbakuk, he was sure that he will still be joyful in the Lord EVEN if these things were to happen to him.

i jus realised i have this verse on my bedroom wall... truely encouraging and inspiring.

this verse is self explanatory. try meditating on this Word.all day, think about it, ask God to reveal to you what will happen if everything was removed from your life.

DISCIPLESHIP

Recently i found meaning in discipleship again.

my motto for discipleship : My disciple, my life.

well it should be the case for all of you out there who have a disciple or discipler.

i needed to ask God to be true to my disciple, to even spend the extra effort to disciple him, to care for him, to find out more about him. who? Kongsheng la. haha.

i truely care for him, his studies, his spiritual life. and his discipline. haha..and i yearn to see him serve God like NEVER B4, loving Him, and even becoming a leader if God-willing.

discipleship is LIFE. you got to know what is happening in your disciple/ler's life and vice verse.

discipleship is not just going thru the lesson or what, or just completing the BOOKS....

if thats the case, think about it, NON-CHRISTIANS can do it too..........or sometimes BETTER.

but the difference we should make it is, that we should input into each others' lives in discipleship, that as we become more like Jesus, our disciples will also become more like us, and also Jesus Christ.

i thank God that i understand my disciple more now.and i share more things with him too.and that he prays for me too! hahaha.so its not just me encouraging him, he encourages and prays for me too. thats so kewl to-ally.ha.

"For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I (discipler) have begotten you (disciple) through the gospel. Therefore I urge you (disciple), imitate me (discipler)" (1 Cor. 4:16).

it is my prayer that my disciple will become more like me in Christ, because in the process he will become more like Jesus Christ. i pray that he will serve God and become a mighty man of God.

is your motto in discipleship , "Your disciple, Your life" too?

** watch flash video from www.fathersloveletter.com

Upon the face of time, You have restored in my life, what was broken, so that I can fly again.

Thank You God.

Though sometimes I fall, You still forgive me if I ask.

Though sometimes i disobey You, You will still embrace me.

Though sometimes I fight and wrestle with You, You will give in but will never give up on me.

Though sometimes I love others more than You, I am still the apple of Your eyes.

Though sometimes I run away from You, You always run to me.

Though sometimes I worship You in vain, You still remind me gently and soften my heart.

Though I am inperfect, I am made stronger each day in You.

Though sometimes I do not care about how You feel, You always are near me when I am heart broken.

Though sometimes I am unloyal and unfaithful, You are always always faithful.

Though I weep and cry and think that You never care, You still keep my tears in Your bottle and care about me all day.

Though I was defeated and crushed, You picked me up and made me new and powerful in You.

Though I lost so much when i did not know You, You gave to me freely and abundantly so many things i cannot ever repay You.

Though I was cursing You in my younger days, You were already loving me through and through.

Though I see others' problems and not see my own, You see my weaknesses and You keep me humble. 

Though I forget to seek You sometimes, You are always there waiting for me to abide in You.

Though I am of the dust and You of the heavens, You made me Your friend.

Though I nailed You to the Cross, You still forgive me.

Though I am filthy, You carried me.

Though i struggle and complain, You praise me in the presence of heavenly hosts.

Though I distrust You sometimes, You still reveal to me Your plans of hope and future.

Though sometimes i shut Your gentle Voice away, You are slow to anger and quick to forgive.

Though I hate discipline, You discipline me to show true Love.

Though I hate myself sometimes, You tell me I am wonderfully and fearfully made.

Though I am weak, You are strong, and You took my weaknesses with You on the Cross.

How can You be so great? Why can You be so wonderful?

The Catholic Church no longer swears by the truth of the Bible officially.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1811332,00.html

This new teaching was "issued as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of Dei Verbum, the Second Vatican Council document explaining the place of Scripture in revelation."

quoted from timesonline website.

 

i encourage all of you to go to the website to read more about the Catholic Church's stand on the infallibility of the Bible.

I am appalled that the Catholic Church can make such a statement to the world, telling the world that the Bible is not 100% accurate.

As a Christian myself, I believe that the Bible is a guide to all mankind, and is infallible, which means PERFECT and Accurate.

Quoted from the Quran,
Surah Al-Imran 3:3,4 "...He (God) revealed the Torah and the Gospel [Injil] aforetime, for a guidance to mankind...".

‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work’. (The Holy Bible 2 Timothy 3:16) 
 
If even some verses of The Quran approves the Bible and that The Bible has always been recognized by true Christians as the inspirational infallible Word of God, what right does the present Catholic Church has to determine that
the Bible is not 100% accurate?

Does it mean that The Catholic Church has NEVER recognised the Bible as the infallible Word of God? Or is it that they have so-called made a "centuries-old" mistake? If they can change their stand on the Bible so quickly, how much should we trust their judgment?

Indeed, blasphemous is the man who comes and adds and removes whatever he/she wishes after the determination of The Holy Bible as the Word of God, confusing millions of followers of the faith. May God avenge this injustice done to the work of Christ.

 

The Divorce has started.

Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 

Be patient, true Christians.

on friday we travelled from town to Great World City for weiwei Birthday celebration.

on the bus on the way there, something so interesting happened.

haha..

it is inevitable that if we are travelling in a group, we will make some amount of noise. but jus our luck to be perceived as a public nuisance by an Auntie on the bus.

how it happened:

all of us boarded the bus, and we moved towards the back of the bus. there we talked, laughed, all excited for weiwei's birthday. i mean its INEVITABLE right? even if all of us whispered to one another, it will still be NOISY. cos we are in a group of 20 plus.

so this aunty who was sitting down, (and happily chartering the inside seat to herself by sitting on the outside) suddenly shouted at our people saying, " can you all JUST KEEP QUIET?"

the thing is she said it with a kind of u-kids-are-so-irritating tone and face. if she had said it nicely, then maybe the rest of the things would nt have happened.

we got into a fight.

.

.

no la..haha

but we started arguing.

aunty (screaming) : for goodness's sake this is a public bus

me : precisely this is a public bus. its not your bus.

aunty (screaming) : YES AND ITS NOT URS TOO. the moment you all came up you all were so NOISY..blablabla

me: but what part of the law have we broken? we are in a group. SO U WAN us to WHISPER TO EACH OTHER??

aunty (loudly) : YES. WHISPER

me (laughing) : huh? aunty this is not a library. i mean its a public bus. and i can see that you chartered the seat beside u for urself.

aunty : OH I MOST WELCOME YOU TO SIT BESIDE ME

me (gives a no-thanks face)

me: i mean aunty u are talking no sense here, you told us to keep quiet, but u r louder than anyone of us here. u r toking no sense.

aunty (screaming at the top of her lungs) : CAN U JUST SHUT UP

james lin (turning around) : aunty can u dun be so rude? shutup is used for toking to dogs and pigs. you shldnt use that.

aunty (sarcastically) : i don't use these words on PIGS AND DOGS. You kids have not been thru so much ok..dun tok as if you all know a lot.

me : I know you are matured and old (abit bad la), and i respect you for that, but if you had a bad day at work or what dun come and shout at us like this

aunty (face twitching already) : jus keep quiet...........

then we got off the bus,  on the way down the bus, we said:

we: aunty have a nice life KKK! (shouting happily)

aunty *sarcastically : YOU TOO KIDS

luwei waved goodbye to aunty. all of us waved goodbye at the busstop. err..

aunty : shakes head.

(some parts of conversation were edited because of my bad memory, and also for convenience reading )

 

i am really gonna write a book soon man titled: ADULTS KILL THE KIDS, giving examples of how adults can discourage teenagers, how they can influence teenagers to do the wrong things, how adults are not being a good example, at the same time giving a christian perspective.

but of cos.there are nice christian adults around right?  amen.

"Why" by Nicole Nordeman

We rode into town the other day
Just me and my daddy
He said I'd finally reached that age
And I could ride next to him on a horse
That of course was not quite as wide

We heard a crowd of people shouting
And so we stopped to find out why
And there was that Man that my dad said he loved
But today there was fear in His eyes

So I said daddy why are they screaming
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why is He dressed in that bright purple robe?
I'll bet that crown hurts Him more then He shows
Daddy please can't you do something?
He looks as though He's gonna cry
You said He was stronger then all of those guys
Daddy please tell me why?
Why does everyone want Him to die?

Later that day the sky grew cloudy
And daddy said I should go inside
Somehow he knew things would get stormy
Boy was he right
But I could not keep from wondering
If there was something he had to hide
So after he left I had to find out
I was not afraid of getting lost
So I followed the crowds
To a hill where I knew men had been killed
And I heard a Voice come from the Cross

And it said Father why are they screaming?
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why are they casting their lots for My clothes?
This crown of thorns hurts Me more then it shows
Father please can't You do something?
I know that You must hear My cry's
I thought I could handle a Cross of this size
Father remind Me why?
Why does everyone want Me to die?
When will I understand why?

My precious Son
I hear them screaming
I'm watching the face of the enemy beaming
But soon I will clothe You in robes of My own
Jesus this hurts Me much more then You know
But this dark hour
I must do nothing
Though I've heard Your unbearable cries
The power in Your blood
Destroys all of the lies
Soon You'll see past their unmerciful lies
Look there below
See the child
Trembling by her father's side
Now I can tell You why
She is why You must die

 

After hearing this song, it really got me thinking all night. why must Jesus go through all the whippings, canings, scornings, scoffings, humiliation? the pain? the sufferingss..?

why did He have to bear a Cross so great?

why did were His clothes torn apart and cast as lots?

why did He endure the horrible torture?

then on my bed that night, as if God brought me right through Jesus' life again, to the moment when He was hung on the Cross, i was desperately trying to find a fault that might have lied in Jesus, that might have cost Him His Life.

i could find none. not one fault.

the Bible tells me it was because of Love that Jesus went through all those terrible things..trust me,as i lay on my bed troubled, i was not convinced that someone would love such a lowly unworthy me to the point of death...

that God would give up Jesus even when He knew about the things i would do against Him??

already so troubled and near to tears,my heart begin to wrestle with God..."Why did Jesus have to go through all that?? when He was blameless, righteous and only came to tell the world about Love??? why?"

then as if God was speaking gently into my heart, He whispered, "It is because of Love..thats all."

for the umpteenth time, i told God.."why why? why me? it is impossible... there must be anothe reason why Jesus went through so much so much..that He bled to death, that He was not given any dignity and respect..there must be something else.."

suddenly God laid His hands on my heart and said "Be in rest, my child. You are the reason why Jesus had to bear the Cross. Just as I loved Jesus so much, i love you as much as ever you would know. just as Jesus bore His Cross, you will be able to carry your cross all your life too.. simply because I love you, and My Love will sustain you. never will i let the enemy overcome you, because My Son Jesus' blood will stand in your defense...because Jesus went through all the things you went through...He overcame the enemy, you will and soon will and always will overcome the enemy..do not wrestle with Me..because I do not lie and the Love i give is perfect and complete and will make you whole again.. that is why I had to bring Jesus through all these sufferings..."

i could not fight with The God who loved me so much anymore. i jus cried. Jesus Christ went through that much, just to tell me He loves,and that He is Love. i tossed and turned in my bed that night for awhile and then i slept soundly..for i know right on my bed very clearly..when God brought me through His life, that Jesus died for love.

Mass Mission Trip!!!! (Thailand)

28th November - 7th December 2005

YI CAMP!!! (venue don't know yet)

13th - 16th December 2005

Christmas BASH!! (Church Beautiful Sanctuary)

24th December (maybe)

Nissi 3 Chalet!!!! (Pasir Ris)

27th - 29th December 2005!

Sylvester GRADUATING FROM NGEE ANN!!!!! YES! FINALLY OUT OF THAT SCHOOL! HAHA..

February 2006 (err..)

so many exciting things coming along.man..thank God for all these blessings. keep praying for all these programs to happen kk? and those in Nissi 3, and COSBT, stay faithful man..stay to the end and watch God's marvelous plans unfold as the year wraps up..

nissi acts - follow up on your newcomers pls pls..pray for them, ask them to come...meet them up...

nissi knight - continue to know each other like nv b4...continue to bring in your frens into ur family

nissi archers - pray for ur sisters and bros in Thailand..stay faithful! tell ur frens abt Jesus!!!

I had a talk with a friend tonight.

It was a good talk..at a park. and well well...

Taken people closest to us for granted

sometimes we are so careless with people's feelings and careless with ppl around us..

especially people who are the closest to us...amen?

people have been careless with my emotions (trust me), my whole being as a person in existence, and I truly believe i have been careless with others' emotions and others' whole being as in existence too...

it is just our weakness to take people for granted, to think that they are always "alright", "doing fine" or "self-sufficient", that that member or leader "seems fine", that that member or leader "can deal with it man". its unfortunate. but in this world, we are imperfect, and the love we give will be imperfect. i am imperfect too.

 

A word, can tear someone down. An action can make our blood boil. On the contrary, a word in the time of need means SOO MUCH TO a person who needs it.  An action, a simple one, in the time of need, can encourage a person so mucchh..

 

To truly love requires pain

To truly love someone, it will hurt. This sounds Cliche, but it is true. Jesus was hurt very very badly just because He loves us, to the Cross.

I am not teling you to love someone till you hurt yourself, then there is satisfaction. nope.

but im talking about the pain that you MIGHT feel when you see your bro or sis in christ doing something wrong.

im talking about the pain that you might feel when you see your bro or sis in Christ in troubles or in pain.

im talking about the pain when you see ur fellow bros and sis in conflicts, the pain you might feel when they are being deceived by the enemy.

im talking about the pain that you might feel when you realised you hurt someone knowingly or unknowingly.

its about getting it right.but its also about as basic as loving a human being, of giving the human being the simplest of love and care we can show, of being CONSCIOUS of the person's existence, and of his/her cares and troubles...

if its love, it is also about going through and understanding the pain someone is going through.

 

Has our love grown cold?

have we lost it? do we jus brush problems aside with a joke or a smile? do we just brush ppl who are really hurt aside by a few statements of logic or reasoning or even using the Word of God as an excuse even?? 

do we brush real problems aside just by hiding away? 

have i lost it? have you lost it?

do we go thru the pain together with each other? yes the joy we share, we had.

but when there is someone who is being knocked down and out by satan and his lies, do we stand ASIDE AND JUDGE and ridicule? or do we pick that person up and walk with him/her and carry his/her burdens?

when was the last time i felt the pain of someone who was knocked down and out by troubles? tonight. last week. 2 weeks ago. last night.

and trust me, by God's grace, i act it out, and i walk with the person thru uncertainties, if he/she is willing. because by God's compassion, I FEEL FOR THAT PERSON. and i see him/her through God's eyes..

how about you?

 

Jesus carried all our burdens

noticed someone downcasted in church lately? noticed someone with a depressed look in church ? noticed someone not having enough money to travel or to eat? noticed? noticed someone in bodily pain and suffering alone? noticed anyone feeling lost and hurt? is there a granny by the roadside always crying out in her heart for answers?

noticed your relative who is on the edge of suicide?

noticed someone because of what you said and did, is hurt?

if you havent for a long time, then something is wrong. because Jesus came to heal the sick...not those who are well and happy and safe. Because He came to take our pain, and to walk us thru our pain.

open your eyes and see. carry the pain of others, maybe then you might have a glimpse of what Jesus felt on the Cross, and then MAYBE, just maybe, you will be more conscious of people who are around you who are down and out...

Isaiah 53:4

Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

 

Galatians 6:2
Carry each other's burdens (just as Christ carried ours), and in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ

The Tsunami, in 2004 killed 310000 people..

Hurricane Katrina killed 500 people

the Kashmir earthquake killed 35000 and left 2.5million people homeless.

these are jus like 1/3 of the disasters we have gone thru in the past 10 months. there are much more in China, America, Japan etc.

do you all know that Singapore is not safe from tsunamis too? it will hit Singapore badly one day, quoted an expert in earthquakes in The Straits Times. be prepared.

the bird flu pandemic which might occur which might kill more than  million people.

the aids epidemic.

Sept 11, terrorism. unrest and wars in the Middle East, Russia and its rebels.. the forming of the nation of Israel...

if knowledge alones save, what is happening to civillisation? we are so haughty, we are so proud, we speak of words and things we think we know, but at the blast of a grenade, at a shake of the crust of the earth, at a sudden change in our atmosphere, at the attack of a virus, humans CRUMBLE, and we become no more.

and now of recent times, we can spot the Straits Times having articles about evangelism in schools and hospitals.

now, it calls for alertness and wisdom. Open ur eyes and ears and watch and listen. stop focusing on URSELF or UR troubles... FOR ONCE.

Mark 13:33
Be on guard! Be alert ! You do not know when that time will come.

---> yes we will not know when is the time..when total hell on earth will happen.. but we are called to be alert and be on our guard!

Corinthians 16:13
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men/women of courage; be strong.

---> the world will sneer and laugh and criticise us for sharing our faith, even to the extend of restricting us and stopping us. i can tell my dear brothers and sisters in Christ this: they can laugh, they can ridicule, they can prevent us,  but they will pass and they cannot stop us and The Word of God lives forever.stay faithfull all of us...

^John10:14-16

¹⁴"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

---> amongst all these disasters and persecution and hindrances, we know deep down in our heart, that we can hear what Jesus is telling us, becos He is our Shepherd.

^{2 Timonthy 3:1,5}

¹But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days...(people will be) lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1811332,00.html

---> The Catholic Church has made an interesting annoucement. Look also around you, that you see more and more Christians who are half-baked, and prostituting themselves to the world's standards. Look around you Christians who prevent evangelism, Christians who have a double lifestyle other than one which serves God totally, Christians who love things more than God, Christians who come against Christians who are faithful to God. The signs are indeed clear.

^{Matthew 24 : 6-8}

⁶You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All these are the beginning of birth pains.

---> well , we have seen quite a few in the last 10 months. tell me when you read the newspapers its like reading the Bible man.

^{Luke 21: 25}

²⁵"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

---> Tsunamis. we jus had one which killed 310000 people. we had more in the past. it will increase.

^{Matthew 24 : 6-8}

⁹"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.

^{Luke 21: 12}

¹²"But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.

---> Christians have ALWAYS been killed, tortured, abused, raped for our love for God. but look and be wise, especially of recent times, we are being hated here in Singapore too, just plainly because of the reason of bringing people back to God,Love,Morals,Grace,Peace and an awakening to humans' sinful self. be watchful.pray.

The moment i truly followed Jesus, I knew i have a Cross to carry of my own. A heavy one. A difficult one. A humble one. A painful one.

Schools, governments, organisations and people are at a new time high coming against our faith and our act of evangelism. it is hard. definitely hard. people will hate us because of Jesus Christ, and throughout these difficult times of disasters, persecutions and restrictions, alot of christians will give up on their own crosses.

i'm here to say that even if ANYONE jus anyone..will stop me bY ANY MEANS to evangelise, i will still obey God to do the work of spreading His Gospel. is it out of rebellion? Nope. jus because i am called to do it, and just because Jesus paid the price at Calvary, jus because The Gospel truly saves people from death and sins.jus becos i love God and i obey God more than human authority.

i will tell people abt Jesus and His saving grace on the streets, in the schools, on the bus, in the plane, in Thailand, in Malaysia, in my church, in hospitals. who can stop me? and who can stop the Work of God?

would i do it with sensitivity? you bet i will..and with the wisdom of God that He gave me.

at gun point, would i still proclaim Jesus is God? yeap i will. to death i will. because God has overcome death.

but for now, of cos i will not do anything foolish to create trouble or wat.for now in peaceful times, it is the best time for us to declare WAR on satan and his lies.

pick up your cross, Christian, be ready for a spiritual war, and be watchful of the signs of Jesus' Coming.

 

 

Story

it was a usual saturday morning. as i made my way to church, i was really looking forward to cell gathering and nite life that day. as usual, i walked in the Church with anticipation of what would God do that day.

as usual, weiwei greeted me with her ever smiley face. other peeps like weehuat, keni and shuen came forward to joke and crap a little here and there. like i say, it was the usual thing.

cell group started.Knights was in their usual family mood, laughing and soaking up God's presence.Acts was in their usual crazy mode,screaming and praying fervently for everyone.Archers was as systematic and dynamic as ever. they were welcoming the newcomers and having a great time too. i smiled.

well..it has been quite some time since i smiled. of late, in this homeland of ours, the people have been speaking up against our faith and even demanding the government to stop Christianity from growing through evangelism. newspapers have even deemed us as "peace haters". well now i was able to smile in the midst of all these, i thank God.

nite life began.the usual altar prayer meeting started.as USUAL, i had to pull people like Andros up to the front to pray.somehow, cell group and church are the best things that God has ever put in my life. as we prayed, spoke in tongues and praised God, the musicians played their instruments too.

as i prayed, it troubled me..."will we be next? will we be the next church to be scattered like some christian groups? wil it be us to glorify The Father next?"

"BrOOOmB!"

i lifted my eyes immediately, and so did the other 400 youths who were preparing to worship God in a holy place.

it was a rude shock. in a moment. blue-uniformed officers have lined themselves up at the back of the sanctuary. i turned around to look at some of the leaders. we knew it was happening. muen, the PA system in charge at the back was already in captive. the rest of us just stood there in silence

the door of the sanctuary had been broken down.

and as suddenly as they came in, chaos surged in the whole sanctuary. all the young people scattered and ran in all directions. and i mean ALL.. up the stage, toppled instruments, crawled under the rows of seats, out of the sanctuary and into the corridors, and down the stairs of the back door of the sanctuary. there was total chaos. the officers by now were in action. flipping over rows of seats, they captured and handcuffed anyone they could. resistance from fellow church friends only met with severe beatings.

it was as if i was stuck in time. i could not move, but gaped in horror at what was happening to all my cell group members. and then someone grabbed me. i thought that was the end.

it was my disciple and Jieming. without saying anything, they hurried me down the stairs at the back door. i knew then i had to run. i knew then we had become fugitives. i knew then we had become criminals, for Jesus' Name sake.

"what were you doing man???????? waiting to be caught???" Jieming was shouting at me as we ran down the stairs.

as i ran down the stairs it seemed forever. i saw sheets of praise and worship song sheets lying around. Bibles were torn and laid waste on the floor. in front of us are people from the cell group Kairos.

i have never in my life....seen this happening to the Church. it was scary.

as we reached the end of the stairs, we ran across the carpark in our Church, only to be greeted by police cars and vans which were parked everywhere.

"we have to turn back.! to the forest! the back of the Church!!!" that came from my disciple, who was usually laid back and "relaxed".

we turned back...and began climbing over our Church fence, into the forest that was surrounding our Church. i could hear screams everywhere. as i climbed up the fence, i felt a tug at my feet. it was Josiah. as i was about to stretch out my hands to reach for him, i saw that he was desperately trying to climb up the fence. an officer in hot pursuit behind Josiah suddenly, to my horror and disbelief, drew out his revolver and opened fire at Josiah! i was flung off the fence into the bushes of the forest by the impact of the gun fire.

i did not even got to see what happened to Josiah. but i did not want to think about what had happened. brutal. plain brutal.

he had become a matyr.

as the three of us, my disciple, Jieming and i ran through the bushes, we joined up with people like wanping, our Pastor, shuen, weiwei, nana, vivian, liangzhi, liying, sean. we really did not know what was the fate of the other believers.

and as night falls, all of us began to recall what had happened..

shuen recalled how painfully she lost kong ann's grasp of his hands in the confusion. and of how he was being pinned down and handcuffed.

all of us had our share of shock and fright.

 

as we looked at each other in the middle of a forest..we wondered what will happen next. we had become wanted men and women over night... i start to worry about my mom who is at home...

"God help us in this perilous times...." i prayed silently..

it would be the dark hours from then on.

 

The following excerpt is an fictionous inspiration from God by me. Any resemblence to situations or persons is not intended to harm, defame and is purely coincidental.

HAHA.dun so serious la.RELAC.haha.its funny.yet, can be so applicable and reaL?

it was the 2nd day since the government sent officers to terrorise the Church. from the distance in the jungle that i was in, i could see smoke billowing out of my beloved Church building.

i really was wondering about the safety of my mom and the rest of Nissi the Third cell friends. i remembered seeing Kenni being dragged by a police officer into the van. i saw Leona being tied up into a police car, estee being pushed over by another woman officer and harmless Jirin being beaten up by those brutal savages.

they would catch up with us anytime.i thought.

whoever were left with me were my disciple, Jieming, wanping, our Pastor, shuen, weiwei, nana, vivian, liangzhi, liying, sean. we really did not know what was the fate of the other believers.

i wondered what would happen to Nissi 2 which consisted mostly of young children.. would they have been caught? would they be ill-treated? would they know how to survive in the jungles?

this day had finally come. persecution in our homeland. who ever thought of that? who ever thought that our very home people would go around killing Christians and banning Christianity? who ever thought that parents would put Christian children to jail, brothers and sisters putting Christians siblings to prisons, children putting Christian parents out of homes?

no one.but it happened.

as if the recent sanctions imposed by the government on Christians were not enough.. of late, Christians or whoever who claims that Jesus Christ is Lord would not be able to purchase anything worth more than $45 from anywhere in our country at one time.it was also announced 2 weeks ago that Christians were not supposed to be near any temples or mosques, and that there was a call for recollection of Bibles and Christian books nationwide. how terrible it is to live in such times, i suddenly thought.

finally, last night was the last worship service for us. now we are on our own.

as everyone was deep into their thoughts, Pastor Daniel suddenly spoke up that we had to get back to our families somehow, and then after which we WILL be REALLY on our own.

no bibles. no pastor. no sermons. no praise and worship sessions. no cell groups. no real families. no trust between non-christians and christians.

will i pull it through...i ask God..already near to tears..

my disciple suddenly asked me, "will my own relatives turn me in? will we be able to meet for discipleship again? "

i really did not know what to say or answer.

"we are on our own now. and i would see you and all of you in heaven somehow."

the rest of the people who were there all nodded. some sighed, some prayed and some cried. we were all prepared to make our way back home to get our christian family members and to prepare for the worst to come.

"Come let us pray. before we each go our own way.." Pastor Daniel would be saying this for the very last time i guessed.

to think i even took group prayer for granted when there were peaceful times...i was silently ashamed of myself there in the jungle.

as we closed our eyes to pray together for the last time, i looked up at the dawning sky. i prayed to God that everything would end fast.

i wan to see the Christ Light soon.

 

this story is completely fictionous.any resemblence of events or characters is purely coincidental and not intended to harm or defame.

it was already 8am, a sunday morning. normally, i would either be in cafe helping out or safely tugged in my bed, and preparing to go Bible studies in the afternoon. but this morning was different.

it was the 2nd day after the police officers came in and ransacked our Church, arresting some of my closest friends in cell group. my disciple, Jieming and i were with people like wanping, our Pastor, shuen, weiwei, nana, vivian, liangzhi, liying, sean in the jungles behind our Church.

we were preparing to escape back to our homes to get our christian family members. the sight of our Church being scattered the day before during nite life kept haunting me. leaders were dragged around in the sanctuary. believers were beaten, tied up and pushed around. i just could not take the image out of my mind. but now, there we were, preparing our way home, preparing for the worst to come.

the fortunate group of us started to make our way through the trees and bushes to the main road where our Church was seated. maybe there, we could then seperate.

"i wonder how is the situation in Australia.my brother is there..i heard that the situation there is quite bad..the 2 popular christian bands have been disbanded and their CDs destroyed." Nana suddenly began comment as we walked through the wilderness.

"Malaysia is worse..i have so many relatives there..and i heard alot of churches have been destroyed.and they go around chopping Christians up..." Shuen added in.

i thought to myself..this had to happen someday. as we neared the main road, we were getting worried. what if the police are still there? what if they are ambushing for us.?

suddenly, we heard a cry from behind. it startled everyone of us. we turned and saw that it was actually Josiah! i ran towards him and begin whispering,

"i thought...i thought you were shot??? i thought you died?"

"yea i was shot...but on my toes only...its really bloody in my shoes now..but i still can walk limping...i got to really get back to my sister who is at home.." Josiah groaned in pain as he recounted.

"come, we will make our way home together.dont worry for now.lets go."liangzhi was in his usual chirpy self. i guessed that nothing will affect his mood. i guess its the joy of the Lord that is in him.

finally after half an hour, we were at the main road. and it was very deserted. the usual cars were not there on the highway. i presumed that the government has issued a "state-of-emergency" nationwide and implemented a curfew. there was absolutely no one on the streets.i had a sick feeling in the stomach.

the whole world was looking for us...i thought...and against us.

and there and then at the main road, we parted. i thought that that might be the last time i see some of them. J

i walked over to my disciple and gave him a pat.we did not have to say much. we knew the dangers that laid ahead. we knew the persecutions that would come. and i gave him a smile.thats all i could do.

there were last goodbyes and last hugs. now we will be gone.

"keep your handphones on...it would be good." Pastor exclaimed. and we began on our long journey back to our homes.

we had to get back fast now. fast enough to save our family members. fast enough to escape the authorities.

its me and The Word of God in my heart for now.

the sky was getting darker. these few days it had been very cold. in the mornings, even in the nights.

it seemed like all beings in the heavenly realms are mourning for the last days of humankind.

i had already reached the end of Bukit Timah Road. i had to part with people who are living in Bukit Panjang. now i had to make my way back home alone.

there was a nationwide curfew already. the whole world is looking for Christians to arrest and kill. will i make it alone back home? 

i bade vivian, and Pastor and some of them goodbye.

i wondered how were the rest of the people who left us at the main road of our Church..

have they been caught? have they reached home safely? will Josiah be ok with his toes?

alot of questions raced through my mind.

as i walked down the streets of Choa Chu Kang, i noticed the desolation of the streets. i saw a piece of pamphlet and i picked it up.

it read: Christians: the peace-haters, its either you are with us or with them.  do the world a good, turn in a Christian to the government and bring them back to sanity.  reward: $100/Christian (Message brought to you by The World Union) 

the pamphlets were lying everywhere on the streets. so this was the One World System and Religion that will come against Christians that Pastor always talked about. i realised.

suddenly, my phone rang aloud. it was the only sound in the streets. i quickly shut it off in fear of being noticed, and picked up the call.

it was shuen on the other line. but the conversation was a bit weird.

it was as though she had pressed her phone accidentally and that i could overhear what was going on on the other side.

"where are you bringing me to?" (shuen)

"get on the van and you will know.you damned Christian." (unknown voice)

"let go of me! my God will come back and deal with you!!!!" (shuen screaming)

"your God? when will He come back? it has been a 2000 years. come on. shut your gap about religion." (unknown voice) "and GET IN THE VAN! you will receive the mark today and obey peace orders."

"over over..yes i caught one of them.im trying to track down her brother.yes over.coming back to HQ in 10 minutes.over." (unknown voice)

phone got hung up

MARK???? HER BROTHER?? is not that my disciple?? oh no. i was going crazy. the mark of the beast! oh no. will they be alright? i was silently praying for them to God.

"God please please...show Yourself...please.."

and yet another call came in. it was Wanping.

"Sylvester! i lost liying on our way home!! a bunch of people came in a truck and just grabbed her away from me! now what?? oh no.." wanping was already screaming in the phone.

i was alone. and i was so helpless. i was desperate.

i mean. imagine. put yourself in my shoes then. alone, hearing your friends being captured, persecuted. what could i have done???

God please help me.i prayed

i wondered how were the Brighton and Cornerstone people were doing suddenly.

then as if at the corner of my eye, i saw a figure dashing past. i was at a void deck then. i knew that something was amiss.

i decided i had to shake this person off.no matter what. he or she might just be another guy who wanted to capture Christians for a mere $100.

i ran all the way back to my house, to my block, watching my back all the way back. never in my life was i SO SCARED and alone. never. 

i wondered if my mom was still home. i wondered if my siblings were at home too. the only problem was...they were not Christians. would they turn me in? this is exactly what Jesus had warned us of in the Bible that loved ones would betray loved ones. i did not know. i was confused. and i hoped that my siblings would not ever turn us in.

i hope.

was there any glimpse of hope at all? then i remembered a song which we always sang in more peaceful times.

"even if my world falls down i'll say, above all, i live for Your Glory..."

as i approached my block, it was like for the first time in mylife, infiltrating an enemy base.

i had to be weary.

though the enemy is beaming now, im sure He will soon clothe us with glory and honour.

He will.

peijun* says:
oh my! nice story.. i'm looking forward for more!!! go write a book lah.. hahax. LOVE IT! =)
2005/10/20 at 11:06 pm

hi peijun! write a book? now i got 2 ideas for 2 titles already. one is Adults kill the Kids. the other will be this.lol

says:
It could be real...
2005/10/20 at 10:59 pm

Hi nana! dun think i dunno its u!

josiah says:
haha i m alritez!!!dun worry abt me!!!although my toes are shot...but i m a strong guy!!!i can handle it!!=)
2005/10/20 at 10:33 pm

YES JOSIAH! U WAN MORE? hahaha..well..jus to make ppl realise how blessed we are!

*//__Cynthia says:
aniwaes.ur blog SUPER NICE worhs.hehes.
2005/10/20 at 9:18 pm

HI cynthia! thank u so much k?

*//__Cynthia says:
wow.ur fiction storrie so cool.very interestin.make me so SCARED nw.lols.jiayous n pray hard.
2005/10/20 at 9:16 pm

Hi cynthia u again! ya..pray hard...dun be scared.trust in Him.Absolutely.

guizhen says:
and syl, ii changed blog add liao. re-link me. thanks! =D
2005/10/20 at 9:01 pm

Hi Guizhen! sure.

guizhen says:
wahh, ii just came back and saw ur latest entry. thought things changed so fast in singapore. HAHA! nice story anws. =)
2005/10/20 at 9:00 pm

Hi guizhen! surely u mus have grown in this mission trip right? hee..hahaha..thought church become so jialat right? lol

drey says:
gagagagaga continue 5 6 7 8 9 10....!!!! hahaha. the wanping part made me laugh.
2005/10/20 at 6:48 pm

Yup.Wanping sounded like a mad woman in the story. she said herself.lol

LYNETTE( says:
EH! type episode 5 soon! :D
2005/10/20 at 6:14 pm

Hi lynette!!! yeap i will.. i wan be in the same mission trip as u.HEHHEH

debra :} says:
haha. the story turns so true like a frictional to me. hahah (: yea. haha!
2005/10/20 at 6:03 pm

Hi debs! true? it aint true.thats y its jus a stimulation.hee..thanx for dropping by!

*cheryl (: says:
your story super addictive! even better than 'lian2 xi4 ju4' :D
2005/10/20 at 5:17 pm

u mean a serial right Cheryl? hahaha..and its not a real story.dun worry.

JaNiCe says:
didnt really expect u to noe me... but nice story aniwaes.
2005/10/20 at 4:41 pm

i noe u.kind of. haha

lishan=) says:
=)somehow ur story encourage me.=)
2005/10/20 at 2:53 pm

Hi lishan! i noe u r a pursuer of God too right! keep at it sister!

Jie Ming says:
I love your blog. Reading it makes me think so much. Thank God for working thru u.=p
2005/10/20 at 1:53 pm

Hi JIEMING! i thank God for u too bro.always there for me.

shuen says:
SYL! i dun want to die in the story okay! haha
2005/10/20 at 10:55 am

ok ..but u wan the mark of the beast? lol

shuen says:
SYL! i dun want to die in the story okay! haha
2005/10/20 at 10:55 am

same comment.HAHA

i thank God for all the supporters and readers of the blog. all i pray for and hope for that The Cross be Exalted in my blog, and that Christ's messages be preached to anyone who comes along thank u all of u.

it was just the second day of widespread persecution on local grounds. and then and there, i was at my house block, waiting for the lift.

never in my life was i filled with such anxiety and suspicion.

would i see my siblings? would my mom be in the authorities' hands already?

as the lift went up to the 7th floor, my heart was pumping.

how could this day have come? my homeland was one of the most peaceful and religious harmonious in the world! why?

and as i reach my gate, i gaped in horror.

the gate was wide open. i ran to my door. no one was in. no one. and there on my bed, i saw a note in chinese.

"i have been turned in to the government by your uncles and aunties.and the officials will be screening all christians at the Padang.i do not know where your siblings are.find them please! Yours, Mom"

first thing i knew was that i had to pray. where should i go now God? Padang? or where??

and i heard a still small voice telling me, "The Padang..I will guide you"

without hesitating, i search my house for an extra Bible. i always kept extras in my house, for a time like this. i had lost my Bible when my beloved Church was scattered the day before.

as soon as i got hold of a Chinese Bible, i knew that i was holding a "taboo" or not allowed article. i started to even blame myself for not studying Chinese hard enough when there were peaceful times. now all i had was this.

as i knelt before God there in my living room, i knew God would bring me to where He wanted. i packed in a few canned food, the Chinese Bible, pen, papers, water bottles, and a few pieces of clothing into my bag which i usually used for mission trips. now it had come in REAL HANDY.

.

.

by the time i reached City Hall area, it was about 7pm. i still had my handphone with me. thank God. as i approached the Old Supreme Court, i hid behind one of the building's majestic pillars. as i peeped, i saw for the first time in my life, a very disturbing sight.

hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of Christians, men, women, children, teenagers, the elderly were rounded up in the centre of the field. this was the place my mom could be in. there were police officers patrolling the perimeters of the field. riot police vans and buses were all around too.

i wanted to move closer to the field, but i had to be very very cautious. i went forward with much caution, and hid behind a potted plant. this time i was much closer to the field.

 

Shuen!! i saw shuen! she was there too.squatting with the other thousands of Christians.and i scanned through the masses.Liying! Kenni! Jirin! Estee! Yanqi! andy ong! cynthia! and one by one,  i saw the people from Youth Impact right there in the field. James Lin was badly beaten i could see..about half of Youth Impact was there. some looked scared, some looked unsure, some looked prayerful, some were praising God with their guitars. and i saw my MOM! she was there too. squatting and crying.

i was near to tears. why? why do we have to carry a burden so heavy? why do people have to be so against us? and the words "end times" just kept flashing across my mind.

and as my eyes went to the front of the field, i could see a pile of what i presumed were Bibles and Christian materials. a very huge pile. confiscated i thought.

i looked around from my hiding place. i had to be sure i was not caught, or detected.

and as i looked back upon the field, there was already a great commotion. police officers in blue were pulling fellow believers randomly out of the masses and pushing them to a makeshift stage in the front. some struggled, some fought. resistence met with severe beatings.

what were they going to do? i wondered in fear. 

and as the officers lined my brothers and sisters at the front, a man stood beside them with a microphone in his hand. i saw James Lin and Cynthia in the line too.

oh God, let thy will be done.

and the man with the microphone spoke with a booming voice suddenly. the killer question was here.

"Do you, those who are in the front publicly renounce your allegiance to Christianity and to the 2000 year old fabricated story of Jesus' virgin birth, death on the Cross, and His resurrection, bearing in mind, the price that was paid for the peace to reign all over the world now, which has been so long awaited by the whole world. Do you pledge allegiance to The World Union now?"

Blasphemy! i thought. blasphemy!!! i wished i could slap that guy. but what could i do? there i was helpless, hiding behind potted plants, and seeing my fellow brothers and sisters being humiliated.

what to do than to realise that this was the dark hours that God had warned in His Word.satan will reign for...only awhile.

be patient my child, be faithful. and i heard God's voice again.

i guess its when i was at my wits' ends that i did fully relied on God. when i had night life, cell group, friends around me, laughter and joy and peace, i tend to rely on my own wisdom, and my own ways of dealing with things.

and there and then i realised, that whatever my leaders had told me to do in Church, was only a preparation for times like these. things like discipline, Godly behaviour, being a good testimony, being a warrior of God, being foccused on Him and obedient to His Word, seeking Him first in everything i do, suddenly became so important and sensible now.

i realised i was such a "spoilt Christian" in peaceful times.

now it was the time of the testing of faith of the saints in that line. i prayed then that they will not reject our Lord Jesus.

as i watched the microphone being passed to the first Christian in the line to let him renounce or pledge allegiance to Jesus Christ,The Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance a verse

1 John 2 :22,24,25 - Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son...²⁴See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵And this is what he promised us—even eternal life.

i hope that the truth would remain in their hearts, those in the line.

really.lets hope.

passé of the world.

passé is a french word which just merely describes that certain things/events/thinking that are not as timely or impactful, or "in line with time" anymore. basically, it means, its "over", just get over with it and done with.

Passe 1. "you need to get a girlfriend/boyfriend to know how to be deal with your BGR next time, or your future wife!"

come on....everybody knows this is just an excuse for boys and gers to fulfill their own selfish desires. i had bgrs when i was a non christian, and come to think of it, they din help me understand gers at all. BGRs actually caused me to view gals in a wrong perspective. and do we need to get into a fire to know its hot? nope.

Passe 2. "I cannot believe in a God that i do not see!!!!"

come on.............like what guizhen said on her blog.......you mean you cant see your brain thats why its not there? crap.

Passe 3. "Your God's standards are so UNREALISTIC, and its so dumb to follow your God's standards and Words."

its not unrealistic. its just too high for the non believers. they cannot achieve the standards of God, they say its unrealistic. heard of sour grapes beforE? haha

Passe 4. "YOU CANNOT EVANGELISE IN THE SCHOOLS!!!!! AND HOSPITALS!!!!"

you mean i cannot have a decent conversation with my friend about spiritual things? are yOU GOING TO CONTROL MY PERSONAL CONVERSATION TOO? man.....no one is stoping me man.

Passe 5. "Church is so boring! why you all always go church? get a life man!"

Ya right. church IS THE COOLEST PLACE ON EARTH MAN! SOMEBODY SAY AMEN! like that planet shakers concert where we worshipped God and not the band. like that prayer session which was so POWERFUL! like the times when God helped me out of my dark hours!. cool!

so what do the non-believers think is cool? going to town and "chill" over a coffee? going for a movie, dinner and then go home? or how about some PARTYING at a club? with the cigarettes drugs and alcohol, and LUST? or a so-called self-fulfilled, sELF GLORIFYING life with soooo mANY SPORTS and wooooo fun! yuck. i mean sports is real cool.but when u start to self glorify urself, then its sad.

come on all these things Christians are familiar with. and we CHOOSE not to INDULGE in these. becos our true Hope and life lies in the Greater He. 

Passe 6. "YOU GOT to Evangelise according to God's timing and please stop forcing people into believing in Jesus! they need time!"

ya right. people who say this are only saying the half truth.yes God's timing.YES.and God's timing is NOW. do it. Jesus said GOOO.NOTHING ELSE.GO AND TELL PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS. and you noe wat? most people who say these NEVER EVER REALLY EVANGELISE and tell ppla bt the Gospel. real christians, try them. and i just hope these people (christians) will just shut their gap up, becos the non christians wan to hear the Gospel.

Passe 7. "we got so much things to talk about, because we ALWAYS talk about our friends around us! WOOO! gossips are cool! gossips will ENTERTAIN US! COME ONE GOSSIP, BE In"

keep your big poisonous tongue to yourself man. i dun wanna gossip. gossipers who say this are really selfish. come on, gossipers, put YOURSELVES in the victim's shoes, YOU LIKE IT?

Passe 8. "oh...my MOM AND DAD DO NOT UNDERSTAND ME!!!! im so sad. im so depressed. why why why am i born into this family??"

shhhh..just hush k? just stop focusing on YOURSELF, on what YOu feel, on what YOU think for one moment. and stand in your parents shoes. they are PARENTS for their first time in life. (maybe second).then maybe you will see the Light.

Passe 9. "Is this dress of mine nice? or this earrings nice? or this pants nice? or this shirt nice? or am i fat, thin, skinny, plump, round, square, cool?"

well..to me abit of that is OK.jus A BIT.not too much please.becos its not all about yourself.and come on, beauty is not just the outer layer. then if so, you can just be a vase or an ornament.

Passe 10."i'm sOOOOOOOO HURT BY MY BOYFRIEND/GALFRIEND!!!!!!..WHY WHY WHY WHY MUST HE/SHE DISAPPOINT ME? i love him/her so much, yet all i get is haisss..."

this is not the first time you are saying this i guess, realise. get out of it. teenagey bgrs ARENT REAL AND COOL ANYMORE. it only hurts...(shivers) LOL.

Passe 11. "i don't like this person in my cell/church. i don't like how he/she walks, he/she talks, he/she carries him/herself, how he/she treats me."

can you stop judging for once? if God were to come down and JUDGE U RIGHT NOW, without Jesus in your life, you would be partying somewhere real hot and everlasting.

 

thats all for passes.Christians and Nissi3, make sure you are not one of those who will mouth the things in RED. don't think and be like the world. the world's standards are lower than God's. God called you to be set apart, to be different.

1 Corinthians 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness".

all wisdom and thinking from the world is mere pretensions, fake, and evil. break their masks down in the Name of Jesus.

as i hid behind the potted plants at the Old Supreme Court, i was awaiting the row of brothers and sisters standing at the front of Padang to decide to pledge or renounce allegiance to our Lord Jesus Christ.

James Lin and Cynthia were there in the first row.

the first person was a brother in Christ in his thirties. he was dressed in a teeshirt and jeans. he looked like a father of sort. i thought i saw him before at Soul Revolution Conference 5 years back. the microphone was passed to him. he had to answer.

"So? Your decision.The legendary Jesus Christ or The World Union striving for peace." it was the man at the front.

the multitudes hushed.every one was anxious and afraid.

the brother was trembling and i could see that he might have broken down anytime.

"i......."

i guessed every true christian at the scene was holding their breath, praying that this brother would not renounce the faith.

"i.........."as he took a deep breath, and he continued."i renounce the faith.."

the police and officers all around cheered and whistled, celebrating this humiliation of Christians. the man who no longer was my brother in Christ,received some sort of a package and was directed to a makeshift tent at the side of the field.

i fell back right there at my hiding place. my heart sank.

why?

you mean someone can just forget about the goodness of God that was prevalent all his life in these end days? you mean someone can just betray Jesus Christ who died for ALL OF OUR SINS? you mean someone like that brother can just forget about the miracles that God shown him????

i was in total shock.

one by one, those at the front row renounced our faith, voiding the work of our Saviour on the Cross..

i wept right there. i felt the hurt that God was going through at that time.i knew that angels were mourning too.

then it came to Cynthia's turn.as the microphone was passed to her, with tears in her eyes, she knelt down and cried.She just shook her head.

"do you renounce the faith?"the voice boomed.

and that sister of mine from Youth Impact just shook her head and wailed out loud, "let Your will be done,Father!"

"bring her away! these stubborn Christians!" it was the man on the microphone again.

police officers came forward and pulled Cynthia away from the line.on the way to a riot van, the crowds gathered at a side, hit, slapped, spat, and threw eggs at her.

at the point of time, i saw the scene of Jesus Christ making His way to Calvary. such a young girl as Cynthia was going thru what our Lord went through.

"this is the Cross true disciples have to bear.." in all that commotion, i could hear God's still small voice speaking to my voice.

wiping away my tears, i silently thank God that my sister in Christ had the truth remain in her.

It was James Lin's turn.

holding his microphone, he said something so amazing, "Repent! the Kingdom of God is here!! even if you kill me right here, i will tell you Jesus saves you!"

and he knelt down and worshipped God on the spot. the field was silent, with only James' voice being lifted up to heavens as a fragrant offering unto God's throne.

"BANG!"such was the sound of gunfire rang through the whole area, 

i gaped in horror. a police commander had James shot. the multitudes of Christians all gaped in horror as they witnessed the brutal and senseless killing of our fellow brother.

i could not believe my eyes. you mean? the brother who was always with me in Church and cell was gone? killed at point blank by those savages just for his passion for God?

as i sat there, i was breathing very hard. what would now happen to my fellow church and cell mates?? and my MOM!

as so much thoughts were going through my mind, i felt a tap on my shoulder.

oH NO! have i been discovered?

i turned, expecting the worst.

it was weiwei, nana, Josiah and my disciple!

"what are you all doing here???" i thought i whispered so loudly the authorities at the field could hear me.

"our family members are all on the field.when we reach home, all of us had the same situation.our christian family members had been captured on turned in." weiwei started explaining in her usual frantic self.

"did you all see that.????????????? did you all see that madness? did you all see our brother James??? how could they do that? why? why?? why'? they are not supposed to!!" i was going hysterical, and more frantic than weiwei, i thought.

my disciple came forward and said "get a grip on yourself man..he is with God now! he is a martyr! come on man!don't weep dude!"

"YA! i want to be one also cannot.look at my toes.they only got my toes man.but im so worried for Yanqi there on the field..how now how now."

"come, i have a plan.." nana suddenly motioned for us to go close to her.

getting a hold on myself, i went nearer to nana, and huddled with the rest.but the future looked uncertain.

as i looked toward the field and seeing the faces of our YI people on the field, awaiting persecution and torture, i held back my tears.

i was a guy with a soft heart.

i hope nana's plan would be a good one, and i hope God's hands will guide us.

secretly i thought, that everyone who was there with me had already prepared their hearts according to Acts 20:23 - "I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me."

whatever the plan would be, ithought, His Holy Name must be glorified TILL THE END.

let them mock for now.

 

as more and more people were ushered up to the front of the field, some renounced the faith, and some pledged faithfully to our Christ Jesus.

faithful ones were pushed, kicked, beaten up and hurried into riot vehicles.

we were now being seen as disruptors and rioters of peace..

"hey pay attention now.i have one of the church vans with me.and we will take as many people as we can with us. to a hiding place first which i found in one of Chinatown's shophouses.whatever that happens to any one left behind in this place, we leave it to God. and after which, we will come back for more people at the abandoned army camp in the west area when i think they are going to send all Christians too"nana was leading us in the plan finally.

weiwei, Josiah and my disciple all nodded in agreement, right there behind potted plants at the Old Supreme Court.

that was the best we could do.

i mean at that point of time, we could just have said, "all unto God's will we will commit, and we shall do nothing and sit back and watch God's will unfold."

it sounded like what some of us would be doing when we had more peaceful times. i remembered the times when some Christians will always just say "i will pray for you." and does nothing to help.

now is such a time where the verse "faith without works is dead" comes into place. yes we knew what God's plans are through His Word, but we were GOING TO LOVE, HELP AND FULFILL HIS WORD TILL THE END for His Glory.

as silently as we could, we hunched and made our way to the van.

i took one last look at the field. more of my dear fellow brothers and sisters were being lined up in front.

i hope they will go through fine. i could just hope in God, and i know that was what God wanted me to do. i hoped that they would not have to go through much sufferings before Jesus comes back again.

after much distance, as we crouched, hid behind walls and pillars, and crawled, i finally caught a glimpse of the van.

i heaved a sigh of relief.

"quick quick...up ahead!" nana commanded. it was not her usual self to be so decisive and stern, but  i thought, it was a time as that that nana had to take up her leadership position in this way.well, we did the things we did in cell group not because we were ready, but because God told us to.  

now counterstrike and warcraft games seemed so fake and useless. this was for real. i actually regretted there about spending so much time on computer games when we had everything and everyone, rather than to spend time with my loved ones and God.

yes yes, now i could feel safe in the van for the first time. thank God. i thought as i made my way to the van.

it was only within a few metres when we heard a shout.

"OEI!"

oh God.

"RUN!" weiwei screamed." Just run!!!"

oh no oh no.God God God!!!! help! i shouted so loudly in my heart.

and as fast as our tired legs could carry us, we sped and took off. i was so scared i tell you.scared that a bullet might go through my flesh and blood, scared that one of my friends with me would be gunned down mercilessly.scared that i would not be able to see my family again.

"RUN RUN RUN RUN!!!"

"BANG!!"

"AHHHH!!! "

i did not care what was going on. my disciple was running beside me. weiwei was a abt behind me. nana was in front of us, heading towards the van to start its engine. josiah was behind weiwei.

the scene around me suddenly blurred. everything seemed to be like in slow motion.

weiwei looking so frightened. josiah half running and limping. my disciple still looking steady and cool, though i knew he was scared too. i could as if hear their pantings right in my ears.

what was happening? dear God!! what was happening!

oh no, am i going to faint?such weakness.

"BANGG!!" oh no, did it hit any of my friends?

and then i felt a sharp push behind me. the next moment i knew, i was being shoved into the van's floor.

and the door of the van was closed shut.

"boom!"

the sound of the engine started and the van was on its way.

i was panting like never before. what had happened? did anyone got shot??

as i opened my eyes, i saw the familiar faces. my disciple, weiwei, josiah. as i sat up, still panting and perspiring, all were unscathed. it must be God.it must be!

there were 2 shots. but none of us were hurt.

and then i started crying so badly.it was so bad, my heart literally and physically hurt.

the others started weeping and crying too.the whole van was silent except for the engine sound and our weepings.

i mean, who had been through such terrible times before? we were all scared stiff. in a country where one seldom hears of a gun fire, that experience was spine chilling for all of us, and it shook us emotionally.

Matthew 24 :38 - 39 says, For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

the turn of events was just overnight. everything became evil and chaotic within a day. surely the coming of the Son of Man is near.

but i was so glad, none of us were shot.

 

now we were going to get more people from the field. how would it be done, i did not know. i really did not know.

in between tears, weiwei asked if anyone was hurt. all of us shook our heads silently, and gave each other hugs.

a caring hug.

meant so much at that point of time.

i sat up and peeped through the back of the van. i thanked God no one was tailing our vehicle. never in my life had i seen nana driving so fast. i guessed she had to. no more speed limits. we had to be fast. 

and as we looked blankly at each other in the van, we huddled together and prayed. and surely in our hearts we believed that God had heard us and would never leave us.

He died for us, He will come for us again.

drey says:
argh when u talked bout cynthia n james tht part i feel so sad yet happy. happy cos they did not renounce God!!
2005/10/24 at 11:40 pm

yea audrey.the cross we have to bear

says:
diao.... i think i will freak out if this really happen... aiyo really got to pray and prepare ourselves now... scary...
2005/10/24 at 11:24 pm

nana! its jus a story afterall.which is jus a picture painted abt what might happen.it might nt be so bad? but well..it would be worst.HAHAHAH.

 

*peijun says:
oh man! AWESOME! hahax. i'm addicted!!! write abook soon arh! =)
2005/10/24 at 11:11 pm

Hi peijun! thanks for ur support sister!

leona says:
pray for mii too yeah ? hehes, SMILE* takecare !!! =D
2005/10/24 at 9:20 pm

leona says:
YEAH ! SLY ! GOD give mii chnace. hahas, our skool give us RETEST ! yeah !!! praise the LORD !! hahaas, retest english. gotta speak english to mii le wor. hahas . YEAH !
2005/10/24 at 9:19 pm

hey leona im so glad God is gracious to yoU!!! i prayed for u alrdy! keep praying kk

xiaodan says:
lol, mayb take cab? or some 1 drive? o.0
2005/10/24 at 9:00 pm

daniel, no CAB.haha..cos nationwide CURFEW.no one can come out.

Zhi Wei says:
was thinking about your story last night ... and was thinking... how did you get from cck to padang so safely?
2005/10/24 at 8:23 pm

walk loh.hahaha.hide here and there.everywhere.

xiaodan says:
woo woo.. somemore lehx.. so exciting..=x
2005/10/24 at 6:50 pm

haha..daniel! u need to come Bible studies on sunday at 1pm church 3RD FLOOR TO LEARN MORE MAN! HEE.thanks for ur encouragement

keni says:
haf i died.hahs.y no rx
2005/10/24 at 5:42 pm

those not mentioned either presumed dead or captured in Padang..

weiwei :] says:
i love it!!!!!!!!!!! i love it!!!!!!! (((:
2005/10/24 at 5:34 pm

ya.cos got u screaming right.haha

LYNETTE( says:
jialat.alot of typo errors.i meant *IF i was nana*
2005/10/24 at 4:15 pm

LYNETTE( says:
*continued* and i was nana, i wldnt knw what to do.
2005/10/24 at 4:05 pm

LYNETTE( says:
*not up the van yet* (not " the van agn"
2005/10/24 at 4:05 pm

LYNETTE( says:
i was wondering.uh.abt anti-climax but.. if those ppl were rly catching up andu were still not up the van agn, should nana drive off to save the rest in the van or should she stay and wait? ok. i knw its vry anti-climax.but, if tht day rly comes, and i wa

hey lynette, u wan me to die is it? hahahaha..jus say so k. haha.u dun wan me get up the VAN RIGHT? U WAN NANA TO DRIVE OFF RIGHT?? haha.

Liying
WOW!...SAD LA I WAS TAKEN AWAY.EPOSIDE 8 LEX?!?!!!..MAKE TIS INTO A BOOK.IT WILL BE A BIG HIT!
Liying
hey!..ur post r all niceie man..haha...u goot la link everyone but me!!!

hey princess.thanks for ur support.and i will link u!.
Huijin
dude. am i dead alreadi in the story ? hahas..

hey huikim those not mentioned presumed dead...or captured.im sorry.hahaha

thanks for all your suggestions and encouragement. what i only hope is that this story will spur us on toward loving God more and appreciating the things we have right now in peaceful times. don't be a spoilt Christian.

and there we were, on the church van, speeding at its fastest.

and we were on our way back to the Field. we had to get as many people as we could.

it really did not make sense to me then, why we had to save those people. i mean, how many could we have saved? and what could we have done ?

and would we face death?

but then i remembered God is with us and that

1 Corinthians 15:54-55 says,
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

so if even death is defeated, what should i fear? why should i doubt? and why should i hesitate to help my fellow brothers and sisters? at this point of time, i really thanked God that i did make the effort to memorise Bible Verses as how my discipler Lynn Chong had always taught me to.

for john 14:26 says that the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in Jesus' Name, will teach me all things, and will remind me of all that Jesus said to me.

so no matter what it costs, i will go for Him.

"when we reach the field, we will turn a corner, and as soon as a turn the corner, i will SPEED RIGHT UP TO WHERE all our brothers and sisters are waiting to be judged. what ever our van crashes into, hold on. and as soon as i halt the van, open the van door, and let people come in." nana instructed us as she continued to drive the vehicle.

all of us behind looked at each other with uncertainty.

and as if she read our minds, nana said," do not worry la. the confusion would be so great that the police would not be able to do much. trust me..and once our van is full, we will go."

once the van is full?

a dreadful thought came to me. that sentence meant that we would not have everyone with us. that sentence meant that some would be left behind.

"wait wait..you mean some of the people would be left behind?" weiwei voiced out my thought.

"and do you thinkthey have weapons that can blast our van to pieces?"

and there was silence in the van. no one spoke or answered.

"HERE WE GO!" nana shouted and with that she sped right up to the middle of the field. i could tell you it was a 110km/hour drive within such a short distance.

the next moments were crazy and bloody. as we smashed right up into the field and when the door of the van was opened, people rushed in. people we did not know, people we knew. all came rushing in. and from the window, i could see all christians gathered there pluck up their courage and stood united to attack the police officers due to our sudden "invasion".in return, police officers tried to bring down every christian who were trying to revolt right there at the field, dragging and handcuffing a lot of them.

weiwei, my disciple, josiah and i were squeezed right to the back of the van. we could hardly breathe, even as there was violent rioting out there on the field. the police officers were all too preoccupied by the riots than our van commotion.

"oh no....this is really bad !!!" josiah exclaimed on top all the commotion in the van.

and as i turned to look outside the van through the window, i saw a police officer taking aim at our van with his revolver.

oh Jesus Christ.

"GET DOWN EVERYONE!!!" i shouted.

"AHHHHH!!!" and everyone on the van got down, onto the floor, and under seats of the van.

"BANGG!!!" the revolver went off.

"CRASHHHH!!" and the side window just in front of my disciple got smashed into pieces.

the bullet had missed him just by a few inches. in front, though, a guy in his teens was not so fortunate. he got shot in his head.

my disciple stared wide-eyed at the dead boy in front of him. and then at me again. he was all white.and there was blood all over my disciple's face. scared stiff.

it could have been my disciple. i thought.

i just looked at him, at my wits' end.

and then as if everything had been stopped in motion, everything went back in action again.

 "close the door!!! close the door!!!!" nana screamed even as people were still trying to get up onto the van.

i had never seen people so desperate before. fear was written all over their eyes. and in the midst, i saw weehuat trying to get onboard our van too.

with all my strength i could muster, i pushed everyone aside, and made my way to the door of the van.

i knew i had to GET HIM UP THE VAN.i must.

"sylvester! help me get on the van QUICK!" weehuat was shouting as loud as he could. his face had some bruises. he must have been beaten up by the officers.

but when i was about to stretch out my hands to grab his, but alas, the van started to move.

i was thrown off and i fell back into the van's seats.

"boom!" and a click was heard.the van door was shut and locked. no one else could enter the vehicle for now. i quickly got up and tried to catch a glimpse of weehuat.

all i could see as our van made its escape were multitudes and multitudes of people fighting, screaming and some, running after the van.

"stop the van nana stop it!" josiah shouted from the back of the van. "that was weehuat you left behind!!!"

but the van kept at its escape. i guess, we could not have stopped or turned back. all the lives on the van were at jeopardy. i felt that nana was in a dilemma too.

and then i looked back into the van.i was really hoping that some of the people on the van could be from YI, or even my mom.

i scanned through the faces.some were injured, some were bleeding. others looked dehydrated and worried. and then i saw familiar faces!

on the van with us were kong ann, huijin, and kenni. i was so delighted! but we only smiled at each other. i guessed we were all too tired.

but my mom was not onboard.

kong ann's usual beautifully done hair was in a mess. huijin's usual messy self was even messier. her specs were somehow smashed and she was bleeding from her eyes. half of kenni's hair had been shaved off and his head was bleeding too. they had gone through a lot.

all the usual happy faces from cell group were no longer there. they were tired out, injured and hurt. and among them were other faces i had never ever seen in my life. but all were Christians.

i suddenly thought about weehuat again.oh no. i missed him just by a few centimetres! could i blame myself? would it be of any use? i made a slient prayer for God to protect one of the leaders in CHrist.

we were all now on our way to the shophouse hideout in Chinatown which nana had promised. after deboarding all the people on the van, i knew we had another dangerous task to complete, infiltrating the abandoned camp where the rest of our YI friends and my mom might be in.

then i turned around and spoke with an old man in his sixties to try to find out what had happened.

"they have already started forcing Christians to take the mark, which is a chip of some sort for identification purposes at the Field itself.some had received voluntarily, some were forced into it. some others who resisted were killed or raped. its really terrible. my pastor friend was killed at point blank for refusing." the old man recounted to me.

"but now at least we are going somewhere further, and it would give us more time of not having to face any chances of being forced into accepting the mark.thank God..."he added.

the situation was real bad. just last week, the newspaper reported the implementation of the chip to all nations by the World Union led by the Beast and now, so many things have happened. i thought.

ya right, the Beast promised the world peace. look now what was happening?

what would be next? widespread violent Christian persecution had already started 2 years back in other countries. what could be next? i racked my brains right there on the packed van and tried to recall what Pastor Daniel had taught us during our afternoons bible studies.

i wondered how our Pastor was..i guess if God-allowing, i would see him again.

and as i recalled, i remembered..

 

the Great Rapture.

yes! the rapture! i was so sure, it could happen anytime.

i did not know what had already took place in the world because all forms of communications with the outside world had been cut off by our government. but i was so sure the last battle against Israel written in the Word of God was already in preparations.

but now im awaiting anxiously, yet patiently for the rapture.

yes in a twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed, and shall be renewed.

and on that van right there, i shouted out loud "come Jesus COME!"

as the tightly packed church van rumbled to Chinatown, i looked at the YI people who were with me, kongann, kongsheng brothers were reunited. their sister was still missing.kenni, huijin, josiah and weiwei all were injured someone and looking tired.

nana was driving steadily still.

God seemed to be protecting this group of people. no one was tailing our vehicle.

the people on the van consisted of adults, children, uncles, aunties, the elderly, all whom are Christians.

i looked at the smashed up window in front of kongsheng, my disciple and recounted that gun shot by the police officer. and my eyes went toward the young boy at the front who had been shot.

he was now limp, his head bent over behind, blood dripping out of his temple. he looked pale, i thought. his eyes were wide opened. the chair he was sitting on was smeared and splattered with thick red blood.

he died a sudden death.

but im sure he is with The Lord Jesus Christ now.

my disciple still looked stunned. blood was all over his shirt and face. i coud understand the trauma he was in.

we finally reached the shophouse in a deserted area of Chinatown.it was right smack in front of a construction yard.

it looked real deserted. all of us alighted from the van and made our way to the entrance of the shophouse. it was 2 storeys high. the gate of the shophouse was 2 gigantic padlocks.

it was already night time.

and then the gate opened, i squinted my eyes to see who were coming opening the gate in the darkness.

to my amazement, it was Pastor Daniel and rixiang! you could not imagine my joy and relief when i saw them.

nothing much was said, and the people were ushered in the shophouse, to safety for now. and it was decided by pastor daniel that my disciple,weiwei,rixiang and i should follow his car and the church van to the abandoned army camp to rescue more people. the rest were to remain in the shophouse.

and as nana went into the shophouse, she said "i would take good care of the people here.but please, come back in one piece all of you. we will be praying."

she looked as if she was about to cry..

the pain and grief in this kind of times, only God can understand.

"yes we will..please ensure tht ah..the shophouse's front metal gate is locked always, and that the back door, we have already sealed it up. ration the food properly.we will be back soon." it was rixiang. he looked real calm then. 

the rest of us nodded.

and soon, we were on our way to the abandoned camp.

i had heard of how Christians have been tortured during persecution. but i thought it would not be so bad in our country. i mean at least our country was one of the safest and fair in terms of law judgements. so how bad could it get?

i really hope i would not lose more friends. i have already lost james lin. and many of our church friends were feared dead.

as i looked out of the window of the the church van, i saw that the moon was misty orangey red, and that there were no stars at all in the sky.

and all of a sudden, there was a jolt in the ground.

all of us stopped and looked at each other.

i thought for one moment that our vehicle would be flung off the highway.

i watched in horror as i saw the road behind our travelling vehicle being JOLTED UP and splitted into 2 and more jolts and tremors came. all of us were flung out of our seats by the sudden ground shake.by the roadside, lamp posts collapsed and broke into pieces. trees by the roadside were falling in every direction.

rixiang the van driver was trying desperately to swerve away from falling lamp posts and trees.

"watch out RIXIANG!!!! the tree!!" i shouted loud. and then rixiang gave the van a sharp swerve away from a fallinglamp post.

"ahhh!"

wat was happening now? an earthquake??? but our homeland had never experienced any earthquake ever since like when! the ground was trembling and shaking so hard..

in front was pastor's peugeot car. he was having a hard time getting away from fallen trees and lamp posts too. all of us on the van held on tightly to the hand grips. the van felt as if it might flip anytime with every jolt and shake from the ground.

i tried to recall even as the dangers were lying everywhere. a red blood moon,  earthquake, red blood moon....earthquake....red blood moon..earthquake... what was happening?

and my weiwei shouted,"revelation! its happening!!!" even as she was tryingher best to get a grip.

and then i remembered..revelation 6:

¹²I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, ¹³and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

the sixth seal.

the Word of God is so real. yes it is. and it was at that point of time.will people start to repent now? or will they curse God in the face and still persecute the people of God?

and as i looked at the city skyline, as the vehicle was travelling on the highway, those high rise offices which once stood so proudly had collapsed and reduced to dusts.

vanities of vanities, all are vanities.

and as sudden as the earthquake came, it stopped. and we were still on our way to the abandoned camp. pastor's car was safe, in front of us.i thanked God silently in my heart.

as i looked at the ruins all around, fallen lamp posts, fallen trees, and almost half of the highway crackin up, i thought of how human beings would always boast of our achievements and wisdom, but only to be reduced to nothingness in the wrath of God.

^{revelation 6:17}For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?".

who will still boast now?

there and then,all of us on the van saw right in our eyes, who wass the Commander-in-Chief.

He is angry now.

Surely God is angry now.

looking at the ruins of our small island city as we made our way to the abandoned camp, i asked God to be merciful and gracious towards His people.

i know that His grace could not be taken for granted, and taken in vain. because one day, His wrath would come.

and this was the day.

still shaken by the so-unexpected earthquake,and the surrounding fallen lampposts, trees and cracked up highways, we huddled together in the van and started praying in tongues.

weiwei, my disciple and i. yes. and right there, we felt the power of the Holy Spirit and the Love of our Father God, even when all things were literally tumbling down.

our God is good.He is.He is slow to anger and quick to forgive.

if only we repent.

"hey, we are nearing the camp, please...get ready..."rixiang was telling us as the van came to a halt in the midst of a jungle.

pastor's car was in front of us.

"one more thing, before we go. if anyone of us were caught, please, scatter. and go on to rescue more people."

that was the last thing i wanted to happen to me. and as if we had the same thoughts, weiwei and my disciple looked at me. then, pastor walked towards us, closing his car door behind him.

"eh, so how?" it was his usual steady, calm voice.

"i tell you what la. rixiang, you wil go with kong sheng and sylvester. weiwei will come with me."

pastor was unusually calm.i mean, he was REALLY CALM. thats one good thing about being prepared in the spirit when there were peaceful times.

"i heard we are not the only group here infiltrating. some other churches also sent their people here to rescue more. it would be quite complicated." rixiang added in.

it sounded so much like the amazing race which we had. when we were having our race, we had other churches having their own races too around the country.

but this time, it was a life-and-death race.

and then, pastor daniel instructed us to keep our phones on in vibration mode, and to run if anyone of us here was caught, to rescue as many people as possible, to keep praying throughout the whole mission, and to believe that God would protect us.

the amazing thing was, pastor even had a map of the camp. and so it was planned that he would enter by the west gate, and rixiang's group would enter by the east gate, where the prisons would be.

and so we went our ways. pastor and weiwei. rixiang, my disciple and i.

"come back here in 2hours. its jus a guide.there would be obstacles.but God will keep us safe on earth and in heaven."

safe.yes.on earth and in heaven. that means, we might die anytime.

without any delay,rixiang led us to the east gate.

and then we saw the parade square right in front of the east gate. there were 2 guard towers right at the parade square.

but the good thing was...

the guard towers were empty.thank God.

it was already about 9pm.

the moon was still red.there were no stars.

i looked up the fence. it was about 4 metres tall. should be a smooth one for us. i wondered how weiwei would get pass this fence. could she make it??

so the 3 of us started climbing the fence.all along, i prayed so hard, i could felt that God's hands were with me. and very soon we were on the other side.

"quick! quick!" rixiang motioned us to follow him.we ran as fast as we could, hunched and lowered across the parade square to the nearest building. no one saw i us.

i hope.

the building was dark. the lights at the corridors were not switched on. i looked around as we walked doen the corridor of rooms. all the rooms were tightly locked. i wondered if there were anyone in the rooms. so i had to peep into one of the room's windows as it was so dark.

i was so certain that someone would be looking at me from inside the room...

the thought made me shudder.

but there was no one in there.so we made our way to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floor. there was absolutely no one in the first block we were at. so, we proceeded to the next block of rooms.

upon arriving at the 2nd block. we saw a door leading to the basement. and on the door was a sign saying "authorised personnel only". i had a very good feeling that our people were kept in there. but just as i was about to tel rixiang about my feeling, i was pushed through the door down the staircase leading into the basement.

"hey why did you....!" everything was getting on my nerves. it was just too stressful for me i guess.

"NO.......SHHHHHHHHH.." my disciple was telling me to shut up."just keep quiet FIRST!"

so we hid in the staircase area for what seemed like hours. it was sweaty and hot. and the itches from the mosquito bites were getting to me.

and then i remembered asking my cell member once when times were better : can't you stand mosquitoes and INSECTS? then persecution come how??

and there i was, irritated by something as simple as mosquito bites. i was ashamed of myself.

so i decided to just shut up.well, sometimes we just have to shut our gap and be patient.

after a few moments, rixiang finally said, "there were 2 officers patrolling at the corridors just now! so we had to push you in. if not, we would have been shot dead."

and then i understood.thank God i did not make a din about them pushing me and about mosquito bites. i realised these things were so unimportant then.

some of us really cared too much about little things when we had peaceful times. i thought.

like little conflicts with cell members, like backsliding because of stupid reasons, like wanting attention from people, like being jealous of each other, like gossiping, like looking good, like being the best and in certain things, sports etc, like being hateful and disobedient, like not doing follow-ups, discipleship, evangelism properly, about whose arguments were right.

we SHOULD HAD BEEN doing all our JOBS RIGHT in church and cell group and EVANGELISING and TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS CHRIST THROUGH OUR VOICES AND LIVES THROUGHOUT OUR NATION when we had peaceful times!!!!

but what did we do? we fought with each other and became mindful of little things most of the times.

looking back now, i was so ashamed. are you?

most of the times, we learn from God only when we are weak and helpless.

why couldnt we learn from God even when we are happy and strong?

was it too late to realise then? i guessed so. such was the time when evangelism movements were virtually zero that we could not do much about anything.

christianity and christians are deemed as illegal activities/activists and provocaters of peace.

"hey what you thinking of.i was telling you we should continue down to the basement.what you think?"rixiang tapped me on the shoulder and brought me back to reality. i was really deep in thoughts.

"ermm...yea..that was what i was thinking.."i replied. i could not afford to lose focus. i needed to stay focus on God's voice and the mission.

and so, we made our way down to the basement. and then i saw something which made my spine shiver..

red blood trails on the dark staircase landing and "damn the crazy Christians" writings on the walls.

i could literally imagine a brother or sister of mine being DRAGGED down the staircase groaning in pain and suffering and being taunted by people who have been influenced by satan.

thr groans seemed to be echoing right in my ears.

its very scary.....

but that was what Jesus went through.

i bet it was frightening for Him too.He was a Man.but He knew God's will had to be done.

and then we reached the basement.we looked straight up and saw at the end of the corridor, rows and rows of rooms.

are mommy and my dear friends in there?? the corridors were really dark and wet.

and then rixiang handed me and my disciple each a knife.

a knife?????

"it is for self-defence..really.these people have become The World Union's dogs, and they will do anything to you.you need to self-defend. and its jus a knife. they have guns and bazookas."

but was it right to kill someone?? to stab someone out of self defence??? i was scared and i could see fear written all over my disciple's face too.

we had never killed anything bigger than a termite before.......i knew rixiang had killed chickens in his boys brigade training before.

and God brought to my remembrance again that, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:14).

and i guess if self defence was out of love and the good of the others  trapped in that horrid place,and not so called OUT OF SELF, then i knew God would be with me and God would lead me to victory in this skirmishes.

yes i would lay down my life for my friends in there, but not without a good fight, as i remembered the battles that God led the Israelites to victory.

but i certainly hope i would not need to kill anyone out of defense. really.

then, i heard blood-curdling screams coming out of the rooms at the end of the corridor.

it ached my heart. i knew it was one of my brothers' or sisters' cries.

"we have to go now.face it.and do our best.God be with us." rixiang prayed.

i hoped my loved ones were still in one piece.

God God, please do not forsake us.

 

(new photos in gallery and also do visit www.tabulas.com/~wantedbysatan)

as we moved towards the rooms at the end of the corridor, holding our knives, my disciple, rixiang and i looked around to make sure that no one was following us.

and then i heard another scream.

"arrhhhhh....!" and it echoed down the corridor.

and then we heard another voice coming out of the first room

"see now where your MIGHTY GOD IS!"

i held onto my knife tightly, trembling and perspiring profusely.the 3 of us looked at each other.

and then i actually smelled blood.

was it that bad???

as we reach the end of the corridor, we hid round the corner and peeped.we saw that there were about 20 rooms.

and then we heard a creak, as if a door was opening.

my heart skipped a beat. in the speed of lightning, we hid back round the corner. it was as if we held our breaths.

we waited and heard footsteps echoing down the corridor.

rixiang made a sign to us to stab the whoever if he/she actually came round our corner.

i was really scared. IM NOT READY i thought. i cannot kill!! i thought.my disciple held my arm and shook me. he was shaking his head signalling to me that he could not do it.

oh no. how?

the foosteps got nearer..

thud thud thud thud thud....

and it came to a stop...

we held our breaths. with big open eyes..we stared at each other. they have guns, i thought, and we have knives.

i began to pray very hard

and then the footsteps started again, but this time the person was moving away from us. and very soon the footsteps faded down the other corridor.

fear..

never in my life had i lived in such fear before. fear of the enemy. why??

and then as we peeped, we saw a silhouette of a man disappearing round the corridor. and after waiting a few moments more, we made our way to the first room.

the stench of blood fiilled my nostrils.

and we stood in front of the first door. the door was all metal, without any windows or opening. and to my disappointment, the door was tightly locked up with a padlock.

 

"how..? rixiang? how? i can hear groans coming out of this room!!" i whispered to him.

 

and then rixiang stretched out his hand to try to figure out the padlock. maybe he was thinking of picking the lock.

 

and then something miraculous happened. something out of the ordinary happened, which was to our amazement.

 

but well, out God is extraodinary ain't He?

 

and as rixiang's hands were near the padlock, it suddenly unlocked by itself, and the lock came undone.

 

"click!"

 

we stared at each other.God was surely with us. and there and then i remembered a verse:

"Who is like unto Thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" (Exodus 15:11).  

 

yes God is real. and as we stood in front of the unlocked door in amazement, we praised and give thanks to God like never before in our hearts.

 

and we pushed the door open.

 

oh God you wouldnt believe who and what we saw!

 

Daryl Ong, my disciple's friend, andros, vivian and sunil! and to my utter horror, they were squeezed up in what seemed like metal cages.

 

they were treated like animals. what terrible times they must had been through.

 

when they saw us, they shouted with joy. and their faces lit up.

 

none of them were seriously hurt. daryl had his specs smashed up and a few bruises on his face, vivian had some cuts on her lips, andros had some blood on his head and sunil had quite a deep cut on his face.

 

they must have been punched, slapped, kicked and been pushed intot he cage forcefully by those savages. 

 

we ran forward, squatted down and tried to figure out how to open the doors of the cages.

"there there! the keys are on the desk behind you!!" sunil cried out from inside the cage.

 

"how did you get in anyway man?" daryl was asking.

 

"God unlocked the door of the room for us.really.you should have seen it!" i was half fumbling with the keys and half answering daryl with excitment.

 

ya i was still excited about Jesus even during that period of time.

 

and soon all the cages were unlocked, and they came out of those little cages.

 

"tell me more tell me more what did God do to that lock??!" andros was so excited, and jumping around.

 

"come on, we will tell you more when we get you out of this place ok? for now, please follow us tightly." rixiang commanded.

 

"quick quick!" my disciple signalled them out of the room and into the corridor.

 

and all of us ran down the corridor and up the staircase where we came from and to the building leading to the parade square.

 

all along the way, we did not say much. we just watched out for each other and kept a lookout in all directions.

 it was like playing hide-and-seek. but this was a matter of life and death. we could be shot down like animals.

 

and then rixiang instructed vivian and andros to run across the parade square when the coasts were clear and back to the van and wait there on the van till we came back with more people.

 

"if in any case, people found out about our van and pastor's car in the jungle, run for your dear lives to this shophouse in Chinatown." rixiang handed vivian an address paper of the shophouse.

 

vivian and andros nodded quietly.daryl and sunil had been instructed to stay with us to rescue more people.

 

i guess vivian was going to be alright.when the days were better, she was a very independent person of God. i wondered she and andros would make it to the van. and i passed her my handfone since rixiang had a phone with him.

 

"call us if anything happens." i told her.

 

even as vivian and andros made a dash across the desolated parade quare to the van, i wondered how were pastor and weiwei. i wondered if they had rescued anyone or were in danger.

 

after a few moments, making sure that vivian and andros made it safely over the fence, rixiang, my disciple, daryl, sunil and i went back into the basement without much hindrances, determined to rescue more people and to bring glory to The One who loved us first on the Cross.

 

^{matthew 19:26"..} Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible."

we cannot rescue those people trapped in the prisons, but God can and He will

 

 

 

 

yes, all that were left to rescue a camp full of arrested christians were rixiang, sunil, daryl ong, my disciple and i.

we made our way back to the corridor of rooms. the first room that had vivian, andros, sunil and daryl captured was now wide open.

no one had realised the disapperance yet.

and so we continued to the other rooms.

and then God prompted sunil to stop at the 4th room.so all of us stopped outside the fourth room.

there were groans and moans of pain coming out of the room. i decided to try pushing the door.

the door was unlocked!

and as i pushed lightly at the door, all four of us peeped through the gap.

 

there were two men in plain clothes, probably government officers. in their hands were some sort of whips.

ok there were tortures going on like what pastor daniel always said, and what other countries' christians have always been facing, now our homeland's christians are facing too.

there were 3 people being chained up. and then daryl tapped on my shoulder frantically, and whispered into my ears.

"its liying....!!!"

and then i turned back and looked closely. liying was chained up against the wall. and my eyes went to the next person. it was wanping!

oh no...wanping must have made her way here herself to look for liying after liying was pulled into a van a day ago.

and my eyes went to a third person. i squinted my eyes. and i saw that it was andy ong!

all 3 were chained up against the wall standing. all heads were hung down.

they looked very beaten up and drained out and were wet. those creatuures must had splashed water on them.

and then one of the officers smashed his whip onto the ground.

"pishhh!" and the sound of the whip echoed in the room.

all four us jumped, startled. oh no, is the officer going to do something sadistic?

and then,  as if the officer was cold blooded and without compassion, he landed the thin whip onto liying's abdomen area, with much brute strength.

"pishh!!"

"aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!"

"now see where your great AWESOME GOD IS!" i could see the officer grinning and smiling through the gap of the doorway.

"He is so good that now you have to go through this right? COME ON MAN..!" and he landed another whip onto liying.

she screamed and tossed her head back against the wall at the pain and vomitted blood.

and i closed my eyes and turned away. the sight was making me sick in the stomach.

"tell me now! IS JESUS GOD? tell me!"

"yes He is and He is and forever is!" wanping gritted her teeth and shouted at the officer.

her faithfulness for God met with another whip.

she screamed. i never heard her scream like that before. so painful, so horrible, so torturing, so scary.

"God my Bullshit.u freaking stubborn christians. now U EVANGELISE TO ME. WHERE IS YOUR GOD? ? TELL ME WHERE.!" and the other officer whipped andy mercilessly.

"oh yea.tell me tell me. since you all can TELL THE FUTURE. what is gonna happen next?? HAHAHAHAH!"

"does God knows i am gonna pour hot water onto YOU NEXT? do YOU NOE , CHILD OF GOD? " and the 2 officers laughed and cackled.

"oohh..i bet your God is so Powerful right?"

and then one the officers reached out for a boiling kettle of water., steaming with smoke.

OH NO...God HELP! how could they treat young girls and guys like this?? and right at that moment rixiang pulled the 4 of us away from the doorway. motioning us that we need to take an action.

"ok now...we need to take our people out.since God brought us all the way here.He will help us. You sylvester take ur knife and you attack the first officer from the back. dun hurt him, hold him by the neck with ur knife. daryl and kongsheng help sylvester.sunil help me. i will hold the 2nd officer down."

"but...what if i accidentally slit the throat????" i trembled as i asked.

"I DON;T KNOW! just do it ok! we need to get them out."rixiang replied.

we did not have much time to analyse or think. i just thought, Holy Spirit guide me.

and the next few moments were crazy. we crept up, dashed into the room just as the first officer was about to pour the boiling water on wanping, went up to the 2 officers and held them back with knives to their throat. in an instance, they dropped their whips and the kettle of hot water.

the officers were not armed.

"HOLD YOUR HANDS UP ! NOW.kongsheng close the door.!"

i was scared stiff. but i had to hold that officer at knife point.any mistake would cost him his life , or run a risk of alerting the authorities.

"ok ok...be calm now with your knife. we will do whatever you all say." the officer held by rixiang was trying to negotiate.

so they were the real losers. they were scared!this helped me gain a bit of confidence, and i pressed the blunt side of the knife harder against that loser's throat. daryl was holding down his hands for me.

and then kongsheng closed the door, took the keys from the officers' pockets and started to unlock the chained up captives.

liying immediately fell to the ground. wanping and andy ong went forth to help her up. they seemed to be bleeding on the chest, abdomen, hands and legs area.

boy did they had a bad and painful time.....

and then rixiang gave the officer he held a push to the chains.

"GO ! CHAIN YOURSELF UP!"and he was pointing the knife at the officer 

whoah, i had never seen rixiang so fierce before.

i followed what rixiang did and i pushed the other officer to the ground.take that! this is good. i thought. some payback time.

and both the officers obediently chained their own hands against the wall. they were outnumbered i guess.

and you knoe what i wanted so much to do when they were chained up? i wanted so much to kick them, punch them, hit them, or even cut them a few times, whip them and pour boiling water on them. i really wanted to

and i could see all the people with us wanted to. but as wanping and andy helped liying up to her feet and as we prepared to leave the room, i remembered a verse from the Word of God,

Love for Enemies

 ⁴³"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor^[h] and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴But I tell you: Love your enemies^[i] and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

 

and then i turned around, pointing at the officers and told them, "God loves you 2. and i pray for you two that you will repent and know Him.i so much wanted to finish the 2 of you. but God loves you and YES MY GOD IS POWERFUL."

and then the 8 of us ran out of the room all the way back to the building leading to the parade square.

as i ran, i wiped away those tears that were falling out. i know God still loves those 2 officers right there, even though of what they have done. but i also knew that this was the dark hour, and that few or NO ONE would repent.and i felt pain for the sufferings my brother and sisters in CHrist went through as i watched them bleed.

the officers truly did not know what they were doing now. they have been darkened by satan himself.

Father let Thy will be done then.