Visit of Palu salvationists

Today we had in our meeting a group of salvationists from Palu, Indonesia. The Corps Officer, (pastor) of Palu Corps 1, Major I Nengah Wiarma was with them. They will be here for a week to observe our Sunday School and other children's activities in the various centres.

They will visit a number of Singapore tourist spots like Sentosa, Gardens by Bay, Science Centre etc.

The Indonesians took part in our meeting. They sang in Indonesian, English and Mandarin.

We were pleased to have the Director of Peacehaven Nursing Home, Sister Low Mui Lan with us this morning.The Salvation Army in Palu owns the Woodward Hospital and runs the Academy for Nurses Training. She shared with us how the Army's ministry in Palu and Singapore are linked.

We are glad we are part of the International Salvation Army.

Abundant blessings.

There is a saying, "It never rains but pours."  Blessings of God come in abundance!

I had always wanted to visit the Gardens by the Bay. So last Wednesday the opportunity came and for only a small sum of only $4.00 each, we joined the Bukit Panjang Family Centre folk and visited the Gardens. We had a great time.

The day after, Ms. Wong Yen Fong of the Editorial Department took us by car to the same place. The Editor Major Lynn Gibbs has planned to feature us in next month's War Cry, July issue to honour us for 60 years of unbroken service as officers in The Salvation Army.  She wanted Yen to take pictures of us in uniform in the Gardens! Kenny Choe, a salvationist, who is also a professional photographer took half a day off to take the photos. What a privilege.

A friend called Betty who used to work at THQ Finance Department paid for the tickets to visit the two domes and she also provided lunch!   Two consecutive days visiting Gardens by the Bay.

God sends His blessings like rain,  - pouring rain in abundance.

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart"  Psalm 37:4 How true.

More pictures - Gardens by the Bay

Fellowship at Gardens by the Bay

Gardens by the bay

Today Major Ruth Pascoe chartered a bus to take the Bukit Panjang folk - women and children to the Gardens by the Bay. Corps folk were invited to join them.

We left Bukit Panjang at 10.30 a.m. and had a wonderful time enjoying the beauty of the Gardens. Lunch boxes were provided.

This was my first visit to the Gardens and wife's second visit. It was a great time of fellowship with the folk besides enjoying God's wonderful creation.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings. -Cecil F Alexander

Still - Hillsong United with Lyrics

Worship at William Booth Corps

The last two weeks we were involved with my home church - Balestier Corps. First week was at camp in Johor and second week Father's Day in church at Balestier. For the next two weeks we shall be 'home' at William Booth Corps.

We started the day with Prayer meeting at 9.15 a.m then the Adult Bible class. It was my turn to lead the studies. We did the last Chapter of
1 Samuel and the first chapter of second Samuel - the death of Saul followed by David's lament for Saul and Jonathan.

The death of Saul and his sons is reminiscent of the death of Eli and his sons recorded in Chapter 4. In both instances defeat and death came at the hands of the Philistines.

Another interesting thing we noticed in our study - 1 Chronicles 10 is virtually identical with 1 Samuel 31 in the first 12 verses. In 1 Chronicles it is stated it was God who put Saul to death because of his sin. God put Saul to death for two reasons; to implement His warnings and also to fulfill His promises to David.

We had interesting discussion on the subject and regret we had to end our study as it was time to go the main hall of our worship.

We had a much smaller congregation as the youth were away at Camp in Sembawang. The theme of the sermon was "God is holy - trust Him for new strength." based on Isaiah 40.

Hide me now
Under Your wings
Cover me
Within Your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still and know You are God

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know His power
In quietness and trust  (Hillsong still lyrics)

Fellowship lunch with an old friend

We had lunch with a very good old friend we have known for a long time. In fact Mrs. Lim Tee Houw (Soo Noi) was my wife's Sunday School teacher at Central Corps when it was still at 30 Oxley Road just after the war.

Her late husband Lim Tee Houw was one of the delegates to the International Youth Congress in 1950. I remember as a teen ager attending a concert to raise funds for the five delegates to attend the International Congress in London. The concert was held at the Kampong Kapor Methodist Church.

I recall attending their wedding and they attended ours in 1958.

Quite often the couple would invite us to their home for dinner. She is now 86, still strong and healthy, but somewhat hard of hearing. Every now and then she would invite us out for lunch and today we went to the Teochew Sea Food restaurant for lunch. It was to celebrate our 56th Wedding anniversary. We were away at a Retreat in Johor with the Balestier folk hence the belated celebration lunch.

God has blessed us with many friends and everyday we are adding new ones.

A friend is like a star that twinkles and glows.
Or maybe like the ocean that gently flows.
A friend is like gold that you should treasure,
And take care forever and ever.   Ashley Campbell

What kind of a man

A man grows tall when he takes the lowly place;
he grows strong when he seeks the quiet place;
he grows great when he takes the servant's place.
A man finds true strength, not by lifting weights,
but by waiting upon the Lord. It is here, in the quiet place,
that a man will mount up with wings as eagles and soar above all.

 by Roy Lessin

Father's Day at Balestier

It was a privilege to be invited to conduct Father's Day meeting at Balestier Corps, (my home Corps,) this morning. It was a great time of fellowship and we were truly blessed.

Balestier is a very friendly church and everyone is made to feel welcome.

The probability of new people becoming actively involved in a church is directly related to the number of friends they develop soon after joining it. Survey shows those who have found new friends and formed personal relationships within the congregation are more likely to remain in the church and become more actively involved. Those who stayed had developed an average of m
ore than seven new friends in the church.

On the other hand those who dropped out could identify an average of less than two friends. This may not be due to the church members being unfriendly. The new members may not be overtly rejected. Often, dare I say, there is a superficial level of friendliness. So let us not go just for superficial courtesy – this ‘nice to see you’ then leaving them. They are forgotten. “The opposite of love is not hate; it’s indifference” says Ken Abraham.

Let’s offer people genuine friendship, enquiring about their families and seeking to bless them with any practical help we can give. Try and sit with them on the same table. Let us love them with the love of the Lord. Every person is precious in the eyes of God.

            In Christ there is no east of west,

               In Him no south or north,

            But one great fellowship of love

               Throughout the whole wide earth.  John Oxenham (SASB 826)

Father's Day Prayer

General Douglas MacArthur, the great military hero of the WWII generation, offered this prayer for his son. 

It reveals the heart of every father.  This is what he wrote, "Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be. Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past."

Time of fellowship

Last week we were at camp in Johor, so there was no cell meeting. We met this morning and joining us was Lieut. Colonel Prema Rajan, an Indian Retired officer now working in Sydney. She is having a short holiday in Singapore to see her many friends. In retirement she had served in Singapore for about four years - first at the Training College and later at Changi Corps. We were pleased to have her at our fellowship.

We began our meeting with refreshments; then sang "What a friend we have in Jesus." We had our prayer time and study of the word - the Book of Job, probably the oldest of Bible books.

One Bible teacher has summarized the message of this book in asking the following question. "Can I serve God  simply for who He is and not for what I get from Him for myself?" Certainly this question is worth pondering and calls for much soul searching. Do we love and serve God for self interest or for His interest?

Precious memories of Balestier Camp

The Balestier camp is over, but "Precious memories, how they linger
How they ever flood my soul." (quote from hymn by J B F Wright)

Sixty five of us comprising three generations met at Le Grandeur Hotel, Johor for a few days of Retreat. They were days of caring and sharing - of fellowship, prayer, singing and the word. There was not a single jarring note in the camp. Certainly I feel this was indeed a foretaste of heaven.

I lost count of the number of times folk, young and the not so young offering to get us cups of tea, or coffee or bowls of soup.

"Can I get you some cakes, they are delicious?"

"Do you need more fruit, I'll get for you."

From the very commencement of the camp we were reminded to care and share with each other the blessings of God.

1. Blest be the tie that binds 
 our hearts in Christian love; 
 the fellowship of kindred minds 
 is like to that above. 

2. Before our Father's throne 
 we pour our ardent prayers; 
 our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, 
 our comforts and our cares. 

3. We share each other's woes, 
 our mutual burdens bear; 
 and often for each other flows 
 the sympathizing tear. 

4. When we asunder part, 
 it gives us inward pain; 
 but we shall still be joined in heart, 
 and hope to meet again. John Fawcett

Dr. Fawcett in 1772 had preached his last sermon at his 

farewell meeting. He was moving to another church. His 

belongings were already packed and placed in the wagon. He 

and his family were about to start their journey into the 

city of London. But the love, affection and tears of the 

church members he was leaving behind were too much for him.

Dr. Fawcett and his wife looked at each other and read each

other's heart. The wagons were unloaded and although this 

meant financial sacrifice, they just could not leave the 

country folk whom they loved so much. 

He went back into the house and wrote this poem.

Balestier Corps Camp - 5th to 8th June

Camp Theme: "My Care, Commitment and Confidence - in the Name of Jesus"

What a great time my wife and I had at the Balestier Corps Camp held at Le Grandeur Hotel, Johor. It was a privilege to be invited to join this lovely group of people.

Captain Hary the Corps Officer (Pastor).

Camp committee did all the planning.
Camp Coordinator/ Chairman       Geh Si Yuan
Worship Coordinator                    Rachael Yeo
Resort Liaison/camp tea sergeant  Amelyn Ong.

The Four Cadets - Tan Bee Yit/Tan Bee Geok and Tan Wee Kiong and Joyce Ng were the main speakers and they did an excellent job. They must have put in a lot of preparation and related well with the campers. They gave us much food for thought.

Low Kar Leong of Changi Corps was the leader of the Youth Section.

Two ladies from Central Corps took charge of the Children's programme.

Altogether there were 65 campers comprising three generations.

We met many new friends, most of them from Kallang Outpost and quite new to the Army. Balestier is a fast growing Corps. Of course it was a joy to see our old friends we've known for many years.

It was one of the best camps we've ever attended. We were truly blessed.

Funeral of a Mizo Salvationist on Sunday 1st June

It was a full day for us - Prayer meeting, Adult Bible Class, Holiness meeting, Fellowship lunch and in the afternoon attended the funeral service at the Crematorium. The hall was packed mainly with Mizo Christians working in Singapore. Sadly the relatives of the Mizo girl who died could not be present. Distance and visa problems prevented them from coming to Singapore. The committal was done by the Pastor of Prinsep Street  Our William Booth Corps band was on duty. Major Pascoe our Corps Officer and Lieutenant Larinzuali the assistant who is also a Mizo took part.

The Mizo Christians now meet at the Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church every Sunday afternoon at 2.30 p.m.

There is a lovely bond of fellowship among believers.

One chapter ends, another begins

After 17 years conducting weekly chapel services at Peacehaven Nursing Home, we have decided to relinquish our responsibilities.


The Director of Peacehaven Nursing Home very graciously arranged a farewell meeting for us. It was a pleasant surprise to see our daughter Gladys, her husband Kum Pui and youngest son Emmanuel among the invited guests. Other members of our family were not able to be present because of work commitments. And Poh Chin, our youngest daughter, a resident of the Home was present in her wheelchair.  Poh Chin is now 45 years old very well cared for by the staff and nurses of the Home.


The Home also celebrated my 82nd birthday. They do this every year for me and my wife.


We shall continue to visit Peacehaven Nursing Home to see our special daughter Poh Chin and also  other residents and staff as time permits. The day and time will be flexible.


As we get older our visits to the hospital and clinics have increased in frequency. The number of elderly in Singapore is fast increasing and doctors are kept extremely busy. So it is important we keep to the dates given us for our hospital appointments.


Anyway, there is a time for everything - a time to begin and a time to end. We have enjoyed our ministry in Peacehaven and received much blessing in our interaction with the staff and residents.
We continue to pray daily for Peacehaven Nursing Home - the staff and residents.