Urgent Prayer Request From Friends in Nepal

Lionel recently received an email from a pastor in Nepal named Yanger.  He runs a Bible school in Kathmandu.   He has requested prayer for himself, his wife and his work.  Please keep this in your prayers.  Thank you.   “Dear Lionel,    Greetings from Nepal in the most precious name of Jesus!   I bring this email needing your prayers for the churches and the saints of Nepal.   These days Nepal Defense Army (An extremist Hindu underground group) has been very much terrorizing the Christian leaders of Nepal. Not long ago they have bombed a Catholic church in Katmandu and warned to bomb in all the churches in Nepal. They have given ultimatum to missionary to leave the country. For quite some time they have been forcefully involved in extorting money from the churches especially in the Eastern part of Nepal. Now days, they have extended to Katmandu and intensified intimidating and terrorizing pastors and Christian leaders by demanding money over the phone, through letter and by approaching personally.   Churches have strongly taken precaution and heap on prayers. Many churches started using metal detector to screen through the church attendees.  I feel a bit awkward to stand in front of the church gate and screen through. But this is the circumstance we have. Please join with us in prayers for the Nepali Christians to stand firm in her faith, united one and intensify the task of evangelization.”   Thank you for helping us pray for the people and churches in Nepal.

New Punjabi Indian Bible Study

Recently, I started a new Bible Study group. Sis Violet who is working here in Singapore  is from India and has a strong burden to reach her people. We already head up the Tamil speaking Indian ministry but Violet is reaching Punjabi Indians who speak a different language. Sis Violet is amazing. She gets her converts from the Hindu Temples in Singapore. She goes in and makes friends and then invites them to Tabernacle of Joy. Her converts are mostly domestic helpers here in Singapore and have many problems. She challenges them to give her God a try to solve their problems. Hindus worship many gods so her method is not offensive to them. But when they come to TJ they feel the power of God and are changed forever. Two Sundays ago I was asked to help her. So on Sunday afternoons I teach a Bible Study while Violet interprets. Last week 2 girls Maya & Binita both received the Holy Ghost and Binita was baptized in Jesus name. Please keep Sis Violet and myself in prayer. We are expecting a great harvest!!!

Sunday afternoon Punjabi Bible Study

Violet, myself and the Punjabi goup

Dabbs Family Photos

Recently one of our Unlocking the Bible Study students, Kabetha Bai, organized a surprise birthday party for my 37th birthday. And indeed I was surprised when I discovered that she had got all the twentysomethings of Tabernacle of Joy to chip in and to send us to a photographer. Getting pictures done here is not like running down to your local Walmart in the states. Where to go? What questions to ask? Will the photographer understand me? Since her Spirit and water baptism Kabetha has been like my right arm and I am so thankful to have her as a friend. Enjoy the photos taken on June 15th, 2009 when LJ had just turned 8 months old.

Dabbs Family

Lionel-John 'Dash' Dabbs

Dabbs Family

Little Dabbs Getting Kisses

Ladies Small Group

For eight weeks I lead a young ladies small group. The topic was “Becoming a Woman of God.” Recently at our final lesson we all gathered at our place for some fun, food and fellowship after the lesson. Part of being a lady is knowing how to cook. So, for this final lesson I taught the group how to bake muffins. That might sound funny at first but many of the ladies do not have an oven in their homes and have never baked before. So what seems like a small thing was actually very very fun. All of the ladies commented on how much they enjoyed the lessons taken mostly from Proverbs. We compared what the Bible says for  a woman to be with the advertising industries protrayal of a woman and found them to be polar opposites.

Ladies baking Muffins at the Dabbs'

Final Lesson at the Dabbs

LJ in the Keys’ kitchen sink

Recently we had to move out of the place where we are staying for 1 week. It just so happened that Jennifer and Jason Keys from Oklahoma (they are posted here with the Navy for 3 years) were going to be home in America at the same time that we were homeless.  So they offered their home for us to stay in. What a blessing!!!!! One morning I washed Lionel-John in Jenn’s kitchen sink. Then I went to her computer and set the photo as desktop background so that she and her girls Hannah and Emma would have a surprise when they got home!

All clean and ready for the day

Bible Study gets Baptized

Labee Yeo has been a long term Bible Study of mine. Her daughter Ranice invited her to church and she loved it. She received the Holy Ghost last July but hesitated to getting water baptized.  I started to teach her last year in August 2008 and would not give up on her. On April 18th last month after hearing a message preached by Anthony Mangun she immediately decided to get baptized. To God be the Glory!!!!

Labee with daughter Ranice and Myself

Labee baptized by pastor Tim

Sis Violet

I want to introduce you to Sis Violet. Violet is working in Singapore on a work permit and is currently one of my Bible Study students. Sis Violet is a tremendous soul winner. On her off days she goes into one of the many Hindu temples in Singapore and makes friends. After establishing a friendship she brings them to church! She has had as many as 17 visitors with her in a single service. It is a delight to have her in my Bible Class. Sis Violet takes pictures on her cell phone every week of Lionel-John and sends them home to India.

Sis Violet, Lionel-John and Johanna in Church

Wedding in Singapore

Willoughby's, Lee's and Dabbs' with ladies wearing Kabayas

On Saturday April 18th Sarah Khoo married Danny Lee and what a wonderful day it was. Sarah is Peranakan Chinese which is a mixture of Chinese in Malay. The Peranakan traditional garment is the “Kabaya” of which many women wore to celebrate her wedding including myself, Sis Willoughby and Sis Hui er Lee (Pastor Timothy’s wife). This was our first wedding to attend in Singapore and we were so glad to to celebrtae with such good friends and fine people. Danny and Sarah speak many languages and both have taken Bible school classes and we are believing great things for their future in ministry.

The Kabaya

 

Mr. and Mrs. Danny Lee

Easter April 12th 2009: LJ’s 6 month Birthday!!!

Lionel-John arrived at church on Sunday morning in his “Dragon Slayer” Easter outfit and was just as cute as can be. Sunday’s are really long days for us. We arrive at church at 7am and usually do not get home until after 7pm at night. It is exhausting but we  love it. The church makes the most of every minute. Singaporeans work 6 days per week so often Sundays are the only day we have to do Bible Studies for brand new people and have planning meetings for the church. Plus Singaporeans love to fellowship and eat!! So the day would not be complete unless you ate several times with several different groups of people. This past Sunday Easter happened to fall on Lionel-John’s 6 month Birthday so we all celebrated. Please follow the course of our day in the photos below.

10am before service we posed for a family Easter picture.

April 12th 2009 Easter Service as TJ Singapore

Lionel-John in his Dragon-Slayer outfit.

Every Sunday TJ has a Lunch Ministry for our “Twenty-to Thirty” year olds. After Sunday service we “Intentionally, Consistently and Persistently” make sure that our newcomers and visitors in the 20-somthing group have something to do on Sunday afternoons. We weekly organize a lunch fellowship so that no one will be left out and all cliques are broken. It is proving to be very sucessful. On Sunday Lionel-John and I were able to join as my regular  Bible Studycouldnot make it to church. After lunch we all went for tea. During our fellowship I had many capable hands to help me with LJ. Miram Wu is holding him in the picture below. Miriam is actually an Americian born in TN but her parents wanted to move the family back to this region of the world so that they would not loose their culture. Miram can’t speak Chinese unfortunately but does speak Singlish however, with an American accent. She is a great help to Lionel and I and has recently taken over our English Club ministry.

2pm Lunch ministryMiriam Wu with LJ at TJ’s 20/20 Lunch Ministry

Miriam hold LJ during TJ's 20/20 lunch ministry

 

Later in the day we attended a wedding Rehersal meeting for Danny and Sarah who will be getting married next Saturday. Here is Lionel holding Lionel-John after a long day. Both still have big smiles on their faces!!!!

6pm Wedding Rehersal Meeting

Lionel and LJ at the Wedding Rehersal Meeting

Dinner at the Dabbs’

We had some great company or dinner on April 1st. Bro Wesley and Bro DB joined Lionel, LJ and myself for some, American style. Bro Wesley is from the Pentecostals of Alexandria in Louisiana and Bro DB is from Connecticut. Both are teachers here in Singapore and are great assets to the church. They are doing a tremendous work in the department and have proved to  be wonderful friends.

Dinner at the Dabbs'