Hello ladies and girls; below is the reflection from Joyce! :D

Miao! Look out for the rest of the reflection soon!

This mission trip was a really fun,unforgettable and awesome experience for me.(:

At first I started this trip not knowing what to expect, and I just decided to trust God for everything.And truely,God's presence was really there during the trip and he blessed all of us who went.During this trip, eventhough there were many unexpected things that happened, God blessed us and eventually, everything turned out well and we had so much fun together serving God!:D

On the 1st day, after we reached Batam, we checked into SkyView Hotel(thankfully it did not have a sky view):P, and then went to the Village and met Pastor Philip there.He introduced himself to us and he talked a little about the village.I realised that he really has a heart to serve God, for when he graduated from bible college, he could have chosen better places to preach in, but he obeyed God and set up a church in this village.
After that, we went for a tour of the village.Seeing the bad conditions the people lived in, my heart went out to them. The Village had no proper paths and rubbish was thrown on a small patch of bare land. There were candy and snack wrappers lying all around and their living conditions were so much different from what we experience here in Singapore.I realised how fortunate we are to grow up in such good conditions, and yet we still complain so much.
Another thing that struck me was, the kids looked so happy and contented playing 5 stones and just running around chasing chickens:D Even though life is simple there, they seem so much happier compared to us.
After that, we went back to the hotel and prepared for the next day.

On the 2nd day, we went to the Village again and we had prepared lessons and games for 20 children.However, much to our surprise, 120 enthusiastic children turned up!The materials we had prepared were not enough but we still decided to continue our program as planned.We split the kids up into 2 groups, above 6 and below 6.I helped up with the above 6 group and this kids were so cute and enthusiastic! Especially when we were helping them cut face masks, the kids kept pushing and shoving to get their masks. After they got their masks, they kept posing for me to take pictures for them! And when they saw the pictures on my camera, they laughed SO happily :D
We stayed in the Village till 10pm and even though it was a tiring day, seeing all the kids' bright smiles and laughter, it all felt worth it. I think that day, God really provided and blessed us. Even though we did not have enough materials for all the kids, everyone still had alot of fun and made new friends!:D

On the 3rd day, we had planned a cell meeting for the youths and a BBQ at night.In the morning,it rained very heavily and we prayed hard for the rain to stop. Amazingly, the rain really lightened up and stopped.In the afternoon, we had expected alot of people for the cell meeting but due to the rain, only 1 guy turned up. However, we still managed to conduct the cell meeting and we prayed for one another. At night, we prepared alot of food for the BBQ,,and we expected 60 people! But less than 10 turned up, and they were all Christians.
However, amazingly, that night we still managed to have alot of fun just simply worshipping God! The mood was really high and we had alot of fun!:D

On the last day, we had Church service in their church. During worship, I really felt God's presence there, and eventhough the Church was small and there were not many people attending the service, I really felt the hunger they had for God.During this trip, I learnt many things. I learnt that its not the quantity that counts( how many people there are in a church), its how serious and passionate you are about for God. Eventhough the villagers have so much less than us, they are easily contented with what they have, and they appreciate everything that God has given them. (: And during worship, they really praise and worship God with such enthusiasiam and passion that we lack.

Overall,even though it was only a short four days,I think that this was a really fruitful trip. It was a great experience and I learnt so much.Eventhough there was a language barrier with the people there, we overcomed it. I also really felt God's presence during this trip and my faith in the Lord has strengthened through this trip!(: Also, I really bonded with the rest of the girls that went for the trip and we had so much fun together!:D I got to know them so much better, and we got really so much closer and more bonded after this trip.We did so many retarded and fun things during this trip which I will never forget!:P Also, I would really just like to thank God for blessing us throughout this trip and teaching me so many things!:) I really experienced the joy of serving the Lord and learnt that, in all situations, we should just have faith and trust in God(: God is good!:D

Labels: Mission Trip