Dear.....
I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will tell of all Your marvelous works.'
Psalm 9:1
"Where
do I begin?" A familiar line? Yes for those of us who were young once,
you might remember the bestselling 1970 movie "Love Story," starring
Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw.
The love God has for us His
children is much deeper and clearly manifested throughout our lives, if
only we had just paid attention. At 40, when He lifted the veil upon my
heart, I experience, recognize, acknowledge and is in awe of His
Sovereign love.
Let me begin with His call for
me to minister to the people of Japan. A land that at the rudimentary
stages of my career in 1985, I quickly learned to avoid because of fears
over the long overdue expected major earthquake in Tokyo. It was only
until year 2000 that I dared make my first tentative foray into Nippon
land for vacation and had since fallen in love with her food, clime and
people. And God blessed my first day on this land with a nice shower of
snow.
I have been a disobedient child of God.
Back in late 2009, as the world began to haul herself back from the mire
of the subprime days, our Lord impressed upon me to buy a corner
terrace house, in the MacPherson area of Singapore, to be used by
missionaries coming to Singapore either for ministry work, or as a
stopover enroute to other parts of South East Asia. And God affirmed His
call to me when a missionary friend of mine came with six of her
charges from Thailand and by His grace, found accommodation in an
affluent neighborhood courtesy of a Christian brother who had build two
houses on his land, one to be used by missionaries.
By my own
finite wisdom, I chose to disobey and missed the next big move in prices
of landed properties. And a few years later, in my rare foray into
MacPherson, I saw to my surprise, many churches located in such terrace
houses.
Fast forward to June 2012, the
beginning of a new phase in my career, as I stepped out into the
unknown, after 17 years in my previous employ. I stepped out after 4
months of wrestling with my fears of what the future portends, much as I
was sure I heard the call of God in all clarity.
And it was in this context that I paid a visit to a Pastor friend of mine in Hougang.
This gentleman after hearing my story above, encouraged me to dream even bigger dreams.
To
build a building to accommodate retired Pastors and Church workers for
free, and in return, that they commit to avail of themselves for
ministry work.
"Silver Towers,"( grey haired but tower of
theological grounding) this was the name I penned for my future House
for our Lord as I drove onto the PIE expressway. And as I drove down
Cairnhill Road, towards Orchard Rd, there staring at me was a signage
with the words "Silver Towers," all that was left of an apartment
building gone enbloc.
"Start with Japan," this
was the thought that our Lord impressed upon my heart one prayerful
night in Nov 2012. This time, I dared not disobey and diligently went on
the internet in search of property agents who covers Japanese property.
I found one and only one website whose owner was proffering his
services on Japan properties. This gentleman is a true blue Israelite,
married to a Japanese lady, and residing in Australia.
"What
are you waiting for?" This rebuke in May 2013 was from our Lord as He
spoke to my dithering spirit. For it's been 6 months since He called me
to start with Japan. But for the sensible me, it seemed rather foolish
to plunk in $25,000 into a property in Japan, an unfamiliar land for me,
and worse, with someone I found on the Internet.
The 'foolish ways' of God far outweighs men's wisdom. So the chastened me responded.
And
as I took time to pray, our Lord brought me to the map of Abraham's
journey. And for a moment of insight, I figured that map looked similar
to that of Kyushu Island, the Southern land mass of Japan. And with a
ruler, I drew two interlocking lines, and that intersected spot was
where I should buy my first property.
This was in Kumamoto
Prefecture, well known for her live volcano, Mt Aso, and symbolically a
great place to start my ministry. For Kumamoto was home to the two
holiest sites for the annual worship by the Japanese of their deities.
Much
as I knew it was from our Lord, the logical me decided that the most
correct place to buy my first property should be in the best of best, in
Fukuoka City, the main prefecture of Kyushu Island, and not in lower
ranked Kumamoto. And hence began a one month odyssey round Japan, as try
as I may, every property that I tried to acquire failed to materialize.
And
in June 2013, I finally bought my first apartment, in Kumamoto City,
and thanks be to God, by the time my one month walk of disobedience
ended, Abenomics had begun, and the Japanese Yen fell 25% to my benefit.
God loves us despite our imperfections.
A
lonely journey it will be for I thought I must be amongst the few trying
to make an inroad into what is a well known spiritual hard ground, for
most Churches in Singapore has long put this place as a lesser
priority.
When we take the first step of faith, God will respond more than in tandem.
He
soon linked me with a stranger who a few months earlier has answered
the same call to go to Japan, and by His prescience, also in Kyushu
Island.
And with our Lord, coincidences don't come in pairs, but in multiples.
A friend told me that I should meet her pastor who is planning to be based in Japan,
And
lo and behold, this very pastor(who is now a key part of my work to
help the needy near Fukushima) was an ex colleague who I had not seen in
20 years, since he left the secular world.
And at that time, the '"part time" worldly Christian me actually derided his decision.
Our great God is putting the pieces in place.
God blesses
Eng Hieang
31 Oct 2015
Japan, what's next?
This
is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything
according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears
us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him.
1 John 5:14-15
Today, after a week of wrestling with our Lord, His Spirit enlightened me.
I
know God's will for me today. My prayer focus should be solely on
asking that His will be fulfilled. And in submitting to His will, He
will answer my prayers.
Quite a departure from asking in my will, which brings angst and anxiety.
Thanks be to God for giving me this discernment even as He leads me more fully into the Land of the Risen Son
