HOPE FAMILY NEWS AUG 09
Summer Bible Camp in Thailand 2009 
Hope Chiang Mai hosted a three day annual camp in northern Thailand, with two thousand people gathered together, from the 2nd to 4th of May, 2009. The topic of the camp was “The Great Commission” and everyone was privileged to receive teaching from Pastor Simon Eng, Pastor Prakich Treetasayuth and James Loke.
Participants came from as far away as Had-Yai and Trang in the south, Petchabun in the northeast, Mae Hong Song in the north and Nexus Church from Bangkok in the central region.
As well as solid lessons from the Word of God, the congregation enjoyed great times of praise and worship led by teams from the various churches in attendance. There was also an opening and closing ceremony, a sports competition between the churches, sightseeing excursions and a full program for the children.
The presence of God was evident throughout the camp and everyone was refreshed and enjoyed a great time of fellowship. By the end of the three days, all were inspired and emboldened to work together to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, make disciples of all peoples and plant churches everywhere.
Pastor Chuchart & Dr Siriporn Chaisombat
Hope Chiang Mai, Thailand
Hope Silicon Valley, USA : Transformers 2009
Greetings from Hope Silicon Valley! The Hope North American camp at Camp Berachah in Auburn, Washington state during July 2009 was a great time for us to meet brothers and sisters from the States and Canada. We were tremendously blessed by the pastors’ teachings and the dedication of Hope Seattle church who hosted the camp.
Pastor Ben Lee Interview Video
Kenny from Hope Singapore who was on a job posting here attended his first ever church camp testifying:
“… The camp allowed me to see the Hope churches in North America and greatly encouraged me to see the Hope America brother and sisters' commitment and passion for God… It broadens my perspective towards mission and also brought the great commission closer to my heart.”
Our care group in Silicon Valley is convinced that transformation comes when we allow God and His agenda to take the highest place in our lives. We believe as we continue planting the seeds in people that God is making it grow.
Sarah and MC CHong
www.hopeNA.org
Hope Santiago, Chile : My Santiago Story
Stretching 4,300 km long and only 170 km wide is the land of Chile. A land not only famous for its salmon, wine and rich copper exports but also its vast differences in climates from the dry desert in the north to the wet and lush lakes and glaciers in the south.
I must say that it's a marvelously beautiful country for the travel bug who wants Miami-styled beaches and yet desire skiing in the Alps-like slopes of the snow-capped Andes. Welcome to Santiago, CHILE !!”. Now, imagine that introduction by God and giving you the big welcome, would you say no?
Well, my personal invitation came about 8 months before I landed in Chile. Despite all the insights sharing from our returnee missionaries and endless preparation by reading online about the country, crossing 2 oceans in a 55cm wide seat was not what I was prepared for.
But it has been 8 months since we – Karen, Christine (my wife) and I landed. Our lives have never been the same again.
Since our landing in November 2008, we have witnessed countless providence from God. We have all managed to get teaching jobs almost immediately when we searched. We also have a company that had been set up by David and Pui See before we arrived so we can have our own language classes. Our temporary visas were approved without many glitches. We have a residence in a safe environment and convenient location with helpful neighbors. In fact, our lives are so blessed that almost all of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs were met by God’s infinite grace upon our lives.
This got me thinking about one important concept that has stereotyped our modern-day understanding of cross-cultural church planting;
“You have to make a big sacrifice when you enter the mission field.”
Before I came, I tried counting the cost of putting aside my advancing career in Singapore for 3-5 years, earning a near minimum wage in a foreign land, and living off an extremely-thrifty lifestyle. In the end, I just could not put a figure on the blank line. Now that I’m here experiencing the life first-hand, I have an even harder time calculating the ‘price of sacrifice’ because we didn’t think that we are sacrificing anything by coming to this land.
The perception of value in these cases is what determines the ‘price’. When Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross for us, He made His calculation based on a much grander macro view and that the value in what He did superseded all logical explanation of why He did what He did. After all, Paul encouraged us in Ephesians 4:22-24 to “…. Take on an entirely new way of life – a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.” (The Message Bible).
The perception of value to participate in cross cultural church planting starts from the inside out.
A small desire to make a change, take an action and harness the catalyst of change to react with every other plan you have creates an explosive potency to do great things for Him. He is, after all, our Supernatural God! So, just do it!
Shawn Liu
www.hopesouthamerica.org
Hope KL Family Camp
The theme of the entire gathering was “Stronger Together”. The objective was to bring the numerous Working Adults and Family groups together. Over the weekend from 6th to 7th of June, God blessed us with beautiful weather, a wonderful venue and most importantly, about 100 God-loving individuals who wanted to know His plan for the church and to break away from city routine while getting fresh air too!Upon arrival at the Country Heights Resort and settling in, the camp began with sharing from both Senior Pastor of Hope KL, Ps Simon Eng; and Executive Pastor of Hope KL, Ps Moses Wan. They shared about the plan of God on earth and their heart’s desires for our church. After that, it was a time for bonding with our respective groups. Over discussion and games, right up to the ‘Saturday Night Service’, it was wonderful to sense the Holy Spirit with all the messages shared interlinking and complementing each other through the sharing of the different leaders.
The next day was a time of outdoor games that required all participants to join in. Many smiles were exchanged and their teamwork skills were tested through building towers and being creative with cloth.
Overall, many enjoyed the slightly gentler pace of the entire camp, and some were even surprised with the absence of booklets. However, by faith, we believe that everyone who attended brought back a wonderful experience, that indeed, God is the One who is the centre to make us Stronger Together.
Pastor Moses Wan
Hope Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Hope Adelaide Multicultural Sunday
We celebrated our annual Multicultural Sunday in June 2009. The place was buzzing with people dressed in flamboyant colours to reflect the heart of multiculturalism in Hope Adelaide.
This year we had a bush dance, an African cultural dance, an Indonesian choir, our yearly Best Dressed contest and to top it all off, some delicious and 'authentic' local and international cruisine!
We had three rounds in the Best Dressed competition before we narrowed it down to select the winner, the runner-up and third prize.
In each round, each contestant was asked to come on stage to sing a song or perform a dance that would explain something about their culture. Each contestant was judged on their costume and performance. It was a lot of fun watching and we had lots of laughs! It was good to learn something new each year about the various cultures in our church.
Finally, Ps Brendan, dressed in a Pakistani costume, preached a message on missions and reaching out to other cultures which was significantly relevant for this event.
Our Multicultural Sunday ended on a high and we hope that it will continue to weave a beautiful tapestry of cultures and relationships that will last for all eternity. Amen!
Pastor Brendan & Pastor Helen Kirby
Hope Adelaide, Australia
Hope Hobart 4th Anniversary
In the first week of July, Hope Hobart celebrated its 4th anniversary. It was our privilege to have Pastor Wilson, together with Pastor Lai Ling, Daniel and Deborah join with us to celebrate the occasion as well as receiving their inspiring teaching during "A Mobilized Church" seminar.
Looking back over these four years, we have much to thank God for at taking us from those early times up until today: From initially meeting as just the core team of three in a living room, we have now grown to three life groups meeting in two locations during the week and combining together in a strategic location in the heart of the city for Sunday celebration worship with an attendance approaching thirty people.
The greatest blessings have been in the people the Lord has added to our number - some already believers who the Holy Spirit drew to join their hearts with ours in partnership for His work, and some whom we had the privilege to lead into relationship with Him for the first time. There have been times of real struggle as we came face to face with our own need to grow in both skills and character before we could see the fruit they had been hoping for - often this resulted in seasons of discouragement for the team, but praise God that He is always faithful and helped us through every single difficult time!
As we think about where we are now, and also where we are moving as a church to fulfill the vision God has entrusted us, the rhema word that came through the seminar teaching was particularly relevant and we are trusting God to see us mobilized as a body where every part is functioning effectively in its place.
In summary, over the last four years, we would like to praise God for:
* Growing us in number from three to around thirty
* Adding to the core team of leaders - from initial three to now six
* Growing from one seed life group to three established life groups
* Securing a strategic venue in the heart of the city
* Giving us favor to establish a campus ministry in University of Tasmania
* Graced to practise mission at our doorstep with people from different continents coming into our fellowship
* Seeing scores of people come to know the Lord in our midst, with many being baptized in water and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit as well
* Bringing us through all our times of struggle and discouragement to grow stronger in character and more fruitful in ministry
* Giving His burden to many people for His work here in Hobart, causing many to pray for us and minister to us during important times.
Hallelujah!! And God bless you all! Love from Hope Hobart
Shen Ye Kun
Hope Hobart, Tasmania
Hope Brisbane: New Generation ‘The Masquerade Party!’
New Generation has just held its signature event: ‘The Masquerade Party’ on the 25th of July at the Bardon Centre, situated in the foothills of Mt Coo-tha. Building upon the success of last year's Christmas Party, more than 110 friends joined us on this very special night.In keeping with the masquerade tradition, which dates back to the 17th Century, everyone was formally dressed and wore creative and glittering masks as to disguise themselves from one another.
The Masquerade Party Video
The highlight of the night was the drama performance by members of the New Generation. The show was very moving, illustrating that there is hope even in this present society where relationships are adversely affected by daily stresses and the current economic situation.
A two course buffet dinner was served straight after the show, and many could not wait to taste the great range of food and dessert!
The ten best dressed of the night were selected by our panel of judges and were invited to 'catwalk’ their costume and mask. Crowds cheered in support of their favourites and were held in suspense as they waited for the main prize winner to be revealed! An 8GB IPOD Nano was eventually awarded to the winner.
One exciting activity followed another; a traditional Cook Islands dance presentation drew the crowd’s attention. Justin, one of the hosts on the night, was so impressed with the dance; he even put on a cultural floral dress and got into the moves!
The night shifted to be more than just watching performances and just being spectators. Before the end of the night, everyone was invited for a bit of ballroom dancing! Two dance professionals led us first in a group jive and then straight away into the groovy Cha Cha Cha! One… Two... Cha Cha Cha… One… Two... Cha Cha Cha!
We all had a fantastic time not just dressing up with our best costumes, but also meeting new friends, enjoying the buffet dinner, the drama, the Cook Islander’s cultural dance and lastly getting active with the ballroom dancing!
New Generation group organises many activities and functions throughout the year with the aim of bringing working adults together to build and share our lives together. Everyone is welcome to be part of this group and to attend to any of the activities. (Written by Simon Ao)
Chen Chee & Joan Foo
Hope Brisbane: New Generation
