HIM FAMILY NEWS
Hope Singapore : A Miracle Baby 
Our God is an amazing God! We stand here today, to testify of God's faithfulness in our lives.
When we were married in March 1997, we decided to take a year or two to establish our marriage before we have children. As each year came and went, we were no where closer to growing our family. The desire for children of our own set us on this faith journey to trust God and to hang onto His word. We did all that was possible, took care of our health, went away on holidays at the “right” time of the month, sought medical treatment from fertility specialists and yet nothing happened.
Meanwhile, we tried to remain hopeful and kept busy with life and ministry to distract us from the longing in our hearts. We also learned to manage the never ending questions from friends and family :)
Many encouraged and prayed for us, and continued to believe with us in God's word. In February 2008, we discovered that Pat was pregnant! The two lines on a pregnancy test kit gave us a mountain top faith moment. We were so excited ...finally ....
However, within a month, the mountain top moment settled into an all time low. We wrestled with God, all the “why”s thrown at God, when the foetus had no heart beat, and we knew it was not a viable foetus, and Pat went through a dilation and curettage.
So once again, we kept busy and moved on with life. In early November, Pat was feeling really tired and beside her normal self. I pestered her to buy a pregnancy test kit, but she was reluctant ...she didn't want to be disappointed once again...It was a Monday, when we discovered that we were pregnant and called for an appointment to see our gynae on Saturday.
Meanwhile, we were still in disbelief, and Pat also had some bleeding the whole week. We contained our excitement this time, probably to guard our hearts and not to be disappointed again. On Saturday, our gynae gave us the news that she could see the heart beat on the scan! Each visit to the gynae was so exciting, as we monitored the growth in baby, from just a flicker on the screen to moving hands and legs.
We thank God for his protection upon Pat and baby, Pat was healthy and radiant throughout!
Baby Jonathan En-Hao Ong was born on 9th July, 2009 after a long labour via Caeserian section, and I was with Pat throughout the whole time, and it will definitely be an experience that we will never forget. 
The moment we laid eyes on baby, all covered in vermix, just assured us of our God that is faithful! This is Jonathan ....we chose the name Jonathan as his name means “ The Lord gave”, and we know he is indeed a gift from God.
Friends, this gift is our miracle, and we are thankful for many who have encouraged and believed with us, and indeed we clung onto the promises in the bible to gave us the strength and courage.
Pastor Lawrence & Pat Ong
Hope Church, Singapore
Hope Taipei: Ps Simon Eng & Lai Eng visitation
It was such a blessing to have the President of Hope International Ministries (HIM), Pastor Simon Eng and his wife, Lai Eng, visit Hope Taipei in October 20-23. Pastor Simon and Lai Eng shared the love of God with us in various ways during their short stay in Taipei.
Even though they arrived in the late evening on October 20, they were willing to put aside their tiredness and spend their time fellowshiping with a small group of brothers and sisters from the professionals group. During their short journey in Taipei, we truly and fully utilized both of the leaders. They hosted two sessions of sharing and teaching with the whole church and the leadership team in addition to several fellowship gatherings with various groups of brothers and sisters.
We had a combined Care Group meeting in the evening of October 21. Most of our members made the effort to attend this special gathering. Pastor Simon shared with the congregation a passage from Exodus 3:1-10, which is about God’s calling for Moses.
Pastor Simon titled this passage as “How to Have a Fresh Ministry” to renew our mind of service. Through studying the calling of Moses, Pastor Simon challenged us to have “fresh encounter, fresh miracles, and fresh beginning” in our walk with God and service in the Kingdom of God. The brothers and sisters were greatly inspired and motivated by Pastor’s sharing and encouragement. Many responded to the altar call with great zeal and enthusiasm. Members were touched by Pastor Simon and Sister Lai Eng’s humility, loving care, Bible knowledge, love for God’s people and their commitment to the Great Commission.
Pastor Simon and his wife continued to have a busy schedule on their third day in Taipei. They spent some time with a group of young doctors at different time slots.
Pastor Simon encouraged them to cast their eyes on the eternal while life planning and to make the most out of their life for the Kingdom of God. These brothers received great challenges as well as eye-opening perspectives toward the developments of their personal life and walk with God.
In spite of their early flight in the next morning, the couple spent the last night in Taipei to fellowship and share their hearts in a session with the DMM team. Pastor Simon shared from 1 Samuel 17 about David’s life. He boldly and powerfully challenged all of the leaders to learn about our responsibility and fully utilize our gifting for God, to have the heart of concern like Jesus Christ, to experience God and see success through Him, and to grow in faith continually.
Pastor Simon not only demonstrated his Bible knowledge but also imparted the spirit of pastoral care to the leadership team.
All leaders are well mobilized in serving the Lord and the flock He entrusted in our care. Pastor Simon strongly encouraged and challenged all the leaders of Hope Taipei to care for the flock in body, soul and spirit; holistically.
Their visit was truly a great blessing to all of us in Hope Taipei. May the Lord bless them abundantly and continue to use them mightily wherever they serve Him.
Pastor Jessica Jen
Hope Taipei, Taiwan
Hope Toyko: Pastor Simon & Lai Eng visitation 
It was our privilege to welcome Ps. Simon, Lai Eng, Pastor Kwong Lie and Swee Min for the first time in Japan on October 23-26. Pastor Simon shared with us about Core Values. It was a time of enlightenment for us. It made our people realise the importance of being a Bible-based people and church. Also, it was a great time of fellowship, with our people getting up close and personal to our dear pastors and leaders. 
Ps. Kwong Lie shared with us his experiences in overseas mission fields as he successfully planted churches in Malaysia, Indonesia and India. His response in simple faith to God’s calling left us very inspired that we too, can also be used greatly for God. We believe that the principles he taught from his life can be also applied in Japan. During their visit, God has imparted a spirit of faith and hope in our people to see that it is possible to win Japan for Christ.
We will no longer think Japan as a hard ground, but see that there is great hope in Christ and that the Japanese people need the Lord. We want to be the true hope for Japan and to continue to fulfil the Great Commission.
Chew & Masami
Hope Tokyo and Hope Kawasaki,
Haytai City Church: HIM Southern Thailand 
On October 23-24, 2009, Hatyai City Church held a Bible Conference. The invited speakers were Dr. Brendan Kirby (Senior Pastor of Hope Adelaide) and Ps. Stephen Pitavanik (Senior Pastor of Hope Perth).
The theme of the Bible Conference was called “The Core”, revisiting the core values of our churches.
Hat Yai is the largest city in Southern Thailand with a population of around 800,000. It is a tourist city full of international cuisines and hundreds of hotels. The streets are always crowded with people, especially with Malaysian and Singaporean tourists, who always fill up the city daily for their shopping and entertainment. Ps. Chaipruek or 'Ao', who is the senior pastor of Hatyai City Church (former Hope Hatyai), decided to join HIM early this year. He conducted this Church Conference and invited another three churches (including “The Truth of Trung” and “The Truth of Nayong) from a nearby province, Trung.
We had around a hundred people in total. The conference included a local dance which was lovely, as well as a friendly dinner with a 'Somtum' Cooking Competion; of course, it was fun as well as yummy!
There was a very good response from the people during the altar calls. Many people were healed from their sicknesses and the power of God was there. However, the most important thing was “the Core Value” from the Bible has been laid as a great foundation in our churches in HIM in southern Thailand.
Everyone is looking forward to another conference and they would like to have more overseas HIM speakers to come and bless them again and again. On a side note, this church was the place where Ps. Stephen and his family spent at least five, six years building up the congregation since 1991 before he left Thailand.
Pastor Ao & Patcharee
Haytai City Church
Hope Penang 14th Anniversary
Hope Penang enjoyed an incredibly successful 14th Anniversary Celebration on September 6, 2009 with this year’s theme “I Love This Family”. Along with hosting approximately 120 guests, we had the privilege of having Pastor Simon and his wife Lai Eng to grace the occasion. The anniversary was held alongside the Northern Bible Conference which started on September 4, which was themed “The Core: Part One”.
[View Photos Website]
The idea of this year’s anniversary was to remind the church again of its significance in Penang and the value of one another in this body of Christ. Moving towards the second half of the year, the Lord had put the burden in the heart of the leadership team of Hope Penang to build a strong family spirit among the people. Hence the theme of the anniversary arose from that heart burden.
The celebration which took place at Citadel Penang began with an energetic and vibrant opening dance by the student unit. The atmosphere of joy, thanksgiving and praise filled the air, especially during the praise and worship session conducted by the worship team. Many were touched by the presence of God and were reminded of His faithfulness upon the church over the years. It was followed by a song presentation by the choir from the worship team.
Pastor Simon to deliver an inspiring message entitled “The Power of One” taken from James 5:13-20. The message inspired many to do more for God. The church has been greatly challenged to make a difference together as a team and as a church.
The wine pouring, cake cutting ceremony and a song presentation by the Pastoral team marked the end of a memorable day before everyone proceeded for the buffet lunch. The contribution of the entire church made the day so memorable and unique in its own way.
Zech and Phoebe Hiew
Hope Penang, Malaysia
Hope Perth’s 16th Anniversary
September 27, 2009, marks a memorable time for Hope Perth Christian Church as it heads into its 16th year. Founded in 1994, the church has been overseen by Pastor Stephen and Hannah Pitvanik since 2004. We had the privilege of celebrating our 16th birthday with over 200 people! The atmosphere was filled with joy, friendliness and warmth as we shared the day with our members from Hope Busselton, Hope Dandaragan and Hope Katanning; our beloved friends and family!
Hope Perth’s vision and passion is to connect to people of all cultures, ages and groups across the community. As a growing community church, Hope Perth Christian Church is stepping up in faith and growing in numbers as we build on from last year’s theme of “Empowerment”. This year, our theme is “Flying High” which symbolises our journey as the church continues to “fly high” in all ministries to glorify the name of Jesus. We live our lives led by the Holy Spirit who strengthens and enable us to “fly” over our problems and be overcomers, as the Bible stated in
Isaiah 40:31…but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint…
Pastor Nigel Wittwer, our guest speaker from Hope Busselton, shared his message along the same lines and encouraged everyone to lead a meaningful life with God’s wisdom. “God created us to be His special treasures,” Pastor Nigel said. “Therefore, we should fly like an eagle and glorify Him by our life.”
Our dance team exemplified the notion of an “overcomer” further by telling a story about a young man who experienced God’s love after he was tempted by evil spirit. Their compelling and sensational performance reminds us about how we can envelope ourselves in God’s love to bring us through our own valleys! The journey of faith often has tests and trials but each time we find God's answers and make the right choices, we are strengthened and are able to fly higher in our faith and enter into a time of refreshments and blessings. [View Photos Website]
At the end, we gave a surprise to our dear Pastor Stephen to celebrate his belated birthday. We wished him good health and great anointing from the Lord. We all prayed for the church and our leader with love and joy!
Pastor Stephen and Hannah
Hope Church, Perth
