MANDARIN SERVICE 朱凤娟
Eight years ago, I was called by the Lord to leave my secular job to serve the people in Tanjung Balai. I thank God for His faithfulness in all ways to me, my loved ones and the Balai people.
The first year in Tanjung Balai wasn’t easy because of the living conditions then. I had culture shock and difficulty adjusting to the pace of life there. Moreover, it is indeed difficult to love somebody you least want to. But by God’s grace, it is possible when you walk with Him and feel His heartbeat. Over the years, I witnessed His provision for every outreach and His grace for every need. The Lord touched those around me and confirmed that I was on the right path and not alone.
To-date, we have the weekly Hokkien worship service with an attendance of approximately 60 adults, Bahasa Indonesian Sunday School of 30 children and Bahasa cum English Bible Sharing of 10 youths.
We rented two two-storey shophouses for our service. In September 2017, the church also bought a piece of land (832 sq m) and is now waiting for approval from the Indonesian authorities to begin constructing the church building.
On weekdays, we conduct English tuition classes and have about 50 students in our Education Center. Some of the students attend our Sunday School. The aim of the Center is to help the needy with their English. We also conduct English Camp during school holidays to stimulate their interest in English.
The Five Loaves Two Bread Sewing Ministry was established in June 2015 to help the Balai ladies to learn a skill and earn an income. Apart from this, we hope to see growth in their Christian walk with God. The ladies have already sewn over 18,000 pieces of sewing products.
Moving forward, we hope to kick-start a Balai mission team to go into the rural areas of the Riau islands to reach out to the unsaved, particularly the Chinese families who are fishermen living along the coastal areas. We also hope that God-chosen leaders will be able to take on the role of pastoring the church in future.
八年前，我回应上帝的呼召，离开我的职场工作，到丹戎巴莱去服事。上帝的信实带领我一切所行的，我所爱的人，和巴莱的朋友，都使我对上帝充满感恩。
我们租了一栋二层楼高的商店作为聚会地点。2017年9九月，教会也买了一块832方尺的地，现在正等待印尼官方的批准后就开始建造新的教会建筑。
到目前为此，我们每周的福建崇拜聚会固定出席的有大概60位成人，以印尼语为主的儿童主日学有30位儿童，印尼语和英语的圣经分享有10位年青人。
第一年在丹戎巴莱的服事并非容易因为当时居住环境欠佳。我很难适应当地的生活节奏和文化冲击。尤其是要爱那些你不想爱的人真得十分困难。但靠着上帝的恩典，当你与主同行，感受祂的心跳，就能够做到。
在周间，我们有开办了英语补习班，补习中心有50位学生。这些学生也来参加我们星期天的主日学。补习中心的目的就是要帮助那些贫困的孩子学习英文。在他们的学校假期时，我们也会办英文营会，激发学生对这科目更感兴趣。
五饼二鱼缝纫事工建立于2015年6月，为要帮助巴莱的妇女学习一技能，赚取收入。除此之外，我们希望帮助她们能够在她们基督的信仰上有所成长。
展望未来，我们希望能够开始一个巴莱的宣教队伍，能够去到廖内群岛偏远的地方向未得求的群体传福音，尤其是居住在海岸一代的华人渔夫和他们的家庭。
This article first appeared in Issue 20, December 2019 CHORUS Magazine.