This Mission has brought God’s presence intimately close, not just to me, but to the people He wanted us to share His presence with
If I had to title what this mission was for me, it wld be “Adventures Riding with God on His Train of Surprises”.
At the start of Mission brainstorm in June 2021, I thought it would be an easy mission for me - just have to send out a few texts for private donations. A mission of ideas to raise funds right ? But I don’t cook or bake or make anything that anyone might want to buy, so I figured I could take a back seat. I often work 14-hour days at work. Backseat is my preferred spot for the Mission.
But then there was a tea party BEFORE this – a de-centralised covid-era Easter Party with old school friends, where I had a light bulb moment when Geraldine, who barely knew me, put in so much heart to lug a basketful of vases and décor to decorate my tea table for the occasion. Geraldine’s efforts so struck me, I texted Theresa the next day, 14 May 2021, to tell her I am glad she reconnected me to Geraldine. It was Theresa who had invited Geraldine along to my Easter Tea Party.
Little did I know that that light bulb moment was God already inviting me on this Mission, His way! He had wonderful plans to share and I would have to give up the back seat if I wanted to see them...
6 weeks later, on 25 June, Geraldine was sharing her Purple Candle story with me at a café where we met for me to return her vases. And I was floored by it. So beautiful a story that was so spot on about Stewardship & Solidarity ? Geraldine offered me the story to use for ACTS fundraising. That light bulb, still in my head, could not be ignored. How could I walk away and not consider championing it, even if I had no idea how to publish a book ? Nick & I decided yes, we would take a leap of faith and champion the CandleBook Project. And that was when God gleefully started our train and we took off on our ride with Him.
6 July early morning, PengBeng sent a text requesting singers for the song Go Light Your World, for his architects’ guild event. I was out for a jog, and plugged the unfamiliar song in to listen. I stopped mid-jog, awestruck. The light bulb pulsated. The CandleSong has found me – the connection to Geraldine's CandleBook story was so uncanny I had to send the song to Geraldine there and then, mid-jog right by Ulu Pandan canal at 9am. Geraldine told me in her responding text that the song brought her to tears – she had kept her candle story for more than a decade in a bottom drawer, it is time she took it out to share its light, she said. That was the point I knew that ACTS Battambang Mission 2021 now has a Theme Song, and right by Ulu Pandan Canal, I knew there was no back seat for me now. In the course of the Mission, several people would let me know how the CandleSong moved them. Not 1, but 5 people would tell me that. I did not choose the CandleSong. God chose it and sent the song to find a champion.
God’s Train was running fast now. A few phone calls and the Purple CandleBook Project had an editor, a graphic designer, an admin team made up of those old school friends from that Easter Tea Party. A few texts out and 4 Khmer soloists plus an interpreter came on board the CandleSong Project. I marvelled at the ease – and was moved by it. Some nights I was near tears, listening to the song to imagine what music we would put to it, and marvelling over and over again how its words spoke of what we are doing with the Mission. I marvelled at how God found us a way to share the Mission’s purpose and to connect people so very eloquently, at this Covid times, with this song. I was also very moved to recognise God’s hand pulling in for me the people we needed – because I fretted how to find time to find people. I remember the slight despair I felt because I really had no idea where I was going to find Khmer singers when Cambodian schools and boarding houses were closed at the time due to Covid, but I knew the song had to be sung by both Cambodia and Singapore – I was very sure we had to make that happen. And then Khmer singers were dropping in, even before I identified Spore solos. I think God took great delight in my speechless amazement, like the delighted parent watching his kid open His surprise gift for her on Christmas morning. God’s train next picked up 5 Spore soloists, the additional instrumentalists, enough singers from mission participants. My ViaCrucis SATB anchors and some of their grownup children all said yes to come on board, as they always do (love them to bits) to anchor the song.
Right at home, we had my Nick as our very own sound engineer and our in-house video editor Michael. It almost felt like we were seasoned pros at book publishing and making music videos across countries, except I knew we were not. I knew there is a master planner, because so readily did so many people, mostly strangers to each other, jump on board the Train, so smoothly things fell into place, the people, the video clips, from Cambodia and from Singapore they came. AND we sold out all 500 PurpleCandle Books the DAY AFTER the 18 Dec Mission Close !! We set up a booth in Holy Cross Church in collaboration with SSVP on 19 Dec, a result of a casual chat between Nick and Ben whom he happened to serve mass checkin with – Ben needed funds for SSVP Christmas plans and Nick had books seeking a cause. If you thought that is amazing, you can just about imagine my utter disbelief … I had been thinking we would have to store book inventory because at the close of ACTS fundraising in end October, we had 200 books left!
Lastly, I must mention that this website too was unplanned. An accidental idea that became necessary due to mid-mission difficulties with publicity. Suddenly Nick found himself learning how to build a website because we needed a place to put information and to tell the Mission’s story because we could not meet up easily. And then we had to fight to keep it. And we did, thanks to a supportive ACTS committee at several levels and their faith in where Nick and I were driving. The magic of the website : it helped Matthew launch his Grow Your Own Food Project for the Singapore side, which saw such enthusiastic participants it truly astounded me because I had the least interest in it, until I saw God’s magic watching seeds grow into salad through that Project, like the joyful GYOF participants did too. Having this website also enabled the Mission to share its thoughts and its purpose with as wide an audience as would come in to read about why ACTS does missions. It gave a voice to a covid-era Mission’s message when physical audience was not readily possible. And today, as I am persuaded by Melvin to share my experiences in this Mission, I marvel at how the website makes this possible, how God slipped the website into our Mission for all these reasons, when we did not start out thinking we needed one.
Many more things are going on as a result of this Mission but it is too long a story to tell here. For me, this Mission has brought God’s presence intimately close, not just to me, but to the people He wanted us to share His presence with. I hope if they are reading this, that they may recognise, from all the “magic coincidences”, how much our God yearns to reach them, how He knows them by name and has been watching and waiting for them to sense His presence. For all who were there, a part of some of these occasions, we are but instruments in this great design, seeking as best we know how, to go where He wants to take us. Despite some hairy moments, I am truly glad, looking back, that I was moved from the backseat to a seat with full view of His awesome faithfulness ! It has been humbling and so amazing to watch, I would not have wanted to miss any moment of it !