HIM FAMILY NEWS

Christmas in Hope Chile, Santiago!

Greetings from Hope Chile, Santiago! This year, Christmas in Hope Chile brought a whole new meaning to the word ‘Home’. It all started on 29 November when Hope Chile moved into our new home. Over the past three years, Christine and I have been renting a house for accommodation and church meetings. This year, God opened the door for us to purchase our own house, our first home in Santiago, Chile. This not only meant we did not have to pay a hefty rent every month which is the bulk of our financial burden, but it will also be Hope Chile’s first permanent home after nine years.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we did a two-part series on “Coming Home to Christmas”. On the Friday night before Christmas Eve, we had a warm and cozy barbeque with our two members and four visitors. It was truly a ‘homely’ experience. Everyone felt at home and everyone received presents and a bonus Christmas fridge magnet reminding them of the new address of the church and our meeting times. The next day on Christmas Eve, we even had a birthday cake and sang a birthday song for Jesus. Being home this Christmas for Hope Chile brought a beautiful and memorable start to our church-planting work here

for 2012. So if you are interested in living out a challenging and exciting great commission lifestyle with God through partnering with us, please talk to your leaders. Iglesia Esperanza Chile will cordially welcome you into our home.

Grandito abrazos (big hugs) from Shawn and Christine Liu, Hope Chile 2011. A Happy New Year shout out to our Hope Singapore and Hope Brisbane brothers and sisters!

Written by Shawn & Christine Liu

Hope Leeds Christmas Eve Celebration

Hope Leeds celebrated the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve. Although the event took place during the cold winter, our hearts were warm as we sang carols with joy, after which we watched “The Nativity Story”.

The film helped us appreciate Jesus and God who sent Him as the best gift ever to the world. After the service, the church members and visitors were invited to join a banquet. Then came the very special programme that most had been eagerly anticipating: Hope Leeds's Got Talent. We unearthed many new talents including a young boy whose singing stole the hearts of everyone present.

Written by Pastor Prakich

Hope Taipei Christmas - Reaching the community

This year, Hope Taipei celebrated Christmas differently from the previous years. We did not have a Christmas event at the church. Instead, we went outside the four walls of the church and into the community, in order to become a blessing to the community we live in.

The entire church joined in the Salt and Light project to bless the community. In October, we surveyed and found a Christian orphanage accommodating children aged 3-18. We set a target of $NT150, 000 in donations, of which $NT100, 000 was for their education fund, and $NT50, 000 for computer equipment. By the time we completed the pledge, the church collected $NT186, 200 – praise God! Even the family and friends of our members contributed to this Salt and Light Project.

Every care groups had their own activities. On Christmas Eve, the family groups visited other families, including new believers, seekers and nonbelievers. At the end of the visits, the family group gathered for a big fellowship dinner.

The Professionals groups had an activity in a ministry house, and invited their colleagues and friends to celebrate Christmas together. The activity included games, Christmas carols, a short film and message, so everyone had the opportunity to hear and understand the Gospel.

On Sunday, 25 December, we had our Christmas Service, where seekers and nonbelievers also attended. Praise God for one man who accepted Christ. After the service, we held our fellowship lunch in the church. On Sunday, 31 December, was the last Service of 2011. That night, we gathered for a combined half-night prayer and service. During the four-and-a-half hour gathering, we worshiped and prayed to the Lord wholeheartedly. I also shared a message to encourage the entire church that in the coming year, Hope Taipei will build a new church culture according to God’s will. This new culture requires discipline, and the church has the responsibility to make sure every member will obey the truth, live Christ-centered lives, build lives based on the foundation of truth, and allow this God-centered culture to shine forth from the church.

Written by Jessica Jen

HIM Hatyai, Thailand - Miracle of Christmas

Hatyai City Church organized "Miracle of Christmas" on 25 December 2011. It is a special event because 25 December is on Sunday. We had a great time of joy and celebration and the atmosphere was exciting. Thank God for sending the Chief Executive of the SAO (Sub-District Administrative Organisation) and Deputy Chief Executive of the SAO who came to be the chairperson to our party. We had 40 people accept Christ at the Christmas party. Pastor Thammarak and Pastor Chaiyapluck prayed for blessings for Chief Executive of the SAO and Deputy Chief Executive of the SAO and team. There were about 300 people at the Christmas party and more than a hundred children joined the fun activities.

HIM Pattani, Thailand - Miracle Christmas Party

I also was invited to give an evangelistic message at the Pattani Miracle Christmas party. The churches in Pattani distributed Christmas gifts to visitors and new believers. One man who just accepted Jesus received a tremendous blessing. He prayed to God for a bicycle and he won the first prize lucky draw at the party – a bicycle. There were seven churches (including Catholic) joined the Miracle Christmas and around 600-700 people. The Provincial Governor was invited to be the chairperson. God blesses all the churches through this Christmas event.

Praise God for a miracle Christmas and May God bless you in the year 2012.

Written by Pastor Tammarak

Hope Kuching Christmas Celebration

This year, Hope Kuching celebrated Christmas with a Sunday service themed “The Promise”. It kicked off with joyous carols as the congregation sang together with the choir, followed by a music video presentation of the nativity story from Mary’s point of view. Pastor Denis then preached the key message of the day – that God’s promise is Emmanuel – God with us. God’s promise is designed to save us from our sins, was delivered through the miraculous birth of Jesus and requires us to make the decision every single day to receive it into our lives. It was a tender moment as the congregation responded to Ps Denis’ exhortation to come back to the Father and embrace the promise of Emmanuel.

The Praise Kids Club (PKC) also had their Christmas celebration with a ‘Wild Wild West’ party the Sunday before. That day, the hall was transformed into a Western range, with all the children and teachers dressing up as cowboys and Red Indians. The children had fun brandishing their toy guns, shooting targets, throwing hoops and gun duelling at the various game stations.

There was delight in the air as the children sang carols and listened to the teaching by the entertaining yet wise ‘Sheriff Ps Denis’. The excitement increased during the fashion show where the children had the opportunity to strut their stuff and pose in their getup to win prizes. Indeed, the party will be a major highlight for all the children and teachers alike. Praise the Lord indeed!

Hands of Hope - Christmas 4 Kids

Christmas 4 Kids is the signature event of Hands of Hope, the community arm of Hope Church Brisbane. Christmas 4 Kids is the biggest community Christmas event for children in the southwestern suburbs of Brisbane. It has been running in this area since 2003 and enjoys a strong reputation as a safe, fun and wholesome event for children. This year, 450 children attended the event.

Over the years, we have been able to touch hundreds of families from disadvantaged backgrounds with the joy of Christmas. We have also watched some of the children grow up over the years. It has brought us much joy to be able to keep in touch with the same families and reach new ones with God’s love.

A fresh start after the Brisbane floods

The floods that swept across parts of Queensland also swept away all the wonderful resources and materials we have been using for Christmas 4 Kids, including a few thousand dollars worth of presents we had kept hoping to use for this year’s event! Praise God we managed to claim some funds back through insurance!

The floods may have (literally) dampened everything we had; it did not dampen the spirit of the church or the C4K organizing committee. The committee was even more determined to run an event that was better and more dynamic than ever! Thanks to the generosity of Hope Church and sponsors such as the Brisbane City Council, we were able to make this event happen again.

We had more than enough volunteers (almost 300) from Hope Church Brisbane and Ipswich to bring this event alive once again this year! Our volunteers have an excellent reputation amongst the community members – and the kids really love them!

We also enjoy the support of several politicians including the Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk, Councillor Milton Dick, Councillor Angela Owen-Taylor, and Bernie Ripoll this year. We are always thankful for their support.

Local service agencies excited to partner with us

This year we had seven service agencies join us to run activities for the children and to promote their services to the community members. They were all blessed by the dedication and energy of the volunteers and the excellent program for the kids that we offer at the event. A few service agencies have been involved at Christmas 4 Kids for a number of years. For four of the agencies, it was their first time, and they have told us they would like to keep coming back!

Link to Unidus

This year, with the help of members of the Family group of Hope Church, we conducted a survey amongst the parents at Christmas 4 Kids. We found out that many families would like more support with child minding, programs for the children after school and during holidays. Parents also informed us that financial issues, concerns about drugs, alcohol and crime were what parents were most worried about. Parents also told us that there is a lack of safe spaces and programs for children and young people in the area.

When we told the families about our Unidus Community Centre, they told us they were interested and looking forward to attending programs and activities there in the future!

We praise God for the opportunities to continue to build relationship with families and service agencies in this local area. We believe God will do great things when Hope Church into Unidus Community Centre in the future!