HIM FAMILY NEWS
North America Leaders Retreat
On the weekend of March 8th-10th, leaders from our North American churches as well as pastors Ben & Dinah, Dr. Wilson & Lai Ling were gathering for a pastor retreat in Redding, California. Spiritual refreshing, prayer for one another, sharing, fellowship and church updates were on the menu. Speaking of menu, some of us were not accustomed to the X-large american meal portions!
Friday was a time of fellowship, time together, church updates and for some of us, getting over jet-lag! On Saturday, we got updates on our global movement. Dr Wilson presented a prophecy that H.I.M. received in October 2010. This prophecy was both encouraging and challenging. We felt that God is in control since the beginning and has a plan for all of our churches and members.
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On Saturday, Lai Ling prophesied over us and we discussed our upcoming summer camp. On Sunday, we got the opportunity to visit Bethel Church and their ministries to learn from them and found out which aspect we can reproduce and be beneficial for our movement here in North America. We ended by scheduling our next leaders retreat for next year.
Everybody agreed that this weekend was a blessing and a success. We were touched by the presence of the Lord and encouraged in our faith by the love we have for one another despite thousands of miles separating us. In God, we can feel close even though we are located across the continent of North America. Amen."
Eric Hebert, Montreal
Hope Quito Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday
Hope Quito celebrated Palm Sunday with Holy Communion, testimony and a special food called Fanesca. Fanesca is a typical Ecuador soup made of grains and fish. It is usually eaten during Easter. Our church member, Claudia prepared the Fanesca for us and it was very delicious!
During the Palm Sunday service, I challenged our people to do something for the community during Easter Sunday. I shared to them from the Bible that people were praising and welcoming Jesus on Palm Sunday but within one week, they were crucifying Him. How fickle-minded people can be! The typical way to celebrate Easter is to go to church but I encouraged the people to do something different during this Easter and go to serve the poor.
At the end of the service, we served food to the families and gave them Easter goodies bag. It was a meaningful time for all of us as we learnt to serve others because Christ first loved us and died for us.
Written by Timothy Ho
On the weekend of March 8th-10th, leaders from our North American churches as well as pastors Ben & Dinah, Dr. Wilson & Lai Ling were gathering for a pastor retreat in Redding, California. Spiritual refreshing, prayer for one another, sharing, fellowship and church updates were on the menu. Speaking of menu, some of us were not accustomed to the X-large american meal portions!
Friday was a time of fellowship, time together, church updates and for some of us, getting over jet-lag! On Saturday, we got updates on our global movement. Dr Wilson presented a prophecy that H.I.M. received in October 2010. This prophecy was both encouraging and challenging. We felt that God is in control since the beginning and has a plan for all of our churches and members.
.jpg)
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On Saturday, Lai Ling prophesied over us and we discussed our upcoming summer camp. On Sunday, we got the opportunity to visit Bethel Church and their ministries to learn from them and found out which aspect we can reproduce and be beneficial for our movement here in North America. We ended by scheduling our next leaders retreat for next year.
Everybody agreed that this weekend was a blessing and a success. We were touched by the presence of the Lord and encouraged in our faith by the love we have for one another despite thousands of miles separating us. In God, we can feel close even though we are located across the continent of North America. Amen."
Eric Hebert, Montreal
Hope Quito Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday
Hope Quito celebrated Palm Sunday with Holy Communion, testimony and a special food called Fanesca. Fanesca is a typical Ecuador soup made of grains and fish. It is usually eaten during Easter. Our church member, Claudia prepared the Fanesca for us and it was very delicious!
On the following Sunday during Easter, we went to Pan de Vida (Bread of Life) to cook for the needy families and street kids. We saw some new friends joining us too. I preached on the resurrection of Jesus to the adults while the Hope Kids teachers taught the children on the forgiveness of Jesus on the cross for us.
HIM Kuching - PASSION YOUTH CAMP
The Hope Kuching Youth Camp was held from 31 Aug – 2 Sept 2012 at Kem Puncak Permai which is a national service camp situated about 20 km outside of Kuching. The theme for this camp was Passion. This year, we had 103 campers consisting of tertiary and high school students from around 20 different schools and campuses. The speakers were Jason Lim, Florence Lim and Nicola Song.
One of the greatest objectives was to bring young people to encounter God and to understand the love of God at a deeper level. The teachings were focused on three main themes, which is passion for God, passion for people and passion for the Great Commission. It is our desire to see a chosen generation of young people who are called out of darkness into His wonderful light to declare His praises and totally unashamed of His love. Even before the camp started, the leadership team, the committee and even parents fervently prayed for the young people to really encounter God and to have a holy fire ignited in them.
Indeed God is good! During the camp, especially during the two nights of ministering, there was a strong move of the Spirit among the people. The theme for the first night is Passion for God. Many responded to altar call for healing on the first night and were touched by the Spirit. On the second night, the theme was Passion for the Great Commission of which we saw many hearts receiving the burden for their schools and campuses.
We also had fun and games during the camp. A total of eight teams competed against each other to win the top spot in the games. There was even a game of Running Man at midnight on the second night of the camp. There was also an afternoon of practical workshops that was focused on effective follow-ups/shepherding and creatingvibrant life groups.
After the camp, the move of the Holy Spirit amongst the young people did not stop. We begin to see a greater momentum in outreach. We hear of ideas and initiatives from the high school students to plant a group in schools or to synergise with the Christian fellowships in schools to reach the lost. God had ignited that passion in many hearts for His Kingdom, for the lost and for His people. This quarter, we recorded an unexpected number of salvations. We thank God for the deeper work that He has done in the hearts of the young people.
Last but not least, history was made on the last day of the camp, when the youth ministry was finally commissioned as Ablaze after four years of search for the right name. He has set our hearts on fire and we want to set our schools, campuses and our city ablaze with the love of Christ! Do keep Ablaze Kuching in prayer.
Written by Nicola Song
One of the greatest objectives was to bring young people to encounter God and to understand the love of God at a deeper level. The teachings were focused on three main themes, which is passion for God, passion for people and passion for the Great Commission. It is our desire to see a chosen generation of young people who are called out of darkness into His wonderful light to declare His praises and totally unashamed of His love. Even before the camp started, the leadership team, the committee and even parents fervently prayed for the young people to really encounter God and to have a holy fire ignited in them.
Indeed God is good! During the camp, especially during the two nights of ministering, there was a strong move of the Spirit among the people. The theme for the first night is Passion for God. Many responded to altar call for healing on the first night and were touched by the Spirit. On the second night, the theme was Passion for the Great Commission of which we saw many hearts receiving the burden for their schools and campuses.
We also had fun and games during the camp. A total of eight teams competed against each other to win the top spot in the games. There was even a game of Running Man at midnight on the second night of the camp. There was also an afternoon of practical workshops that was focused on effective follow-ups/shepherding and creatingvibrant life groups.
After the camp, the move of the Holy Spirit amongst the young people did not stop. We begin to see a greater momentum in outreach. We hear of ideas and initiatives from the high school students to plant a group in schools or to synergise with the Christian fellowships in schools to reach the lost. God had ignited that passion in many hearts for His Kingdom, for the lost and for His people. This quarter, we recorded an unexpected number of salvations. We thank God for the deeper work that He has done in the hearts of the young people.
Last but not least, history was made on the last day of the camp, when the youth ministry was finally commissioned as Ablaze after four years of search for the right name. He has set our hearts on fire and we want to set our schools, campuses and our city ablaze with the love of Christ! Do keep Ablaze Kuching in prayer.
Written by Nicola Song
