Dear ministry partner

We trust that you’ve been keeping well in the Lord. Our life has been moving along at a steady pace; by the first week of July, if all goes smoothly, Candy would have delivered our baby girl and I’ll have become a dad!

As such we are most thankful for Candy’s pregnancy experience. Every visit to the gynecologist we’ve had only good, uneventful reports, plus a mounting excitement as we watch our little girl growing larger. In just few weeks her arrival will mark a new season in our lives.

Before that happy day, we thought we should send this letter to you. The next one would probably be after the baby is born!

On God's Mission

Lately I’ve been challenged with this truth that all of life is to be on mission -- not only when we fly overseas for a ministry trip; or when we’re sharing our faith with a friend or stranger. In fact every sale clinched, lesson planned, project managed, and even room vacuumed clean for a dust-free home, can be done as an act of service and worship to our God. Or not.

So too in our finances and our prayers. You give and pray for full-time workers like us because it’s part of your worship and missional service to God. Thank you for your faithful partnership! So we hope to encourage you with some ministry highlights and share our current financial needs. Back to Top

Sending Students on God-Centered Missions

Between March and July this year, a total of 178 tertiary students in our campus ministries were challenged and trained to go on short-term mission trips to overseas, with partner countries that include Macau, Vietnam, Thailand, Central Asia and of course, Japan, among many others.

One special student was Crystal from Temasek Polytechnic. I (Candy) had been meeting this young sister for follow-up. Not only was she young in her faith, she had also never been on a mission trip before. So when she returned, I was really encouraged to hear how the Lord worked through her child-like faith and used their team to reach out to the lost and harassed people in Thailand. 

Here is a brief excerpt from her reflections on her trip (with some editing):

“On the 2nd day (of the trip), we started off doing house visitations. Before we could step into the second home, the Presence of God went before us and we found the lady inside crying... she explained to us how heartbroken she had been about the recent loss of her son... We laid hands on her and prayed for her husband and her. A team member had a prompting to wash her husband's feet, even before knowing that his leg was in pain... We prayed over his leg twice, and her husband's leg was healed! ...in the night, we played with the children and did medical (work). We performed a skit, followed by a testimony. Then we gave out medical relief. Many villagers received Christ...”

At the commissioning service for the first set of teams going on the mission trips, I (Victor) was privileged to give the exhortation sermon. As I gathered material to share with these students, the Lord reminded me of the only true motivation for missionary service: a God-centered passion to exalt him in worship. One application was the primacy of prayer: “When mission moves forward by prayer, it magnifies God. When mission moves by the management of man, it magnifies man".

This applies to our prayer for each other, because we’re living on God’s mission. How can we get to magnify God through praying for you? Do let us know. Back to Top

Online Missions through Internet Evangelism

Remember in the previous e-mail I asked you to pray for Internet Evangelism Day (IED)? Thank God for a fruitful event. We had the chance to share what we’ve learnt about engaging the fast pace of Internet technology and media.

To me, what made the event most meaningful was getting to meet fellow co-labourers from Radio Bible Class (the publishers of Our Daily Bread), Youth for Christ and individuals representing many local churches. Though it seemed there are not many of us doing what we’re doing, seeing God’s hand leading the different efforts greatly bolstered our faith. Some work with secondary students through storytelling classes, a group is writing online games to touch gamers, while still others are improving their church websites to make a greater impact. Yet we have one goal: to communicate the greatness and love of our Lord through the Internet. This sense of his leading motivates me to keep at what I’m doing in the Internet ministry.

As a result of IED, a few of us have met to brainstorm more specific projects to try on our church websites or Facebook page. We want to reach those outside the church better through these platforms. Please pray for us as we develop on this, for wisdom and vision all the way through to implementation and results. Pray for this aspect of missions – online missions! Back to Top

Be Involved in our Mission by your finances

There is one more area we’d like to invite your participation: through your financial support. As you know, Candy and I are supported by a team of ministry partners.

You may be wondering “Why the need to raise more finances at this time?”

In 2008 our leaders evaluated the staff’s financial needs and revised our take-home pay to allow for inflation and rising cost of living (the last pay review was more than ten years ago). We asked some of our supporters and they’ve increased the monthly amount they’d been giving. Some of you increased your giving even when we didn’t ask you. We also received a lot of help when we got married and were setting up our home. For all this support we give thanks because we see God’s provision through you.

Our Upcoming Needs

Now with our baby coming, we are looking to provide for her needs. Our ministry allows us to raise an additional S$200 for the child allowance. And we still need to raise S$1200 per month as a couple, to match the previous salary review.

Some of you are already supporting us all these years, and we are truly thankful for your involvement. We would like to ask if you could pray, and look at your budget to see if you can increase the amount you’re already giving to help us meet this need.

If you have been giving on a one-time basis, we humbly ask if you can consider a periodic style of donation. Of course we understand that you may prefer to give a one-time special gift: we welcome and appreciate that just as much.

We’d be happy to give you any details you might need regarding this financial decision. In the following weeks we’ll get in touch with you to explain more in person if necessary.

Meantime, would you start the process of giving through this form?

Please pray for us!

We need your prayers as we make this upcoming transition. If you’re parents you’ll remember how it was raising your first child. We have little idea what we’re in for and depend on the advice, friendship and prayers of all our seniors. We expect it to be challenging but we’re really excited. Most of all we know our faithful God, who is the best Father, is with us and we are resting in his everlasting arms. Back to Top

Blessings as we partner on God's mission,

Victor and Candy Toh
Staff members of
Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ
June 2010

unsubscribe | update your profile | forward to a friend