Last Weekend we roasted & toasted under the sunshine and celebrated a full spectrum of diversity from Sabang to Merauke, with love of course.
Two events proved the spark to RISE UP AND BUILD at Oikos Church Singapore. God is stirring up His people for the greater things to come, and the church had responded. The atmosphere around has been lively with more people working together, tearing down the walls of differences to reach the same goal.
God has done so much in our midst! really!
It was cloudy around 3pm, worrying to the human perspective as our BBQ was supposedly starting in 30 mins. There was no doubt that the hand of God was with us, as the dark clouds passed and the party began on time(thanks to the people who prayed and fasted for this). While Dephola, Yovani and team prepared the props for the traditional Independence day games, Didi and Felix were trying to gather the mass who were buzzing around the BBQ pit for the deliciously home-made satay. Soon teams were formed to start with “balap karung”, followed by “makan kerupuk”, not forgetting the kids version, and “tarik tambang”. Amazingly these happened simultaneously with the BBQ, and still everything went as planned. God has graciously brought new friends to join as well, did you notice them? Let’s take the opportunity to reach out and welcome our new friends when you spot any in the future.
By 5pm ++ more friends joined, who brought more food (yellow rice was bestseller). Our younger siblings from Oikos Fire helped cut the fresh fruits, contributing to the list of dishes earlier prepared by Ko Yakub & Oikos Family. It was just a great sight to see us serving each other – let us all thank the people who stayed at the BBQ pits, even those new friends helped us roast! Some of us also rented bikes and carts…which was shared among our big family. The beach party ended around 7pm, with the committee cleaning up and packing -and yes they made sure the equipments were brought back to church.
Sunday, the next day, started at 6pm for Ko Yakub who prepared more scrumptious Indonesian dishes. At 9.20am, some of us gathered for prayer, the one thing that kept us strong for the next hours. About 10am, the kitchen was full of busy people and the ushers were ready at their spots. If you remember the warm greetings from Melvin, Astari, Elis and Didi, all wrapped in pretty costumes, you’d know how much effort they put to welcome us to the house of God. Were you blessed? Let’s keep this culture 🙂
After sermon by Ko Dan, founder of Oikos Church, the celebration started with 2 funny emcees catching the attention of the crowd with dances! Kudos to Wiwin and Samuel for the entertaining conversation, not to forget the multimedia operator who blended seamlessly with the activities. The decoration team had done a great job to create a refreshingly Indonesian style interior, adding to the ambience created by the skillful music team. It proves again that God has placed each one of us here to function differently, and when united create a harmonious synergy that will bless many more people who will come. Really, we can do greater things together. It’s totally biblical! Though the event dragged a little bit, everyone seemed to enjoy the many performances by our gifted brothers and sisters, with “sue ora jamu” as the most popular performance, it seems. At 2pm, everyone was led to queue at the buffet-style lunch. Again, friendly faces served the crowd, who were in turn smiling back (lesson: smile first!).
We ended the event with fellowship and group pictures. Everyone seemed beyond satisfied with everything…thanks to God, the unity of the committee and the participation of everyone who attended. This is only the beginning of the greater things possible if only we stay united, looking up to God for His plan in this church. Let us keep praying for that! Join the prayer movements! Pick from these: Friday night- 10pm onwards OR Saturday noon – 2-4pm @church
Luke 10:1-3
New International Version (NIV)
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
