GOD’S PLANS FOR HIS CHILDREN

Pastor Zacchaeus Tran

I was born in 1965 into a family of 12 children and I was the 8^th child. In my hometown of Ky Phu Commune, my parents were the richest people in this community. We lacked nothing and there were servants to do everything for us but my parents did not know God.

When I was 9 months old I became seriously ill. My body was very skinny; my belly was swollen as I had difficulty moving my bowels; my whole body was filled with scabies... My parents took me to the biggest hospital in Da Nang with the hope that doctors would heal me, but as days passed my condition became worse and my parents were told to take me home. The doctors had done all they could but there was no hope. They told my parents that it would be better for me to die in my home surrounded by my family.

My mother was heartbroken to see my ravaged body, lifeless and in pain. She cried out daily, “My God! Please save my son! Please save my son!” She did not know which God she was crying out to but believed there was a God out there who could help her son.

That night, my mother had a dream that she was attending service in church. After the service was over, she saw the deacon of the church by the name of Quang walk up to the podium and introduce a new pastor, Pastor Le Van Tu, who would be taking over the leadership of the church. My mother woke up wondering why she was dreaming of a Christian church when she did not believe in Christianity. Believing it to be a sign she took me to church on Sunday and was shocked to recognize that it was the same church as in her dream. She had never been inside before so how could this be! She was so amazed and excitedly she took me to the pastor to relate her dream to him. The pastor said: “This is the will of God for you to know that He can heal your son. I cannot do any miracles, only God can.” Then the pastor laid his hands on me and prayed for healing as well as for my parents to know the Lord.

After the pastor prayed for me, I went home and the next day I began to feel healing taking place in my body. The scabies gradually dried up; I started having regular bowel movements and this helped make my belly flat. I no longer cried much and could sleep well. One month later, I was completely healed and I could play like other children.

 After God healed me, my parents led all my siblings to church to receive Jesus Christ and made a commitment to worship God alone, and then my mother requested that I be dedicated to the Lord. I lived a happy Christian life filled with joy and peace but there were difficult days ahead with the coming of the Vietnam War in 1973. As the war continued, we had to move to a different province where we found a church which my family and I attended regularly.

However, all this changed in 1975 when the communists won the war and united North and South Vietnam. Christians were told that they were not allowed to worship God and soon the persecution of Christians became violent. Many believers gave up their faith and sadly so did my parents. Going to church, praying to God or reading the bible were all forbidden; eventually Christ faded from our lives.

As time passed, and growing up in a communist culture, Jesus Christ was replaced by Marxist political ideology and I no longer trusted in God and all His works. We were taught that “only man is lord of the universe, anything that took place in the universe is the effort of man not God".

As we drew away from God and relied on ourselves and our own efforts, our lives changed drastically for the worse. Our business failed, our culture and language changed and there was an emptiness inside me that I filled with drinking and gambling. In 1990, desperate and broke, I moved to another town where I lived with a friend who taught me lacquer art.

Living away from home, I was homesick, especially when Christmas came and I heard Christmas songs like "Holy Night”; I remembered my childhood and the times when I used to worship God. I realized how much I missed God! How happy I was then. But I felt ashamed to face God now having abandoned Him a long time ago. I was sure He, too, would reject me now.

On the night of December 23th, 1993, I had a dream that I was walking in the church in my old hometown. As I stood there admiring the decorations, I suddenly heard voices echoing in the church, saying, “Destroy this temple and rebuild.” This statement was repeated three times. I looked around but could see no one. I asked myself, "Why must such a beautiful church be destroyed?”

The next morning, I walked into a church and asked the pastor about my dream. After listening carefully to my dream, the pastor told me that it was the voice of God. He said, “God wants you to destroy your sinful life and rebuild your Christian life.” I suddenly found myself trembling before God. The pastor cried and prayed for me.  I knew God had forgiven me and from that day on, I went to church and rededicated my life to Him.

In 1995 I married an unbeliever. My wife was an ancestor worshiper who would burn incense to worship her ancestors and other gods. I was very sad and prayed to God every night that God would save my wife and her family. My mother-in-law was against Christianity and would always refuse to eat anything I had bought. I was patient and loving towards her, and one day, she asked me to take her to my church so she could see who my God is.

I was overjoyed and brought her to church and on that Sunday she received the Lord. Later on my brother-in-law also received Jesus Christ. Eventually my wife and her whole family gave their lives to Christ. In 1996 after receiving bible training, I gave my life into the service of God as a pastor.

In summary, God knew me when I was a child and He knew the plan He had for my life. Even though I abandoned Him, He never abandoned me. Throughout my life I know now that God never once gave up on me but was waiting patiently for me to return to Him. Like the prodigal son, praise God, I did. I thank the Lord for His mercy and grace!

I want to thank Asian Outreach for their financial support that has enabled me to reach out to so many who are hungering after God.

Matthew 5:6

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

I WILL BE JOYFUL IN GOD MY SAVIOUR

On 28 November 2016, as I stood at the foyer waiting for the pastors to register for the Retreat  I was approached by the Indian concierge on duty who asked me what retreat are we organizing and why it was all Indians only. I told him it was a Christian Tamil Speaking Family Retreat for the Tamil pastors and their families. Looking into the foyer he then asked me who was the ‘Chinaman‘ there that I was talking too so I told him that was the organizer of the conference, Pastor Eric Fung and you should have been there to witness his facial expression “What! A Chinaman organizing something like this for Indians! I told him we are Christians and we are all one  in the family of God. 

 27 pastors and their families attended a 3-day/2-night Tamil Speaking Pastors Family Retreat in Penang at the Rainbow Paradise Hotel. The participants were pastors from small churches with a membership of 50 and below. AO Malaysia has always had a heart for pastors of small churches and have wanted to encourage and to bless them for their faithfulness and diligence in their pastoral ministry despite all the discouragement and hardship they face in the ministry. Most of these pastors have made great sacrifices for their congregation at the expense of their families sometimes. The pastor carries the responsibility to take care of himself, his family and his church.

The response we received from the two previous retreats in 2009 and in 2012 was overwhelming and every one of the pastors who attended with their families were so encouraged and blessed and many shared that it was the first time they could have a holiday as a family. It was so heart-warming to see how the families enjoyed their time together and draw closer as a family. One of the best things a church can do for their own spiritual health is allow their pastor the time to take care of his family. The retreat gave the pastors quality time with their families and at the same time be encouraged, challenged and motivated.

The Tamil pastors and their families were excited and happy to be there and there was an air of comradeship and a family atmosphere prevailed. Some knew each other and those who did not quickly forged friendships and the gathering was very informal and warm. The pastors themselves organized a praise and worship team and what an awesome praise and worship it was. Praise God for the worship leaders and musicians. The anointing of the Holy Spirit was very evident. Thanks to donors who partnered with us for this retreat, we were able to bless each child there (15 children) with a love gift and reimburse the pastors for their transportation. None of them expected this and many were so overcome emotionally when we handed them their gifts.

Our speaker for the camp was Ps Paul Silvanus, AO partner from India and an anointed and gifted speaker. Familiar with the struggles of small churches, having over 110 church planters that he has sent out to the various mission fields in India, he encouraged, motivated and challenged them. As one participant told us “He rekindled the fire within us for God’s work that we had allowed the fire  to slowly die down as we became overwhelmed dealing with the challenges facing us. Our focus had shifted from what God has called us to do.”

Ps Persis, one of the participants  shared with us that when he received the invitation he prayed about it and the Holy Spirit spoke to him and told him to go promising him that he will be refreshed and blessed. Obediently he signed up to attend and he felt the peace of God in his heart. After the retreat he felt so blessed and thankful to Asian Outreach for honouring these Tamil pastors in such a way, something no one had ever done before for them.

Another participant, Ps Zech who was in the music team shared, “Sometimes we pray and think people will answer our prayers or maybe the church will because we are overwhelmed by the challenges we face. During the retreat we were reminded that only God can answer our prayers and bless us and we need not depend on people because He is all we need.”

One of the pastor’s wife shared another powerful testimony; a few months ago when she and her husband visited Penang they were invited by their friend who was staying in Rainbow Paradise Hotel (The same hotel where we had our retreat) to visit him so they went up to his room for a chat. The minute she entered the room she fell in love with the wonderful view of the sea from the balcony. As she and her husband stood soaking in all the beauty of that scene she whispered to her husband that she wished she would have an opportunity to stay at this hotel and have this same view. Her husband told her to pray and God would give her the desires of her heart. She had forgotten the name of the hotel where she had visited her friend but when she and her family stepped into the foyer of the hotel on 28 November she immediately recognized it and was so excited. Silently she thanked God and continued being excited. They checked in and were given their room key on the 24th Floor. As they entered their room it suddenly dawned on her that this was the same room where her friend had stayed and rushing out to the balcony she immediately recognized the view. That night after they had retired to their rooms the family sat in the balcony and worshipped the Lord, giving thanks for answering her prayers.

Asian Outreach would like to thank all of you who partnered with us to give these 27 pastors and their families from Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Penang a refreshing and wonderful time. Many felt renewed and as one pastor mentioned he felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders and he felt transformed. Overall they felt the tangible love of God and were comforted that they were not alone. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Alex Ooi, the event planner and Ms Belinda Ong (Director of Sales and Marketing) and the Rainbow Paradise Hotel staff for their dedication and service to ensure all our participants had a wonderful time during the three days. All the participants felt pampered and enjoyed overflowing food. Thank you Rainbow Paradise Hotel for a job well done.

Proverbs 11:25

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

The Pastors having a time of fellowship during dinner

The youngest member of the music team:Ekroy, 8 years old (Ps Joseph Sivakumaran's son)

                                           

Atime of praise and worship