NEVER TOO OLD TO SERVE / Sister Annie Ng, AOM Volunteer.

Asian Outreach is blessed to have a group of ladies who volunteer their time to help us with the mailing of our newsletters. Most of these women are in their seventies and still serve the Lord faithfully in their churches and cell groups. They all have hearts of a missionary and though they are unable to go out to the mission fields (though some still do go) they never fail to share a tract, give a word of encouragement, reach out to someone in need and invite people to church. They share the work of our mission fields with others and pray for us.

We would like to honour Sister Annie Ng, a long-time volunteer and a sister in Christ who has become part of our AO family. This is her story….

I had my first encounter with the Lord in 1979 and it changed my life forever. It was during a period when I was in the worst storm of my life. I was devastated and did not know what to do. Though I professed to be a Christian, I would often go to bomohs and mediums. One night as this personal storm raged around me, I wept bitterly and cried out to God. I asked God if all Gods were the same and was it alright for me to go to the bomohs and mediums to seek help.

He answered me by giving me Isaiah 47:12-14: “Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror. All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. These are not coals for warmth; this is not a fire to sit by you.”

I was frightened by the answer and thoughts of the destruction of my family came to my mind. I asked God to forgive me and repented immediately. God led me to Jerremiah 15:20: “I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you.”

After that encounter, the storms of life quietened down and the peace of God has always been with me ever since. Though I did go through a hard time, God was right there to direct my path and guide me. My desire is always to bring others to Christ and to know Him intimately as I have come to know Him. I would evangelize to friends and people I met casually, and some of my friends and family have come to church and been baptized. It always amazes me to see how God works in our lives. He can use anyone if only we let Him.

I was able to go out to the mission fields when I was younger and it earned me a wealth of experience. I went to Cambodia with AO, then to the Philippines, Sabah and Bario, Sarawak, with other churches. My last trip was to Myanmar with AO in 2019. Being there in the mission fields personally changed my life as in those few days I was there, I lived their story. I learned that life on the mission field is about putting one foot in front of the other alongside the lost, sharing their challenges, and relying only on the Lord for the answers. Out there in the mission fields you are entirely dependent on God for everything. Such a complete surrendering of our life to Him.

Volunteering in Asian Outreach for the last 10 years has been such a blessing for me. By helping in the mailing process of the magazines and reading the stories, I have come to know of the challenges and difficulties the mission field workers face. I am so inspired by their stories and how God has used them in difficult places, to bring His love and Word to people who do not know Him.

I share these stories with friends and though I am not in the fields personally, I am contributing to their work by sharing their testimonies. In my own way I am evangelising and I have brought friends to come and join us in AO. It is just a simple task but so rewarding and enjoyable. We share our stories with others, encourage each other and long friendships have been forged. I thank God for this opportunity to be part of what God is doing through Asian Outreach Ministry.