Outreach Stories

Mdm Sammi Lai is a resident living in Blk 223A Serangoon Ave 4. She lives alone in a unit of this rental block. Our co-workers there have been ministering to her over these past few years, bringing breakfast to her and carrying up the essential grocery items to her. She is visually impaired and finds it difficult to go downstairs to the void deck to collect the groceries. 

The love and care shown by our co-workers provided the catalyst for Mdm Lai to ask if she could be baptised. On 20 Jan 2023, Ps Jacob baptised Mdm Lai in her home, witnessed by the co-workers. We are filled with joy to know that she is a citizen of God’s Kingdom now!

What do these things in the title have in common? Well, the Football Ministry in our church is a microcosm of the sport on the biggest stage. Is this ministry just a 90-minute game? People come to play some Sunday league football with their friends, then they go home? 

No, this is a game of a lifetime. The relationships built in football last 90 years (a lifetime), and to eternity. Football unites people of all races and religion. Football is a language. Football is a safe space. Football is a journey. 

To borrow a quote from the popular TV series, Ted Lasso, where footballer Dani Rojas regularly chimes in with a sweet, sincere, and almost child-like mantra: “Football is life.” This is where Jesus comes in (not his 2nd coming!)

Jesus ate and drank with people. He goes to where they are, He meets their deepest needs in the midst of their lives. 

That’s what PLMC Football Ministry is: Being Jesus in Football.

I love stories. Even more so God-stories. So here goes… 

Sharing Jesus!

This is only our 2nd year participating in the inter-church football league – CrossRoad Cup. With half the season gone and 7 games played, we have had 31 players registered. 13 are pre-believers. So far, 11 pre-believers have turned up. Which means they attended the mandatory Song & Sharing session, and thus participated in worship and heard the Gospel.

Salvations.

Some of the sharings included an ‘altar call’, where players were invited to say a silent ‘sinners prayer’ or salvation prayer in their heart. Yay to people getting to know Jesus! 

A Safe Space for Ronaldo.

Ronaldo (not his real name), joined PLMC Football in 2019. From then till now, Ronaldo has grown to be a vital part of the team, including being one of the leaders in our team. Yet, Ronaldo is of a Near Faith and is a strong ally of the LGBTQ+ community. Here, we are so thankful that he is so involved in this ‘church team’.

“It is my honour to have Ronaldo as my friend, my teammate. I would love to journey with Ronaldo for life…”

Online Community.

Ronaldo also came up with the idea of creating a social media account for the team: 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/power_andlove/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@power_andlove

One of the TikTok videos has garnered 22.2k views alone! Even the aesthetic photos displayed came about because Ronaldo proposed to have a photoshoot for the team’s new jersey this season. Ronaldo booked the studio, got his camera and shooting equipment, and arranged everything to get the shoot done!

More ‘Christian’ than Christians.

Other than being super involved in the church team, an even more surprising thing is that Ronaldo adopts the team’s ethos more than anyone else in the team (to the embarrassment of the believers in our team)! What do I mean by this? 

Power & Love!

Our team’s motto/slogan. We usually mention it before the game or during half-time, when the team puts their hands together for a big cheer. Yet, every time there is some pushing, shoving, or looks like a fight might happen, Ronaldo would say in an assertive voice, “Eh guys, power and love, ah, power and love”. He can be the spokesperson instead of me already...

“Want to Close with Prayer?”

This really warmed my heart, during the playoff to the Semi-Finals (mid-season final game). We lost unexpectedly, and everyone’s heads were down, downcast and demoralised. At the end of it all, Ronaldo chimed in with a, “Want to close with prayer?” Wah, I was so encouraged! This is a guy from the near faith who knows I’m going to pray in Jesus’ name!

Doing Life with Messi.

Messi’s (not his real name) grandfather passed away the night before a very important game – it would decide if we qualified for the next round’s playoffs. Messi is our first-choice goalkeeper, and being unavailable would surely affect us. When he called me in tears, he still said that if we couldn’t find a replacement, he would come down to play. 

Such dedication to the team was really touching. Of course, we (the leaders) told him to attend to his matters, and we managed to go to the funeral to comfort and give Messi some solace. 

It was a time of grieving for a dear teammate’s loved one.

Tapestry. Diversity. Mentoring. Family.

This season’s church team boasts many family plots. 

1) Brothers Cappi, Caleb & Apollos 

2) Brothers Marcus & Mitchell 

3) Father & Son, Sam & Keane Goh 

4) Newly Married Couple, Kaz & Charlene 

We have a girl in our team, Charlene, who has performed very well against the opponents’ guys (even ‘ole-ing’ one or two of them!) 

Our youngest players are 18 years old, oldest is 61 years old. With such a diverse group of players, the mentoring and guidance from the older ones can be seen off the pitch, while the younger ones provide the energy needed to keep running on the pitch! Charlene’s parents even came on matchday to support and provide drinks for the team!

Pray For & Support Us!

We are also welcoming more players of other faiths joining the team in days to come! With that, the story continues... We’re looking forward to the remaining season and 2023! 

It was 8.15am on the fourth Saturday of February this year, that I turned up at Block 8, Lorong Lew Lian, which houses one-room rental flats.  I was warmly greeted by my fellow sisters and brothers from PLMC, dressed in red, all there for a common purpose – to serve God, our Father, and to reach out into His kingdom and be ambassadors of love, joy and blessing to His people.  Blessed to bless the community was definitely at the forefront of our minds and hearts that morning!

On every fourth Saturday of the month, our teams of PLMC volunteers deliver cooked breakfasts and set up a groceries collection station at the void deck of Block 8, for residents to collect up to four different types of food items they need.  These included 5kg bags of white jasmine rice, bottles of cooking oil, bags of instant coffee, boxes of biscuits, pots of Kaya spread and also various flavours of instant noodles, all halal certified.  All these blessings of food and daily necessities could not have been possible without the generous support of members of our PLMC Church family. 

The volunteers that morning were from different PLMC cell groups and ministries.  We were split into different groups of up to 5 to deliver freshly cooked Nasi Lemak and delicious fish otahs to the residents.  With bags of breakfasts in our shopping trolleys, we started knocking on doors to greet the residents with our liveliest voices and our brightest smiles (albeit through our masks!!!).  Our teams persevered on even when we did not get immediate responses as some residents were either still sleeping; or were wary of a group of unfamiliar faces with masks at their doors.  After knocking for a very long time at one door, a friendly and jovial male in his 60s opened the door and shared with us in an animated voice about how he rushed from his usual morning ablutions to come open the door for us. 

During the outreach with the residents, we were very blessed to have volunteers who were able to interact effectively in various languages with residents of different races and languages.  Our volunteers were also extremely warm and caring people who, with the grace of God, were able to foster friendships with the residents. 

There was a family of 5 living in one unit with an elderly woman, her son, daughter-in-law as well as her 2 grandchildren, aged 9 and 2.  Prompted by the Holy Spirit, we started to engage the daughter-in-law in conversation and found out that she had just had a surgery and was in severe discomfort.  After realising that there were so many people living in the tiny flat, we gave her extra packets of breakfast and also offered to help collect any groceries she needed from the void deck.  She accepted our offer with a grateful smile and went on to explain that it was not possible for her or her very elderly mother-in-law to handle the heavy groceries.

We are already into our second month of breakfast and grocery distribution to the residents of Block 8 and know many of the residents by their name.  It is very heart-warming to see that the residents have warmed up to us and treat us like their friends.  We are greeted with a smile and a wave from many of the residents now, and some are already looking forward to seeing us again next month.  We visited the family of 5 again in March and were delighted to know that the daughter-in-law has fully recovered and was able to start work again.  We also brought along some adorable school stationery for her 9-year-old daughter, who squealed when she received the gifts.  It was truly a blessing to be able to bless others.

Personally, I can’t think of a more meaningful way to spend my Saturday mornings and as I am writing this, we are also looking forward to welcome A and N from Block 8 who will be joining us at our next 9am worship service. All these would not have been possible without the blessings and support from all of you at PLMC… so thank you, on behalf of the residents from Block 8!

A Young Adult Cell celebrated Father’s Day on 20 June 2021 with our migrant worker brothers at Shaw Lodge Foreign Workers Dormitory. Here are the accounts of their experiences. 

As I was standing at the ground floor waiting, I looked around and saw many workers looking out their dorm windows at us. They were smiling and waving. For a moment I tried to put myself in their shoes, wondering how it's like stuck in a foreign land away from their family for long periods. It may have been an upgrade for them to be here, yet the loneliness and coldness of a foreign place kills the heart. Watching them smile and wave warmed my heart as our presence made them a little less lonely and cold. I only prayed that they felt the love of Christ and remained eternally warm wherever they were. - Wileen Siow

I'm thankful to have been a part of this outreach to the Shaw Lodge migrant workers. I was inspired by the generosity of our church members, and realized we could actually do much with the resources we have to bless others - whether through sponsoring specific items, writing a simple card or taking some time to help with the packing. Despite not being there for the distribution, I'm glad we took this opportunity to show our appreciation for the sacrifices and contribution of the foreign workers there. - Rebecca Sim (who helped with the packing of masks, and slotting in the thank you cards and packing the goody bags)

I found the outreach at Shaw Lodge a meaningful experience. As God has called us to love our neighbours, I am thankful for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of foreign workers by working together with other church members to pack and distribute goody bags to them. - Subramaniam Jayavelu (who helped with packing of masks and goody bags and distribution of gifts at Shaw Lodge)

It’s always fun to serve together as a Young Adult Community, but distributing and interacting with the migrant workers and seeing their living conditions always reminds me to count every blessing and to be thankful for what I already have. I could feel Father's heart for them as they largely were not able to come out of their rooms much or to interact with others from different floors. We may complain of the restrictions imposed on us Singaporeans, but sometimes others have it worse. Just as Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"(Matt 5:3), I pray that we will as a community continue to reach out in love, and to lift the lowly. - Gareth Tan 

This Outreach activity was held on Good Friday, 2 April 2021, and here are the testimonies of two of our Youths who participated in it. 

I think throughout this entire process of planning and executing our ideas was quite fun because it felt so fast how what we initially thought of became a reality! Seeing the migrant workers really looking forward to our goodie bags and queuing up even though the wait was long was very heartening to see as it showed how our small actions like these could make their day, and show God’s love for them! 

Previously before this Outreach activity, i never really took the initiative to get to know the migrant workers more and I didn’t really bother about this group of people in Singapore. But like what people say, they truly are our unsung heroes and many people often judge them very quickly or just don’t acknowledge their contributions to our country. 

I remember watching this video where Singaporeans read mean comments to migrant workers and they started to cry. And I think what’s so sad is that many people think lowly of them, think of them as a lower class and tend to have an idea of them as smelly or ought to be shunned. But after this round of outreach, I got to understand this group of people better. In order to come to Singapore, they have to pay a huge amount so they work very hard and yet Singaporeans just look down on them. So through this, I really learnt that we should love our neighbour as ourselves and not judge or look down on people so easily! We all sin but yet, God doesn’t look down on us but loves us so much! Likewise, we should love the people around us, too! – Andrea Lim

It all started with discussing what we could do for Outreach, and giving migrant workers  a goodie bag was one of the ideas we came up with. Also, since Chinese New Year was coming soon, we thought that as the migrant workers don't celebrate it although a lot of people did, which might make them feel left out and homesick, so thought we could give them goodie bags with supplies that they could use to celebrate the occasion with each other. But because time was tight, we decided to change it to the next public holiday, Good Friday, which coincidentally was a Christian Holy Day and that we would be serving the community on the day Jesus died on the cross for us.

The Outreach activity went rather well with the packing and delivering of the goodie bags to the migrant workers. During the packing and delivering, there were a lot of people who came and were willing to help out. At the end, when we gave the migrant workers the goodie bags, there were even some migrant workers who shouted their thanks. – Zach Low

On 7 Mar 2021, Paya Lebar Methodist Church (PLMC) Outreach, in conjunction with SG Accident Help Centre, organized an outing for migrant workers from the dormitories at 12 Shaw Road to encourage them and appreciate them for their hard work.  I was one of 19 volunteers from PLMC, and our role was to take care of the outing participants on the bus ride to and back.

When we arrived at the dormitories around noon, there was already a long line of participants waiting patiently to board the bus.  They were of Indian and Bangladeshi origin, and looked very fit and muscular.  Once on the bus, after introductions, our cheery participants were happy to receive goodie bags with a chicken wing and a curry puff in each.  Because of the change in numbers, they got double the number of bags, so it felt a bit like I was in the parable of the Feeding of the 5,000!

The bus quickly arrived and the participants were escorted by another group of volunteers to view the Time Capsule and Singapore Flyer (tickets donated by ItsRainingRaincoats).  Unfortunately, it started raining and the Flyer stopped operations.  Not wanting the participants to miss this opportunity, we prayed for God to carry out His perfect plan for this outing.  All thanks and praise to God, the rain stopped and the Flyer continued!

On the way back, the participants were told some interesting facts about some interesting buildings.  They were well aware that these buildings were constructed by workers like themselves!  There was also a trivia quiz with questions like what the tallest hill in Singapore was (not Mount Faber), and participants won prizes for correct answers.  We ended with a short prayer asking for God’s care and blessing on the participants.

I’m happy to have played a part in bringing some smiles to the people who help build our nation.  I felt a strong rapport between Singaporeans, Indians and Bangladeshi, and it reminds me of how much we are blessed with prosperity here in Singapore.  I hope and pray that these migrant workers will excel in their work, enjoy happy families, and find the grace of God. 

PLMC Outreach is extending our care and love to the migrant workers who are staying at the Dormitory at 10 Shaw Road, near to Taiseng Centre where we have our ministry. These are some of the ways we have ministered to our migrant brothers:

• 21 April – PLMC provided 40 boxes of masks to meet an urgent interim need.

• 6 May – To lift up the (now low) spirits of the brothers, we bought ice cream to bless all the migrant workers and it was also to bring some cheer to the Indian brothers as it was Vesak Day on 7 May.

• 12 May - A member from our Mandarin congregation blessed the migrant workers with 40 boxes of masks. It was truly a timely blessing, because the dorm operator mentioned that they were running out of masks.

• 23 May – As the weather had been extremely hot and the workers were confined to the dormitory, we bought canned drinks (Coke & Sprite) plus snacks to bring much needed cold relief for all the migrant brothers. Ice cubes and foam boxes to chill the drinks were generously sponsored by PLMC family. We pray that this brought joy to all the brothers during the Hari Raya period and that they would know that our Father God loves them very much.

It was heart-wrenching to see a large number of migrant brothers coming towards us to collect a pack of food in the evenings at the Little India area. The police, safe distancing ambassadors as well as Ministry of Manpower officers had to help control the crowd.

It was even more painful to have to turn many more away, even though the orders for each night had been increasing from fifty to a hundred packets, and then to two hundred and thirty meals each night.

A packet of food which costs around $4 may not seem much to many of us, but to these injured workers, that packet of food could be the only meal that they have each day.  

Truly, the heart of God is also for the migrant in our land. Besides the meal programme, there was also an opportunity for our PLMC family to serve the migrant workers who are staying either at factory-converted dormitories and/or temporary housing quarters. Volunteers availed themselves in the afternoons to pack and delivery care packs to workers who are placed under the Stay Home Notice (SHN).

It was truly heartening to see the many volunteers who stepped up and out to serve the sojourners in our land.

We can’t thank God enough for opening doors for our PLMC family to partner with SG Accident and Help Centre to start the meal programme providing a meal each day, especially to those who have been badly affected by the "Circuit Breaker" measures. 

PLMC Family, if you do come across any migrant workers in your neighbourhood, do give them a word of encouragement, buy them a meal/drink if you see that they are in need or even to just say a prayer of blessing over them and their families in your heart. Let us continue to love our migrant brothers who are in our midst.

When a resident foreigner lives with you in your land, you must not oppress him. The resident foreigner who lives with you must be to you as a native citizen among you; so you must love the foreigner as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:33-34

We pray that the migrant brothers will come to know how much our Lord Jesus loves each of them. May all that we do glorify our Almighty God!

On 6 April before the Circuit Breaker, with the support of Braddell Heights Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC), PLMC family came together to pack and distribute care packs to a hundred low income families living in the Braddell Heights community. Mr Seah Kian Peng, Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC, joined our volunteers for the distribution to the families, too.

Each family received:

•  A blessing card to encourage the family

• Masks

• Thermometer

• Hand wash

• Hand Sanitizer (sponsored by Braddell Heights CCC)

• Towel

• One pack of Milo

• One tin of Assorted Biscuits

We continue to pray for God’s protection over all the families. May the families know how much God loves each of them and that He is always watching over all our coming and going.

We thank God for the PLMC family who rose to the call to serve during this period. May we continue to be a beacon of light to the community around us during season.

On the night of 6 April 20 before the Circuit Breaker, a small group of volunteers went to Taiseng to give out care packs to a hundred migrant workers.

We thank God for the PLMC family who helped to pack and distribute the items, and especially those who had to brave and endure the stares and questioning from shoppers when they bought the food items in bulk (“HOARDING! HOARDING!” Things aren’t always what they seem).

PLMC family, let us pray to God for HIS complete healing and restoration for all the brothers at the various dormitories who are infected, and that the viral spread will be contained. May the peace of God be upon all our migrant brothers to know that God is in control of the situation and that they need not be anxious or fearful during this period.