Flourish began in 2011 as a simple women’s ministry passion project, sparked by a Mother’s Day gift made by hand. What started as one act of love has since grown into a redemptive movement, empowering disadvantaged women in Cambodia through dignified work in crochet and sewing. Caroline Ng, a member of Barker Road Methodist Church, shares how handicraft ministry Flourish came to be and how it has blessed women in Cambodia.
It began with a smell we will never forget— the stench of rot and smoke as we stepped onto the Stung Meanchey landfill in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was my first mission trip with Barker Road Methodist Church (BRMC)’s Cambodia Sub-Committee. Nothing prepared us for the sight before us. Children ran barefoot across razor-sharp debris, digging through garbage with their tiny hands. This was their home.
That afternoon, I led a women’s ministry session at Prek Tual Methodist Church, a partner church of Methodist Missions Society (MMS) in Cambodia. When I asked what the women wanted prayer for, they whispered:
“For my child to finish school.”
“For my husband to stop drinking.”
“For my baby to grow up strong.”
In that moment, I saw it clearly: beneath the surface of poverty and pain, the heart of a mother is the same. We all long to be seen, safe and loved. We all want our children to do well. That day, a seed was planted in me.
Stitch by stitch
Back in Singapore, BRMC’s Women’s Society of Christian Service (WSCS) was sourcing gifts for Mother’s Day. Someone suggested a crochet cross. The idea sparked something within me. What if we invited the women in Cambodia to make these gifts? What if our giving became their healing?
Armed with yarn and a heart full of hope, I returned to Cambodia. Just a week before, I had been learning how to crochet crosses from YouTube. With confidence that could only have come from above, I passed on the basics. Slowly, hands long calloused by hardship began crafting beauty. Threads of pain were being rewoven.
With the first order of 1,500 crochet pieces, Flourish, a handicraft ministry, was born. We named the ministry Flourish after Psalm 92:
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
Psalm 92:12–15 (NIV)
This psalm captures the vision God placed in our hearts for redemptive flourishing. We longed for something more—where women could encounter the goodness of God through community and creativity.
The story of Chab Nern
In 2014, Flourish held its first women’s conference in Cambodia. One of MMS’ missionaries stationed there, Tan Li Diang, introduced one of the participants to me. Her name was Chab Nern and her face bore the weight of sorrow too deep for words. Her frame was stooped and weary.
Then I learned she was only 41. That year, she had just lost her only daughter who had been murdered on her way home from school. She was 14. There are no words for that kind of loss. Yet, God was there in the ashes. He never left her side.
Years before, Chab Nern had endured years of physical abuse at the hands of her alcoholic husband. She sought refuge at the Cambodia Women’s Centre, where she learned how to sew and understand her identity in Christ. She took a leap of faith and joined our first Flourish Women’s Conference. She had no idea that God was about to weave a new chapter in her life.
She began sewing faithfully. The money started coming in, more than she had ever seen in her life. “Before Flourish, I never knew what more than US$10 (S$13) felt like in my hand,” she told us later. Flourish became more than a job. It became a lifeline. And a spiritual family.
Today, Chab Nern’s once-aching hands are now strong, guiding younger women in the sewing team. Her face, once lined with sorrow, now carries the deep joy of a woman redeemed.
God was ahead of us with bigger plans
There were so many moments we thought we had reached the end of Flourish’s lifeline. Yet, God sustained us. Every time the yarn ran out, more would arrive through donations. When urgent medical bills came for a woman’s child or husband, God stirred hearts to give.
However, as Flourish grew, we ran into challenges within the governance of church- based charity. There were hard conversations about accountability, capacity and even whether we should shut it down.
Then Covid-19 came. The world stopped. Still, God continued to work.
Pastors, schools, nursing homes and children’s homes in Singapore reached out and supported the ministry through Scripture colouring cards to bless their congregations, students and home residents. They reminded us that we were never doing this alone.
In 2024, it became increasingly clear that Flourish had outgrown its first wineskin. After much prayer and wise counsel, Flourish became a ministry of MMS. This was not just a structural shift. It was a spiritual one. God was making space for the vision to grow.
An invitation to sow eternally
We may never fully know the ripple effects of a single crochet hook, a single act of kindness or a whispered prayer. However, we do know this:
God takes what is small and makes it sacred. He takes what is broken and makes it beautiful. He takes ordinary people—like you and me—and invites us into his eternal story.
The Flourish story is still unfolding. There are more mothers to encourage, more children to bless and more lives to restore. We invite your church to join us. Walk with us. Partner with us. Pray with us.
For more information, contact mms@methodist.org.sg.
