A three-month intensive discipleship programme organised by the Trinity Annual Conference Board of Youth Ministries (TRAC BOYM), saw three youths coming together for an experience they will never forget. Here are some of the highlights of their journey.
Daniel Tay (above) from Sengkang Methodist Church writes:
“THE FIRST MONTH of Trackers is a ‘Learning and Teaching phase’. A Journey of Faith is a slogan which every one of the 31 participants in Trackers 2010 was to live up to in this intensive three-month discipleship programme organised by the Trinity Annual Conference Board of Youth Ministries (TRAC BOYM).
“Looking back, I recall the anticipation and excitement with which we approached our Trackers period. Riding on a wave of good news and exciting reports from past Trackers, we came with candid expectations of spiritual revelations, willingness to surrender and seek God’s will, and looking forward to going out on our respective mission trips and touching lives in the ways God has gifted us to.
“We were not to be disappointed. rough the first month of lectures and workshops at Paya Lebar Methodist Church (PLMC), a foundation of spirituality and God-fearing was laid down in our beings. We came to God’s feet and laid out all we were, the positives and negatives, in an act of surrender encompassing every facet of our lives, waiting upon God to fill us up with His Spirit. And fill us up He did!
“As we began to discard our old ways of living, and mend the broken compartments of our lives, God began to become more and more apparent in every one of us. Truly, we began to live out being true Christians – meaning “little Christ” in Latin – set apart to do God’s will! With that, we embarked on preparing for our respective mission trips, fully aware of God working in us and ever seeking God’s will in our preparations – songs, dances, dramas, skits, fund-raising, and so on.”
Yun Ying (above) from Faith Methodist Church writes about the second month, which is the “Mission trip” phase.
“The four teams went to different countries, namely Myanmar, the Philippines (Cebu), Nepal and Cambodia. My team, Aling Yeung, which means light of the world in Burmese, went to Myanmar. Some of the similar things which we did at our respective countries included teaching and supporting the work of the local missionaries there.
“During one of our village visits, we were distributing rice as a form of social outreach to bless the local Christians as well as the pre-believers. I was very touched by the gesture of the local Christians as they decided to take less rice for themselves so that there would be more rice to be shared among the villagers.
“Although they had little, they demonstrated Christ’s love by sharing whatever little they had just as the early believers did in the book of Acts.
“However, the rice distribution project was too overwhelming and we got into trouble with the local village chief. He was upset and accused us of trying to create trouble and demanded our passports. The local pastor, who was accompanying us, gently told the village chief that we were merely blessing his villagers and we had no other intention.
“After this experience, my team knew very well that it was indeed God who gave the pastor wisdom to speak of the right thing and boldness to face the village chief.
“It was an eye-opener for a few of us as we stepped into the homes of the villages. Their living condition was nothing compared to each of our homes in Singapore. Yet, they all had the heart of gratitude and contentment for the very little they had.
“Teaching and conversing in English was one of the projects we were tasked to do. The local students’ zest and hunger to learn inspired all of us to take joy at the privilege that we are given to study in our schools.”
Hui Zhen (above) from Sengkang Methodist Church writes about the third phase – the internship phase.
She writes: “Personally, it is to live out the life which God has called us to, which is God-centred and which recognises the presence of God in our lives on a daily basis. It is easy to be passionate and to hinge on the “spiritual high” created after a mission trip. However, our faith is put to the test during this internship phase as we go through the motions of routine office work and simple duties.
“In this third phase, some of the Trackers went back to their local churches to serve, while others volunteered for organisations such as the Methodist Welfare Services, TRAC Youth Ministries (Truthmin) and Youth With A Mission (YWAM). ey would work from Mondays to ursdays (9 am to 5 pm) and on Fridays, return to Paya Labar Methodist Church where they would share with their team about the difficulties or moments of joy they experienced while serving.
“It was an opportunity to forge strong spiritual ties and friendships that would be long lasting amongst us – Trackers as we embark on a journey of faith beyond the three months.”