Vol 3 Issue 3 Aug-dec 2009

Training Preachers Workers For the Far East

News From Peter

Ju l y -Decemb e r , 2009 Volu me 3 Issue 3

COURSES TAUGHT THIS YEAR http://www.fourseas.edu.sg/ Email : [email protected]

PETER CHIN Instructor, Dean of

THANK YOU FOR YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Our work here would not be possible without the support of good brethren like you. There are so many lost souls in this part of the world. Out of a world population of 6.8 billion, 4 billion of them live in Asia. The harvest indeed is plenteous but the labourers are few (Matt. 9:37). Four Seas College trains men and women to labour in the Lord’s vineyard through the spreading of the gospel. Many preachers and workers are being prepared each year for mission fields in Asia. In the past 40 years, students have come from 19 countries of the world. In recent years they include the nations of China, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. We solicit your continual support for us and to uphold us in prayers

It has been a challenging year teaching four courses each term, both in the 1st year and 3rd year programs. Some courses taught in the Third Year Graduate Program were new to me since they were not taught at Memphis School of Preaching when I was enrolled from 2004-2007. Nevertheless, I was happy to have taught the following courses. First Term (January to April): (1) Church History (From the establishment of the church to the

FOUR SEAS EXTENSIO N COURSES CONDUCT

Third Term (August to November): (1) Church History (Period of the Restoration to the Modern Day Age) (2) Systematic Theology To help publicize and promote Four Seas College, two extension programs were conducted this year for the Lim Ah Pin Road and Jurong congregations.

A 10-lesson course on “Premillennialism” was taught at the Lim Ah Pin Road congregation from June 11th to August 13th. There were 9 students who signed up for credits. Classes were taught on Thursdays from 7.15pm to 7.45 pm before adjourning for OUR APPEAL congregational singing in the auditorium. The rest of the lesson Second Term would then be taught from 8.00 pm to 9.00 pm as part of the (April to August): We are continuing our effort to congregation’s weekly Bible class with an average attendance of (1) Church History raise additional funding because 65. the Students doing credits had to sit for two tests and submit a (From of the shortfall we have since term paper on an assigned topic. Reformation beginning our work here. The to the shortfall has been covered by There was great interest in the program which had commenced contingency funds in the Far EastRestoration Period) (2) previous year. 4 of those students were from the Jurong Evangelism Work overseen by the the elders of the Coldwater Systematic 1 church in Coldwater, MS. News from Peter Chin Theology (Inspiration of the Bible/Existenc

congregation and it was encouraging to see their commitments in travelling to the LAP congregation to attend classes.

NEW TERM FOR 2010 With school closed for the month of December, all of our First Year students have left for their respective homelands in Malaysia, Vietnam and China. The new term will begin on

positions to 10th place. This means Singapore is now Asia's third most expensive city to live in. Claiming the top seat worldwide is Tokyo, followed by Osaka - no thanks to the stronger yen. The Economist says the relative cost of living depends on two factors - local prices and exchange rates. Another extension course on “Denominational Dogmas’ was conducted for the Jurong congregation from August 5th-September 30th. Classes were taught every Wednesday nights from 7.45pm after the congregational singing to 8.45pm. 13 students were enrolled in the program. Lessons were taught as part of the Bible class for the congregation. An additional half-hour lesson was conducted in a separate room for review and questions. We are pleased that each of these 22 students, in both programs, were conscientious in their studies and had fulfilled all requirements.

38TH FOUR SEAS COLLEGE COMMENCEMENT EXERCISE

SINGAPORE IS WORLD’S 10th MOST EXPENSIVE CITY

Each will be awarded with certificates of completion and the 3credit hours they earned. All six of our students in the Third Year Graduate Program graduated recently. This program began in January and ended on November 18th. Five of them are from the Philippines while Cynthia Wong is from Malaysia. She graduated last November after completing the Two Year Biblical Studies Program and had enrolled for this Graduate Class. Out of the five graduates, we are pleased that several congregations in Malaysia have accepted them to work in an internship program to teach/preach and serve the congregations.

http://www.channelnewsasi a.com/stories/singaporeloc alnews/view/414327/1/.htm l Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in the world, according to the latest survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which shows the citystate moving up five 2 News from Peter Chin

busy having their pictures taken with the faculty and various members. It was such a wonderful time of fellowship and celebration for these graduates.

FAREWELL TO BOTH STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTOR

The graduates are (L to R) Ruel Vasquez, Melencio Mata, John Medez, William Buccat, Cynthia Wong and Alvin Rosales. Each received their Graduate Diplomas from bro. David

My family and I hosted a dinner for the graduating class of 2009 at our home on Thursday, November 26. All other students, faculty members and their respective families were also invited. Since it coincided with Thanksgiving, we included a turkey in the menu, with ham, and sweet potatoes. For some, it was a first time experience with turkey while for others, it was close to a real Thanks-giving like one in the US. Bro. Phillip Vanwinkle had to call his mother after the dinner and ask her to guess what he had for dinner! It was also a farewell get-together for bro. Vanwinkle, having completed his teaching stint at Four Seas since his arrival in January. He will be taking up secular employment back in his hometown in Little Rock, AR and is seriously considering doing mission work in Asia at some point in the future.

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM FOR GRADUATES Of the five male graduates from the Philippines, we are pleased that three of them have been accepted into internship programs by churches in Malaysia. Chew, the President of the College.

Bro. Alvin Rosales (age 21, from General Santos City, Mindanao) is now working with the congregation at Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

About 85 brethren from both the Jurong and Lim Ah Pin Road congregations joined the faculty and students to witness the graduation ceremony. Bro. Phillip Vanwinkle served as the emcee for the day. The Guest Speaker delivering the Baccalaureate address was bro. Mike Yeo, one of the two elders from the Lim Ah Pin Road church of Christ. Guests were invited to a reception after the event. Graduates however, were

Bro. John Western Melaka

Medez (age 23, from Bacolod City, Visayas) started his internship with the church of Christ, Malaysia.

William

Buccat (age 24, from Davao Del Norte, Mindanao) works with the Lord’s church

News from Peter Chin

at Kuantan, Malaysia. At this time of writing, all three of them have reported being warmly received by their respective congregations and are given the opportunities to teach/preach, study with prospects and work with the young people. This is a learning experience for these graduates, doing mission work in foreign lands. This will also enrich their experience and help them to be better preachers of the Word.

PREACHING/ TEACHING IN

3

TEACHING/ WORKSHOP ON “THE CHRISTIAN HOME” AT DAMANSARA UTAMA* CHURCH – SEPTEMBER 25-27, 2009. A workshop on family relationships was conducted for the brethren during the weekend of September 25th-27th 2009. A lesson on “Why Marriages Fail” was presented on the first night. The next day, a lesson on “Dating and Courtship” was conducted for the young people while the ladies had a class with Pooi Fun. The evening lessons was on “Communicating with Teenagers” . On Sunday, I presented a lesson on “Growing Old Together” and preached on “Come Unto Me.” The auditorium for the threeday meeting was packed full with visitors and members from at least two other congregations. *Damansara Utama is located about 7 miles away from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.

News from Peter Chin

PREACHING OPPORTUNITIES

I am thankful for the opportunity to preach once every month at either the Lim Ah Pin Road or Jurong congregation. The six times on the last Sunday of even months at Lim Ah Pin Road, are specially geared towards evangelism. Sermons are designed to reach out to the guests invited to the assembly. On the second Sunday of each month, my family and I assemble with the brethren at Johor Bahru across the border in Malaysia to worship with the saints there. It is a small congregation of about 30 and they have been without a preacher for many years. Some of the key men take turn to preach while others do the same to the Chinese speaking group. They have a few men who take the lead in public worship and are deserving of any help that they can get. KUANTAN REVIVAL MEETING – OCTOBER 16TH-18TH 2009. Having not seen these brethren for about 6 years, it was refreshing for Pooi Fun and I to meet them again in this weekend Revival Meeting. This work here started with the first conversion in 1997 when sis. Mollie Ding obeyed the gospel as a result of enrolling in a free Bible Correspondence Course offered by the Klang church of Christ. This effective program bore fruits after a revamp that was brought into place by Pooi Fun in the mid 1990’s. More additions followed from this first baptism and several years later, it grew 4

to a peak of about 17. They meet on the first floor of a rented shop lot for their weekly meetings. Kuantan is located about 165 miles away from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur on the east side of the Peninsula. Thankfully, with the new highway completed several years

lessons were taught over the 3 days. There was one rededication on the first night. Pooi Fun had a class with several ladies on Saturday afternoon. Two extra classes were conducted upon the brethren’s request, which were not originally scheduled. Their desire to learn was commendable. Much good were accomplished in the short meeting with these brethren. Strained relationships were restored among some as a result of learning from the Scriptures. Some who had not been attending for almost a year were at the meeting and at this point of writing, are still assembling with the saints.

VISIT OF BRO. MARVIN & SIS. SUE TRICE On November 10th, bro. Marvin and his wife, sis. Sue Trice visited us at Four Seas College.

ago, it takes a shorter ride. It still takes about 3 ½ hours of travel time. This is the only congregation that seems isolated from the rest which are mostly located along the west coast of the peninsular of Malaysia.

The key people here are bro. William Chan (on left) and his wife, sis. Margaret who have both been very steadfast in keeping the church alive in spite of their own limited time as both are running an eatery in a busy mall. A total of 6

Bro. Marvin is one of the elders of the Champions congregation in Houston, TX. This congregation is one of the supporters of my work here teaching at Four Seas College. Our association with the Trices began when they were stationed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 1986-1996. Bro. Marvin was under the employment of Exxon Malaysia at that time and they were members of the church at Kuala Lumpur for ten years. They have made many friends and contributed in no small way to the stabilization of the work there. They travel here every few years to visit and encourage brethren in this part of the world whom they have got to know and love. While at Four Seas on that day, they joined the faculty and students in their chapel service and Marvin gave a short speech to the students to encourage them in their study and preparation to preach the gospel.

MEETING AT IPOH, PERAK NOV. 8TH 2009 It was another good pleasure to be reacquainted with the brethren at Ipoh in the state of Perak, Malaysia. 5

News from Peter Chin

On Saturday, Nov. 7th, I officiated the wedding of Dr. Andrew Koay and his bride, Kelly. The 72-table (of 10 guests at each table) wedding dinner was held at a well known Chinese Restaurant in town with a dinning space that could seat 800 people. Andrew is the youngest son of bro. Albert Koay, one of the key leaders in the congregation there. Many brethren from several congregations were also invited to the big do. Bro. Albert and his wife, sis. Ann has 3 boys who are all doctors. He was ‘pressed’ by his colleagues during the dinner to make a speech and explain how he and his wife were able to produce 3 doctors in the family! The following morning after the

sons of bro. Chan Kok Leong, one of the leaders in the congregation. During Bible class, I made a Power Point presentation promoting Four Seas College and encouraging brethren to enrol. A short lesson on “The Great Commission” followed the presentation. After preaching the sermon that morning, some of the brethren took us out for lunch. We are thankful for the opportunity to publicize the work at Four Seas and over time, we expect more in the brotherhood both in Malaysia and Singapore to enrol at Four Seas College.

Maturi ng in Christ

3RD ANNUAL FOUR SEAS LECTURESHIP

The next lectureship has been scheduled for December 1st-5th, 2010. The theme, “MATURING IN CHRIST” is a natural progression from the first two themes which are, “CHURCH GROWTH,” and “THE CHRISTIAN HOME.” Churches will grow if the family units of the congregation are strong and the family will be strong if the individuals comprising the families are strong. This year’s second lectureship saw 21 speakers delivering lessons over the five-day period with an average attendance of 106. We hope to see more brethren at the next do, which is a highlight of Four Seas’ annual activities. The first two lectureships had been held in the month of June. Next June, there will be several brotherhood events involving many congregations during that period. Therefore, we have decided to move it to December which will also coincide with the school holidays in both Malaysia and Singapore. Thus it is expected that many shall be able to travel

congregational singing, I had the honor of baptizing two young teenagers who desired to obey the gospel.

here. We shall be delighted to see you in December 2010. Please let us know if you are able to participate. We can surely benefit from your visit.

UPDATE ON WILLY LING

Jonathan and Joshua are twin

Willy is about to take his final examinations in the next two weeks before enjoying a break from studies for two weeks. He is a Sophomore at SIM-Global University. His courses this semester include Philosophy, Nutrition, Calculus, Career Strategies, Planning and Management and Macro Economics. He will begin his Junior Year coming January and is expected to graduate April 6

News from Peter Chin

2011. Willy also helps out in teaching lessons for the Youth class in Jurong and takes turns to lead songs and prayers during services. He is also an active member of his school’s Photography Club where he had been assigned to take shorts during their sports activities. He enjoys taking pictures.

UPDATE ON ANDY LING

Our oldest son, Andy is now working for Starbucks in Singapore. With an Employment Pass, he is now able to stay with us without having to leave the country on a social visa. Andy was offered to do a post-graduate Master’s degree in Business Management by the University of Memphis for the Spring semester. He has however, decided to work for a year before reconsidering continuing his study. Being back here since May, he has already preached for the congregations in Damansara Utama, Lim Ah Pin Road and Jurong. In two weeks’ time, he will be preaching for the congregation at Subang Jaya in Malaysia. He also takes turns to lead songs and prayers during worship. It was hard for him to adjust both to the climate (having been away studying in Memphis since end 2004 to 2009) and to the culture in Singapore.

He is settling well and misses both his friends in Memphis and the brethren there.

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Pooi Fun and I will celebrate the start of our 26 th anniversary come December 17th. We will go on a 5-day vacation in Vietnam visiting Ho Chi Minh city and taking the time also to visit some of our students there. We have set appointments to visit Phuc and Linh and also meet up with Hai, the new student who will be enrolled in January and a potential student, Phuong who intends to be enrolled in the near future. This trip will also provide us a firsthand information on the situation with the Lord’s work in this communist country where religion is a very sensitive issue. Pooi Fun and I have not had a vacation to celebrate our anniversary since our honeymoon and we are looking forward to this trip!

SEASON’S GREETINGS

Singapore is a tropical country with hot weather all year round. During the later part of the year, it gets cooler but is nothing like spring, fall or winter. Having experienced these seasons and their associated activities, we can only reminisce with fondness what we are missing right now. We take this opportunity to wish you the season’s greetings for another blessed and fruitful year of 2010 and beyond. May you prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth (3 John 2). May our Lord bless and keep you.

7 News from Peter Chin