Let me just share very quickly a few
prayer burdens for Hong Kong.
We don't pray for Hong Kong so much.
I think it's good for us to be
aware that a number of countries in that
part of the world, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, all comes under the leadership
of Rodney Hui, and he is based at
present in Hong Kong.
One of his prayer burdens is for a
Hong Kong director.
Stella Chan, who's a key person, is actually
a board member.
She's very involved with her church.
She's very involved going into China.
And she's not going to be the long
-term acting director in Hong Kong.
We need someone else.
They challenged Maureen Ma, who's in Paris, but
she has turned it down because she feels
her cause very clearly to France.
I'd appreciate prayer for the Hong Kong board.
I met with the board.
I don't know if they were all there.
It was a good time, question and answers.
And then we had an evening rally, which
was completely packed and good response.
Hong Kong is surely one of the most
exciting cities in the world.
I know I probably had said that about
other cities.
When I think of Paris, where I was
some weeks ago in Hong Kong, I see
some very interesting differences, but also tremendous similarities.
Hong Kong, of course, becomes part of China
in 1997.
A major factor in the thinking of people
in that huge place.
It's so crowded that when you come into
the airport there, you sort of have to
fly into the buildings and turn right.
I'm always happy they announced that.
And it's amazing.
Just hardly ever had any kind of a
crash coming into Hong Kong, so that's always
a consolation as well.
The New Territories, which is on the mainland,
is, of course, the really growing part of
Hong Kong.
Again, I think they have over 700 churches
in Hong Kong now.
Congregations.
Many churches in that part of the world
have several congregations.
The dominant language there is Cantonese.
The multitude speak English.
And our work is just very, very early
stages.
The ships have some good visits there, but
we need that man or that woman.
And we need prayer for the board.
And we need to see finance.
We do.
We have received a very significant gift for
our Hong Kong training base, hospitality center office.
And there was some good news just the
day I was there about maybe some more
money being released.
Can you imagine the price of property in
places like Hong Kong?
Just quite amazing.
So I'd like us to pray right now,
several people for Hong Kong and those particular
prayer requests.
Pray for those that made commitments in this
meeting that I spoke at, which was a
united meeting between OM and one or two
other groups.
Great potential for recruits.
But again, finding the finance.
Let's make that a matter of prayer.
I spoke in a large Anglican church, which
is going from being quite English to being
international.
Pastors and Englishmen.
In fact, I had another letter from them
this morning.
John Aldous, St. Andrews in Hong Kong.
That's a church with a lot of potential.
A lot of groups in Hong Kong.
Pray for our relationship with other groups.
James Taylor, the third is now living in
Hong Kong.
Some very godly people there.
The Chinese coordinating group, whose magazine I get
regularly.
Their base there.
Their key man is actually on our board.
I met him.
Then I met him again in Manila.
And I'd like us on our team to
be able to pray a little more for
Hong Kong.
Let's pray also at the same time for
Love Taiwan.
Quite a few from Hong Kong are going
over to Love Taiwan.
They just had Love Hong Kong.
Many, many people profess faith.
Pray for the follow-up work.
People who profess faith in Love Hong Kong.
When you think of that, again, I know
I've already said this, that you can get
in a plane here in 13 hours, land
in Hong Kong is just amazing.
I think if some of you have some
contact with Mei Wei, she will be able
to tell you just how many of these
Hong Kong people are right here in London.
And maybe we should be somehow interacting with
more of these people when they're in London.
When they go back, some of them, most
of them do go back, they can spread
the vision.
Of course, Mei is already doing that.
Okay, let's pray for Hong Kong and those
things I just shared, please.
Let me quickly share a few prayer requests
in regard to the Philippines.
Let's pray for Godo and his wife.
I went out and visited the office, which
was quite a trip, right through the heart
of Manila.
Phenomenal traffic, unbelievable pollution.
Just to see the team there in action
in the office.
The little church planting team also came in
that day.
And a Filipino woman drove quite a distance
also to meet me.
And I was amazed to discover that she
got recruited when I ministered at Regent University
in the United States.
I remember the meeting well because two professors
really jumped on me because I guess I
overpushed the unreached people and didn't neglect the
need for the United States.
Can you imagine me doing that?
So these two professors who were heavy into
the United States thing really jumped on me.
It was a rather unpleasant way to end
the meeting.
But this young Filipino woman was completely turned
upside down.
She's a psychology major and she went to
Unlove Europe and then she's been working with
us in Vienna.
Had to return to the Philippines because of
a back difficulty, but that seems to be
healed.
Again, I'm sorry I don't know her name,
but she is an example of many that
really want to get back on the field,
but they need to see that financial breakthrough.
In her case, she needs to see a
health breakthrough.
But we had a good meeting there at
the OM base in the Philippines.
But the very night I arrived, I had
a meeting on Sunday morning in Hong Kong,
Sunday night in Manila, I literally arrived at
this banquet meeting, which was absolutely packed with
ex-OMers, also OMers, and that meeting I
felt went really well.
And I did manage to get there on
time.
They'd all eaten, but they still had a
couple of musical numbers.
Philippines music is a big priority.
Before I had to speak.
And then just a word about the World
Evangelical Fellowship Congress, especially since this tape may
be going out to teams around the world,
I think it's important for OMers to understand
that many OM fields belong to their local
Evangelical Alliance, and that Evangelical Alliance is generally
registered as part of the World Evangelical Fellowship,
which is coordinated out of Singapore in recent
years by David Howard.
And it was in this conference that they
brought in their new leader.
We want to pray for him, a Filipino,
June Vincer.
We also had a visit, unfortunately the afternoon
I left, of the new head of state,
Mr. Ramos, the first Protestant head of state
for the Philippines.
I think we should pray for him.
I personally don't know where he is spiritually,
but he came to this event and spoke.
I missed that opportunity.
But certainly this is a very tense and
strategic hour for the Philippines.
The Dawn Movement holds the Philippines up as
their model because there's just so much church
planting going on.
They have these incredible goals.
And I was reading an article that just
shows how the growth of the church in
the Philippines about a decade or two ago
just really went down.
And why?
Some of the reasons.
And now it's just gone way up.
New churches, new people coming to Christ.
Very, very encouraging.
And yet with it, of course, many, many
complexities.
Pray for June Vincer as he takes over
that responsibility.
He will move to Singapore to handle that.
This movement is way, way over 100 years
old.
This is the first time anyone from the
two-thirds world, some people call the third
world, is now the international leader.
So that's something to praise God for and
also to pray about.
This was their assembly, which only takes place
about every fourth or fifth year.
So it's a very important event.
And out of it will come quite a
few initiatives.
Key people were there representing other movements.
For example, Tom Houston was there.
Houston representing the Lausanne Committee.
And in the past, sometimes there's been a
bit of confusion between WEF, Lausanne, Year 2000
movement, Dawn movement.
Let's really pray that these various movements, all
of them have their distinctives, yet all of
them have their overlap factors.
Very important to pray for wisdom.
When you're in the fast lane, miscommunications so
easily come.
I think of Louise Bush in Riga, was
presenting me with something he wanted me to
do.
Now I have the letter from him of
what he wants me to do.
My understanding of what he's telling me, he
wanted me to do, and what he's saying
in this letter, seem to me two completely
different things.
And I'm getting drawn into something, which I'm
not exactly sure where I'm going, except it
does seem to end up partly in Korea.
So I would really ask you to pray
for the dovetailing of these different movements.
There has been talk of merging Lausanne with
WEF.
I don't think that's going to happen, but
that was a very interesting point in this
Congress.
Number of excellent people were there.
And in some cases, the people there, only
one or two from an individual country.
If we could pray a little more for
Latin America, that seems to be a weak
area for getting evangelicals to unite together and
have this kind of alliance, this kind of
linking.
Also, they very much, in all other nations,
want to be involved in the whole side
of justice, social concern, and that needs a
lot of prayer, just how all that works
out.
They have some tremendous examples of breakthroughs.
One of their goals, and it's very important
for prayer, is to be in touch with
government, to be in touch with government.
And right here in Great Britain, one of
the key things that Clive Calver, the evangelical
alliance are into is contact with the government
concerning various issues.
So that's another item for prayer.
I wish there were time to just share
with you some of the individuals that I
met there, especially had contact with the ships.
The ships have really given us friends in
almost every nation in the world.
It's just what does the Lord want us
to do with all these friends?
How can we follow up when the ship
goes to a place and then they don't
hear anything for four years?
Of course, the Holy Spirit is working, so
we don't need to feel real sort of
depressed about it, but is there something else
we could be doing?
Because in some of these countries, these people
are really needing help and needing encouragement.
So let's pray right now for the Philippines.
Let's give thanks for the General Assembly of
WEF, our own part in that, Stuart McAllister.
Last time I talked to him, we had
a very good fellowship there late one night.
Also, Pablo Carrillo, Exoamer, who runs Magreb Ministry.
We hadn't seen each other for years.
I might just say here, there's still quite
a few people around the world, including Exoamers,
that are confused by our change in financial
policy.
They've not had communication that much about it.
They haven't taken the initiative to find out.
And some would even feel betrayed that OM
has changed its policy.
And they went a certain direction in their
life because of what OM is teaching.
OM has changed, and they're still going in
that direction.
It's far more significant, I found out recently,
than perhaps I realized, including board members, people
on the board of directors in different parts
of the world.
Maybe we could make that a matter of
prayer.
It's amazing, by the way, how many of
these groups in different parts of the world
are just struggling for the barest, barest amount
of money to keep going in their offices,
in their evangelical alliances.
They have different names, by the way, in
different countries.
What I was about to say is that
Stuart McAllister may, at least that's the way
it was headed, but I wasn't there the
last three days, so I don't want to
say categorically, be involved 30% of his
time with the WEF movement in Europe, the
European Regional Evangelical Alliance, which has some countries
that are very, very weak, and it's quite
a highly complex challenge.
So we might want to pray for Stuart.
He was there.
Rodney was able to attend as well.
Okay, let's pray for those requests.
Let me just give a few requests for
Singapore, and then we'll really have our final
session of prayer ending on that note.
I've just come, of course, arriving this morning
from Singapore.
I think the word that's just jumping out
of my mind as I think of Singapore
is potential, and let's just pray.
This conference I spoke at the last few
days was called World Heartbeat.
It was a United Conference sponsored by a
local organization called SCEM.
It's basically a local organization for mobilizing churches
for world missions, and they had about 20
churches officially cooperating, which really, in a place
of 400 churches, is a bit small.
The definite tendency is for bigger churches to
do their own thing and not get involved
in this kind of thing, and yet groups
like OMF, WEC, OM, SIM, which is growing
in Singapore, they're at the very heart of
SCEM's activity, and Kenneth Bang was on the
committee.
So let's pray that this grows.
They probably won't have another conference like this
for another couple of years.
Malaysia is about to organize a similar conference
for next May.
They've asked me to go there on May
30th to KL.
But let's pray that more churches will, even
if they are somewhat doing their own thing,
would still get involved in this because this
group has a lot of materials.
The greatest display of missionary books I saw
in Singapore was in the OMF office and
the SCEM office, including books just recently published.
Let's really pray for the follow-up.
We had 400 signed up for seminars, a
lot of key people involved in the seminars.
I had the three plenary sessions in the
evening.
I think each night we had about 700,
800, but some came one night, didn't come
another.
So we certainly had input into over 1
,000.
I think quite a few made various kinds
of commitments.
We had a big commitment paper.
We gave them on the final evening.
In some very encouraging time on the book
sales, we saw over $7,000 just from
our tables.
Singapore dollars go out...
Singapore dollar, by the way, is three for
one pound, almost exactly, to help understand that.
And we especially saw a lot of copies
of Grace Awakening, which is relatively unknown in
Singapore, before this weekend going out.
Previous to the World Heartbeat, which ended on
Sunday night, I was speaking at a Chinese
church, though it does have also an English
congregation called Grace Church, and a young woman,
ex-OMR, just married to an Australian, Tieng
Bin.
That was pretty close, no?
She was really...
I remember meeting her in Lagos and she
was saying, oh, I must be doing more
among the Chinese churches, and she explained this
to me.
That was in St. Lucia, years ago.
And she came back, and she's been in
Australia while studying, and she was the missionary,
person in charge of missions at this church,
and probably one of the reasons that I
got in there.
Very strategic church.
They did a faith promise and raised $400
,000 just on that weekend in pledges.
Over 450,000 in Singapore.
They have 20 or 30 missionaries out from
that church.
Again, a couple of ex-OMRs.
So they are considered, really, the pace-setting
church, at least of the moderate, medium-sized
churches in Singapore.
But pray.
She is now leaving that position.
Pray for her.
She's a little unsure about her future.
Only recently married.
Pray for that church.
Just especially, they had very nice, well-printed
decision cards.
They did everything very, very well organized.
Pray for those that have made commitments.
The ex-OMRs reunion went well.
About 150 were there.
Again, we have about 400 ex-OMRs, I
believe, in Singapore.
Unless that figure included Malaysia, but that's the
figure I heard.
And some of them, actually quite a few
of them, are in key leadership positions.
But we need more contact with them.
We're not having a lot of contact with
these people, though we do have an ex
-OMRs committee.
And ex-OMRs in Singapore are probably more
organized than most countries anywhere in the OM
world.
Of course, it's a small place.
They have a meeting.
Most of them can get there.
It was great to meet with a number
of individuals, especially some who used to work
on this team.
We also took extra time to try to
just meet with the business and professional people.
I felt we only scratched the surface of
what can be done on that.
We need more time, more people who are
willing to do that.
And it was good to have contact with
Kenneth, with Perry Lim, and others, and just
talk about some of these things.
I went and visited the OM office.
We all went out for lunch together.
So that was a real encouragement.
So let's pray.
I think there are less than 150 longer
-term missionaries out from Singapore at present, but
it is growing.
Some of them go out and come back,
and then they can't find the support to
get out again.
I was able to reproduce a large quantity
of my teaching tapes on the subject of
funds as soon as I got there.
I just made a lot of copies cheaper
than we can do it here.
Pray, as those tapes go out, that somehow
they will be used, especially that tape, for
example, how to raise support to help some
of the young people understand the financial challenge.
It was especially a privilege to go out,
to be with OMF, their new leader, David
Pickard.
And he was telling me how his children
had been on Love Europe.
Very positive experience.
A young man named Kenneth is the director
for OMF in Singapore.
Another man that I got very linked with
was a surgeon in Niger for some years,
really the first SIM missionary to go out
from Singapore.
He's now the director of SIM Singapore.
He came back from Niger.
His name is Andrew Ng and his wife.
Very good people.
So I was really encouraged.
Meeting some of these people who are sort
of the shakers and movers of the missionary
movement in Singapore.
A lot more could be done in terms
of getting even the most basic missionary books
out to people.
I had a couple of pastor seminars, one
on stress, quite a good crowd out, and
then the next morning another one on being
a sender.
The whole morning on being a sender.
Most of this is on tape.
Let's pray for the distribution of these tapes,
especially since for the first time I now
have quite a lot of material in Cantonese.
How does the Lord want us to use
that?
A lot of Cantonese people in Hong Kong.
Should these tapes even go into China?
I don't know.
Let's pray.
Father, I just thank you for the privilege
of this trip, especially the opportunity to renew
fellowship with so many, I think especially of
Lawrence Tong and his wife Susan, now in
business there in Singapore and yet very much
involved as an associate helping to mobilize action
and prayer and finance for the ship ministry.
I think of Glenn Kenashita who was able
to come in from California and David and
Joe Hadley in from Jordan.
And the fellowship we were able to have,
the time we were able to have together.
Thank you for Kenneth Bong, Puri Lim, Laura,
all those there at the office who are
really carrying a load on their burdens and
their visions.
We think of Kenneth's possible trip into Central
Asia.
Think of the challenge of Central Asia that
went out over these past few days.
We especially pray for those that made commitments
to go to pray, to give.
Thank you for the finance that came in,
several really large gifts, a lot of smaller
gifts, the offering at the Exo-Emers reunion.
We pray for Rodney who was not able
to be with us there but who oversees
this area, this field.
Pray for Bagas.
Bagas is studying there in Singapore Bible College.
And so many who are trying to get
preparation.
Think of, I think her name is Alice,
accepted at All Nations.
And just pray that as different O-Emers
are now in college, in Bible college, they'll
have the wisdom and the grace to get
through those studies, get back on the field.
Pray for Margaret Tong, still ill.
She would be raised up.
We pray for Geraldine as she adjusts into
working with her own church after many years
in Pakistan.
We think of so many Exo-Emers who
are also now in the business world, others
who are full-time in their own churches.
And just pray they may be mobilizing and
recruiting and helping energize others for world evangelism.
In Jesus' name, amen.
If you have any questions about what I've
shared here, you can always write to me,
George Verwer, Operation Mobilization, or O-M, Post
Office Box 17, Bromley, Kent, England, BR13NR.
I hope you'll share this tape with others
and especially use it in prayer times, stopping
after the presentation of each particular place and
praying in connection with the items that I've
shared.
Thank you very much.
Let me just share very quickly a few
prayer burdens for Hong Kong.
We don't pray for Hong Kong so much.
I think it's good for us to be
aware that a number of countries in that
part of the world, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, all comes under the leadership
of Rodney Hui.
And he is based at present in Hong
Kong.
One of his prayer burdens is for a
Hong Kong director.
Stella Chan, who's a key person, is actually
a board member.
She's very involved with her church.
She's very involved going into China.
And she's not going to be the long
-term acting director in Hong Kong.
We need someone else.
They challenged Maureen Ma, who's in Paris, but
she has turned it down because she feels
her call is very clearly to France.
I'd appreciate prayer for the Hong Kong board.
I met with the board and I don't
know if they were all there.
It was a good time, question and answers.
And then we had an evening rally which
was completely packed and good response.
Hong Kong is surely one of the most
exciting cities in the world.
I know I probably have said that about
other cities.
When I think of Paris, when I think
of Paris where I was some weeks ago
in Hong Kong, I see some very interesting
differences but also tremendous similarities.
Hong Kong, of course, becomes part of China
in 1997.
A major factor in the thinking of people
in that huge place.
It's so crowded that when you come into
the airport there, you certainly have to fly
into the buildings and turn right.
I'm always happy they announced that.
And it's amazing.
Just hardly ever had any kind of a
crash coming into Hong Kong.
So that's always a consolation as well.
The New Territories which is on the mainland
is, of course, the really growing part of
Hong Kong.
Again, I think they have over 700 churches
in Hong Kong now.
Congregations.
Many churches in that part of the world
have several congregations.
The dominant language there is Cantonese.
The multitude speak English.
And our work is just very, very early
stages.
The ships have good visits there.
But we need that man or that woman.
And we need prayer for the board.
We need to seek finance.
We do.
We have received a very significant gift for
our Hong Kong training base, hospitality center office.
And there was some good news just the
day I was there about maybe some more
money being released.
Can you imagine the price of property in
places like Hong Kong?
Just quite amazing.
So I'd like us to pray right now
several people for Hong Kong and those particular
prayer requests.
Pray for those that made commitments in this
meeting that I spoke at which was a
united meeting between OM and one or two
other groups.
Great potential for recruits.
But again, finding the finance.
Let's make that a matter of prayer.
I spoke in a large Anglican church which
is going from being quite English to being
international.
Pastors and Englishmen.
In fact, I had another letter from them
this morning.
John Aldiss, St. Andrews of Hong Kong.
That's a church with a lot of potential.
A lot of groups in Hong Kong.
Pray for our relationship with other groups.
James Taylor, the third is now living in
Hong Kong.
Some very godly people there.
The Chinese coordinating group whose magazine I get
regularly.
Their base there.
Their key man is actually on our board.
I met him.
Then I met him again in Manila.
I'd like us on our team to be
able to pray a little more for Hong
Kong.
Let's pray also at the same time for
Love Taiwan.
Quite a few from Hong Kong are going
over to Love Taiwan.
They just had Love Hong Kong.
Many, many people profess faith.
Pray for the follow-up work.
People who profess faith in Love Hong Kong.
When you think of that, again, I know
I've already said this, that you can get
in a plane here in 13 hours.
Land in Hong Kong is just amazing.
I think if some of you have some
contact with Mei Wei, she will be able
to tell you just how many of these
Hong Kong people are right here in London.
Maybe we should be somehow interacting with more
of these people when they're in London.
When they go back, most of them do
go back, they can spread the vision.
Of course, Mei is already doing that.
Okay, let's pray for Hong Kong and those
things I just shared, please.
Let me quickly share a few prayer requests
in regard to the Philippines.
Let's pray for Godo and his wife.
I went out and visited the office, which
was quite a trip right through the heart
of Manila.
Phenomenal traffic, unbelievable pollution.
And just to see the team there in
action in the office.
And the little church planting team also came
in that day.
And a Filipino woman drove quite a distance
also to meet me.
And I was amazed to discover that she
got recruited when I ministered at Regent University
in the United States.
I remember the meeting well because two professors
really jumped on me.
Because I guess I overpushed the unreached people
and didn't neglect the need for the United
States.
Can you imagine me doing that?
So these two professors who were heavy into
the United States thing really jumped on me.
It was a rather unpleasant way to end
the meeting.
But this young Filipino woman was completely turned
upside down.
She's a psychology major and she went to
Unlove Europe and then she's been working with
us in Vienna.
I had to return to the Philippines because
of a back difficulty.
But that seems to be healed.
Again, I'm sorry I don't know her name.
But she is an example of many that
really want to get back on the field.
But they need to see that financial breakthrough.
In her case, she needs to see a
health breakthrough.
But we had a good meeting there at
the OM base in the Philippines.
But the very night I arrived, I had
a meeting on Sunday morning in Hong Kong,
Sunday night in Manila.
I literally arrived at this banquet meeting which
was absolutely packed with ex-OMers, also OMers.
And that meeting went really, I felt, went
really well.
And I did manage to get there on
time.
They'd all eaten but they still had a
couple of musical numbers.
Philippines music is a big priority before I
had to speak.
And then just a word about the world,
Evangelical Fellowship Congress, especially since this tape may
be going out to teams around the world.
I think it's important for OMers to understand
that many OM fields belong to their local
Evangelical Alliance.
And that Evangelical Alliance is generally registered as
part of the World Evangelical Fellowship which is
coordinated out of Singapore in recent years by
David Howard.
And it was in this conference that they
brought in their new leader.
We want to pray for him.
A Filipino, June Venser.
June Venser.
We also had a visit.
Unfortunately, the afternoon I left of the new
head of state, Mr. Ramos, the first Protestant
head of state for the Philippines.
I think we should pray for him.
I personally don't know where he is spiritually
but he came to this event and spoke.
I missed that opportunity.
But certainly this is a very tense and
strategic hour for the Philippines.
The Dawn Movement holds the Philippines up as
their model because there's just so much church
planting going on.
They have these incredible goals.
And I was reading an article that just
shows how the growth of the church in
the Philippines about a decade or two ago
just really went down.
And why?
Some of the reasons.
And now it's just gone way up.
New churches, new people coming to Christ.
It's very, very encouraging.
And yet with it, of course, many, many
complexities.
Pray for June Venser as he takes over
that responsibility.
He will move to Singapore to handle that.
This movement is way, way over 100 years
old.
This is the first time anyone from the
two-thirds world, some people call the third
world, is now the international leader.
So that's something to praise God for and
also to pray about.
This was their assembly, which only takes place
about every fourth or fifth year.
So it's a very important event.
And out of it will come quite a
few initiatives.
Key people were there representing other movements.
For example, Tom Houston was there.
Houston representing the Lausanne Committee.
And in the past, sometimes there's been a
bit of confusion between WEF, Lausanne, Year 2000
Movement, Dawn Movement.
Let's really pray that these various movements, all
of them have their distinctives, yet all of
them have their overlap factors.
Very important to pray for wisdom.
When you're in the fast lane, miscommunications so
easily come.
I think of Louise Bush in Riga was
presenting me with something he wanted me to
do.
Now I have the letter from him of
what he wants me to do.
My understanding of what he's telling me he
wanted me to do and what he's saying
in this letter seem to me two completely
different things.
And I'm getting drawn into something which I'm
not exactly sure where I'm going, except it
does seem to end up partly in Korea.
So I would really ask you to pray
for the dovetailing of these different movements.
There has been talk of merging Lausanne with
WEF.
I don't think that's going to happen, but
that was a very interesting point in this
Congress.
A number of excellent people were there.
And in some cases, the people there, only
one or two from an individual country.
If we could pray a little more for
Latin America, that seems to be a weak
area for getting evangelicals to unite together and
have this kind of alliance, this kind of
linking.
Also, they very much, in all of their
nations, want to be involved in the whole
side of justice, social concern, and that needs
a lot of prayer, just how all that
works out.
They have some tremendous examples of breakthroughs.
One of their goals, and it's very important
for prayer, is to be in touch with
government, to be in touch with government.
And right here in Great Britain, one of
the key things that Clive Calver, the Evangelical
Alliance, are into is contact with the government
concerning various issues.
So that's another item for prayer.
I wish there were time to just share
with you some of the individuals that I
met there, especially had contact with the ships.
The ships have really given us friends in
almost every nation in the world.
It's just, what does the Lord want us
to do with all these friends?
How can we follow up when the ship
goes to a place and then they don't
hear anything for four years?
Of course, the Holy Spirit is working, so
we don't need to feel real sort of
depressed about it, but is there something else
we could be doing?
Because in some of these countries, these people
are really needing help and needing encouragement.
So let's pray right now for the Philippines.
Let's give thanks for the General Assembly of
WEF.
Our own part of that, Stuart McAllister.
Last time I talked to him, we had
a very good fellowship there.
It was late one night.
Also, Pablo Carrillo, ex-alember, who runs Maghreb
Ministry.
We hadn't seen each other for years.
I might just say here, there's still quite
a few people around the world, including ex
-alembers, that are confused by our change of
financial policy.
They've not had communication that much about it.
They haven't taken the initiative to find out,
and some would even feel betrayed that OM
has changed its policy.
And they went a certain direction in their
life because of what OM is teaching.
OM has changed, and they're still going in
that direction.
It's far more significant, I found out recently,
than perhaps I realized, including board members, people
on the board of directors in different parts
of the world.
Maybe we can make that a matter of
prayer.
It's amazing, by the way, how many of
these groups in different parts of the world
are just struggling for the barest, barest amount
of money to keep going.
In their offices, in their evangelical alliances.
They have different names, by the way, in
different countries.
What I was about to say is that
Stuart McAllister may, at least that's the way
it was headed, but I wasn't there the
last three days, so I don't want to
say categorically, be involved 30% of his
time with the WEF movement in Europe, European
Regional Evangelical Alliance, which has some countries that
are very, very weak and it's quite a
highly complex challenge.
So we might want to pray for Stuart.
He was there.
Rodney was able to attend as well.
Okay, let's pray for those requests.
Let me just give a few requests for
Singapore and then we'll really have our final
session of prayer ending on that note.
I've just come, of course, arriving this morning
from Singapore.
I think the word that's just jumping out
of my mind as I think of Singapore
is potential.
Let's just pray.
This conference I spoke at the last few
days is called World Heartbeat.
It was a United Conference sponsored by a
local organization called SCEM.
It's basically a local organization for mobilizing churches
for world missions.
They had about 20 churches officially cooperating, which
really, in a place of 400 churches, is
a bit small.
The definite tendency is for bigger churches to
do their own thing and not get involved
in this kind of thing.
And yet, groups like OMF, WEC, OMSIM, which
is growing in Singapore, they're at the very
heart of SCEM's activity.
And Kenneth Bang was on the committee.
So let's pray that this grows.
They probably won't have another conference like this
for another couple of years.
Malaysia is about to organize a similar conference
for next May.
They've asked me to go there on May
30th to KL.
But let's pray that more churches will, even
if they are somewhat doing their own thing,
would still get involved in this because this
group has a lot of materials.
The greatest display of missionary books I saw
in Singapore was in the OMF office and
the SCEM office, including books just recently published.
Let's really pray for the follow-up.
We had 400 signed up for seminars, a
lot of key people involved in the seminars.
I had the three plenary sessions in the
evening.
I think each night we had about 700,
800, but some came one night, didn't come
another.
So we certainly had input into over 1
,000.
I think quite a few made various kinds
of commitments.
We had a big commitment paper.
We gave them on the final evening.
In some very encouraging time on the book
sales, we saw over $7,000 just from
our tables.
Singapore dollars go out.
Singapore dollar, by the way, is three for
one pound, almost exactly, to help understand that.
And we especially saw a lot of copies
of Grace Awakening, which is relatively unknown in
Singapore before this weekend going out.
Previous to the World Heartbeat, which ended on
Sunday night, I was speaking at a Chinese
church, though it does have also an English
congregation called Grace Church.
And a young woman, ex-OMer, just married
to an Australian, Tian Bin.
That was pretty close, no?
She was really...
I remember meeting her in Lagos, and she
was saying, oh, I must be doing more
among the Chinese churches.
And she explained this to me.
That was in St. Lucia years ago.
And she came back, and she's been in
Australia while studying, and she was the missionary,
person in charge of missions at this church.
And probably one of the reasons that I
got in there.
Very strategic church.
They did a faith promise and raised $400
,000 just on that weekend in pledges.
Over $450,000 in Singapore.
They have 20 or 30 missionaries out from
that church.
Again, a couple of ex-OMers.
So, they are considered really the pace-setting
church, at least of the moderate, medium-sized
churches in Singapore.
But pray, she is now leaving that position.
Pray for her, she's a little unsure about
her future.
Only recently married.
Pray for that church, and just especially, they
had very nice, well-printed decision cards.
And just, they did everything very, very, very
well organized.
Pray for those that have made commitments.
The ex-OMers reunion went well.
About 150 were there.
Again, we have about 400 ex-OMers, I
believe, in Singapore.
Unless that figure included Malaysia, but that's the
figure I heard.
And some of them, actually quite a few
of them, are in key leadership positions.
But we need more contact with them.
We're not having a lot of contact with
these people, but we do have an ex
-OMers committee.
And ex-OMers in Singapore is probably more
organized than most countries anywhere in the OM
world.
Of course, it's a small place.
They have a meeting, most of them can
get there.
It was great to meet with a number
of individuals, especially some who used to work
on this team.
We also took extra time to try to
just meet with the business and professional people.
I felt we only scratched the surface of
what can be done.
We need more time, more people who are
willing to do that.
And it was good to have contact with
Kenneth, with Perry Lim, and others, and just
talk about some of these things.
I went and visited the OM office.
We all went out for lunch together.
So that was a real encouragement.
So let's pray.
I think there are less than 150 longer
-term missionaries out from Singapore at present.
But it is growing.
Some of them go out and come back,
and then they can't find the support to
get out again.
I was able to reproduce a large quantity
of my teaching tapes on the subject of
funds as soon as I got there.
Just made a lot of copies, cheaper than
we can do it here.
Pray as those tapes go out, that somehow
it will be used to, especially that tape,
for example, how to raise support to help
some of the young people understand the financial
challenge.
It was especially a privilege to be with
OMF, their new leader, David Pickard.
And he was telling me how his children
had been on Love Europe.
Very positive experience.
A young man named Kenneth is the director
for OMF in Singapore.
Another man that I got very linked with
was a surgeon in Niger for some years.
Really the first SIM missionary to go out
from Singapore.
He's now the director of SIM Singapore.
Came back from Niger.
His name is Andrew Ng and his wife.
Very good people.
So I was really encouraged meeting some of
these people who are sort of the shakers
and movers of the missionary movement in Singapore.
A lot more could be done in terms
of getting even the most basic missionary books
out to people.
I had a couple of pastor seminars.
One on stress.
Quite a good crowd out.
And then the next morning, another one on
being a sender.
The whole morning on being a sender.
Most of this is on tape.
Let's pray for the distribution of these tapes,
especially since for the first time, I now
have quite a lot of material in Cantonese.
How does the Lord want us to use
that?
A lot of Cantonese people in Hong Kong.
Should these tapes even go into China?
I don't know.
Let's pray.
Father, I just thank you for the privilege
of this trip, especially the opportunity to renew
fellowship with so many.
I think especially of Lawrence Tong and his
wife, Susan.
Now in business there in Singapore and yet
very much involved as an associate, helping to
mobilize action and prayer and finance for the
ship ministry.
I think of Glenn, who was able to
come in from California and David and Joe
Hadley in from Jordan.
And the fellowship we were able to have,
time we were able to have together.
Thank you for Kenneth Bong, Perry Lim, Laura,
all those there at the office who are
really carrying a load on their burdens and
their visions.
We think of Kenneth's possible trip into Central
Asia.
Think of the challenge of Central Asia that
went out over these past few days.
Especially pray for those that made commitments to
go to pray, give.
Thank you for the finance that came in.
Several really large gifts, a lot of smaller
gifts.
The offering at the Exo-Emers reunion.
We pray for Rodney, who was not able
to be with us there, but who oversees
this area, this field.
Pray for Bagas.
Bagas is studying there in Singapore Bible College.
And so many who are trying to get
preparation.
Think of, I think her name is Alice,
accepted at All Nations.
And just pray that as different O-Emers
are now in college, in Bible college, they'll
have the wisdom and the grace to get
through those studies, get back on the field.
Pray for Margaret Todd, still ill.
She would be raised up.
Pray for Geraldine as she adjusts into working
with her own church.
After many years in Pakistan, we think of
so many Exo-Emers who are also now
in the business world.
Others who are full-time in their own
churches.
And just pray they may be mobilizing and
recruiting and helping energize others for world evangelism.
In Jesus' name, amen.
If you have any questions about what I've
shared here, you can always write to me,
George Verwer, Operation Mobilization, or OM.
Post Office Box 17, Bromley, Kent, England, BR13NR.
I hope you'll share this tape with others
and especially use it in prayer times.
Stopping after the presentation of each particular place
and praying in connection with the items that
I've shared.