Source/Author: By James TC Wong

This story was first published at gmc.org.my on May 27, 2014.

May 25, Miri – It is not uncommon that Christians encounter many confrontations emotionally and spiritually in their daily living.

When that happens, it is important to make sure that they are on The Lord’s side in their battles, emphasized Rev. Lisa Ting in opening her sermon during the 4th Miri Enrolment Sunday.

Traditionally, the Enrolment Sunday is an important event whereby all members of the Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade are formally enrolled and re-dedicated.

Held at 4th Miri’s Sponsoring Church Grace Methodist, the solemn Colours March-In at 8:30 am was received by Rev. Lisa and witnessed by a standing congregation.

Among the congregation were invited parents of the Boys and Girls, SIB Rev. Stephen Upai and Rev. Loter Sakai, SIB Miri District Youth Workers Ervina Wong and Fiona Peter, the Boys’ Brigade Sarawak State Commissioner Hon. Capt. Lo Hoi Fook and the Boys’ Brigade Officers from 5th and 6th Miri.

Using Joshua 5:13-6:21, Rev. Lisa preached on Spiritual Victory with three key points:
1) The battle is won by remembering who is in charge, 
2) God’s methods are always right and
3) Victory is ours if we do not quit.

“Today as we learn about the principle of spiritual victory, we need to understand that all of us are in spiritual battle and no one can be exempted. And if we want to win the battle, we need to remember who is in charge,” said the pastor-in-charge and Chaplain of the 4th Miri GB.

Rev. Lisa pointed out that through his unwavering loyalty and faith in God, Joshua had successfully conquered the Land of Canaan.

Joshua had also faithfully followed God’s strange instruction for the Battle of Jericho. “In this incident, it really shows us that God’s methods are not man’s methods but God’s methods are always right,” explained Rev. Lisa.

“We may have been doing the right things, but simply stop. What about you? Do you just stop one round short in your conquest of your personal Jericho? Or have you walked many rounds? Do not quit or give up. The spiritual victory is coming,” encouraged the good Chaplain.

In conclusion, Rev. Lisa reminded the congregation to seek The Lord, serve Him and follow Him.

The service included reports from the respective BB and GB Captains.

Eunice Ho, in her capacity as the GB Captain, first thanked the Officers and Helpers for their dedication and service. While the GB school-based membership intake has remained stable, Capt. Eunice expressed her concern for the declining number of members joining the church-based parade. In this aspect, she appealed to the parents in the congregation to consider sending their daughters to enrol.

Capt. Roseline Lee presented her report by first thanking and praising God for the 12 years of BB in the church. Following that, she outlined the various activities carried out throughout the previous year. “The BB activity in SJK (C) Chung Hua is only held 18 times a year. To benefit more from BB, I would encourage those who are attending school-based activity to also join our Saturday Parade in church which is carried out at least 40 times in a year,” she said. In summing up, she thanked her fellow Officers and Helpers and appealed for more church members to come forward to serve. “We need more manpower – be it part-time or full-time because we need your area of expertise to train our Boys.”

Cpl. Christopher Tang received the Certificate of Full Attendance (2013) and Pte. Howard Chui was promoted to L/Cpl.

In saving a friend’s life, a special award ‘The Certificate of Heroism’ from The Boys’ Brigade In Malaysia was presented to Pte. Jonah Lau by the BB Sarawak State Commissioner Hon. Capt. Lo Hoi Fook in the presence of the applauding congregation.

The 14-year-old had performed an act of service deserving of national recognition when he pulled out his drowned friend from a pool and applied CPR on him at a local clubhouse in Miri on Nov 3, 2013.

Lau Buong Hoo and Wong Ngie Ping, proud parents of Pte. Jonah, were visibly humbled and elated with their son’s award. “We thank and glorify God for the BB. Years ago in Sibu, after we saw the amazing transformation of our mischievous nephew to becoming a church youth leader because he was a BB, we were fully convinced Jonah should join as soon as he was of eligible age,” said Wong. “I want to encourage all parents to send their children to BB without any hesitation or reservation.”

To Rev. Stephen Upai of SIB, the Enrolment Sunday Service was an eye-opener for the good shepherd. “I’m so glad to be here today. For the first time, I get a better overview of what the BB and GB ministries are about. The Boys and Girls have performed splendidly in their creative skits, bringing across good Christian messages.

The personal testimony on character-building by the BB Officer was so heart-warming and inspiring, thank God,” Rev. Stephen praised.

Other highlights included an inspirational testimony by WO Raymond Tie and skits by the BB and GB that were well-received by the congregation.

The service was completed with the Colours March-Out at 10:30 am followed by group photo-taking.

Story by James TC Wong
Photographers: Aaron IH Wong, Abel IH Wong
Grace Methodist Church