Blessed 2021.

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for journeying with us!

WHAT a whirlwind season it has been, yet God has been faithful.

Yes, you read the title correctly- we are staying, and yet, we are moving!

Here’s part of a letter we sent out to friends and family.

Staying Put, Yet Moving Homes

Cliff: As many of you know, WJ went back to the frontlines earlier this year when COVID-19 hit. It was a challenging decision. Yet, God made it so clear to us. Since then, He has moved in marvelous ways- opening doors for her to work at a strategic level with different institutions, governments, and most recently, even the World Health Organization.

As we sought God on leaving for a developing country next year after Wai Jia’s bond ends in January 2021, we felt Him say to stay for another year to sow into the migrant worker health initiatives here.

It all started with a small project creating booklets and posters to prevent COVID-19 from spreading. As Wai Jia obeyed God’s prompting, one door led to another.

All these works are done not by Wai Jia’s strength. Rather, it is through prayers and being faithful to God.

A wonderful opportunity to partner multiple health institutions and Ministry of Manpower to engage and empower migrant workers, over various Recreation Centers, during International Migrants Day weekend (18-20 Dec).

WJ: At first, it was very difficult for us to say yes. When my mentors and bosses asked me to stay to continue the work with WHO instead of going overseas in 2021 to a developing country, I questioned myself if I was taking the easy option. But through prayer, we discovered that God was challenging us to re-write our missions story out of obedience to Him, even if it did not conform to our own ideas of our future.

Cliff: Because of this, we are staying for another year. But because our current landlord renewing our lease, we have to move again.

WJ: Having been the 8^th major move in 8 years, my heart was truly tormented. My prayer was- God, choose for us!

During a prayer retreat one day (just a brief two hours alone at the beach seeking God for true rest in repentance), God spoke to me through a bizarre dream I had recently. Through a miraculous series of events that was triggered by the dream, God led us clearly back to the same neighborhood we had experienced His divine provision for us when we first returned from Uganda, where we housesat a very old but beautiful home overlooking the McRitchie reservoir. It is not the same home, but it has the view we could only dream of!

View from the living room, complete with chickens, monkeys and colugos downstairs!

WJ: Since we returned from Canada, God led us on a journey of inner healing which has been so refreshing to our battered souls. We did not realize how broken each of us were, from the trauma and accumulated stresses of various past experiences. As we worked through our issues, God released us – myself back into frontline work, and Cliff back into ministry! I am so proud of him!

More importantly, God revealed to me that moving, when part of His will, is not a chore. Whenever people comment how hard it must be or give pitiable sighs, I remind myself of James 1:2-4: ” Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

When we suffer for the Lord in any way for His will to be done (in our case, our constant once-a-year move for the past 8 years has been in obedience to following Him), we can count it all joy and look to our heavenly home and reward in heaven! This has given me much joy, and I am grateful!

Praying for friends, old and new ones, to journey with us through this next transition.

A Special Christmas

Inspired by John Piper’s exhortation for us to “bend our imagination backwards” to bring out the true meaning of Christmas for our children,
Cliff took to building a stable from scratch with Sarah-Faith!

We’ve decided as a family, that building a nativity scene together every year will become our family tradition- No Santa!

Prayer Pointers