Love for You Timor Leste

Unstructured Structures that succeeds, Contentment in Simplicity yet having Joy, Keen & Teachable Spirit accompanied with Hope for a better future. All these I mention describe the East Timorese I have met. Like new coal added to the hot glowing coals, let me share the precious Joy I have caught from Timor. May the warmth spread into your heart the way it did for me.

It’s an irony really. I went to Timor Leste with a prepared heart and mind to serve. All that I was, all I had in me I put it all on the table to give. At least I thought that it was all giving. What I least expected was the receiving into my Spirit & a glimpse of the extent of God’s Love for the Timorese people & for Me.

I went with an anticipation of God to use me for fulfilling His purposes, opening my eyes to see Him, & seeing things through His eyes. He showed me that He alone makes my life Beautiful in His perfect time, and in the same way I Received, was I then able to be used by God to share, minister & testify to the Timorese people I came into contact with… in a real way.

Had a chance to teach Practical English Usage to groups of Timorese Youths aged 18-29 from a Youth Centre in the town of Timor Leste- Dili (Except for 1 student who was old enough to be my Grandpa! Admire his spirit for learning). Shared basic English conversational techniques like Eg. Meeting & Greeting people for the first time & how to obtain relevant information from questions. They all were very keen to learn & absorbed fairly quickly. Some of them even had to rush off straight after class for more classes at their local universities in the afternoon or would come straight after school to the Youth Centre for English Classes. Something I could personally learn myself… determation & an undeterred spirit to succeed. It showed through in the tenacity of the people living there too & their style of doing business. They do not give in too quickly to strike a bargain with their customers even though if it meant losing a deal, they are Business Street smart. Yet, they display a politeness that is evident even on their one way street roads. I see drivers slowing down & even stopping to allow pedestrians to pass even at high traffic areas. Everyone knew everyone. Nothing in the city of Dili felt like it needed to be rushed. The pace of life was simple and unhurried.

Yet it concerns me that perhaps its one of the main problems for the Timorese too…. That they do not feel a sense of purpose in life. Do they not question themselves the very same things we ask ourselves too? What on earth am I here for? You mean there is Nothing more to Life than to get a good education and job, get married, find housing, settle down in life, eat & sleep & pick your fights…choose your friends, solve your surmounting problems…everyday it’s the same mono-cycle… until you find yourself lying in a wooden box with your toes facing heavenwards? God how Boring it must be if that were true. I know that not to be true because of whom God is & how he made my life beautiful. He is my portion & passion for perseverance in life. Come what may, Jesus is the only way. Gladly to say, some of the Timorese people I have met do know this truth and have embraced it. I am encouraged to see and hear what God has done for them in their lives and as they share with me, I too feel the faith in my heart rise & gratefulness wells up inside of me all over again. It’s great to feel loved by God & to see Him working in other people’s lives too. How personally wonderful… my personal Jesus.

Even as I chose to serve them, the Timorese were very hospitable people. They offered to me what was best in their house, whether was it their food, their bed, their only electric fan. In fact I felt I was very blessed during my stay at the village. God provided for me too as I had forgotten to bring my sleeping bag along for this trip. My host had a mattress that I could sleep on. Through these little things, God shows to me that He is there to take care of me All the Time.

During the weekends, we spent time at their beach with some of the local youths just hanging out and playing games. The scenery on the way there was amazing… even more beautiful than the beaches I’ve seen in Europe. The unspoiled beauty of God’s creation. I was awestruck. Will show you some pics here if I can (or the rest will upload into multiply)

Throughout the whole 10 days, our mission was simple. To befriend the youths there, spending time with them and listening to their needs and concerns. Then meet their needs if possible or make arrangements to see if it is possible in the near future. Through it all, the message that they needed to hear was simply, that We Believed in them that they could succeed as a new independent nation. Just like how Singapore gained independence 40 years ago and was blessed to become what it is today. If we can do it, they can too. And I believe with all my heart that God wants to bless them too because He loves them. I know they were encouraged by our friendships, prayers and all efforts to help their school and families.

This is only the beginning, of something new in my life. It is part of the seeking process as I’m taking a career path switch. Before this East Timor trip, I’ve always felt a Certain Uncertainty in the path ahead of me although I rest in knowing that God will take care of it. But during this trip, I felt Certain Certainty of the calling of God in my life to serve Him. One of the mornings while I was spending time with the Lord, He showed me a vision of a murky glass of water (like water & milk) turning into crystal clear water.

He has opened up my eyes to see Him. The Lord will be the light unto my path, so that I will not stumble in the darkness. Like the apostle Paul wrote in the bible:

Philippians 4:12-14
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But One Thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”

Many other things happened during the course of the 10 days, but I just extracted the essence of what took place in my spirit and heart during this trip. Will share more with you personally when time allows.

Peace Be with You!