Written by: Cheng Wei
6th September 2018 - Another typical day in the school holidays when students around Singapore can be found watching movies/Korean dramas, shopping, or scrambling to finish their piles of homework. Yet, many chose to put these activities aside for a day of games and fellowship in the East! Praise God that 84 people (one of the largest turnout we have ever had, by God’s grace) gathered at East Coast Park for our yearly outreach event - Shaddai Park Day Out (S’PARK) 2018!
Planning for S’PARK 2018 started in July. As the weeks passed, it was heartening to see the entire church come together to contribute in various ways. Some stayed back to prepare the game props (e.g. creating a large Labyrinth board). Others stepped up for roles such as being game-masters and inviting their contacts for the event. In the midst of the preparations, we also found many talented artists within the church - God indeed equips His servants for His work!
The actual day arrived and the church gave her best effort to ensure that the visitors (both parents and children) felt welcomed. It was also really comforting seeing Shaddai adults and youths working closely together in various areas from the decorations to the games. Laughter filled the park as the children enjoyed themselves shooting targets (though bullets were eventually swapped with seeds), painting drawings, digging up sand, and rushing to complete puzzles.
Yong San shared the Gospel to the children using coloured papers - reminding them about the darkness (black) due to sins and how the blood of Jesus Christ (red) has allowed believers to enter the presence of God (gold) again. Hopefully, over time, these seeds of the Gospel can continue to grow in the hearts of our visitors. To round up the evening, everyone was also treated to a sumptuous dinner of pizza, fried rice, meatballs, and many more!
On the weekend before S’PARK 2018, the church was reminded to pray together for three key items. Looking back after the event, God has answered all three prayer points in His own perfect way.
The three prayer points were:
1) Souls to be saved. Through the many conversations on the day of S’PARK and the days after, several parents and children who attended the event have expressed a desire to find out more about Jesus Christ
2) Good weather. In August and September, rainfall has been fairly unpredictable and this made the organising team line up wet weather plans. But, God was in control - He held up the clouds during S’PARK and provided a cool, breezy afternoon for the programmes! In comparison, the days before and after the event were rainy days
3) God to be glorified. Through this platform, God was glorified as people got to hear the Gospel, of how we all need Christ to draw near to God again. Furthermore, for a small church to carry out a relatively large-scale event, others could see and praise the Almighty God behind the outcomes. As Shaddai came together as a community to help in various ways (e.g. taking leave to setup, preparing the goodie bags), God was also glorified!
As S’PARK 2018 draws to a close, may we remember the grace that our Lord has shown us by allowing us to partake in His works and His love for the lost! All glory to our El Shaddai!
Thank you Shaddai for coming together to organise and execute this memorable event.
But more importantly, thank you our El-Shaddai for making all things possible.
Click the link below to view the other photos:
Comments