In His Time.......... with P.Ramachandran

This was a short trip but a very special one. We ordained 3 Singaporean brothers who have been our mission partners for a number of years. Bro James Ng, Bro Albert Pang and Bro Victor Gog. These men have been faithfully teaching and sowing into the lives of the people in the mission field . In view of their contribution and partnership, PEC India decided to honor  them with the title Reverend. I had some personal matters to attend as well. Victor Got and his wife Sharon arrived  Hyderabad together with me on 26 Aug early morning. As usual Bishop Nehemiah was at the airport to receive us. On 26 and 27 Aug Bro Victor Got taught some church planters and pastors on the subject of Spiritual Gift and Stewardship. The response was good. During these two days, I set some of my friends, Bro Sam and his family in the outskirts of Hyderabad and Bro Vijay who was a participant in the last batch of the SLE in Maui. It ws indeed a blessings to meet these men who have a great passi

I am in Helsinki airport, waiting for departure to London and then to Singapore. It has been a good trip or rather a good rest I must say. Time with Tomi was good as I learnt to understand him better and to see his heart for God and missions. He is a good man. The migrant congregations are lively and on fire. The same cannot be said of the Finnish churches. Lukewarm would be a better description, at least the churches I had visited. Spiritually Finland is going down the rocks. I guess its the same with all the European countries. What's sad is that the gospel came to us from Finland and today that fervor  is lacking. Thank God for organizations like FIDA, where the missionary zeal is still flourishing but I am not sure to what extend it is involved in preaching the gospel. What I hear is that it is  more social in nature.  Not sure if I would come back again but at least I go satisfied that missionaries are still being sent out from Finland. 

Jeya went back home yesterday as she did not have enough leave. I stayed back because of the speaking engagement on Sunday. I thank God for her, especially for her patience and understanding.  I am not an easy person to live with. You need exceptional grace to be around me. This morning, I was invited to speak at an African service in Helsinki. About 30 Africans had gathered and I was blessed during their worship, the African style.  After I spoke almost everyone came forward for prayer and the Spirit of the Lord moved powerfully in releasing a word of knowledge.  After the service I spoke separately with the leaders and encouraged them with the work they are doing in Helsinki. Wished I had a few more days to encourage these group of men. In the evening we joined the Saalem Church service. I was introduced in the service and I met some of the old missionaries who has been to Singapore. I met Bro Emmanuel and his wife. He was the son of Captain Yuriola of the ship Ebednez

Wednesday afternoon we went to visit FIDA (Finland International Development Association). Tomi arranged for the meeting as this organization does a lot of mission work in the 3rd world countries. We were met by Ms Ruut Mononen, Regional Director for Asia. To my surprise, this organisation was previously called Finnish Free Foreign Mission. I was utterly overjoyed to know that FFFM had not closed but is driving much. Many missionaries are still being sent to various countries and they have a huge network of social services to reaches countries that are closed to foreign missionaries. They are going to feature PEC's work in their magazine that reaches to many countries. To God be the glory. We had a good discussion and they were so blessed that the work does by Finnish missionaries in Singapore is reaching unreached areas and doing great work in the kingdom of God. We are looking forward to FIDA supporting our mission work in the future.  Later in the evening we were

Today we drove up north to a place called Lahti. We went there to visit Sis Rasi's brother Rimo. Rimo and his wife Eria, live there and so do their son Sammy. It was a pleasant drive. Sammy and his kids met us at the town centre and took us for an early dinner. Then we drove to Sammy's house, which was located in the countryside. Beautiful Finnish home. We met Rimo and his dear wife and they have fond memories of PEC and some PEC members who have visited them. Rimo is 89 years old but still able to drive the car on his own.  It was indeed a joy to also meet Sammy, his wife and kids. Good to know that they are actively serving the Lord in the church  As we left, Rimo said, "We will meet in heaven". Hope, Faith, Love. We saw this in these people. We were blessed just meeting these wonderful people.

Today we made the historic journey by road to Kotka. Kotka is about 135 km from Helsinki. I drove the car. It took us about 1 hr 30 mins. The highway was good and the traffic light. Kotka is a small town by the Gulf of Finland. It is pretty with good greenery. Before we went to the church, we stopped by at the house where Sis Rasi used to live, before she came to Singapore. It was in a quiet environment. As we approached the church, my heart was filled with trepidation.. This was the church from where the lady who brought us to Christ was sent from. A strange sense of execution, quite difficult to describe. We arrived good and early. Some people, mostly elderly folks had gathered. The lady in-charge of the service Sis  Marja-Liisa Turunen,  briefed us on the order of service. The service started with prayer and a song by two ladies. I was almost in tears as I sat on the pews. This building has a lot of spiritual significance for me. The service was in Finnish.

We arrived at Helsinki, at the early hours on Saturday 10 Aug. It was cool outside the airport. Took a cab to our hotel, arranged by our host, Tomi Rasi. Tom is the nephew of Sis Rasi and he has been associated with PEC for some time. If fact he is the official link between PEC and Kotka Church, Finland. Sis Rasi was sent to Singapore as a missionary by the church in Kotka and I just can't wait to be there on Sunday morning.  Tomi came to our hotel and we had breakfast. After that we went for a walk around Helsinki. The weather was so pleasant and the city beautiful and clean. Fewer foreigners compared with London. We visited a few historical places and churches and came back to the hotel.  Later in the evening, we had dinner, raindeer and elk meat. Very interesting indeed. It was good.  

Jeya and I finally left Singapore for Helsinki on 8 Aug night. But first the stop will be at London. We have about 10 hrs transit time and we thought we would visit our friends John and Sheba and see a few places of interest. I had always wanted to visit the UK, especially London. They were our colonial masters you know. But London always had a special place of interest for me. The literature that I studied in school, the royal family that I closely follow and my law degree from the University of London, always etched a desire ti visit this place. So the day finally came, when Jeya and I landed at Heathrow on 9 Aug at about 0530 hrs. First time I am away from Singapore on our National day. Every year it has been "official duty". What a joy to see John, Sheba and young Josh at Heathrow.  We went to their home in Wembley were we met John's parents. So good to see them too. Good Indian breakfast and a hot wash-up before we went to visit some places o

Psalms 145-18 - The   Lord   is near   to all who call on him,  to all who call on him in truth. This is one of the alphabetical psalms, composed with much art, and, doubtless, so arranged that the memory might be aided. The Holy Spirit condescends to use even the more artificial methods of the poet, to secure attention, and impress the heart. This psalms is all about praising God: ·       He praises God in this psalm. ·       David begins and ends this psalm with praise. ·       In the middle, David describes why He is praising God. ·       He wants people to know that His God is the greatest. Verse 18 seems to be the centre of this psalm, which hold all other praises: 1.      Because God is near, you are not alone (Presence) Verse 18 - The  Lord  is near to all who call upon Him When you walk through the deep waters, God is with you   Is 43:2 - When you go through deep water