Mita (P) 285/08/2003 Issue 1, September 2003
Published by Asian Cross-Cultural Training Institute, 11 Pasir Ris Drive 2, Singpore 518458

Editorial ~ It seems like yesterday...

It seems like just yesterday that the last group of trainees celebrated their graduation, and now here we are almost 2 months into a new cycle of training. Life has been busy for all of us. You may have heard that my wife, Janet, was in the hospital for 11 weeks with ARDS (symptoms very similar to SARS, but not contagious). She got out of the hospital in early March and had to take several weeks of convalescence before we returned to ACTI. As a result, we missed out on a fair bit of ministry with our trainees. However, we enjoyed the last few weeks of the term and feel very privileged to know these trainees who are now on the field putting into practice some of the lessons learned at ACTI. It was especially during Janet's severe illness that we saw the Body of Christ (the church worldwide) working in a marvelous way. As people came and prayed, as people sent word that they were praying, as some were able to help out in various ways, as so many rallied around us to help pay off a huge debt (about 1/3 of thecost was not covered by insurance), we experienced a new depth of what it means to be part of a community.

As I sit at the computer to write this, I have just watched the Singapore National Day Parade. One of the things that Singapore takes pride in is its ability to bring unity out of a multi-cultural society. Well, the fascinating thing about being at ACTI is that each term we have a multi-cultural group. Over the 3 years Janet and I have been here, we have helped trainees from Singapore, India & Nagaland, the Philippines, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan. Add to the mix all the cultural backgrounds of the staff and guest lecturers, and you have an exciting picture of a multi-cultural Body of Christ. Each member brings some unique aspect to the Body.

It is not always easy to adjust to living as a community, but the difficulties help us to grow, and in the end we are all stronger because of our time together.

The most satisfying part of it all (for us as staff, at least) is to hear how our trainees are doing after they get to the field. For many, the lessons learned at ACTI are helping them in the new situatons they face. As Paul said in I Corinthians 12:26, "If one part suffers, every part suffers; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." That is how we feel when we hear of our alumni and how they are experiencing God after their time here at ACTI.

In this issue of our News Bulletin, we want to share with you some of the highlights from the latest mission trip and the last graduation, get you caught up with some of our alumni, as well as introduce to you our new trainees.

Melville Szto, and his wife, Salome, are now back in Japan. Long time Assistant to the Dean, Rosalind Ong, has left us after 8 years of faithful service. She will be missed, but never forgotten. Replacing her in the office is Anna Gan. Our library is being changed to better utilize the space, and we now have a web page and a new e-mail address. Find out more as you continue reading...

Thank you for your interest in ACTI. I trust you will be encouraged as you read of recent happenings here. May God grant all of us the grace to see His Hand at work in every situation.

Sincerely,
Henry Armstrong
Henry Armstrong has been our part-time residential staff from World-Team since July 2000.

This semester we have 6 trainees:

- Mr. Ling Tiong Ting and Mrs. Madalene Tchee Hui Ling are from Kuching, Sarawak. Tiong Ting graduated from Trinity Theological College and was a Reverend serving in one of the Methodist churches in Kuching district. They have three sons : Raffles, Irenius & Wesley (ages 7, 5,& 2). They are registered under OMF International Malaysia, hoping to serve in Japan after training.

- Ms Grace Tan is a Singaporean from St.John’s-St.Margaret's Church. She has been a church-worker in Christian Education and missionary to Thailand. God-willing Grace hopes to return to the field.

- Mr. Kedoungulo Mero is from Nagaland. He is married to Wekote-u with two children, Tsolou (daughter) and Lhiti (son). Mero has served as Missions Field Co-ordinator in Arunachal Pradesh and later as the Missions secretary at the Chakhesang Missions Society. Mero hopes to be trained for better effectiveness in cross-cultural ministry.

- Ms.Choi You Mi and Ms. Pak Sun A are from South Korea. You Mi is a student of Mokwon University Missions Training Center and Sun A is a student from Han Dong University. They are both here in ACTI as interns and hope to serve in the field in future.

Graduation Testimony by Kwon Jun Hyun.

I had not heard about ACTI before, but had experienced missions training in Korea in 2002. I had been sent out directly to Thailand just immediately after a worship service and that’s it! Hearing from Rev. Kim about ACTI, my senior pastor allowed me to come and be trained at ACTI. The training in ACTI is very helpful and useful to me. Especially lectures on cross-cultural experiences were very impressive to me coming from experienced lecturers in their field. "How can I do it"? I asked myself continuously…

Sometimes due to my poor command of the English language, in addition to poor physical conditions, I could not fully understand the lectures. Sometimes I felt sleepy at lectures and am quite sorry that sometimes I was not well prepared.

After graduation, our family is going to Thailand where we will learn the Thai language for one and half a year. Following that we will adjourn to Isaan, northern Thailand, for church planting and involvement in campus ministry. I am quite confident that I will make fewer mistakes on the field from the lessons already taught me.

I thank our fellow trainees- David and Ernie that they endured inconveniences my family brought them…

I thank the Dean and Mayuree for their love and guidance in ministry. And give thanks to Henry and Janet for preparing delicious bread and coffee and their lectures about overcoming difficult situations.

And I thank Rosalind, Violet and the Soh family for their kindness to me. Lastly, I give thanks to our James cell group at the Bethesda Pasir Ris Mission Church. Through them I will have a good memory of Singapore!
Thank you and God Bless You.

Our Library: A Fresh New Look! 

The ACTI Library has recently undergone an entire makeover. Modeling on the "lifestyle library" concept, the entire library was reorganized and given a new "look & feel". The bookshelves were given a "mahogany wooden panel" look with the aid of wall papers; reading tables were touched up with sprays to remove the tatty worn-out look; and extra sofa sets, tables and chairs were moved out to remove clutter and create a more relax, comfortable and spacious looking environment.

The layout was organized into activity zones. As you enter the library, a cozy corner to the left immediately welcomes you with its comfortable sofa set and low coffee table. Here you can relax, watch a video, listen to audio tapes, or browse through the photo albums and enjoy the nostalgia of taking a peek into the past.

To the right, you have a choice of three computers to work on, one of which is Internet enabled and allows you to surf the world wide web for information on almost any imaginable subject you can think of. It also allows you to send and receive emails, and to keep in touch with friends and relatives wherever they may be. Right ahead of you on display are the latest periodicals, journals, in-house newsletters and bulletins. Here you may browse for news or read articles of interest or relevance to your information needs. We have also weeded out some old and outdated periodicals and magazines to make room for new ones. This is also to ensure that you are provided with the most up-to-date materials available.

If you decide to do a spot of research, proceed to the far right. We have created, in this "study and research" zone, the environment for individual self study, research or group discussion with the 3 long rectangular with seating capacity of 4 per table, nested close to the books, reference materials and periodicals collections. This corner also has a lovely view from the window in case you get tired of studying a need a little distraction.

The "librarian’s" work-table have also been moved closer to the "study and research" zone. This serves two purposes. Firstly, it users to check the online catalogue for books held by the ACTI Library. Secondly, the "librarian" is now brought closer to the researchers who might need her help in locating materials in the library.

This is but a small beginning. We hope to enhance and better equip it further in the future to provide facilities and services that will make the ACTI Library into a center of excellence for research and learning of all cross-cultural issues. So, if you have not been to the Library for a while now, do drop in and visit when you are in the vicinity.   Article is written by: Lena Kua- our volunteer.

SARS" ALERT TO MISSIONS!!~ by Jimmy Won in Thailand.

By now, not just Singapore but the world would be relatively SARS free. But somehow, the world could never be totally free of SARS; Singaporeans have begun to live differently. Thermometers have become the standard item for everyone, everyday. We carry ours everywhere we go, even when we were over at Hatyai for a conference recently. We made it a point to take our temperatures daily.

It is interesting to note when something like SARS interrupts our lives so drastically, we are so prepared to change our lifestyle, review our values and even evaluate life’s priorities. Some 2000 years ago, Jesus gave a command to his disciples to "Go and make disciples of all nations…". It was important enough for the disciples to forsake all, change their lifestyles and carry out the commandment at all costs even if it meant risking their lives.

Missions is the heartbeat of our Lord Jesus and His followers should be likewise. However, it is a fact that the missionary force today does not all do Missions work among the lost.

70% of missionaries would be working with the active Christians.
20% of missionaries would be working with nominal Christians.
Only 10% would be working with the remaining souls (about two-third of the World) who do not know Jesus.

SARS has alerted us to missions once again. The world’s plight has never been more focused and desperate. The answer to that plight is Jesus and only you can bring Christ to them. Will you review and reevaluate your priorities to reflect that of our Lord’s?

Alumni's Prayer Updates

Thailand (Won’s family: Jimmy, Darcy, Jebra, Lydia)
Thank the Lord for opening doors to further ministry.
Work permit renewal to be smooth.
A school for Jebra.

Myanmar ~ Arnold & Tess Lwin
Pray for the 16 involving in training for discipleship.
Pray for unsaved family.
For a car for ministry.
For the video ministry.
For their working partners.

Hong Kong ~ Peter Fei
Good health for his grandmother.

CAN~ Michael, Jacqueline and Grace
Thank God for the joy of new aquaintances.
Thank God that Grace really enjoys school & interacts well with other students.
Pray for Good health.

PH~Buen
Prays for wisdom as she teaches Sunday School Training.
Pray for the coming SundaySchool Teacher's Conference.

Philippines~ Queenie Yip
Her teaching at Bible College and focusing on Missions subjects.
Pray for her training for the Churches.

India~ John Newmai
For good health for himself and family members.

United Kingdom~ Zinnie Wong
Teaching English.
Providing English resources.
Teaching Computer.
Teaching women sewing.
Giving community health seminars in different village.

Sarawak ~ Gift Daniel
Pray for his 70 years old mother living in Chennai, who is having increasing
ailments.
Pray for Daniel’s back pain due to riding motor-cycle.
Pray for him to have a car in the near future.
Daniel gave thanks for his visa approved by the Immigration Department; he will move from Excel point community to serve in Miri. Sarawak.

Zambia ~ Sng Kong Chee & Chay Gek, Wan Xian, Dawai, Daniel & Samuel
Pray for reliable power supply for the hospital.
The patients to be healed and strengthened by God, our living hope and for the many Aids patients.
That the Lord will give love, wisdom and compassion for Kong Chee for the sick.
Pray for Chay Gek for wisdom, peace and joy to manage house-hold and home-school the boys that their 4 kids will grow spiritually and physically to the fullness of Christ.

Zambia~ Ernie Liew
Pray for adjustment to a new culture, language, and ministry.
Pray for his family, his friends and cell group.