Monthly Prayer Letter (Oct 2023)
Dear companions of FES,
Israel-Hamas conflict has been going on for more than two weeks now. Our hearts are deeply saddened to see innocent lives being sacrificed in the war. Besides prayer (which we may not know how to do), how can the church respond in faith? Sometimes, we fall into a mindset of dichotomy, arguing that we are in favor of one side and against the other, and which side is running the right or wrong course of action. This past weekend, my son and I were discussing the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and while trying to understand the facts, we also took a stance based on our own perceptions. To appear to be justified, we think we have the pulse of the problem, but we may have neglected the real situation of the local people. The very nature of war is evil, and the use of it as a solution to problems is a consequence of the sinfulness of mankind. We need to be pure in heart and pray for the justice of the Lord to come, to be angry for the injustices we have seen, and to grieve for the hearts of the afflicted.
The Old Testament Psalms say that the Lord is our refuge and our fortress (Ps. 46:1, 7), and that by His presence we will not fall (Ps. 46:5). In the midst of surging waters and trembling mountains, the psalmist proclaims that the Lord is a very ready help to the people and invites them to come and see the very great things that the Lord will do for them: He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire (Ps. 46:9). At this point the Lord issues two commands to his people: “Stop striving” and “Know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). When we trust wholeheartedly in the power of God over all waters and mountains, we should stop and lay aside the schemes we have made for ourselves, and turn to what God has done for us, and that is our true way out.
We are thankful that the Inter-School Orientation was successfully held under Typhoon Signal No. 3 this year. More than 150 students from 23 secondary schools, 20 teachers and mentors insisted on attending the training day to exchange ideas and learn from each other, and the atmosphere and outcome of the training day were very satisfactory.
The following is the vision of Ben, our Director of Inter-school Department:
Most of the participants are young and emerging after the pandemic, but they are also a new generation that is open to faith and service; though their faith is shallow, they have a freshness that ” wipes out the gloominess of fellowship”. Through the theme of ” Mapping the Journey”, the message of the Kingdom of God was brought out, and through the workshop experience, joint worship, and even different follow-up groups after the meeting, students had profound insights and further participation in different ways. We hope that the Lord will continue to use this group of young people to initiate a new evangelistic movement in different campuses.
Today is the first day of the Christian Book Fair, and I hope that all brothers and sisters will continue to grow in their faith through reading. Our FES Literature Ministry would like to introduce the updated edition of “Self-Understanding for Personal Well-being” which is the fruit of more than ten years of ministry experience and theoretical consolidation efforts made by Maureen TANG, FES Associate General Secretary and two co-authors, and is not to be missed by all. We hope that you will continue to support the development of the literature ministry.
I would like to share with you the news that Maureen will be officially retiring at the end of this month. The FES staff and Board of Directors would like to express our sincere gratitude to Maureen for her 30 years of faithfulness and dedication to the student evangelistic movement in Hong Kong, regardless of the ups and downs of the organization. Please keep Maureen’s retired life in your prayers, and may the Lord guide her. I hope that everyone who is committed to serving young people will see the fruit of the Gospel in transforming their lives and find true spiritual fulfillment in the Lord.
Your brother,
Barry Cheung
General Secretary
Donation Methods (Local)
- Faster Payment System: (FPS ID: 1915727), transfer to “Fellowship of Evangelical Students (Hong Kong) Ltd.”. Please fill in your donation items and donor number (if any) in the remarks or message column.
- Crossed cheque: Please make it payable to “Fellowship of Evangelical Students (H.K.) Ltd.”.
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* Please send us the Donation Envelope, enclosing with cheque, bank-in slip or screenshot of successful FPS payment via mail or email (for bank-in-slip and FPS screenshot only).
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Mailing Address: 11/F, Cheung Lee Commercial Building, No. 137-143 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Email Address: [email protected]
Donation Methods (Oversea)
Donors desiring tax-deductible receipts for income tax purposes must give through the following organization to receive the necessary receipts.
- Online Donation
USA / UK
https://give.ifesworld.org
Canada
https://ivcf.ca/give/ Please indicate the offering target as “Hong Kong FES”
- Cheque Donation
USA*
Making cheques payable to “IFES/USA” and send to the following address.
IFES/USA
PO Box 46007
Madison, WI 53744
Canada*
Making cheques payable to “InterVarsity Christian Fellowship of Canada”
and send to the following address.
Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship
1 International Boulevard
Toronto, Ontario,
M9W 6H3 Canada
UK*
Making cheques payable to “IFES” and send to the following address.
IFES
5 Blue Boar Street
Oxford OX1 4EE
United Kingdom
* Please mark “H.K.F.E.S.” at the left bottom corner and
“designation # 100088” at the back of the cheque.