Chapter 32: The lesson about fishing

During STS Retreat, we have a fishing game. There is an old folk home besides Pace Bene. There it owns a fishing pool. The rental for each fishing rod is RM2. The duration for fishing is RM3 per hour. The price of fishes is RM12 per KG.

We had a great time together fishing. We were divided into 10 groups. We have a lot of fun fishing with all the people. At first, it rained heavily. After 20 minutes, the rain stopped. After the game, many people were returning back to the rooms for shower. From this fishing game, I began to figure out it can be related to evangelism, mission and moral story.
Fishing game

1) Evangelism
My group got the biggest fish. The person happened to be a girl. When she caught it, everyone was amazed. Then we decided to celebrate our supper by eating this fish. During the supper, the girl found that the fish was gone! She was too late to have a single taste of it. From here, we can see that the importance is not on the catcher but those people who ate it. We are like those people, “eating” Jesus Christ for the redemption..

2) Mission
Every group will need to send out 5 fishermen (whether experienced or not). During the game, some people caught big fishes, some people caught small fishes. Some people caught none. I caught none too. Those who got fishes were encouraged. Those who got none were upset and discouraged. It is just like the Christian missionaries who were sent out to other places. Some received no fruit at all in mission. Some successfully planted a big church.

3) Moral Story
When it was raining, some said, “Fishes normally do not come out during the rainfall. But the fishes will go up to the water surface after the rainfall.”

When those people who catch no fish, they said, “The fishes are too smart. The fishes identify all sorts of traps and tricks.”

When someone caught big fishes, they said, “They caught big fishes, because big fishes have no brain.”

When someone brought the fishes back, they said, “They have luck. How fortunate they are!”

The moral of the story is telling us that human beings love to defend themselves when they fail to do something.

Fisher of Men

Chapter 31: STS Retreat

The STS retreat was wonderful! I had a great rest and refresh myself greatly. We went to a place called Pace Bene, Papar. It is located with nature surrounding. That was a lovely place to stay. There are a group of sisters who will mainly take care of the food, the accommodation and cleanliness. We didn’t need to do the work, and cook food.

Pace Bene, Papar
To say the truth, I didn’t get to mangle around much with people. Most of the time, I slept. I felt that I was totally pampered. No ministry, no study… The only ministry is interpreting the Chinese sermon into English. Tough Job, anyway. That’s so wonderful to rest in the presence of the Lord. When I slept, I did not need to set alarm to wake up. The sisters will ring the bell to indicate that it was the meal time (breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and supper). I just kept myself quiet and enjoy the nature, devote myself into the Lord. I spent much time with the STS lecturers and STS friends. They are really good people.

Psalms 133:1
“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.”

My STS lecturers
I learnt one thing from the sisters. On Sunday night, it was 1am in the morning. Yet I saw the sisters still cleaning the house of the Lord. They really love the Lord very much.

Psalms 134
“Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord. May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth bless you from Zion.”

I felt very touched when I saw them working passionately. In my heart, I thought, “May our Lord, Jesus Christ, bless you and remember your work.”

My STS friends
Before we left the place in the next morning, we thanked the sisters for taking care of us. The thing which touched me the most is that the sister said, “We actually prayed for you all before you all arrived in this place. We really ask God to give you all a successful and meaningful retreat.”

Indeed, that was the best retreat which I ever had among all these years of serving.

I find rest in the Lord