Feed My Sheep
Like many cities and countries around the world, Singapore has been on what is called a “Circuit Breaker” since 7 April 2020. Most of the economy is currently closed, with restaurants, offices, retail and entertainment spaces shuttering their storefronts until 1 June. Families have been separated from each other and business owners and employees alike continue to weather financial loss and the stress of uncertainty. But there remains a sector of the economy, an unseen slice of Singaporean society, that has endured the same and arguably, much more.
The Cause
From early April 2020, Singapore has seen an exponential increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among its migrant workers, who make up almost 1/3 of the workforce. These young men work hard to build much of the infrastructure in this modern city, but given their dormitory-style accommodation, the spread of COVID-19 among these groups had begun to grow quickly. Dormitories that had been impacted by the virus had to be isolated and most, if not all, foreign workers were asked to stop work and “stay home” as part of a concerted nation-wide effort to contain the virus. Almost overnight, many of these men not only had to cease work, but living in such close quarters, many had no real home to retreat to and live in constant fear of contracting the virus given the rising numbers among them daily. Adding to the burden of the situation, dorm operators had to now provide meals for the workers who were no longer able to cook their own meals in communal kitchens.
The Call
For Ms Cherie Tseng, a member of Bethesda (Katong) Church, the scripture in John 21:15 was brought to mind:
“Do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord. You know I love you.”
“Feed my sheep.”
The call couldn’t be more literal. A City to City Asia Pacific board member heard about the initiative through Cherie and wanted to help.
The Response
She sourced and found a commercial kitchen able to provide 2 meals a day. Together with support from her friends at Covenant Community Methodist Church they helped to fund the initial meals for the first 14 days from Good Friday to the eve of Ramadan. They raised a total of S$100,000 and worked together with JR Foods Pte Ltd to sponsor meals for over 700 workers over the course of 2 weeks starting from Good Friday all the way until the start of Ramadan.
What started as an initiative to feed 300 workers, not only doubled in numbers and tripled in donations by the end of the 2 weeks, but it also expanded to other initiatives such as purchasing activity kits like Sudoku and Word Search to keep the workers occupied in this time, getting phone card top-ups for 1,500 workers to stay connected to family back home, and even amassing up to 270 cards full of well-wishes.
Indeed, God continues to tug at the hearts of Christians in this nation to serve others and to show the love of God. Ramadan season started on 23 April 2020 in Singapore. Since then members of Agape Baptist Church (a CTC affiliate church) and One Covenant Church (a CTC church plant), in partnership with the Alliance of Guest Workers Outreach (AGWO), have been on a daily roster to pick up packed food at 2.30am from a facility, to have them delivered to dorms by 4.30am so that the workers would be able to have their morning meal before the day of fasting begins. These two churches were also able to raise S$30,000 rah, with a further anticipated S$10,000 to sponsor meals for dorms they have chosen to adopt. Agape was further able to deliver supplies like toothpaste, body wash, snacks, coffee, apples and dates.
“In this dark pandemic season, I believe it is God’s desire for His church to shine for Christ through acts of agape love for those who are in need… Our hope is that in time to come, many will even receive the gospel of grace into their hearts”, says Ps Guoliang, Senior Pastor of Agape Baptist Church, as he speaks of the opportunity he had to pray for some of the migrant workers.
This Circuit Breaker season has surfaced great needs among the foreign workers in Singapore, a group that is easily looked over and taken for granted. It suffices to say that the Lord has used this season not only to allow us to be His hands and feet, but also to expand our capacity to live out the love and compassion of the gospel. Hopefully we can now see beyond ourselves and to the needs of others better, especially these migrant workers who have come to the city to contribute to its flourishing and earn a living for their families at home.
Hebrews 10:24 calls us to "consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."
We would love to hear your stories. Stories where church planters are on the offensive (whether through evangelism, justice and mercy, projects to get supplies to healthcare workers, or any work that is being driven by your love for others in these times of COVID -19) and not just the defensive, to highlight what we are doing and can do creatively to spread the gospel and the love of Jesus in these times.
Do you have a story to share with the extended CTCAP family? Get in touch with Benjie at ben.thomas@citytocityasiapacific.com
We want to pray with you and stand by you through this. So we invite you to also share stories of any struggles you’re facing in dealing with the situation surrounding your family or your church in these times.