Country Spotlight: Singapore

In Matthew 28, Jesus tasks his followers to go out and make disciples of all nations in the Great Commission.  The Jesus Storybook says it like this, “When at last they reached the top of the highest hill near Jerusalem, Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Go everywhere and tell everyone the happy news!’”  We have aspired to do just that and Young Life is now including teens with disabilities in over 40 countries!  It is our pleasure to amplify these stories and highlight the work of God throughout the world from Peru to Bulgaria to Mozambique and more. 

Today we highlight: Singapore

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All over the world, COVID-19 has altered how we do ministry, but it has not stopped!  

McKinley shares here the struggles and joys of starting ministry in the midst of a global pandemic:

Over a year before I came on staff, the YoungLife team in Singapore had been dreaming and planning of starting Capernaum ministry. As I went through the interview process it became clear that God had placed on my heart the desire to help develop Capernaum in Singapore. I said yes to the job in July 2019, fundraised for three months, and moved to Singapore in October of 2019.  In my first few months here I met with parents, families, and people in the community. I started to volunteer at a private special education school and got to meet lots of students. We had hopeful plans of being months away from starting clubs, training leaders and buddies, and setting up campaigner groups, but on February 7th Singapore went to “code orange” because of COVID-19. This meant I was no longer able to volunteer in the school, we had to cancel gatherings and eventually in April we went into full lockdown until June 1st. COVID-19 safety measures have made it really difficult for us to continue with the development of Capernaum. 

It wasn’t until November of 2020 that I was able to be back at this school volunteering. It had been about nine months away from students I had started forming relationships with but was still getting to know. I was nervous that connections had been lost, students may have moved and ultimately it would feel like starting over again completely. On my first day back when I walked into one of the classrooms my friend, Hinata, came and gave me a hug and told me how much she had missed seeing me. Hinata was one of the first students I had originally met and we had developed such a fun friendship. I felt such relief that students, teachers, and school administration remembered me and were excited to have me back. I really felt like God was reassuring me of His faithfulness. God had started a good work in this school and was going to see it through. He hadn’t forgotten about these students, this island, or me in the midst of the chaos 2020 brought. 

We would love prayer for opportunities to go deeper in relationships with students we know from school. Due to COVID, it’s been hard for us to gather together outside of school. Prayers that God would provide people to be adult leaders. Most importantly prayers that students in Singapore would come to know and experience Jesus in a personal way and that their life would be forever changed because of it!