I returned home from the Yishun Christian Church Anglican (YCCA) Family Camp 2025, which was held over the past week in Bali, Indonesia. As I contemplated what had happened, I couldn’t help but see God’s presence and activity in our midst. There were so many things to be grateful to God for. God had been active before, during, and after the camp. And I have been overflowing with praise to the Lord the past few days.

I was thankful to receive the invitation to preach at the church camp. I have always liked doing church camps. It allows me to serve the Word to a congregation at a deeper and more relational level than guest preaching on a Sunday does. When I heard it would be held in Bali, I was thrilled, as it had been a long time since I last visited the island with some hiking friends.

I experienced the work of the Holy Spirit in sermon preparation, intercession, and in strengthening my inner man with his glorious might. It always started with prayer for the church. Things happen when we pray. When the theme was given to me, I felt a resonance with it. It was a theme I was familiar with. In addition, a friend from Sheffield bought me a book (and accompanying guidebook) that elaborated on the theme and gave me ideas for the outline of the five talks:

Discipleship: Then and Now.

Be With Jesus.

Becoming Like Jesus.

Continuing His Mission.

Embracing Spiritual Practices.

I was thankful for the scripture promises that God had given me and that I leaned upon when I felt inadequate about ministering to them effectively. I fought these feelings of inadequacy and insecurity with the shield of faith. I declared God’s promises to me: “I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say” (Exodus 4). “They ate (the five loaves and two fish) and were satisfied.” The enemy flees for a few days and returns, and I use these rhema words against them repeatedly.

The B Hotel Bali & Spa is located a few kilometres away from Kuta Beach. My wife and I liked the room we stayed in, and the hall where all our worship and teaching sessions were held was adequate. The food was ……. well, normal church camp food, uneven in quality, and nothing to write home about. The camp planners wisely planned an afternoon of shopping and an evening watching the sunset at Kuta Beach after my final talk on Sunday. Later, the final banquet was held at an outside restaurant. It was fun, memorable, abundant, and delicious.

The sessions went well. They had good worship teams, and I sensed the tide of God’s presence rising to a climax with each session. The 140 or more campers were responsive to the teaching about discipleship. It was well received, and the response to the call for consecration was whole-hearted. Many came forward and rededicated themselves to God and his purposes of discipleship. The priests and leaders prayed for them. Many were touched, and the manifestations of the Spirit were evident. Only God could have done this!

I pray the fruit will last, and the Spirit’s work will continue.

The YCCA were a hospitable, relatable, friendly, and generous community. The Vicar reflected that too, often checking in and caring for me. More time was allotted for leisurely meals for people to spend time in fellowship over food. I heard some members’ inspiring stories and became acquainted with YCCA diehards who stayed with the church since Bishop Moses Tay was their vicar decades ago.

I got to spend more time with the Vicar, Revd. Daniel and Dani, his wife, and the Tamil congregation’s priest, Revd. Israel and his wife, Jasmine. Very impressive servants of God. Humble, dedicated, hospitable and very caring. I discovered we have mutual friends in Bishop Raphael Samuel and Revd. Vincent Hoon. I also met Pastor Richard Busch, a seasoned and modest missionary and pastor, with a dry sense of humour. I had hoped to catch up with pastor Japheth and his wife, our dear Bevelyn (formerly from WRPF), but her pregnancy was advanced and they had to stay back in Singapore.

I was glad I brought only ten copies of my book. I managed to sell only eight. Experience had taught me to be realistic. So did the baggage allowance!

My wife and I extended our stay for an additional two days. We had a good rest after the exertion and excitement. We did some shopping. Actually, we never shopped this much before. The stuff was, I hate to use this word, cheap! cheap! cheap! And so were the Grab rides and the whole body massage. We were advised not to touch Japanese food because, under the hands of Indonesian chefs, it was no longer Japanese. We ate what the local chefs were best at: Indonesian cuisine.

On the day of the return flight, some members informed us that their Scoot flights had been cancelled due to the volcanic eruptions of Mount Lewotobi on the island of Flores, 840 km east of Bali. I was anxious as to why AirAsia Indonesia flights were not cancelled too. In the end, we were able to fly back home in clear blue skies and reached home in the evening with thankfulness and joy in our hearts.