Blessing Our Neighbours
Block Blessing
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
The Witness and Evangelism Ministry began Block Blessing on 11 April 2022, to raise awareness of HVMC in our neighbourhood, by distributing flyers, and blessing residents with gifts to express our love and care for them. It provides opportunities for our church members to reach out to our neighbours, inviting them to our worship service.
12-year-old Asher Ng shares his first experience at Block Blessing:-
“When my mother told me that our family was participating with our Life Group, I initially felt anxious. In the Bible, I read about apostles who faced criticism when they were trying to spread the Gospel. However, I also remembered that as believers of Christ, we are to be His light to shine.
We gave out gifts, shared about HVMC and invited them to our church service. We met friendly neighbours who wanted to bless us with gifts in return, but we politely declined. I was so encouraged that I managed to invite some neighbours to join us in church, that I went a second time to share about our Christmas services.
Block blessing is a good opportunity to share Christ with others, and for them to accept Christ into their hearts and be touched by the Lord. Through these experiences, I learned that we must always go with an open and warm heart to bless others.”
Blessing Families at Christmas
This Outreach and Social Concerns Ministry project aimed to create an opportunity for HVMC members to display social holiness at Christmas, by blessing the families in our Commonwealth neighbourhood receiving financial aid from the church.
A mini Christmas tree, with “leaves” made out of 29 name tags of families and individuals, was set up after worship services in December for the congregation to select and bless a family of their choice. Those who responded were encouraged to purchase, wrap and deliver the gifts personally as it would be more meaningful for both donors and recipients. We hoped that the families would be touched to have a stranger extend the love of Christ to them.
Ping and I had the pleasure of sharing the spirit of Christmas with Poh Guan, his wife and three children. We took two “leaves” from the Christmas tree, one for the parents and one for their children. Such joy to see happy recipients. It is indeed more blessed to give than to receive!
- Eunice & Ping Chew
My husband and I had the privilege to spread Christian love to a Malay family with two teenage girls! They very much appreciated our act of giving. For us, we are grateful for our Lord’s blessings to be able to bless!
- Rachel & Kevin Foo
We felt encouraged to participate as it gave us the opportunity to reach out to our neighbours. Coincidentally Mdm Rina’s family also had two teenagers, a daughter and a son, just like us. As we prepared the gift, we reflected and prayed that they might open their hearts to us. We went over as a family and though only the son was home, we spoke to him briefly and invited him to visit HVMC one day as “it’s just around the corner”.
- Steven & Tania Chia
We wanted to express our love and care for others during the Advent season, so we picked a “leaf” and was given a family with three young kids ranging from two to 12 years of age.
Our gift-buying experience turned out to be a fun and engaging opportunity for some family bonding time, as we discussed and went on shopping trips to source for toys, stationery, bags etc - gifts that we felt would be meaningful, useful and enjoyable for the family. It was a joy to see, that despite their economic hardship, the children were all very smiley, happy and jovial.
- Celine and Christina Poi
I took the last “leaf” on the Christmas tree and together with my friend, Carol Yeo, we visited Mdm Narayanasamy, who lives in a rental unit with her grandson and son, whom we later learnt are not always around to care for her.
Calling Mdm Narayanasamy before visiting her to find out her needs was a lesson in itself. Her request for basic necessities like toilet paper and any type of rice gave me a sense of discomfort, given the fact that the norm for me was sourcing for Mao Shan Wang durians for myself and relatives, and deciding if Royal Umbrella Fragrant or Songhe New Crop Rice was better in quality. Seeing for myself how much she cares for her pet dog of nine years and her beaming smile with her hearty Merry Christmas greeting warmed our hearts. I was humbled and touched by her sincerity and contentment, and I came away with the precious reminder that we are blessed by the very ones whom we seek to bless.
- Caroline Ho
Compiled by Caroline Ho & Levanne Yap
