Honey in Malaysia!

Our guest blogger this week comes all the way from Malaysia! Khoo Siew Ean is an instructor of teachers with CEF Malaysia. Siew Ean has been teaching Super Seminars with great success in her area, but she was concerned about the lack of commitment she often saw in the students (sound familiar?).

One day, God gave her a creative idea for helping her students make a definite commitment to reach the children. Now she challenges them to “make HONEY” in their ministry for God. Following is Siew Ean’s testimony and her HONEY commitment tool.

At the beginning of the seminar I actually introduce the participants to the butterfly, botanist and bee. It’s not my original idea I read it somewhere before and adapted it. But there was no commitment part. The (HONEY) idea came while walking in the shopping mall when I saw their promotion brochure for Valentine’s Day which had two bees holding a honey pot. I prayed and told the Lord since He gave me the idea please confirm it by letting the mall donate their leftover cards to CEF. So on the 15 February I went back to the mall in the morning to ask for the cards. They gladly gave me all their leftovers--about 600 cards! I had to paste on the card to cover the advertisement part so I could put on the commitment note.

I begin by asking the people what are their reasons for coming to the seminar:

“Some people visit from seminar to seminar just like the butterfly visiting one flower to another. Some are like the botanist, who makes sure that he takes detailed notes but once he closes his file he forgets everything. But there are some like the bee who come to collect pollen than make honey out of it.

“I hope that you come like a bee for this seminar. Come and learn and go back and put it into practice and reach children with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what this Super Seminar Basic is about - evangelism.”

I usually will get the participants to help me with the skit while I narrate. I bring along artificial flowers and a butterfly for a volunteer to hold and move around the flowers; a magnifying glass for the 'botanist' to examine the flowers and take notes on his file; a bee for another volunteer to hold and visit the flowers.

At the end of my seminar which is the next day, I go back to the three items and challenge them to be the bee and sign the card if they want to:

Hard work is expected in
Obeying God’s call, to
Nurture children in the Word of God, but first,
Evangelise them, and may
Yahweh’s name be glorified in all these!

I ( ) will prayerfully commit to make HONEY for the Lord by doing my best to put into practice what I have learnt from the Super Seminar Basic. Reaching boys and girls with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ will be my priority.

Signed by:

Date:

To follow up and encourage each other we are hoping to form a prayer group. Please pray with us concerning this matter. If every area where there is a CEF training can establish a prayer group that will be a great blessing to the children's ministry in Malaysia.

Last weekend (21 & 22 March) was my first training for the year. We had about 100 participants. At the end of the training a commitment was given to make HONEY for God and we had 75% who signed and stood up to commit themselves to the Lord.

We thank Siew Ean for sharing her creative idea with us, and we praise God for the wonderful results He is giving the work in Malaysia. Let’s uphold our brothers and sisters around the world who are training teachers to reach children with the Gospel!