Light of the World - Bedok Methodist Church

By Denise ChengFinally Here!9We waved frantically as soon as we sawthem appear in the restricted area ofthe Changi Airport arrival hall on 20August 2005. Smiling, happy little facesgreeted us, as the 11 children from COSIChildren's Village in Cambodia ran intoour arms.It was like a homecoming. After fiveyears of building up the orphanage inCambodia, the children were finallycoming home - to see the church whichstarted it all.The opening of the COSI ChildrenVillage was officiated by the PrimeMinister of Cambodia, Mr Hun Sen, on30 May 2002 and attended by BishopRobert Solomon and key leaders ofBMC and MMS.For those of us who have been part ofthe Lord's work in Cambodia from thestart, it was a gratifying moment,knowing how faithful the Lord has beenin providing financially and spirituallyfor these children through the years.Looking back, it has been such aprivilege to have been part of their lives,moulding them into Christ-likenessthrough Character First, a programmeimparting Christian values that is taughtat COSI. Over the years, seeing the kidsgrow in the Lord is our great reward.But the children were oblivious to allthis, wide-eyed and awe-struck byeverything they saw in this country,which they had heard so much aboutfrom the groups of Singaporeans whohad visited them through the years.On 21 August, the second day of theirvisit, they came to BMC and performedtwo traditional dances at our Sundaymorning services, wowing the BMCcrowd with their charming smiles andfancy footwork.The highlight of the day must have beentheir trip to the zoo in the afternoon.From huge, furry polar bears to longneckedgiraffes, zebras, rhinos andflamingos, the kids were fascinated bythe wonders of the animal kingdom."Do you know the difference betweena jaguar and a leopard?" a zookeeperasked them."No!" chorused the children."Well, a jaguar has a black spot inside aring of spots on his coat. A leopard doesnot."Such nuggets of interesting informationawaited the kids at every animal enclosureand feeding station. The kids enjoyedthe zoo thoroughly, taking snapshots ofeach other on the digital camera at everycorner.When the day was finally through, thekids piled into the bus, tired but happy.Hand-in-hand, with their Singaporeanfriends, they made their way home. Thatspecial bond of friendship between ourBMC members and the children is aprecious thing, forged over the years asthey grew up in the love and care of"aunties" and "uncles", "sisters" and"brothers" from BMC.As these children grow up to be youngmen and women of the Lord inCambodia, it is our hope that BMCSingapore will always be home to them.A Public Affairs Officer with the Ministry ofForeign Affairs, Denise Cheng is a member ofthe BMC Missions Committee.