Dear Friends and Family,Thank you for your prayer and support for my trip to Singapore and Malaysia
Singapore for almost two weeks and visited Malaysia Singapore
The buses that we traveled in are left-hand drive, and I tried to get on the bus from the wrong side for so many times :):)
In the second week, we had the opportunity to sing in the Esplanade, an upscale mall in a durian-shaped building, one of the most famous landmarks in Singapore. It was really cool to sing in such a public place like this. In our two performances, we attracted a pretty good sized crowd. Some people who had never been exposed to Christian music stayed through out the performances and asked some good questions about Christianity.
The next day, we participated in an Art Exchange program in Tanglin Secondary school, where we shared our music and learned from them as well. I got to play the Guzheng, a Chinese traditional string instrument there with the students.
We sung in many churches in Singapore. One of them is St Andrews cathedral, a breathtaking Gothic building with wonderful acoustic. Our concert helped raised fund for their "Organ Restoration Project".
The Choir also visited a Hospital and had a concert there as part of the "Art of Healing" program.
We sung in many churches in Singapore. One of them is St Andrews cathedral, a breathtaking Gothic building with wonderful acoustic. Our concert helped raised fund for their "Organ Restoration Project".
The Choir also visited a Hospital and had a concert there as part of the "Art of Healing" program.
Before we left Singapore, we were invited to sing the jingle as well as a few of our songs for a Christian radio there. In this picture, we were waiting in their studio. It was quite an experience!
As mentioned, the third week of tour, we crossed Singapore border to Malaysia. "Selamat Datang Ke Malaysia" means "Welcome to Malaysia". In the picture are the Choir with some traditional Malay dancers.
This is the Holy Light church, the first church that we sung in Malaysia. We just arrived and started to bring in the bells and equipment to set up for the concert. I have to say that in my three years in Choir, this year, we have the most mature and caring group. Everyone worked together as a team, watching out for one another and always encouraging one another.
This is the Holy Light church, the first church that we sung in Malaysia. We just arrived and started to bring in the bells and equipment to set up for the concert. I have to say that in my three years in Choir, this year, we have the most mature and caring group. Everyone worked together as a team, watching out for one another and always encouraging one another.While Singapore is a wealthy, clean and organized country, Malay is still a developing country, very much like Vietnam, where I came from. It is totally not exaggerating to say that "Singapore is more like home while Malaysia is more like a mission trip". This church had a special place in my heart because the building and the people there reminded me of home very much. Even with the language barrier (some people did not understand English very well, and we offered Chinese translation for the text of our songs and the program), the Holy Spirit was moving and all of us experienced what it means to be united in Christ through the universal language of music.
By now, you probably can tell that our tour was very much different from our typical tour in the US. We sung not only in churches but also in other public and non-Christian venues as well. The picture was taken in a hotel's banquet hall in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, where we sung for a benefit dinner sponsored by church, raising fund for a Early Intervention Center for Children with Learning Disabilities. At first, it seemed a little bit discouraging when everyone kept eating while we were singing our hearts out! However, it was a unique opportunity for evangelism since a lot of the guests there were non-Christians, including Muslims (the majority of the people in Malaysia is Muslims).
We sung in Trinity Bible College in Singapore and an International College founded by a Christian in Malaysia. As a Choir from the US, beside singing sacred music, we learned two non-Christian pieces, which served as an American culture sampler to a more general audience. We were singing "Popular", a piece from "Wicked", a Broadway musical in high demand of Chicago, with choreography in this picture.
Last but not least, the most unusual venues for us to sing in was the "Chinese World Church Music Conference" in Kuching, Malaysia. We led worship in the morning and had a concert in the evening. Over 1000 people were there! Even with translation, some times we had no ideas what was going on since everything was in Chinese (surprise!). By God's grace, everything went very well, and many people were encouraged by our concert.
As a graduate from Moody, this tour is a beautiful "finishing touch" for my "Moody career". For me, the best part of this tour is taking the initiative in bringing music and the Message to a less exclusive audience, i.e. public audience, through music, a less "intimidating" method. Plus, to fellowship with Christians from a different cultures reminded me of the fact that my identity first and foremost is a child of God, a part of his family, united by the blood of Christ. It is this higher calling of God that enables us and the people there to love and care for one another in spite of our cultural differences.
To visit other countries in South East Asia (Singapore and Malaysia are only 2-4 hours away from Vietnam) and witness God's mighty hands at work there was very encouraging for me. This trip once again opened my eyes to see God's work in a bigger picture and enabled me to pray specifically for these countries since now in my mind, the names Singapore and Malaysia are connected to specific faces and needs that I became aware of. Who knows how God is using this trip to lead members of the Choir, including myself, in the future... Anyhow, thank you once again for being part of this ministry and making this trip possible for me through your prayer and support. God bless!
In Christ,
THO DINH
By now, you probably can tell that our tour was very much different from our typical tour in the US. We sung not only in churches but also in other public and non-Christian venues as well. The picture was taken in a hotel's banquet hall in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, where we sung for a benefit dinner sponsored by church, raising fund for a Early Intervention Center for Children with Learning Disabilities. At first, it seemed a little bit discouraging when everyone kept eating while we were singing our hearts out! However, it was a unique opportunity for evangelism since a lot of the guests there were non-Christians, including Muslims (the majority of the people in Malaysia is Muslims).
We sung in Trinity Bible College in Singapore and an International College founded by a Christian in Malaysia. As a Choir from the US, beside singing sacred music, we learned two non-Christian pieces, which served as an American culture sampler to a more general audience. We were singing "Popular", a piece from "Wicked", a Broadway musical in high demand of Chicago, with choreography in this picture.
Last but not least, the most unusual venues for us to sing in was the "Chinese World Church Music Conference" in Kuching, Malaysia. We led worship in the morning and had a concert in the evening. Over 1000 people were there! Even with translation, some times we had no ideas what was going on since everything was in Chinese (surprise!). By God's grace, everything went very well, and many people were encouraged by our concert.
As a graduate from Moody, this tour is a beautiful "finishing touch" for my "Moody career". For me, the best part of this tour is taking the initiative in bringing music and the Message to a less exclusive audience, i.e. public audience, through music, a less "intimidating" method. Plus, to fellowship with Christians from a different cultures reminded me of the fact that my identity first and foremost is a child of God, a part of his family, united by the blood of Christ. It is this higher calling of God that enables us and the people there to love and care for one another in spite of our cultural differences.To visit other countries in South East Asia (Singapore and Malaysia are only 2-4 hours away from Vietnam) and witness God's mighty hands at work there was very encouraging for me. This trip once again opened my eyes to see God's work in a bigger picture and enabled me to pray specifically for these countries since now in my mind, the names Singapore and Malaysia are connected to specific faces and needs that I became aware of. Who knows how God is using this trip to lead members of the Choir, including myself, in the future... Anyhow, thank you once again for being part of this ministry and making this trip possible for me through your prayer and support. God bless!
In Christ,
THO DINH
1 comment:
Hi Tho!
I was so happy to hear about the wonderful tour you had. What an amazing blessing!
You are in my thoughts,
Daniela
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