新年快乐! Happy New Year! Millions of students across East Asia are celebrating Chinese New Year this week. For most this means going home to enjoy much-missed home-cooked food and time with their families. But for international students, the long journey home might not be possible. It can be a particularly lonely time. That’s why FES Malaysia hosted their 8th annual RED event: Really Exciting Dinner. 3rd year Nutrition and Wellness student Loo Yen Chi told us more: “We believe this event can create special memories for the Christian Fellowship (CF) members, and especially for the international students, some of whom might be celebrating Chinese New Year for the first time in Malaysia. This year we also used RED as a platform to reach out to non-Christian students on our campus. We included video-watching and group discussion sessions, and also gave out ‘ang pao’ (red envelopes) with greetings and Bible verses inside.” FES Singapore students are busy planning a Chinese New Year dinner for their international students as well. Those attending can enjoy listening to an erhu performance (a traditional two-stringed instrument), sampling delicious food and taking part in the local custom of Yu Sheng (鱼生), involving tossing a plate of food into the air! Join us in prayer: Pray for the follow-up from FES Malaysia’s RED event – that newcomers would come back next term and that their hearts would be open to the gospel. Pray especially for their Easter event in March and an Alpha event in the coming semester. Pray for FES Singapore’s Reunion Dinner event on 20 February, for good weather, a good attendance, and for gospel opportunities. Pray for the witness of Christian students spending Chinese New Year among unbelieving families. Pray that they would have wisdom to navigate family expectations and traditions without compromising their faith.
Read this week’s blog post to hear more about Chinese New Year through the eyes of Christian students in East Asia. Thanks for praying with us! | 