At City Harvest Church, it is a season of miracles and healing both at the church and in the mission fields. One mission team shares how God moved during their February trip to unreached people groups in the Philippines.
Mission team members leading praise and worship in the Ata village. All photos courtesy of Eric Soo.
Since 2023, CHC has been heading out to preach the gospel to unreached people groups (UPGs) in neighbouring countries like the Philippines and Indonesia.
Most of these trips are led by the church’s senior pastor Kong Hee, who has explained to the church that such missions are in partnership with the Holy Spirit.
“By helping the poor and the needy, the Holy Spirit changes us from within,” he told the church in October last year, quoting Luke 4:18-19.
He added, “That’s how you grow in the anointing of the Spirit. That’s why so many miracles happened when we were among the UPGs.”
Since those early trips, the mission teams to the UPGs have seen miracles of salvation, deliverance and healing take place among these unreached people.
The CHC mission team praying and praising among the unreached people groups in the Philippines
In February this year, Pastor Kong traveled with a team comprising of church members from cell group W491, as well as Eric Soo, CHC’s senior liaison manager, SOT graduate Richard Gianchand and Pastor Elizabeth Pescadero from His Dwelling Christian Church in Bacolod.
Three dentists joined in this trip to bring dental support to the UPGs, who do not have access to proper dental treatment. They were Dr John Lee, the senior pastor of City Harvest Church Sydney, Dr Editha M Rivera, a CHC School of Theology graduate from Manila, and Dr Kenneth Tan, a member of CHC Singapore.
City News spoke to Eric and Dr Kenneth about the mission trip and the miracle the Holy Spirit brought to the UPGs.
Tell us about your February trip. Where did Pastor Kong and your group go?
Eric: On 26 February 2024, Pastor and I went with members of our cell group, W491, to the Philippines for a three-day mission trip. The locals in the areas we visited were among the poorest of the poor who could not afford basic healthcare or education. There were also ex-rebel fighters and even children who carried guns.
We went to a total of 13 locations in the Negros Occidental province: CHC Villamonte, Arao and Spur 13 on Day 1, back to Villamonte, Magtajos, Minoyan and Prayer Mountain on Day 2. On day 3, we went to a total of six locations, including Ata village, which we had visited before.
Sharing about Jesus with the people of Ata village
Was it difficult to get there?
Eric: The distance was considerable. We often had to travel up to two hours from one location to the next. The trip to Ata village, which was located in a far-flung area, took several hours.
We had to ride motorcycles or sit in vans when traversing longer distances. We also had to trek up hilly terrain through muddy rice paddy fields, often taking a few hours to reach our destination. There was even a place — CHC Kamote — that was like a war zone; it was where rebels and government forces clashed. There were several churches that we wanted to reach out to, but we decided against it because it was too dangerous.
Pastor Kong has said during his previous sermons that many UPGs have their own religion or have no idea who God is in the first place. What kind of reception did the team get when they first arrived?
Eric: To backtrack, Pastor shared during the mission giving that we went to Bacalod and Ata village with a team.
At Ata village, we were the first foreigners they met and they were a little scared, uncertain why foreigners like us would want to come to their village.
Due to the seeds we sowed on that first trip, and because we had Filipino church staff and locals with us this time, the reception in February was warmer.
Some of the UPG villages are located in far flung areas with no paved roads
What seeds were sown this time?
Eric: The first time we went to Ata village, there was one lady who suffered from depression and was so fearful that she hid in her hut while her fellow villagers received rice and attended our service. We went to visit her, prayed for her and gave her a packet of rice.
When we came by this time, she was right in the middle of the crowd that greeted us, smiling and welcoming us warmly. She was a completely different person with no sign of depression or fear!
Tell us about the mission team. Were there any first-timers?
Eric: The group mainly comprised of Pastor’s cell group members from W491. Several of them had already been to the Philippines for missions, but there were quite a few first-timers as well. We also had the three dentists with us.
Dr John Lee has had vast experience in doing dental care during missions, so we wanted to learn from him how to do more of that in the future.
Praying for the sick at CHC Villamonte
Among the cell group members who went were Alvin who has been on mission trips numerous time; Raymond, a long-time churchgoer and a couple who were also SOT graduates from 2023.
What was the mission trip programme? Aside from meeting the needs of the locals, was there preaching of the Word or prayers for healing?
Eric: We wanted our cell group members to take a hands-on approach. They led praise and worship, preached and prayed for the sick. We didn’t want them to just be in support roles, but to step up.
For our mission trip this time, we set up dental clinics with the help of Dr Lee to provide dental treatment for the locals, who couldn’t afford such a service. We also prayed for the sick and blessed them by distributing rice and foodstuffs to both young and old.
How did the mission trip impact the members?
Many of them were greatly blessed seeing God move and touch the locals. My cell group member Adrian was one such person.
A first-timer, he led several praise and worship sessions and served in any capacity he could. He shared later that the team showed him what having a “servant heart” meant and he was deeply impacted by the transformational testimonies shared. In his words, it was a “God-experiential mission”.
We heard that a miracle took place during the dental missions. Please tell us what happened.
Kenneth: On Day 1, we split into two teams. Eric and the rest prepared for an evangelistic meeting there while we, the three dentists went to conduct dental clinics.
This was my first dental mission trip. We spent the time doing teeth extraction for adults and fillings for the children. We had brought enough supplies to treat 20 to 30 people.
The three dentists on the mission trip treated 70 patients—a miracle seeing that they only had enough supplies for 30 patients
Our supplies started to run low about halfway through our work, but we managed to carry out about five hours of service.
We had one last patient: an 11-year-old girl with a large, black cavity in her front teeth. We had run out of the solution that was required to do fillings.
We were about to turn her away, regretfully, but God had other plans.
Pastor John Lee encouraged us to pray. After several minutes of prayer, we squeezed and even vigorously shook the supposedly empty bottle. To our surprise, several drops came out of the bottle, just enough to treat our last patient! It really felt like a “five loaves and two fish” moment.
Eric: We later tabulated the amount of supplies we had brought up and the number of patients the dentists treated. They had treated 70 patients with supplies meant for 30 people! It was truly a miracle of provision!
It must have been a pretty amazing experience! Were there any other moments that stood out?
Eric: Aside from the miracle and the lady from Ata village, I was deeply touched and blessed by seeing the children there worshipping God. They weren’t there just for fun or for the handouts. There was a beautiful joy and undeniable authenticity in how they just wanted to worship God.
The joy of the little students from Eskinosen School in CHC Arao
Kenneth: For me, the miracle was such a serendipitous encounter. I wasn’t exceptional in my studies and felt I only became a dentist by God’s divine grace.
Throughout my 17 years as a dentist, I have wondered why God placed me in the dental field. This was one of those moments where I felt Him answering my perennial question. He used my skillset to help others and by that, to help them get to know Jesus .
This also taught me that in everything we do—be it in the mission field or in healthcare—we can really trust God with our possessions and believe He can provide.
Pastor Kong has been encouraging the congregation to bring Christ to the UPGs. How would you encourage potential first-timers reading this to serve or support?
Eric: I would tell anyone thinking of joining in UPG mission trips to come as they are. Their presence is more than enough. They don’t have to specifically to lead praise and worship or pray for the sick. Sometimes just singing along in worship, giving the people a hug and simply telling them that God loves them is sufficient. They can also help out in the ministry of service by giving out food and essentials to the locals.
For church members who feel like they can’t afford the airfare or have other concerns, I would encourage them to keep believing. God can make a way for many who want to go on such missions by blessing them with enough finances for the mission trip. Those that can’t go for other reasons may engage in intercessory prayer for the mission teams.
