Elderly neighbors in a Toa Payoh estate mingled with volunteers from a youth cell group and CHC’s Dialect Church for a time of Christmas fellowship, fun and games.
Dialect Church volunteer Cai Yan provided Cantonese intepretation during the outreach event. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOSHUA LOW
You might have mistaken the source of all that noise at this Toa Payoh void deck for a bunch of rowdy teens and their shenanigans, but on Dec 4 at Toa Payoh Care Corner, it was a group of elderly neighbors from the area who were having a rollicking time with games, story-telling, jokes and more.
A Christmas outreach led by City Harvest Church’s Dialect Church pastor Maria Tok, this event was supported by a cell group and their friends from the church who went along to entertain the old folk and bring Christmas joy and goodies.
During a game called “Guess The Price”, enthusiastic participants excitedly threw in their best bids for household goods like biscuits, Milo and instant noodles, even using their fans as bid paddles to indicate a higher or lower bid. Those who got the price right, beamed from ear to ear as they collected the food items, while those who did not get the price right laughed it off, eager for the next question. Smiling volunteers went around helping to facilitate the games.
Tok delivered a short but impactful Christmas message in Mandarin, Hokkien and Cantonese, which the elderly folk listened to attentively. The question-and-answer session that followed helped to reiterate that Jesus is the reason for the season. The participants answered questions about the birth of Christ, His ministry on earth, and how He conquered death. One elderly lady cheekily answered “Jurong!” when asked where Jesus was born, bringing on amused smiles and good-natured chuckles from her friends. The team ended by inviting all present to Dialect Church’s special Christmas drama which was to happen the following weekend.
CHC member Marklin Ho, 27, said, “I feel this event is a great way to give back to the elderly and to bring smiles to them. I would definitely do this again. My Christmas wish for the elderly is for them to remain healthy and to always have friends around them so they never feel lonely.”
According to cell group leader Johnson Hay, it was the first time they participated in such an outreach event for the elderly, and 15 members turned up for the event. The most fulfilling aspect of the outreach was seeing the smiles on the faces of the elderly as they received gifts and interacted with each other, said Hay. Given the success of this outreach, Hay says there are plans for more such events, engaging different groups in the community. The motivating factor for this cell group? That more people would get to know Christ and experience His love and salvation.
