alpha news (sept 2011)

8/4/2019 Alpha News (Sept 2011)

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Alpha for Prisons Vision SharingAlpha for Prisons Vision Sharing

ALPHA NEWS

Rm 1003, 10/F., Kodak House II, No. 39 Healthy St. East, North Point, Hong Kong

39 2 10 1003

tel (852) 2869 1066 fax (852) 2869 1313 [email protected] www.alpha.org.hk

September 2011

Alpha Hong Kong

I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you lookedafter me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

Matthew 25:36

25:36

Prison might be a forgotten place to city folks who are busy rushing

about with their daily routines, but God has never forgotten it and

the people in there. God has put this burden in the hearts of some

brothers and sisters who have been dedicating their time and care

to inmates and ex-offenders.

Brothers and sisters from Christian New Life Association, ChristianPrison Pastoral Association, Kun Sun Association and Alpha for

Prison team who have been to different prisons in Hong Kong

& Tainan will share how they run Alpha courses in these places.

Come and hear their testimonies of how God has used them to

bless the lost souls, and how they were blessed in being obedient

to the Lord.

The rst Alpha course was run in prison in 1995 in England in

response to an enquiry from an inmate. Since then it has grown

internationally to 80 countries. In Hong Kong the rst Alpha for

Prisons started in 2002.

1995

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2002

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Date

Tuesday, 11 Oct 2011

20111011 ()

Time

7:00 pm to 9:30 pm

Venue

The Ward Memorial Methodist Church54 Waterloo Road, Kowloon

Language

Bilingual (Cantonese & English) ()

Enquiry: Ms. Lydia Wu

Tel: 2131-9782 Email: [email protected]

Registration: Alpha Course Hong Kong

Tel: 2869 1066 Fax: 2869 1313 Email: [email protected]

2131 9782 [email protected] 1066 2869 1313:[email protected]


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[ Message from the National Director]On September 10, 2011, the Alpha-for-Prisons (AfP) Ministry team

of EFCC Tung Fook Church (TFC) kick-started a new round of

Alpha Course at Pak Sha Wan Correctional Institution (PSWCI).

Once again I offered to support the kick-off party as a volunteer

with them. I look forward to witnessing the mighty power of our

God in that place. The TFC Ministry Team of eight, led by Pastor

Denis Hui, normally runs Alpha Course with volunteers twice a

year. The weekly course will not be interrupted unless Black

Rain or Typhoon 8 signal is hoisted. This year is their eighth year

of operations at PSWCI and I solute their faithful service there.

The team arrived at PSWCI at around two Oclock in the

afternoon and had to go through normal security check point.

Eventually we reached the Recreation Room in the basement

after spending time in prayer at the Guest Room. Without delay,

one person set up the microphone, one got the extension cord

ready, and the other hooked up the projector what an efcientand seamless teamwork! It did not take long to put everything in

order before the inmates to arrive at the Recreation Room.

This new round of Alpha Course was rather unique as there was

an Alpha Course graduate in the AfP team who was a PSWCI

inmate some six years ago. This person, totally transformed

by the power of the Gospel subsequent to being born again, is

today working at one of the Christian rehabilitation centers for

drug addicts. The visit that day was his very rst return after

his release: no longer was he in prison uniform but he may

wear clothing such as T-shirt and jean according to his own

will. The sole purpose of his coming back to PSWCI was to

witness for the power, faithfulness and loving kindness of Christ

in the transformation of his life. We could tell that upon listening

to his sharing, the participating inmates were looking forward

to the Alpha Course which shall run for more than ten weeks

thereafter, all wanting to nd out who this Jesus is who was

able to thoroughly turn this rotten fellow of their own kind into a

completely new person.

As it is written in Rom 10:14: How, then, can they call on the one

they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one

of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear withoutsomeone preaching to them?

I pray that more believers respond to the call of Christ and make

themselves available to run or help run Alpha Course at each

of the prisons and correctional centers in Hong Kong so that

inmates may be able to receive new life in Christ.

T

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Caroline Liu

Alpha Hong Kong

National Director


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[ Denis Huis testimony on Tung Fook Church Alpha for Prisons]Denis Much had been experienced since my involvement in the Alpha-for-Prisons ministry six years

ago, having started as a volunteer and now become a full-time worker. As those inmates I came

across mostly grew up in a broken family, this ministry indeed opened my eyes to the adversity

that a broken family could bring to the life of a person. I cannot help but remind myself time

and time again that in no way would I allow this to happen to my family. Without my knowing,

I grew to love my family even more and treasure our relationship day by day. Through Alpha

for Prisons, I also witnessed how God had through His greatness transformed those who truly

believed and trusted in Him. God still loves those in prison, even though they are often being

regarded as useless and worthless in the society.

I desire to witness Gods hand in the ministry and this keeps me going. The joy of sharing a part

of Gods work is indescribable. Gods grace such as this can be experienced only by personally

getting involved in the Alpha for Prisons ministry. I sincerely hope that you may also have this

same joy one day.


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[ Tai Lam Correctional Institution Mid-Autumn Festival Prison Ministry ]

Thank you God for this beautiful day! Thank you for touching the

hearts of so many inmates at Tai Lam to have them come out

and joined us, and leading us to reveal your mercy and love to

them on this traditional festival.

It was a whole day event organized by the Christian New Life

Association, supported by Alpha Hong Kong, for greeting

different groups of inmates in 4 sessions, and to encouragethese men that with the Gospel and love of Jesus, there is hope

and new life!

The visit team of twelve brothers and sisters in Christ, included

the New Life prison ministry team led by Pastor Cheng, Alpha HK

by Caroline, and 4 guest performing artists. With Gods blessing,

totally more than 250 inmates came out and enjoyed the event,

and the Tai Lam ofcials provided outstanding support.

The program started with a brief introduction of New Life, Alpha

HK, the visit team members, and the purpose of our visit, with

the theme In Jesus We Are One Family and sing-along for icebreaking. Our guest artists then performed worship songs for

thanksgiving and praising the Lord. They individually also shared

their own testimony, their spiritual journey and new life in the love

of Jesus. After the sermons from Pastor Cheng and Carol, the

New Life ministry team closed each session singing the song

Never Look Back!

To me, this was such a wonderful experience and spiritual

journey walking in Jesus - much more than just being there as

a helper! Its all about love one another, for love comes from

God (I John 4:7). Thank you Jesus for your awesome plan for

me (and all others) with this outreach! Not only it was touchingand encouraging to see many inmates so engaged and happy,

but also the powerful testimonies and sermons from the visit

team sharing their strong faith in You! I was tearful when one of

the performing artist Charis shared her life stories, and how You

loved her and brought her back with a new life!

And, twenty inmates came to Christ today! Hallelujah!

Please pray for these new fruits to come to the Alpha course

to be held at Tai Lam next month, to grow in Him! Praise God,

Amen!

The amazing grace of Jesus, the extravagant love of God, the

intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you! (Nicky

Gunbels posting on Facebook this week)

by Karl Fu

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;

the old has gone, the new has come!2 Corinthians 5:17

[ Alpha for Prisons Training @ Christian New Life Association


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Caroline

Caroline

Charis

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Facebook

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We conducted an Alpha for Prisons (AfP) training to workers at the

Christian New Life Association (CNLA) on September 8. Pastor Denis

Hui was invited to share on his vast experience in running AfP at various

prisons and correctional institutes in Hong Kong. It is the intention of

CNLA to soon start the AfP at the Tai Lam Correctional Institute and the

Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre, ensuring inmates and drug

addicts there have an opportunity to hear the gospel and in turn receive

new life in Christ Jesus.


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[ Alpha for Prisons trip to Taiwan]During the course, the amazing work of God was also to me an

eye opener! First, I wanted to mention about the hot weather

which was rather severe in Tainan at this time of the year and

unfortunately there was no air conditioning in the class room.

Guess what God had done: He brought rain whenever we had

class but stopped it whenever we had outdoor activities. All those

attending the course reckoned this a wonder.

Further, I wanted to talk about certain members in the small

group who had been transformed during the course by the gospel

message that Alpha carried. Wai Ip (alias) was the rst person

coming to mind. He declared himself an atheist right from day

one and did not share much during the discussion and people

tended to leave him alone. Just when our group leader and I were

talking about his inactivity as such the following day, he offered

a Bible verses card for the two of us. On the third day, our friend

even wrote a prayer for others to pray on his behalf. Finally, on

the fourth day which was about the Holy Spirit, I was ratherdisappointed to notice while praying for the group members that

he stood up and headed toward the washroom upon the pastor

making an appeal for the group to accept Christ after the Alpha

message. To my surprise however, Wai Ip appeared again to join

those in the front to become a believer! He later explained that

he had to clear his mind in the washroom just to make sure his

decision to follow Christ was a wise one.

Then, there was Man Sheng (alias) who grew up in a Christian

family. He shared that he had run away from God for more than

thirty years but never thought that God had not given up on him

even when he ended up in the prison. He gave himself to Christ

during the Holy Spirit day.

Lastly, I remembered Ho Lap (alias), an inmate with tattoos all

over his body and always talked with vulgar languages. He did

not talk much but uttered only triad jargons whenever he opened

his mouth to share. However, he was the one who led the entire

class on the graduation day to praise God with the hymn You

Are the Only One what an amazing picture! Even though he

had not yet accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior at the time

of our departure, some group members did nd out that he was

now reading the Bible. Ho Lap of course gave the excuse of

having read all of the other books that were available inside the

prison already. I only wanted to pray that God would speak to

him in person.

As the course drew to an end, members in the discussion group,

to my surprise, wrote prayers for my marriage. That wasreally touching!

All these friends behind the walls, who had been forsaken by

their families and rejected by the society as a whole, found out

for themselves that they can still have true love in Christ Jesus.

Oh, our heavenly Father, I just wanted to thank you for letting us

nd You a bit earlier.

All glory and praise be to God Jehovah!

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by Heidi

alpha news (sept 2011)

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