Heart Beat

New Heart Music Ministries Newsletter – August 2008, No. 54

This testimony was recently shared by our sister Emily Yong from Singapore:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Peace be with you. I am Emily, Jeremy’s mom. We thank you for always remembering us in your prayers over the past 7 months. With your prayer support, we are able to tread through this difficult path with peace.

On December 6th, 2007, Jeremy started experiencing very bad headaches and vomiting. The following day, we sent him to the Emergency Department at KK Hospital for treatment. On December 8th, the doctor arranged a CT Scan for his brain, and results revealed that he had a cancerous brain tumor (Non-Secretary Germinoma). We never expected him to be diagnosed with a disease such as this at such a young age. That very evening, Jeremy needed an emergency surgery to relieve the swelling in his brain that occurred due to the blockage of the water passage by the tumor. It was life-threatening at that point in time. For a brief period, I was very calm and even sent out SMS (a text message) asking friends to pray for us. However, although we prayed, we were still very worried and had no peace. As the time of the operation drew closer, we started to panic. We cried and asked ourselves, “What if anything was to happen to him? He was only 10 years old…”

Jeremy underwent 4 rounds of chemotherapy at KK Hospital from December 2007 – March 2008. He also underwent 25 sessions of radiotherapy at the National Cancer Centre (NCC) between April and May of 2008. Praise the Lord that the treatments were smooth and effective. During the past 7 months, God’s blessings have been abundant. We give thanks for Jeremy. God has given him great faith and joy despite the constant pain and suffering he has had to endure. Through hymns as well as the care, concern, and support poured out by all of you, Jeremy was able to face this illness without fear. Over the past 7 months, all of our family members remained in good health and I was able to take good care of Jeremy. God also used hymns and music to touch our family. When he began listening to hymns daily and singing along with joy and strength, his sisters were influenced to sing along as well. Consequently, they learned to build their faith through the lessons found in the hymns they sung. God also sent many angels to help us. We would like to especially give thanks to sister Quan Yu for giving us two New Heart worship CDs and organic food that greatly encouraged and strengthened Jeremy.

One day I asked Jeremy, “If given a chance to turn back the clock, would you choose to take an easier path?” He replied by saying that he would still choose this path that God has given him because he has learned and received so much during this journey. In addition to being a good witness for Christ, we also pray that we would learn to be God's solution, His answer to someone's prayer, and someone’s angel of help in times of need.

Finally, let me share this poem with you:

Emily

We praise God for the work He is doing in this family, and we hope that you have been encouraged by this testimony to continue trusting God through whatever circumstances or trials you face. Please take a moment right now to pray that God would continue to bring healing and joy to Jeremy and his family. Then take a moment to pray for yourself – that God would fill your own life with great faith and joy as you walk in “the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

In Christ,

Jon Li

1. The remodeling progress of the new building hit a bump as we encountered difficulty obtaining building permits from the City of Houston. However, after many rounds of submitting, correcting, and re-submitting our building plans, all of the building permits were approved at the end of July. Praise God! He has called many brothers and sisters to assist us through every step of this process. Please pray that the remodeling would be completed quickly as we hope to move into the new building by the end of September. Also pray that the occupancy permit would be granted without delay once the construction is finished.

2. JAM (Jesus And Music), our annual music and worship camp for youth, was a great success as 34 students participated this year. Not only did they improve in their musical skills, but God also deepened their spiritual lives. It was such a joy to see each of the worship teams leading with passion during the final JAM concert. May God continue to mold these youth into worshipers and use them in their churches to usher people into His presence through music. Praise God for the tireless work of Jon and everyone who helped to make JAM possible.

3. Our mission trip to Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan during June and July went very well. God strengthened and used us as channels of His blessings. We witnessed many who placed their faith in Christ for the first time and many more who recommitted their lives to Him. Only God can transform lives, but we are glad that we had the opportunity to co-work with God. May He cause the seeds we deposited to grow strong for His name’s sake.

4. Our director Yenn is currently teaching at Singapore Bible College. God has also given him many opportunities to teach and serve in various local churches in Singapore. Please pray for his preparation and that God would empower him with boldness as he shares his passion for worship. Please continue to pray for our need for full-time and part-time workers.

5. We recently established a non-profit association in Taiwan through a group of very committed brothers and sisters. Praise God for their selfless giving. We are currently waiting upon the Lord to discern His will concerning ministry in Taiwan. Please pray that we would rely on Him alone and not on our own understanding. Pray that God would help us to be obedient to follow His plan for New Heart as we seek to contribute to the worship ministry of the local churches in Taiwan.

6. Our traveling schedule will be busy from August-October. We will be ministering in Connecticut, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Boston, Louisiana, Virginia, Ohio, and Seattle. Please pray for traveling mercies and spiritual strength as we serve. Pray that God would use our lives to encourage many people to draw closer to Him.

7. Our staff is working on our first English album. Please pray for inspiration as we write new songs of worship for His glory. Pray that God would awaken us to words and music that express the wonder and awe of His power and love. Also pray for the music preparation as we will be spending a lot of time rehearsing and recording this project.

8. Please pray for our release concert, “Soar like an Eagle,” at the end of September. May God bless the songs on our new Cantonese worship album and use them as instruments of His grace. Pray that different churches would be able to use these songs of praise to our God.

9. These past few months have been very trying for us. We faced many difficulties and hurdles in our ministry as well as the building project. Our heart often resonated with the words spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “…the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction.” (Isaiah 30:20) However, we believe our salvation is found through repentance, rest, quietness, and trusting in the Lord. We believe that God is molding us and enlarging our hearts to love Him more.