THE LORD REIGNS

I began my presidency during COVID, arriving in Hong Kong on 1 June 2020 to an empty office. (You can watch my special MSI President induction on our website!) During the next few years, I was a privileged front-row witness of God’s sovereignty.

In early 2020, as COVID began to spread through the world, I had returned to Singapore to celebrate Chinese New Year and was told not to return to China. As I was swimming one day, the Lord suddenly prompted me to return. David L, the then President, and I discussed the risks involved, and he graciously gave me the green light. I arrived in Chengdu on 7 March 2020, and there was no mention of the dreaded word, “quarantine”. Seeing my uneventful return to Chengdu, a few foreign colleagues also managed to return before China closed her borders to all foreigners in March 2020. Indeed, even when COVID closed the borders, God was still sovereign over our times.

As the rest of the world suffered and fought COVID, China felt very safe behind barricaded borders. MSI colleagues from Hong Kong and Taiwan endured very long quarantines to travel in or out of the mainland. Foreigners were afraid to leave the country, as they might not be able to return. These super-tight travel restrictions and long quarantines caused many foreigners and international NGOs to leave China. Both China’s domestic policies and international geopolitics made her increasingly isolated. Many were convinced that China no longer welcomed foreigners. Yet the provincial authorities continued to welcome MSI and approved our annual plans and budgets. God also opened opportunities for MSI to increase and deepen our partnerships with local friends. MSI had talked about indigenisation for a very long time but COVID accelerated it. Indeed, when opportunities for foreign organisations were closing, God was still sovereign over the situation.

While many died because of COVID, many also left the faith due to meeting restrictions. Yet under this pressure, many persevered and quickly turned to meeting in small groups. The church is not a building but a community of His people. Many were trained as leaders, even as the space for pew warmers shrunk. Indeed, when the doors of churches were shut, God was still sovereign over the suffering that they continue to endure. I give thanks that God’s faithfulness, goodness and grace has led us thus far, and that He will lead us on.