March 2015 - Lighthouse Evangelism

Touchlight Newsletter
The
Touching Others Under Christ’s Hand
.
We listen to each other. We support each other. We help each other. We are there for each other.
Mar 2015 • Volume 3, Issue 3 ⦁ Lighthouse Evangelism
April 2 has been designated as World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) to help develop global knowledge about autism. This special day is now a yearly commemoration to bring
hope to those who are affected by autism find acceptance and identity.
Have you wonder what is your true identity as a born-again believer in Christ? In Ephesians 1:4, Paul says “God chose us first before the foundation of the world…” Thank
God for choosing us. Therefore when you belong to Him through Jesus Christ, you no longer need to embrace the stigma as a special needs family because in Jesus Christ
you are identified as God’s children.
The Bible also mentioned that your children are masterpieces of God. According to Genesis 1:27, He has created them in His own image. God has placed a high value on them
(Psalm 8:4-9). Like our biological parents passed on their genetic makeup onto us, the Lord Himself passed on His attributes to mankind when He first created us in the
Garden of Eden. God in His Sovereign goodness says through the Psalmist that each one of us is fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
Beside the social stigma, some parents find themselves living in the bondage of their children’s autism. Praise God that in the believers’ community, Special Needs parenting
has the liberty and you are no longer living in isolation from the community. In Lighthouse, we have dedicated and compassionate Touchlight teachers who avail themselves
every Saturday to minister to your children in the Touchlight classes. This will enable you to attend the Miracle Service and pray for them.
To all parents with such needs, you have the reason to rejoice in the Lord, just like the Jewish people who celebrate the Passover to commemorate the Israelites’ liberation
from slavery in ancient Egypt.
Aside from World Autism Awareness Day and Passover, may the upcoming Easter celebration bless all parents with HOPE, LOVE and ASSURANCE as promised in John 3:16, “For
God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Because of Christ resurrection, you are
more than conquerors. Jesus has defeated the power of sin and death for us and we are Redeemed, Delivered and Healed!
Susan Lee
Touchlight Ministry Head
© 2015 Lighthouse Evangelism
learned that God is awesome and mighty. He created the
light. He made the sky and ocean. He made the land, sea
and plants. He also made the sun, moon and the stars. He
even made the birds and sea creatures. God created all
these to provide man with a liveable condition on earth.
He created all creations, including you and me.
God created us with a desire to relate to and fellowship with
Scriptural blessings and well wishes for our Touchlightees
us. We can strengthen our relationship with him by
talking to him, praying to him, trusting him and believing
We have also commenced the first lesson of the Easter
him. .
Story in end February. Teacher Doreen shared with the
children the triumphal entry of Jesus. We will continue
and share this story with the children in March
by Darren Teo
on behalf of LEW Touchlight team
LEW Patience & Elyon Room
In February, we completed the lessons on Creation. We
Touchlightees decorating their Chinese New Year goodies bag.
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© 2015 Lighthouse Evangelism
LET Patience Room
We have completed the Creation Story in
February and the one thing that came across
strongly was God’s great power and wisdom
demonstrated in creating the universe. Man
was the height of His creation for He made us
in His likeness and gave us dominion over the
earth.
But man brought grief and
disappointment to God when he sinned,
resulting in deadly and destructive
consequences to His perfect creation. Yet
His love for man has never diminished and for
thousands of years, our great Creator
graciously and patiently work towards saving
mankind. And He showed how precious we
are to Him when He sent His one and only
Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we
can be with Him forever more.
the story that shows us that God is not only
great in power, He is also great in love. It
shows the pain and agony that the Lord
Jesus had to endure to fulfill this ultimate
sacrifice.
Jesus’ Crucifixion
Lesson 4
His Resurrection and Ascension
Lesson 1
The Last Supper
Lesson 5
Jesus Forgives my Sins
Lesson 2
Garden of Gethsanmane
Lesson 6
This then is the Easter Story that
Touchlightees will be hearing in the following
weeks. It is the story of the ultimate sacrifice
that nullified sin and gave everyone the right
to become children of God when they believe
in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is
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Jade Quah
Lesson 3
© 2015 Lighthouse Evangelism
LET Joy Room
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© 2015 Lighthouse Evangelism
Xena, Warrior Dog
She’d run out of ideas to help her special needs son. But God knew just
what to do.
by Linda Hickey
Feb 17, 2015
As appeared in
I picked up popsicle sticks from the den floor. I’d spent all afternoon writing
words on them, trying to make it fun for my younger son, Jonny, to speak...or
even just to repeat the sentence that my husband, Grant, and I had been
practicing with him for months: “Do you want to play?”
It didn’t work. Nothing worked. Jonny knew how to read, though not at his
grade level. He knew how to speak too, but no one could get more than a word
or two out of him, if that. I’d tried every idea I could think of, talked to God about
it the way I talked to him about everything. But Jonny was eight years old. If he
couldn’t speak in sentences and hold a conversation by now, would he ever?
It went beyond unlocking his speech. If Jonny could talk, it would open a whole
world of possibilities for him. He would be able to connect with people, maybe
make a friend. That was what I wanted for him more than anything.
Jonny didn’t hit the developmental milestones that our older son, Christian, had.
Things that didn’t faze other kids, like picking up food with his hands or having
someone stand too close to him, freaked him out.
He was two when we got the diagnosis: autism. I could hardly say the word. I
avoided telling people. I didn’t want them to judge him. We tried physical,
speech and occupational therapies. Special diets. Medication. Nothing changed.
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Jonny was content to be with his family, but he ignored everyone else, even our
two gentle old dogs. It broke my heart to see him retreat into himself, playing
all alone. In some ways that was harder to take than his other behavioral
extreme—uncontrollable meltdowns.
I never knew what would set him off. Once in the deli line at the supermarket,
he’d started hyperventilating. Was it something he smelled? The sight of the deli
meats? People crowding him? “Jonny, focus,” I said. He stared through me. Then
he fell to the floor, kicking and screaming.
“Is he okay?” other customers asked. I’d hurried Jonny out of the store. I didn’t
say what I was thinking. No, he’s not okay. He probably never will be.
I felt ashamed for thinking that. I hadn’t given up hope for Jonny, but I’d run out
of ideas to help him. I was so discouraged, so exhausted. I flopped now onto the
couch. The local news was on.
A horrifying image. A fawn-colored puppy on a veterinarian’s exam table,
covered in scabs, so emaciated it was hard to believe she was alive. The reporter
mentioned that the rescue group had set up a Facebook page under “Xena, the
Warrior Puppy.” They were hoping she would pull through.
I grabbed my laptop and went to the page. “Xena appears to be a four-monthold Lab mix,” the post read. “Her nose scabs are likely from trying to escape a
locked crate where she had no access to food. Her chances of survival are less
than one percent.”
My heart went out to the little dog. “Please let Xena live,” I asked God. Like I
said, I talk to him about everything.
The next morning before the boys woke up I checked Facebook. “Xena made it
through the night and she’s eating!” Yes!
From then on, I checked her page several times a day. Grant teased me about
my new obsession. I wasn’t the only one. Xena had more than 9,000 followers.
Little by little, she grew stronger.
It might sound strange that I got emotionally invested in a dog I’d never met,
but Xena was so inspiring. She’d been given almost no chance of surviving, yet
here she was, thriving. A warrior, all right. I wasn’t holding out for something
that miraculous for Jonny, but maybe there was hope for him yet.
I saw an update one afternoon saying there would be a meet and greet with
Xena in November, about two months after I’d seen her on TV. I told Grant.
“Isn’t that for people looking to adopt her?” he asked.
© 2015 Lighthouse Evangelism
I nodded. “I know it’s crazy to take on another dog now,” I said. “But we would
give her lots of love.”
Grant’s expression softened. “Okay,” he said. “Just don’t get your hopes up. I’ll
bet tons of people want to give her a home. And there’s no guarantee she’d get
along with our dogs.” He didn’t have to add, What about Jonny? There was no
telling how he’d react.
A few days before the meet and greet, I found out something else that gave me
pause. A Facebook update said that Xena wasn’t a Lab mix after all. She was a
pit-bull mix. I’d seen scary stories on the news about pit bulls attacking people.
Could they be trusted around kids, especially one as unpredictable as Jonny?
“I don’t know about this anymore,” Grant said.
“Me either,” I admitted. But then I thought about how I didn’t want people to
judge Jonny because he had autism. How could I write off an entire breed of
dog? “Maybe we should just see what she’s like.”
“Fine,” Grant said with a sigh.
The meet and greet was packed. People milling around, even TV news crews. I
tensed. What if Jonny freaked out? “Don’t worry,” Grant said. “We won’t stay
long.”
We were there maybe five minutes. Just long enough for me to thank Chrissy,
the woman who had rescued Xena, for bringing me so much hope the past
couple of months. And to see Xena make her entrance. She seemed totally
friendly, darting up to people, unafraid despite her history of abuse. That made
me want her all the more.
At home I filled out an application to adopt Xena. There were no questions about
family members with disabilities. If they weren’t asking, I wasn’t telling. That
night, as I made dinner, Grant turned on the news. “Linda!” he called. “It’s the
meet and greet.”
I ran to the den. There was Xena. “She’s running straight to Jonny! Did he
actually smile at her?”
“I can’t believe I forgot to tell you,” Grant said. “It happened so fast, and we
were in such a rush to leave.”
Three months went by and I didn’t hear from the rescue group. All I could do
was keep praying and checking Xena’s Facebook page.
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Finally, I got a call from Chrissy. “We considered the applications carefully,” she
said. “We think your family would be a good fit. Would you like to take Xena for
a trial visit?”
I shouted yes so loud I think God might have needed earplugs in heaven.
Xena was dropped off that Monday morning to meet our other dogs before
Jonny came home from school. The dogs sniffed each other, then ambled
around the house together. Well, the other dogs ambled. Xena bounded.
Time to pick up Jonny. I opened the van door and Xena hopped right into his
booster seat. “Make yourself at home,” I said, laughing.
The carpool line seemed to take forever. Finally Jonny slid open the door.
“Remember Xena?” I said.
His eyes lit up. Xena hopped out of the booster seat. Jonny got in. His seat belt
clicked. Then I heard something else.
“Mom, look! She has four legs! And two eyes. And two ears. And she’s brown
and white. And she has a booboo on her nose.”
My breath hitched. Did Jonny just talk? In complete sentences? How could that
be? After all these years.…
“That’s right, honey,” I said.
“She needs a Band-Aid for the booboo,” Jonny declared.
Now I was the one who couldn’t speak.
Xena jumped into Jonny’s lap, crowding him. He giggled, not minding one bit.
Xena became a part of our family. She’s gotten Jonny to open up in many ways.
Not only did he get over his phobia of touching food, he makes her dinner every
night. He chatters nonstop and even got an award at school for his friendliness.
He marches right up to people at the supermarket and says, “Give me a hug!”
I took over Xena’s Facebook page. I proudly tell thousands of people about
Jonny’s autism and the incredible difference Xena has made.
“What kind of dog is Xena?” I like to ask Jonny.
“She’s a warrior, Mom!” he says.
“That’s right. Just like you.”
Miracles too, both of them. That’s what I talk to God about these days.
© 2015 Lighthouse Evangelism
NOTICE
The first Touchlight Newsletter was published on March 2013 with the purpose of communicating with the
parents of our Touchlightees. Through the newsletter, we published snippets of the lessons we taught the
Touchlightees and posted photographs of Touchlightees in action and in various celebrations. Little did we know,
it has since become a tool to reach out to parents who are looking for a place for their Special Needs children
to know God. We praise the Lord, for “He knows the plans He has for us.. plans to prosper us and not to harm us
…” Jeremiah 29:11.
The Touchlight Newsletter team constantly seek to improve and revise in order to present the best possible for
the Lord. It is with this purpose that it has been decided that with immediate effect, Touchlight Newsletter
will be published quarterly. Our next publication will be in June 2015.
Touchlight Ministry
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© 2015 Lighthouse Evangelism