On 23rd of August, more than 8000 people came to the largest indoor fundraising event to date with 135 stalls. The bazaar was organized by Glad Tidings Assembly of God in Petaling Jaya (GTPJ) to raise RM500,000 for the two homes of Rumah Juara—Home for Underprivileged Children—which houses a total of 60 children. Juara signifies the home’s hope to bring victory to the children raised there.
The Bazaar had a sale of a variety of food and drinks, merchandizes, handicrafts and games. Among the highlights were the photography workshop by Barry Ong of Photography Society of Petaling Jaya, a food art workshop with international food artist Samantha Lee, and a parenting talk by Mah Xin Xin of Focus on the Family Malaysia.
Elizabeth Ratnam, coordinator of Ruman Juara, shared how she was convicted by God to serve the underprivileged children with passion—an experience she vividly recalls till today.
During a missionary trip to India, Elizabeth was sitting in a van when a teenage mother came and gripped her wrist. Amid the deafening cry of her baby, the distressed mother told Elizabeth that she had not eaten for four days. That encounter broke her heart, which sealed the Lord’s conviction in her heart to help the poor children in Malaysia.
Upon returning to Malaysia, Elizabeth met up with Main Pastor, Pastor Vincent Leoh of GTPJ to discuss plans of starting an orphanage without prior experience. In year 1998, a resident in Damansara Jaya called GTPJ to enquire placement of five children who were chased out of home by their abusive father. On that same year, Rumah Juara was set up in Petaling Jaya to provide a home for underprivileged children from 3 to 10 years old.
“That’s when I know that I am at the right place and at the right time. The journey of Rumah Juara has been memorable to me because I see children’s lives being touched by God, transformed, and saved from the hands of wicked people,” said Elizabeth, who is also known lovingly as Perimma in Rumah Juara, which means mother’s elder sister.
Since its inception, the Lord has been sending Rumah Juara children referred by Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat, Women’s Aid Organization (WAO), churches, other homes, and walk-in-cases. In year 2007, a second Rumah Juara was set up in Puchong.
Pr Vincent recalled his most memorable experience is meeting the alumni of Rumah Juara last year at their 15th Anniversary Alumni Gathering. Due to their emphasis for completion in school education, the alumni of Rumah Juara have now grown up to work in stable-income jobs and build their own families. Some of the graduating children chose to build their career through obtaining a college degree (by scholarship application), while some completed vocational training at the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA).
“The transformation of the lives of the individuals in Juara really touched me. Some of them came in looking depressed, but now they look so different. Whenever they see me, they would come, hug me, and shake my hands. That bonding speaks volumes,” said Pr Vincent.
With a heart for underprivileged children, Pr Vincent is also encouraged to see the high spirit of enthusiasm among his church members who took ownership of their own booths and rallied their strength to make the bazaar a success.
“Once you start a home, it’s a long-term commitment. For our church, it helps our people to be more outward looking than inward looking. The work of God is not so much of the children themselves but to care and share their blessings with others. That’s what Christianity is about,” said Pr Vincent.
Elizabeth is thankful for God’s ‘”lavish and awesome providence” through the generous hearts of individuals and the corporations. Extra providence in terms of food and stationeries are donated to other poor children in churches or squatter areas.
However, although the children in Rumah Juara are physically provided for, Elizabeth shared that they still need emotional nurturing, especially for their male children who lack male role models in Rumah Juara (since the majority of the staff are females). Hence, she hopes that a few Christian men would step up and mentor these boys to grow up into becoming holistic and healthy young adults.
“Ultimately, we really want our children to grow with their family. The children might be eating simple porridge at home, but they would rather stay with their mum and dad. So, we need to challenge the church to offer finances to the family,” said Elizabeth, referring to a possible future initiative of Malaysia to provide financial assistance to poverty-stricken families, to enable the child to remain in his or her family.
Nothing speaks louder than the actions of love. And on this day, GTPJ has spoken loudly this language of love. To love is to give!
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All picture are accredited to Life Community Services under GTPJ.
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