International New Year’s Day

Hoping for a meaningful way to begin the new year and to foster bonds among families and friends, the World Mission Society Church of God Singapore held a family event under the theme, “International New Year’s Day” on Jan 1, 2017. Through various activities such as jewellery making, traditional games, movie screening and so on, the members shared a joyful time with their friends and families.

The jewellery making activity provided the participants with a chance to learn how to make beautiful bracelets using colourful threads and charms. Using simple braiding tricks and with the use of ornaments, unique bracelets were produced one after another. The participants had a memorable time with their loved ones while helping one another with braiding and sharing ideas of creativity.

In order to let participants experience New Year’s celebration in different countries, traditional games from different countries were prepared, including Dakkji from Korea and pick-up sticks from Singapore.

Despite being in their youth and adulthood, many participants nonetheless enjoyed those childhood games, laughing to their hearts’ content.

Vivian Tan, 22, church member and participant of the event, commented, “I had not played pick-up sticks for many years. I used to play it with my dad a lot when I was a kid. It brought back many fond memories of my childhood days again and I really miss those days.”

Besides traditional games, traditional food from different countries was also prepared for the participants. The guests were treated to a spread, including Chinese Liang Ban Cai (Chinese Spicy Salad), Portuguese Sugee Cake, Malaysian Ondeh-ondeh and Singaporean Kuih Pie Tee.

Even though these dishes are different in culture, the love of family transcends the boundaries of nations and time.

After the fun and excitement of games and crafts, the guests enjoyed a light-hearted and inspiring movie “The Croods”.

Through the movie depicting family love and unity, the audience received many realisations amidst laughter. By explaining the instinctive love of our physical parents, the emcees delivered the message of the love of God, our spiritual parents. For the visitors who had the curiosity about Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother testified in the Bible, the Church of God also provided the opportunity for Bible study to have their questions answered individually after the event.

“It’s a nice movie. It reminded me of the sacrificial love of my parents as well as the importance of communication and understanding among family members. It is also inspiring to know that the love of physical parents is a reflection of the love of our spiritual parents, something which I have never thought about before.” commented Esther Wang, 25, an invited guest of the event.

To capture the beautiful memories of the event as a keepsake, a caricature station was set up, so that the participants could have a caricature of them drawn together with their families and friends. Seeing their cute representations with exaggerated expressions, everyone had a fun time, laughing with one another.

Wishing that everyone will have a blessed year ahead in the grace of Elohim God, the World Mission Society Church of God Singapore will continue to do its part in bringing joy and harmony to families and society.