DECEMBER 2020
PENANG HOUSE OF PRAYER
PENHOP'S YEAR-END NEWSLETTER
EXTRAORDINARY TIMES - YEAR 2020
BY VIOLET SIM
There is no doubt that this year will go down in history as an
extraordinary year; pivotal changes that brought about
tremendous impact in every sphere of society and thrust us to
adapt to the evolving situations brought about by Covid-19. For
those with vested interests in Malaysia, the effects of the
pandemic are compounded by the unstable political scene.
Remembering that we are children of God, called to be in but not
of the world, how should we respond?
“We are not driven by the constant changes of world events but have a
faithful heart to know that He is Sovereign; He is in the centre. We are
to eliminate lies and fears that cause our hearts and brains to wander
like an orphan kid. Instead, know that we have a Father God that is in
control.” – Kelvin Tan, PenHOP Leader
This extraordinary year pushes our comfort level of being extra
ordinary. Stripped away from the many pleasurable things in life,
which are not necessarily bad but still non-essential to our
survival. This is an extra ordinary year which forces us into a
simple lifestyle, distilling our lives and facing the core of who we
are. When rightly perceived and spent, the period of extra
ordinary days is a gift which has given us space to consider how
deep we have dug our spiritual wells.
As you read this newsletter, may you see God’s grace and goodness in
keeping a community of faithful witnesses during this extraordinary time.
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PenHOP’s vision of building God a resting place “suspended”
when the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia was
implemented on 18 March. While it seemed only right to respond
and be quick to transit to online platform, the leadership felt
strongly to hold and remain in the space of “silence”. The space
was intentionally created, as we too went on the journey of
distilling and allowing time to make sense of the extraordinary
times we have been thrust into. Perhaps, the core question was,
“Have I cultivated myself as a resting place for God?” The
corporate expression of building God a resting place may be
prohibited, but the individual expression of ministering to and
having God take pre-eminence in our personal lives becomes the
foremost expression of building Him a resting place.
What if this shaking is intended to sift us, to mature us so
that we realize how much we are consumed by non-
essentials? What if through this pandemic, we are now
able to connect virtually and more deeply with different
Christian brothers and sisters, despite geographical
boundaries? Through this extraordinary time and the extra
ordinary days, we must posture our hearts to remain
tender before God and men, choosing what really matters
and lasts for eternity.
 PENHOP'S YEAR END NEWSLETTER 2020
THE PRAYER ROOM
BY ALAN SIM
“The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, it must not be
extinguished” proved to be a real challenge this year. Every
familiarity has been stripped away, leaving us exposed and
revealing what’s in the heart of PenHOP: If it is still all about
the simplicity of loving Him, beholding the beauty of the Lord
and His worthiness.
Having been stripped bare, the prayer room underwent a
month of silence where every member was given space to
make sense of what was happening, along with an honest
evaluation of the impact of being nurtured in the house of
prayer and allowing the truth to confront our hearts. Many
have testified this month was needful and sobering.
The leadership felt the hand of restraint of the Lord that
stopped us in our tracks from migrating from a physical to a
digital platform. This proved to be tougher than we expected.
The inertia of what others would think of PenHOP was quickly
burn internship 2020
BY STEPHANIE JAMES
This Burn Internship was just as exceptional as the year 2020
has been. Although this was our 8th time conducting this
month-long program, our sense of anticipation and excitement
was unwavering as we prepared for the 28 interns to arrive—
from Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, USA and for the first
time Bhutan and Myanmar.
As the international staff team prayed before starting the
internship, one of the staff saw a picture of a huge wave with
surfers riding the wave. He felt strongly that the staff had to
learn to ride the wave of what God is doing, and this was
highlighted specifically for the latter half of the internship.
Another staff cautioned that we should not be over-familiar
with the way we run the internship as each run is different; it
was important for us to be simultaneously watchful and
prayerful and to heed the wisdom of Proverbs 3:5-6:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall
direct your paths.”
So, we began Week 1 with the interns, focusing on becoming
sons by knowing the Father’s love for us. The staff noted
towards the end of the week that there had been an increased
acceleration in growth and the depth of ministry in the interns.
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addressed by the revelation of His sovereign invitation to
come away with Him into a season of hiddenness and
alignment.
In this season of hiddenness, we thank God for the grace upon
our worship leaders, volunteers and staff team to transit and
be comfortable with the digital space. God is faithful to
building the prayer room. In the least expected way, a new set
was birthed, as PenHOP added a Thursday intercession set to
our existing prayer schedule.
In this season of alignment, instead of jumping to bring back
the usual sets when we were allowed to gather, the Lord
arrested the hearts of the leadership to pause and dialogue.
This resulted in making a shift from what would usually take
place on Friday nights, from a Friday Night Burn set to a
Worship with the Word set. By the gracious hand of God, we
managed to complete the 144 descriptions of the beauty of
Jesus in the book of Revelation just in time before the
implementation of another lockdown in Penang.
Truly it is only by the grace of God that the fire on this altar
shall be kept burning.
Many of them were being marked for the nations by the Lord
and even had destiny called forth—things that we usually only
see happen in the 3rd and 4th week of the internship were
taking place as early as Day 4!
As we approached the start of Week 3, we finally understood
why the Lord moved with such acceleration—Covid-19 had
now spread throughout the region, and the Malaysian
government announced the closure of borders and air travel.
Yet, even with this curveball, God was good in our midst! The
Holy Spirit had already hinted about this disruption in our
plans before we first convened, and in the days leading up to
the announcement, He had dropped the urgency in our HOP
Chief Shepherd Alan’s heart that we would need to send
everyone home within 24 hours!
The final two weeks of the internship were meant to be
focused on exploring his Kingdom purpose through the Great
Commission and how we ought to live in preparation for His
Kingdom to come. However, it almost seemed that the Lord
had decided to teach us what that looks like by immediate
application, sweeping us up in what He’s doing now in the
nations. While initially many of the interns (and staff too) felt
saddened at the abrupt, unavoidable termination of the
internship, the promise in Philippians 1:6 was what I held on
to as we bid them farewell:
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will
bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
 PENHOP'S YEAR END NEWSLETTER 2020
MY FATHER'S EYES — A BI2020 INTERN'S JOURNEY
BY GRACE LEE
Hi, my name is Grace! I am Korean-American, born and
bred in the South of the United States. I have the privilege
to count myself among the Burn Internship (BI) Interns of
2020. The Internship is a special place to me because it
began the process of breaking me out of a lifetime of
striving. The Father had to break down my old monument
before I could learn how to rest in His green pastures.
The first breaking came at Day 2. The teaching was about
our sonship based on the parable of the prodigal son (Luke
15:11-32). Like both the younger and older sons, I knew I
needed to stop striving to earn God’s love, but I didn’t
know how to in any practical sense. I had only
conceptualized the God who is proud of me when I do well
in using the gifts that He gave me for His Kingdom. So, I
had built a monument out of those moments that I felt I
was obedient or successful in my walk with God. The
consequences of this lifestyle were a cycle of striving, fear
of rejection, and a paralyzing fear of failure. That day, I
realized that my view of sonship was constrained because
I was looking at the Father through the son’s eyes. Yet,
could I look at myself as a son through the Father’s eyes?
After the teaching, there was a “homecoming” ceremony.
All the BI staff surrounded us on behalf of the Father.
They symbolically clothed us with the best robe, the
family signet ring of authority, shoes that signify sonship
over slavery and gave us the fattened calf of blessing. As I
received the affirmation of my sonship from each staff
member, I saw in their teary eyes that they had the love of
the Father for me; and in some miraculous way, I could
begin to look at myself as a son through my Father’s eyes.
His work in me is not done. I have not yet graduated as a
BI Intern. Not only am I physically still here at PenHOP
journeying with this community, but I am also learning to
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rest in my Father's steadfast love for me. That could
sound like a nice, humble comment, but I really failed to
cease striving all throughout the Internship. The
Internship would teach me how to break down my
monument of striving — through affirming my sonship
built on the Father’s capacity to love me. However, I am
still learning to live out my identity and rest in His love.
At the beginning of 2020, I came to the Internship unable
to let go of the constant pressure to be something better
or do something noteworthy. I did not know how to feel a
sense of self-worth apart from achieving a goal and having
something to show for my life. It has taken the eight
months since the Internship for my heart to finally begin
entering into rest. I am not in a rush to go to the next
place to achieve something for God. By staying here in
God’s presence, I am not “doing nothing”, but I am doing
the best thing — being a son. Following Jesus’ example as
the Perfect Son, I am learning to revere my Father and
adore Him.
The speaker said something to the effect that sonship is
not a moment, but it is a journey. In that journey, he said,
we learn to mature as sons as we keep walking in the
tension of unanswered questions. Where will I go from
here or what will I be doing a year from now? I don’t know.
But I do know that when it is time to go, I will be more
mature as my Father’s heir.
The staff at PenHOP endeavoured to wash our feet,
serving us in love and humility, with everything they did. I
was almost spooked out by a few quirky moments like
when they would entertain us with "uncle jokes” (named
so because the average age of people who find the jokes
funny are uncles and grandpas). But I’ll never forget the
way they looked at me in my homecoming.
 PENHOP'S YEAR END NEWSLETTER 2020
PARTNERSHIPS
LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS
BY ALAN SIM
BLESS MALAYSIA BIBLE READING 2020
(BMBR 2020)
PenHOP was privileged to serve the body of Christ in
Malaysia by being part of the technical team hosting BMBR
2020. Being faithful to the call of the night watch, PenHOP
was committed to serve on most of the graveyard shifts
between 12am to 6am throughout the three and a half days.
We witnessed how this event had been initiated and
orchestrated by the Holy Spirit as over 450 participants,
representing all the 13 states and 3 federal territories,
completed the reading of the entire bible continuously for
80 hours. Participants came from over 20 cultural,
linguistic, and ethnic backgrounds. We believe there is a
shift in the spiritual realm as the Word of God has gone
forth and many lives have been touched by the reading of
His word. (Isaiah 55:11)
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REGIONAL & GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS
BY MICHELLE KWAK
KAIROS GLOBAL TEAM
As part of their missions training, a team of nine came from
Indonesia to immerse in the prayer room for 7 days in late
Jan/Early Feb. There was much synergy and heart
connections as the team shared PenHOP’s value for worship,
intercession, and mission. The PenHOP staff team were very
blessed and strengthened by the way they minister to God,
within their own team and to the PenHOP team through their
prophetic words. The team truly exemplified what it means to
allow missions to be fuelled from the place of worship and
prayer.
WORLD RACE HOSTING
Before the onset of the pandemic, we were able to host a
group of three World Race teams this year in February. As
hosts, we provided a space for worship, prayer, and missions
to converge for these young missionaries. With an intentional
space and structure to encounter the Lord in the context of
the prayer room, the Racers had the opportunity to focus on
personal devotion and ministry to God before going out and
“doing”. Many of them testified at the end of a few short
weeks that they were forced to wrestle with deeper
questions and paradigms as they sat in the prayer room for
seven hours at a time. Some realized the importance of
intercession not as an afterthought or a lesser work, but as a
paramount part of missions - as a noteworthy ministry itself!
UPGI PRAYER INITIATIVE
For the past year and a half, we’ve had the privilege of
helping to coordinate a strategic prayer initiative for
unreached people groups (UPGs) in the Middle East & North
Africa (MENA) region. Several intercessors from Southeast
Asia, alongside others from around the globe, have joined this
strategic prayer group. We’ve been able to respond in real
time, upholding the personal, family, and work needs of some
key workers involved in Bible translation and discipleship
efforts, as well as some prayer alerts from the region.
Unbeknownst to us, the Lord has also used this initiative to
prepare us practically and spiritually to empower this region
in Asia for UPG prayer mobilization. In all this, we get to
witness and take part in the unfolding of Matthew 24:14.
Every tribe and tongue shall receive the gospel, be discipled
into maturity, and welcome the return of Christ!
 PENHOP'S YEAR END NEWSLETTER 2020

PENHOP community
This spiritual family has been challenged in many ways during this pandemic. The social distancing forces us to be even more
intentional to check in with one another and find meaningful connection. In the midst of mandated isolation, we also found the
depth of comradery within this community as we rallied around one another to walk through the reality of life and death.

In Memory of Wan Rou • Ethel •

BY VIOLET SIM
She has gone ahead of us to enter into His rest; where there is no more pain.
She has gone ahead of us to remind us that we are made for eternity.
She has gone ahead of us to behold Jesus face to face.

It has been five months since the passing on of dear Wan

Rou. Yet, the memories of her and the testimony of her life
lives on.

Wan Rou became part of this community when she said “yes”
to the pursuit of Joel and this community had the privilege
to witness the beautiful union of Wan Rou and Joel.

While she was won over by Joel, it had also set the path for
her to be won over by the pursuit of the One who holds her
every step of her way. She was not ashamed of her faith in
Jesus and spoke of her continual trust in Jesus even in the
midst of physical afflictions.
Whenever Wan Rou accompanied Joel to the prayer room,
she sat at that same spot, quietly being ministered to by
Jesus and ministering to Him. The Lord must have been so
delighted by the simple devotion that Wan Rou brought
before Him. After her passing, we were privileged to catch a
glimpse of her conversation with God.
Psalm 23: 3 & 4
An excerpt taken from her reflections on Psalm 23 written
originally in Chinese:
Through the many dangers and surgeries, I was not worried,
never anxious, never afraid, and steadily looking ahead. Hence, I
even doubted whether I was really “sick”, since I am neither
afraid nor anxious. But it turns out that, while I was looking far
ahead, You were right there behind me! You are my strong
refuge, You are fighting together with me! No matter the
situation, You walk before me and shelter me from the storms of
life. And before my greatest enemy (cancer), You prepared a
table for me. You made me look healthier than those who are
not sick, You allowed me to run freely and laugh heartily, and
even before big battles I stand steadily raising my cup in joy!

My dear Abba Father, if not for Your great power and Your
Even though I walk through the loving mercy, what would become of me? You are my rock, my
stronghold; You are the lamp for my feet; with You I have no
valley of the shadow of death, fear. I thank You, I praise You, for You are my King. Every heart
shall turn to You, every mouth shall sing Your praise, for You are
I will fear no evil worthy! Amen! – Wan Rou, 18th June 2019

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies Her quiet demeanour, her constant reliance on God’s
strength in her battle with cancer, her earnest pursuit of
Jesus and His presence, and her wholehearted trust in God
continue to remind us of God’s desire to pursue us with His
unrelenting love and He alone will hold our hands every step
of our way; until we see Him face to face.

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 PENHOP'S YEAR END NEWSLETTER 2020

FAITHFUL TO THE END

BY KIRSTEN EPHRAIM TAN
When Stephanie decided to give one month to the Lord by
joining the Burn Internship in 2013, none of us could have
imagined the beautiful transformation and encounters God
would release in and through her in the years to come. One
willing heart to give all, longing for encounter with God,
would lead many others into a burning and passionate heart
for Jesus.
parts of Asia to teach, minister and help others establish
internships.
A leader, worshiper, internship director and artist but for
most of us a dear friend. It doesn’t matter where you find her,
you will encounter the same steady, creative, funny and kind
heart that makes you realise you should chill a little more.

Over the years, Stephanie has grown to be one of the core We are so grateful for all that she has poured into this house
leaders of the house. In 2017, she stepped up and took on the and although we are sad to see her leave, we are excited for
role as Internship Director, leading full-time staff and interns the new season she is stepping into in Singapore. They are
from different nations. This led to opened doors in different blessed to have you!

As a friend, and as a co-labourer;

It has been an honour to serve with you.
No matter where we are, we live to
make Jesus known, until His return.

PARTNER WITH US
The Lord has been faithful in providing for us all these years, and we are thankful
to each and every group and individual who has sowed financially into the building
of the House. As we enter into a new season of expanding our ministry, we also
GIVE see financial needs arising. If you feel led to sow financially into the House,
whether through a one-time or monthly offering, do contact us as we would love
to connect with you! Our support information can also be found on
penhop.org/partner.

Apart from our financial needs, we also have benefitted from many intercessors

pray
praying for us in the process of building the House. Thus, we are also inviting you
to partner with us by praying for us as a House, and also praying with us for many
things that He is entrusting to us. Please let us know if you would like to commit
to pray for us by contacting us at info@penhop.org.

We are believing that God is raising up individuals to labour together with us in

building God a resting place, not just in Penang, but Malaysia and even the

SERVE nations. If you feel led to sow a season of your life to serve as an intern, a staff, or
a volunteer at PenHOP, do let us know! We would love to connect with you. If you
require more information on serving at PenHOP, please send us an email at
info@penhop.org.

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