Brother Daniel Choo was serving as the Bishop of Bedok Ward when the news of moving to Compassvale Link building was revealed. With delight he wrote: “I believe Bedok Ward members had been meeting in the old building in Paya Lebar since Elder Victor Chen was then the bishop. I would say that we met there for at least 10 years.  Majority of the members and I were excited about the move. This means that we are going to meet old time members in the same building.” Commenting on the previous meeting place in Paya Lebar, he added: “When it rained heavily in the old building, members suffered as it leaked into the building. Water could be seen falling down from the roof and all the carpet flooring would be wet in the Primary room. There was really no peace when it came to worshipping on rainy Sundays. In the new building, it is really worry-free and it helps the members to appreciate much more of the blessings that come from Heavenly Father.”

Since its ground breaking day on October 31, 2009, the seemingly slow rising construction with its unique design and shape had evidently attracted the surrounding residences with much curiosity. The saints from Bedok and Ang Mo Kio Wards were pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome from some of the local residents as they went door-to-door to hand out the Open House invitation cards. 

Currently serving as Bishop of Bedok Ward, Keisuke Sakamoto explains his new found enthusiasm: “Since I came to Singapore, I got an impression that the mission in Singapore and mission in Japan are very similar-- not very many people are willing to listen or want to be baptized.  I have reasoned that Singapore and Japan are economically wealthy countries and so are the people.  People are busy working and not too interested about religion nor the gospel.  Their lives are happy enough that they do not seek true happiness. I am speaking in general. Then we had the Compassvale Chapel Open House and there were so many people who came to visit us.  It was unbelievable to me… We passed flyers out twice before the Open House and I saw many of the members who participated were so excited to do this missionary work.  And the responses were great too.  All the members who distributed flyers had special experiences and some even found people who were interested in the gospel. I served my mission in Japan and we did door-to-door knocking.  But we could never get this kind of responses in Japan.  I realized there are people who are willing to hear the gospel.  They just have not gotten the opportunity!”

Elder James Nowland, currently serving in Singapore Mission, reported that Ms. May Lim, a non-member, was overjoyed to see the new Chapel finally opened.  “When Ms. Lim moved to Compassvale Link several years ago, she often prayed that there would be a church nearby so that she could worship in it. Shortly thereafter, construction began on the Compassvale Link Chapel.  She humbly recognized that this was God’s answer to her earnest prayers.”

Article By Brother Sadikin Budiman