Serving the Servants

OM Hong Kong is involved in an extraordinary ministry reaching Indonesian maids who come to the city for work.

Lilis’ heart was moved when she read about the situation of some of these maids. Many are underpaid, some Agencies withhold information and take excessive fees, and the maids – many of whom don’t speak Cantonese – don’t know their rights. Lily joined Grace and Benny, reaching these girls with God’s love.

The OM team serve the maids by offering English and Cantonese classes, training in needlework, Bible studies and they partner with others to provide health-care and discrimination seminars. On their day off maids must leave the house, no matter what the weather, so the OM team encourage churches to provide experiences for the maids. One church had a programme where the children sang to the maids to bless them. Other churches organise outings and special events. The OM team educates the local churches about God’s heart expressed in the book of Deuteronomy – reaching out to strangers that live among them. 

Maids who are treated particularly badly sometimes run away to shelters where they stay pending a court case hearing. In the shelters they are offered English and Cantonese classes and have daily devotions. Facing their former employer in court can be intimidating for the maids who often speak little Cantonese. The OM team helps with translation, legal assistance and negotiations of payments and conditions. Once the court case is finished, Lily and Grace help them find a job with good employers and continue to visit them, building on the relationship that has developed through the crisis.

H* is a Muslim from Indonesia who came to Hong Kong to work as a maid, and began working for a Christian family. It was not long until she became a Christian. She phoned her family in Indonesia and her older sister L* was really angry. She decided to go to Hong Kong to kill her, but the only way she could get to Hong Kong was also to become a maid. She applied, was accepted and got a job with a harsh employer who wouldn’t let her leave the house nor talk to anyone. She couldn’t even use the phone. After four months she escaped and went to the police, but the only phone number she had was her sisters’. When she phoned, H* was busy so she called her pastor to see if she could help her sister. The pastor and some people from the ministry came to the police station and took her to a shelter. When she arrived she saw a cross and knew it was a Christian shelter she had been taken to. After a week she became a Christian and said, “I came here to kill Christians but when I was in need, Christians came and helped me.”

A Christian employer was keen to share the gospel with her maid but knew that she was unable to because she was a Muslim. She prayed for her for more than a year, asking God for an opportunity to share. God impressed on her to use Christian songs, so almost every day she would sing and invite her maid to sing the song back to her to teach her Cantonese. After two months the employer heard her maid singing in the kitchen and thought that it was time for her maid to know more about God. She phoned a friend who had a Christian maid, and asked the maid to talk with her maid. She didn’t understand the following Indonesian conversation, but was thrilled when her friend told her that her maid wanted to become a Christian.

The small team would love others to join them, especially those who speak Chinese and/or Bahasa. There is a great opportunity to reach these Indonesians girls living in Hong Kong. OM Hong Kong is also looking to expand outreach to Pakistanis living in Hong Kong.

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