Thank God for Care Groups

This week I had the opportunity and privilege to join ten different care groups. It started on Wednesday night where I joined JEDI care group meeting. The care group meeting was held at CN & Christine's place. That night was also their house dedication ceremony.

It was great seeing younger worship leaders emerging. Tian Tian was leading worship that night. Her choice of songs were clearly appealing to the younger adults (YYY generation).

CN & Christine also spent some time affirming different individuals and cast the direction for the quarter 2.

God has been good to them. May God continue to add to the JEDI tribe in the days to come!

On Thursday, six care groups came together to have a sub district cg meeting. May Hoong was in charge of the care group. Adam was chairing and Danny was worship leading. I did the sharing. Adam chaired the care group meeting creatively. He shared a powerful testimony about how God blessed him with around 4 months of bonus as he and his wife put God first even in the area of finance. Danny was natural in leading worship.

I regret that I forgot to take some photos of the care group meeting. Instead let me share with you this picture (taken from somewhere in the internet) that I showed that night. One silly thought that I had about this picture is that "even cats believe in care group."

On Friday, I joined Eugene Chong & Jacqueline's unit care group. The care group meeting was held at Marc & Theresa's place. It was my first time going to their house. They just got married end of last year. It was a good care group meeting. There were two discussion groups. Marc prepared and led the discussion group well. Robert was very creative in how he did his discussion leading.

After care group meeting some of us went to have dinner/supper together at Hongkong Cafe near IKEA. The ambience of the place was good. Indeed good ambience made a difference. We had a good time fellowshipping with one another till around midnight. I only have the picture of the guys. The girls sat somewhere else as the place was pretty crowded.


It always brings me joy to be able to join care group meetings. I always end up leaving the care group meeting feeling refreshed one way or another. Thank God for care groups.

May God continue to help all of us to do better and better in cg life and cg meeting as such that more and more people will give thanks to God for care groups. Amen!

Being God-Conscious

Read a good story in one book this morning. It is a good reminder on the importance of being God-conscious rather than man-conscious. Indeed, often it is not that God doesn't want to move. He is waiting for someone willing to be used as His instrument.

A man was once flying from Atlanta to Dallas, and it so happened that in the seat next to him there was a little girl with Down's syndrome. After a while she turned to him and said, 'Do you smoke?' 'No,' he said, 'I don't smoke.'

'That's good,' she said, 'My mummy says you shouldn't smoke.' Then she pointed to the businessman who was sitting the other side of him and said, 'Does he smoke?'

The man was naturally rather embarassed by this, but he thought he ought to humour her, so he asked the businessman sitting next to him, 'Excuse me, but do you smoke?' 'No,' he said. 'That's good,' said the girl.

There was a little bit of pause, and then a few minutes later the little girl said, 'Do you love Jesus?'

'Yes,' the man replied, 'As a matter of fact I do love Jesus.'

'That's good,' she said. 'Everyone should love Jesus.' And then it suddenly dawned on him what she was going to say next. And he hunched down in his seat and hoped against hope that she wouldn't. But she did. 'That man next to you,' she said, 'does he love Jesus?' So he swallowed hard, and turned to the businessman sitting next to him, and asked him.

And with a tear in his eye the man replied, 'Do you know, I've been wanting someone to ask me that for a long time.'

And so Milton Cunningham, who was a preacher on his way to speak at a seminary in Dallas, led that businessman to Christ there on that aeroplane, all thanks to a little girl's utter of self-consciousness.

cholesterol

I had been postponing doing a health check up because it involved taking my blood. I don't mind to give away my blood. The problem is the instrument of needle that has to enter my body.

I had a breakthrough a few weeks ago. Together with some other colleagues I did it.

Last week I collected the result of the check up.

Thank God that everything was okay except for one little problem. My cholesterol was on the high side. According to the doctor my cholesterol level was moderately high. He advised me to modify my diet, exercise and see if it will go down.

Today I did some research on cholesterol. One interesting finding was about top five foods that can help reduce cholesterol level.

They are:

1. Oat for Soluble Fiber

2. Fish for Omega 3 Fatty Acids

3. Nuts for Healthy Fats

4. Foods fortifed with Plant Sterols

5. Soy

For those who are interested more details can be found on the following website: http://www.healthcastle.com/foods_lower_cholesterol.shtml

I guess it is time for me to eat more of those foods. Perhaps some of you need to join me as well. I trust that oat doesn't taste that bad. :)

It is going down and up again

Watching it going down brings satisfaction. Watching it going up again brings pain. Yes, I am talking about my weight.

At the end of February I was around 78 kg. Not too long after that it became 77 plus kg. Then it became 77 kg. After that it was 76.5 kg. The exercise was working. :)

However, the last two readings were not so encouraging. The last reading was taken today and it brought pain.

My conclusion is as below:

1. Going to gym once a week is not enough to bring it down. When it was going down I believe I was going to gym more than once a week.

2. Chips and chocolates are very fattenning. Recently, I have been eating these two weight boosters quite a bit.

3. Eating late at night is dangerous. I have been doing this quite often lately as well.

Well, the war is ongoing. Exercising frequently and staying away from eating weight boosters are compulsory if I am going to win this war.

May God help me and other weight watchers out there! :)

When God Moves

As believers we know that it is never about having a religion. Christianity is about having a personal and intimate relationship with God. It is about having an adventure with God. God decides what the adventure is and when we partner with Him the adventure becomes very exciting.

Last Sunday was one of such exciting times. It was our Easter Service. Some of us were praying and fasting for God to move on Sunday. I was chairing the service on Sunday. When I arrived in the auditorium at around 7.45am and joined the prayer meeting I could sense the excitement of those who were on duty for the event. I think it was after the first service, I was backstage, when I sensed God speaking into my heart distinctly that the district I am part of was going to receive some harvest of souls that day.

During the altar call of the second service I went up to the stage just to standby. I kept praying as I knew that it was an important moment. I was touched and elated when I saw the first three people going to the front to receive Jesus into their lives were from the district I am part of. We did receive some harvest of souls that day. I may not heard all of the stories. But as far as I know there were around 6-7 friends responding to Jesus from the district on Sunday. I wrote "6-7" as one friend said the sinner's prayer aloud but she seemed to be unsure about her decision. Please pray for her.

It is so exciting to see how God moves. When God moves lives are transformed and hearts are encouraged. When God moves we are humbled, left in awe and acknowledge that God is indeed God. I am thankful to be able to be a part of this exciting adventure.

I want to take this opportunity to thank those who have laboured one way or another for our Easter outreach. Some of you sang, some of you acted, some of you handled the technical aspects of the service, some of you worked on the deco, some of you ushered, some of you interceded, some of you invited friends, some of you befriended and hosted visitors, some of you are meeting up with the new believers some time this week. Whatever you role is, "Thank you for doing it faithfully and for doing it well." It has been my joy to be able to serve together with you. Indeed it is a privilege to be part of the family of God.

I really believe that we are going to see God moving powerfully in the YA ministry and in the lives of different individuals this year. I want to get ready. I invite you to get ready as well.

"Thank you God. It was so exciting being there when You moved."

Faith Instead of Doubt

This morning I had a good time with friends from NG1 sub district. It was our first time meeting up as a new sub district. Actually, I am the new kid in the block. They have been together for some time. I want to thank them for welcoming me in their midst.

Later on we had our first Easter ESS service. It was good to see new friends in our midst. It was also good to see more of us in the district participated actively with the Adults services.

In the afternoon, Lean Choo and I hosted Kajin and Uli from Hope Germany for lunch. Consider us as boring but we did bring them to try out Ayam Penyet. :) We had a good time with them. I am inspired by the couple's commitment in pioneering new local churches. Indeed, they really personalise the vision that God has given to our Hope movement.

In this season of outreach there is a poem that I want to constantly remember. The poem really inspires me to continue flame faith within my heart. Indeed, God is pleased when I allow faith instead of doubt to rule my heart and life.

The poem is below:

Doubt sees the obstacles
Faith sees the way.
Doubt sees the darkest night
Faith sees the day.
Doubt dreads to take a step
Faith soars on high.
Doubt questions “who believes?”
Faith answers “I”
--- Anonymous

In this season of Easter outreach I choose to believe the Word that the harvest is plentiful. May God use all of us as His instrument to touch a few more lives with the love of Jesus even this Easter season!

Project 99 Good Men

My apologies for those who have been waiting for this blog entry.

As promised, I am doing this blog entry for at least 3 purposes:
*To encourage more people to go for Thai Camp
*To answer more queries about Thai Camp related matters
*As a place where people can submit their entries for the one free ticket to Bangkok

If you are considering to go to Thai Camp but yet to decide I want to let you know that the registration is still open. It is true that the early bird registration is over. But the normal registration is only around $20 more expensive. The late registration is around $28 more expensive than the normal registration.

If you have more queries on Thai Camp matters please feel free to post your questions on the "comment" section. Otherwise, please feel free to write or call our Project 99 consultants:
Mr. Kam Weng at kwwong@hopesingapore.org.sg or 90257736
Mr. Eugene Chong at agape_love07@yahoo.com or 94774227

Now, for the entries for the ONE FREE RETURN TICKET TO BANGKOK (Up to the amount of $160) here are the names so far:
1. Jinqi Ang
2. Tamar
3. Elaine
4. Hendra
5. Edward
6. Gerald
7. Jiay Huey
8. Xin Hua
9. Wei Lin
10. Clarence Ng
11. Ziying
12. Robert
13. Sam
14. Deborah
15. Ray
16. Florence Neo
17. Bairang
18. Florence Chee
19. Raymond Phua
20. Kam Weng
21. Paul
22. Neo Zhi Ge
23. Simon Tan
24. Penny Poon
25. Gerald Lee

Please forgive me if I miss your name and please let me know about it so that I can add you in.

We will draw for the winner during our next combined care group in May.

Any more takers for Project 99 Good Men? :)

Visioneering

I have been reading "Visioneering" by Andy Stanley on and off since some time last year.

Fenny gave me the book as my birthday present. Thanks Fenny. :)

Today I finally managed to finish reading it. This is a very good book. It should make it to my top 20 or even top 10 list.

In order to help me remember what I have learned and to help me create a new blog entry below is the summary of the lessons found in the book.

1. A vision begins as a concern.

2. A vision does not necessarily require immediate action.

3. Pray for opportunities and plan as if you expect God to answer your prayers.

4. God is using your circumstances to position & prepare you to accomplish His vision for your life.

5. What God originates, He orchestrates.

6. Walk before you talk; investigate before you initiate.

7. Communicate your vision as a solution to a problem that must be addressed immediately.

8. Cast your vision to the appropriate people at the appropriate time.

9. Don't expect others to take greater risk or make greater sacrifices than you have.

10. Don't confuse your plans with God's vision.

11. Visions are refined - they don't change; plans are revised -they rarely stay the same.

12 Respond to criticsm with prayer; remembrance, and if necessary, a revision of the plan.

13. Visions thrive in an environment of unity, they die in an environment of division.

14. Abandon the vision before you abandon your moral authority.

15. Don't get distracted.

16. There is divine potential in all you envision to do.

17. The end of a God-ordained vision is God.

18. Maintaining a vision requires adherence to a set of core beliefs and behaviours.

19. Visions require constant attention.

20. Maintaining a vision requires bold leadership.

My Favourite CNY Photo

I don't have the habit of taking photos during Chinese New Year (CNY). This year is no different.

However, the church staff family went to have a CNY lunch at a Thai restaurant in Parkway Parade last friday. During the lunch Yin San went around happily taking photos. Below is one of the them. This would be my favourite CNY 2008 photo. I think I do look like a super slim bull. :)

Starting a Journey of Reading, Reflecting & Retelling

I am currently starting a journey of reading, reflecting and retelling (sharing my reflection). This is as the group I am part of (AG1 of Hope Singapore) is starting a 40-day (or more) YA discipleship campaign. My material for this discipleship campaign is "Devotions for Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life" by Charles R Swindoll.

I actually started my reading last week. But let me just consider yesterday as day 1. Yesterday, from the book, I read a chapter on the topic of patience. The title of the reading is "Impatience". Below is my reflection for the reading.

The chapter talks about how impatient we can be in our daily life (e.g. facing long queue, traffic jam, flight delay, etc) In short, we don't like delay. We want what we want when we want it.

Swindoll points out that the pre-believing people around us (in our daily life) do not care or impressed by our Bible knowledge. But they do take note of our attitude that includes patience or impatience.

Am I gracious when I have to face some delay? Or am I as impatient as everybody else who hasn't got the love of Christ in their heart?

Two seemingly unrelated thoughts came to me on the topic of impatience and patience.

First, delay can be a gift. It came to me that delay can be a gift from God to us. It is a gift because it is an opportunity for some character development. It is a gift because we are reminded once again that we are not in control, God is. It is a gift because God may throw in some surprises during those times if we maintain our cool and be sensitive to what God wants to do and say to us.

Second, be patient with ourselves. Sometimes, we get frustrated with ourselves because we do not change or grow as fast as we want it to be. But self-beating seldom helps. Self-condemnation is not biblical. If the sincere desire to change and grow is there. If we have taken steps towards change and growth. If we are depending on God for empowerment. Then we have to exercise patience with ourselves. We have to avoid the danger of perfectionism. (There is a thin line between excellence and perfectionism) We give our best. But we must be patient when our best is not perfect.

I want to take this opportunity to encourage my brothers and sisters from AG1 group. Let's have a wonderful discipleship journey together from today (or yesterday) till the end of March. If you have not started, don't condemn yourself, just start as soon as you can. If you miss one or two days, don't beat yourself, just come back to it again. This journey is not a journey of perfection. It is a journey for those who are imperfect. It is a journey of growing our character and spiritual maturity. It is a journey with Jesus.

And in case any of you needs the steps of the discipleship campaign again, here they are:

Step 1 – Buy, borrow or pick from your bookshelf a good material (once only)
(enough to last you for 40 days & more)
Step 2 – Read a portion of the material (each day)
Step 3 – Reflect upon what you have read (each day)
Step 4 – Journal your reflection (each day)
Step 5 – Share it with others (e.g. shepherding, cg meeting, dmm meeting, blog it, etc) (at least once a week)

Enjoy your journey! :)

Blessed Lunar New Year to You!

Lean Choo and I are currently in Segamat, her hometown, for CNY. I think this is either my 7the or 8th time spending CNY in Segamat. Segamat is a town in Johor State, around 2-3 hours by car from Johor Bahru.

We arrived yesterday following Christie's car. This was so convenient. We didn't have to buy bus or train tickets. Actually, we tried to buy train tickets but they were completely sold out.

When we arrived in Lean Choo's house, another pleasant surprise was waiting for us. The house is now equipped with broadband wireless connection. I am so happy to have easy internet connection. I am sure utilising my laptop and internet connection to the full, even right now. Thank God.

Anyway, Lean Choo and I just want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Blessed Lunar New Year wherever you are. And to those who are not celebrating CNY we wish you a Happy Holiday.

May you all have a fruitful and enriching time with family members, relatives & friends and may God give you some pleasant surprises during this festive occassion!

Ayam Penyet

I have never written a blog entry on food before. This can't be true. Though I may be giving the impression that I seldom eat (i.e. fasting all the time) the truth is that I do enjoy eating. Not as much as my wife though. And look at our sizes. It's so unfair, isn't? :)

You may have heard about "Ayam Penyet", an Indonesian Franchise restaurant whose popularity in Singapore is growing by the day. I cannot really explain very much about the food except that "Ayam Penyet" means "Smashed Chicken". Actually, the chicken looks okay thus I am not sure why they call it smashed. But the most important thing is that it tastes yummy. :)

Besides chicken there are many other things that you can eat in restaurant such as gad0-gado (mixed vegetables with peanut sauce), empal (beef) penyet, ikan (fish) penyet, udang (prawn) penyet, avocado juice, etc, etc.

Now, I am not trying to be bias here. It's not because I am (was) an Indonesian that I am promoting the food. I have brought many kinds of people to try out the food. Indonesians, Singaporeans, Malaysians, Africans, Europeans, they have tried and LIKED the food. :) It seems that this is one type of Indonesian food that really has an international appeal.

Now, I must warn you that there are many imitations out there. Quite a number of stores out there are also selling ayam penyet but they are not the original one. This is understandable. People always like to make imitations of branded stuff. :)

If you would like to try out the food in "Ayam Penyet" restaurants you can find the restaurants in the following locations: Lucky Plaza (1st & 4th levels), Joo Chiat Road (near church office), Novena Square and Marina Square (in the food court). If you do not reside in Singapore you may want to consider bringing this franchise into your country. And please remember me when you are making a lot of profit from it. :)

In case you are wondering whether I am rewarded or paid by "Ayam Penyet" to do this promotion, the answer is "not a single cent". :( But if you keep mentioning my name whenever you go to the restaurants they may reward me one day. :)

Happy trying and eating everyone! :)

Note: the picture above is taken from the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/taking5/494739777/

Heart Attack

I was doing some work at home this afternoon. At the same time I was following a tennis match between Roger Federer (no 1) and Janko Tipsarevic (no 49).

Federer wasn't playing his usual best. He made many unforced errors. Janko, on the other hand, was playing very confidently. As a result it was a thrilling 5 sets lasting almost 4 1/2 hours.

The fifth set was especially gripping. It was a very very close match. Federer was playing a catch up throughout the fifth set. As I am Federer's fan this resulted me in having some HEART ATTACK following the progress of the match. Believe it or not I took the trouble to pray for Federer. :)

I must take my hat off to Federer. He was very strong mentally. The pressure of the possibility of losing the match so early in the tournament he won several times before must have been great on him. (Last year he didn't even drop a set in the same tournament) But he kept at it. He didn't give up. He kept pressing on despite of not playing his best. At the end the breakthrough came and he won the match.

One lesson I learnt from Federer is the importance of mental strength. At times the difference between a champion and an average player is not necessarily skill but mental strength.

Similarly, as Christ followers we do need to develop mental toughness. Our foundation of the Word must be strong. Our character must be maturing. Our mind must be filled with hope and faifh-filled thoughts. After all, we are playing against a very competitive competitor everyday of our life. And at times, that mental toughness is difference between winning and losing.

Strategies for Physical Energy Management

Lean Choo and I are currently in KL attending a conference with some others. We arrived in KL on Monday around noon time and will be leaving for Singapore on Thursday evening. The conference has been good thus far. However, I do not intend to blog about the conference at this point time.

Rather, I want to blog about some strategies for physical energy management taken from the Power of Full Engagement book (by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz).

1. Go to bed early and wake up early

2. Go to sleep and wake up consistently at the same times

3. Eat five to six small meals daily

4. Eat breakfast everyday

5. Eat a balanced, healthy diet

6. Minimize simple sugars

7. Drink 48 to 64 ounces of water daily

8. Take breaks every ninety minutes during work

9. Get some physical activity daily

10. Do at least two cardiovascular interval workouts and two strength training workouts a week

The above will be great reminders and pointers to me even as I am in the midst of changing my lifestyle. Eating differently and exercising regularly are the way to go for me. :)

why I blog

I can feel it. I am slowly losing my momentum and desire to blog. This entry is stop and reverse that negative momentum. :)

I believe that when we are losing our momentum in doing something right/good it is helpful to remind ourselves why we do the thing in the first place. When we are connected to the "why" we would have greater motivation to press on.

Why do I blog?

1. Relevance

My team and I are pioneering young adults ministry in Hope Singapore. Many young adults blog. This is a lifestyle for many of them. As such, blogging helps me to be more relevant to the young adults world. I mustn't forget that I am a young adult as well. :)

2. It helps me

Blogging helps me. You see, though I do journal I journal occasionally. Blogging helps me to journal more regularly. Though I cannot write as freely in my blog as compared to when I write in my private journal (as it would be irresponsible for me to do so) at least I am jotting down some key happennings that are happenning in my life through blogging. Somebody once said something like "the weakest ink is stronger than our memory".

3. It helps me to connect to people

I am living amidst a fast moving urban world of Singapore. Usually, I am busy. And I seem to get busier each year. Sometimes I couldn't find as much time as I want to, to connect to different individuals. Blogging helps me to connect to people in some way even when I am unable to spend time with them directly.

Three reasons why I blog. The reasons may look simple but they are powerful in motivating me to continue on blogging.

One simple action point for me. I will attempt to blog twice per week. I will do it every Monday and Thursday mornings before I take care of my e-mails.

May God help me in this wonderful cause of blogging!

what I really want to remember about 2007

Today is the third day of a new year. What do I really want to remember about last year? Well, certainly there are many things I really want to remember about. I have learned that even bad things and imperfections bring about very precious life lessons. Nevertheless, let me just try to list down some things.

1. The opportunity to catch up and minister together with my old friend, Peter Truong. It was so encouraging to see how God working in his life, from glory unto glory.

2. Hope Manila Annual Camp. It was my first time to speak and minister in a camp setting. It was a very valuable experience. I could see very clearly how God would help you when you are willing to step out by faith.

3. My 2nd Thai Camp. I was truly ministered by the worship sessions. It was great to be able to shed tears in the presence of God after some time without it.

4. My 2nd trip to Nairobi, Kenya. It was good to be back to Kenya. It was good catching up with Lisa and Li Chuang. It was good getting to know Esther there. It was good touching and stroking a Cheetah. :)

5. 3 YA Events (Unplugged, Olympia Ultimatum, 13). It was great seeing many young adults utilising their God-given talents to make a difference in the lives of their counterparts who were far away from God. Indeed, some of them have been brought near to God through the contributions of these events.

6. The Australia trip (Brisbane, Melbourne, Gold Coast) It was really a fruitful trip for Lean Choo and I. I learnt the importance of proactively building relationships. It takes some willingness to step beyond our comfort zones. But once you do it, it really blesses your soul and the Kingdom. We had a great family time with my two siblings and their families in Melboure as well.

7. The blossoming of JEDI group and ministry. It was really a joy seeing the ministry blossoming before my very eyes. I was humbled and encouraged to see how hard some of them work for the Kingdom. I was thrilled to see the newer ones rising up to the occassions.

8. MNC (Malaysia National Convention) in Kuching. It was an eye opener. The missions spirit was very much alive in Hope Malaysia.

9. We broke YA200 goal once during Christmas by a big margin. There is a precious story who belongs to a very precious person behind every single number. Over 200 precious stories about over 200 precious persons. We also treasured the 6 souls who crossed or recrossed the line of faith through the christmas services. Thank you Jesus. I am really thankful for the many people who gave their best to share the love of God during the christmas outreach season last year. Their labours shall never be in vain in the sight of God.

10. Attended a great Christmas Eve Party (The "C" Party). It was a costume party. I came as a cockroach man and ended receiving an award for the most creative costume of the night. :) That was a miracle given my arts & craft skills. But that's not the most important thing. One of the highlights of the night for me was to listen to the testimony of a new brother in Christ who just responded to Jesus some weeks earlier. He really shared from his heart and how he really moved our hearts by his sincere sharing. This reminds me about why am I giving my life for the cause of the Kingdom. It is about life transformation, one life at a time.

Of course, there are many more things that I can write down. But let me just say that year 2007 has been a wonderful year of happennings. It was not without its challenges though. Some of them were really tough. But through it all I prevailed because His grace was sufficient for me. And for that, "Thank you, Lord".

Merry Christmas!

We just want to take this time to wish family members, relatives and friends, in Singapore and overseas, "Merry Christmas!"

Thank you for being part of our lives in your unique and special way.

May God continue to watch over you and fulfill His wondrous plan in your life!

Have a blessed christmas everyone!

With much love,

Michael & Lean Choo

A fisherman story

The following story is a powerful reminder of the importance of faith in our personal life and ministry.

A gentleman is observing a fisherman fishing on a particular lake one afternoon. This gentleman notices that whenever the fisherman catches a small fish he would keep the fish. But whenever he catches a large fish he would throw the fish back into the lake. This keeps happenning throughout the afternoon.

Unable to hold his curiousity any longer this gentleman approaches the fisherman and asks him a question, “Excuse me sir, I have been observing you fishing all afternoon. I noticed that you kept all the small fish and threw back all the big fish. May I know the reason for you doing so?”

“It’s actually very simple”, the fisherman replies. “You see, I only have a small frying pan at home.”

The story is hillarious but to the point. Isn't true that many times the size of our faith limits the kind of blessing and breakthrough we can receive from God?

The fisherman can just get a bigger frying pan instead of doing the unbelievable act of throwing back all the big fish. And similarly, instead of limiting what God can do by the size of our faith we should enlarge our faith so that we can receive all that God wants to give unto us.

This christmas harvest period, I pray that each one of us will enlarge our faith so that we can receive all that God wants to bless our outreach efforts with. After all, the Bible says that the harvest is plentiful.

my hopes and dreams for christmas

In life, it is important to have some hopes and dreams. For one, hope and dream are an indicator whether faith is operating in our hearts and lives.

Without hope and dream life would only be a motion instead of a delightful anticipation of better things.

I do have some hopes and dreams for this christmas.

* I hope that each person in AG4 district will truly cherish the true meaning of christmas. May each person be awed by the reason behind the season in a fresh way this christmas.

* I hope that each person in AG4 district will approach christmas outreach with a winning mentality and a faith-filled attitude (not a defeated one) this christmas.

* I hope that each person in AG4 district will do christmas outreach with dependency on God and not on mere human strength alone this christmas. (one evidence of this dependency is praying and fasting)

* I hope that each care group in AG4 district will be blessed with at least one stable new brother/sister in Christ this christmas.

These are my hopes and dreams for christmas.

What is yours?

Enriching Moments in East Malaysia

I just came back from Malaysia National Convention 2007 in Kuching. It was my first time stepping into East Malaysia and joining the convention. I thank God for some enrinching moments in the last few days.

Here are some of those moments:

* The churches in Malaysia have grown from strength to strength. They have now planted a seed community in every state in Malaysia. They have also recently made great progress in the international missions by planting churches in different parts of the world. The emphasis on missions was very strong throughout the convention.

* The wonderful interaction and fellowship time with the Malaysian pastors and co-ordinators through the different meal times. It was great to get to know Ps Dennis and Sister Hai Eng better in this MNC. I am touched by their great humility and servanthood attitude. It was great to be able to ask some specific questions to Ps Simon about his life and ministry experiences during some meal times as well.

* There were around 20 people from our Mandarin group attending the convention. In this convention I was able to get to know some of them better. It was good to be able to catch up a little bit with Jia Huey and Nigel, ex-my care group members when they were still in the Adults group some years ago. It's good to see them doing well in the Mandarin group.

* The opportunity to participate in the convention by teaching a workshop and sharing a testimony within Ps Jeff's teaching. It was a broadening experience for me. I am glad that they laughed at my jokes. :)

* Spending some quality time with Ps Jeff & Claudia. Ps Jeff didn't have to ask me to come along with him. He didn't have to make the various arrangements to enable me do something in the convention and that I would be taken care of while I was there. He didn't have to. But I am thankful to be part of a church and a family of churches that truly believe in the value of discipleship and covenant relationship. We don't just go to church but we do life together. Ps Jeff, if you are reading this, thanks very much for the constant love and impartation. What I have received I will pass on to others. :)

Back from MNC, it is time to rejoin my team to do our best for Jesus this Christmas!

"Jesus, please be with us once again, in an even greater way than last year. Without You we can do nothing. With You we can overcome and prevail through it all. Amen!"