three uncles and one nephew

Have you ever watched "Three Uncles And One Nephew" before?

Actually, there is no such movie. :)

But the below picture is what it looks like in our family. I just like this photo.

submitted - within three days

I just submitted my final assignment. I didn't manage to do within 2 days. But within 3 days is not bad as well. :)

Thank you Lord for helping me through. I commit it into Your hand. Help me bring glory to You through it. Amen!

a research report within two days?

The month of August has been really full with assignments to do, people to host, conference to serve and stage duty every weekend.

It's not over yet. Within these two days I need to produce a research report on a relatively difficult topic.

Can I produce 25 pages of quality report and submit it before Tuesday midnight? (So that I will not lose to many marks. the deduction of marks are happenning every single day after last Friday)

Well, I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me. Please, help me God! :)

A Powerful Story

This weekend is an important weekend for those in Adults services to share the love of God with our friends and family members.

May the following story inspire many hearts especially those who are doing their best in sharing the love of God with others but often wonder if it is making any difference at all.

Links in the Chain

Edward Kimball was determined to win his Sunday school class to Christ. A teenager named Dwight Moody tended to fall asleep on Sundays, but Kimball, undeterred, set out to reach him at work. His heart was pounding as he entered the store where the young man worked. “I put my hand on his shoulder, and as I leaned over I placed my foot upon a shoebox. I asked him to come to Christ.” But Kimball left thinking he had botched the job. Moody, however, left the store that day a new person and eventually became the most prominent evangelist in America.

On June 17, 1873, Moody arrived in Liverpool, England, for a series of crusades. The meetings went poorly at first, but then the dam burst and blessings began flowing. Moody visited a Baptist chapel pastored by a scholarly man named F. B. Meyer, who at first disdained the American’s unlettered preaching. But Meyer was soon transfixed and transformed by Moody’s message.

At Moody’s invitation, Meyer toured America. At Northfield Bible Conference, he challenged the crowds saying, “If you are not willing to give up everything for Christ, are you willing to be made willing?” That remark changed the life of a struggling young minister named J. Wilber Chapman.

Chapman proceeded to become a powerful traveling evangelist in the early 1900s, and he recruited a converted baseball player named Billy Sunday. Under Chapman’s eye, Sunday became one of the most spectacular evangelists in American history. His campaign in Charlotte, North Carolina, produced a group of converts who continued praying for another such visitation of the Spirit. In 1934 they invited evangelist Mordecai Ham to conduct a citywide crusade. On October 8th Ham, discouraged, wrote a prayer to God on the stationery of his Charlotte hotel: “Lord, give us a Pentecost here. … Pour out thy Spirit tomorrow. … ”

His prayer was answered beyond his dreams when a Central High School student named Billy Graham gave his heart to Jesus.

And Edward Kimball thought he had botched the job!

I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. John 17:20,21a
[1]

[1]Morgan, Robert J.: On This Day : 265 Amazing and Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs & Heroes. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000, c1997, S. June 17

"Faith Like Potatoes"

I am excited about our YA movie night this Friday. This is our third time in two years we have been doing movie night. And we hope to do many more times in the future.

Besides being excited about the movie I am also excited that there is now a team taking care of the entire event including the sourcing out of movies and securing the licenses. I want to commend CN and Gabriel for serving the YA group in this capacity.

This time the movie is "Faith Like Potatoes" which is based on a true story. It was awarded the Audience Choice award at The 2006 Sabaoth International Film Festival (Milan, Italy), and won Best Feature at the 2006 Mumbai International FICTS Festival.

Below are the synopsis of the movie, the link to access the movie's trailer and the e-invite for the Friday event.

Based on a true story, this inspiring film tells the story of Angus Buchan, a South African farmer who suffers a series of seemingly insurmountable losses, but through an unlikely friendship with his Zulu farmhand and divine interventions, discovers the key to healing himself and learning to accept others lies in his unwavering belief in the power of faith.

Check out the trailer of the movie here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG0VCYYwziw

If you are reading this blog entry and in Singapore consider this as an invitation to join us this Friday night. By the way, admission is free. :)

I also want to encourage all Christ followers in YA group to invite our friends and family members for this event. Let us also spend a few minutes every day this week to really pray for the success of the movie night. We long to see hearts strengthened, hope renewed and lives transformed in a significant way.

Thanks in advance for the partnership and see you on Friday.

Persist

Two days ago I was browsing my notebook to look for a specific document. As I was doing that I stumbled upon a poem that I wrote in 2004.

Today I sent out the poem to a group of precious people. The poem is rather amateurish thus I was a little embarrased to share it with others. But I pray that its message will be able to encourage some hearts.

Here is the poem:

Persist

It was Monday morning
And I wondered why the going gets tough
When doing the right things was all I wanted to do
I couldn’t help but feel discouraged
I couldn’t help but feel like giving up

But before I said “I do” to giving up I paused and pondered
Then I saw

I saw the sun faithfully shine its light
Over the righteous and the evil it never failed to rise and set
It dawned on me
The sun persisted because it was its DUTY to do so

I saw a colony of ants working hard carrying bread crumbs
They were storing provision for winter which was to come
It dawned on me
The ants persisted because they had the FUTURE in mind

I saw a runner competing in a world marathon event
His leg was crammed and his throat was dry
Still he kept running
It dawned on me
The runner persisted for the HONOUR of his country

I saw Jesus, the Son of God, walking towards Golgotha
His body was soaked in blood and His flesh was torn out
He was weary due to pain, hunger, thirst and no rest
Still He walked, walked and walked

I saw Jesus being nailed to the cross
The physical pain was excruciating
Insults and mockeries inflicted Him with emotional pain
Humanity’s sins placed on Him inflicted spiritual pain
That He cried “My God My God why have You forsaken me”
Still He remained and remained on that cross

It dawned on me
Jesus chose to keep walking
Jesus chose to remain on the cross
Jesus chose because of LOVE

I am sure glad that I paused and pondered
Now I know that I can choose to persist and not give up
I can persist because it is my DUTY to do so
I can persist because God promises a good FUTURE for me
I can persist because it is for the HONOUR of my God and His Kingdom
I can persist because of my LOVE for Him and His people

It's no 15

Last Sunday, Lean Choo and I went to my second brother's house to watch our "friend" in action.

Yes, Roger Federer was playing in the final of Wimbledon. We had a fun time together rooting for our "friend".

We left my brother's house at the end of the fourth set.

When we reached home the fifth (final set) wasn't over yet. We continued to support Federer.

At the end, Federer won, to our delight.

History was made that day. Federer was now officially the male player with the most number of grand slam titles.

Here is a great video clip summarising his incredible journey:

Remember the Wonders

This week is a very packed week for me. Among other things I have CLC2 teaching, one wedding to conduct, a weekend sermon and a Sunday afternoon sharing to prepare.

I was sharing this to several individuals through an e-mail. Steven Yeoh then replied my mail by giving me his personal work. (Thanks Steven) It's a beautiful work. The message of the poster is very similar to the rhema word that God gave me recently about clinging to Him.

Friends, if you are out there being overwhelmed by deadlines, challenges, projects, circumstances, etc, we must do one thing. We must remember God's wonders in our life and cling to Him. And if we do that the following is my conviction: We will be just fine :) .

my first blog entry of 2009

Wow, it has been so long since I last blogged. I am happy to be back.

I want to restart slowly but hopefully steadily. :)

Recently, I stumbled upon a great quote by Alexander Graham Bell.

"When one door closes another opens; but we often look so long upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."

How true! It saddens my heart to see people I care going in circles in life because they refuse to let go of their past. I pray that God will help them to let go and embrace the door that God has opened for them.

KPI services here we come...

What I have been busy with...

The months of October, November and December have been very colourful.

Some of the highlights include:

October
* Annual Retreat in Bintan
* Knowing the Will of God WFL Course
* Adults Combined CG
* Various Preaching Commitments
* Laurens and Huiyang's Wedding

November
* Peter Truong's Events
* YA Team Rally 3
* LC in JB
* Gabriel and Sarah's Wedding
* Staff Retreat in Johor
* Birthday Lunch with Ps Ben and Ps Dinah
* Preaching in four services
* My Youngest Brother's Wedding
* Spending Time with Family and Relatives from Overseas

December (thus far)
* MNC in KL
* Family Holiday in Bintan
* A Special Intercessory Meeting
* Catching Up with Ronald, Leslie and Nathan

I will try to write more on some of the above before the year ends. :)

Two Old Photos

Recently, Fenny sent me two old photos from the Melbourne days.

Wow, I was really slim then.

Would this also be a vision of my future if I really put my heart into exercising and eating healthily? :)

Two Important Events

Wow, it has been almost two months since I last blogged. Of course I can say that my schedule has been packed. But truthfully I also experienced some loss of momentum. Also, I have been pondering on the way forward regarding my blog including changing blog.

But more of that perhaps next time. :)

Today I want to take time to blog on our two upcoming YA events.

The first one is our YA Combined CG tomorrow. Peter Truong will minister to us. He ministered to us last year and he is back again this year. Yesterday, Peter met the YA leaders to minister to us and to train us for tomorrow. We witnessed several of our leaders receiving physical and emotional healing.

The details of the event is as below:

The second event is our YA Team Rally this Sunday.

Once every a few months we take time to celebrate, look back and look forward. This will be our last Team Rally for the year.

I would like to really invite shepherds, core teams and leaders in YA group to join us for this time. There will be surprises for you. Come and find out. :)

I want to thank Ben and Name from CN & Christine's groups for doing up the wonderful e-invites above.

Now back to tomorrow's combined care group. If you are reading this blog I covet your prayers for God to move mightily in our midst tomorrow administering His renewal, emotional healing and physical healing.

Indeed it is not going to be by our might our our power but it is going to be by the Spirit of God that we will move from strength to strength and glory unto glory.

"Thank You Jesus, Amen!"

After almost three weeks

Wow, it has been almost three weeks since I last blogged. I would need to catch up in the next few days.

Let me start with where I left, UNVEIL.

We did UNVEIL. It was indeed an entertaining night. I am confident that we have also sown some good seeds into the hearts of around 21 pre-believing visitors who were present that night.
I want thank CN, committee (Jinqi, David Chua and Yoppie) and team (many people) for anchoring the event. I salute all the contestants including those who went for the auditions. We appreciate the judges (Kin Wee, Jaclyn and Angie) and our guest performer (Nel and band). Thank you also to those who were there and for inviting your friends to join us as well.

Congratulations to Megan (the winner) and the Butterfly (the runner up). Cheers to August Rush, J & J and Tian Tian & band for putting up a wonderful show as well.

Here are some pictures of UNVEIL courtesy of Penny. Thanks Penny. You are a faithful servant of God.

For more photos of UNVEIL you can go to Penny's photo website at the following address:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pennypoon/sets/72157607023494468/detail/

Thank God for UNVEIL: THE STAGE.

UNVEIL: THE STAGE

I am excited about our YA Event 2 this Friday - UNVEIL: THE STAGE. CN and team has been working hard in the planning and coordination of the event. The auditions have been completed. Six contestants (a mixture of individuals and teams) have made it to this Friday.

For those in AG1 district/YA group now is our turn. It is our turn to give the committee and contestants our very best support. One way we can support the committee is by being there and by bringing as many people there as possible. Nexus auditorium needs to be filled up by people to create the kind of atmosphere we need.

We can support the contestants by giving them our votes that day. On Friday, the judging criteria would be as follow:
60% - Judges' decision
30% - SMS voting
10% - Fans/audience support (banner, cheers, etc)

May the best man/woman/team win! :)

For those in AG1 district/YA group it is good to remember the objective of this event. UNVEIL: THE STAGE is a kind of outreach event (Matthew Party). Also, we are in our final week of our Adults region growth and YA360 charge. As such, brothers and sisters, this Friday let us bring as many friends and family members, believers (contacts, visitors, those who have slidden away) and pre-believers (those who are near and those who are still afar) to UNVEIL. Let us fill at least 3/4 of Nexus Auditorium this Friday.

You can download the e-invite from my blog to send it out to your friends and family members.

For those outside AG1 district/YA group we covet your prayers. Pray for us. We will definitely need it. Thanks in advance.

I definitely look forward to a highly entertaining and impactful time at UNVEIL this Friday.

snaphots of the past few weeks

Many things have happenned in the past few weeks. I could have blogged many entries on those happennings. But I am still on my way in becoming a more frequent blogger. But at least I am a regular blogger? :)

The past few weeks?

Once again, we made various trips to Changi Airport. Changi Airport can be our fourth home after our CCK home, church office, Nexus.

We sent Bairang off. She had been with us in Singapore for years. She was leaving to France to further her studies. May God use her greatly in a new land.

We sent off Leslie and baby Nathan. Leslie was joining Ronald, her husband, in Perth. We look forward to meet this amazing couple again in December in Singapore. I didn't take Leslie's picture. But I took Nathan's pictures. Sorry Leslie. :)


We sent off our STM team to Nairobi, Kenya. There were seven of them. I was pleasantly surprised to see many people sending them off on Thursday after midnight. The team was just going away for 10 days. What will happen if they were going away for some months or years?

Lean Choo, I and my young cousin joined the 4th Indo Service Celebration. It is great to see how the Indo group has grown from strength to strength.

We attended Albert and Marsli's wedding. This is one of the largest wedding dinner I have ever attended, around 60 tables. I do not have the picture of the couple. (becoming a bad habit?) But I have a picture of some friends from Melbourne who attended the wedding as well. (Two of them are from Hope KL)

On Saturday, we had some leaders and friends from the district gracing our humble home. It was great to have Lean Choo's younger sister joining us as well. The game of CITADELS once again captured the attention of some individuals. We also did a pyschological assessment for almost each one present in the gathering. If you want to know what kind of guy or gal they are looking for you can check with me. :)

Well, those were some of the happennings in the past few weeks. Just one more before I sign off. One day when I went to a NTUC supermarket there was . . .

A Memorable Night

Last Thursday was indeed a memorable night for me. It was our YA combined care group meeting. Some of us were praying and fasting believing for the Holy Spirit to move powerfully that night. I could sense the hunger and the faith of various individuals for the move of God in our midst.

When we had our prayer meeting at 6.30pm I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a number of people there present for the prayer meeting. Some of them were not on duty. They skipped their dinner just to be present for the prayer meeting.

During the care group meeting we could sense a strong presence of God in our midst. Fenny gave a word of prophecy that flowed very nicely with my short sharing that night. May Hoong prophesied about each individual receiving a personal word from God. Her prophecy came true for later on we heard about people indeed receiving a personal word from God that night. I also heard of people really being ministered by God that night. Praise God and praise God!

The worship team lead by Ah Long and Lean Choo did well that night. Fenny praised the worship band. Even though they were new to one another, having many songs to play and practicing only once they managed to pull it off. Kar Wai , Helen and Wynnie also presented a beautiful dance item in between the praise and worship. Technically it wasn't a presentation as they danced unto the Lord and allowing God to minister to the people through their dance. They danced with grace and beauty.

This morning when I joined Florence's morning devotion I heard one of her members giving a very encouraging testimony. He applied what he learned on Thursday about consulting the Holy Spirit. He wanted to approach his director with some anger in his heart over his paycheck. However, he refrained from doing so. Instead he withdrew to a place and prayed. He asked the Holy Spirit to guide Him. He then heard the Holy Spirit giving him a practical idea of how he should speak to his director. He followed the Holy Spirit's instruction and everything went through very smoothly. Imagine if he had followed through with his anger instead. The Holy Spirit is indeed our Great Consultant and Great Counsellor. I commend this brother for being a doer of the Word of God.

I want to thank Jasmine and team for making thursday night possible. In fact many people served hard behind the scene to anchor the event. I want to thank everyone who were hungry for God and fasted and prayed for the Holy Spirit to move that night. I believe that the God saw the hunger in our hearts and graciously poured a measure of His presence and grace. Thank You Holy Spirit! Thank you people.

I really believe that our Adults Camp was just a beginning. In the recent weeks or even months we have been experiencing a greater presence of the Holy Spirit in our Adults services. We sensed His presence strongly in our combined care group on Thursday as well. I look forward for exciting months ahead.

Come Holy Spirit! We can't enlarge without You. However, with You we won't be able to stop enlarging.

Lewis

Last week my third nephew was born into the world. He is my sister's second child.

My brother, his girlfriend and my cousin visited my sister and Lewis in the hospital. Lean Choo visited Lewis a few days later.

Anyway, it was a very interesting hospital visit. In short, the room was very noisy for an extended period of time. But to my amazement Lewis remained very calm and peaceful. There were times that he looked like wanting to cry but somehow he calmed down again.

That incident reminds me of having peace in the midst of a storm.

Here are some pictures of Lewis.

Welcome to the world Lewis.

May you grow to be a man after God's heart. :)

Weird Dreams?

The last few days have been pretty eventful for me. I will take some time to blog about it this week. But for now I would like to blog about dreams.

Last week I woke up remembering my dreams. The dreams were very interesting.

The first dream is about a kind of large animal/monster/creature (octopus, snake or both) that is destroying the city and the house I am in. I see the large creature destroying things in the city. I see part of the large creature appearing in the house. I remember seeing Lean Choo and I running away from the house to escape from the creature. There are two twists to the dream too. The first twist is about me seeing some crews (possibly film crews) in the house signifying that the entire thing is a movie production. The second twist is the discovery that Lean Choo and I are the only ones who can stop this large creature. Cool right? :)

The second dream is about one of my aunties and I. We are in Jakarta. I am helping my aunty to carry her bag. I can even remember the colour, white and pink/red. As I cross a road and reaching the end of the road somebody took away the bag by force. I attempt to get it back but the person takes out a knife to threaten me. Later on I report to my aunty on the lost bag. My aunty says that there is $26,000 in the bag. I think my aunty is bringing the money on behalf of somebody to be passed to another person. In my dream I am wondering to myself about the matter of paying back the money, by installment?

I do dream a lot. But I don't always remember the details of my dream. Sometimes God speaks to me through dreams especially when I was a younger believer.

I am wondering if the above two dreams mean anything or if they are just weird dreams. May be only time will tell. For now what I can do is to record it in case I need to refer to it in the future.

Just Acia

I seldom blog about food. But it doesn't mean that I don't enjoy eating. Today let me introduce to you Just Acia.

Around two weeks ago Lean Choo, May Hoong and I had dinner together after our meeting on Sunday afternoon. May Hoong brought us to this place in Dhoby Ghaut MRT. That's right Dhoby Ghaut MRT.

She told us that the area (the shops in the MRT area) used to be quiet. However things changed after Just Acia started their open concept restaurant.

The ambience of the place is good. It is good for meetings and mentoring sessions too.

Their set meals are reasonable in pricing (sorry, I forgot how much) and tastes pretty good. (do note that I am not fussy about food though)

One pull factor for me to come back again is below. They give free flow of drink and ice cream for just $2.95. I think that's a pretty good deal.

If you around the area next time you can give it a try. Any queries can be directed to May Hoong. :)