To Brothers & Sisters.

how you can pray for Alvin:

- safe journey to Taiwan and back. be safe and healthy in training (+R&R :P).

- joy. The Lord is always there, the Lord is real and true, there's nothing too diffcult for Him, and by the right consensus, i believe there's nothing too difficult for me too. He's always by my side. understanding all these, let me bring with me a joyful attitude, since He's living in me - He who overcomes even death.

- mindful to trust & obey God. i'll be tired, there's a strong tendency for sin to creep in within fatigue, coz fatigue causes laziness to think. Must be alert always.

- responding in manner pleasing to God at unpleasant circumstances. Commanders won't be nice, mostly downright rude and demeaning. Must not join in all the gossips & badmouthing.

- run to God everyday. Whenever facing troubles or any emotional turmoil, turn to Him first. Because He knows me best.

- get along well with my armymates. working well together, getting to know each other better. influence them by the right Christian values, even being responsible in pointing out why it is right.

thank God for Johnson. He surprised me yesterday when he sent me an SMS with his well-wishes. So nice of him :)

Vin

breadtalk

i'll raise to attention something that has affected me in a big way.

something most of you don't know about me: i'm a big big big lover of bread. Even in camp, those around me knows i have a typical indulgence in fruits and bread. to least a few eg.

e.g. during my project serve, i will bring a tuckbox full of bread that i ration to last me throughout the day. In view of my generosity, i will offer it to my co-workers if i happen to be with them in the afternoon. So on average i will bring along 5-7 slices of bread with me.

e.g. everytime when i book into camp, i will happily do so with a big plastic bag of bread which will last me for 2 days.

e.g. yesterday morning before i met my students, i ate 4 slices of bread.

So the issue that has bothered me is the rise in price of bread. I've noticed this a few weeks back coz SweeHeng scraped its 3 for $2 sale combi. instead its 1 for $0.80. upon doing my maths, its an increase of $0.40 for 3 bread. Considering the amount of bread i buy(usually a trayload with a couple stacking atop one another- always threatening to fall off before it reaches the counter), it adds up to quite a hefty sum. Fourleaves more recently has also raised its price of Cheese Friend by 20cents. Thank God they've preserved the value of my favourite raisin bread. So i was telling my mum then, might be the rise in GST. fine. i'll swallow that.

Just now at 430pm, when i was hungry for some bread or some derivative of yeast & flour, i walked into SweeHeng as usual. To my horror, they've removed their 2 for $4 sale combi tagged on their assortment of cakes and swissrolls. To think that just a day ago it was still 2 for $4, now its 2 for $5. When i made my payment, i was thinking of how dreadful it is for my future - 'i have to cut down on my bread intake, which is so difficult', 'no i will never crumble under the price increase, i will not be defeated', 'the world must be dying soon, Jesus Christ must be coming, what Uncle Freddie said yesterday was true, its reported today in the newspapers that the price increase is due to drought in Canada & Australia, both wheat producing countries, and where we get our supplies from', 'to think that i was reading the article in the morning and hoping that the effects won't hit the heartlands that fast. And now almost instantly i've come to face with it'. Then an auntyy at the counter while paying for her kueh was also commenting aloud how come the price of her kuehs also increase le. I'm not surprised though, it seems that everything in a bakery shop appears more expensive now.

So in a brilliant act of self-control, i scraped my plan of getting an ice cream cone at Macdonalds, which'd saved me 60cents. However, i've got to make up for another 40cents for additional $1 incurred earlier at SweeHeng.

Geoklan is the least affected.
vin

On the Side of Me

oh my goodness. leaving today. tomorrow in between the breaks of dusk and dawn. thats how army guys are supposed to depart i guess - quietly.

thank God!
i'm really really glad for the great company i'd last night. coz huEy went ahead to pull together a few good friends who're concerned for my welfare, and willing to show support and to pray. so thanks to everyone of you guys for all your prayers and presence last night :) thanks especially JiaYan, WaiYin.

i'm going to struggle definitely la. dealing with a set commanders who we can't seem to be at peaceable terms with. new living conditions -we'll be out in the mountains mostly anyway. of course the training which just can't be expected to get any easier in this ultimate phase of course.

i'll absorb the Word of God and seek Him. You alone are my strength my shield.

coz everyone needs a friend to hold, when its cold outside and theres no place to go
everyone needs a friend to hold, all alone i cried, there was no place to go
i remember when nobody cared, but YOU - Corrinne May (On the Side of Me)
Vin

going back to camp. this week will be admin, preparing for Taiwan next week.

yesterday's birthday celebration was so sweet. Happy Birthday dear little miss act-cute Suying!

i really gotta go!! bye!
Vin

i'm quite upset that England is in the finals of the Rugby World Cup by handing France a disappointing loss in front of Partisan crowd this morning. Oh well, i just hope South Africa make their way into the finals and repeat the beating that they'd given England earlier on in the tournament when they met in the group stages. (30-0) was the scoreline then.

England doesn't really deserve to be in the finals la i feel. they were really below par prior to the tournament and only just managed to scrap through everything till now. Grr. i'm feeling bitter.

ok.. now for lighthearted matters.
Vin

break!

mark 1:35
very early in the morning, when it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went to a solitary place, where He prayed.

when i want to spend some personal quiet time by myself, talking to Father in heaven, i'll glide (or sneak) across to the other side of the building, which area belongs to another company. So i'll look out for times when they're not around. its much more difficult to do so now coz of the new intake, but i used to head over there almost every night for the initial 3 weeks when the company wasn't open then yet.
the point is, i've found a solitary place, to be at physical situational peace, to reflect and pray. just that mine is when the day has come to a close. i've enjoyed intimate times with the Lord :)

yes, i've survived field camp. and an arduous intensive 2 weeks especially. i thank God really for His guidance. Save for a couple of numb toes, an abstract assortment of different cuts and abrasions, some rashes, i'm pretty much still standing! haa.. thank God really, it was tough, marching with heavy load through the nights, digging 2 big holes in the field which was no light matter- i couldn't stand straight after that coz my lower back was overused, and being drenched because of the heavy downpour, but at the end of it all, it was God who gave me strength to persevere on.
One thing that is really getting me annoyed is the way the commanders are treating us and their management style. We were chided for almost everything we do, or don't do, whether we take intiatives or not. Right from the start, they've been constantly berating, shouting at us at every opportunity they can pounce on. its almost like they're abusing their power or venting their inner frustations and anger(for no reason) on us poor people. Its quite shocking, i'm surprised none of us trainees have come down with depression. Seriously i've never heard so much scoldings and shoutings at such a high frequency of occurrence before. i'm praying to respond in a manner pleasing to God. How to love them?
1 Corinthians 13:4 - love is patient, love is kind......

thank God for this long weekend! :) pray for good rest to recuperate for the final hurdle for this course, in Taiwan, when i'll brave the cold again. i'm fearing i may not be able to handle the weather.

It wasn't too long ago when i found myself in a suicidal position in a foreign place. Fighting the harsh winter conditions as an absolute newbie ,who've somehow impetuously airlifted himself out of the sunny island, who've foolishly thought that winter can only be a bearable few degrees lower than the air-con at church, who've unintelligently, due to my obstinance to heed warnings, put my body to the test with full knowledge that i have a low tolerance for cold & threshold of discomfort which it brings, and ended up being severly punished for it. well, for all consolation, i've stepped out of being an amateur at the very least. So much for saving on airfares to land up in a place i was close to being frosty in a lightweight sweater and jeans, now i come to think back, or i could have just gone to a nicer place like Vienna or Zurich, where i'm certain they have more English speaking guys there, a more inviting sight from arrival, but then again, its about the weather ultimately. judging from this experience i may have suffered similar fate still.

God is amazing, He is. He's prepared me for army in a really really wonderful way, now as i see it. Throwing a drenched me in the winter cold - which i will not ever want to experience again, which is strikingly similar to my experiences outfield when it rains.

good night, its Eid Al Fitr.
Vin

missing vespers & kaffeeklatsches

i stayed up through the entire night to dawn today amazingly. Had platoon deliberate attack live-firing yesterday which totalled more than 24 hours. We set off at 630am on Saturday morning, marched back to camp at 430am on Sunday morning, when we're all trying to maintain steadiness when our minds are careening off to dreamland. After which i joined the zombish trainees in cleaning our rifles. Its amusing coz we'll just doze off uncontrollably even when our hands are occupied, scraping away with a pincer at hand. By the time we're done, it was 6am. I had 25 mins to wash up to book out.

Tiredness and fatigue were shelved away as i was overcome with a surge of freshness and excitement. I'm thankful that i was able to attend the morning service in church. The sermon was indeed very good, although i had to admit i was battling against the Z-monster for the 1st half of it.

I thank God for His guidance, this week i endured through a arduous 32 km route march. Yesterday was quite depressing for me and almost everyone else. I thank God for Christian brothers and sisters that i can turn to for words of encouragement and whom i can trust to pray together with me, for me. liangfa, huey, dz, thank God for putting you guys into my life, as much as God is our comforted, let us comfort others with the comfort that we've received from Jesus Christ.

starting tomorrow till Thursday, i'll set off for a gruelling field camp. This is a field camp which holds no distinction between night and day, i'm unsure whether i'll be able to handle the pace, physical and mental demands of it.

my mum has taken an interest in rugby. I came home today to hear of how sensational the French comeback was in their stunning upset of favourites New Zealand (All Blacks) in the scintillating encounter at 2am local time. haha... there are components of the game I'm still trying to figure out, its an interesting game no doubt, when i'm more captured by the staredown at the start, each carrying his heart into the game saying that they're all ready for a bloodbath or slugfest, their eyes gleaming with hunger for the flesh of their opponents, its a showcase of grit, will and strength, all in its very finest.

Alright. Another week, each one tougher than the previous. I'm looking forward FINALLY to a long weekend next week. The following week i'll fly off to Taiwan.

God is good.
Vin