Samui was awesome. It was everything that I'd imagine it to be. The sun, sea and sand. Its paradise really. Its the place where everyday's a holiday.

Thank God for a wonderful trip!
vin

I'll be going for my long awaited holiday, like finally, to Samui later. So as I pray for the sun to shine ever so brightly and the sea to sparkle in all its glittering beauty, I have to leave some unsettled matters behind first. I mean, as much as I hope to leave with no unfinished business, with a good mind not cluttered by disruptors of peace, I have to say that I've fashionably failed.

I'll continue to hand them over to the Lord and depend on His lead everyday in my prayers...
Right at the top and one of the little annoying rascals that has a shot in disrupting my attempt at unadulterated enjoyment, is my planned visit to BJ. I've not only upset and angered my friend in BJ by my misguidings, which i'm terribly sorry about, I'll forever be suffering in my own guilt, and pay the heavy price of my failed plans. Now the whole trip is hanging delicately in balance and I'm desperately trying to save it from collapsing. Its so dramatic on the domestic front that I can't believe its happening. U know, like how AIG and those big financial blocks in US operate in their last days, when there's nothing they themselves can do to help themselves, they hope for a saviour. If not, its doomed. I'm praying that the manner that I go about resolving these things, seeking forgiveness from my friend, explaining to people (e.g my parents who are v unhappy) may be godly. I may not be mired in my guilt but be open to reproof and seek their understanding.

Ok I've got other matters still but I don't want to bring it all up now.. I pray that I'll continue to grow in spiritual wisdom and knowledge, to discern what is best for me.

Please pray continually for the mission trip team in Thailand. Pray that through the things that they present, the villagers might come to know the Lord who cares for them, who knows them each by name, even though they might feel that no one else understands and acknowledge them. May God touch their hearts to turn to Him, their creator.

Vin

My life would suck without you!

Thank God for guiding me through a busy saturday last week :) was quite stressed up coz I had to meet 2 Ct students at noon, then play the keyboard for service - something which i haven't done in such a long long time, and finally to run the KangLi-youth games. I thank God, the sermon was a comprehensive, well thought, and exciting lesson of faith and God's promises. I was really spiritually filled. Thank God for His teachings :) Then came Yi Xin's testimony which was super encouraging.

This week: Tuesday to Friday at Teen Games Soccer at East Coast.

haha... I'm not planning much for the BJ trip. For one, I really dun feel like planning; And I dun really have anything specifically that I look forward to in BJ. I mean, I know I will surely go to the Great Wall, that tiananmen parliament place, the watercube and birdnest, but even these places don't really generate that much excitement in me. shopping? not me. eating? probably. most probably i'll be excited to try peking duck! haaha. But I love this unhurried state of ignorance. No rush to settle accomodation, no rush to fix up the itinerary. I'm just gonna open my eyes really wide, suck in the culture which i've always thought is largely similar to Singapore's but know that its very different, and be transformed. I want to know why my friends who've been to China ends up loving that place. And its not the same love as in going to one place and miss it when u come back. Like I love the Eiffel Tower and the Pyramids, I miss them, but I don't feel like they have anything more to offer the next time I visit them. The difference is feeling connected to the place, and getting the sense that there is much more to get out of China that is misunderstood by others, or unkindly interpreted, and so that generates the love.

Oh ya. Thank God for my parents who got me a laptop. So I'll bring it to bj, find a cozy corner at starbucks, and give updates. I'm not sure if I can openly read the bible there. will I get arrested? hmm..

I'm totally drawn into this song - My life would suck without you - Kelly Clarkson. Saw her performing on American Idol last week. Its another one of those emo angsty branded songs. But it rocks, coz not only youths will sing it. everyone can.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heTjFdMui68&feature=related
vin

yesterday's tennis was mind blowing. It was my first real workout of any kind - running, sweating it out whatsoever, since a casual led run after I returned from Australia. That makes it like 4 months! since I ran. I've really just free fell in terms of fitness. So it actually felt really awesome to be back running and panting away, to feel the blood travelling into my brain as quickly as it is being channelled out. Thank God.

After tennis we crossed over to East Coast Park which is just on the opposite side of the road. Had hawker fare at the food centre which very much resembles my favourite Newton Food Centre, except that its a little more spacious and bigger in size, but offering the same old favourites of my palate. I love East Coast Park, its romantic, its beautiful at night, its nostalgic. Sitting down under one of the unoccupied shelters, and having a good time of fellowship among a few close friends brought together by our common shared experiences, these are lovely times that will be cherished.

And I do hope that we as Christians may find ourselves growing even closer to each other in love and unity. Because its just not very right if we see that our bond with non-Cts are closer than that of Cts - the family that we are gonna spend eternity with.

Sigh, I must really learn that I should show more love and spend more time with Cts, and I should cherish them even more. I mean, who can help me grow in my faith other than Cts? Will non-Cts actually point out to me my wrongs? No! In actual fact, I always find that in these get together with non-Cts, worldly ideals and its values are often influencing us and attempt at eroding our Ct standards. Its like a serpent hissing at us, and when Eve actually believed in the serpent's lies, doom befell. Yes, its more fun to be with these people, we want to hear what our itching ears wanna hear - those of sex, lies, and more bad behaviour. But what goes into building a healthy relationship is helping one another grow positively as a person. Of course, we Christians know that specifically we are to grow in Christ-likeness. And I realise that only by hanging out with fellow Cts will ensure that we grow healthily together in the faith. But I won't stop hanging around with non-Cts for sure (we can't!! & we shouldn't!), but we hope that we can be a beacon of light that may actually shine for Jesus in our interactions with them. So instead of them spluttering out all those ungodly stuffs in our direction, we can try to sprinkle some of the correct stuffs supported with christ-centered reasons into the exchanges. I need to remind myself not to switch off the light and be happy to be in darkness.

Tomorrow's a long day of programs. publicity in a school, a school prog, meeting with a fellow mission tripper. Need God to go through everyday.

oh ya forgot to include.. I have added to my growing(hopefully its stopped) list of overseas trips!
this time i'm doubly excited and its bursting out of my nose. I'M GOING BEIJING!!!! WOOHOO!
ok actually i'm not that excited about holidays, coz i wanna settle in on a job first. But i think i'll just go ahead with the trip first, coz my friend kept asking me 'when come when come'. I think if i delay it any further i'll most probably end up not going at all. So i'll lock it in first. somemore tickets are cheap cheap - 545SGD. i think normally its close to a thousand? i'm not sure....

i'm finally going china =)
vin

i'm praying that it won't rain later as i'm gonna play tennis!! whee :):):):):):):):):)

went for the s**thv**w program this morning, and it was great fun. hahaha... the kids are really very lovable and adorable. I just pray that we may help them improve on their studies, and continue to have a good friendship with them, as we influence them with values that are according to the gospel of Christ.

i think i'll go ahead in my plans to go beijing. even though the snow has melted away :(
vin

nothing much has changed since i ordied, and to my disbelief, its been a month since that very day that I retrieved my pinkic. I've been trying to make this time as useful and meaningful as I can, but I can't help but feel a little lazy sometimes. Probably its because I'm taking this time to compensate for all the sufferings that I've been through in NS. But i'm unsettled, because I've never been in this position of purely waiting and being only uncertain about things. You see, in the past, even though I'll be waiting, at least I've a form of consistent routine to follow and stick to while I ponder about the uncertainty, or any new and exciting ventures into the uncertain future. I guess the value I can gain from this will be the one on patience.

In the meantime, I've got many other things to settle and deal with in the pipeline. As each day passes by, its coming at me, and growing in size. Kinda scary.

vin

Beattitudes.

Met up with Uncle Freddie this morning, over cups of coffee, the way I like it. Thank God that he's still very much concerned about us, and remembers us (yes all the youths!) like an endearing father who's stationed at a distant outpost. Hmm.. It was a good time of catching up, so thank God for that.

In my QT today, I went back to the Beattitudes. I think for a Christian, it can be a good yardstick for us to gauge how 'spiritual' we are.

Poor in Spirit: Do we recognize the need for God in our lives?
Mourning: realising the gravity and how disgusting sin is, which brings us to a heart of repentance.
Meek: demonstrating self control, even when we are mistreated.
Hungry and Thrist for righteousness: longing to be holy and pure.
Merciful: showing mercy to others
Pure in Heart: single mindedly, sincere in our devotion to Christ, in motive or action.
Peacemakers: sharing the peace in Christ with others, and promoting peace among people.
Persecuted coz of righteousness: willing to suffer for Christ's sake.

vin

nothing in mind

hmm... for the first time I've got nothing much to write about this time.

My grandmother passed away last Sunday. Yesterday I went back to Malaysia intending to stay up to Thursday, when the deceased will be buried. But i came back last night, because I didn't want to participate in the many processions. haaha.. my parents were like 'if u stay, u must take part. otherwise its better u go back home'. Thank God, i could have ended up in a sitcky situation.

oh man, i can't wait for 27march!!! I so want the sun, the sea, the sand!!! I so want to get out of Singapore now. I'm not looking for cobblestoned walkways amid intertwining streets with eclectic architectures, nor the minarets of the middle east, i just want some of frolicking in the clear blue waters under a clear blue sky.
vin

Beautiful Night

It is beautiful out there tonight. The air is still, the temperatures have dipped a little bit, and I can actually see a lot of stars suggesting that there's little cloud cover. It is beautiful as we consider that it'd been pouring heavily due to the North East monsoon. Thank God for the quietness tonight.

Its been almost a month now, since I've ordied. Various commitments have sprung up, as expected, and I'm still looking to steady myself by landing on the job. Finding a job isn't that easy given the difficult market out there, and furthermore I'm asking to do something that I'm passionate about. I'll continue to pray about it, and I believe that the Lord has the best plans for me. In the meantime, I'll just continue in filling up my schedules with ad-hoc meetings and commitments.

You see, its pretty hard and I'm a little blur about whats next for me, the decisions to make, or whether I should push myself to go find a job. The commitments will overlap and so for now I'll wait and see how it all pans out, then i'll get a clearer picture.

So far, I've locked into my schedule 2 trips to Thailand.
Holiday to Koh Samui - 27-30Mar
Mission Trip to Bangkok - 19-26Apr

Thank God and I pray I'll continue to trust that I'll use my time wisely in this period of waiting.
Vin