Thank You 2013

Well, this is it. This is the last day of 2013. If you've not finish cancelling all those things from your 2013 new years resolution or set your 2014 new years resolution, you have less than 24 hours to do so. Have fun. 

Anyway, as 2013 draws to a close I really want to thank God for all the blessings and blessings in disguise throughout this year. I would say 2013 has been the best year of this 18 years of living on planet earth. It's a year with the most special, lovely, memorable, amazing and blessed memories that I had and I believe that there's more to come in the following years. Definitely a lifetime worth living. 

Here are some highlights for this year. I know I won't be able to list all of them so I'll just share the ones that left the biggest impact on me in chronological order. 

My JS Family

Was MIA from home during the first 2 months of 2013. Some may have known where was I missing to while some I was simply gone with the wind after high school.

Just so you know I did not die during the first 2 months of 2013, I was in Jeremiah School aka JS. NO it's nothing like National Service (NS) and it's

Twinny

nothing like jail. Technically I learnt a lot from JS. From theological stuff (OT, NT, Methodism, Spiritual Warfare) to psychological stuff (How to manage your emotions, Resolving conflicts) to personal stuff (BGR, Family, Love). My favorite part of JS definitely wasn't washing hand washing my own clothes nor is it beach day but it was the Quiet Retreats. During Quiet Retreats, we were not allowed to communicate with anybody for 11 and a half hours, only time with God. I remember during one of the Quiet Retreats, the mentors led us in a meditation on Psalm 23. Let's say Psalm 23 is a familiar passage of scripture to me yet this time while it was being read over and over again and we were led walking through a field and several stairs with our eyes closed by a rod, I felt God asking me 'Do you not trust me enough?' and that was my biggest melting point.

Not-So-Little Little Brother

I've been wrestling with God for quite some time about ministries and studies and I was reminded to trust God because "He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake". When we were given time for our own meditation during the Quiet Retreat, I really felt God's presence through nature. I could just stare at the sea for hours and think of God's goodness. I really enjoy being close to nature because to me it's like being part of the original sight when there was no buildings or pollution. It was just like being in the Garden of Eden. Only God and us. No distractions.

Weekend Visitation (Kuala Lipis)

One of the things I enjoyed the most were weekend visitations where we get to visit different churches every weekend. Though all the churches we visited are part of TRAC, it's still kinda different in the sense like how the service is run and the culture of the people from the place. Not only that we got to meet old and new faces we met from camps and events. We also got to bond with each other more as a JS family. 

Learnt so many things in JS. The discipline and the fellowship shall not be forgotten. And I thank God that through JS, I've found my twinny, my sisters, my brothers, my mentors, my friends, and my God. Love all you 24+6+those-who-come-and-go. Thank you for being part of my life and thank you for journeying with me in my walk with Daddy.

 After JS I came home to find the youths in church doing pretty well. There was initial hurt when I came back because of expectations but the love showered down by church members and some of my mates after that was incredible. It definitely brighten me up. So I had 2 to 3 months of free time, hence, I finally got my license, found a college, went on a holiday, plan for a rally, went for youth camp, planned an Easter sketch for the kids, visited my CF, and got my SPM results. No biggy.

Then it all ended when I started this thing called college. College=A whole new world. Yes hear me sing!!!! College was literally a whole new world in a good way and also in a bad way. Before I started college, many warned me about the potential dangers in college but it's not that bad. Well at least not in the college that I'm in.

First Friends in College (The Es)

 College, college. During my first day of college, I always feared that it's going to be high school all over again. All the cina-cina people means I won't have any friends but I really thank God that He placed me in a class with amazing people. Amazing ENGLISH SPEAKING people. I also thank God for the nice-lecturer-turned-monster lecturer (if you know what I mean) because if it wasn't for her we wouldn't even be so close today. Looking back at all the memories of this 2 semester in college, I can't help but be thankful for all that He's given me. Sem 1 was amazing despite of the long long breaks, it really helped us to bond a lot in college. The sleepless nights, the google hangouts, the sleepovers, the movies, and the assignments. Sem 2 was indescribable. The assignments drove me crazy, the timetable was satisfying, the lecturers were amazing, and the conflicts were............ anyhow, after 2 semesters, I learned who to trust as friends and who to trust in assignments. I also learnt that college is about the survival of the fittest but I believe that we all can be the fittest and we all can survive if we work together, work hard and work smart. 

Without college, I wouldn't have met my cookie. This guy has been my greatest blessing of 2013. I really thank God for him and I couldn't ask for more. We've been through thick and thin together. He's seen things in me that I don't even see. He's taught me to be strong and to see the light of things instead of the shadows. He's taught me how to love and how to trust. He's taught me how to give and take, to accept love freely. Most importantly he taught me to open up and to smile through the storms. Many times we fight and there are times where it seems like there's no hope but in the end there's always a rainbow. This cookie of mine took me to places I've never been just so I could experience what he has experienced. The heart of gold that I don't deserve yet he is willing to go beyond the borders to captivate me, always going the extra mile just to see me smile. To my mirror that I always want to see smile, he has the smile that could melt even the hardest hard. If you were to ask me what's my best memory with him I would say it was during his birthday at the park where we just walked aimlessly surrounded by greenery and when we reached a place, he just carried me and twirled me around. I always wished that we had a camera then to capture that perfect scene when the time seemed to have stopped and everything seemed so perfect. But it's okay that sight has already been engraved in my heart. 

I'm sorry for the times that I hurt you or disappoint you. The truth is I always wanted the best for you just as you want the best for me. Seeing this baby smile is like seeing the light shine. So here's to the 6 months; to be exact here's to the 197 days of love and blessing you have given me. I'm looking forward to spending days with you.

So as 2013 draws to an end, I really thank God for each and every one of you who come and go in my life and I pray that you'll have blessed years ahead. Each of you are significant whether you admit it or not. Continue to be a blessing. I would also like to apologize to those whom I've hurt or offended in any way. Please forgive me. And to those who still hold grudges I pray that you'll find heart to forgive and be forgiven because Jesus had died so that we could be forgiven and that we could forgive.

Bukit Cahaya

My Queen & My Cookie

Sisters From Another Mother

Sticks and Stones May Break Our Bones but Jesus Holds Us Together

Broga 

Eugene's Birthday

Christy's Birthday

My Favorite Slide

Feliz Navidad

I know it's a little past Christmas to wish everybody a very blessed Christmas but Christmas is always in my heart because Christ lives in me.

Let's say Christmas this year didn't go that well for me. Wasn't really feeling myself during Christmas week. My emotions was like a out of control roller coaster which most of the time just goes down and down and down but nonetheless I'm thankful for all that's happened because at the end of the storm there will always be a rainbow. And the rainbow reminds me that God's promises are true and that He is always faithful.

Since my uni's finals was a week before Christmas, I didn't have time to do my Christmas shopping so this year, I decided to bake cookies to bless some people who had been a blessing in my life. So I spent the afternoon of my Christmas Eve baking 3 trays of these babies. Haven't been baking cookies for some time now. Glad that they turned out fine. 

I'm sure many of you had a very blessed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with family and friends and I'm happy for you though Christmas wasn't as Christmassy for me this year. Lots of tears shed and lots of space to be filled in my heart. Okay! Enough out with the sad thoughts, in with the happy thoughts.

As usual spent my Christmas morning in church. This year's Christmas Musical was entitled Legacy of Love. The children sounded incredible and I'm sure many were blessed. Just to give you a little background of the musical, it's about living a legacy of love. I'm sure you're not blind to see that this world is so lacked of love. We see things like corruption, murder, hurt and pain in this world. We live in such a godless world where people are so focussed on wealth and success and have forgotten about love. Living a legacy of love doesn't require us to do big things like giving away all your money to help the poor or becoming a monk or something. Living a legacy of love simply means loving people around us. Even a simple act of kindness like thanking the cleaner in your school or helping an old lady cross the road is enough to leave a legacy of love in their lives. Small things can lead to something great. It doesn't matter if we don't see the person that we helped again but you have left an impact in his/her life. You have left a legacy of love because you live a legacy of love.

I have made a commitment on Christmas morning that I will dedicate my life to live out a legacy of love. Most of you may know that I want to pursue a degree in education but only a few of you know the reason. I've got a calling from God to go into the education line since I was 15 or 16 but I had denied this calling till I was 17. Throughout the period of running away from this calling like how Jonah ran away when God called him to go to Nineveh, God was merciful and again and again He showed me and prepared me for this calling. He gave me a heart of people, a heart to reach out to children. He gave me eyes to see how terrible the education system is. Moreover, He put people in my life to emphasize the calling and encourage me to pursue this calling. Even till now, God has been constantly reaffirming me and providing a way to fulfill this calling. Right now, my motivation of entering the education line is because of Christ. I want to live a life not to pursue wealth but live a life that has meaning, to invest my live in the lives of others, to leave a legacy of love in the life of the next generation. It's time to give back what I have been blessed with. 

The Hallelujah Kids' Choir presents Legacy of Love

Ps: Look out for the Christmas Musical (Legacy of Love) by the Hallelujah Kids' Choir at our very own YouTube Page

VBS 2013 God's Incredibles

As usual VBS is something I look forward to every year. The reason why is simply because of the kids and because of God.

I grew up in VBS. Never missed a year since I was 4 or 5 except for 1 year where I had to go for YLDP. Anyway, to sum it all up I've gone through 14 VBS and it was all incredible. Loved VBS to the bits. 

So here's a little insight on VBS. VBS is short for Vacation Bible School which in simpler terms it's a 5 days children's camp held in church. When I was a kid, VBS was all about fun. Praise and worship, aerobics, puppet shows, game time, cheer, and of course lessons. As I grew older, VBS meant kiasu because we always want to win. A competitive mindset that Ps Nicholas say we could all gain Singapore citizenship because we kiasu and kiasi. That's somehow true but kiasu-ness aside, we could really see the difference between kids back then and kids now and also kids learning and desiring more of Christ which is the most important part of VBS.

Every VBS we have a theme and many teams. This year our theme was God's Incredibles. Often when we think of superheros, we think of characters like Spiderman, Superman, Batman and all sort of Marvel characters or other cartoon heros like Mr Incredible and many others that are fictional. Little did we realize that in this life, in this earth, there all real superheros and incredibles. No, they don't fly and no, they don't have superpowers like we expect but they are just ordinary people like you and me. People who are willing to make a difference in our society, people who are willing to make a difference in the lives of others. 

5 incredible people that we learn during VBS were:

• Friendly Abe (Abraham)
• Adorable Mae (Mary)
• Incredible Josh (Jesus)
• Trusted Rita (Ruth)
• Humble Moss (Moses)

And if you realize, this people that we've learnt about are real people with real stories. Ordinary people that are called by God to do extraordinary things. When God called, they obeyed and they did what they were called to do in FAITH. Each of them had tremendous faith and their faith had brought them a long way till now their stories has been passed down generations to generations and they are role models to ordinary people like us which God can call to do extraordinary things.

In this year's VBS, we were taught 3 simple words that we should always remember and hold on to. These words BELIEVE, BEHAVE, BECOME. You might think that these are just like any other words that we use everyday but these 3 words have incredible meaning. We were taught to BELIEVE in Christ and when we believe in Christ we are called children of Christ and as a child of Christ we are called to BEHAVE like one. Show good fruits and then we should learn to BECOME more like Christ, living a life as a living testimony so that other may see and they too may believe, behave and become.

In all the years of VBS, this year, the kids were given time to hear from God and respond to God and testify. Believe me the outcome was incredible. It has reminded me once again that I worship a true God, a living God and a incredible God. We see kids testifying about God asking them to change how they behave, we see kids testifying about the things that God has shown them and we see kids testifying about how God asked her to pray for the victims of the typhoon in Philippines, we see kids testifying about God assuring her that He's not going to let her talent go to waste, and we see kids testifying about hearing God calling him by name. These are just ordinary kids, ordinary people like you and I and God spoke to them and they heard from God, they saw from God and they responded to God. If these kids can hear from God I believe that we too can hear from God when we are still.

What touched me the most during this VBS was during a time Praise and Worship. There was a time when the music just stopped playing all of a sudden yet the children continued singing with their eyes closed and knees bowed. On bended knees they were singing their hearts out. I'm sure they've touched the heart of God. Hearing them singing "From my heart to the heavens Jesus be the center. It's all about You. Yes it's all about You." again and again it was such a beautiful sight to see. Their childlike faith melted my heart. So proud of my little angels. Truly it's all about Jesus. 

I'm truly thankful that I went for VBS despite of the contemplating. Being able to go to VBS this year was truly an answered prayer because before college started I prayed that if God is willing and if He wants me to go He would provide a way, provide a week without classes. When time came I was still unsure whether to go for VBS due to reasons like having finals the week after VBS and so I prayed once again that He will provide me with good midterm results and He did. So I really really thank God for His goodness to me allowing me to experience Him in a whole new level. Thanks be to God Who is worthy to be praised.

Super Leaders and Advisors

Leaders and Advisor of Optimus Lime

Leaders and Helpers Praying Every Morning

Night Games

Puppet Time

Time of Testimony

Team ELASTIC GOLD

Team CYAN MAN

Team WOLVERED

Team OPTIMUS LIME


Click here for more pictures of VBS

I Had A Dream

I had a dream last night. A dream that has left me in the pit today. That dream is somehow like a forecast of what will happen. Something connected to what I'm going through right now.

2 nights ago, I was in my room, minding my own business after dinner with my aunt when I heard my mum screaming at my dad downstairs. I didn't hear a word from my dad but I know what was the argument about. I don't understand why are human beings always divided by money? Why has money become so important in life that without it we can't live? The same money that can be used to save can be used to kill. I know that my dad is in debt and my mum refuses to help. What I don't know is why.

So last night I had a dream. I was sleeping over my friend's house supposedly to do our assignments but we didn't even start. Having difficulties to fall asleep, I slept at 4 after watching Soul Surfer. And I had a dream or you may call it a nightmare. I remember it vaguely.

In the dream, my dad was picking me up from somewhere. I knew my dad was upset yet he didn't say a word. He just started speeding and speeding till everything was at maximum. The turnings were sharp and I saw sparks. I kept shouting daddy! daddy! but he just went faster and faster. In my mind, I imagined myself at the verge of death. I didn't know what to do. Pulling the handbrake didn't work so I pushed the gear to Park. It didn't make sense but the car stopped. I shouted at my dad I remember very clearly the words I told him. "Daddy, I know you're going through a hard time. I'm going to help you. I going to get the money and everything's going to be all right." My dad nodded and tears were rolling down our face. The next thing I knew I woke up.

To be honest, I seriously don't know what will happen next. The future is full of uncertainties yet I want to learn to trust God. I want to trust that He is in control. I want to trust that He can deliver us. I want to trust that He will walk with through the storm.

There will always be a rainbow after the storm.

Test Run

I actually have no clue what to share tomorrow. Life itself is a testimony. Every little thing can be turned around to glorify God.

Since it's the church's youth Sunday tomorrow I guess I'll share something that is relatable to youths? Raymond's sermon will be about why it is important to build up your faith in a young age. Staring at the topic for a few minutes after a few days finally popped an idea into my mind so here's my testimony. 

Life in high school wasn't that easy for me especially the last 2 years. Being teenagers, most of us go through mood swings which I would like to call "the lemony years". It's where you feel life is constantly giving you lemon and making you sour. The first 3 years of high school was the best years I had in high school because being with the same people for 3 years, we developed strong relationship. We practically gotten so close to each other that we could practically communicate without talking. But the best 3 years lead to the worst 2 years. The reason I say that is because I became so comfortable with them that when it was time for us to split up during form 4, it was very hard to clique with new people. I felt that I was literally separated from 2 of my best friends though I still had 1 that was in the same class as me. As time past we made new friends but sometimes people change. And guess what, the "lemony" years came. My best friend decided to form a new circle of friends which initially I was part in but for some reason they started to neglect me. I felt very left out at that time. I tried engaging with them but everytime I tried, I ended up getting pushed out of the circle more. Eventually I was totally out of the circle. Others think we're a close clique because we always sat together in class and do things together but the truth is, I had totally no relationship with them. I was completely cut off.

It was a rough time for me but through that storm that I went through I would say that I grew closer so someone very dear to me even till right now. I was alone but I was never alone. Jesus was with me every step of the way. Honestly it was a tough time at first but I am always reminded that I have a friend who will never leave me and a God who will always love me. I believe that throughout the years of growing up in church, it built up a firm foundation in my faith and a passion in my heart to have a close relationship with God. I believe that God has build me up when I was much younger so that I am able to overcome my lemony years. I actually thank God for that 2 years in high school because when I lost a best friend, I grew closer to friend that is eternal. I believe that God gives and at the same time He can take away. Like the song says "You give and take away, but my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your Name." 

Hence I would like to encourage you, to give thanks in all circumstances and continue building a strong and deep relationship with God cause you would never know when would life throw lemons at you. And because with Jesus, we are overcomers.

OLLA OCTOBER ☺

Olla October!!!! So it's the first day of October, a new beginning for the last quarter of 2013 which means we only have a few more months till the new year but before new year comes, Christmas will be here. Okay back to reality, it's October. What's so special about October you ask? Well to be honest, I don't really know but I'm looking forward to see what God has in store for me this month.

Arise is just a few days away and to be honest I'm kinda excited yet kinda nervous. I just don't know how to describe the feeling that's in me right now. In one hand, I'm excited to meet the people that I haven't meet in some time and to see God's people gathered together to pray and worship. Seeing young people with such passion just warms my heart. But on the other hand, I'm nervous because I don't know what to expect. Never would I thought I would be heading the ushering and registration team. I didn't sign up to lead but I don't know how I just ended up heading the team. To be honest, I'm not very prepared because I don't know what to prepare. This is like what Bryan said "If I don't throw you in the river, you will never learn how to swim." So now I'm literally in the river and I don't know how to swim so I guess I'll just learn from there and wait for someone to teach me to swim but most importantly, I need to rely on God so that I don't drown.

So now back to my first day of October, I wouldn't say it's a bad day neither will I say it's a very good day. There were ups and downs but I'm thankful for all that happened today. Let's start from this morning. I'm starting to be more and more thankful for 8am classes because when I travel every morning, I have the privilege to watch the sunrise for 15 minutes in the LRT. To me watching the sunrise and being close to nature is the best feeling ever. It's like being close to God, being back to where all it began and just marvel at His glory. It reminds me that His mercies are new every morning that is why I should rejoice because of all that He's given me and all that is yet to come. Let's just say the sunrise is one of the things that sustains me through the day.

Finishing class at 10am is sometimes a good thing and a bad thing but today it is a good thing because I get to spend time with the one I love. Even though it's just catching a movie together, I truly enjoyed the time we spent together and of course the movie that we watched was one interesting movie. So I'm just glad that we got to spend our first day of October together even the down side of it. ♡♡♡

Was on the phone with Elycia (my queen) for 1hour and 43minutes. This is the first time I talked on phone for such a long time since I have no idea when. My queen oh my queen why do you have to be so fun to talk to? Have you had a moment when you're thinking of someone and that person calls? Well I just had it. She called!!! What a surprise. The longest conversation I had with her since such a long time. Love talking to this girl about God, assignments and life. Not a coincidence that I met her. Yay Ely.

Hence ends the first day of October, a beautiful Tuesday, and this post. Till we meet again. Till then, have a blessed week. 

Friendly Friday

So this marks the end of week 1. I must say what a week this is. Let's say all my classes and lecturers this semester are seriously not bad at all. I owe this all this to Daddy above. Thank You God.

So let's talk about Friday like it was just yesterday. Technically it WAS just yesterday. It was Roshan's birthday!!! Yay Roshan☺ *sings* Happy birthday to you!!!!!

We had lunch at Milanos. It was a rather interesting time. We haven't really spend this kind of quality time together as a group for a very very long time. And thanks to our topic of discussion and what happened after that, I found my texting buddy. Words can't describe how thankful I am so have such a friend that I can really trust and talk to. Emily oh Emily thank you for being so awesome.

We crashed Roro's house after lunch and as usual the sleeping effect started. All of us felt so sleepy, some of us even dozed off while the rest watched Mamma Mia. Whenever I listen to Abba I'll always remember the choir back my high school days. I guess Mamma Mia took effect on the rest of us and we went crazy, like zoo animals let lose from their cages. The reason why we said that is mainly after we started singing and taking all the crazy pictures. Seriously picture perfect memories.

Had a very long day partying, talking, bonding, laughing, emoing, chasing train, discussing, and sharing yesterday with the gang and with the cell group.

Went to Cell Group at night, we did our last chapter of Biblical Theology. It was deep stuff but it was definitely good to know this stuff. The last question posted to us that got us thinking was "What is the whole Bible about?" and "Why do we need to know the Old Testament?" Most of the time as Christians, it has became such a routine that we forget the real meaning of Christianity. I thank God that through this series of Biblical Theology, I've definitely grew closer to God and understand His Word better. Now it's for the application part. Looking forward to more Friday nights to come. 

Sem 2, Day 2

Day 2 of Sem 2. I'm home early. Yay to that but nay to having to wake up so early! But hey look on the bright side, I rather have to wake up early so that I can come home early to nap.

Sem 2 so far has been a bliss. Lecturers are nice, tutors are nice and not forgetting all of us are back together. I really can't stop being thankful for this group of friends that are like a family. This semester, I promise myself no more procrastination, no more last minute work. We have to work hard. I will not tolerate a bad GPA.

So classes started at 8 this morning and guess what I couldn't wake up. At least I woke up and caught the train on time. Thank God for that. I couldn't sleep when I was on the train today. What's going on. I was so sleepy but I just couldn't fall asleep till somewhere after Subang. I was half awake and half asleep. I woke up at Angkasapuri by shock! I didn't know where I was and I kinda panicked but thank God I have some sense to look at the board thing that tells me where I am. Phewwww. Imagine what would happen if I missed the stop. We had our first English For Communication(ECS) class today. Man it's one tough subject. I guess this lecturer is kinda nice. Too early to say though. You would never know the person's true colours until the second or third day. Colours will slowly reveal itself and sometimes it's kinda scary. You would never know what to expect from the person. I do pray that this lecturer will stay nice. Apparently the gang has been blacklisted. First thing she asked when she entered class was where's Roshan. Then it went on to where's Eugene then Eugenie. I'm like what did I do to get blacklisted. I'm sorry if I'm noisy but at least I pay attention in class okay. Apparently this lecturer was "warned" by some other lecturer that taught us last semester that this people are very naughty. I've never been a bad student in my life. I've only been dumb. I'm not bad. I really am not. :( Okay forget about it. I'll prove to you that I'm not a bad student. 

So I came home like before 12 today. Yay. Then I got a miss call from Pn Sarah. I wonder what she wanted. So I text her back and she asked if she could call now so. Gosh it was like kinda scary cause why would she want to call me out of the blues. So she called and I answered. She was like "Hello. How are you?" Then she went on saying "this is about CF." Gosh it was kinda scary cause I don't know where I put all my documents. Thank God she didn't ask me for anything but help. How I wish I could help her out because the last thing I would want to see is my CF die. Even though I've left school for almost a year now, my heart is still very much attached to CF back in Convent. It's amazing how CF itself has been a testimony. God has been working in our CF throughout the years. God was with us through all the persecution and problems faced and He has deliver us. Throughout the year He has been sustaining us and binding each of us together. I couldn't imagine what my life in high school will be like if there was no CF. The moment when I heard the words "CF is dying la, Eugenie. Like really DYING." my heart sank. What would a missionary school be without a Christian Fellowship. And the fact that I know that there are "things" happening in school that are not suppose to be happening just breaks my heart. God, won't You look down on us and have mercy upon us. Please don't pass this school by. This is Your school, Your land and Your people. Have mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us most merciful Father for Your Name's sake. Please save us. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen. 

Most Productive Day of Sem Break

I would say today would be the most productive day of my whole entire sem break. To cut the long story short, the only free time I have to sit down and absolutely do nothing would be now but technically it wouldn't be considered as doing nothing because I'm blogging.

Sometimes life may catch you unexpectedly and give you a big fat surprise. So today is one of the days that life happened to catch me unexpectedly. Went to the bank with mummy today to run some errands and I saw this guy. He looked familiar yet I can't recall where I met him or is he the guy that I met. We both had eye contact for a while but neither of us opened our mouths. I guess we were both trying to make sure that the person is who we think they are. In the end when my mum got a seat at the bank table place, he came up to me and said "Eugenie right? We met at Youth Prayer Conference." and it hit me like that. He is the guy I thought he was. Eric. I still can't believe what is he doing there. It's such a small world. The last time I met him was 2 or 3 years ago. I thought he was from Perak or something. Well, I guess I thought wrong. He's from Ampang. Whoops my bad. It was definitely good seeing him again. I remember the last time and the only time we met was during 3 or 4 days Youth Prayer Conference(YPC) in my church. Eric and another guy literally treated me like a precious little sister and made me the center of attraction though after YPC I lost contact with Eric but I met John a few other times in other TRAC camps. 

After meeting the person that I didn't expect to meet, I met up with the people that I had expected to meet because it was planned. I wanted to play with candles. It's Mid-Autumn Festival and we decided to burn house. Not open house. Thank you Shan for opening up your house for us to burn. Let's say I definitely enjoyed the time we spent together burning candles and some other stuff. 

How often do you get to hang out with people that you care for, sitting on the floor and burning candles? Maybe some of you have the privilege to do so but I don't. In the last 18 years of my life I would say that this is the first time sitting around a small fire with a group of friend and actually see the beauty of it. Thank you all for bringing me back to kids land. It would be cool if we could do it again sometime soon maybe not around a fire but around a table with a cup of coffee or something. 

And to the "almost ending" of our semester break, let's rock our next sem and may our friendship continue to blossom. May God bless you great bunch of people that walked with me through thick and thin all this while. ♡

♡ Her Story ♡

One of the first questions often asked to people who just gotten into a relationship is "Where did you guys meet?" "How did you get together?" and the golden question "So what do like about this girl or this guy?" 

This is her story of them. ☺

After high school she went to college with no thoughts of making new friends, having fun, moreover getting into a relationship. I guess she was wrong. During the first day of college, her friends were talking about this hot guy and this cute guy that was in her class but none of them caught her attention until halfway through the class where she heard a voice from a couple of seats next to her. It was a indian guy speaking mandarin. In her mind she was embarrassed due to her capability of speaking mandarin and she was blown away by his skills. That was the first. On the second day of college there was an ice breaking game during English class and that's where the story begins. Along with a few others, they started hanging out, facebooking and texting. He drove to college on the second week and he offered her a ride to the train station after class but it didn't turn out as planned. They got lost and he ended up sending her back home. Their homes were at 2 different ends of the state yet he willingly gave her a ride home. 

The ride home definitely ignited something in her. She never seen him the same way ever since. Throughout the whole journey, the talked about family. She wasn't the type of girl that would talk about her family but she just felt so comfortable with him, like they knew each other for a long time. It was definitely an unforgettable night to her. The tears and the laughter.

To cut the long story short, he started sending her home often. Because of that, they started spending a lot of time together, talking about life and anything they could talk about. She liked him but she wasn't sure if he liked her back. Maybe the hints he gave her wasn't obvious enough. She wanted to confirm their relationship because she felt like she was causing him to stumble and it was confirmed. He felt the same way about her. Hence, marked a milestone of their lives and the journey begins.

In the past 3 months of their relationship, there were many ups and downs but what kept her going on is remembering the reasons why she loves him. There are countless things she loves about him and it would be impossible to share all of them but the few most outstanding things the she loves about him are:

1. His faith - They often spend time talking about faith and their experiences in serving on the way home.

2. His sensitivity towards others - He has the gift to know when people are feeling down or discouraged and does his bad to build them up and not tear them down.

3. His humility - Even though he's from a quite well to do family, he does not brag about it neither does he look down on others.

4. His family - He has this very close relationship with his family. He honours his parents and he loves his grandmother very much. She loves the way that his family raised him up and nurture his faith.

5. His justification - He stands up for what is right. Even though she is wrong, he will not say that she is right just to please her.

6. His decision - Between him and her, he has a secret that consist of his decision when he was only 13. His maturity in that age is highly honourable. 

7. He is a man of his words - He keeps the promises that he made. He said he would bring her to Broga and he did though the process was hard and painful.

8. His patience - She is an introvert and he is an extrovert. He always wants her to talk more so that he can understand her better but it's hard for her and it takes time and he is patient enough to let her take her time to open up to him.

9. His leadership quality - Though he does not admit it, she sees that leadership role in him. To her, he is a natural leader and she sees a great future in him in leading the family to the right path.

10. His character - This boy has the character that's worth admiring. He's playful. He's funny. He's friendly and talkative. To her, somehow attractive. 

11. His reflection on God's grace and love - Though she often feels that she does not deserve such a wonderful guy, he always reminds her that his love for her is real and it's true. What undeserving grace that God has blessed her with that she would find such a guy as him. His love to her constantly keeps her close to God as she sees God's love through him.

I'm sure there's a million things she wants to say about him but it's their story to share. All I could say is they're really blessed to have each other. I do hope they will journey through life till death do them part. 

A message from her to him: Thank you for being my best friend and being there for me through thick and thin. I do enjoy our little love letters to each other and the times we've spent together. Thank you for holding me in your arms and letting me know that you love me so. Being with you is just the most wonderful thing that has happened in my life. I love you and I always will. ♡ 

Blessed 2 Days

It has been an interesting 1 week I would say. First week of sem break has come to an end. I don't even know what I've been up to. All I know is I had the best 2 days ever spent with the people I love.

It was my first time being to a Catholic church yesterday. For a person that was born and raised in a Methodist church, I would say that the visit wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. Standing there in the midst of the people it definitely felt weird but there wasn't at all any feeling of discomfort. Even though Mass is run differently from a normal Sunday Service in a Methodist church, we aren't that different after all. At the end of the day our focus is still on the same God and the same Gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of truth. One thing I would like to take with me throughout the whole Mass was God's message,

"Don't stop loving even though people might sting you again and again. God didn't stop loving us even though we hurt Him countless times. God's image/nature is to love. So we, as Children of God bearing the image of God, our nature is also to love."

and also the young people serving. It is always a joy to see young people serving the Lord in various ways be it reading the Holy scriptures to doing whatever they do. It's always good to do something for God that matters. Even the smallest act matters, from a smile to serving at the altar, God sees it and is pleased with it. 

As for today, I'm just glad that I'm still alive right now. It was a tiring day at Bukit Cahaya. The Ironman Challenge wasn't exactly the best but the team did put in lots of effort in organizing it. Good job peeps. I can say the most fun part was still Praise and Worship. As I stood behind, I learnt several things about the youths. You can see it as a positive way or a negative way but I myself would see it as a positive thing as I am very proud of the enthusiasm. I do hope we'll all continue be on fire for God as we are today.

Perfect Things Never Last

Who doesn't want to live a perfect life?  I'm sure everyone does but perfect things never last.  Just when you thought you have something perfect there's always that something that blemishes it.

At the moment when you thought you found the perfect guy problems arise.  Conflicts.  Decisions.  Miscommunications.  Things just hurt so bad that you have that voice inside of you telling you that it would never last.

There may be voices inside my head but the feeling in my heart will never fade.  My love for you will never change.  I know that God has the power to give and take away but I will always remember to pray and I know that one day, love will make a way.

So who said there's such thing as perfection?  No matter how hard you try nothing will be perfect.  You can never find anything perfect apart from the love of God.  What we may think is perfect will never last.  Everything on this earth will one day fade away but for right now I know that I have someone to hold.

Mean What You Sing

What does it mean to give God thanks in all circumstances?

Just this morning we were singing this lovely song which goes "In all things we give You thanks. We give You praise and thanksgiving".  As Christians how often do we mean what we sing?  Sometimes we have to be careful what we sing.  Some of the times we unknowingly sing and make a promise to God that we cannot keep.  How hurtful is that to God? 

The reason I'm saying this is because after all the songs we sang in service this morning, the trials came flowing in and it's not that easy to say to God "In all things I give You thanks.  I give You praise and thanksgiving".  When trials hit us it's just so so hard to give thanks to God in ALL things.  

Let's say things just haven't been working out for me for the past few weeks.  Plans were disrupted for certain reasons, people were hurt in the process.  Everything was so wrong and the songs that were sang were just a pool full of lies and broken promises that was made.  How many of us can say that after we've put in so much effort into planning and organizing something and nothing just goes well?  I guess we will all hate it and feel disappointed and discouraged.  I myself am very disappointed with what happened over this 2 days but I thank God that in the end everything just worked out so well.  Truly God is good all the time.

Though I may be discouraged.  Though I may be hurt but I know that God's plan is always perfect.  He knows what's going to happen next.  Nothing happened by accident and I believe that God has planned everything perfectly for us.  It's up to us to see God's purpose in His plans.  

So I would like to say be careful of what you sing.  Mean what you sing or don't sing at all.  Stop making empty promises to God.