Little Flowers

Timor

2011-12-13T19:37:00.001+08:00

We actually made those angel wings using white felt cloth, a paper plate, some wire and feathers! They turned out pretty good!

Beach!

Breakfast with F & G

Gorgeous beach.

Pretty town.

The Parachute game - super fun!

Team 4! May we win next year!

I went to Timor again this December to run children's programmes and bless the community. A truly enjoyable time!

Performing Arts DTS @ Hong Kong

2011-11-20T19:37:00.002+08:00

One of the many funny pictures of the team. We were doing a prayer walk at a monastery.

Breakfast was at 7 am every day. The rest of the day was scheduled for us, with quiet times, lecture times, lunch, work duties, dance/drama studio practices, dinner, meetings after dinner... we were mostly free on the weekends but for the occasional work duties. And who can forget the creative journals we had to complete during the weekends - before we could use the internet. :-) Bedtime was 11 pm.

Beautiful Hong Kong. This was taken at Victoria's Peak.

During low tide, one could walk out all the way to this rock.

This is the beautiful beach that was near the YWAM Base. The beach that I would wander towards every Saturday morning. Weekends served as a respite from the bustle of the weekday lessons. There were many lessons that I learnt there. God convicted me of areas in my life I needed to repent of and I often ran to this beach to collect my thoughts.

This was taken on Joann's birthday early on in the DTS. We have here, Daniel, Joann, Levi.

Before I went to Hong Kong, I never thought it would be so beautiful, or that I would spend Sundays in such a peaceful way, on bus 962, just gazing at the beautiful view of the sea and land.

Our DTS had 9 people - small and cosy and so much learning! I thank God for the small number because I built deep relationships with people there!

I spent 5 months in Hong Kong (July - Nov) doing the Performing Arts Discipleship Training School with YWAM Hong Kong in the New Territories near a beautiful beach. This included a three month lecture phase and a two month outreach. We went to The Philippines (General Santos), Malaysia (Klang) and Thailand (Issan/Northeast province) for outreach. DTS was an amazing time of character growth. "My chains are gone, I've been set free, my God, my Saviour, has ransomed me!" This was the best decision I'd ever made (other than choosing to follow Christ!).

Our exciting trip to Lao

2011-03-20T20:48:00.001+08:00

We (XL, SX, WT, SY and me) missed the flight and no amount of crying, screaming, pleading and anger was going to change that. So we took off on train from KL to Vientianne. Took us three days and three nights - but hey! We arrived in one piece amidst the uncertainty and lack of knowledge!

Brushing our teeth (after we missed our flight, we parked ourselves at the KL Sentral Food Court)

The view at Sunrise. Beautiful.

Oh! Where are we! (Padang Besar)

At the train station.

At Bangkok.

The train at last! Bangkok - Nongkhai, and into Lao via the Friendship Bridge!

The contraption that makes Woodchip Vinegar.

That's Thailand across the river. Photo taken on the Lao side.

Timor

2010-12-20T20:40:00.000+08:00

Little girl at the gate

House visiting

Singing blessings

The land of Beauty

Hello kids!

Children's camp... beautiful beaches, skies, life.

Birthdays

2010-11-07T23:17:00.000+08:00

Vara's and Emmy's birthdays coincidentally fall on the same dates! We went for a big bash at Penang Place, Coronation Road.

Di's Hen Party

2010-11-04T23:02:00.011+08:00

I helped organise Di's Hen Party and she had such a memorable time she made special mention of it in her church wedding speech!

Climbing KK

2009-12-20T20:38:00.001+08:00

Kota Kinabalu 2009 - Beauty set among the clouds, she walks, she dances, she laughs. She tosses her head at the climbers who attempt to keep her.

Peaceful, Perfect Perth

2008-12-19T07:42:00.002+08:00

Birthday!

2008-12-09T18:08:00.000+08:00

Went to Longbeach @ IMM on Saturday for my birthday dinner. Was good. :-)

CYAN Retreat

2008-12-08T18:01:00.004+08:00

Was very good. At Gardenasia... nice huge villas, tiny pool. Retreat topic was Luke 9: 23-27. Spent lovely relaxing time doing all the things I never had time to do during term. Snoozing whenever I liked, praying, chatting with friends, having breakfast with friends, laughing, playing Settlers until 2:30 am, splashing around in the pool, praying quietly, having theological chats and discussions. Christian community living at its best. :-)

Yummy Indian

2008-10-31T06:58:00.005+08:00

An Dian, Charmaine and I ate at Raffles Hotel yesterday. My first time there. Very, very yummy Northern Indian food. Lovely ambience, very cosy, light colours. Piano playing in the background. Great company and laughter. Relaxed, happy. The whole works.

Sabbath Baking!

2008-10-26T15:08:00.004+08:00

One of my hobbies is baking. I love the mixing, the tasting, the flying dough, the uncertainty, the wait, the final product. I've tried baking Banana Cake (my dad says it was yum), Butter cake, Chocolate Chip Cookies (too many times), Chocolate cake, Anzac Cookies.

Ah Ma and I (Very rare picture indeed- she hates taking photographs).
Hokey Pokies, Anzac cookies and Butter Cake.

Matthew's Birthday

2008-10-11T23:02:00.001+08:00

Matthew's birthday, Cell dinner. I had a wonderful, relaxing time catching up with my cell. Back row from left: Hui En, Toh Ken, Gaius, Emmy. Front from left: Michele, Emmaline, Matthew

Travelling to East Timor

2008-06-21T22:13:00.006+08:00

I went to East Timor for a community service trip with five others, Chee Thong, Piere, Sally, Angela and Wei Ting. Was wonderful. Taught English, played bonding games, performed in a small church, shared my testimony, played games in the beach, touched a starfish for the first time, showered with a bucket, nice cold water, doused myself with mosquito repellent etc.

Breathtaking views
Teaching English- very satisfying.
We had some fun on Sunday afternoon. From left, Wei Ting, me, Angela, Sally.
The East Timorese- lovely, shy children
From left, me, Sally and Angela. Went star-fishing. My first time. A little frightened (they sting).

I'm going back in December.

Very proud

2008-05-19T22:36:00.004+08:00

It has been an excellent year for us. My debaters have done so well. Very proud of them. We managed to clinch the second place at the MOE Debating Championships and third in the Singapore Secondary Schools' Debating Championships. The students, with their coach, have worked so hard. They really do deserve this. Thank you, Lord.

I love Laos!

2008-03-16T21:58:00.009+08:00

Went to visit some good friends who live there.

Went to the hairdresser!
Yummy food at a party.
Marketing.

Marc Yu

2007-11-21T17:23:00.000+08:00

NIE sponsored some teachers to the Marc Yu concert and forum. Marc Yu is a child genius; he's only 8 but can play over 40 classical pieces by heart. The classical piece he would really like to play would be a piece that contains 13-14 renditions of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He has no time for anything he says. He plays table tennis and tennis but apparently tennis is bad for his wrist. His greatest fear is tear his tux when he's running around before a concert. When he told me this (for I asked the question), his mother gave him one of her stares. She did stare at him frequently during the Q & A, sometimes giving him the words to answer, sometimes a cautionary stare. I wonder what it must be like for her- I think she has done an excellent job in developing his genius. She mentioned something I found true about how success came because her child, like all gifted children, is able to focus with almost frightening concentration on something they like very much for extended periods of time. Something for me to learn. I find it so difficult to concentrate on anything for more than 20 minutes!

True love frees

2007-11-18T00:25:00.000+08:00

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world ... All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Linkin Park Concert

2007-11-14T00:41:00.000+08:00

My first time attending a rock concert in Singapore! I've watched Alanis Morrisette perform in Melbourne. :-) It was quite a civilised rock concert. I love their songs- but- nothing wow happened during the concert.

Vara's 50th Birthday

2007-11-10T22:00:00.000+08:00

My mentor, Vara Durai, had her 50th birthday at AMK Grassroots club. It was very exciting. Speech by best friend and her. Cake cutting. 7 sisters came from all over the world (she's the youngest). Children running everywhere. A photographer. Good food. 12 tables. Family and friends. V Central singer came and sang a 7 minute Tamil hit- very cool- used to be her ex-student. I saw her dancing for the first time! Vara is a good dancer! "What's an Indian party without dancing?" Rubini laughed when I asked. A Happy Night. Here's a picture of Vara helping our table with a quiz about her (which we won, by the way :-)):

Jess & Little Sophie Superstar

2007-10-28T22:04:00.000+08:00

Happy baby and happy girl.

Queen of all our Hearts, she is.

Little Sophie is James's and Ailing's 1 year old daughter. She can say "Jess," pronuncing the "ss" sound almost perfectly. She can say "elmo," and "book" too! Super Sophie!

Farewell, 07S14

2007-10-26T22:20:00.000+08:00

Farewell, dear students,
dear comrades, dear boys and girls. The time has come to part,
May your futures be bright, full of light and blessing.

Sometimes teachers are just really weird

2007-10-18T00:00:00.000+08:00

This was a picture that was taken to mark Jimmy's farewell. Jimmy Lim is from my church (St John's St Margaret's) and he taught relief teaching with us for 2 terms. We decided to do a bear advertisement for the Teddy Bear Company. Think all that work has made us kooky. From left: Matilda, Jimmy, Me, Aileen, Angeline Antoine and An Dian.

XH's Baptism

2007-10-14T09:43:00.000+08:00

XH's Cell- all beeming.

The Sleeping Beauty has now awakened.

Dinner at Crystal Jade, Holland Village.

Alpha group

2007-09-23T17:13:00.000+08:00

I have been involved in this course at church called Alpha. We went away to JB for the weekend and came back refreshed and joyful (yes, the kind of happiness you only read about, the sort that makes everyone who hears roll their eyes in amusement).

The Inseperable Five!

Pride

2007-07-21T17:08:00.000+08:00

We didn't win, but I'm proud of them all the same.

Aunty Ya's Daughter's Wedding

2007-07-14T16:58:00.000+08:00

My first Malay wedding! Really enjoyed myself. :-) Aunty Ya is the lady who cleans our floor and empties our bins. She does the hardest and most difficult sort of work for the teachers. I really can't do without her. Sometimes I'll see her in the toilet sitting by the bench, hot and tired, and I'll go to her and lay my head upon her shoulder to manja her. My favourite person in the staffroom. Entirely without airs.

Diana's graduation

2007-07-08T21:52:00.001+08:00

My crazy friends, Diana and Xiuling. At the University Cultural Centre.

Bec

2007-07-05T21:46:00.000+08:00

Spent 2 months in India with Bec, early 2004.
I miss those times, Bec.

Phoebe comes to town

2007-06-24T01:16:00.000+08:00

I met Phoebe in Central Australia, 2000, before I became a Christian. Phoebe is from Hong Kong. She studied music in Melbourne and is currently finishing her postgrad on Education. She visited two Saturdays ago. A and I took her out to eat at the Basement of Raffles City. :-)

My Final Theory Test

2007-06-22T01:21:00.000+08:00

This may look like a mere slip of paper to you- not to me. I would now like to officially thank the Lord Jesus Christ for helping me pass my Final Theory Test. I am so fervently grateful because this was my third try. I am an English graduate from the University of Melbourne. You cannot understand the shame at having failed twice.

I studied for a grand total of 5 minutes (when I was waiting to get an x-ray for my teeth extraction) and 10 minutes in the MRT (when I was rushing to the exam venue (because I was late)). The test started at 4:30 pm and I appeared at 5:00 pm. The woman at the front desk was rather curt and unhappy with me. I sat down at Terminal 5 and tapped away. I finished 50 questions in 20 minutes. I didn't check my answers. I clicked on the "yes- show me results' tab, absolutely positive that I would fail- but I was happy to be proven wrong. I gave such a loud yelp the invigilator came over to check if I was alright.

4 months ago, I studied the 10 years' series for the Final Theory Test. It was the wrong book. I failed.
2 months ago- I studied for 10 minutes. I failed.
Yesterday- I studied for 15 minutes. I passed.

I now dedicate all my driving over to the Lord Jesus Christ. I may be a tad bit too dramatic- no one can understand this happiness in my heart right now. :-)

The price of vanity

2007-06-19T20:53:00.000+08:00

The dentist extracted 4 of my teeth today at noon. When I close my eyes, I can still hear him speaking into my ear- "Be brave ah, be brave." He was injecting the painkillers into my gums. He sang a little tune while loosening each tooth. I can still hear the awful crunch of my tooth loosening. Sounded like teeth scrapping against a concrete surface. *shudder* Was all over in 10 minutes.

Thank God for efficient dentists.

It's all worth it, of course.

Australian Greens

2007-06-10T10:44:00.001+08:00

Jane Green has come to Singapore. She was one of our dear friends who was active in colleges ministry from St Judes Anglican Church, the church I attended while studying in Melbourne. It's been 3 years since I last saw her, so you can imagine how nostalgic and poignant, and wonderful it was to see her again.

She's working for an International Students Ministry called Cross Cultures. It's an offspring of Christian Union, University of Melbourne. It was so exciting to hear her speak- she's remarkably passionate about people, meeting them, liking them and building relationships. A true extrovert- although one can never tell for sure. She has come with the purpose of finding out about our lives. She was so amiable, so open and affectionate for our hearts that I couldn't help warming up to her again. Oh! If only I asked her more about her life.

I miss Melbourne and St Judes. I miss the place. I miss the people. I miss the conversations.

Rachel's Visit

2007-06-04T17:09:00.000+08:00

Rachel visited me last week. Really enjoyed myself even though it was a mad week for me because I had heaps of marking to do (I still do, as I write this).

My most memorable experiences were:

1) Chatting with Rachel on Tuesday morning. We actually managed to get past the superficiality that usually dominates conversations between relatives.
2) Watching Tang Quartet's Optical Illusions, truly the strangest musical performance I've ever watched. I've watched 2 other performances from the Arts Festival and they are all as strange. I guess abstract art begs bewildered reactions. I say this with some annoyance.
3) Winning the telematch at SJSM Family Day! We beat 24 teams to emerge winners! Truly unexpected!

From what I hear, she had had a good time too. :-)

Family Day Champions!

Another family day shot. Rachel, me, Jess and Vicky. Jess and Vicky are my cell-mates. :-)

Thank you for the photographs, Shao Wei.

Stephanie's Wedding

2007-04-17T20:37:00.000+08:00

Presenting *drumroll* Stephanie and Kenneth Thor!

Family photo.

Rachel and I. We had a good time catching up. She'll be visiting in June! Real excited.

A busy weekend

2007-04-13T20:41:00.000+08:00

I will be having an extremely hectic weekend.

I have the Odyssey of the Mind Competition tomorrow. Afterwhich, I will leave for Vivocity where I will catch the bus to KL with my mother. Then it's back to Singapore before 2, for I will be involved in a church activity.

Whew!

Post post: Just to amuse you, here are 2 pictures from the Competition. We emerged 4th, out of 9 teams! Yay!

The team.
Very funny picture of Andy with our extremely attractive team sign.

Acceptance

2007-04-07T01:24:00.000+08:00

Realising the truth about yourself, and about circumstances is important because it helps one come out from a state of denial and into a state of recovery.

Recovering from grief and guit is not easy.

Some will ask- why blame yourself? How would you have known that she would have made that choice?

But we always have a choice. Our choices spring from the evil or good in our hearts. Sometimes when we make the wrong choices, we cover it up by focusing on the decisions that others have made. We do this because we think that by doing so, we can excuse ourselves and our bad choices. We want to distract ourselves from the fact that we had a responsibility too.

We can choose not to trust our family members when they tell us truths about themselves. We can choose to deny the truth and never hear it gently knocking at the doors of our hearts. We can choose wisely for eternity, or we can choose foolishly, for the temporal pleasure of this life. We choose life, or death.

Yet we cannot run away from the fact that our choices affect the people around us. Sometimes they become the starting point for a chain reaction, stopped only when the Lord intervenes, because of his love for us.

Life, Death

2007-03-29T20:32:00.000+08:00

I can no longer go for the JB trip because of my cousin's sudden death.

We are all very distraught.

How strange it was today- to receive news of my promotion and to be clapped at by 150 teachers.

Bewildered and tired.

JB trip this weekend

2007-03-25T21:06:00.000+08:00

I'll be heading off to JB for the weekend. Will be bringing my students to play friendly hockey matches with Malaysian schools.

I didn't really want to offer, but my colleague/friend was bringing them alone and I'll never live it down if something happened to them. She didn't ask me this time round because it was term time and she thought I had duties at church. I do... but I thought it was more important I go along with her.

Now I need to search for the nearest hospitals and their telephone numbers in JB.

http://www.hospitals-malaysia.org/health.cfm?&menuid=34&parentid=28&action=view&healthid=29
http://www.jsh.kpjhealth.com.my/

DT's Birthday

2007-03-12T01:09:00.000+08:00

We watched the Take 6 concert last night. After that we went to Chocz for supper and cake-cutting. Yummy and fun! Take 6 is a highly acclaimed accapella/jazz group that has been nominated for the Grammys 18 times.

I was thrilled that we (excluding Di) were wearing green and so I decided to celebrate that by taking a photograph. This was taken in the morning at church.

The Crux

2007-03-04T18:14:00.001+08:00

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:8-10

We are saved because God loves us and gave his Son for us.

When Jesus takes away our sin, he also heals the hurts caused from our own selfishness and the selfishness of others.

With this understanding, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we now have the strength to lead transformed and abundant lives.

Nobody can make you a Christian if you decide you don't want to become one.

(Only God can). I didn't want to be a Christian 5 years ago. I'm a Believer now.

This picture symbolises the joy that comes with the Christian life. Free to dance and laugh... and live.

Clarifications for Dad
The reason why I don't say that "you'll go to hell" is because I know what it is like to be told this. I was told this a number of times before I became a Christian. I thought Christians were arrogant to proclaim that I would go to hell just because I didn't believe in Jesus. I didn't like how they pushed me to accept their message.

So now that I'm a Christian- I don't say this to non-Christians. But it doesn't mean that I don't believe it, or fear for my friends and family. I chose not to focus on it. I believe that when non-Christians know and realise how much God has sacrificed for them, they would gradually come to see that they really need God's love and mercy.

The reason why I don't say to non-Christians that "you are the devil" is because I truly don't believe it. We are all human beings. Being a demon and a human being is completely different. A human being is made in God's image. Demons are fallen angels. While it is true that the devil does "control" some human decisions, human beings truly have enough sin in them to make a mess of things all on their own.

Christianity begins with the premise that we are all sinners (not devils) and we all need the undeserved grace from God through Jesus.

Guangzhou

2007-02-23T23:50:00.000+08:00

Went to Guangzhou with Xiuling in December last year to visit my grand aunt (da4 jiu4 ma1). Her husband passed away in June the same year.

She cooked us simple but delicious meals. We felt very loved because she put in so much effort.

A National Tail

2007-02-21T17:29:00.000+08:00

This is the rat that disturbed my peace while I was alone in my office. It is now dead.

Chinese New Year

2007-02-20T22:20:00.000+08:00

Had some fun this year. We were trying out different angles to take pictures.

Here is one with mummy and daddy. Came out a bit dark, this one.

Lunch with grandma

2007-02-20T18:49:00.000+08:00

Had my annual lunch with grandma at The Asian Kitchen, Basement of Vivocity. We had a yummy meal and then we went window shopping!

Trips abroad

2007-02-20T10:01:00.000+08:00

Since returning to Singapore in end-2003, I have been on the following trips:

Jan-Feb 2004: India (S/M)
June 2004: Thailand (M)
Dec 2004: Vietnam (H)
June 2005: Sri Lanka (M/CS)
June 2006: Yunan, China (M)
Dec 2006: Laos (M); Guangzhou, China (H)

Key:
CS: Community Service
H: Holiday
M: Mission
S: Study