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arghhh… i really do wish for more time to blog! and for more time to do everything else, for that matter.
it’s monday and i’m beat from last night’s night cycle. rode from tampines to changi village and back to tampines in 1.5 hrs with a short break in between. burnt around 481 calories. it was a very very late ride. reached tampines at 12.30am!! there was one particular slope that was a killer. i peddled like a crazy dog :P but i really like the sensation of cruising down the slopes. hope to do the next ride soon tho’ i suspect that cycling is not exactly the best thing for my knees 
i bought a car rack for my bike and i tell you; putting it up is as good a warm up. it takes about 15 mins to mount the rack and the bike on it. hopefully, it will take shorter time once i get more familiar with it.
anywayz, i went to sunday school for a very short visit yesterday. i went to church very early, to pass them the projector. so, i took the opportunity to visit the children at sunday school. i went to the pre-school class. my camera phone amused them and they were very eager to pose for me. timi (short for timothy?) was exceptionally funny. he kept wanting to make funny and monkey faces for me…. 
reminds me of the time when i was teaching in sunday school back in bartley. reminds me that i once said (when i was much much younger) that my preferred ministries would be the sunday school and worship….
and i thought this was realli funny!!
she has been greeting me with a hug every sunday during service. we have not caught up for so long and i finally managed to pin down a date and time to meet with her.
i got to know that she started on a part time job a few months ago. not an easy job as it’s somehow like direct sales. she shared with me how she approached the job she has on hand. she sees it as a way of meeting new people and enlarging her network and circle of friends; all in the hope of making a difference in people’s lives and being Christ’s influence. she shared how there was a case when the resident declined to make any purchase from her in a little hostile way. she went away praying and communing with God. interestingly, a while later, that man opened the door and asked her to go back. he asked if she was a singaporean and commented that he knows how hard it is for a singaporean to work in singapore. he asked how much did she have left and he purchased all of it and asking her to keep the change.
she went on to share about the job and i hear and see how God is blessing her with favour. she said that she is doing pretty well compared to her fellow collys and she gives thanks and glory to God. she also shared how she is reaching out to her back-sliden boss.
we went on and on. there were 2 occasions that her eyes were watery… . we were so moved as we recount what and how her family and her have gone through the past years with the grace of God.
i’m so moved in my spirit hearing her share. it’s been 6 years since her husband and her came to accept Christ. they started in my cell group and i was reminded as i sat opposite her that it was for people such as her that raised in me the burden for chinese ministry. her life is such a wonderful testimony and comfort to my heart and soul. as i sat there looking at her and hearing her share, the thought that “it’s all worth it” came to me on at least 2 counts. i may be in a spiritual drought now but hearing her and seeing her was like all that i needed to get me going.
and i’m so excited for what’s going to be in stored for her. i’ve seen that leadership potential in her. and a few years back, i saw the need to disciple & build her up. i felt (then and reaffirmed again) that she is to reach a group that most of us who started the chinese ministry cannot do. and that is the mandarin speaking mothers. i’ve seen her grown in this area as well. when she was in my chinese cell group about 4 years back, i remember how she was hesitant and fearful about reaching out to her group of good friends and was actually being influenced by them. subsequently through the years, she overcame that and started reaching out to them; using her life as a testimony and she managed to bring a couple of her friends to church.
and the thought of how this job can enlarge the circle of people she can get to know excites me even more. and i’m sure God will bless her richly in her sales as she focuses on Him and His Kingdom.
i’m also thankful for what God is doing in her family. i can go on and on. there’s so much to share about her and her family… . may the LORD continue to bless their family so that His glory may be manifested greatly through their lives.
here’s what we did as tracy’s farewell pressie.
this is a season of “farewells”. first was tracy, then it was wensing. ken and wensing just recently became parents and it’s best for wensing to join ken at emily’s cg. wensing has been in my cg since the birth of chinese ministry and she has always been such a valuable support to me. her love for people is relentless, though she denies it. she has such a good heart towards the less loveable and is very genuine towards people.
i’m excited for ken and her for their new born – luke ng and thankful to God too for this blessing. may they be full of God’s wisdom as they bring luke up as Godly parents.
within a week from wensing’s farewell, we also had a farewell gathering for wensing’s sister – soo sing. the worship ministry team came together with her ex CG for a farewell gathering on May Day.
and it was a teary occasion for me – quite unexpectedly. i’ve known wensing much longer than soo sing… and it only seems like yesterday when soo sing came to our church. i remember meeting her for the 1st time in service. she was in a brown top and she was so smiley (still is!). she accepted Christ shortly after and has been growing and serving in our church. soo sing is such an encouraging person. she lavished encouragement upon me as we serve in the worship ministry. despite all the blunders and mistakes i made, she has always been so kind (the rest of the team too ) and encouraged me on. i will definitely miss having her around!
soo sing gave her farewell speech and kevin also shared how it was not an easy decision for her and them. i didn’t know kevin very well and for the 1st time, i heard him said so much. even soo sing affirmed that he is of quite few words actually (probably in mandarin). but i’m glad they sought God about their decision and they are at peace about this decision – that it is not brighton for this season. i wish them well and may they continue to be a blessing to their ministry in FC.
CM went out on a street evangelism this afternoon. this is definitely a first time for many many brothers and sisters cos’ the last time I did street E was so long ago when i was a student… that’s prob about 20 years ago.
i was assigned to whampoa to distribute the flyer for our coming easter service and that has to be the easiest part cos’ CM is familar with knocking on whampoa residents doors.
so, i must applause my brothers and sisters who were assigned the public places – such as paya lebar mrt, eunos mrt, haig road residential etc. i hear that even the children were actively involved eg. joanne, benson, justina how proud of them!
before we set off from spc at around 2pm, it was raining very heavily, so we heard… but little did i know that it was so heavy until i read the following news. it was definitely the area that we were doing street E on. thanks be to God for He surely stopped the heavy downpour just when we are about to leave for street E. i believe it stopped when we were all having lunch at the foodcourt cos’ when i was on the way down to the foodcourt, i could hear the rain. but when i left spc, i was wondering where the rain was…
Flash floods in various parts of Singapore
There were flash floods in various parts of Singapore, including Marine Parade and Chai Chee Road, on Sunday. The flash floods caused a huge headache for some living in the Upper Paya Lebar area.
Once the rain subsided, many in the area were busy cleaning up inside and outside their houses. Some said the water level reached their ankles during the heavy downpour.
For others — they had to deal with damage to their cars which apparantly was short-circuited…
i am aslo very thankful to God for sustaining me through the weekend. caught a flu bug on friday night after cg. but had to get back to the office on sat morning as some colleagues were coming back to the office to back their belongings and i had to be around to supervise.
had to go whampoa cg on sat afternoon to lead the cell…
by sunday morning, i was still very stuffed in the nose and was aching all over my body. i could even feel the ache in my joints. i was contemplating for a long time what to do while i was still in bed. i was assigned the i/c for the whampoa street E group and there was a briefing at 11am before service. and i have to reherse for following sunday’s service after street E. it’s full band so it’s best to keep to schedule for rehersal else’ it would be very difficult to find an alternate time.
i must say it’s definitely God who helped pulled me through the day/weekend… i would be on sick leave tomorrow… .
i started this monday really stoned from a long weekend of lack of sleep!
but it was a great weekend with so much love in the air
i wanted to “play it low” this V day i.e. not buying or making any gifts or cards for friends – NOT bcos i want to tighten my belf but bcos i simply lack the time. as the day was drawing near, i can’t help but felt that love was in the air.
i made a last minute dash to the malls (hey, i work in orchard road, so that’s not an unusal itin in my daily life) with the focus of looking for a V day gift for B… and along the way, i was tempted to buy gifts for collys and friends too but i resisted. it was too rushed for me to make any wise decision during that short lunch break – especially when i am not done with getting B’s. in any case, i have already prepared 2 crafty gifts for emily and anthea. so… the rest will not get any gifts.
for the record, i bought B’s V days Part 1 pressie on friday; the 13th and his Part 2 pressie the following day.
cell group meeting on friday evening was very unlike the usual cos’ daniel updated the cg on his proposal to cherrie and what happened the night before. i was really amused by daniel’s account and what he did and made me think that it is a good idea to converse with B about it before it is “too late”….
daniel and gilbert have been educating me about diamond of late bcos of such occasion mentioned above. i parted ways with them on friday night with the thought that it is a good time now to buy a diamond ring for myself bcos of the economy downturn. so the guys told me!
i couldn’t meet with B after cell that night as i have yet to prepare for my whampoa cell the next day. he did sms me in the afternoon to ask if i have cell. he didn’t as it was brought forward to the day before. reached home at about 11.30pm after cell and was smsing B. he sent me a V day greeting at the strike of 12 and i was amused. after another sms from him, he called and said he was outside my door. i was definitely surprised! and how sweet of him to pass me my V day pressies!
all these years, i found myself to be someone that would not be too surprised by things (not sure if it’s that whole “cool persona” that i have) or events esp. during special occasions such as my birthday etc… but B has on a few occasion surprised me quite delightfully.
he never gave me flowers for he is 1 of those guys who deem it as a waste of money. but last year; on my birthday, he gave me a bouquet of flowers for the 1st time and i was pleasantly surprised and delighted. and really for V day this year, i had not expected him to give me flowers again or attempt to spring me a surprise such as turning up at my house at mid-night.
he came by to hand me a bouquet of flowers and a pendent with a diamond stud! ok, it is a very very small diamond but it means SO much to me! i was (and still is) pleasantly surprised and delighted! i feel so loved!
on sat, we gave out roses at our whampoa cell too i asked CY to help me check out the prices of the roses in the market. it was $2 a stalk and un-wrapped. i saw the super-market selling a dozen of roses for $15 the day before and regretted that i didn’t buy it; even though i did not have any idea who i was going to buy it for then. CY convinced me not to get them (those in the market) as they were too expensive. he called me a few minutes later and told me he managed to get 11 stalks of roses at $1 each :O [this shall be kept a secret off the blog; for reasons]. so, i told my whampoa cell that CY has bought them roses for V day. and i must say it was a wise decision (to have that idea of giving out roses) cos’ they were really happy and glowing in their faces
i came across these on friday when i was looking around for B’s pressie. i thought that was interesting. i decided to get it for whampoa cell, just for the occasion of V day
B and i went out on sat night after my bible study class and we had our late dinner at esplanade before we headed to marina sqaure to catch “new in town”. i like that movie. i think rene zellweger and harry connick jr. have pretty good chemistry. i’ve always liked rene zellweger and her movies. what i liked about this movie was also for the fact that a few of the characters in the movie scrapbooked LOL! there were a few scenes of them scrapbooking and a few scrapbook pieces were exhibited. they even used that idea in their credits at the end of the movie.
in an effort to reach out to relatives and friends who came for ps peter lim’s rally, our chinese ministry organised bbq at various cg’s over the weekend.
daniel and ZM’s cgs combined and we held it at wensing’s parents place.
it felt like a reunion as both cgs come together.
i’m thankful to God that after a couple of years that daniel and ZM took over the multiplied cells that there has been growth in both cgs.
for one, there were new members who joined us since, eg. meiting, evangeline, xiumei, poh fong, and some other who are new friends e.g. huimin, jasmine’s friend. i’m also thankful to God for how lihua, angie, jesslyn, joel have become regulars. it’s also a great joy to see jasmine growing in the Lord and for the way she is bringing her friends to church.
thanks be to God, indeed. it is in the lives that are changed by God, that i know He is REAL!
stayed up late friday nite to complete a SB layout of debbie & esther… it’s a “princess” theme and i squeezed my creative juices to complete the layout over several nights and alas… i have to say that i’m not satisfied with it… sob sob… as i see all the wonderful layouts of other SB’ers, i know i have a long way to go and more layouts to do to “arrive” lol… it’s ok i guess… it’s just like learning acquiring a new skill – need to put in the effort and practise.
i planned to bring my PC to the vet this (sat morning) but was feeling a lil under the weather and decided to do it another day. caught a small flu bug just before leaving office on friday evening for CG and have popped in 4 panadol cold tablets since friday night till date… the other thing i was planning to do this morning was to go to bugis junction to buy a box of chewy junior for mdm leong & pay her a visit… . i left home at 11.45am and not sure if it’s a prompting, i thought i had better call her to make sure she would be home by the time i reach. true enough, she was going out with her daughter… gift of knowledge(??)… hmmm…. ok… i’m on the PIE now and it’s too early to go to whampoa…hmmm….hmmmm…..
okie, let’s go to toyogo warehouse in toa payoh to get another(!!) storage box for your SB supplies… did that and thot – how about going to whampoa hawker centre to eat that yummy hokkien mee? i actually have not been back to the hawker centre since it re-opened. i did not even go to the temporary one while the old one was being renovated.
i was in our Take It To The Streets t-shirt and it was a very different feeling from what i remember of years back… where you would find fellow brightonites in the same tee having lunch before our Take It activities. there was actually a man who was looking hard at me and my tee when i was at the hawker and i thought, is he one of those who our ministry has reached out to before? and a very quick thot followed – of what we have impacted and left behind for the residents these years? well… with all of men’s limitations & weaknesses, surely, there would have been some “less-than-ideals” but may God turn all of it around for His purpose and Kingdom (Amen!).
and no… the hokkien mee stall was not yet opened… i thot koko said they would be opened for lunch… maybe i remembered wrongly. so, i ended up having wanton noodles for lunch… it sure took me a while to decide what to eat. u know how u planned on doing something and then some unplanned circumstances upset your plans. so many wanton noodles stalls, which one good… ok, this one got article write-up, can’t go wrong. $2 a plate – small plate but ok cos’ can have some more yummy refreshments at the party later. [it was definitely a small plate cos' i was very hungry even before we could have our refreshment later in the afternoon lol ]. the noodles is not bad but spicy and that got me thinking of the guo ji (hmm.. did i get the name right?) wanton noodles in lavender food center *slurp*slurp* wenxin and i have been thinking about that stall’s wanton noodles for a long time now 
one of the highlight for the day would be when kk lim told me both his wife and himself went to join zhiming’s CG the night before! wow! i thot that was awesome. he told me lina invited him (how wonderful!!). he asked how come he didn’t see me there. i told him i am in a different CG and ours meet at boon keng. he then said, oh that’s nearer his place and maybe he will join us next time 
.
there was another ‘progression’ at our sat fellowship. you chun’s lifting of hands was more distinct and for sure this afternoon. i caught up with him and learnt that he is very worried and actually very pessimistic about the condition of his leg. he went for his appointment at the doc on thurs and i think because the doc did not comment on the condition of his leg and that he could not do a scan that he is thinking the worst situation now. he said have to wait for another 2 weeks before he sees the doc again. he kept telling me how his leg doesn’t have the compression, doesn’t have a lot of sensation etc… and i kept telling him he will be fine, don’t worry, don’t be too pessimistic… that i think he must think that i am so un-sympathetic. like what chau yong said, you chun said he will testify for God if he can be healed (and i thought pleasantly to myself – oh, sure it will be a done deal then!) and also to have some time to settle some issues first – this i reckon to be his mum who is in a nursing home. she is actually over 90 years old and actually have been in a coma for the last 7 years already.
after the fellowship at whampoa, chau yong, bao shun and i went to visit uncle tan. he was in a better state compared to last sat. at least, he was sitting up. last week, he was in bed and asleep and couldn’t wake up despite us calling out to him. today, the patient next to his bed told us that he has not been willing to eat and talk much.
and i’m really very thankful for brother chau yong and bao shun. both of them have such a BIG HEART for people. their compassion and how they go out of their way to reach out to people really puts me to shame so many times. bao shun is so thoughtful. he remembered me mentioning the week before that my home PC is down and asked if i had any luck doing what he asked me to do last week. i said no and he asked if he can come to my place to have a look. wow! i thought – but of course! and yup, he helped me fix it for which i’m so thankful and delighted about. remember i was supposed to bring it to the service centre this morning and didn’t… *yippee*…
opps, sorry… had a blog diarrhea 
last sunday at the prayer meeting before service, i was filled with a sense of gratitude for the brothers and sisters who intercede for the ministry and church regularly on sunday mornings. u see, i was ever in charge of the english service leaders prayer meeting on sunday mornings and i must say that over a period of time, i have witnessed greater level of consistency in the turn out in the chinese ministry – especially considering our size.
not meaning to place a judgement or comparison (it was a long time ago since i took charge in english service and i’m sure God has raised up intercessors in the english service the past number of years) but for this, i am really thankful. thanks & glory be to God.
the 5 words to describe my 2007..
. s h a k e n .
the 1st half of the year was when i was in my ex-company. it was a very difficult period of time; after having been in service for 3 months i.e. my “honeymoon” period is up and my ex-boss started picking on me, puts me down and making things very tough. it was really no-joy at work. i sit in front of the PC the whole day wondering whether to do things this way or that way. assess which way/decision will “die the lesser way”. cos’ my boss goes about her ways depending on her mood…so there is no right way of doing things… subtly, i became very un-sure of myself and my own judgement of things.. until my senior pointed out to me.
. p h o b i a .
and because of that, i dragged going to work… and every morning, i would think of the scolding that would be in store, what would she pick on… it came to a point when my colleague would exclaimed “yeah, it’s friday… ” but to me, it was not a relief cos’ i was already thinking ahead to monday when we return to work… .
. g r a c e .
but God is good! after telling my boss that i would be looking out in april, i’ve been going to many many interviews as compared to my other colleagues who were also looking out (but in secret). and in august, i was made an offer.
. d e l i v e r a n c e .
and situation was better after i told my boss that i wanted to leave. i guess she figured that there is no point nagging at me, anymore and actually, she even asked me to consider staying. and then she got “distracted” fighting other politics and we became her confidant.
. f a v o u r .
i started my new company in mid oct and things have been very good thus far; despite lack of system and processes in the company. i’ve had positive report from my bosses and a director. and the director was very kind to send me an email to wish me Happy Birthday even when she was on leave and also to affirm me for my contribution thus far. i also sense a new level of confidence as i go about my work so, i’m really thankful that i can end 2007 with gratitude to God for what He has done for me; not only at work but also in my studies and my family.
frankly, i had inertia attending our church’s countdown – more so because of physical state. i was having allergy reaction and feeling somewhat lethargic. but i was glad i made it. the atmosphere was great and the worship was fabulous – despite not knowing 70% of the songs sung. one particular line in one of the songs struck a chord in my heart again and again – “My honour is to serve You, my Lord and King…” what’s to be counted my Honour? i shared with the CG, i think i might have forgotten that. at the cm retreat, daniel asked the cg – what’s one thing we struggle to surrender. i thought and shared that it’s probably my time for service/ministry. i’ve not stopped serving since i stepped into leadership since 1987 and so, when i took a break to do my grad dip in 2006, it was like something very hard to come by for me – tho’ in actual fact i do not have much time much after channelling them to my studies.
at the countdown, we were asked to share with the cg what our 2008 would be… to me, it would be a year of anticipation, more in particularly in my ministry and service to God and His people. i don’t know what and how… but it’s anticipation.
and after we ushered in the new year, ps tiak addressed the church. he shared how even for him, he has to learn lessons the hard way despite having tasted God in His goodness. he shared how little faith he had in regards to the temporary accommodation he is able to put up at. in late 2006, he came to know of someone whose family owes the number of properties around the current house he is putting up yet. ps tiak & family was allowed to put up at the current place for a year, meaning that it is due for return in nov 07. but his new house is not available yet and so he was trying to avoid getting calls of the man or meeting him. but he had no choice as they had to meet up due to the elderly home’s board meeting where they are both board members. without even ps tiak mentioning anything, the man volunteered the answer. the man and his family will start selling the properties in june 08 and thus ps tiak and his family are able to stay till then.
what ps tiak shared is very true. though we have tasted God and His goodness, we often forget or worse, exhibit lack of faith – as if our level of faith did not increase because of our experiences. so, ps tiak challenged us to seek greater things from God in 2008. and things not of our career advancement, relationship, etc… but greater things for His kingdom. for the pagan are the ones who seek the things of the career advancement, relationships etc… so, i thought this message ends well with what i’ve put down as what my 2008 would be - a year of anticipation of greater things for/from God.
poh fong sent this to CG about 4 days ago but i only just got time to read it and i smiled and thought – wow, this is like a report of the event that u read in newsletter etc and i asked her for permission to post this on multiply.
she said “sure, no problem. i got little bit of 职业病！hehehe…” 
she is really good – i think she even got all the chinese names correct eg. to me zhiming and zhifeng could have been the same “zhi” u know… but i realised from her report that their “zhi” is different!!
Settler’s Café@ Clarke Quay 小组聚会简报
九月八日于 Settler’s Café@ Clarke Quay的小组聚会共有 19个大人及2 个小孩参加。出席者有，小组成员（俊良，秋燕，秀梅，喜珍，周倩，文枫，蕴珊 [ 及丈夫- Edwin] ，婷婷，渊玄 及宝芳），新朋友（郦滨- 喜珍的丈夫， 永明 -俊良的朋友，俊逸- 婷婷的朋友， Jack- 秀梅的朋友，翔凤和惠敏-宝芳的朋友），小孩（也青 -喜珍的女儿和 Z-文枫的儿子）以及友情客串的志铭和智峰。
聚会于傍晚 6.20开始。由于人数众多， 我们预定了二楼的坐位。Settlers Café 的地方不大，为了方便玩 硬紙板遊戏，大家无法坐在一起玩而必须分三组进行。第一组有，俊良，喜珍，郦滨，周倩和文枫。 第二组有，蕴珊，Edwin ， 永明， Jack ，秀梅，渊玄和智峰。第三组有 ，秋燕，婷婷，俊逸，翔凤，惠敏和宝芳。志铭则是满场飞担任遊戏指导。至於两个小孩 则有Settlers Café的工作人员陪伴玩 遊戏。
第一组玩的遊戏应该是很紧张刺激，不时传来欢呼与笑声。第二组 则绞尽脑汁，沉著专注的玩抓贼 遊戏。第三组就是第一，二组的合体，，偶尔传来呼叫声但很多时候是冷静的玩着紧张的遊戏。
我们购买的是快乐时光配套，这包括三小时 硬紙板遊戏，一杯饮料，一客价值＄ 9.50或以下的晚餐， 收费是每人＄13.20 （含 10%服务税）。 谢谢志铭的优惠卡，我们能享有10 巴仙折扣。所以，每人只要给＄13.2。
聚会于晚上 9.00结束。在俊良的一个简短报告后，大家平安散会各自回家。
感谢主！ 也感谢大家的热情参与，因为有你的出席我们才能玩的尽兴！！！
- 宝芳
from left : 翔凤- 宝芳的朋友, 宝芳，婷婷 (Tracy) & 俊逸
from left : 永明 -俊良的朋友, 友情客串的智峰 & 渊玄 (Albert)
蕴珊 及丈夫- Edwin
from left : Jack- 秀梅的朋友, 文枫 (Evangeline) & 郦滨-喜珍的丈夫.
from left : 郦滨 - 喜珍的丈夫, 喜珍 & 周倩
