Missionettes Banquet

I remember the days of slumber parties and luncheon meat and creeping out in the middle of the night to play. After a fight we'd creep back into the room to sleep.

I remember being gathered into the old library by Aunty Lim, when she prayed for us for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I didn't receive it that night.

I remember Juliana, our Stars sponsor, brought us to Dave's Deli for our class. We were so thrilled to get out of the norm and I had my first lasagna.

I remember reciting 1 Corinthians 13 as slowly as I can on the night I was crowned Honour Star. I had to make time to my other girlfriends to change backstage. It was also my first on-stage solo gig.

On June 27th, 2009, Missionettes had its farewell. Calling back all its past girls and sponsors for a final bash - relishing the sweet times and crowning its last batch of stars. A fitting finish indeed. All pictures courtesy of RachelTD

Missionettes Banquet at Royale Bintang, SerembanSome of the food lavished in front of us

15th batch of Crowned starsMy table partyWe are family! (Short of 2) Missionettes had a part in our familyCrowned stars of '97. Here's 4 out of 7 of us.
(pic)

And here is the video that was rendered just for the event.
Warning: the video is 17 minutes and might be boring for those who were never in Missionettes.

SMK Puteri - Hari Kantin

I revisited my old school with the intent of supporting some of the girls from my youth. And saying 'hello' to my old class teacher whom I have great respect for what she was for me - I realised I never said thank you. But our paths never crossed and I never got to say... hello.


It was Hari Kantin a.k.a. Hari Koperasi. Thank God for the beautiful weather so that each class can make their food, set up their own stall and sell their food. Good job girls! For what it's worth, it was good experience for the girls. I personally believe that a lot of life's greatest lessons are learnt through experience. That's why we need to let people walk their journey, we need to create opportunities for experiences. Anyway...

I was conned into buying more stuff than I can handle. In my defence, I was too soft hearted to say 'no'. But hey, I did not get a stomach ache after! More pics here.

Ohyes, here's a 'Kodak Moment' from the day... in memory of MJ - departed 25 June 2009.

GLS - Super Early Bird

Global Leadership Summit Malaysia is back and better than ever. There's a larger line-up of speakers and even a new 'skill-session' thrown in. This year's GLS will also be held in Agape Gospel Assembly, Seremban. Super Early Bird rates will end at the end of June. While the Early Bird rates will end in July. For more information check out the official website or call me!

The little bump

For those of you who don't know already, eyeow has a little bump that is not so little anymore. Congrats to the mother and father to be.

Don't over spoil little Nathan (his apparent nickname from now on).

I can't believe that I am excited to see the baby... =)

Curry

This may not seem like quite a big deal to you,
but this is to me.
You see... I don't take curry mee or laksa or any of that sort.

This is my first...

Another 'first' for @nne!! Yay!

And I couldn't finish it.

Book Collection

In my zest to collect books for my library, I tumpang-ed ET to carry books back from the States. Purchasing them off the net (secondhand stuff), I figured I'd save a lot. like a LOT. So here's the latest addition to my collections:
Can you just feel the thrill of seeing books lined up like this. Like a bubble bubbling up in your heart, and your fingers just have to graze its surface. But I wonder when I'll actually read them. I'm buying faster than I can read. And I actually like those with nice covers. (Meaning I'll pay more for nicer cover)

One of the book I bought was for a reading assignment (for a subject I'm taking at BCM) and to my disappointment, the secondhand book was conteng-ed. But what did I expect? It IS secondhand.

Speaking of books....

While I was in OneUtama last week, I saw a brilliant idea along the mall's walk way. They call it the "Book Cross, free your books" concept. Started in 2001 in the US. The idea is that many of us have books lying around in our libraries, rotting in the dust. What we can do is to register our books on their website and put it on the public lounge bookshelf. For anyone and everyone.

That's definitely an idea I'd like to adopt one day. Click the picture on the right for a larger view of the poster description.

Allergy two

After more than a week of rash-infection with all kinds of advices about what to do (and no visits to the doctors), it is finally subsiding! Thank God!

I learnt about the usage of Clarinase and Clarintyne and Calamine. It pays to have so much resources around you.

Now I'm only waiting for the dried out rash, rough against my skin, to finally disappear.

Allergy

All my life I had only one known allergy: Penicillin. Something I have to simply be extra careful when going to the doctors, less they prescribe me it. Never thought much of allergies, other than that.

But recently I sprouted these all over my limbs and as for today, chest too. The last few days has been too eventful for me to stop and seek rest or medication much. Now I'm simply itching and aching all over. Grr..

I suspect that it was a result of the below cream: made of kukui nut oil.

Kukui Nut Oil:
Kukui Nut oil is (cold) pressed from the kukui nut grown on the big island of Hawaii (thank God it's rare). This unique oil penetrates, moisturizes and helps renew the skin for a natural healthy look and feel. Kukui Nut Oil offers quick effective relief for dry and chapped skin, oily skin, psoriasis, eczema, rosacea, insect bite itch and acne. Gentle enough for babies, to relieve diaper rash (really now -_-) and cradle cap. Excellent for sunburn, chemical and radiation burns. High in essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic) the oil bolsters the barrier function of the skin to prevent water loss. Use sparingly. Kukui Nut Oil is Hypoallergenic, (so i'm the rare few that sprouted the allergy?) GREASELESS and ORGANIC! When used alone, without other creams or oils it soaks deep into the skin allowing the pores to breathe.
*Source from http://www.aaladreams.com/

Kidz Safari

Note: All pictures by euniceta.


Kids Safari is back! And there I find myself, through the heat and sweat, with more than a hundred children running amok. Just all over the place! It would be a delight if the strain of running up and down (which eventually gave me cramps the next day) was not involved. My station was Dunking the Animals (teaching cruelty towards animals. lol):


Kudos to everyone for their hardwork in making the day memorable for the kids.

For more information and pictures, visit here.

Love Story - Re-arrangement

A rearrangement of the song Love Story (by Taylor Swift) by an unsigned recording artist, Jon Schmidt. Sent to me by Ale.

I love the music and the piano. You can see the passion flowing out from the musician and how they're just having a blast playing it. I wish I have that gift. To make music.

Vege Fast

It didn't take long to get used to the constant hunger my tummy was triggering with the absence of meat. The trouble was more towards a disciplinary life of prayer and devotion. Without the one-eye-monster to haunt me, the choice became simpler. Another constant temptation was the delicious looking meat in every chap-fan stall. It's been 10days of vegetables and an obvious choice of ham-cha (a hakka vegetarian dish) for lunch.

I've lost 1+kg (didnt know meat made so much difference in weight) and I've gotten more things done then if I had continued watching tv. (I've gotta remind myself that) But what mattered to me more was my changing of perspectives over certain areas of my life. It was way over-dued. And it was a matter of the mind.

Here's to a greater year ahead...!

Ablaze Prayer and Fasting

AG Churches in Malaysia are rising up to the call to pray and fast for lives to be impacted and the nation transformed. The young and the old have taken the challenge to fast and join this prayer movement.

So have I. And praying for a breakthrough... are you? We need God more than ever.

More information on Aspirers Blog.

Leadership

Practical People know how to get what they want.

Philosophers know what they ought to want

Leaders know how to get what they ought to want.

- Developing the Leader within You, John Maxwell, chp2. pg19.

Making A Difference

There comes a point of time where you look back and wonder what you've done with your life. Success holds different meanings for different people. But every one of us want to have a meaningful life. We all want to have done something to make a dent in the world as we know it. The biggest question is: Can we really make a difference?

Back in my college days, the CF had a theme: "Are you Making A Difference?" or as we fondly put it "Are you MAD?" The question was: Are you really gonna do it? I think the days when you were in college (that age), you really believe you can change the world. Universities students are always the ones rallying protests, gathering petitions, going green and so on. They believe they can change the world. But 10 years down the road, don't you wish you're doing something about it? Don't you wish you had the opportunity to? Maybe you no longer believe it can be done.

I've always wanted to make a difference...
I've so often talked about it to my youths...
I couldn't figure out how else to make a difference...
I almost let the mundane sweep over me...

I was watching Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food (again). He was trying to make a difference in young lives by: picking kids of the streets, by teaching ppl to cook and eat healthy and then pass it on, by empowering his team to work alongside him, by starting a revolution to start a new culture of eating healthy. It is a 'larger than life' dream.

I'm starting a list on my sidebar about people who are MAD (making a difference) by chasing a dream that is larger than life. Perhaps at one time people thought that mad. Jamie Oliver is new on the list.

• Oprah Winfrey for making her talk show more than just a talk show, influencing millions by giving and challenging, fighting and supporting a cause, and empowering people. In her latest Best Life Weight Loss Challenge where she challenged the town in America which has the highest statistics of overweight people to want to live healthily.
  
• Bill Hybels brought GLS to nations around the world and believing that leadership (especially in churches) needs to be raised. The vision was simple, the task daunting. GLS saw inspiring speakers like Catherine Rohr (with her Prison Entrepreneurship Program and giving a chance for a life to convicted fellons), Gary Haugen (with Internation Justice Mission who fought for justice around the globe although it threatens their lives), Jimmy Carter (with the Habitat for Humanity where they built homes for underpriviledge people).
• Jamie Oliver who took kids out of the street and gave them a chance for living. It wasn't just about learning how to cook, it's a revolution that empowered people.
  

I've always wanted to make a difference in my life. And I meant something larger than life. It's not just about building a strong youth group. It's about something way bigger, way more. It's about a culture, a revolution, an opportunity. It's a dream. It could make a difference.

Should I share it with my youth? I'm afraid I will fail. Afraid I'd stumble and let people down. But what if sharing it is the one thing that will motivate and bring meaning? Will it make a difference?

Wolverine

I was prompted to re-watch the first two X-Men after the much talked about Wolverine. I loved that show. And it was for that very reason that I pulled out the old DVD. In my mind, the story should match perfectly, as any good story should.

However, as I re-watched them, I found a few inconsistency (as I suppose would be natural). Anyhow, these are what I discovered:

• Sabretooth (in X-men1) showed little resemblance in appearance, personality and character to Victor Logan, brother of Wolverine. Neither was there recorded any tension between the two men of vengeful brotherhood or arch enemy.
  
• In one of Wolverine's flashback (in X-men2), he saw himself escaping the laboratory naked, with his adamantium blades protruding and blood spilling all over his arms and body, while he screamed in agony. If Wolverine has had bone claws all his life, adamantium claws would not have such an effect on him.
  
• In X-men2, Stryker (the military scientist from Wolverine's past) said, 'you've always been an animal, I only gave you claws'. Wolverine has always had claws, what Stryker did was to make him indestructable. This idea of receiving his claws only during the adamantium experiment was seen throughout X-men2.
  

By now, you're thinking I'm way to free to be thinking all these things. Actually I'm not that free. But this occured to me. Thinking about it didn't take time. Blogging about it did.

Reading Assignments

This is my first official semester (or trimester as it is called). I'm taking 3 subjects and my reading assignments are more than I've ever imagined possible.


No, of course not all those books. These were some of the books displayed during one of my classes. And I don't intend to read any non required books. This trimester I have a total of 6books and a bunch of articles and partial books to finish. (I guess I'm definitely going to need that extension with the speed I'm reading) One of the challenge was to source for the books. These are but a few that I now have.


My favorite book, however, is the penguin book. The pages are few, the font is huge, there are pictures in it and it's like a children's tale containing lessons. (like a parable packed with truths)


Well, at least I'll perhaps learn to speed read out of this. And of course learn from all the things I read. Nothing like being forced to read.

Updates

Every now and again I'm tempted to be lazy and not update. But then either out of OCD-ness or the memory of one of the purposes of this blog (archives for future reference), I find myself here. Don't ask.

Brought a bunch of youth up for BCM Day on May 1st (a food and funfair day to raise fund for BCM annually) of which I need to play a part as a student there. =) The heat was insane and for some unanswerable reason I found myself sunburned at the end of the day. (I wasn't even under the sun, was I?)


I find myself being hassled to one of the many stalls to assist. The stall sold awesome Rendang and curry which we manage to finish selling! Brought me back to the days when Agape was holding fund-raiser fairs every year, where we, the teens then, fought to help out at the burger and hot dog stall. Those were the days, my friend.


The very next day, the scenario changed completely. The heat did not. So clad in dresses and tie, the youth took over a favourite restaurant in town. The sweltering heat plastered our pressed shirts and dresses to our bodies, not at all fancy. But it was our 26th ANNIVERSARY and we'd let nothing spoil it. Even if the sun was cooking us, and we had dinner at 5pm!


Everyone was simply beautiful and I wish I stopped to take some photographs of everyone. As usual I had the jitter bugs and could barely sit still or stop worrying. Not like there's much to worry about. The group had evolved and grew so much that it was still a good celebration even though we forgot to bring out the cake.


I hope the rest of the Anniversary pictures and video would come out soon for linking and archiving purposes. I'm a nerd like that.

Pictures courtesy of Lynne and DavKok. I failed to take any on my own, remember?

But by the grace of God

Do you believe that you can shelf everything in your heart
To busy yourself in the requirements of everyday
Responsibility is a science, deception is an art
Perhaps you never have to face what your heart wants to say

Men fear what the future holds and that which is unknown
Men scurry to take control of which he has none
We will reap what we have sown
To deny that it's all in the hands of the Son

You can run but you can't hide
Ignorance is bliss but it isn't safe
Don't even try to beat the rising tide
Your heart explodes and your world begins to cave

Oh God, You are my only
There's nothing certain under the sun but You
I know that I am not my own property
But it's hard to accept it as true

How can I throw caution to the wind
"Step out of the boat and just believe"
Against You I have greatly sinned
But Your grace I freely receive

Fear engulfs me whole
Of the things You've set before my path
Heal my heart and rescue my soul
Take me out of this dark shaft

By Your grace alone I still stand
By Your love alone I still am
Need I still Your guiding hand
Need I still Your providential ram

This is a story that will never end
I can't stand alone, I know thus far
I know what's around the bend
Didn't want to be the one setting the bar

God!

What did I get myself into?

I'm now taking Masters of Divinity
At Bible College Malaysia
Part-time

Hmm...

Illustrated Story: Laying it all down

This is the story of a man
Who walked his own way
And had his own say

He knew the path he walked
Many has gone before
He believed he could soar



His journey brought him many treasures
Precious gold and silver but at a price
Along came the burdens, hurts and lies

It was the life he wanted
But who knew life would be such
Who knew it would all be too much





One of his wanderings brought him to a halt
As he faced the marvelous rugged cross
His treasures began to look like dross

The cross was calling him to lay it down
"Give everything to have everything
No more hiding, no more fighting




Come and lay it all down at the cross
Forgiveness and grace, purpose and peace
Love and hope that will never cease

There's more to want then what you have
More than your dreams come true
Lay down your all and say I do"




After much struggle and debate
He gave the man on the cross a try
He was afraid, that's no lie

But only wonders filled his life
The man lifts his hands and said
The old man is dead




Now he walks and talks with Him
Holding His hand all through
His love grew and grew

So much in store, there's no turning back
When he gave everything
He gained everything

Dedication - Hillsong