Entering Full-Time Ministry

A little updates of my life.

I officially entered full-time ministry in June! :) It's been almost three months now. 

I have a lot of things to talk about.

My room

First, I'm currently staying in a parsonage with my senior pastor and his wife. I have my own room. It's my bedroom-cum-office (yes, we do not have an office).

I love the room! It's so comfortable! (which makes it somewhat non-conducive to work. Haha)

Morning routine 
Me, the senior pastor, and his wife have a morning routine. Each of us will wake up before 7am and have our morning devotion, then at 7 we will gather in the living room to share what we have been reflected on and updates on church ministry, prayer requests, even on each other lives. The time for sharing then followed by the time for praying. We pray for all things that we can remember of. After praying, we would have breakfast together.
     I love this morning routine. I think as Christians there is nothing that can bond us more compared to a fellowship in sharing God's Word, praying, and having meal together. And it really boosts our teamwork as partners in ministry :)

Preaching
I'm grateful for many opportunities given to me to deliver sermon. I would preach in the main service once a month and in the teens service once or twice a month.
     I enjoy preaching. I enjoy sermon preparation: reading and reflecting on the text, looking for illustrations, observing the world and the lives of people, and making the text relevant for the lives of people today. I am still very nervous before delivering my sermon, but there is always an immense joy after I finished preaching. I appreciate the varieties of comments provided by people. Most of them are encouragements like, "Good message!" (I think for this they should thank the Bible, not me. hehe..), "Concise and clear!", (I think it's because of my introverted nature, I don't really like to talk a lot in public. And this is how I was trained in Trinity Theological College Singapore).  I also receive constructive feedback like "You talk too fast" (Yup, a tendency as a visual person), "You need to improve your tone, practice your consonant, use your eyes to speak, repeat your ideas, have a more relaxed introduction, clearer and more actual application." Those are feedbacks that I appreciate very much. They have made me a better preacher.

Well... overall I'm still adapting with my new life. It is super-flexible (I have no office hours), so I need to discipline myself. Lord, help me!
   
   

I'm Tweeting

Yup, I officially revived my Twitter account. You may check it on the right side of my blog. Feel free to follow!
I will mostly put direct quotations and reflections on the things I hear, read, experience, or I will put updates on interesting things that happen to and around me.
On why I decided to do it: I think it is first because with Twitter I can share more things on-the-spot. I actually have so many things to share, but blogging can absorb so much time as I need to sit down and type, while with Twitter I can tweet everywhere with ease. Secondly, it helps me to develop the skill of articulating messages. Tweeting, I hope, will help me to convey message in a more concise way while still attain the essence.

The Second Half of 2011

I'm so miss my blog :)

TTC Life
New semester has started for 2 weeks. This semester I take 5 module: Interpretation to Biblical Introduction (IBI), The Book of Job, Greek, Pastoral Care, and Hebrew.
1. IBI for me is very important. Why? Because it's been the regulation of my home church that if someone is to preach a sermon in the fellowship or worship service/chapel, he/she must have taken Hermeneutics (interpretation) and Homiletics (preaching). One thing I like most from IBI is the power point presentation shown by the lecturer. It is the most systematically and wonderfully crafted ppt presentation I have ever seen in my whole life. Honestly, I'm amazed. I'm a visual person. A good power point presentation definitely helps me in learning faster :) Beside that I really like it when he starts every session with a thoughtful, reflective, and relevant sharing of the Word of God :)
2. The Book of Job module is special. It's an intensive course held 3 times a week from 11 July to 11 August and it is taught by Prof. S., a visiting professor from Princeton Theological Seminary, USA. An inspiring man who is greatly passionate about Old Testament and its literature. In class he is teaching in English, but he would hold a Hebrew Bible with him all the time. I never see him with his English Bible :p Prof. S is a nice person. There was once I was in the faculty office compound and was talking to a lady who takes the same module, Prof. S came to us, chat with us while doing some photocopy works, and suddenly looked at his watch and said, "Well, I think it's time for coffee. Shall we go to the cafeteria?". He treated us coffee and we were having a get-to-know-each-other session. He told me that it is love at the first sight with Old Testament. He was in the "Introduction to the Old Testament" class. The professor that taught him was awesome and since first day he just loved it and very excited about OT.
3. Greek. Finally! A Biblical language! I've been waiting for it and very excited about the idea of studying the Bible in its original language. For me, if I can read the Bible in its original language, it is like understanding God's Word in a much wider and deeper perspective. I'm just too excited! :) It's been two weeks now. Honestly I think it's difficult. Hehe... But I will definitely press on!
4. Pastoral Care. I took it because it is a core module. That's all. Nothing very excited about it. I don't dislike it, but I also definitely not excited about it. Our lecturer is a Christian mental health professional who happened to take Theology in his college time. Hmm...
5. Hebrew. Another Biblical language! :D But we haven't started yet because Hebrew will start after The Book of Job module ends. I'm so so so excited! I was told that the language will be very foreign to us. And Prof S also always encourages us in Job class to take Hebrew. Hebrew is, as I quoted him, "a very beautiful language". I'm becoming more excited to study Hebrew because of Job class. The Book of Job is a Hebrew poetry. Studying Job without a knowledge of Hebrew is like studying an English poetry without knowing English. Many times when I sat in Job class I would say to myself, "I wish I knew Hebrew". What a pain!

IEC Singapore
- Thankful to God for R, a deacon from Bandung whom God sent to study in SBC now. A great musician and youth worker. Now hopefully I can concentrate in Teen Ministry :)
- Thankful to God for Teen Ministry. The passion to serve and the longing to bring new friends are there. It's a good sign. God sent more and more teens for us to serve and pastor. My senior pastor, elders, fellow teen-workers, and friends have been very supportive all the way. Even the youths have been very supportive. Like what happened today.
     Today, J, a youth (girl) from Bandung, is coming to Singapore for holiday. J is quite known in our church community as she usually does a duo performance with K, another youth who is our church member. They would upload their video on Youtube. That's how we know them. J&K planned to perform in the Main Service only. But... they (and 3 other friends) surprised us by also performing at the Teen Service.Our Main Service is held at the same time with our teen service. I was, of course, thinking that they had to choose whether to perform in Main Service or Teen Service, and if they planned to perform in Teen Service, they would have let me know first. Since they didn't say anything, I took it that they would only perform in the Main Service. But... they took time to perform in Teen Service! I was surprised. After their performance in Teen Service they literally had to rush to the Main Service which was held upstairs. The song they sang and the determination of 5 very talented young people to proclaim God with their God-given talent that really touched me. I can see that the teens were so inspired! :) Anyway, I recorded their performance and has been playing the song again and again on my way back in TTC. I was almost in tears... :)
This is the song they sang, but today's performance has more people and better improvisation :)

The Process of Understanding God

"Faith seeking understanding"

- Anselm of Canterbury-

I think the above sentence sum up on what is the biggest theme of my life right now. The faith that seeks understanding. I started with faith, and I am now seeking understanding to strengthen my faith in God, trying to understand God and His will, more and more.

It is a process. A necessary process. Some of them call it the "deconstruction and reconstruction of faith". If I may draw an analogy: It is like a puzzle. Some parts of the puzzle are firmly placed in the correct place. The other parts are still waiting to be placed correctly into the puzzle board. Sometimes you feel that one part has been correctly placed, but along the way you think that it is not, so you need to pull it out and wait for the next moment where you can put it back in the correct place. Sounds complicated? It IS!

The deconstruction part is unpleasant in a way that I am now sometimes feeling like someone that understand very little about God. I feel lost. I feel doubt. I am made realised that my theological and biblical foundation is far from solid. What an unpleasant experience! I sometimes not sure what to think, what to ask, what to answer, what to do, or which one to choose. And it is not just affecting my intellectuality, but also my emotional, social, and spiritual life. It affects my life, my whole being. But the reconstruction part is wonderful. There were moments that God gives answers, reveals more about Himself, and I am made amazed.

I faithfully embrace the process. I believe that this understanding of God will help me in building a solid foundation of my life. I believe that there will be time when my realization of faith in life will be much more solid. It is a lifetime journey, I believe, but this 3 years at TTC is crucial and intense. When I finish my study here, it is a different world out there, with a different process to go through.

My Journal Entry on Friday, 27 Aug 2010

Just wanna share with you a bit of my walk with God at the end of last month (through sharing my journal entry). But in able to make sense of what happened, I would give a brief description on the setting *Just like it is more helpful to understand the Bible when we know the context :)*

That Friday, I have deadline of an assignment. I finished it at 5am in the morning. *I know it's a bad habit to do things in last minute, but I do have a reason for it*
That Friday, TTC Cultural Night was held in the afternoon. Indonesians performed "Yamko Rambe Yamko" (from Papua). Of course, it needed preparations (we must memorise song & dancing moves, prepare costumes, etc)
On the next day (Saturday), me and 4 other friends went to Cambodia for an 11-days mission observation trip. And, of course, we also must prepare for the trip (background research, met people who has experiences in Cambodia, work on the trip schedule, correspondences with some people in Cambodia, ministry preparation, packing, etc)
I must say that it was so hectic.

And here is my journal entry on Friday, 27 August 2010, written in the morning before breakfast, when I truly need to pour out everything to God:

"Dear LORD, what a week it has been! Short and irregular sleeping times... assignment deadline... preparation for Cultural Night and trip to Cambodia. It's crazy!!!
But I'm grateful I'm not alone. There's You... and there's a classmate who had the same struggle and have been praying for me. Hehe.. :p

What I learnt from this?
Your peace...
In times where I was most hectic, Your Spirit always reminded me that it is utmost important to find time to be still. Or I would surely go out of my mind, or probably fall sick.
Thanks for 'honey time', a 15-30 minutes everyday to drink honey while enjoying the greeneries from my bedroom or the cluster lounge. It was so refreshing to see those trees as well as hear the breeze and birds' chirping.
Thanks for the 1-2 hours 'nap time' every afternoon. You know how important a nap for me because I only got 2-3 hours sleep at night for the past few days. *Ability to sleep is a blessing*

To have faith...
Somehow I believe that everything will be fine and that I will finish all in time.
Yup, there was time that I doubted, and I did prepare for the worst, but I'm doing well now and doesn't need to go on the the worst-case-scenario.

So.. thank You:
-for keeping my health despite hectic schedule and lack of sleep
-for the honey and vitamin C that mom prepared for me :)
-for the wonderful times with fellow Indonesians in preparing for the Cultural Night. It's been fun!
-for Cambodia-tripmates, that we were encouraging each other
-for Your true peace :) "

Yes, GOD is GOOD, ALL the TIME ;)

Classes @ TTC

Been busy in the past month since school started. No update for so long because lately I prefer to write in my journal. Yes, I still prefer writing by pen :)

I have not followed Facebook for 3 days! Haha... Somehow it just never crossed my mind. Too engaged with classes, readings, and enjoying community life here at TTC :) So fun, so inspiring, so mind-changing. In the process of life-changing, I guess.

Too many things to talk about. But I will write about my classes at TTC now.

Monday is "Mission and Evangelism" (M&E) class. What is good from this class is that we always start with prayer for missions around the world. It keep us updated on what is happening in the world out there and grow our compassion for people.
We are supposed to do several projects. One of them is to write a reflection on our participation in Mission Trip. Well, I must say that I'm totally amateur in this area. Zero experience. I have never been to a Mission Trip before (there is a high probability that I am the only one in class that never been to MT before).
Me & 4 friends are planning to visit Cambodia from 28 August to 6 Sept. Well... cannot say much anything now as we are still in the midst of preparation.

Tuesday is "Old Testament 1" (OT1) class, which I am a Subject Representative (basically assisting the lecturer in some duties and being a mediator between lecturer and classmates).
A great experience as a Subject Rep! It is a pleasure to serve the class and the lecturer. I myself honestly has been blessed with this responsibility.
It makes myself busier, yes, but it is also a great learning for me. I knew that the lecturer is a very busy person (look at the list of all her responsibilities at TTC - lecturer, Acting Chaplain, Warden- not to forget that she is a wife, a mother, and a preacher!) but she replied to my email fast and she would patiently explain to me on the matters when I really didn't know what to do. And she would do it in a way that is very encouraging and friendly. This has motivated me to keep doing the best because I know that she is doing her best.
Another good thing is.... Every week we have quiz!!!! :p The lecturer assigns us to read one Book for each week starting from Genesis. It is an interesting experience with its own struggle that I would need a special post to talk about it.
But I like the lecture! I'm so into OT now! I would happily read the Bible and read more than the required readings. It crossed my mind that if I have a chance to study further, I would take OT as my area of research.
If I have to describe OT, I would say that it is so deep and so rich with theological values. OT is the "Bible" that Jesus read throughout his life, right? If I wanna be like Jesus, must study the Bible that He was studying :) It is good to master both Old and New Testament. We will definitely be more like Jesus.

Wednesday is "Church History" class. Sadly to say, the class that I was most reluctant to go to. Why? I have problem with the textbook that we use. It is so boring that I found myself sleeping almost everytime I was reading it! >.<>

Thursday is "New Testament 1" (NT) class. The lecturer is also my Family Group mentor and a great Theological blogger. His blog is the top 100 Theological blog in USA!
A very nice person indeed, and he is so efficient in teaching as he would carefully chose his words in delivering his lecture. He also chose for us a more interesting textbook with full of colour, pictures, and maps (definitely helps me as a visual person) :D Well, NT is not something new for me as I took night class in other Bible School on NT before. But a different teacher means a different perspective so it is still interesting.
I would happily dedicated this blog post to him as our conversation with him today in Family Group about his blog has inspired me to return into blogging again :)

Friday is "Theology 1". Love the lecture and couldn't ask for more! :) He is a Professor in Christian Doctrine. He is like a " Theological dictionary in the form of human" :), and he would make a thick Theology book into a concise presentation. I am amazed! :)

For a full list of TTC lecturers, visit this page. You could try to make a guess on which lecturer teaches each of my 5 class :)

Ok, that's all for today. Will tell you more stories of my TTC life later :)

TTC Orientation Days (5-6 July '10)

Life at TTC started with two days of orientation (Monday and Tuesday) and those two days of orientation has become two days of encouragement.

As some of you know before, I started life at TTC with excitement as well as apprehensiveness. There were some worries regarding the classmates... the food... the lecturers... reading materials... and the amount of workload (the thing that make me worry most). Let me answer one by one.

The classmates... rocks! :D A lot of them are almost the same age as me and even younger, so it is quite easy to get connected with them. There are some who are much older, but they are so kind and brotherly... Some of them even very youthful till I feel that they are the same age as me J We were so committed to help each other, no one gets left behind. It reminds me of a quote from Lilo & Stitch: “Ohana means family. And family means no one gets left behind.” Yes, we are ohana.

And... I realized that I forgot to include seniors! They are very very nice and helpful.

The food... well... I don’t think I will get my favourite Indonesian, Japanese, Myanmar food. It will mostly be Singapore food. But it’s okay though, coz I’m not fussy about food. I’m an omnivore. I’ll eat everything... But honestly, I found the food acceptable.

The lecturers... well... cannot say much about it, class hasn’t started yet.

The one that I was worried most: Reading materials, assignments, etc... is worse than I had imagined before. In the opening speech, the Principal told us, “TTC can be a seminary or a cemetery.” Yup, cemetery. That is where our faith will go when we focus a lot on intellectual formation only. Some lecturers advised the locals to minimize or cut our time for ministry. I chat with some of the seniors, and in our conversations I sometimes asked them how life in TTC, especially the amount of the workload. NONE of them answered, “It’s okay” or “Not too busy”. Some of them answered only with a smile (because they didn’t want to tell the truth as the truth will scare us), and some of them just took a deep breath and answered, “You will realize that you can go through it by the strength from God only.” (not sure to categorize it as encouraging or discouraging...)

The most discouraging part is when one of the seniors reminded us that life after TTC will be tougher than life at TTC. She mentioned that some alumni stopped ministering. Some of them are really stressed out and struggling in their ministry that they asked her to support in prayers.

Imagining life in and after TTC made me feel so weak. I was anxious.

But God's always beyond imagination.

It is in the second day I heard someone said, “In grace and in truth.” When I heard the word GRACE, I was surprised. I was like awaken from a nightmare. Isn’t it through our weaknesses that we could see God’s grace?

In the last session, which is Evening Prayer on Tuesday, we were given time to reflect and pray. It was then that I reflected on “grace” and was reminded again that God is omnipresence.

He was there... He is here now... and He WILL BE there.

By His grace, I was saved.

By His grace, I was called.

By His grace, I am equipped at TTC now.

And by His grace, I believe I will finish well... not just until I finish TTC... but until God called me back home...

God also reminded me again to have HOPE in Him. I remembered that in the previous Saturday I shared testimony in the youth fellowship about starting a life at TTC, and at that time I ended it with saying, “Well... I just can surrender it to God...” But Rev. Gideon Ang suddenly added, “Well... not only to surrender... but also to hope. To surrender and to hope. (Berserah dan berharap)”. The word “hope” (and Rev. Gideon’s voice) echoed in my mind during that reflection time...

I shed tears...

Tears of gratitude...

Tears of relief and comfort...

Tears of hope...

Thank You, Lord J

To be continued to the Retreat part?

A Little Update After So Long...

Wow... it's been one month since I last updated my blog! Lazy me :p

How's life now?

Mmm... if you read my previous post regarding my trip to Beijing, you would get a sense that I enjoyed it very much. Well... yes. And now, I am constantly missing Beijing. Moreover, 2 days ago I watched Karate Kid, and it has successfully made me missing the city more. I have been thinking to go there for 1.5 months during my school holiday to learn Mandarin. Or.. even to go there for a year! But I'm still not sure about everything. I can say that right now my life is not about what I want anymore. I totally need to pray about it. Is it my selfish will? Or is it part of His plan to shape me? It's funny that I have changed. I'm embracing the Chinese part of me more and willing to develop it. Hope my school life helps, because my school has Chinese program. Let's see...

And.. talking about school! Yeah! I am totally back to school again! And this time I will be living at the dorm! Wow... it's a totally new experience for me.
Seeing the same people every day... and night...
Cannot buy whatever food I want, all arranged by the school... I sometimes wonder what kind of food I will taste there... Will I ever taste my favourite Indonesian, Indian, Myanmar, Japanese food? :p
What kind of classmates and lecturers will I meet?
Will I be able to cope with writing paper in English? >.<
How many books will I need to read? Will I understand the English they use in the textbook?
No income... so I will really really need to stop the urge to spend money on books and movies :'(
Will I change? In what ways?
Well... no point in thinking about it and then getting worried. It would be better for me to stop imagining about things and wait for it patiently and in trust that God will help me in times when I feel so weak.
TTC, here I come! :D

Beijing... oh... Beijing...

It's been one week since I came back from Beijing and I miss that city a lot! :'(

I really really really thank GOD for the opportunity to be there *my farthest trip so far*. Honestly, I have never ever imagined myself being there.
The trip itself started when I had a conversation with Mrs. I whose daughter, Z, currently studying there. She offered me her place to stay if I ever had a chance to go there. Well... Why not? Then I thought.
I've got non-budget-airline-but-cheap ticket :) And I've got a free furnished apartment *bonus: house mate :)*
Great!

Well... to provide a brief description of my times there, I will show excerpts of my journal entry written there:

“Lost in Translation” started when I got into the taxi. The driver couldn't speak English at all. Gestures is the language here :) Arrived into the apartment lobby and the people there spoke very little English. They was very very nervous when they knew that I only speak English. But one very good thing that I noticed from them is that they were trying hard to speak English with me, and all the people around them, even though they are not staff, helped them :) Z was having a class and therefore I couldn't call her. So I just decided to put my baggage in the storage room and walked around there.

There is no rules on the road. The roads are so wide and there were bicycles everywhere. Quite dangerous because people drove cars very fast. There was no rules on the road. Some people don't wait until the light is green. And there is high chance that a bicycle will bump into you because bicycle rules here!:)

The weather was awesome! It was cold and windy. Aircon and heater are available,but I don't need it! It really reminds me of good old days in Bandung!

Finally I met Z and we reached the apartment together. It was newly built apartment, very cozy.
Z's parents let me sleep in the only bedroom. It was like hotel room with big flat TV and they let me use the laptop in the bedroom.

I couldn't stop thank GOD for this. I was asking HIM for a getaway and He provided it through the nature which He created and through Z's family.
A weather that I dreamed of. My own private room. Tranquility. It's perfect, GOD. I couldn't ask more. Thank You for everything :)

Today I went Yuan Ming Yuan (Old Summer Palace). It was the place that used by the emperor and the royal family to 'cool down' during summer (as summer in Beijing could be very very hot). It is a huge place with lots of lakes, trees, flowers, and pavillions to enjoy beautiful sceneries. The scenery could have been more beautiful with lots of wonderful building such as palaces, mansions, temples, fountains, huge statues, etc, but the Anglo-French troops destroyed all the buildings and stole some the best statues. So when I was there, I only saw ruins.

I figure out that while it is a very good thing to take time for a while from the hot summer to enjoy Yuan Ming Yuan, it is also important they go back to their own main responsibility to govern the nation. For me, it means that in the 'heat' of life (when I started to feel life as only routines, when I feel burn-out, when things started to get me beyond my control), it is important to stop, to be silent and solitude before the LORD. And this silence and solitude cannot be natural to human. We need to arrange time with HIM, because it is not human nature to seek GOD first. It must be intentional. And another that is not less important is to continue with the 'routines' with the refreshed perspective of it and strength from the Almighty. Most of the times we are unconscious about the benefit of routines. Routines could actually helps us indirectly to move on with life. When we do the routines, it means life goes on and GOD still wants us to be HIS partner in this life. We still have duties and responsibilities to do. Isn't it nice to see routines from a different perspective? But it is not easy to do. Sometimes we need something very unexpected happen in our lives to make us realize the benefit of routines, such as when we lost someone we love and that we are in desperate need to move on. Routines could help us to get a sense that life does moves on.

Z accompanied me to Old Summer Palace and she showed me things that I wouldn't be able to see if I went there alone. She told me that the most beautiful part of Old Summer Palace is not the part the tourist group would stop at. In order to get the best scenery, we need to follow a small pathways (sometimes no pathways). This small pathways was definitely more difficult to follow. It is narrow. It is tiring because we need to do some climbing. It could also be dangerous because if your foot tripped, you cannot find anything to hang on and you would glide down. But the extra efforts really worth it. There was a pavillion in one of the highest point of the Old Summer Palace. I must say that it is the best spot. Very peaceful (you cannot see people talking,only birds chirping). Very cool with the wind breezed among the trees. Great view of Lotus lake and island.
Well... isn't life like that? When we want to get to the highest place, there is extra efforts needed. "

Next... let's go to my to-do-list that I roughly made before I went there:

I want to sing and pray without fear of waking up anyone :p - done
I want to finish "Secure in the Everlasting Arms" by Elisabeth Elliot... - not done
I want more time to reflect... -got
I want to pour out my thoughts in my journal... I missed my hand-writing! -well.. didn't write but typed on notebook
I want to go to the places I'd never been before (definitely!)... - done
I want to enjoy the cool weather and beautiful scenery... -done
I want to eat funny2 foods (scorpio?)... - done :)
I want to take lots of pics and videos (yeahhh!!!)... - done
I want to do bungee jumping (no such thing in Singapore!)... - done
I want to cook (errr... it's part of the plan... but not sure that I would be able to do this)... -done
I want to sleep early and wake up early... - not really :p
I want to take walks in the parks... -done
I want to learn a musical instrument... - done

Coming back to Singapore, I felt totally refreshed!

I started to ponder on what things made me refreshed. Was it being in a new environment? Doing things I never did before? The weather? The apartment? The food? Well... yup, those things helped, but I think what refresh me most is... LOVE... believe it or not! :p
It didn't mean that being in Beijing made me loved more. It's just that I could feel it more intensely as I did not have so many things to distract me in enjoying love from God and from others. Intimate time with Him alone... intimate time with Z...

My love language is quality time. I feel loved most if I spend quality time with the people I love.
I thank God I wasn't totally alone there! There's Z and her church friends...
Together we watch movies.... cook ... had dinner out (and delivery)... had girl talk and serious talk... hang out... play games... shop...
I feel loved knowing that she was willing to spend time searching through the net to find out for me how to get to places, and she even wrote it down for me. She also spared time to accompany me out and translate when I need to bargain.

While I received so many blessings and love, I would also need some channels to share them out with others.
I learnt that Z's love language is 'touch'. She would hold hands, lean her head on me, hug, etc. And I was learning to love her with the her love language. It didn't come naturally for me because I certainly didn't raised in a family that would 'touch' each other. And thank GOD for this opportunity to learn another aspect of love :)

What a give and take! I totally had a great time there! :)

Goodbye, Lion City!

I will leave Singapore tomorrow, off to Beijing for 13 days personal retreat.
Too excited till I couldn'd sleep :p

In Beijing...

I want to spend more time ALONE with GOD. Didn't really have much quiet times totally alone here. Me & my roommate are two different person. I am a morning person while she is a night person. I usually had quiet times in the morning while she slept next to me (we were sleeping on the same bed) and at night it would be the reverse.
And most of the times in Singapore I would be outside doing things, including working part time.

I want to sing and pray without fear of waking up anyone :p
I want to finish "Secure in the Everlasting Arms" by Elisabeth Elliot...
I want more time to reflect...
I want to pour out my thoughts in my journal... I missed my hand-writing!

I want to get ready for my calling...
Thanks to Ev. Agus Susanto who shared to us today about Paul who is ready. He is ready physically, mentally, intellectually, and spiritually.
This trip to Beijing is part of the preparation to be ready for my calling, the nearest preparation would be studying at TTC. Hopefully this trip will help me to meet my mental and spiritual need.

I also want to spend quality times with my sisters there :)

Other than that...

I want to go to the places I'd never been before (definitely!)...
I want to enjoy the cool weather and beautiful scenery...
I want to eat funny2 foods (scorpio?)...
I want to take lots of pics and videos (yeahhh!!!)...
I want to do bungee jumping (no such thing in Singapore!)...
I want to cook (errr... it's part of the plan... but not sure that I would be able to do this)...
I want to sleep early and wake up early...
I want to take walks in the parks...
I want to learn a musical instrument...

So many things in mind... not sure whether I will be able to fulfill everything...
May the LORD help me to focus on achieving the main purpose.

The Near Future

Future... I like to think about the future, especially my future. And lately I thought a lot about it.
It makes me excited, but also apprehensive.

1. China trip
Excited because I will see and do a lot of new things, but apprehensive because of the language. Last Friday was my last day to work full time in my company. Previously I thought that I could use this two full weeks (until 10 May) to learn basic Mandarin conversation. But now, the company asked me to work part-time everyday (2-6pm) because they haven't found out a replacement for me. There gone my studying time... I think later I will count on my Mandarin phrasebook and dictionary :p
Still not sure whether I should go to Shanghai from Beijing. If the trip with Rev. HR is confirmed then I won't go to Shanghai as I will spend the last 5 days in China getting involve in his team. He needs to get the visa to go there. I haven't applied for any visa also.
Anyway, I think my boss will even go to the extent of asking me to cancel my trip to China and will reimburset the ticket cost.
Hmm... waiting for His answer... really need His spirit of discernment...

2. June holiday
Coming back from China will be a full month holiday in June. Excited because I will spend time with my parents in Phuket and after that will go back to Bandung, but apprehensive of what I should do for 2 weeks plus in Bandung.

3. Trinity T. College Life
This is the most exciting part, and as a result... it is the thing that makes me most apprehensive.
A lot of questions came up into my mind:
Why TTC? What will happen? Will I be able to cope with lessons & reading materials? Will I be busy with classes and papers? Will I be able to cope with the great minds of the lecturers from various school of thoughts?
Other than that, it's about the scholarship. It motivates me to study well. I want my college days back. I studied International Relations and I loved it, so all the classes and reading materials were not a burden for me. Well... I hope it also will apply in my Theological study. I love God, so study Theology is not supposed to be a burden for me, but a process to enjoy.
But the problem is, scholarship also means there are some expectations from others (the church and organisation that funded me). I don't like to think about human's expectations. For me, God's expectation for me is the most important thing. But... I cannot just disregard their expectation. They are still the people whom God used to fund my study.
The situation is quite complicated I guess.

Well, I'm basically a phlegmatic. And one disadvantage of being a phlegmatic is they are coward. They are afraid to confront people. They are afraid of rejection. They are afraid of hurting people or being hurt by others therefore they don't like to build a deep relationship. They are afraid of challenges, sufferrings and failure... They constantly look for comfort zone.

Many times when I think about the future, fear will take charge. It IS dangerous.

In times like this, I always find comfort from Elisabeth Elliot's writing on the famous (and one of my favourite) hymn by Horatio Spafford, "It is Well with My Soul". It is the first chapter of her book, Secure in the Everlasting Arms. Here is the excerpts:

Just after the Arab-Israeli War in 1967, I spent 10 weeks in Jerusalem. One afternoon I was invited to have tea with Mrs. Bertha Spafford Vester, who had lived there all of her 91 years, a fascinating woman. She was the fifth daughter of Horatio Spafford, who wrote "It Is Well With My Soul."

I remember sitting in the small dining room of the beautiful hotel where I was staying, which had been the home of the Spafford family, and I noticed this old lady. She fascinated me. She happened to sit just across from me and I could sit there and watch her eat and watch her talk to the servants, all of whom of course she knew because she lived there in that hotel. And I wondered who she was and finally I asked my waiter and he told me that her name was Mrs. Bertha Spafford Vester. I remembered that name, Spafford, and somehow or other--I don't really know how in the world it happened--she found out that I was in the hotel and might enjoy having a cup of tea with her. So that is what happened.

The story of that beautiful hymn, "It Is Well With My Soul," is familiar, I'm sure, to very many of you. But Mrs. Vester added many details that were certainly brand-new to me.

The great Chicago fire of the 1870s caused Spafford, a wealthy businessman, to take stock of his life. Wanting to know Jesus better, he decided to sell everything and move to the land where He had walked. "He" was capitalized, meaning where Jesus had walked. Shortly before the ship sailed, he was delayed by business but took the family to New York. For some reason that he was unable to explain, he had the purser change their cabin, moving them closer to the bow. He returned to Chicago to finish his business.

Then came a telegram: "Saved alone." The ship had sunk. Mrs. Spafford had survived. Their four daughters had perished. Had they been in the cabin originally reserved amidships, all five would have been drowned, for it was just there that the steamer had been struck by another vessel.

As we sipped tea and munched on Arab sweets, Mrs. Vester, who was not born until after the disaster, told me how her mother had described that terrible, black night when she and her four little girls were flung into the cold sea. Frantically, she had tried to save them. Barely she had been able to touch just with her fingertips the hem of the little gown of one of her babies, but she could not grasp it. She herself had been miraculously rescued as she floated unconscious on a piece of flotsam.

During Mr. Spafford's voyage to join his wife in France, the captain summoned him one day to the bridge. Pointing to his charts, he explained that it was just here, where they were at that moment, that the other ship had gone down. Spafford returned to his cabin and wrote the hymn which has comforted countless thousands:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll--
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

That word "lot" is not one we use in quite that way. It means whatever happens, that which comes by the will of the powers that rule our destiny, a share, a portion, an assignment. When we draw lots, no human power controls which will be ours. But Christians know that we are not at the mercy of chance. A loving hand, a great wisdom, and an omnipotent power rule our destiny.

The government of all is on the mighty shoulders of Christ Himself, who sees all long before it happens. All is intended for our blessing. How different things look. Yet think of the faith of Horatio Spafford, suffering the loss of all his children and writing, "Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well."

To love God is to love His will. That which He gives we receive. That which He takes, we relinquish, as glad to know ourselves in the hands of God as we should be sorry to be in our own, as Fenelon said. As glad to know ourselves in the hands of God as we should be sorry to be in our own. Wouldn't you rather be in the hands of God?

With what astonishment of gladness or sadness we receive some things. With what reluctance or delight we relinquish others. Yet we find that we can bear our own sufferings while of others' sufferings we say, "I could never bear that."

My friend Jim, whose wife has cancer, wrote to me. "The assignment is so hard, but always there are the gracious gifts, the winks of heaven--a friend stopping by, a plumber coming at the perfect moment. Coincidences? Not to one with the eyes of faith. God shields us from most of the things that we fear, but when He chooses not to shield us, He unfailingly allots grace in the measure needed. It is for us to choose to receive or refuse it. Our joy or our misery will depend on that choice."

"LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; and have made my lot secure." Psalm 16:5

What an encouragement! In times of worries and fear, I sometimes would say, "Whatever my lot." and it will remind me of this beautifully-written and God-inspired article.

New Toy

I bought a new phone a few days ago! *happy mode ON*

Why happy? Coz this phone can make my life easier in the future. How?

- China trip: help me to show map of China and to speak Chinese :p

- Quiet times & TTC life: help me with my study (Bible with lots of translation, commentaries, dictionary, note-taking, etc.)

- Life in general: more organized (files, time management, to do list)

- Mind-refreshment: I refresh myself by reading international news on newspaper. It is something that I seldom do lately coz in the office we don't subscribe to any newspaper and I didn't have much time to read there. Now it's like having newspaper for 24 hours in my hand :D

- Lighter carriage (a.k.a burden): Only one gadget to do lots of things!

Hopefully, lesser time to access information means more time for much more important things... things that are unseen :D

"Things seen must be used as tools to develop the greater things unseen."

Finally...

Finally... the letter came...
TTC accepted me!
Uogghhhh! So relieved and joyful!
Quite speechless now...

Unexpectedly Amazing Weekend

Unexpectedly...

Big boss suddenly pushed me to cancel my resignation. Offered me better salary plus commission. Is it evil trying to tempt me with money when I commited to follow God's calling? Or God is trying to tell me that my time there is not finished yet?

Confused with the all the possibilities and choices.

Unexpectedly...

A friend introduced me to Rev. HR who has been serving HIM in China in the past 7 years. And he is gonna have another trip in May (17-26). My planned trip is from 10-22, so I'm supposed to be able to take part in the first 5 days of their trip. I have always prayed that this trip would be a meaningful one, a life-changing one. Is it the answer from GOD?

Also want to share my conversation with Rev. HR who has been an encouragement for me personally:

At first, Rev. HR asked me whether I was prepared for the worst. I asked him what it was, and he replied, "You might be arrested." I actually had a worse idea in my mind, which is death. So, arrest would be more lenient than it. That's why I firmly replied back, "I'm okay with it." But, what troubled me more is my lack of Mandarin language. I let him know that I can't speak Mandarin. "Can I still be helpful?" I asked. He answered me, "Although small, still can be used. Although a little bit, still can be used." ("Meskipun kecil, tetap dipakai. Meskipun sedikit, tetap dipakai."). I felt like a fool, that is the theme for our Mission Week! What was I thinking? Have I forgotten what message had been delivered through the sermon? Ittaaaa! Arrgghhh!

What encourage me more is when I asked him whether he was able to speak Mandarin since he was a child. He told me, "No. I started to learn Mandarin when I was 34 years old when I was sent to China, just then I started to pick up Mandarin." His answer struck me. For a few seconds I was speechless. In my mind I thought, "Hei, Ita! See this man! He started to learn Mandarin when he was 34 years old. You are now ONLY 26 years old! Definitely still be able to learn!" Jiayou! :D

Well... regardless of what will happen next (whether I will go with his team or not), I learned a valuable lesson from this conversation.

Unexpectedly...

Me, a counsellor, become counsellee :p I realise I might not be as strong as I appear, that is why I was so touched by the song "Safe Within Your Arms" sung on the second day of Revival Meeting, by four God-gifted singers. At that time, I felt "haunted" when I thought about my future life where my life will not be mine alone, but to be shared to a lot of people. I imagined myself dealing with people's expectation, people's demands, people's needs. Why did it occur in my mind? Because on the first day of Revival Meeting, I made a commitment to give ALL to GOD. Then after that I started trying to foresee what might happen when I give ALL to HIM. But the result was that "haunted" feeling. But GOD is good, during altar call on the second day, Rev. AC asked whether there was anybody who wanted him to pray for them. Of course I did! :) And in his prayer he mentioned about unwavering faith. Yes, that is one thing that I need: UNWAVERING FAITH.

Look to the Past and Future

It was my birthday 2 days ago but I was too busy (and excited) to reflect so I can only blog now.

The D-day was wonderful! Got several presents that I really like (book from my favourite author, shoes of my favourite brand) and what I will definitely need for my future (book vouchers, money.. haha). Did some of my favourite things (taking a walk in the park, picnic, conversations and laughters). I was made more realised that my love language is to spend quality time with the people I love. BIG thanks to all who have prepared it! Love you guys so much! :)

Now, time to give thanks and share.

Looking back to the past one year, I could see that GOD was showing me HIS face and lending me HIS hands. HIS work was remarkable. Beyong imagination.
- I was reconfirmed of my calling in life
- GOD progressively revealed to me HIS vision for my life. And it really makes my life more meaningful and more directed/focused. I am more sure of what to do, what decision to make and how to react on circumstances.
-GOD changed my family: My elder brother stopped smoking and started to go to church. My mom learned to let me go to pursue GOD's will in my life, not her will *I know it is not easy, that is why I thanked GOD for this particular process in her life*
-A job that has given me the opportunity to exercise patience, perseverance, and compassion in dealing with people (bosses, colleagues, students) and... teaching skills.
-Joining TMA and met Pastor Glenn. Remarkable experience! Was encouraged to reflect and write journal. Was given some theory that is very applicable in life and ministry.
-Small Group! Totally awesome! We helped each other to be more like Christ and to do GOD's will in our lives. We shared our burden. We discussed issues or difficult questions. We had outings. And what was more important... we ate together!!!! :p

And not just looking back, I also try to look to the future with hope...
-A 2-week trip cum personal retreat to Beijing (hopefully plus Shanghai) in May
-Building solid foundation in life & ministry in 3 years (hopefully TTC)
-Sent to the field for 4.5 years (hopefully IEC)
-Diploma in Education Psychology/Youth Services? Developing Youth Centre/TMA in Indonesia (start in Bandung)? Compile my blog post/personal journal/reflections into a book? Master Degree in Pastoral/Spiritual Theology? Ups.. Haha... maybe too far :p Relax Ita! You haven't even started with the foundation...

Well... who knows the future? Only GOD. I can write what I foresee, but the final say is HIS. But I DO SO EXCITED of my future! Will definitely not be as easy as my life now, but looking forward for every process, rebuke, growth, and transformation. Whatever my lot, LORD. Whatever my lot...

The Light of Jesus & the Darkness of the World

This week is quite a tough week for us at work because our manager (cum trainer) went back to his hometown for 2 weeks for health reason. It means more workload for each of us. The past few days I saw "new" things happen. The usually-patient colleague was getting more impatient.

But today was 'amazing' at work. During lunch time, one of my colleague, out of the blue, shouted angrily to another colleague. Then she threw every thing she could reach at him. Sanitizer... water bottle... pensil case... you name it. She was histerically crying, shouting, and throwing things. In front of people! (about 20 of them?)

I did not understand a thing, because they spoke in Mandarin, so I'd rather not speculate.

Somehow I still could not believe that it happened. Never ever once imagine that she could do such thing. She seemed like a nice, naive, and weak girl.
What happened to people?
Is it stress? Is it fear? Is it insecurity? Or overload?
Human... so fragile... so weak... so... dunno what to say anymore...


I was shocked. After work I just went home. Guess what I did?
I took shower... and slept for two hours. Need to recover my physical and mental state.
Woke up fresher :) Then come the time to recover the spiritual state.

There are still so many questions in mind. But there is a song that I was kept reminded to. A song that we sang in the Prayer Meeting the day before:




"Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus"

O soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Saviour,
And life more abundant and free

[Chorus:]
Turn you eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conqu'rors we are!

[Chorus]

His word shall not fail you He promised;
Believe Him and all will be well.
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

[Chorus]

And... a small scoop of sharing from my quiet time this morning (studying Genesis now): "The missionary mandate of the church does not begin with John 3:16 or Matthew 28:18-20. It begins with God's covenant with Abraham. We are blessed that we might be a blessing." (WWW)

Blessed to be a blessing. A motto of my church. And I adopted it to be my life motto.

Blessed to be a blessing...

Can I?

Inheritance

On Thursday, 07.01.10, I received a call from one of my aunt informing me that grandma had passed away. I then asked a friend to book a flight for me, went back to Bandung the next day, and coming back to Sg again on Monday. Learned a couple of things from the sermons and from interactions with others, one of them is about inheritance...

Grandma left us only her clothes and other belongings. No big amount of money. No huge house. In fact, in the past years my Dad & Uncle has spent so much for her medication.
But from one testimony delivered by a preacher from her church, I knew about her faithfulness.
"Setia sampai akhir", the preacher mentioned. "To be faithful till the end".
That sentence made me think.... and I realized... grandma had inherited something that is far more precious than money... It is the true faith...

Like Timothy that had Lois (his grandma) and Eunice (mother) that inherited their faith through their teaching, I have my late grandpa & grandma that inherited their faith to my Dad, and I have Dad & Mom that inherited their faith by always encouraging me know Jesus since I was born, to participate more in serving God, and showing me real-life example of faithfulness to God till He called them back (in this case, my grandpa & grandma).

I am grateful. For me, it's a privilege. Not everyone could have his/her family members as their role models of faith. God knows I'm weak. I need to SEE examples *visual learner* from people that is close to me, people that I grew with *stronger emotional attachment*.
Those examples has encouraged me a lot in times of doubt.

Then come the time to ponder about my life.
"What did, do, and will you inherit to others, Ita?"
Well, maybe now I don't have my own children, but I have "spiritual children". I have friends. I have brothers. I have families.
What have I inherited? What have I teached them? Does it have eternal values? Or it just helped them to solve temporary issues?
Then I said to myself, "Must leave them eternal inheritance, Ita. Like what your grandparents have done in their lives, show others a life full of love, faith, hope, obedience, and perseverance. Help them to start knowing the true and living God, and to build stronger relationship with God."

Help me, LORD.

A Tough Week and The Faithful One

The past weeks has been especially tough for me at work...

More and more students are coming. It's draining to teach lots of students because I had to assess each of them and sometimes didn't have time to ask them to re-do if they made mistake. And as a result, I would feel guilty for not doing my best in teaching them.

I feel that nowadays the office staffs experienced greater pressure.

Our largest client sent so many students and sometimes pushed us to teach more than we should. The regulation stated that in one class there can't be more than 30 people, but trainers often taught more than that (up to 36! And sometimes they sent the students late for class so the students would miss the first part of the course).

The big boss also didn't help. They actually had the authority to prevent client sending so many students, but instead they just let the client did what they wanted and "encourage" trainers to work harder (open evening class). Both the big boss and client really driven by profit (money) to the extent that they didn't care about:
- other people (trainers & students well-being)
- creating a healthy environment in the office
- the rules (more than 30 students in one class)

As a result, I felt dissapointed and upset. I must admit that in the past few days I got angry more easily.

These pressures affected our manager. He was "trapped" in between. I think on one hand, he felt guilt for breaking the rules and witnessing the trainers worked tirelessly in teaching more students that we should. And on the other hand, he couldn't do anything as it is boss' order to continue with it. My manager got 3 boils (bisul) in the past 2 weeks! He went to a doctor and the doctor told him that it occured as a result of stress. He took so many types of medicine, from ginger, pain-reliever, and antibiotic. He always wore jacket because he felt feverish, and he told me that he had sleepless nights. It is very sad to see him in this kind of situation.

The other trainer started to ask question whether I feel bored with the job because I think she feels so.

There are some other things also that make the situation more complicated and I think too complicated to be told here, but bottom line is... the situation is quite discouraging...

I struggled a lot...

Before I went to work I would pray, talk to God, let Him know what I feel and what I think... and ask His help and strength that I could survive through these...
And... He answered.
On one morning during my prayer time, I suddenly reminded to a song titled "The Faithful One"

Then I pondered about God's faithfulness.
Heavenly Father has faithfully gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice to save the world. Jesus has faithfully left heaven, incarnate into human *the infinite became finite, limited by flesh, time, sickness, sorrow, etc*. Jesus was not just born to the world. Throughout His life, He faithfully preached, teached, and healed. He faithfully walked throught the agony of:
-physical pain (tortured, crowned by thorns, hanged on the cross)
-psychological embarassment (rejection by his own family members, mockery, spitted by others)
-the spiritual struggles (a sinless God became sinful not by His own but by our sin, to the extent that the sentence "My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken me?" came out of His mouth)
Jesus faithfully did the Heavenly Father's will to die on the cross, rose again, gone up to Heaven and send us a helper -the Holy Spirit- to take His role until He came for the second time.

GOD WAS, IS, AND WILL BE FAITHFUL. That is unquestionable.
The question is: ARE YOU FAITHFUL, ITA? WILL YOU BE FAITHFUL?

Yes, Lord. Not by my strength, but by Your power. Not by my knowledge, but by Your wisdom. Not my my limited resources, but by Your Divine resources of love, peace, joy, and grace. Help me to be faithful in doing Your will in my life.
I believe that this job is a responsibility that You have given me and still ask me to do.

I will endure... until one day You send me for other "mission".



Thank You, Lord, for Your faithfulness that enabled me to be faithful. It IS still TOUGH... but "I CAN do EVERYTHING through YOU who gives me STRENGTH" (Philippians 4:13)




I find no hope within to call my own
For I am frail of heart, my strength is gone
But deep within my soul is rising up a song
Here in the comfort of the faithful one

I walk a narrow road through valleys deep
In search of higher ground, on mountains steep
And though with feet unsure, I still keep pressing on.
For I am guided by the faithful one.

Faithful, faithful to the end,
My true and precious friend,
You have been faithful,
Faithful, so faithful to me

I see your wounded hands, I touch your side
With thorns upon your brow you bled and died
But there's an empty tomb, a love for all who come
And give their hearts to you, the faithful one.

Faithful, faithful to the end,
My true and precious friend,
You have been faithful,
Faithful, so faithful to me

And when the day is dawned and when the race is run
I will bow down before God's only Son
And I will lift my hands in praise for all you've done
And I will worship you, my faithful one.

Souvenirs from Bandung

After more than one year, I finally went back my lovely hometown, Bandung, from 1-8 Nov :)

Now, let me unpack my bag and check whether I had souvenirs from Bandung...
Hmm... yup, I had quite a lot :)

Souvenir 1
Lord, thank you for the Revival Meeting I attended that once again reminded me about death. I was asked two questions about death:
The first question was "Are you afraid of death?"
To answer this question, I would say, "No, I'm not, because even if I die, I know for sure that I will be with the Lord in the best place."
The second question was "If you have to die now, are you ready?"
Logically speaking, if I'm not afraid of death, I should have answered "Yes" for this question. But somehow I couldn't feel confidence to answer "Yes", because in my mind and in my heart I believe that I haven't lived my life to the fullest. I haven't done well what God has called me to be and to do.
The second question has been a small wake-up call for me to start to take action of what I'm going to do in my future... I keep on praying that everything will go well according to HIS plan.

Went home from Revival Meeting to find a shocking news that one of my dogs has gone blind! Both eyes!T.T

Souvenir 2
Had a rare chance to gather with the complete set of my extended family from my Mom's side! :) Many of them intentionally came to Bandung. All of us went to photo studio and took pictures! That was the first studio photo I had since I moved to Sg 3 years ago.
I still believe that family members are the best people for me to be with. I felt safe... I felt love... I felt protection... and I felt that I didn't need to put a lot of efforts to bond with them again eventhough we haven't met for so long... it just happened naturally...

Souvenir 3
Went to doctor to consult on my blocked and runny nose that had been going on for 1 month. He gave me two kinds of medicine and gave me 2 advise to improve my immune system (the lack of it has resulted to the prolonged blocked nose):
First, not to sleep very late (which I always did in Sg). I usually went to sleep between 2-2.30am.
First, not to go on a diet. Well, I wasn't not really on a diet, but I think the problem is I have not eaten enough healthy food. I eat a lot, but not much nutrition on the food I consumed in Sg.
What the doctor said to me has made me thinking whether I had been taken good care of my health when I was in Sg. Well, I didn't think so. It seemed that I had difficulties take care of my health if I'm far away from my parents. Last year when I went back to Bandung, I got quite bad uric acid (asam urat) and high cholesterol >.<
Since I came back to Sg on 8 Nov, I have been trying to sleep early. About food, it's still quite difficult for me to get healthy food here... On the process to live a healthy lifestyle...

Souvenir 4
When nobody couldn't drive me to where I wanted to go, I would take taxi, therefore I had a chance to chat with some taxi drivers.
There was one common theme on what they would talk about: They would "complain" that nowadays it is very difficult to earn for a living. Two main factors that contributed to it are competition with other taxi provider and traffic jams.
Along the way, I would ask them about their family. It somehow make them realized that things haven't gone so bad as their family still afford basic needs as foods, house, and clothes. They even still be able to afford the school tuition fee! Well, not that bad, rite? Maybe we should reflect on what we have before we start to complain :)
I hope in the future I could meet people like them and help them realize to be thankful of the things they have instead of complaining because of the great things that they did not have...

Souvenir 5
My friend's wedding! One of the happiest moment in my life :)
It gave me a chance to welcome some friends to come to Bandung.
Well... I'm very very very proud of Bandung! Nice weather... reasonable price... friendly people... good food... :D

Well... there are some of the souvenirs I took from Bandung...

After the refreshing and recharging moment in Bandung, I went back to Sg to find myself loving my job more. Just luv it and enjoy it. And I also learn to spend time with GOD more. I slept earlier, woke up earlier, and double up my quiet times. Just nice!

What a worth getaway :D

Life as per 26 Oct 09

I'm supposed to do something else, but cannot resist the urge to blog. Feel guilty after abandoning it for about 3 weeks :p
Life now.... is wonderful. Enjoying it :)

Currently living in S'rangoon.
The owner only turn on the aircon from 10.30pm to 6am.
But...
The house is so clean. Rental fee are much cheaper. The owner is very nice. Closer to my workplace (can get up later compared to when I stayed at AMK).

Work runs normally.
One of my colleague will leave the company this week.
But...
Am loving my job. And loving the people I teach.

Loving all the sessions of The Mentoring Academy.
Trying to articulate my life mission statement. Getting inspired by Pastor Glenn Lim (my mentor) in every session. Hope to become an inspiration someday.
Will be getting involved more.

Just started a Small Group with Dyna.
Finally... a prayer answered.
Quite discouraging to see only 3 people turned out (excluding me & Dyna).
But...
Really grateful to GOD for a partner like Dyna.
It was a good session, because although it was the first time we gathered as a group, the level of the sharing content is deeper than I expected.

Last but not least... Preparing to go back to Indo! :D
Preparing my heart to talk with my parents regarding the plan to study further, hopefully next year...

Once again, thanking GOD for the opportunity to live the true life in HIM!