Psalm 8:3-5 (New International Version)

3 When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?

like the song that goes:

"He knows my name,

He knows my every thoughts,

He sees each tear that falls and

hears me when I call."

I am so comforted that i have a God who is my best friend as well.

He is the only one who truly understand what we are going through and fully comprehend the feelings that we have inside without us saying it.

And he loves us so much.

even if we didnt deserve it AT ALL.

We sin every day, we forget about Him, we take Him for granted,

He calls us and we ignore Him.

Despite all these, He still loves us.

Isnt that amazing??

Surrendering Your Life to Honor God
By Cindy Tiong

This was the second time (I believe) I was being defeated by myself. Once again, I drifted away from God, from His Word, from Quiet Time because of this very world that we are living in. The busyness of this world suffocated and choked me again. The priority that I set out to have just a couple of months ago (ie. to place God first) was turned upside down again.

The first time I took a long vacation from doing QT was last year (2005) June I think. I had a hard time bringing myself back to doing QT. It was only in Feb this year (2006) that I was given a word of encouragement from the Camp Chaplain for GB’s JLTC Camp, which really motivated me in picking up the habit of doing my QT daily. For the first time, I really persevered and did my QT consistently for like 2 months. I thought this time round I can make it through (because accordingly to Pastor Tim, he mentioned before that if we are able to do the same thing for like 1-2 months, it will become a habit… hmmm…), but in mid April, the many assignments that I had to cleared took over even my less than an hour QT. This was the second time I stopped “permanently” from doing QT.

I don’t know for what reason, but I only “restarted” and did my QT again on 13th May (Sat). Maybe, I think, was because the coming week I had a lot of assignments due, so desperately needing to seek God’s wisdom and peace. The devotional verse for that day was Luke 5: 27 – 32, about how Jesus called a tax collector, called Levi, to follow Him. And when Jesus was being questioned as to why He was with the sinners, He answered saying, “IT IS NOT THE HEALTHY WHO NEED A DOCTOR, BUT THE SICK. I HAVE NOT COME TO CALL THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT SINNERS TO REPENTANCE”. How marvelous is God’s grace and love, to know that even when I had forsaken Him for so long, He still welcome and call me to follow Him.

On the following day, 14th May (Sun), I was tempted not to go to church for I need to rush for an assignment, yet to be started and due the next day. I struggled with the devotional verses I read on Sat, on how Levi responded to Jesus’ calling by leaving EVERYTHING behind and follow Him IMMEDIATELY. In the end, I still go to church, though still not very convinced and willing. It was only when I saw that there would be Holy Communion that I was convinced that I had made the right choice of coming to church. For if I was to choose the few hours meant for service to do my work, I would have missed a far greater blessing, the partaking of the bread and wine. Later, after service, Ivy came up to me and reminded me that that day was the day both of us got baptism one year ago. How significant it is! And this once again assured me that I had made the right choice in choosing to come to church.

On Monday, 15th May, did my QT (because I need God’s help), but instead of reading the devotional verses for Mon, I accidentally read the devotional verses for Tues. The verses were from Leviticus. It was talking about how God had broken us away from bondage, but I was impressed by the fact that God restating to His people that HE WAS THE LORD WHO BROUGHT THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT.

My cell was on Tuesday evening, and so happened that I would be doing QT sharing for that week. That afternoon, I was tempted not to go for cell, for the same reason (I need to rush for an assignment, yet to be started and due the next day). Once again, struggled with God who assured me that if He can bring His people out of Egypt, He can do likewise to me too. In the end, I still go for cell because on “duty”, and still not very convinced and willing. Since I only did one QT last week, I decided to share my Sat’s QT and Sun’s experience. Upon reaching Adelphi, I got the Cell notes from Tina and to my amazement, it reads “Unit 6: SURRENDERING YOUR LIFE TO HONOR GOD”. Oh my God! How can it be!

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Its 24th May at last! Today, I leave with 12 other mission trippers in my team for Tokyo, Japan!

Honestly, I don't really know what it will be like when we're there. We've done our readings, our research, talked to as many people as possible about how things are like in Japan--but somehow I feel that isn't really enough to prepare me for what I'll see and experience there. There's a sort of element of surprise and suspense. I guess that sort of reminds me to trust God to be my compass and to show me and guide me every step of the way.

We had our team retreat on Monday (22nd May) and I learnt a few things from the extended QT that we had in the morning. First, I was reminded about servanthood and humility--that I'm to serve my team and the people in Japan whom I will meet. Even though I might see myself as a 'messenger' or a 'warrior' for the Lord, I must never forget that I am also a servant.

Secondly, I realised that I needed to change my perspective from an "I chose to go" mentality to one that says "God chose me to go", as well as "I can use my abilities" vs "God can use me to accomplish His work". When I say "God chose me" and "God can use me", I am acknowledging that it is by God's grace that me, a mere human, has been hand-picked by a great and mighty God, who will work His power through me and make His strength perfect in my weaknesses.

Please pray for Japan ok?

How Reliable Is The Bible?

Part III: Why Should I Trust The Bible?

From reading horoscopes to visiting fortune-tellers, people have been fascinating with predictions of the future. Yet, in general, most people are skeptical of those who make predictions and prophecies. However, most people do not realize that the Old Testament (completed from 250-450 BC) contains many predictions and prophecies concerning the future.

Specifically, there are over 300 prophecies concerning the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. To make matters more complicated, these predictions were not made by one person but written by different people from different times.Jesus’ life from AD 3-33 – almost 250 years after the predictions – followed many of predictions of a special king or the “One.”

The critical ones include:

1) Jesus’ place of birth : “But you , Bethlehem…One will come the leader who will shepherd Israel..” (Micah 5:2)

2) Jesus’ manner of birth : “A girl who is a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a son and name him Immanuel. (Is 7:14)

3) Jesus’ betrayal by his followers : “One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, though he was scum.” (Is 53:3)

4) Jesus’ purposeful and painful death: “But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him…he was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn’t say a word…” (Is 53:5-7)

5) Jesus’ burial : “They buried him with the wicked, threw him in a grave with a rich man…(Is 53:9)

What can explain this matching of predictions? Some suggest that Jesus engineered his life to self-fulfill the predictions of the Old Testament. Jesus could have influenced people to cause his betrayal, death, and burial. Yet, how can one explain the place and manner of birth? Certainly, it would be hard to predict ones birth place and birth mother. Another inescapable explanation is that there is something “divine” and supernatural that fulfilled these prophecies in the life of Jesus. If these prophecies are indeed true and were fulfilled, this would give the Bible more reliability and trustworthiness to its readers. There is something special and mysterious about the Bible.

As one of the New Testament writers states, “What I received I passed on to you as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins according the Scriptures [Old Testament], he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that he appeared to more than 500 hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living…” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

We have seen how the Bible is unique in its authorship, accurate transmission, and prophecies in the last 3 sessions. It was written by eye-witnesses who knew that Jesus fulfilled many of the predictions from 250 years earlier. As we conclude this series, the final question remains, “How convinced are you that the Bible is reliable and how willing are you to read it for yourself?”

Let's rejoice together...

Because...

our dear brother, Eddy, has received Christ yesterday!!!!

Yippee yay yay yay!!

Joanie brought him to Youth Fusion and he joined us for a couple of weeks.

Well, the next time u see him, you can welcome him to God's family!

And all the angels in heaven are rejoicing for his salvation!

Bring your friends to Youth Fusion!!

You'll never know what God can do in their lives!

Tertiary Cell's Escapade to ECPark

First of all, we wanna thank the guy who planned it for us!
Our dearest brother, Shenghao!! Great job!

He's got a little update for u all:

"Yesterday, tertiary cell's outing at east coast was successfully carried out. The idea was first discussed over a supper 4 months ago but the official planning only started just 4 weeks ago. Once the date and location have been decided, members of the cell were contacted again and again and again to confirm their attendance and to remind them of the date of the outing. A few days before the day of the outing, the games were then planned out with help of a few cell members. During the guys gathering, the guys were given the task to get the drinks needed for the outing. Everything was carried out smoothly. Thank you everyone in the tertiary cell for making this outing a success."

Celine would like to share too!

Hey all! Do you guys and gals know where did the whole of Tertiary Cell disappear to immediately after lunch? Heez... Well well, we went to East Coast Park for our cell outing!! Though the past few days have been really really hot, and with unexpected showers, but yesterday, Tertiary Cell was truly blessed by God!! It rained in the morning while we were all in the midst of listening attentively to the wonderful and impactful sermon. But the rain stopped just in time for us to make our way to East Coast Park! And there is only One being that is able to hold and stop the rain for us. He is none other that the Creator of all creations!

Throughout our whole outing, God has blessed us with a good time of games, cycling, roller-blading and the most privileged of all, is to worship Him and to sing songs to Him!

I want to thank God for His blessings upon us because the outing yesterday was really a gift from our Almighty God! We are also privileged to have Leah (Jinhang's missionary friend), Qiu Feng and Edwin in our midst too! We have all been blessed with good weather (it was really cooling!), good dinner (yum yum!!), a time to exercise, and to take time off from our hectic week to know each other better, and to draw closer to God's heart right where we are as we took time to marvel at His beauty and to look into His holiness.
And before the whole outing came to an end, the whole cell gathered together at the beach, standing still before the Holy presence of God, the love of God was so overwhelming as we quieten our hearts to listen to the heartbeat of Jesus. Even as we stood there listening to the waves, and praying for our next outreach this Saturday, the song When I look into Your Holiness was placed in my heart. I was touched and so reminded that the very reason why we are here on this earth is to live to worship Him in whatever we have in life, and whatever circumstances we are in. What a joy it is to be able to reach out to God's heart! =)

More photos:

Our 3rd trip down to Batam

Yes!

It's already the 3rd time!

And who did we have to join in the fun and action?

They are... ...

Chee Hoong, Huiwen and Althea!!

Here's some of their thoughts:

Huiwen says:

I was really impressed the moment we stepped into the classroom. It was fully packed with people and all of them enthusiatically greeted us with resounding "hello"s and "hi"s. My. As a teacher back in Singapore, I would never expect such a good attitude. First of all, they are extremely punctual, waiting for us to arrive and their enthusiasium really made a big difference!

Althea says:

Caught in the middle of a "moderate" city (not noisy, neither was it quiet. Not bustling, neither was it dead), was a house filled with 40 odd Batamians (something i called them) full of life, full of energy, and most importantly, full of love.

I wasnt feeling too awake when I met them that morning after having a late night work, and having to wake up at 7am was no joke. However, when I entered the classroom to kick off an English Workshop with Huiwen, Huiling and Chee Hoong. I was surprised by their undying enthusiasm, and most importantly their undying spirit of excellence.

It was this spirit of excellence that the Lord showed me that morning in the lives and actions of these people, earnestly learning the English Language for a few months, carefully listening to every word dropped upon them from Huiling, trying to do as best as they can to answer every single question they could on the worksheet, answering questions from Huiling with gusto and confidence, and desperately trying to understand and learning English.

It was this commendable spirit that made me think, where is my Spirit of Excellence in the things of God? Will I be like them, 29 years old, trying to pick up a new language?

Kiyomi's Personal Reflection of her QT reading...

Jesus heals the official’s son
John 4:43-54

During one of my recent QTs, I was reading about the story of an official who approaches Jesus on behalf of his sick son begging Jesus to go and heal him. What struck me about this story was Jesus’ response in v48 in which he tells the official that “unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe.”

This got me to wonder if I might have been waiting for Jesus to perform a miracle in my life before my faith will increase. Do I require some physical evidence from God so that I will grow stronger in my faith? Do I need to rely more on His words?

This story showed me in v50 that all Jesus does was to tell the official “You may go. Your son will live” and the son was healed at that exact time that Jesus said those words. He does not need to travel all the way, to such a great distance, to heal the son. This reminded me that Jesus’ word is as good as His touch. He does not need to be physically present to meet any need. God also promised in John 20:29 that “because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Words can be powerful and we should be mindful about what we say to others. What more about Jesus’ words that we read in the Bible? Reading the bible may be a drag at times, but we should not underestimate the power of God’s Word to do great things in our lives just as Jesus did in the healing of the official’s son with His words and not just by His physical touch.

YOUTH FUSION GAMES DAY!!!
20 May 2006
Christ Church Sec
*transport will be provided from GC and back to JE*

When was the last time you played sports? Floorball? Soccer? Basketball?

or... if you don't want to play sports... you can also play... TABOO!!!!

and.... LASTLY....

...................
.........

this is not for you alone... don't miss your friends out in this fun...
invite your friendSSSSS to come along!!!! =)

How reliable is the Bible?

Part II: Hasn't The Bible Changed Over Time?

If God exists and wanted to send a message to the human race, he may use different methods. He may speak in dreams, visions, or inspire people to record thoughts on paper. This is how the Bible began - people were moved to write and these writings were compiled to what is known today as the Bible. But many of you would be shocked to know that the original copy of the Bible no longer exists since the paper would have return to dust.

Thus, how do we know that the Bible we have today is the same Bible from ancient days? Actually, other ancient documents, such as the writings of Aristole and Tacitus, have the same problem; the originals no longer exist. Instead, scholar need to rely on hand-written COPIES of the original texts (there were not photocopy machines back in BC days). Interestingly, for the New Testament, we have over 24,000 copies of the New Testament compared to only 40 copies of Aristotle. And some of these Bible copies are as old as AD 123, which is only 25 years from the original. Furthurmore, other non-Bible ancient writings also speak about Bible events. Indeed, we can be pretty confident that the Bible we have today has been well-preserved and adheres to academic standards.

.: Hold on to your Faith! :.

-By Joanie-

Through the past four years ever since I accepted Lord Jesus as my savior, I can truly see how God has kept His promise to walk this journey of life with me, and I thank God that I hold have decided to hold on to His promise and not let go of His saving grace. I am glad that I chose to stand firm with my faith, knowing that God can be trusted and that He will see me through thick and thin. Evermore so, I believe in the reward that I'll receive by following after Jesus.

In times of persecution (Mat5: 10-11)
"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

I remembered when I first allowed Jesus to enter into my heart, I was warned of the challenges ahead that Satan will always try to shake my faith and crumble my foundation in Christ. The evil one will engage all means just to draw me away from God.

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Thus, when I was persecuted badly by my family members, especially by my step-mum, I stood firm and prayed hard for God to deliver me from my misery at home. My step-mum would accuse me of many things that I'd not done, and many times she was being unreasonable. The verbal abuse was such a torture! No matter how good my intentions were, it would be twisted to become really bad. As my Dad was working in China, no one could stand out for me, to protect and defend me. But, God sent good Christian friends to encourage me at that period of time, and He also carried me through with His words and teaching. That prevented potential "cat-fights" at home.

Apart from my step-mum, my relatives showed little support since most of them are Buddhist. I was saddened by the fact they would gossip about my newfound faith. It hurts even more when my Dad said that he was disappointed with my "rebellious" behaviour. It really hurts, as I've always wanted to be a "good girl" in Daddy's eyes.

Devastated as I was, all these never stopped me from worshipping my Father in heaven. I know these sufferings will just be a passing wind, and soon it will be over.

Setting yourself apart from the world- To be more like Jesus (Mat5: 13-16)
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? ... You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received God's mercy but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10)

We are called to be light of the world and salt of the earth. What a standard God has set for us to achieve. We are to set ourselves apart! However, it's a fact that to behave differently from the world is not easy. Not to club like what the "fun people"; not to smoke like the "cool people"; not to lie like the "clever people"; and not to dress like the "good looking people". Wow, how can one do that? Others may think that you do not belong to the world. Yes! That's right! We are living in the world, but Not of the world. We are called to be like Jesus! Pure and righteous…

It is only when we are determined to shine for Christ that we will find strength, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to change to become more like Jesus. If we want people to see Christ in us, we have to follow Godly ways, not worldly ways. When we do good amidst the bad, people will see the difference, and God will be glorified! Hence, I always strive to be more like Jesus. Every small step I take to be more beautiful in God's eyes, I know God is pleased. I take joy in pleasing our Father. It satisfies me to see Him smile, just like how I always wanted to see my Dad smile at me…

Getting to know the Lord with a price- Sacrifice (John6: 57, John8: 28, 14:10)
"I can do nothing of myself." "I live by the Father..."

During YF camp in 2002, Heart of Worship, I learnt that worshipping God comes with sacrifice. One such sacrifice is my time. Attending church on Sundays would mean lesser time with my mother. Ever since my parents divorced, I would visit my mother every Sunday, and I always longed to spend more time with her. However, I know I should put God first, even before my parents. It is hard, and it takes time for me to adjust to this change.

I want to thank God for making a way for me to attend church services even though my Dad and granny objected to the idea. Thankfully, my Mum, who has also accepted Christ, gave me her support to attend church. So attending service every Sunday morning would not be a problem for me. However, occasionally, I had to fight the struggle within to give up the time I could have spent otherwise with my mother. Sounds tough isn't it?

A changed life
Now, four years have past. I not only attend Sunday services, I also attend youth cell group meetings every Saturday. I have committed more time for the kingdom of God and serving in more areas that I can glorify God with. My family has totally accepted me as a Christian and I can really feel the respect they have for my faith in Christ. No more gossips. My step-mum, miraculously, became a catholic soon after I shifted into my granny's house, and encourages my little stepsister to attend church too! Say impossible? Nothing is impossible for our amazing God!

Update!!

Hey! If all of you have been wondering where all the young working youths are.......just to inform you that we've been meeting every tuesday, 730pm @ the Adelphi office (Bside SAC)for cell!

Just to share that for the past 3 weeks, we've been meeting and we always have a good time together, discussing about the Word of God, fellowshipping and worshipping together!

So if you have any friends who are working and u're thinking of bringing them for cell group, dont hesitate to contact any young working youths and you can encourage them to join us!

All glory to Jesus our Lord and Savior!

Youth Fusion A cappella 2006 @ Mother's Day Celebration

before i show you guys some of the picture let's even give around of applause for them!!!! *clap *clap *clap *clap they have done so well ;)

who's in the group?
Rhys.Joanie.Marie.Leticia.Celine.Jasmine.Arlene

ok.. now the pix.... *sorry kinda blur... :p*

He Chose The Nails

Today, I shall not share on any specific topic...but I'm going to do something really different~! I'm going to introduce you to a book.
Ok, faster than before you can say..."read a book?!", let me offer you a nice cup of Coffee Bean Blended Mocha...and now, you listen to this => this book I'm going to introduce to you, brought me to REDISCOVER and KNOW the love of the Cross, like I've never had.

I had once wandered far off from God, and everything I thought I knew about God from Sunday School (ah, yes, all of you who grew up in Sunday School, I have had the same experience!) made no (or hardly any) impact on me. Zero. Zilch.

Well, put it this way: I had God in my brains...but no, surely not...in my HEART. I made little or no time for Him. I did not clear my agendas to allow Him to fit His. Church was but a weekly place I had to go and sing and do some work at, I say "I love God"...but I HARDLY can say I too, love to give Him my time, my energy, and my money.

Now that sounds kinda sad.

For those of you who were at Youth Prayer on Sunday, you will be reminded that I talked about the friend who claims to be your best friend, but does not like to talk to you, does not like to be with you...and most of all, everytime he comes along, he wants something from you.

Oh man! I was such a friend.

But we know. God's love for you and me is...just real. REAL.
Through many circumstances and faith-testing occasions, The King brought me back to know His passion on the Cross , once again. And I began to see the love of Christ, like I've never been before.

This book was one of those books, besides the awesome Bible, God used to bring me down on my knees to desire Him and DRAW WAY CLOSER to the Almighty Himself. I suppose the title of the book itself, is powerful enough..and yes, this is one book you can judge by its cover. I hope you read it, and be impacted by it...as I have been.

How reliable is the Bible?

Part I: Where does the bible come from?

Hey guys! Recently I attended the first session on a Seeker Series which helps people who are seeking for biblical and spiritual questions. It is also very timely in view of the release of the movie "Da Vinci Code". Growing up, many of us had limited exposure to the Bible. Some of us had to study it in school and others were introduced to the Bible through their friends. But few people know the history of the Bible and where it came from. Who wrote it and how did it come together?

Before we answered this question, we needed to ask what makes the Bible different from other kinds of books such as a newspaper? Some special characteristics are that the Bible is over 1000 years old and was written by over 40 different people from different generations. The Bible was not written by one person but people from all walks of life who were moved to write about their experiences with God. The Bible has two parts – the “Old” Testament (written before AD) and the “New” Testament (written after AD). The Bible is not just one book but a library of 66 individual books.

Because the Bible was written over such a long period of time, it was not officially bound together until AD 300. Now, this raises many questions; “How do the Bible come together?” It was a process. After certain events in history, people were moved to write down their thoughts about God and Jesus. For example, after Jesus died, a few witnesses decided to write down thoughts about Jesus’ life. Then these books were circulated to tell others about Jesus’ life. Over time, these books became very popular and special to early Christians who wanted to share the life of Jesus to others. Over a period of time, people noticed there were many books that spoke about the same God and Jesus and these were organized into the Bible.

However, another troubling question is this: “Can people still write books to be included in the Bible today?” This issue is brought by the best-selling novel, the DaVinci Code. Dan Brown claims that there are many “missing” books that belong in the Bible. The simple response to the question is “No, we can not add any more books to the Bible.” There is one main reason: authorship and historical time.

Most books in the Bible were written by people who were present during the events. Therefore, if Janelle Ong wrote a new story about Jesus, it would not be accepted because I did not live the same time Jesus. All the stories about Jesus in the Bible were written by people were witnesses who lived close to the events. After the books were written, the early Christians knew they could trust what they were reading because of the author and the source.

In the end, the Bible is unique and we may never know 100% how it came to be. But the fact that this book has survived for thousands of years is remarkable. Perhaps God was the “divine editor” who made sure that His book would be compiled. As the Bible says, for the Bible “never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)

Be encouraged to read this book if you have never done so. As many have said, the Bible can speak for itself.

Our duty/burden/obligation?

When was the last time you sang in church,
believing what you did was out of obligation?
When was the last time you coiled a cable in church,
thinking it was a duty?
When was the last time you spoke to a cell member,
finding it a burden?
When was the last time you stepped into church,
thinking it was a routine?

Our duty, burden, obligation or a love for our Savior Jesus?
I wonder what Jesus felt when he carried the cross
up to calvary for our sins?
His duty? burden? obgliation?
His love?
*************************************************************

For those who missed this flash show during Raymond's sharing during youth camp or couldnt quite see it... here's the link and more: http://www.donghaeng.net/english/duty.htm
http://www.donghaeng.net/english/love.htm
http://www.donghaeng.net/english/faith.htm
http://www.donghaeng.net/english/cross.htm

Have a blesed weekend!

Firstly, to all who dont know as of yet... IM OFFICIALLY done with exams FOREVER!!! that is if I dont have to retain for one more module. =p in any case, I would like to give thanks to God because He has been very good during this period of exams, keeping me awake during hours of sleeping, keeping me in good health throughout this tiring 2 weeks, giving me the energy to wake up every morning, and giving me the discipline to study and try to love what I am studying. Therefore, I would really like to give thanks to HIM for bringing me through so many years of studies!

And nextly, would like to share with all of you what I learnt and what happened to me on tuesday night while I was giving tuition to one of my kids...

When i arrived at her place that evening, I noticed that there were 2 guests over at her house and being the kaypoh me, i asked her who they were and found out that they were actually religious leaders of her Japanese Buddhist religion. And like our cell leaders, they actually go to visit my tuition kid's dad cuz he was suffering from a knot in his stomach. So i started asking her questions about her religion and if she believes in her religious god. And she goes on to tell me "yes i believe althea because many times i pray in my troubles and i feel calm after that." And right immediately after she said that, i heard her religious leaders chanting over her parents over and over again in a foreign language.

And i asked her, "Do u know what they are saying?"
She said, "No but i guess they do..."
"But what if they dont? Dont you think it's really scary to be chanting in language you dont understand?"

- pause-

And immediately she asked back... "So althea why do you believe in your God?"

And to be honest, i tend to avoid that particular question because there's always this fear in me that I might not be able to handle all her other questions so i told her... "Pris, that will take forever to explain and we dont have time today... maybe some other day k?" And i picked up my pen to start marking her work...

And then i felt the Holy Spirit tell me to stop marking and to tell her and that He will guide me. I was really rather frightened but then i prayed a really short prayer and i put down my pen, and told her... "Ok come let's talk!"

And i started telling her about my testimony, I asked her questions, i invited her to think about her beliefs and all that. and to summarize, at the end of the conversation, I realised that indeed the Holy Spirit was guiding the entire conversation and that He was speaking through me things i would never knew what to say to someone. And in the end, she told me this...

"Actually chanting is stupid althea because they tell us if you chant, you can become a god. How dumb and unreal is that?"

And i knew God has started working then. :)

.: Our 2nd Trip to Batam :.

Yup! It's our 2nd time and everytime we go,

we hoped we have blessed them as much they have blessed us.

This time we brought cindy and rhys along.

Rhys has this to share:

"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing."

-Genesis 12:2

As I was preparing materials for Batam trip last Saturday, This verse flashed across my mind how much Singaporeans are blessed.
One click on the Internet and you can get all the information you need in a split second. Yet, we never fail to grumble at the slow speed, when the students in Batam are waiting every weekend for volunteers to teach them new skills and new knowledge.

Over at Batam, the students were doing art & craft that we have prepared for them. The decorations they made indeed encouraged me a lot. Instead of words we commonly used like "Friends forever", they wrote "Jesus love ... ...", "(their name) love Jesus".

It reminded me of my primary school days, when I would write "I love Mom & Dad" during Art Class, since they were the first I could think of. I could feel the love they have for Jesus, it is so strong that they will express it everywhere and anytime. The love a child would have for his Daddy.

How much do we love our Heavenly Father?

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Cindy has this to share:

The Batam trip was definitely an eye opener. It serves as a reminder for us (Singaporeans) to be contented with the things we have now. Sometimes, we tend to overlook the blessings that we have, and hope to have more when we are already very blessed!


The students over there were especially welcoming and friendly. From the moment we entered the classroom, the joy on their faces were evident and they greeted all of us with a smile and a BIG HI. It really made me feel less afraid and more willing to teach them.


I have made many new and lovely friends as a result of this trip and I would love to go back again.


So, I'll strongly encourage another youth to go for this Batam Mission Trip.

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A group photo!

.: Labour's Day :.

Definition of labour: productive work (n), work hard (v) strive and make an effort to reach a goal (v).

Hi everybody,

Since today is Labour's Day, let's see what are some verses the bible has on "labour".

Exodus 20:8-10
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.

Psalm 127:1
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

Psalm 128
A song of ascents.
Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways.
You will eat the fruit of your labour; blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Proverbs 12:24
Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labour.

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

Luke 10:2
He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out labourers into his harvest field.

Well, hopefully these verses have been a blessing to all of ya'!

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