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10 August 2007

Wow! It's been about 6-7 years since i last went to Bukit Timah Hill...

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Recently went there with my dear sisters MJ and Calyn, my dear bro Nicholas, and friend Xumei. We went by the south view path to the summit, then we had a picnic on the groundsheet which Nicholas and I had brought there, although the summit hut was empty.... aiyoh.. picnic must be on the grass one mah, right? We had bread with egg mayo, tuna, apples and pears, soon kuei, peng kuei, curry puffs, sardine puffs, and potato chips.

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Before spreading our groundsheets, we took pictures at the summit rock, waving the Singapore flag.... with the "We've climb the highest hill!!!" (in Singapore) look.
Haha!


Signing Off.


06 August 2007

Wow! The Festival of Praise 2007 @ Singapore Indoor Stadium is so refreshing. I really thank God for this event, for bringing Christ-followers together to pray for the nation.

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My dear sisters - Huili and Calyn
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My dear brothers - Flince, me, Zhi Fei and Nicholas
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During the FOP, I flipped to this passage of the bible and read the whole chapter while the music continues to play on.... Woo! I am really glad to be in the presence of God.

Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.


1
O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

"Our God reigns" - Delirious?
(i want to share with you this clip, very meaningful. Turn off the song on the blog that is playing now, before clicking on the clip.)



Signing Off.


02 August 2007

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He is an average Joe. Just ORDed. A UNI freshmen. He wanted to be someone whom his peers will look up to. He wanted to leave a good impression for people around him. He is insecure with his own identity, seeks the acceptance from people around him. He is confused, not sure whether he has become who he wants to be. Or rather, he is not even sure who exactly does he want to be.

This is my first time acting on stage for God. I really felt happy to serve God on stage ... a rare opportunity to be on stage also :)

Even since i lost the feeling to be on stage after i left 'Young People's Performing Arts Emsemble' 5 yrs ago... I remembered those days when I receive the applause from the audiences at the end of every performance, flowers, photos....those 8 yrs of learning and performing on stage still remains deep in my memories. After i left the ensemble to prepare for my o-levels, I have been going back regularly to help out as the backstage crew, assistant Stage Manager, props, ticketing, mail boy, front of house,...then eventually, an audience. All the while i have been experiencing the backstage aspects of the production. Everytime i stand in the dark backstage watching the younger ones performing on the stage, how i wish i could once again step onto the stage and make the audiences cry and laugh with me. Although last year i was given the opportunity to perform, i rejected it. I knew my chinese standard has dropped drastically after being 'polluted' by the 'outside world' and 'corrupted' after my NS time'. Really haven't been using my std chinese for quite sometime.

I lost the confidence to go on stage.

My thoughts of going onto the stage came to a stagnant.

However, recently Jia Dai approached me and asked whether i would like to participate in a production that requires me to act... at the moment i thought of giving it a try, while still blur on what is going to happen exactly...

As things progresses, i found myself involving in more things other than acting. A team of us came together to think of the script, do filming, voice-over recording, editing of MM clips, rehearsal for the live scenes.... WoW!

Amazed by how God has brought people of different talents to come together for this production. Producer (Jia Dai), Directors (Zhen Zhong and Dorling), MMclip (Wei Long), Lights (Hong Yao), Sound (Manmi), Female Lead (Zhi Chun), Music Director (Derek), the hosts (Timothy and Carrie) and the supporting actors and actresses (Jesse, Joshua, Serene) in the production. We are like a body with many parts.

This part of the Bible came across my mind...

" 12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. . ." 1 Corinthians 12:12


" 14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment.
But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. " 1 Corinthians 12:14-26

On the actual day, we came early to rehearse again til 4pm. Thanks for Jia Dai's box of Panadol Cold Relief, Derek's cup of warm tea and Jesse's bottle of honey lemon. Then we went to do make-up.

OOpss... although i have 8yrs of performing experiences, this is my first time putting make-up by myself - Self Service! I was given a small make-up bag from Jia Dai and the rest is up to me. Wow! So i chose a male toilet at the top floor to do my own make up... Pai seh... i thought nobody one..but... haiz... "nevermind, just this time only!", i thought to myself.

5pm we went into the auditorium to test mic and lights and sound.... I was really nervous! i wasn't able to hit the high note, i knew my clear voice is not back yet because i am still very sick since last night, have flu and sore throat and fever. I was really worried that i might not be able to sing well and get distracted easily because of any mistake i made... I took a tablespoon full of 'Jing Du Nian Ci An - Chuan Bei Pi Pa Gao' before i put on the lip gloss.

Then during Praise and Worship, i closed my eyes to pray to God to sustain my physical body, for me to remember my lines, hit the correct feel, sing the correct pitch..... God assured me to just go ahead with what i need to do later for the performance.

Praise the Lord for the wonderful performance! I really didn't expect myself to be able to sing better than what i have expected i can do. Those who were at the service would know of the overall atmosphere. Wow! So happy that Zhi Rong and Xu Mei came for service to support me!

I really enjoyed the production, and its progress as well. Thru this production, i got to work with brothers and sisters whom i seldom have chance to talk with. Serving in the LORD is so different, because it involves lots of prayers and God's direction and assurance and love for each other!



Signing Off.



Channel News Asia - Asia Pacific News
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/291740/1/.html

GHAZNI, Afghanistan : The Taliban threatened to kill more South Korean hostages after another deadline expired on Wednesday, as helicopters dropped leaflets in the area where the group was captured warning of a military operation. "The 21 hostages are still alive," a spokesman for the hardline movement, Yousuf Ahmadi, told AFP by telephone hours after the noon (0730 GMT) deadline passed. "The leadership council of the Taliban is in the process of making a decision," he said, clarifying afterwards that they were considering whether more of the captives should be killed. The extremist group has already shot dead two men from a 23-member aid mission seized in the southern province of Ghazni two weeks ago. Ahmadi said talks with government negotiators had continued on Wednesday but there was "not a good result." The insurgent movement is demanding the release of at least eight of its men from Afghan jails, which authorities have so far rejected. The spokesman said none of the surviving hostages had yet been killed as there was talk South Korean negotiators wanted to meet directly with the Taliban. "We are waiting for that delegation to open a new phase of negotiations," he said. Military choppers earlier dropped leaflets in Ghazni, including the Qarabagh district where the South Korean Christians were captured, asking residents to leave ahead of a planned operation. The defence ministry denied however this would be a bid to free the captives, saying it was a routine exercise planned months ago and "has no links to the South Korean hostages issue." A South Korean embassy official told AFP: "We have no information about any operation. Before launching any operation, we must be informed." Ghazni police chief Alishah Ahmadzai also said there was no plan to use troops to extract the hostages. "Security forces are in the area. They have been in a state of emergency since the crisis started. But there is no military operation in our plan." A special South Korean envoy was quoted by Pajhwok Afghan News agency saying his government opposed military action. Envoy Baek Jong-chun said, ahead of leaving Afghanistan on Wednesday, his government "would like to emphasise once again that the safety of the Korean hostages will be a matter of the highest priority." With tensions mounting and Qarabagh said to have been surrounded by soldiers for days, the Taliban's Ahmadi said fighters were "ready to answer with force and if there's any pressure on us, the lives of the hostages will be in danger." A top US official, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill, and Egypt's largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, meanwhile joined international calls for the hostages' release. Adding to concern about their chances, the bullet-riddled bodies of four Afghan court officials were found on Wednesday near where the bloodied corpse of one of the foreigners was dumped this week. "We killed them because they worked for the government," Ahmadi said. New clashes were also reported on Wednesday between Taliban and security forces in the province, 100 kilometres south of Kabul, with 15 people killed in the past day. In one incident, militants stormed the house of a policeman and killed him and two relatives, the provincial police chief said. Police sent to the scene killed eight attackers, Ahmadzai said. Four Taliban were killed in fighting elsewhere, he said. Police in the southern province of Kandahar said a dozen Taliban and a policeman were killed in a gunbattle there on Tuesday. There were meanwhile fresh fears for a German engineer held since July 18, a day before the South Koreans were captured, after Al-Jazeera television broadcast on Tuesday a video that it said showed him pleading for his life. The footage was the first to show the engineer, said to be 62 years old. - AFP/de


Signing Off.