Monday 22/12 to Saturday 27/12
Monday morning to afternoon, finished preparing all the christmas presents and cards for my caregroup.
Tuesday morning, i went to work at 11am. WWS is planning to organise Amazing EnviroRace, Singapore's version of Amazing Race for environment awareness. Anyone can take part. Postgraduates, corporate members and students. So Kenji and I had to cycle around to look for places where we can set up stations for our amazing race. How exciting! Detour, road block and fast forward. All these have to be thought of thoroughly. Haha just like the real Amazing Race. Also, there were visitors from Singapore Polytechnic that day, so some of us had to go on bike patrol with them. Apparently, they claimed that the visitors were a bit weird. Then, i left work early and went to Subra's house at Jurong for a so-called class gathering, actually his parents want to see us haha. We gave Anil a prank call, Robert Lau calling from SMU law faculty, asking all sorts of questions about him. Haha Ben and Justin, they came up with the script before we called Anil. So it was foolproof. Nick 's voice managed to trick Anil into believing him. We had a good time after that, talking about random stuffs like our 2 years school life and we ate the Indian food Subra's parents cooked. Left at 10.30pm.
Wednesday afternoon. It was the day of Christmas eve celebration. I met the friends i invited for my church celebration for lunch. Subra, Nazri, Justin, Zong Xing and Kenji. Nick and Han Wei came later. I was like a Santa Claus, carrying a big bag of gifts. Except that my bag looked like a bag stored with bombs. The christmas eve church celebration was not bad. Performances, testimonial sharing and service. It was my first time experiencing Christmas as a Christian. It's definitely more meaningful celebrating Christmas this time because now i know the real reason for celebrating. Not for the superficial gifts but to honour and give thanks to God and Jesus Christ for sacrificing so much for our good. It definitely will not matter how much you spend on gifts for your friends. It is the thought that counts. Writing a letter to assure people and encourage his or her spiritual life will be the best gift. However, i still think that the best way to bring joy to caregroup friends and encourage them to enjoy their spiritual life is to buy them presents. Presents like chocolates, shirts and toys. After all, who wouldn't want them? So i gave them Christmas cards and gifts. Spent around 120 dollars in total. After that, the unit, VJC TJC TPJC MJC DHS, went to Chia Ling's house at Serangoon to have our unit Christmas party. Food and drink were scarce. Lucky i ate at Subway before that. Then we went carolling at the houses nearby. It was an enjoyable experience, my first ever one. We were split into 2 groups. 30 plus of us. We asked the owners if they wanted us to carol for them. Some were quite enthusiatic about it. We were invited into the house to sing Christmas songs for them. After singing, some house owners gave us packet drinks while others gave us chocolates. One of the house owner even invited one of our group into the house to have Bee Hoon. Not my group unfortunately haha. We did carolling mainly to help spread the joy in this Christmas festive period. Some of the house owners even paid us but the money will go to church of course. After carolling, which lasted for 2 hours, we had an individual year review, running through in your mind all the things that you will give thanks to God in 2008. God has really changed my life. From a selfish and prideful person who always think about personal success to a more thoughtful one, even though not perfectly thoughful at times haha. We had some sort of a countdown to Christmas. Reached home at around 2am. Slept at 3am after opening all the presents and reading all the cards i received.
Thursday, my skin started to peel. After all the sun-burn, i can virtually tear out my skin now. Went shopping with family at Orchard. Apparently, it was not as crowded as i had expected. Bought a long pants and a long sleeve t-shirt. In the evening, went to East Coast Park. My sister rode the bike, i went on the rollar blades while my dad jogged. Dinner was also at ECP.
Friday morning, went Kallang Cage to play soccer as early as 7am. Played with my classmates and some other friends. Had fun except that it was quite tiring, having not trained for so many weeks. I wore my old soccer boots and it was causing a lot of injuries to others. Then in the afternoon, went shopping for sneakers with Matt Foo and Wee Leong. Bought a brown Everlast shoe for 50 dollars after discount. At night, went to watch soccer at Paradix with Nick and Nazri. Man U won one nil at Stoke City! After the match, it was 11pm. We decided to catch a movie and take the night rider home. Watched Bedtime Stories at 11.20pm to 1am. The movie was quite funny. About a guy, who's bedtime stories to his niece and nephew came true. Reached home at 1.30am because my dad came to fetch me, thankfully haha.
Saturday morning, went to WWS. Kenji and i rode the bikes to Marina Barrage. Wanted to check the route there so that we can make it the Fast Forward for the Amazing EnviroRace WWS is organising. After that, had a meeting for upcoming NS church guys like me. They told us that we will be transferring out of our current caregroup near our enlistment date. There will be a lot of challenges that we will be encountering for our spiritual life. Different temptations will come. So it will be hard work remaining committed but we must have faith! Then, it was church new year service. There were a few performances put up. After service, there was a meeting to tell J3s like me about pioneering, where we will be sent to TJC or MJC to try to set up a caregroup because theirs are dying. All sorts of things that we may do are to do surveys on people, crash their orientation, etc. It will be quite a learning experience. Then had dinner at a Hong Kong Restaurant at Tanjong Katong. My dad met a friend, who decided to pay for our meal before we even know. In the end, we paid 70 cents for an extra bowl of rice.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Thursday 18/12 to Sunday 21/12
Thursday morning went to Li Yin's house for caregroup meeting. Afternoon, went for work. The boss wanted 2 rafts. The first one made of PVC pipes, used as a WWS exhibit. Already completed on Tuesday. The second one is made of Newater bottles and cable ties. All scrap materials. It is to take part in the Singapore Polytechnic raft competition. We didn't have enough cable ties, so Kenji and I went out on bikes to buy them. It actually took a lot of work to tie up the bottles together. Quite painful and tiring to pull them together. At night, started making Christmas cards for my caregroup. Haha making use of my gift of craftsmanship from God.
Friday. Reported for work at noon. Then we took a boat to Singapore River to have lunch at Jumbo Seafood Restaurant. Wow cool to the max! We parked the boats by the river and then went for lunch, most of us under-dressed with our WWS t-shirts and shorts. When we were back, we did a bit of work at the jetty then continued making our Newater raft. Then i had to leave early from work because i had to meet the unit committee for the Christmas party on Christmas eve at Chia Ling's place. I'm the logistic head together with Jun Wei, with Joel Yee and Jie Zhi to help us out. We have to buy trash bags, candles, utensils, cups and sparkling juice for the unit Christmas party. At night, we had church service. Unfortunately, we didn't catch the choir performance we expected because the pastor forgot about it.
Saturday morning to afternoon, i went to Sentosa for a church unit outing. We were supposed to meet at 9am and only 6 guys turned up. Me, James, Melvin Tay, Melvin Tan, Joel Yee and Jun Wei. We took the monorail and then the bus to Tanjong Beach. Played some beach volleyball and soccer. I had a short sun-tanning session haha. Without sun block, asking for it! Then we went for a swim near the beach shore. We didn't really dare to swim far because most of us were not great swimmers. Around noon, 3 more ppl came. At 2pm, around 10 more came. Melvin and I left Sentosa early to shop at Vivo City for Christmas presents for our caregroup members. We were so tired and burnt. We walk all around Vivo City, stuck to our budget of at most 10 dollars per person and i spent around 90 dollars for 10 people during that period, 4.15-6.45pm. At night, after having dinner with my family, continued to shop and bought 2 presents for around 20 bucks. Went home and continued to write the Christmas cards for my caregroup.
Today. After brunch out with my family, i started baking cookies at home. These cookies will be Christmas presents for the rest of the unit members. For the whole day, i was in pain. The sun burn on my shoulders and back is really bad. Whenever i lie down on the sofa, i'll be in pain. My whole body is so red.
Christmas in 4 days time. So exciting!
Thursday morning went to Li Yin's house for caregroup meeting. Afternoon, went for work. The boss wanted 2 rafts. The first one made of PVC pipes, used as a WWS exhibit. Already completed on Tuesday. The second one is made of Newater bottles and cable ties. All scrap materials. It is to take part in the Singapore Polytechnic raft competition. We didn't have enough cable ties, so Kenji and I went out on bikes to buy them. It actually took a lot of work to tie up the bottles together. Quite painful and tiring to pull them together. At night, started making Christmas cards for my caregroup. Haha making use of my gift of craftsmanship from God.
Friday. Reported for work at noon. Then we took a boat to Singapore River to have lunch at Jumbo Seafood Restaurant. Wow cool to the max! We parked the boats by the river and then went for lunch, most of us under-dressed with our WWS t-shirts and shorts. When we were back, we did a bit of work at the jetty then continued making our Newater raft. Then i had to leave early from work because i had to meet the unit committee for the Christmas party on Christmas eve at Chia Ling's place. I'm the logistic head together with Jun Wei, with Joel Yee and Jie Zhi to help us out. We have to buy trash bags, candles, utensils, cups and sparkling juice for the unit Christmas party. At night, we had church service. Unfortunately, we didn't catch the choir performance we expected because the pastor forgot about it.
Saturday morning to afternoon, i went to Sentosa for a church unit outing. We were supposed to meet at 9am and only 6 guys turned up. Me, James, Melvin Tay, Melvin Tan, Joel Yee and Jun Wei. We took the monorail and then the bus to Tanjong Beach. Played some beach volleyball and soccer. I had a short sun-tanning session haha. Without sun block, asking for it! Then we went for a swim near the beach shore. We didn't really dare to swim far because most of us were not great swimmers. Around noon, 3 more ppl came. At 2pm, around 10 more came. Melvin and I left Sentosa early to shop at Vivo City for Christmas presents for our caregroup members. We were so tired and burnt. We walk all around Vivo City, stuck to our budget of at most 10 dollars per person and i spent around 90 dollars for 10 people during that period, 4.15-6.45pm. At night, after having dinner with my family, continued to shop and bought 2 presents for around 20 bucks. Went home and continued to write the Christmas cards for my caregroup.
Today. After brunch out with my family, i started baking cookies at home. These cookies will be Christmas presents for the rest of the unit members. For the whole day, i was in pain. The sun burn on my shoulders and back is really bad. Whenever i lie down on the sofa, i'll be in pain. My whole body is so red.
Christmas in 4 days time. So exciting!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Yesterday after camp, went for work. We finished building a raft out of PVC pipes, haha a new toy. Then went out for sightseeing. Took photos of Marina Barrage, Esplanade, S'pore Flyer, Merlion, etc. Played some pool. At night, had a meeting for the Asian Water Symposium to be held at Dunman High next June. There's a possibility that i'll be sent out to JCs to talk to people about the symposium in February. A new experience!
Good news. I got the EAGLES award, presented to me by school. First time man. Thank god! :)
Today did some newspaper reading and housework. Because my mum just had her operation on Saturday and can't do too vigorous work. I was the slave of the day, my sister said. I did sweeping, mopping, washing of plates and utensils after meals and hanging of clothings to dry.
Good news. I got the EAGLES award, presented to me by school. First time man. Thank god! :)
Today did some newspaper reading and housework. Because my mum just had her operation on Saturday and can't do too vigorous work. I was the slave of the day, my sister said. I did sweeping, mopping, washing of plates and utensils after meals and hanging of clothings to dry.
A new life journey begins
Heroes Camp: Saturday 13/12 to Tuesday 16/12
Normally a camp is remembered well if the games and activities are enjoyable. But this church camp, my first ever, will be memorable for its ability to touch my heart. Not that the games were not fun, but the emphasis of the camp was more to help campers grow in their Christain life. From this camp, i got to learn several important lessons regarding life.
My camp objectives are to experience God full-time, be more to know new people and guide people to know God. Now that the camp has ended, i can say that these objectives are more or less attained. A new life journey shall begin, one which is more meaningful and fulfilling.
In this camp, we had games, activities and worship. The games involved less group-to-group competition and emphasize more on the people cooperating together to serve people and God. There was an event called Minilution. People had to dress like a kid. There was also a workshop to tell us about our spiritual gifts from God. The name of this church camp is Heroes Camp as there were altogether 5 teachings about 5 different heroes who God has chosen to serve the people. Moses (Obedience), David (Loyalty), Abrahim (Faith), Esther (Courage) and Paul (Ambition). They have really taught me a lot.
We live in an imperfect world with imperfect people. Everyday we flip through the newspaper and see reports on murder, robbery, arsenal, etc. People are not perfect. They are guilty of many sins and lack in several abilities. Nevertheless, God uses us and fulfill our dreams. We rely on God and put trust in him because he will guide us on the way to success. Even though every one of us lacks in certain ability, God continues to encourage us to serve people, in doing things that will show love to the rest. God is a great motivation in our lives because he will be the cheerleader, supporting us when we feel incapable. We must keep in mind that we cannot be as perfect as God and we are the sheep in this world, seeking to learn and improve oneself as much as possible. To do so, we need to constantly seek help from God and also ask him for advices to improve ourselves. It is very difficult for us to tell if we do something wrong or not, so we will need a shepherd to guide us along the way, someone who is also not perfect but given the honour by God to love people. I shall no longer just remain in my comfort zone but venture out of it. Do something that i am not suited of doing, so that i will learn to rely on God for aid. The fact is that no one in this world is perfectly suited for any tasks but the honour has been presented to us by our holy God. So maybe i can be a shepherd one day. And for the pioneering that Jasmine mentioned, i could try too, if my schedule allows me.
But being a shepherd will not be easy. You will have to love your sheep, give him all your best, visit him when he's ill, be sad if he commit a sin, be happy when you see him grow, etc. From the camp, i realise that i have never loved anyone before in my life. I have always failed to give my all to any person because i'm gulity of been too selfish at times. I have the tendency to care more for myself and not for others. To love someone, it really takes a lot of courage and commitment. I must give and examples how i can give are to teach a friend or to buy a gift for a friend to encourage his or her spiritual life. Sacrifice till it hurts. This camp told me that i have not been committed to love a person before. Perhaps i'm not ready yet but there is never a perfect time. So what i have to do is to improve my spiritual life, look to God. He will give me the opportunity one day and i must not reject it. I must believe that i'm capable of doing it and God will guide me along the way.
I have a simple faith in God. During obstacles and difficulties, I will definitely seek help from God because he serve people so well. God is so great as to send his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our numerous sins to redeem us. It is so hurting to see a loved one been killed or commit a sin. When i see a friend doing something wrong, i will have the urge to help him or her. We must submit to God's will. Life definitely exists plenty of room for improvement. Put faith in God to grow in our spiritual life. Even when life is simple and slack, do not forget God's love. I admit that when there's no difficulties like studies to drive me, i tend to stray away from God. So i'll promise to give him more of my time, set my daily quiet time at 10.30pm.
I learnt about the different spiritual gifts by God to people. For me, it's the gift of craftmanship, adminstation and help/serving. True, i can help people like in studies. I believe that i should commit myself to make use of these gifts to serve people, encourage people to build up their lives spiritually and open up to people to talk and explain to them about how God loves us so much. It is very difficult to love someone unless you are emotionally attached. God brings Christains together as a whole family, attaching us so that we can develop ourselves too, to be more selfless to each other.
This camp has helped me grow. I learn that sometimes i am too prideful of my own ability. For example when playing games, i will tend to chiong and neglect the rest because i think that i am more fit than the rest. I will ignore other people's contribution in the process. God taught me to slow down and give thought to others. Be willing to give them their equal share of responsibility.
Moses/Humility. God know us inside out, our sins. We must admit our wrongs, repent and do something right. God is great. He blesses us to overcome these problems. We must acknowledge this and be willing to give him all. Rely on God so that we will be somebody.
David/Loyalty. We must stay committed to care for the people, encourage people to know him and submit to God authority. We cannot be too self-centred and selfish. Be loyal in our love for people around us. Be loyal in worshipping God, offer him more time. Be loyal in sharing God's love. Be loyal in admitting our mistakes without bitterness and hatred.
Faith/Abrahim and Courage/Esther. At certain time in our lives, we will be given opportunities to lead e.g cca/church. We must be willing to take on these roles and trust that God will pull you through. There will be difficulties along the way but have faith. Believe that you have the ability to do the job. We are not perfect but God chooses us because he loves us and believes in us. So give your best and trust youself and God.
Paul/Ambition.
I will keep the promise to grow.
Normally a camp is remembered well if the games and activities are enjoyable. But this church camp, my first ever, will be memorable for its ability to touch my heart. Not that the games were not fun, but the emphasis of the camp was more to help campers grow in their Christain life. From this camp, i got to learn several important lessons regarding life.
My camp objectives are to experience God full-time, be more to know new people and guide people to know God. Now that the camp has ended, i can say that these objectives are more or less attained. A new life journey shall begin, one which is more meaningful and fulfilling.
In this camp, we had games, activities and worship. The games involved less group-to-group competition and emphasize more on the people cooperating together to serve people and God. There was an event called Minilution. People had to dress like a kid. There was also a workshop to tell us about our spiritual gifts from God. The name of this church camp is Heroes Camp as there were altogether 5 teachings about 5 different heroes who God has chosen to serve the people. Moses (Obedience), David (Loyalty), Abrahim (Faith), Esther (Courage) and Paul (Ambition). They have really taught me a lot.
We live in an imperfect world with imperfect people. Everyday we flip through the newspaper and see reports on murder, robbery, arsenal, etc. People are not perfect. They are guilty of many sins and lack in several abilities. Nevertheless, God uses us and fulfill our dreams. We rely on God and put trust in him because he will guide us on the way to success. Even though every one of us lacks in certain ability, God continues to encourage us to serve people, in doing things that will show love to the rest. God is a great motivation in our lives because he will be the cheerleader, supporting us when we feel incapable. We must keep in mind that we cannot be as perfect as God and we are the sheep in this world, seeking to learn and improve oneself as much as possible. To do so, we need to constantly seek help from God and also ask him for advices to improve ourselves. It is very difficult for us to tell if we do something wrong or not, so we will need a shepherd to guide us along the way, someone who is also not perfect but given the honour by God to love people. I shall no longer just remain in my comfort zone but venture out of it. Do something that i am not suited of doing, so that i will learn to rely on God for aid. The fact is that no one in this world is perfectly suited for any tasks but the honour has been presented to us by our holy God. So maybe i can be a shepherd one day. And for the pioneering that Jasmine mentioned, i could try too, if my schedule allows me.
But being a shepherd will not be easy. You will have to love your sheep, give him all your best, visit him when he's ill, be sad if he commit a sin, be happy when you see him grow, etc. From the camp, i realise that i have never loved anyone before in my life. I have always failed to give my all to any person because i'm gulity of been too selfish at times. I have the tendency to care more for myself and not for others. To love someone, it really takes a lot of courage and commitment. I must give and examples how i can give are to teach a friend or to buy a gift for a friend to encourage his or her spiritual life. Sacrifice till it hurts. This camp told me that i have not been committed to love a person before. Perhaps i'm not ready yet but there is never a perfect time. So what i have to do is to improve my spiritual life, look to God. He will give me the opportunity one day and i must not reject it. I must believe that i'm capable of doing it and God will guide me along the way.
I have a simple faith in God. During obstacles and difficulties, I will definitely seek help from God because he serve people so well. God is so great as to send his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our numerous sins to redeem us. It is so hurting to see a loved one been killed or commit a sin. When i see a friend doing something wrong, i will have the urge to help him or her. We must submit to God's will. Life definitely exists plenty of room for improvement. Put faith in God to grow in our spiritual life. Even when life is simple and slack, do not forget God's love. I admit that when there's no difficulties like studies to drive me, i tend to stray away from God. So i'll promise to give him more of my time, set my daily quiet time at 10.30pm.
I learnt about the different spiritual gifts by God to people. For me, it's the gift of craftmanship, adminstation and help/serving. True, i can help people like in studies. I believe that i should commit myself to make use of these gifts to serve people, encourage people to build up their lives spiritually and open up to people to talk and explain to them about how God loves us so much. It is very difficult to love someone unless you are emotionally attached. God brings Christains together as a whole family, attaching us so that we can develop ourselves too, to be more selfless to each other.
This camp has helped me grow. I learn that sometimes i am too prideful of my own ability. For example when playing games, i will tend to chiong and neglect the rest because i think that i am more fit than the rest. I will ignore other people's contribution in the process. God taught me to slow down and give thought to others. Be willing to give them their equal share of responsibility.
Moses/Humility. God know us inside out, our sins. We must admit our wrongs, repent and do something right. God is great. He blesses us to overcome these problems. We must acknowledge this and be willing to give him all. Rely on God so that we will be somebody.
David/Loyalty. We must stay committed to care for the people, encourage people to know him and submit to God authority. We cannot be too self-centred and selfish. Be loyal in our love for people around us. Be loyal in worshipping God, offer him more time. Be loyal in sharing God's love. Be loyal in admitting our mistakes without bitterness and hatred.
Faith/Abrahim and Courage/Esther. At certain time in our lives, we will be given opportunities to lead e.g cca/church. We must be willing to take on these roles and trust that God will pull you through. There will be difficulties along the way but have faith. Believe that you have the ability to do the job. We are not perfect but God chooses us because he loves us and believes in us. So give your best and trust youself and God.
Paul/Ambition.
I will keep the promise to grow.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
WWS work was slack yesterday. Morning, woke up late, play a bit of psp fifa street 2, afternoon at 1pm went for work. We did some post-camp packing up. Then we had nothing else to do because it was school holidays and there's no preparation for any other school programmes. So the leader Eugene told us to build a raft to compete for the annual raft competition. He challenged us to build it entirely out of Newater bottles, so PUB will be happy. The rest of the day, i had nothing more to do. At night, i finished my fifa street game.
Today, i was making some cookies in the morning to bring to camp for my leaders. Hopefully James won't read my blog before he goes to camp. Keep it as a surprise. Watched Seconds from Disaster, about an explosion in Puerto Rico. Played a new game on psp. Then at night, went out with friend for dinner, then arcade and then went friend's house for mahjong and bridge for an hour or so.
Genesis 22:2 Letting go of what you love. Life is full of obstacles. You will have to let go of things to build yourself up. Do not get troubled by present woes but look more to the future. For example, if a friendship will be jeopardized by a certain decision, let it go. In this way, the friendship will not only remain but will be strengthened too.
Finally, i pray for my sister and mum. I pray that my sister will recover from her rashes, she has been so irritated by it these few days. And my mum will have to undergo an operation this Saturday. I'll be at church camp from Saturday to Tuesday so i won't be there for her. Hope God's presence will bless her though. It's not a major operation but she will have to rest at home for the next whole week. Then i must do house work next week. Ah the thought of it makes me feel lazy. Haha still i've to help out more or less. :)
Today, i was making some cookies in the morning to bring to camp for my leaders. Hopefully James won't read my blog before he goes to camp. Keep it as a surprise. Watched Seconds from Disaster, about an explosion in Puerto Rico. Played a new game on psp. Then at night, went out with friend for dinner, then arcade and then went friend's house for mahjong and bridge for an hour or so.
Genesis 22:2 Letting go of what you love. Life is full of obstacles. You will have to let go of things to build yourself up. Do not get troubled by present woes but look more to the future. For example, if a friendship will be jeopardized by a certain decision, let it go. In this way, the friendship will not only remain but will be strengthened too.
Finally, i pray for my sister and mum. I pray that my sister will recover from her rashes, she has been so irritated by it these few days. And my mum will have to undergo an operation this Saturday. I'll be at church camp from Saturday to Tuesday so i won't be there for her. Hope God's presence will bless her though. It's not a major operation but she will have to rest at home for the next whole week. Then i must do house work next week. Ah the thought of it makes me feel lazy. Haha still i've to help out more or less. :)
Monday, December 8, 2008
Farewell to a great friend
Today, around noon, i went to send off Joseph at the airport. He will be going back to Malaysia, first for a camp then back home before his school term at Australia International School starts in February. He applied through his Prelims results so he wouldn't need to come back to Singapore for his A levels results. He will be studying environmental engineering, same as me.
I was the only VJC person there sending him off. Didn't ask the rest because i thought they might be training. But it was public holiday, i forgot. The rest of the people were all his church friends. Even though i didn't know all of them, i didn't feel awkward either because they were very friendly. My fellow God believers. A sense of unity in heart! :) We took photos, prayed for Joseph before he left. It was quite emotional. Joseph shed some tears. So it's good bye..
Joseph has been a great friend to me. We know each other first through track. He took the same events as me, long and triple jump. We are both in Earthwatch too. So many similar things between us lol. And some of our track juniors mix our names up at times. Funny, they say we look alike. I'm really very grateful to him. During the track season, he will always push me on when trainings are tough and tiring. Similarly, i'll push him on. Even though we are less built compared to the rest of the athletes, both of us were able to achieve great things at the end of our track career. He has been a great motivation to me.
This good friend of mine, Joseph, is the main reason why i became a Christain and committed to God. When i'm struggling with injuries, he constantly offered to pray for me so that i will fulfill my dream to achieve something from years of track and field training. He has led me to believe in God's power because i managed to push on despite back pain on the competition day. His prayer must have worked wonders.
So i say farewell to one of my best friend ever. It may be the last time i'll get to see him. I'll wish him all the best and have an exciting life journey ahead. Hope that he will be a great environmental engineer. Maybe one day when i'm working as a fellow environmental engineer, i'll get to work with him. :)
I was the only VJC person there sending him off. Didn't ask the rest because i thought they might be training. But it was public holiday, i forgot. The rest of the people were all his church friends. Even though i didn't know all of them, i didn't feel awkward either because they were very friendly. My fellow God believers. A sense of unity in heart! :) We took photos, prayed for Joseph before he left. It was quite emotional. Joseph shed some tears. So it's good bye..
Joseph has been a great friend to me. We know each other first through track. He took the same events as me, long and triple jump. We are both in Earthwatch too. So many similar things between us lol. And some of our track juniors mix our names up at times. Funny, they say we look alike. I'm really very grateful to him. During the track season, he will always push me on when trainings are tough and tiring. Similarly, i'll push him on. Even though we are less built compared to the rest of the athletes, both of us were able to achieve great things at the end of our track career. He has been a great motivation to me.
This good friend of mine, Joseph, is the main reason why i became a Christain and committed to God. When i'm struggling with injuries, he constantly offered to pray for me so that i will fulfill my dream to achieve something from years of track and field training. He has led me to believe in God's power because i managed to push on despite back pain on the competition day. His prayer must have worked wonders.
So i say farewell to one of my best friend ever. It may be the last time i'll get to see him. I'll wish him all the best and have an exciting life journey ahead. Hope that he will be a great environmental engineer. Maybe one day when i'm working as a fellow environmental engineer, i'll get to work with him. :)
Week Review
It has been a week of fun and emotions. :)
A recap of what i've done for the past week: Tuesday 02/12 to Sunday 08/12
Tuesday, played psp for the whole afternoon. Fifa Street 2. Then went to SDD. Most of the girls looked so different because of make-up. The guys looked the same. The food sucks. The MC had all his sick jokes esp during the Q&A for the prom kings and queens. Prom king was Nazri! Prom queen Isabelle. Took a lot of photos with my friends during SDD.
Wednesday. After SDD, most of my class went to Ashley's house. Played "Beijing Olympics" on the Xbox. Then, played mahjong. I didn't sleep at all and had to leave Ashley's house early to go for work at WWS. I had thought that it will only be a meeting. On the way to WWS, the bus was crowded so i had to stand on the bus. But somehow i managed to fall asleep at times, my knee knocking onto the side of the bus. Lol. When i reached the place, there were many other people too. I assumed that i had to attend the meeting with them so i sat round the table with them. When the people-in-charge came out and make a head count, she was surprised that there were more people than listed. She called out the names and didn't mention mine. Then she laughed and said, "Oh you our member, you should be inside." At the office, i had to read through the details of the camp that they will be organising over the next few days. I had to skip the word for life session at church that day because they wanted me to stay over to help clean up the place. The place was so dusty. When we swept the place, dust was blowing out as though the place was on fire! Together with the facilitators, we attended a few more briefings. I really had trouble keeping myself awake, nodding off at times. After work, i met James near church for shepherding. He gave me a pre-camp devotion guide and asked me to set myself camp objectives. They are to experience god full-time, be more open to people and ask god to teach me how to guide people to him.
Thursday morning, went to unit caregroup at Mount Faber. I had decided the previous day to skip work on Thursday morning because i was too tired. But i wanted to spring a surprise to my friends so i didn't tell them that i was going. In the end, i was late because meeting time was made earlier. We had a mini Amazing Race but the main aim of it was to bond our unit together and get to know new friends. The games involved a lot of running. Didn't feel as tired as the rest because i was the only tracker aside Li Yin. My team Anzio was Team Number One. Yay! Had a mini picnic together, ate bread with tuna/ham/cheese/etc, before it started to rain and we had to run down the mountain. Thank god i didn't fall because i was running with slippers and nearly couldn't brake. Phew! Had lunch at Vivo City then went WWS to report for work. At WWS, the camp was already on-going but some of the activities such as bike patrol had to be cancelled because of the rain.
Friday, i spent the whole day working at WWS. It was quite slack in the morning because the secondary school students were left to do their own stuffs and they didn't need much help from members like me. They were building sand castles so i took a bike to cycle around for fun. There's a pool table at the work place so free pool! Played pool and some card games with Shiang Nee. Late afternoon, it was the event of the camp. Raft building. The students had to build rafts using wooden planks, PVC pipe, containers and strings. Then, they had to race a short distance along the sea. It was quite fun. Some of the rafts worked while others shattered before they started racing. Kenji came in the evening after his internship at MOE. After the raft competition, it was back to slacking. Shiang Nee left early because she was sick. Got drenched by rain the previous day. Kenji and I played 8 games of pool before we left. I was on form for pool man! Play 2 games with Shiang Nee, won both. Played 8 games with Kenji, won the first 7 games. 9-1.
Saturday morning, went to WWS again. It was time to break camp. We had to clean up and after that, reflect on the events of the camp. It was actually quite smooth flowing except for the rain. The students were also quite obedient, something that is seldom these days. In my previous camp, Under No Roof, i had a terrible time handling the participants. The participants were JC1 students from different JCs who came from the same secondary school class, one of them Joel, my church friend now. He was the more obedient one while the rest of his friends didn't bother doing reflections on the camp. At this WWS camp, i was surprised when one of the students came to me with his diary and asked me, "In one word, how will i describe my role in WWS?" I told him member. After that, went for church service. Before service, had something like a usher interview with the rest of usher-wannabes, actually just a sharing session on why i wanted to be an usher for my church lol.
Sunday afternoon, taught Rochelle some maths. She had to take R-paper when school starts. Went to play mahjong at Ben Tay's house after that.
A recap of what i've done for the past week: Tuesday 02/12 to Sunday 08/12
Tuesday, played psp for the whole afternoon. Fifa Street 2. Then went to SDD. Most of the girls looked so different because of make-up. The guys looked the same. The food sucks. The MC had all his sick jokes esp during the Q&A for the prom kings and queens. Prom king was Nazri! Prom queen Isabelle. Took a lot of photos with my friends during SDD.
Wednesday. After SDD, most of my class went to Ashley's house. Played "Beijing Olympics" on the Xbox. Then, played mahjong. I didn't sleep at all and had to leave Ashley's house early to go for work at WWS. I had thought that it will only be a meeting. On the way to WWS, the bus was crowded so i had to stand on the bus. But somehow i managed to fall asleep at times, my knee knocking onto the side of the bus. Lol. When i reached the place, there were many other people too. I assumed that i had to attend the meeting with them so i sat round the table with them. When the people-in-charge came out and make a head count, she was surprised that there were more people than listed. She called out the names and didn't mention mine. Then she laughed and said, "Oh you our member, you should be inside." At the office, i had to read through the details of the camp that they will be organising over the next few days. I had to skip the word for life session at church that day because they wanted me to stay over to help clean up the place. The place was so dusty. When we swept the place, dust was blowing out as though the place was on fire! Together with the facilitators, we attended a few more briefings. I really had trouble keeping myself awake, nodding off at times. After work, i met James near church for shepherding. He gave me a pre-camp devotion guide and asked me to set myself camp objectives. They are to experience god full-time, be more open to people and ask god to teach me how to guide people to him.
Thursday morning, went to unit caregroup at Mount Faber. I had decided the previous day to skip work on Thursday morning because i was too tired. But i wanted to spring a surprise to my friends so i didn't tell them that i was going. In the end, i was late because meeting time was made earlier. We had a mini Amazing Race but the main aim of it was to bond our unit together and get to know new friends. The games involved a lot of running. Didn't feel as tired as the rest because i was the only tracker aside Li Yin. My team Anzio was Team Number One. Yay! Had a mini picnic together, ate bread with tuna/ham/cheese/etc, before it started to rain and we had to run down the mountain. Thank god i didn't fall because i was running with slippers and nearly couldn't brake. Phew! Had lunch at Vivo City then went WWS to report for work. At WWS, the camp was already on-going but some of the activities such as bike patrol had to be cancelled because of the rain.
Friday, i spent the whole day working at WWS. It was quite slack in the morning because the secondary school students were left to do their own stuffs and they didn't need much help from members like me. They were building sand castles so i took a bike to cycle around for fun. There's a pool table at the work place so free pool! Played pool and some card games with Shiang Nee. Late afternoon, it was the event of the camp. Raft building. The students had to build rafts using wooden planks, PVC pipe, containers and strings. Then, they had to race a short distance along the sea. It was quite fun. Some of the rafts worked while others shattered before they started racing. Kenji came in the evening after his internship at MOE. After the raft competition, it was back to slacking. Shiang Nee left early because she was sick. Got drenched by rain the previous day. Kenji and I played 8 games of pool before we left. I was on form for pool man! Play 2 games with Shiang Nee, won both. Played 8 games with Kenji, won the first 7 games. 9-1.
Saturday morning, went to WWS again. It was time to break camp. We had to clean up and after that, reflect on the events of the camp. It was actually quite smooth flowing except for the rain. The students were also quite obedient, something that is seldom these days. In my previous camp, Under No Roof, i had a terrible time handling the participants. The participants were JC1 students from different JCs who came from the same secondary school class, one of them Joel, my church friend now. He was the more obedient one while the rest of his friends didn't bother doing reflections on the camp. At this WWS camp, i was surprised when one of the students came to me with his diary and asked me, "In one word, how will i describe my role in WWS?" I told him member. After that, went for church service. Before service, had something like a usher interview with the rest of usher-wannabes, actually just a sharing session on why i wanted to be an usher for my church lol.
Sunday afternoon, taught Rochelle some maths. She had to take R-paper when school starts. Went to play mahjong at Ben Tay's house after that.
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