Philippines: Log Entry 2

It sure feels odd not being in FCC on Sunday morning. I really miss my family back in KL. But being in Baguio AG is a breath of fresh air. The music team was led by their youth pastor, Pastor Brian. They had a violinist too!! Gosh I absolutely love that. And it's true what's been said - Phillipinos can really sing. I was rather embarassed when I sang & played the keyboard, assisting my dad in his message.

Besides getting to know Pastor Brian, (who happens to be a really hardworking youth pastor and a fellow PK!!) who is such an inspiration, I really had fun getting to know Pastor Dennis. I like that guy. First impression was that his face can't stop smiling... Or maybe he was just being apologetic because he made 5 of us squeeze into the backseat of the car. Even though he's 32, he's really young at heart. I was learning a phrase in Tagalog & had fun with it a bit - he laughed hard & said "You rock!!". WOW, no one his age says that kind of thing!! Not in Malaysia. Someone says 'you rock' and laughs at your jokes? You got to love that guy. And there's also another thing about him that would make the guys back in KL like him....

SpongeBob Squarepants!!

Another highlight of the day would be our shopping at SM Shopping Complex. I only like shopping when I have something I want or need to buy. But firearms are easily accessible in the Phillipines, so we went to a shop where the salesperson was nice enough to let us hold the guns even though it's obvious we weren't going to buy it. It was another one of a kind experience.

Samuel, Lemuel & myself had some encounters that are both funny and embarassing at the same time. I took out a T-shirt to show Lemuel, I thought he might want to buy it. As soon as I lifted it up, the salesgirl immediately went "Oh we have larger size"... That's my sad encounter. Then Lemuel had a weird argument with another salesgirl as Lemuel claimed that she said he's hot. Haha... Who would you believe?

Samuel's encounter was at a shop where they sold funny spoof T-shirts. He finally chose one & asked the lady what size he should get.

Sam: What's my size?

Lady: Large.

Sam: You mean that I'm large?

Lady: No no!! It's not you, it's your size!! You're not
large, your size is large...

By the way, this is the T-shirt that Samuel bought...

Philippines: Log Entry 1

The Philippines trip so far as been a wonderful experience for me. We spent most of day 1 travelling - car, plane, and van. The road trip wasn't that pleasant, but flying was very rewarding - it was my first time looking at the sky from so high... Naturally I took lots of video and pictures.

Almost as beautiful is Baguio. Almost everywhere we've turned there's a picture perfect moment. According to Lemuel, we still have much to explore, and we'll have till Wednesday (01/08) to do just that.

Apart from trashing Lemuel & Samuel in Winning Eleven, the highlights for me are the food here & the new friends we have got to know & enjoy. Last night we were treated to awesome Korean dinner, where we got to know several friends from Thailand, & this morning we met up with the Baguio AG pastor over a Philippino breakfast. So far everyone has been so warm & helpful.

Haha, purposely took this shot... like a private investigator...

Another first time experience for everyone is the prison ministry. It's really one of a kind. This is their weekly service (3.30pm - 4.30pm) & we were fortunate to participate and minister to them. Brother Jim shared his testimony & my dad spoke of the story of Prodigal Son. Personally I was very inspired by both their sharings. And judging by the prisoners' response, they too were touched by that message of HOPE, something I initially thought was impossible. But Father God did His magic and made us look good in the process. It was a great honour to be a participant in His work.

Singapore Photo Album

I spent 3 days 2 nights in Singapore. Came back only on Wednesday late evening, and now I'm packing again for a 2 weeks' trip to Phillipines. So all I have on Singapore is this photo album. It's not much.... Will blog as soon as I can spend an hour or 2 in front of the PC. Till then, here are pictures from that trip, as well as pictures from the previous WPCs...

2007 July 14 & 21

Singapore Trip 2007

WPC 07/07/07

Shekinah Youth Inferno came to town last weekend, and they were touched by the Weekend Pictionary Club (WPC).

I was busy playing futsal with the guys, so Phoebe taught them how to play the best board game in the world. And it was through there I found out why it took the PKs 4 HOURS to finish 1 game of pictionary. I think my WPC will produce an official video guide on the way the game is supposed to be played. Anyhow, I believe they thoroughly enjoyed the game.

That Saturday night, WPC headed back to base. This time we had Josephine playing with us for the first time.

Round 1: Rabeekah teamed up with Josephine to compete with Justin and I.

Judging from both pictures of Rabeekah, I think she missed my partnership. Good thing we weren't separated for long...

Round 2: Jacklyn & Justin versus Rabeekah & I.

Jacklyn came in in replacement of Josephine & decided to partner with Justin. And even though we were on the same team, Rabeekah & I had a really tough time. Justin in particular improved immensedly that night. The following picture depicts the drama:

(picture cropped out from the first picture above.)

Anyway, notice the positions of both teams on the board? Rabeekah & I were the yellow piece. But we fought back strong & cause the opposition to panic...

My team emerged out of the intense drama as winners!!

that's how intense it was!!

*sing* I... had Pictionary in my house,

Never knew it could be so fun...

Why did it take me so long just to find

A friend that was there all along... *trumpet rift*

*change song* Friend Forever.... *end with guitar strum*

I've Quitted My Job

June 29, 2007, was my last day at my job of 2 years and 4 months. There was such an adreneline rush as I packed all my stuff; an excitement of having something that I want to come to my end, actually coming to an end. It was only as I typed the traditional 'farewell' email to my colleagues that I began to shed some tears. It sunk in - I will miss the people whom I've seen most in the past 2 years. I held back my tears as I shook their hands & gave some hugs.

I'm so thankful that I've been fortunate enough to be a part of that company. The people there were so patient with me & helped me so much as I grew from a young kid to a working adult (i'm still a young kid). I hope I have given a little something for them as well.

Now when I pray for them, I sweep through the office & remember them by their seating. I don't know if I'll ever forget what it was like there. But I know it's the right thing to do, leaving that job. I'm at exactly where I've envisioned myself to be. It was strange, at first, that God-given vision of mine. Quitting only after June would mean getting a 4-month extension on my previous contract. 4 months!! But I got it, amazingly. Now I'm mentally and emotionally ready for such a time as this.

So what's next for me?

My big plan is to make yet another movie. These 2-3 months my primary focus would be on writing and filming my second ever movie production. And if everything goes according to plan, I have sponsors & enough cash to do it like the pros. Of course, there are other things that I will be doing::

1. Make my passport.

2. Travel to Singapore & Phillipines.

3. Weekends are focused on youths & the weekend pictionary club.

4. Watch DVDs!!

5. Catch up with old friends & get them hooked on PICTIONARY!!

Wish me luck. If you want, you can even pray for me. Thank you all.