Friends That Are Good To Have

Rabeeka getting into the reading groove...

Phoebe, the new kid on the block...

Doing what girls do...

It was great fun being host to Phoebe. Big thanks to Justin (yea he was with us too) & Rabeeka for coming along.

This is for Lydia

from left: Alina, Rachel, Lydia

All the best, Lydia, in your search for a job in Canada. May God's favour be upon you.

Tutoring Again

It's been 2 years. Now I bring in new perpective & new methods into my teaching. I feel like I've somewhat matured with the role I play in church. And of course I'm glad to have May come along on this. It would be a great training ground for us.

Bring It To Them

In the past years, God has allowed me to cross paths with a group of people whom I have developed a burden for. I've got to know each one individually, at different times, and somehow their hearts were open to me. I've been fortunate enough to hear their story & at least attempt to speak life into their circumstances. These people know Jesus & have once upon a time been a part of a local church, but not anymore - a loved one's disapproval, a change of address, a broken heart, misunderstanding towards God & the church... You might have heard of one of those stories before.

I've shared this burden with my lovely cell group time & time again. I told them that if God wills it, I want to start a cell group with this group of people. But I'm constantly reminding myself that the main motivation must not be that they return to the church, but that I, a living stone of the local church, represent God & His body to reach out to them - to love them, to invest into their lives, to restore their relationship with God, to bring them the hope of the knowledge of an ever-loving, ever-forgiving Father.

Truthfully, I have no clue how to do this. It feels as if I'm starting a NEW CHURCH. I don't know if I have the courage of the earlier generation (in Malaysia) - they put everything on the line, & started with a weekly attendance of 1, 2, 3, under a mango tree.

Pray for me. Pray also for the people God has placed in my heart. Thank you.

Philippines: Log Entry 4

If Baguio was heaven, Manila was hell. We spent all of our 6 hours there going to the slumps of Manila, the poorest areas. Everything was just too much to bear in that short span of time. The heat, the level of poverty, the smell, the people, the dirt, the sights....

The poorest and the richest - so near yet so far...

They live here.

He was borned here.


The kids play here.

It took us almost 3 days to fully recover from the fatigue. We were able to gather our thoughts much quicker, & we can't help but wonder WHY they choose to remain in the circumstances they are in now. It's uncomprehendable. They came, built a house in the dumpsite, and raised a family there. WHY WHY WHY? Were they not able to choose another way? Now a new generation is surfacing from that place. What kind of people will they grow up to be?

click here for more pictures.

Home

So many things left unblogged, but right now I'm just looking forward to participating in music practice, youth service, & the PK Gathering tonight...

I'M HOME!!

Thank you, Philippines!! It was a blast.

more pictures to come.... =)

Philippines: Log Entry 3

Things have slowed down since Uncle Jim & Aunty Lai Lee flew back to Malaysia on Monday. We tried many different types of food, took many beautiful pictures, & did a whole lot of shopping. All these things are possible because of Pastor Tham Wan & Moon Tee's hospitality. They are really something different - totally raised the standards for being a host.

Our great hosts.

APTS, the place we've been staying for the past 6 days.

The APTS compound is a very beautiful place. Samuel, Lemuel, & myself got to play some futsal & basketball here. Oh ya, they have this really steep slope we had to climb too. And it was to our benefit, considering the amount of rice we consumed over here. We attended APTS's morning chapel services. It's a very light & easy service, with pretty good music & much laughter. Here, we met with many different personalities from various Asian countries & enjoyed their fellowship. We have been blessed indeed.

After Tuesday morning's chapel service, we went to a Muslim kindergarten, managed by a Christian worker - now that's something mind-boggling. The children were not intimidated by our presence at all, in fact they were having lots of fun. We asked a boy what's his name & throughout our entire visit, he kept saying "What's your name?". Haha. My dad sang & danced, some of kids followed & had a blast. Their laughter was such a joy to hear. When we left, the children said "Byebye, Guapo", meaning "Byebye, handsome"... I believe they were referring to Lemuel & Samuel.

Tomorrow morning (02/08), we will be leaving Baguio City at 3am to catch a bus down to Manila, where the second part of our mission trip will begin. I don't know if we will be able to access internet anymore. Hopefully there will be some time to get online to contact loved ones & keep everyone in Malaysia updated on our journey. 1 thing for sure is that our flight back to KL will be on 10 August, 11.45am. Please continually pray for our healths & our ministry here. Thank you very much.

Goodbye, Baguio.