26th & 27th June

What a significant weekend in our lives!! TOUCH were so kind to throw us this 'Joash & May Appreciation Night' that Saturday. It was a night full of fun & laughter, which for me was the best way to say goodbye. No tears, as we were there to celebrate our friendship & God's faithfulness in our lives; no tearful goodbyes, as we will continue to love & support one another - our lives will always be knitted together.

That night, I was really proud of TOUCH. The growth I saw in some of them - it was as though a year has passed. How comforting to know that a positive change had caused them to rise up & grow. Surprises came mostly from the girls - Rabeeka can finally sing & play guitar at the same time!! Loved that malay song the girls sang, very well done. Completely amazed by how Dawn, Joanna & Shekinah were willing to sing for us - touching indeed. The guys pulled out some stops as well - who knew Ken Chung would be my favourite MC!! And what about that epic Ultraman dance? Totally digged the straight faces!!

Of course we won't forget the notes & letters that individuals have written to us. I hope that when TOUCH invites us back for youth service, we'll be able to present to you all a scrapbook as well.

Then came Sunday, where Pastor David (my uncle) officially introduced us & welcomed us into New Life Restoration Centre, Shah Alam. Conversations in the past month had left me wishing that I've come several years earlier - so that we were integrated with these good people & know the works God has done among them. Stepping into Joash Tan's shoes is a daunting task indeed. I am way less awesome than he is (I'll never get near), but good thing the health of the youth ministry will very much dependant upon the awesomeness of Jesus.

I started work since July 1st, & everyday I'm completely relying on God's grace & guidance to be a blessing to the church. Would you please keep praying for us?

New Beginnings

Dear friends, I am pleased to be able to finally announce that I have entered into full time ministry with New Life Restoration Centre, Shah Alam.

Full time:
What a crazy & amazing journey it has been. Growing up as a PK, I've always been reluctant to work as a pastor or full time minister. Then came working life, which helped me discover that I really want to spend my life living out Galatians 5:6 - to express faith through love (sorry but I can't think of a simpler way to explain it). So I ventured into working freelance in the year 2007 to have more time for ministry. But that turned out to be a wild wild journey of self-discovery (I must have driven May crazy!!) that led me to this decision.


Leaving FCC:
It came pretty suddenly for the church, but May & I knew for quite a while that we had to move away from FCC in order for everybody involved to move forward. I had to move into another phase of my walk, and TOUCH had their road ahead of them too. I had to let go of a ministry I've come to be perhaps too familiar with; and TOUCH had to release me in order to begin fulfilling their God-given potentials & calling.

NLRC, SA:
When my uncle enquired about my availability to serve in the church he founded, I just felt that God was opening this door for us. Moving to Kota Kemuning is a big adjustment for us, but the peace of God has been steadily with us. Officially, I start here on July 1st; but since mid May we've had opportunities to get to know many new friends. In a way, it felt like home right from the beginning - I have many relatives in this church, & it is in a children's camp organized by my uncle & aunty that I've became a Christian at the age of 7. =)

Okay that's all for now. I'll be blogging more of what transpired. But if you're anxious to know, let's just meet on facebook. Or at a coffee place - your treat =)

In the past 2 months, I've had the privilege of meeting 3 other Joashs. All of them showed amazing qualities & really likable personalities. I keep thinking about how I wish I was more like them. These other Joashs really inspire me to be a better person - a better Joash.

One of them is Joash Wee. I incidentally met him in Kuantan while on holiday. He was visiting relatives. And though we were only together for less than 5 minutes, I was sincerely drawn to him. Something about his charm & charisma, things I wish I had in reserves. Unfortunately, tragedy struck & he passed away - just mere 3 days after I've met him.

As news passed on via facebook, it turned out that some of my friends actually know this Joash personally. And I would like to say, to those whose lives have crossed paths with Joash Wee, that even in the short time I was with him, I was blessed. So I'm sure you all had great moments with him. He somehow inspired me to be better, and now even more so in his death.

I was thinking about the purpose of doing the things we do... youth service, cell groups, mentoring relationships... It's not to train another generation to run the youth group. Rather, our responsibility is to raise up people who love God & love people. The end goal, is that we will all be good & faithful servants, good stewards with the gifts & people that He has entrusted us with. And along the way, I believe we're suppose to really enjoy ourselves, don't ya think? =)