it's been a looong time...

almost two weeks since my last blog!

my life has been kind of packed, i guess.

most memorable of the past 10 days plus is the staff women's conference at batam from 21-24 feb.

it was awesome!!! =) thanks to those whose support allowed me to go for this conference. it was supposed to be semi-retreat, but i didn't get much chance to really rest, because i was playing for the worship every morning and night. so we would have practice in the afternoon for night worship, then practice after the night sessions for the morning worship... so... yeah tiring... =b bleah

but God was good. He met us each personally at this conference, whether during the worship time, the seminar sessions, or in our personal time with Him.

for me, He met me as I listened to the heartfelt, utterly vulnerable, totally honest sharing of my fellow colleagues, and women that I respect and admire. hearing their own struggles and joys, and how they made God a major part of such times, and how they have GROWN through trials and adversity... all these stories of women of faith - they have inspired me to press on, to TRUST GOD MORE, and to dare to dream.

one woman shared about how she has had to struggle with the pain of seeing her own son turn away from God, and from his family. how she had to make hard choices, to help him learn consequences, and to 'force' him to grow up. through it all, she felt that God was teaching her to trust Him, and to surrender her son to Him, and to me, i was like... WOW...

another woman shared how she and her husband tried for a child for many years, and were unable to. they sought medical help for a few years, even going through rounds of self-injections (for the wife) and treatments... but to no avail. finally, they decided to adopt, and just at the right time, God opened a door for them, and they were able to adopt a girl. and the woman shared how, now, looking back, she doesn't regret a SINGLE THING!!?! that she could see God's hand at work in her own heart, through those years of disappointments, shattered hopes and sorrow... He was asking her to trust Him for His best, and that was her now-adopted daughter, who loves her so so much!

it really tugs at the heart to hear all these stories and more... pretty emotionall draining, in a way, but oh, so inspiring and special.

another major part of the conference was having a Korean leader speak to us on the book of Ruth. I tell you, i have NEVER seen any part of the Bible so indepthly! She took us through the first two chapters only, chapter by chapter. it was amazing, seeing the story, the characters unfold before my eyes! i saw ruth, naomi, boaz, as such real people - not just fictional characters on a page, but real feeling, special people.

one side effect of this is that i've been thinking of maybe signing up for a course of sth that will help me in discovering the Bible even more. i know i can use tools like concordances and expositories... but i've seen how important and crucial it can be to know the root meaning of the hebrew word, the context etc. i'm still prayerfully considering this, because i know taking such a course will take a lot of effort, time and money - all of which are a bit in short supply on the ground for now...

through these 4 days, i also enjoyed the times spent with my room mate, grace. i guess we were kind of together all the time. because we were both involved in the worship times, we shared the room, and we had stuff to talk about. =) it was nice to share honestly and openly with her, to hear her thoughts and feelings, and to just be there for each other. and we had fun in the pool too! heh... she swam laps and i floundered round the edge of the pool to the jacuzzi =b

yes, i can't swim very well.

* * *


yesterday was my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY with mel!!! =)

*claps*

it was really sweet. we had a very relaxed chill-out date at coffee club, and shared about things on our minds, and just spent time catching up with how we're feeling... then it was on to orchard to gai gai for a while. hee... then we had a very romantic and yummy and refreshing dinner at Villa Bali - this very cool resort-like restaurant that he discovered.

it was so surreal and tranquil. really like being at a resort. fountain... trellis vines... rattan chairs... comfy sofas... the sounds of soft music... wooden floors... thatched canopies overhead... candles... koi in the pond...

of course, i kind of spoiled the 'moment' for a while, when my knife which had curry on it (we were eating naan) flew off the table and onto my precious new white dress!!! i yelped, and got very agitated for a while. really felt so urgghhh.... but then, on the way to the loo to rescue the poor white fabric, i was reminded that it's just a dress... but this was an evening to remember, a gift from mel, and from God, to me! so... i cheered up considerably and enjoyed the rest of the night anyways =D

the best date i've ever had =)