i'm home!

back safe and sound from thailand. it's been the most eventful, emotional, exciting and exhausting two weeks of my LIFE!

will share more in my newsletter. which looks set to be VERY long... =b haha..

anyways today we had thanksgiving for the project at hard rock cafe. it was weird to see everyone dressed nice and dolled up somewhat. =) rather bittersweet cos i know the project is over. the ultimate road trip of our lives continues, but the project TURT 2006 is over..

sob sob

quite heartwrenching at times, but then i remember that God holds us all in the palm of His hand. He won't let us go. and i'm excited about where He's going to take each individual in the months and years to come! really! there is SUCH huge potential in these lives... i really wanna see where each path leads.

dear God. i have learnt from this trip that You are God, and i am not. that You are strong and i am weak. that You know best, and i really need to let go of my own ways of thinking and trust You more. truly, Your ways are higher than my ways and Your thoughts than my thoughts. thank You for molding me through the struggles and pain, and for being my Comforter through it all.

thank You that You love each one os us so dearly. and it's no mistake that we were in TURT 2006 together. continue to guide us down the path You have set for us. draw us nearer to You through the circumstances, conflicts and people that we meet. allow us to always have You as our leading light, our loving Father, our best friend, and our one true hope. help us to build one another up to be more like You, and to love one another as You have loved us. let us not become strangers, but continue to weave our lives together, somehow, into something beautiful. may our lives be a blessing to one another. amen.

presenting...

.. AUDIO XCHANGE!!!

don't they look just BEE_YOU_TEE_FULL? my duckies...

heh heh.

notice the transformation. (see what they looked like at the beginning in my previous posts! =b)

mad frenzy of blogging

hee... i think i've blogged... five times today? =b heh heh. making up for lost time...

anyhow i had a good time visiting all my friend's blogs to catch up on their lives. it was good. =)

feeling quite excited cos tomorrow morning we are leaving for thailand! i'm like jittery cos i'm afraid something will wrong - typical me - but also excited to be finally going. also feeling really sad that i have to leave mel here. he can't even see me off at the airport cos he's rostered to play for church worship that morning.

yesterday we had an afternoon together. his company is in the process of moving, so he got to work from home. so i met him for lunch (a very long lunch... hee) and as we were walking ard parkway we saw this really cool mosaic frame kit. so we bought it, and we went to cafe cartel, and sat there for the next two hours, sticking the tiny tiles one by one onto the wooden frame.

our finished product is a bit crooked and stuff, but it's really special to me, cos it's something spontaneous we did together, and it's made by both of us, and it's BEAUTIFUL! i can't wait to put a really nive photo of us in it! =D

today i went up to woodlands to meet him for lunch again, in between his worship prac and service (he had prac in the morning, and there's a service in the afternoon). yummy pasta and pasta mania, then we walked around the shops, but i didn't buy anything... just felt kinda sad cos i knew i wouldn't see him for 2 weeks.

he sent me all the way home, even though he had to leave straight away to go back to woodlands for the service. so sweet right? i was very touched. but i was kinda sad during the car ride still....

anyway when i got home and he had gone, i opened the card he gave me. and i CRIED!!! it was so touching, so sincere... and i really treasure it a lot! i really feel so blessed to have such a sweet bf, and i'm GOING TO MISS YOU!!! =(

sigh...

felt quite sad after that... wanted to nap but kept tearing... but feeling better now. i felt that God is making me go through this so that i will not become 'dependent' on mel, but keep my heart centered on God. that He is my source of joy and strength, not mel. so... this trip is kind of a 'training' for me to be independent, and to grow.

still sad, but full of hope that God will carry me through.

mel, you are so special to me. i know that you will miss me too, and that God will be your Comforter and your Friend. thank you for being there for me, for walking with me through the good times and grouchy ones, and for your patience and love. =)

more pics from my pink party

thanks dan. really love the pics you took!

when i get married, you're gonna be my photographer right right right?? heh heh

sorry i haven't quite been there for ya recently. been like working and busy and not very 'friend-like'. but really thank you for your friendship, and for inspiring me with your picture perfect moments.

http://bullettothehead.multiply.com/photos/album/130

pciture moments from TURT alpha camp 15-17 may

me


teaching my session on "life in the Spirit"


team building games


more games... balancing on balloons!


thai bbq nite!


our food caught on fire!


decked in our thai finery


'thai' squares!



here's putting faces to the names!

hansel


joel and charlene


noel


julienne, lynnette and jae


marvin

my anchor passages

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [a]

2 I will say [b] of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."


2 Corinthians 1:8-11

We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our[a] behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

His strength is perfect

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength,
But sometimes I wonder what He can do through me;
No great success to show, No glory on my own,
Yet in my weakness He is there to let me know . . .

CHORUS
His strength is perfect when our strength is gone;
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on.
Raised in His power, the weak become strong;
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect.

We can only know
The power that He holds
When we truly see how deep our weakness goes;
His strength in us begins
Where ours comes to an end.
He hears our humble cry and proves again . . .

to listen to this song, please click on the link on the left. =) hope it blesses you as much as it did me.

very overdue blog

i'd better blog or i'll forget stuff.

it's been a really emotional ride.

i remember being so upset when i first found out i was leading turt. i didn't want to lead, and i ESPECIALLY didn't want to lead a team to thailand. i was quite frustrated about things and felt so alone and helpless and misunderstood.

but God has been slowly changing my heart. as we prayed for Thailand, as i spent time with the students, as i began to see my own strengths and weaknesses more, He has helped me to overcome some of my fears. He has been so faithful to me.

the band has been hard at work preparing for their concert program. i am so darn proud of them! they have put in 110% effort, and more! always cheerful, always willing to try things out, always giving their best... i really love them to bits. haha... even call them my darlings and ducklings sometimes =b *cringe*

but really, it's been a joy. thank You God for such a wonderful bunch.

God has also encouraged me so much to see them succeed. i was really fearful at the beginning that i would mess up, or be a bad band director, like unable to direct them effectively. but He gave me the words to say when i was lost, He encouraged me by their humility, and He has really pulled this program together!

along the way, He has also shown me where i fall short. how my love for people is so puny in comparison to His perfect love. i saw that many times i was 'fighting' for attention from my seniors. like how i want to be appreciated, to be encouraged. like how i envy others who can lead better than me, or who are more skilled than me. and how i can take their comments personally and hold a grudge.

yes, God is shaping me too.

i guess the 2 most important lessons for me are:

1. i am who i am by God's grace.

Your grace has found me just as I am, empty handed but alive in Your hands!

2. i need to dwell on God more. to rest in Him.

not just to read the Bible or pray a prayer, but to really... bask in Him. to take little snippets of the day to think about Him, to process how He has been showing me things... to just enjoy Him.

it's very hard for me to do cos i like doing stuff, and getting things DONE. but He is slowly helping me to remember to rest more.


so. we leave for thailand on sunday morning. i'm all packed! haha... tomorrow i'll update more on my roles, so you can pray for me =b thanks!