Cambodia

hello from Phenom Penh!! currently blogging in an internet cafe, back facing the blazing, scorching sun. awaiting to enter the Royal palace for a short tour.

we're having a blast here! went to siem reap first and stayed in the Villa, the most friendly, cozy and welcoming hotel. we joined their tours and got to see the amazing temples. Angkor wat, Ta prohm, Angkor Thom, Beng melea.. all of which tells a different story. They also represented the prosperity and power of this land centuries ago. Well other than temples, we visited the stilt villages and experienced parts of local fishing lifestyle. Saw the mobile village, where the people move their homes all the time depending on the water level. Tough but simple life.

I enjoyed talking with the guides and the locals about their life and history. Lots of wars and fear amongst the people until a few years ago where things became more stable. I enjoyed the relaxing pace of life and the many chilling out sessions...

erm.. yes, job hazard.. visited Caritas, one of the many centers for HIV patients. Bought crafts from ladies who made them for a living. Heard some of their stories... heartbreaking. Saw children whose parents have died of HIV. Malnourished and lost. I'm glad to see many non-government organizations came in to aid the people of cambodia.

yea.. just a summary of siem reap. Will talk more about pp later...
My diet coke has dried up. so has my sweat. ha.. so it's time to get up and move into the sun!

i love vacations =) I bet u love it too.

Times of Refreshing

Just came back from Footprints retreat! I feel refreshed, renewed.

During the night worship, i felt like i dropped all my weapons before God saying i cant go on anymore. i can't. I'm tired. I seem to be fighting so much and now i'm worn.

God gently extended His invitation of rest.

Jesus said:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Matt 11:28-30

Come... the invitation requires a step of faith. A humbling experience of "yes, God i'm sorry. i need you". I wonder what took me so long to step out of my own little bubble and enter into His presence; a place of abundance. I found Him. I am loved. God invited me to just dwell in His sweet presence. "Find rest for your soul in ME". No longer do i need to strive with my own strength.. Yes! i have decided to plunge into HIS refreshing promises! Join me!

Psalm 36

The song and Psalm of the season...

Pray continuously, unceasingly.
Worship the Almighty one.
Trust in the Lord and rest in Him.
Find your strength in Him & be renewed today..

Your love, oh Lord
Reaches to the heavens
Your faithfulness stretches to the sky
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains
Your justice flows like the ocean's tide
I will lift my voice
To worship You, my King
I will find my strength
In the shadow of your wings

Congratulations!

Just Married. Happiness.

Lingling got married!! So happy for her!!

Attended her wedding dinner. Caught up with lots of secondary school friends and most of all, miss karen seah. The lady who introduced Christ to me. It was a wonderful reunion. We recounted the old days... and wow.. it's been a long time ago. Realized that i've been friends with them for 10 yrs? or more? It was exciting finding out about each others' life. More encouraging to know that many are still serving the Lord faithfully.

i thank God for good friends and good times. anyway, congratulations to the couple!

Free scoop from Ben & Jerry's today!

Happy bday ben, the moo.

aw.. happiness. Brighten up my lunch today!

Had 2 jabs today. aww... *pain* Paid for the expensive vaccines and tabs. But free consultation!!! haha.. guess that's the great thing about knowing docs. Special treatment. Special rates. nice.

anyway, ben & jerry made my day! flushed the pain.

Mooo... moo.... moo away!

Birthday Blast!

yes.. i know... it was a while ago. Neverthless, i still wanna BLOG about the happiness!

The celebration started from Sat night during youth service! My cell got me a cake and gift! =) sweet. Pam gave me a beautiful photo collage!!!
And of course, Dr Maurice Sklar's prophecy and blessings! well.. that shall be another blog entry!! my cell and church friends love me.

Sunday... had dinner with my parents and friends. yummy, full and happy. my papa mama love me.


Monday... stepped into office and saw a mc BIG breakfast plus starbucks latte smiling on my desk. anna and amelia came in with a song and pressies!! So sweet of them! Then jeanette gave me an ikea quilt cover! awww.... happy! Before i went off for the day, idu appeared and gave me a balloon! ha..












jo and i took half a day off from work and went to lunch at Dempsey's Hill. nice of idu to fly us there..! it was a good afternoon of rest.. Oh, and Mr chong appeared! awwww.... surprise!!! anyway, we all ate and chill in culina. Jo passed me my pressie there. shocked!!!! coz it's an ipod!!!!!! aw! something that i've been wanting to have... ipod classic 80G. totally stunned. superly blessed. My colleagues love me.






Me and my pod... JB , me & jo

sorry that's not the end. haha.. we went to watch Horton together! and... lira and jean showed up!!! i was shocked! so happy!!!! The movie was great. katie was sweet and cute. haha...the birthday blast ended in Grand Cop's brio's cafe. I had dinner there with family and friends. Love my cousins..

i'm blessed. and really want to thank God for wonderful family and friends. it feels like yesterday when i was 18. haha.. manymany years have passed since. =p

Happily Ever After...

The wedding =)

i miss them so much! My dearest brother and sister-in-law!

the wedding took place in jan 08!

The wedding was exciting but tiring. My bro and sis-in-law are special. Their wedding was international! ya.. Aussie, china and singapore! phew. By the time they were in Singapore, they were already well-prepared and know exactly what to do and say...:)

Time passes so quickly... it seemed like not too long ago when my brother and i were really young and did lots of silly stuff together. ya, if you have no idea... let me tell you.. he was such a bully! Well, even now that we've grown up, his annoying, bully nature has not changed!!

Anyway, really thank God for a wonderful family.

Manymany blessings for bro and da-sao!

hurray!

yes! i'm happy... i finally have internet connection of my own! :) cheers!!! it's been a while since i can surf so freely. The last time i did was in my dorm... kinda miss my dorm days. Maybe it's time to visit the land of stars and stripes again... everytime i hear jojo talk about her dream, i feel excited for her and somehow wish i could go with her. anyway, a mini shout-out for now! "i'm a surfer!!!"

Happy New Year

=) my fav time of the year!

Yup.. it's true! Coz i get to eat all my fav cookies... Pineapple tarts rating system emerges as well! I find myself rating the tarts in my mind as i eat them.. hehe. This year's champion is the homemade one that i bought from a friend. *ooowwwwww*

Did a few things over these 2 days of break... eat, sleep, talk, smile, drive and the same cycle over and over again! ya, i've been using pammie's honda. =) Thank God for trusting friends!

Oh, and i sent pastor yvonne off too! she left for missions in India. gonna miss her :(

Anyway, God has poured fourth so much goodness and blessings into my life. It's indescribable. It's overflowing. A total new floodgate has been opened. i can only praise you, God.

Trust God for many blessings. Give thanks always. Happy new year to all!

The Reason for the Season

I just want to give thanks...
a heart filled with gratitude, i want to sing out a song to my Lord.
I believe that God is a God who hears and saves. I'm still amazed, still filled with awe and inexpressible joy.. for the salvation in my family, for the abundant grace poured upon my family.. Indeed, salvation belongs to God, and with Him, all things are possible!

I will continue to pray. I have received the best Christmas gift! All praises be to the Father =)

Blessed Christmas to all you guys! I hope that you've received what you've always been asking for as well.

"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayers"-Matt 21:22

i serve a mighty God. What about u?

caffeinated post: read and stay awake!!

hehheeee... love this pic... fishie really needs coffee to stay awake! popping eyes!

oh... fishie's most loved starbuck's toffee nut latte.. Christmas blend is here!!! yvonne is probably the first to see my excitement over this special blend..

can you feel the christmassie kind of love and happiness?

3 cheers for starry starry coffee!

Merry merry day... =)

I love phuket

Phuket... good for the pocket!

budget tour with exceeding fun! I love the short trip to phuket... super relaxing and fun. Food was amazingly good and cheap! We think we didnt overeat, but we made sure that we did took every meal.. er ya...hehe.

never thought that weekend getaway could be so FUN! i loved the company. I think they made the difference. We totally enjoyed being silly, laughing and crazy together! It's great to see the fun side of stan & ros.. and of course miss pammie never fails to disturb me with her ever snapping camera!!!

we had fun.. walking along beaches, relaxing in boat, travelling in tut-tuts, canoeing through caves, strolling in the streets, sipping cuppas, slurping noodles and all getting sun-burnt!

you guys should link to pam's blog and take a look at some funny pics!

My fav part of the trip was the cave canoe! =) whhooo... so exciting! There were parts in the cave where we literally have to lie down before we could go through... coz the rocks were so low... fun!

a summary..

Thai food=amazing. i'll grab fresh coconut whenever i can. Amazingly yummilicious! seafooooooooddd...
Thai shopping=yay!
Thai people=friendly
Thai trip= ***** five star kinda experience! with five star friends
Tiger airline= er... budget kinda feeling. ya.

You should check out phuket too!

OoSh.. @ Dempsey

oosh... so nice.

Yes, i was there with my friends :)
It actually looks better at night.
The dining area was dimly lited with candles.
With a touch of nature: water and trees, seemed perfect and romantic.

The food was alright.. dessert was... alright too :)
I guess it's just about the atmosphere.

We chilled on cozy couches after dinner. It was great.
time for chats and laughter...

I'll probably be there again with a different crowd.

New Song

love this song...

Hillsong United - Hosanna

I see the king of glory
Coming down the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes
I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing

Chorus
Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

Verse 2
I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith
I see a new revival
Staring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Bridge
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what is yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

we sang this during service today.
my personal response- tears.

So true!

This is an absolutely incredible interview with Rick Warren, "Purpose
Driven Life" author and pastor of the Saddleback Church in California .

His wife now has cancer, and he now has "wealth" from the book sales.

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw, Rick Warren said: "People ask me,
what is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is
preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us
to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body --
but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am
going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act -
the dress rehearsal.

God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We
were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't
going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just
coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than
your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is
in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life.
The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the
toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark
time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe
that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that
it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have
something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things
are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked
on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always
something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If
you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is
my problem, my issues, my pain."

But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off
yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of
thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for
her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her
character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a
testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For
instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million
copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of
notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God
gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of
ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety
and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide
what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our
lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway
through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan
to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and
educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I
started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able
to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or
am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if
I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You
better

God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more
interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human
beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments,
WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD. "

This is beautiful and "food for the soul!" A friend sent it to me, I'm sharing it with you.

a shout-out

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh is an insufficient, insignificant shoutout for now.
however, in all things, i believe that AAAAAmen will be sufficient, significant forever.
i might not have to comprehend the power of amen. Just simply believe that God's love surpasses knowledge. yupz, my knowledge included. a pea-brained fish.

Knowledge is not be the key. By believing, my God will bring me to where i need to be.

"come, and i will show you great and mighty things.."-God.

mY Getaway...

i'm away in aussie.. spending time with people i love! :)

one of the highlights for this trip was the stayover @pet's place! i love pet. we understand why. haha. i love her house. breathtaking view from her room.

hmm.. good to have friends and relatives all around the world! Stayed with uncle and aunty in sydney. great time. staying in my brother's wonderful big house in adelaide now.. so proud of him! :) i enjoy every moment of our family reunion!

i thank God for a time of relaxation and contemplation. i needed it. He knows. It's all coming to an end, but i do know that good things do sometimes end, but i have to return to reality. Holidays cannot last forever. :( but well, good news is that God's goodness really lasts forever!This is the one good thing that doesnt end. i love God. :)

"I'm your Abba Father, and that's all you need to know..."- God

i'm back!

boy..

blogging always reminds me of my time in the States.. coz that was how i keep my friends updated of what i'm up to! haha..

weeding my blog. so old.. even the tag board is infested with nonsense!

just celebrated my birthday! so good to celebrate it in singapore where lots of my loved ones are with me!! :) so happy!! Thanks all of u who remembered and celebrated with me!

ok.. think this is all i can do for today. too tired to type. lala.

yes.. have been busy

my poor blog.. have been neglected ever since i got busy with work!

yupz.. life has changed ever since i started work! yeps.. less free time on my hands, but i do love my job. Although it can be really challenging, i normally walk out of the office feeling good that someone has been helped. Of course there were days i walked out feeling sad for various reasons but generally, my job is fulfilling. For me, i think that life is too short to be wasted. If we can bring some happiness and hope to others, then why not? :) For those of u who are interested in social work, come talk to me! haha...

What else have i been busy with? ministries as well as hobbies!!

yes.. my new hobby- cooking/baking.
love to flip cookbooks and try out new recipes! At times i do wonder if it's worth the time and money but i truly love the feeling of success when my food turns out good! so happy!!! And the relationships built with others in the process.. priceless. In view of that, it's worth the time & money.. Baked dark chocolate souffle with elin and eliz today! so much fun! the souffle turns out pretty good too.. but, uncle stan thought it tastes more like the chinese "huat kuey" ahhhhh!!!!!

Sunday afternoons shall be exciting in the future.. maybe we should meet for some sports or recreation... flood my blog with sugguestions!!! anyway.. night ppl. my eyes are shutting... getting so small.... bye...

OnLy 1250m mah...

wa-lah! people.. i know u must have been checking my blog to see if i've posted anything on Fraser's and Mt Ophir. In fact, i was just waiting for pictures but oh well.. i guess i'll just post!!

Fraser seemed too long ago to be talked about. The long lasting memory will be the powerful leech bite which itches till now. Will try and post the pic of the FAT leech! Tried killing it but without success.. anyway, loved the trip for it is just really nice to hang out with YMM friends again. I had tons of fun just laughing and cracking up. Oh.. but the sad thing was that Justin fell sick during the trip :( poor boy.

The point about justin being sick leads to the beginning of our next trip... Mt Ophir. Justin was supposed to go with us but he was down with dengue that week. sigh! Anyway.. We trained so hard for this trip... including an overnight hike (from Kallang to yishun) and lots of jogging and climbing of stairs.. We did all we could physically but Ophir was just something else for the tiny fishie brain. The mental strength has to be strong.

It was deceiving in the beginning for i wasn't expecting the climb to be THAT tough. We hit the initial checkpoints pretty quickly and we arrived at our campsite (checkpoint four) in less than two hours? We stopped for the day, rested, bathed, ate and went to zzz at eight plus. We woke up at 130am the nx morning, all ready to ascend to the summit!

The darkness slowed us down. All we could see was the little patch of land where our flashlights shined. We kept going like this for the next two hours until it began to pour. Yupz. We were drenched.. and had to "keblakang-pusing" to our campsite. :( tears And that was another two hours. On our way back, my flashlight flickered, trying to tell me it's weariness. And finally, it breathed it's last. With that, i went "plop" and fell the first time. Picked myself up and said "ya... ya.. i'm alright" Kept going.. 20min later... "plop" i went again. Fell on rocks while trying to cross a puddle of water. ouch. Simon and daryl yanked me out of the dark water. sigh. poor legs. Yupz.. so we continued and before we arrived at the campsite, mich went "ahhh..." and when i tip-toed to look at what's going on, i saw that she landed on some big rocks too.. poor girl. I slept when we finally arrived at the campsite. It was just too strenous for a little fish.

Long story short.. we tried again after resting. And yups.. we made it to the top! The route got tougher as we went higher. Grooves were our friends. Three-point contact was the ideal position. Ropes were saviors. Repelling was my favorite. Ribena was my motivation. Uncle toby had given me strength!

Anyway.. lots of UNEXPECTED things happened in this trip.. Oh, did i mention the zzzing over in Larkin Bus terminal? haha.. once in a lifetime kind of experience. And crossing on the wrong side of causeway and being stopped by Police? And last of all... being punked by our leader?? I mean.. gosh! Personally i loved this trip! It allowed me to learn more about myself, my tolerance, mental strength as well as physical strength. On top of that, it allowed me to get to know my team-mates better! The experience of bathing and sleeping together always changes things. Hmm... :p (i mean girls k?). Ya, and it is a blessing to be part of this team. Am thankful for no one was hurt during the trip and i must say that u guys did wonderful! So... Mt Kinabalu next year? Please sign up :p