MGC Sports Day

Happy Independence Day! Okay, to be honest, I’m not too much into Merdeka mood this year. Almost every year I tak rasa that semangat. Nothing much to look forward to especially with all those jams and human-packed streets. Anyway, I am going to blog about yesterday’s MGC Sports Day.

So we started the day very early. Melissa, Juliana, Auntie Tina and I reached Mrs. Chua's place at around 7.30AM. A few kids were at the field already. And we had them registered. They were quite semangat la. And most of them ended up in Juliana’s group. Slowly, people started coming in. Children, parents, helpers. So it got pretty crowded. We have like 60++ children. And we haven’t even include the adults and youths yet. Uncle Rodney was the main organizer I think. The judges were Auntie Kim, Auntie Kiat Tin, Sister YuMing, Raymond and Auntie Judy. (Correct me if I am wrong guys). The group leaders and asst.leaders are:

White : Juliana & ShuLynn
Yellow : Kah Wai & Sin Yee
Purple : Yen Mei & Shaun
Red : Chen Li & Andy
Blue : Adrian & Livia

Photographers were Federick and Darel and also the random people who had cameras such as Sin Lan and Sharma. Melissa was in charge of registration. Sharma was the gamemaster. Mrs. Chua, Auntie Grace, Uncle Kian Boon, Auntie Tina, Mr. Chua and Auntie Nancy were helping out with the most important aspect of all… food& drinks and gifts! Oh, not to forget, Simon helped Uncle Rodney with the games too. Ehehehe… Many other church members were there too. Sorry if I missed out any names. I am so not good with names.

Anyway, thank God for the good weather and great response. Yes, it was pretty scorching hot that day, still, it was all fun nonetheless. There were a lot of kids. I am not sure of other groups lah but for my team red, I have a few small kiddos that play the games according to their likings one. SO if they don’t like the games, they so totally don’t want to listen to me or Andy. It was frustrating at certain point la but kids are kids. You can’t really do much. They drove me crazy. And the sports day this year drew a lot of different races kids together. And most of them could speak Chinese. Since my team was lacking of members (with all the kids scattering around), I had to recruit new member. She watched us from the side. So I asked her if she wants to join us. She asked if she could. Of course can la. I sponsored her 3 bucks. And she had fun. I am so glad. Her name was Nur Adilah.

Anyway, the games were generally easy…for us youths. But not the kids. You know, sometimes it’s quite hard to go down to kids level and try to understand how much they can do. But come to think of it… it’s not that easy la. Haha. Anyway, I couldn’t remember the proper placing for the end result. I think it’s like this:

1st : Yellow
2nd : Purple
3rd : White
4th : Blue
5th : Red

I think so la… I asked Ju and she couldn’t remember also. Haha. Well, placing doesn’t matter la. It’s the spirit! After the games, we had the children clean up the mess they made. Hehe. And bonus point will be given. Hoho. Then we had the prize-giving session. After that we had lunch. The chicken rice was so spicy but very sedap. Anyway, the kid I “recruited”, shown an interest in our future programmes. But I forgot to ask her for her contact number. But she stays nearby to Dineshwary. So I guess I could reach Adilah through her.

After the makan and all, we cleared everything up. And then we went back to Mrs. Chua’s place. She cooked some light lunch for us. Sarah and Jasmine so lawak la. Sharma kena marah from Sarah for playing with Jasmine. Hehe.

All in all, it was a truly successful day. Thank God for keeping each and everyone safe, for the good response, good weather, and helps given by each and everyone who came for this event. Thanks to the working committee for planning everything so well and proper.

Oh, btw… I didn’t manage to take everyone’s pictures. I wasn’t the one with my camera. Handed it to Sharma. And my T20 is sick. Couldn’t stop vibrating. So for those people not in the photos, so sorry ok. Most of the photos are with Federick. If I get them, I will post it up yea.

I guess that’s all for the update on MGC Sports Day, from my part. Hopefully next year will be even better. ^^
Enjoy the photos!


















-chen-
[3.46PM]

J.U.I.C.E Nite Skit

Thanks to Geng Yi, we can now watch the skit from J.U.I.C.E Night. :) Photos still with Federick. But some of them taken by Geng Yi can be seen here.

-chen-

When you come back to me again

I think this is a lovely song. :)

"When You Come Back To Me Again" (Garth Brooks)

There's a ship out
On the ocean
At the mercy of the sea
It's been tossed about
Lost and broken
Wandering aimlessly
And God somehow
You know that ship is me
'Cause there's a lighthouse
In the harbour
Shining faithfully
Pouring its light out
Across the water
For this sinking soul to see
That someone out there
Still believes in me

On a prayer, in a song
I hear your voice and
It keeps me hanging on
Raining down
Against the wind
I'm reaching out till
We reach the circle's end
When you come
Back to me again

There's a moment
We all come to
In our own time and
Our own space
Where all that we've done
We can undo
If our heart's
In the right place

On a prayer, in a song
I hear your voice and
It keeps me hanging on
Raining down
Against the wind
I'm reaching out till
We reach the circle's end
When you come
Back to me again
And again I see
My yesterday's in front of me
Unfolding like a mystery
You're changing all that is
And used to be

On a prayer, in a song
I hear your voice and
It keeps me hanging on
Raining down
Against the wind
I'm reaching out till
We reach the circle's end
When you come
Back to me again

When you come
Back to me again

-chen-

J.U.I.C.E Nite

It takes months to plan an event. It takes just one night to end it.

But it was good. Good I tell you.

Let me quote Hancock,

Ehem, ehem...


Good job

:p


The skit was excellent. Actors/Actresses were fantastic. The script was real. So real because it reflects our current state.


Many of us (beautiful/macho MGCian) left Melaka and are scattered all over the place. Speaking for those beautiful and macho, I believe at some point of our lives, we felt what Jessica felt.

I had so much fun back there before I left...

These people are nothing like my old friends..


And to some point, we did what Jess did. We compared and put up a defensive wall around ourselves. We rid ourselves of opportunities to know others and to be known by them.


Maybe that's why we can't blend in the new churches. Maybe that's why we don't feel at home in new churches. Maybe that's why we're not serving with zeal and enthusiasm in new churches.

The skit echoes,

Make friends just like Jesus did.



A challenge for those who have left and for those leaving sooner or later. May we be able to say,

So what if they are different

and make room in our hearts for our new found family wherever we are. The more the merrier! Heh.

For those who's thinking kenot lar....Kenot one!!!!! I small heart, no more space.


My uncle used to say,

'Mind over matter. Mind over matter.

If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.'


By the way,

A very happy belated birthday to Yen and Shaun

Wakakakaka.

Geng Yi multitasking. Shake Yen Mei's hand and wish Shaun.

Congratulations people. A job well done.

*shake hand, shake hand*

Finishing the Race

Today in church, Uncle Rodney gave us the Sunday sermon. It was about Olympian. Weird topic for a sermon right? But it's related to "finishing the race" as a Christian. So I've learned that finishing the race is more important than being number one. It's more important than being the gold medalist. It's "to will one thing" and go forward to achieve the goal. We sang a new hymn this morning. There was a verse in the lyric that goes, Will Jesus said "Well down" or "Go away"? I pondered upon this verse when I did my Quiet Time just now. I feel guilty for sliding away so far you know. I used to read the Bible every single day and I will write down the verses that struck me most and tried to understand what it means and also write down my thoughts in my spiritual diary. But after I came to college, I stopped doing so. I even stopped reading the Bible. I read it when I feel like I want to. It's gotten pretty bad because I feel so spiritually stagnant. I used to make sure that I have my faith at the right place but even that didn't stay. Sad isn't it? I used to think I might end up doing Orang Asli ministry one of these days but where did the will go? I don't know. I also used to think I can be of some help in Children Ministry, and that didn't go as well too. I've been travelling back and forth from Malacca to KL. I don't even stay in KL church long enough to know people around me well. I told a friend from BSGC I feel lonely. He said, "Yeah... So anti-social". I guess I am not a social bug even though I can pretty hyped up in event but only with people I really know. Ask me to talk to a stranger. And I can tell you I can hold a melting candle longer than I can hold the conversation. I really cannot bring myself to talk to visitors that come to our church. I suspect Ah Hwei can do better than me. This is one area I have to work on and also to finish the race.YES! WE MUST FINISH THE RACE!

Anyway, back to the sermon. Well... I've always liked Uncle Rodney's messages because it inspired me. And as mentioned, I tend to stay awake in MGC rather than BSGC. It's such a big church and I always take the back seat. And today Uncle Rodney said something that triggered me to think. He said, "You can never feel the sense of belonging in a church if you come every Sunday, warm the seat and leave after that." Something along this line. I guess I am like that when I go BSGC. I feel very very overwhelmingly lonely that I just want to leave asap. It's not that the youths are not friendly. It's just that we don't really have a common topic to talk about that can keep us in a long conversation. If I go for Bible Study, then I tend to speak a lot more because we have a common topic.

Okay, back to the sermon. So Uncle Rodney told us a story before he closed in prayer. I will really love to share them with you.

There is this boy who asked his dad, "Dad, let's join the marathon." The dad, already aging and having heart condition agreed with him because he couldn't bring himself to say no. So they practiced together. And they went for the marathon. They finished second to last. Then after the first marathon, the son asked for more and his dad never said no despite his age and heart condition. Then one day, he said to his dad, "Dad, let's join the Iron Man Triathlon." For those who don't know, Iron Man Triathlon is a very gruelling race consisting of ocean swim, cycling and running. It takes a lot of energy and stamina to finish the race. But his father said yes. Below is the videoclip of the actual triathlon that they took part in. I will let it end my story. And the message I want to share here will be at the end of the video.

-chen-
[12.36AM]

To the Dudette In Malacca

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

All Da Best With Ur Paper Tmw...

Hahaha... ^ ^

To the chap in New Zealand

BLESSED BIRTHDAY!


Still waiting for you, Marcus and Uncle Ivan to come back after the 2 years.

T_T

Come back a grown man!

Reunion in KL (edits in red)

Date: 9 August 2008, Saturday

Time: 5.30pm
Venue: Midvalley - Rak Thai & McDonald's

Attendees (alphabetical order):

1. Aaron
   
2. Gary
   
3. Geng Yi
4. Grace
5. Juliana
   
6. Li Lian
   
7. Sherene
   
8. Sin Lan
   
9. Sin Yee
10. Stephen
    
11. Timothy
12. Tse Hwei
13. Wei Jin
    
14. Yik How

Absentees:

1. Chen Li
   
2. CK
3. Jun Yi
   
4. Kevin
5. Sharonne
   
6. Tse Shuen

Aaron's currently very into photography. He even has a photoblog (2 entries only la but still!). He was pick-pocketed on the way back from the gathering via KTM. He lost his phone. =( Go check out his blog ya.

Contrary to popular belief... Gary has not graduated. Ah ha. He's decided to do his Masters in Cyberjaya instead.

eh ownself take or i took wan?
looks like camwhoring. =P

Geng Yi still hasn't found a job, actually. He's freelancing at the moment.

still the same,
but i guess you guys knew d la.

kereta still quite bergaya

There's a picture of Grace on Aaron's blog. It's watermarked so I shall not attempt to steal. Heh. Geng Yi and Grace have taken their wedding photos. Can't wait for the wedding!

Juliana and I are staying in PJGH and I think we're getting along alright with the church peeps. I think la. 3rd week only. =P

always beside food =P

Picture of Li Lian also in Aaron's blog, in the same link as the one with Grace. Li Lian's still at Inti College in Nilai, doing Marketing. Her hair is still very nice. T_T

Sherene is still doing her ACCA in Inti College in Nilai . Read her blog to be updated ya. ACCA is a really tough course, so she needs our prayers and support. She's currently attending Nilai GC, where the youth don't turn up for youth because they help out in Sunday School. So she goes for the Bible Study instead. Well done!

eh?

sorry, stephen. focus is on sherene. =P

Sin Lan is graduating from Food Science and Nutrition next year. Still in Cheras, and still with we-know-who. =D Sin Lan's having her finals this week. So pray for her.

Sin Yee is... eh you guys should know better la! Anyway, she came up to get formal clothes from Sin Lan for her upcoming convo this month. Coming down to see you soon! Hang in there and don't get bogged down by the stress of the lack of manpower!

Timothy is currently doing his IT course internship in KL. His superiors don't trust the interns with the programming work. "So what do you do at work?" "Play Solitaire." You get the idea. He's not jumping with joy over the work, so pray for him. Been there 2 months. 2 more months to go!

I still remember that family picnic where he did all sorts of goofy things. I think that was the moment it was placed in our hearts that we would never forget Timothy Keong.

hair and all changed d

tim's sweeping-coin-off-table-to-make-it-disappear-trick

audience that looks more amused than amazed


tim's make-a-coin-appear-out-of-nowhere-trick
*note lilian's expression*


cukup! cukup! tolong berhenti!
*note lilian's expression*

Isn't it great how some things just don't change? =D

Wei Jin officially became a fresh grad on Saturday! He's now looking for a job in KL because the telecommunications job is not available in Malacca. He'll be fetching Daniel from the airport next week. =)

wei jin yang selamba

Yik How was also here although he was supposed to be in Malacca. Ah ha. Geng Yi said: "Seeing you two here makes me think I'm in Malacca." Yeah, it does. =)

As usual, we had to end the gathering with something out of the norm.

There was a sudden craze (by Sin Lan) to snap a photo of everybody's student card.

yik how offered his IC but was rejected cuz tak cukup umur

Then somehow Sin Lan and Sherene got infected by my disgusting eating habits and started to do something cool with the icecream sundae someone left behind (so wasteful).

added water.

Chen Li didn't come because.... SHE WAS IN MALACCA! ISH FROM ALL OF US! ...and then... *sob* =(

I didn't ask CK to come because he might be busy with work these days, and if he did want to come, I didn't want him to be feeling guilty or regretful if he couldn't make it due to fatigue. Sorry, CK! It's for your own good. T_T

Jun Yi couldn't come because he was having some friends over. He's free every other weekend though. Hurrah! He has to travel quite a distance to work, and so he has to wake up really early everyday. Pray for him.

Kevin had to bring his parents for a tour around KL because they were here for his convo on Sunday. "Aiyo... timing so bad wan..." said Kevin.

Sharonne... well... ask me personally. Ah ha.

Tse Shuen - er - ask me personally also. =P She has an exam this Thursday, and an assignment to hand in. Er actually she has a test and an assignment to hand in EVERY WEEK. Plus she has a thesis to complete. Pray for her.

You know what? Excluding Sin Yee, Wei Jin and Yik How, and including the absentees, we actually have 17 of us here in KL. We can really start a weekly Bible study in Geng Yi's house or something. =P

Malacca doesn't feel so far away with 1/3 of the Malaccan church here in KL. ^_^"

But then it must be hard on the "remnants" back home.

We're coming home this 23rd.

Kita serbu Melaka.

Wait for it!

Mid term, Mid term... ^ ^

Hehehe... Holidays are great... If they just remain as relaxing, time-wasting, not-doing-anything kinda holiday... Hehehe...
But I'm gonna update a lil on the J.U.I.C.E nite... (although i dun know how much update it has been)
Hmm... Let's see... I had my first practice with the Youth on Sunday... Erm.. Yesterday... It was good... Like wat Yen said in her blog... It was in "flow"... Which is good... And uhm... I didn't bring the bass but they did a lil music training... Which was also good... Jess picks up pretty fast... Syabas... ^ ^ Yen also was like, quite pro ad... Hehehe... It seems like, I'm not needed d... T.T Jess and Yen were already pretty good... T.T sedih... Then, some of the youth already invited some of their frens... Quite a number of them said, KIV... So, continue to pray for that... And i mean, if u (yes, U) are reading this, stop for awhile from reading this post (yes,this post) and pray for the attendance k? Hehehe... Really hope the turn out will be good... And the most important part is that, they get the message... Also, pray for Uncle Philip... Cause he's gonna be the messenger... ^ ^ Woot woot... Well, come to think of it, I think Uncle Philip is the best of the best choice to reach out and give them the message... Hehehe... But still, we (youth) need to bring our frens for him to give them the message rite? No ppl, how to reach out to them rite? ^ ^ Ahahaha... Ahem...

So, the schedule is sumthing like dis... (I think)
7.15 : Arrival of "Guests of Honour" (our frens la...)
7.30 : Sings-per-ation (no idea how it's actually spelled T.T)
7.50 : A block of ice that needs breaking... Literally? Hehehe..
8.10 : Then onwards i'm not sure d.... But we have some games to "kamcheng"-kan our ppl, then got message.. And then got fellowship... Then ahem... Clean Up~~!!!

Hm... That's actually wat we planned and all la.. I dun think i left out anything... If i do, let me know, or er.. edit this post ba... ^ ^ Ahahaha...

Oh ya, a lil extra... After church yesterday, we went and play badminton... I ditewaskan oleh Auntie Angelina and Auntie Kim... Come to think of it, 1 is like Angelina Jolie and the other is like Kim Possible... And i lost to them THRICE.... Can u imagine that? Thrice? And while I was playing with the aunties, Yen and Teng were like clapping hands for the aunties... And laughing all the way... I still can remember that day... Ahhh.... Wat a day... ^ ^ Still, it was fun...

Jun Yi

...is attending Kajang Gospel Chapel! That's the church Tse Shuen's attending, by the way. He's currently working in *EDIT* Public Bank, and staying in Cheras, near Leisure Mall (near Sin Lan).*END OF EDIT*

MMU-ians are graduating on either Saturday or Sunday: Kevin, Mark, Jun Yi. =D

Updates from over here

Who says I can't update this blog if I'm not in Malacca? Nyeh nyeh. (mgc-ians: nie ada CDO* nie. tak leh lepaskan mgc blog.)


I survived Faculty Orientation and am fostering good relationships with my roomies, Chelsea and Liverpool. Still church-hunting.

yeah, there's beauty in the uni if a law student can stop for
awhile in the brief 3 minutes it takes to get to the faculty.

Went out with Ju and Sis in the 3rd week I was here. Both Ju and I still feel like strangers in PJGH. The feeling's even stronger for Ju, since I've only been there once. =P We both agreed that our problem lies in the old mindset that ministries will come to us the way they did in MGC. We're neither in MGC nor at home anymore, and that's what we have to come to truly realize before we can be fruitful here in KL, whatever church we may come to attend. Sis has almost the same problem, except she has narrowed down the list of churches.

ju's ok. and back home in malacca. -_-"
we attended pjgh once.
attending life chapel next week.

sis has an exam on monday. pray for her!

Beng Hui and Yoke Woon took me and Ju out for lunch a day after Sis took us out. No pictures. =( They looked happy. Heh. Beng Hui showed us the company he was working at (Smith & Nephew, if you remember the sms he sent some time ago. twas another name on the building though.). Looks good. Ah haha.

Went to Petaling Jaya GH with Ju on Sunday. Met Geng Yi and Grace there, so we followed them back and lunched after the service. No pictures as well. =( =( You guys should be pretty updated with Geng Yi's news right? Geng Yi's found a job, and it's pretty flexible, much like his last one with the project basis thing.

Went with Dad and Sis to a wedding today. Met Stephen there!

tak ubah-ubah kan? haha.

Stephen is now doing a more comfortable and less dangerous job. Job 1: Climbing up buildings. Job 2: Ordering people to climb up buildings. He's happy and after a hot white chick. If we all know Stephen, we know the white chick is neither a baby chicken or a grown woman. Go figure.

Haven't met Kevin, but Stephen says he's being bombarded with job offers, but he's not taking them because he has his eye on Singapore. He's hanging on to some offers though, so pray for the right decision-making.

CK's very busy working with Samsung. He sounds tired when he talks to sis on the phone. (how i know? ish, aku memang hebat.) Stephen says he hasn't heard from CK for quite some time. Pray for him ya.

Daniel's bombed with assignments, and complains of mosquitoes. ^_^" Make it a point to ask Jessica about him ya.

I haven't met Sin Lan, Sherene, Sharonne, Li Lian, Aaron, Rebecca and Chen Li, but I hope they're doing fine. Plus Chen Li has her blog, right? Go read and be updated ya. And yeah, she's Malacca-ing too. Ish.

Geng Yi's organizing a meet with the youths who've been taken by the vile place (KL) at Midvalley, hopefully on 9 August (Saturday). Unless it's been changed. Ah ha. This serves as an announcement to all in KL as well. Geng Yi says to confirm your presence as soon as possible. =)

That's all from over here.

I should be going back to Malacca on 15 August, unless I fail to obtain a bus ticket. (bummer) Sis, Ju, Geng Yi, and I will be around for the J.U.I.C.E. event.

Little note: It's difficult to choose between our home church and our local church. The impact of that decision isn't so obvious right now because MGC has so few major events. Should MGC have an event or two each month, I'd say our ministry here in KL would be blown to bits. We really need discipline to choose what the Lord has decided as the best for us here. To gain that discipline, we need your prayers and support. There's no reason why an MGC-ian should become a pew-warmer just because he/she is no longer in MGC.

Our mission here is to serve the Lord where we are, to pray for MGC, and to gain the skills we need to bring back to MGC once we're done here. Your mission is to serve the Lord where you are, pray for and with us, and to persevere, dealing with the empty seats and lack of manpower that comes with our absence.

Be with them when they're there, and bring them back when they're done.

-Yen, during prayer meet-

(bet you don't remember you said that. heh.)

Let's admit that we both need prayers, and let's begin to pray for each other.

We know it's difficult for you guys back there. Just hang on ya. Make sure every single person is involved and welcome in the church. Encourage each other!

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,
but let us encourage one another—
and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24, 25

Update the blog more la!

*i have CDO - it's like OCD only the letters are in alphabetical order like they should be. Hee. Lame joke. OCD is obsessive compulsive disorder, btw.