There’s about 4 weeks left of school.. deadlines and exams are coming up.. and after that i’ll be coming back home to sg really soon! Tentative date would be 7th July (do take note!).
I’m really enjoying every moment spent here.. and just knowing that i’m leaving so soon makes me feel a bit sad cos i wish i have more time to know the people here better. Coming to the end of my uni education, I do feel like it really has been God’s timing for me to be here even for this short period of time. Being here has opened my eyes to see God in a different light, to see how beautiful and faithful He is.. and i feel different as well.. more courageous and rejuvinated to move into the next season of my life.
The next step is gonna be even more exciting and challenging. I’ve got plans in my heart.. but just gonna pray, wait and see which door God opens for me. I’m praying for my hopes and dreams to come true… but i’ll discover what God has in store for me. Not my will but yours, Lord.
God’s words and promises that i’m holding on to:
Proverbs 16:9 – “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”
Romans 8:28 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Psalm 22:18 – “But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,”
Keep praying for me! =)
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A really interesting video to share in this link (click). This film really inspires me.
Chicken a la Carte : Director: Ferdinand Dimadura | Genre: Drama | Produced In: 2005
Posted in Thoughts, Travels | 1 Comment »
I’m back to blog! Finally have some time after my mid-sems and assignments. Woohoo! I think i did pretty okay for my test.. Might have done better if i put in more effort.. but hopefully i’ll still get a good grade! And now its Easter break as well as a term break in the coming week. Lots of stuff happening! I’m so excited!!! =)
I’ve got quite a bit of photos here.. but most of them are still on Facebook. It’s easier to just upload them in bulk on FB then to blog them one by one here. I HAVE been studying hard hor.. its not all fun and play. Usually we only do the more exciting stuff on the weekends.
1. Hillary’s Harbour
We (Isaac, Joel and Jon) went to Hillary’s Harbour a few weeks back.. its about 45min drive from where I stay.
Welcome to Hillary's Harbour
I’m in love with the waters here! So blue and clear… and Perth has lots of beaches and waters around it. So beautiful! We had lunch, walked around a bit.. it kinda looks like Freo but less bustling and lesser shops also. Their marine aquarium, AQWA, is also situated there.. quite nice but i still think Sentosa’s Underwater World is better than this.
Mega huge sting ray
Sharkieee
Ugly fish...
Bouncy jellyfish!
The cutest fish ever! Doesnt he look like he's smiling??
Okayy.. the photos are not fab la.. mainly cos the’re all in the tanks and have a blue shade to it. There was a touch pool to touch starfish, other fishes.. oh and there was this stingray that behaved like a dog! It loves to be petted by people.. and it’ll swim to you, poke its head out and let u touch its body! All the pics on Facebook if you’re interested. =)
The boys and i got a bit lazy to walk some more, so we picnic-ed on the grass and played cards till it was almost dinner time.
Zakeroo!
Joel!
Jon... the kid of the group!
Group peekture! (With the shadow of my arm.. heh)
The quiet and empty beach.. lovely!
We went to a fab Itallian place for dinner.. and the portions are huge! We only needed to order 2 mains and one salad to feed the 4 of us. Then we went to catch Shoppaholic! Can you imagine 3 boys going to watch that.. and zak was watching it for the 2nd time! hahaha.. good thing the movie was pretty good la. =)
2. Horseback-Riding
Bernard, Karen and Joanna invited me to go Horseback riding with them one sat morning cos it was Karen sister’s (Maggie) birthday. Maggie’s a really cool person.. she’s a professional cake designer based in Hong Kong. Jo and I gonna learn from her later this month!
The horses are so beautiful and tame.. it was fun to ride them! I realised even for them to just trot is a bit scary.. haha.. but i love the feeling of riding in open plains, with wild kangaroos watching us in their herds.
The horses waiting for us
My horse, Lady.
L to R: Maggie, Bernard, guide, Jonna
the Kangaroos lazing in the shade
have a little drink!
The little lady and I
Lady keeps grabbing food to eat while walking.. haha.. i guess she loves snacking along the way. If only horses are cheap and if only there’s room for horses in Singapore. I can only dream.
3. Parasailing @ Freo
Had one of the most awesome Saturday with some FCC peeps and Joanna. Parasailing is a once in a lifetime experience.. not as exhilarating as sky diving (another thing that i wanna do in the next 10 years.. heh), but the process of going up and being high up in the sky, looking around at the beautiful ocean and land, is just breath-taking. Wished i took my camera up with me, but didn’t wanna risk getting it wet or dropping it.
The line is about 300m long and depending on the speed of the boat, you could go really high or get dunked into the ocean before being pulled up again.
Jo and i waiting to board the boat.
The girls L to R: Melissa, Joanna, me, Jennifer
Beautiful...
opening up the colourful parachute
take off!
look like a postcard eh? =)
pretty pretty colours
cool camera function ya? captures the selected colour (blue) only.
reaching the sun!
L to R: Melissa, Jon, Me, Zak, Jo, Jenn
Sailing home!
Famished! Shared lunch platters.. woohoo!
phew.. done with all the blogging.. more photos than words i think! haha..
some random stuff:
this is how i get around
Supper-ing at Fast Eddy's (Zak, me, Ellie!)
Jenn, me, Ellie
Its been 3 months already.. 3 more months to go. How time flies… and how i love my time here.. with people, with God, with myself. But i really really do miss home too.
more updates soon! loves!
Posted in Thoughts, Travels | 2 Comments »
Wait
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, “Child, you must wait.”
“Wait? You say, wait!” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.
My future and all to which I can relate
hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?
I’m needing a ‘yes’, go-ahead and a sign,
or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign.
And Lord, You promised that if we believe
we need but to ask, and we shall recieve.
And Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply!
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master repied once again, “You must wait.”
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taught
and grumbling to God, “So, I’m waiting… for what?”
He seemed, then, to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,
And he tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.
All you seek, I could give,
and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want,
But, you wouldn’t know Me.
You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You’d not know the power that I give to the faint;
You’d not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there;
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.
You’d never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit decends like a dove;
You’d know that I give and I save… (for a start),
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.
The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you asked
Of the infinte God, who makes what you have LAST.
You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that “My grace is sufficient for Thee.”
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true,
But, Oh, the Loss! If I lost what I’m doing in you!
So, be silent, My Child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft’ My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer is still, “WAIT.”
[ Author Unknown ]
(Thanks Joel for this!)
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i wanted opportunities, i desired more from what was lost before.
i felt entitled to have my hopes and dreams fulfilled.
And without realizing it, i was pushing God to the backseat and taking over the wheel cause i’m impatient to see what’s ahead.
i’m sorry for this selfish heart, help me to wait upon You, to know You more and understand your will for me.
i’ll wait, no matter how hard it’ll be for me to let my dreams go and just hold on to You.
i’ll wait in faith, and in your grace.
i’ll wait.
Posted in Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
ahhh.. i need to blog..
seriously.
there’s so much thoughts i want to get out of my head but just didn’t have time to sit down and type this week. I think blogging really helps me recollect my thoughts, to slow down and reflect on what i’ve been experiencing.. all the good times and bad.. and it really helps me appreciate life more.. and be thankful of what God has given me.
okay.. will blog more soon!
Posted in Thoughts | 2 Comments »
Went horse riding today.. its was awesome!! The weather was just nice.. and the horses are not smelly at all! They’re cute and so gentle.. My horse is called Lady.. she’s quite tame and sweet, and she loves eating.. like she’ll grab stalks of grass while walking.. very cute la. OH and there were kangaroos all over the place! They just look at us like we’re tourists passing thru their home ground. hehe.. i’ll upload pictures soon!
And while we’re talking about animals.. here’s an amazing vid called “Extreeme Sheep LED Art”. Its really cool.. but then again.. it makes me wonder why some people have so much time in the world to do this kinda thing.. and i’m stuck with my essay. hahaa.. well.. we all gotta live life somehow. =)
Enjoy!
Its getting cold! i love the cold here!
Posted in Thoughts, Travels, youtube | 1 Comment »
The start of this week has been really awesome! And the weekends are gonna get even better! But in between i really need to finish my essay and do my readings.
Andrea’s back for her convocation (graduation). Had a nice time catching up with her and some other friends.
Drea and I at convo
I miss the girl already.. =(
Candy is here for her graduation also! Gosh.. i’ve got so many pictures to upload.. from our meetups.. the meals that we had and from the trip to Hillarys Harbour yesterday. Will blog about them next time! but photos will be up on facebook! =)
Car and horse riding this weekend! whee!
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Oh wow.. this week flew by and it’s the weekends already! Have been busy these few days.. with my school work and things to attend. FCC had their first V-session on Tuesday.. V stands for Vibe.. which stands for all the Uni students.. so it was kinda like a Uni students service. It was pretty good and fruitful.. started with a band playing songs in a room filled with glowing stars, then we proceeded to the main sanctuary for the service. Daryl preached about God being my portion and strength.. and he used the story of David and Goliath to expound on this truth. It was quite interesting.. esp when he talked about why David picked stones.. and in particular 5 stones during his battle with the giant. After the service, there was supper prepared by the adults.. but i was too full from the Jap dinner we had earlier on. (Jap food here is not bad!)
Wednesday, i attended Joanna’s Connect again. Got the chance to lead worship and play the piano! =) Karen bought a new piano in her house.. whee! I miss serving thru music.. glad i got to play that night. I’m really enjoying our study on Prayer. The session was really fruitful with discussions, reading from the word and at the end applying it. I’m loving it!
I baked MUFFINS on Thursday afternoon! They turned out pretty good.. even though i think the recipe is not perfect yet. Didn’t have enough choc chips so i also made a small batch of experimental ones with pieces of Cadbury Boost in it. YUM!
ready to eat choc chips!
baskin in the oven
Choc Chip Muffins fresh from the oven
MmmMmm... can u smell it?
These are Cadbury Boost Muffins
See the choc oozing out from the side?
Packed and ready to go!
All my muffins have been given away already! Only got to eat 3 pieces of my entire bakes. But that is a good thing.. can’t imagine eating all 28 muffins on my own. haha..
I cooked dinner for Josie on Friday before the City Live service at SCC. She usually caters food on a daily basis for herself and her bro.. but her caterer decided to ‘drop’ her cos they have too many clients! And they didn’t even give advance notice.. so I made some stew with lean saussages, carrots and mushrooms, and stir-fry Broccoli with egg sauce.. like the horfun kind of sauce.. my first time experimenting! and it worked! haha.. she cooked rice so i packed everything to her place for dinner.
City Live was good as usual.. sermon was about moving into our future. Pst John preached on having 1. Vision, 2. Passion, 3. Radical Amputation (meaning to cut off things that are hindering or distracting me from my vision, 4. Accountability (so that there are pple around me to keep on track. I think it was a timely reminder for me to know why i’m studying here.. and also to think about what’s next and the calling ahead. =)
Today, woke up early to go ikea with Isaac’s 2 friends and my friend Xiu Yi. Quite enjoyable.. bought a cheap full length mirror and a hanging storage thing for my wardrobe. Need to do my work now before meeting friends for dinner! FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS!
oh by the way, budget plan tickets are really cheap now!!! anyone wanna come visit? =)
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I’ve realised, i’ve been away for a month already! Do ya’ll still miss me huh? haha.. well.. i guess after awhile people adapt to not having me around.. like how i adapt to not being with my SG family and friends.
This week was quite busy and hectic! I had school from 830am on Wed, then continued studying even after dinner till 10pm with Joanna in the library. That’s cos thurs to sunday there were so much things to do!
Helped my neighbour, Jon, make a casserole for his cell gathering on Thurs cos he couldnt use his own kitchen. I ended up going with him and Jenn to their cell to check it out. Kinda like it.. had a chance to play the piano for them also. =)
Friday afternoon, i went to the city with some of my ex-poly friends. Went shopping! Whee! There was really cheap stuff la.. bought 4 belts at only $1 each!!! And there were nice $5 and $10 tops also. But didn’t spend a lot la.. hehe.. Went to meet up with Isaac’s cell for dinner at some Korean place. It was kinda like Korean bbq.. the food was not bad.. and his cell friends were quite nice la.. hmmm.. so seems like i gotta decide which cell i prefer to be in. Anyways.. have another week to think about it.. cos next week is a combined cell thing for all the uni students in church.
I had one of the best Saturdays this week! Zak and i went to Fremantle for Brunch and some shopping!
Freo Market
I had eggs and bacon on toast with a glass of orange juice.. mmm.. it was so good la! We ate at this cafe:
Inside the cafe
After brunch we walked around to look at the shops.. there were quite a few surf shops, boutiques and vintage shops.. managed to buy Havis at quite a good price. Then went to look around in the market area.
little stalls
Fresh fruits for sale!
I bought grapes and strawberries! Plump, juicy and sweet! Really good stuff and cheaper than the supermarkets.
We head back at around 1 plus cos Zak had to attend some leader’s training in the afternoon.. (man.. i do miss our leader’s training in sg too!).. so i went home.. studied a bit then napped. I’ve been taking lots of afternoon naps here! haha..
The Perth International Arts Festival 2009 is going on over here.. some of us wanted to go check out the outdoor movie screening of a little arts animation film at Jeff Joseph Reserve.. but in the end.. some of them had to study or had other plans.. so Jon and i went to check it out ourselves.
A write up of the event from the website:
Watch the sun set against the beautiful backdrop of three spectacular waterside locations and be part of Perth Festival’s floating family film spectacular. Find yourself a viewpoint on the shore, spread out a picnic with family and friends then enjoy surprise entertainment before the film begins.
After the sun goes down, the gigantic floating screen lights up with another delightful animation from Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki. Kiki’s Delivery Service is a coming-of-age story about warmhearted family-friendly witch Kiki (voice by Kirsten Dunst) and her sarcastic talking cat Jiji (the late Phil Hartman of The Simpsons). Set in a time when airships ruled the skies, Kiki jets off on her broom to the quaint new seaside town of Korico to become the town’s witch. What follows are a series of hilarious mishaps and misadventures.
Laugh along with this magical adventure story that will enchant toddlers, fascinate older children and delight adults. Sit back and enjoy fabulous, free family entertainment as the Perth Festival floats right up to your doorstep!
Photos overload coming up!
The parking area: Pple coming prepared for a comfortable picnic
We could see Perth City on the other side of Swan River!
The floating screen and the sun setting behind
beautiful...
the One who created this painting in the sky is amazing
hello!
Me with Jon
Sun almost down
and the sun went down..
and the movie starts
I think the scenery, sunset over the river was better than the movie itself.. haha.. but overall, it was a nice outing la.. with food, snacks, decent show and star gazing at the end. Just beautiful. =)
Just marvel at how beautiful this world is… and how vast the heavens are.
Posted in Thoughts, Travels | 1 Comment »
