hey hey!!~ =) i know i have been talking abt it since last fri? err.....about me moving on to another tribe....which would be under pastor seng lee n pastor josephine..hmm..my deadline is 14march..haiz!! hmmm...ever since i joined the cell..i felt like quite happy..like got the welcome feeling...erm,ok..actually its normal for a cell to welcome new members..duh!! =P hehe...i shall state my reasons now...for staying and leaving kz..or rather disadvantages n advantages... =) hope i dun make ya bored!!!

reasons for staying:
-can get along
-u pple are very nice to talk to
-crappy? haha
-age gap not tt big
-feel comfortable
-nearer for me
-sorta fairfield cell? errr....
-hv the same topic to talk about
-FUN people to be with
-we all live near by..at least all of us leave in the west =) ( can accompany each other )

my reasons for leaving:
-my friend (discipler) hv been taking me bible study since i was sec4
-understands me very well
-knows my spiritual life better
-she can understand/know my spiritual life better

for reason 3 n 4 : -knows my spiritual life better, -she can understand/know my spiritual life better...im not saying tat u guys or melissa cannot get to know my spiritual life better..but i think/feel that my discipler understands me better.....n now tt i jus join the cell...hmm.i'll tk some time before u all can know/understand me. hmm,ya..i meant no offence to EVERYONE here k... =) im just stating whats on my mind..

Disadvantages:
-quite far for me
-spend more $$$ on travelling
-no one to talk to
-feel so SMALL amoung them (haha)

Advantages:
-my friend can take care of me? haha..as if i cant..cos their tribe got alot of pple
-my friend and i can accompany each other back on the way hm (altho i'll alight first)
-my few vocalists that i know can help me know whats going on n tk care of me? hahaha

just wanna say THANKS to everyone for making the cell a fun n happening cell...i hope i dont wanna make this my another ex cell....this is my best cell man.. not tt cos we're made up of fairfield ppl...but ya,the ppl are jus nice to be with.....i jus wanna thank everybody individually.. =)

hmm... =) wanna thank jolene,for keeping in touch since last yr aft ndp/great escape n being so nice to me..n her friendship..=) eva so understanding,caring n approachable
wanna thank melissa for being so eva friendly,caring,understanding,for ya prayer that u prayed for me,enthu abt knowing me?,advices,making me feel comfortable in the cell n everything...her SMELL on her pink "blanket" is SOOO NICE..got the melissa smell.so nice.melissa,capture sm smell of urs for me? haha..just jk =P i like her smell.. so XIANG .. =)
wanna thank desiree...for telling me advice,friendly,caring,fun to be with =)
wanna thank yvonne, for being so crappy n nice..bearing with my fairfield story. hahaaha..and so caring n friendly.
wanna thank michelle for being so friendly..altho i dun really know u.
wanna thank kc for being so crappy,friendly n nice to talk to n "plot" ? hahaha..no lah =P
wanna thank yunhui for being friendly,nice..cos i dun really know u,sori ah..
wanna thank chong chwan(correct spelling,if nt sorri ah) for being a blessing to the cell n playing the guitar on e first cg mtg.. =P
wanna thank fiona for accompanying me in the encounter wkend camp n being so nice so nice,caring..

ok.my brain is bursting. i type so much le...=P boring right? haha...wadever!! =P hehe..anyway...if i move on to pastor seng lee n pastor josephine tribe together with my friend,can i still log on here n chat with u guys n attend svc together?? hee.."*bey hao pai*" thick skin.. ya..u guys tk care n ya...cya soon..missya .......best cell..
rock on pple!!~ =) *poof*

-grace-

hey hey haven't been posting for a long time hee.

This is just a personal note from me. about God working in my life. yep. saying all these, i just wanna say..

THANK YOU JESUS!

i mean learning the guitar was quite an amazing journey for me to learn about how much He understands me. yup...it's not just about learning how to strum, fingering the chords, or memorising songs...it is much much more than that.

i've felt a sense of purpose. maybe not so much about the destiny that the pastors have been talking about during services but i just feel so lucky that He provided me this chance to show me that He has greater things in store for me. and learning the guitar is just the tip of the iceberg.

i dun profess myself to be a quick learner n all that...in fact...i'm quite D-U-H at times haha. as u all can tell. but its really amazing amazing how i learn new things each time i pick up the guitar n play. like strumming while singing...now i can say that i pluck strings much much better than i was...n i noe a few chords at hand. (though everything is not fantastic lar haha but i believe i WILL get BETTER) each time i learn these things i am reminded of all those prayers that i've prayed to God about. to pick up the skill...most of all to sustain the interest. now i cannot get past each day now without touching my guitar...and it has helped me in my worship too :)

i have learnt humility too. to attribute all that i've learnt back to God. to not forget who was the one who blessed me with all these. He blessed me with friends who helped me in my learning...like mel n nuanyi. Blessed me with the songbook that i found (or rather He showed) while surfing net one day. Yup. and all these have shown me how real He is.

So speaking thus, I am only saying that He has fulfilled His promise to me and He will fulfill His promise to you too. And for those who r waiting...like Grace...I am sure one day you will find forgiveness in your heart for that person(s). Find one thing in your life that God has touched and blessed. Magnify it and you'll see that He has done many many wonderful things for you. Hope u all have a blessed blessed week!

CAN'T WAIT FOR G12!!!!! melissa will be so proud of me...coz i'm so enthu hahaha.

-vonnie

Hey guys! sorry for the long absence. thought of posting this up to help us remember God's words and his precious lessons better :)

~Word on 18/2: Mercy~

A little excercise to begin with:

- on a scale of 1 - 10, rate how forgiving you are.
(10 being very forgiving and 1 being unforgiving, relatively speaking)

Why do we need forgiveness?
1) so that others and ourselves will not give up being a better person and to give one another a chance to turn over a new leaf
2) because God has forgiven us of our sins, even when we were still unworthy of his love

[Turn to 2 Cor 2:7]

Sometimes we find it hard to offer forgiveness. but at other times we find it hard to receive forgiveness, because we have not forgiven ourselves.

[Turn to Col 3:13]

We have a choice when we encounter conflicts or other unpleasant situations. that is, whether we want to use our time and energy for --- RESOLUTION or RETALIATION.

what are some of the things stopping us from forgiving someone?

- many cannot differentiate between trust and forgiveness.
Comparision:
1) Forgiveness needs to be IMMEDIATE vs trust needs to be BUILT OVER TIME
2) Forgiveness is required for PAST events vs trust refers to FUTURE events

That means, we 'forgive' immediately but need not 'trust' immediately. Only after we forgiven then can we trust.

Also, other feelings like anger and bitterness may be expressed openly but forgiveness has to be something from within. Thus, sometimes we can put up a front of having forgiven someone while still holding grudges in the heart. That will not be true forgiveness.

and also think about how to APPLY this in your life.
- is there someone you have not found the strength to forgive him/her?
- is there someone you thought you have forgiven but still feel grudgeful towards?

Always forgive because GOD'S FORGIVENESS IS UNCONDITIONAL :)

Hope God spoke to you.

keeping you in prayer always!

-jo

Hello fiona here again! Still got one more day before I fly off. It has been such a great experience knowing God n u guys for these two very short mths...thank u all. U may think I might be too immature, not sociable, independent or adaptable enough to go for this exchange prog...u r rite I am not... I am trying to learn how to be such a person. Actually I was supposed to apply with my frens...one backed out bcoz of boyfren n e other bcoz of poor results. But I decided to go ahead just to try my luck...coz cant go in third yr mah. I could have drop out of it at one point or try to sabotage my application but didn’t leh. I cant say I was dat excited to go without my frens plus no one from ntu is going there loh. Thinking abt it now I am sure God had meant it dat way...David in psalm 139 said God fashioned all the days of our lives even before we were born. I am sure where ever I go he will be there w me always! Actually I am not sure y I was so insistent on going to aus...could have gone some asian country w a lower exchange rate. Sob! spend so much $$$ liao...I feel really bad. About $ 6000 liao so far on comp, visa, insurance, rent, admin charges. I knoe I will pay my parents back double e amt when I start working! Dats a bit ambitious! Previously I am just this worried freak, worrying abt who will be my hostel mates, project group or who will be my frens. Coz I am just slacking at home mah so I become this freak just counting down the no of days as if to doom’s day n scolding myself for stupidly putting myself thru all this stress n worries. I could have just stayed in spore n feel unsatisfied n bored w my life! For the encounter weekend, Pastor Debra gave me this verse Matthew 6:31-34. How applicable man! Its so strange n surprising coz I dun really show this side of me in frt of others…its an internal turmoil thingie. As 1 john 4: 15-18 says there is no fear in love; but perfect luv casts out fear bcoz fear involves torment but he who fears has not been made perfect in luv.
( application?) I was thinking hey if I fill my thots n heart w God’s luv...y should I be afraid or worried abt anything! Now I am praying for a lot of courage...the worry freak voice seems to have become softer n softer...it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to liao. I am kind of excited to go there after such a long wait! No matter how diff going these 4 mths will be...I am sure I can always depend on him. Praise e Lord!

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Hello fiona here again! Still got one more day before I fly off. It has been such a great experience knowing God n u guys for these two very short mths…thank u all. U may think I might be too immature, not sociable, independent or adaptable enough to go for this exchange prog…u r rite I am not… I am trying to learn how to be such a person. Actually I was supposed to apply with my frens…one backed out bcoz of boyfren n e other bcoz of poor results. But I decided to go ahead just to try my luck…coz cant go in third yr mah. I could have drop out of it at one point or try to sabotage my application but didn’t leh. I cant say I was dat excited to go without my frens plus no one from ntu is going there loh. Thinking abt it now I am sure God had meant it dat way… David in psalm 139 said God fashioned all the days of our lives even before we were born. I am sure where ever I go he will be there w me always! Actually I am not sure y I was so insistent on going to aus…could have gone some asian country w a lower exchange rate. Sob! spend so much $$$ liao…I feel really bad. About $ 6000 liao so far on comp, visa, insurance, rent, admin charges. I knoe I will pay my parents back double e amt when I start working! Dats a bit ambitious! Previously I am just this worried freak, worrying abt who will be my hostel mates, project group or who will be my frens. Coz I am just slacking at home mah so I become this freak just counting down the no of days as if to doom’s day n scolding myself for stupidly putting myself thru all this stress n worries. I could have just stayed in spore n feel unsatisfied n bored w my life! For the encounter weekend, Pastor Debra gave me this verse Matthew 6:31-34. How applicable man! Its so strange n surprising coz I dun really show this side of me in frt of others…its an internal turmoil thingie. As 1 john 4: 15-18 says there is no fear in love; but perfect luv casts out fear bcoz fear involves torment but he who fears has not been made perfect in luv.
( application?) I was thinking hey if I fill my thots n heart w God’s luv…y should I be afraid or worried abt anything! Now I am praying for a lot of courage…the worry freak voice seems to have become softer n softer…it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to liao. I am kind of excited to go there after such a long wait! No matter how diff going these 4 mths will be…I am sure I can always depend on him. Praise e Lord!

harlow!! my first time writing here!! being a christian since sec3+...being a baby christian,a person needs guidance but i dint have any although i was in gb.i hv not been attending church services or any christian activities..i only started going for svc and church activities in 2002..at that time,i attended service in fcbc with my friends cell grp..and also had bible study with my friend.. =)

In that same year, i went for an encounter weekend camp!! i didnt want to go at first but was told by my new friends that time that it was better to go..i was also cyco-ed by afew of them to go..so i went,but i went blindly didnt knowing why i was going there for and for what purpose...we had praise and worship and sessions...after every session,it was ministry time...slowly,i see and hear people screaming,crying and doing all sorts of funny and weird things.i was wondering..what on earth was going on and why are they behaving this way..at that time,i was scared..but now i fully understand!! :)

In this camp,at least i didnt go blindly as melissa pre-encounted fiona and me..=) thanx melissa!!~ ;) at that time,i didnt know that there was such thing as pre-encounter..

Hmm ya..in this camp,i did learn some things..=) they showed us a short show..this time yes i did feel something in me after watching the show.when i first watched it in 2002,i didnt feel anything as i wasnt prepared for the camp at all...ya,Jesus died on the cross for us..and all our sins were forgiven :) yup!! sessions aft sessions on the second day and on the last day..... ministry time after each session..hmm ya..the most two sessions i liked/benefited from was "The Joy of Forgiveness" and another was the tearing of the paper. haha....the session wasnt called "the tearing of paper" but i forgot what the session titled was...ya,the joy of forgiveness...knowing that God forgave us of our sins even before we were born..it just made me hv the forgiveness to forgive the people that i hv bore grudges on..i felt that i have to forgive them as God first forgave us..and in Matt6:14-15 " For if you forgive men when they sin against you,your heavenly Father will also forgive you.But if you do not forgive men their sins,your Father will not forgive your sins". as for the session on the tearing of paper...it did help me to break all the bondages that was in my life...after tearing the paper,i felt free of everything..=) yup.. i did benefit much more from the previous encounter i went in 2002. ;) ya.....one word to describle this camp,its GREAT!! =) wanna thank carolyn,fiona and my grp members in the camp a memorable one... =)

God is good!!

grace

Hello fiona here! Its my first time writing this is soooo exciting. I am back fr the encounter weekend n I am bursting to tell someone abt it but got no one to tell to so tell u all loh! Hee hee! Hope I dun bore yah! Anyway I just joined it without really knowing what is it abt, just thot it’s a church camp..but I was in for a surprise. Hiah hiah! Anyway it is also to pei grace since she so lonely n furthermore I am quite bored at home mah. Mel’s crash course did give some insights thou! A little on my spritual background-been a christian dating back to fairfield but only recently started attending church. I began to treat going to church more like a chore I perform dutifuly each week, there’s a barrier I have put up preventing me from experiencing inner joy for the Lord. I can’t fake it neither can I act like I have. Perhaps with this I brought that barrier along together with much skepticism.

The first day was kind of boring n the movie was quite corny. But I was quite touched at the last part when he decided to share his testimony with the class. Perhaps I dun have the courage as he did. My group was great, most of them are nus students. They were pretty easy going. The next day, for the first two sessions, the teachings were quite boring actually but I couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed / touched ( not exactly the right words to use but its hard to describe) by the songs we sang n tears just clotted up. When we prayed ourselves n the music just continues in the background, I really couldn’t help shedding a few tears. I was trying to hold back my tears n tell myself I dun need anyone to pray for me. At one point I just feel like stop singing n blocked out the music fr my ears so that I wont cry. But I couldn’t, i feel really self conscious abt crying in frt of others. But later my group met up with pastor Debra. She was asking me how I felt about the 2 sessions…at that point the events of the day n the emotions seem to caught up with me n it opened the floodgate for the tears to flow freely. I couldn’t tell her much…it so difficult to describe everything in words. But I know as she prayed for me…there’s a warm sensation running over. It feels so much better than to hold back all that tears. I really can’t remember much of y I cried after that. Yah I know I cry really very easily, that’s a way of expressing my feelings rather than just putting it down in words. The fourth session- tearing of the paper, it was really emotional. Again I was just trying to hold it back, but I began to sobbed uncontrollably when my guide prayed for me. It feels really warm n nice to be prayed of for. My tears just stopped flowing when the prayer ended. After that I really cannot remember what I was exactly crying about. I just feel different, no more stress, no more depressive thots, no more worries, no more me. like i have left the past n me behind, i feel like on another planet. Neither happy nor sad just somewhere in the middle. another emotional peak for me was during the healing of the inner soul session where Pastor Josephine prayed for me n the song “complete” was really so touching. Much of the same happen but I know each was a different experience when i will end up crying. The combined sessions, was quite scary thou, everyone was “fainting” n falling around me. It didn’t happen to me.ha maybe I was too distracted n couldn’t concentrate. Err I didn’t pray to receive the ability to speak in tongues, dun knoe y leh.

I definitely learned a lot thru this encounter weekend. Most importantly, I learned not to be shy in expressing my luv for HIM. I had many wins n loses. Lost my pessimism, worries, sins, bondages, self-consciousness (still got a bit lah). Won hope, luv, optimism, confidence (got more to work on), friends. Dun expect a 360 deg change, I just feel different, neither happy nor sad just somewhere in the middle. I have more to work on but I know I have just moved another step closer in getting to know HIM. I will get baptised when I come back from Australia k, maybe I should attend another encounter weekend when I am back. I am quite afraid I might backslide when I am there but dun worry I will remember to pack HIM in my suitcase. I am very thankful to mel, grace, cell group members , carolyn, other members of the group, pastors n other sisters for guiding , praying n for all the help in anyway that have helped to make this encounter weekend an enjoyable n wonderful experience for me.

hey!! my first time writing in this blog..hehe!! hmm.....our encounter camp has ended!! =) hmm..what can i say abt the camp?! the camp was really good..it did helped me in all areas!! ;)