Reflecting 2011

It's been so long since I written a truly long blog post. I have been really busy with many things in the year 2011. There are so much to share but thanks to my Church's watchnight service, i manage to sort out my thanksgiving and here's a summary :D

1. At the start of this year, I had Tonsillitis which is then accompanied by Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. It was a sucky feeling because I couldn't eat or drink properly and I couldn't sleep well for a week because swallowing saliva was also really painful. Anyway after being healed, i was told that actually eating ice cream makes things better but oh well, i do hope i don't get such an illness anymore. So thank God for healing me :)

2. I thank God for friends who helped me out throughout my studies in NUS and I did reasonably well. Actually my CAP fell drastically to 2.92 in Semester 1 because I had a D for my Level 2 Organic Chemistry but it rose to 3.06, not so high thanks to a D+ in Analytical Chemistry, still lower than my first sem CAP but I believe that whether it rises or drops, I must be contented that God gave me the privilege to study in NUS despite the tough competition. Reuben mentioned about being a Bell curve Martyr so haha!! i think God puts me in that position for a reason. Though I honestly think I work very hard for my modules hmmm.. I may not know the exact reason but i know it's a learning journey with the LORD so as to grow to be more like salt and light for this world. I also remembered the times I complained about how I didn't make it to FMSS and then ACJC. But looking back, I appreciate all that have happened to me. I was really surprised I made it to NUS. Indeed many are the plans of Man, but the will of God prevails. Anyway it's not a shame to be the least among my peers in terms of academic status. It teaches me humility :)

3. I was serving as a VCF CGL throughout my Sophomore year. To be honest, I wasn't even chosen by the previous subcomm but I remembered how i was so mysteriously driven to ask Lionel and Max to give me this wonderful opportunity to show my gratitude to how VCF have fed me spiritually. I got the role and i faced so many trials where I was constantly misunderstood and deemed incompetent for the role. It hurt me so deeply but somehow encouragement from other friends really enabled me to persevere. And being a CGL, I need to be relational which I think I was abit bad at cos a friend commented how i had bad EQ. I was honestly uncomfortable about it but God suggested that it's good to train up my shortcomings. Ok I am of 'CSD' personality so I had to trained up my 'I' personality, so i forced myself to be bubbly. Some people think that i was kinda fake or inappropriate but after all, I wasn't there to please man but to please God. Indeed I felt like an outcast in the subcomm for a period of time but God understood my pain because Jesus felt the same way before He went to the Cross. Anyway I thank God for the experience and the things I learnt.

4. I always thank God for my understanding church friends who allowed me to focus on preparing for my VCF GCube Mission Trip. Btw Gcube means God's Global Glory. I still tried to serve in church as a Youth DGL (Disciple Group Leader) but I really thank Christopher, my co-DGL who helped me shoulder this burden. And I am really thankful to Jasper who relieved off my duty as a Young Adults Ministry Worship Leader & Support Singer. I do apologised to Pr George for pulling out of the Mailbox Club Ministry. And I remembered that Ps Kien Seng patiently mentored me for 2 years and prayed for my service in VCF before he had to prepare to go for his Sabbatical in 2012. It is always joy that God uses us for various ministry but he understands that I am limited and human so I have to give up certain area to focus on other areas. I hope to return to church as a more spiritually matured person after having been trained in VCF :)

5. I really thank God for the privilege of going to Xining, China for my Gcube Phase 2 Mission Trip. It was really not easy having to work with my team members due to different personalities. And there were times how they left me out when they spoke about their medical terms. But anyway we learnt to work the misunderstandings out. I was so thankful that many people came in to support us financially and spiritually. During the prep-camp for the trip, we faced many trials when our expectations for the trip was so different. It kinda made us pissed off with each other and I struggled to work under my supervisors just as Jacob wrestles with God. To be frank, I was so frustrated and unjust such that i cried bitterly. But ultimately God is sovereign in the situations and in the trip. We manage to put aside our indifference and do His kingdom work. There were still a bit of indifference, especially when i had to be in charge of the tours, and how i was pissed off with the fact of whether my team mates was trying to please the Missionary instead of God. But through it all, we managed to be like John the Baptist who tilled the hearts and prepared the way for the people we meet so that in future the gospel could be planted in them. I thank God for the privilege to go on this Mission Trip to China, where it's dangerous to preach the gospel there.

6. It was indeed a headache having to prepare for my Exchange Trip. There were so many screw-ups on the administrative side in NUS; my mother could testify. She was the one having a bad time because I had to do 2 weeks of Reservist at that time. I was super pissed off by their delay of 2 weeks which spoiled my travel plans. And at Eindhoven University of Technology (Tu/E), they were pressuring us to send in the necessary documents or else they won't accept me as a student there. Thank God that it was settled when Kelsey Works stepped in. After that, I faced VISA issues, they were so petty issues like my head was not straight, etc and to make matters worse, she didn't inform me that the VISA fee would increase to €600 so my mother wasted so much money to deal with this unnecessary screw-ups. Anyway in the end, I thank God that I managed to get everything done on time and meet Haoguang and Moses in Florence, Italy instead of our initially planned Munich, Germany.

7. Thank God for the privilege of travelling around Western and a little bit of Central Europe. I had to be independent in settling my trip itinerary, booking my hostels, budgeting, navigating with a guide book and/or a map, etc.. I remember how I encountered scams in many countries and how racism was evident on certain places I went to. I also remembered walking in the streets late at night because the hostel price was unreasonable. I also attempted to sleep in a deserted playground/ a park or even an alley because I couldn't afford the hostel stay. But i was really thankful that God kept me safe. All in all, I went to 12 countries: Italy, France, Spain, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, England, Poland and Luxembourg. :)))

8. Beind an exchange student was tough and lonely. I had to settle my housing, apply for resident permit and open a bank account. I also had to budget for my weekly expenditures and do grocery shopping. Cooking became a past time since outside food was expensive. I had to get a bicycle to travel around as bus rides were around €2 per trip. In school, I constantly ran to my supervisor for advice in my courses due to my screw-up timetables or failure in 2 of my master courses. I took mostly master level courses because the bachelor courses were in dutch and I had 1 bachelor courses which couldn't be mapped over as a complete module at NUS. But I continued with the course because it's not nice to pull out and let the rest of my group mates bear the burden. I have planned to stay back a semester in NUS due to such inconvenience but I believed God puts me in Tu/E for a purpose. I met so many people from different countries and also 2 Singaporean friends who are there on Scholarship. They really helped me in many ways. And I also thank God that I could still be salt and light there for many of my friends who are stoic or atheist in their beliefs.

9. I manage to find a church in Eindhoven, i.e the International Baptist Church of Eindhoven where I met people from all over the world. It was a glimpse of heaven. I also manage to meet a Singaporean couple, Isaac and Serene who helped me in many things. I also enjoyed the fellowship with the Young Adults there. I really enjoyed the events they celebrate like the Harvest Festival, the monthly fellowship lunch and Holy Communion. To top it all, I also attended the Men's Bible Study Session which taught me how to be a biblical man of God. Indeed God was gracious to send many people to support me spiritually. I thank Him for that. :)

10. While I was on Exchange, my house got emblock and hence I entered a new house when I returned. It was bigger and more beautiful than my previous house. I thank God for His Providence. And I also give thanks for my family members who cared for me when I was away and how I skyped them to update my life with them. My room is still messy and my stuffs are everywhere so I need to take time to pack and settle down before returning to school.

11. Before I returned to Singapore, I attended an IFES Nederland Christmas Retreat which was really encouraging because I met people from different countries too. How wonderful it was to see a Japanese and a Chinese fellowshipping together especially when these 2 countries suffered years of Hatred since World War 2. I also learnt about a new country which I never knew, it was Latvia. We all had a great time worshipping God, fellowshipping and doing various activities like writing a Christmas Card in various languages. During the Retreat, I also saw snow for the very first time :) God is Good all the time :))

12. Thank God for the safe trip back to Singapore and I manage to make it on time for my VCF Annual Teach-in Camp aka ANNTIC. It was my 3rd time and I have 1 last year before my ANNTIC journey is done. Time really passed quickly as I worship God, fellowship with my VCFers and study the book of Hosea and the Epistles. It is indeed great to have your mind and soul challenged in this camp so that one could really grow and mature in our walk with God. I am so thankful for that :)

12 Summaries of Thanksgiving for the year 2011. I wonder what is installed for me in 2012? I am so excited about my journey with the LORD God Almighty! :D

Holy Holy are you Lord God Almighty! Worthy is the Lamb! Worthy is the Lamb! You are Holy!