Life As It Comes: March 2009

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The best day in my life (currently)..

24th March 2009. I'll remember this day and the 23rd for quite a long time. Let me tell my story.

I remember sharing with quite a number of people on Saturday the 21st of March 2009 that I had biochemistry colloq coming up on Monday the 23rd of March. And that I only knew 30% of what I was supposed to know.

And I remember not sharing with most people (only my groupmates know) that I had more than the colloq to prepare for on Monday. Due to being sick on the 2nd class and not attending it; and due to the numerous holidays on Mondays; as well as the One Life Event, I was waay behind my class mini colloq schedule and waay behind my groupmates in my studies. For those who don't know, my new biochemistry teacher gives mini colloq after every class. And those who do not pass those mini colloqs are deemed unknowledgeable and are unable to take colloquims. And so, Chapter 7, Lipid Metabolism, had 5 lessons. And I was only at lesson 3.

That meant, I had to take the mcq exam for lesson 3, lesson 4, lesson 5, colloq, and lipid pathways. Then, I had to take the written and oral exam for lesson 4 before I was legible to attempt the colloq written and oral. Any coursemate of mine would agree with me that it was impossible, considering also the fact that we had other colloqs to prepare for at the same time.

So, on Saturday, I drank 3 cups of coffee "kao", even though I knew my caffeine tolerance had dropped way below zero. I somehow, perhaps due to the stress that was building up in me, I just took the coffee, even though from recent experience, I knew I would become very very sick. And lo, I fell sick. Mind you, I wasn't biologically sick (bacteria, virus induced immune reaction and inflammation) but I became extremely sick physiologically (nervous system, digestive system and smooth muscle system affected). After studying physiology and biochemistry, I can tell you that for most body functions to be initiated, the cells must produce a substance called "cAMP'. This "cAMP" must then be destroyed by "phosphodiesterase" in the cell membrane so that the functions can cease, allowing the body to rest and regain energy. Caffeine, inhibits "phosphodiesterase", thus, disallowing the cells to rest. That's why, within an individual's tolerance level, caffeine keeps the body active, allowing the individual to keep working for an extended period of time. But above tolerance level stresses out the body and is accompanied by reactions such as discomfortness in the abdomen and heart areas; and huge headaches. And due to lack of sleep, the eyes become dry and painful to keep open. And at this period of time, the individual will find it very hard to sleep as the body is unable to relax.

There, a science student's blog.. Sorry to bore you readers. But I wanted you all to understand exactly what I felt and went through after MF on saturday night. And then I sat down and began to run through lessons 4 and 5. It was like an express bullet train. I didn't sleep for almost the whole night. And by 5.30am sunday morning, I had managed to finish my note and scheme taking for both lessons. ChiaZhen accompanied me for awhile around 2-3am since he accidentally drank some of that same coffee too. Well, at 5.30am, I went back to my room to rest awhile. At that time, my head was heavy, my eyes hurting, and I had a very big discomfort in my abdomen (without pain). My heart rate was increases and blood pressure throbbing against my temples. I had already gave Marcus the responsibility to drag me to church no matter what and so I decided to try to get as much sleep as I could.

Lying down was as uncomfortable as being awake. With a body that couldn't rest nor relax, I couldn't fall asleep at all even though I was super tired. I tossed and turned and finally piled my "family" around me and fell into a light unrested sleep. My family you ask? My 3 dolphins, 2 dogs, 1 killer whale, 1 cow and 1 zebra/giraffe mix. When my roommate Andrew got up to prepare for church, he woke me up unintentionally too. And that was it, gone, I couldn't sleep anymore. So I prepared for church, and at 9am, left my hostel. Met Amy in the metro and we went to church together.

In church, I was thinking of resting in the house of the Lord. I even told and agreed with Marcus about getting rest in God's presence. But He kept me awake. He kept me through the service and the sermon and gave me 2 tight slaps, reminding me about His presence and His promise that His kindness, peace and mercy will never depart from me. Remember my last post, the one asking for God to help me and remind me constantly of His love and mercy and blessing? Well, His answer came on sunday and He kept me awake to hear it. And I finally raised my hand during the time for prayer and had Marcus and Amy pray for me. It was so wonderful to have family and my "big boss" pray for me. And immediately after the prayer, my headache and stomach discomfort eased greatly. Praise God. That was really refreshing.

Then, after church, I collected my assigned One Life Event pledged money, attended a musician's meeting and rushed home alone. And my groupmates, bless them, especially WanSim, dragged me to attend their biochem variant discussion. When she first asked me to join them, I was skeptical. I knew I wouldn't understand anything from lesson 4 and 5 and I didn't want to hold them back. But they didn't take no for an answer and I was forcefully dragged to join with the group discussion. Bless their souls, that really helps lots in my preparation. As I listened to their discussions, all the pieces of information I took in on sunday morning started to make sense and I could remember them more easily. And they discussed special points that I never noticed from the textbook and drilled me till I could remember the points as well as them.

I collapsed into bed around 6pm while my roommates cooked dinner. And I was woken up for prayer meeting. Took my dinner after prayer meeting, "kepo" a bit with the first years, then went back to the study room to continue my revision. Then, around 2am, I went back to my room to revise my mcqs. I was given a program similar to the one used by the biochemistry department for mcq tests. So I decided to prepare the mcq for lesson 5. I worked at it and worked at it and found my eyes closing. 2 whole days is really close to my limit. I ran through the mcq for lesson 4 and because my roommate Andrew woke up to study for Pathology, I asked him to wake me up at 6.30am so I could continue my revision after an hour's sleep since I found it extremely hard to keep my eyes open anymore.

I was shocked awake by WanSim at 7.30am who was leaving and came to drag me along with her. I asked Andrew why he didn't wake me at 6.30am and he told me I was so deep asleep that I was oblivious to any outside stimulation. It was a wonder that WanSim could wake me up. So I rushed to pack and got ready in 5 mins but had to give up my mcq revision. WanSim gave me her hard copy of the mcqs for me to study in the metro and I bought a "shaurma" (burrito) for breakfast before rushing to class.

I knew I was dead. But I told God I handed everything into His Hands and unashamedly begged for His blessing and mercy. And my teacher came. As expected, she didn't allow me to do my colloq and so I asked her to allow me to attempt my lesson 4 written and oral. I rushed through the written part and during the oral, thanks to my groupmates' discussion, I could give her the answers she required and passed through the mini colloq. Then we were told to do our mcqs. So I attempted mcq for lesson 3 and failed! Shocked, I ran out to revise the variant WanSim gave me earlier then begged Anton to allow me to try again. Thank God he was kind to me that day and gave me a second chance.

I passed, gave my teacher the marks and asked if I could attempt mcq for lesson 4. Permission granted, I did the mcq.

I passed, gave my teacher the marks and asked if I could try the mcq for lesson 5. My teacher gave me that disbelieving look but allowed me to try.

I passed, gave my teacher the marks and this time, she asked me if I wanted to attempt the colloq mcq. I nodded and rushed back into the computer room. Thanking God all the way..

I passed, went to my teacher and she told me to do the lipid pathways mcq. The student taking oral exam with her had eyes opened wide as I went in and out of the computer room. She asked me later if I was a genius. I told her I thank God for giving me the knowledge to decipher the mcq questions based solely on what I could remember about that topic.

I passed the lipid pathways mcq, went to my teacher and asked if I could now attempt the colloq questions. She looked at me and smiled, and told me to wait while she went to find me a variant since she had run out of questions.

All my friends had 2 1/2 hours to prepare for the colloq. I only had less than an hour. So I wrote everything in short form and was preparing to explain everything to my teacher during the oral part. And lo, I didn't even have time to do the oral, I was chased out of the class and had to hand up my paper to my teacher. I knew she was free on Tuesday, so I begged to be allowed to go to her and do my oral on tuesday. Praise God, permission was granted.

And on tuesday, I went to the dean's office to meet her. Her response when she saw me was, "Aaron Group 8 right?" and I could only nod. Because everyone else who went to her had to state their names and group numbers. That meant she already knew me and could remember me. The guy who was so behind in his work and exams but trying to get rid of them. And she found my paper and started to discuss my questions orally with me. I was told my question 1(a) had a pretty good answer. But problems arised from questions 1(b,c,d,e), 2(a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h), 3(a,b,c,d) and 4(b,c,d). That meant almost the entire paper had problems or dissatisfaction.

I was so scared. But I put on that "confident-know-it-all" mask and did my best to answer her questions. She asked me why I didn't write formulas, I showed her the formulas she required that I did write for the previous question. She asked me why my pathways were incomplete at the beginnings, I showed her the connection of pathways from those in the previous questions. In short, I had answered perfectly, but with a lot of short forms and breakages which were meant to be filled up orally since I didn't have time to write them down.

She finally gave me a "4". And I jokingly asked for more. She told me it wasn't possible since I had so much of her scribbles on my test paper and I nodded. I didn't expect more anyway. Then while she was writing my marks in her record book, she put down "4.5" and said, "oih, maybe I give you "4.5", so you must do better next time". That really made my day. I was so happy I thanked her, ran over to the dean's office to take my passport and visa, then rushed home. Messaged my parents, and told dad that I wanted to treat myself to something nice to eat and that he would be paying. And I rushed home and fell asleep.

Finally, I wasn't behind in my biochemistry anymore. I was on par with my groupmates and I could study along with them and take the appropriate mini colloqs together with them.

I had deemed completing 70% in 2 days impossible as it had taken me 2 weeks to complete the first 30%. But now I know that with God's help, nothing is impossible. As long as you ask and allow Him to do His will and work in your life, you'll find that nothing is impossible nor improbably with God. He can work miracles. All we need to do is our best and He will do that rest.

Praise the Lord. He lives and still takes care of me.

PS. By the way, I've been so busy that I haven't had time to miss having a girlfriend. =p Again, thank You Lord for helping me in this aspect.

PPS. I'm starting to be able to open up again to C and treat her as a friend. I suppose it means I'm really starting to be successful in leaving the past behind me. Moving onward. Praising God.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Parable of the sower.

Mark 4:1-9
The sower and his seed
Mark 4:13-20
The explanation

The types of ground
The wayside ground
The stony ground
The thorny ground
The good ground

The wayside ground
The wayside heart
Downtrodden and hardened
Cynical and disappointed
Expected but did not receive

The stony ground
The stony heart
Uncleared
Full of pride and rebelliousness
Growth is possible
But full of unsteadiness
Hear and influenced
But easily affected and toppled

The thorny ground
The thorny heart
The thorns
The cares of the world
The deceitfulness of riches
The lust for things of the world
The focus of life on himself
To trust in himself
To love himself
To grow but easily choked and suppressed by worldly problems

The good ground
The good heart
The results
Sprouting
Growing
Producing
To hear and do
To listen and obey

The planting of the seed
Exterminate the weeds
Clear the ground
Till the soil
Plant
Water
Expect

The planting of the seed
Dying to self and the world
Renounce the pride and rebelliousness
Breaking up the heart
Planting the seed
Following up
Awaiting the harvest

Me
My heart
Does not have good ground
I have a wayside heart
Partially stony
Partially thorny
I'm bitter
I expected but did not receive
I refused to acknowledge His wisdom
I refused to see His way
At times
I grow
But pressure comes
Tests come
I fall
At times
While growing
Stress and worries
Inhibit growth
Or completely kills me

I forget His love
I forget His presence
I forget His mercy
I forget His blessings
I forget His wonders
I forget His miracles
I forget His help
I forget His availability
I forget His providence
I forget He has always been there
Waiting

O Lord
I am ashamed
To only remember You when all else fails
Why Lord
Do I not think of You first
Whenever trials or problems arise
Why Lord do I attempt with my own strength
Only to fail miserably
Only to fall hard
Only to injure myself
And only after that
Do I remember about You
And think about turning to You

O Lord
Remind me
That You are always there
That Your door is always open
You always welcome me
You are waiting
You want to cleanse me
You want to fill me
You want to empower me
You want to care for me
You want to forget all that is past

O Lord
Take away the lies of the devil
Who makes me feel ashamed
Who makes me feel unworthy
Who makes me feel unclean
Who makes me feel unwanted
Who tells me I can never go back to You

O Lord
Help me turn back to You
Teach me Your ways
Impart to me Your wisdom
And mold me with Your Hands

O Lord
Remind me to always put You first
In every trial
Problem
Test
Fun
Enjoyment
In every aspect of my life
And not to remember You
Only after the hour of doom is at hand

O Lord
Forgive me
And I thank You
For the timely reminder
Of the grounds
And the hearts
And of my heart

Lord Jesus
Bridge the gap between You and me
I beg of You
Make me feel wanted
Make me feel loved
Make me feel Your available-ness
O Lord
Thank You

Take away the depression
Fill it's place with cheerfulness
Make me able to live life
Bringing light to those around me

PS. Lord, today I miss having a girlfriend again. Please take away that feeling so that I can continue to learn how to live life relying on You and not on humans. Please teach me so that You can prepare me for more.

PPS. Mom, dad, I signed up to go for missions in China this coming August 2009. I left it to God to decide for me. If I'm meant to go, the first step would be to provide me with a place in the missions team. Then everything else would fall into place. If my application is rejected, I know I'm meant for greater things back home with you two. Please pray for me and this missions decision. I will receive the reply next week.

God bless all.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

A few birthdays..

15th, Sunday, was Bryan Teoh's birthday.
16th, Monday, was Charmaine Gan's birthday.
17th, Tuesday, was Yow Kian Hong's birthday.

So here was the fun we had planning and executing their "demise".. =p

I made whipped cream, specially for playing. But at midnight Sunday morning, the idiot refused to come out of the bathroom after he took his bath. And since church on Sunday was a must must, we couldn't wait for him and slept first. He thought he was safe. He wasn't, never was. Only pissed us off cuz we waited for him and cuz my load of cream was wasted.

I had told Charmaine last year about my opinion that playing with the birthday cake was a waste since the part that was smeared on the birthday kid's face couldn't be eaten. And I shared with her my idea of making cream to play instead of using the cake. And so, for quite a long time already, I had planned making a cake from pure cream to smash into someone's face. And since she was the first to hear my idea, she was to be my first guinea pig. =]

I made the cream, froze it into a cuboid shaped mass. And my roomies helped me come up with ideas to decorate it.

We didn't want to waste candles, so James offered his "mushroom" biscuit.

Charmaine is my age, 21 this year. =]

And we went.. (",)

Notice the smashing of the "cake"?
It was a success because she really thought it was a cake..!! Ah hahahaha..

I wasn't supposed to be involved..
Initial plan only included Charmaine and Bryan..

But.. =]

And the floor.. (",)
Dun worry, I helped clean up..

But that wasn't all. Her roomies planned to give her a really nice surprise by bullying her on a few floors in the hostel. And they also prepared a video with recordings of birthday wishes from 1st year and 2nd year friends as well as birthday messages from her family, taken with disgression.

So, on Monday, after their Russian class, we who were already prepared gathered outside Charmaine's class to surprise her. And here are brief clips of what they went through. =p

Hope u all enjoyed what I enjoyed.. =]

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Nobody.

I'm a nobody.
Not to her,
Not to them,
Not even to myself.
I'm just a nobody who doesn't mean much (if not anything) in everyones' eyes..
I'm a nobody.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

I'm A Friggin' Hypocrite..!

I'm a friggin' hypocrite!!

Darn, I can look like nothing on the outside when I'm living my life or especially when I'm concentrating upon doing something. But the turmoil inside hurts. It really hurts, and there's little I can do about it. I can't decide what to do, can't decide where to go, can't decide what to think etc..

I chatted with an old friend earlier during the day. He had some God related problems and was confused after reading my blog. So he just wanted to confirm if everything he read were real. I told him they were real. I told him those were my heartfelt feelings. I told him to believe in God and never let go. I told him to have faith and keep moving on. I told him a lot of things that came from my brain but not from my heart. I did NOT tell him those feelings in the blog were only during the time of the event. I did NOT tell him my heart and life were dry now. I did NOT tell him that my heart was in a turmoil. I did NOT want him to fall further because of me.

*guess I still have a little sense of me in me yet...*

But I'm confused myself. I'm wondering if what I'm going through is supposed to be beneficial. Or did I just bring upon myself this "judgement" because of what I did or what I didn't do. What? Why? How? When?

I don't know.
I don't suppose I'd ever know.

I do know that the last time I loved someone (actually still do) I filled my time with her. I lived a rather good and filled life. A life without gaps, a life that was meaningful and had time for everything I needed to do, to accomplish, even if a big chunk was spent on her. But now.. I'm alone. My time is for me alone. And I find, it isn't meaningful, it has a lot of gaps, a lot of splinters that I didn't know how to fill up. And yet, I did not have enough time at all. Time flies at the speed of light now. Time slips past me now. I'm lazy, I'm moody, I'm filled with hatred at myself. And yet, I don't show it. I cannot show it. I made a promise not to affect those around me. But...sigh..

I've made a decision to not touch my computer this whole week unless it's to answer msn or study biochemistry mcqs. No internet, no games, no e-mail, no facebook..

So I'll probably be blogging at a really high frequency since that's the only thing I can do. I wonder if that'll turn my life around or not.

I wish that..
I wish for..
And I wish for..
And I really wish that if only, if only she would...!! But she never will. It's pointless.. It always has been..

Goodbye.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

My Pathology teacher.

There. I got a picture.
This is my Pathology teacher, Tatiana Aleksandrovna Demura, 26 years old. =p
Pretty eh? (",)

Friday, March 13, 2009

My Russian Teacher.

Today, during my russian class, I took the opportunity to interrogate my russian teacher about a few secret things she refused to tell us when we were getting to know each other on our first day of class. She's a really sweet teacher who just started teaching russian last semester. So we're her first class and since we've had 2 years of russian language classes, we're not too bad ourselves. So her teaching is easy.

But, there was one question that remained in all our minds. How old was she..? She looked so sweet and young and innocent and so easily bullied.. Well, last week, I found out that my Pathology teacher was 26 years old this year. Well, I cunningly asked for her help in filling out her details in my "russian-made" PDA and took the advantage of asking her to fill in the D.O.B. So young. But my russian teacher looked even younger. Heck, she could be my girlfriend for all you know and actually look the part. But she's my teacher.

Look at her and tell me what you think..? =p

Isn't she cute..?

Look at her smile.. (wish all russians were like that..)

A different look but still her.

My favourite. (",)

So anyway, Nika Dubrova (that's her name) looked like she could actually be younger than us. So I used my same tactic that I used on my Pathology teacher and asked her to help fill in my PDA contact details. My PDA program was in russian *duh* and my excuse stood. So I ended up getting her birth-date and e-mail. I just stopped short of her home address since we already obtained invitations to visit her home one day.

Guess her age.. 22 years old. Ahhh..! She can seriously pass off as my girlfriend.. Just to severely piss off a few people in Malaysia.. =p But no worries. I'm not going to do anything like that. But just think of that.. My russian language teacher is 22 years old. My pathology teacher is 26 years old. Don't they get any younger.. At least my microbe teacher is an old man and my biochemistry teacher is a fat old homely lady. My physio teacher is a middle aged handsome playboy. Perhaps when I can obtain their pictures, I'll show you how they look like..

PS. I stole those pictures.. Nika Dubrova doesn't know I took them.. =p But she started it, she used her phone to take pictures of us. (",)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

"7 pounds" and my life

I just finished watching the movie 7 Pounds. And this is probably the first movie since The Passion Of Christ to make me cry. I didn't know why, I didn't know how, all I knew was suddenly there was that all familar chest and throat tightening, and tears flowed uncontrollably. A part of me didn't want to embarass myself in front of my roommate James, but another part of me was rather relieved to find that I was still human and was able to cry. Heck, I've been wanting to cry for quite a time already. I found life to be really unfair when I looked at it from my point of view. But everytime I wanted to talk it over, everytime I sat down and really looked at it from God's point of view, it was fair. In time, I ended up not looking at my life. All I did was feel that it sucked and that was that. I didn't want to comfort myself anymore, either God was going to bring something good into my life, or it was going to remain "emo".

I wikipedia-ed the word "emo", to get a better grasp of it's meaning. And all that turned up were a bunch of words explaining that "emo" was some kind of song or music. That sucked. I had always been made to think that "emo" was emotional or used to describe people who hated themselves and hated life. Usually, "emo" people tried suicide.

See? Now I can't say I'm "emo". I'm not a band, I'm not into music. I'm just into stuff that can temporarily take my mind away from the matters that I think too much about.

And this is my problem. God cannot bring more into my life if I'm not able to do with what I have now. I'm always asking for more, I'm always insisting for more, and even though God gives me more, I want more than I already have. And thus, He takes away. He takes away until I can learn to live with less. Goddammit.. I've been wanting to say that for some time already. But I can't say it out loud. So here, Dang, Dammed, Screwed up Bastard. There. I've just ruined the my image and as of this blog. But i can't live life this way anymore.

I've stopped praying. I can't find the heart nor the mood to pray. Some times when the atmosphere is generated (prayer meeting) I can talk to God. But never about my problem. Never. And after all is said and done, I feel like the worse hypocrite ever alive on planet earth. I can't tell the devil to leave me alone, for he won't. He'll just come at me more and more. But I can tell God to leave me alone, and He will. But that's not what I want. I want a life free of troubles and worries and problems. I want to enjoy life, to have fun and get all I can from this life before it ends.

Now I can see why I was not given large, long-term responsibilities. I can not handle them. Imagine, what would happen to MF if I was left director. It would be long gone. I can't even handle my life. I tell others what to do, I tell others their problem, I tell others what they refuse to accept although true. But I can't handle my life. My life itself is such a mess that it would take centuries to put it right. And I don't even have 1 century.

I was never ready for a relationship. Never. I can always say or think that I'm ready. I also feel ready at times. But I never am. Now all I can do is apologize to those I've hurt emotionally because of my stupidity. Even the last one failed terribly because I took what was given to me and pushed ahead for more. I am much better at putting on my mask now. People actually believe there's nothing wrong with me when I say so. Guess it doesn't worry anyone now.

I am a chicken. I would never ever have the guts to plan and excecute such a plan that was done in the movie 7 Pounds. I can talk all I want about it but I will never be able to do it. I probably cried during the movie because I could never do what the main character did. He made a name for himself and and impact to those around him and will now be remembered for a long time for what he did. But me? What can I do? What will I ever do? Nothing. I will be nothing, and will be a nobody for the rest of my life. I don't think people ever think about me. And now I refuse to believe that anyone actually cares a damn about me. Because I'm afraid of being hurt again. I'm afraid of opening up my heart again and making it vulnerable. I'm afraid to believe that anyone in this world will actually like me. I hate myself. Like a "cold fish".

But my teaching prevails..

That means, deep down inside, I'm still seeking God. I still want to do what's right, somehow. So I guess tonight will be the last night I think and feel like this. Starting tomorrow, life will be better. Ignore that which must be ignored and look towards that which needs my attention. And I need the strength to move on and leave the past where it is.

PS. As a footnote, to Charis and Gan, I envy the both of you. To James, I wish I could be as carefree as you. And to Marcus, I want your brains and brawn. My life, sucks as of now. *peace out*

Sunday, March 8, 2009

MF eat out.

To follow up with our friends, those who accepted Christ during the One Life Event, we decided to have a free dinner sponsored by MF to allow the MF members and those new believers to hang out together and have fun getting to know each other and encouraging each other. We went to this place called Devi's and we had indian food. Here are some of the crazy things that happened that night, 7th March.

Hello ChiaZhen, what's with the pout?

The Yougo zapad hostel girls. Except the one on the far left. =]

Look at the food.. Ooh.. Makes me hungry all over again..

Me and big boss..

The appetizers.

Followed by the main course.

Because 8th March was international Women's Day, the ladies got roses.
*courtesy of Boss*

And some guys went crazy..

Those from pushkin hostel.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

The One Life Event 1st March 2009!!

On the 1^st of March 2009, more than 600 people gathered at Holiday Inn Sokolniki to attend one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the year. The One Life event had been generating much buzz and all the hype regarding it had finally built up to this exciting climax. The atmosphere was lively and one could sense expectation in the air as the crowd gathered outside the hallway to await the time to enter the hall. Strains of hip-hop music could be heard emanating from inside as the doors were finally opened at 5.30pm allowing people to enter. Ushers were dressed smartly in suits and formal wear as they directed people through the two main entrances. At each entrance, each guest was handed as program book regarding what was going to happen for the next few hours as well as a number for the lucky draw. The program book contained opening notes from the honored guest of the evening, Ps Kevin Loo from City Harvest Church Kuala Lumpur and Coordinator of the Malaysian Fellowship, Dalvinder Singh as well as a schedule of the evening and last but not least a number for the evening’s lucky draw. Many prizes were up for grabs including airplane models, hats and key chains courtesy of Emirates Airlines, two IPOD shuffles and lastly the most coveted prize, a return ticket to anywhere in Asia from Moscow sponsored by Emirates Airlines as well. They were then escorted in and directed to their seats by the ushers. The first few rows had been reserved for sixth year seniors and they did not disappoint us by turning up in large numbers.

Finally, after everyone was sitted, the audience cheered as the media team presented a video for the opening ceremony of the event. The music was rousing as the short clip kicked into high gear challenging the audience what they knew about their one life. Immediately after the video screen blacked out, the spotlight lit up upon GengYan and the electric guitar started the intro for the song "Beautiful Day". The Malaysian Fellowship band then launched immediately into a passionate rendition of the song Beautiful Day by U2. The band members were comprised of GengYan of course, the MichealJackson impersonator for the night, IsaacSiow on the drums, WeeKee rocking away on the bass, YunnMin and ChihWan on keyboards, Herman strumming away on the acoustic guitar as well as our very own The Edge, NeilsIsaac on the electric guitar. They soon had the crowd going and cheering wildly as the GengYan put every ounce of energy into belting out the lyrics for the song. The evening had got off to a explosive start and everyone believed that it would only get better.

After the MF band made their way off stage, JivanLatif the MC for the night then strode onto the stage with a wide grin amidst heavy applause. He engaged with lively banter with the audience for a few minutes before introducing the first act for the evening, rapper Dre the Nomad. His voice preceded him as he made his way from the back of the hall to the stage, and as the audience cheered, he flicked a few of his mixtape cds into the crowd. As he nonchalantly strode onto stage, he was greeted by loud cheers and applause by the enthusiastic crowd. Within a few seconds, loud funky hip-hop music began pulsing out of the two main speakers overhead and he soon captured the audience with his in-your-face style of rapping and drove the Christian message into the heart of people amidst the loud music while he lumbered around on stage doing his stuff.

After the conclusion of the act, the crowd once again invited back MC Jivan onto the stage. He then introduced his lovely co-MC for the night LiVia to join him in announcing the lucky draw winners for the night. The atmosphere became tense as they went through the list of items up for grabs, playing up the suspense. Then only they asked the audience to search under their respective chairs as sticky notes that depicted prizes won had been placed there before the event began. The winner of one of the IPOD shuffles dazedly made his way upstage to claim his prize, looking as though he could not believe how fortunate he was.

Next, the MC introduced the next performance, a hip-hop dance group who called themselves Saved then took their place onstage to more rapturous applause. Once again, loud hip-hop music assaulted the audience’s eardrums as they held their breath in awe at the perfectly synchronized dance moves executed by the two incredibly talented dancers. Their motions were fluid and steps confident as they pranced around on stage. The energy in their routine was just impressive.

Next to follow was a Russian Rap group by the name of Light-Line. They too kept the audience wowed as they began rapping in Russian about money proving that in music, language barriers do not exist. For the second song, they were joined on stage by a female member of their group. The second song was mellower and set the stage for the female singer to demonstrate her vocal prowess. It wasn’t long before she started to impress the audience and every time she sang a verse, the crowd went into frenzy. Her pitching was accurate to the minute detail and every note was pure bliss.

Then, the MC and his co-MC came on stage. The crowd went wild as everytime the co-MC appeared, gifts were to be given out as stated earlier. And the MC set about explaining that everyone would have to send in a text message as shown on the screen to a certain handphone number also to be shown on the screen. The only requirements were to type the message exactly as seen on the screen and be the first one to send the message to the stated number. Then the message flashed on the overhead screens and the phone number slowly appeared back to front. A few frenzied minutes passed by before the winner was announced while LiVia begged the audience to stop sending as her phone was filling up with messages faster than she could delete them.

Next, the main prize for the night, which no one knew beforehand, was introduced to the crowd. It was a 3-month return ticket from Moscow to anywhere in Asia. This time, the Manager of Emirates Airlines was invited onto the stage to draw the winning number. There were rustles in the audience as everyone searched for the lucky draw number on their respective program books. Then it was time for the winner of the most coveted prize to be announced and the MCs prolonged the agony of the crowd by reading out the digits starting from the middle. The crowd held their breath as they awaited the announcement of the final number which would determine the lucky winner that would take home the grand prize. When the number was finally read out, many strained their necks to catch a glimpse of the petite girl making her way out from the crowd and onto stage. She was presented the ticket by Mr Sergei, the representative from Emirates Airline. He also took a few minutes to brief her regarding the details of her win. When asked how she felt about her win, she smiled and commented that she had never won anything that big before. She then thanked the emcees and Mr Sergei once more before taking her seat below stage once more. The joy on her face was apparent as she stepped off the stage causing her face to shine perhaps even brighter than the bright lights overhead.

And next up, the MF band made their way onstage once more to lead the crowd in rousing praise and worship. This time they were joined by singers, Esther, Kenix, MayShi, Alyssa and Billy. The songs that were sang were the ever so popular Every Move I Make, Trading My Sorrows, Sanctuary and lastly the theme song One Live, One Love. Participation by the audience was rather minimal at first but they soon began to wave their hands according to the music. It was great to see many people responding to the call of the worship leader, GengYan to do so.

After the singing and audience participation, KimWeeRic from M2 took the stage to share about giving. He presented many statistics about the state of the world nowadays, quoting figures that astounded many. He showed that if we have some money in our wallet, money in the bank and spare change lying around the house, we are considered to be in the richest 8% of the world. He also gave many figures about child labour and the illegal exploitation of minors. His words struck many hearts as he encouraged everyone to give and pledge their support in doing whatever they can. He quoted Mother Theresa saying that if we were not able to feed a thousand, it would be alright to feed even just one. A video was also shown of the Malaysian Fellowship’s recent mission trips to Indonesia and China depicting the deplorable conditions which the people lived in. Many in the audience were touched by the things that not so fortunate people have to go through in order to survive and some were deeply moved. Many responded to the call to give and the collection bags were full as they returned to the ushers that passed them out.

The event continued with the performers of the last performance making their way onstage to perform a hip-hop dance. They were no other than our very own LLAMADONKEEZ. The MC proudly announced them and claimed that they danced their way out of their mothers’ own womb, a claim that has yet to be proven with substantial proof. Dressed with white masks, they then began to dance as the speakers blared out hip-hop music for the third time that night. After completing their routine, they left the stage to loud applause.

Finally it was time for the emcee to introduce the guest speaker for the evening, specially flown in from Malaysia. The crowd rose to its feet to welcome no other than Pastor Kevin Loo, the founder and senior pastor of City Harvest Church Kuala Lumpur. Despite of his glowing reputation, he was a truly humble and down to earth man. Firstly, he took the opportunity to thank everyone for inviting him to come and the sponsors for making this event a success. He said that it was indeed a great honor for him to meet so many future Malaysian doctors studying in a far away country.

Beginning his message, he started by sharing about the Beijing Olympics which started on the 8^th of August 2008. He mentioned about the greatest Olympian on this planet, Michael Phelps which won 8 gold medals and broke as many world records. He then shared more examples of people that have understood the concept of One Life and live their life to the fullest. The next example he gave was of a Scotsman by the name of John Liddel. John had refused to run in his pet event, the 100m sprint on a Sunday because he believed by doing so he would not be honoring God. He decided to run in the 400m much to the horror of many but not only managed to win gold but also managed to shatter the then world record. The next example he gave was of Mother Theresa, a lady who dedicated her entire life to helping people that were less fortunate. He continued on by telling us about John Woo, the famous Hollywood director who incorporates Christian values into his movies because when he was younger he was constantly bullied and picked on and the only person who always stood up for him was his church pastor. He then asked us all why we chose to come to One Life despite having to brave the snow and the cold to travel for one hour to reach the place.

Pastor Kevin continued on by telling us an amazing story of one of his young church member by the name of Vincent. He had slipped and fell during cheerleading practice and felt that his neck was a little sore. The pain gradually worsened over a period of days and he began to feel dizzy. After much pleading by his friends to visit a doctor, he was stunned when the doctor told him that he had fractured two bones in his neck. The doctor also told him that it was a miracle that he did not die on the spot and also said that whatever God he believed in, it was that very same God that was sustaining him.

Pastor then began to speak on 2 Timothy 4:7. He split the verse into three parts. First he began to share on the first part of the verse “I have fought the good fight”. He started off by saying that he found it very interesting that Paul refers to life as a fight. He then questioned us on what we believe is worth living for. He shared that there were two most important days in each person’s life. First was the day we were born and second was the day we found out the reason for us living here. He then challenged us to find out why we were placed here on planet Earth.

Secondly, he began to share on the second part of the verse “I have finished the race”. He gave an example of the fastest man on earth at the moment, Usain Bolt from Jamaica. He shared that scientists had believed than Man would only be able to run that fast in the year 2025 but he had managed to accomplish it in year 2008. Pastor continued sharing about the proper way to finish a race. He shared that in order to finish a sprint, a person had to have nerves but in order to finish a marathon, what the person needed was stamina. He then likened our life to a marathon. He said in order to run this marathon, we needed stamina as well and this stamina would come from our heart. He also said that our spiritual stamina would determine how much we would accomplish in our lifetime.

He then pointed us to a verse in the Bible, Proverbs 4:23. He shared that our heart is a birthplace for desire and is the first organ to be formed in our body. Pastor then demonstrated his humorous side as he explained the difference between the words “jantung” and “hati” in Bahasa Melayu. His jokes had the audience in stitches many a times.

Moving on, he stressed that it is our heart that separates us from animals. He shared that our heart naturally longs for God and longs to be loved for. Animals have no heart and thus have no capability to love, according to him. He then gave an illustration of seeing a dead animal by the roadside and seeing a dead human being. He said that if we were to see a dead animal we would have no feelings but if we saw a dead human, we would always remember that particular spot even many years from then.

Pastor also shared that as humans, we are just not physical beings but we also had a soul and spirit. He also said that in the few years, many of us would fall out of and into love. He reminded us not to let bitterness take over our hearts if that were to happen to us.

Thirdly, he began to share on the final part of the verse “I have kept the faith”. Pastor Kevin reminded us that it was imperative for us to keep our faith strong at all times. He asked us to examine our hearts as to what we believe in our hearts. He then briefly shared his own testimony on how his life changed as he began to attend church. He commented that he would probably be a gangster if it weren’t for church and the love of God.

Pastor Kevin strongly reminded us to keep faith to believe that we were not here by accident. He shared that even before God created the universe, He already knew each and every one of us. He shared with us another funny story on how he hated to eat mushrooms. The whole hall laughed as they identified with what he was sharing.

Finally, Pastor Kevin shared about Eric Liddel once more. He talked about how Eric loved God and the Chinese people so much that he worked as a missionary in China until the end of his life. He also told us how much the Chinese people revered him until he was recognized as the first Chinese gold medalist. Pastor then invited the musicians onto stage as he asked everyone to bow their heads. He began to speak and challenge those who were eager to know more about God and those who were interested in the field of missions to raise up their hands. Us PICs at the back of the hall began to pray intensively. I personally kept asking God to touch the hearts of those I had prayed for since the planning of the One Life Event. The atmosphere was silent as hands began to rise from all over the hall. Amen!! People whom I never even expected to attend the event raising their hand! What a miracle! I praised God on the spot! Pastor then began to pray for the people who had their hands raised and after that proceeded to the foyer outside of the hall. The event had now been concluded.

Pastor remained in the foyer taking pictures with people and talking to those who had put up their hands earlier. Many people rushed to have their picture taken with him and soon he had his hands quite full. Malaysian Fellowship leaders also started to talk to the people who had raised their hands to know more about God and the missions. Some people were saved that very evening and I believe heaven rejoiced as they placed their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone was handed a goody bag containing some light refreshments and not a sad face was to be seen. Everyone obviously had a great time and the much awaited event was a great success.

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All through out the event, my helpers, Saac and Gan, and I were kept on our toes as we ran around, passed messages, ran the program, reminded the PICs about the things that were needed for the next event and tried to make the event run smoothly and seem like there were no problems at all. As the program manager, it was my duty to coordinate the MCs, the Media team, the performers and make sure they did what they were supposed to do at the right time and in the right place. Marcus, the program director would yell at me, and I would see what I could do with the media team, the lightings, and I would often send Gan to Saac to prepare the performers or running to pass the MC a note about program change and as such. I really thank my 2 helpful friends as much had been done at the expense of their stress and energy and I think I've shortened their lives by quite a number of years..

After the event, I had to help with the cleaning up and clearing up. I passed Jing's parcel to Kelvin from Volgograd to help me pass to her. And after more yelling from Marcus and rushing about, I finally got my stuff together and took them out of the hall. It was time to prepare to go home and also photo session time. Oh, by the way, my russian teacher came for the event!! It was such a big surprise to see her there. Wow.. I even managed to get into some photos with Rev. Kevin Loo. (",)

So there you have it. The successful event which showed me how much God loves me and how He will answer prayers and provide for anything we need. The phrase "I will not be in want" now really makes sense to me after experiencing it for myself. I know that from this event, I not only received much blessing and hope from the Lord, but that He has increased greatly my faith in Him too. He is Awesome, Magnificient, Wonderful, Glorious, and Everlastingly Faithful. All creatures and creations praise His name forever and ever.

And now, the pictures of the event. I'm sorry, but I only managed to take pictures after the event and most people already left at that time. I will pass the One Life Event video to whoever who would like to watch it later when it is released. For now, here is what I looked like during that event.. =p

Me and the 2 lead ushers, Jowyne and Annastasia.

Me and Kenix (my supposed "mom" whom I only found out that night.. =p)

This is Gan. He really helped me a lot during the event. But what is he doing..?

Me and Valynne.. (note, Charis' hand is at the lower left corner, holding the McD's packet..)

There.. My 3 pretty girls, Charis, Charmaine and Valynne.

With an additional ChiaZhen.
(I actually have one with an additional Gan in it, but it came out blur..)

And here's Mr.Gan again. Wonder what he is doing eh? =p

Am i handsome or what? =]

The babe magnet..
*I stole that phrase from Jasraj..sorry Raj*

Note, I'll post the photo with Rev. Kevin Loo when I can get a hold of it..

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Before, During and After...

First of all, sorry to all those who expected from my blog. I've been really really busy preparing, excecuting and regenerating for the One Life Event and thus, I really didn't have time to do anything else at all.. As of now, I'm officially free from responsibility of the One Life Event and now I'll do my best to recollect what went on on Sat 28th Feb, Sun 1st Mar and Mon 2nd Mar.

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28th February 2009, Saturday.
First off, in the morning I had to rush off for Pathology class. And as could be read previously, my Friday session ended pretty late and since I still had to finish off some stuff for the event and prepare some work for my Patho class, I slept at 7am. And My class was at 9.30am. I needed to leave at 8.30am to be able to reach there on time. So I smsed my groupmate WanSim asking her to wake me up at 8.00am since I was so sure I wouldn't hear my alarm at all. I was woken at 8.30am by WanSim's call. Her panicky voice told me she just only woke up as well. Goodness, where was time to get ready and freshen up? The funny thing was, as I took her call, I saw my roommate James lumber to the toilet. I put down the phone, grabbed my clothes and watched James rush out of the toilet and Yow (my blockmate) sprint in. I got dressed, checked my bag and put on my socks as Marcus (my other blockmate) shoot out the front door. I filled my pockets with essentials, grabbed my scarf and gloves and left with James. Yow was still in the toilet. I met WanSim and Vashni at the lift and we rushed out of the hostel together.
*note* My entire room (with the exception of Andrew who had biochemisty and left at 7.30am) had pathology class together at 9.30am. (",)

All of us actually slept past our alarms.. *grins* But due to past experience, I knew that I wouldn't be able to last through class due to lack of sleep. *frowns* Well, the cold blasted me awake, adrenaline rushed as I hurried to prepare my mcqs and thank God, we entered 5 seconds before the teacher. God is good.. I had a pretty good lesson, fun and fatigued but not blur. After class, we rushed to Namiotkina to attend the MF combined meeting due at 2.30-4.30pm. By Rev. Kevin Loo.

First of all, Herman shared about LOVE.

"Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;"

Proverbs 3:9

So, with the blessings that God hath given to thee, if thou loved the LORD, thou art to Honor Him back with what He hath given. We are all stewards of the earth, and we own nothing in this world. Thus, we are only giving back to Him a small portion of what He has loaned to us, losing nothing, and gaining His respect and trust for greater things.
And offering was collected.

Our ministry and our walk with God is a marathon,
Not a sprint.
To enjoy our walk with God,
We have to make sure that every step we take is fun.
If we're miserable,
We'll make those around us miserable as well!!

And Rev. Kevin Loo took the stage.
He reminded us that everything in life needs a vision.
Those without vision will perish.
And tithing is about putting God first in our life.
Tithing isn't about the money,
Not the 10% at all.
It's about showing we're responsible enough with what God has given,
Ensuring the trust that we're able to be responsible with more.

And he continued from last night about the pie chart representing our money.
Where does pledging come from in that chart?
Do we set aside more % of our money?
No.
We ask God what He wants from us.
If God says,
"Give up your rainy day savings"
That's what we take out and pledge to whatever is needed.
And we trust that He will not let us have any rainy days for the duration of the pledged project.
If God says,
"Give me your retirement/wedding/education savings"
That's what we pledge trusting that God will provide for it.
And so, we should teach the people to love God,
And let them give on their own accord.

The greatest fear in life is not (that you cannot give),
The greatest fear in life is (not having seed to sow)..
Heck,
If we're neck high in debt,
How can we still afford to pledge?
What do we have left to give to God's ministry?
Thus,
Wisdom increases increase.
If the devil can control our money,
He'll limit our influence in the community.

Also,
Integrity keeps increase.
People with integrity walk straight,
Those without will slip and fall.

"The way of the LORD is a refuge for the righteous, but it is the ruin of those who do evil."

Proverbs 10:29

And so we see that it is the way that destroys the wicked,
Not the money itself.
Money is the root of all evil,
True,
But without money we cannot do anything.
So money isn't wrong,
But the way destroys those who misuse it.

The world wants to see leaders with integrity.
We follow Him,
He who is opening the way for us,
And thus we should be safe.
We are not expected to know everything.
We are not bible encyclopedias.
Thus,
The LORD has said that we will know enough for that week,
We only need to know how to help and be someone whom others can look up to.
Don't crap about the bible.
If you don't know,
Say you don't know,
Then go and find out and learn.

Elisha served Elijah willingly and honestly without fail,
Thus,
He received a double portion of the blessing Elijah had.
But Gerhazi on the other hand wasn't willing to serve.
He lied and thus was struck with leprosy,
And never received blessing at all.
Honesty is still the best policy.

True riches in life is not your money,
But the lives of the people God can entrust to you.
Amen.

Then the Rev shoot into the message prepared for today.

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you."

Isaiah 60:1

He who made all the wonders of the world chose to live in us.
And we now clearly have the unfair advantage which is the Holy Spirit.
Change of increase begins when we have a renewed thinking.

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness knowledge; and to knowledge self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love."

2 Peter 1:5-7

Virtue (arete-greek) actually means excellence.
Excellence of efficiency is a necessary Christian virtue.
The bible hates laziness more than drunkeness,
For laziness will become a habit in our lives.
Habit is more powerful than vision.
Habit can destroy vision.

Excellence:
To be superior in quality,
Greater in quality,
To transcend our job description,
And to excel every truth.

1, Excellence is the result of high intuitions.
Hard work produces results.
Don't compromise.
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
Pay attention to details.
Details determine destiny.
Measure twice,
Cut once.

2, Excellence is to obtain greater in quality.
We must try to be as productive as we can for the Lord.
The Church of the Living God has to be as big as possible.
And that puts a huge demand on our time, heart and money.
But hard work pays.
So does self management.
Studies have shown that:
Sleep less,
Live longer.
More than 8 hours or less than 4 hours of sleep portrays a higher death rate,
Than those who only sleep 6-7 hours a day.
Great things will definitely cost you.
And sleep especially is one of them.

3, Excellence is to transcend our job transcription.

4, Excellence is to outdo ourselves each time.

The new spirit of increase inside of you in every aspect of life.
(Rev. rushed due to lack of time..)

And we had nasi lemak for tea. Then, as instructed by Event director, Marcus, I rushed off to M2 to meet up with the media team and the MC to discuss and run through the entire program and make sure everything was alright. It took me a heck of a long time to get there and I was already exhausted.. I reached with Saac who was assisting me as program manager and we entered the hostel with the help of Jivan the MC. I bought Lipton Red Tea because my throat was starting to kill me. Marcus arrived later and we sat down to finalize the program. Everything was discussed and we were in the room from 6pm to 10pm. Goodness.

Then after the meeting, it was late, I really wanted to get home. I still had some things to get done before I could go to bed and I really needed to sleep. But Marcus wanted to accompany Annastasia back to Yougo because he didn't like her travelling back alone so late at night. But him doing so would mean he had to travel back to pushkin alone, and it wasn't safe for one guy either.. In the end, I sent Saac to the M2 bus station, made sure she got on the bus directly back to pushkin, then accompanied Marcus to Yougo then back to pushkin. Reached home by midnight and talked to Saac and Gan once more about what they were to do. Saac was to help with organizing the performers and Gan was to be my run around messenger.

I only managed to get to bed by 3.30am, needing to wake up at 7.30am to prepare for church..

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1st March 2009, Sunday.

I woke up late. Again.. At least WanSim came to call me as she was leaving. So I rushed, made sure I had everything I needed for church and the event later as well as Jing's parcel, and got dressed. Long sleeved shirt, tie, slacks, blazer and boots. Winter coat over that. And rushed out to church, alone..

I made it just on time and got seated as praise and worship began. It was awesome. I could feel God's presence in the theater. I somehow just knew that God was in charge and I didn't need to worry. The only thing that distracted me for awhile was the fleeting thought of C and of how much I missed her beside me. I asked God to move me on, and pushed that thought away and started to praise God.

And the message on Sunday. I really thank God I didn't miss it. Marcus originally wanted me and the media team to get to the Hotel in the morning to prepare for the event. But I really didn't want to miss church. Thank God he provided. I was allowed to come to church and all of us PICs would rush to the Hotel immediately after church.

The message,
The Journey Of An Anointed Life.
1 Kings 17 - 2 Kings 13.

What God wants is both willingness and obedience,
Not willing but disobedient,
Nor obedient but unwilling.
And the Lord used Elijah because he was obedient in the face of unpopularity.

Disobedience can cost us our calling.

We see that in Elijah's lifetime,
He performed 7 major miracles of individual and national effect.

Proclamation of a 3 1/2 year drought - 17:1-7
The widow's oil and flour that did not run dry - 17:8-16
The resurrection of the widow's son - 17:17-24
The victory at Mount Carmel - 18:20-46
Fire that killed 50 men and their captain - 1:10
Fire that killed 50 men and their captain - 1:12
Parting of the Jordan river - 2:8

And Elisha became Elijah's servant.
All Elijah did was lay his cloak on Elisha,
And Elisha served him until his ascension.

For the anointing of God to continue in your life,
You must first learn what it means to be faithful.
So we see what happened to Elisha after Elijah left.

Dividing the water of Jordan - 2:21
The 42 youths and the bear - 2:23-25
Water to the thirsty army - 3:17
The widow's oil that did not run dry - 4:1-7
Resurrection of the widow's son - 4:8-37
Purifying the pot of stew - 4:38-41
Feeding the 100 men - 4:42-44
Healing of Namaan's leprosy - 5:1-19
Floating of the axe head - 6:1-7
Adverting of disaster at the hands of the Syrians 6:8
The horses and chariots of fire 6:17
The Shunamite woman's land restored 8:1-6
Overthrowing of evil kings
And the dead man who came alive over his bones 13:20-21

And thus,
We see that Elisha not only performed the miracles Elijah did,
But he performed more,
Exactly double.
And we can see that he received a double portion of the blessing of Elijah.

"And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming."

1 John 2:28

Servanthood, obedience, faithfulness, and abiding in Christ are the keys to a sustained anointed journey of life.

Then we see that Gerhazi,
Elisha's student,
Was never able to continue that journey of anointing.
Because:

He was not so willing to serve his master but himself - 5:20
He was not obedient and he lied - 5:22
He was not faithful in little things
He was not faithful enough to stay the course.

Finally,
Greed can possess we to move ahead of ourselves to receive something meant for us but at the wrong time.

This made me think,
And made me regret,
That perhaps by insisting my way and moving so fast,
I might probably have destroyed what God had meant for 'us',
And I probably have lost that chance forever.
Sigh.

After church, we rushed to the Holiday Inn Hotel and began to do our respective jobs. Marcus was rather scarce. He was all over the place all the time. So I waited for the media team to set up then ran through the program with them. MC came and we discussed some changes and backup plans. Performers came one by one and gave me and Saac lots of headaches. The MF band took up a rather large amount of time which made the performers unable to practise. Gave me headache too. And SFC suddenly came up and insisted that their performance be included too. Another headache as our schedule was already packed and over the time. How was I supposed to add them? And finally, Marcus got directions from Dalvin to put the SFC performance at the closing ceremony..

And then, the event began. Of that, I'll put it in another post later on as there are many many many!! things to tell.

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2nd March 2009, Monday

We reached home way past midnight exhausted but exhilarated. I for one was surprised that I was still standing and hadn't collapse yet. Thank God for his sustaining power. I have biochemistry 4 mini-colloqs for later and I didn't have time at all to study due to the event. So after I bathed, rested awhile, I sat down to do as much biochem as I could. And nothing could enter my head.. At 3am, I decided to just nap awhile and wake up at 6am to study till 7.30am and leave for class.

JY shocked me awake at 7.30am.. That meant, yet again, I had no time to get ready and would be late for class, not to mention, no time for revision either. See how exhausted I was? Anyway, I met HanYin at the lifts and we went to class together. The dear girl, bless her soul, gave me a once over of the biochem lessons during the trip to class even though she needed to study for her own mini-colloq which was different from mine. And praise God, she passes her exams without even needing to sit for them. As for me, I really praise God that the teacher only tested me on one mini-colloq (which I managed to pass) and gave me another 2 weeks to finish the rest of the mini-colloqs.

And to celebrate the event, my groupmates and I decided to treat ourselves to something nice. So we went to Pizza World to eat some really really good pizzas at half price.. =] Then on our way back, just before entering the hostel, someone started to throw snow, and pushing began, and suddenly, snow went flying everywhere. Even I got thrown into a snow drift. So since we were already doing that, we decided to place our bags and books in our rooms and dressed to play snow. WanSim tried to 'put us aeroplane" again but we dragged her out and threw her in the snow. We had snow fights, buried each other in snow, tossed snow balls, made snow angels and many more, till we all had snow in our gloves, boots and hair. I even had snow down my scarf, and none of us could feel our hands, nor feet, nor cheeks, nor ears.. It was fun, and probably the best winter ever for me. (",)

We went back indoors after an hour and as I was undressing to go to bed, Marcus received a phone all from Tjen Jhung (hospitality team for Rev. Kevin Loo) and was asked to get his ass out to Red Square to meet up with the Rev. He asked me to go along and since he was so pityful, I decided to suffer and be blessed along with him. We rushed to Red Square, only to have the Rev leave for home after 30mins for dinner. We were supposed to have dinner with him, but his host requested she prepare dinner as her family wanted to spend the last night with him. And so we went by ourselves and the whole hospitality team to Manesh for our own dinner. And there we shared testimonies, experiences and blessings that we had gone through before, during and after the One Life Event. And we discussed plans for following up on those who got saved, which included having a free makan between the MF hotspot members and their follow up friends.

I got home really late again, about 9pm, had prayer meeting, had MF leaders meeting, then I collapse into bed.

PS. I only woke up at noon today.. =p

So there you have it, my busy 3 days. That was why I couldn't blog, nor update. During this time, I could really see and experience God's blessing and miracles. So many things that we deemed impossible actually became possible after we placed them in God's Hands. He has really increased my faith in Him and I now know that changing my life and moving ahead is possible. He has my life in His Hands and I trust that I will be blessed for that is His promise.

God bless all. (",)