Kevin's BIG Day!!!

Last night, I finally was able to baptize Kevin at TCT. He has been in my cell group for almost 2 years. I have seen him grow not just physically (yes, he's taller than me now), but also spiritually and emotionally. I really thank God for his faithfulness.

Here's his baptism testimony:

"Before I receive Christ into my life, I was a very quiet person. I did not like to talk to people and hence, I did not have many friends in school. The only people that I talked to were my own family, especially my sister and my mother. I could talk to them about anything. However, this did not last because when I was about 10 years old, my parents decided to have a divorce. My sister and I disliked our father and even called him names. And because of the divorce, I was very upset and started eating non-stop. I wanted to forget all the bad things through eating a lot. I grew fat rather quickly at that point in time. Then my mum’s friend began to bring me to her Catholic church. However I did not have a relationship with God, and I was still very much bothered by my parents’ divorce. No one seems to be able to understand what I was going through.

Subsequently, when I was about 11 years old, another of my mother’s friend brought my mother and I to FCBC. My mother went for the adult service, whereas I went to the Sunday school. I did not really know why but I decided to accept Jesus into my life when the pastor gave the altar call. Perhaps it was because deep down inside, I wanted God to help me take away the pain and hurts in my life. Coincidentally, my mother also received Christ on the same day. Thank God for it.

After receiving Christ, I began to realize the importance of living a true Christian life. I wanted to change my way of living and looking at things. However, I failed to do it initially. I went back to old ways and didn’t want to talk to anyone and kept over-eating. My cell leader, Nicodemus, told me many times about the things I need to change, however, I refused to listen and shut him out. Finally, towards the end of secondary one, there was once when I felt the Holy Spirit convict my heart to change after Nicodemus talked to me again.

Now, by the grace of God, I stopped my over-eating habits and I started to view life more positively. I also managed to break out of my old self and was able to interact more with others, especially my own cell brothers. I am faithful in attending church and cell activities weekly. In school, my results have improved significantly. However, I recognize that I still have to work on the way I treat my teachers.

My relationship with my mother and sister improved as well. I learned to care and love them better. For instance, I do the housework regularly. I am still in the process of learning how to forgive my dad. The good thing is that I definitely do not dislike him now as much as before. Thank God for all these breakthroughs in my life. Amen!"

Youth Christmas Party 2007

On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, my cell group and a few other cell groups came together to organise a simple party to celebrate Christmas. Thankfully, many of the youths rose to the occassion and helped make this party possible.

Special thanks to Jarrell, Joanne, Yixin, Ben, Melvin, Yingxin, Taishan, Claudia and Joel.

The program was rather simple:
Food, Games, Caroling, Skit, Testimonies Sharing, Message Sharing, Group Discussion and finally Birthday Celebration + Gift Exchange.

Though the party was not run as smoothly as I would have wished for, I am still very thankful for it. This is because I know that everyone has given their best, given the tight time constraints.

More importantly, during the party itself, I could feel God's presence & delight. And I'm quite sure others who were there felt the same too.

Do You Have Enough Rest?

Today I just came back from a church camp. I managed to catch a cab home. But this cab was no ordinary cab. It was a new Eco-Cab.

During the church camp, Pastor Yeang Cherng actually talked about this new Eco-Cab. The thing about the Eco-Cab is this: it runs on gas, not diesel. Gas costs half of what diesel costs.

The catch is this, you can only refuel the Eco-Cab in Jurong Island (which is all the way in the west). When the gas runs dry and you cannot refuel in time, the Eco-Cab will need to run on its batteries. And it's very expensive to do it.

It's kind of analogous to life. For instance, when we work normally, we're using the gas in us. When we rest sufficiently, we can replenish our energy.

However, when we work very hard, and begin to work so hard that we have not time to rest, we will end up using our batteries. If our batteries are used extensively, it will cost us dearly to replenish our energy. This 'cost' may come in the form of burn-outs, sicknesses, losing relationships with our loved ones, etc.

Hebrews 4:11 (NIV)
"Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. "

Year 2008 = Year of Sabbath in FCBC!

Merry Christmas!

Today, someone from FM 98.5 called to interview me about the volunteering work that I do with TOUCH. One question in particular:

"What does Christmas mean to you personally?"

I told her that as a Christian, Christmas is a very special day whereby we remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It's really a time of thanksgiving to the Lord.

Christmas is also a season of giving. It is always more blessed to give than to receive. This year, I decided that I want to do something different. I want to celebrate Christmas with my family. I wanted to bless each of them with gifts and remind them the meaning of Christmas.

Hence, today, I went shopping with one of my spiritual sons, Kevin at Junction 8. I haven't shopped like that for so many years. I was so exhausted at the end of the shopping spree.

It's good to wish each other "Merry Christmas". But we must not just have "Merry" without the word "Christmas" accompanying it.

Will You Marry Me?

Many people like to get married in the month of Dec. It's no surprise because it's the holidays (convenient for teachers) and there's the festive mood present. I attended 3 weddings this Dec, 1 in particular is my sister's. Yes, I'm so happy for her. =)

Pastor Adrian & Aunna's Wedding



Zheng Qiang (my primary school friend) & Serena's Wedding



Jianhao & My Sister's Wedding

Well, someone once told me that too many couples put all their energy into making their wedding day a great success, and they forgot to prepare well for their marriage. Wedding day is just for a day, but marriage is for a lifetime.

Wedding vows are extremely meaningful and important in a marriage. It's like a covenant that a couple made before God, promising to love and cherish each other, in riches or in poverty, in sickness or in health, till death do them part.

"Commitment" is what that will keep a marriage together.

I just want to bless all the newly wed couples with these 4 words - 死守婚约



More photos on my sister's wedding...

My Life as a Beloved Son

I had quite a blessed and stable childhood. I was surrounded by my parents, grandparents, elder brother and elder sister. I was the youngest and hence, naturally, I was pretty much pampered by everyone in the family.

I knew that my parents love me. It's just that the way they love me might not be exactly the way that I wanted (when I was very young).

My grandparents really love me. My grandma would always leave the best food for me (even now too). My grandpa would always bring me out to play, especially at places like Chinatown.

To provide a better life for my family, my father actually worked overseas for many years. Every year, he would come back home about 6 times, each time staying a few days. As a result, I was not able to spend much time with him.

My mum has all along been a full-time housewife. She takes really good care of the house and she was the one who disciplined me whenever I misbehaved. I know that she love me because she really cares for me. There's a particular incident that I would never forget.

There was this time that we went McDonald's. I think I was about 6 years old or so. I accidentally spilled my coke. I was so upset and I cried. I was also afraid my mum would scold me for being clumsy. But she didn't. She comforted me and helped me clear up the mess and even got a new cup of coke for me. I was really surprised and I just knew that she love me.

Probably because we are more of the traditional Chinese family, my parents seldom spoke words of encouragement and praise to me when I was young. No matter how well I did for my exams, my parents would only say that it was expected of me.

As a result, as I grow up, I realised that I crave for people's approval often. Sometimes, when I don't watch it, even now, I sometimes also care too much for everybody's approval.

No, I'm not trying to complain about my parents. I truly believe that they love me in ways that they themselves experienced when they were young. I'm really thankful for them. It's just that they didn't know the importance of affirmation that teenagers and children need.

Now that I know. I really want to use words to affirm, encourage and praise others - especially my students.

Running the Race

Around 2 weeks ago, I took part in the Standard Chartered Marathon 2007. I went for the 21 km category.

I completed the race in 2 hr 59 min 55 sec. 87% of the participants completed the race before me. But I'm really thankful for the race.

Honestly, right at the start of the event, I was feeling a little nervous. I haven't been training much for the race because of sickness. 21 km. I'm pretty sure it's going to be tough.


I ran the race with my cell group brothers, and my cell leader. Everyone followed my pace because I was the slowest runner. Everyone gave me support.

At the start, the race was pretty okay for me. I kept a slow but steady pace. However, I was only able to sustain it to the 16 km mark. Then, I suddenly have cramps on both of my thighs. I could only limp. But I told myself, either I will run, walk or crawl. I must finish the race. I won't give up.

The amazing thing was that when I told my cell brothers and cell leader to go on without me so that I can walk slowly, they insisted on waiting for me. I was really grateful and thankful them. In the end, I could limp a bit, run a bit and the cycle repeats itself all the way until I finish the race.


Yes. I pressed on and completed the grueling 21 km race. But not just that, I completed the race together with my spiritual family. It was not so lonely when we ran together after all.