Review of Year 2008

On looking back, 2008 has been a challenging, yet amazing year for me personally. Through it all, I can only say that God has been faithful and good. He has given me a certain level of successes at almost every front. I'm quite sure I could not do it, if not for His grace.

1. I was given full teaching load in school, together with other departmental and committee duties.
To RI basketballers: You guys have fought hard together in 2008 and achieved commendable results. And that has taught me more about the Rafflesian Spirit. Thanks, guys!

2. I continued to serve actively in church as a cell leader, imparting my life to the cell members under my charge.
To Kenneth, Jarrell, Kevin, Joel, Joash and Glenn: You guys have been great and teachable. Thanks for sticking together all these years. I've seen all of you grown both physically and spiritually. I am really privileged to be your cell leader.

3. I continued to be active in community work - serving as an adult volunteer at TOUCH Cyber-Wellness Centre almost every Sat.
To Yong Hong, Andy, Nicholas, Yongsin, Mukhlis, Vishnu and Jin Chai: Thanks for being part of us all this while. You guys made a difference to my life.

4. I had to plan my wedding together with my then-fiancee, Dawn.
Planning a wedding must be one of the biggest project anyone would undertake - especially if you intend to get married in Singapore. But thankfully, Dawn and I had a great team of helpers, led by my wedding coordinator, Wai Mun, who made almost everything run smoothly throughout my actual wedding day.


I'm thankful that 2008 didn't pass by just like that. My life has been touched by many people, and I too, had the chance to touch some lives.

I'm looking forward to the year ahead, 2009. It is going to be another extraordinary year for me, I'm sure of it. Not only I have God, but I now also have my wife, Dawn to face the challenges of life together with me. =)

Happy & Blessed Birthday, Junhao!

Last Sunday (yesterday) was Junhao's birthday. I really thank God for Junhao - a good brother to me all this while.

He has being such an encouragement to me and my faith. And I know that I can count on him when I need help. That's what spiritual brothers and family are for. =)

Hwa Chong Council Reunion

Last Saturday night, the Hwa Chong Institution (College) 32nd Students' Council organized a really massive Council Reunion. Of my batch - which is the 25th Students' Council, 14 of us turned up.

The shared memories that we had was something that each of us will never forget. I'm really thankful that during my JC days, I didn't indulge in computer games or waste my time away. I was able to build lasting friendships (not to mention serving the school).

Hence, I'm very sad when I see many young people today building their lives in the virtual world all day long - WOW, Maple Story, Runescape, Lineage. They seemed to have forgetten that there is a real world out there.


Even now (almost 10 years since we've parted), I can still relate very well with the councillors of my batch. It's really amazing.

Preacher's Magical Touch

Earlier this Monday (7th July), there was this interview in the Life! section of Straits Times with my church's senior pastor, Pastor Lawrence Khong.

After reading the interview, I was even more thankful that he is the senior pastor of my church. The number of hats that he wears is amazing.

Just read the full interview below:

Pastor Lawrence Khong’s proudest contribution is setting up Touch Community Services, an award-winning non-profit organisation.

EVERYTHING about Lawrence Khong, from the many hats he wears, right down to his choice of shoes, screams unconventional.

This is a man who does not conform to normal expectations, and his red-rimmed spectacles, red Converse sneakers and stylishly gelled hair are testimony to that.

His appearance is not something you would expect of a 55-year-old, and certainly not of someone who is a senior pastor, social worker, magician, businessman and national athlete all rolled into one very energetic body.

When you compliment him on his trendy appearance, he replies with a boisterous laugh: “I’m just a lao hiao.”

The Hokkien term means old vainpot.

“We shouldn’t be afraid of who we are. Flamboyance is not wrong and it depends on how I use it. I can use it to flirt around and be immoral or I can use it to just add colour to an occasion.”

Still, it is hard to reconcile the image of a God-fearing man delivering a heartfelt sermon with that of an illusionist who has performed magic as shocking as “decapitating” his daughter and walking down into the audience, holding her head.

“The young people love it. It is our version of a horror movie,” he says with a twinkle in his eyes.

Pastor Khong may not be a household name but his resume is so long it can be an article in itself.

He is the senior pastor of Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC), which he started in 1986. One of the megachurches in Singapore, it has a congregation of about 10,000 and holds services at the Singapore Expo’s Max Pavilion.

He is the founder and chairman of Touch Community Services, a non-profit welfare organisation which has 18 centres in Singapore helping the under-privileged and the needy.

He is a magician and has performed in sell-out shows to more than 200,000 people in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and the United States.

He is a businessman, the creative brains behind his production house, Gateway Entertainment, which produces magic shows and makes drama feature films and television movies.

To top it off, he is also a national polo player who won a silver medal with his team at last year’s South-east Asia Games.

“I’m someone who cannot sit still,” he says. “When I was doing my master’s in theology, I would be working on three papers at the same time.”

He demonstrates his yen for multitasking by pretending to type furiously on the table, then suddenly turning his attention to something on his right and then thumbing an imaginary stack of papers.

He adds: “I can think of nothing worse than a beach holiday where I do nothing.

“When I go on a skiing trip, I find out what time the ski resort opens and I will be the first in line, and the whole day will be packed with activities.”

It goes without saying then that the past few months have been pure bliss, as he squeezes daily rehearsals into his already packed schedule.

From Saturday (July 12) till July 20, he and his 27-year-old daughter Priscilla will be performing in a magical theatre show called MagicBox at the Esplanade.

They have also teamed up for the popular magic musical, Magic Of Love, which debuted at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in 2001 and has since toured over 15 cities.

Pastor Khong, who has been performing magic since he was 13, has a wellrehearsed answer when asked if there is a disparity between his roles as a pastor and as a magician, since some Christians frown upon magic as it is deemed to be demonic.

He says: “Yes, I’ve always been asked this question. ‘Pastors are supposed to tell the truth, and here you are bluffing me’.

“Actually, the most honest person in this world is a magician because I tell you I am bluffing you and then proceed to deceive you. I’ve warned you.

“There are some people who deceive you without warning you at all.”

His kids can do magic, too.

THIS interview is conducted over two days, first at his office in Serangoon North, then over lunch at the Singapore Polo Club a few days later.

Charismatic and forthcoming, he is the sort of person whom you will never feel bored being around as he is, in the words of his wife Nina, “full of surprises”.

Dr Khong, 55, who gave up her medical practice six years ago to help him run his production house, says: “He’s not the kind to be contented with the status quo, doing the same thing day in, day out.”

Besides Priscilla, they have three other children, who can all perform magic: Anthony, 26, works in the IT industry; Michelle, 25, is pursuing a degree in architecture at the National University of Singapore and Daniel, 21, is doing national service. They live in a condominium in Serangoon.

Describing her husband as a very easy-going man who never sulks, Dr Khong adds: “Lawrence lives life on the cutting edge and brings a lot of fun into our family life.”

For example, when he turned 40, he decided that he wanted to learn how to ride a horse and promptly enrolled the entire family in riding school.

Six years ago, he developed a passion for snow skiing and, of course, everyone in the family ended up loving the sport too.

He brings a lot of fun to this interview too, as he has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve – literally.

One moment, he is telling you about the two horses he owns, Indio and Sandy, and then the next, he is coolly switching coins surreptitiously from one palm to the next as you watch on, open-mouthed.

He can be munching hungrily on a hot bun with his left hand, and before you realise what is happening, he is already producing one card after another using his right hand, seemingly from thin air.

“These are all tricks. Everyone can do what I do. It’s not like you need some spiritual powers,” he says almost nonchalantly.

Then, in a more serious tone, he adds that he sees the art of magic as “just a medium to communicate good messages of love and family”. He says: “This is why I feel very integrated. As a pastor, I want my members to value family. As a social worker, I realise that (the lack of love) is an issue behind most social problems.

“As a magician, if I can have a great piece of entertainment that makes money for me, puts me onto the path of success and yet allows me to do something very valuable for society, why not?”

That last part refers to Project Smile (Sharing Magic In Love Everywhere), a programme which he pioneered and conceptualised in 2002. It trains youths and adults in magic, and they then entertain the under-privileged in hospitals, day-care centres and homes.

That, along with his “gentle persistence, constant dialogue and explanation and growing success in the positive aspects”, has helped him gain more acceptance from his church members about his love for magic.

But he acknowledges that there are people who find that this is something they cannot reconcile with and have left to join other churches. “Given my profile, there will always be people who don’t like me."

“It’s okay. Don’t make life so difficult for yourself, go find something that you like. I’m not the only pastor in town.”

From riches to rags

THE son of a successful businessman and a housewife, he has a younger sister and a younger brother. Phyllis, 53, is an executive secretary and Kin Mun, 51, is a banker.

His father, a general commodities wholesaler who came from Guangdong province in China, has another family in Hong Kong with four children, but married the pastor’s mother when he came to Singapore before World War II broke out.

As a boy, Pastor Khong was naughty and had the worst conduct in class when he studied at Catholic High School. His mother had to transfer him to St Michael’s Primary when he was in Primary 4.

“I was one of those hyperactive kids. I would stand up in the middle of a lesson and walk around or I would suddenly push my classmate for no reason,” he recalls.

At home, he was always running into trouble and getting caned for things such as jumping down from the tallest cabinet.

“My mother used to say: ‘When I gave birth to you, I was in a lot of pain. Now, you’re still giving me so much pain’.”

When he was 10, his sheltered life was over. His father died, sparking a bitter fight over the inheritance from his family in Hong Kong. His mother was left with little and was forced to work as a seamstress.

Overnight, he went from being a pampered rich boy who travelled to school in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes-Benz to a poor kid who had to learn how to take the bus for the first time in his life.

Life became hard as his mother developed high blood pressure and started blaming him for it. She would say things such as “If I die tonight, it will be because of you”, prompting him to wake up in the middle of the night to check if she was still alive.

He also remembers how, when he was about to take his O levels, his frail mother told him: “The future of the whole family depends on your exam results. Our fate lies in your hands. If you fail, I will kill myself.”

He says: “I was an angry child back then and I was very angry with my mother.”

He says he has long since gotten over his anger and his 83-year-old mother now lives with his sister.

But at the time, he found support and peace in his church, Grace Baptist Church in Silat Road, which he joined in Secondary 1. He also found solace in magic – he had a pack of cards with him all the time – which he taught himself by reading books.

“I’m motivated by levels of difficulty. The more difficult the trick, the more I loved to do it,” he says. “Anyone can collect stamps. But how many people can make things disappear?”

Fortunately, he did very well in secondary school at St Joseph’s Institution and went on to National Junior College, where he met his wife, Nina. But he turned rebellious in the army and became a chain smoker, lighting up three packs a day. He also stopped going to church.

But he cleaned up his act when he had a spiritual awakening at vacation time during his first year as a business administration undergraduate in the University of Singapore.

He had followed Nina to a church camp in Port Dickson, Malaysia, where a boy drowned on the second day. That shook him up and he “felt a calling” to become a pastor.

Focused and goal-driven

AFTER graduating from university, he worked as an intern pastor in his church. And three weeks after he and Nina tied the knot, they left for Texas in the United States so that he could study for a master’s degree in the Dallas Theological Seminary.

About five years later, he returned to serve in his church, then set up FCBC. It has 10,000 members today and it was at one point the biggest church here, although other megachurches such as City Harvest Church, New Creation Church and Lighthouse Evangelism (Singapore) have since overtaken it.

Reverend Kong Hee, 44, of City Harvest Church, which has a congregation of 24,000, has worked with Pastor Khong on a couple of inter-church religious events.

“I know him to be someone who is passionate in whatever he does and he has helped many people through his community service,” says Reverend Kong.

Indeed, Pastor Khong’s most significant contribution – and one that he is most proud of – is setting up Touch Community Services in 1992.

With 132 full-time staff and 800 volunteers, the non-religious charitable group has helped more than 100,000 people through activities and programmes.

Among other things, it provides free meals, offers counselling services and conducts health screenings for children from low-income or single-parent families, people with special needs and the frail elderly.

He admits that with their Christian roots, he and his colleagues were greeted with suspicion initially. Now, he says they have established themselves as a genuine welfare group “with no strings attached”.

Touch won the Outstanding Non-Profit Organisation Award from the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre last year.

“I’m a very focused and goal-driven person. Some people see this as arrogance. So in the church, you either love or hate me,” he says.

“But this is me. The other day, Priscilla fell from a height during a rehearsal and the first thing I asked was: ‘Did you damage the prop?’”

Mr Eugene Seow, 52, executive director of Touch, says Pastor Khong is a leader who is open to new ideas and gives people the freedom to try out different things.

“He’s also a very transparent and honest person. He shares things about his personal life so that people can understand him better,” he adds.

One of the very personal things that he volunteers to Life! without any prompting is that Priscilla is a single mother, with a five-year-old son born out of wedlock.

“I’m not ashamed of talking about it. In fact, I told my church members when it happened,” he says.

But he says it broke his heart when he first knew that she was pregnant and he was so mad that he wanted her to leave the family home.

However, his wife talked to him and he forgave Priscilla. His grandson Isaac is now the apple of his eye and he sends the boy to school every day.

“I don’t hold grudges. Whatever you’ve done, whether you’ve taken drugs or committed a crime, if you say ‘I’m wrong, please help me’, I will bend backwards to help you,” he says with quiet resolve.

“This is my job. But if you continue to sleep around or beat up your wife, then I’ll say, leave my church. I will not help you, but I will help your wife to get a divorce.”

A Tribute to All the Mothers out there..

To all mothers out there:
HAPPY & BLESSED MOTHERS' DAY!!

Last Sunday was Mothers' Day. Coincidentally, the day before that, my school had a Parents-Teachers Meeting (PTM). I spoke to many parents and I could really see that all of them love their children a lot.

However, it's really not easy being a parent these days. The youths today are totally different from their parents' generation. YouTube, Wii, PSP, Xbox, MSN, DOTA are things that are unheard of to many parents.

Yet, the parents still do their best to love their children. And that involves disciplining them. It's really not easy to be a good parent.

I watched this video in church on Mothers' Day, and thought it was really a funny way of looking at how much our mothers love us (when they nag). I myself could identify with so many of the things mentioned in the song. :) I thank God for my mum.

'B' Div Basketball SZ Match 2

RI played against Pei Cai Secondary today at CCAB.

Right from the start, we closed down their players with tough defense. We did full-court press for all 4 quarters. They could not find their rhythm throughout the whole game.

Final Scoreline: RI 65, Peicai 36

Thank God for the win! We're up against Henderson Sec next. If we win that game, we will be through to South-Zone 2nd round.

Come on, lads!

'B' Div Basketball SZ Match 1

Last Friday, RI played against Guangyang Sec in the first 'B' Division South-Zone Basketball match at CCAB.

Right at the start, it was quite clear that we're the better team. Our guys are so much bigger than theirs. However, at the start, we seemed to be nervous and pretty soon, we were down 9-8. After a timeout call by the coach, we reorganised and stormed back into the game.

Eventually, we won by a scoreline of 69-24.

Good win. Two or three of our main guys were not in 100% condition that day due to sickness. Yet, we could play up the intensity of the game. The tempo was high and everybody worked hard.

This coming Friday, we're up against Peicai Sec. Their guys are tall and lanky. It's not going to be any easy game.

Go Raffles Go!! DTFW

It's been 7 years since I...

Last Thursday night, I received a shock sms.

"You have a new NS Call Up. Please check http://www.ns.sg/ to find out more."

I had finish my National Service on 22nd May 2002. From then until now, I had been placed in a holding list and hadn't been call up for reservist. Until now.

My first reaction to this sms was fear and uncertainty. I had became a specialist (3rd sergeant) at the end of 2000. I became a BMTC (Basic Military Training Centre) Instructor after that. Hence, it's been 7 years since I 'chiong sua' (means fighting in the jungle) with Standard Battle Order (SBO).

SBO looks really familiar...

I went on to check the website. And things kind of got worse. I'm asked to go for Annual ICT (In-Camp Training) for 3 weeks (!?) in July.

My next reaction was predictably "God, why me?!?! 3 weeks?! So long..."

I was whining and grumbling for some time. Until my girlfriend, Dawn pointed out to me that there are several things to be thankful about in this situation.

I finally then calm down and became more rational. I thought about what Dawn said, and it really make sense.

1. I thank God for my ICT because it gives me an opportunity to lose weight! Isn't that one of my new year resolutions?
2. I thank God that SAF informed me 6 months in advance and hence, I can make adequate preparations, especially in school.
3. I thank God that the ICT timing doesn't clash with my Marriage Preparation Course (MPC) Classes.

Sometimes, seemingly negative situations just need a change in perspective.

Back to army! Preparation phase (now): Get back into fitness.

We're in 2008!!

I wish everyone a Happy & Blessed New Year! May this new year be filled with more blessings & joy than ever before.

Yesterday, Wai Mun Tribe had a very special thanksgiving event whereby we came together as a spiritual family and thank God for 2007. It was a time of fun, laughter and joy in the Lord. We played games like Winning 11 (thanks to Kenneth & Tzer Wern, my cell group won!), Bang and Bluff.

After games, we had a good time eating KFC, thanks to Elkan's cell who bought the food. Then we went to time of thanksgiving by individual cell groups. I realized that all of the cell groups gave thanks for the closer relationships between one another.

Nothing matters more than relationships with one another. I thank God that I'm closer to my spiritual family than ever before.

Subsequently, at night, we all went to Expo for our FCBC Countdown Party! It was really a night of excitement and fun. All the clappers, lightsabers, balloons and plastic balls. Most significantly, as a church, we entered the year 2008 together.

I'm just so excited about 2008!!

Happy Teachers' Day

I must say. Today's Teachers' Day Concert in school has been really entertaining and enjoyable. It has put many wide smiles on the teachers. The two MCs were fantastic and hilarious. I think they can host TV shows in MediaCorp or something. Really talented.

Since this is a season of always being thankful, I would llike thank all the teachers that had taught me before, in all my 16 years of education. Special mention to the following wonderful teachers (without them, I would never have made it to become a teacher myself now):


Primary School (Maha Bodhi School)

Mrs. Teo (My Maths Teacher)
- For believing in me and giving me a chance to take part in the Inter-Schools Maths Olympiad Competition.

Mr. Shue (My Chinese Teacher)
- For teaching me so many life values, including the need for discipline.


Secondary School (The Chinese High School)

Mr. Peng (My Maths Teacher)
- For making Maths really interesting. He inspired me to perform well.

Ms. Mok Lai Koin (My Chemistry Teacher & Form Teacher)
- For being so strict with my class on the surface but actually was extremely caring about our needs.


Junior College (Hwa Chong JC)

Mr. Chan Kwok Leong (My Maths Teacher & Form Teacher)
- For supporting me to run for Students' Council and for making Maths easy to understand.

Mr. Ng Soon Kok (My Physics Teacher)
- For inspiring me to excel in Physics and fall in love with it. He's really really a nice and caring person.


University (NUS)

Prof. Ha Yajun
- For being constantly supportive throughout my Final Year Project (FYP) and giving me valuable assistance and advice.

Hi Sir, I'm from Fraud & Security..

My handphone rang in the middle of the night last Thursday. It was an unknown number.

"Hi Sir, I'm from the Fraud & Security Department of a bank. We suspect that your credit cards had been stolen."

I was like ....

Then after talking to the guy, I realised what had happened. I actually had applied for a credit card 3 weeks ago. However, the credit card never came. Somehow along the way, someone stole my credit card and used it.

That someone used my credit and choked a bill of more than $3000.

I can't believe this happened to me. I lost something that I had never received in the first place. Gosh.

The Fraud & Security guy told me to make a police report. Yes, I reported the loss of something that I had never seen or touched before. Strange right?

Anyway, I was a bit like asking "Why me??" Honestly, I felt a bit resentful that this kind of thing can happen to me.

Last night, someone reminded me of 1 of the key attitudes that I wanted to have in the year 2007. And that is to be always thankful. Looking at this credit card case, I realised that I can learn to be positive about it.

I'm thankful that the Fraud & Security department of the bank notify me that some suspicious transactions had occurred.

I'm thankful that the bank froze the usage of the stolen credit card.

I'm thankful that I do not have to pay a single cent for the credit card bill.

See? There're indeed many things to be thankful about. If you're in a difficult situation, do try to be thankful. You will find more joy and gladness. It's a matter of perspective. =)

Blessing in DIsguise

As many of you would have known, my grandpa is still in the hospital.

The good news is that he should be discharged soon, in the next 1 or 2 weeks if nothing goes wrong.

However, it's not going to be easy taking care of him at home. He needs someone to take care of him almost constantly. And that person most likely is going to be my maid, Annisa.

The funny thing is, Annisa only joined my household 3 months ago. And initially when she first came, my mum and grandma were saying that Annisa does housework rather slowly and couldn't seem to be able to cope.

However, it turns out that she's quite a meticulous person. And she's bold as well. She actually went to the hospital to learn how to take care of my grandpa. She did very well too. The nurses over there were all quite impressed by her.

Now, she's rather confident in taking care of my grandpa. She even knows how to do simple injections and tube feeding. It's really quite amazing. I think she has the potential to become a real nurse next time because she already has some of the skill set.

She's really a blessing in disguise to my family. I want to thank God for her.

There's No Place I'd Rather Be

Yes, there's really no place I'd rather be. I'm every inch a true-breed Singapore Singaporean.

I went through the S'pore education, K1, K2, streamed in P3, streamed in P4, took PSLE, went on to 'O' levles and 'A' levels. Then I went on to NS. 2 and a half years later, I ORDed, and went on to do my university studies at NUS. And finally, I finished my post-grad diploma at NIE. 18 years of education!!

I love eating. I love eating char kway tiao, hokkien mee, mee goreng, mee siam, laksa, hainanese chicken rice, carrot cake, MacDonald's, KFC, Burger King, Long John Silver, bo bo cha cha, ice iachang, ice jelly, red ruby, cha siew bao, siew mai, dumplings, mooncakes, etc, etc etc........

I don't like the following stuff, but I have learnt to accept them: 7% GST, ERP, COE, Road Tax, Income Tax, housing loan, car loan, computer loan, tuition loan, kiasu mentality, Hello Kitty queue, etc. Yes, they're part of life in Singapore.

Though I've been to a few countries like Sweden, Denmark, Norway, London, it's true. Nothing beats home. There's No Place I'd Rather Be, except Singapore.

Hossan Leong puts it best when he says "We live in Singapura, it's not perfect living, but at least it's interesting."

We Love Singapura - Original Version

We Love Singapura - MTV Version

Chalet @ Aloha Changi

I just finished a 3 Days 2 Nights chalet cum church retreat at Aloha Changi. It was really a great time together with all the youths from 4 different cell groups. Everyone who went were tremendously blessed.

Yeah, and I would like to give thanks to the people who has blessed me personally during the stay.

Kelly Chia, Dun Lin and Stephen (the other 3 cell leaders)
Thanks for partnering me to put together this little retreat. Without you all, this wouldn't be possible.

Kenneth, Jarrell, Kevin, Glenn, Clement and Adlar
Your very presence is a great encouragement to me. And I know that each of you are really growing in maturity. It was really fun interacting with all of ya.

Yingxin, Venelyn and Yingzhi
Thanks for the kopi-talk. It was really interesting. I will help you all keep a look out. If next time, got those nerd nerd and honest type, I know who to intro. If got those handsome and humorous one.. also will intro. =)

Sherry, Felicia, Siokyit and Shermaine
Thanks for all the laughter that you all produced or induced throughout the chalet. Your joy was really contagious. (Btw, I'm really 26, not 36.... & I DONT act cute lah..)

Many others who came to the chalet
Really really thankful that you all make the effort to come down, even though some of you were really busy. Wonderful youths. Thank you. =)

Muar - A Place of Peace

I just came back from a little retreat with my church family at Muar. It was really a great place, away from all the city lights and distracting stuff like computers, internet and handphone.

Yah, we just spend a day or two in almost total peace. Really thank God for that.

Muar is such a peaceful and simple town.

Anyway, on the second day, we decide to play some kind of 食字路口. We have to find places or food that can string together in words. We started with the word Muar.

Muar House

House of Joy

Zoysia (a kind of grass)

Xia-mi (shrimp)

Mi-lo

Lo-ti (Roti)

Tea with Ice

Ice Teh-O

Otah!!

Ta-mee (eat noodles)

Mee Siput

Muar House -> House of Joy -> Zoysia (means grass) -> Xia-mi (shrimp) -> Mi-lo -> Lo-ti (Roti) -> Tea with Ice -> Ice Teh-O -> Otah -> Ta-mee (eat noodles) -> Mee Siput

Happy & Blessed Birthday to Darren, Elkan & Stephen!

Last night, we celebrated 3 birthdays!! Here's a short tribute to each of them.

To Darren:
It's really amazing how God has changed you for the past few years. I really witnessed how you changed from a young & shy guy to someone who's mature & willing to rise up for God.

To Elkan:
You finally hit 30!! Haha.. Really thank God for your input into my life. You've been a good elder brother to me, guiding me and giving me valuable advice when I most needed it.

To Stephen:
Brother!! Don't laugh at Elkan.. you going to hit 30 soon too. =) Yah, you've been a wonderful blessing to me. Your simple faithfulness in the Lord has been a great encouragement to me and others. Thank God for you!

Darren, Elkan & Stephen looking like jailbirds..

Darren, Elkan & Stephen looking like jailbirds AGAIN..

Darren, Elkan & Stephen FREE MEN

Happy Birthday to Venelyn, Joanne, Gabriel & Kenneth

Venelyn, Joanne, Gabriel and Kenneth - these are 4 wonderful wonderful youths.

They are really such blessings to Kelly and me. I'm so amazed at how God changed and transformed their lives.

From left: Me, Joanne, Gabriel, Venelyn, Kenneth & Kelly

Venelyn - always helpful and there when you need her. Really really responsible and multi-talented. First girl to get her hands dirty during the BBQ that day.

Joanne - her ability to talk almost non-stop is really amazing. She can cheer you up any time, any where. We really need more people like her around us.

Gabriel - his simple faithfulness is really worth mentioning. When he commits himself to do something, he will go all the way out for it. A man of his word.

Kenneth - the one who's always steady. He's the one who catches my heart the most and tries his best in all that he do. Really great guy.



We celebrated Kenneth, Gabriel, Venelyn and Joanne's birthdays at East Coast Park last Sat. We had a BBQ cum birthday party for them. There were almost 40 people that day. Here are some photos that I took:

The birthday stars

Kelly's girls getting jumpy..

My guys. What's Jarrell doing...

Kelly & her 2 adorable spiritual daughters

My 2 spiritual sons & I

Handsome Joash & Dun Lin

The Kenneth & friends having fun

Adlar working hard at the BBQ..

Thank You, Springfield Secondary

Today is my last day at Springfield. How fast time flies.. It's like 10 weeks go by so quickly before I realised it. I can almost still remember the first day I step into a classroom in Springfield.

I can only use 1 word to describe my teaching practicum at Springfield.

Awesome

There are 3 reasons why I said it's an awesome experience for me.

1. I have fantastic fellow practicum teachers!!


They are really great. Every single one. Here's a little tribute to every practicum teacher at Spf..

Mr. Marvin Lo: Our boss.. always giving us directions & leading us to greater heights.

Mr. Peh: Our joy-bringer.. always giving us joy & making the day less stressful.

Mr. Adrian Lim: Our favorite sportsman.. always inspiring us with his floorball skills.

Miss. Doreen Lau: Our diligent teacher.. always giving 3G her time on top of everything.

Miss Tee: Our food-provider.. always giving or sharing with us her food.

Miss Woodford: Our busy colleage.. always busy & busy & busy helping students.


2. The teachers at Springfield are really warm & friendly!





















The working environment in the school is really good. Everyone is friendly & helpful. This is especially true for my 2 mentor teachers - Mrs. Suvian Lee & Mrs. Jasmine Tan.

Mrs. Suvian Lee & Mrs Jasmine Tan: I really want to thank the 2 of them for their wonderful guidance & patience. They always showered me with encouraging & kind words, guiding me as I teach. I'm truly grateful to have met them and learned from them.


3. The students at Springfield rox!!

I really want to thank all the students that I have taught at Spf. Because of them, I bring away many fond memories of the school.

Special thanks to 3I:
Haha.. really happy to have taught all of you Physics for the past 10 weeks or so. In a way, we didn't really have the best beginning, but over time, I got to know your class better. I really enjoyed teaching the class. All of you rox! I wish you all the best in all that you do and let's keep in touch. =)


And I want to thank 3I for the lovely book. I was really touched when I read the words that you all penned down. Every page meant something to me. And this is the first gift that students gave me and I sure will treasure it with all my heart.

I will miss Spf 3I 2007.

Here are the photos that all 3I have been waiting for...

Always be Thankful

I realised that one of the ways to keep a positive outlook in life is to constantly be thankful about things around us. If we can learn to see positive things out of negative situations, we will be so much happier. Hence, I decided to start a list of "Thanksgivings" on the left-hand side of my blog.

Afterall, unpleasant things in life that happened could be blessings in disguise. =)

I want to give thanks for my D-link Internet Router.

Recently, my router's power adaptor has been giving me problems. Every other day, the router cannot work because of its power adaptor. I was quite fed up with it. Finally, I decided to go Sim Lim to get a new one (costs $62).

When I went there, one shop-owner told me that D-link routers have lifetime warranties. I decide not to buy anything at that point because maybe I can get my old router fixed.

A few days later, I went all the way down to the D-link office at International Business Park at Jurong East. The customer service lady said that my power adaptor is faulty, and hence need a new one. But I would have to pay $35 for it.

However, when I checked my wallet, I only had $10 in cash. The lady said that they only accept cash. And the nearest ATM machine is really quite far. I was like "Arghhh..." because I came all the way down and don't have cash to pay for a new power adaptor. I left the place without getting my router fixed.

Yesterday, I went down to the D-link office yet again. This time, I was prepared to pay $35 cash. However, to my pleasant surprise, the customer service person told me to just take a power adaptor from him, for free! Maybe it's an extra adaptor or something. But it doesn't matter, because I got my router problem fixed for free! =)

Hence, it's a blessing to me that I went down to the D-link office twice.

Thank God It's Friday!!!

Good Friday used to be just an ordinary holiday for me. I looked forward to it because there's no school, and I can go out with my friends.

But in recent years, since I became a Christian in 2003, Good Friday has taken on a really different meaning for me personally. It's a day whereby Christians all over the world remember our Lord Jesus going to the cross 2000 years ago.

And this year's Good Friday, I did something different. Together with another lady leader in my church, Kelly, we brought our youths to West Coast Park to have half a day of fun and to also share the true meaning of Good Friday.

Altogether, there were about 25 youths, and everyone really had fun! All these wouldn't have been possible if not for the planning committee, Venelyn, Yingxin, Kenneth Pang, Tzer Wern, Joanne, Valerie and even little Kimberly. I really thank God for these wonderful youths who rose up and came up with this great event!! You guys were really great!!

Of course, besides having Treasure Hunt and Water-bombing, we had Praise & Worship. It was a time whereby we all settle down in our hearts and sang songs to our Lord Jesus.

Good Friday. It's truly a day whereby we celebrate the greatest miracle of love. Our Lord Jesus, being the son of God, is willing to die for us in the most brutal manner (which was the cross). He had the power to resist, but He chose not to.

The only reason is that He loves us. He loves you and I. That's the greatest miracle of love.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." - John 3:16

If you truly want to experience a miracle of love, you don't have to wait another day. You can do it now. Just invite Jesus into your heart. He loves you.