I just came back from Kem PMM SIB Peringkat Sabah (Borneo Evangelism Church Youth Camp Sabah) 2011. The highlight of it, for me, was the 3rd day. It was jungle trekking.
Let me explain what we were going to do.
There ware 16 stations, with different challenges each. Most of the tracks were set up in the jungle. And because it was monsoon season, it rained most of the time.
So we started out at around 10 in the morning. It was fairly easy - AT FIRST. Before coming to the camp, I didn't know we were doing any sort of outdoor activities, so I just brought the sort of sneakers that's used for a walk in the mall, not the hiking up steep and slippery hills type. My shoes did not provide much friction, and I fall down easily. I have very bad eyesight (power = 400), provided that it was raining really hard, plus the fog and the mud, I had a really hard time there. As the hours fly by, it got more challenging. It went something like this.
Walk, walk, hike, walk, RAIN, walk, slid, fall, stand, fall, walk, fall, I CAN'T SEE A THING!!
About the last part. Imagine you are in a car, driving in the rain. HARD RAIN. Your wipers are broken, you can't see, and there's traffic behind you. Finally the rain stopped, BUT, there's the fog. You can't see
That was how I felt.
I was walking so slow and keep falling I decided to just slide down a slope or crawl up a miniature hill. Up to one point my mentor wanted to bring me back to church so I could rest. But I thought to myself, if others could do it, so do I, plus I'm the assistant head of the group. And besides, I have Jesus. So I kept going. I prayed most of the time.
For the next few hours it was ok for me.
As daylight was running out at around 6pm, my group was still inside the jungle, with a few more stations the complete.
It started to rain again. GREAT. The sky was getting ever so dark. GREAT. We were in the middle of a rainforest. GREAT.
Besides us, 2 more groups were also stuck there, along with us. In a line, we walked, and walked, and walked. I could not see, literally, and my group's mentor had to lead me, as if I'm blind. I kept falling, my friends later said it was as if I was drunk. Anyways...
Psalms 23:4
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadows of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; Your rod and your staff they comfort me."
It was dark, it was foggy, I could not see past my muddy and blurred glasses. I was CLIMBING up the hill, with the bushes and grass as grip, as I could not stand up. So it WAS a valley of shadows for me in some ways. I feared nothing, because Jesus was there with me, I could feel it. I saw some fireflies now and then. And because after raining the sky is usually clear, I could see the billions of stars that God hung up there. God really comforted me.
At last, about 2 hours later, we came back to the church, safe and sound. I had never felt so relieved at the sight of civilization before. ALL PRAISE TO GOD!!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
I Serve
One morning, my family and I went to a Chinese restaurant for breakfast. While waiting for our orders to arrive, an old man came, selling beaded animals.
It was not the first time we saw him. He was always seen around town, selling various items such as wooden baskets, keychains and so on. Maybe it was because of a leg injury, he could not walk properly. He would go into a restaurant, from table to table selling, almost begging, people to buy his goods. In our self- centred, uncaring, selfish society, it is almost natural for people ignore this man, pretend he never existed, or shoo him away.
It was the same that fateful morning, and I dare say, my family, even though we are Christians, acted the same way at first.
We saw him coming towards our table. The old man started to promote his beaded animals in a language we did not understand. So naturally, we acted as if he was never there, and in defence, my dad shooed the man away. Disappointment was written all over the man’s face. So he wobbled toward the other tables, with the hope that somebody might buy his goods.
I was stabbed with guilt. I knew very well that this was not what Jesus taught us to do. Jesus received those rejected by the society with love and compassion.
My mom had the same thoughts. She shared Matthew 25 with us:
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats…
… Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you will be blessed by my Father; take you inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the worlds. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?
The King reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.’
What Jesus told us is that if we humble ourselves and serve others, we are actually doing it so upon the Lord. We don’t necessarily have to start an orphanage or an outreach ministry to serve our Lord. In fact, we can do that just by serving others in small ways.
My mom then pulled out a 10 Ringgit note. She told me to go and buy the beaded animals from the old man, no matter how much they cost.
Without wasting time, I rose from my seat and went to the old man. I bought two beaded animals, a poodle dog and a mouse, 5 Ringgit each. The old man smiled happily and thanked me for buying. The precious smile upon his face was full of hope and gratitude.
I will never forget this lesson.
Colossians 3:23
‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men’
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Give thanks
School just reopened. I can't wait go back to school to meet up with friends and get on with the school life.
On Monday morning, after some hugs and hi's, it was time for morning assembly. Only then did I remembered that as a prefect, I have to take care of 4science 1. For me, that part of the day and duty is like hell on earth, especially when it comes to one of the girls.
Entering the class and settling the rest down was not a problem for me. But for this specific girl, it's just hard. Maybe it was because she had a bit of history with the school's descipline board, and the fact that my mom is one of the teachers in charge of that, she doesn't treat me like the other prefects, at least that was what I thought.
So fast forward to Friday at CF. After the hell-ish cleaning up time in that class, I dragged myself up to the chapel/CF room. After lunch and worship, it was Jocelyn and Cheryl's turn to take over. That day's topic was "Loving God". Somewhere in the talk, we had an activity, where each group was given a large piece of paper. We drew a circle on it.We were then instructed to write what we thank God for in the circle, and what we were not thankful for outside the circle.
In the circle my group wrote pizza, friends, family, CF, and so on. Outside the circle, some wrote exams, Sejarah, Bio... I wrote there 4science 1. Well, what do you expect?
So the speakers went on and said that we should thank God for everything, even though we hate it. We should look at the positive side of things.
There, I realized that maybe I was put there for a reason. To make me braver, bolder maybe? A few times I considered resigning from my post, but my other friends, especially the ones from CF, will always talk me through, and pray with me when I'm stressed out. They always say, God won't let me go through hardship more than I could handle..:)
So yeah, be happy and give thanks to God for everything you have, even when your job is to take care of students 2 years your senior which clearly don't like a junior being in charge.. :)
"For I know the plans I have for you,' declared the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
On Monday morning, after some hugs and hi's, it was time for morning assembly. Only then did I remembered that as a prefect, I have to take care of 4science 1. For me, that part of the day and duty is like hell on earth, especially when it comes to one of the girls.
Entering the class and settling the rest down was not a problem for me. But for this specific girl, it's just hard. Maybe it was because she had a bit of history with the school's descipline board, and the fact that my mom is one of the teachers in charge of that, she doesn't treat me like the other prefects, at least that was what I thought.
So fast forward to Friday at CF. After the hell-ish cleaning up time in that class, I dragged myself up to the chapel/CF room. After lunch and worship, it was Jocelyn and Cheryl's turn to take over. That day's topic was "Loving God". Somewhere in the talk, we had an activity, where each group was given a large piece of paper. We drew a circle on it.We were then instructed to write what we thank God for in the circle, and what we were not thankful for outside the circle.
In the circle my group wrote pizza, friends, family, CF, and so on. Outside the circle, some wrote exams, Sejarah, Bio... I wrote there 4science 1. Well, what do you expect?
So the speakers went on and said that we should thank God for everything, even though we hate it. We should look at the positive side of things.
There, I realized that maybe I was put there for a reason. To make me braver, bolder maybe? A few times I considered resigning from my post, but my other friends, especially the ones from CF, will always talk me through, and pray with me when I'm stressed out. They always say, God won't let me go through hardship more than I could handle..:)
So yeah, be happy and give thanks to God for everything you have, even when your job is to take care of students 2 years your senior which clearly don't like a junior being in charge.. :)
"For I know the plans I have for you,' declared the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Friday, February 4, 2011
A bit on how I changed through CF last year
I can say I changed a lot last year, ever since I REALLY got to know God in CF.
For most of my friends, I bet they can recall that last year, especially the first half of it, I ALWAYS talked about saving the environment, saving the orangutans, air pollutions, avoiding tsunami and so on. I did not really care about God and all that. I cared more about saving the environment, and had NO interest with God's work. When my mom asked me to come to CF, I though ah well, another boring activity. How wrong I was.
Through friends in CF I learned the power of prayer, how a good friend can really help you while a bad one can ruin you, experience God, see how people's lives are changed, saw friends change before my eyes and so many more. As time passed, I realised that, in the Bible, it was said that all the natural disasters are a sign that Jesus is coming back. So it's a bit useless to try to prevent it. So slowly I changed from an environment fanatic into someone that wants so serve God.
Before this I wanted to become some great people that saves the animals and environment and so on. To prove this, when I looked back in my diary dating when I was 11, I wrote there that I wanted to open a 500 thousand acre of reinforest reserve. WOW.
I realised that I'm gifted in many ways. Some people say that I can be a great leader one day, that I can go far. I am also good in my studies, active in co-curicular activities, represented the school quite some time, won a Commenwealth competition and so on. I am aware that with all these I can do a lot when I grow up, like become a doctor or a great environmentalogist, as I dreamed before. But a lot of incidents happened recently that can be linked together. It's like God said when I grow up, I will serve HIM, and not helping the animals.
Take this incident for example. During the last year end holidays, I suddenly got interested in eye surgery and medical things, maybe because I went with my mom to bring my grandmother to check her eyes in the hospital. A few days after that, I watched a CD that a man gave for free at a Christian bookstore in Sabah. It was about how people got to know God. While watching the movie, I was not moved in any way. Bur when I opened the trailer and watched, out of the blue, I cried, It was like God told me that I don't belong to the medical world, and that I should serve Him.
This is how I change, and am still changing, day by day, guided by Christ.
By
Feisan V. M.
For most of my friends, I bet they can recall that last year, especially the first half of it, I ALWAYS talked about saving the environment, saving the orangutans, air pollutions, avoiding tsunami and so on. I did not really care about God and all that. I cared more about saving the environment, and had NO interest with God's work. When my mom asked me to come to CF, I though ah well, another boring activity. How wrong I was.
Through friends in CF I learned the power of prayer, how a good friend can really help you while a bad one can ruin you, experience God, see how people's lives are changed, saw friends change before my eyes and so many more. As time passed, I realised that, in the Bible, it was said that all the natural disasters are a sign that Jesus is coming back. So it's a bit useless to try to prevent it. So slowly I changed from an environment fanatic into someone that wants so serve God.
Before this I wanted to become some great people that saves the animals and environment and so on. To prove this, when I looked back in my diary dating when I was 11, I wrote there that I wanted to open a 500 thousand acre of reinforest reserve. WOW.
I realised that I'm gifted in many ways. Some people say that I can be a great leader one day, that I can go far. I am also good in my studies, active in co-curicular activities, represented the school quite some time, won a Commenwealth competition and so on. I am aware that with all these I can do a lot when I grow up, like become a doctor or a great environmentalogist, as I dreamed before. But a lot of incidents happened recently that can be linked together. It's like God said when I grow up, I will serve HIM, and not helping the animals.
Take this incident for example. During the last year end holidays, I suddenly got interested in eye surgery and medical things, maybe because I went with my mom to bring my grandmother to check her eyes in the hospital. A few days after that, I watched a CD that a man gave for free at a Christian bookstore in Sabah. It was about how people got to know God. While watching the movie, I was not moved in any way. Bur when I opened the trailer and watched, out of the blue, I cried, It was like God told me that I don't belong to the medical world, and that I should serve Him.
This is how I change, and am still changing, day by day, guided by Christ.
By
Feisan V. M.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
A little update from Youth For Christ. =)
Hey all, it's Su Ann here. Since Jun has posted hers, I guess I shall post mine as well =) I bet some of you from CF know that Sue Yin and I are serving as volunteers in YFC for 3 months. Working there has been really challenging from the very first day but I thank God that Uncle Piang Hong (National director for MYFC) has been really helpful. The mission statement (like what we have in St. Mary) of MYFC is to mobilize young Christians to participate themselves in His kingdom's work and I'm thankful enough because I've been using my holidays fully and meaningfully to serve and know more about Him.
I reckon my walk with Christ has improved a lot after these few weeks of Jan working in YFC. I'm exposed to different ways to learn and explore the content of the Bible. I am still very amazed by the little details God has imprinted into it through different people. For in 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.", and I highly agree with that particular verse. Each and every verse in the Bible is inspired and given by God and we should treasure and take into heart very seriously.
Plus, I got to know also the power of prayer. In this 3 months journey as a short-term staff in YFC, I am supposed to raise my own fund in order to support my own movement. That's why I need to prepare a letter called Personal Support Scheme (PSS) every month. Initially I was really worried about this funding matter. When I was told about it in the office, I had so many concerns regarding where the money will come from, who is gonna give, how the letter is to be written and WHY MUST I DO SUCH A THING? No offense, but I thought the idea of having to ask people for $$ sounded so terrible.. and scary. But I realised as time goes by, this PSS thingy trained me to fully rely on God's provision. Then I prayed. So hard, so intensely. And the result? =) Yes, I got a few God-sent people to support me financially, sufficiently and adequately. Praise the Lord for that. You guys can pray for me too in this youth ministry. It'll be very much appreciated.
Last but not least, do go to the CF room to grab a few leaflets for an event that I am taking charge in YFC. It's called Human Tic-Tac-Toe and it's on the 15th of February in SMK KB. I hope to see some of you there! I'll update soon. =)
Here's a verse from Ms Sim during last CF meeting :
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust man. - Psalm 118:8
Love in Christ,
Su Ann. =)
I reckon my walk with Christ has improved a lot after these few weeks of Jan working in YFC. I'm exposed to different ways to learn and explore the content of the Bible. I am still very amazed by the little details God has imprinted into it through different people. For in 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.", and I highly agree with that particular verse. Each and every verse in the Bible is inspired and given by God and we should treasure and take into heart very seriously.
Plus, I got to know also the power of prayer. In this 3 months journey as a short-term staff in YFC, I am supposed to raise my own fund in order to support my own movement. That's why I need to prepare a letter called Personal Support Scheme (PSS) every month. Initially I was really worried about this funding matter. When I was told about it in the office, I had so many concerns regarding where the money will come from, who is gonna give, how the letter is to be written and WHY MUST I DO SUCH A THING? No offense, but I thought the idea of having to ask people for $$ sounded so terrible.. and scary. But I realised as time goes by, this PSS thingy trained me to fully rely on God's provision. Then I prayed. So hard, so intensely. And the result? =) Yes, I got a few God-sent people to support me financially, sufficiently and adequately. Praise the Lord for that. You guys can pray for me too in this youth ministry. It'll be very much appreciated.
Last but not least, do go to the CF room to grab a few leaflets for an event that I am taking charge in YFC. It's called Human Tic-Tac-Toe and it's on the 15th of February in SMK KB. I hope to see some of you there! I'll update soon. =)
Here's a verse from Ms Sim during last CF meeting :
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust man. - Psalm 118:8
Love in Christ,
Su Ann. =)
Monday, January 17, 2011
A little testimony from me
Hi everyone! My name is Jun Yin. I’m already school leavers. I’m 18 this year. I would like to share a little bit about how I come to know Jesus and how Jesus has changed my life here in this blog. Greeting to all you people who read this. xD
I come from family background that does not worship any God and my family does not go to church. When I was 11, my aunt brought me to church. After following her for a few times, she asked me whether I would want Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. I said yes, because I was curious what Christianity is like. After a while, I stop going to church because my dad do not allow me to.
After my UPSR, my dad insisted that I go to SMK St.Mary. His reason was st.mary is one of the best school in KL. I remember crying many nights not wanting to go to st.mary because it is a girls school. When I first step into st.mary, this girl approaches me and talk to me. She was really sweet and friendly. Today, she becomes my best friend. At that time, I was rather unfamiliar with things around me. So I ‘sticked’ to this friend of mine and she brought me to CF. From that time onwards, I attend CF every week. From form1 up to form 5. God has changes me in a lot of ways. I used to be the shy, emotional, depressed, timid and insecure girl. I feel life is meaningless. Life is really painful, no one understands how I feel and what I’m going through. I withdraw myself from people. Sometimes when I feel life is too hard to take, I will have suicidal thoughts. Until one day when I was in Form4, God revealed to me how precious I am in His sight and He loves me beyond my imagination. His love for me is higher than the sky and deeper than the sea. And above all, He has a good plan for me and I am precious to Him. Yes, God revealed all this to me. I felt so touched. How can God love such a sinner like me? Through my 5 years in st.Mary, God has changed me little by little every day. To change is a process, you see. It does not happen overnight. I have found hope, joy, peace, trust, love and purpose in Jesus. All these are true. And you know what the best part of it is? Jesus can do for you all the things that He has done for me. He has changed me and gives me hope, peace, joy and purpose in life. He can do all these for you too if you choose to believe in Him and ask Him to help you. I am a testimony that God is real. You can be one too. Thanks for reading up till here :D
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Samson
Today's superheroes of sports are weaklings compared to a real hero who lives three thousand years ago. When Samson flexed his muscles, heavy cords snapped like rotten strings. He once slew a thousand enemies using the jawbone of an ass for a weapon. He uprooted the gates of the city of Giza and carried them to the top of a distant hill. When attacked by a lion, he made no attempt to escape or to tame the animal; with his bare hands he tore the lion's jaw apart!! Can the strongest man do this? I think barely.
Samson's feat were the works of the Lord. The Spirit of God came over him and suddenly he was empowered with incredible strength.
Samson was a Hebrew during the years when God allowed the Israelites to fall captive to the Philistines. The wife of the Isrealite Manoah learned from an angel of the Lord she would give birth to a son who will save the Jews from their captors. When Samson was born, the Holy Spirit came upon and he grew to become the Philistines' terror. On one occasion, he killed 30 of them. Another time he caught 300 foxes, tied torches to their tails, and ran them though the Philistines' fields, thus causing their crops to burn. After slaughtring more Philistines, Samson went into the wilderness and lived in a cave.
At one point Samson let himself be captured and turned to over to the Philistines. But when his enemies began celebrate hos capture, he snapped his bonds and massacred them.
The Philistines finally found a way to contain him. He fell in love with a woman named Delilah. The Philistine leaders offered her an enormous sum of money if she could find out the source of Samson's strength, Samson treated Delilah's nagging about his strength as a game. ''Tie me up with 7 unseasoned bow strings, that will normalized my power.'' Delilah tied him up and summoned the Philistines to come for him. But when he saw them, he immediately broke free.
''New ropes will do, tie me in ropes that have never been used'' Samson teased.
Again Delilah tied him, but he broke free.
Samson had long, wavy hair that had never been cut. ''Weave my hair in your loom,'' he said,''and I'll be as weak as any other man.'' But again, when Delilah thought she and her conspirators had him at bay, Samson laughingly broke away,
At last he told her the true secret of his strength. ''I was dedicated to God when I was born, so my hair has never been cut. My hair is the key to my strength.'' Soon Delilah sang him softly to sleep and cut his hair. When Samson woke up and tried to summon his strength, he found that the Spirit has left him. He was captured. The Philistines pull out his eyes, bound him in chains, and threw him in prison where he was forced to grind their grains.
Later the inebriated Philistines were at a festival in honour of their pagan god. They called for Samson from the dungeon into their temple so that they could mock him publicly. Several thousand people gathered to taunt the once-proud Israelite. But Samson's hair had grown back. He slyly persuaded his guard to tie him between the 2 main pillars of of the temple. Then he prayed that God would strengthen for one last mighty feat.
God answered his prayer. Samson pushed against the great pillars as hard as he could, they gave way, the temple collapse on the hordes of Philistine mockers - and on Samson. It is recorded that he had killed more Philistines with his last act than he had killed in all his other deeds combined.
*sources, Men of the Bible, Dan Harmon
Samson's feat were the works of the Lord. The Spirit of God came over him and suddenly he was empowered with incredible strength.
Samson was a Hebrew during the years when God allowed the Israelites to fall captive to the Philistines. The wife of the Isrealite Manoah learned from an angel of the Lord she would give birth to a son who will save the Jews from their captors. When Samson was born, the Holy Spirit came upon and he grew to become the Philistines' terror. On one occasion, he killed 30 of them. Another time he caught 300 foxes, tied torches to their tails, and ran them though the Philistines' fields, thus causing their crops to burn. After slaughtring more Philistines, Samson went into the wilderness and lived in a cave.
At one point Samson let himself be captured and turned to over to the Philistines. But when his enemies began celebrate hos capture, he snapped his bonds and massacred them.
The Philistines finally found a way to contain him. He fell in love with a woman named Delilah. The Philistine leaders offered her an enormous sum of money if she could find out the source of Samson's strength, Samson treated Delilah's nagging about his strength as a game. ''Tie me up with 7 unseasoned bow strings, that will normalized my power.'' Delilah tied him up and summoned the Philistines to come for him. But when he saw them, he immediately broke free.
''New ropes will do, tie me in ropes that have never been used'' Samson teased.
Again Delilah tied him, but he broke free.
Samson had long, wavy hair that had never been cut. ''Weave my hair in your loom,'' he said,''and I'll be as weak as any other man.'' But again, when Delilah thought she and her conspirators had him at bay, Samson laughingly broke away,
At last he told her the true secret of his strength. ''I was dedicated to God when I was born, so my hair has never been cut. My hair is the key to my strength.'' Soon Delilah sang him softly to sleep and cut his hair. When Samson woke up and tried to summon his strength, he found that the Spirit has left him. He was captured. The Philistines pull out his eyes, bound him in chains, and threw him in prison where he was forced to grind their grains.
Later the inebriated Philistines were at a festival in honour of their pagan god. They called for Samson from the dungeon into their temple so that they could mock him publicly. Several thousand people gathered to taunt the once-proud Israelite. But Samson's hair had grown back. He slyly persuaded his guard to tie him between the 2 main pillars of of the temple. Then he prayed that God would strengthen for one last mighty feat.
God answered his prayer. Samson pushed against the great pillars as hard as he could, they gave way, the temple collapse on the hordes of Philistine mockers - and on Samson. It is recorded that he had killed more Philistines with his last act than he had killed in all his other deeds combined.
*sources, Men of the Bible, Dan Harmon
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