only because

the atl ordered a post out of me. I know it's neither an intellectual post nor missionary focussed nor even related to the team; it's just a rambling of sorts. Really. anyway it's past midnight I want to sleep.

___________________
on wednesday

I'm sitting in el class [the better one, at least] and without warning my mind suddenly transmits a different vision- and just as abruptly back to the present again. I was a little dazed- as dazed as one can be while feeling sleepy and not/concentrating at the same time. Then for some reason the place my memory plonked me into for the timebreath of a second became important, and I rewound the reel. to realise that my brain had brought me back to a surroundings of whitewashed houses with the afternoon sun upon their walls. I know the memory. I was in the philippines, and we had just come down from the mountains. We had crossed a dammed river to get to those houses [there was a dam on the river- nothing else], so that our sandals were soaked and I was exhilarated at the mini adventure we'd just gone through.

These days then I think back on the philippines it seems my memories are somewhat sepia singed, a sense of an exotic adventure. Walking along slums along streets hitching rides bouncing on the jeepneys unique to that land. Has my reality been lost.

Another note- more to keep myself awake than anything. Last night when a dear friend said "thanks for missing me" I knew exactly what he meants. You're precious to me and I to you, but it takes a certain effort to step out and say it. for me anyway. Most times I'd rather send mental emails to someone I miss and want to be with, useless because mental telepathy works only when God does it. Still, I'd rather do that because I find it hard to make myself vulnerable.

TO OUR BELOVED TL...

Grey.

Creation.

But most times, we see creation and mission through tinted lenses.

How do we come under God's scrutiny and refinement,
so we see things in its pristine form?

Then run.


And finish the race for His glory.

Mission exists because our God is a missionary God who sends His people to be a blessing to all mankind.

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

Luke 10:21-22

Christ had a profound sense of mission grounded in the assurance of a relationship with God as loving Father, and such assurance comes with joy from the Holy Spirit.

Us?

Dear all who are reading this,

As of 1 Aug 2007, 2 of our brothers serving the Lord in Afghanistan have been brutally murdered by their Taliban captives.

Please join in in prayer for the rest of the survivors, that our Lord would protect them, comfort them and rescue them from the hands of the captives. Pray for the negotiators to have wisdom in speaking, that they might come to a quick agreement. Pray for the families of our Koreans brothers and sisters, that in this time of devestation, they would put their trust in the Lord. May the Lord send forth His comfort and peace to the families, especially of the 2 brothers.

Pray for the Taliban that the Lord will touch their hearts and send forth salvation amongst them. May the Spirit change their hearts, fill them with the love of God and convict them of their sins. May our brothers and sisters shine for the Lord even in the looming darkness, to show the love of our Lord. I am so reminded of Paul, how he could still praise the Lord and testify His love despite being in chains...

Father, in your time, by your way, rescue our brothers and sisters from the peril, comfort them in this time of devestation, encourage their faith in you, knowing that You would never leave them nor forsake them. We also ask You save the lost Taliban fighters from the darkness, to see the love of our brothers and sisters and know that You are the God of Love. In Christ's most precious name. Amen

Testify to Love

A quick video I did for my sunday school presentation :) Enjoy!!!

Father, may we live to testify your love, especially in the silences, where we will shine for you thru our actions...Help us not forget our oath before You, and may your guiding light be with us always to teach, discipline and guide us...

I want to hear the Voice of Truth!!!

A song to remember our wailing cow as he sings across the seas not too far from us...

For me, this song speaks a reminder and a prayer, to pray that I would be sensitive to the Lord's voice, to hear and follow after His truth!!! Finding myself straying dangerously away from Him, being too caught up by tiredness, business and complexity of life...Lord, be my voice of truth and guide me to where You want me to go.


Voice of Truth
Oh,what I would do
To have the kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown
Where Jesus is,
And he's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name
and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
time and time again
"Boy, you'll never win,
you'll never win."

but the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
out of all the voices calling out to me
i will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh, what I would do
to have the kind of strength it takes
To stand before a giant
with just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound
of a thousand warriors
shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out
my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
"Boy you'll never win,
you'll never win."

but the stone was just the right size
to put the giant on the ground
and the waves they don't seem so high
from on top of them looking down
i will soar with the wings of eagles
when i stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
singing over me

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says do not be afraid
And the voice of truth says this is for my glory
Out of all the voices calling out to me (calling out to me)
I will choose to listen and believe
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

I will listen and believe...

mmm. Or, trust me on the sunscreen.

To the next treasurer of G3:

This post is for you. And for me too, I suppose. I'm thinking that doing this will be cathartic which, hopefully will prove theraputic.

well. Moving along.
If you're someone to whom being meticulous and really detailed comes naturally, I think you'll suffer a lot less grief. But if you're someone who thinks that 1 + 1 always equals two, and that the equation works because of the mysterious laws of mathematics [which you have no idea about anyway], I suggest you protest violently if you have been made treasurer. Because the mysterious laws of mathematics which work pretty well in your textbook, and really well during the Great Singapore Sale, are curiously suspended when it comes to MEET, and probably G3 too. Some things don't change, you know. Let me reiterate. 1 + 1 do not equal 2 when it comes to us treasurers. Somestimes it's 4, most of the times the answer is 1.63845 and even with the best of your knowledge and ability you still have no idea how, or more importantly, how it happened. You see, if you knew how it happened you'd be able to come up with a new mathematical law that explains why 1 + 1 is equal to 1.63845, or some other equally [pun unintended] nonsensical figure. Then your next step to nobel prize fame would be to submit your workings to the nobel prize mathematical committee and please remember me in your acceptance speech.

So point1: Be prepared for the failure of the hitero infalible mathematical laws.

Next. There is no such thing as too detailed. If you are like me, you'd start off thinking that whatever money goes in stays in unless needed for team expenses. Simple.

Nooooooooo.

Don't just write down the names of your love gifters, write down whose friends they are. For example [we always need examples, don't we.] if Arvin's friend Jino gives the team $29.3421, don't just write down Jino: $29.3241. Write down: Jino, Arvin's frend, $29.3412. Feel free to include his weight height and hair length. Remember, there is no such thing as being too detailed.

Or being careless. If you had been observant enough, you'd have realised that the decimal points for all three figures are different.

Mental sums are painful. Trust me.

Therefore bring a calculator. The buttons you push in handphone calculators are oftentimes too small for a tired, weary, and very stressed treasurer [namely, you] who wants nothing more than teh peng while doing the accounts, and so ends up making more mistakes and after an immeasureable amount of time, wishes heartily to punch a hole in the wall. Teh peng is hard to find in the philippines, by the way. Along with soya bean. I'm convinced Care Channels produces soya bean milk because God loves me and knows how much His tired, weary, and very stressed child can only take.

_______

On another point entirely [and this one to my team mates], I just found out that my roomie has shaved her head in hair for hope 2007. Makes me wish I'd gone ahead [again, no pun intended] too. But no go I guess. My parents would never have allowed it and my brother would've been downright pissed. The former on the basis that the bible calls our [women's] hair a crowning glory. Did I get that right?

So sigh, instead of having a free shave [with all the noble and heroic implications included], I'll be off in a bit to fulfil my appointment with my hairdresser at novena. Oh my poor wallet. Because I suspect I'll be buying his hair products as well.

_______

So, my dear junior treasurers, remember the sunscreen.
Or else cultivate the habit of being meticulously detailed. The chances of finding joy in this characteristic are slim, but at the very least, you save your backside.

much love,
me.