and it was so... just before i was to turn into a stone, i bumped into faith at g2000.. and yes, the boring engineer-wannabe loves stuff from g2000/ mango/ zara/ iora.. oh man!!! haven't seen her since big walk 2005 and she finally decided to turn to the 'dark side' and dyed her hair completely black!! too black!!! *laughs*... and rebonded it too.. beats mine, sticking out in all directions..
the biggest irony of all?? faith's working at this recruitment agency which deals with engineers.. hmm.. and i am dealing with accounts!!! right, the bizad student's dealing with engineers and the engineering student's dealing with accounts... sounds like the perfect pair of misfits around..
but it was great meeting her and knowing that she works nearby!! yahoo.. my newfound lunchtime buddy.. *the crows are calling*.. went shopping after work but the service at this particular shop was so bad, it really turned the both of us off...
at the same time, yours truly is ballooning up and taking up more space around the house and everywhere else.. just feasted on loads of food, including cherries.. been having too much déjà vu these few days.. from a kid, whom i did not know but said goodbye to me.. to eating cherries in the month of june.. too much déjà vu result in too much thoughts.. too much for a small brain of mine to handle.. let me just fly away..
anyway, i will definitely be around for my own 21st!!! most likely will be flying off a week after i turn 21.. checking out my flights now.. so much loose-ends to tie but nothing seems to be progressing.. too used to the way of life?? pun intended.. but beats me..
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Sunday, June 26, 2005
1st week home..
home for more than a week.. close to 2 weeks actually.. met up with some people along the way including nenek!!! had much fun catching up and all.. loads of stuff but too much to type it all out.. had a few surprises here and there to spice up my week, including letters from afar..
having my own personal debrief session with aunty kie liang but only through with session 1.. erm, yours truly can't exactly sort out her thoughts and her brain, so someone has to help her in doing so, else she will get lost inside her own brain.. will update on that when she's done with everything..
today's sermon was good though i was there for only 3/4 of it.. rev thomas preached about the story of david and goliath.. how the world always see the problem as 'not quite easily done' and how goliath fills the whole picture but david saw the picture with God in it and in doing so, the problem is actually 'quite easily done'.. and that God is still in control and the battle is His, not ours.. hmm, felt that this message was really timely but shall explain its significance another time..
the coincidence of it all, was the card which eunice wrote to me before i left.. it had the exact same word on it: God is in control. Our Lord God Almighty reigns. Revelation 19:6
went with allison for her students' violin recital this afternoon at victoria concert hall.. but we're a little too late and missed her students' performances but at least we got to meet them.. the kids are so adorable.. oh man, believe it or not?? they are from the same kindergarten as me!!! the 2nd 'oh man' goes to the fact that pacific coffee at citylink has closed down.. oh man!!! gone for too long.. sheesh, we ended up at the pacific coffee at one raffles link and we got the couch seats!!! had a great time catching up and just talking through and all.. but once again, shall explain its significance another time..
on a sidenote: the school holidays are over!!! took me a while to realise that it was the holidays but then again, now that the holidays are over, the kids will be back in school.. the streets will be less congested on weekdays!! woohoo!!
having my own personal debrief session with aunty kie liang but only through with session 1.. erm, yours truly can't exactly sort out her thoughts and her brain, so someone has to help her in doing so, else she will get lost inside her own brain.. will update on that when she's done with everything..
today's sermon was good though i was there for only 3/4 of it.. rev thomas preached about the story of david and goliath.. how the world always see the problem as 'not quite easily done' and how goliath fills the whole picture but david saw the picture with God in it and in doing so, the problem is actually 'quite easily done'.. and that God is still in control and the battle is His, not ours.. hmm, felt that this message was really timely but shall explain its significance another time..
the coincidence of it all, was the card which eunice wrote to me before i left.. it had the exact same word on it: God is in control. Our Lord God Almighty reigns. Revelation 19:6
went with allison for her students' violin recital this afternoon at victoria concert hall.. but we're a little too late and missed her students' performances but at least we got to meet them.. the kids are so adorable.. oh man, believe it or not?? they are from the same kindergarten as me!!! the 2nd 'oh man' goes to the fact that pacific coffee at citylink has closed down.. oh man!!! gone for too long.. sheesh, we ended up at the pacific coffee at one raffles link and we got the couch seats!!! had a great time catching up and just talking through and all.. but once again, shall explain its significance another time..
on a sidenote: the school holidays are over!!! took me a while to realise that it was the holidays but then again, now that the holidays are over, the kids will be back in school.. the streets will be less congested on weekdays!! woohoo!!
Friday, June 17, 2005
back from nias, indonesia
a long overdued post and yes, i'm home... much to my own surprise and everything else, i'm back from being kampong girl and now trying to get back into life as a city girl...
'and the Lord saw that it was good...'
indeed, the Lord has been faithful through the 24 days that i spent in indonesia, be it in medan or in nias, His protecting hand has been upon me all these while... through the flight to medan, the 9-hour road trip to sibolga, the 10-hour overnight ferry ride to nias, the time spent at the orphanage, at the beach, at the back of the pick-up, during the land survey to sifalate hulu, throughout all the tremors and quakes and many many more... the Lord has been faithful..
before i left, i wrote about my search for something, which i have no idea what.. well, i still don't know what i am searching for but one thing is for sure, i will not give up on children ministry.. that practically summarised my whole trip... i did nothing but just stone everyday with the kids, though they don't understand a single thing that i said, but being able to sit around with them was more than sufficient for me..
this trip was exceptionally special and significant to me coz it's my first trip and my first time to nias... well, there's definitely a lot of apprehension involved coz i'm not going with people from lcor.. instead, the team that i went with was one comprising of 2 lutherans but not from the same church, an anglican and 2 indonesians.. guess that it was the mix that made this whole trip as it was... uncle bernard was truly the uncle of our group and the kids called him pak 'long' coz he was over 6-feet.. hweelin was offically branded nenek and she really took care of all that she could take care of during her stay in nias.. on a sidenote, hweelin's name did not register with taku but the name 'nenek' did.. shirleen became ibu saya and she really took care of me, including cooking for yours truly.. devin is forever the abang who, i guessed, caused a flood when he left and was ever popular amongst the girls.. 2 other people who made this trip really memorable were abang franky and abang taku.. kudos to them for taking care of 3 big kids while the adults were away... these are the folks who have seen me in my worse states.. and i'm not gonna tell you what they are...
in many ways, i experienced almost all possible forms of emotion during this trip.. from sheer joy and laughter to fear and anticipation to tears of sadness and farewell.. the joy of playing with the kids or just watching them play amongst themselves, the simplicity that they derive out of each thing that they do.. the way the older kids took care of the younger ones.. in many ways, i can never forget the way tõrõ took care of tuti, even though she's not his sister.. it's the almost fatherly love that he showers her with that left a really deep impression on me.. well, this was evident in many of the older kids as well.. or just watching them throw water at each other coz of birthday cheers and eventually on me as well.. and the joys of miscommunication that resulted in much laughter amongst ourselves and with the kids as well.. the fear of earthquakes and tremors.. for once, geography came to life and boy, it was scary.. i honestly confessed that the quake got to me pretty bad coz of the psychological aftershock that it left within me.. but it seemed like when it's only us who were panicking, life goes on as usual for the rest of the town.. subsequently, i actually slept through a few quakes and tremors.. and for once, i truly fear death.. and no, my life did not flash before my very eyes but the thought of not seeing loved ones anymore was really traumatising.. the next thought was the urgency of which the good news should be spread coz i suddenly realised there ain't much time left... the tears involved, ranging from the passing on of a girl to the pain experienced by evi and mei.. to sending off uncle bernard, nenek, abang franky and abang taku.. and finally to my own goodbye.. no kid was allowed to send me off coz the pick-up was required for the trip to soroma’asi, which might be a good thing coz i think i might end up flooding the whole benaka.. well, in many ways, words can't express what i truly felt at each point of time during this whole trip so to cut the long story short, the above summarised all about my emotions..
back to the people.. shirleen and devin really made a difference to my trip.. not only did i get to experience the singaporean's point of view, they gave me an insight to the indonesian's point of view, which was truly valuable because they spoke the language and could really relate to the people, as compared to one who sat by the door blowing bubbles and went around shouting 'tidak tidak'... sadly enough, many of these kids do not know who they are worshipping but just some god up there in the sky.. many of them have not experienced the Lord personally and it's pretty worrying coz they are just meer followers.. honestly, many times i wished that i could talk with the kids at that level and understand them better but due to my language handicap, more often than not, the kids had to attempt to speak to me in english, thus conversation usually remained superficial and minimal.. kudos to the two of them, especially in the commitment they put into conducting daily bible study sessions with the older kids and also in leading the word in both the morning and the evening devotions.. and definitely in many of our own private amusement sessions, ranging from laundry sessions to the checking of terms in a dictionary when deciphering a receipe to the amount of water that should be added when cooking rice.. and not forgetting, the encouragement that they have given me and even motorbiking their way to benaka to send me off.. thanks loads folks!! missing you both already..
and of course, there's abang franky and abang taku.. for one whole week, after hweelin and uncle bernard left, i was left in the house with 4 other people, of which, all spoke bahasa indonesia except me.. so no prizes for coming to a conclusion that there was actually quite a bit of miscommunication but we all laughed it off, at my expense.. but chills!! i really love the times when abang franky would play the guitar or electronic piano and the kids would be singing away.. honestly, individually, these kids do not have really smooth voices, but when you put them together, they compliment each other so well and boy, it was more than beautiful!!! man, i wished i had my mp3 player with me that very moment so i could record their singing.. at moments like these, i really wished that i knew bahasa indonesia and that i know how to play the guitar.. music really brings everyone together.. and abang franky is ever my earthquake warning system.. of course, there's also abang taku.. apart from the fact that he's japanese, what really stood out was his love for the kids.. once again, words can't express what i want to say here.. but in these 2 grown-ups, i saw the love that they have for the kids..
in many ways, my trip has been longer than many others who have been to nias.. i went from the point of being a tourist to missing home and finally to fitting in.. a little too well such that no one actually recognised me amongst the kids.. but when i looked back, i wondered if i've been a blessing to the kids or more of they blessing me.. there are many lessons learnt, of myself, of the people around me, of singaporeans in general..
of all the songs that we have sung, this one probably summarised the whole trip.. our team went over to nias without any structure so that kind of threw me off course in the beginning coz i'm honestly not used to life operating without structure and at a pace 90% slower than that at home.. this song was kindly brought to us by uncle bernard one night, just before we all fell asleep.. 'i don't know about tomorrow, i only live from day to day..' indeed, who knows about tomorrow.. who knows if we will be standing here talking to each other still when tomorrow comes.. devin mentioned about the significance of 'carpe diem' and i guess the phrase has found its significance during this trip, that is to seize the day for the Lord..
'and the Lord saw that it was good...'
indeed, the Lord has been faithful through the 24 days that i spent in indonesia, be it in medan or in nias, His protecting hand has been upon me all these while... through the flight to medan, the 9-hour road trip to sibolga, the 10-hour overnight ferry ride to nias, the time spent at the orphanage, at the beach, at the back of the pick-up, during the land survey to sifalate hulu, throughout all the tremors and quakes and many many more... the Lord has been faithful..
before i left, i wrote about my search for something, which i have no idea what.. well, i still don't know what i am searching for but one thing is for sure, i will not give up on children ministry.. that practically summarised my whole trip... i did nothing but just stone everyday with the kids, though they don't understand a single thing that i said, but being able to sit around with them was more than sufficient for me..
this trip was exceptionally special and significant to me coz it's my first trip and my first time to nias... well, there's definitely a lot of apprehension involved coz i'm not going with people from lcor.. instead, the team that i went with was one comprising of 2 lutherans but not from the same church, an anglican and 2 indonesians.. guess that it was the mix that made this whole trip as it was... uncle bernard was truly the uncle of our group and the kids called him pak 'long' coz he was over 6-feet.. hweelin was offically branded nenek and she really took care of all that she could take care of during her stay in nias.. on a sidenote, hweelin's name did not register with taku but the name 'nenek' did.. shirleen became ibu saya and she really took care of me, including cooking for yours truly.. devin is forever the abang who, i guessed, caused a flood when he left and was ever popular amongst the girls.. 2 other people who made this trip really memorable were abang franky and abang taku.. kudos to them for taking care of 3 big kids while the adults were away... these are the folks who have seen me in my worse states.. and i'm not gonna tell you what they are...
in many ways, i experienced almost all possible forms of emotion during this trip.. from sheer joy and laughter to fear and anticipation to tears of sadness and farewell.. the joy of playing with the kids or just watching them play amongst themselves, the simplicity that they derive out of each thing that they do.. the way the older kids took care of the younger ones.. in many ways, i can never forget the way tõrõ took care of tuti, even though she's not his sister.. it's the almost fatherly love that he showers her with that left a really deep impression on me.. well, this was evident in many of the older kids as well.. or just watching them throw water at each other coz of birthday cheers and eventually on me as well.. and the joys of miscommunication that resulted in much laughter amongst ourselves and with the kids as well.. the fear of earthquakes and tremors.. for once, geography came to life and boy, it was scary.. i honestly confessed that the quake got to me pretty bad coz of the psychological aftershock that it left within me.. but it seemed like when it's only us who were panicking, life goes on as usual for the rest of the town.. subsequently, i actually slept through a few quakes and tremors.. and for once, i truly fear death.. and no, my life did not flash before my very eyes but the thought of not seeing loved ones anymore was really traumatising.. the next thought was the urgency of which the good news should be spread coz i suddenly realised there ain't much time left... the tears involved, ranging from the passing on of a girl to the pain experienced by evi and mei.. to sending off uncle bernard, nenek, abang franky and abang taku.. and finally to my own goodbye.. no kid was allowed to send me off coz the pick-up was required for the trip to soroma’asi, which might be a good thing coz i think i might end up flooding the whole benaka.. well, in many ways, words can't express what i truly felt at each point of time during this whole trip so to cut the long story short, the above summarised all about my emotions..
back to the people.. shirleen and devin really made a difference to my trip.. not only did i get to experience the singaporean's point of view, they gave me an insight to the indonesian's point of view, which was truly valuable because they spoke the language and could really relate to the people, as compared to one who sat by the door blowing bubbles and went around shouting 'tidak tidak'... sadly enough, many of these kids do not know who they are worshipping but just some god up there in the sky.. many of them have not experienced the Lord personally and it's pretty worrying coz they are just meer followers.. honestly, many times i wished that i could talk with the kids at that level and understand them better but due to my language handicap, more often than not, the kids had to attempt to speak to me in english, thus conversation usually remained superficial and minimal.. kudos to the two of them, especially in the commitment they put into conducting daily bible study sessions with the older kids and also in leading the word in both the morning and the evening devotions.. and definitely in many of our own private amusement sessions, ranging from laundry sessions to the checking of terms in a dictionary when deciphering a receipe to the amount of water that should be added when cooking rice.. and not forgetting, the encouragement that they have given me and even motorbiking their way to benaka to send me off.. thanks loads folks!! missing you both already..
and of course, there's abang franky and abang taku.. for one whole week, after hweelin and uncle bernard left, i was left in the house with 4 other people, of which, all spoke bahasa indonesia except me.. so no prizes for coming to a conclusion that there was actually quite a bit of miscommunication but we all laughed it off, at my expense.. but chills!! i really love the times when abang franky would play the guitar or electronic piano and the kids would be singing away.. honestly, individually, these kids do not have really smooth voices, but when you put them together, they compliment each other so well and boy, it was more than beautiful!!! man, i wished i had my mp3 player with me that very moment so i could record their singing.. at moments like these, i really wished that i knew bahasa indonesia and that i know how to play the guitar.. music really brings everyone together.. and abang franky is ever my earthquake warning system.. of course, there's also abang taku.. apart from the fact that he's japanese, what really stood out was his love for the kids.. once again, words can't express what i want to say here.. but in these 2 grown-ups, i saw the love that they have for the kids..
in many ways, my trip has been longer than many others who have been to nias.. i went from the point of being a tourist to missing home and finally to fitting in.. a little too well such that no one actually recognised me amongst the kids.. but when i looked back, i wondered if i've been a blessing to the kids or more of they blessing me.. there are many lessons learnt, of myself, of the people around me, of singaporeans in general..
of all the songs that we have sung, this one probably summarised the whole trip.. our team went over to nias without any structure so that kind of threw me off course in the beginning coz i'm honestly not used to life operating without structure and at a pace 90% slower than that at home.. this song was kindly brought to us by uncle bernard one night, just before we all fell asleep.. 'i don't know about tomorrow, i only live from day to day..' indeed, who knows about tomorrow.. who knows if we will be standing here talking to each other still when tomorrow comes.. devin mentioned about the significance of 'carpe diem' and i guess the phrase has found its significance during this trip, that is to seize the day for the Lord..
i remembered how i once mentioned that, i don't think i will be going back to this island because i just feel so detached from this whole trip and all.. but guess what, over the course of 3 weeks, we have decided that in 5 or 10 years time, our team will return with our families and devin will be our team leader.. but what's more amazing was that somehow, i promised the kids that i'll be back in 2 years' time.. it's just a little surprising at how the Lord has worked within me..
to read more about the work of the present singaporean team in nias, check out OMO.. there are bits and pieces of stuff blogged by both devin and me during our stay in nias as well..
on another sidenote, here's to the kids:
evi - my newfound sister, who is now resting at pak tobing's place in medan.. though you will not get to read this, you are dearly missed and i'm glad that i could go visit you before coming home.. you are really joy and made me really feel welcomed in nias.. perhaps if you didn't come up to me on the very first night, i may not be who i am now during my stay in nias.. thanks loads dear..
eci - my 'cuci piring' girl.. this dear girl has been faithfully helping me wash dishes after each meal ever since the first day i got there.. thank you very much and i really enjoyed the times we spent trying to learn chinese together..
kristina - you are really a joy.. i really admired your guitar playing skills and all the times you tried to speak to me in english, just to help me understand the conversation.. and definitely during the 'di siram' session, you fielded a pill of water for me..
seber - you are another one that took so much joy in learning chinese and i really enjoyed the times with you all.. you and eci are really sweet in helping me with the dishes after each meal and definitely when i went to the kitchen for more food..
time - thanks loads for your letter.. and yes, you are my sister.. you are another that took much joy in learning chinese and trying to speak to me in english too.. there's much that i want to tell you, but shall leave that all in the letter..
ge'e - you were one of those who went with me to the beach and i really had much fun.. i had much fun singing with you all and preparing for the soroma’asi trip though i did not get to go for it.. can never forget your puppetting skills at afia, you were great and i was so close to kidnap both you and tuho home..
rostami - thanks for the bracelet and bookmark.. i really love them and thanks for talking to me in english too.. really enjoyed those singing sessions too.. loads to say but can't get them out onto the page..
ester - you are a much stronger girl than you think you are.. and just wanna say a big word for all the fun and all.. and man, i really love the way you folks harmonised 'jadilah seperti yang kau ingini'..
dian - can't say enough thanks when you repeated the song that night during devotion, it was really nice.. and of course, the times when we sat there singing together while abang franky played the guitar..
elifati - you are the only person who spoke bahasa german with me.. and gosh, your pronounciation is much better than mine.. thanks loads for picking us up at the harbour at sibolga and accompanying us on the ferry ride.. there's much to be said to you so shall leave that in my bahasa english note..
tuho - to begin with, thanks for picking us up at the harbour at sibloga with elifati.. there's much which i admire about you and really had much fun and memories with you.. from the times of playing animal chess, to doing children's program at afia, to the beach outing and site survey, to learning how to sing 'dalam yesus kita bersaudara' in bahasa nias, to teaching you all to sing in chinese and definitely, 'di siram'..
seruan - your name is truly special.. and i was a little surprised to learn of the english meaning.. but you are far from what it means.. had much fun with you and you are one of those whom i dearly missed as well.. didn't get to spend much time with you but thanks for all..
tõrõ - you are one boy that i'm pretty impressed with coz you played pick-up sticks better than the girls.. malu arh!!! but i was more drawn to the way you took care of the younger ones, especially tuti..
dina, alfin, albar, mei, mega, fajar, nope, sonia, leni, yulisa, arusli, julius, syukurman, february, nani, ampuni, asinia, marina, murni, yulis, manaraja, imelda, kasih, herman, paulus, sederlin, seberlina, tuti, leo, amatuti, dirikan, dominikus, sentosa, filihati and to the many whose name i have forgotten or still do not know - thank you very much for all that you all have done.. don't ever think that you all will ever get to read what is written here but it was really an experience to be there with all of you.. i was definitely and still am blessed by each and every one of you, be it from the craft or just sitting around with you all, even in silence.. thanks for all the memories and i really miss you all... really hope to be able to keep in contact with you all and to see you all when i return.. God bless you all, just as you continue to bless the people around you..
Monday, June 06, 2005
the phantom blogger
i'm the phantom blogger.. here to reveal this girl's deepest... darkest... secrets...
no.... the girl in question is not back from indonesia yet.... but i think she will be back in one piece soon enough...
this phantom blogger's appearance... should be seriously one-off.. since phantom blogger is going off on holiday soon too..... and will be back only days before the girl comes back from indonesia....
so.. i shall try to reveal most of her secrets here.... hmmm.. let's see. where shall i start?
she..... is ditzy, crazy and nuts.... on the outside... but you should see her in her moments of sanity.... you see the serious side of her.... the one she possibly doesn't show much of.. hahahah:P
she always seems to be busy busy busy... a ton of things to do.. a ton of pple to meet.. the social butterfly who flits here and there... heehee... hmmm.... she IS really like that in reality.. going out with her is a non stop standing at one side and smiling event... cos she's always bumping into someone from sch or from church or from... i also dunno where.. heee
she's CRAZY about the colours purple and maroon .... all my birthday gifts to her coincide with those colours.. hee
ok.. so i'm not telling you things you pple won't already know.. but if i revealed her secrets.. like.......... how she's hmm.. enthralled by... SOMEONE... [ok.. i shall save myself and say jacky cheung here].. hahahah..... this phantom blogger will die upon the girl's return to this garden city called Singapore.. heeheee
anyway pple.. pls pray for the girl... yes the girl in question IS the owner of the blog.. heehee.... and pray that the Lord keeps her and her friends safe and that they all return home safely...
she'll be back before you know it...
signing off.... the phantom blogger :P
no.... the girl in question is not back from indonesia yet.... but i think she will be back in one piece soon enough...
this phantom blogger's appearance... should be seriously one-off.. since phantom blogger is going off on holiday soon too..... and will be back only days before the girl comes back from indonesia....
so.. i shall try to reveal most of her secrets here.... hmmm.. let's see. where shall i start?
she..... is ditzy, crazy and nuts.... on the outside... but you should see her in her moments of sanity.... you see the serious side of her.... the one she possibly doesn't show much of.. hahahah:P
she always seems to be busy busy busy... a ton of things to do.. a ton of pple to meet.. the social butterfly who flits here and there... heehee... hmmm.... she IS really like that in reality.. going out with her is a non stop standing at one side and smiling event... cos she's always bumping into someone from sch or from church or from... i also dunno where.. heee
she's CRAZY about the colours purple and maroon .... all my birthday gifts to her coincide with those colours.. hee
ok.. so i'm not telling you things you pple won't already know.. but if i revealed her secrets.. like.......... how she's hmm.. enthralled by... SOMEONE... [ok.. i shall save myself and say jacky cheung here].. hahahah..... this phantom blogger will die upon the girl's return to this garden city called Singapore.. heeheee
anyway pple.. pls pray for the girl... yes the girl in question IS the owner of the blog.. heehee.... and pray that the Lord keeps her and her friends safe and that they all return home safely...
she'll be back before you know it...
signing off.... the phantom blogger :P
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