What's in a Name...

Just this evening, we had to brainstorm for youth names. (boss' orders :p) The urgency being the youth t-shirt we are designing and planning to print before the end of this year (preferably before X'mas) . So, let it RAIN! Between the 8 of us at prayer meeting, we came up with some pretty weird names. Getting inspiration from other sources, (you know in Malaysia, copyright means copy is right) we managed to put together a list of a few names we might like.

• G-Unit (G as in Good News or God)
• J-Unit (J as in duh Jesus. Btw, the unit stands for army. Jesus' army)
• O2 Youth (O2 as in we need Jesus as much as we need the air we breathe)
• Contagious/Infectious (Infect the world with Jesus-Passion)
• J ™ or Jesus Trademark (appearing to originate from a unique source of origin, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities. Figure it out)
• J ™ also stands for Je T'aime which means I Love You in French. (God's people needs to have a lil bit of love, yo)

Yup, that's about it. Now for the boss' approval. She's on vacation in Singapore 'til Friday so results will be out then, I suppose.

Till then!

Youth Leaders' Retreat '08

Rachel's arch nemesis... Moth wins hands down

On the 8th and 9th of November, the GNF Youth Leaders took a climb up to Simuti to seek God. I've never been to Simuti and was pretty excited (Ignoring my particular need for clean bathrooms and efficient sewage systems). We prayed everyday, intensely, for a whole week before going up to Simuti. And was all totally worth it.

The team of 13 people (uncle Jeff, Aunty Su, Lydia, Lysandra, Karen, Katrina, Rachel, Keith, James, Dennis, Megan, Amanda and I) split up into 3 cars for the journey up. I went with Dennis, Keith, James and Karen.

During the journey up the mountain to Simuti, Keith kept groaning about how modern Simuti would've become. And every time I gasp at some awesome sight of nature, one of my car mates would give me a look that says "I can't believe you've never been up to Simuti." And after I've been there, I say "Neither can I."

One of the village houses

Simuti is a mountain village where GNF has one of its kampung churches. So our boss, Aunty Su, picked it as the venue of our first youth leaders' retreat as a team. Just being in Simuti already makes you feel closer to God. (And it has nothing to do with the "No Network Coverage" flashing on my cell phone screen, I swear!) :p The place is so peaceful. So beautiful. So naturey.

There's a lot more where that came from...

Upon our arrival, we were shown to our rooms in the church right at the top of the mountain and before long, were ushered off to one of the villager's house for a Durian Welcome. (much to my dismay and Uncle Jeff's delight) It's so awesome and refreshing to see these people being so friendly and giving to outsiders. Though the durians didn't please me much, the sight of joy and giving in that place certainly did!

Uncle Jeff giving out durians


Oh, sisterly love

After a couple of hours rest, the retreat kicked off with Uncle Jeff sharing about the most important aspect of leadership - self-leadership. Made me think a lot about the way I lead. And I learned a lot about my giftings during that session too.

At 1500 hours, Aunty Su taught us how to do a prayer walk around the village. To speak blessing into the lives of the villagers, to break bondages and to release God's promises in the village. That was one of the most refreshing and tiring prayer walks I've ever had.

Andrea barely survives the walk after being idle for over 6 months

We had to climb slopes, walk down narrow stairs, balance across narrow bamboo bridges and just plain walk while praying continuously aloud. Walking around the mountain-village, we were offered durians by the villagers at almost every house we passed. Lucky for them I don't eat durian or they'll be sorry they asked! :p

Us and some of the village kids :)


Kid getting a hair cut

One of the highlights of the trip was when we prayer-walked across the open field just below the church. We saw visions in that field. The whole village , not confined to the church building's four walls, but out there on the open field worshipping their God and Creator. From the sunrise to sunset. It was a beautiful vision which was shared among more than a couple of the leaders.

The field of dreams

After the tiring prayer walk, we shared our visions and thoughts with the whole group and dismissed til dinner. An interesting UNO game started where the loser washes up at dinner. Katrina and Dennis lost but I don't remember them washing my plate. Lol.

The UNO gamble

Dinner time


Worship in the dining room

After dinner we met at the dining room for a worship session and one more teaching session before going off to bed. But God had other plans for us that night. There was a youth meeting going on in the village church and God told us to join them. So we did obediently.

James shares, Lydia translates

After the youth's worship, without prior notice, the youth leader of the Simuti church invited us to share the word of God. And we weren't even prepared for the evening! James ended up sharing about faith (His prepared message for Sunday). It was a total walk the talk scene for him that night. Bravo!

Aunty Su prays for the youths


Us praying for the only SPM student in Simuti :D


The hoodies :)


Our supper of instant noodles

Sunday morning, we woke up at 6, showered in ice cold water, got dressed and went out only to be welcomed by the most breath-taking view I have ever seen! The church was at the top of the mountain and at that hour of the day, the clouds were pretty low so you can actually see it covering the whole mountain! It was like walking into the sky. Awesome. Just simply awesome.

Keith walking in the clouds

After breakfast, we assembled at the field of visions and prayed that our visions for that place will come to pass. Aunty Su shared the word of God that morning to the Bidayuh congregation. At the altar-call, the youth team spread out and prayed for not only kids and young people but for adults as well! We prayed for boldness for the trip and here it is in full display! SO PROUD OF YOU GUYS!

Aunty Su sharing on Sunday


Youths pray for the congregation


Keith and our mascot, Hunter


The girls and Hunter

We left Simuti with sobs and emotional moments, a broken guitar (no details will be provided :p) and a pocket full of experiences and memories that the world can never take from us. Simuti was awesome. We went there expecting to bless the people but it was US who was blessed instead. I have a feeling we'll be back there again.

Leavin'


Goodbye Simuti...


The team on the field of dreams

goodbye forever ... NOT!!

At the end of SPM examinations '07, I thought I'd said goodbye to exams, and the pressure and stress they bring, forever. College, to me, was a picture of fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun.

How naive indeed was I back then because that' so NOT true! Trials are in the beginning of December. So while my high school buds are off "eating air" in Kay El, and my still-schooling friends are enjoying their school break in places like Perth and Hong Kong, I'm stuck in Koo Cheng cramming for exams!! Life, be damned.

• Monday 1/12 - Mathematics Unit 2
  
• Tuesday 2/12 - Chemistry Unit 1, Chemistry Unit 2, Mathematics Unit 1
• Wednesday 3/12 - FREE DAY
• Thursday 4/12 - Biology Unit 1
• Friday 5/12 - Biology Unit 2

Just shoot me.

The Secret's Out!!

Ever wondered why girls generally do better in exams than boys?

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The Secret is OUT!!!!

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Though personally, I don't endorse this ... um ... secret? :p

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Tada~!!




Good tip for you SPM and STPM -ers :p
Cheers~

I love Text Books

Finally, long awaited text books have arrived! I must admit I'm eccentric, special. Can't study without text books. I have this weird insecurity when it comes to studying short notes so text books are my security. I don't particularly love reading but I just have to make sure I read everything required by my syllabus before feeling good enough to sit for any paper. Which is a good thing... right?? :p So you can see why my text books are a big deal.

Now for my venting.

• The bloody text books are bloody heavy! Talk about high quality paper! I think I'm gonna have muscles by the time I graduate, considering the weight of the books I'm dragging around everyday. And, geez!...
• Could they have arrived any later?!? Exam's like in less than a month, people! Like, doesn't anybody care about MY NEEDS anymore?!
• Not only are they late, and I have to do major cramming to satisfy my study-insecurities, but they're darn expensive!! Like hello? RM75 per book for 3 books. And that's excluding shipment fees and service charge by the oh-so-hated librarian, who claims that it's "UCSI policy". Oh yeah, money-suckers.

So everything's corporate now and students are just commodities. Guess that's college, nay, the real world. Look, ma, I learned something today.

On a lighter note, my text books are really colourful :D So to commemorate the long anticipated day, I'll show you my new babies!....

Cheers~

College, Spirits and Stuff

Today was a rather, well, freaky-interesting day in class. During math period, all was well in college world when suddenly bimbo (read previous post) talked (LOUDLY, might I add) about a comedy or horror movie she watched recently, which my ever-sporting lecturer eagerly commented on. Soon the conversation shifted from movies to spirits to those spirit "games" school kids play. You know the ones where you ask a question and the spirit answers...

Yeah, so lecturer is very familiar with said game and Googles for more details with bimbo urging him on (LOUDLY). Few minutes later, Mr. Lecturer hunts the room for items he can use to demonstrate his find. He digs up a piece of thread from somewhere and a coin-shaped-metal-disc-like thing lol. He ties the string to the CSMDLT.

I must admit I was kinda shaken. So anyway, Mr. Lecturer wraps the string around his finger and dangles CSMDLT in the air. He focuses on a question and we wait in silence. Silence broke for a second by bimbo running to turn off the air conditioner so our "experiment" won't be affected my air movement lol. Anyway, silence resumes and before long he CSMDLT starts to spin!! Spin, dammit! His finger wasn't moving. The air conditioner was turned off. The door and windows were completely shut. The air was seriously still. AND IT SPUN, DAMMIT!

(okay, I must sound very lame right about now but in my defence, I was brought up protected and sheltered and I have never dabbled in the realm of the unknown spirits. So you can imagine my shock)

Anyhoo, after the coin stops spinning, we asked him what he asked the spirit of the CSMDLT and and he said he asked whether it was raining outside and the coin said no by spinning. It was right. If it wanted to say "yes" it would swing from side to side in the air. So anyway another girl in class tried to ask the coin a yes or no question (Is my name blah..) but no answer.

So anyway moving on, bimbo's turn to ask a question. Coin starts to swing. Yes. What was the question? Am I fat? LOL another guy asks a question. Coin swings again. Yes. What was the question? Something about what he ate. lol

More questions about exam results and the like until period ends. The answer were pretty much expected so maybe its um true? hehe

Gulps. Don't try this at home! If you do, don't call me :D

Dumb Blondes

Can you believe that even Wikipedia has an entry on DUMB BLONDES?

Wikipedia says...
The dumb blonde is a popular-culture stereotype applied to blonde-haired women. The archetypical "dumb blonde", while viewed as attractive and popular, has been criticised as lacking in both common street-sense and academic intelligence, often to a comedic level. The dumb blonde stereotype is frequently used in the popular blonde jokes.

To further illustrate this. . .

A dumb blonde was really tired of being made fun of, so she decided to have her hair she would look like a brunette.

When she had brown hair, she decided to take a drive in the country.

After she had been driving for a while, she saw a farmer and a flock of sheep and thought,

"Oh! Those sheep are so adorable!"

She got out and walked over to the farmer and said,

"If I can guess how many sheep you have, can I take one home?"

The farmer, being a bit of a gambler himself, said she could have a try.

The blonde looked at the flock and guessed, "157."

The farmer was amazed - she was right! So the blonde, (who looked like a brunette), picked one out and got back into her car.

Before she left, farmer walked up to her and said.

"If I can guess the real color of your hair, can I have my dog back?"


And for something more localised. . .
(meaning it really happened)

Scenario: Chemistry lecture. We were doing some super tough calculations questions and our lecturer was helping us out when suddenly...

Dumb Blonde: Teacher ah, (with Manglish) why the questions all so hard one, ah?

Lecturer: This is not SPM anymore. This is A-Levels.

Dumb Blonde: Teacher ah, during the test right, um, we must think ourselves ah?

*Andrea faints*

Lecuturer: *looks confused* Erm, yes.

Dumb blonde: Then, during exam right, ah..., if our blain no clue, right, we die lah?

*whole class faints*

CPR in progress

Don't say a word. I know. This @#$%!&? blog is dead!
A thousand apologies in hopes of forgiveness! (Edina & Audrey especially) :)
Well okay, what's new with me? Nothing really. I'm finally studying! I miss holidays. And I just watched a movie with Karen, Katrina, Rachel, Lysandra and James (who watched it for the second time in 2 days!). "Money No Enough II" - A Jack Neo film.

One word.
Incredible.

A film that gives audience a chance to laugh at heartland topics
as well as to realize the inner side of certain things
that we might have overlooked due to our daily rat-race for fortune and success.

Humourous and Touching!!
Made Rachel and Lysandra cry :'(
LOL
Nice. Highly recommended!
Ain't spillin' anymore. Just watch for yourself... hehe

it's HERE

It's here! Isn't it preeeeeetty.. :)

Another Random...

I love orange.
I love dolphins.
I don't love orange dolphins. (Gross-looking)
I love the sea.
I would like to surf.
3-storey-high waves
I love seafood.
I love pasta.
So I should love seafood pasta.
I love pizza.
I love Italian food.
Come to think of it, I love FOOD in general.
Except bitter food. And garlic. And ginger. And onions.
I wish Kuching would step up to the challenge of opening Mamak stalls at every corner.
Like KL.
How I miss you, KL.
Oh, and I love cheese!
And anything with cheese on it.
Like pasta (as mentioned above)
And baked meatballs with CHEESE
And lasagna (I scared my friends with the amount I'm able to consume)
Kuching has Roti Cheese. *major props*
I absolutely adore Milo.
The action-packed energy drink.
Packed with vitamins B12 bla bla bla...
I love Kaya & Toast 's Milo Dino drink.
Chock-full of chocolaty goodness!
And I love Neslo too!
Nescafe + Milo.
Haven't been able to find a decent one in Kuching.
Oh but did I mention Kuching has Roti Milo?
I LOVE.
I love tennis.
Nice outfits.
Now, if only I could play...
Another thing I wish I could do: skate.
Not with blades.
Rather, with a board.
A skateboard.
Actually, I wouldn't mind rollerblading, either.
I wish to drive.
Wish to own my own car.
Definitely not in the near future.
A hovercraft would be nice.
I love Final Fantasy 8.
Cute love story.
I love Sony Ericsson.
The official colour seems to be ORANGE.
I want a walkman phone. (Besides the one I have)
I want W980i. Please. Pretty please.
Its black. With orange lights. It flips.
Moving on...
I wish to do a course having to do with creative arts.
But father might say no to this.
But yes, to a professional course.
Professional + creative *thinks*
I want to do Architecture! *cringes at the figures*
Maybe we should rethink this.


Ok. I'm out of random statements.

Just for kicks

From the cartoon series Futurama

Now laugh, scoff, snicker, giggle, bawl, screech...
Do what you do best =D

Christ rocks all around

Contains the HOTTEST Christian Hip Hop hits on the planet.

TRACK LISTING
1. BOOMIN’ - TOBYMAC
2. WHATCHA GONNA DO WITH IT - FAMILY FORCE 5 (unreleased)
3. OPEN BAR – GRITS
4. MAKE MONEY MONEY – JOHN REUBEN
5. ALL MY PEOPLE – GABEREAL (unreleased)
6. DO YO THANG – KJ-52
7. LET IT ROLL - GROUP 1 CREW
8. BOUNCE – MANAFEST
9. HEAR MY CRY – SOUL P
10. BACK TO CENTER – DJ MAJ
11. RISE – LA SYMPHONY
12. PARTY (CITIZENS COME OUT) - DIVERSE CITIZENS (unreleased)
13. BOLLA ATCH HOY – JUST.LIVE
14. SHOWBIZ – LYRYCYST
15. MOVE SOMETHIN – WILLIE WILL
16. WHEN HEAVEN SCRAPES THE PAVEMENT – MARS ILL

Now, who says church-goers only mumble old hymns in monotones?

In stores August 28th

Slow Down

a friend of mine dropped me a line just today.
sounds like a mind-tongue-twister
well anyway, here it is:

A rebuke impresses a man of discernment more than a hundred lashes a fool

Proverbs 17:10 (NIV)

Just one of those days

Have you ever felt like turning back time to right the wrongs in this world? Something like what a hero would do. Actually, I'm not all that big on going back into the past to right the wrongs in the world. I just meant something more on the normal scale like the wrongs in my life.


Well, this is Just one of those days.

Random Update

something i thought i would never catch myself saying....



I WANT TO STUDY!!

shows how fun my life is so far...

peace out

Promises

This song is stuck in my head. I guess you could say it's the current soundtrack of my life so far.

New Life Worship
Promises

Singin' all your promises wont let go of me
Singin' all your promises wont let go of me
Singin' all your promises wont let go of me
Singin' all your promises wont let go of me

I surrendered my life to your ways
I have learned what it means to obey
Jesus my heart has been changed by you

I am walking the path you have made
I am seeking the truth every day
Jesus my heart has been changed by you

I couldn't walk away if I tried
'Cause your love is better than life

Now the suns shining bright
And it just wont set
'Cause your love is a light and it lights my step
My heart is amazed every day to the next
Your joy overtakes and i cant Forget about it
Woah-oh-oh
Woah-oh-oh
Woah-oh-oh
I cant forget about it
Woah-oh-oh
Woah-oh-oh
Woah-oh-oh
I cant forget about it

Psalm 103

psalm 103:8-13

The Lord is compassionate and
gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above
the earth,
so great is his love for those who
fear him;
as far as the east is form the west,
so far has he removed our
transgressions from us
As a father has compassion on his
children,
so the Lord has compassion
on those who fear him

god's amazing grace

my Encounter

The whackednutcases (refer to previous post) and I were enlisted to help in the worship team during the Lundu ANUGERAH camp last weekend. On the last night of the camp, there was a session called Di Ruang TakhtaNya (In His Throne Room in English) It basically consisted of 2 hours of unabashed, raw, passionate worship. There was no preaching by any person. Just God ministering to His people. It was 2 words: SIMPLY MAGNIFICENT.

We did a bunch of whacky stuff that evening. We "joget-ed" to the song Yesus Kekasih Jiwaku (Jesus, Lover of My Soul) and even used pails and buckets to substitute the non-existent "gendang". As my eyes roamed the assembly, I could see joy and laughter radiating from the faces of the campers. It indeed felt great to praise the King of Kings. It felt like it could go on all night.

Around about August last year, Aunty K taught the church worship team about worshiping in SPIRIT and in TRUTH. She said that as the Spirit led us in worship, there will come a time during which the music will slowly fade and there will just be silence and stillness. Not an awkward kind of silence, but the kind of stillness in which we hear God's voice. Still and small. That's when we reach TRUE WORSHIP.

That evening in His Throne Room, we experienced just that. The band (3 guitarists) just simultaneously and unanimously died down. The singing ceased and the music faded completely. All was still and quiet except for sounds of a few people weeping. There was such peace there that night. No one could deny that God was in our midst. Still and small was His voice ministering to the hearts of His people.

Genesis 22
Ps. Ned came up and spoke about the faith that Abraham had. After having waited for decades just for a son, he was asked to lay Isaac, his world, on the altar as an offering to God. Imagine waiting for something (or in this case, someone) you've wanted for so so sooo long and finally getting it only to be asked to lay it down again. Tough stuff. Nevertheless, Abraham bucked up and laid Isaac on the altar before God in faith. Instead of losing his world, he gained an inheritance. Obedience to God can bring about great things.

God spoke to me that night. He placed me in Abraham's position (minus the son, back problems and long beard.) He challenged me to lay down my "world" at the altar. To surrender my hopes and dreams for the future at the feet of Jesus. He reminded me, too, that my offering was not laid on an altar of stone or wood but rather in the hands of the One True God. But God doesn't take everything from us without promising us better things. His promise to me was this: If I were to surrender everything, He would reveal things to me beyond my wildest dreams and ambitions. He would use me in ways more amazing than I can begin to imagine. He is faithful and His promises are true. IF AND ONLY IF I were obedient, His promises won't let go of me.

After hearing this, I was extremely refreshed. God rocks! No matter how distant we feel from Him, He never really is far because He promises never to leave us nor forsake us. His word that night gave the assurance that He's not done working in me and through me YET. He sees our imperfections and accepts us as we are. That's amazing grace.

ANUGERAH weekend

Last weekend, I, along with a few other whackednutcases, got shipped off to solitary confinement camp. We had fun. The end.

Alright enough joshing.

In actual fact, the whackednutcases (Josh, James and Jess) and I were sent off by Ps. Ned to Lundu to help out at a kampung youth leaders' training camp. Great encounter weekend! Despite the terrible mosquito attacks in the middle of the night, I don't regret going. Nope. Not one bit.

whackednutcases in charge of the registration desk


We're divided into groups called my NET.
L2R - Aniza, Madalene, Veronica (hidden), Annie, Flare, Jessica


Group activity: Given an egg, cellophane tape and 15 straws .
Construct a defense mechanism to prevent the egg from breaking when dropped from a certain height. Diagram shows our cute egg ball. UNSUCCESSFUL FLIGHT.


Group activity: Jesus the Suffering Servant. As Jesus humbly washed his disciples' feet, we too washed the feet of our NET members. Nasty! Image shows the water after we're ALL washed =p

Group activity: TRUST FALL.
Fear of the unknown holds us back from trusting God.
However, we DO step out because we KNOW that our NET will be there to support us.
(Even though we get hurt along the way =p)

James and the gigantic pineapple at Lundu Wet Market.

Random faces
L2R: Annie, Jess, Flare

The Love of My Life

Finally after postponing for 4 posts, I shall blog about the love of my life

Our paths crossed in the year 2004 and we’ve been together ever since. I have never regretted that day. Nope. Not once.

The event leading to our encounter is not your typical love story. There was no stormy evening and rough currents in the river near home where I was near drowning after having slipped and fell in and gave up all hope of living for the currents were too strong to fight when suddenly I could feel doggie breath near me and something yanking my collar towards the safety of the bank. After my near death experience, I was convinced that this dog was an angel sent from above to save me.

No, none of that. In the real world, nothing ever is a fairy tale. Anyway, my dog is too small and cowardly to pull off a stunt like that =p

Well see, Beyonce wasn’t initially mine. She belonged to Uncle Luke and Aunty Gina and their two kids Phoebe and Naomi. They adored her dearly. Who wouldn’t? She’s the sweeeeeeetest thing.

Isn't she something? =D

The History

Uncle Luke and Aunty Gina were renovating their home leaving Beyonce homeless. They know I love the dog so they gave her to me (three cheers to renovation!)

Beyonce is versatile
Pictures speak a thousand words

So let the pictures speak for her

Her bumble bee days...

Her Beethovan/Mozart/Wolfgang days...

Her Godfather days. Family is priority...

Her gluttonous days... Like any typical Malaysian, she loves to eat.

Her attempt at a Mona Lisa smile

And of course, her Beyonce days

Are you smitten?