sat by the river

haha! sounds like i wasn't in singapore or something. but yeah! it was the SINGAPORE RIVER!

met two friends today for lunch at central (the new shopping mall at clark quay) and after that, because the weather was just so nice, we sat down at the steps of the river... wah! so close to the water! so nice! and we saw fishes too!!!

after many MANY hot and humid days, today has finally been a cool day. yay! thank God! there was even a nice BREEZE. ahhh. we waved to all the tourists on the bumboats and they waved back. my friends ate hokkaido ice-cream which melted at an alarming rate. and we talked about some important stuff. it was a very nice time. praise God.

love the clouds!

YEAH this is the kind of sky i'm talking about! =)

He knows my name

He Knows My Name (I Have a Maker)

I have a Maker
He formed my heart,
before even time began
My life was in His hands

He knows my name
He knows my every thought,
He sees each tear that falls
and hears me when I call

I have a Father,
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me,
no matter where I go


I'm Forever Grateful

You did not wait for me to draw near to You,
But You clothed Yourself in frail humanity.
You did not wait for me to cry out to You,
But You let me hear Your voice calling me.

And I'm forever grateful to You,
I'm forever grateful for the cross;
I'm forever grateful to You,
That You came to seek and save the lost.

church camp 2007

this year's church camp will forever be etched in my memory as my FIRST BEST CAMP. (i think i should call it such since i will probably have some more BEST CAMPS in the future, heh.)

i think i was more caught up with working (being part of the committee) two years ago than really spending time with God and letting Him speak to me. and last year, i only went for the second half of the camp because of my internship so i didn't really get much out of it. but i know it was also because i didn't prepare my heart then to experience the camp for what it's meant for. it's just always so easy to place the people and the work over God.

this year, i think it was a much more balanced camp for me. on the one hand, being part of the committee and learning from such wonderful leaders were simply great. it's very very meaningful work (desiring to be used by God to make church camp a memorable one for everybody) and a lot of fun too.

well for the first time, i went up with the advanced party one day before, to prepare for the camp. [side note: we had dinner at bei zhan, one of the BEST chinese restaurants ever!!] six of us were in the same room and i really enjoyed the experience of "communal living", haha. everyone was just helping each other out! we planned stuff, they helped me with my nametags... and i remember one funny thing. i tried to take a nap four times in total that day but it turned out to be not very possible due to various interruptions, haha. and each time my sleepy reaction was the same: "huh?! how long have i slept?"... "15 minutes only AGAIN?!?!!"

haha ok and then camp began! the thing was, i woke up on the second day of camp somehow thinking, "sian...four more days to go." and then i was like, hey how can i think like that... better get it out of my head and ask God to help me have a more positive attitude towards it. and so... THANK GOD i had a really really good camp from then on! i was so ministered to by the worship songs, messages, group discussion and fellowship. a lot of what the speaker said also helped to prepare me for my future chiangmai trip. he spoke on the book of joshua:

getting our feet wet
i.e. stepping out of our comfort zones. what God wants to give you is already out there, you just must step out and claim it. certainly that requires lots of strength and courage, which will be provided as we obey God.

bringing down the walls
victory begins with personal surrender and is secured by worship.
"attempt something so great for God that it is doomed to failure unless God be in it." - john haggai

dealing with sin
there's no guarantee that victory today means victory tomorrow too, therefore we mustn't let self-pride get in the way. a good point: when we refuse to ask for forgiveness (because we're too proud to admit we're wrong) how can God forgive us?
sin is convenient, costly and contagious (it affects other people too).

choosing to serve
we often make a choice and then disguise it as a non-choice. e.g. trying to get out of something by saying we have to do something else, instead of honestly saying that's what we want to do. we have more control over our lives than we think we do - it's a case of how important we view it. we have a choice; the only requirement from God is honesty.

and so...that was church camp 2007! i don't know if i'll be able to attend next year's camp so that's another reason why this year's was extra special for me. i also enjoyed rooming with geri =) and the games and the final night (performances and such), which got everyone (adults, youths and kids) so excited and so it was really funny and fun. one of the games we played was tug of war on the beach. people had STRATEGIES. wow. it was a lot of fun! =) and of course, taboo on the last night... haha... and once again, doing the camp booklets and nametags was another amazing and humbling experience... lastly, five out of nine of us from the CG came to this camp, which was great!!! =)

more pre-ceremony pics

from my brother's camera. nice camera!!

no hands!

suddenly noticed after many pictures that i didn't hook my gown properly haha.

somebody was saying something funny...
(no hands again!)

this is me running barefooted to meet lirong.
because i'd have taken three times longer to reach in heels. not to mention MORE blisters! =/

with lirong just before reporting

graduation!

wow, graduation...!!! posting up the pics, i suddenly realised what a big day this was actually, hehe as i always do (kinda slow lah). can't help but reflect on the three years that went by! and i think they might have been the three most defining years of my life! not only did i have a fantastic education in all senses of the word, i also got to learn more about God and deepen my relationship with Him by experiencing His amazing love, faithfulness, grace, mercy, peace and power every time. each time there seemed to be no way, He was there to make a way... just like how He'd send different people to help, encourage and cheer me up. there were so many ups and downs, knocks and trials, satisfying times and not to mention hilariously memorable times... and who can forget the last semester which was the hardest we ever worked... all of which i'm glad for because they made my life so interesting and meaningful! praise God!

so graduation day today, as i've just realised haha, was the culmination of these three very, very special and memorable years. wow. =)

we happened to park at my school, so i thought we might as well take some pics!
side note: this is the first year NP grads wore gowns. but it was still a chore thinking of what to wear for me! haiyoh sarah! =P

i really cannot say thank you enough to my family for just being who they are. MY FAMILY! a family who loves God together... laughs A LOT together... and helps one another. i guess they had no choice but to allow themselves to be roped in on many of my projects so i really must say thanks guys!!!

entering the convention centre.
the buffet spread after the ceremony was really quite a SPREAD!

haha i watched so many graduates do it before me but when my turn came i went into blur mode. i know i said "thank you" really softly and then i knew i had to turn around but when i finally located the photographer's face, i went "oh!" as in "oh there you are!" so it wasn't a smile but an "oh!" face.

really good friends - jenny and lirong
special note: hey lirong (my 相依为命 partner), thank you so much for these three years! =) and jenny, it was really great being classmates and project mates with you during our last semester! =)

with the rest of the gang and one funny lecturer whose emails i'll always keep.
sam, fel, lydia, terence, wanjun, etc... really wished you guys were there too!

all the wonderful, wonderful lecturers who taught so well.
to borrow a line from someone... they did not fish for us, but taught us how to fish!

and this is what we are now, haha.

classic taboo moments from church camp

at 1 am, they were really, REALLY funny.

the word: nursery
zy: ok, what's before kindergarten?
tab: primary!
zy: no before that!
tab: secondary!
zy: no before that!
tab: tertiary!

the word: tofu
tab: you know women always say don't touch my what?
everybody: WHAT!?!?!
zy (the only boy): huh?!?!?!
tab: no you know it's like something soft...
everybody: WHAT?!?!!

that girl watched too many chinese drama serials lah hahaha. her explanation was that they always say stuff like "不要吃我的豆腐!" right?... haha okay...

another one that i heard from my friend...
the word: glacier
somebody: ok titanic hit into a what and sank?
pam: iceberg!
somebody: no something smaller!
pam: ice cube!

haha i'll NEVER forget them... ok i'll blog a proper one about church camp again soon coz it was really the best church camp for me ever.