Boring

Today was boring...

I was suppose to go for a jog but it rained... so now I feel like I've eaten too much!!!

And I still haven't prepared songs for tomoroe and I haven't done the prayer prompters for MKC!!!

Wooohooo.... :p

complaints.

ok. i'm back in hall n school has started for me.
*sobx*
not that i hate school,
i love my school.
but school's so far away from homeeee...

(actually this is just to keep the blog alive)
-rufferz*

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Hi guys! Just wanna share with you all a little something about my week.

This week hasn't been an easy week for me. Have you ever had a time where things just change overnight and you have no time to react to the situation? This was my week. Emotionally and spiritually, I have been feeling quite down even before this thing happened. When it happened, it somewhat 'shook' me and I guess, I felt lost. Physically, I haven't been feeling too good too.

Working in church is not easy as many of you may think. Hahaha... :) Yes, we have our 'relax' moments but there are a lot of expectations on me or maybe I set expectations of myself. I'm not to sure. But even as I begin to work, I begin to see God's hand at work and I begin to see a lot of things is actually not my way, but God's way.

As I was saying, I was feeling down and emotionally upset. This song "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" came to my mind. For some who do not know the lyrics.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of earth

Will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace

Even as I began to sing this hymn. I felt God put the peace in my heart, letting me feel so assured to know that He is in control of every situation. I finally felt I could breathe, I could sense His sweet presence. I could smell the sweet aroma of His presence.

God just reminded me of the verse in Heb 12:2 "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

My encouragement is for everyone of you who is reading this. Those who are going through hard times, those who are going through a difficult time in school or even having problems with your projects or even if you feel like no matter how hard you try with your studies you still can't do it. Know that God is control. When we fix our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith, God will never, never, ever fail to show us His ways. And from there, we can approach things in His manner, in His ways. His ways, His thoughts will never be that of ours.

Love, Becky

Hello...long time no post le...well i tink tat having a good relationship with the community kids is kindna hard cuz not all see them tat often...and i myself also have the problem but the kids from church! {Might be i see the community kids every day?}
Well using technology is a graet idea but i don really tink it will work well cuz not all community kids are 'high tech' in that sense...well prayer now is a good idea! (:

Anyways for myself...i'm also not with good relationship with some community kids like mayb Selina's family? Haha...every time i see their family they will indirectly 'shoot lots of arrows' at mi...mayb i'm not good enough? Haha..
Also,at church,i will feel tat as though i'm an outsider! Which i tink is the reason why the youths are not growing...well feeling like an outsider is not a good and easy to overcome feeling... {cant describe}...well mayb i'm don noe you well? Juz like the problem the MKC face? becuz i'm also i community kid!? Dots! Mayb the 'cold feeling' tat i feel every time with u all can be erase?
I'm trying to say tat if i'm able to feel tat uneasy feeling how would the rest of the kids feel? It might be the same...!!!

Haha...tat's my thought! Well lets juz hope this problem can be gone after PRAYING?

Till the next week,hope u all have a good week!!!

Edward

To Donkey

Yes to my dear donkey!!!

SUCCESS is 1% INSPIRATION and 99% PERSPIRATION!!!!

Dicky

Relationships...

Hi guys and girls,

I read with much interest between Joanne's and Becky's postings. Let me offer my two cents worth.  Hahaha..

In essence, there is no difference in what they are saying. Indeed, both of them are emphasizing the need for relationships to be formed and bonds to be built. Building a relationship is not something that happens overnight. It is a long process, sometimes even painful when misunderstanding occur. Think about it, your best friend didn't become your best friend overnight. Its not as if met a person for one day and he/she became your 'bestie' the next day. (I learnt a new word, so i'm gonna use it). 

As a youth group, we definitely have much bonds established within us. And that is because we have a common purpose and a common goal. We have also spent much time and effort in nurturing these bonds. Remember youth camp and your accountability partners? How about going out to dinner or playing sport? All these are events for us to bond together. And i must say, i throughly enjoy being with all of you. It makes me feel young again. Haha.. We really miss the older youth in our youth service. And we would love for you to come and join us. :)

So, the need to build relationships clearly established, what they are differing in is over how to build the relationship. Becky is suggesting that visitation is the way to go. Joanne is suggesting the use of technology to build relationships. Both are right. Both methods must be employed. There is no hard and fast rule here. Remember, building relationships take time and is a constant process. What the children need to feel here is a sense of belonging, that someone is actually here to take care of them, and they know that they can run somewhere for help when they need to.

Let's face it. Being a kid from the community isn't easy. Especially in the neighborhood where most of our kids come from. If you're been out visitation before, you'll know that its a pretty rough place. I admit, I very blessed. I have my own room, own computer, etc. And i've had this since I was very young. But really, when I look at these children, I realize that I have alot to give. I realize how much God has blessed me. But, these kids aren't even asking for material stuff, they are asking for someone to support them. Many of our MKC kids have problems which you and I cannot even begin to imagine.

Fact of the matter is this, whether or not they come for MKC is a secondary issue. What matters more is that we are here to show them the love of Christ. We want to let them know that God loves them and that they are so special to Jesus. Unfortunately, with many of our community kids, technology is something which they are unable to afford. Some however, are contactable via SMS. But, many are not. By us visiting them is our way of showing that we are actually concerned for them. And we try to help in whatever way we can. Giving tuition is one practical example.

At the same time, I also understand that many people have constraints, as Joanne has rightly pointed out. The solution is not a clear cut one. Yes, we MUST PRAY - that, is not in doubt. Building bridges with the community however, is not limited to visitation. How about staying to chat with the children after MKC on Sunday? I have no solution either. But I do know this, we must do whatever we can. And we need to pray that God will show us strategies as to how to reach out to these children.

The establishment of Blk 32 will definitely be a potential avenue. Yet, we are going to need alot of manpower to run this centre. Ask yourself, 'do i want to make a impact for Christ in my generation?' If the answer is a resounding 'yes', then i encourage you, make yourself available. 

OK.. I think i've written far too long already. Its worth more than two cents now. LOL.

Take care everyone,

Keep praying!

Samuel

Superb everyone!

Dear Youth,

I just want to say what a superb job that you guys have done today. I am so blessed and encouraged. I believe that God was pleased in the midst of our worship today. As i said, i could see the heavenly hosts join us in the worship. The worship team did excellent. You led us into an awesome time of being in the presence of God and I could see that the church was also blessed. Becky as worship leader was very good. :)

The sharing by Ivan was wow. Haha.. Many people came up to me after that and talked about how good Ivan's sharing was. It really touched their hearts. A pity Dad wasn't here to see it. But its OK, i think we captured the sharing on tape. I think we have a budding preacher here...

The sharing by Benedict was wow-wee. Superbly good. I really identified with many of the things that he spoke about - and i was very blessed by "building the bond" and "breaking the barrier". Simple, yet so hard to do. It really takes effort. I believe many adults also gained an insight into how we think through towards service. 

Angeline did a really really good job as narrator. I was stunned to hear that voice and i was wondering why it came from. Wow. I think we have a narrator for our next production already... :)

Excellent.

Remember, all glory must go back to God!

We've got a good thing going here team. :) But remember, that we are not only Christians on Sunday, but we are also Christians every day of the week. Hence, we are called to be different. Yes, we are in this world, but we are not of this world. So, even as this week goes by, ask God to help you honor your parents. 

Good luck for all your exams. Add oil! The holidays aren't that far away...

Take care,

Samuel

In Reply to Joanne's post

I don't deny that we do not care for each other but there is always a knowing that we can do more. We know that there is a saying that 'actions speak louder than words.' However, this principle does not work in the kingdom of God.

Well, I agree, some may have the gifting to work behind the scenes for example, 'prayer'. I will definitely look into it. As for visitation, I guess more of us can take ownership of MKC. We can make that effort like Uncle Randy, to build relationship with the children. It's not only him but we all should work hand in hand to bring more children into God's kingdom.

I agree that there are various reasons as to why the children don't come but how many of us know the reasons? And by visiting them, the parent's know us and know the impact we make into the community.

Basically, visitation is a way of building relationships with the families and letting the families know who we are and allowing God to use us to bring His light into their lives.

I always believe that we can do more than just 'this'. This is just my thought lar. Like the bible says in Ps124:4-6 'Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.'

I guess crucial point is now that we know that the numbers are dropping? What are we gonna do about it? Are we just going to sit around and wait for the numbers to drop even further or are we gonna do our part for God's kingdom?

I'm not forcing anybody but if anyone feels that they don't want to do it. Please do tell me. Maybe during the time we visit the children, we can synchronize with some of the MKC leaders to pray as we visit. :)

Love, Becky

Somebody blogged before me...

Haha.... as you can see from my title... I wanted to blog to say a BIG, BIG thank you to all who made this Youth Service a success.

God is indeed very pleased with us and all glory goes to Him. AMEN?

Anyway, everyone of you did a good job! Thank you to the worship team for being patient with me. I know the songs were hard and my signals were not clear but God did His work still. Praise be to God!

Thank you ushering team... Thank you for taking on the roles at the last minute! You guys did a wonderful job!

Thank you to Ben and his team of actors. Angeline, great job girl! All the adults were wondering whose voice was that. You make a very good narrator! To the acting team, the face a bit fake lar but overall, it was super funny. Auntie Ann was telling me about 'now she knows what it means when I said attention span...' hahaha... They enjoyed you guys very much! Ben, good job! Thank you for bringing this team together and writing the script! Your preaching was clear and to the point! I'm sure you can preach again soon....:p Once again, to God be the glory! :)

To Ivan... I wasn't there when you were sharing... Sorry! Well, I heard from the adults that you did a fantastic job! May God show you more and more of Him each day!

To Sam... even though you weren't preaching (this time round) but you have been an encouragement and the so called 'pusher' of this youth zone! May God carry on to use you to bring this youth zone deeper and deeper in love with Him! :)

Well guys, this is not the end. I'm sure God is going to use us even more as a youth zone! Keep on pressing in and yearning more for God! May He let us soar like eagles for His name's sake! Have a blessed week! :)

Love, Becky

P.S. In His time, He will make all things beautiful, In His time! :)

Well Done

Well Done guys, most of the adults were proud of you, keep this effort up. With God, we would be able to go far, Amen?

For the worship team, wonderful job, God's presence was there and you guys help to usher the congregation to him. For Marcus, well done dude! For Jolene, although you always said you are very loud, at the stage you are indeed very loud because the monitors are there so that you can hear yourself, however the loudness is not the same for the speakers as there are other people singing as well, but other than that, I must say this being your second time, you did a great job alongside Marcus. Looking forward to seeing more of you and Marcus on stage :) For Lina, keep it the drumming going, God is pleased with you! Debbie, my little sister, keep doing what you are doing and soon God is going to use you in a mighty way. Clement, great job man, except that I can't really hear you...hehe... but keep on focusing on God when you worship. And last of all, Becky, my cute one, God has use you mightly and he will continue to use you, You have done superb in leading this team.

GREAT JOB WORSHIP TEAM!!!!!

Next, Ivan, I heard some people were very very impressed with you. Good job man, you have done yourself, God and most importantly, your family proud. I believe that if your dad was there, he would have been super proud of you. :)

GREAT JOB IVAN!!!!

For the acting crew, wonderful work!!!! For Ruth, good job for making the story funny :) Derek, although your line was short, you did great. I will put you in for more roles next time if there were a next time, Edward and Ivan, great job playing as sons and last but not least, Janice the young girl in the story, although I know you were nervous and all, you did a brilliant job remembering what you were supposed to say and all. Good job!!! And of course, Angeline for being a wonderful narrator, so full of confidence, indeed God has a great plan for you, keep seeking the Lord and he will show you his ways :)

GREAT JOB ACTING CREW!!!!!

And lastly, for Sam, God has indeed use you to help this youth acheive greater things :) The ushering team, consisting of Eugene, Rachel Giam, Janice and Edward, great job guys, I believe you have made the people feel welcome when you were at the door saying welcome and all. Splendid work :) John and the PA team indeed has done a great job in the background too.

GREAT JOB SAM, USHERING TEAM AND PA TEAM!!!!

But of course, God deserves all the glory and praise for this successful youth service. Let's continue to pray and encourage each other when we have our next youth service, Amen?

Dicky

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Hi everybody,
haha its my first time blogging here.

im more than halfway through my prelims, super tiring, and im just having a weekend break.
everybody your final years are coming.
please please please study hard, no joke serious.
its not fun going in to sit for a paper and come out feeling terrible cause you dont know how to do, and you realise its not that difficult, only if you studied.
so work hard, you reap what you sow, trust me.

anyway im so sorry i couldnt come for the wake cause i had double papers all those days la, really cannot but i hope it went well.

i think we do care for each other, just that we meet like once a week on sunday and we're all so busyy with mkc, worship etc etc that alot of fellowship time is lost. im not saying being involved is bad la, but we do tend to put out outside if in front of church sometimes. cant be helped sometimes, but it could also become a form of excuse. a few years ago when i was feeling super sian in church i decided to try my friend's church, lighthouse, for a while. but i came back in the end cause i realised that zion is where i grew up, where the people i know for the longest time are. School and CCAs do take up alot of time and commitment and its not easy to be too far stretched. take the visitation for example, if i had alot of time to spare i definately wont mind going visitation. But ive A levels, and i stay quite far, so i really cant afford the time. others too, who have work, have family to take care, have projects non-stop, it simply isnt always easy to find time. and even if you can force these people to come, they dont do so willingly, and over time it becomes a chore, which = unhappy face during visitation.

there are, of course, alternatives. while those who are willing to go can go ahead, those who cannot physically be there, PRAY HARDER. technology is also so advanced, and sometimes when appearing right at the door doesnt work, talking on the phone, smsing, writing letters can suffice. people come when they feel wanted, when they have people to look forward to seeing, all these pull factors can come in any form and different ways reach out to different people, so making everyone go visit may not always be the best method, but can be one of the methods.

i believe the underlying problem with our kids not coming is not because we dont visit. many of the original kids have grown up, stayed or left, others because of parental objections, tuitions. see the thing is, they are not obligated to come, so for them to wake up early on sundays for mkc they must WANT to come. and if im not wrong, its the relationships with church people and friends they make that keep them coming even if they're bored with mkc at times. (think uncle randy's cell group thing with kids)

so i think this is very long already
and i should go back and study, so see you on sunday everybody :)

love, joanne

Caring

As I was sitting here, bored... I began reflecting on the youth zone and how we show care and concern for one another. I don't know about you but I think we show care for one another quite SUPERFICIALLY sometimes (I think) or is it most of the time? Other than our regular Saturdays or Sundays, how often do we bother to keep in touch with one another?

How this thought came about was through the funeral once again. It just occured to me, not many of us turned up for the funeral... reason being? I'm not sure about you....

Well, another thing that occured to me is that... If we were on holiday, would we have volunteered to stay overnight to help Kenneth and Joyce to look after the place and let them go and rest for the night?

Would we or do we care more for our own needs than the needs of others right in front of us? This goes the same for visitation as well, as in to the kids. How many of us would be willing to sacrifice one night in every 2 weeks just to go and see the kids? Or do we care more for our needs than the needs of others?

Seriously, I think we need to do a check in our lives and see whether other things have taken priority in our lives instead of showing love to those who need to be shown love and to those who just need our care and concern for just that moment. Will we sacrifice for what I would call 'loving and serving the people'?

Love, Becky

P.S. I need to do a check on my life too.

Kenneth's father

I just came back from Kenneth dad's wake. Seeing him reminds me of the day my dad passed away. The whole scene from the hospital to the funeral. Somehow these memories are hard to forget. It's still so vivid in my mind.

Well, for those of you whose daddy's are still around, do show them more love and more care. Don't make him walk out and buy dinner for you all the time... (You know who you are). You should do it the vice versa sometimes!!! :)

I miss my daddy... They always say on tv shows, the moment the person is gone, you will start to appreciate him or her more... so true...

Sad and regretful, Becky

Youth Service

Hi guys! I would like to hear some feedback about last weeks youth service... Thankies!!! :)

Love, Becky

Help

Hey guys, I need your help for my sharing for youth service. I need you to tell me of a situation which you and your family overcome using patience. It could anything. If its possible, can you type it down and send me either here on the blog or my email address. Don't worry, your name would not be mentioned when I share about it.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me. Help me ok??? Hehe

Thanks!!!!

Dicky

Complain

Just now I went to watch Clement and Ike play ping pong and guess what? There was no place to play ping pong and they made me walk all the way from Tiong Bahru Plaza to Tiong Bahru CC... :P

Does anyone even know where it is? So they ended up playing basketball in the hot sun...

It was so hot... whines and whines....

Whiny, Becky

hey guys and gals, keep blogging!
complain about school life,
talk about random stuff, etc.

anyway... while you all are going to have holidays, i'm not!
BOO HOO HOO.

ruth-