Camps are coming!

no speaking engagements this weekend... phew!

but i am playing piano for church this weekend... it's my first time officially serving in the church's praise and worship ministry. i did play drums a few weeks ago, but that was an impromptu thing... saw there was no drummer, asked the worship leader if she wanted one, and banged away. this time is different... got practice and all =P

and The In-Laws are around this weekend, too... they arrived early this morning and will be staying with us til sunday. so it's just as well that i'm not too busy; can spend some Quality Time together. Yay! [only 10% sarcastic =P]

in the meantime, camp preparations are underway... we just had a meeting to discuss about the syllabus for next year's school-leavers' camp. on monday i'll have a meeting to plan for d'Nous Academy, and on tuesday night (a night away from The Wife! boohoohoo) another meeting to plan to ZMax camp.

yes, i will be going for 4, that's FOUR, camps in November and December. they are as follows:
1. National SCF Leaders' Camp, 19-24 Nov
2. ZMax Camp, 29 Nov-2 Dec
3. d'Nous Academy, 6-16 Dec
4. Emmanuel EFC Youth Camp, 27-30 Dec

does it sound hectic? it doesn't just sound hectic, it is hectic! please pray for strength and good health as i prepare for these camps. i can forsee that going for camp after camp like this will be draining not just physically, but emotionally as well. so, i covet your prayers.

i will try to post more specific info and prayer requests over the coming week or two. thanks for taking the time to read and comment or tag, and God bless! =)

iBridge Camp 2007...!

From Leo, one of the iBridge Camp committee people:

~o~*~o~*~o~

Dear friends,

A very good morning to you! As part of the camp's publicity, please do help us post up the following on your blogs, and also forward this to your friends ;) We've a sample post at http://ibridge2007.blogspot.com/ :)

"Have you just graduated and are looking for some directions? Or perhaps you've worked for a number of years, but yet find the transition from studying life to the working life still a challenge, a gap that leaves many things to be desired. Or maybe you've lost the luster that once was in your Christian walk, whereby the once close fellowship and passion for Christ has been replaced by an emptiness and meaningless pursuit of career.

If so, consider joining us at I-Bridge Camp 2007 this year, from October 13th to 16th, http://www.ibridge.com.my. Located in the scenic Cameron Highlands, the refreshing, fun and invigorating camp will definitely make an impact on your life. 4 days 3 nights or 3 days 2 nights (depending on your leave), we're all young, working graduates, just like you. Do hurry and sign up fast as the limited places are going fast!

I-bridge Camp is organised by I-bridge, a part of Graduates Christian Fellowship, an interdenominational Christian Organisation, part of NECF.

Thank you!

p/s: please help us post/forward this to your friends."



Thanks again, and looking forward to meeting you this October 13th!

Leo, on behalf of the camp committee
p/s: To answer some commonly asked questions
a) Yes, we can leave the camp by the 15th, after lunch (Monday) if our leaves have not approved, as the talks by the speakers end on the 15th, just before lunch.
b) If you're broke now due to being jobless or are going through some financial turmoil, but would really love to come to the camp, drop us an email at ibridgecamp2007@gmail.com and do sign up asap. We can discuss the rest later.

~o~*~o~*~o~

well, what are u waiting for then? sign up la! [if u're a young working adult, that is]. The Wife and i will be glad to see you there. =)

Accidents do Happen

[Before i begin, no, this does NOT have anything to do with Babies. =P]

last wednesday, after writing the last post, the SU Youth Team went for a SCF meeting in Sri Cahaya school. i drove the office van. the topic was about Heaven and Hell. this SCF is quite unique because the majority of the members are non-christians... so it was a good chance to challenge them to think about issues of eternity.

well, we had a good time with the students... and then on the way back, there was a minor accident.

the road was narrowing and i was caught in between a cement mixer on my left and another vehicle on my right. i thought that i could squeeze through in time, but i was wrong.

there was a shocking, screeching sound and the van was shaken and slipped a little off course. the van's butt had collided with the cement mixer's head.

we stopped by the side of the road, and i got down to see how bad it was. the back of the left panel was scratched and dented, and the metal piece next to the left rear wheel was torn and bent backwards. also, the left tail-light and signal light was knocked out of its' socket and was hanging by its' wires.

as for the cement mixer, the step-thingy that the driver has to step on to get into his seat was bent all the way to the front.

at first, the other guy said we should go to a police station to make a report. so we tailed him for a few hundred metres. then, he stopped by the side of the road again and we followed suit. he'd changed his mind and suggested that we just settle it without making a police report. so i gave him a certain amount of money - i'm almost certain that it was too much, but i wasn't in a very argumentative mood at the time - and we went off to our respective destinations.

i felt pretty bad after this accident. it's not the first time either - there was a similar incident on the way to taiping earlier this year. but that was a near miss; this time i made contact.

reasons or excuses why this happened:
1. the van is longer and wider than a car. my judgement was skewed.
2. the van doesn't the same acceleration power as a car. so, thought i could make it through but i couldn't.

my initial reactions:
1. i am an idiot when it comes to driving.
2. i should avoid driving whenever possible for the safety of my colleagues and other vehicles on the road, not to mention my pocket.

my boss and The Wife do not agree with my initial reactions. therefore, i have modified them thus:
1. i am inexperienced and not very skilful when it comes to driving, especially vehicles that i'm not familiar with.
2. i have to train myself to be more careful when driving and exercise better judgement in future.

well... thank God that no-one was injured in that minor accident. it's a wake-up call to me to learn to drive better. the question is, how?!? i need to get more experience. and experience is potentially life-threatening, in this case. which was why i initially thought i'd avoid driving at all costs. but that can't be done either because the other team members aren't drivers (yet - some are preparing to take their driving tests) and so i have to drive! aarrrgh!

my driving experience was mostly in sitiawan, where most road are only 2 lanes wide (this was before the advent of pizza hut, mcDonalds, secret recipe, seven eleven, and wider roads in my once sleepy little hometown) and there are no roundabouts. compared to the idyllic drives i had there, driving in pj/kl is a nightmare. so many lanes! and so many cars/lorries/buses! help!!!

and it doesn't help that i have a lousy sense of direction. i can get lost in shopping malls, never mind getting from point A to point B.

but, enough excuses and complaints. i will do my best to pick up this skill and gain wisdom in this area. please pray with me that no-one will be injured or killed in the process. Amen.

Sex is Overrated!

... that was one of the statements i made in the 'sex and bgr interrogation' mentioned in the previous post.

last night The Wife and i were discussing it, and we are concerned that some of the youth may have misunderstood that statement... hence today's blog post.

what i DO NOT mean by that statement: sex is boring and unfulfilling. what i ABSOLUTELY do NOT mean by that statement: either The Wife or I are unattractive to each other, undersexed, or frigid. please note the NEGATIVES in the sentences above! =)

sex is great. it's funtastic. it's a beautiful, pleasurable, exciting gift that God has given us!

so, what do i mean when i say that sex is overrated?

the world around us tells us that sex is EVERYTHING. it says you're a Loser if you haven't had sex. it says that relationships are All About Sex. turn on the Radio, you hear songs about sex (my humps, anyone?). turn on MTV, u see 'artistes' almost literally prostituting themselves on screen. watch any Movie, and somehow the hero and heroine end up in bed together. (if i'm not mistaken, most movies nowadays have at least one or two nude scenes too... but we're spared that by the wonderful Malaysian Censorship Board. at least they do something right, once in a while.) look at Advertisements, they use sex to sell everything from chewing gum to cars. get onto the LRT, and you'll see girls with skirts so short that it looks like they're wearing an unusually thick belt. take a look at women's mags and men's mags in most bookstands, and you'll find articles like 'how to charm your way into his/her pants". we are INUNDATED and OVERWHELMED with millions or messages about sex everyday, saying: SEX!!! U MUST HAVE IT!!! IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT!!! DON'T MISS OUT!!!

and they are all LIES!!!

sure, sex is great. pure and wonderful, a gift from God. but dagnabit, it's not all that! trust the words of someone who's had it: it's no big deal. the World worships sex because it doesn't realise that they're supposed to worship the One who thought the concept up and designed the various relevant body parts, with their nerves and curves. don't make that mistake - don't overrate sex.

Nienie's New Nesting-place

Nienie, for those of you who don't know, is a friend of mine from PPBC. she's flying off to Sheffield, UK this thursday to begin studying for a double degree in (if i'm not mistaken) Business and Korean Language. way to go, nienie! =)

so last saturday evening found The Wife and i in Sungai Buloh, where Nick and Stacy (more PPBC people) hosted a Farewell for her. it could be summarized as: good food, good friends, good conversations, and good-byes. ironically, the Farewell was something of a reunion for The Wife and i, as we have not had the opportunity to enjoy regular fellowship with our friends from PPBC.

[PPBC stands for People's Park Baptist Church, the church in PJ which i attended before the Wife and I were married and settled in Seremban.]

whenever i go for farewells like these, this chorus always plays in my head:
and friends are friends forever
if the Lord's the Lord of them
and a friend will not say 'never'
'cos the welcome will not end
well, it's hard to let you go
but in the Father's hands we know
that a lifetime's not too long
to live as friends.

after the farewell, we stayed over at Nick and Stacy's (they probably won't read this, but we're really thankful for their hospitality). and the next day, we attended service at PPBC. There, i made a short announcement to let them know what i've been up to, and to thank them for their prayers and financial support.

later in the evening, we went for a walk/jog at gasing hill with a bunch of youth, mostly from PPBC. and many questions were asked about sex and BGR there, heheh. all in all, it was an excellent weekend and we really appreciate the friendship of all the people we managed to reconnect with.

back to nienie: it is the end of a wonderful, well-lived chapter in her life. now she's moving on to a new, exciting chapter; to unfold in a strange land, with new friends and experiences to be discovered! but best of all, we know that God will continue to be with her as she embarks on this journey. Amen.

.
.
.

p.s. this is totally unrelated, but i have a SCF meeting in PJ this friday and Prison Ministry on sunday. simultaneously, the call-up exercise to update our SCF database is ongoing, i am closing accounts and post-camp stuff for YWC, and we are in the midst of preparing for our end-year camps. please pray for us! Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Thinking about Worldviews

“Hullo! Who are you?”

“I am The Author. But the question is, who are you?”

“I’m… I’m… hey, that’s troubling. I don’t know who I am. Who am I?”

“I haven’t given you a name yet… in fact, I don’t think I will.”

“You, give me a name? Wasn’t it supposed to be my parents who did that?”

“If I Write it so, then so it shall be.”

“What! You seem to think that you’re God or something.”

“In this Place, it would seem so.”

“Stop talking in riddles. You’re just an author after all. Stop writing, and help me!”

“If I were to stop writing, you would cease to exist. But what kind of help do you need?”

“I have so many questions! Who am I? Where am I? Why am I?”

“You are The Character. You currently exist only in my Mind. Once I post this onto my blog, you will gain existence also in the Minds of my readers; or rather, different versions of you will spring into existence in their Minds. The unique you that you are, will I suppose, only ever exist in my Mind.”

“Whoa! That’s crazy talk, man! You mean I, like, don’t really exist?”

“No, I’m afraid you do not possess existence in the way that I and the readers of my blog do.”

“Man, that sucks! Hey, how do I know what you’re telling me is true?”

“How do you know anything is true? Do you, in fact, know anything at all?”

“Oh no… I must be an amnesiac or something. Actually, I didn’t even know what an amnesiac was until I said that last sentence. This sucks!”

“I did not have your best interests in mind when I conceptualized you. Sorry.”

“Hey, why do I exist anyway? If what you’re telling me is true, you’re the only one who can give my existence meaning and purpose!”

“I’m afraid that the sole purpose of your existence is to communicate some of the thoughts I’ve been having as a result of reading up on worldviews.”

“So, my pseudo-existence is basically meaningless?!?”

“that’s Nihilism.”

“Well, I refuse to accept that! I choose to make my life meaningful! Although my existence is absurd, I will make the best of it!”

“that’s Existentialism.”

“I refuse to believe that you exist! Only my world and I exist. Hmmm, doesn’t seem to be much stuff in my world though. It’s sort of a bare white room.”

“that’s Naturalism, and since you only exist to have this conversation with me, I did not include any props… Sorry again.”

“All right then, you do exist. But we can’t possibly be having this conversation, because this world is a closed system and you aren’t supposed to intervene anymore now that you’ve created it.”

“That’s Deism.”

“I hate the way you’ve made me change my worldview arbitrarily without logical connection.”

“Unfortunately however, there is very little you can do about it.”

“Don’t I get to showcase Pantheism, New Age, and Postmodernism?”

“Nope. I haven’t reached those chapters in James W. Sire’s ‘The Universe Next Door’ yet.”

“What about Christian Theism then? I want to hold that worldview. It makes the most sense to me.”

“That’s because it makes the most sense to Me. You’re just mirroring my thought. Just as human beings are created in the image of God, I’ve sort of created you in my image.”

“Oh.”

“Problem is, with me as The Author, and you only having a kind of pseudo-existence, I don’t see how you can be a Christian Theist in any meaningful way.”

“I guess your blog readers should all be thankful that they don’t just exist in your mind.”

“Yup. They should.”

“This conversation seems to be winding down. What happens to me after it ends?”

“I’m afraid you will cease to exist.”

“What, no immortal soul, no afterlife?”

“Nope.”

“What a bummer.”

“OK, we’ve talked long enough. Readers will be bored.”

“My pseudo-existence was meaningless anyway. Go ahead, end it! End Me!!!"

“Goodbye Character. May you enjoy your non-existence more than you have enjoyed your pseudo-existence.”

Late-Night Conversation

i recently visited ppbc (my church in pj)'s youth fellowship, and nienie said, "what la your blog, speaking-speaking all! blog la about married life!"

[which reminds me: i'm speaking on worldviews this friday at an SCF in rawang, and am still thinking about how to approach the topic in an effective and meaningful way. i'd appreciate your prayers on this. thanks! =) tangential thought-line over.]

so, in response to that request, i present to you: a sample of a Young Married Couple's Late-Night Conversation:

The Wife: eh, do you know what ABC stands for ah?
The Husband: sure, it's Ais Batu Campur.
The Wife: no la, it's American Born Chinese.
The Husband: ceh, why not African Born Chindian then? or Austrian Born Cuban?
The Wife: (silence)
The Husband: hahaha, u can't think of any more countries!
The Wife: no, i can! (screws up face in concentration) ...err... errrr... Argentinian born Chilean!!!
The Husband: wah, not bad ah you.
The Wife: i have friends in Argentina and Chile ma.

- pause -

The Husband: (chuckles)
The Wife: what?
The Husband: do you know what? we are an ABC.
The Wife: what ABC?
The Husband: Acronym-Building Couple!

- quiet laughter and fade into sleep -

Actually, there were others, like Absolutely Bald Chimpanzee, which fit in at the pause... but i shortened it to spare you =P

so, do you realise why i don't blog much about married life? it's often lame! hahaha... now, ABC! [Adios, Bye-bye, and Ciao!]=)

Young Righters' Camp

huh? shouldn't it be "young WRITERS' camp?"

well, misspellings don't matter anyway as no-one seems to be reading anymore... no comments for the posts, and not a squeak in the chatterbox...

haha, but actually it isn't a misspelling. let me explain.

one of the unique things about this years' young writers' camp are the group projects. the campers were divided into groups and encouraged to come up with a project that they would work on for at least 3 months, post-camp. one of the important steps in the group process was to come up with a problem statement, a sentence that sums up what the group project aims to effect change upon. here are the problem statements of the 5 groups at camp:
- the fact that freedom of religion and speech is ignored will ultimately destroy racial harmony.
- existing affirmative action policies and strict apostasy laws prohibit religious freedom and racial equality.
- racial and religious discrimination exists because malays are born muslims and given preference over non-malays.
- the education system doesn't teach students to think independently.
- taboo issues faced by teens are not properly addressed by the government and the education system.

at this time when there is so much hoo-hah going around about malaysia being/not being an islamic state, the ridiculous suggestion to do away with our common law and replace it with syariah and etc... this is a breath of fresh air. there is a bunch of young people in malaysia who realise that it isn't what it should be, and instead of running away (oops, i mean emigrating) they are committing themselves to make a difference for the better. more than writers, they are righters - they will work to make things right.

perhaps there is hope in a dark place, after all. though it remains to be seen if the projects will actually work out well. then again, with God, there's always hope. =)