Thankful

I will be graduating this year :) Praise the Lord! Just got my results for my final semester and all is well. I thank God for His faithfulness and grace in carrying me through. Am reminded of the tears I shed and the struggles I had throughout the semester but also the assurances He gave through His word and the encouragement and love He brought through people. Thank you, God. 

After our final paper :) Real relief! SELFIE!

So right after exams ended, had about a week's break then it was East Asia Regional Conference (EARC) 2014 in Port Dickson. So much to take in but I believe it was most timely as I come to the crossroads of "What Next?" in my life. Probably one of the most asked questions as I finish my undergraduate life, which I'm not too sure how to answer either :\ It calls me that whatever I do with my life, it must always be centred upon Christ and the gospel. It's a mission to bridge the gap between God's vision and the state of reality in our world today. The theme was "Awesome God. E.P.I.C. Generation". EPIC standing for - Engaging, Passionate, Incarnational, and Christlike. What we as Christians are called to in today's society. I met people from different countries, backgrounds, tongues and cultures and as we shared our stories and lives with each other, I saw that we all live in a broken world. My country and society has its problems and so does theirs. No perfect system, no complete justice and righteousness, and that is the state our world is in. But, we all hope in God, we all trust in God, we all yearn to see His glory manifest in the places He has given to us as our homelands, our countries. And that encourages me to keep pursuing Him, to keep our eyes on God, and to be shining lights to our nations. 

My small group during the conference. Thank you each one for sharing your lives <3 td="">

I had a getaway graduation trip with Shalini, Danny and Vindy to Krabi, Thailand. And it was beautiful :) The sun, sand, and sea. Though the sea was being very very rough as it was the monsoon season. We still had fun and enjoyed it :) I want to go back. Much happened (some good and some bad) and we made do the best we could with what we had. What happens in Krabi, stays in Krabi :P

Beauty :)

Travel companions and some of the best people I've had as course mates in the past four years :)

Am now in Tronoh with the parents. Time to unwind and prepare for what's next. I'll tell you as soon as I know what that is. :) Have a good day!

First Snow :)

There are moments in life that are precious and amazing. They make you bubble over in excitement just thinking about it. My first snow experience is today in Cheongju, South Korea :) And it was beautiful, amazing, exciting, fun and everything wonderful!

The first sight of snow from my room's window :D Excitement was unbearable!

Look at that :)

The changes I have been allowed to experience :)
Summer, Autumn, Winter :)

A place for my time alone with God :)
Now, too cold. But I'll find somewhere else.. :)

First touch of snow :)
Was so excited I went down in shorts and slippers :)

Thank You, Lord for such experiences! Lord, I'm amazed by You! Day by day, Your glory and wonders continues to amaze me. And thank You for the people I was able to share these moments with. Thank You for such moments and for being with me throughout :) I love You!

Wish I was there, PKV :)

Hello my fellow brothers and sisters :) This picture came up on my desktop the other day and it made me feel really nostalgic. It was during one of the AGM's where we took up the roles of those before us as well as a change of PKV's advisor. I miss each and everyone of you.

Well, the reason why I'm writing this is cause T.H.E. Camp is happening tomorrow :) And how I wish I could be there! Even as the leaders are preparing for whatever else needs to be prepared for tomorrow, I pray that each one of you will go with much expectations and excitement :)

THE Camp 2010, Cameron Highlands

This was camp during my first year :) And also the beginning of serving in PKV for me :) I thank God for the relationships we formed and all that He has brought us through. We're already in final year weihh!! (To those who are in my batch - Timothy, Joanne, Daniel, Philemon, Deborah, Noah, Sandra, Elaine, Sarah, Jun Ling :) Ahh, the memories. May you continue to walk each day in faith and grow deeper and deeper in love with Christ :)

THE Camp 2012

Lots has changed over the years and God has brought in even more new people into our family :) I can't wait to meet the new juniors when I come back :D Take care of one another and love each other earnestly, okay? :) It's all part of being God's family.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. - 1 Peter 4:8-9 

Finally, specially for my two favorite girls :) Remember this? Every time I think about this I will laugh to myself :D Hehe, funny lah.

Camp Director Debs! :) It has always been such a blessing to have served alongside you. Your encouragement and prayer and your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit has blessed us in so many ways. I wish I could be there this time round but I guess God does bring us through different seasons and phases in life. I'll be praying for you all still :) Keep trusting in God and enjoy what He is doing amongst you. May the joy of the Lord be your strength :)

Princess Joyce! Haha. Don't merajuk ok? :) And you don't always have to be Martha. Be Mary and sit at the Lord's feet, enjoy His presence and learn from Him. He is sovereign and almighty! And He is at work among you. Trust Him :) Thank you for all that you have been doing. Don't give up, persevere :) And know this; His strength is made perfect in weakness :)

I love you and miss you all :) Have a good camp! God bless!

people, places and seasons

We only get two types of weather in Malaysia - sunshine and rain. I've gotten to experience autumn here in Korea and though I'm not very accustomed to the cold, i love how beautiful autumn is :) The leaves are starting to change their colour and some trees have gone bald bare. (is bald the right word for trees? maybe bare is better.) 

Beautiful Autumn :)

Well, it's been exactly two months since I got here. And it's been quite a journey of learning and experiencing new things. Been travelling a bit more this month - a temple stay in Boeun, a day trip to Daejeon, Seoul to meet Nie Nie, Busan to meet Adam and also to watch the 9th Busan Fireworks Festival, and also around our beloved city of Cheongju. :)

Thank You, Lord, for bringing me to this beautiful place :)

Suam-gol, Cheongju

And for all these wonderful people :)

Trip to Daejeon with these girls and Jake from IVF :)

Who teach me so much :)

Temple Stay at Boepjusa Temple, Boeun

Who love me and whom I love :)

Meeting Nie Nie in Seoul :) Was such a blessing and encouragement.
Insa-Dong, Seoul

And who take good care of me :)

With Adam Choi in Busan for the Fireworks Festival
Gwangan-ri Beach, Busan

There's so much to see around here. But I think the thing that makes all these trips and places really special to me are the people I encounter or am with in these places :) Thank You, Lord for each and every one of them :) I hope that I too will be a blessing to those around me. But more than that, I pray that I would be salt and light wherever I am, a witness for Christ and one who is not ashamed of the gospel.

Lord, help me. I really want to follow you and be obedient to your Word. But many times, I'm afraid and I fail so many times. Help me to love you with all my heart, all my mind, all my soul and all my strength. Help me to live a life that is pleasing unto you. I need you, Lord.

pfft, yea right!

a blog post a day for when i came to korea :P

pfft. as if that would happen! :D

well, just a little update from Korea :) it's been a good three plus weeks thus far.

off the top of my head:

i love the weather here! and the nature, so much trees and green :) the sky is clear and blue and the air fresh and cool :) mmm.

i've met amazing people here and realize how wonderful it is when someone offers a kind welcome and genuine help to someone who's feeling a little lost in a new place. a little kindness goes a long way.

People I've been blessed to know here in Korea :)
(Okay, so there are a lot of pictures of recurring people :P but it's not easy to have pictures of every single person you meet...)

food. food's good :) healthy and yummy. but i do miss the malaysian variety and cheapness! haha. :) no food pictures as i'm not a fan of taking food pictures. they all come out looking the same anyway :P eww, sorry!

it's also been a refreshing journey with God. but it has its ups and downs. lots of questions and struggles but am also learning and re-learning a lot of things. there's a tendency for me to want to get lazy and distracted with doing my own thing, since i'm away from home and stuff. but God is reminding me His Kingdom is first wherever i am. He also reminds me that He is enough, especially when i miss the comforts and security of home. i hope to keep growing closer and to keep knowing Him deeper.

He is enough. God is enough. :)

Goodnight and Happy 추석 (chusok - Korean Thanksgiving)
*we've got three days of break :)

Day 2 - The Arrival

Arrived in Incheon Airport feeling oh-so-excited :D And the feeling is still growing as I look around and take in the unfamiliarity of this new place. South Korea is beautiful :)

The university we're in is also pretty amazing too :) But I'll save that for another time when I've explored more of it.

So, here's to an awesome next four months of learning, exploring and discovering :) Committing each of these days to my Father in Heaven and thanking Him for this opportunity to be here.

leaving on a jet plane

So, I'm flying off to Korea tomorrow! Wow, that's fast :\

In the past two weeks, I ended my teaching practice. It was bittersweet. Learnt a lot being in the school for about eight weeks (two weeks of Raya break do not count, haha) but there seems to be so much more to learn too. Was very touched by the efforts of my students in saying their goodbyes. I'll miss you, girls :)

Fellow Trainees :)

Had a family dinner on Monday - farewell for Yew Leung and I + Birthday celebration for Yew Meng and Sieh Ping + Celebration for Yew Kong's thesis successes (speaking and writing) I'm going to miss home :)

Tuesday was debriefing and reflection in UM about our teaching practice. Insightful and inspiring :) It was good to see everyone again. We laughed, told stories, encouraged each other and for Vindy and I bid farewell to our beloved coursemates. Had a makan-makan with Dr Visha and the Moral bunch :)

Dr Visha, Hanan and Vindy :)

With Shikin and Kat :D

All together now :D

Banana leaf - Yay! :)

Also got to meet up with Huey Lin, Jared and Ernest at The Grind :) It was good hearing from the working and the fresh graduates. I felt like a kid :P

Huey Lin, your perseverance and work inspires me. And when you ask, "So, what can we do?" It reminds me to keep asking that question too. 

Jared Koh, thank you for sharing and challenging us to become missionaries, teachers, politicians, people who make a difference. hope you get your call one day! heheheh. 

Ernest Lee, thank you for journeying with me and always showing me what it is to put love into action. Keep doing that, keep reminding yourself that God's call is better than what the world expects you to do/earn/be. 

 *To these who inspire and encourage me to make a difference in this broken world*

SWEEPers :)

Favorite boy in the whole wide world! :D

Today, we went back to the refugee school for awhile. I missed the kids. :) Hugs and high fives given. And was reminded at the end of the day how blessed I am to have Ernest in my life, such a BIIGG heart he has! :) Ernest, thank you for being patient, understanding and loving towards a broken, sometimes confused and often times confusing girl. I love you.

So anyway, all my bags are packed...

*starts singing*

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go

...

Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane (aeroplane)

Don't know when I'll be back again (9th January 2013)

See you soon :) Hope I'll blog more when I'm there!

New chapter of my life, here I come :D

here, there and in between

The inconsistent blogger is back! :) *cheers, woots, confetti flying* :P just for fun.

It's been a while and lots has happened.

One, I'm almost at the end of my teaching practice and it has been a day by day journey of grace. I learned so much about the teaching profession and realize I have so much more to learn. It's been great having more experienced teachers who have gone before who encouraged me here and there along the way. Ernest's mom was one of them, from her once in a while calls and questions of "Has your supervisor come to assess you yet?" to sharing her own stories of teaching. 

Sports Day! Meet Vindy :)

Vindy my teaching buddy has also been such a great friend throughout, laughing our way back through the traffic jams as we recall the funny encounters and situations of the day. 

Joanne who is also doing her internship has also been a source of comfort and encouragement, I think her working conditions were way harsher than mine with mad working hours and "interesting" characters to deal with on a day to day basis. But that sort of perseverance really inspires and encourages me :) Just do it.

Apart from that, Ernest and I have reached our one year :) Hee. And at the moment, we're entering into different phases in life. He's now a graduate, moving out from the university student phase (so proud of him)! And I'm entering my final year (whereby I'll be spending half of it in Korea). 

We've been seeing a little more of each other lately since we're relatively more free compared to when we were both busy with our semesters. And I've been enjoying every bit of our catch ups and time together as well as time with our other friends :) Always learning that it's not just you-me-and-the-whole-world-disappears, but we want a relationship that is a blessing to others around us. Not one that makes people squirm uncomfortably when in our company :3 Been checking things off our check list too. 

But then, pretty soon it'll be four months apart while I'm in Korea. *DEEP BREATH* Okay. We'll grow through it and we commit it all to God. 

:)

So, it's now the Raya holidays. I have one more week of teaching practice to go, another week of settling everything I need to settle, and then off it is to Korea. Counting down the days: 14 days till I leave. I'm excited, nervous, scared, blur, anticipating, hopeful, and so much more. I pray I'll go there and learn and experience much. I pray that despite being in a whole new environment I'd be able to be salt and light to the people around me, to bring Christ through my life. Lord, use me. 

Lately, I've been feeling a little lost. I think it's the holiday effect mixed with a dose of PMS. Holiday effect being I just got two weeks off school for the Raya break and I've been thoroughly enjoying myself which has also caused me to sidetrack a lot of my work and even my quiet time with God :( It is really a struggle for me when routine is taken out of my life. Well, holidays are ending pretty soon and I think that's been nagging at my conscience. But I think the feeling of being a bit neither here nor there is attributed to me actually being neither here nor there. Sad to say, I've just been living for me lately. 

We're doing this forty day fast and prayer for Malaysia and the title is "Let Your Kingdom Come" (For those interested, you can find out more and download the prayer booklet here: http://www.necf.org.my/index.cfm?&menuid=183&parentid=144) And it reminds me over and over again, to build up God's kingdom and not my own and to have eternity written on our hearts. I get caught up easily in things of the moment and I like easily the things I have now. So much so that I put the things of God aside so that I can do my own things :( But when we look at things, ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred years from now, it's all going to pass. It's all temporary. So, whose kingdom am I investing in?

But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, 

and all these things will be given to you as well. 

Matthew 6:33

What a promise, what a word. But God's word is truth and defies every logical explanation and argument of the world. And so, I trust and ask that God grant me His grace to yield to and obey His word. 

Lord, let Your Kingdom come. 

In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen. 

alive!

And that marks the end of the sixth semester (conveniently omitting the fact that there's four papers to sit for :P) which is also the end of my third year in university :)

This semester got pretty mad towards the end, with deadlines and especially the academic project. In the end, through much tears and prayer, coffee and late nights, regrets and rants, this was the product:

Pride and Joy :) Thank You, Lord
"Motivation and Attitudes of Myanmar Refugee Students towards Learning English"
:)

Some of those who were there with me through it all. Thank you, Joyce and Deborah :) there's a long list of people who I've been blessed to have with me along the way; parents, brothers, course mates, friends here and there and also a very special boy. :)

This guy :)
Not the best picture of us :\ But this was our getaway trip after I finished up my thesis. Yay!
Thanks, Ernest for being there for me, praying with and for me and for all the help you gave. I love you :)

Went for church camp in Melaka on Friday right after handing up my academic project :) Such a relief! It was nice being together with the others in camp. Catching up here and there, hanging out and serving together. Helped with the kids this year :) And though they are the cutest, they're also not the easiest bunch to handle. We made a tree of the characteristics of love, made flags and had water battles :D

:)

The Tree of Love :D

Only joined one session :) And that was about transformation in Christ. A Christian life transformed by Christ should exhibit: Humility, Holiness and Harmony. It was a timely reminder of what a life transformed by Christ is like.

Today as I read Roman 8, I was reminded what it is to live in Christ. It's definitely a struggle between our flesh and the Spirit. But it is a struggle we need to go through in order that we may have life in Christ.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 8:5-6

There are times when I feel really dead, days when I dread waking up and just lie in bed for a few extra minutes. And I realize it's cause I've been so caught up in the flesh and the world. So worried about the day that it wears me out just thinking of it. I find myself putting my hope in things that do not last, putting so much into things that have no eternal value. :( And I walk away tired and lost.

It helps to have Christians brothers and sisters spurring us on. Helps to read the Word which speaks truths that contradict what the world tells us. It helps to pray, to turn our eyes and hearts to God who is above all. Yes, it more than helps. In fact, it is essential to a Christian's growth in this world. And all this only by His grace that we are alive in Christ :)

Anyway, exams are coming and my teaching practice starts next Monday! Time flies and each passing day brings me closer to the day I will meet my Lord :) As for now, I shall live each day in Him, for Him and through Him.

And this is where I'm hanging out at today :) Where Yew Leung is working at: espressolab, One Utama :)

His cafe latte :P Haha, asked him to draw a peacock, came out looking like ermm, King Julian from Madagascar. Stirred it and drew myself a star, hee. Yew Leung says he pandai to draw hearts :) Ngaw.

Till another day :) Byee! 

Hi Handsome :)

This is Ernest :) - handsome kan?
I love him!
*hee*

He takes me to the movies :D

Takes me hiking :)
KUAT!

And drives us everywhere! He braves the traffic jams and fills our days together with lots of quirkiness :)

I thank God for this man, who is patient and kind towards others. I thank God for his humility and how he is teachable. By God's grace may we continue to learn and be obedient to walk in His ways. I thank God for our times together and for the future too, whatever the future may be. I thank God for him who loves and cares for me :') And I pray that I too will love and care for him as how God would want me to. Most of all, I pray that Christ will always be our center and foundation :)

We love because He first loved us.

1 John 4:19