songs and a familiar ride home

i took a long bus ride today

Before i started driving, i used to take the #31 bus service to the beach and back.
It's a nice and familiar route.

The same stale airconditioning in the upper deck,
the dirty pink plastic seats and
the little cramped space i had to nestle my knee against the seat in front.

yet the familiarity of it all was comforting and it just felt safe.
the engine purred on

I knew it would bring me back home

Just like familiar songs

I could just lean forward, bury my forehead unto my arms and close my eyes.
The ride would take a while.

The first week of the rest of my life

It's been just over a week

I came back home to start life all over

It feels like a fresh start

Having been through the last 7 months,
I return home feeling refreshed,
and a little jaded by the endless travelling and packing
and a little restless inside
and a little expectant of the future, and maybe
a little fearful

It's been a good week i think
I got to meet up with 4 good friends, go into Malaysia for great food(BKT),
lunch with ex-colleagues, watch 2 movies and 1 dvd, send adrian off to dubai, play the guitar at cell, lead devotion with my Boys in Boys' Brigade, sing a farewell song to my ex-boss at a concert, finish a video slideshow and show it to about 27 people, have dinner with my extended family and share my testimony with my cousin.

That's pretty cool, i think

Malaysia was great.Cheap & delicious food, cheap haircut.

I also caught up with Winz, danny, james, sohs, chuas, lius, justin and eileen, cynthia, KC and dennis.

Quick lunch with the colleagues on Friday and the surprise farewell song for Mr Low my principal was pretty crazy.
I hardly know the song though i set my ipod on repeat mode. I must have heard it for 2700 times in those 2 days.hmmm..i still can't remember the tune in the beginning.
"Do i make you proud?"- cool song

i spoke to about 40 Boys on Saturday. They were the first people to see my video slideshow. The nights before saturday, i was sleeping at 430, 330 and 330am, trying to rush it out. And i felt led to share with the Boys about hearing from God. That it's for everyone, and that God's desire to relate to us is greater than our disability to hear Him.

Dinner with the family was good. I went over after my first soccer session back here and as i was showering at my aunty's place, i realised that my uncle was going to see it too. My uncle's a Taoist priest and he probably wasn't going to take too well to what i was going to share from my video...I was right...I share about the HIV babies being healed in chon buri and he blurted out," If i get healed from my high blood pressure and diabetes, i'll quit my job as a Taoist priest!"
My non-christian cousin rightly commented, "The stakes just got higher! But i don't think he'll honour it."
I felt challenged to take it up. We had a few Christian there, my cousin, sister and mum...but he seemed pretty provoked so i didn't say anything. Maybe i should start praying..afterall, we saw an instant healing at cell group on Friday with Jung woo, my korean friend.
What i really enjoyed was sharing my testimony with my younger cousin. He was really interested to know about my journey and i shared with him about faith, provision and destiny. Just short of asking him for a decision. He has questions i can tell and seeing people like me do crazy stuff like quitting my job probably fuelled more questions...I hope the verse i tried to quote stays with him.."according to your faith, so shall it be added unto you." - simon's version
God, please bring him to the point where he'll want to leap off, to faith.

I got an organiser! Like a planner, a monthly one with lots of space to scribble stuff down. It's weird trying to plan your own life again after 7 months of not being able to do so. ahhaha. but seriously, the key phrase:"prayerful decisions!"

I need divine appointments, nothing less.

I'm reminded again how easy it is to go on life here without spending time with God.
Meetings, outings stacked back to back. One could possible cruise through without God. There seems to be no incentive for doing that...But now, i guess it's Him or nothing. The stakes are higher, even for me.

Looking forward to a few more catchup sessions. There's a possible trip to China next month to check out a ministry aveune. Someone is willing to fly me over to have a chat with the contacts there. I might go, since i promised my mum a holiday with her too. 2 birds with a stone. Why not?

Then there a meeting with Gary and Pet's interested in YWAM. Yeah!!
Yu Beng called me today too and that's cool...Love to catch up with him and douglas.

So many meals, so little time for jogging..sigh..
How i miss you, IWT!!!
All the set up made a difference-to my quickly disappearing muscles.

I hope to make more video...had so many ideas...but it's just getting down to it finally...just like other things.

ok..maybe i should note down some lessons learnt so that i can fish them out quickly as i'm led to..

1. Lesson on faith and provision-testimony abt laptop,airfare,reluctant giving and surprise package in perth. Principle of holding loosely to possessions.

2. Power of family ministry in Thailand. Legacy to pass onto children through lifestyle. Vaules learnt not through books.

3. Comfort zones. Housework. Humility. Serving the Body.

4. Pride. Critical and judgement spirit.

5. Intercession and worship. Travailing.

6. Power of repentance and confession

7. Hearing God's voice. Steps of intercession

8. Shut up and die!! Denial of flesh.

9. Evangelism:upclose and personal.

10.Organic church

Ask me!

Wasn't my best week, the first week. Wanted to be more reflective but the buzz got the better of me.
Ok, there's always week 2.

Oh!! and Man Utd mauled Roma 7-1!!!!

oh happy week!

my Sports DTS video slideshow

hi everyone!

I did a summary video to give u a glimpse into the last 7 mths of my life.
Not the best of videos, terribly basic but only my second and i'm happy with it.
So if i didn't get a chance to meet up with you, the video should give you a good idea.

cheers mate!

strangely difficult

i just got back from the airport.
It feels about right.
To post a new entry.

It is a new chapter.
And it's weird to send people off to the airport
We should all just leave on the same day
it just feels strange for the people who stay behind

Saying goodbye to people you lived with for 6 mths(some say 7 years) is tough
I feel it now cos there's nothing tomorrow
They're gone.
No more.

No more us.
No more instructions for the number of toast i should eat.
No more reminders to bring my bible for devotion
No more "8am, ready to go."

They've been there every morning
Groggy faces, big haired, half opened eye at morning exercise
We share the toilet reluctantly,
racing to be ahead in the queue for the toaster/butter/jam/mee goreng bowl/toilet bowl

We huddled together on trucks, vans, buses,
singing to the karaoke in Thai,
worshipping, big bootying, wet willying,
play fighting, telling stories, sleeping

We shifted houses 9 times in 6 months
We laughed and cried together,
We removed our masks
6 months was long enough

We shouted out prayers and praises
We stood together and believed
We saw money switch hands
in hours, fees paid

We didn't always agree
We kept silent during long rides
We retreated into our worlds
but
We also learnt to come back

We fought battles
Our own and together
We heard, we saw, we did, we grew

We laughed, danced, partied,
limbo-ed, farted, burped

We ate, shopped, ate

We kicked, threw,bumped,
passed, shot, scored
volleyed, smashed, surfed

sand, sweat, blood,
beard,puke, crap
Cement slabs, plywood, nuts and bolts
splinters, sandwiches, shakes and roos
We've seen it all

Some i'll miss,definitely more than others

yet it's strangely difficult
to omit these characters from tomorrow

Time's up, but inertia keeps the inside ticking away

i rest but still feel tired
i look and one more is gone

For a time gone and never to return
It left a mark, an imprint to remember
"Know God, and make Him known"
Where ever
However
Forever

You'll be hard to forget,
The Originals-Sports DTS