WINTER HANGOUT 2009

camp goup photo

From the 5th to 7th of Feb, a group of 57 medical students from the MF and JE including myself went for a winter hangout in an American 'Dacha' where we spend 3 days 2 nights in God's presence learning to be the 'CHOSEN GENERATION'. This winter hangout was organized by a group of M2 students who were willing to step up for God.

Before going for the camp, all i expected was just to have some fun and to enjoy the fellowship with other brother and sister in Christ from MF as this was my last semester. But few days before the camp, i was asked by the worship coordinator to worship lead in a worship session on the 2nd day. i was actually really excited to be given the chance to worship lead and was like preparing the songs and all but somehow one day before the camp after i went to M2 to practice with the other musicians, don't know why i somehow felt very useless as a worship leader as i found myself not doing what i need to do as a worship leader.

But then that night when i was back in my hostel, i began to pray and ask God for directions, He began to show me what it means about worship. Worship is not about the songs we sing, or how the music should be played but it's about my heart. i actually heard God asking me whether was my heart too bother about how the worship session should be or was my heart actually about enjoying Him and bring people to His presence. And thus i told God that i want to enjoy His presence no matter what.

So throughout the camp, i began to open my heart and experience God in many different ways and God began to reveal to me more about enjoying His presence and not to worry so much but let Him take over. A friend from JE, Volgo actually encouraged me on not letting things get in between me worshipping and leading people into God's presence.

The worship team of winter hangout. They all ROCK!!!

And thus during the session when i worship lead, even though there were many changes here and there but i began to let go and let God come in to take over the whole session. And together with another worship leader (Andrew and Kelvin), a great bunch of musicians (wei soon, wee kee, Ailin, Billy, Marcus, Isaac) and a great team of backup singers (Jassie, May Shi, Alyssa, Joo Ann, Kenix, Pauline), we enjoyed God's presence together (singing, dancing, jumping etc) and also managed to bring other's into God's presence worshipping Him like never before. At that time i learned that when i am faithful with the little gift God had given to me and let Him take over, more things will be added to my life. God has given each of us gifts, it is just whether are we willing to use it for His glory.

My tribe Manasseh, we're so cool

Throughout this camp, i also learned about having a servant heart. To be a leader or to be great, we must 1st learn to serve. Serve God and serve people. I may not be very good in this area but i am actually learning to love people for who they are and slow to judge. Many may think that this is so impossible or idealistic but i believe it is possible not by our own strength but by God's strength and power. I also got to know many people whom i had seen but not know them personally and i really enjoyed the fellowship i had with all of them. I'll definitely miss all of them when i graduate but i believe that the friendship that i had with all of them will not be limited by distance and time.

frenz....

roommates

So i would really like to challenge those who God has given u the gifts, but were not using it for some reason or another to put aside all circumstances and let God use u. And things will definitely be different as a servant's heart is a heart whom God seeks, and also to treasure the people around you and love them for who they are.

Trip To Murmansk

A week ago, 9 other girls and myself set out for a journey to Murmansk, a town in Russia situated above the arctic circle. we went there by train and it took us 39 hours train ride to reach our destination. train cabin

Murmansk is a small and cozy town, where people there are nice and friendly, i actually realized not all Russians are cold towards people, there is actually another friendly and warm side of them. the weather there on the other hand is quite unbearable, very cold bout -ve 20.
the main road in murmansk


throughout the 4 days there, we visited 2 museums, we went up the hill with Murmansk famous statue of aloshae, we went up the hill also because we hope to see the Northern Lights. But as the light activity was not strong and was quite different from what we expected.

museum in Murmansk

The northern lights taken by the local people which we expected to see

the low activity light that we manage to see (not very clear)photo with a caretaker of a ship museum who was once in the field of ship and sails

Well the food there is delicious with reasonable prices, definitely cheaper than Moscow with the ammount of food we've been eating (Japanese, Italian, and Chinese food is available too)

Overall it's a great trip with great experiences.

Lost and Found

On the 19th of January, I travelled to the hospital for my Therapy exam. I thank God I did quiet well in the exam and was very happy with the results. However, upon returning home, I realized I had lost my wallet while I was in the hospital! So I quickly returned to the hospital to look for it. I asked the security guards around and my friends but my wallet was no where to be seen. I prayed that time, but nothing seemed to change.

I returned home depressed and worried as my walled contained my Insurance Card, ATM Cards, Student Card, etc. I was quite worried that someone might withdraw my money using my ATM cards, as I’ve saved money for the Summer mission trip and to buy a PDA phone for my future work in hospital. So I quickly called my parents to block the card. But the whole day I just could not get over the fact that my wallet was lost. This was my last semester here in Moscow and it was going to a big hassle to get all the documents again.

That night, I attended our daily Malaysian Fellowship prayer meeting at my hostel (Spartivnaya Hostel). Before I led the prayer meeting, I shared with the group about how God was faithful to bring me through my exam but I also shared the bad news on how my wallet was lost. I thank God for the fellowship guys who encouraged me to pray together and ask God to help me get back my wallet. As first I was skeptical, as this seemed quiet impossible, especially in Russia, plus how was I supposed to pray over spilled milk. That was what i taught. But the Holy Spirit tugged my heart and so we believed and prayed for a miracle.

The next day at about 4 in the evening, I received a phone call from the deans office informing me that someone working in the hospital had found my walled and wanted to return it to me! I rushed to the hospital and collected my wallet and everything was intact, nothing was lost. I was lost for words and in great awe and joy filled my heart.
God had answered my prayer.

Friends, I just want to encourage you to never underestimate the power of prayer. At times we may feel faithless, but God is always faithfull! When we seek Him, we’ll definitely find Him. I want to give God all the Glory, Honour and Praise. Thank you Jesus!

WHITE CHRISTMAS

Last Sunday on the 21st December, the my university student association (SMSA) cultural and welfare department organized an event, Christmas Charity Ball, aka White Christmas. Christmas Charity Ball '08 is a charity fundraiser held in Moscow, in aid of Children's Hope International, Russia Program (where we bless these orphans). I was appointed as the Head of Food and beverage department as it was a great experience to be able to serve the children with my whole FNB crew and the usher team who helped out as waiter and waitress to serve those who attend and the children. Here are some pictures:

The hall in Raddison Hotel, Moscow, banquet table style (grand right?)

Giving gift packs and serving the VIPs by VIP ushers

Opening ceremony by ailin (keyboard), alex, chew and kai yan (violin)


Performance by a russian magician (he's quite good actually)

Performance by dance troop

Me and Wee Gee (she help me a lot with the FNB stuff)

The people that help makes this event a success

Adeline and I

Me and the Usher team (all pretty girls)

People who help make the food a success

One of the desserts that i find it pretty

Other desserts and cakes

TUBERCULOSIS CYCLE

For the past 2 weeks, i was having tuberculosis class everyday from 9am to 2pm. For more than 2 weeks, from Monday to Friday 5 hours daily, I'm learning about TB, can't u imagine how much i learn about TB. We learned bout different type of primary, secondary pulmonary TB, Extrapulmonary TB, see bout 10 different Xrays a day, Do MCQ and cases almost everyday.TB as many know is transmitted through respiratory droplets from infected person when they cough, sneeze or even talk. When a healthy person inhaled these infected droplets, the mycobacteria will enter their lungs and multiply. At this stage the person is known to be 'Infected' where the mycobacteria is in the body but is keep under control by our body's immune system. (they are usually not infectious), and according to statistics many of us are supposed to be infected.

Only When our Immune system can't keep the bacili under control and when the bacili begin to multiply rapidly thus tuberculous disease develope when the patients show clonical pictures of chronic cough with or without sputum, positive tuberculin test, positive sputum culture of mycobacteria, and changes of lung X rays pictures. These patients are consider infectious and they can spread this disease to people around them.

But not many know that not everyone who is exposed to an infectious TB patient becomes infected. Why? Probability that TB will be transmitted depends on

1. How contagious is the patient you are exposed to
2. In what kind of environment did the exposure occur
3. How long did the exposure last
   

So, If u really want to know whether are you being infected by Mycobacteria, u can go to any clinics or hospital and do a tuberculin skin test, and being check further by the doctors in the clinic or hospital. But don't worry, this disease is now very treatable especially if you are young with a strong immunity.

One thing I found out was, in Russian, The classification of Tuberculosis according to clinical forms are so different from other countries. It's so much more detail and elaborate compare to most popular text books for medical studies. So much to know and sometimes it's so confusing as they may have the same clinical pictures but different X rays pictures. I wanted to write the types of TB etc on this post but then i found out that if i were to write even a summary, it will still be a long essay, so......hehe better don't write, if not will bored all those that read this.


Anyway, this Friday i'm gonna have my end of cycle exam for this subject, kinda worried in that sense that i hope i don confused certain types of TB as i had mention they are quite confusing. But i'm gonna do my best to prepare well and answer. Even thought this process is not easy but i still Thank God for the opportunity to study this subject so detail and i really learn to read a lot of pulmonary X rays and CT's to differentiate different type of lung diseases based of X rays pictures.

Well i hope those who read this will get a little picture on what TB is all about, and feel free to ask me if there's any question. I may not know all the answer (That's for sure), but i can't give certain explanation which u may want to know bout this disease.

combine cell group meeting in Spartive hotspot

Last Sat, in my Hostel Fellowship (Spartiv Hotspot), We had a combine Cell group meeting people from all 3 cell groups, and some from other hostel came and join us to experience God's presence.

We Started off with a game session conducted by Ailin and Amanda where we need to do group acting to act out the given themes. It was really funny to seen everyone open themselves up to do things they don't normally do.




After that we had a worship session lead by Geng Yan (Worship leader), Chye Li (guitarist) and Joshua (backup singer). God's presence was so strong in that place and we know that it'll be a great and powerful time meeting with God.

Then, Magithra and Thjen Jhong came up and share their testimony on how they had experienced God working in their life and keeping them safe.

Then Came the most important part, God's word where Herman shared about 'EXCELLENCE AS PART OF OUR FATHER'S BUSINESS' where he talk about we being a family and God is our Father and He is also our King and we serving Him.

God's business is to bring people into His family and to build us up to be better people, mature believers who live our lives for Him. And this can be done by being the light where we shine which means to STAND OUT. And as sudent, one of the ways to shine is to excell in our studies. Here are some points that was being shared:

1. Maintain God's standard

a)Cheating is a sin, To score in exam by any means beside studying hard and smart for it is cheating. We study not just for our exam but to have the knowledge on what we are learning and to be good doctors or whatever profession.

b)Titus2:6-8 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

2. Time management and discipline

3. Priorities and distractions

a)We need to know what distratcs us and cut it off (It can be drama, games etc, whatever that distract u from studying).

4. To give our best

a) As believers, we must always give our best.

b) Collosians3: 23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

c) There is no short cut to success, you can never escape hardwork. (Maybe u can escape now, but it'll definitely affect what you do in future.

After the word, we celebrated birthdays of September and October Babies. And i made a mocha cake (Thank God it turn out ok, as baking is really not my area). But the whole meeting was Great and it is really an enjoyable time to fellowship with people from other cell groups and hostel as we really want to built a strong family that do life together.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PARTNER

As i am having holiday these few days, i was listening to a series of audio sermon Choosing the right partner by Pastor Kong Hee. He was a dynamic speaker and some of his points on not choosing the wrong partner in life really struck me, so i decided to post it:

God does not choose our mate for us, He may have certain people in His mind for us, but ultimately we are the one who make the decision and choose the partner.

A) 8 TYPES OF RELATIONSHIP THAT WON'T WORK

1. You care more about your partner more than he does about you for a very long period of time. (meaning u keep on call him, message him etc but he does not really care to reply u, so that mean one thing he is defnitely not interested in you).
   
2. You are in love with your partner's potential (You only love him for who you dream he may become in the future and not who he is right now).
3. You are in a rescue mission. (Where u always feel that he or she can't live without me, soon enough u'll too tired of being a babysitter).
4. You look up to your partner as a role model (in a way that he or she is the god of your life and where u'll find yourself loosing your identity).
5. You are in love with your partner only for the external reason.
6. You and your partner are really trench or team buddy (short term love spark where u have over a short period of time working together).
   
7. You choose a partner in order to be rebellious.
8. Your partner is unavailable (where he or she is in another relationship or worse married)

B) 8 FATAL FLAWS TO WATCH OUT IN A PARTNER

1. Anger (where he or she just burst on you for no reason or for small reasons)
2. Control freak (i don think you need much of explanation)
3. victim consciousness (where they can blame everybody except themselves for everything bad that is happening in their life).
4. Sexual immorality ( It can either be sexual addiction or lack of sexual integrity).
5. Your partner has not grow up (and you feel like you're going out with a kid than with your partner). (THAT'S AWFUL!!!)
6. Emotional unavailable (where your partner is cold towards you and cannot share his or her feeling with you like a cold icy wall)
7. Those that have not recover from past relationship. (and this really hurts)
8. Emotionally damage from childhood (and that causes them either do not know how to love you or being obsess with being love by you).
   

C) 5 TIME BOMBS THAT MAY DESTROY A RELATIONSHIP

1. Significant age difference where like more than 10 years (man!!! this can easily cause generation gap).
2. Different spiritual conviction (when you are either not of the same faith or u guys just don have things between to click with each other).
3. Different social ethnic and social background (well it can only work out if both partner are really committed to work the relationship out and of course with God's help).
4. Overbearing In-laws.
5. Long distance relationship (especially if there is no trust and commitment).

D) 7 QUALITIES ONE SHOULD LOOK FOR IN A LIFE PARTNER

1. Commitment to personal growth (spiritually and mentally)
2. Emotional openness.
3. Integrity
4. Maturity and responsibility
5. Healthy self esteem
6. Positive attitude towards life
7. personal chemistry (you can find all the above 6 in a person, but it's useless if there's no chemistry there).

Well this may seem kinda complicated but it's actually really real in our life (doesn't matter whether you are single, you're attached or married, it'll still be able to help you to built better relationship with your partner).

Personal note: loving someone or finding the right one and building up the relationship is really not easy, It really takes trust, commitment, patience, and most importantly God's love to make it work.