Saturday, December 30
hi all!
greetings from taipei!..haha..there's an internet terminal at the hotel i'm staying, so took this chance to type an entry..
have been enjoying myself so far..its already past 4 days...the weather here is super cold..didn't really anticipate such cold temperatures...average ard 18 in the morning and 13 at night..but its much colder when the cold wind blows...and the temperatures have been dropping since yest..being the typical s'porean who is used to summer, this is pretty unbearable at times...
went to various places so far..because we're staying in ximenting, so shopping wise is no prob..although i dun really fancy most of the stuff they sell here and those which are nicer are usually available in spore...anw, we went to hualian the previous day..was an enjoyable trip at taroko gorge...thats what i enjoy able free and easy..enjoyed so much more and explored more this time round as compared to the previous time i went there with a tour...
went for a spring bath yest at beitou...it was nice and relaxing but somehow i began to have a headache after that and the rest of the day it became worst due to the cold winds...but i quickly recovered after panadol and a rest yest evening...but the scenery at the fisherman's wharf was fabulous, esp the well-known lover's bridge...we were there to capture the right moments..sunrise and nightfall, both times there were beautiful views...will publish them when i come back..
looking forward to the next few days..will be doing shopping today at those factory outlets and i will attending service at bread of life church tmr at shilin..its one of the international 12 churches ard..so i'm really eager to see how it is lk..
God bless all of you and seeya!
jel; 7:41 am
Tuesday, December 26
apology to the rather long absence from my blog...indeed, the past week and the last one have been busy, busy serving the Lord, blessing the people and learning and receiving from the Lord..it was a joyful and fulfilling experience..subtribe retreat and christmas@orchard...this marked the end of a vigorous 2-month of commitment...will be taking a well-deserved break to taiwan in a few hours' time..be back on 1 jan...and i will be embarking on a new phase of my life then..as a geo teacher at nan chiau high school...till i come back, ciao!
jel; 2:38 am
Saturday, December 16
somehow certain issues just seem to be in my mind during this period of time...esp over things which happened just now...i really hoped issues get ironed out more easily at times...wldn't relationships be much simply? i guess it doesn't always happen this way...
just yearning towards the open vastlands and blue skies of cambodia...those were the times in cambodia where i sorted out my random thoughts as i enjoyed the beauty of the Lord's creation during the motorbike journeys...
seeking the Lord is more than the location itself..so what if there's no beautiful landscape in s'pore? i can still be in His presence so long as my heart is with Him...thank you Lord for reminding me of Your presence everywhere i am...
jel; 12:42 am
Thursday, December 14
thats huining..my dance partner for the culture exchange...had the privilege of learning the rjc mass dance 07 and performed for the cambodian students...had much fun learning the dance steps and having a partner who rmbs the step you forget helps too...
thats us with mr sineng..our friendly translator cum guide..listening to his own life story and experiences really touched many of our hearts and i'm glad i had the chance to understand much more abt the lives of cambodians...
thats rachel and cynthia..the other 2 rjcians from the team, other than sau ling...it was a great experience working with them and learning from them since they had past trip experiences..they were great companions during the trip as well..there were many fun moments spent with the gals in my team..
Labels: cambodia
jel; 12:01 pm
Some of the photos taken with the team...this is sau ling...funny gal..lotsa jokes throughout the trip and nv seems to run out of energy...btw, her nickname is betty boo cause apparently she looks lk the character..
team photo taken at changi airport before we flew off...all of us dressed in our team singapore tees...
jel; 12:24 am
the following is the first excerpt from my reflection on my cambodia tripThere was much to learn about our interactions with the Cambodians during the first few days when we were there. However, ultimately, what I learnt, which is the most important, was that the core of this service learning is the Lord's love. To truly allow the Lord's love to guide me through with my actions and behavior was a challenge which I had learnt to embrace throughout this trip. It is this unconditional love which never fails that will render our service fruitful and purposeful. My service to the Cambodians was no longer one which fulfills my own selfish gains but one which is a reflection of His love, that my every actions will glorify His name.
Thus, with that in mind, I've learnt to commit every aspect of this trip to Him as it is not by our strength and might that this trip will be smooth. The word which was given to us during Sunday's worship from Eph 6:11-18 really affirms me with His love which removes all my fears which I have prior to our service the following day. I was prepared with the armor of God to move into the battlefield metaphorically and strange though, I had this fearless attitude in accepting any circumstances which I may face individually or as a team in the next few days. Indeed, it's the strong love from the Lord which brings about this confidence which I have in my Savior.
jel; 12:16 am
Saturday, December 9
hi all!i'm back!...feels great to be back in singapore....pretty tired now...will go to sleep soon considering i have guitar lessons tmr...lots of feelings and thoughts for this trip but i'll leave my reflections till a later date...i have everything jotted down on paper...look forward to my many sharings abt this trip...hopefully it'll impact you as much as it did for me...
jel; 1:25 am
Friday, December 1
Will be leaving for Cambodia in a few hours time...this is it..after 2 months of intense preparation, we'll finally be embarking on this trip...will be looking forward to the challenges ahead..it'll definitely be a whole new experience..but most imptly, i really hope this new experience will bring reflections and changes to my life...Have to let go and get out of my comfort zone..only then will i be able to maximise my learning potential...so i'll be there for abt 8 days..will be back on midnight 8 dec...realize that in dec, i'll not be at home for 16 out of 31 nights...and today will mark the first day...hope u guys can leave a tag of encouragement in my absence....hope to see everyone when i come back..ciao!
jel; 2:30 pm
