This is for you Witton..
May the Lord bless you today and for more days to come! 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY~!!!
everyone!! I’m beyond myself right now!! I woke up today feeling nervous because today is the day the University of Melbourne release my results. You know pretty much the same feeling I went through, the same gush of remembrance of every mistake I made during exams. Yup, even the part where I forgot to shade the answers!! So I was really really really really nervous.
On the way to work (doing my internship in KL now), I kept singing “Your Name” by Paul Baloche. That calmed me a lot especially the part of the song that goes “Cuz nothing has the power to save, but Your Name”. If anyone can save my results, it gotta be the Lord.
Imagine how everyone (including the Program Head, the Study Abroad Programme officer, every lecturer I’ve met before I left M’sia) told me that FOR SURE my results will drop in Melbourne, cuz they have higher standards. Well, I gain much more than just that sheet of paper with grades on it. What would you feel if the Programme Head kept advising you to take super easy subjects so that you can barely manage a B like the previous seniors that went abroad? I went to Melbourne with the expectation that my results will likely be strained but oh who cares I’m going to Melbourne!
Then came the bomb..had to take 3 Master level subjects whereby half the class has working experience prior to taking their Masters. No choice there. Comforted myself with the thought that I can learn more (which I did!) and that I’m not alone (Richard must be the youngest in class).
So..1 semester flew by and..*drums roll. I just checked my results. Not kidding you when my eyes went large. I went all oh my god oh my god oh my god. All H1s!! that means I can transfer my grade as UTP’s standard A grade!! I’m still so happy right now! PRAISE THE LORD!!
Thanks to His amazing grace I can get good results.
Vern, thank you too
Shalom brothers and sisters!
Though this is just an ordinary semester break, it oddly feels longer this time around because I miss all of you very much! Especially my pretty girl Cyndee, which Alexis says “is growing everyday” and Jessie says “she’s learning to talk and walk” already!
I have one more week left in my current job, and I admit I’m a little reluctant to leave. And I’ll tell you why.
No, it’s not the board games or yamcha sessions I have with my bosses, contrary to popular belief. But it’s those in-between pep-talk sessions they give me that means so much to me.
For your info, my bosses who are also my friends aren’t believers, but sometimes I do feel that their lifestyle and way of thinking would put many of us to shame. It probably doesn’t sound right, the way I put it, but I always believe that if we set our differences aside, we can actually learn a thing or two from one another.
For instance, they’re people who love mother nature. A lot. We have seperate waste-paper baskets in our quaint little office for recycling stuff, and non-recyclable items. They are particular about shutting windows when the air-cond is on, and the usage of plastic bags is a no-no.
They also believe that giving plays a big part in being successful. I quote one of them, “I believe that most successful people are givers,” and they’ve done quite a number of pro bono projects for non-governmental, and non-profitable organizations.
One of them, is Habitat for Humanity, Kuching Affiliate (HFH).
Habitat for Humanity International was started in the USA in a small interracial farming Christian community in 1965. It’s an organization that helps provide homes for the homeless. They recruit volunteers from all over the world, young or old, and they gather materials via donations to build those houses. I’ve seen their video, as a matter of fact, I had the chance to edit the Kuching version too. I saw foreigners, working people, and even high school Girl Guides giving their time in helping out with this project. If I’m not mistaken, so far, about 50 houses have already been built in Kuching alone.
Then a thought struck me, “Hmm, what if for the coming semester break, we do something a little more meaningful than just enjoying ourselves?”
You can read more about HFH Kuching here.
Like I mentioned, there’s a lot that can be learned by meeting people. It’s nice to see my bosses supporting such a great cause (among the many many other works they have done), and we occasionally have open discussions about our views on religion and spirituality. They’ve inspired me over and over that as long as we know the rules of the game, we can win it as long as we want that win.
In short – there’s a lot that you and I can do.
I hope you’ve been having a great time with your holidays, and those who are at intern, have fun too. Take some time to pitch a note or two into the blog, ok? We’d like to hear about your new experiences – at work or off work – experiences are meant to be shared and learned from.
Alright, I’ll get back to work and play now. Take care everyone, and God bless!
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to Wendy,
Happy Birthday to you!
Okay, I know the birthday cake is not real, but it’s the nicest looking cake I can find. To a wonderful sister that brought so much good cheer to Hope Ipoh, Happy 21st Birthday
Here’s a verse for you :
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
Wishing you many happy returns of the day,
Mei Le
Praise You Lord! The Lord over all heaven and earth!
For those who missed out, for your information, we managed to have our first CARE GROUP for the May Intake students and it was wonderful! Praise God again! Why? Because by His grace and mercy 7 very energetic and passionate and funny brothers and sister from May intake joined us! Not to be superstitious or anything but I always liked the number 7. 
Just like any other care group, we started of with a very warm welcome from Miss Alexis, our chairperson for the night. She even brought the yellow stick-it-note and made us write our names on it and stick it on our shirt. Old school but it worked! Otherwise we could not have remembered each other’s name.. Everyone have to introduce themselves and say one interesting fact about themselves, we learned quite a lot about one another actually. The most peculiar one was of course, one brother who loves snails! Whoa! He has a box full of snails! Cool! Haha! Then we were separated into 3 groups. Also the gamemaster, Alexis gave each of the groups a handful of straws and instructed us to build the tallest structure within a time limit. We all are engineers-to-be, so we failed, but the group with Chee Lim inside, who is already-an-engineer, of course won the game la, haha! The game was fun, the lesson learned from it is that we must have a strong foundation before we can grow tall. Here, foundation of course means the firm foundation in God la!
After that was Praise and Worship, sharing of the Word of God, based on Jeremiah 19:11-13, prayer and then end with makan session- a block of fruit cake brought by bro Ernest (yum!) and chrysanthemum from Jessie! (thank you o~)
One thing though, we forgotten to take photos! Ah! >< Pity that more could not come also because got tutorial at night..hmm..otherwise sure more noisy and crowded de.. Either way, I feel blessed already, and glad that more family members are joining this UTP community, I am looking forward to serve with all of you, little ones!
To the junior junior who are reading this, I thank God for your cheerful attitudes and your spirit of wanting to join more care groups and fellowship activities in the future! I’m like, wow! That’s great! Really couldn’t ask for more.. To senior senior, wait till you meet this group of young people, then u’ll understand what I mean by energetic and funny people! not to mention ultimate lameness radiating from a few of them, Chris I found your match here! lol.
Hehe.. My job as a facilitator is done but I suppose I’ll always be God’s ambassador, so is all of you! Brothers and sisters, continue to find joy and happiness in serving the Lord yea! And oh, Happy Studying to you juniors , Happy Working to you working adults and Happy Holiday-ing to you seniors! God bless~!!! 
~All Smiles ~
Saja wanna upload this
Today is 7th June 2009. Like how bro Chee Lim put it, by the grace and mercy of God, with only 2 cars and 1 van (whose middle seat is not yet fixed), we managed to transport 28 freshies and everyone reached church by 10.45am… CRAZY..
Originally, since the van is assumed to be able to fetch only 4 ppl, the transport plan since yesterday night is that Maggie and YK Lee will fetch one round at 9.45am, i will fetch 3 rounds starting 8.15am and bro Chee Lim is to fetch 2 rounds starting at 8.15am also.. However, to my horror (I’m not exaggerating okay), sis Maggie forgotten her purse and without license, she cant drive sis Jessie’s car! Then like, oh no! How?? Then somehow somewhat, the guys just squeeze and willingly sit on the broken van bench (i dont know how, mayb i dont wanna know ><), and each trip that chee lim brought, he brought 7 ppl in the van, somemore with YK’s shockingly good speed (although the juniors commented that his driving was kinda scary ><), miraculously everyone reached church by 10.45am, although a bit late d, but still ok!
Chin Yee led Praise and Worship, Chee Lim again preaching, some of the freshies looked a bit worn out and bored, some attentive during the sermon, most enjoyed P&W, and lunch took place very quickly too…not to mention, they all are very quick in moving! Ask to gather and listen to transport briefing only, straight away come to the front d…haha..abang abang kakak kakak senior, please learn to be like that, cuz i realized, by 12.45pm, we already reached Tesco, 1pm already eating lunch halfway, very fast.. although that was because without cleaning duty la, but still..
Hmm, from the 28ppl, some are from RC churches, some heard of Hope church before, some are from Methodist church, some Anglican. charismatic churches also got.. Some can accept Hope style of Sunday Service while some are still fitting in. Praise God still, that everything worked out well, I’m glad that at least they visited Hope Ipoh, in fact, we managed to identify some faces that might be joining us consistently..
Am looking forward to this coming Tuesday’s CG, just for the juniors.. Stay tuned for more..
Come and listen, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
but God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer.
Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
[Psalm 66:16-20]
If you are wondering what this sudden post means, it means that Hope Ipoh can expect some added numbers! Originally, tomorrow, which is Sunday, the new intake students of May09 have to attend a compulsory module in the morning. If they attend the module, means I cant bring them to church. And if I dont do it this week, it could mean that there is a chance that they wont go any church at all cuz they won’t know who is Chee Lim or Jessie or Alexis or Pik Wan who will be the people that will transport them and take care of them…(since there wont be any seniors in UTP now) Then all my hard work will, go down the drain! Not to mention the trips that Chee Lim and Alexis made… Like no meaning la, cuz the new students still dont know where and how to go church! (gasps)
But Praise God because He somehow influenced and let Kak Maznah (executive in charged of MAS students) allow those who wants to join church to be exempted from Sunday activity! Means they can go church! When it seemed almost hopeless, God opened the way! With a thick face my friend and I just approach Kak Maznah and asked about this matter.. At first she was unsure, but when i messaged her this morning, she just replied “Yes u can go.Tk care of them.” Thank God, because now I am fully convinced that when I pray earnestly and praise Him despite the somewhat disappointing situation, He can still make wonders! In fact, He always does!
If you are reading this right now, do pray for tonight, as I invite the freshies to come join us for tomorrow’s Sunday Service, pray that Chee Lim, Jessie, Alexis and I will have the wisdom to arrange the transport for the students. Pray that all the students that join us tomorrow, be it Christian or prebeliever, pray that their hearts will be soft, their soul be attentive and sensitive to the Holy Spirit, pray that tomorrow as we welcome them to join Hope of God Ipoh, they will experience God through our hospitality, joy and warmth! Amen!
Praise be to God, forever and always!
Oh ya, after putting up that photo, I almost forgot that today is Richard’s birthday!
Happy 20th Richard!
Hey man, hope you’re doing fine Down Under. We miss you, and we’re waiting for you to come home, lol.
