Welcome to my semi-charmed life...

I'm back
After a week of being sick, pegsta has crawled her way back out =)  This past week was so crazy/frustrating/Angry/Tiring......but I'm so thankful that the Lord has really taken care of everything for me despite how worried I was. I just need a little push to get the ol'engine back on track. Anyway, I started the week off with a BBbbbang....BBQ that is =) After missing out on a million things due to my cold this week (including a would-have-been trip to Grace's new digs), the first thing that I wanted to do was to go to a nice BBQ. Tonight, our Bible Study leader from Summer Conference treated us all small group leaders to a BBQ at his house. I didn't know what to expect at first because I didn't really know very well the crowd that was going to be there....but hey, it doesn't hurt to step out of the shell once in a while. You'll never know how things will go. As it turns out, it went quite well. I even got a chance to share a little bit of my testimony with big bro Tam. Its weird though, because I never really expected to, it just came out naturally. Its also surprising to find that we both went through some similar roads in our lives, to get to where we are now. Especially how God has changed our perspective, outlook to our ways in life. I think sharing our experiences with others, even brings a better understanding of ourselves and the situations itself. Anyway, tonight was great, it gave us all an opportunity to talk about our experience at Summer Conference and how things can continue to improve.

I also shared about my small group leading experience and how I got to know my bible study partner...the hard way. >=) At first, I thought he was a snob...HAHAHHA...fine..., I misjudged him because he sort of gave me a hard time in the beginning. Then later I found out that he was just kidding around and just being a "joker" that he is. Anyway, for those who know me, you know how serious of a person I am....especially when I first meet you...then all hell breaks loose...HAHAHHA =) kidding. Anyway, after getting to know him better, I felt soo terrible for even thinking he was something he's not. He's actually really nice and fun to get along with. Anyway, the lesson here is, never judge a book by its cover. I thank God that he gave me understanding and clarity to the limits of our human perception.

posted by pegz @ 7:58 PM 0 comments

Phoenix, Arizona: A year later

I can't believe a year has already gone by since the Missions trip to Phoenix to the Native Reserves. I remember how hectic it was preparing for the missions and the barriers that satan has put in front of us along the way. There were so many last minute changes, communication problems, money issues, and time management problems that arised. Yet God's grace has made everything fall into place by the time we were about to leave. I remember those times when we met up to prepare in prayer and team building. (We would usually meet up at Ken's place and he'll cook some real good pasta for us.) We did a lot of the spiritual gift inventory and personality tests to help us understand our team dynamics a little bit better. In order to serve well together, we really had to be ONE in Christ. We had to learn how to trust, love and encourage eachother from the beginning until the end. I remember doing this activity where each person had to sit facing the door and then each person from the rest of the team had to say something truthful about you, whether its good or bad. I would say that was one of the hardest team building activities I had to take. I'll admit I was close to tears afterwards but I really appreciate the truth because it really helped me become a stronger leader even until this day.
 
Though everything seem to be working out, I couldn't stop being nervous about going to missions. Thankfully, it was everybody's first time, except for Pastor Ken so I didn't feel I was the only one. I remember going to camp a few weeks prior and not being used to the environment I started to freak out in the middle of the night! The forest was so quiet and still that it started looking like wallpaper! ARGH! I just couldn't take it anymore! Good thing my friend was there to comfort me or I'll seriously wouldn't know what to do! I said to myself, if I can't even endure this, how am I going to survive at the missions trip? My fears had started to build up. The night before the trip, I called Queenie to check if we both got everything. Then I told her how nervous I was and I think I scared her too! ahhh! After a few words of encouragement, we decided not to let our fears get the best of God's plans so we left it as that. I think I gave lil ken a call too and he didn't even start packing yet! oh my.....=)
 
I remember before going, I had a secret wish. As riduculous as it sounds, I wanted God to spell out that He loved me with the stars of the sky. HAHAH...seriously =P.  And wow......you wouldn't even believe what really happened. Before going, none of us knew where we will be living or where we were exactly going or how everything would look like. Before, we all stereotyped the commmunity to have little teepees and stuff but that's like 17th century!! Its totally not like that anymore, the natives have regular brick houses now. One night, after our worship session, I looked out the window of the tiny church we were staying in.....and I just couldn't believe my eyes. There were millions of stars everywhere, like millions, one in every square inch and they were so close....I couldn't even believe my eyes. I was like, was that real? After waving everyone in, we all walked out of the church and just sat on the rock pavement and just stared in awe. Some people were just shouting out "wow!" and shootings stars went across the dark sky one by one. Queenie literally went off to the dirt road nearby and laid there with the biggest smile on her face =). I'll never forget that because we were all looking for her! It was just so amazing and God really showed Himself to us with the stars in the sky.
 
Here's a poem that I wrote based on this phoenix mission trip (I also made it into motion typography, ask me if you want to see):
 
When Two Worlds Collide
Often times I wonder, if we all share the same world.
You have the choatic and demanding city,
where time just keeps on ticking,
Then there's a place, where everyone knows your name,
and time was like money you can waste,
living in this city,
how many nights did it take to fianlly ask yourself this question, WHY?
Does life feel so Pointless, Complicated and alone,
So I stepped out to see the other side,
The countless stars were close,
and literally twinkling like diamonds in the sky,
The simple and tranquil life,
your worries just melt into the night,
Treasures that transformed my life,
So I can, sleep again, dream again, smile again, and to really..
live again.
 

 

posted by pegz @ 10:50 AM 0 comments

Saturday Night Fever
Nono...not that Beegees theme song for John Travolta but its about me being sick of a fever.  The hot weather is really getting to me. I think its a combination of eating hot food (yit hei) and the sudden change in a hot and cold climate. Recently, the A/C of both of the cars are broken and the house A/C is not turned on because of the renovating that's been happening.  I feel like I'm in a constant melting state. Anyway, I feel very helpless at these times when I"m sick, somehow everything around you still moves on and the more you push yourself to do your everyday tasks, the more sick you get and the less you get done!
 
In a way, I"m really thankful at these times because that's when I realize how limited I am. It is really through these weak times that I see how the Lord carries me through and how faithful he is to me. At times, when I'm healthly I feel like I can take on anything or everything but all it takes is something as small as a little virus that can stop everything from working.  I thank the Lord for being a true and caring friend through the good and the bad.

posted by pegz @ 1:50 PM 0 comments

My Poor Trackie
So I've been pretty upset lately, well, I'm alright now but recently, my beloved tracker has been vandalized. I won't go into detail but the back windows has been smashed-in pretty bad. The car is being repaired at the shop now so it should be good in a couple of days, I just thank God that the damage wasn't as bad as the others and no one got hurt. Do you sometimes feel like your car becomes like part of the family? hahah that's just me, it feels like a family member as it has been with you for awhile. Even when we sold off our old car, it felt like a part of me has been taken away or something...hahah. Maybe I'm just weird =)

Bugger off!
I realized recently that there are a lot of things that people do that really annoy the heck out of me. At the top of my list are: People who lie just to make themselves look good ( I honestly can't stand these people....we all know you're full of BS so don't try to be someone you're not), People who suddenly talk about things that are irrelevent to the conversation (Have you ever had one of those "I did not need to know that" conversations? sheesh), People who talk dirty (Honestly, some people find it funny but I honestly find it revolting and unholy for that matter...so please don't try that on me, I will not play along with you)and last but certainly not the least, people who have absolutely zero patience (what's the hurry? take things one step at a time and savour it!)The list really goes on but that's my top 5.

That's it for this edition of: "Who's got my beef"...hehhehe =)

posted by pegz @ 9:58 AM 0 comments

Ladies and Gentlemen, the NTCBC Summer Conference 2004 worship team

Andrew Lau- Bass
Ruth Tsai, Sarah Chung - Vocals
Nevin Tan- Vocals, Guitar
Johnnie - Vocals
Jon Sy(BigGuy)- Percussion
Matthew Lau - Electric Piano

Guess what! Somebody recorded the whole Worship session! Seriously, give it a listen...its just so amazing!! I wanna cry.....its like re-living the moment. So good....my favourite song is "What Else Will I do". If heaven sounds like this, hook me up! hahah All I can say is....wow. Praise the Lord =)

http://www.2mod5.com/index.php/2004/07/07/p172

Thanks Drewz!

posted by pegz @ 8:18 PM 0 comments

A chuck of finger, end of internship, more summer school

So, what's the story behind 'the finger'...nonono, its not what you're thinking, it doesn't associate with any profanity. Anyway, what happened was I was cutting out a mock-up with an exact-o knife at work. Being tight on time to catch the train, my impatience had led me to accidently slice a piece of my finger off with one stroke. OUCH!! =P I was pretty freaked out but thank God it was just a small chuck of my index finger. It was bleeding pretty bad but my boss helped me wash it down with cold water than bandaged it real tight to stop the bleeding. I have to say it hurt pretty bad when I first got it, I can literally feel my finger thumping and blood rushing at the wound. The wound wasn't big enough to get stitches, so the only thing I could do at the time was really bandage it really tight to stop the bleeding. The first night was pretty bad because after a shower, it started bleeding again =(

Thank God, it healed pretty quickly and I even got a chance to show people (abby) my finger with a part of it gone. =P But don't worry, the skin has already grown back and its totally fine now. On my last day of work, my boss told me that the finger will always remind me of my time there. Pretty playful way to put a painful situation you think!

So I finally ended my internship. People say it passed by so quickly but it really felt like ages. I'm such a sap, I wanted to cry on my last day when I was leaving because I missed the people there. That's the thing with small firms, you can get attached to the people there because you get to know them so well. Anyhow, that's life I guess...sometimes people and places come and go and somehow we have to move on with our lives. I guess keeping in touch is always key.

As of now, I'm still doing my summer school. I know it sounds like a drag but thank God it isn't so bad, its pretty laid back and the projects are pretty cool. I'm actually doing a series stamps right now and its turning out well so hopefully it'll be alright till the end! After summer school ends, I'll be flying to HK. So add oil! add oil!

posted by pegz @ 11:06 AM 0 comments

Summer Conference 2004!!
I had such an amazing long weekend at Summer Conference this year. Here are some memorable tadbits:

~Amazing worship team this year. Ruth, Andrew, Jon, Nevin, Matthew and Johnnie did such an terrific job. They sounded so good that I thought it was a CD playing....seriously! I havn't experienced a really inspiring and well-done worship session in a very very LONG while. I thank the Lord for such a great worship team this year. Thankyou!

~The messages by Dr Samuel Ling, they were controversial and thought provoking at the same time. Really made me think and want to learn more.

~Crazy Badminton during freetime, working off the weight which was later regained during dinner...hahha

~The food! They had everything! Good quantity and quality. MMm...shepard's pie.....and that chocolate pudding......MMmmm

~Josiah V.S Emmanual fellowship Trivial Pursuit Competition. It was a very very close-call, ask anyone!! Yes Emmanual proved victorious again...but hey, how many decades has it been for them? We young'uns just starting out! heheheh just kidding! =)But next year.....trust...

~Guys versus Girls Cranium and Taboo game night. Seriously..does Daniel really think he can intimidate the girls? NO WAY!! =D

~Finding out that a very very "conservative" sister used to be a mad clubber back-in-the-day. Seriously....you wouldn't believe!! (Don't worry, she told us herself...hhehehhe)

~Spending some quality time with my sisters in Christ. Thanks Abby, Winnie and Alice..hehhe =) oh yeah and Brian, does he count as a sister now? =D

~Getting to know more brothers and sisters that I don't normally talk to...there are some amazing personalities I didn't know about. =) I'm glad to have the opportunity.

~My Bible study group, thanks for the sharing and fun =)

~Learning that my Bible Study partner is not 30...HAHHA! =)

~The Social Injustice workshop led by Ken and Ann foo. Blunt yet truthful. That's my style. Can't wait to hear the second part.

~"I'm naked and in the ocean" - Joseph W. during a Taboo game. (need I say more?)

~"Shake your bonbon!" - Elmo (This is no joke...we have actual video evidence)


There are really too many memories to name but it was overall a really memorable experience. =) Now that we're back home and have to face the head/heartaches of everday life, I hope to never forget what I learned and experienced in SC and our unity in Christ will continue from where we left off.

stay tuned for more adventures.....

posted by pegz @ 7:16 PM 0 comments