*+_Praise † Grace_+*

(It's about time to get this over with. It's exactly two months since the trip.) 1. A Lazy Morning Zeson was such a good roommate: he didn't snore and he didn't fart. All was well! Or maybe I was just too tired to sleep through the night. Unfortunately, we needed to leave earlier than I want to. Pastor Aek was waiting for us at the lobby. We loaded our stuff and checked out early. You wouldn't believe what we had for breakfast: Malaysian food. =.= We crossed the border just to have Malaysian food in Thailand. It was not a bad idea actually. The food was cheap and it actually taste better. Best thing was, the sellers spoke Malay.  2. Dannok Praise Center I wasn't too sure how I could prepare myself to meet with church people who doesn't speak my language. Entering the sanctuary was awkward for me because I even forgot how to say "Sawadee krap!" Maybe I'm afraid if I begin with that, they would assume that I can speak Thai and st...

1. Break-first Chea Yeong had left already by the time I woke up. After the devotion led by Yvonne, we headed out for breakfast at the stalls nearby. It was a good break from our routine and we can now take our time with breakfast. The food was cheap and tasty. 2. Sweat and Poo Today, as planned and scheduled, we will be helping Pastor Lim to move things from the old sanctuary, where we had been sleeping for the past three nights, to the new sanctuary. There were a lot to move: tables, chairs, books, magazines, COMICS, washing machine, refrigerator and etc. We could not proceed with the moving because the lorry delayed, so we moved whatever we could outside the sanctuary. Pastor Lim also asked the local recycling and garbage management to pick up the recyclable. All of us helped, even though none of us enjoyed the work. Although the throwing and letting the book fall back onto us was fun, but some of the books were covered with cat poo. Erm, you know cat-poo right? That st...

1. Rise and Shine It's getting harder to wake up early. Xuan Yi was waiting for me to go for a morning basketball game. The spirit was willing but my body was weak. Nonetheless, with much reluctance, I was awake for devotion. It's Sarah's turn today, but by the time she said: "Let's pray!" My mind shut off immediately. So, I have completely no memory of what she said thereafter. My mind only responded to the sound and smell of breakfast. 2. Morning Session with Youth It was 9am and the youth had yet to have their breakfast. Yik and Matthew went out to buy them breakfast and they happily ate as we prepare for their session. We started off with a time of worship. I whipped out my faithful Ukulele and we sang to the glory of God. As suggested last night, Angela led a game of Charade. You can basically do anything with a tablet these days. They have an app for everything. And yes, they have an app for charade. It was a fun time with them. In the game w...

1. Wakey Wakey! Good Morning, Beetle! Everything starts earlier in small town, including those little rascals living right above us. I woke up to Xuan Yi's face staring right at mine. I thought I saw the Devil himself. It was horrific. The hardest part of the morning, was to have morning devotion with an empty stomach. I'm not a morning person, and staying awake with my utmost best to conduct morning devotion was a dreadful experience. Today's morning devotion told us about keeping reminders of God's command. It is important to keep His command close to our heart and we are to use any means necessary to remind ourselves and not to forget them. This mission is to remind us of God's Great Commission for us: to make disciples of all nations. And all of us made the commitment to obey, and I am so glad to be among brothers and sisters who put God in the center of their lives. And then, finally, breakfast! 2. Preparation After breakfast, with all thin...

It's been a while since I spend my weekends at Pastor Matthew's place. I particularly like his bed because it's high and soft. Ai Hua made it a point to have sleep on the cleanest bed. By my standard, that's 5-star hotel service to me. Hahaha! 1. Breakfast with Eason I woke up with a insatiable hunger. I figured it would be great to ask Eason for breakfast. So I kinda gave him a last-minute heads-up for breakfast. An hour later, there he was, picking me up for a McDonald's breakfast. It's always great to hang out with him. We shared some of our joy at work and at church, and even more on our personal struggles. Eason was fasting from coffee. His coffee compulsion gave me a hard time at sleep, but fasting from it gave him an even harder time. It was rather mean of me to be the Devil's Advocate. I tempted him with the compelling aroma of coffee. 2. Lunch and Departure The mission team met for lunch and we did some last minute shopping. We did a sh...

I think I am finally ready for another round of mission trip. My brief follow-up visit to Taiping has given me a fresh motivation and encouragement to go. Auntie Lan (left) having a talk to Auntie Siew Yong (right) Visiting Auntie Lan has never fail to remind me that mission is the work of God. Mine is the response of obedience. I am reminded that love is not something that I choose to do, but compelled by His overwhelming love. Now that I am ready, I wonder what God has in store for us in this mission. The enemy is doing all he can to stop us. Sarah was down with food poisoning and infected eyes. I am feeling a little sick too. Things are yet uncertain over there in Kaki Bukit. There's just a lot of confusion going on. I am stepping into this mission with questions: how long should I remain in Penang? What does God want me to do in Penang? Should I be involved in LXBC Youth ministry? What's my role in church? These are the questions I hope to find closure to. ...