*+_Praise † Grace_+*

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 5. Project Kwam Wang - Sabaidee, Laos! I don't think I can ever say this enough: Laos is an unforgettable nation, mainly because of the unforgettable journey that God had taken me through. The initial idea was to paint a school building in Vientiane, but imagine our shock when the team saw a building with 2-walled rooms. Instead of complaining, the team quickly came together to lay bricks and cement. 5 days later, we have classrooms with 4 walls and whole school of happy children. The highlight of the trip came later. To catch our flight in Lua Prabang, we took a 6-hour bus ride into Vang Vien, a magical, spectacular heaven-on-earth. The 2-hour tubing experience to enjoy the peace and scenic view of Vang Vien mountain range, the lovely morning breakfast with a morning sunshine and green mountains. It was a great time of serenity and reflection. Then another 6 hours of bus ride across the mountain into Lua Prabang. Tasted on...

Part 1 Part 2 4. Thailand - Open Doors to the Land of Smiles Two years ago, Chumphon, Thailand did not give me a reason to return. It's a beautiful place, but I was struggling to find my own identity in Christ at the time, I wasn't in focus throughout the mission. Fast forward two years later, I returned to the place, no longer struggling with my identity, but with much weariness in my soul. Little did I expect that Thailand would be a place of healing and spiritual replenishment. The vibrant spirituality of the brothers and sisters in Thailand had brought me into worship focus where my songs and my soul are on Christ alone. But rest and retreat wasn't our intention, our mission was to bring the Good News to the children of Chumphon, Thailand through Bible stories and activities. And so we did: over 60 children heard about Jesus Christ and the love of God, 53 of them accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If God isn't awesome, then who is? This trip...

Part 1 2. Li Xin Baptist Church, My Family Away from Home It's been all a tremendous ride in this journey of life with them. We celebrated our 24th Anniversary. Even though we intended to have just a small celebration, but it went off like a snowball and the whole thing blew up like a great concert. I had the greatest time of worship with the church, having more than 20 songs in a long chain of medley. Imagine that! More importantly, the English Congregation pulled off our most elaborated performance yet: a sketch + a dance. Thanks to our director Chea Yeong who managed to bring the whole congregation together to do something that we will remember as a congregation. The preparation was not easy. We met after work to practice. Though there were conflicts but it also brought us closer together as we learn to love one another in the process. Our spirits for prayer had been refreshed once again during our Prayer Retreat, this time in Batu Ferringhi. While we hate that our ...

Time just dashed right before me, especially when I get so caught up in the actions in life, I hardly have time to stop, reflect and record.Yet so much has happened in the past 4 months: places I've traveled, people I've met, things I've experience. It's time to count all my blessings. 1. Sabah, Land Under the Wind I was extremely excited for this trip. While it may not be out of the country, but it's certainly my first vacation after nearly 2 years as a working adult. To be able to save enough to afford a getaway is by itself a great testimony of God's great abundance in my life. Sabah was unforgettable. Even trying to recall the experience 4 months ago was enough to captivate my heart again. Her beautiful nature, breath-taking scenery, wonderful people and generous food portion stole my heart for the place. Especially Kundasang, the doorway to Mount Kinabalu. I've lived in the city for far too long, the idea of waking up to painting-like moun...

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.   Ephesians 4:17-24 How many of us has played the Pokemon card game before? Basically a player starts with a deck of 60 card which you will play against other players. As you progress as a player, you will collect more ...

Introduction As of 31 October 2016, according to our Deputy Prime Minister, there are 290,437 stateless children currently residing in Malaysia. They are born in Malaysia but failed to get their citizenships, mostly because they were abandoned by their parents or born to a family with messy marriage arrangements. What does it mean to be stateless for these children? They better win the fight for their citizenship before they turn 21, else they will be in a state of limbo, with nowhere to belong to. They cannot get married legally, have no access to public education, employment and protection of their rights. They cannot even be deported because there is nowhere for them to be deported to. As the Malay Mail writer Ida Lim described, they are forever an alien. As I preach from Ephesians 2:11-22, I titled today’s message “You were hopeless” because I realised that we were no different from these children before we know Jesus. But at the same time, such hopelessness is not that one...

That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.   Esther 6:1-2 This is where the climax begins. One fateful night of a powerful Gentile king who was left sleepless and restless. Something did not sit right with him, and his heart was stirring. In the most ungodly hour, he decided to reflect upon his own reign. On a book (perhaps books) recording all the great things he had done, all the happenings of his kingdom, chapter after chapter, something out of the ordinary caught his eyes. One overlooked man who kept him alive and sleepless was left unrewarded for his act of loyalty. Mordecai vs Haman As a concerned father, Mordecai paced back and forward daily in front of the king's gate to check on his lovely adopte...

Introduction Happy Fathers’ Day. Allow me to start by sharing a bit about my father. This is my father about 30 years ago, and this is me about 7 years ago. Not only that I took after his look, I took after his personality as well. 3 months back when Pastor Matthew visited my dad in the hospital, he remarked “Now I know where you learn all your nonsense.” My father 30 years ago Myself 7 years ago My father is a man of virtues: funny, talented, outgoing, gentle, humble and loving. He’s also stern, honorable, respectable and dependable. At the same time, he is also stubborn, careless and a little foolish at times. Personally to me, my father is my role model. I look up to him as the man I want to be. I remember how my dad used to discipline my sister and I. I was always given a harsher scolding and a thicker stick. As the eldest son in the family, my dad wants me to be the protector of the family in his absence and to be the brother to my sister. Well, I got the beating...