Officially started! (E-mail update)

It has been a while since I last wrote, mainly because the past few weeks after winter camp have been relatively relaxing for me. It was a good time catching up on some reading, spending quality time in silence and solitude with God, and increasing in dependence through prayer. Thank God for such time to be able to better prepare myself for the tasks ahead, mainly Bible College and the demands of the OCF traineeship.

Bible College – Baptist Theological College

Attended the Orientation Day 2 weeks ago and it was enjoyable. We started with a chapel service which was led by some students of the Bible College, followed by a sharing from the Principal. The College’s motto is “Think, Do, Become” – Think what you’ve never thought, Do what you’ve never done, Become who you’ve never been”. Pretty stimulating don’t you think?

I was inspired by the lecturers as they shared their passion for teaching their particular areas of expertise. Even the thought of studying the Hebrew language sounded terribly exciting after the lecturer gave his spiel!

Another interesting aspect about the curriculum is that every Wednesday morning is devoted to a time of what is called “Formation Wednesday”. It is “a time to integrate heart, head and hands in a community setting” - basically a time to get into the practical skills of ministry. As part of the program, there will be time for accountability groups, practical ministry, community worship and lunch (which we take turns cooking in groups)! This semester’s practical ministry sessions include an elective called “Preaching for Dummies”, much to my delight!

Lectures have since started and frankly, there has been a lot of information to digest, not to mention the amount of assessments I need to fulfill as part of the course. So please pray that I can keep up!

(For those interested, I am taking 4 subjects: The early New Testament Church (Acts & the Epistles), From Israel to Judea (from 8^th century BC to exile to restoration), Foundations of Theology (Systematic Theology), Introduction to Christian Ethics (I really like this one!))

OCF Traineeship

Not much has progressed since the students have been on holidays. But I do thank God for the opportunities I’ve had to talk with Lisa (the other trainee), and to some of the student leaders about the various OCF centres and their needs. I have also been assigned to help out with OCF Murdoch, which is of great convenience because I stay nearby Murdoch University.

Thank God also for providing a course on “Mentoring” that I am currently attending (with a few other OCFers). As one who desires (and expected) to mentor students, I just can’t express how timely this course is to better equip myself for the task.

Also attended OCF Perth’s first meeting on Friday, where a speaker was invited to speak on servanthood. Using an analogy from the business world, the speaker said that if we were to “serve” our bosses and company, we would make the company’s agenda, our agenda. Typically, this would mean working efficiently and making profits for the company.

Similarly, if we were to serve God, we are to make God’s agenda, our agenda. This would mean serving His body – His people and placing their interests above ours. It was encouraging to see students being challenged to align their agendas to meet God’s – a challenge that calls not only for sacrifices, but in essence an outright denial of self interest. But what a marvellous example we have in Jesus, who is the ultimate embodiment of a servant, who himself is God, but gave up that right to be our exchange on the cross! Praise God indeed!

Praise and Prayer points:

1. Thank God for the time of solitude in which I can be strengthened in my inner being.
2. Thank God for the different avenues He’s using to equip me – Bible college, Mentoring course, OCF meetings
3. Thank God also for part of the finances that have come in just in the nick of time (i.e. before I officially start the traineeship). Please continue to pray that I will be able to raise the remaining amount!
4. Please continue to pray for guidance in the areas I should focus on, the students I should mentor etc.
5. That I may get to know the students better (especially the leaders)
6. For wisdom to set my priorities right as I balance both studies in Bible college and the relationships with students

Thank you for reading and praying!

gold nuggets?

Another fun lunch with Connie, Spring and Glenna at Vickery House. Unfortunately Radha got a call to work so couldn't join us. Played another round of Rummy-O or Rummikub or Gin Rummy, whatever u wanna call it.. hehe.. Had a short game of tennis - more like hitting & picking up balls as we were all amateurs!

Had a sneak peek at Baptist Theological College - like I just saw the sign by the side of the road.. haha.. but am excited about starting my semester there soon and Orientation next Wednesday!

Catching Harry Potter tonight - hope to get good seats!

So how have I been going with my journaling? Two entries so far.. not too bad.. and its been helpful to bring clarity to my thoughts/reflections etc.

Been reading "Courageous Leadership" by Bill Hybels lately (after I finished with Gordon McD). A nugget of encouragement: "...in the early days of this church, nothing deepened my trust in the goodness, grace, and miracle-working power of God like the financial pressures that we faced every week... Don't underestimate the value of the spiritual growth that will take place in you and in your church as you address these resource challenges."

I read this when I was at my lowest emotionally lately - struggling with the issue that I have yet raised enough money for my traineeship. It was uplifting to be reminded not to give up hoping, praying and trusting God for His providence. I know something will work out eventually; but its the waiting that stretches me most. Nothing has really changed with the figures since then, but at least I've been given an extra boost of hope.. to carry on hoping.

Subiaco Church..

3rd week attending Subi church - a pleasurable experience so far. Since Soong Leng has been involved with teaching the kids in the morning, I've had the chance to be at church before the 2nd service starts and kept myself busy with the prayer meeting happening at that time.

It wasn't exactly one of those "well since I'm already here, I might as well join in the prayer meeting" type of decision. While I must say that it has been rather convenient these 2 weeks, I've been thinking more lately about disciplining my prayer life, and thought that joining the prayer meeting would be a good way to start.

The group that meets are primarily of the older generation - while not entirely to my surprise, it drove back the observation that Gordon McD makes:

"Have u ever noticed that most faithful intercessors seem to be older ppl? Why? One reason may be that they have had to simplify their activities. But also note that older ppl may have become aware that intercession is much more effective than hours of unprayerful activity. And of course, experience through trial and error has taught them the wisdom of leaning on the reliable strength of God."

I hope it'd be something I'll learn way before I turn 50!
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The message at church today was an excellent reminder of what we truly value as our treasure. Timon preached from Matthew 13:44-46.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

The kingdom of heaven (which refers to our relationship with God) is likened to a man who found a great treasure or pearl, and gave up all he had to gain it. Interestingly, Jesus told this story in context of another point He was making (Matt 13:37-43 & 47-51) - that at the end of time when God judges the world, there will only be 2 destinations for each of us - the realities of either heaven or hell. And a relationship with Jesus is the only way to get us to heaven. In light of this, no wonder Jesus should be treasured!! cos He's our ONLY hope and form of rescue from hell.

Timon then ended with an illustration : Say I gave you a parachute and said "Here, wear this - it'd make your flight more enjoyable." While u're wearing it, u'd probably find that over time, it'd be uncomfortable, a little bit heavy etc.

But if I said to you "Look, this plane that you're on is going to have an engine malfunction in an hour's time. Here's a parachute". You'd be clinging on to it for dear life!! That parachute will be your treasure!

The question is asked about us: Is my relationship with God MY treasure? Or is it just ONE of my treasures? What we value, we spend on - time, money, even life itself! Some food for reflection indeed..

Winter Camp (E-mail update)

It’s about time I updated you about what happened last week at the OCF WA Winter Camp – to the glory and praise of our Lord Jesus Christ!

It was a 5-day camp, filled with lots of good laughs and a meaningful time getting to know God and the students. I went to camp expecting that my primary and only task was to get to know the students. Little did I know that God was preparing a surprise for me, much to my delight!

I was approached by Lisa, the current trainee, asking whether I would be interested in sitting in a special Bible study group led by an OCFer – Glenna, for the rest of the camp. This special group was catered for non-Christians, of which there were a fantastic four of them in the camp (all girls by the way). Lisa on the other hand, would join the other groups during their Bible study sessions.

Much to my discredit, my first thought was “Hmm... but I thought I’m just here to relax and get to know people!” But since I didn’t really mind joining the group, and that I’ve got a wee bit of experience in leading and being part of such groups, I had a go at it anyway.

Needless to say, it was the best thing that could have happened to me during the camp. I was very much reminded of the great time I’ve had leading “Discovering Jesus” groups whilst in OCF Canberra, and found myself drawing from my experience then. (Thanks Chong Wei for your faithful guidance in the past!)

However, this time I wasn’t doing the leading, as that was Glenna’s job! =) Nevertheless it gave me great joy seeing how some of the non-Christian girls started with zero knowledge of Christianity, and ending up hearing the gospel about Jesus’ rescue mission for humanity. As I shared with some friends later on, it was as if my heart skipped a beat every time the girls seemed to get closer and closer to understanding God’s love for them.

Other highlights of the camp included getting to know some of the other students and learning more of the culture of the fellowship. While I have yet to have a proper chat with Lisa, it was good to have a chance to observe some of the things she did as a trainee during the camp (e.g. conducting workshops, sitting in committee meetings etc.).

Praise and Prayer points:

1. Praise God for the winter camp and the committee who was faithful in organising it!
2. Pray for follow up with the girls in the group.
3. For God’s guidance as I continue to think about the areas of interest in which I should focus my energy and time on during this traineeship.
4. For God’s providence financially.
5. That Jesus must become greater and I must become less (John 3:30).

Order in the garden..

Did I mention that I'm going to try and start and continue to keep a journal? Haha.. well, I suppose this blog is meant to be some sort of a journal.. but I reckon its a little bit too public for some thoughts to be written down..

Recently, I've been reading the book by Gordon McDonald - "Ordering Your Private World". Its a book that highlights the importance of us putting order into our private life, or "inner garden" as Gordon likes to term it. Without this order in our inner garden, we can possibly thrive on short term talents and successes, but the long term effects of stresses is bound to take a toll on us.

He starts the book with an illustration of what he calls the "sinkhole syndrome". Sinkholes occur in the ground when underground streams dry up during a drought, thereby causing the surface ground to lose its underlying support. The surface then sinks in, bringing along people, buildings and anything else that was on it.

Similarly, our lives can end up in a sinkhole. We may find that because we have never learned to build the inner support that we need, we cave in to the pressures of life at some point in time. He suggests that, in order for us to remain standing at those times, we must, at a much earlier stage, been consistently cultivating the inner strength that we need to face those rough times.

Needless to say, the only way we can gain such strength is from a consistent communion with God Himself. As a Christian, one has probably been taught at an early stage of the importance of a daily "quiet time" with God. While to many of us, this has come to mean reading the Bible and praying, Gordon brings much insight when he ask this of a pastor he came in contact with "Are you taking time regularly to order your inner life?"

Had he ask it in a different way, i.e. "How is your quiet time?", the pastor could have answered it quite simply in terms of days, hours, minutes, systems or techniques. But because he used the word "order", it was one of quality, not quantity.

As I cruised along with Gordon in this book, I am drawn and attracted to the type of inner spiritual life that he so emphatically exhorts us to have. To be able to say as E. Stanley Jones did on his deathbed, describing the strength of his spirit "The innermost strands are the strongest. I need no outer props to hold up my faith, for my faith holds me."

Gordon McD suggests 5 issues that we need to look at in our quest of ordering our private world
1. Motivation
2. Use of time
3. Wisdom and knowledge
4. Spiritual strength
5. Restoration

I don't think I have done justice of giving a good review to Gordon McD's book - but nevertheless, I hope you'd get the book and read it for yourself (if you haven't already done so), for its highly recommended to all who wants to take their walk with God seriously.

Ok, so how is all this related to me keeping a journal? Gordon McD suggests that journalling helps one meditate and reflect on what God wants to teach us - through our Bible reading, praying, thinking. It is a discipline that enables one to put down in words one's thoughts, through which God can bring to mind. It enables deep reflection on one's life, which can only be done through silence and solitude.

For the past few years, I've tried journalling for some time (though not consistently). During those times, I did find myself being more in tune with the rumblings of my heart, of the 'little' things that God was doing in my life, of being strengthened with peace from above. Sooo.. fingers crossed that I won't give it up half way again.. here's to a fresh new attempt - this time, with much more discipline and intentionality to Order my Private World! =)

Shopping...

I'm getting confused of how I should actually use this blog.. haha.. I've been mainly putting up my e-mail updates about my Cambodia trip, but haven't really used it to record down more day to day stuff.

Oh well, I suppose I can do both.. put up my e-mail updates.. AND write about other stuff =)

I know I haven't talked much about Winter Camp yet, but am planning to write that in my e-mail update.. (which I haven't gotten down to doing yet..). So I'll leave it till later..

Went shopping with Glenna and a few other girls I met at Winter Camp - Connie, Spring & Radha. Was more "window" shopping for me, as I ended up buying nothing. But it was still a good time learning to take the bus from my place to Curtin Uni, and then back again. Feels much safer now that I at least know how to get around on my own a bit =)

Connie, Spring & Radha are three non-Christian girls I met at the Winter Camp. Oh well, I guess I'd need to reveal more about what happened at the camp to give a bit more of "context".. I ended up joining the group for non-Christians, much to my surprise (& delight). Anyway, today was just an outing to hang out together (with Glenna the group leader) at Carousel Shopping Centre. We ended up playing this game "Rummy-O" at Vickery House (the girls' hostel area) with Lemuel, another OCFer. Oh boy, its such an addictive game.. and really fun too.. and Lemuel only got it for $20! Ah@!

So I anticipate dropping by Vickery House more frequently now.. especially in the next few weeks before Bible College starts!