chowkueyteow for Christ...

Testimony On Not Being Single (Anymore)

2009-04-22T00:00:00.002+08:00

I am not single anymore.

Not the married-I'm-not-single-anymore kind of "not single anymore".

But the I've-got-a-girlfriend kind of "not single anymore".

Her name's Sheena, and she really is quite nice.

And she's lovely.

And she doesn't bite.

And she'd have words to say about this.

But I love her to bits.

Oh, and it's her birthday today.

Thank you for being a reflection of God's love for me. You raise me up to be able to love Him more. Blessed birthday.

Really, God has so many surprises in store for us, there's no way we can even begin to fathom the very beginnings of the love that He has for us.

There was no way either of us saw this coming.

For me, this really is testimony to the unrivalled, wonderful plan that He has for each and everyone of us.

Which He wishes to unfold unto us, if we but let Him.

But so often we shrink back at the slightest challenge, and for most of us, that is the perception we will lose control of the way things go.

That not being in control, things will not work out well for us at all.

"At once [Jesus] spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter said to Him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come."

Jesus had called Peter to boldly go where no man had gone before.

Where no man would have dared to go without fear of ridicule.

Where even the bravest would fear to tread.

It would have been one of the greater miracles the world had ever seen.

A miracle which suspended the laws of physics.

A miracle which would have been Peter's claim to (good) fame, etched in the Holy Book for eternity.

And Peter had said yes.

He would boldly go.

"Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Poof.

In a flash, the hero became the damsel in distress.

In a flash, "the rock" began to sink.

"Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

**********

How so often are we like Peter, saying yes to God, but falling short in trust?

He constantly challenges and reminds, time and time again, to let go, and let Him.

And for our sake, we can but try.

"God created man in His image; in the divine image He created him; male and female He created them...and He found it very good."

"The man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman', for out of 'her man' this one has been taken.""

And he found it very good as well.

Testimony On Being (Still) Single

2007-10-02T07:58:00.004+08:00

Yes. Believe it or not, I am still single. As handsome and attractive and sexy as I am, I am still single (ladies, take note!). Is it a curse? Yes and no.

Curse in the sense that I lack companionship. Curse in the sense that I lack someone to hold and to put my arm around while watching Transformers. Curse in the sense that some rascal people in shopping malls just have to flaunt their relationships in front of me and choose to walk by me with their arms around each other, especially when I'm standing alone (not that they intend to, I'm sure. It probably just seems that way).

Or do they...?

But one Reason alone more than makes up for all these curses of being single – God.

“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.”
-- Jeremiah 29:11

The main reason why I'm still single now is that I believe God has not yet thought that I should go into a relationship. While it is quite painful at times, especially when I see couples walking together and holding hands, and Anne Yong getting married, and I look on my left/right and I see...

**a crow flies past, "Aak...aak...aak."**

...there is a much deeper joy in knowing that God has a much greater plan for me (who knows, maybe even priesthood?) than being in a relationship at this point in time.

But of course, this doesn't mean that I don't struggle with singlehood. In fact, I struggle with it A Lot. Like a generous portion of single guys, I struggle with loneliness, I struggle with lust, I struggle with pornography, I struggle to control my eyes when a sexily-dressed woman passes by, and I definitely don't have Jesus' ability to quote off-hand from Scriptures when faced with temptation*. I continuously fall when tempted. But I am continuously trying to offer all of these struggles up to Him, praying for the grace and strength to live out according to His plan for me, and I must say, He has indeed provided for me in my time of need.

*Matthew 4:1-11

I remember I used to mourn that I didn't have a girlfriend. There was a time when I was about 14 or 15, I used to have this really huge crush on a girl in my class (and I obviously didn't dare to convey that piece of information to her). Then came the end of the year, where we had about two months of holidays and I went to Australia with my family to stay with my aunty for about a month. And as my brother may be able to testify, almost every single day of that month, I would turn on the song “Faye Wong – Eyes On Me” for hours at a time, thinking about her and singing along, wishing that over the distance, she would hear me singing this song for her; wishing that over the mountains and the seas, her river would run with love for me, and she would open up her heart, and let me set her free.

Well, there went a month of my life just like that, for as it turns out, she already had a boyfriend.

Now, being more mature emotionally and spiritually, I offer up all my relationships to God, asking Him to bless them, and if it is His will, He would let “things” come to pass in His own time. I believe He has indeed blessed me abundantly since I started to offer up my relationships to Him. I used to wish a lot for girls in my life, and now - rather evidently - girls have just been coming non-stop in droves. Of course, that's not the reason why we should offer up our relationships to God la, but I'm just trying to illustrate a point: God always gives the best to those who leave the choice with Him.

There was also a time, about a year ago, when I was just thinking about whether I had given myself fully to God, and I realised I was holding on tightly to one thing: sex. Not that I was already having sex at that time, but rather, I was terrified at the thought of joining the priesthood, which would mean No Sex Forever! And I realised that with all my singing in praise and worship that “I will offer up my life in spirit and truth”, and “all that I am, all that I have, I lay them down before You, O Lord”, I wasn't offering up my life in truth entirely, and I wasn't really laying down all that I am and all that I have before God when I wasn't giving Him full control over my life, which included full control over my vocation. So with this in mind, so happened there was a vocation camp coming up not too long from then. Trying to give up that part of me, I signed up for it. It was a very difficult thing for me to do; I didn't know if anyone I knew was going; I didn't know whether I would come back from the camp a priest-in-training, or castrated or who knows what. But I'll tell you this, on the day the camp was supposed to begin, right when I drove into SFX Church to meet with the other participants before departing, a deep sense of peace washed all over me. Not that I knew my destiny was to be a priest, but rather, it was as if God was telling me,

“Well done, My son. NOW you can really say you have offered up your life to Me.”

And that day, I think I really felt the meaning of Jesus' words in John 14:27, where He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.”

That's basically the point of my sharing, really. It's simply an awesome thing when you offer up to God every aspect of your life, especially the most difficult ones, which for me is a desire for an earthly relationship. Because He alone knows what is best for us. He alone sees the big picture. And while I can just jump into a relationship, solve all my pains and be joyful, I believe it cannot be compared to the joy of living according to God's plan and being blessed by Him (either in singlehood or in a relationship) for, how can God bless something which He doesn't endorse? =)

Again, this is not a vocation story - I'm not sharing about how I'm now about to enter the priesthood, or that I'm going to be single for the rest of my life. Neither am I saying that being in a relationship is bad. Rather, this sharing is about how awesome it is when we leave the choice up to God. I'm not saying that life for me has become a box of chocolates and a cup of tea; in fact, it has got a lot harder. But let me say that it's all truly worth it indeed.

I'd just like to end with what I think is a pretty ironic thing. How many of us know the song Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden? It's been one of my favourites for the longest time (and still is), but for those who don't know, it's a song that goes “I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish, I'll be your fantasy”, and with diabetes-inducing lyrics like those and “I want to bathe with you in the sea”, you can tell it's about a guy/girl declaring his/her love for another. But only recently, within all these mushy lyrics, something jumped out at me. In the midst of all the earthly declarations of love in the song, there's a line in there that sounds like God speaking: “all that you need will surely come”. And I was like hmmmmm, how strange it is that within such an earthly song, there can be such a powerful divine message? So for those of us who like me are desperate for a relationship, I believe God is speaking that to us today,

“All that you need will surely come...and not only all that you need, but so much more that I want to give you, if you but trust in Me."

Fan Into Flame Conference 2006

2006-07-20T00:36:00.001+08:00

27 June 2006
5:30am - Alarm rings.
6:30am - Wake up. Mutter mutter.
6:35am - Plonk self on toilet bowl. No luck - too early for such activities. Mutter mutter.
7:00am - Leave to pick Adrian Ng from SS12 house. Flight was at 9:50am, but Adrian wanted to be early. Mutter mutter.
7:15am - Head for Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) for the first time. Ever.
7:50am - Arrive at LCCT. Early we were. Wait for check-in counter to open at 8:30am. Mutter mutter.
8.35am - Check-in. Head for breakfast at cafe.
8.40am - Get fleeced by said cafe. Mutter mutter.
9.15am - Head for departure hall.
9.25am - Announcement. Start lining up.

Golly, where IS everyone?

Oh.

9:45am - Board AirAsia Flight AK307. Find seats.
9:50am - Spot perfect Engrish!

Understooded!

11:30am - Arrive at Kuching International Airport (KIA).
11:50am - Received by tag team duo of Julius and his mum. Head for a short tour of Kuching town before heading back to Julius' place for lunch.

Kuching International Airport.

St. Joseph's Cathedral.

Seminary chapel.

1:30pm - Arrive at Julius' place. Meet Marikar, Tina, Alice and Nica of the Elim community who are bunking in his house. Very sweet bunch of girls/ladies. Manage to find out their real ages - Am Very Surprised. Tuck into lunch.

L-R: Julius, Tina, Adrian, Alice, Aaron, Marikar.

L-R: Julius, Eyette, Nica, Aaron.

2:30pm - Head for Bread Of Life (BOL) Covenant Community centre to unpack, rest, and wash up.

Bread Of Life Covenant Community centre. "Near RH Plaza, Taman BDC, above Green Gallery, next to Expert Food Court..."

2:50pm - Enter centre to find that we guys would be sleeping in the chapel, on mattresses on the floor. Bum around.
3:30pm - Sleep.
5:30pm - Wake. Lumber over to bathroom to shower. Adrian proclaims arrival of KA Youth at the centre whilst in the shower. Mutter mutter. Meet Gifford (reunited after decades of not seeing each other), Christobel, and Shireen. After I've come out from the shower, that is. Fully-clothed.
6:00pm - Head for Fan Into Flame Welcoming Dinner.

Catholic Church near BOL centre.

Blur sunset in Kuching.

6:30pm - Arrive at hotel for dinner.

Adrian and I clearly under-dressed for the occasion. In between us, Uncle Peter Lau, Julius' dad. On the right, line of welcoming dancers.

7:10pm - Praise and worship. First time experiencing charismatic praise and worship at a buffet-dinner in a hotel. Interesting experience.
7:25pm - Wait for queue at buffet-line to dwindle.
7:40pm - Queue at buffet-line dwindles.
7:45pm - Head to collect dinner. Eat.
8:15pm - Speeches and performances.
9:50pm - Meet a few others from the Elim community.

L-R: Christobel, Kiddo, Shireen.

L-R: Aaron, Anton, Jef.

10:15pm - Head back to BOL centre. Bum around.
11:00pm - Head downstairs to Expert Food Court. Tried Kolo Mee and the Five-Layered Tea. Kolo Mee was about average, probably wasn't the best place to try it. Five-Layered Tea tasted like cendol. Me like Five-Layered Tea.
11:30pm - Head back to BOL centre. Bum around.
1:00-sumthing am - Sleep.

Evening came, and morning came. The first day.

Message From Lorenzo "Kiddo" Cosio

2006-07-05T01:44:00.000+08:00

of the Elim Community in Manila, Philippines.

**********

GenRev in Malaysia

The lights went out and the people went wild. It was time for GenRev Live in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Over a thousand people had come to spend the night in crazy worship. The comedic intro video played on the two large screens on either side of the stage, much to the delight of the now restless crowd of young people. The action was about to begin and they could feel it. We, the team waited in the wings for the time to get out on stage. We could feel it. It was in the air. God was moving.

Behind the Scenes
The past week found a team from Elim in Kuching, Sarawak (the biggest state in Malaysia, if I'm not mistaken) for the Fan Into Flame Conference and Concerts. The conference went great, with many leaders and members of communities from all across Malaysia in attendance. Throughout the sessions, God was manifesting Himself in a special way, revealing Himself powerfully.

There were two concerts scheduled during our trip, one of which was GenRev Live. And so we found ourselves backstage, feeling the electricity in the atmosphere, ready to get out onto the stage and give our all to God. We had prepared, practiced and prayed up for the past few months. We had come a long way and were at the moment of reckoning.

So we got out on stage...

The music played...

And the place blew up in praise.

It was insane.

People were singing their heads off and dancing like crazy in worship. Leading the people in worship, I didn't know if I should laugh out loud or cry because it was that awesome. So I did a lot of both - laughed and cried - as everyone rocked out. God is awesome, and He was there in power.

The Youth of the Nation
The Malaysian youth are amazing people. Even while preparing for the conference and concerts, I could sense how much God wanted to do through the youth of that country. A deep love for them had already been welling up in my heart as we prepared for the trip, and it just came forth during those days of the conference. I could just look at their faces and feel the potential, have a little taste of the vastness of what God could do through them. It was is if God was saying, "Hey, Kiddo, get a good long look at these people. I'm gonna use them to change the face of the earth."

And that's biblical. Jesus said that He would send His spirit and we would be His witnesses to the World, we would stand for Him, we would do the great things He did - and far greater, as well. And Psalm 104:3 says, "When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth." God is going to use people - us, young people included - to change the face of the earth, by the way we live, because we are filled with His Spirit.

I guess that's what I saw happening in Malaysia the past week. I saw it as such a privilege and honor to share the company of the youth in that part of the world. Young people, taking a stand for God, choosing to live for Him above all, giving their lives to Him in worship, and being filled with the Spirit. Spirit-filledness is world changing.

Thank You
To the Malaysian youth (and yeah, even the older people), thank you for being a light to me. I know that our team went to your country with the hopes of sharing something with you; but I feel like we received so much more than we could have ever imagined. This little essay doesn't do justice to the impact you have had on my life (and I'm sure I speak for many in the GenRev Team as well).

Thank you for the love and warmth, for the hospitality and for being so generous. Thank you for being yourselves, because it was such a blessing to be with you. I believe that there are so many great things God has in store for you, and your country, and us and our country as well. So, together let's stand for Jesus and change the world!

Community: Part 2.

2006-04-18T00:59:00.000+08:00

Up to this point in time, I have had nothing but great comments about community; about being in one, about how important it is to belong to one, about how grateful I am to be in the one that I am in now.

Then I get this:

- which is perfectly fine by itself -

On my face.

By the very same community that I hold in such high regard.

Click here to view the full sequence of event(s).

p.s. - I am NOT smiling; it is only an illusion.

Only an illusion.

O n l y a n i l l u s i o n.

My Child...

2006-03-31T00:44:00.000+08:00

You may not know me,
but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image. Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being. Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring. Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived. Acts 17:28
I chose you when I planned creation. Jeremiah 1:4-5
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Ephesians 1:11-12
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb. Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father. Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. Psalms 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you. Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession. Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things. Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires. Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being. Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. 1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. 1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is...will you be my child? John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you. Luke 15:11-32

Love,
Dad

Community.

2006-02-27T00:09:00.000+08:00

Since everyone seems to be posting up pictures and videos of the 2005 Lifeline Camp, I thought I'd hop on the bandwagon as well and post a video.

(By "everyone", I mean Irene and Richard; and by "pictures and videos", I mean "a picture" and "a compilation of pictures on video".)

While I was absent from the camp itself, Elaine Tan was kind enough to capture for me on video a snippet of what I had missed.

**Thanks, Elaine!**

However much as I would have loved to have gone for the camp (and not sit for the dratted A2 exams!), I think missing it showed me how much community meant to me. Seeing cell group members convey personal messages (or even lack thereof) really touched me and made me all the more grateful to God for directing me to the community I'm currently in now.

Wait for the video to load only if you have lots of time to spare!

p.s. - Clare saying hello in this video clip never fails to put a wide smile on my face, no matter how many times I watch it. As well as the apparent blur-ness of a couple of cell group members... =)

Did You Feel The Darkness Tremble?

2006-02-18T14:19:00.000+08:00

Do you feel the darkness tremble...

...when all the saints join in one song;

And all the streams flow as one river...

...to wash away our brokenness.

James 1:19

2006-02-18T13:44:00.000+08:00

"Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath..."

Yes, but how many of us are quick to hear one another?

How many of us want to hear?

How many of us hear?

How many of us listen?

Oft, I feel the only thing willing to listen intently is the wall.

But Jesus, I know You're with me; listening to the depths of my heart, soothing the very depths of my soul...

Ode.

2005-12-10T02:10:00.000+08:00

Over the mountains and the sea...

...Your river runs with love for me;

And I will open up my heart...

...and let the Healer set me free.

Dear Anonymous,

2005-11-06T13:02:00.000+08:00

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to drop by my blog, more so to go through my previous posts and leave a comment =) I must apologise for such a late reply to your query, as I don't normally go through my own previous posts myself. Call it vanity if you like (or maybe even divine guidance, heh heh), I so happened to go through the post on the Sacrament of Reconciliation just only recently - after a friend and I were discussing about it - and caught a glimpse of your comment which went:

Confess ur sins to other person? And then that "other persons" confess to other persons? There will be a chain of Confessed Sins man. Confess is good thing but, what action that u need to do after u confess. Make sins---> confess----> make sins again --->confess. Priest is also human, make mistakes, make sins, so who is the noble, better person need to confess to?

**********

Let me dissect your comment to enable more effective tackling, so to speak:

Confess ur sins to other person? And then that "other persons" confess to other persons? There will be a chain of Confessed Sins man.

Regarding the "chain of Confessed Sins", there won't even be a chain per se at all, as when one confesses his/her sins to another person (by which I take it you mean the priest), it remains with the priest alone:

"...the confidentiality of all statements made by penitents during the course of confession is absolute. This strict confidentiality is known as the "Seal of the Confessional." According to the Code of Canon Law, 983 §1, "The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason." Priests may not reveal what they have learned during confession to anyone, even under the threat of their own death or that of others...For a priest to break that confidentiality would lead to an latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication reserved to the Holy See (Code of Canon Law, 1388 §1)..."
-- Confession - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

Priests themselves go for confession as well, not to confess what has been confessed to them, but to confess their personal sins.

**********

Confess is good thing but, what action that u need to do after u confess. Make sins---> confess----> make sins again --->confess.

I do agree with you, that the action taken after confession is truly the important thing; for one to truly partake of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, one would have to be:
a) truly repentant of his/her sins
b) determined to avoid this sin in the future
c) willing to make reparations as appropriate with any/all injured parties
(reference: www.scborromeo.org)

A friend once gave me this analogy: if you're sick and down with flu, you go to see a doctor to get treatment, right? What happens say 2 months later when you get sick and are struck with flu again? You go to see the doctor again. And say 4 months later you get sick and are struck with flu again? You go to see the doctor again.

**For those of you who believe in home-treatment for flu, replace the word "flu" with "a lung infection".

I guess you could say the same thing for confession. It's only natural and human for one to fall repeatedly, but it's also natural for one to do his/her utmost not to repeat a particular sin after having confessed it, as I believe there's a particular bondage one has to his/her words once uttered. It's similar to marriage; initially after saying "I do" (rather emphatically, I must add), there's the euphoria of love and you feel like you'd do anything for your spouse. Then after a while of waking up and having to see the same face (no Naughty Insinuations here) everyday for like 5 years, marriage loses its thrill (again, no Naughty Insinuations here), though deep inside you still love your spouse. And so, to rekindle that "fire", you'd go for Marriage Encounter weekends away, or stuff of that sort. Similarly with confession, initially after saying "I'm sorry", there's the euphoria of having been forgiven, and you'd do anything NOT to sin. Then after a while, being human, you lose the sense of euphoria and the temptation to sin starts to grow; if it gets the better of you, you repeat the sin. But believe me, it doesn't feel good at all repeating a sin after having confessed it before - although at the time it may feel like the greatest thing in the world - as the sense of guilt that washes over you is immense. Knowing that God still loves you and will forgive you again offers consolation, yes, but also knowing that you've taken His forgiveness forgranted pains deeply.

**On a side note, I'd like to apply the "doctor" analogy to the part about there being a "chain of Confessed Sins" (i.e. I confess to you, you confess to him, he confesses to him, etc.) - a doctor, with say, colon cancer, can't really treat himself now, can he? He's ultimately got to go to another doctor to get effective treatment, don't you think?

**********

Priest is also human, make mistakes, make sins, so who is the noble, better person need to confess to?

Well, I think you've got to change your perception of confession, as the idea of confession isn't to confess sins to a priest per se, but rather to God:

"...no priest, as an individual man, however pious or learned, has power to forgive sins. This power belongs to God alone; however, God can and does exercise it through the Catholic priesthood..."
-- Confession - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

So, the un-noblest, worst, rascal-iest, most scandalous and corrupt priest in the world could hear your confession and give you an absolution, and your sins would still be absolved, as it is to God (the noblest, best, unrascal-iest, unscandalous, and uncorrupt being) that you ultimately confess your sins to, though only through a priest - I cannot emphasise that enough. Alan Schreck, in his book Catholic Christian gives 3 reasons for the existence of a "middle man" in confession (reference made known by Celestine Tan):

1) It is another aspect of God's "incarnational" (i.e. God became man - Jesus) way of relating to mankind; using human beings to continue His work on Earth is part of the way God works. When sins are forgiven by one who has been set apart by the Church to represent Jesus Christ, we can experience the mercy of Jesus Himself through that person.

2) Confessing sins to a person reminds one of the social dimension of sin. When someone sins, he not only offends God, but his sin also has an effect, either direct or indirect on other people. The priest who grants God's forgiveness not only represents Jesus Christ, but also the whole Christian community, the church. Hence the priest has the authority to reconcile a sinner to the body of Christ, the church.

3) The priest or minister is often able to counsel and encourage the penitent, or even pray with the penitent for healing of some area of sin or brokenness in the person's life. Jesus often uses His representative - the priest - to minister to the need of people in remarkable ways through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

**********

I hope whatever was shared helped to clarify any misconceptions about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I would take it very kindly though, if you would leave your name, or At The Very Least a pseudonym, as leaving comments behind anonymously is very unchivalrous (and cowardly, I might add - not having the courage to stand behind one's stated opinion) an act; I am of the sincere belief that everyone has the right to state their opinions (although those opinions must be of reasonable validity, are logical derivatives and are constructive by nature).

Mat Rock-er

2005-11-05T15:07:00.000+08:00

"I Am Mat Rock-er!"
-- courtesy of Ben Tan.

CKK Masquerade Ball 2005

2005-09-01T17:35:00.000+08:00

Pig mask : RM 9.95
Monkey mask : RM 9.95
Pig & Monkey pose : Priceless

With this year's theme of Unmasking The Phantoms, these phantoms decided to mask themselves anyway.

Sepet.

2005-07-24T15:16:00.000+08:00

The only locally-produced (and critically-acclaimed) movie I've cared to watch thus far (if only to see whether it was worth critics' dua sen) and I found it to be interestingly light, humourous, romantic and sad all at the same time - well worth critics' dua sen.

While most of the actors looked as if they had been doing drugs the night before and were therefore stoning throughout the movie, I felt Sepet gave a refreshing outtake of Malaysian life - VCD peddling, inter-racial/religious romance, pre-marital sex, pregnancy and abortion, loan shark-ing, and the indiscriminate giving of scholarships among many others. Kudos to director Yasmin Ahmad for managing to capture just that!

**Although sadly, there was the impression that abortion is the way out of a "mistake" in the past...the issue could have been addressed in a better way.**

Memorable quotes from Sepet:

"You know what you are? You're the biggest wanker in the whole town of Ipoh!"
-- Orked to a male friend who was taunting her.

"Milf? Apa tu milf, bah?"
-- Orked, when playing Scrabble with her dad; after his turn.

"Hang Li Po, Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Hang Chee B**, all the same lah."
-- Ah Keong discussing the origin of Babas with Ah Loong.

"Malay girls with wet sarongs - wah lau eh."
-- Ah Keong discussing the origin of Babas with Ah Loong.

**Note the similar overtones**

**********

Hmm, I could use a few of those...

The Commonly Confused Words Test

2005-07-04T00:23:00.000+08:00

I was browsing through the net on a quiet and boring Sunday night (like all other Sunday nights) after the Wimbledon final, when I came across :

THE COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS TEST.

Wow.

It's not just any test; it's a WORDS test.

It's not just any words test; it's a COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS test.

And it's not just any commonly confused words test; it's THE COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS test.

I scored as follows :-

English Genius
You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 86% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: shortredhead78.blogspot.com.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 74% on Beginner
You scored higher than 63% on Intermediate
You scored higher than 88% on Advanced
You scored higher than 86% on Expert

The Commonly Confused Words Test, written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid

**********

Don't mean to be a smart-ass, but the author does seem to have made a COMMONLY CONFUSED Kata Penguat error with the phrase "You did so extremely well...". Not sure if it was done intentionally in good humour (bad, I mean), or by accident.

Or if it was just a COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS error.

Do point it out to me if I'm mistaken.

And prepare to suffer the consequences.

Me, smoke? Well, if smoked salmon counts...

2005-06-27T00:09:00.000+08:00

After my (obviously lame) attempt at being sarcastic and funny (haha.) in my last post, tons of questions which implied the same thing poured in from my fans (alright, just three, but three's a ton, right?) :

nwy,do u really meant wat u wrote?! u said u smoke?

hey..i was browsing through ur blog..ermm..u said smt abt smoking.. u smoke?? dun mind me asking??

you smoke one ah???hehheehehehe :P

Well, let me clarify:

I don't smoke.

I never did.

I don't plan to.

Smoking for cool's sake, I believe, only serves to emphasise the un-coolness of a person; highlighting the fact that he doesn't have the courage to decide what's cool for himself and thus follows what has been defined as "cool" by the media (think a couple of cool people chilling on green grassy hills; a cool guy kayaking in the middle of an ocean in the middle of nowhere; some cool guys skiing on snowy mountains, doing cool routines for the camera; some cool cowboys riding horses through rivers in the countryside; a cool guy driving a black Porsche, etc.)

The irony of it all is that 2 Marlboro men (men who starred in advertisements for Marlboro cigarettes) have since died of lung-cancer:

Wayne McLaren, who posed for some promotional photographs on behalf of Marlboro in 1976, succumbed to lung cancer at age 51 on 22 July 1992. McLaren was a former professional rodeo rider who appeared in small parts in various television series and movies (primarily Westerns) throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and he modeled for print advertising between acting jobs in the mid-1970s including a Marlboro campaign in 1976. McLaren, who had a pack-and-a-half a day smoking habit, was diagnosed with lung cancer at age 49. Despite chemotherapy, the removal of one lung, and radiation treatments, the cancer eventually spread to his brain and killed him.

David McLean, who appeared in many Marlboro television and print advertisements starting in the early 1960s, also died of cancer at age 73 on 12 October 1995. McLean starred in the short-lived 1960 television Western Tate, and he played roles in numerous television series and feature films during the 1960s and 1970s. McLean took up smoking at age 12, began to suffer from emphysema in 1985, and had a cancerous tumor removed from his right lung in 1993. Despite the surgery, the cancer remained and spread to his brain and spine, and McLean succumbed in 1995.

**Extracted from Urban Legends Reference Pages**

Really want to be cool?

Get to know Jesus.

Wait, that means I'm cool.

Lessons In Life. And More.

2005-06-09T01:30:00.000+08:00

Now that I've more or less officially ended my secondary level education with the completion of my final A-Levels' paper and have virtually FOREVER before pursuing my next course of education, here are a couple of things I've come to realise over the past year and a half in no particular order:

1. My exams are screwed.

2. My exams are so screwed that I've begun to question the meaning of life itself and my very existence.

3. Not.

4. They're just plain screwed.

5. I'm smarter than I look.

6. I'm actually quite smart.

7. When I do my homework.

8. If I do my homework.

9. Certain people among Taylor's College's staff can be pretty unreasonable.

10. Certain people among Taylor's College's staff can be pretty.

11. Being Christian is cool.

12. Being Catholic is cool.

13. I can't sing well.

14. I can't sing.

15. I try to sing.

16. Baby girls can be absolutely annoying one minute, and absolutely adorable the next.

17. Form 4 girls aren't what they used to seem to be.

18. College girls aren't what they're all made out to be. (well, most aren't, anyway...)

19. Working ladies don't necessarily wear black short skirts.

20. People who listen aren't usually listened to.

21. Making a list like this can be actually quite fun, even with the knowledge that no one might bother to read it at all.

22. Trying to kick the habit of spending long periods of time in the toilet/bathroom isn't easy - relative to trying to quit smoking.

23. Traditional and customary Chinese wedding ceremonies can be long-drawn and tediously complicated.

24. No one lives forever. Making the best of whatever time I have with loved ones is what I strive to do each day.

25. Saying sorry is an extremely arduous task, especially for one who has an ego the size of a hot-air balloon. But the peace gained after doing so is immense.

26. God is merciful and kind.

27. I love Jesus.

28. I love Him a lot.

29. He loves me a lot too.

Update:
30. And He loves the whole world a lot too. And that's the kind of news the whole world should really be grateful about.

**No. 30 copie-...I mean, taken from life+God=true bliss**

The Ultimate Star Wars Personality Test

2005-06-09T00:14:00.000+08:00

Here's a link to the Ultimate Star Wars Personality Test:
http://www.liquidgeneration.com/quiz/starwars_quiz.asp

And here's what I ended up with:

Chris Tomlin - Indescribable

2005-05-17T01:50:00.000+08:00

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of Fall to the fragrance of Spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings, all exclaiming:

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing, God
All powerful, untameable
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing, God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the Sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night, none can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing, God
Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and you love me the same
You are amazing, God
You are amazing, God

T.G.F. Fridays - Thank God For Fridays

2005-05-04T20:05:00.000+08:00

Apart from it signalling the coming of the weekend (no class for 2 1/2 days, rejoice and be glad), Friday is that time of the week when we Lifeline CKK members meet up for our weekly cell group gathering.

It's the time of the week I get to join peers - and old men alike - in being most vulnerable to God's presence as we sing praises to Him and glorify His Name, allowing Him to speak and minister to us through praise and worship.

It's the time of the week I get to engage in lively discussion about the real essence of my being: God the Father who created us out of the immense and unconditional Love He has.

**For those who were thinking along the lines of Biology Form 3 Chapter 1 - Sexual Reproduction, shame on you!**

It's the time of the week I get to see a certain dignified and learned seminarian go "wild" and try his hand (or rather, feet) at ice-skating (and falling badly in the process) during Fun Nights.

And more importantly, it's the time of the week I get to learn more about my faith and grow into a deeper and more meaningful relationship with God at the same time.

Which is, I believe, the main purpose of the very existence of Christian communities, be it covenant communities, BECs, CFs, Lifeline or any ministry at all.

It is as a community where we get to fulfil the purposes of the church:

a) Worship
- Worshipping God is about having a real relationship with Him, a relationship that goes beyond the four walls of church on Sundays, Christmases and Easters. It's about having a lifestyle that is constantly an expression of love and devotion to Him. In community life, we learn how to adopt that lifestyle, and the praise and worship session that we have is only an extension of that on-going walk we have with Christ, where we declare our heartfelt adoration and praise for Him.

b) Ministry
- Being in a community, members learn to be more Christ-like by reaching out to others; serving them just as Christ did 2000 years ago. God-given talents and giftings are allowed to be discovered and then properly developed to full potential as we give back to Him what He gave to us.

c) Proclamation
- Jesus' Great Commission, to "Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations..." should constantly be in our hearts and minds as we go about living our daily lives. As Fr O.C. has pointedly pointed out so many times before (especially of us Catholics), we more often than not don't live the Great Commission, but rather, the Great Omission. Being a Christian, I know that God does indeed love me and I'm thankful and overjoyed for His love. It should hence naturally occur to me that I want to tell others how God loves me so that they can share in that wonderful love as well. A good community is one which constantly grows and then multiplies, enabling it to reach out to more and more people as they are invited to enjoy and savour God's beautiful love.

d) Fellowship
- Sharing the same spiritual "DNA" through baptism, we need to move beyond the hi and bye and sigh in church and actually become friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. A community allows us to "get to know" each other better - about each other's personal relationship with God, life struggles, dreams and aspirations, etc; and help each other grow closer to Him over fun, food and games.

e) Discipleship
- A lot of us seem to think that learning how to be Catholic ends after "graduating" from Confirmation class. It obviously doesn't, and we often fail to understand that the call to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ is a lifelong one. We are given that chance to learn so much more about our faith in a healthy community, where we can ask all those "silly" questions about the faith and sound "foolish", without actually making (too much of) a fool of ourselves. A community also enables the sharing of struggles and requests for prayers, something which we normally wouldn't have in church.

******************

Even during the apostles' time, Christians belonged to communities:

"When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers."
-- Acts 1:13-14

"Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favour with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved."
-- Acts 2:46-47

"The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common...there was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need."
-- Acts 4:32-35

But of course, the initial process of getting hooked up with a community in itself can be a challenge.

After being "recruited" by the Lifeline SFX Recruitment Drive at the beginning of last year, I went for my first Lifeline meeting with high hopes, having been given the impression by the testimonies in church that the people there were extremely friendly and would only stop short of feeding you grapes as you sat by the wayside.

Man, did I feel out of place.

Being alone in the presence of so many strangers with no familiar face in sight can be a very trying experience, especially when you are an extremely shy person. And having entered the room 10 minutes into the meeting, when the speaker was already in the middle of her session, the friendly people around me couldn't exactly welcome me with open arms, and I guess all Ignatius (one of the Tai Kors in Lifeline) could do was usher me in and get me a seat. I believe my immediate thoughts were then to excuse myself that I'd entered the wrong room, leave and never come back. But I remember I decided to stay on anyway, as the speaker was at that time talking about love and relationships (Valentine's Day was just round the corner), and heck, who couldn't use a few tips at the dating game, eh?

After the session - after the customary exchanges of peace and hugs and whatever you - when everyone else was mingling and talking and stuff, I was about to leave when Ignatius again approached me, introduced himself and asked me to fill in the newcomers' form.

The reply that popped into mind was, "No, you don't understand, I'm NOT coming back!", but being super shy and not wanting to hurt his feelings and all, I said something along the lines of "Cool!".

Even the introduction to sweet ol' Anne Yong, who could kill a yak from 200 yards away with her dimpled smile didn't do me much good - I still felt as lost as ever. I left SFX that night doubting if I'd ever return for another such meeting.

**I believe there's a common (yet quite wrong) mentality that when you are new to a group, the old and existing members owe it to you to come and mingle with you and make you feel comfortable; sort of like you're doing them a favour by being present at the meeting, and if they don't, they don't appreciate your presence and you should never go back. At that point in time, I took that mentality quite seriously and just sat around looking forlorn, fidgeting with my handphone - pressing 1, 2, 3, *clear*, *clear*, *clear*, Menu, Up, Down, Cancel, Lock Phone, Unlock Phone, Lock Phone - to look busy.**

But for some reason or another, I felt drawn to the meeting - the same feeling which I have always had with all God-centred gatherings. I think there's something very appealing about a group of young people coming together with a common objective (apart from the ladies' appeal, that is) - to worship God and learn more about Him. It was as if the Lord was compelling me to return.

So I returned.

Got to meet a few more people and found the topic discussed enlightening.

And returned.

Got to meet a few more people and found that I now knew more about my faith, even if it was just a tad more.

And returned.

Got to meet even more people and found that I had the desire to know even more about God.

And here I am today, thanking God for Fridays and looking forward to the next cell group meeting this Friday.

Whoever said taking up the cross and following Jesus was easy?

But the rewards are very, very great indeed.

Praise God.

**Some excerpts taken from SFX Potter & Clay Manual and Real-Life Worship by Phil Connew.**

The Sacrament Of Reconciliation.

2005-04-11T01:09:00.000+08:00

These 4 words alone - although part and parcel of the Catholic church - often strikes fear deep in the hearts of even the bravest, macho-est men.

And women.

Why so?

I believe that apart from death, heights, slimy worms, and lawyers, a lot of us fear the most having to cough out our deepest, darkest wrongdoings in the presence of another human being.

In other words, being afraid of being looked down upon by other members of society.

In other words, putting our pride above other things.

More often than not, on top of God.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation I feel gives me that chance to really humble myself before God the Father who sees all things, even sins; by acknowledging my sinning ways and confessing my most personal failings, of which I would rather die first than have another person know.

For those not in the know, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a sacred ritual in the Catholic church where a person confesses his/her sins to God through a representative of His (usually a priest), and the sins are absolved.

Which then leads to the mandatory question:

Why confess your sins to a priest when you can commune with God directly?

The Bible - the Word of God - points out that Christ intended for us to seek forgiveness this way:

"...confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed"
-- James 5:16

...which clearly indicates confession to another person, and who better to confess to than a priest?

And,

"...they (the crowds) were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings."
-- Matthew 9:8

...which shows that God does indeed give a certain amount of authority to a certain amount of people for His greater glory, in this case His representative.

AND, to throw in one more,

"...he (Jesus) breathed on them (the apostles) and said to them, 'Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained'"
-- John 20:22

...in the words of Joanna Bogle, how could the apostles announce that sins are to be forgiven if they had no idea what people's sins were? How would there be forgiveness if sins went unmentioned?

******************

I used to really freak out when that time of the year came; when they announced in the SFX Diary that penitential services would be upcoming at a so-and-so place and a so-and-so time.

When I was young(er) - and dashing (still am) - I would conveniently “fall asleep” at home just before the service itself, in the hope that my family would leave for confession without me only for my dad to exclaim on the way to church: "Oh dear me, we left Aaron at home! Too late to turn back now, though. Oh well."

Fat hope.

They came to wake me up.

I even tried faking illness a few times: lamely belting out a few coughs here and there, with a sneeze thrown in for good measure; having "diarrhoea" when all I was doing was reading newspapers on the loo.

**Admittedly though, it worked, and I felt extremely guilty after that for having taken advantage of my grandparents' affinity for their grandchildren.**

These methods, of course, wore out after awhile, and I had to grudgingly follow my family for confession with severe palpitations of the heart.

This "grudginess" continued until I went for the Peninsular Malaysia Catholic Charismatic Convention '03, where I bumped into my uncle who was there as well. We were talking about family, what he'd been up to and the weather, when suddenly for no apparent reason (be it divine guidance) he mentioned something about him going for this talk after which he found no reason NOT to fear going for confession.

Strange as it may seem - he didn't have to describe the talk, or what the speaker had said, or even give me his life-changing testimony - just the casual mention that he went for the talk got me thinking: why was I terrified about going for confession?

I couldn't come up with a good answer.

That incident, coupled with my becoming affiliated with Lifeline and hence “getting excited about God" has changed my outlook on confession: since then, I have approached penitential services with almost zealousness, even being the one to tell my family - and remind them - about upcoming services.

I haven't got to the stage where I go for confession on a weekly basis (as the Pope does), but I now go for confession with renewed confidence (and the necessary nervousness of course), knowing that the cleansing it provides is essential for my spiritual growth, after having found it difficult - and in a way hypocritical - for me to serve the Lord with some nagging sins at the back of my mind.

After all, it's nearly impossible for the priest to remember exactly what you did after hearing out a hundred other people.

And, there's the (unhelpful) assurance that the priest cannot remember your sins due to the divine nature of the forgiveness.

Sure he can't.

(Not) Being A Witness To Christ.

2005-02-09T22:58:00.000+08:00

27/1/05.

Thursday.

The day.

The day I held aloft my magic sword and said, "By the power of Greyskull!".

Nah.

The day I went for ballet classes and learnt to play lacrosse.

You wish.

It was the day I officially got my A-Level AS examination results.

To be honest, I really wasn't expecting much, all the while secretly hoping that by the grace of our good God, the unofficial results which had been given to me 3 days earlier were another person's, and that I had actually scored much better grades.

Or that the examiners messed up big time and had given me straight A's.

Or that I'd actually done well for once, but was oblivious to that fact due to the stress and fatigue of hard work. (when I say hard work, I mean more than an hour's worth of study)

And then I officially opened the envelope.

As I pulled the statement of results out of the envelope, I held shut my eyes, hoping that all that I had hoped for (as stated above) would come true as soon as I had turned the paper from back to front, and I would end up crying tears of joy.

And I did.

Turn the paper from back to front, I mean.

And then I found out:

My unofficial results were official.

Which, well:

a) weren't exactly flying colours

b) wasn't exactly a flying colour (red)

Then what on earth am I being so whiny about?

The fact that I haven't been a witness to Christ in my studies.

After getting my official results, I spent the next few days reflecting over what I'd done during the course of the previous year - during my previous 2 semesters - and realised how miserably I'd failed being Christian in my (home)work.

I was Christian in most of the other areas of my life; yes, I went to church regularly, I helped out with mass, I played guitar for meetings, I prayed whenever I could, I helped people in need, I served, I forgave, I loved. And I did all these with joy.

BUT.

I just didn't study.

I didn't finish (do) my homework; I couldn't understand half of what the teacher was explaining in class (in some cases, all); I was sleeping through half the classes (in some cases, all); my monthly tests produced horrible results, etc...

In fact, I was the butt of most of my friends' jokes due to the reasons stated above (still am, actually). A lot of them really put me down before I got my results, thinking that they would, of course, get much higher than yours truly - the guy who never did work, who always slept in class, who always came late...

When, in fact, most of them DID get much higher than me.

1 or 2, however, didn't but that's another story.

This goes to show how un-Christian I've been in class.

I seriously doubt any of my classmates saw Christ in me in my studies over the past year.

Thus, I'm posting this, sort of like a live, online vow for me to buck up in my studies, to excel in my studies, to be Christ-like in my studies.

Hmmm.

Which raises an interesting question.

Did Christ have to study in times of old?

Lifeline KK Launch Report. Uncut. And long overdue.

2004-12-14T17:57:00.000+08:00

It was a dark and stormy 19/11/04 night…

Well, not really.

For one, it wasn’t night.

And two, it wasn’t stormy.

It was dark though…

I have absolutely no idea what was going through Anne’s mind when she booked our AirAsia tickets to Kota Kinabalu.

You should be grateful, man! she’d say…

Grateful as I should have been, having to wake up at 4.00 am is one thing I’d rather not be grateful about, me needing my beauty sleep and all…

*Though here’s a belated toast of gratitude to Anne…*

…clink…

Anyway, Janice and I somehow got to KK alive, and were fetched from the airport by Martin and whisked away home and then to lunch with a few other KK Lifeliners and Life Teeners – Alister, Frederick, Dorothy, and Gloria, all of whom I have never met in my entire life (well, in my past life maybe, but definitely not my current one).

We, being Lifeline members ourselves, were in KK to support the launch of the Catholic youth ministry in one of the churches there.

Fast forward all the details and KK-esque food, we were then brought that night to Scar…err, Sacred Heart Cathedral to witness the one…

and only…

*tang tang tang*

…rehearsal for the big launch the following day.

It being a full scale rehearsal, we were given a glimpse – a tease, if you like – of what they had in store at the launch.

And my, was it grand…

Flag-bearers of sorts were spread out along the aisle in front of the sanctuary waving flags twice their size to the opening song; dancers…well, dancing, with tambourines in one hand, slapping them with the other; and the music…phenomenal.

I left the cathedral (after the rehearsal was over, of course) in great anticipation of what the launch would be like…

…tons of people in church, with hardly any place to move about…all praising God, jumping, waving hands and hankies in the air ala Planetshakers…choirs of angels looking down from above, joining them in song with harp and lyre…Jesus Himself walking among the people, smiling as He watches His children give glory to Him and Dad and Spirit…pretty girls popping grapes into my mouth by the wayside…

*cough cough*

ahem.

******************

*Ding dong ding dong* (in a more majestic, churchy manner)

6.13pm. The next day. Venue: Sacred Heart Cathedral. Event: Launch of the 3 L’s – Life Mass, Life Teen, and Lifeline.

And my, was it grand…

Flag-bearers of sorts were spread out along the aisle in front of the sanctuary waving flags twice their size to the opening song; dancers…well, dancing, with tambourines in one hand, slapping them with the other; and the music…phenomenal.

Mass in the Roman Catholic church? Believe it!

This time though, we were sitting in the area cordoned off for the Music Ministry, and there the music seemed even more phenomenal...very...coordinated...though credit to the people at SFX as well, hehe...

Mass was pretty much the same as Saturday Night Live back here in SFX, with the usual long, bori…I mean, compelling sermon being dished out by the bishop at half-time. For the offering, the mission statements of Lifeline (I think) were as best put into symbols as possible and offered up each in turn…and this I feel was a very meaningful gesture, as the people of Lifeline/Life Teen KK were offering – in a sense – all of themselves, through the missions and service of Lifeline.

At the ending of the mass – during the time normally set apart for announcements – the priests were ushered to - literally - cut the red tape and officially launch Life Mass, Life Teen and Lifeline, and ta da! the launch banner was let loose. A mechanical fault, however, prevented the banner from actually being “let loose”, and the banner came out in a relaxed saunter (think Star Wars, but much slower) while the priests all stood around it trying to coerce it (unsuccessfully, naturally) to spew forth.

*kudos to Johnny, despite the minor glitch, for doing an excellent job with the banner*

…clink…

Following the full raise of the banner, a video regarding what Lifeline was (is) about was shown. In it, the seven mission statements were read out (they have an extra one over there – Sacramental People) and so was a contact number for those interested to know more. After the video, members of the Lifeline and Life Teen KK core team were called forward to the front of the sanctuary to kneel and be commissioned by the priest to go forth and multiply (only in a certain sense of the word, of course) and serve the Lord with all their heart.

**Note: As much an anti-climax as it is, I’m not one to describe things very well and I can’t remember what was said exactly, so “serve the Lord with all their heart” is the best I could come up with.**

Subsequently, they had two people; one from Lifeline and one from Life Teen come out to give a short briefing on what they’d be doing later that night – just like in SFX.

After mass, those who had bought the RM 5.00 3 L’s Launch Souvenir Booklet cum Dinner Ticket were directed to the church canteen for makan, before the Lifeline and Life Teen sessions. A Security Check Point, so to speak was set up at the entrance to the eating area, and the teens who wanted to go in and have a fill had to register for Life Teen first and only then have their dinner tickets accepted.

**This was where Janice and I took advantage of our seniority and guest status-es to calmly walk past all those starving teens – frantically filling in the form only to pause for awhile to gaze hungrily at the awaiting food – and head straight for the food queue. Yes, I know we were guests, but we were made to line up too…I suppose I could have shoved everyone aside to grab the best parts of the curry chicken, but I didn’t want to be swimming home to KL.**

Dinner done and safely in our stomachs, we made our way up to the room where Lifeline was (is) held and were given cute little bookmarks as was the ritual for first-timers, while the registration of other first-timers was carried out at the entrance.

**We Lifeline people are a little older and wiser; have it after food, so that people are content and more willing to sign up**

The thing(s) that first caught my eye(s) as I entered the room was a full set of instruments – keyboard, bass, guitars, mikes + stands, even a drum set for praise and worship, and all this for a Life Nite! All we have back in CKK and presumably SFX for Life Nites is just a guitar, sometimes two, and (not yet in CKK) sometimes a keyboard. They even had backup singers, for crying out loud! And in the other room for the Life Teen session was another full set of instruments!

**Dear CKK/SFX church-goers: please do donate generously during mass, and we might see a few more instruments/players coming our way**

I’m not too sure of the order, but I think Lifeline started with an ice-breaker, in which we were made to go round the room looking for people who had:

1) keys in their pockets

2) blue/purple as their favourite colour

3) a black Lifeline shirt on

4) spectacles on

I, wearing the good ol’ CKK Lifeline T-shirt, got my name on the lists of quite a few people (yup, a few girls’ too) and managed to find a few people who had keys in their pockets and were wearing spectacles at the same time...

Imagine that.

After the ice-breaker, those who were at Lifeline for the first time were called out and given a warm welcome. Unfortunately for us, we weren’t able to escape their attention (although we nearly did) and were given…

- yup, you guessed it -

…a warm welcome.

Felix then led us into a short (yet excellent) praise and worship session, which was followed by the session proper. Three sharings were given, and they were given in one of the most creative ways possible – skits…a skit each of how the people giving the sharings were living their lives before they came into Lifeline. Things got a little emotional, and I turned my face to the side to give the ladies some room…heh. But really, the sharings were touching, and it got me thinking: What made me go for Lifeline in the first place? Was there some sort of deep, subconscious compulsion I felt? Could it be that God had called me to do greater things for His glory?

Then I remembered Geoffrey Lip, the Lifeline SFX Recruitment Drive, and I turned my face to the side and wept.

**Don’t be silly…of course I didn't weep.**

After the sharings, Felix led us again into a short reflection which was followed by a sing-as-loud-as-possible rocking finale of songs. Those who had been previously subdued by the reflection were now singing and praising Him with all of their hearts!

The session ended with all of us giving one another signs of peace; hugs, handshakes, maybe even more were seen all around the room as smiles broke out and people said their goodbyes.

We stayed for a few more days after the launch and went back on the 24th.

All in all, I think the Lifeline/Life Teen KK people did a great job of organising the launch, and I’m sure they (and probably God Himself as well) were pretty pleased with the flow of events throughout that day. I found the people at Lifeline/Life Teen KK to be extremely warm and friendly, and I didn’t feel too uncomfortable going round and mixing with them (although I, being the relatively reserved guy that I am, am bound to feel uncomfortable mixing with almost anyone, it wasn’t so evident over in KK). They were very open, and were willing to share about almost anything I asked.

My stay in KK has really opened my eyes to the existence of bliss in the simple life, without the hustle and bustle of KL, and in the absence of clubs, pubs, and karaoke lounges.

God bless Lifeline KK! (also Lifeline SFX and CKK lah) =)