The Christmas party’s over!

I promised to keep a journal about all that was happening in CCIS but I was lucky if I had the time to sit down to eat even!

Flying around like a regular Supergirl, I’ve made more taxi trips in the last 10 days than my entire life.

On top of that I ….

Carried a variety of costumes, hula grass, drums, digeridoos, limping boys …

Made friends with bus drivers, highly-educated bums, bellboys, coffee baristas, security officers, videographers, VPs, dedicated uncle/aunties and of course hunky Australian/Hawaiian/Taiwanese guys… *cue: drool!*

Got air-kissed/hugged a million times, thrown up to shake my butt in front of straitlaced Singaporeans, volunteered as an impromptu MC, into fights to get my artistes what they wanted …

Had my fair share of heart attacks with missing equipment, missing performers, missing buses, missing wallets, missing passports, missing air tickets!

Nearly cried on the 2nd day of the event, nearly whacked an army major, nearly packed myself into a suitcase to follow the Aussies on their world tour.

Lost 5kg, lost a slipper, lost all inhibitions in proclaiming the name of Jesus on Orchard Road. “JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!!!”

Whew, I’ve only begun sleeping off the effects now – 6 days since the end of CCIS.

————————————————-

I don’t really know how to describe the experience of the 10 days, even now, I’m relishing the thrill of each CCIS day like a fast forward film in my mind’s eye. Words just don’t do justice.

I cannot express the dedication pumped into this project by the thousands of volunteers, from the sweet 5-year-old boy who was singing lustily without notes, to the uncles and aunties who stuck by their stage duties without a word of complaint.

I saw the overall I/C (a CEO of a local cosmetic company) donate time, money and effort only to have to deal with the infightings and finger-pointings. He stuck out to the end, despite struggling with 3 slipped discs. Lastly, he could have, but didn’t put his company logo on the list of sponsors. For all that, I salute him.

——————————–

Being able to proclaim Christ on the streets was also another high point of the event.

The performing groups often pushed the envelope when it came to proclaiming Christ on the streets and Nicole and I kept wondering if we were going to get thrown into jail if the ISD came along. However, by the 3rd day, it felt as if Orchard Road had become a public Christian concert venue ! It was no longer a question of who was crossing boundaries, it was about who could shout it out the loudest!

I thought such an outright declaration of “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” was taboo in conservative Singapore so it was mind-blowing to see people of all races and dress bopping to the Christianised version of “Where is the love?”. What was even more brain-busting is the salvation story of a Muslim who came to Christ after seeing the Indonesians perform.

There are tons of other stories and miracles that came as a result of people who were not afraid to proclaim Christ to those who have not heard!

To think that we as part of the committee, we were so afraid that the STB would shut down our event if we got too “Christian”!

What is mere man compared to the Almighty God?

—————————————

The papers called this event a “roaring success” and I heard that the STB liked the response generated enough to want it to happen again next year.

All these wouldn’t have happened without One Person.

Through honouring Him, He has honoured us and sustained us.

I like to quote a line from a thank you letter from the Program Chairman, “…Seen the rain lately? God held the rain back till last night. ANd I also do not think it coincidental that the Tsunami that missed Singapore. God had been faithful…”

Church, we made it. Despite our differences, God has given us the awesome privilege of pulling off such an event with such success!

Yes and Amen.

Celebrate Christmas in Singapore – 1st entry

I should have started a journal logging in all the stuff that’s happening for CCIS a long time ago … but I can’t remember when I really got into the thick of things. Anyway, it isn’t too late to start, so from now till Christmas, expect a blow-by-blow account of all the stuff happening in CCIS

——————–

We’re still operating largely on presumptions and unconfirmed details. Nicole and I have been working on this thing for one year but details only started coming in the last few weeks. It seems that we’ve been in this race like forever. On top of that, we’ve met so many spiritual obstacles that expend more energy than needed. The final straw was when we heard the news that the parade would be shifted from the 18th to the 19th, it was a huge blow to everybody’s morale.

Right from the start, I knew God was going to provide somehow like He did that first Christmas night. Mary and Joseph had nowhere to go, but God led them to the place He had prepared, and it was just right.

I’m not worrying. I know He can provide. Between the 2 of us, we’ve got 139 foreign guests to keep happy and healthy for the next 14 days, barring any major accidents. The largest group will be a 59-strong team from Bandung Indonesia and the smallest being the 9-person Australian Didgeridoo team (whom I think I will like very much).

I heard many good things about the Australians but nothing beat the leader of the Australian group calling me long distance on Thursday. I was on the line with my dad and somebody else though, so the Australian ended up in the voicemail. He left me this ultra long inspiring message that nobody does on a local line, let alone a trunk call. That one phone call at the end of a very tiring day gave me the boost I needed to carry on running.

And running I shall be. Our first group from Hawaii arrives at 2355 hours, this Tuesday night. Accommodation is all set and I pray that their transit from the airport to Amara will be smooth enough. NicI got a shock today when their pastor called her wondering why there weren’t any rooms booked for them (Everything’s booked under CCIS, you see).

Tomorrow, we’ll be settling the rest of the transport details, accommodation with Lucky Plaza, Amara and Le Meridien, hospitality folders, arranging volunteer support, etc. I pray for added strength, wisdom and clarity when it comes to dealing with all these tiresome admin details.

But despite all the complaints I have, there are many things to thank God and it would be unfair if I didn’t also put them here.

First of all, thank God that its been smooth so far working with the various outside companies who are providing their services to us.

Secondly, though both of us were involved in a misunderstanding in the committee, it was resolved among all the parties very quickly.

Thirdly, thank God for Nicole. Her experience running these sort of hospitality things have caused me to see that I’m not as streetwise as I think I am and I’ve learnt a ton of stuff from her.

Fourthly, thank God for Christmas. This Christmas, I am surrounded by like-minded friends with a deep desire to serve the Livng God. This Christmas, I’ve been given such an amazing opportunity to serve His servants. This Christmas, my wish is to renew my covenant with Him – to seek, serve and follow Him.

Yes and Amen!! Please, if you’ve read this entry thus far, could you please add CCIS into yourr prayer list and spend a bit more time everyday praying for everybody who’s involved?

If you want more info, you can contact me or just check out the CCIS website for schedules of performances and events at www.christmasinsingapore.com.