wonderment

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus…”

(Philippians 4:19)

I was truly feeling absolutely drained and tired today. A headache and neckache was threatening to bring me down hard. I didn’t feel like going to YA. I wanted to go home to sleep.

But I went anyway. If anything, I had to lead prayer.

How sad that sometimes the only reason that brings you to fulfil a commitment is an obligation!

Today we had something on rock music but the message wasn’t about how to clean out my music rack, rather, it spoke about compromise.

I was compromising.

On God’s time.
God’s resources.
God’s dues.

If given the choice, this sinner would be a selfish pig - but by the grace of God, she is saved from a lifetime of mindless, aimless worshipping a god that finds its end in the next trashy tv show it watches!

Ok, I am digressing from the point of this post.

God answered another prayer in His own splendid way. Perfect timing.

He was just waiting for the right time when she would realise that she wasn’t going to function properly until she put her hands into His and allowed Him to lead her.

When she was a teen, she came to know Him and was truly on fire for Him. But the things of this world drew her back into its snare and she drifted … until she thought she was just too far.

Years later, she felt a familiar tug of her heart again. She knew it was Him but she couldn’t respond. It was so difficult to come as she was … She thought He wouldn’t stand for all the awful things she’d done. She would try to make amends, but she never felt that they helped her to remove the suffocating burden on her heart.

Yet, the call was getting stronger.

She couldn’t deny it.

Today, my friend re-dedicated her life back to Christ and has agreed to do followup with me.

(Since when was my life this exciting??)

Awesome. Imagine what I would have lost out if I decided to obey my aches and pains and gone home to catch some shut-eye?

Everything has its own timing … I’m not denying that rest has its own place, but also remember to watch out and don’t miss a single thing that God is doing in this life.

If I could only say how incredibly gracious our God is … I’d sing to the highest heaven.

Many months ago, I prayed for someone I could disciple. It seemed impossible now that I had started working and a Christian environment at that. Basically, I was back to square one - Christian home, Christian vocation, Christian church, Christian extra-curricular activities.

I wanted to taste the thrill of seeing someone come to know and love Christ. So I started praying. I wrote about this request in my journal and thought about it from time to time, but there never seemed to be an opportunity.

Then one day, a certain Jeannie came to YA and because it seemed like everyone was talking to her so I didn’t. She came every week after that but I never actually went up and talked to her.

But one Sunday, we all went out for lunch and I finally had an opportunity to introduce myself and talk a little with her. I didn’t even find out that she just recently turned to Christ.

Now that I’d begun talking to Jeannie, I would say hi to her at YA but not much more. I noticed her, however. I noticed that her eyes would always be teary after worship or Sunday service and I marvelled at how God was touching this tender heart.

Quite a few Sundays later, we were back at that very same coffeeshop on the day we started talking to each other and Denise came up to me and asked me a question.

Hey do you know that Jeannie just received Christ?

Auntie Joyce is supposed to follow her up but now that she’s with YA, she hopes that one of us could follow her up.

I thought I’d just tell you first so that you can see who can help out.

(My heart skips a beat)

Denise, don’t need to ask anyone else. I’ll do it.

She’s the one from the previous post. I never thought I’d get back into follow up, but here I am and God is impacting me through her as well.

—————

As I tossed around in bed last night, I couldn’t help but chuckle at how God answered another prayer, though not mine, but I’m directly involved.

Chew had brought a girl, Sharon, to YA two weeks back and because we all stayed in the same area, we went home together. And when they say the law of proximity in Singapore is 2, you gotta believe it. I found out that she’s actually the daughter of our Teochew volunteer at the station, and I particularly like this uncle because he’s always smiling, he’s Teochew like me and he looks like my dad! Out of all the volunteers at the station, I talk to him most but we never really talk about family so meeting his daughter like that was so coincidental!

He came by a couple of days after I first met her and told me something I’ll probably remember everytime I see her.

He told me how he’d been praying to get his daughter to come and meet me. Maybe he thought I’ll be a good influence or something, but what he didn’t expect was that I’ll just meet her like that! At church! With no intervention of his own!

And for the second Monday in a row, we hung around at the MRT station and talked for nearly half an hour before going our separate ways.

God is good, isn’t He???

————————

Also at YA last night, I caught up with a friend I’ve known for close to a year. This friend comes across as being strong and carefree and when I used to call her, I would stutter because her care-less voice would totally make me feel like a kaypoh for finding out what she was doing.

I stopped calling, because after How Are You? I had nothing left to say.

We’ve never really spoken about deep issues on faith, but I don’t know what got into me yesterday. The Spirit must have been pushing me to ask because I NEVER do this unless I know this person treats her faith seriously. I could never figure her out and I didn’t want to push her away, so we always skirted the issue. If at all we did ask, we usually stopped at the cliches.

Last night, I went for the kill. Never mind if it backfired, but I needed to know how she stood with God.

And what I found out made my heart ache for her.

She didn’t share much but even thinking about it made her eyes fill with tears.

I don’t know what she was thinking about, but I thank God for a breakthrough in our communication.

———————–

Waiting is not a good feeling.

I’m waiting for RMIT to get back to me.
I’m waiting for answers to certain things I need for CCIS and work.
I’m waiting for the right person to come along so I can train to take over my work.
I’m waiting for more volunteers to do programs next year.

My fingernails are nearly bitten to the quick while I do all these waiting … On one hand I worry, on the other, I know that God has His own timing.

——————————

Thara came by to record the last of her little snippets. We’ve been talking about how to do a CD that can sell and generate income for her as she stays on in Singapore after her brother leaves for Australia.

As I helped her record, a sudden EUREKA moment popped into my head and I very nearly wanted to stop her and tell her exactly what I was thinking about.

When she finally finished (and I was nearly bursting), I asked her if she knew about Project Superstar (the Ch U’s version of Singapore Idol) and about the blind busker guy who got to the final 2 without any voice training.

The handicapped, especially the blind are getting a whole lot of airtime nowadays, and Thara fits the bill for a program volunteer because she know exactly how it was like to see, and then to go partially blind. She’s got the life experience, she knows what the phrase “theatre of the mind” means and she’s got a faith that’s so vibrant! Her voice is the lilting kind and her laugh infectious! Praise Him! I think I found someone who would fit the bill of taking the gospel to the heartlands.

And you know, after I said that, she told me that she had just asked God for an opportunity to reach out through the mass media.

I nearly fainted.

That coincidental???

We’re working out the details of whether my superiors can accept her as a volunteer and pay her … and also who will help her with the packaging of the program.

I still need to find that full-timer but I KNOW God will provide …. In His Time.

An awakening report on the awful famine situation in Africa.
Spirit-less eyes, emaciated bodies, mottled skin, the last thread - screamed for me to stop eating my chicken pau and do something.

A reading of Psalm 31 jolts me awake.
Disengagement in Gaza, people protesting, no bloodshed - suddenly I experience the same extreme ache of loss.

A candid sharing by a new friend who recently came to the Lord.
“What would I do first if war came to Singapore? Run or stay?
I would stay. It’s easier to share Christ during war time.”

Grandpop came back from Maui today (finally!) and to commemorate the occasion, I dug up some photographs … Don’t laugh!!!

(Campus Crusade 3rd year farewell // May 2003)
I used to sport long hair … then I snipped it all off in one stressful moment and had to live out the rest of my school days looking like a tomboy. But hey, at least I look young in this one! This was taken a couple of days before graduation. The next one is a real disaster…

(Graduation Day // 4 July 2003 )
Yes, disaster strikes Ngee Ann when my mother thought that gelling up all my hair would make me look “professional”-NOT! I look like an Indonesian tai-tai! And it was Graduation Day!! I will never live this down for the rest of my life. Imagine what my kids will say when they see my graduation photos??

(Singapore Riverfront // 15 Nov 2003 )
How things have changed since this photo was taken! Denis is now married and has a handsome young ‘un, Nathanael, with his wife Doris. Beverly is in Pri 1 and well … the rest of us … we’ve grown … em…. more good looking. *ahem*

(GB girls visit FEBA // May 2004)
Ah me in action… hardworking okay?? From time to time, we have churches and organisations visit our studios and I usually take the English-speaking groups and the children… They remind me when I was in the Girls’ Brigade once … the blue uniform, ah so memorable! - sorry no photos of THAT time!

(Christmas Parade on Orchard Road // 19 Dec 2004)
The Hawaiian group is coming back this year for CCIS!!! I lost 5 kg after the whole event was over. I’m in it again this year … will I lose another 5???

(Birthday celebrations @ NYDC // 30 Jan 2005)
Yeah I’ve turned 22 but I hardly look it. Bleh. I know.

Okay, that’s all for now! A trip down memory lane .. I didn’t even remember taking some of these photos too … take a look at your own photo collection and post up some photos that remind you about the nostalgic past …

ahhh…

In a move that suprised even me, my city-slicker friends, John ‘n’ Pris, invite me out for a road trip to a lesser known part of Singapore - a place synonymous with pig farms and third-worldliness - the only country side left in Singapore - LIM CHU KANG.

Our first stop: Bollywood veggies - the retirement home - cum - organic vegetable farm - cum bistro of the (INevitably)Famous, awesomely Fiery and exotically Fascinating ex-Netball Association honcho - Ivy Singh-Lim. Set up in 2001 with her husband Lim Ho Seng, the 10-acre farm boasts of a variety of organically-grown local vegetables that taste as good as they look.

Looking for a restful little cafe in the country side? Welcome to Poison Ivy.

Painted and decorated in colours any Indian would be proud of, Poison Ivy is exquisite homeliness. Wooden dining sets that would have looked clunky and out of date in our modern kitchens, fit in seamlessly with the decor. A pandan-leaf ensemble in a glass vase tells you the number of your table. Clusters of fruit and vegetable for sale are displayed proudly at the white-tiled counter. A struggling wooden bookshelf, laden with books and magazines, leans against one wall. Ceiling fans are the old kind, the ones we used to have in primary school.

It’s so rustic, you can’t believe there’s air-conditioning.

I would like to think this is 1986 where I spent many happy days at my grandaunt’s farmshack at the foot of Bukit Timah Hill, but this is 2005 Lim Chu Kang and here we are in the highly-acclaimed Poison Ivy.

Diners chatter comfortably with one another, sipping their chilled white wines and silver utensils clatter melodiously in the background. I should feel odd, it’s like stepping into someone’s home, but I’m drawn by the informal atmosphere.

We ushered ourselves to our seats and proceeded to order. Don’t be fooled by the simple menu. Everything looks like a mere hawker centre offering, but wait till you try it.

Fish Otah cushioned with Egg Omelette


Garden Salad

Looks too easy peasy right? Wait till you put that first bite in your mouth. The explosion of natural flavours make you feel all healthy and delicious inside. Ingredients are fresh from the soil and the fish we had was sedap!

Expect service to be slow on weekends because of the upsurge in customers. But you’ll hardly get bored. Pick up copies of Tatler or Prestige with Ivy Singh on the front cover and read all about her Bollywood Veggies story. Go play with the mongrel puppies in the backyard. Shoot a couple of hoops in a makeshift basketball arena. Or, in my opinion, the best thing to do is just sit back and relax the afternoon away.

If you’re there, watch out for this nice old uncle. He’s one of the servers and he provides such excellent personalised service, you won’t mind paying the service charge. He treated us to a banana and seriously, organic food really tastes different from the stuff you get in the market.

I’ve never seen furry bananas before and this one tastes exceptionally sweet. White bananas, I like.

John says that after eating this Kueh Ko-sui, you’d think the ones you eat outside are plasticky and yukky. I totally agree. This KKS is creamy and cold and not too sweet.

The banana cake and tapioca are made from farm produce and are served steaming hot. Fall in love with local desserts all over again!

*Burrrrrrrrrrrrp* - John’s king burp.


Never-stink-a-lot toilet.

Next up! We go to Hay Dairies - the only goat farm in Singapore. Entry is free and it’s only $2 for a pack of alfafa sprouts if you want feed the goaties.

One goat too many! This little boy was so cute to watch. While he was feeding one miserable sprout to the brown goat while trying not to let it bite off his fingers, the white goat was busy getting at the rest of the sprouts in his bag.

Grandpa goat. Chewing on his cud and looking so comfy on his belly.

I downed a whole bottle of goat’s milk and while it doesn’t taste very different from normal cow’s milk, it certainly kept me full until dinner time!

For 4 hours, we were whisked away to another part, another world where there are no high-rise buildings, no fast-food restaurants, no shopping malls … just pure nature with its rolling hills and farms that provided a different perspective for 3 urbanites yesterday.

If you want to go on a free ‘n’ easy journey like ours, drop by Bollywood Veggies for lunch, pick up a map of the area and off you go on your countryside tour.

Enjoy and tell me how it goes!!

My home computer’s presently at Dr. Rudi’s.

Something about the hard disk going on an extended vacation to Maui, he said.

The only time I’m really off the computer is when I’m on my way home or when I’m asleep. Otherwise, this gal’s ker-neck-ted, okay?

So I balked at the prospects of being un-ker-neck-ted.
The space where my CPU used to be looks dark.
My monitor lonely without its plasticky other half.
The speakers oddly silent without klove blaring.

But, no computer means no computer so making the best use of the time I have, I’ve finished Philip Yancey, the book of Acts…. I watched a bit of TV and enjoyed a lovely meal prepared by momsy and I even had time to smell the jasmine flowers!

Cool beans. I think I’m beginning to like being un-ker-neck-ted.

What simple joy it is to ….

1) Make brownies yesterday morning.

Well I wouldn’t tell you about my brownie making experience, if it weren’t an experience, right?

I followed instructions … Took out the packaging, created a well in the powder mix, remembered to use the few extra ingredients from the fridge …. everything! Or so I thought. I kept wondering why the batter was harder to mix than usual, and then I realised. To my utter horror, I’d forgotten to add the olive oil! I added the 3 tablespoons of water, broken the 2 eggs perfectly … but I didn’t put in the vegetable oil. Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

When I did pour in the oil, the batter started to curdle! As quick as lightning, I starting mixing and folding, mixing and folding but the mixture looked real gross with the oil turning a murky brown and the batter a glistening, floating mess. I contemplated dumping the whole mixture since it looked so terrible but one of mom’s wise words came to me … “Keep at it and you’ll never know, it may just succeed!” So keep at it I did and after a while, the batter soaked up the oil and it became easier to mix and fold.

It was time for the oven (I remembered to grease the pan!) and after 24 minutes, the brownie was done! I tell you, this was the first time I ever made a brownie successfully! The toothpick came out clean the first time I poked it, the cake didn’t burn, neither did it have craters on the surface. When I slid a knife round the edges to loosen it from the pan, it slid out beautifully.

Warm brownies never tasted so good. It was chocolatey and cakey and surprising when you bit on the extra raisin/cranberry bits.

So my friends, keep at it, you never know you may just succeed.

2) Have a good friend over for a swim.

I’ve got sexy (haha!) tan lines from rolling around in the pool with Joyce yesterday. We headed straight for the pool after she arrived and frolicked around trying to get some semblance of a tan. Yes, it was a sunny day but the sun kept dancing the cha-cha with the huge fluffy clouds. So sometimes we had sun, sometimes we didn’t.

We left after the pool started to get crowded. Joyce complained she still looks washed out, but I’m too chaotah for my liking.

Anyway, do you want to know what’s good after swimming? (Or playing in the water?)

FRENCH FRIES AND MILK TEA AT MOS BURGER!! yumsylicious and now don’t comment that it’s fattening. We LIKE it, so you can’t do anything about it. neh neh neh neh ….

3) Have good company for dinner.

We had suprise visitors in the form of my dad’s pastor and his wife. The verandah was breezy and lovely and we had a great time sharing about God and the Bible …. I used to have a horrid impression of this pastor when he used to co-pastor my previous church. At that time, I didn’t know him very well, so I would avoid him as much as I could or pretend I didn’t see him. Later, I moved out of that church and he went on to start his own church which my parents joined.

As he got more involved with the lives of my parents, he slowly won me over with his realness. He never talked down to me and always was willing to take up challenges I posed for him, gamely and never retaliating. His kindness to my family is also more than I’ve ever seen from a pastor (sorry, but it’s true!). I shared with him some ideas I had for YA and he really encouraged me on for to approach the leadership, even offering suggestions from past experiences.

This guy has also helped me see the Bible for all its worth. He found out we were doing James for Bible study in YA and tested me on the spot. Of course, I’m hardly compared to someone who knows it inside out, but he gave me some more information that makes my study of James even more interesting.

God bless simple joys!

Also, Discovery is home! I had goose pimples when it touched down safely. Those 14 people on board must be so thankful!

Dear friends,

CALLING ALL CHRISTIANS!

Are you looking for an area to serve God with the
media skills you have been equipped with?

Do you want to be part of an incredibly
exciting/adventurous/life-changing/faith building move
in history?

If your answer is yes and yes! - 102.3FM Voice of
Grace is looking for a Producer-Presenter to join the
English Programming Department.

[102.3FM VOG is Singapore's Christian community radio
station under the direction of Far East Broadcasting
International (www.febc.org, www.febi.org).]

We have been called to fulfill the Great Commission
especially in these times, and if that is your desire,
please contact me, Ruth Song, at ruthsong @ gmail . com
and I’ll give you the full details then.

Thanks and God bless you!

Blessings,
Ruth

P.S: It’s not really about experience or whether you
think you’re “good enough”, it’s about where your
heart and burden lie. Remember that.

Spread to friends and family - we’re hiring!

It’s not like I don’t already know, but recently I’ve noticed my dad doing stuff that really gets my attention. Like he pushes his half-eaten noodles breakfast aside to break the soft-boiled eggs for Mom and I first. Doesn’t matter that his noodles grow cold or the pesky fly has a chance to finally get a bite, he says you must eat the eggs hot, cold not nice.

Wah, power man. I don’t need someone who knows how to peel prawns. Just need to make great half-boiled eggs and break them for me, can already.

We know that all things work together for good to them that love God. (Rom 8:2