Ah

It's been nearly a month since I last saw you.

A week since I heard your voice.

And if you don't come on by tomorrow, it'll be another week.

I.Miss.You

Food and Its Consequence..

As you all know, it's CNY. Well, today's already the fifth day. Anyway, I went to Teluk Intan with my family on CNY eve. There isn't much to do there except for Three things. Eat, sleep and of course TV (Astro, since I don't have it at home). So that was what took place for 4 days. And I have to say that everytime I go there, my apetite increases ALOT, and it's very hard to adjust back to my normal intake of food when I come back to Ipoh. Teluk Intan isn't a food heaven like Ipoh. But you can never go hungry there especially when you have 3 FULL meals a day. Breakfast is like having lunch, cause there's dishes and stuff. And then you have lunch, again. And a couple of hours later, there's a very filling dinner and sometimes supper. And I forgot to mention how my grandma always says I'm too thin and I need to eat more! I actually do enjoy going there, cause of the fellowship and the food. Though I can't actually communicate with my grandparents cause of the language barrier.

I couldn't care less about what I ate. But looking at the weighing scale after CNY and seeing how I've put on a few extra kg's ever since the last time I weighed myself (probably half a year ago?), I think I really have to be extra grateful. Not because I've gained weight, but rather cause a person with a lifestyle like me: staying at home most of the time, not bothered to exercise at all, always sleeping and eating; should already be OBESE. But I am still UNDERWEIGHT.

So yeah, I guess maybe in these few months I'll try to start exercising.. Not so much on losing weight, but to keep fit lah. Haha.

p.s: will be updating about my work in the nursery so far, if you actually call that work =)

He keeps the key

I read this a few days ago, and I would like to share it.. Please do read on. =)

Is there some problem in your life to solve,
Some passage seeming full of mystery?
God knows, who brings the hidden things to light.
He keeps the key.

Is there some door closed by the Father's hand
Which widely opened you had hoped to see?
Trust God and wait - for when He shuts the door
He keeps the key.

Is there some earnest prayer unanswered yet,
Or answered NOT as you had thought 'twould be?
God will make clear His purpose by and by.
He keeps the key.

Have patience with God, your patient God,
All wise, all knowing, no long lingerer He,
And of the door of all your future life
He keeps the key.

Unfailing comfort, sweet and blessed rest,
To know of EVERY door He keeps the key.
That He at last when just HE sees is best,
Will give it THEE.

Anonymous

Hope you have been blessed in some way or another.. I have many things to share right now, but I've got to pack, so till then!

Picture Tag

I had a HARD time finding pictures. Cause I'm not much of a cam-whore =P. So most of the pictures are quite old. Haha. Anyway, was tagged by Sze Haw and Jenny, so Here goes!

A Picture of You at The Most Unique Environment

I was at the Lutheran Bungalows in Cameron Highlands. A pretty, relaxing place. =)

A Picture of You at the Place You Dislike

I don't dislike this place. This spot was just TOO hot. =P

A Picture of People Who Mean A lot to You

I can't put that many pictures over here. All of you mean a lot to me alright.. =)










A Picture of You With Your Best Smile (Mouth Opened)

A Picture of You With Your Best Smile (Mouth Closed)




A Picture of You With The Lamest Pose

That's me all right. Haha

A Picture of Someone Who Stands On Top of Your Heart

=)

A Picture of You With Some Toys or Cute Stuff Toy


A Picture of You in a White Shirt


I tag.. Whoever who wants to do this! Feel free to do so.. Please do tell me if you did. =).

5th International Students' Camp (Part Three)

Here's the third and final part regarding the camp.

Saturday, 3rd January 2009 (Day 9) ~ It was the BIG Day. At least, that was what we were told. The International Youth Rally and Carnival which was planned WAY ahead of time.. We had a few briefings concerning this day prior to the event. By 2pm, we were all gathered at MYC. There were quite many people there already. Volunteers and helpers from the various churches in Ipoh.. Also, the four youth bands were there to do the sound check etc.

While waiting for the carnival to begin, most of us just hanged around in the hall. That morning, our Quiet Time task was to draw a fish anywhere on our arm.. So it was funny to spot those who didn't do their QT.

Just ONE of those Conversations:
SC - "Where's your Fish? I wanna see.."
Friend - "What Fish?"
Everyone - "Hor, didn't do Quiet Time."..
Friend - ????

And he did it immediately. Haha

Our QT Fishes.. Which is the nicest? =P

Some of the Campers chilling before the carnival..

At 4.00, the Carnival began.. It was already raining but by the grace of God, people still came.. Even though the number of people were much less than expected, at least people still showed up. There were quite many stalls.. Hanny, the only girl from Indonesia, had RM40 worth of coupons.. She told me I could take some from her, so I took a RM10 booklet.. And I spent RM20 on food alone. But I wasn't so greedy to buy everything for myself la. Malaysian food still rocks! =D

The Philippines' booth

The Korean booth

Charmaine, Amanda and Linus from KL..

Peninsular Malaysia's booth.. Do you notice something wrong? HAHA. =P

At around 5.30, the Hip-Hop Dance Competition began.. I think there were 12 contestants and 6 of them were ISC Campers.. 4 from Japan, 1 from the Philippines and 1 from South Korea.

Miguel (Philippines), Shingo and Fumika from Japan

While waiting for the dance.. The Semi-Finalists

The Japanese with their own dance..

Fumika =). She got third btw..

I cheered too much. Even though I was already on the verge of losing my voice. I can't remember a time where I've cheered for my friends that much. Haha. Right after the dance, I RAN back to the changing room upstairs. Nearly all the campers were already in their national costumes, so I had to hurry. Cause it was nearly 6.30 and the International Parade was about to begin. And being the SU Flag Bearer, I had to be first.

All of the ISC Campers on the stage.. Part of the Parade

The International Parade started with all the flag bearers marching onto the stage, followed by everyone else. Then the Japs, Koreans, Malaysians and the Cambodian girl presented their items.

The Japanese with their performance =)

Koreans.

Worship

The Human Train.. Hugo sesat.. HAHA

Cheese!

Mr. Chito (Philippines), Yeon Hoon (Korea), Madoka and Aika, Yoon-Ku and Ha-Young from Korea..

And finally, the last picture I took before the day ended.

Ken, Me and Mamoru. Both from Japan. He had no better pose. >.<. Haha

Overall, the rally was great. Though the expected 2000 people obviously didn't turn up. But then again, there were people saved that night.. And that's what matters most.. If all the efforts were put in just to touch ONE soul, it is indeed worth it.. After all, we know, that the angels in heaven rejoice over one soul who repents. =). By the time the rally ended, some campers already started crying, and yes I did too.. Just a little.. It was the last night, so I guess that explains it.

Sunday, 4th January 2009 (Day 10) ~ It was the LAST Day.. Woke up early in the morning and went to Wesley for service. We all went to different churches, depending on our foster families.. After service, all of us who went to Wesley walked to the MYC. And just chilled.. The other campers started coming back to the MYC. The Japanese were to leave for KLIA at 12.30p.m. Before they left, we said goodbye to them. I was hugging some of the good friends I made and suddenly, I lost it. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. They were asking me not to cry, but I couldn't help it. And when I saw my best friend in camp, Hikari, she started crying as well. Anyhow, I followed them outside to the bus.. Some of the Japanese girls were crying as well. But other than that, everyone was pretty fine. It was funny, cause they were watching me and a few others as if it were some drama. But then again, it was fine with me.

It took me nearly an hour to fully stop crying. My eyes were swollen by then.. It was very hard for me to accept that I wouldn't be seeing my friends anymore.. At least not for many years.. It just wouldn't be the same. The Koreans were supposed to leave at 2. I went off around 1.. After bidding goodbye!

While waiting for everyone to arrive at MYC

Charmaine, Me, Jazgul and Nursultan from Kyrgyzstan

That's all folks. =D. I will still post pictures and a few of the MOST MEMORABLE MEMORIES I had in camp. And maybe the people I will miss the most. =). God bless! Thanks for reading through, if you did.

Is it all worth it?

The Singapore plan I've had in mind for more than a year, changed in a matter of days. Going to KL was something I was against.. But now, that's where I'm heading to. Well, that's fine with me..

Then it comes to Subjects I have to choose for A-Levels in Arts.. I was so against taking up Maths.. I dropped Add Maths for SPM. And I know Maths in A-Levels is like Add Maths. I have zero knowledge in Add Maths.. Okay, maybe I do know a little.. But the prospect of going into something that I don't really like scares me.. Then I have my close friends who tell me that it doesn't make much of a difference whether you took Add Maths or not.. Because you WILL learn it in A-Levels.. And yeah, I guess they're right.. So yeah, I'll be taking Maths now because its much needed for the scholarship I want to get in the future even though I won't be having a Math related career.

And lastly, A-Levels requires constant effort, no slacking.. I have to study hard. I just have to. If you gave me these options a few weeks ago, I wouldn't even consider it. But right now, things have just changed.. I can't even believe I'm actually doing this.. So please, can anyone tell me, is it really worth it?

What if when I get through it, the thing I fear most becomes a reality?

Updates

Hey guys! Part 3 of the 5th ISC Camp will be out soon.. =). But anyway, just a short update about myself.. It's the same routine for me everyday.. Sleep, eat, online, FULLSTOP. Haven't been going out much. Today, I got a job in a nursery. It's only half-day.. Well at least, that's what I chose. Haha.. The pay is just okay, but I'm not going for the money, but rather, the experience. I heard about this job when I went to SCC (Christian Bookstore) last week. Wasn't really interested at first, but now I am. Work commences on Monday. So now, I can't afford to wake up at 12 anymore. Besides that, I'm also quite interested in working as a waitress. Yes I know, it sounds funny. Cause even I can't imagine myself serving WITHOUT being clumsy. Oh no!

*Serene is no longer what you would call 'Emo'. She is now as happy as she can be!* HAHA

Random Picture of the Day:

Mr. Lee Jun Ho from Korea.. Eating our very own CHILLI PADI. (check out our expressions)

Till then!

5th International Students' Camp (Part Two)

Wednesday, 31st December 2008 (Day 6) ~ It was Jungle Craft day. A very interesting one indeed.. Some of the indigenous people were invited to teach us to make certain things.. Earlier on, we had to choose our workshop. There were 6 workshops.. 3 types of food and 3 items. Namely; ketupat, lemang, bamboo chicken for the food and for the items it was the catapult, musical instrument (bird whistle) and the blowpipe. For the food, those who chose it would learn how to cook it and it would then become our lunch for the day.. And for the items, we would be taught how to make it and yes, it would be ours! For me, I only registered for a workshop after majority of the people did. So I ended up learning how to make the bird whistle. It was cool.

The Making of the Bird Whistle

The Bamboo Chicken.. it was AWESOME

Ketupat Making Process

After nearly 3 hours of hard work, all of us gathered in the dining hall for lunch.. We ate the cooked food and the OA brought sambal prawns too (TOO GOOD). It was a very, very good lunch.. Right after lunch, some of us continued making our bird whistles. It wasn't easy to make it, cause if you don't get the write length and things like that, there won't be any sound.. There was this boy, a very cute 13-year old Japanese boy named Shunya Tateno.

Isn't he cute? I thought he looked like an Anime Character.. hehe.. KAWAII!!

Anyway, he made 5 bird whistles, but even so, he still couldn't make a proper one. I felt really bad for him, so I helped him after I finished mine. But when he continued doing it, it still couldn't work.. So me and two other girls helped him to do No.6 and it finally worked! But he misplaced it after lunch and was starting another one. I managed to find it for him, and he was really happy. Then he was busy making something, and when I asked him what it was, he said he was making a stick. It looked pretty cool. No picture, but it was a long stick. I had no idea what it was for. When I asked if it was a fighting stick, he went like 'Ah, ah, ah'. >.<. I think he doesn't even know what he's talking. Haha, but he was so cute. AH. I miss him so much! At around 3pm, we were asked to gather at the Amphitheater. The OA were going to teach us their dance, called the 'Sawang'. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. Later, some campers joined them in the dance. It was pretty amusing watching campers of different nationalities doing some traditional thing. They had to wear the grass stuff as well. Headgear, skirt, you name it. Sorry, no pictures here. After the dance, we had a short Blowpipe and Catapult shooting competition.. Those who entered would have to shoot the balloons from afar.. And the prize? A miserable packet of Cheezels. HAHA, only one guy managed to do it. It was a special night. 31st December 2008, the Last day of the year. And New Year would be spent, far away from home for most of the people. After Praise and Worship, there was a slot for Sharing and Review about the camp so far.. At 10pm, the watchnight service started. It started off with a few songs and then a representative from each of the 10 nations involved in the 5th ISC shared about the SU movement in his country and the prayer needs as well. I was actually looking forward to the countdown, but there wasn't any. The sharing went past 12. Haha, but it didn't really matter after all. There was much more important things to think about. After the sharing, a guy from SU shared with us and he gave us a few questions to think about. He made us reflect on our year and how much we have done to serve His purpose. We were all given a small candle in a cup and after reflecting, we were supposed to light it up and place it at the foot of the cross right in front of the hall.

It was a very quiet and reflective moment.

As the night went by, I was changed. Somehow, this new year was different from any I've ever had before. It was a moment where I really experienced true surrender. More to come later. That was the end of 2008 and a fresh start to 2009. Lights out were at 2am. I only settled down and went to bed at 3something. Suddenly, some of the camp officers came in and kept asking us to sleep. They weren't gonna leave till we did. So we slept.

Thursday, 1st January 2009 (Day 7) ~ When I woke up, my pavilion mate (the Sarawakian) told me that our slippers were missing.. And our shoes too. So I went to check and yeah it was GONE. And who else would have taken it besides the CAMP OFFICERS. They were so desperate for us to sleep the night before. Haha. So both of us went out to check. My shoes were not taken cause it was still in my shoe bag. Thank God. The amphitheater was just outside our pavilion. And yeah, our slippers were there. The wonderful officers did a great job by scattering the slippers EVERYWHERE. Every single chair had a different slipper.. So we searched for some time.. Some lucky slippers were stashed on top of some wooden thing as well. Being a kind soul (LOL), I woke the guys at the pavilions up and told them to find their slippers and lend them mine to use for awhile. Those who were sleeping in the rooms found their slippers much harder. Some were even stashed and hidden away.. It was the last day at the SUFES Campsite. After Praise and Worship (Peninsula Malaysia's turn), we had the closing session. And after lunch we left for Ipoh. We went in three buses, as usual. The bus ride back was pretty fun. Though nearly the whole bus was sleeping.

Nothing much happened after that. The foster parents were all gathered in the hall already, so when our names were called, we had to go.

Friday, 2nd January 2009 (Day 8) ~ We gathered at MYC at 10am and left for Daybreak.. We were split into 5 different groups for our jobs.. My group did some weeding, it was FUN under the SUN.. Except for the fact that we fed the mozzies NICELY. And it was funny how some of the Koreans and a few others freaked out when they saw a frog..

The Koreans during lunch

After lunch, a few national groups performed for the people in Daybreak to watch..

Lux from Cambodia with the Cambodian dance.. Every move speaks for itself (Christian meaning)

Sarawak group

Japan =)

Koreans..

Me and Hikari at Daybreak

We returned to MYC at 3.30 for the Carnival and Rally rehearsal.

The different flags.. I was holding the Scripture Union East/West Asia flag, far right.

We went back to our respective homes after rehearsal.

The last two days will be in Part 3.. Till then! =)