WORDS

Words can either build someone up or bring someone down. The consequence of wrong choice of words are great! Some commit suicide because of words. Some were hurt till the day he or she leave this world.


Matthew 12: 36-37

 ³⁶ But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Do you know what is the most powerful weapon on this earth? Someone asked me this before when I was a child. I thought nuclear bomb, sword or whatever weapon that come across my mind. Never before I thought it's ... 

Proverbs 18:21

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

Every word that comes out from our mouth comes from our heart. 

(Mat 15:18-19)

"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies" 

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 

James 3 (taming the tongue)

¹ Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ² We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

 ³ When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴ Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.


 ⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶ The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.



 ⁷ All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, ⁸but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
 ⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

¹¹ Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹² My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Proverbs 4:23-24
²³ Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
²⁴ Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 


Proverbs 10:8
The wise in heart accepts commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.


Proverbs 10:14
Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.


Proverbs 10: 19
When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. 


Proverbs 12: 18
Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.


Proverbs 12:25
An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up. 


John 6:63
³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.


1 Corinthians 2:4-7

⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.


Ecclesiastes 12:11
The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd.




WOW! So many passages on words and tongues alone. I pray that we'd be wise in using our words.(including me of course!)

You say it best

                                      When you say nothing at all

- Ronan Keating -  

Isaiah 42:16

I like whenever people call "BIG DADDY". How we really need BIG DADDY's love. Something I truly crave for. Fame and fortune cannot really fulfill that loneliness in us - that part that needs to be filled with DADDY'S love.

Isaiah 42:16
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.


I can't really grasp the full meaning but I am sure I will as I walk along in this lifeeee timeeee... 

EARC: Wake up and dream. The time is now!

I truly treasure my time in EARC. Personally I never quite like Old Testament and this time there's Bible Exposition on the book of Haggai. Nonetheless who knows God still can speak to our present situation through Haggai rightttt.. The most striking verse that still strike me is "Give careful thought to your ways.." It's repeated in the book of Haggai few times. Give careful thought..not only a thought but a careful one.

There are so many flaws in my life and I start to think... Give careful thought to my ways? But amazingly these situations(those dark times in our life) are the ones that draw us closer to God than ever.

I love those plenaries time. Yeah..we were called not to spend on those branded stuff too much because there's impact and stories behind our global spending. Those branded stuff- Their factories are not in Europe country so that they can earn more (of course by using cheap labour and they work in stuffy condition!) Some were forced to work more than 12 hours just to produce those branded things.

Besides, I also made lots of new friends. Although we didn't get along at first due to language barrier, but eventually we manage to overcome it by speaking more slowly, waiting for others to speak as they struggle to speak in English, use sign language n etc etc.

I am so glad for this experience because we really encourage one another although we were from different countries especially during group sharing and quiet time. Not everyone can live pleasant life as a Christian. Life is life.

Someone said this during EARC, "You cannot live a prophetic lifestyle by being distant and safe. It's a walk that is lonely and not safe, avoided by others and not getting any help."

With technologies affecting us, it gets more and more distracting each day. Distract us from God, from real life, from this n that.. Internet is like an escape to another world.. And in one of my workshops, we did an activity which is " What do you think Jesus FB will look like?"

Ha ha.. We came out with all sorts of ideas but well, think about it..Living in digital era, I wonder what Jesus would do if He has FB, blog n etc. What will He post in FB..What kind of sms will He send? What kind of things He will comment on others blog/FB/...? Something to think about.

I dream ..but I wake up and dream. Does our dreams have the same purpose? Which is to move this world for His glory?

The apostle Paul shared an interesting insight and experience in his, " So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. " (Romans 7:21) 

Speaking about evilness..Pastor mentioned this last week. Sometimes or most of the times we end up doing what we hate..what we despise.. though we know it's wrong but we don't have the strength to overcome them. That's why we need to pray and God will be our advocate - helping us. Evil is bad but as men, sometimes we enjoy doing what is evil although it's wrong and we know it! LIFE.

May the Lord our God continue to help us to walk in this journey of faith.

FInally, today...

Today, yes today, I make my stand! It did not turn out as how I expected them to be but well, I make my stand and no turning back to it. Sometimes we made mistakes in life... Thank God for the forgiveness.

Farhan Qureshi - 3 idiots

 Today my respect for that idiot shot up. Most of us went to college just for a degree. No degree meant no plum job, no pretty wife, no credit card, no social status. But none of this mattered to him, he was in college for the joy of learning, he never cared if he was first or last. 

Interesting facts!

1. U must stay in Guangzhou for good food
2. You must stay in Shuzhou for good clothings ( they r known for their silk)
3. You must stay in Hangzhou for the sceneries ( Their westlake is beautiful)
4. U must die in Luzhou ( Luzhou is famous for its wood that makes good coffin)

Some of my dream placessss

 

Watch sunrise from Eiffel Tower.

ROME: Take an underground train ride, dine-out in small pizzerias, down a whole pizza and gulp a bottle of wine, eat gelato in front of the Pantheon, throw at coin at the Trevi Fountain (pictured here), read Angels and Demons.

ROME: Think of scooter-riding Italians against the backdrop of the iconic Colosseum. I can’t imagine the lovely and sweet-talking Italians who were fond of watching gladiators fight each other (sometimes with fierce animals) until death. But that’s all history now.

PARIS: Watch artistes paint along the Seine River, check out flee markets, drink French wine in outdoor cafes, visit the Moulin Rouge (pictured here), dine on finest French cuisine, order a croissant and expresso, visit small churches, buy a Monalisa reprint, read The Da Vinci Code.
 

 

AMSTERDAM: You’ll be damned not to visit Amsterdam at least once in your life. The vibrant city in The Netherlands is among the liveliest cities in the world yet it has maintained its old charm with its 17th century architecture against the backdrop of winding canals, which were recently declared as Unesco Heritage Site. Must-do: Bike along the canals.

BERLIN: After the fall of the Wall, Berlin had been reborn. Although the scars left by the Cold War has never been forgotten, Berlin rose from the ashes and became a cosmopolitan city by all measures but without neglecting its history and culture. Berlin’s arts scene and nightlife are worth the trip. Must-see: Brandenburg Gate

Taken from here

The Road Not Taken (Robert Frost)

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.	20

The Road Taken/Not taken ?

A road may seem straightforward to a man,

yet may end as the way to death.

Even in laughter the heart may grieve,

and mirth may end in sorrow.

There is another way: to love what God commands and desire what He promises.

It can't be found except through prayer and obedience.

E.E

Prayerrrr

When stormy winds against us break
Stablish and reinforce our will
O hear us for thine own name's sake
Hold us in strength and hold us still


Still as the faithful mountain stand
Through the long silent years of stress
So would we wait at Thy right hand
In quietness and steadfastness


But not of us this strength
And not of us this constancy
Our trust is Thine Eternal Word
Thy presence our security

-Elisabeth Elliot-

Passion and Purity

Through letters, diary entries and recollections of her courtship and marriage, Elisabeth Elliot candidly shares the temptations, difficulties, victories and sacrifices of two young people whose commitment to Christ took priority over their love for each other. These revealing personal glimpses, combined with relevant biblical teaching may help to remind you that only by putting your human passion and desire through his fire can God purify your love.

One of Jim's letter to Elisabeth:

Woke early again this morning and shared my devotions with dreams of you. It bothers me somewhat that you are on my mind when I ought to be praying, and it's a discipline not to indulge overmuch in remembering. Not that I feel a conflict - I am assured that loving you is part of my life now - important as eating, and God knows, I need it. 

...



I'm glad that last is still ahead. Glad I'm not jaded by nights in bed with you, as married couples are. They can bear to sit opposite sides of the car. I'm glad I still can't quite keep my hands off you, still must be warned not to "muss you up". I have you now unravished, and that is just how I need you now. The schoolboy in me still wonders and is awkward - we've not had "experience" - which takes the edge off. We will, I suppose, get used to each other, the feel and smell and look of one another, but I am glad it is not so now. As I never felt before, I feel now that I must keep myself for you. God knows it is a stay to purity, and He knows how many shakings to purity are ahead.


I bought this book in Singapore and I truly glad to be able to keep a copy of this book. Do read this! Don't miss it! If you have read "I kissed dating goodbye" and "Say hello to courtship", do not miss out this book! Joshua Harris wrote his book based on Passion and Purity =D

From Elisabeth's journal:

Teach me to feel that Thou Art always nigh

Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear

To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh

Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

George Croly (Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart"

When obedience to God contradicts what I think will give me pleasure, let me ask myself if I love HIM. If I can say yes to that question, can't I say yes to pleasing HIM? Can't I say yes even if it means a sacrifice? A little quiet reflection will remind me that yes to God always leads in the end to joy. We can absolutely bank on that.

Kezia's fav part of the book: "waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one's thoughts.."

TOUCHING PEOPLE CHANGING LIVES

TOUCHING PEOPLE CHANGING LIVES

Jangan cari peluang untuk main-main dengan Roh Jahat tetapi kamu tidak perlu takut akan mereka.

Rujukan Alkitab	Siapa?	Apa Yesus buat?
Markus 1: 23-26 Lukas 4:35	Seorang lelaki yang kerasukan roh jahat di Kapernaum.	Perintah, menghardik roh-roh jahat keluar.
Matius 8:28-32 Markus 5:1-8	2 orang lelaki yang kerasukan setan di Gadara/Gerasa	Yesus tanya siapa nama roh jahat  itu, perintah roh-roh jahat itu keluar, usir roh-roh jahat dengan berkata-kata.
Matius 15: 21-28 Markus 7:29 Matius 9:32-33	Anak perempuan (Kanaan) tetapi tidak berada di situ secara fizikal (sangat menderita) Bisu sebab kerasukan setan	Iman percaya ibu, kuasa Yesus tidak dibatasi oleh jarak, hanya percaya dan anak perempuannya disembuhkan. Usir roh-roh jahat keluar (driven out)
Matius 17: 14-18 Lukas 9: 37-42	Seorang budak lelaki (sakit ayan/epilepsy) – sangat menderita	Menegur dengan cara keras (rebuke!)
Markus 9:17-25	Roh jahat yang membuat budak lelaki itu pekak dan bisu	Menegur dengan keras, perintah roh itu jangan masuk lagi.
Matius 12:22 Lukas 11:14	Seorang lelaki yang buta dan bisu.	Tidak menyatakan cara Yesus sembuhkannya.
Lukas 13:10-13	Seorang perempuan yang telah delapan belas tahun dirasuk roh sehingga ia sakit sampai bungkuk punggungnya dan tidak dapat berdiri lagi dengan tegak.	Yesus melihat, panggil, lalu berkata, "Hai ibu, penyakitmu telah sembuh.", tumpang tangan ke atas perempuan itu dan perempuan itu pun berdiri.
Markus 16:9	Maria Magdalena	Yesus pernah mengusir 7 setan
Kisah Para Rasul 16:16-18	Seorang hamba perempuan dan mempunyai roh tenung (spirit of divination)	Paulus usir: 1)      Dengan nama Yesus Kristus 2)      Perintah. Kuasa dan Otoriti.

Perfect Love.

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone,
To have a deep soul relationship with another,
Be loved thoroughly, and exclusively.

But God, to a Christian, says:
I want you to be satisfied, fulfilled, and content
With being loved by Me alone-
With giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me,
With having an intensely personal and unique relationship with Me alone.
Discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found,
Will you be capable of the perfect human relationship
That I have planned for you.

You will never be able to unite with another
Until you are united with Me.
Exclusive of anyone or anything else,
Exclusive of any other desires or longings.
I want you to stop planning, stop wishing,
And allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing-
One that you cannot imagine.
I want you to have the best.
Please allow Me to bring it to you.

You just keep watching Me, trusting Me,
Expecting the greatest things.
Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am.
Keep listening and learning the things I tell you.
You just wait.
That's all.
Don't be anxious.
Don't worry.
Don't look around at the things
Others have gotten or that I've given them.
Don't look at the things you think you want.
You just keep looking to Me,
Or you'll miss what I want to show you.
And then, when you're ready,
I'll surprise you with a love
 Far more wonderful than any you would dream of.You see, until you are ready,
and until the one I have for you is ready,(I am working even at this moment to have both of you ready at the same time), 
Until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me,
and the life I prepared for you,
You won't be able to experience the love that
exemplifies your relationship with me.
And this is the perfect love.
"Dear one, I want you to have the most wonderful love.
I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me,
And to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty,perfection,and love
That I offer you with Myself.
Know that I love you utterly.I am God Almighty.
Believe and be satisfied. "

(taken from Beatrice's blog)

When you are really hurt deeply, probably it's a good poem to remind you about the perfectness of God's love.

Your body needs to be held and to hold, to be touched and to touch. None of these needs is to be despised, denied or repressed. But you have to keep searching for your body's deeper need, the need for GENUINE LOVE. Everytime you are able to go beyond the body superficial needs for love, you are bringing your body home and moving toward integration and unity.

-Henri Nouwen, priest and writ

The Challenge of Internet Community

Pause and think:

Can there be genuine community over the digital internet?

What kind of humans is the internet world making us?

Has the world's understanding of community been irreversibly reshaped?

Has the world become more isolated to the one infront of the computer? Or has it become more expanded since the world is now connected within a click of button? 

We have been infected by deadly viruses:

F.O.M.O (FEAR OF MISSING OUT)

-not conscious on how internet affect our institutions, emotions, judgments and level of trust.

REVERSAL (AUTHORITY, FRIENDSHIP)

-now instead of us asking our parents how to do this and that, our parents usually are the ones asking us how to do this and that especially how to use the  computer and internet. 

SLEEP WALKING OUR WAY THROUGH LIFE.

"Hold on a minute! I've heard that  before!"








Don't mistaken me - Technology is a gift from God, not all that bad unless we misuse it.

Read about Johannes Gutenberg - created Printing Press - first  to print the BIBLE. 


Samuel Morse - invented wired telegraph (What has God wrought?)


Leonard Kleinrock - invented the Internet/Mr Internet


Tim Bernes-Lee - invented the World Wide Web 

We also get to see the oldest Bible - Codex Sinaiticus through Internet. 

Good day people!

EARC - Personal Reflection by Kezia (Philippines)

When I first heard about the East Asia Regional Conference I easily got excited though the first thing that came into my mind was my summer classes. This has been one of the most crucial moments for our batch and I don’t want to leave with unsettled grades. With all the pressures and delay on the releasing of my passport, I came to think that EARC is not for me.  I continually prayed about it and ask the Lord that if it is His will for me to attend the conference, I will leave with peace in my heart knowing that He is in complete control. After our final presentation, I immediately went home to Bacolod City for me to pack my things and be ready to fly to Manila first flight the next day. This has been the most challenging part of my journey. My mom was in the hospital during that time. She has always been there for me when I have trips or conference to attend. She’s the one reminding me of everything I need and she’s mostly the one who packs my things so I found it so hard that she won’t be able to be there to help me. But then, the Lord really works in ways that I cannot comprehend. He brought my IVCF friends to sleep in our house and they helped me pack my things and reminded me of everything I need to bring. God’s grace has been there continually amazing me.

The conference had been a time of Selah for me, a time to pause and respond to God. I was greatly overwhelmed to see over six hundred people from about twenty different countries with different cultures and languages gathered together, singing in one voice and in one heart for the glory of One Sovereign God. I was really in awe to stand in the midst of a multitude with hands lifted high, voices singing, hearts wide opened declaring the goodness and the faithfulness of the Lord. It awakened my spirit, reminding me of how it is to worship God and to enjoy His presence. The movement sharing has also made a great impact in me. Before, I just become aware of the concerns of other movements on our day of prayer in the campus or in the regional chapter but through this conference, my eyes were opened to the reality and I started to examine myself if there was a time in my life that I came to think of them as I prayed to “Our” Father. I realized that I have missed to be aware of so many things and have failed to remember so many people.

The Expositions about Haggai caused me to wake up from the dream I have been falling into and enabled me to dream again the dream that is of the Lord’s. For so long, I have missed to see life in God’s perspective. I have lost sight of the vision God has planted in me. I have been busy building other things that can satisfy me rather than being busy building God’s temple.  I was faced with the questions of what kind of signet ring have I been?  Does my life make a difference in the campus where I am in? Am I loyal to God or to sin? Does my dream reflect the dream of God for the world? I have been asleep and I was challenged that the time for me to wake up is now. The Lord has been so faithful to me and my family. I answered His call of going to EARC and He took care of my mom and my grades. He awakened me to the reality of the world I live in, of the people who are not having the opportunity to come to know Him and He opened my eyes to the role I have in the dream He has for the world and for these people. As a response, I will commit to pray for my brothers and sisters from other countries, be involved in God’s dream for the world and to serve Him in our campus chapter and share the dream to them of being a movement that displays God’s love and extending this love to the students around. It is my prayer that by His grace, I will live a life that displays the character of Christ, a life that points to Him, His signet ring, and a life that makes a difference in this fast changing world. I praise Him with all my heart for the wonderful experience, for those people who prayed for me and for the wonderful friends I met in this meaningful event. To Him be all the glory, honour and praise. =D 

*The reason I post her sharing here is that others may read it not only from Malaysian perspective but someone from other country too*

Not until we fly

Bible Exposition 1 - Haggai 1:1-15

In Run with the Horses, Eugene Peterson tells how he saw a family of birds teaching their young to fly. Three young swallows were perched on a dead branch that stretched out over a lake.

“One adult swallow got alongside the chicks and started shoving them out toward the end of the branch---pushing, pushing, pushing. The end one fell off. Somewhere between the branch and the water four feet below, the wings started working, and the fledgling was of on his own. Then the second one.

“The third was not to be bullied. At the last possible moment his grip on the branch loosened just enough so that he swung downward, then tightened again, bulldog tenacious. The parent was without sentiment. He pecked at the desperately clinging talons until it was more painful for the poor chick to hang on than risk the insecurities of flying. The grip was released, and the inexperienced wings began pumping. The mature swallow knew what the chick did not---that it would fly---that there was no danger in making it do what it was perfectly designed to do.

“Birds have feet and can walk. Birds have talons and can grasp a branch securely. They can walk; they can cling. But flying is their characteristic action, and not until they fly are they living at their best, gracefully and beautifully. 


God has designed us to fly, both individually and as a community. We are uniquely gifted, and I believe our calling is to discern how we can use our gifts in service to others. As a church comprised of uniquely gifted people, how can we be a blessing in our community? How can we use our gifts to be of service to God? How can we live at our best, gracefully and beautifully?


Do we seek to glorify God? 


Do we seeks to put God first in everything?




What's the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy HIM forever.


Knowledge is never equivalent with practise. While it's so easy to say yeah we should put God first, do we? Look at people in Haggai's time. They build their own house first and then forgot all about God's house and said it's not time yet to rebuild the Temple. 


The repeating verse in chapter 1 verse 1-15 is "Give careful thought to your ways..."    


v6: You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”


Haggai condemned them for living in their paneled houses. We can see that they had become consumed with earthly things. The question we need to ask is - have we?

                                                                                     Taken from here

Gabriel

Aha! Authentic Singaporean! What do I mean by that? Most Singaporean delegates in EARC are not Singaporean. ha ha..It means that they are student in Singapore but from other countries like Bella. Apparently, authentic Singaporeans are the minority in EARC which is quite a joke!

He was with us for few days and then disappear most of the times. ha ha.. I like it when Bella and him treat us with "bak kwa" or dried pork meat during supper on the first/second day. Ha ha..I can never forget while everyone's enjoying it, Jaja was crying silently because it's too sweet for him. Guess food from Nigeria is not as sweet as bak kwa. I was quite surprised that Akashi ate 2 pieces of that!! Wow!! Not bad huh..that shows "bak kwa" isn't that horrible after all..ha ha ha..

Jaja while eating "bak kwa". It was funny in that sense ..he kept drinking water and water and water..He accepted our challenge to finish up the whole piece. I am proud of him cux he did! ha ha

Back to Gaby. He likes his name to be pronounced as Gay-Bril. Weird. Ha ha..

I truly thank God for him. While we got so bored during our outing time in Chinatown, he is the one who introduced us to placesss.. ordered famous Singapore food for us... treat us ice cream from this place.

Uh! All of us love the ice cream so much. We have green tea, cheese, chocolate and I forgot what's another flavour. Sharing ice cream makes the ice dream more delicious than ever.

Really a good tour guide.

I kinda feel sorry cux he always gotta put up with our lame jokes. Sigh. Ha ha..he must be sighing for quite a number of times.

Thanks for spending the time writing in our book during our LAST SUPPER.. ha ha ha..

Glad to have met you in EARC.

God bless you and continue to use you for His work.

Akashi

Akashi! Everyone's favourite!! ha ha ha.. He's from Japan or Jepang(that's how he pronounced his country). We love japanese so so much. ha ha ha

All the girls were after him (except for me) wa ha ha!!

If you look at his photo at the side of my blog, he's quite good looking right.

There's something about him that really attract all of us which is...

Although his English proficiency is not so good but he always smile and laugh whenever he speaks..During the first few days while there's still tense in the group, I think Akashi's laughter really ease us. Sometimes it's not with words but with with laughter, you can spread the joy around. He brought much joy to us throughout the conference. Despite his difficulties to speak in English and need some translation, I truly appreciate his smiles and laughter. He can understand us but he can't really speak. That's all.

I admire him because he still tries to speak to us despite his struggles ( we are very patient to listen word and word and speak word by word with him mainly cux he is handsomeee..ha ha joking)

He always bring his thick Bible together..and we kinda naughty too! We like to tease him ..but he is very very nice. I don't really get the idea of Japanese who can eat WASABI but can't eat Singaporean food(some of it is not that spicy to me).. Well that's life. I can't eat wasabi. Diana can't too. In fact, I sort of hate wasabi. It taste horrible in my mouth. But I can eat normal Malaysian spicy food. Ha ha ha..

I am so thankful for Jaja who always help him to carry his thick Bible and bags because it's really heavy especially when we have to walk! wow!

Gonna miss him a lot. I remember he don't eat fish. ha ha ha..and it's beautiful moment when Diana wants to be his girlfriend and he wants to be Diana's boyfriend. Can hardly forget that moment .. In fact, Diana even sang a song in Japanese (sort of asking Akashi to be her bf) - which was taught by Queenie in the bus on the way to lecture theater from hostel. Ha ha haaaa..

Should have captured that moment. Thank God the bus driver and the other passengers put up with our noise. ha ha ha..

I am really thankful that you came and didn't let language barrier to overcome you.

God bless you richly Akashi. continue to spread the joy around you..be it in Japan or other places.

Tammy

Tammy..from Nigeria too. Actually he is the original member of our group but could not make it last minute and thus, asked Jaja to replaced him. He was around during last 2 days of the conference I think..

I didn't really get to know him much during 2 dayss ( such a short period!)

However, I was thankful to get to know him during closing ceremony. By talking to him now and then, I think he's a nice guy.

It was quite a joke that he didn't wear his national costume but he brought the NUS doll along (its a lion doll) .. wearing shirt n jeans. So that's his national costume. ha ha..

I joked with Bella and Tammy.. I said I've been wearing national costume everyday actually. Any clothes that I wore..I bought it in my country. So national means something from your country. Thus, whatever I wore is national costume. Ha ha..

I was really sorry that I lost track of time and didn't get to meet him while he was in Melaka after EARC. =(

But I was glad I paid back all my lost sleeps. Unbelievable how tired I was.

I remembered I was quite unhappy when it comes to dealing with emails n lecturers (never check ur mail when u r in conference! but i need to check..n reply my lecturer! sigh..its so distracting!) But he was concerned about me.. and I was really touched when he asked "R u ok?"

Thanks Tammy. Yeah I guess that's all =DDD

David Jaja

Jaja David?

He's from Nigeria but a studies in NUS. Oh talking about Nigerians. We have real lack of knowledge about them. Ha ha...felt so embarass. =((

I always confuse Francisco and Jaja David. Apparently to me, both look alike until I learn to differentiate them. ha ha ha

Guess what? Jaja means "king" in his village and thus, his name actually mean KING DAVID. How cool is that? ha ha .. I wish my name can turn to be QUEEN ESTHER. ha ha ha..Maybe combination of the name QUEENIE AND ESTHER would be nice. ha ha..

Eh?

I just realize!

There's king and queen in our group!! Fantastic!! Ha ha..should wear crowns together gather..ha ha ha

He shared a lot during group sharing..sometimes I don't really get it due to his thick accent but I was touched by his last group sharing. I treasure his opinion..but I won' tell here what is it. Ha ha ha

By the way, he is the tallest in our group n perhaps the tallest in EARC? I am not sure but he seriously has long legs which is quite a poor thing during group sharing..because he don't have much space to spread out his legs..quite torturing with the limited space that we have in lecture hall.

Although he is so busy with assignments, I am still glad that he came for EARC and in fact sang very beautiful song during student's concert. I love the songggg though I am not sure what's the title.. "More?"

The day before that, while our group was having small group discussion, we can actually hear them practising this song but I didn't know which country was singing. Ha ha.. I was shocked when the Nigerians sang during Students concert. That's the song that I have been waiting for! It was so beautiful that I got so carried away during the performance..

The words are still ringing in my head.

"Your love is more than I know...

Your love is more than the highest heaven..

More than I know...

... "

Amazing right how God loves us so much.

Too bad he disappeared during the last 2 dayssss.. =(( Didn't get to say goodbye properly.

We like to tease him with Diana because he seems to show extra attention to her but hey jaja, we tease you only. ha ha ha..During the second day during lunch hour, he refused to find sit until he finds Diana..Too bad, Diana actually went and sit with another person and got separated from small group. Ha ha.. It's fun to tease Jaja and thanks a lot for your souvenirs. I think most of us end up using the book to write autograph..n I use the remaining pages to write what I learn in church. That book gonna be very meaningful to me cux you gave =DDD

I truly appreciate that you treat all of us ice creamsssssss during our outing day. That's really nice of you and I really love my ice cream. I don't really find that anymore these daysss.. not so much of people selling ice cream like that anymore.. I still can taste the sweetness of the ice cream melting in my mouth. People so in love with Baskin Robins here in Malaysia. I think sometimes expensive ice creams make your heart ache while eating it..ha ha ha..


Thanksssssssssssss a lot JAJAAAAAAAAAAAA =DD

P/s: No idea why is all the words underlined suddenly..no idea how to undo it..