It's towards the end of week 3 here at college. Assessments are starting to pile up now and my schedule is filling up with stuff. I've started a new section on the left with some of the upcoming stuff so you can pray for me.

<< Give thanks to our God that I am really enjoying my time at SMBC. Pray that as I start to write essays and do exams that this will not become an academic exericse but instead a life changing one as God's Word lives in me. >>

Every year, SMBC is involved with a number of different missions around Australia and even overseas. Just found out that I'll be involved with a large mission in Nowra in September. I have no idea what the place is like and what we'll be doing, but I look forward to getting to know my team of 20 and working together for the gospel.

<< Pray that I can get to know the people on my mission team and that we can work well together. Pray for the lost in Nowra that God may prepare their hearts now so that they will be ready to receive the good news of our Lord Jesus christ. >>

At church we are starting a 5 week Simply Christianity course this Friday! It's a very exciting time for EYF as it is the follow up to our first outreach event a few months ago. I'll be leading the non-Christian group while Jeremy leads the Christian in doing some training for evangelism.

<< Please pray for the hearts of the non-Christians as they come to know Jesus through the Gospel of Luke. Pray that they will be teachable and will ask good questions. And pray for me too that I may teach the Word of God faithfully and clearly so that these non-Chrsitians will have an opportunity to understand and respond to the gospel. >>

As expected, it's been a hectic week! With church ministries and college lectures & assessments, I hardly have time for anything else right now.

Thanks to everyone who've asked me how I'm going and have been praying for me. You have been an invaluable source of encouragement. I'm enjoying everything so far and staying awake in lectures! :P But I just need to organise my time a bit better and prioritise things.

Especially with my church ministries as well. It's still kinda the start of term so there's a few Bible studies & related stuff I gotta sort out. And in particular I'm trying to do more personal ministry with the leaders, but it's much harder to find a time that works well with my college timetable and is good for them too.

And I haven't even made a start on my newsletter yet! Ack! >:(

<< Thank God for my faithful brothers and sisters who are in partnership in the gospel with me. Please pray for strength and wisdom as I try to manage my time and work load. Pray also for my relationships with people at church that I won't be too focused on things to do and end up neglecting them. >>

And just a gentle reminder: if you've been reading this blog but you haven't been praying for me - please pray for me! I need God's help! :)

One of the worst thing about adjusting to college life must be the internet - or there lackof. It's quite expensive and slow compared, of course, to the unlimited cable that I've been used to. So I'm afraid that updates on this blog, plus replies to any emails might be a bit slow. :(

But other than that, college hasn't been too bad. Believe it or not, we had our first assessment on Monday (yesterday) already worth 5%. It has been most intensive learning NT Greek the past 4 days. We crammed about 6 weeks of work into 4 days. I *think* I understand most of the ideas, but just have a lot of vocab (nouns, verbs and adjectives) and stuff to learn.

Been meeting lots of people as well, and basically forgetting everything due to sheer volume. So everytime I talk to people, we all have to introduce ourselves again. But I think I'm starting to match names to faces now at least.

This week will be a bit more laid back, doing just orientation and things. But I think I'm going to keep working hard on the Greek so I can be ready to go when lectures start next week. So as usual, not much rest of me.

I've met the rest of my housemates, and they're all pretty easy to get along with. In particular, John is an overseas student from Korea here to learn English for the purpose of further theological studies. Very friendly and polite guy. I should have no problems getting along with all of them. Unfortunately, we rotate every 6 or 12 months, and so I'm most likely going to move come June (which is actually only 4 months away - drats!). But that just means more opportunity to get to know the other fellas.

Anyways, they say time is money, and this internet at college is costing me. I'll really really try to update at least every fornight, or even every week. But please keep praying for me!!

<< Thank God for the great housemates and for the many great people I've met over this past week. Pray that as I learn Greek and other subjects that it will not be purely a academic exercise, but that it will be a life changing experience as I get to know God more through His Word and as I fellowship with those around me. >>

Bye bye Wongside and hello SMBC!

I've been spending the last 2 days packing and moving into my new home at SMBC. I was expecting to move into a little room shared with another person. But instead, I'm living in one of the houses owned by SMBC with 3 other guys. I haven't met my new housemates yet, but I must say, it's very much like Brightside all over again.

The house is a little bit old, but all the bedrooms have been renovated and looks pretty good. Except for the kitchen and bathroom which is a bit old. But I guess you can't expect to have everything. I've got a living-room-turned-bedroom and it's almost 3 times my bedroom in Wongside! =) We've all been provided a nice wardrobe, book shelf, desk & chair, and bed and mattress. Everything's in pretty good condition. No old saggy beds or decrepid furniture.

Nice.

Tomorrow I'll be starting my first day of New Testament greek. Looking forward to finally starting college so that I can get some routine back into my life.

<< Thank God for my new home and for the providing such a nice place. Pray that as I get started at college that I can settle into the place and get a routine going so that I can be an effective and effecient servant for God. >>

Last night us guys spent a bit of time sharing and praying, which was a very nice gesture. These guys have been my family for the past 3 years and they've been very generous and encouraging to me. It's been a great time living with them and getting to know them and I'm sure I'll be back to visit often (like those who've gone before me :P).

<< Thank God for the providing these guys in my life and the way in which they've served and supported me. Pray that Wongside will continue to be a place of ministry where the people and the house can be used to bring glory to God. >>

I'll miss you guys! :'|

Aaaaahhhh....good to be back home again. Been surviving on camp food and sleeping on crappy beds cocooned in my narrow sleeping bag. There's no place like home. =)

Firstly, here's a run down on...

Cowra Summer Breakout
To describe it in one word - AWESOME!!! (keke...in joke as well) I was great fun working with my team of leaders in JBs (Jumping Beans) section and teaching Kindy to Year 2 kids. Each day we'd start off in Concert Time with Club 35 (Year 3-Year) kids singing songs and watching Dr. Kaboom blow something up!! Then we'd break up into our sections and have some games, a skit, memory verse, more songs, and crafts.

Our main point was that Jesus is God's Son, and we need to believe/trust/have faith in Him for life. in response, we repent from living the wrong way and live God's way.

I must admit that I was often clueless as to what to do and how to do it. Having never taught little kids before, I didn't know how to discipline them or give appropriate attention to them. But the other members in my section were great! I learnt lots of things from them and they were patient with me. It's hard to put down what I learnt, because it's often just a bunch of little quirky things. But I wanna go back again next year to have another go.

Jen has put up some Mission Reflections and there's a really cool story about two of the JB kids and how they were influenced by the things we taught them.

We also did some visitations - ie visit the parents of the non-church kids and try to invite them to some of the evening events. We had a sports arvo/evening with the kids and it was sooo tiring running around with them I was sore for two days afterwards (hmm...is this a sign I'm getting old...???). Other events included a (swimming) pool night, ladies' dessert night, men's breakfast & darts, BGR night, movie (Matrix) night and a Nathan Tasker concert!

It all ended with the Big Bash on Saturday where there was free face painting, hair spray & wraps, balloon animals, lolly guessing comp, sponge throwing, etc. Some sections also performed songs they had learnt. We had lots and lots (and lots and lots - excuse the pun :P ) of fun performing the Son of Man song.

I also had to preach on Phil 3 twice while I was there - once to my mission team and a second time at the local Baptist church. I didn't get a lot of feedback except to say that the illustrations and applications were good and appropriate. I tried to contextualise it as best as I could and I kept adding and changing things throughout the week with my experiences of Cowra. The only thing I could pick up on myself to work on is making eye contact and using my voice better - esp making sure I slow down and pronounce big words clearly.

I preached at the Baptist church on our second Sunday there (which was also our last day before going home). Towards the last 5 mins of my sermon, I started to feel really tired and I could hear my voice starting to drone. I really had to struggle to just lift myself and to keep going. Which was a bit ironic, since my point was to tell people to keep going in their Christian walk, and in particular to keep going in evangelism and their partnership in the gospel - and here I was losing steam!! :|

A most exhausting trip, but definitely most enjoyable and worthwhile. I had some really good conversations with other team members and got to know a few of them. Look forward to the reunion on Feb 14th (hmm...the date is a bit...awkward...). Though funnily enough, we've already had a mini reunion at KYC 'cause lots of them were there in Katoomba.

<< Praise God for the opportunity to serve in gospel partnership with so many other Christians both from Sydney and in Cowra. Pray for those who have been touched by God's Word and pray that the seed planted in them will come to bear fruit one day as they come to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

Thank God also for the team and especially the members in JBs section. Thank God for the way in which we bonded and worked well together and supported each other. Also thank God for the many things they taught me and pray that I can use it in the future to minister to others. >>

Enough ranting for now. I'll write about the other stuff later.

Ack! Lack of posts and updates again! And the drought is doomed to continue.

I've been flat out preparing for Cowra Summer Breakout. And in particular for a sermon on Phil 3. I've finished it, but I don't feel 100% about it. Need to practice it a LOT and to probably touch up on things here and there.

Busy, busy, busy. Rush, rush, rush! Ahhhhh! I'm sure I've forgotten to pack something!

I'm leaving in a matter of minutes, and I'm starting to feel excited and nervous. My first mission! Don't know what to expect.

<< Please pray that I can work well with my team as we seek to preach the gospel in Cowra. Pray that I can speak clearly and faithfully from God's Word so that lives are changed for the glory of the gospel. >>

Straight after Cowra, I'll be going to Katoomba for KYLC and KYC back-to-back. So that means I won't be around for almost 20 days! So check this space after Australia Day. I'll tell you all how it went when I come back.

Alright, no response from you slackers! Either that, or I've lost my small group of readers due to lack of updates.

Ok, my own reflections on the past year (in random order as I remember them):

Highlights

• Going overseas for the very first time in 14 years and seeing my parents and relatives and revisiting childhood memoirs.
  
• Going to Beijing and seeing some of the cultural heritage on display there.
  
• Being part of RICE and evangelising to 400+ youths from all over Sydney.
  
• Organising EYF's first ever Dialogue Dinner and having 50+ people turn up!
  
• Learning about the OT from great lecturers at SMBC and surviving all the assessments and exams.
  
• Bringing 2 people from my church to Club 5 with me to consider full time paid ministry.
  
• Going to KYLC for the very first time!
  
• Saltlight Productions "This Way Up" Album launch.
  
• Going to Preaching Conference and learning from some of the greatest preachers of our time.
  
• Church camp up at Apollo Resort with our very own camp T-shirt.
  
• Deciding and being accepted into SMBC for next year.
  
• Having lots of my good friends getting married!
  
• Joining a Street Evangelism team with Ecom.

Whoa, this list is much longer than I expected. There is indeed much to be thankful to God for! I shall be a brief with my other lists.

Lowlights

• Leaving work behind, particularly the friendships I've built over the years.
  
• Talking to my parents about Christianity and seeing them in remain in their stubborn and stiff-necked ways in rejecting the gospel.
  
• Being critised and/or unappreciated in my ministries.
  
• Feeling like a one-man-band sometimes in trying to motivate people to be like-minded in how we serve at church.
  
• Sometimes seeing little or no fruits in my ministries.
  
• Seeing those who were at church at the beginning of the year but are now no longer attending anymore.
  
• Anticipating leaving the fellas at Brightside/Wongside/Whiteside.
  
• Not being disciplined with my QTs and prayers at times.
  
• Ungodly actions and attitudes which I made no effort to keep in check.

A lot of the times, these lowlights have become times where God has challenged and taught me things, such as...

Lessons learnt/reminded of

• I am human. I need rest.
  
• Resting is good. It's ok not to be working 24/7.
  
• Holidays are fun! (seeing a theme here?)
  
• God is sovereign and is able to use my strengths and weaknesses to achieve His purposes. So even when I stuff up there is no need to despair.
  
• God is faithful and will look after me in the midst of troubles and hardships. I may not understand why, but I only need to trust Him and see what He is teaching me in this time.
  
• Even though I have been a Christian for many years, I still need to humble myself before God and sit under the teaching of His Word. There are still areas of godliness I need to be disciplined in.
  
• I need to stop judging people so harshly and have more realistic expectations of them.
  
• I am the visionary type when it comes to ministry (ie one who likes to plan and strategise) but I need to work on how to impart my visions to my leaders.
  
• I write terrible essays!
  
• I can be impatient at times and easily frustrated.
  
• I don't like bitter melons (yet).
  
• I don't like being dependent on people but need to learn humility in being served by others.
  
• God is faaaaar more patient with me and is slowly molding me into Christ's likeness.

<< Praise God for 2003 and the many, many things that have happened and the things I've learnt. Pray for 2004 that I won't forget these lessons and will continue to press on! >>