ThreeEggs~LiVe tO eAt

Yesterday evening was gal’s nite out again. This time Karen couldn’t make it due to work. But of course I’m still happy and excited to meet my galfriends- Min & Yao.

We went to this Japanese restaurant at Marina Square which is located beside Billy Bombers. The name of the restaurant is Azabusabo.

We ordered the Cold Ramen Noodles with Seafood in Sesame Mayo and a Chicken Bento. The seafood in the Ramen are very fresh & crispy. The sauce and the scallop, prawn, squid were well mixed and does not make it taste overwhelming. The scrabbled egg on the Bento was sweet and has a little taste of the Japanese soya sauce. Thumb up for the generously serving of wasabi and chilli powder. But the server there are a little too impatient to clear your dishes as fast as you finish the last bite.

Their yummy green tea & soft ice cream with red beans & dumpling is supreme! The beans are sweet & soft, and the dumpling is chewy and helps to neutralize the sweetness of the beans.

Prices is relatively steep. Prices for dessert starts from $6.50 onwards, drinks are from $3.00, main course is around $13.80 on average.

Location: Marina Square #02-170/171
Contact No: 6338 1244

$20 for Crab Bee Hoon… Sound impossible?

The crab is reasonably good enough for $20. The sauce of the been hoon is delicious, and the crab meat is incredibly sweet. You don’t even want to put any chili sauce to ruin that natural flavour. But the serving can be a bit small. Chris & I didn’t feel 100% full after the meal; only 80% of our stomach is filled. But overall, it was value for money, and tasted really good………..

Address: Blk 725, Havelock Road, Singapore 169647
Tel: 6275 6268, Fax: 6272 8307
Business Hour: 11:00am - 2:30pm, 5:00pm - 11:00pm

Direction: Alight at Tiong Bahru MRT Station, exit at the taxi stand at Tiong Bahru Plaza’s Coffee Bean, walk straight, you will see those upgraded flat and a Neighbourhood Police Post. You will see lotsa people eating Teochew porridge (the famous 933 porridge where Andy Lau frequent), turn left, keep walking. You will see a sign of a Crab. Yes, you are there….

This morning both Ailing & I have to be at Gedung Harvest to preach at the Children Church service. Service was supposed to be started at 9:30am, but at we were still at Bukit Doa. Huh??? What happened? Looking high & low for Melisdas, we finally manage to locate her. However, time is running out, and we had no transport to pick us up. Hmm… so Melisdas took us to take a trishaw to the bus stop to take public bus. Hahaha… it was so fun!!! Under the hot sun, we sang the Indonesian children church songs- ie. Sayang Sayang Di Sayang… About 5 minutes, we arrived at the bus stop. The trip costs about $0.30/pax. We took the colourful public bus, and was amazed by the sound system effect they had installed. Cool… and they were playing English songs… all updated ones yo…
The ride was relatively bumpy, maybe its because of the ‘holies road’ … Finally, we arrived at Gedung Harvest about 10:15am.

When we arrived, there were loads of kids. ARGH!!! I want to faint*** Anyone who know me well enough will know that I have low tolerance for kid… talk abt kidSSSSSSS….. Argh… God, can I flee from temptation (to hit them)??? But His answer to me was " My grace is sufficient for you." Hahahaha…. Bo bian… gotta do it…

The crowd was out of control even with Melisdas’ help. Kids were fighting, running around, crying, not paying attention. Melisdas coaxed them & made them listen to her. Singing, dancing, cheering, praising God… Finally, they ’settled down’ abit. A little of games set them jumping for joy, thanks Ailing for the enjoyable game. I shared the story of Noah’s ark. The children will mime the action or distinctive appearance of the animals. It was easy to get them involved, but not easy to made them listen to instruction. After the short story, we handed back to the children church teachers.

This time, even the teachers couldn’t stand it anymore. The kids were climbing up the gates, running around…

A total of 133 kids came. After checking with Melisdas, the kids were supposed to be divided into nursery & playgroup, that explain why the kids were not behaving themselves today. It’s ok… the service was great anywayz…

At the same time, Chris & Cheer were having Children church service at Bukit Doa. At least the kids were more obedience there. Chris played " Eagle catches chick" with them. Surprisingly, they had never play such a game. Of course, they enjoyed themselves very well… And of course, my Bao Bei did a excellent job!!! Bravo… Attn: 61 kids

While we were having Children Church, "Pastor Lawrence" was preaching at Gedung Harvest at the adult service. Attn: 135 pax, 8 responded to altar call

At Bukit Doa, Bee Leng was preaching to the members. Total attendance was 170, 20 people responded, and cool…… there were 10 healing cases reported!

Our dear Bro Edd was sent to go Binjai this morning. The journey was a long long way. He had to leave at 8:30am. Binjai is another branch of CHC Indonesia. 40 people attended the meeting and 6 people responded to the altar call, there was also 1 healing case.

After the morning services we had, we all made our way back to Bukit Doa & have lunch. Lunch was specially prepared by Pastor Tina. The food were delicious, and we were chatting how much we would miss that dining table after today.

After a hearty lunch, we made our way back to our room to pack up our stuff as we get ready to leave for Singapore tonight. We have a Youth service at Gedung Harvest at 4pm.

Bee Leng & Cheer have a service at 2pm at Mandolin. Everything was very packed. We will meet them at 4pm at Gedung Harvest again.

Ailing and I were making such cards for the beautiful friends we made these 7 days while the guys were taking their afternoon nap. Everyone of us are sleepy and tired by now… But thanks God for strength…

And where is Eddie??? He is still at Binjai. Taking lunch with the Indonesia people. (if I dun remember wrongly.)

At 4pm, all of us gathered back at Gedung Harvest. All our luggages in the car. Last round of drama, song item, testimony, and preaching…. Giving all to God. Everything was the best at the last service. The response from the members watching the drama were overwhelming… Song item… was so touching….

At the end of the service, we went around hugging our dear friends, shaking hands, taking group photos. Dear Febri teared while holding me tightly…. made me cried too… Maria, my Indo teacher ho really taught me well… Melisdas, the incredible interpretor… and a super "S" lady… Ita, the beautiful voice… Nuah, the praise & worship leader who reminds us of Bro Poh, David with his artistic tattoo… and the funny jokes, Pastor Johnny & Pastor Tina who always took care of us so well… a very serving couple… Maria (Bukit Doa) who did all the cooking & cleaning for us. Juni & Nora who accompanied us around. All of them, even those whom I may have missed out… u guys are so wonderful. I’m so glad to be at Medan…

And of course our team members, Bee Leng, Lawrence, Eddie, Ailing, Cheer, and bao bei-Christepher… I believe we not only made a great team but also a great difference in each other life. Like what my CGL said, only those went through hardship with you is those whom you treasure the most. Thanks all of you…

After bidding goodbye, we were accompanied by them including Chrisma & Doriston to the airport. They were so kind & hospitable. I wish that we could have more time fellowshipping with them. Well, there is always an end to everything… we waved goodbye & headed into the departure hall.

On the plane, we were video taking each other, snapping photos, opening presents. Even the air stewardess could tell that we were there for mission trip, hahaha… sorrie for all the noises we made.

An hour time, we arrived back Singapore, excited to be back with toilet flush, lights, no blackout, AIRCON, readable signs… now I understand how blessed we are in Singapore.

So what did I really learned in this whole mission trip?

• We are blessed to be a blessing to others.
• His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses.
• In all circumstances, trust God…

Additional Info
Mandolin - Attn: 80, Altar Call: 14
Youth Service @ Gedung Harvest- Attn: 200, Altar Call: 14

Summary for Medan Mission Team

Total reporting healing cases: 30
Total number peple responded for altar call (Salvation & rededication: 403
Total attn: 2,432

Puji Tuhan!!!

Today is the only day we could rest slightly more. All our sessions will only start in the late afternoon/evening. We woke up around 11am to have breakfast. Bee Leng was still not feeling well, she had fever the night before. Think she’s not getting use to the climate here. She had been ill since she ate the supper on the first night…

After breakfast, we managed to ask David to drive us to the town to buy some stuff and to walk around. Before leaving, we went to pray for Bee Leng as she would not be joining us. After praying for her, she decided to join us as she felt insecured staying at Bkit Doa alone & she also wanted to go around buying some thing for her friends & family.

Without hesitation, she tagged along. And she never changed!!! Oh my tian… she wore her sleeping clothes out - a track pants & polo tee… and a pair of slippers.

The journey to town took us more than an hour, by the time we reached the shopping mall, it was already 2:30pm. And we got to gather back at 3:15pm. Argh!!! So rush buy what?

Chris & I decided to walk around on our own. So we left the group and started to venture the different levels of the mall. We went to Gio, but the jeans there cost more than in Singapore. $80+ for a pair of jeans??? Crazy… I can buy at $69 for a new design… I realise that Gio is always more ex in these country except Sg & Hk… wondering why siah??? But anyway, their designs are really updated, same as us… and even faster than us… surprisingly… but its not so popular as in Sg.

The prices are rather steep. We didn’t manage to buy much things. I only bought some bouchs for min,karen, shevy & myself. And it costs $1.80 each. As usual, we went to supermarket to shop shop… our favourite pa tor place

We bought lotsa tibbits and water. And within a short period of time, 3:15pm already, and we headed back to first floor & gather. As we were standing there, Been Leng and the rest wanted to the batik bags. And they were negiotating with the seller. David help su to clinch a better deals. After a long time, about 45 mins, they were finally ready to leave.

As Bee Leng had to preach at 6pm, David told us that we had to return back to Bukit Doa after buying the Kueh Lapis. Both Chris & I would not risk buying, as the climate there was too impossible to preserve the cake. Given the sitation we had no fridge in our room, and the weather is too hot… kueh Lapis having coconut milk content in it will not be able to withstand the hot weather.

Thinking that we had to return back to Bukit Doa empty handed, amde me feel so disappointed. Thankfully, Lawrence suggested to drop us at a nearby shopping complex while they go & purchase the cakes. So off we go… Ailing, Chris & I went to this shopping complex which is more inferior than Lucky plaza, and shopped for less than 30min. I managed to buy a clock, t-shirt & jacket.

The total shopping time we had was barely 2 hours. Sob sob… no more free time le…

Night Crusade
Chris, Eddie, Lawrence and myself went to a nearby village- Tiang Layar. The children there were very empty, and I could see many of them were not from well to do family. Their toys are centipede, and beetle… Yes… sounds creepy yah. But they won’t use them to scared you. Before the service, Melisdas led the children in songs & games. And all of them were enjoying themselves very much. Even the adults were attracted by her leading. And one thign that both Chris & I could see in her eyes is that the love that she had for the children were just like the way Jesus love the kids. Indeed, this woman of God had shine ver brightly in the darkness.

The service started about an hour later at 7pm. We did drama with the stand-in actor & actress: David & Melisdas. Song item, testimony and preachign of word. The most amazing part of this village is that the chef village, a hardened man was so touched by the Lord that he wept & cried. He also responsed to the altar call.There were 5 people healed of:

- Spine problem

- Pain in leg gone

- Pain in stomach gone

- Lump in the throat gone

There were 79 salvation/rededication decisions.

Others:

Youth service at Tamariska
Preacher: Bee Leng
Attn: 40
Altar Call: 10

Special Workers Service at Mandolin
Preacher: Ailing
Attn: 40

What a day to start?!!!

I woke up late… oh my gosh… Thank God that Chris came & woke Cheer & I up…. We woke up and washed up as quickly as possible in a panic…. especially me. Aiyoh…. God, why like that???

Dressed as fast as possible, we have to leave Bukit Doa by 6:30am. We grabbed a few biscuits and got into the van. I gave Ali the sermon that I was going to preach so he could look through beforehand to prepare himself for interpretting for me. We met Ita and chatted abit on our way there. But for me, I can’t talk much, I was nervous. Chris was as anxious as me. He had to preach in the afternoon.

We arrived GISI at Lubuk Pakam at 8am. The students were entering the room. Many of them were girls, maybe because it is a medical school. We had a game session led by Eddie. Yes, Eddie can lead game very well… We palyed "Simon says". Haha… so funny, it kinds break the chill inside me as well.

Thanks Cheer & Chris for supporting Eddie & i. I really felt so blessed to have them around. Eddie shared his testimony. And I continued with the preaching. Hahaha… i shared about " Your Attitude Towards Problem". Many of them were very touched. And some of them cried. Especially during the altar call time.

I truly believe that it is God who made all these happened. From the beginning of the trip till everyday of our trip, God never fails to show us His goodness and faithfulness. We are just like the ‘donkey’ which Jesus sits on. The glory belongs to God. No matter how many people cried, or touched, it is the Holy Spirit who moved them. And me, I remembered I was crying in the toilet the night before, telling God that I can’t preach. I need Him to help him. I even flare out at Chris and shut myself out from everyone. I was stressed. You won’t understand… It freak me out totally! But God used me… He empowered me to preach His word. I may not be the best, but God never withdraw His anointing.

Out of the 32 students who attended, 29 of them responded to the altar call. And as I told them it was the first time I preached, nobody believed that I was crying in the toilet the night before. Puji Tuhan!

After the service, Ita came & encouraged me. This was where our friendship began.

We made our way to Mandolin as the next session will start a bit later. We had our breakfast. Bread, coffee… but still its delicious. Everythign we had in Medan tasted nice, maybe because we are hungry and didn’t care more. Or the thing there really tasted better bah… Hehehehe

Chris was busy talking to Ita & asking advice from Juni and her as well. The intrepretor will not be them but Chris wants to check with them if them understand the difference between excellence & greatness. Cos the message he gonna preach is "From Excellence to Greatness"

We arrived at the Pharmacy around 12:30pm. And it was expected to satrt only at 1pm. This give us some time to go to the toilet and prepare ourselves before the service. Most of the workers there are Christians.

Chris was very axious as well. I know how it feels like. I was feeling the same way this morning. Bao Bei, I can only pray for you….

At 1pm, the service started. And the room was filled with 28 workers. The Praise & Worship was very short as the session had to end in an hour time. Aiyoh…. so rush….

The worship leader handed over to Chris within 10min of worship. B still, God is good. He did an excellent job despites the ‘butterflies in his stomach’. 13 of them responded to the altar call.

The lady boss of the pharmacy was very touched and ministered. She said she had felt very blessed by the preaching. Generously she offered us Goreng Pisang to us. There were 2 kinds of Pisang-one is the king banana; Pisang Goreng Raja, the other one, I forgotten the name. But it is a smaller version, and the banana is not very ripe. Most of us prefer the raja one. Cos its so yummy!!!

After enjoying the yummy bananas. We made our way to a restaurant to meet the rest of the team. Lawrence, Ailing and Bee Leng were at PTKI Campus. There were 140 students who attended and 25 who responded to the atar call.

Remember the school director on Thursday??? She invited us for lunch at this beautiful and unique place. Open air, kampong like, our tables were in this ship-like shelter surrounded with ponds. Very nice ambience. The food were delicious.

We had a great time of fellowship with the school director-Rose & her husband, David, Ita, and the team. Yes, remember that I told you that Rose-school director was not open to tongue speaking christians? We actullay prad for her school and students and the rest of us prayed in tongues. She was touched to tears. Wat a breakthrough!!! Indeed, the Holy Spirit is there with her… God, continue to toucher her life… And we pray that many leaders like her will be touched & transformed by You.

After a hearty lunch, we headed back to Bukit Doa to rehearse for our night session. We are going to have drama but improved version with more Bahasa Indonesia in it. Of course, our main cast- Ailing & Eddie are very important.

As we stepped into City Harvest Indonesia at Gedung Harvest, we felt very much at home. The P&W were familiar songs. Members were jumping up & down. Cool… just like in Singapore. Things were a bit messy for that night, as Eddie did video taking, testimoney, drama all side by side… Wow… super ah… so we dicussed and plan to divide the duties more evenly in our next few sessions. At the end of the preaching, we prayed for the sick, and :

-  3 women healed of intense stomach pain

- One new comer (who gave his heart to Christ @ the meeting) was delivered of heavy burden spiritually

-A pregnant woman was healed of leg pain

No breakfast today…

Eddie, Cheer & I woke up earlier than usual to go to SMP Metodis at Kp. Lalang. The service will start at 10am but we have to be out by 8:30am. While Eddie was preparing for his preaching, both Cheer & I were busy chatting with Nora & Juni… Before we know it, we arrived at SMP Metodis. The school was BIG… they have students from kindergarden to secondary school. Malanie whom we met late night is the school principle. We were introduced to the school director. She seemed quiet, and didn’t bother much about us.

Malanie brought us to her room, and we chatted & briefed her what we were going to do later on. She was very happy and was open to all our ideas. She shared about her burden with her students who were mostly Chinese but have lacked love & care from family members. They are usually in the middle class income group, not the exceptional rich ones, and because of that, they had to work extra hard in order to give them good life. She also told us about her director’s concern of tongue speaking church.

At 10am, we walked to the school assembly ground, whereby the students were happy to meet us. They were noisy but yet shy. We started a short game, and everything chaotic. They can’t seem to understand instructions, but thank God for the teachers who were very sharp and helped us to bring everything back to order. Everyone seems to enjoyed themselves very much. Games lasted about 20 mins.

Yours truly shared about my personal testimony. many of them seemed to feel the same way as I used to feel. When I looked into the eyes of some of the students, I could feel that they felt ministered. I wish they would be like me, transform by God… and they’ll find the real purpose in their life.

Eddie had a hard time preaching with all the distracting noises and environment. As the venue is at open ground; in the center of the school, the primary & kindergarden students would interrupt the flow when they came out for their breaktime. So Malanie suggested for a short break or praise & worship. Eddie did a stun… LOL… dancing & singing, and the students got it real quick. They were singing and dancing together. The whole atmosphere seemed to changed for the better, though much later.

After praise & worship was altar call time. Many students lifted up their hands and responded. Out of the 235 students, 80 of them lifted up their hands. Puji Tuhan….

After the altar call, we had a Q&A sessions. One boy asked about how he can cleanse and clean his body from sins. And of course, Jesus is the answer! The students were very shy anyway, so they didn’t posted much questions, and we just talk and shared about our experience in school, our relationship with family, God, church, etc.

By the end of the service, the director was very touched and her attitude towards us changed 180degrees. She even invited us for lunch, but we had to run for the next meeting. Hence, we didn’t to meet another day. But one thing for sure, her heart was more open…

Bee Leng & Ailing joined Chris & Lawrence at Darma Agung University after their fasting service in the morning at Bukit Doa. about 30 church member came in the morning to pray for Pastor Johnny, Pastor Tina & us-mission team. So touching… 

At the university, there were 45 students who came. Eddie, Cheer & I joined the rest of the team after our session. Lawrence preached about how to be a positive thinker. Total decision for altar call was 30 people.

We went back to Bukit Doa for dinner and rested. Except Bee Leng & Ailing who had another session at Mandolin.

Tomorrow, Chris & I had to preach, and we were busily preparing for it. Stress………… Nervous……………. tiredness…………….. Anxiety…………….

I prepared till 2:30am before I could rest… God, help me preach…………..

Have u tried the delicious fish head noodles along Amoy Street? Ka Soh is famous for their fish head noodles; both dry & soup. The restaurant is usually filled with families during dinner time. But still you will be able to find a table really fast. Waiting time varies on the crowd. Sometimes you can wait till more than 30 minutes.

My favorites dishes are: Food Noodles Dry, Fish Noodles soup, and sweet sour pork. It is good enough to keep 2 person full. But the soup noodles is very small bowl. And you will have to pay additional $1 for extra soup if you request while you placed your order, if not you will have to pay $3! Yes, service there is just not their primary business. But the food is good enough to come back again & again.

Yummy sweet & sour pork. Every bite is crispy but yet soft on the inside with a little layer of fats.

Dry Fish Noodles, silky noodles with well cooked fish slices.

Soupy fish noodles.

Day three- 17/05/06

Power was finally restored at around 5am last night. Most of us suffered several bites from the commando mosquitoes in Medan… We woke up talking about how many bites we had… and how big they were… Cool rite???

Today, most of us will be separated to different services in the evening. Our first service for the day was at Microskill Campus. We will be reaching out to the diploma students.

We arrived and prayed with the student leaders before the service. Most of them could speak a little English. They made us more comfortable at home as we heard them singing an English worship song (can’t remember the title). After a short prayer, we entered the class filled with 30 young students. They were a little shy & uneasy when they saw the video camera.

We had a little game session led by Eddie. It was a great ice-breaker game. But the students were tough! We could hardly spot any loser…

After game was testimony time! Chris, my Bao Bei shared with them how he was blessed by God when he tried to cope with church, work, school and many more thing despite he had no money to start with in the first place. Many of them were very encouraged by the testimony.

Ailing prepared a wonderful sermon & was ready to preach. It was her first time preaching, and she had spent a lot of time to be ready for the day. Wow… she preached well, man!!!

Both Cheer & I had to excuse ourselves & take care of Bee Leng as she was feeling a bit sick. She was puking, and feeling a bit feverish. So Cheer & I stand in for Children Church that evening. With little time, and not much preparation, we rehearsed what we are going to do for games, praise & worship, preaching, etc. Both of us had no experience in handling children. But at least Cheer had served in elderly church before.

After Microskill, we went to Gedung Harvest & rested there. There was a group of boys practicing breakdancing. They rock man…doing stunts, turning in circles on their heads… **giddy**

We heard that they are the best team in Medan City. And all of them are Christians in David’s CG. Hippy, godly, cool… City Harvest Indonesia is really impacting & changing the life of the youth in Medan.

Children Church started at 6pm at Mandolin, but we were still trying to think hard what we can play for games. The children were praising happily when we arrived there. Oh yes, Maria!!! Maria, a church member from Gedung Harvest  (is also called City Harvest Indonesia or Medan City Harvest) came & support us. She is sooooo cute. Thanks God for guidance for teaching me how to lead praise & worship. Everything ran smoothly though there was a little hiccups at first.

Bee Leng was still vomiting, and had agreed to visit the clinic. We met Malanie who drove us to GBI. The clinic was just opposite GBI. Juni-our interpretor & Maria brought us there while we waited for Lawrence & Ailing at the same time.

At the same time, Chris & Eddie were in Tamariska- Helvetia for a prayer meeting. They finished their meeting around 8plus and were already back at Bukit Doa resting.

After Lawrence’s preaching, Juni & the rest brought us for dinner. We-Lawrence, Be Leng, Ailing, Cheer, me went home after dinner feeling so tired. We woke Chris & Edie up for a short debriefing. As Bee Leng was still feeling unwell, Eddie had to replaced her as the preacher for the next morning service. Little time was left to prepare… As usual, God does miraculous thing! Puji Tuhan…

Summary for Day 3:
Microskill Campus- Attn: 30, No altar call (Christian fellowship meeting)
Children Church- Attn: 90, Altar Call: 30 (Rededication)
Prayer Meeting at Tamariska-Helvetia- Attn: 30, 1 lady healed of eyesight
Special Service at GBI- Attn: 90, Altar Call: 20 (Salvation & rededication), 65 (ministered)

to be continue….( 4 more days to go)

Yes, its about food again…. I recived an email today…

A little shop called Heads or Tails at the basement of CK Tangs selling Thai traditional kaya toast. For some of you who have been to Bangkok, you may have seen or even tried it. Do go and try it…