I start work on Monday!

Well, just wanted to announce to the world that I just got notice that

I will be a full-time staff at Bethany Presbyterian Church effective Oct 1, 2007!

Short hello ..

Writing this blog at the Senior Pastor's house in Sabah .. had cell group here ...

It's also house of Stefanie Sun and Zhang Hui Mei's pianist .. :) Will write more next time .. :)

Sabah ...

Hi all,

It's been a great trip and here are more updates! My brother went back to Singapore on Wed night so now I'm "alone." :) Food's been great, and at last the skies cooperated and I've been able to take the telescope out for a great view. :)

Family fellowship has been one of the greatest highlight of the trip and it has really been great spending so much time with the family, talking, laughing and talking some more.

Also had a chance to eat a fruit I haven't been able to eat for 20 years. The Talap. This is a local fruit and is only available in limited quantities in a very tight season every year.

The picture below is of my brother and cousin trying to open durians the day before the Talap. :)

Panaromic view from the 3rd storey of my auntie's house. If I had a view like this in my house, I'd build an observatory right away! :)

More from my obsession with 4x4s ....

In Sabah

Almost nearing the middle of my trip in Sabah - been spending my time with the family and doing lots of fun stuff.

Went to the beach and played some traditional "kampung games," drove around, ate some of my childhood favourite foods etc. :)

Also visited the local Chinese church and I could see that the Holy Spirit is doing a work in the local church which is really exciting. Not only could I see the Spirit moving, I could also see some of the same problems in a "family church" setting here in Sabah as it is in Singapore.

I am even more convinced of God's calling for the ministry He has placed me in and this ministry will touch and bless churches all around the world - typical smaller "family" churches for them to be equipped for revival!

Though this trip is meant to be one of getting away from things and seeking God, I find myself unconsciously thinking of stuff in Singapore, in the church and in the ministry. It's nothing much really, just that I find myself so absorbed in the ministry. :)

Anyway, besides all these, one of my greatest automotive passions is always renewed when I come back to Sabah - the legendary 4x4!!

Every time I come here, I get updated of the latest 4x4 vehicles available and I marvel at their off road capabilities.

People all around me in Singapore always talk about getting the fastest and best looking sports car and how much horsepower their car can give or how many people their vehicle can carry.

Well, I'm not interested in all that, I'm just interested in how much torque the vehicle has, how many tons it can carry and pull and most importantly, how far into the forest or how high up a mountain it can go. :)

Oh well - I'm gonna get my first 4x4 vehicle soon - and please, nothing like the Toyota Rush or even Lexus RX300. HAHA ... I want a REAL 4WD!! :)

OK, enough talking - here are some pictures ...

Gone for 2 weeks ..

Well, I'm leaving in a few hours for Sabah and I won't be back for 2 weeks. Sabah is a land full of culture and scenery ... Such a beautiful place right here in South East Asia ..

Many people have said it's so fun to go on holiday for 2 weeks and they're so jealous and they also wanna go ...

Well, for me, I think this trip goes beyond a "holiday" or a "fun trip" for me. Firstly, I'll be there to visit dear family whom I love A LOT ... I think I need to play my part as part of the family to be there in good times and in bad. :)

Also, on a more serious note, I'll be there to get away from the routine of life and familiarity of my surroundings. It'll be a time also to seek God and to refresh myself for a new journey that I will embark on in the middle of Oct.

The entire trip is unplanned - my brother and I just bought 2 tickets there and don't have any plans on what to do. To me that is very intentional - I just wanna go on an adventure and not have to worry about this plan and that plan.

One more thing is I'm praying that this trip will really draw me closer to my brother and allow us to know each other better. I really thank God for the relationship we have and I see God working through us individually and as brothers. I pray this trip will do greater things for us. :)

So there you have it - this is not just a fun trip - I've even got objectives planned .. haha .. :)


Anyway, here are some photos taken in Sabah for those who have been asking me how come I say Sabah can see more stars than Singapore -

Casting Call ...

Hi all,

Below is the casting call for a local film. I'd encourage
all those who would like to experience what it's like to
shoot a movie or be part of a movie production to sign up
either as actors/extras or production crew.

This will also be a good opportunity for those of you
after 'N', 'O' and 'A' levels to learn something during
your holidays and earn some pocket money. :)

If you have any queries, pls contact the director of the film.
Contact details are below.

Hi Friends,

I am currently directing my final year thesis film, <> (Dreams), a 15 minute short film about an ordinary boy who dared to achieve an extraordinary dream of becoming a national swimmer, despite the opposition and rejection he receives from his family and community. It is a story about faith, love and the courage to dream. The film is one that will surely inspire the hearts of many.

My production team and I are searching for cast members to act in the film and would like to extend the invitation to you. You can also help us by passing the message and casting call to your friends and family members who might be interested to be part of this film.

In addition to these, we are also in the process of sourcing for crew members who are willing to work as Art Directors & Production Assistants for the film. Do reply if you are interested.

Please feel free to contact me at 97778120, should you have any queries or require any clarification.


Thank You for Dreaming with Us.

Yours Sincerely,
Josiah Ng
Director
Meng Xiang.

Evan Almighty

Watched Evan Almighty today ... Wow!! Even though it's supposed to be a comedy - and IT IS HILARIOUS - I got quite a lot out of the movie. Some of it even has to do with being a History Maker as I've mentioned in my earlier posts ...

Here's what I got - I'm trying to remember the lines ...

1. "How do you change the world?" "By doing Actions of Random Kindness. You change the world one act at a time"

2. "When someone prays for patience, does God give her patience or opportunities to be patient? .... When someone prays for a closer knit family, ....... , God gives her a chance to be closer to her family"

Those were "quotes" I tried to remember off the movie ... There're also other stuff I thought were pretty true about God in the movie ..

~Alot of times, God gives us a task or job to do and even though sometimes we resist it at first, God will chase us - He will not give up on us the first time. Yes it's true God will not force us, but He will not give up on us.

~When we ask for stuff, God sometimes will not give it to us outright. Instead, He will use lessons and give us opportunities to exercise our character and let us get more than what we ask for in the process.

~When God gives us a task, there'll be times when it seems no one else believes in what we're doing, but when we're sure God's asking us to do it, we gotta put our faith in Him and do it. God will in His own way turn the hearts of the people around us and give us the support we need.

~There's also a part in the movie when "God" said "I do it cos I love you" .... and then some terrible things happened to Evan and he said, "could you love me less?"
That was so real! I mean I've had people tell me and sometimes I feel it myself - when things go wrong or when the world seems to be against us and we know that God is actually teaching us and letting us grow in that process and He's allowing stuff to happen cos He loves us ... but sometimes we can't see His plan and we just wished all those things didn't happen. We forget that God will only let us go through things we can bear and He's pushing us to our limit so that we can stretch.

~Sometimes God will only show us results at the VERY END. We have to be firm in our faith and never give up. Even though the world will taunt us and tell us what we're doing is stupid and people dun understand, even our closest friends - we must know that God will never fail us.

~God works in ways we cannot understand. Like in this instance, even though God has promised HE will never send rain and flood to destroy the world, but still asked Evan to build the Ark. He was seeing a scenario that people would not imagine - even the people responsible for it didn't know it could happen. So we must do stuff God asks us to do even though we think God already promised something like that will never happen again.


That should be it for now - dun have any notes or anything, just writing off the top of my head. So I'll add more when I think of them .. :)
For those who don't know what I'm writing about, go watch the movie!!

Wow, I never thought I'd have so many things to write about a movie ... I guess I learnt that from my mentor (Yong Howe) who always applies life principles from movies. :)

It's like literature class ...

People ...

Relationships are fragile, people can be sensitive, God has put us among people to live among people to learn to love, to be compassionate and to know more about HIM.

People are important and they should never be taken for granted.
Every single person is important - from the person buying the groceries, to the chef, to the people cleaning the dishes.
From the pastor to the elders to the cell group leaders and members to the person locking the gate in church every night.

Every person is important. Remember that.

Vision 2020 - CCC

Got an email today and watched the video. Wow! The presentation of the entire vision just excites people. This is what I call imparting a vision!!

God Breathed ....

Have you ever wondered how God loves EVERY single person and EVERY single church?

It's like, ok, God loves me, so if some guy creates trouble for me, my God will fight for me, but at the same time, the same God loves that guy too and will do something good for him in that situation. I find this concept absolutely mind-blowing - even almost hard to believe to be even possible.

I never used to think bout this, but recently, with SO MANY wonderful things happening in church, in the ministry and in my life, I just can't help but wonder how everything fits together.

It's like for me personally, looking at it now, every single thing that happened in my life has made me into the person I am today. The experiences, the people I encountered, my family background, the places I've lived in, have all shaped me into the person I am today.

So this person, me, through miraculous circumstances comes into contact with Bethany Presbyterian Church (BPC), and because of his background, attitude (problem?? :) ), rashness, life experiences, does certain things in a church, changes some stuff, ruffles more than a few feathers etc. etc. etc.

At the same time, God has already put BPC through her share of experiences, trials and joys for 105 years and the Holy Spirit comes and visit at just the right time, with just the right amount and puts just the right people in the congregation and the leadership so that when Jeremy comes into the church, he will be challenged enough to grow tremendously, but at the same time not stretched till he is overly discouraged.

I find it really amazing the path God has set for EVERY SINGLE PERSON. I mean, I'm just writing from the viewpoints of 2 "parties" - a person and a church. Can you imagine how everything links if we go through the stories of every person in church?!?!?! :)


When I look back at the things that happened and everything that somehow brought me to this point in my life, I am SO SO SO sure that God has placed me in this situation, in this church, with these opportunities and responsibilities, and most importantly, with this anointing that is meant JUST FOR ME!!

There is no other explanation. God is just so amazing!!

Opportunities of a lifetime must be grabbed in the lifetime of the opportunity.

I am going to make full use of this opportunity God has given me to be a History-Maker in church. To make a difference - a HUGE DIFFERENCE!!

Oh my goodness, this opportunity is something that not only I but our senior pastor didn't think possible just one month ago!! It's so amazing!!

What's this opportunity?? Stay tuned - I can't reveal it just as yet. :)

I can only tell you - IT IS GOD BREATHED ...

I love you GOD!! :)