What do we want to see ourselves achieve in the cell group?

Jeremy: Doesn't want to be just a leader to us but also our friend.

Victoria: Wants to be more ethusiatic for God by participating actively in oikos and so on.

Liang yi, Bethesda, Ning jie, John: Want to meet up with brothers and sisters in the cell group over lunch/dinner/supper to get to know each other more.

Xueming: Wants to encourage others by making cards or sending messages.

Pei ru: Doesn't want to care about what others think about her but be herself.

different things that we have set for ourselves to achieve, some may seem easy while others not so but in the end we know they are all set for a common goal and that is to see our cell group bond together that we can draw near to God and walk closely with Him everyday of our lives as one. i think victoria added that sometimes what we face may be tough for us but what's most important is that we stay as one piece.

i spent the whole of last friday afternoon playing with my nephew and niece. haha. they didn't want to let me go up and sleep by blocking off the pathway. i slacked the whole friday in a way. wasn't planning to do anything at all. didn't know why. i had watched cartoons in the morning. quite funny. daryl tricked me to piggy-back him. wasn't expecting him to do that and i was really shocked. as in he stood on a chair and told me to turn and face the other side so that he could check my ears, then he hopped onto me. haha. i don't usually play with children and this is like the first or second time? yup...

then after that i saw shujun at the bus stop. there was a traffic jam and we were stucked on the stretch of road before chinatown for 10 to 15 mins before we decided to ask the bus driver whether he could just drop us since the bus was already at the traffic light. didn't know why there was a traffic jam in the first place. the vehicles packed the whole place. from where we were to where we could see, there were only vehicles on the road. the traffic wasn't moving and more were coming.

-xue

while i was jogging, i looked around me and i...

road --> path on which vehicles travel --> path which God wants us to walk on, often leading us to the place where He wants us to be

direction signboards --> they tell us where to go --> God directs our every step and He will never leave us to walk by ourselves because He knows that we may lose our sense of direction sometimes

road names --> they tell us where we are --> God shows us where we are so that we can keep track of how far we have gone, be it closer to Him or further from Him

curbs --> they prevent the vehicles from driving onto the footpath --> God keeps us on the path which He wants us to be on as it is dangerous for us to walk elsewhere

road lamps --> they light up the road at night --> in the darkest moments of our lives, God is our light which shines and brightens up our day, giving us sight

drains --> they prevent the road from getting flooded --> in the storms of our lives when we feel that we are going to get drowned, God drains away the water and refreshes us with the little amount of water left on the path

God reminds us of His presence wherever we go. He is a faithful God to all.

-xue

These are the photos that we took fer the one last time as the old west 2. yeah! haha... let's be sad for awhile only then we all move on together to see greater growth in each one of our lives an our cell groups ok? still keep each other in prayer and can write cards etc etc...for now...let's enjoy our walk thru the passage olden times :)

taken before we leave xm house

jeremy's the photogragher. note that's xm's uncle at the side. back to the 70s
west 2 west 2 once again...

unglam west 2
sad lindy without the care bears.

xm's house kitchen
hahahahah
cool rite?
that's xm's neice--jolin, or is it cheryl

is it a well? the floors of xm kitchen
his kitchen...
a view outside from xm kitchenhahah mr lin with his big big fridge
aiyo... who's that auntie washing the dishes?
about to enjoy our fishball noodles by old mr lim
at xm's room


that's all folks (:
--bethesda--

i guess when it's time to move on there's no way we can look back now. i really enjoyed the times we had together as a cell group. we started out moving from places to places trying to find a place where we could use when it seemed like there was none. just when we thought that we had found the place that we were looking for, changes have to come.

i feel like we are a family together even though there were only the few of us sometimes. it's not the quantity but it's the quality. the openness that we have during cell group is something which we cannot find outside anywhere. you guys know more about me than anyone else. i feel really comfortable with the cell group and i can't find any words to describe it. i admit that i find it very hard to accept these changes but God's ways are still higher than ours.

to longjun: thanks for bringing me to walk that 2.4m route and then the thrilling 1h coronation road west walk. i will surely miss you. indeed, you are someone complicated on the outside but plain on the inside.

to lindy: thanks for showing your concern the other time. i have learned a lot from you. really.

to meixian: in the midst of all that you are facing, you still gave to God and this is something which not many people are able to do. i am really encouraged by the sincerity that you have in approaching God.

to edwina: continue to grow in the Lord in the new cell group. to seek Him with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and with all your strength.

It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when i am with you. Galatians 4:18

i came across this verse during one of my devotions this week. as long as it is God's purpose for us in our lives, it is good. let's continue to serve Him with zeal always wherever we are and let this not be determined by the people around us.

-xue

hello. west five will be my 6th cell in 2 years. i just wanted you to know that i never had any qualms leaving and losing contact with all my ex cell members, until i came to westwo. this is the first cell group i felt some form of attachment to, i thought i should at least say thank you before i go.

meixian

hey there my dearests,

youve all been the best cell members i could ever imagine or hope for, and i thank God for the time He has let me enjoy with you.

sometimes you just wish with all your might, that maybe, just maybe, you'll be able to cling on to that which you cannot lose. but it is His will and you know you cannot fight it. rather unwillingly, you let go of the reins youve been fighting in vain to manipulate, the same ones that youve been hoping against hope that he'll let you control, and place them into His hands. you can only trust that He'll bring you somewhere even better than you expected. and you know that He will, but you stubbornly cling onto the illusion that maybe you can manage on your own. but illusions will be illusions: meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

ive given so much to you, yes you in particular, that this is hurting like anything. i bet you never knew i loved you so much. but i do. and im paying for it. not that i mind, though. try superglueing your hand to your face then ripping it away.

the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.

and as the saying goes, when God closes a door, He opens another.

this is an opportunity for growth, and as i grow, away from you guys, all i can say is that i genuinely hope that you guys will grow exponentially as well. i wish you all the best in west2, and may you guys always soak in the presense of the Lord.

goodbye west2. this will be my last post here. thanks, guys, for everything we did together: happy times, sad times, crazy times, angry times, irritating times, plain stupid times, stubborn times, going home together times. no, really. i appreciate them.

i told you so, didnt i? i said it would be the last time going home together.

dont think i wont miss you! and i mean each and every one of you. continue to have fun, ya?

and dont worry bout me. im like a chameleon, i adapt well. =D

from the bottom of my heat i love you guys forever and ever,
Lindy

p.s. m&ms are colourful and make you high. eat more of em. theyre good anti-depressants.

woo~ first time bethesda is posting something in the cell blog man *applause* alrites.. enjoy the photos! (: look at edwina and meixian!! another round of applause for them!!


first proper shot

















look at lindy!















*who's missing?
















haha just in time for another proper shot
















hmm... wad are they looking at?















oops! who's missing again?















our sumptuous dinner at edwina's house:















close up shot of the dishes!! yum yum!















us enjoying our dinner (: thanks edwina
















last but not least presenting the host of the day: edwina!!!

Oasis Youth Rally - Aftermath

Total = 32 people responded to the altar call.

22 people were saved and 6 people rededicated their lives to God.

Considering that only about 194 people turned up, this is the largest percentage of people responding in any youth rally so far.

Hallelujah; praise the Lord!

P.S please wear black, to mourn for Xiao Qiang, the pocket cockroach.

during one of the sermons the pastor mentioned something about taking down notes. he said that it is not the things that we write down that are going to impact lives, but it is our actions and words that are going to do so. maybe this was the reason why he talked so fast.

-xue

Church camp - Place

the church camp was from 13-16 june at batam and it was great. upon reaching the ferry terminal, we had to ride a bus to the hotel and there were many old houses along the way. from a distance, we could see the hotel as it was one of the tallest buildings there and therefore not blocked by anything. it looked quite dull from the outside but it was really different after we had stepped into it. the hall where we had our service was spacious and it could accommodate a lot of people. the chinese service was held at level 2. the names of the different halls were quite interesting too. the rooms were better than expected. especially the bed which could sleep at least 4 persons. it was really big! we had a mattress on the floor too for the third person. we were provided with 2 bottles of mineral water per day for consumption as the tap water could not be drank. the water was yellowish when we first turned on the tap and had to wait for a while before the water became clear. the hotel has only 3 lifts. the lifts worked in a very weird manner as the weight limit changed every single time we used them. sometimes, more than 10 could go in, sometimes, only about 6 could go in. taking the stairs was the other alternative but it was tiring. the food was nice too. it was served in the form of a buffet and we could eat as much as we want without having to worry that we would not have enough. there were many different foods to choose from and it always leave us having more than 1 serving. that's about all for the place... there were balloon balls for us to kick into a small soccer net at the entrance!

-xue

xueming is ushering this sunday. hehe. =D all the best.

yesterday was going to be a normal soccer day for me. however, things weren't the same. on the way to mcdonald's for some rest, my friends and i met 3 persons. a boy, a girl and an aunty. the boy was standing at a distance away from the 2 women. he was complaining about the noodles that he has to eat over and over again whenever he comes back from school or work. the 2 women stood there motionless, not knowing what to do. however, even as an outsider(not involved in this situation), i feel for the 2 women and thought that they must be really sad to hear such harsh comments from the boy. later on, the boy was walking around the area by himself, looking really troubled as he walked around without having a destination in mind. after that, i met the 3 persons again in the hawker centre. they were together again and they might have patched things up.

to others what had happened may not have such a great impact on them but to me, it's like watching my own life from a third person's view. i, too, like the boy, shouts at my mum for preparing the same food everytime i go home, especially if it was a long day in school and tiredness set in. when i looked at the 2 women, i wondered whether my mum and sis were feeling the same way as they were. and even when i saw what happened, i could not help but think of how foolish i was to be so bothered by what i eat. when i looked at the boy, what he did was definitely not right and if i am like him, i really have to change my ways. i, too, walked away after shouting at my mum, just like the boy who walked around aimlessly after the quarrel. indeed, i really have to change my attitude towards my mum and my sis if i want to have a good relationship with them.

God really showed me how foolish i was to shout at my mum.

-xue

1 Cor, 2 Cor, 1 Thess: Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Philippians: Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus.

Titus: Greet those who love us in the faith.

Hebrews: Greet all your leaders and all God's people.

1 Peter: Greet one another with a kiss of love.

3 John: Greet the friends there by name.

Badminton

Court 1 at clementi sports complex has been booked from 1-3 pm tomorrow (Saturday).

Please come if you can...

i think its important to invite people to church. for them to even get a feel of what its like, to get even the most minimum of exposure, will still be better than nothing. it takes time, time we must be willing to sacrifice.

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
matthew 9:37-38

as it is there are not enough workers. so then, the workers that are should work even harder to bring in the harvest.

today, let us reap the harvest. aim to bring at least one person for every rally. what use is a rally if people are not saved?

Photos from Fish and Co

Truly a night to remember

Friendship vs Fellowship

the unique and wonderful aspect of fellowship that seperates it from common friendship: giving to others for their growth in Christ and receiving from them for our own growth in Christ. this is what makes fellowship unique.

we are not simply giving human friendship and companionship to others, encouraging them in their life pursuits and holding them up in life's pains; we are actively involved in helping them to grow in their spiritual lives with Christ and His church. the focus of our fellowship is on christ and his church, not merely our shared interests.

friendship is based on common likes and dislikes; fellowship is based on a common identity:
what we have in common is a faith in Jesus Christ so strong and abiding that personal differences are laid aside. it is not important that everyone is like us, because the glue that holds us together is not personal preferences but a common spiritual identity.

friendship can be very selective; fellowship reaches out to those not like us:
"My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? ... If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors." (james 2:1-4, 8-9 )
fellowship takes friendship into a different realm; it reaches out to those who are not like us.
also see (acts 10-11), when God opened the church to the gentiles.

friendship can be temporary, fellowship is permanent:
the relationship we enter into with Christ and with His church is a permanent, eternal one. true christian fellowship cannot end, any more than you can one day stop being your parents' children.

friendship is optional, fellowship is not:
some christians will definitely get on your nerves. they will be immature, selfish, judgemental, and have a variety of other characteristics that are less than desirable. yet these same people can be capable of great good and effective ministry at times. in any case, we dont have the option of just writing them off. fellowship is not optional.

we choose out friends; god chooses our fellowship:
fellowship is not just a way to avoid loneliness in the church; it has a purpose. we are members of one body, each of us having a seperate and important purpose within the church. fellowship is the means by which God will strengthen out lives, mature us, challenge us to greater growth and development, and use us to do the same in other's lives. he often brings people into our lives to impact us in ways we never imagined - or wanted. God uses people to mopld and shape our lives, strengthening our weaknesses, and challenging us to higher living for Christ. ironically, few of these people would have been natural choices as friends. some of these relationships are difficult and trying, but we have to learn not to try to escape them. there is usually some important lesson or truth that we will learn in them. each christian has something unique and special to offer us. God alone knows what each church and each person in his church needs, and He provides it for us. He does that through the mirable known as fellowship.

friendship places us in a unique relationship with a person; fellowship places us in a unique relationship with a family:
it is tempting for many to bail out of fellowship at the church when it becomes less than pleasant, feeling that they can find the relationships the need or want outside of church just as easily as inside. the truth is that you cant. fellowship was meant to fill a very real and spiritual need that God knew we had; it wasnt just offered as an optional extra to our christian faith. there is indeed a wide gulf between fellowship and friendship, and though both are necessary, they are not interchangeable.

ripped this from a book. oh ok, i'll acknowledge the author so i wont get sued or anything. the book is called faking church, by dan schaeffer. i ripped the whole thing ok, i admit. dont sue me please. and yeah, i like KJV.

lindyhan.

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. i'm meixian.

haha i just thought i should say something here about something that's been bothering me quite abit. and that is that in my christian fellowship in njc, we've split into small groups so that us meeting wouldn't be against the school rules and blah blah. well the main idea is i've shockingly been made a group leader, so like i'm in charge of 6-7 people. and i say shocking because they've been christians all their lives. and they're much more well-versed with the bible (i only started QT last june!), and they know farrrrrrrr more songs and they go to church every sunday..

you're probably all shaking your heads now because you know all the things i mentioned above don't count for much. it's the faith that matters right. i know that, but sometimes they affect me and i don't know why.

i can't understand why what happened happened, why i was chosen, and because i'm so amateur in this, always seemingly ignorant when i talk to jeremy, and still struggling with everyday sins, it makes me doubt my own capability.

mingzhu said God promoted me. that makes me happy to know it but also supremely daunted.

in a way it's made me more determined than ever to GROW in faith (better worship!). i guess i blogged this so i could ask for you to pray for me please. for me to serve God well with a honest heart, for God to speak to me at the right times and for me to do a goob job glorifying Him.

God Bless then:)

Did you ever know that you're my hero,

and everything I would like to be?

I can fly higher than an eagle,

for you are the wind beneath my wings.

Memoirs ??

Some light memories of Westwo in Jan 2006:

The hospitable host of our CGMs being appreciated

The terrified LongJun being beaten up by the mystery hand..
Westwo (missing in photo:Karen & Zihao)

We are family!

Can't stop singing about Your love..

and the music continues even at the interchange!