my 1st month back in Brisbane...
hello family and friends...
wow, how quickly time has passed... i left Singapore on Jun 9 and now it's the end of Jul 9.
i don't really know where to start on this update... quite a lot has happened...although I have not actually started school work yet as my supervisor is away for another week.
But I do thank God for this restful one month here as I settled in and got my bearings :)
although it was only 10 months ago that I left Brisbane (or brissy as we like to call it :), many things have changed...people have graduated and left/started work...some have gotten engaged/hitched (in my one month back, I have been privileged to attend 2 weddings...one of which I hosted and played the ukelele with a bunch of friends (see video here http://youtu.be/IiXdIyVUj6w :)...
there are also some sad changes...people who used to be on fire for God have turned away, or at least the fire is greatly diminished...
But GOD IS STILL THE SAME. yesterday, today and forever. S
so I will begin this update with Thanksgiving to my Daddy King who has watched over me so tenderly since I got here...
1. My accommodation is simply AMAZING. for the price I pay, it is well-sized room that somehow exudes cosiness at the same time (at least I think so :). short video tour of my room here http://youtu.be/ktWpQqe2yvY
My housemate Alyssa completes the tunes I hum and I do the same for her (given that she has just turned 20, a good 13 yrs younger than me, this is in itself something to celebrate :). We have decided to have a regular time of prayer for our extended families in m'sia/singapore, something that I am glad for :)
My landlords, Pete & Dot, have this amazing weekly BBQ every Monday, rain or shine (even when they are away, a good friend of theirs will come to run it) to bless the neighbours and whoever else we invite.
It is a time of good food, good conversation and we read a bit of the bible, discuss and pray. they call it Babette's Feast (u can google it and read on Wiki, it is also written about by Philip Yancey, in his book, what's so amazing about Grace? , which was where they first got the idea to do the BBQs) and it has really been such a blessing. There are always people from different countries, and in the four or five times since I started attending, there is always at least one new person I have not met before :)
I am free invite friends , as long as I prepare a portion of meat for them , and I have already begun to do so. Please pray that God will open doors through this avenue for more people to be touched by earthly generosity that reflects the Divine nature.
As if all this was not enough, every Fri morning, there is also a breakfast fellowship gathering at the neighbours' place across the park from where I live. Just a few minutes walk away to Ben and Anthony's home. Ben is great at making a fire, and we sit around to enjoy simple oats porridge made by Anthony, with fresh fruit and honey and milk/yoghurt.
This gathering has younger folks and Joanne (she goes by Jo), my landlords' daughter, took me there. Joanne works as a freelance travel writer and photographer (her website visitedplanet.com - go there to see some great work :), she is currently in east timor to observe the elections and I love hearing about her journeys.
I brought Alyssa last Friday and it was great to hang out with the boys, even without Jo there.
so the humans are amazing...and the icing on the cake is the 8 chickens in the backyard. although a couple of the more feisty ones like to escape from their coop and i have to be creative to lure them back, and more than a few times I have stepped on poop, I am just happy to have chickens in the backyard. i really dunno why.
I don't get to eat that many eggs from them, my landlords give me some every now and then, but because it's winter, they are not laying v often. maybe it's because my grandma in ipoh used to keep chickens. I also was happy when my landlord said that after the chickens stop laying permanently, they are given away as pets because they can't bear to eat them.
just one last thing about my accom: Please pray that it does not flood in brisbane because i live right by a manmade creek/big drain. thank you!
2. church life has been very encouraging, seeing God's hand move.
Within a week of getting here, I went for a boat trip (photos can be seen here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150881529081953.398612.544591952&type=3&l=d47f854eaa) and made friends with this girl Si Si, a phd student from china.
it was clearly the favour of God because within 10 mins of meeting me, she said "Your character is very good".
Now i have no illusions about my character being very good, it was God opening the door for us to connect :) she came to lifegroup and church after that, she is keen to learn about Jesus (e.g. she asked me about how I became a Christian etc), and some material has been provided. Will be partnering with a couple whose mandarin is better than mine to reach out to Si Si and her husband Joe, who just arrived from China this week
He isn't very keen on faith matters at the moment, but he was very nice to cook some of us a BIG dinner last night, with no less than 7 dishes, followed by fruits!
Joe is into photography and so are a few of us in the lifegroup, so there will be opportunities to continue building the friendship for Jesus :) Please do pray for this couple, that God will somehow be real to them so that they will want to seek to know the truth for themselves.
Besides Si Si, I also reconnected with Glenissa, whom I first met through a coursemate when I was in UQ. she has graduated and is staying to look for a job (she is from India). We have had many fun times since I got back, she came along for the boat trip too and also visited lifegroup. She is of Catholic background -- please pray that we can spur each other on in our commitment to God :)
3. Passion conference: annual church conference that was held last weekend...this comes under church life but it deserves to be a separate item because there are just so many things to be thankful for. A couple of things I prayed for came to pass i.e. I was asking God for a vision to guide my time in Australia and also I wanted to connect more to the new lifegroup (made of working adults instead of the student group I was previously with) that I had been assigned to. phd students are considered to be working, because we do control our own time mostly.
I will always cherish the student group, but it is easier to reach out to my friends, who are mostly working now, when I am also with other working folks. the favour I have received through Si Si, Glenissa and others - I take it as confirmation that I am in the right place.
there were some really fun times and also some very meaningful times spent...too many for me to recount here...e.g. one lifegroup sister, Shio Yen, who bought me a book on dementia after hearing me say a few lines about my grandma being unable to eat, talk or show signs of cognition...another sister, steph, started tearing in the middle of lunch at a subway restaurant when we talked about the Holy Spirit and the Father heart of God in giving of Himself freely
a small photo album has been uploaded on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150913858561953.401914.544591952&type=3&l=0872793487
And after the conference, the passion has been continuing...for God, for people, for the Great Commission, of course only time will tell whether it goes on, but it is a good start. I have found someone to mentor me (my previous mentor just got married and is moving to join her husband who has been transferred to sydney) - her name is Shannon and she is awesome. I had some reservations at first because she is quite a bit younger than me, but then, so was my previous mentor and I learnt much from her too. Shannon and I click really well...we can be silly and serious together, which I love :)
Already I have shared with and learnt much from her...thanks be to God. Please pray that our mentoring / discipleship relationship to continue to deepen and grow stronger.
Also got verbal agreement to start prayer walks in my neighbourhood with Eunice, one of the girls in my lifegroup, who lives near me and who was also from the student group. I thank God that we are in the same group, same with another girl Carol, with whom I am going to hang out with this sunday...one of the things on the agenda is to worship through dancing :) Looking forward :)
One more thing about lifegroup - i thank God that even within this short time, there has been a testing and stretching...just a few days ago, during the Friday meeting, there was a discussion about what people should bring as refreshments. It started out "innocently" enough, but at one point, it was a tad tense because there was strong opinion about the need for healthy eating plus variety.
my opinion was that less variety is okay if some people really can't prepare anything else besides sandwiches due to work commitments etc. it ended with "you decide, you're the food coordinator". I was a bit troubled about this and i wondered if I should speak privately with the sister, but I didn't know what really to say...we were able to still interact after that and everything...but there was this niggling doubt in my mind whether i was sweeping things under the carpet.
I am so thankful that God mended things. just now, she emailed me, taking the initiative to apologise and also to thank me for being thoughtful about others. I thanked her for being honest and for giving input. through that conversation, I feel i am going to be a better coordinator, because i have come to realise it's not just about what food we bring, but what heart do we have when we serve others in God's family. having the right heart will reflect in the food...always just resorting to buying chips, is a clear indicator that something is wrong somewhere.
Please pray that future disagreements etc will similarly be resolved in the right spirit, so that we may all grow together in unity.
wow...i have seriously rambled...i think three is a good place to stop :) just a few more prayer items:
- scholarships: two are still pending, I will know in Oct and Nov, pls pray for favour if it's God's will and also for my faith to be exercised in trusting God's provision
- work & school: my part time job kicked off today as operations assistant for Campus Christian Ministry Brisbane. thank God I am working with very good people, but there is quite a lot of work. Pray for good pacing of myself, especially when my supe gets back and I have to start with academic readings etc
- health: I have been getting sniffly due to the cold, which can lead to cough. My first week here I fell sick and didn't get well until after the second week ended (and finishing a BIG bottle of cough syrup). Now it feels like I may be on the verge of falling sick again. Please pray that I take good care of myself.
okie dokie until next time...Take care and do let me know if I can also pray for you, dear reader!
i leave you with a photo of a rainbow that I spotted one morning when i was walking home after breakfast fellowship :)
Nugget I read about rainbows: the existence of the rainbow depends on the conical photoreceptors in your eyes; to animals without cones, the rainbow does not exist. So you dont just look at a rainbow, you "create" it. This pretty amazing, especially considering that all the beautiful colours you see represent
God Bless,
jen
i don't really know where to start on this update... quite a lot has happened...although I have not actually started school work yet as my supervisor is away for another week.
But I do thank God for this restful one month here as I settled in and got my bearings :)
although it was only 10 months ago that I left Brisbane (or brissy as we like to call it :), many things have changed...people have graduated and left/started work...some have gotten engaged/hitched (in my one month back, I have been privileged to attend 2 weddings...one of which I hosted and played the ukelele with a bunch of friends (see video here http://youtu.be/IiXdIyVUj6w :)...
there are also some sad changes...people who used to be on fire for God have turned away, or at least the fire is greatly diminished...
But GOD IS STILL THE SAME. yesterday, today and forever. S
so I will begin this update with Thanksgiving to my Daddy King who has watched over me so tenderly since I got here...
1. My accommodation is simply AMAZING. for the price I pay, it is well-sized room that somehow exudes cosiness at the same time (at least I think so :). short video tour of my room here http://youtu.be/ktWpQqe2yvY
My housemate Alyssa completes the tunes I hum and I do the same for her (given that she has just turned 20, a good 13 yrs younger than me, this is in itself something to celebrate :). We have decided to have a regular time of prayer for our extended families in m'sia/singapore, something that I am glad for :)
 |
Ally and the heart-shaped eggs i made for her bday, which was in June :)
|
My landlords, Pete & Dot, have this amazing weekly BBQ every Monday, rain or shine (even when they are away, a good friend of theirs will come to run it) to bless the neighbours and whoever else we invite.
It is a time of good food, good conversation and we read a bit of the bible, discuss and pray. they call it Babette's Feast (u can google it and read on Wiki, it is also written about by Philip Yancey, in his book, what's so amazing about Grace? , which was where they first got the idea to do the BBQs) and it has really been such a blessing. There are always people from different countries, and in the four or five times since I started attending, there is always at least one new person I have not met before :)
I am free invite friends , as long as I prepare a portion of meat for them , and I have already begun to do so. Please pray that God will open doors through this avenue for more people to be touched by earthly generosity that reflects the Divine nature.
 |
| peter is the one in green by me, and Dot (dorothy) is sitting down |
As if all this was not enough, every Fri morning, there is also a breakfast fellowship gathering at the neighbours' place across the park from where I live. Just a few minutes walk away to Ben and Anthony's home. Ben is great at making a fire, and we sit around to enjoy simple oats porridge made by Anthony, with fresh fruit and honey and milk/yoghurt.
This gathering has younger folks and Joanne (she goes by Jo), my landlords' daughter, took me there. Joanne works as a freelance travel writer and photographer (her website visitedplanet.com - go there to see some great work :), she is currently in east timor to observe the elections and I love hearing about her journeys.
I brought Alyssa last Friday and it was great to hang out with the boys, even without Jo there.
so the humans are amazing...and the icing on the cake is the 8 chickens in the backyard. although a couple of the more feisty ones like to escape from their coop and i have to be creative to lure them back, and more than a few times I have stepped on poop, I am just happy to have chickens in the backyard. i really dunno why.
I don't get to eat that many eggs from them, my landlords give me some every now and then, but because it's winter, they are not laying v often. maybe it's because my grandma in ipoh used to keep chickens. I also was happy when my landlord said that after the chickens stop laying permanently, they are given away as pets because they can't bear to eat them.
 |
| naughty chickens: the white one and the black one are the two that often get out. they are definitely the leaders of their group of four (background of older chickens, four of them are of egg-laying age. No rooster because it is not allowed in the city) |
just one last thing about my accom: Please pray that it does not flood in brisbane because i live right by a manmade creek/big drain. thank you!
 |
| I live where the van is in the right side of this picture |
2. church life has been very encouraging, seeing God's hand move.
Within a week of getting here, I went for a boat trip (photos can be seen here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150881529081953.398612.544591952&type=3&l=d47f854eaa) and made friends with this girl Si Si, a phd student from china.
it was clearly the favour of God because within 10 mins of meeting me, she said "Your character is very good".
Now i have no illusions about my character being very good, it was God opening the door for us to connect :) she came to lifegroup and church after that, she is keen to learn about Jesus (e.g. she asked me about how I became a Christian etc), and some material has been provided. Will be partnering with a couple whose mandarin is better than mine to reach out to Si Si and her husband Joe, who just arrived from China this week
He isn't very keen on faith matters at the moment, but he was very nice to cook some of us a BIG dinner last night, with no less than 7 dishes, followed by fruits!
 |
| Joe and Sisi sitting next to him |
Joe is into photography and so are a few of us in the lifegroup, so there will be opportunities to continue building the friendship for Jesus :) Please do pray for this couple, that God will somehow be real to them so that they will want to seek to know the truth for themselves.
Besides Si Si, I also reconnected with Glenissa, whom I first met through a coursemate when I was in UQ. she has graduated and is staying to look for a job (she is from India). We have had many fun times since I got back, she came along for the boat trip too and also visited lifegroup. She is of Catholic background -- please pray that we can spur each other on in our commitment to God :)
3. Passion conference: annual church conference that was held last weekend...this comes under church life but it deserves to be a separate item because there are just so many things to be thankful for. A couple of things I prayed for came to pass i.e. I was asking God for a vision to guide my time in Australia and also I wanted to connect more to the new lifegroup (made of working adults instead of the student group I was previously with) that I had been assigned to. phd students are considered to be working, because we do control our own time mostly.
I will always cherish the student group, but it is easier to reach out to my friends, who are mostly working now, when I am also with other working folks. the favour I have received through Si Si, Glenissa and others - I take it as confirmation that I am in the right place.
there were some really fun times and also some very meaningful times spent...too many for me to recount here...e.g. one lifegroup sister, Shio Yen, who bought me a book on dementia after hearing me say a few lines about my grandma being unable to eat, talk or show signs of cognition...another sister, steph, started tearing in the middle of lunch at a subway restaurant when we talked about the Holy Spirit and the Father heart of God in giving of Himself freely
a small photo album has been uploaded on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150913858561953.401914.544591952&type=3&l=0872793487
And after the conference, the passion has been continuing...for God, for people, for the Great Commission, of course only time will tell whether it goes on, but it is a good start. I have found someone to mentor me (my previous mentor just got married and is moving to join her husband who has been transferred to sydney) - her name is Shannon and she is awesome. I had some reservations at first because she is quite a bit younger than me, but then, so was my previous mentor and I learnt much from her too. Shannon and I click really well...we can be silly and serious together, which I love :)
Already I have shared with and learnt much from her...thanks be to God. Please pray that our mentoring / discipleship relationship to continue to deepen and grow stronger.
 |
| Shannon and I at the wedding on Sat 7 jul. She wore a butterfly belt "for me" after she learnt of my love for them/caterpillars :) can see belt in pic below |
Also got verbal agreement to start prayer walks in my neighbourhood with Eunice, one of the girls in my lifegroup, who lives near me and who was also from the student group. I thank God that we are in the same group, same with another girl Carol, with whom I am going to hang out with this sunday...one of the things on the agenda is to worship through dancing :) Looking forward :)
One more thing about lifegroup - i thank God that even within this short time, there has been a testing and stretching...just a few days ago, during the Friday meeting, there was a discussion about what people should bring as refreshments. It started out "innocently" enough, but at one point, it was a tad tense because there was strong opinion about the need for healthy eating plus variety.
my opinion was that less variety is okay if some people really can't prepare anything else besides sandwiches due to work commitments etc. it ended with "you decide, you're the food coordinator". I was a bit troubled about this and i wondered if I should speak privately with the sister, but I didn't know what really to say...we were able to still interact after that and everything...but there was this niggling doubt in my mind whether i was sweeping things under the carpet.
I am so thankful that God mended things. just now, she emailed me, taking the initiative to apologise and also to thank me for being thoughtful about others. I thanked her for being honest and for giving input. through that conversation, I feel i am going to be a better coordinator, because i have come to realise it's not just about what food we bring, but what heart do we have when we serve others in God's family. having the right heart will reflect in the food...always just resorting to buying chips, is a clear indicator that something is wrong somewhere.
Please pray that future disagreements etc will similarly be resolved in the right spirit, so that we may all grow together in unity.
wow...i have seriously rambled...i think three is a good place to stop :) just a few more prayer items:
- scholarships: two are still pending, I will know in Oct and Nov, pls pray for favour if it's God's will and also for my faith to be exercised in trusting God's provision
- work & school: my part time job kicked off today as operations assistant for Campus Christian Ministry Brisbane. thank God I am working with very good people, but there is quite a lot of work. Pray for good pacing of myself, especially when my supe gets back and I have to start with academic readings etc
- health: I have been getting sniffly due to the cold, which can lead to cough. My first week here I fell sick and didn't get well until after the second week ended (and finishing a BIG bottle of cough syrup). Now it feels like I may be on the verge of falling sick again. Please pray that I take good care of myself.
okie dokie until next time...Take care and do let me know if I can also pray for you, dear reader!
i leave you with a photo of a rainbow that I spotted one morning when i was walking home after breakfast fellowship :)
Nugget I read about rainbows: the existence of the rainbow depends on the conical photoreceptors in your eyes; to animals without cones, the rainbow does not exist. So you dont just look at a rainbow, you "create" it. This pretty amazing, especially considering that all the beautiful colours you see represent
God Bless,
jen
posted by thejenlee at 9:55 AM
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