the power of prayer

Just want to give God all the glory for a wonderful (although short) Agapella girls' group session on Sunday.. Isn't it amazing how the prayers prayed during the last session were miraculously answered!! =) I initially thought of titling this post "Girl-power" or something like that, but of course, it's not us at all but simply an all-powerful God who answers prayers! So so happy for Uma and Colin and their good news; and for the Lord's helping hand in Tina's assignment, besides the many other thanksgiving and evidences of God's grace and mercy in each of our lives, including His grace in Simone and my studies, and in Nam's job :) Let's continue to seek the Lord, and learn how to submit to His perfect will and timing in all aspects.

hm.. on that same night, we also had the opportunity to share about one way in which we have been blessed through being a part of Agapella. Didn't say so that night, but really, (after thinking about it a bit and with a much clearer head than that night) if i had to choose just one way i've been blessed because of these wonderful people, i'd have to say the most important thing is having met my best friend by joining the group =) ..But really, love each of them so much, and thank God for each one!!

data collection has begun!

Thanks to the great help of Auntie Lilian, was able to begin testing this week! And much thanks also to Grace who so kindly volunteered to help, despite it being the most boring task of all to supervise :P Really thank God for providing this help =) Looks like it'll be rather tight to test 80 kids before i fly to Perth, but will just do my best. heh Peishan said, "Never mind; if you can't finish testing by February, you'll just have to come back in June to finish collecting the data!" My response? "Don't tempt me..!" ;P

the rest of the holiday

It was nice last week catching up with some of the OCF-ers who were in Singapore for Ruby's wedding. (also giving the opportunity to meet up with the Singaporean OCF-ers!) Finally went karaoke with Jane :) ...And you know what, in the end what stands out most in my memory is Kelvin's amazing rendition of One Night In Beijing :P Thought the LC Meet went well also, giving me a chance to hear about convention and AGM, and be reminded about the year's plans and what i have to do before summer is over!

-half of which is already gone!

Now that i've more or less wrapped things up for my placement (still have to go down twice more i think to really finish things up..) it's down to the thesis data collection. Have made contact with my church kindergarten principal and another agency; please pray for smooth discussions, for parents who are willing to have their child participate in the study, and for the actual testing process, along with the questionnaire the parents have to fill in. Time is rather tight and i need to collect the data from the Singapore side before i leave in mid-Feb. Thanks, Jacey, for the reminder to commit this too to the Lord and do everything in His strength and not on my own :)

A new year to seek the Lord

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven", and at the start of this year, i've been reminded how important the time is to seek the Lord and pray fervantly, even on behalf of certain dear ones in our lives. Along with the wonderful testimonies of so many church members during the service on New Year's Eve, were open and heartfelt sharings about the trials that some have faced during the year. Particularly encouraging was my Aunt Ivy's sharing about how she has been praying long and hard for certain individuals with seemingly no progress, yet she was reminded through a song that no matter what the situation, God is still on the throne. (ps: the very next morning, she received an sms that there has been a breakthrough in the hearts of one of the people she has been praying for!!) And then my dad reminded us through the example of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1 that it's acceptable to cry out to God, to ask Him in His mercy to intervene, and He will answer, according to His way, in His will, in His perfect timing.

Thus, at the start of the new calendar year, as we make the commitment to seek God first in our lives, found it especially appropriate to start off the year with a retreat to plan for the young adults' ministry in the church. ...Oh, and for the record, was especially glad to see Bingjun at our young adults Boxing Day gathering, and also in church ;) My prayer for all my brothers and sisters is that we will progress in our walk with the Lord, through this year, and beyond. And for all others who have yet to make that important decision about who Jesus Christ is, that they would take the time to examine their purpose here on earth and truly evaluate what they're living for.