moved on :)

To all those who have been visiting this site, i pray that you have been blessed. I have moved on to wordpress for a change in environment, so please update address books. heh.

If you have been blessed by who God has been in my life and would like to continue to be blessed, please visit at- http://rachoo.wordpress.com. Smiles.

Changes are good, they excite me. Grins.

stability masked.

My poor 小黑 ("little black"), which is also the name of my laptop (coined because my friend, alexis calls her white laptop- 小白）okay, dont laugh, that's the name of my laptop and it is sick- and i mean sick. Poor little thing. Has to be admitted to IBM hospital for at least a week, might be two, for a full check up. All because the CD drive keeps popping out, without me touching the eject button at all. And... it happens really often. But, like the technician at the centre said, "Don't have your laptop for a week won't die right?" Yes, right. Grins. So now it's back to the trusty family desktop. Thank God it's only the beginning of the semester. God is so gracious. Smiles.

Returning from Nepal, land of uncertainties and surprises, i realised how unsurprising 'Surprising Singapore' is. It is super ironic that they actually use this to sell tourism in here. I think it's more like 'stability singapore'- and it's not really meant to be an insult, because it is true! Singapore, much as there are many changes that take place very often, is as stable as it gets. And that is also why Singaporeans in my opinion can be quite soft. And, i think i have digressed from the point i really wanted to make. What i wanted to say was, life here is so predictable, so comfortable- you flick the power switch, light comes on. You turn your tap, water flows out. You step out of your house, you'll probably get transport. You need any ammentities, 'just-a-stone's-throw-away'. Lift not working, call the hotline, they'll be here to fix it within that day or the most two. Road accident, call 995, they'll be there in a jiffy. We can get almost any and everything here, seriously. I salute the government for all the infrastructure and ammenities that are provided for the citizens. There is nothing really that is not taken care of here. But look at the Straits Times forum, people are still complaining- and here i see Singapore facing actually a crisis that might be quite a phantom. Complacency, poverty of the soul, dissatifaction with what they have in life, wanting quick fixes to everything (like how i wished they could rectify the problem that was bugging 小黑.), working their butts off to accumulate wealth and more wealth. It's a crazy place we like in really. For many Singaporeans, stability and apparent provisions of needs are masking what is in many hearts- uncertainty.

And the sad part is this, we might have everything we need materially, but we have nothing if we don't have Christ. Vice versa, the people in Nepal (or any third world country) might have nothing materially, but they have EVERYTHING if they have Christ- because Christ is the one who gives abundant life.

So as you live in affluence today, ask yourself this question: Are you truly living in abundance? Or are you in spiritual poverty?

something new.

okay, not done with this yet. grins.
just thought something new for the next half of the year would be nice.

R-age is home, where i belong.

Today, Cheryl commented that she has not seen me stop smiling ever since i came home 4 days ago. And indeed i haven't! Whenever someone i meet in church says, "It's great to have you back." i would always reply, "It's great to be back!" and with full conviction and sincerity i would say that! "Reverse culture shock" for me? No way. This is home, where i belong. Although there were many times where i felt the presence and peace of God (and comfort) as i walked the dirt paths and ministered in rural areas, nothing beats being home.

Home (family, R-age and all the friends) never felt this important and significant in my life. I guess my time away also found me seeing how gracious God has been to me. I believe i will complain less and praise God more. (Remind me when i do complain okay?) Why? because there is simply SO MUCH to thank God for back home. Cliche as it might sound, Singapore is really a place where we have so much. And we are truly blessed. For all the times i have complained and whinned about life here, i repent. I am reformed; transformed, after being in Nepal for 2 months. Life has not shown so much of itself before. And as i type my heart is filled with gratitude for all that the Lord has blessed my life with in the past 22 years.

I have never in my life before been this grateful for R-age. (I was just talking to Joey about this last night. And it burns fresh in my thoughts.) Truly, R-age is where i belong, where the Lord has given me countless opportunities, people who believed in me, walked alongside me and nurtured me. So proud of the ministry that i have grown to love and would serve until the Lord calls me elsewhere. You have no idea how much i missed the fellowship and communion of the fellow brothers and sisters in Christ back home. Nothing can describe the joy, excitement and contentment of being back in church again this weekend. Believe it or not, when i heard Ps. Ronald's jokes (they require people of certain capacity to laugh at. hehe.) i actually for that moment thought to myself, "wow, i actually miss his jokes..." THAT, is how much i miss our home church. (No offense to our dearest pastor (heh), i have grown to love him and respect him alot. alot.) And even as i stood in front of the YA congregation to testify of God's goodness to me during the trip, i could almost feel the desire to serve the people in my ministry bursting forth. God has renewed my desire to serve, to teach, to declare who He is to the people here. I definitely can't keep silent of what i have seen and heard during my 2 months there.

It is my desire to see the R-agers excited about missions too, to want to touch lives, and see how God can use them to transform the nations around us. And i pray that God will use me to encourage others to be that ambassador for Him, whether locally or overseas. I am now continuing to pray and ask God how He is gonna use all that i have seen and heard to bless the people back in R-age and even in my campus. Really excited to see what He has in store for me in this coming half year.

To the question, "So, how are you?"

My answer would be, "Great, never been better. We need to sit down and talk if you really want to hear more."

God, You are so amazing, indescribable, i never want to stop smiling because You are my joy, my hope. :)

feels so good to be home :)

I'm home :)

And i am a very happy girl. It's 3:33am now and i am finally starting to feel sleepy. I don't believe school is starting this coming tuesday. goodness. Looking forward to it, but this tuesday?! That's a tad bit too soon isn't it? heh. Okay, reality check, i am back in Singapore and like Jessica who slapped her face at the Singapore airport today, i am metaphorically slapping my face. Grins.God be magnified in my life this semester. Year 4, here i come... :)

ps: Will update more about my afterthoughts on the trip soon. For now, let me enjoy the comfort of my bed. Smiles.

I am now sitting at a cyber cafe that charges Rs. 10 per hour, thats like SGD 25 cents, grins. Don't raise your hopes on high speed access here but i am thankful enough that i have access to the outside world. In 4 days, i will back to the bustle and fast-paced life of Singapore and well, i guess i really do miss home alot. It has been such a tremendous 2 months here i must say, walking through the streets of Nepal, basking in all the culture (pleasant and unpleasant) and just taking in all that my eyes can capture.

It's amazing what 2 months in this place can do to you. I have crossed rivers, (literally.) stepped on shit and experienced for myself what it means to live off only my bagpack. It's actually quite fascinating how much we actually need to live. After a while, the toners, face moisturizer, and other cosmatic comforts just make up part of my Singaporean lifestyle, a figment of something i do back home. And even more fascinating is how we can actually survive and more than that, live without much complaints with these things not at hand.

Life has been pretty slow-paced this week, we are all preparing ourselves mentally and emotionally to go back home. Yesterday as we were sigtseeing at some ancient sites, i realised how much i relish weaving through those streets, exploring every nook and cranny i could find. I imagined what stories the carvings on the window sills and doorframes told, picturing all that could have taken place on the ground where i treaded on. And i left the place satisfied, knowing that it was a day well-spent. I am gathering all my thoughts before the bombardment of "how was the trip?" and many other questions start flooding me. Grins. I'm really glad i get this week to think through things, and collect all my thoughts, journalling them all down. I will never end, haha, but as becky said, being away gives us alot more time to think and talk to God, and to that i absolutely agree.

It's been almost an hour since i'm here in front of the pc and (sigh) i have so much to thank God for- neverending. In the background i here the sound of Christians worshipping, i am just across one of the largest churches in Nepal. God is truly doing a great work here. The harvest is so plentiful- but where are the labourers? I'm praying, and so are the people here. Pray together with me as we plow the field for the souls here.

Back in Kathmandu.

Smiles. I am back in Kathmandu with 7 more days left here. There were so many things about the past 2 weeks that i would love to share but i'll leave that for tomorrow or another day coz i think i need some sleep now. Dead beat already. So till then, God has been so good. :)