Departure of Lap Lap family

Today is the departure date for lap lap family; as far as I can remembered, I have knew Lap Lap family for almost 10 years or more. All the family members from the dad (Ray), wife (Eva), Joshua, Joel and Hannah have impacted my life one way or another.

They are a family gifted with musical talents, hospitability, creativity and more importantly a heart for peoples and a heart for Him. I have in my life received critics, advise and encouragement from this family; and working with their kids when their are as young as form 1/2 in music ministry, and they have been in the band ever since the time I started the youth team. It is really sad to see them leaves, but knowing that it is for the greater goods for the family that we are happy to send them with a blessing. Since we all know and believe that such separation is only temporary for we will for sure meet each other again one way or others.

At the airport, it was flooded with a big group of peoples ready to send them off, I always believe that number of peoples whom come to send you off will always speak about how much you have impacted the life of others (not unless your flight is at odd hour where peoples can’t make it lah) :p

To lap lap family, thanks you so much for treating me as part of your family through out this time, teaching me so much and being an example as how a family can be and a testimony not just for me, but also to Lily also. Thanks you, God bless you all and paalam!!! Sana magkikita tayo muli! ^w^

APYAC KL Trip 2009

2 years has passed since the last APYAC 2007 at Jakarta Indonesia, and this year there hosted in KL Malaysia. Felled with excitement and expectations, we managed to bring all together 23 members with the youngest of 5 years old :p

Everyone is assemble at the departure hall for the departure.

The flight was delayed for almost half and hour, so by the time we came out from KLCCT was around 11:45pm. This is the bus that fetch us from KL LCCT to our hotel.

Did Edwin get processed even before the conference?

Everyone was pretty tire since we arrived the hotel arround 1:45am!!! After everyone was assigned with their own room, I get into my room with my 2 nieces, have a short bath and slept right away since we are pretty exhausted from the trip itself.

See more photo from my facebook

Freaky awesome 3d 2n Camp

After month & months of preparation, prayers & practice, finally we have our youth camp not long ago. While it is mentally & physically demanding both our mind & strength, the results and satisfaction from it is beyond our imaginations.

While the hotel is not a top notch hotel you can find, but the campers + activity + music + speakers is top notch for this year. Seeing the youths got inspired by the speaker and wanting to take up greater challenge in their life , also knowing that they have learned something in this year, praying and hoping that the values and principles that have implant to them will continue to mole them to be a better person for the community, all this is just pure rewarding.

While the preparation and execution during the camp is not silky smooth with some hiccup and problems, but we want to thanks everyone for their understanding, cooperation and hopefully forgiveness >w<

But among all else, I want to thanks God for making this camp a wonderful camp for year 2009, without Him all this wouldn’t be possible at all. Is this the end? No!!! I fully believe that it is just a beginning for what God has installed for us and we will see more to come. ^w^

SO YOUTH ABLAZE GET READY FOR MORE IN YEAR 2010!!! But before that, let’s get ready for APYAC in KL!!!

It is coming

For those that been following me for the last 2 week, sorry for the late of update. I been pretty busy especially for the preparation for the upcoming camp. We gonna have our 2009 Youth camp at december, so all of us are busy settling what ever is needed to be done, while I am busy prepping them ready for the P&W session. So please remember us in prayer, we have about 26 pre save soul and readily believe that it will be ready for harvest. :)

Since I wouldn’t blog about this, so here you go… St.Andrew School 2009 Prom Night

While facebook is not the best place for storing and sharing pictures, but it is most common site where everyone is accessing, so head to my FB album for more photo :p

I'm not talking about ultraman, it is about the cross

A very late update for what has been happening for the last few week, while the major event we have as the youth ministry is that we manage to invite Pastor Chris Long to come to our church and have a youth leader training for us during 2thMay to 5thMay.
It was indeed a blessing and a great learning experience for me and other youth leaders during this time. I have learn so much that i still trying to digest what have been taught and how i can apply it into our youth ministry.
He is a Malaysian chinese pastor in a small town called banting(hope i spell it correctly) while at the same times, he is the well know and highly demanded youth speakers for all over the places.
On the last session he have with our youth, we have so much fun with him. Especially he been teasing a youth boy (still in sunday school) that attend our youth during the session. Since most of the time he dont know what pastor was talking, so a few occassion he use the ultraman to make the crowd laugh.

At the end, he said he didnt refer it as ultraman, he was referring to the cross.
Anyway, put that aside, he speak to the youth regarding on how to catch God attention. He has put it in such a way that is easy and interesting ways. I really love the way his preach, same as the members.
We will invite him again for our youth camp at sept, gonna look forward to believe that God will move mightily in the camp and having a great time with one another

March - Youth activity

31st March 2007
Is the day that my team face to face against Mr Terence team, to fight against one another to determine who will be the winner, and loser has to go back empty handed and be the slave for their team for the next 1 month.
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No really

What is happening is that every month we gonna have one outing for the youths, so that we can have some funs instead of having lessons, preaching week after week, and this month we decided to have basketball games. Thanks to Robert for willing let us use his house court for our games.

Here it is:
My team


vs

Terence team


Ready man? Let's the game begin!!!


We lose the game twice, but manage to put a very close match 5-4 twice. So we will get our revenge next time. Christian cannot revenge oh? Never mind lah

Here are some mini activity just came out of the blue
Joasis vs Terence


Joel turn


Choo Sieng


LJ


of course the winner is our Mr Terence.

While the guys is all out running, jumping, shouting, shooting and sweating. Our ladies has their beauty session consult by Mary.





I was so tempted to post some of their action, but i better save myself before i got a good kick at my butt

And how can man restore their energy after 2 long hour battle rumble? Of course FOODS!!!


All in all, i really enjoy myself for this activity, and pray and hope that they enjoy themself also. Also wanted to thanks Mary for so generously open up her house for the beauty session and provide dinner for us. I believe God will continue to bless her and her family for the generosity that they have shown.

Band dynamic by Brenton Brown

2 post in a day!!!
Found this article on the internet and decided to post it out. Hope it will be helpful for you if you are in the P&W teams. God bless

Band Dynamics

In rehearsal situations….

Be punctual. It’s important. It’s an indicator of how much we respect the

other members of the band – both arriving on time, and ending on time.

Be receptive – the older we get, the more experienced we get the harder it

is to receive input. Don’t lose the joy of discovery. There are other ways of

doing what you’re doing. We’re all on a journey. This is worth noting if

you’re a band member of a leader.

Keep it simple – Often the individual members of the band are responsible

for doing most of the arranging of their particular part. A tendency when it’s

not working is to think that it needs something and so I better add

something. But typically it’s not what’s not being played that’s the problem.

It’s what IS being played that is the problem.

It’s not the notes you play – We don’t need to play all the way through

the song, or all the way through the set! Making space is just as important

if not more important than filling space. When was the last time you sat out

of a song?

The goal is ‘one’ – The band makes up a whole – and each member of

the band is a fraction of this whole. To make the whole work we each need

to play only a fraction of what’s being played.

Ultimately, the band is simply there to serve the congregation. If the band

is not needed, it need not play. The most fundamental instrument in our

worship is the voice, and as such the instruments are there to serve the

voice.

General tips…

Be a team – encourage one another. Very often what is happening

relationally in the group is reflected in the spiritual atmosphere of the

worship. Be followers of the leader.

Be a communicator. Assume nothing administratively or musically. If

you’re not sure what someone means when they nod their head at the end

of a verse ask them! Listen to each other musically.

Be a follower- keep your eye on the leader. Be willing to demonstrate

worship, but make sure you’re alert, especially during the changes in the

song, endings, intro’s, moments where it could go either way. Also, be

willing to communicate ideas during the creative process, but remember

ultimately the final decision rests with the leader. Whatever your opinion is

musically, back them up the best way you can.

Be a worshipper – look out for the ‘Just four more songs to go’ mentality.

Also, look out for the ‘that’s not what we did in practice’ mentality. Sort that

out later. Concentrate on worshipping.

Be a servant – is what I’m doing helping other people worship this morning,

or this evening?

Be physically prepared – lot of voices go through out heads on Sunday

mornings: ‘the sound in my monitor is terrible, I love you my child, gosh

Dave’s got a funny jumper on this morning, hey didn’t we go straight to the

second verse in the practise?… God do you think we should cut this next

song?... Wow! I can’t believe how people are worshipping… this is

amazing!!....? – Try and get a good night’s rest and a good meal before you

play. There are enough voices to think about without having to answer our

bodies demands for food and sleep as well.

Have fun! – let the saints be joyful in glory! Look out for taking all of this

too seriously. Remember the burden is light and the yoke is easy.

2nd Weekly update

Haven’t been updating my blog for a week, while there are lot’s of things happening for me for the last few day, just didn’t manage to get my time to sit down and post about it. Anyway, as a typical Chinese man myself, I gonna talk about foods again. It seem like majority of my post is about food, maybe I should consider to change my blog to Shoyo Food tasting corner :p

1^st of all, I got the honor to be invited by Agape Fellowship Center for their 5^th Anniversary dinner at Emperor restaurant at Hua Ho mall, some more is on the VIP table >w< It is a very well prepare and planned dinner and celebration, with a lot of dance, song and presentations. The highlight of the night is that they invited a guy name HT Long, a Malaysian singers, I copies some of his infor from www.tabernaclemusic.net

“In the late 60s and early 70s, HT Long was popularly known as the Elvis Presley of Malaysia. That was the title he won at many Elvis Presley singing competitions and talent shows including Mr. Golden Voice. In 1989, he was miraculously touched by the Lord Jesus Christ. Since then, his life was never the same again. He left his restaurant and video businesses and now dedicates his life into full time ministry.”

Great singer, and his voice indeed quite close to Elvis Presley style, those enjoy Elvis song should try to listen to some of HT Long song. Imagine Elvis singing Christian hymn J

A great well done to AFC and a big thanks to them for inviting me, really enjoy it. Thanks you very much.

2^nd, our church has a 3 day 2 night corporate fast and pray during last week. Since Saturday is a public holiday, the leadership decided to host a combine prayer meeting at the morning (here go my beauty sleep for the holiday). We prayed from 8:30 to 12 plus. It was great and time just flied even it was about 3 ½ hour of prayer, worship. It is good to see God people to gather around, fast and seek His face for His will to be done in the land. We break fast after that, and have a good meals and good time of fellowship with one another. We will continue to believe that God will move in a way that we can never imagine in this land.

3^rd, this one I must thanks my boss for it. He gave me a free buffet voucher at Sheraton hotel for 2, since I don’t have a girl friend yet, so I invited my friend to go with me. While we prepare ourselves for the buffet, we found out later that the voucher is valid for the 3 courses meal also, so we decided to take that instead, then my friend call out his another friend to pick up red wine from his house, so we got red wine for the meal and of course his company. This is one of the best western meal I have eaten in the restaurant for ages, bread with olive oil, lobster starter, chicken soup and a full loaded lobster for main dishes and great wine. Boss, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! >w<>

Mystery Fixed!!!

If I not mistaken, I shared once before that I was so frustrated about how my guitars sound to the church PA system that I feel like throwing them. In fact, I have been dealing with this problem for the last few months while I still cannot find the answer the problem. I read through numerous article/ forum post etc, yet still can’t find the root of the problem. My gear sound completely alright to my ear if I plug to my headphone and PA suppose to project what I hear through the headphone.

Finally I thank God He have show me the reason why the sound doesn’t project properly. First of all, I set my mfx to project the sound at max. While it sound alright to the headphone which is having small voltage, but when it dealing with a 150W speaker it just way too loud for our congregation. Which naturally link to the 2^nd reasons, in order to cut down my volume to acceptable level, we have to cut down the frequency to half to reduce my volume. This is kind of technical, so I try to explain myself clearly.

As we all know, music is produced by sound, and sound is basically a combination range of different frequency, and all the note in term of music theory have their own range of frequency. So in order for a C major to sound like a C major, the instruments have to produce a frequency range of 264Hz and if it go beyond that and it reach 297Hz and it will sound like D Major. Of course will vary depends on how the instruments is set up. You can Google it if you want to know more, and here is the 2 link I use for my reference for this post.

Music and Sound

Frequency: from answer.com

With this knowledge in mind, it is obvious that how come my gear doesn’t project the sound properly. Personally I don’t know how there cut the frequency and the technical explanation. But I can understand is that my sound didn’t project the range of frequency as the way it supposes to be and that’s the reason it sound horrible.

Currently I am happy and want to praise God that I am able to project the music nicely during the church P&W, and I pray that by the grace of God I will continue to serve Him in this ministry as WL or musician.

Thanks.

We have our church services yesterday instead of the 31^st dec, the reason is that we want to celebrate the new year and it is also a thanksgiving for church leader Uncle Frankie and aunty Kiam.

For your information, our church operate in a way that is different to most of the church around the globe, we don’t have any local pastor to pasturing the sheep. Our pastor is located in Singapore and it is very difficult for him to come very often because of the ministry he have in Singapore. Because of this, he has appointed uncle Frankie and aunty Kiam to be the spiritual head for our church (they are husband and wife btw) together with other core leader under them, while uncle Frankie still working with one of the motor company as the GM. They have been faithfully serving the church for more than 10 over years? As far as I know is before I attend this church, they have already here. They are both at the age around 60plus close to 70, and they have seem through and been through the up and down of this church. Personally, I have full respect for them even though sometime I don’t agree with the decision being made by the church.

After long service to the church, they decided to pass the responsibility to another core leader (husband & wife), because of this they will be stepping down and not longer lead us. This is the main reason we have the Monday evening services together with dinner, so that it is officially announce and hand over to our new leader.

After the p&w, we have our church pastor from Singapore to give a message. Then he want all the church member one by one to give them a hug or a hand shake, when come to my turn, tears falling through my eye, and I was speechless. I was literally loss for words for all the things that they have blessed me and impact on me, no word can express my gratitude to them during that time. Before that I was thinking it is easy just give a hug and said thanks you, but when come face to face it was whole lot of different story. It make me wonder how will I response when I going to face Jesus and Father in heaven.

This post is to thanks and dedicate to Uncle Frankie and Aunty Kiam for the services they have done to the body of Christ and to God for this year, and all the blessing, encouragement, influence and impact they have laid upon my life. I sincerely from the depth of my heart to thank you for all the things you have done and all glory to our God in heaven.

P.S They are still around in the church anyway, in case I pass the wrong message across. They have stepped down, and play a more back stage role to support our new leader.

Weekly Update

Sorry for the late of updating my blogs through up this week. It is just plain amazing that so many things can happen in so litter time. Not really so much lah, but enough to keep me busy through out.

Hmmm… first and for most, I watched Dejavu on Monday, and I must said it is an excellent movie, great story with a great plot, of course Denzel Washington and the rest of the crews deserve the praise also. Must watch!!! 9/10

2^nd: My pc decide to fail on me after serving me for the last 5month, the windows system is totally corrupted and I got no choice but to format and fresh install the whole things, to put salt into the injure, it infested by virus and worm right after I format my pc, which require further action from by trying to clean it =__=” Trying to backup and transfer over 80G of data is just……

3^rd: Work, again lots of work have been pilling up, and unexpected hardware and software problem popping out here and there on different company. I been well know in company that I’m a very forgetful person, and to add onto it, I left my bag in one of the company I went yesterday. Not that I forgot about it, it is just that they lock the dept door after the office hour so I can’t take it out. : p

4^th: Hmm… too many complain, let change to something lighter. We have a company lunch today at the hotel restaurant, buffet style. The food is not bad, just that today the main dishes is mainly Malay and Chinese food, so kind of spoil the moods. It seems like when it comes to buffet, RBC airport and Empire still remain the best in Brunei. I enjoy myself with all the foods that available, and I ate till I can’t my dinner. Over eating man, don’t know how I gonna kill off those extra calorie that I already took in >w<

5^th: Youth teacher meeting after the lunch. Mainly the purpose of this meeting is to discuss further on what we want to do next year and planning on the schedule. We have a very lengthy and fruitful discussion; with this meeting it also help us to shift our mindset to be more prepare for next year. No to work and glorify our self, but to honor God in all serving we can give. Now, I really need to mentally and spiritual prepare myself for next year. More work is awaiting me!!! I like what I hear from the pastor during the fire conference, when you are faithful with the work that God has given to you, it will be rewarded. When you are rewarded it means more work for you :>
Anyway, before I worry about next year, I need to worry about this coming week where I need to lead P&W for the church and I haven’t got single songs yet :p

Tire

It has been over 2 week now after having 2 of our youth joining us for the work. It is definitely challenging and stressful to me. Especially during this period of time that I got lot’s of work to deal with, costing me not having enough time to teach them (some more I’m not a good teacher to begin with) to help out the work properly, and seeing them not having proper attitude for the work, it just gave me a lot of stress (need to pray for more patients, or is this the answer prayer God give me?) :p I can’t blame them, they are here as the attachment, receiving not pay first time step into the work environment, with this limited time I don’t think I can change their mind set and way of living dramatically. Put that aside, I get to learn about myself in different perspective. I am more of a lone ranger (hope this is the correct way to call it?) myself when it come to work. I’m too use to working by my own during this few year that I’m not use to having sub-coordinate to follow me around. It also causing me to think why I am involving in youth ministry, music ministry and etc all this year, and having the feeling that I lose my reason for why I am serving in this ministry, or maybe I should said that I am losing my passion for the work that God have give me? (gonna need a lot of refocus I suppose)

Hmm… let’s change topic. Our youth will be heading to limbang again to visit the church one more time this year, this time for the purpose to help out our Sunday school ministry since there going to have a camp there and also to bless the body in limbang. Looking forward how God will move through us and to us this time. ^__^

BTW, the picture is from 彎彎 blog, very interesting blog if you know how to read chinese.

Cooking Contest

For the very first time, we have a mini cooking contest for the youth. Terence is the one who come out with the idea, and prepare all the stuff. Thank You Terence!!! You are great. :) He is the man never fail to marvel me with all his interesting and creative ideas, just make me envy sometime >w<
Anyway, we separate them into their usual grouping, and thank God, Emily and Mary (fully qualify mum) is there, so we can ask them to supervise one of the group, instead of asking the youth to make it by their own. Since they all share the same ingredients, they make salad, spaghetti and corn soup. The result was very impress; once I got the photo from Terence I will upload it for your viewing pleasure.

We have a great time to enjoy the foods, and time of fellowship. Cooked by the youth ok!!! Even some of the parents didn’t have chances to taste it. XD

Lunch with various bodies

Today, it was an honor invited by agape to have a lunch with them, Pastor Chris and various youth leaders from various churches. This is one of the very first times various youth leaders ever meet together for a meal. It was a wonderful meal, not just because of the foods. But man I must say the serving is HUGE!!! Almost like Aussie standard, we have soup with garlic bread, salad with chicken, a beef rib with potato and coleslaw then end with dessert and coffee. I was very tempted to take photo of all we ate, but better don’t :p

But the main purpose of this meeting is not because of the foods, but to be able to meet various leader from different churches, share with them what you do and what they do, and knowing that from today onward we can find way to communicate with one another. All together, we have various leaders from 6 churches in this meeting. I don’t say this is unheard but definitely very rare in this land. I was also very encouraged by the sharing from the leaders and the pastor, which change my perspective and see how God can move. I pray and believe that this will not be the end, but a new start of event where God can move.

I also want to thank my boss for allow me to take a short leave for this meal, the meeting start from 12pm and i left the place at around 2:30pm.