Thank You =)

presentation this tuesday..
3000 word essay due this wednesday (50% - insane!)..so anyway, lets seee.........2500 words more to go...
a few other disheartening issues...

BUT

I still feel a sense of peace and joy within me.
Thank You Lord, for Your constant assurance.
Thank You Lord for providing peace and joy that transcends all understandings.

[insert watever]

i have been lazy to blog proper (whats new right), and busy as well anyway. so erm... theres a group presentation coming up, and i absolutely hate group presentations.. i'd rather do everything alone. i wish everyone was as efficient as me. haha. ok la..but i guess its just the part about conveying my thoughts and ideas to people that really irks me.

well then again, that does not happen only during group work. in real life, i've got so much thoughts running deep in me, i just find it very/extremely/superbly difficult to verbalize my thoughts and emotions. sometimes its ok, im like..ahh watever. but there are times...i just feel like.......exploding.

really wonder wat happened to me along the way. i remember being, very talkative....well that has become kinda vague. been too long. i wonder if its age (*looks around* i guess not. haha..)....

zzz.....anyway.. God has been good goood goood....
now its back to work work work.

you say? God says....

You say: "It's impossible"
God says: All things are possible (Luke 18:27)

You say: "I'm too tired"
God says: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: "Nobody really loves me"
God says: I love you (John 3:16 & John 3:34)

You say: "I can't go on"
God says: My grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

You say: "I can't figure things out"
God says: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5-6)

You say: "I can't do it"
God says: You can do all things (Philippians 4:13)

You say: "I'm not able"
God says: I am able (II Corinthians 9:8)

You say: "It's not worth it"
God says: It will be worth it (Roman 8:28)

You say: "I can't forgive myself"
God says: I Forgive you (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: "I can't manage"
God says: I will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19)

You say: "I'm afraid"
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7)

You say: "I'm always worried and frustrated"
God says: Cast all your cares on ME (I Peter 5:7)

You say: "I don't have enough faith"
God says: I've given everyone a measure of faith (Romans 12:3)

You say: "I'm not smart enough"
God says: I give you wisdom (I Corinthians1:30)

You say: "I feel all alone"
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

Always believe that the glass is half full...... ;)

be blesssed everyone.

2nd rejection.

"Dear Nona
Your study sounds very interesting but unfortunately we won't be able to help you. We have a lot on this term and your tests would be disruptive.
I do hope you are able to find a school that can help you."

Jesus..Jesus...my best friend.
who else, other than You can I pour out my deepest thoughts and feelings without being judged.
who else, other than You accepts me for who I am..
who else, can I trust...

Is life really worth living?

what I got from today's sermon -

in death, we live behind everything we have, but we take with us everything that we are.

Vibe Kardinya

WOOHOOOOO! Our first cell photo~ its abit late, but better than never! haha..
was a great time together. awesome. well done everyone!

rejected!

ahh..just received a call. was told that the principal wasnt keen on the idea of me recruiting the kids in his school for my study. so yeah..there u go. rejected. thought i was quite mentally prepared to receive a negative reply..but when i actually got that anwser, somehow it still stings abit. bleahhhhh.

oh wells, not the end of the world! will try harder elsewhere~~ *prays hard*

Journeying through the Book of Ecclesiastes

Today Pastor Benny started the series of sermon on the Book of Ecclesiastes. I felt a sense of excitement and anticipation when he quoted .. "Work through the book, and the book will work through you!" I was like...woohoo! LORD YES! I wanna be transformed by You, I want to hear from you. change me from the inside out!

so anyway, im not gonna repeat the whole sermon (join me for service on sundays/cell on fridays and find out for yourself!!)...

I was reminded again that life without eternal perspective and life without God IS MEANINGLESS...and that it is exactly at those times when I've allowed myself knowingly/unknowingly to drift away from God that sometimes even as a christian, i make the mistake of viewing life through temporal and earthly perspectives, and that is when i can feel life being sucked out of me.. but thank God for His grace and mercy, that He'll always call me back into fellowshipping with Him. Indeed, God has never once failed me, and I believe He never will. =)

But Lord, help me not take Your loving kindness, grace and mercy for granted..I thank You Father for the gift of faith, may You help me in this constant process of daily renewing my trust in Jesus. that even though I might not understand at times, but I'll always trust in Your plans for me.

and...Yes Lord, thank You that my life is not an endless meaningless cycle, but a straight line with fixed destination. Lord I pray that You'll help me run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. Thank You God for the timely reminder, that I'll wanna live my life meaningfully, that I wanna live my life to the fullest, running this race that You have marked for me with vigor and with the end in mind.

"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1

thinline between dreams and reality?

lately i've been having too much dreams/nightmare, i cant recall which are true events and which are dreams.

the only One who loves perfectly...is Him.

i miss them =(

I MISS THEM SO MUCH!!! awesome family..so anyway, this is my host family in costa rica. actually I cherished the time most with this family duirng my 1mth stay in costa rica..although white water rafting..and abseiling and horseback riding on Christmas day and all was superb...but still nothing beats being around these people.

Not everyone is in here.. they have like extended family..sisters...cousins...and whoever all staying side by side. their culture is such that the family's very closely knitted, i really love it there. simple and nice..everyone goes abt doing their own things, schooling, working (my family's into wood-carvings and stuff. very cool. i tried to do it, and managed to carve out half a sea turtle..loL) hmm, this family..can't live without music and TV. ahha..i think apparently all the families in this village are like that. they'll blast music (Neri - the grandmother loves spanish romantic music, so i get that every morning as wake up call. haha. if not it'll be the kids running around or the washing machine going RRRRrrRRRrrRR) in the morning while doing housework, then evening everyone would be gathered around Neri's place to watch tv and have dinner (beans and rice beans and rice beans and rice...and more beans and rice..altho i love beans...thats abit TOOO much...i got constipated after that). the lady carrying a baby...yeah well, she's the grandmother in the household..v young right. the women in this culture seem to make it their mission to get married early, then have kids. kids are like so impt to them...actually whether they get married or not, they'll still want kids. so yeah...alot of single mums in this village, doesnt really bother them at all, cos along with their kids, they just stay with the parents. oh wells..its interesting to learn how other culture function.

but it felt so good, cos they embraced me as one of them. took care of me so well..fed me with so much beans and rice........and yeah well. haha.....was touched by their lil acts of concern and stuff...like i had night duty at the beach, and they were afraid i couldnt find my way back cos it was pitch black...switched on the front lights so that i could recognise the house.

oh man...there's just too much to write and share abt this trip. haha.. i journal like abt average 8 pages for each day..this is definitely an experience i wld never forget.

so anyway..i'll just leave with that for now. goodnight everyone. God bless all~

Aribadda!!

Taken at playa Ostional, this was really a blessed trip. not only was i able to see 2 leatherbacks, i was able to witness the Aribadda (mass nesting phenomenon)! Thousands of olive ridleys came up to shore to nest within a period of 4-8days.. i was struck in awe, just standing at the beach, surronded by lots n lots n lots n lots of sea turtles. looking towards the sea..i was able to see many sea turtles swimming towards the shore, their heads bobbing up and down the choppy waters..haha. really very funny. on a serious note, its really tiring for these turtles to come up shore and nest..swimming across oceans..with like 100 eggs in them, you can actually see then pant when they reach the shore. crawl crawl crawl...stop and rest...then crawl up further to a safer spot. gotta start digging their nest (really hardwork! i had to do that too, like get down on all fours and dig turtle nest for the hatchery *sweat*)....then lay abt a 100 eggs....and they still gotta cover up the nest and camouflage it. really tiring... but then, thats the end of their job, they won't get to see their youngs again. and only 1 out of 1000 grow to be an adult. sad case.

bottom left of the collage is my project leader yaiza, awesome to work with, and she took care of me well when i was there. =) and i can really sense her passion and love for the poor turtles.

bottom central: thats me and 2 other research assistants..during my off day, we walked 2hours to the next village just to use the internet. took a wrong route, and we had to climb up a steep rocky platform..crossed mini rivers..and the roads arent well-paved! they are sandy and had lots of pebbles...haa... hot, tired and bothered......even then, ever ready to smile for the camera! =)

bottom right: thats me sitting by the hatchery on a day shift =) oh during night shifts while i was at the hatchery...i saw lots of shooting stars! wooohoo!

Olive Ridleys!

TURTLES TURTLES TURTLES! This particular species is called the Olive Ridleys. Very cute...it is named for the olive color of its heart-shaped shell, the smallest species of sea turtles (7 species in all). Largest species is the leatherbacks.. I saw 2 of those when i was patrolling the beach at night. woohoo..it was really massive. 1.5metres in length (jus the carapace!! i.e., the shell). really a sight to behold..

yeah, i'm the only asian in the whole ISV group. bulk of it were aussies, and a few kiwis. haha, they're actually quite fun to hang out with, it was really quite an experience.. immersing myself in 2 cultures (aussie and costa rican) at the same time. Definitely stepped out of my comfort zone this time round.. unforgettable.

Finally! Photos from Costa Rica trip

sorry for the delay..haha anyway its finally up. some photos from my trip. I dont have much photos though, cos as most of you know, my camera went kapuut on me 1st day i reached Playa Ostional (place where i did my volunteer work in costa rica, its a remote village by the sea.) I took all these photos with my handphone (k800i)..haa.thank God camera phones =p

this is Linus..one of the kids in my host family. very cute..and super duper hyperactive. dont get fooled by pictures! haha =p

bits and pieces

since my last post, havent been motivated to blog at all...much has happened during this disappearance act of mine. both good and bad. that being said, God uses all circumstances good and bad for His Glory ["And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28] ........so its ALL good. heh..

lets see....hmm..dont really know where to start. how bout some photos? but wait a min...suddenly realised i forgot how to post photos on the site. grr. after my 1mth stint in costa rica, apparently became bit of an.......IT illiterate. O_o

now ehh...there's flickr.....photobucket and wat else......anyway, i forgot my password to watever i've used before. gosh, haha terrible.

ok ok..wait till i've figured all those out, then i'll post again. O_o
then theres err....oh yah..tagboard.

ok nevermind. this is such an embarassing post. haha. anyway you guys must be used to it by now................i guess. zzzzZz.

just came back from church camp! whooopee. it was gooooooood. God is always good. hehe. fellowship was good, made some new friends, built up stronger bonds with existing ones...worship was awesome, Word by Bro Binh also stirred me up..reminded me to have that burden in my heart, the responsibility that has been entrusted to us. God, I want to make a difference! I want to make an impact! God, use me! God, I say YES to You!

ooH then i was asked to help take photos for camp too (alongside with mark and casey, cos both them on worship most of the times). it felt weird at first, when people were worshipping, doing their stuffs.....then there i was going *snap snappy snap* ..think it'll prob not feel as weird next time round. yippee~my first official assignment. was fun fun fun! initially i was like "hmm...im not capable of taking good photos...what if this...what if that..." basically lots of doubt abt myself, but mark said as long as i enjoyed myself, that was more than enough. heh.. and during one of the sessions, Bro Binh mentioned that we're serving by grace, becos He allowed and cos He wanted to use us.. that we shouldnt serve only when we feel adequate and 'up for the job'...cos we always fall short of God's standards anyway. and if we don't use our gifts, we'll lose it. so yeah.. Lord, help me to say YES to You always. Lord, mould me and make me the person You want me to be. May You fashion my heart after Yours.. and make me an instrument of liberation for what Your heart bleeds over.

there was this other thing i wanted to say while i was writing the above paragraph...i was like "hold that thought hold that thought.."..but still it slipped my mind! meh.

so anyway, hmm yeah then i lost my wallet during camp. i remembered distinctly packing my wallet into camping bag....but then when i got back home, wallet was gone. *woe* really wonder where i lost it. but thank God i took some of the money and my debit card out (didnt know why i bothered to do that, i usually dont...so thank God!) anyways....im jus gonna miss a few photos that was in the wallet.....and some cash (can't recall how much)....no biggie i guess, hope whoever picked it up will be blessed then.

today is easter monday~ public hols! i can never never remember hols when im in perth. i don't know why. this morn i was all changed and ready to go uni print some stuffs, then planned to head to a few primary schools to make an appointment with principals to talk abt recruiting their kids for my study... but woh, thank God shanshan reminded me that its easter monday today. saved me a wasted trip! phewz.......thank God and thank you shanshan (tho u probably dont know this site exist)! heh..anyway much appreciated.

ooK. thats abt all for today.. hopefully next post there'll be some photos. and hopefully i'll post again sooonish. haaha. i've like 1 presentation and 2 essays to do.......and need to write intro and method section for my thesis before this hols is up...and theres the readings i've gotta catch up on.....bleah. so yeah.

God Bless all!