MY SELF EDUCATION

For Japanese Language,
Japanese For Busy People
For Japanese Social Critique,
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle : A Novel by Haruki Murakami.

For Thai History, Thailand: A Short History by David K. Wyatt.
For Missiology,
Mack & Leeann's Guide to Short-Term Missions by Stiles;
Revolutions in World Missions by K. P. Yohannan;
Biblical Guide to Missions, Moody Bible Institute (MBI) Independent Studies Reader;
Cross-Cultural Training in Ministry, MBI Reader & Workbook.
For Thai Language,
Thai For Beginners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker.

And to keep up the Language & Literary,
there's a version of the history of the English language in Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue,
and for Teaching,
Understanding Students psychology and
Teaching with Results from MBI; and
lets not forget the CertTEFL by distance learning too.

Audio: This Is The Last Time by Keane.
Biblio: Any of the above...
Cerebrio: That's a year's university education in itself!

[:-| [:- ( [:-) [:-?

Laura's better. :-)
I'm going skiing this weekend! :-)
But Laura's not 110%, so she's not going skiing. :-(

Japanese Immigration have finally approved my visa. :-)
They've given me a three year visa. :-)
But then, I'm leaving Japan mid-year. :-|
For Thailand, :-)
In 19 weeks! :-?

Audio: All Right Now by Free on VirginRadio UK.
Biblio: Revolutions in World Missions by K. P. Yohannan.
Cerebrio: ? ! ? ! ? ! ?

NO RIGHT TO BLEED

So Laura's sick with the flu and this time, I'm still pretty genki. Considering that, I was drenched from ski-ing and nursing a painful sore gum (See: Wisdom Teeth) with the lingerings of my flu from painting hard, two weeks ago, it's God's hand of protection on me or something.

But I can tell you one thing: when your family is sick, real or otherwise, there is little I can do to avoid feeling bad. In fact, it makes me sad. I remember always being kind of blue whenever one of my parents was hit with a cold or a flu or something bad that they had to stay home from work. And I would do anything as long as they could get better - even keep silent as a mouse so they could sleep. It was a mixture of sad and guilt that they shouldn't have to be the one's falling ill or that I'd been so hard to look after that I ran them dreary to the bone. I feel bad when Su get sick and when she was hospitalized, but it wasn't the same kind of sad. No guesses how afraid I might be regardless of how cold I might seem if ever my parents fell fatally ill. They're my parents. They're supposed to be my heroes. My heroes don't have the right to bleed.

Audio: Superman, It's Not Easy Being Me by Five For Fighting.
Biblio: Revolutions in World Missions by K. P. Yohannan.
Cerebrio: God, please make Laura better.

WET SUIT

Pwah! Today's rides were just awesome. The weather was kind of crappy, a consistent shower that meant by the end of the evening, I was wearing a wetsuit. But we also know that wetsuits keep you warm if you are constantly moving. Did a couple of runs on the flats with Ruthie. For about 5 minutes I almost forgot how to ski. Snowplough and then turn? But I surprised myself and it all came back to me by the end of the first run. Then I started to practice parallel skiing. After a few of flat runs, Laura and I got the itches to hit the intermediate slopes.

The cloud cover was so thick I couldn't tell where the clouds ended and the snow/mountain started so initially it was kinda scary but I guess skiing is a bit like whistling, once you learn you never quite forget it. After we got Kirsty to join us (she turned out to be a quite a skiier!) we did a few more and then she challenged us to the black slopes.

I can't believe I managed the black slopes without too much difficulty. But there was no way I was going to join her on the moguls when I couldn't see more than 10 meters before me. Apparently Laura reckoned it would have been so do-able for me. Maybe next time.

My thighs are so going to kill me tomorrow. It's like body got a bad reminder just where and what state my butt cheeks are in!

The day was a good day to get to know Ruth and Kirsty better. Especially since Ruth might soon be our new flatmate if she joins AIS. What did I come away with? Thank you God, for Laura as a flatemate. We are all fallen people and difficult people to live with at times. I'm glad that most of the time (I think) our personalities are close enough to live with. Thank you that you give her patience to put up with me and vice versa. Continue to remind us how to love and support each other and to see the best in each other.

Audio: Styrofoam Plates by Death Cab For Cutie.
Biblio: Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson.
Cerebrio: Can't wait for next weekend!

POWDER!

Finally, after waiting 3 years, I'm going to the powder again! Tomorrow it's Biwako-Valley with Laura, Ruth and Kirsty! It's a pity Chip is down and can't join us. Next weekend Laura and I are going to Miyazaki with Jenn & Jeff and once more to Biwako with Chip in the first two weeks of March. If we're really lucky, Ruth might hook us up another go in Nagano! Or I might just have to sled it up to Keely's in Nagoya to get the last of it before spring comes through.

Audio: The Fight Song by Sanctus Real.
Biblio: Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson.
Cerebrio: SNOW!! It's the only thing on my mind.

DON'T PANIC!

Had a bit of a freaky experience yesterday. Su's in Brisbane now and getting all disoriented and unsettled as one does when moving homes. So who else better for her to call but her older sister the other side of the hemisphere at 1am. But nwvermind her. This is about me.

After I spoke to her, I got to thinking about when I first moved and all the moves I've had since then. And then about the next move(s) back "home". And I had a bit of an anxiety attack. Appropriately a whole 10 months away. Why? Why do I panic?

I reckon, I'm pretty used to the whole moving away to a new place/new culture. It's always difficult but I know what to expect. The idea of having to go (back) to Singapore, isn't quite like going home, nor is it anything like going into a foreign place either. I've had a lot of experience in going home, spending a few months there but knowing that I'm outta there in a sec. So, the whole experience will be a new one to me, to go home but not to visit. To fly back there and not have a flight out of Singapore booked. The thought of not having a flight out, of not planning to be going anywhere somewhat permanently after that, is a bit overwhelming.

Unlike say, going to a foreign country, whether Australia or coming to Japan to going to Thailand, where IF it didn't work out, I always have the option of to pussy-tail it back to Singapore. But, if Singapore doesn't work out there is no pussy-tailing it elsewhere. It simply CANNOT not work! I mean, yes, its not the end of the world, I could well find work and be posted overseas and all that but that is not likely for a year or two at least.

I'm an expert in moving, an expert in adapting in new cultures (the key word there adapting and not adapted) but nothing to show for going home. To be quite honest, when plagued with the thought of going home, my thoughts escape by seeking the easy way out, "lets just move somewhere else AGAIN!".

But oh my goodness! As usual Douglas Adams, my hero has just the right advice; Don't Panic! Afterall, whats more important is that The Hitchhikers Guide To The Universe finally premieres April 29th. Of course I won't get to watch it on the big screen while I'm here. But I will take his second best advice and carry a towel to Thailand since the answer to the question of the universe is only 54.

In preparation for that, I've ordered Thai For Beginners for some serious introduction into the language, David K. Wyatt's Thailand: A Short History and MBI's reader for their Cross-Cultural Training in Ministry course, Mack & Leeann's Guide to Short-Term Missions. Which I hope will also be helpful in dealing with re-entry culture shock in a christian way.

Audio: A mix-cd from Jamba Shrimp in San Jose. Khorb koon!
Biblio: Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson.
Cerebrio: I've bought total of seven books online in the last week! I hafta stop!

BEFORE I FORGET or THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO

This will be an on-going list of thing(s) I want to do next year when I plan to be back in the English-speaking world:

Hip-hop dance classes. Forget the gym and running on the treadmill. Let's just boogie and get slammin'!
Foreign Languages. Japanese or Thai. Or maybe some European language. Trilingualism.
Grad. Cert. in Biblical Studies/Missiology (P/t) from the East Asia School of Theology.
Tennis. I can't believe I would not have been on court for almost two years by then.
Borders Bookstore. You can't imagine how much I miss being in an English bookstore.
Going to the cinema without having to pay $25 for a movie.
Real coffee; cuppacinos, lattes and machiatos. Not au lait disguising itself under a thin layer of sugared milk froth!

Audio: Stolen Car by Beth Orton.
Biblio: Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson.
Cerebrio: Is it alright for a bible student to hip-hop it on the dance floor? I really just love groovin'!

WE ONCE WERE NOMADS

My main two ministries at church; leading home group bible studies and in Soul's Sistas' bible studies have been recently been stopped.

For home group, we're trying something different. Tutorial style set readings (of the book of Romans) and then discussing what particular interests us. Personally, I like to approach bible study in a systematic way, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, inductively. I'm guilty as charged of simply sieving through it. Call it my biblical kiasu mentality. I don't want to miss a thing. Or just say I need a structure to follow. So, this has been something of a first for me. And I find myself all over the place so for my own good, I'm going to try to use Max Lucado's Grip Of Grace to guide me through it.

As for Soul Sista's we decided to focus it as a relational ministry; building up the women and encouraging them by pointing the sisters as well as non-christian and christian visitors toward Hope Chapel's main program. The Church. Call that something I learnt from my MBI course I've been taking.

The point which I have digressed so far from is that, all this has opened up time for me to use in other places. And I've been keeping quite busy juggling serving in new roles in Hope Chapel Namba, my TEFL course, my MBI Biblical Studies Certificate. I keep humming and hawing between the regular Biblical Studies Certificate or the Scofield Bible Studies one. My most recent decision on it, is to save the Scofield intensity (and cost) for the possibility of a fully credited Graduate Diploma in Biblical Studies/Missiology from the East Asia School of Theology for a little more than what Scofield would cost me. I hadn't realized I could do it that much cheaper... (duh).

Just today I took my final exam on the first subject I had enrolled in for the MBI Biblical Studies Cert (but couldn't decided which course to credit it toward) and now, I'm waiting for the material on Biblical Basis of Missions so I can start working on it alongside preparing to go to Thailand. All this is exciting.

But not half as exciting as some going-ons down south on the equator where CurlySu is awaiting her flight to Brisbane where she will be relocating for studies for the next year and a half or two. I remember what it felt like the first time I left to move away from Singapore. All under my skin, my nerves were tingling like pins and needles. Quite honestly and probably to my folk's dismay, I did not share the sentiment of saddness at all.

I eventually did learn to share it much later after I had established myself in Sydney since it was quite clear my home became somewhere else other than where my family and friends were. But I remember after the three, or was it four year mark that I became very well acquainted with the concept of being a Global Citizen with mates (and "home") all over the world. It's not just leaving them, its that they also leave for all over. Take Japan for example. A lot of my close friends are obviously expatriate like me. So, they go back to New Zealand, Australia, England and Canada and other random places like Colorado, Arkansas, Belgium and Kenya. I'm still sad when I have to leave friends in places all over but I think I've reached a certain level of understanding acceptance mixed with a certain hope that having been nomadic for awhile, I'll probably see them again the future. Nothing to say of the future possibility of meeting all of them in Heaven too.

Audio: I'd Do Anything by Simple Plan.
Biblio: Grip Of Grace by Max Lucado.
Cerebrio: God, I pray you move the hearts of all my friends to draw close to you and seek your salvation so that I may share my final joy of meeting you, with them even if I can't always share my treasured moments with them here on earth.

HOW FAST TIME FLIES

Yesterday we opened up Hope Chapel Namba and I got so excited at the possibilities. The drum set didn't get to service in time so Chip was our solo guitarist. But the accoustics of the place was great and nothing to say of the Music major's guitar playing skills that, it was more than perfectly graced by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So good, that after service as we circulated around the folks over dinner, each time we crossed paths, we were always talking about what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do worship, who we could rope in to do vocals and keyboards.

All the time, there was a little voice behind me spurring me on to do it in the most bizarre way. "Why do it? You've only got so much time left!" That, was devil's work. I decided, bugger it, if all I had was six months, then it jolly well was going to be a powerful six months. Ah well, all was good but the question I had to ask myself again - how much time did I really have? So I knew with what time-frame I could project our plans. And so Laura and I got counting as we talked to others and others asked us about "this new chapter for Hope Chapel Namba".

I was so mistaken. All this while, the time frame I had in my head was six month. I was so wrong. FOUR MONTHS! That's 20 weeks left from today!

Suddenly, I don't have that much time anymore! Suddenly, there's a whole lot I need to settle before I move to Thailand! With only four months ahead, its no more an "IF-fy" question but a certitude that I have to follow through with!

Audio: A Letter To Elise by The Cure.
Biblio: Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson.
Cerebrio: The back of my jaw has been aching the whole weekend. Half suspect its my wisdom teeth making its presence felt. I just want to will the pain away!

GOSPEL FIRE

We went to the Hanna Gospel Fire Concert at the Grand Cathedral of Vigin Mary of Tamatsukuri of Osaka. Let me tell you, for Y-2000, it was good. But for a Gospel concert, it was shite. Nothing close to the genre of music we know as "gospel". The closest thing to it was Hanna's jazzy rendition of Amazing Grace which is a standard and Jesus, Loves The Little Children which I really liked and thought would be a great tune for my kids to do for the Easter Show.

She's really quite good for a Japanese vocalist. By that, I don't know to whom I am comparing her to; Emi Fujita? Hikari Utada? But she does have a good voice. It was an hour plus set in the grand cathedral, and as church buildings in Japan go, this was a big one. A real cathedral, with real stained glass, with a pipe organ, with real church pews, with kneelers for prayers, with no heating at all. By the end of the concert, we were all bundled up in coats, gloves, scarfs and hats. I couldn't feel my toes by the time we made it to a warm coffeehouse not near from there.

All in all, interesting. Coffee and tea was great catching up with the japanese gals and sort of letting them in on my plans on Thailand. I dare say, two of them were encouraged by it and I hope it spurs them on to courage to bid God's doing. Mari wants to go to Dallas to do Christian Worship training and Keiko doesn't quite have her finger on what she wants yet thought she knows she's got to sort it out soon.

After the really late tea we then proceeded to a mad night of wailing at each other in a karaoke room in Umeda. This evening's theme; Worst Songs On Radio topped by Aqua's Barbie Girl, Spice Girls' Wannabe. Only in a hidden box room in Japan will I daresay I sung them with gusto. Never in public.

Tomorrow, Namba. Hope Chapel Namba opens this sunday so tomorrow's the last day to put in the final touches of trim and paint, the carpeting, the chairs, the instruments and a real drum set for me.

Audio: Let It Die by Leslie Feist.
Biblio: Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis.
Cerebrio: Now I'm waiting for my instant dinner of kuay chap.

I LOVE THE LORD

Psalm 116

I love the LORD , for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came upon me;
I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the LORD:
"O LORD , save me!"

The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the simplehearted;
when I was in great need, he saved me.

Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.
For you, O LORD , have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
I believed; therefore I said,
"I am greatly afflicted."
And in my dismay I said,
"All men are liars."

How can I repay the LORD
for all his goodness to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.

Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his saints.
O LORD , truly I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant;
you have freed me from my chains.

I will sacrifice a thank offering to you
and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the house of the LORD -
in your midst, O Jerusalem.

Praise the LORD.

ACE. And not at tennis.

I got the results for my first two exams and I scored a 100%. Alright!

But the celebration belies my realism. It wasn't really that hard. But why do I find myself wondering if I would do so well in the one I just took this week? I must still be Singaporean since I am being so kiasu about something like this.

As for Thailand, doors are open and doors are shut and I have decided a missionary I will go. So that's that.

I've still been humming and hawwing about the Scofield Bible Studies Certificate with Moody Bible Institute. But Nick said something that won me over; "The drop-out rate for correspondence school is something like 80%, so if you complete this, you're showing 'stick'-ability. And that counts for a lot; that you can stick to something and see it through. And besides, in church circles, Moody is well recognized."

Audio: Tectonic Friction by The Transitions. Laura's mates at church with the lead vocalist!
Biblio: Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis.
Cerebrio: Alright, I'll stick to it then!