Re entry to Blog Posting

since Japan, i've been really busy and slack at the same time, which is a contradiction in terms..as i listen to Class 95 on the Singapore radio and sip my glass of white wine on the early early morning of the first day of the Chinese New Year celebrations (and type this online post on my online journal) i find myself unsure of what to post..

about my time since Japan: i've been stupid enough to apply for an internship job at an architecture firm that started just before the start of January and saw me work through New Year's Eve and New Year's Day on a Masterplan project for a Special Investment Region in Ahmedabad, India which was really rushed and full of desperate attempts to make something incomplete look presentable to Big Business Concerns..and drafting plans for Car Park facilities for a convention hall in Singapore and then preparing circulation and conceptual diagrams for an extension to an Anglican Church here..its been pretty hectic but a real learning experience..and with an uncaring Christian boss who just wants to see work completed on time without regard for employees' welfare (by one account, he delays payment of salaries by 3 weeks into the new month)..oh well, if this is working for a Christian Architecture Firm in Singapore..well, i really should reconsider a career in architecture..

about Christian ministry since Japan: i've taken up teaching Kid's Ministry on Saturdays at the Boon Keng Housing Estate near my church from where i left off last year and its been mixed..many of the children i've been sharing the gospel with and teaching the Bible to have left..Wailing because she wants to work on Saturday afternoons (yes, children as young as 12 here can work and she just turned 13 a few months back) ..Donald because he finds playing soccer on Saturday afternoons with his friends more fun than coming to hear about Jesus..Paul, Mervyn and Songlian who want to come but are afraid when Donald, whom they look up to, is not interested.. the only one left is a young boy named Kiat Seng who told me on Saturday when we studied John 3:1-21 that Jesus is so important because ______? His answer was, only Jesus can give eternal life...and his heart wrenching question, "you mean, Jesus is God's judgement on the world because Jesus shows that people hate the light and love darkness?" Truly, from the mouths of babes God has ordained wisdom..Furthermore, my church in Singapore has decided to use 2 Ways to Live as its main witnessing tool..its not true that all Asians are offended by 2 Ways to Live..many of the people my church shares the gospel with are pretty hard and steeped in rebellion against God for 40-60 years of their lives..2 Ways to Live cuts through the hubris and hits people where it hurts, at the root of our sinful rebellion..and it has produced results amongst Chinese educated Singaporeans who are hearing the gospel for the first time..

about Relationships and those affairs of the heart that really piss me off with their nagging persistence: no progress..consistent and utter disillusionment with members of the opposite sex..and cold comfort that none of my godly christian brothers here are attached yet..am i morphing day by day into this cold, mean, hard-hearted and cynical dude who just wants to be left alone from the stupidities of humanity? if i could do just what i wanted without anybody interfering, would i truly be happy? why do i like John Calvin and the reformed evangelicals so much? because they're as hard hearted as me? or is it just me taking glee at being able to offend, insult, provoke and hurt human beings whom i feel have never been particularly kind to me, like some sort of perverse revenge through preaching the gospel in a way that they will most reject? i admit, i'm as sinful in my motives and desires as anybody..

about spiritual growth and the pilgrim's progress: my sin truly i hate, and my desire is to live for Jesus, in Jesus..i realise any human being placed under sufficient pressure and the right (or rather, wrong) situation will do evil things..still its God's grace and mercy, in Christ, who took our place and died our death, that we might live in His life..He alone counts for anything..and wherever i go, whether Australia or Singapore, my submission, accountability and allegiance is to Him..

about visiting GBC yesterday: thanks Jiamin for being so welcoming..it was interesting sitting next to ur Dad and Mum without even knowing it..haha..and i would like to start an ex-FOCUS bible study in Singapore when i graduate..and i definitely would want to ask ya (being a 'Gong Focus alumni and all) to be a part of it...ex-FOCI shd continue meeting and reading God's Word together and praying..after talking to my fren Ben from UNSW Focus i realise that there is such a huge need..lets pray and dream..