Memorable Moments of 2013

Believe it or not, tomorrow's New Year's Eve already!
Before the year ends I believe that 2013 actually deserves at least one blog post! I'm gonna just quickly run through how 2013 was like for me. 

I'll sum it up to 3 memorable moments in 2013 (I was gonna consider going with 13, but.. I just got a little lazy!) And I guess to make it easier, I decided to go along with the 3 words that described 2013 for me which I wrote in a bookmark when I did a personal reflection together with my Cell Members. 


TADDAA.. 





















I'll go with pictures and let it paint the words and I'll also add on with some touch ups and thoughts :) 

FOOTPRINTS

I sang farewell to PwC!

Continuation from the previous blog post, yes I have kept my word and left the market place after 4.5 years! 1 year doing Audit and 3.5 years in Business Research. I will not trade it for anything. The memories are so precious to me.  I really wanted to leave a "FootPrint" behind before I go so I prayed and asked God for an inspiration. Then I had this thought, instead of giving a conventional farewell speech, how about singing them some songs?! Well, I typically don't like being put in the limelight and speaking in front of a crowd is not my thing, but it seems like God tends to inspire me to do crazy things that require me to be in front of crowds. Accks... Anyways, if it's to make His name known.... I'll go for it.... so... I DID IT! My colleagues who were part of the little surprise item were very supportive and I am glad I was crazy enough to do it! I sang "What Faith Can Do" by Kutless and also did a rendition of Dionne Warwick's "That's What Friends Are For" and titled it "I'm Gonna Miss You All". This would definitely be one of the highlights of my entire LIFE. You can watch the recording  here if you like :)  Also wrote a farewell email note that was a little out of this world that caught some of the Partners' attention. HeeHee... it came with a twist from my first ever write-up introducing myself to PwC in June 2008. I actually have it here in one of my very old post . 

Yeah, they pretty much "kicked" me out.

JOY & PEACE

Ze New Work Station

 
 

YES! I've boldly entered into full time ministry!  It's been a steep learning curve for me this year. A totally fresh new beginning, environment, colleagues etc. 

And yes these are my awesomest colleagues in the whole wide world (ok, a bit of an "overkill" but I still biasedly think they are la) ! Many people patted me on the back and wished me "good luck" when they heard the news that I was gonna come in as Pr Lee Choo's PA. Well, guess what, it's been a joyful and peaceful journey! I never regretted my decision and working under PLC is really mind-blowing and very fulfilling. Perhaps not many people would want to be in my shoe but I consider it a huge privilege to be where I am right now! I'm privileged to be given the opportunity to observe and learn from one of the most inspiring woman of God! I remember driving through the highway rushing to her home to pick up an important document and dashed in lighting speed to the airport to pass her the document. In the midst of that drive,  I plucked a smile on my face knowing deep down inside that I am at the right place at the right time in this season of my life. That thought probably came at the oddest moment, but I just knew in my heart, I loved being part of a strangely indescribable bigger picture of what's God doing this season. 

Me & the New Boss 

Another big moment that describes my joy and peace... My privilege to set foot on one of the most beautiful place on earth, God's holy ground, Ba'kelalan. 

Their hospitality was top class and they fed us to the brim
and we ate like there's no tomorrow!

Memory of a lifetime! The spiritual atmosphere in this land is unsurprisingly out of the ordinary. I could feel the chills (well not just because it's up at the mountains)and the presence of God was almost like it's tangible. I remember praying for a friend up in the prayer house. I've never heard God so clearly before, that I knew it was the word for him. I shared it with him and he was deeply ministered to. 

Ibu Maria

Ibu Maria, one of the revivalist prayed for me and gave me a Lun Bawang name, "Ineng", which means "precious daughter". 

We had an unplanned "kebaktian" on our second night there, Pr Dan was asked to share a message to bless the village people. He shared about the passing of the Moses anointing to the Joshua's Generation. During the closing of the session, Pr Dan invited us to pray for the older "Moses Generation" for blessings and also strength despite their advanced age. I felt rather unworthy of doing so but was deeply honoured to do so. Some of the "Ibu-Ibu"s wept tears and I sense their hunger and vulnerability towards God. In return, they also prayed for us. Our team was surrounded by them in a circle. One Ibu who was standing in front of me took a step forward and hugged me tightly, she wept tears on my chest and wailed loudly for quite some time. I don't know how to describe the feeling running through my heart and mind at that point (writing this still gives me the chills like it just happened yesterday), I couldn't help it and I teared as well. Then she started to speak out. I couldn't decipher if she was speaking in Lun Bawang (her native language) or in spiritual tongues. I just knew in my heart that something was taking place. Perhaps a spiritual transaction, a passing on of an anointing. When the service ended, our Guide came to me and spoke with me. He told me something that blew my mind. The lady who was praying for me, she's one of the prophetess who was present during the revival that took place in 1984 and her name is.... "INENG". 
Wow. Just wow. 

STRETCHED

Gearing up towards the 3rd quarter of the year, things got busier and busier. SOLID Assignments start piling up, retreats after retreats, Cell Harvest, the list goes on... 
It's been stretchingggggg..... nonetheless, very fulfilling. 

Silent Retreat @ Bentong

I love this quote.

How I describe SOLID in an acronym ;)

Cell Harvest with people close to my heart! ;)

Just when I thought that I was ready to wind down for the year. God wasn't done with me yet. 3 words were just not enough to describe my 2013. One of the most significant event in my life took place. It all started from this SOLID class....

Pr Chew teaching Expository Preaching.
Preach it like da boss! 

When I signed up for SOLID class, inside of me, I exclaimed.... "oh my gahhh!!" when I saw Expo Preaching (Practical) as one of the classes. I was quite tempted to drop the subject because I wanted to escape public speaking. I'm fearful of speaking in front of a crowd. However, time and time again, it seems that God is challenging me to step out of my comfort zone. I had to preach a 15-minute sermon during staff devotion. I wanted to preach on something that I've personally internalised and the word that God gave me for that season was "A Fresh Vision of Jesus".  The thought that came to me was to look for passages that speaks about blind men. Then I came across Mark 8:22-26 and I knew this was the passage I should preach on. 

Check out my sermon script! Fuuwahh!

It was a lot of effort put in to research and exegete the Word. Phew, I applaud our pastors or generally just any preacher out there who preach expository sermons...it's really a lot of work! 

On 3 December 2013, I preached it to the staff team. Pr Chew heard the message for the first time, he encouraged me on a message well delivered and he felt that this message was for a larger audience. And he got Pr Lee Choo to speak with me and encouraged me to co-preach with her in the main service. My heart almost fell out of the window when Pr Lee Choo gave me a call and extended this opportunity to me. After much thought, I felt that if this was God's word for the season and it's for His people, I should not withhold and I should preach it out. 

So, on 22 December, I delivered my first maiden sermon in the pulpit of SIBKL church together with Pr Lee Choo. 

 

In Bangunan Yin

In SMCC

YES, I DID IT. I still cannot believe it! I felt like a donkey 

(refer to previous post about ASS-es :P) being used by Jesus to preach to thousands. 

It was an eventful year for me. 

So how did the year go for me, I'd say, I've been HUMBLED. 

The year is coming to a close in a few hours' time as I;m typing this out, I'm starting to realise how God's been journeying with me faithfully this year. It is indeed a NEW SEASON and a NEW MOMENTUM...

At the beginning of 2013, Pr Chew's first sermon says, "DON'T STOP NOW!"... and now as I end the year, I believe I shouldn't stop here, I'm gonna live out the FRESH JESUS that Jesus had put inside of me... 

Mark 8:22-26

1. I need to TARRY –  beg him for it! 

2. I need to be TAKEN AWAY – get out of your current condition! 

3. I need to be TOUCHED – by Jesus 

4. I need to TRAVAIL – don’t settle for better! Ask for MORE! Get a FRESH VISION from God!!! 

Sermon Art courtesy of the SIBKL MaC team :) 

OK, I'll make that 4 memorable moments.... fine, I lost count. God's just been way too good to me ;D Looking forward to an even greater year ahead! 2014... here I come!!! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!!