Christmas at Aeon 2017

THE DAY WE ROCKED AEON BANDARAYA AND LIFTED THE NAME OF JESUS!!
(A 100+ strong choir consisting of young and old with 13 dancers)

One big family - Wesley Methodist Church

The idea of bringing the Christmas cheer out of the four walls of the church into the shopping mall was conceived at the Youth Planning Retreat right at the beginning of the year.  It didn't turn out exactly how it was planned, but it was not too bad for a first timer 'performing' in the mall.

After the planning retreat, everything was swept under the carpet until the 4th quarter of the year.  The church office (i.e. Bro Simon) begin to seek approval with Aeon's management and liaise with them on the details.

Once permission was granted, there came the most crucial part of the caroling: the list of songs to be sung.  After several discussion with pastor, Bro Simon shortlisted 7 Christmas carols. 

Since there was no Cantata this year, pastor encouraged everyone to participate in the Christmas caroling.  The response was overwhelming.  Excitement was in the air and practices were held every Sunday after service since November.

At the same time, there was another church who heard about it and was interested to join us.  Of course, we welcomed them with open arms.  The more the merrier!  Denominations should never come in our way to spread the Good News around.  One of the church members even agreed to choreographed the dance for a couple of caroling songs.  However due to time constraint, they pulled out in the end as they were occupied with their church Christmas event.  Nevertheless, the choreographer volunteered to render his talent to us.

Amazingly with only a few practices, the dancers managed to master the dance and even refined the movements.  Having said that, the perfectionist in me seek to boost the dance element with the spectacular angel-wings.  Although it was a last minute inspiration, from making the purchase to choreographing the movement; everything went smoothly.

Two bus load of carolers arrived Aeon as early as 7pm on the 23rd and 24th Dec.  Prior to that, we assembled at the church at 5:30pm for a full round of rehearsal.  Wearing white and red (ladies) & red and black (men), curious eyes followed us as 100 of us stomped the mall and found ourselves at the center court.

At 8pm sharp, shoppers at Aeon Bandaraya were entertained to a 30-minutes Christmas caroling.  The result was breathtaking.  All our hard work and sweat have certainly paid off.  A big Thank-You to all who participated and making this event a success.

Our one and only musician, all the way from Papua New Guinea

Tambourine dance to the songs 'Hark the Herald' and 'Joy to the World'

The mesmerizing wings dancing to the song 'A Ray of Hope'

Final pose for the song 'Christmas isn't Christmas'

Our beautiful conductor

Happily posing for the song 'When Love Came Down' as this was our last caroling song

If you wish to view the video, please click on to the following links:-

A Ray of Hope, please click here
Christmas Isn't Christmas, please click here
Love Came Down, please click here
Hark the Herald Angels Sing, please click here
Joy to the World, please click here
O Come All ye Faithful & The First Noel, please click here

This was yet another unforgettable Christmas indeed!

OA Mission Trip

Since I brought my girl to visit the Orang Asli kampung with my DG members in March 2015, I have been wanting to bring my boy to such a trip.  (If you wish to read the blog on that mission trip, please click here)  After putting my patience to the test for more than a year, I finally decided to wait no longer.  When I found out the last mission trip in 2017 coincided with my birthday, immediately I told hubby "We are going".  How else to celebrate one's birthday than to bring cheers to the less fortunate?

We left Melaka around 7am with only 2 vehicles this time, the Four Wheeler driven by the mission chairman and an Exora by hubby.  Altogether there were 12 of us.  Stopped by at Gemencheh for breakfast before we headed to our meeting point with the OA pastor.

In this trip, we were going to visit the corn plantation and later the village.  The plantation is the latest project we launched and I have not been there before.  What used to be a scrub land have been cleared and now turned into organized plots with its potential future awaits.  The main aim of this project is to see that the OA involved would eventually become self supporting as they continue to channel their labor in the field.  

The supervisor brought the mission team for a tour around the plantation and its crops.  We were impressed with the solar panels and the electrical fencing.

After singing a song and a short prayer, we enjoyed the small feast prepared by the OA.  Next, Dr Charles and Josephine distributed the pill (de-worm) to the kids whilst my kids and Amanda rewarded them with candies after they have swallowed the pills.  We bid them farewell shortly after that, and headed to our next destination.

When I came here in March 2015, the worship place was only a shed.  But now the OA are worshiping in a concrete building with ceiling fans.  Although it is very bare, it is the best building you could find here.  All of us took out our shoes and sat on the floor as the OA Pastor shared the Word with us. As for the kids, they went to the kindergarten which is next to the church to have their routine Sunday School program.

Our 'kutu' (lice) treatment started after the service ended.  However, it was disrupted with a heavy downpour.  The incentive for the hard work was another presumptuous meal with special delicacies such as snake and 'musang' meat.  Nothing new to hubby but I braved myself to try the 'musang' dish.  My take?  It wasn't yucky except there are too many tiny bones.

My boy helped out in the kutu treatment

Would you like to try the musang dish?

Finally we headed home in the late afternoon when our mission is completed.  Our hearts were consumed with hope and excitement for our next trip here to witness the bountiful harvest.

Kindergarten Concert

Nov 11^th, that’s the day parents and children alike were waiting for – The Kindergarten Concert.  After weeks and months of practicing, this was the day that the children showcased their talents, skills and achievements.

A few of us arrived at the church sanctuary as early as 1pm.  I was one of the make-up artists this time.  It was definitely the first time for me.  Never thought I would ever be one as I doubt I am an expert in this field.  I was assigned to the Prayer Room upstairs, helping the 5 and 6 years old kids. 

The kids were all very excited.  Even after their cute, tiny faces were painted with multiple colours; they kept coming back to us for touch-up.  Kids nowadays are not so naïve anymore, aren’t they?

Posing with his buddy in kindy

Finally when all of them were ready, we marched to the designated seats for the kindy kids.  Flash lights were everywhere as the proud parents took delight in capturing this very moment down.

It was a bit more emotional for me than previous years.  Partly because officially this year would be the last year for me to attend the kindy concert as my son was in the graduating class.  Another reason was I have been teaching Mandarin language in the kindy for the past few months on a part-time basis.  So, these kids were not just random faces but children whom I have had happy, angry, funny and frustrating moments with.  Seeing them performing on stage, it was a mixture of satisfaction and sadness.

The 4 years old kids

The 5 years old kids

Satisfaction, as I have tried my best to impart my knowledge to these kids.  I am confident that I have gone the extra mile to make the lesson as fun and knowledgeable as possible.  Sadness, as I am never good at saying ‘goodbye’.  The emotional adjustment is a heavy load for me to handle, especially to those whom I find affection with.  

Since this was the last year for my boy, he was eagerly anticipating this event.  In fact, months before the concert, he told me he wished to invite his favourite people to the concert.  I agreed to help him with the invitation cards to send to his invitees, but I also knew that chances are they won’t be able to make it.  He, of course, was a bit disappointed with the outcome.  But that is part and parcel of life, isn’t it?

Below are some of the photos taken during the concert:

The Graduating Class

After 4 years of kindy, finally it is over!!!

It's A Beautiful Day - the handsome tuxedo prince with his beautiful princess

The youngest and cutest (3 years old) butterflies: Fly Fly Butterfly

Rain Rain Go Away presented by the 5 years old

If All The Raindrop presented by the 4 years old

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by the 3 years old.  They were incredible!!!

The Invasion by the 6 years old.  My boy was the second on the left.  He thoroughly enjoyed playing the 'bad guy'.

The heroes came to the rescue: Hand In Hand presented by the 5 years old

Living In The Rainbow by the 6 years old

5 years old: I Like To Move It.  Their animal costume is sooooo adorable!!

Choral Speaking by the 6 years old - Our Earth

Grand Finale - We're In It Together

p/s:  Feb 2018: I met one of the kindy boys the other day on the road, he could still recognize me.  He smiled sweetly at me and that totally melt my heart. 

Erwyn really gone missing!!!

I am always very proud of not once having lost my kids in shopping malls or anywhere.  My eyes were constantly on the look out for their whereabouts.  As they grew older, I began to feel a bit more lax on keeping them within my sight.  Hubby always feels that I am over protective.  But, 一失足成千古恨。悲剧往往发生在那一瞬间。The last thing is to blame ourselves for what has happened and regret it for the rest of our lives.

Andrew has gone to LA and so I thought of bringing the kids to the beach for some fun.  The beach was very crowded since it was a weekend.  I don't like to bring my kids to crowded places.  Unfortunately, there's where the action is.  The horse-riding, the bubbles, the ATV... all kinds of activities will only be available on a Sunday afternoon.

Elyse wanted to ride on a horse, so my mom took Erwyn to play the sand at an empty spot.  We joined them shortly after that.  Awhile later, I left the kids with my mom and went to fetch water for Erwyn as he  requested.

But when I came back, Erwyn was no where to be found.  Elyse wasn't paying attention to Erwyn as she was busy playing.  My mom was trying to fly the kite for Elyse.  When I questioned mom, she told me Erwyn followed me to fetch the water.  I denied as I went there by myself.

We searched everywhere for my precious boy.  I was crying in my heart for God to protect my darling.  The beach was big and there were so many people.   Minutes passed, yet no sign of Erwyn.  My heart sank.  Perhaps it wasn't that long, but each second was like a thousand years for me.

My thoughts went wild.  How am I supposed to tell hubby I lost Erwyn?  Did someone take my boy away?  Or did he drown?

And when I finally spot my little prince crying for mommy amongst the crowd I ran and hug him as though any second more he would disappear again.  This was the worst nightmare I ever have.

Nope, until today I have yet step foot on that beach again.  Other beaches, yes; but not that particular one.  I couldn't imagine how I would survive without my baby again.

Agape Church & FGT

Hubby and I like to visit other churches.  No, we are not church hopping.  We are simply visiting them for exposure and learning experience.  Every church have its pros and cons.   Sometimes when we stay in a church for a season, we become blinded to our weaknesses and thus no effort is done in improving our local churches.

Since hubby is on Sabbatical, we grab the opportunity to visit Agape Church at Seremban.  My first impression of this church is the ample parking space.  Their traffic warden helped us to find the perfect parking lot where we could leave early without being blocked by other cars.  

As we walked into the church compound, one may be lost as the main service and the children ministry are in two separate buildings.  However, the ushers were friendly and kind.  They brought us around and made sure the children were in safe hands before bringing us back to the main sanctuary.

The children's hall is big and very well equipped. How I wish our church Sunday School could have similar standard.  I guess this hall may act as an ultimate hall for smaller gathering.  When I say 'small', I mean... it could easily accommodate 100 pax.

The worship is one thing which I missed dearly.  There weren't many songs, yet the flow and the dynamic of the worship was beautifully carried out.  No doubt I sometimes do long for that charismatic style of worship.

The sermon was delivered but I can't remember much.  Asked Andrew, he too can't remember much.  Therefore there probably wasn't anything impressive.

There was a ministering time after the sermon and that's when we 'cabut'.  (Lol)  We didn't want to stay back for fellowship for we know that we were there for just one Sunday.

Comments:  It was drizzling when we left the sanctuary.  Since our car was parked at the back and up the hill, there was no proper shelter to cover us from the showers of heaven.  Could there be another route?  Not very sure though.  Thank God it wasn't a heavy downpour. 

 

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Visited Full Gospel Tabernacle Subang for the second time.  I am utterly surprised that the usher could identify us as new comers.  After all, we are talking about more than 500 people in one service!!  We missed the Children's Church as it was conducted before the main service commence.  So, children stayed in the hall with us.

The sanctuary is very spacious.  Unlike many Pentecostal churches who spend thousands in interior design to enhance the beauty of the hall, this hall is considerably plain.  The worship was long (just as I remembered).  And there was an invited speaker from overseas.

Lo and behold, as the service ended we packed our bags and left in haste.  Yet the ushers caught us just in time.  They extended a warm hand of fellowship yet we gently denied.  But their friendliness did left an impression on me.

Comments: Still find the corporate worship a bit too long. 

Chinatown and Glenelg

After the fantastic Disney On Ice show, we continued to explore Adelaide city as the day was still young.

Adelaide Chinatown.  The huge 'paifang' led us to the many Asian restaurants and grocery stores.

We tried the Laksa in the foodcourt.  It was very crowded.  The portion was huge.  It isn't spicy so I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially after so many meals of fish and chips!!!  haha....

Exploring the city by foot

A magnificent church building but now it has turned into a restaurant.  So sad...

Found this Malacca restaurant... Checked out the menu but nothing like the food in Malacca.

This is one grocery store that my sis in law always drop by to buy Malaysian food supply for my aunt.  The shop is well stocked but the shopkeeper isn't very friendly...typical Chinaman

The public toilet in Adelaide town... yup, I actually took a picture of a toilet.  LOL

The day ended with us enjoying the sea view at Glenelg.

Strolling around the park at Glenelg

Silly pose since the kids have nothing better to do

and finally, the beautiful sunset at Glenelg. 

We had a early night as we'd be catching a flight to Melbourne super early the next day.