chronicles of young

 Today is Easter Saturday- the in-between that reminds us Christians that we are living in a world where the glorious Light and Living Hope has dawned, but that it is still Not- Yet though not far.  I attended a memorial service of a dear sister's aunt this afternoon. I only have vague memories of her from attending IBC services in 2015, and last week I was quite emotionally vulnerable from the brokenness already that I dreaded to attend. But thank God, by Tues I submitted my conference paper and it just made everything better- plus past few days of connecting with different friends.  Anyway, I cried quite a bit- I really could see the legacy of Aunty through my friend and their family. Their family had always been such hospitable people to me and others in the church, and my friend had always been this sweet presence. Learning how Aunty had sown into their lives made me think: Wow, would people say this of me at my funeral next time? The testimony of her legacy was reall...

Eid al-Fitr 2018 first saw me joining the throngs of Malay families and young couples milling around the Geylang Serai bazaar. Artery-clogging char kuay sotong But I actually liked the walk from Paya Lebar MRT to the bazaar more than the bazaar itself; trailing behind the 2 Malay families with their young energetic children made me somehow very happy: "Ikan! Ikan!" the cherubic younger sister squealed as she leaned as far as she could against the railing. At her Nenek's chiding "Payar!", her abang pulled her away, and they jogged along, abang's hand holding his sister's. Then, blessed koinonia at GBG Oikos: The last iftar for 2018- when walking down the whole stretch of Geylang Road The best lontong everrrr Friday: Chocolate- drizzled Custard Creams sans cream- biskuit Raya style. Then we stuffed ourselves with popiah and Chinese tea for lunch/tea. The porcelain remind me of how my parents bring us on overseas tr...

(This is in reference to the lovely story mentioned in the previous post, really thank God for this 'leaf')   Just wanted to remember a day like this. Started off the day feeling a little cranky due to lack of sleep and physical exertion from the yesterday's Urban Hike. By the time I made it out of TJ office after an intense meeting around 1pm, my body was protesting. So when I was back at my office I just kept putting off planning for the counseling session at 4.30pm. At slightly after 4pm, I was slumped on my chair holding the case file in my hands and asking myself what should I do with this boy (lol haha I am not a good representation of a counselor). Asked God also, my supervisor too. Literally went up to him and said "I don't know what to do for my session later" Wise wise supervisor, he replied "Ask him what he wants to do. "But, he will just say he wants to go home." "Then ask him what he wants to do at home." Anyway,...

Hoan Kiem Lake Hari ini Jumaat Baik. What a strange sounding translation of Good Friday. It is also strange that I am in Hanoi instead of Good Friday service. Listening to the intermittent honks from the traffic below our hotel and watching the sunlight slowly suffuse the 'therapeutic' room as Jas described. Dua kawan-kawan aku masih nyenyak tidur, seperti semua baik di bumi. Good Friday meningkatkan aku tentang Yesus Kristos terseksa di Calvary. Thinking about it I realised that sufferings and sorrows are often reflected back to joy, in the Lord. Joy of a deeper kind, leaning on the full weight of assurance in a heartrendingly glorious eternity with our Creator. Manusia kesengsaraan... Let my heart be broken but not despair. I have come to see happiness with a tinge of sorrow, like the people sleeping in the streets even as I was really happy to be exploring places with my dear friends (I counted four in the short 2 hours we were out yesterday). And on ...