Gatherings in July

 With loved ones.

 Joyce and Yee Dun's wedding at the Penampang Church.

Another relocation

This is the 13th city in my almost 26 years of living. I keep saying that I am 26 already but in fact, I am still 25. Hehe..Ok, so I've moved to Kuching (yay for going back to Sarawak!) quite suddenly because a music academy job found me. I was not looking for a job in Kuching but I guess God has His idea so here I am. I have a lot to be thankful, even though I had some emotional breakdown moments at the cusp of this transition wondering if I had made the right decision or if it was too hasty because I had to make a lot of changes with plans and friends who have already planned to visit me in KK in the coming days. I am thankful for the host home who is willing to take me in and treat me like one of their daughters, for parents who are so helpful in my official start of paid employment, and a supportive boyfriend who encourages me to go ahead with a new experience. My first impression of Kuching after I landed and was picked up by aunty Zhi Yan and Josephine was that Kuching has become more spacious in terms of its landscape and the plants + sky are much prettier. I have been really delighted with all the beautiful evening skies expanding across the skyline as I ride in the car on the highways here. I am thankful for a boss and wife who are willing to trust me, a newbie despite never hearing me play the piano once. They are good business people, so I won't have to worry about the administration or business aspects of this job.

I am thankful for the many good food in Kuching, which I had always thought that KK had the upper hand of. I am thankful for a host mom who is organised and clean so I can find a sense of peace and rhythm in her house (a cup of hot tea/coffee at the marble dining table with my Bible in the morning). I am thankful for Josephine who is willing to be my driving coach and who is always cheering me on and being concerned about me. So yes, I will keep learning to be content with whatever God gives me and wherever He places me.

Pockets of light and winter trees

I miss the gloomy days of European winter. Perhaps it is the over-abundance of sunlight in Malaysia that has given me a reverse culture shock or the fact that the cheery sunny days here do not match the emotional climate in my head. Whatever it is, I find myself missing scenes like these from our family trip to Paris this past February.

Mood

A little bit of spring and those artsy days filled with beautiful handmade crafts and clear summer breeze.

Sunny rain

Sunny rain is an instrumental piece by Yiruma that I used to listen to at Moody. I captured these photos yesterday afternoon after our weekly prayer meeting. The late afternoon sunlight that created a golden glitter effect combined with the raindrops on the office window was so beautiful. We had just finished praying for our dear missionaries and I renewed my commitment in God to learn to pray more in my daily life. As you grow older, you will see the world quite differently and there will be more and more people and things to pray for, but I also learn to rely on God's power more so prayer is the only way to go. :) 

'Surely God is my salvation;

    I will trust and not be afraid.The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defence;    he has become my salvation.’

Isaiah 12:2

      ^Random cute friends in the office. (for Sara)

Late autumn->early winter

Dear blog readers/family/friends,

I just finished blogging about the end of summer and I realised that it is also the end of autumn now, a changing of seasons again. Not only weather-wise, but also in terms of work and life.
In the past three months, I had been going out with the COCM Gospel Team (福音布道队) to do outreach in 18 different places in France, the Netherlands, and the UK. Even though I had experienced going on "short term missions" with the GT last year, God taught me new things this year and cultivated in me a bigger heart for missions and evangelism. He taught me a lot about humility, faith, unity in the body of Christ, and let me experience Him in an intimate way through the challenges that we faced on mission (and the hardships brothers and sisters around me had experienced--a faithful missionary sister who faced cancer, a childhood sister whose dad passed away, a dear brother who is part of our team facing illness...). God also let me see how it is Him who works and brings everything together for His glory in ways we can never think of.
Our theme song this year that we sing with joined hands every time is “活出爱” (living out God's love) and our motto is "one team, one spirit, all for Jesus!"

So yup, the last gospel team event ended this past Friday and we had our thanksgiving/sharing gathering on Saturday.
This week, it's time to prepare for the upcoming Isaiah Bible camps (3 consecutive ones for Mandarin, restaurant workers, and Cantonese groups). Music worship practice for Year-end gospel camps had started too. It is time to gear up for the last two months of the year!

In life, lately, I have been informed that three of my closest friends will be getting married sometime next year (exciting! but I have to think of how to attend their weddings). Also, Nick has finally been granted progress in his year-long job search: two interviews in a row since last week and by God's grace he will probably start working soon back in Hong Kong. I grappled a lot with God about what He wants me to do with my life next in these few months and I have learned more to wait on Him and become the person with the character that He wants me to have first, and to learn to worship Him instead of seeking self-worth in what I would do.

I have been listening to Kyuhyun's music a lot--his new album is basically my soundtrack for this autumn/winter season. I just realised a few days ago that it is appropriate to start listening to Christmas songs (which I sort of forgot because you don't hear Christmas music playing everywhere in the UK as you would in the US). I miss the warmth that comes with everything Christmas-season related in the US. But hey, in this bleak and grey place, the message of Hope that Christ brings can shine brighter (we're learning about the #hopeeffect in church lately i.e. having the living hope gives us joy...). So even though we won't have chestnuts roasting on an open fire or carols sung by a choir, we will have lots of Chinese families and students coming to hear about the Good News and how their lives can be changed by knowing and loving their Creator.

ps: Please pray for our upcoming camps and ministry. :)
pss: I am impressed that I managed to summarise the second half of my year into one post. ;P

End of summer road trip part 2-Hunstanton Beach

Do you see the dotted black line formed in the centre of the photo above? They are birds flying in a line.

 Look at the beautiful layers of colour that make up this red cliff.^

 Child->young couple->elderly couple [timeline in life]^

 青春的我们～

 在海边漫步。。。

 One of the most beautiful sunsets I had seen in a long time

 I was just in love with the hues in the sky... God is the greatest Creator.

See what they saw:

 We love seafood.

 Goodbye and goodnight Hunstanton!

 "原来友情也可以那么烂漫～ "

Candy always shared about this weekend as an unforgettable memory in the "friendship" section of our Gospel team programme (she's sometimes one of the MC's), and Maggie (the other MC) would always say that to her every time.