Friends and Canele

I love Tuesday night. Not in general, but the last one was really good. I love nothing more than spending time in the company of people who know me and love me despite myself, and in the midst of more delicious dessert than even I can possible eat.

Look at that. What can you say in the presence of such sumptuousness? And this is one I didn't eat.




R and KH are friends from before. And if you have to ask before when, clearly you weren't there. Heh heh.

As we sat and talked and tried to ignore the sound of the funky fountain, which made some of us need to pee more than once, it struck me - wow, these are people I can be quiet and spaced out with, and they won't think I am a total ditz. Oh they might, but it would be ok.

We shared so much that night - memories of the past, hopes for our futures, we talked of the meaningful and the mundane, "of shoes, ships and sealing wax and of cabbages and kings" as Lewis Carroll wrote.

Though we didn't solve world hunger or even each other's problems, I think we all felt a little bit richer for having the others in our lives. I know I did.

This is what church is, I thought. A group of people who share life, feed hopes and dreams and are God-with-skin, as Sy Rogers says, to each other.

I am so glad I have this.

Do you even know me?

The more time passes, the more people grow
And things you once knew, or thought you knew
can pass away.

So to take the flaws of my youth,
and cast them up to me with ridicule
is chldish to say the least
and cruel to say the most.

For once I saw with childish eyes,
and was impressed by star quality.
But have since realised that what is outwardly real
doesn't run deep, no, not really.

If not, in the naivete of my young exuberance,
why would I have chosen you?

But I guess I ought to thank you
for this cynical streak,
that makes me question the outward celebrity
and care more about the spirit within.

More than the strife is the pain
of the crushing loneliness
of existing with someone who does not
know you, and hence know how you've grown.


"If" is a tragic word.

Last pic post from Hillsong 08

Elgin and me at Bondi, pretending to have a deep meaningful conversation, but probably just talking about how purple socks go well with orange sneakers. He is me in a man's body. Or I want to be him in a woman's body. Or something. I love you, 'Gin. I know you get what I am saying here.



Suni and me in front of the Acer Arena, where all the good stuff happened at Hillsong. Gosh, I miss the place, and the time. Suni is a bit mad. Another new friend.




Eating at some random Chinese restaurant, of which there are millions in Sydney. I dunno what Australians ate before Asians got there. I walked the entire length of George St looking for something non-Asian to eat, and besides fast food, there was NOTHING.

Yes, I do look a bit psychotic in this photo, but that's because I was set up. We were ALL supposed to look psychotic. I think psychotic is my word of the month. I use it at least once a day.



As a fitting finale to this post, this is me at the Mediterranean Sea overlooking one of the Greek islands. At least, I want to think it is. Isn't it gorgeous?

More pics from Hillsong

I am gonna run out of titles before I post all the pics, I am sure!

But here we go.



This was at Bondi Beach. The guy on the left who looks ostracised is my pastor. Heh heh


The Girls of FGA. And yes, Angie is realy that tall.



Rhordan and Chilu. We were standing outside a gate not alocated to us, hoping there will be room for us. Chilu was the volunteer managing the crowd in that section. "He said "I will only let you in if you are from Singapore." At which we all chorused,"We are ALL from Singapore." He was just a quirky, colourful character, we couldn't help but like him.




Getting our coffees and muffins before the morning session. Have I mentioned how yummy the lattes in Australia are? I miss them. This is most of the people from church.





And this is me, on a ferry with the Sydney skyline behind me. I like the fact that I look "windswept and interesting". Anyone can tell me who that quote is from?

Sydney!

So, in case you, dear reader, start thinking that my so called trip to Sydney was just a well-imagined day dream, here are some photos to make it all real!

Apologies to all the peeps I stole photos from. I was too overwhelmed to take my own.


The peeps

Hot Dog!! At the Roma Coffee Festival. Australian Cafe Latte is probably one of the best in the world.


In case you have never seen this building before, this is the Sydney Opera House. Now say ooooh, ahhhh! Good.

Beam me up Scotty!

Duh, really!

Hillsong 08

What a trip! What a rush! What a simply exhilirating experience! Hillsong 08 was the conference of wonder, amazement and awe, and it was all centred upon the person of Jesus.

How do I sum up the experience?
20,000 screaming Jesus fans. One major Acer Arena. 5 amazing bands and musicians. 8 phenonmenal speakers. And change - the meaning of change, the need for change and the empowerment to change.

It was also rather exhausting. A typical day saw us awaking at 6.00am and leaving the YHA at 7.00am to make it to the Acer Arena by 8.15am. Then it was conference till about 1.30 with the morning sessions. The electives happened from 2 -3pm and the first night rally at 4.30pm. Then it was the amazing 7.30 rally which I think had the best music, best speakers and was seriously anointed. Not to mention all the amazing testimonies.

I am still in the midst of uploading all the photos and vids to facebook and youtube respectively (a task NOT aided by the fact that my company blocks both), but I can't wait to share all the stuff here.

Meanwhile, I am on fire with all the things I want to fix, with God's help!

The Day Before

I leave for Sydney tomorrow and I can't wait! This will be the herald of many firsts.

1) First time at Hillsong Conference. Yaaay!

2) First time in Sydney. Yeah, I know, how did I get an Australian education without going to one of its major cities, right? I didn't know anyone there at the time, and Sydney was so crass and commercialised then. (Still is, but when you are an arts student, it's not cool to do crass and commercialised.)

3) First holiday in a year. Since I started work at this new place, I have not had time to take leave, especially with the revolving door of staff turnover lately. So this will be well-deserved and high time.

4) First time I will be spending more than 24 hours with this bunch of people. I like them well enough under normal circumstances, but I really I don't travel well with people generally, despite how much I like them otherwise. Especially if they are late for rendezvous, can't decide on anything and only want to shop all the time. This will be a good test.

Tonight I wil agonise over what to pack, and indubitably bring too many clothes, not enough underwear and "essentials" that will be totally unnecessary. I also get to wear my new "bling" shoes, which I am really looking forward to. Nice?

Change

It sometimes takes the sound and lucid counsel of a friend to see what's before your very eyes. Not that your eyes were closed, but like in a scary movie, your hands are held in from of them, allowing you to see only some parts of the horror unfolding on screen.

How is it that we resist change and encourage statis in our culture, when in nature, change is the only constant? It's hard for us to acknowledge change, much less embrace it.

Hence, seeing change is courage and accepting it, sheer herosim. Being creatures in motion, we tend to stay in motion, not just at a cellular level, but also our dreams, aspirations and motivations. Tossed about with other similar yet vastly different concatenation of cells, how do you ignore the Brownian theory?

God of course underlines and demonstrates this in His promise to move as a Spirit. Not a rock, not a statue, not a place, but Spirit, always moving, changing, adjusting to our changes to bring about the best results.

Trust the Spirit. Embrace change without fear.