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New Covenant Church in new premises

6 October 2018 blogpastor Leave a comment

I am so behind in my blogposts. As I cleared the photos on my phone I saw this pic of Peter Sze and myself dated 22 August 2018. The pleasant memory of that short time of fellowship came to mind. I am so glad of developments in the church he leads. New Covenant Church in Petaling Jaya is a marvellous church, one that defies logic. You will know what I mean if you read my previous posts on this unique church.

We have not been able to meet for some time because of busyness so to be able to do so was something I treasured. I cannot remember what I ate because we were more absorbed in conversation.

When I first saw him I was struck by his loss of weight. He looked trim and younger. He told me he reduced refined carbohydrates and walked a lot. This is losing weight the healthy way. I was happy for him and concerned about my gradually bulging “middle kingdom.”

It was great to hear about developments in the New Covenant Church:
They have moved to exciting new premises. See here.
Their school has grown in enrolment.
He has appointed pastors – leaders who have a track record of functioning as shepherds/leaders even before they were appointed. The appointment only affirmed what was already there.

The last time I worshipped with them is now a distant memory. If I do go KL I would like to pay them a visit. Happy the church is doing well.

Completing my MTh(Ed)

27 August 2018 blogpastor 5 Comments

Finally I received my MTh(Ed) from AGST Alliance in a folder over registered mail. I have graduated. It was an enjoyable, enlightening and enriching journey.

It was fun to meet fellow servants of God from pastors, lay leaders to lecturers of Bible Schools who want to pursue further equipping and increase of knowledge and skills on a part-time basis, while still in their respective job responsibilities or ministries. When you are together in class, and over meals and breaks, over several courses, or even travel together, you are sure to build friendships and acquaintances.

My classmates are mostly from Malaysia and Singapore but there are also those from Australia and USA. They are from different denominations, Bible Schools and missions. This makes our interactions and fellowship times interesting and exciting.

I learned a lot from the course modules which included spiritual formation and Christian education. Each module comprised a five day 9am to 5pm lecture phase, preceded by reading assignments, and followed by research assignments. The lecturers were helpful and facilitated our learning and treated us with graciousness and thoughtfulness. They knew the kind of struggles and challenges people in ministry faced in trying to juggle assignments and work.

The whole package created a learning environment that befits the degree we pursued. To be a good practitioner would require that I patiently and diligently seek what I learned to what I am doing. It comes from reflection-action-reflection in the journey of change. But the burden and speed of ministry means you do not have the time to reflect sufficiently to design something that is customised. It is always easier to find a package and use it. Besides having time, I only wished I was able to apply the insights gained with a coach’s or mentor’s help.

I must confess that towards the end I struggled a great deal with studying part-time. My grades were above average most of the time. But the tougher assignments at the tail end took a toll on me. I needed to dig deep, ask my friends for prayer support, and cry out to God for grace and wisdom and motivation to get over the line. By the grace of God, I finished the course, and graduated. It gave me a great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment, but it makes me think twice and pray thrice about taking out any further courses.

Tam Coc and good food in Hanoi

21 July 2018 blogpastor Leave a comment

My vacation has come to an end. Here am I in a cafe writing while we wait for a 6pm flight. The ending of vacation is like the aftertaste of Vietnamese robusta coffee. There is a bit of bitter aftertaste. I now wish the vacation could be extended. But work awaits me, and I preach on Sunday. I have been lifting up my heart to the Lord about the two messages I have to preach. They are embryonic form now, with skeletal thoughts in my mind. They will have to take form tomorrow!

The last few days in Hanoi has been in a single word: wet. One of the things I looked forward to was a Halong Bay overnight cruise. Sadly, it was not to be. On the morning we were about to leave we received notice from the tour company that all boats are not allowed because of a storm of a few days. What a disappointment! This government ban makes me feel secure. No money was lost. And we went for the alternative, Tam Coc or “Halong by the Bay land tour” – haha a stylish way to ease the disappointment I felt. We went for it. The tour agent started at about US$50 and when we told them we are going to explore the city, the price went down to US$35. Well we took it after the price plummeted.

Entrance to the old capital of Vietnam dynasty

Rain dampened the experience but it cooled the air

It bus travel for about 2-3 hours before we had a bit of history of two Vietnamese dynasty and the Temples built to ancestor worship the two kings. Then we went on a boat ride that went under three caves and back. It took about an hour and a half of women powered rowing of sampans with their feet. We had scenic views of limestone structures similar to that of Halong Bay, only with light intermittent drizzles. Of the two the more spectacular thing to see was how the women used their feet to row the boats!

The intermittent rain did not stop us from taking a bicycle ride around the rice fields and farms with the limestone hills and mountains as a backdrop. I must admit the idea of riding my Brompton around this area flashed across my mind. Who knows?

We had some fabulous food on the extra day we had since our Halong Bay tour was cancelled. Great atmosphere and egg coffee in Hanoi Social Club; great pizza at Pizza 4P’s, a chain of profitable pizza restaurants started by a Japanese entrepreneur and featured in an article in the New York Times; and famous street pho, and local meal called Bun Cha. Guess that was a food tour. Thanks to TripAdvisor and Elaine Chee and her Friend, Joelene’s recommendations.

Outside Hanoi Social club in an area full of interesting cafes

Egg coffee recommended by Nephew Paul – like drinking melted chocolate with coffee flavour

Surprisingly Great pizza in Hanoi Pizza 4P’s chain

Street food on the last night in Hanoi – a popular street stall

Bun Cha – rice vercimelli, pork stew, salads, fried meat spring roll. Shiok!

It was wonderful to travel with our daughter as she will be heading overseas to work. We had an estimated 24 leisurely meals together, rooming together for seven nights, and that is a lot of conversation, laughter and love. This was a good idea. A memorable trip.