LOL & LWL!

My involvement in floorball has never been so great a deal until about 3-4 months back. How perfectly He orchestrates the symphony of events that took place is one that baffles my mind. From the birth of GSN to adopting floorball clubs in schools to forming Spearhead Floorball Club and to my personal journey in APAC 2010, the chronology of events that unfolded was the epitome of a Genius at work. He is the master planner and organizer of all things.

Getting myself more involved in floorball meant that meeting and possibly leading people would be inevitable. I've always been passionate about working with people. I find joy in reaffirming, encouraging, listening and possibly counselling people... But I'd never thought myself to be working amongst youth! He has His ways in training us. I must admit that in the initial stage, I was a little uneasy being amidst the group of youth I was working with. It has been a long while since I've been in touch with youth. Naturally, I felt a little 'disconnected'.

But their presence has made my personal race in life so much more meaningful and purposeful. They are a great bunch and it's odd how God teaches you a thing or two by first putting you in a position to teach. While you're at it, He begins to reveal what he has in store for you bit by bit. One of the key things I've learnt is that the word 'ministry' is merely a word used to compartmentalize different areas of focus. Yet at the same time, it's a word which holds each individual accountable as to how they live their lives. Ministry applies at a personal basis as well, knowingly or unknowingly, our lives - the way we communicate, live, speak and what we do - is a ministry in itself (1 Corinthians 10: 31).

Another key thing that I've learnt and something which I still struggle with once in a while is this whole issue of inadequacy. Many times when I look at the task which He has entrusted me with, I wonder to myself, "Why me when there are others who are far more capable??". Obviously, God being God, He didn't reveal to me His answer :P I'm a PhelgMel to begin with and add that up with a little low-self esteem, you'll get a person who constantly struggle with the issue of inadequacy. I've learnt this - If you're on your own, the truth that you'll get is that you will forever be in lacking. But if you're in Him and with Him, then you shall not be in lack (Psalm 23: 1). Ah, sounds theoretically simple, eh? But it isn't. The struggle is real, at least for me it is. Yet the truth remains as it is - If He is our shepherd, then we shall not be in want. Through our inadequacies, He will manifest Himself. This requires simple faith.

Nike puts it simply - Just do it.

Living out loud (LOL) and living without lack (LWL) for Christ is a constant challenge. But in order for it to be a challenge, you must first choose to accept it in the first place. Should you choose not to accept it, then it's not a challenge that you'll need to face altogether. So...

Are you LOL and LWL for Christ?

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Mission Emphasis Week

Last Sunday service, GCC had its Mission Emphasis Week, a service focussing on mission work and how the church as a whole can move towards that direction. When it comes to mission, it always excites me somehow. We had the privilege of having Pastor Richard, a pastor who have been serving for almost 30 years now in the mission field, to speak and to share with us in particularly about the Penan people. Pastor Richard is currently working very closely with the Penan (when I say working closely I mean he actually hikes and lives in the interior with this group of people) in Borneo. He came with a bag loaded with experience, knowledge and passion. I'm always amazed by people like himself - people like Jim Elliot, Hudson Taylor and even Eric Liddell - people who are willing to literally live a life of reckless abandon for the sake of the gospel. Simply astonishing.

I first started to develop a heart for mission, cross-cultural mission to be more exact, about 3 years back under FES's S.T.O.M.P. programme where I had my first visit into the interior of Sarawak to be part of the Iban community. Since then, I've been going back to Sarawak. Last year, with His guidance, I had the chance to organize my first mission trip called G-S.T.O.M.P with a group of graduates who too shared a heart for mission and in particularly, the Iban community. I can say with all my heart that every single time I stepped out there, God has never failed to remind me of something old and reveal to me something new. He holds a different agenda for me each time.

Interestingly enough, while last Sunday was on Mission Emphasis, a friend of mine who was part of G-S.T.O.M.P. last year was coincidentally up in Penang for a break. I had the chance to catch up with her, shared about our passion and heart for the Iban community and even traded thoughts as to how we can further develop G-S.T.O.M.P. It's always encouraging to have conversations such as this with people who share the same conviction. Not many people these days, especially people in our current generation, are willing to take time out from their daily routine to do short-term mission trips any longer. I guess the idea of stepping out of our comfort zone - nice bed, clean bathroom, air-conditioned room and good food - isn't too appealing to many.

The thing I'm most attracted to about the Iban community is their life of total simplicity which in turn, enables them to access freely into living a life of simple faith. Simple faith is something that we urban people seem to have long forgotten amidst all the turmoil of our concrete jungle. This group of people are not "contaminated", so to speak, by the pollution of what this modern world has to offer. This people don't have proper electricity running 24hours a day, no phone lines, no running water and no proper toilets for that matter. They live day by day, depending on simple things like nature to provide food, rain and river for water and above all, God for everything. I too am constantly struggling to learn to live simply. I guess coming from a big city, we will constantly wrestle with the idea of stepping out from here and into the interiors. But when we so decide to do that, it's amazing what God can teach us through that journey.

If I could only share one thing that amazes me about going for a cross-cultural mission, it would be the realisation that God's children is from every corner of the world - no matter how different our world and theirs may be - how different our cultures, background, language and lifestyle - it need not matter at all because through One man we have become one family. That's the evident beauty about cross-cultural mission. It's hard to describe how my spirit reacted when I had my first experience worshipping in Bahasa Malaysia, my first experience praying in BM or Iban for that matter, my first experience preaching in BM and my first experience witnessing the Iban people sharing their testimonies. It left me totally in awe of how big our God is and how loving He is.

And here I find myself in a room with full-fledge electricity powering the fan that's blowing right into my face while connecting half way across the world through this ingenious technology called internet as I sip a nice hot cup of Milo away.

Ahhh... sweet isn't it?

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How long shall we stay in our comfort zone?

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CNY!

Chinese New Year is commonly abbreviated simply to CNY. I found a new meaning to CNY...

Crazy N-nergectic Youth!

Last Saturday, GSN held a Chinese New Year Party at my apartment's poolside area for all the students and sports enthusiasts. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in Hokkien the term that should be used would be 'lau juak'. Hehe.

Happening indeed.

I ain't gonna blabber much about the event because GSN has already posted up an entry about it.

Please read here for the update!

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Feeding from the States?

I had nothing better to do just now so I strolled down to my blog feed just to saja-saja see... Wah, I didn't know I got so many readers from the States. But I'm thinking to myself, I got so many friends from the States meh?

*Scratch head*


31% from the States... Hahaha... I got more Americans reading my blog than Malaysians... Not too sure if its a good or a bad thing...

Well, to all my American readers, Happy Chinese New Year!

(P.S. Go Chinatown and see some lion dance! :P)

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Eternity

If you pause for a moment and think, you'd realise that we're all actually standing at the edge of life. No one knows how much time they have left ahead of them. I could well be in my room blabbering this post away and possibly found dead the next morning in my room. I don't mean to sound morbid but I'm merely trying to get my point across.

For the living, we often take for granted the days that we have. We don't think and process about what we do anymore, we just... do. The cycle of life just goes on without any true significance. Childhood, youth, adulthood, parenthood, all of these are but phases of lives that will eventually lead to the one inescapable doorway - Eternity.
Question is, what are we doing between now, the temporal phases of life, and then, the lasting and infinite phase of Eternity?

Truth is, every second of our lives counts for something. I hold strong to the belief that every person is made to leave a certain legacy behind. Good or bad, big or small, that's besides the point. All of us have the capacity to carve a legacy in the lives of others.

Sad to say, I'm not exactly at the brink of adulthood any longer. I am already an adult. A quarter century old to be precise. Bleh. Hence, I've been thinking of changing the theme of my blog, something I've been meaning to do. So, I was mulling over what's ahead in my life - what's the next phase? Courtship? Parenthood? Neeehhhhh...

And thennnnn in occurred to me... I'm actually standing...

At the brink of Eternity.

I don't know how much more of life I have left in front of me. Eternity is imminent. Every step that I take ahead of me is one that takes me closer to Him. I don't know if I'd ever be a boyfriend, husband, father, grandfather... I don't know. But what I do know is that Eternity awaits me.

He awaits me.

So, between now and then, as I stand at the edge of Eternity, I pray so earnestly that my journey will be one that will leave trails of legacy. It will be one crazy ride, that's for sure. But heck, that's the beauty of it, ain't it? ;)

(Will post up my new header tomorrow!
YES, I made a new header finally!
Woohooo! :)

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Happy Chinese New Year

Can't believe it's Chinese New Year eve! Tis' the season of thousand and one questions from relatives...

Gulps.

Hahaha... Time to brace myself.

RAWWWWWRRRR!

Don't asks me so many questions.
I bite you.

:P

Happy Chinese New Year people!

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APAC 2010: Looking Ahead

I have had the opportunity to represent Malaysia for floorball in the Asia PAcific Floorball Championship (APAC) for the past three years. This year, being the fourth time, I once again had the privilege to be part of team Malaysia as we headed down to Singapore for APAC 2010. I won't go into too much details on match reviews because IFF and Borak-Borak Floorball has already covered those areas. I'm just going to share my thoughts about APAC 2010.

Having been to three APACs prior to this, I know how tough and competitive floorball can be at that level. When we had our national trainings, our coaches have already drilled into our heads that our goal for APAC 2010 is to win a medal back - no more 'go-for-exposure' nonsense. I'm glad that was the goal they set out for us. Even though it sounds like a ridiculous and seemingly impossible task, it was an appropriate one.


Now, most would be asking - so what exactly happened to team Malaysia in APAC 2010?
What's with all those double-digits trashing?

Two very obvious things happened - we were physically and mentally outclassed. Dare I say, we weren't as prepared in these two areas as the previous year.

I for one, know that I wasn't physically fit. And at that level, fit is not enough - you have to be VERY fit. The Japs ran so fast they made us look as if we were taking a jog on court. Truth of the matter is, we didn't train hard and consistent enough to hit our peak. I'm culpable for that no doubt.

Lin Ken, still mentally strong! (can pose some more!)

But on a more personal note, the most disappointing fall back for me was our mental state. We had a hard time getting our hearts and minds into the game and that cost us dearly. And I'm not just talking about on court mental state. I personally feel the let down came from the benches as well. What one says and does on the substitute bench determines the morale of the team.

One person's actions and words will and can affect the entire team.

Simple things like nodding our heads in dejection every time we let in a goal, slamming our stick on the floor in frustration, lashing out at our own team mates for their mistakes and so on affect the team. I know I'm guilty of all these as well. All of these revealed to me that we have more than just mental weaknesses - maybe it has to do with our character as well.

What have I learnt from APAC 2010?

I've learnt that old habits die hard. As a team, we struggled to break away from the habit of getting into the 'underdog' mentality. I've learnt that, therefore, it is our duty as senior and experienced players to the younger ones in Penang/Malaysia to really coach and educate them in every area of floorball - not just from the technical side to the tactical, but also off court attitude towards the team and how they perceive themselves when they go head to head with a stronger team. It's time to 'brainwash' the younger generation to believe in their strengths. It is crucial for us, senior players, to really start investing our time in the younger players if we do want to see Malaysia floorball hitting a competitive level in the international scene. Having said that, to do all these, we must first get rid of our old habits - we need to get out of the 'underdog' mentality and immerse ourselves instead with the 'Champion' mindset.

Running for the future.

A friend asked me if I've wasted my money going to Singapore.

Knowledge and experience is never a waste. It is an investment if we learn from it.

We may not see the visual results of winning matches and gaining a medal just yet, but if we can channel those knowledge and experiences to the younger generation and facilitate them to grow in the right direction, then the 'interest' of our investment will be seen in years to come.

To say that it is a waste, or to throw in the towel because of the many humiliating defeats would be to kill off the many great potentials that we have in the younger generation. If we quit now, we extinguish the future of floorball in Malaysia.

What then is the significance of chanting aloud "Malaysia Boleh" each time before a match?

To quit, that's the ultimate defeat we'd ever have to face.

APAC 2010 has been a significant one for me. It reassures me of what I'm suppose to do and that is to start building champions. I may not be the one who will be bringing back a medal, but the least I can do is to empower others who can.

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