An evening in Beijing

Characters :
A - A middle-aged Singaporean chap who speaks only 2 languages, Singlish and Cantonese.

B - A cute, petite and 'stage-drama type' (she lapses into that when she wants to stress a point) who speaks 2 languages well, English and the Queen's English.

C - An Italian man who speak 2 languages well, Italian (presumably) and Mandarin.

Act 1, Scene 1 (in a pub)
C : Seems like you go to the gym alot huh?
A : No lah. I try to go lor whenever I can. But u know huh. No kaki, not shiok. U know, kaki very important. If got kaki, i arrange then go lor. Sometimes, no kaki I also go lah. Key word is Kaki lor.
C nodded his head and smiled but completely LOST. Must be wondering this Kaki must be some gorgeous Chinese chick.

Act 2, Scene 2 (in a cab)
Narrator repeated above scenario to B. Narrator and B laughed at how Singaporeans just assume the whole world understands our Singlish. C was seated in the front seat and couldnt quite make out what we were laughing at. B explained.
B : Oh! we were just laughing at how Singaporeans would LAPSE into our COLLOQUIAL terms and expect everyone to understand us.
A dazed C was totally lost now. He must be thinking Colloquial must be another gorgeous Chinese chick whose arms he can fall onto.

Crippling Fear

I grew up watching Channel 8 drama series. Its 'influence' in me was so great that when I wrote the script for Channel 5 drama series "Growing Up" in my script-writing class (yes yes, i love TV so much that after I quit Current Affairs I thought I would switch from production to script-writing. And from hard news to mama drama), I included a scene whereby Lim Kay Tong's wife fainted upon hearing some not too favorable news. The Academy award winning trainer who probably has never watched a single Chinese movie in her life, circled that part of the script and wrote, "???".

Let me guess, she probably thought, "Is this girl and is this for real?", "Is this medically possible?", "I thought she has the making of a good script writer, what happened to her?!".

It never occurred to me that I am more channel-8 influenced rather than channel-5 influenced. At least when it comes to TV viewing habits. And I thought, "Yah, how can people faint just like that! Medically impossible. So drama..aiyo".

The last one week, my legs threatened to give away a few times throughout the day. My knees were (still are) weak. My heart skipped a beat (or two) each time an email comes in. I am afterall waiting for the email from my mum's doctor (and still am. And will talk about sending and receiving of emails in another insertion). I can feel my legs floating sometimes. I can also feel my heart in my mouth....or just below my throat, right on my chest. There is also this 'hollow' feeling that comes with a ringing sound...like a typhoon swirling on my chest.

Surely, people do faint when they fear unfavourable news.

God Bless.

A New Church is BORNED right at my doorstep...and on Easter Sunday too!

This is one of the darkest week of my life. But as with all dark moments, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. The regular church that I attend here in Beijing - the BICF (Beijing International Church Fellowship) starts a new 'church' right in the condominium where I reside. And the first service (today) is on Easter Sunday. The day Christ was risen from his death at the Cross.

Its SO exciting to be part of the 'birth' of a new Church. Small but I am sure the numbers will grow. I like that the 'motto' of the Church is to reach out to the unchurched. Its so in line with what Clare and I have started to pray for recently and what we have committed ourselves to. To reach out to the non-christian friends amongst us.

Was prayed for and also made some new friends.

Wish I can pray a bigger role in this new Church but my days here are likely to be numbered. I am not ready to leave Beijing, the city where I embraced the Lord, where I had my first regular regular church and where I had my first cell group. Its been a amazing journey which had just started.

But I would leave it to the Lord to lead me to whether he wants to lead me too. I plead for his strength to see me through the days ahead.

At the meantime, its just AWESOME that I have a church service right where I stay. I will never forget this day.

I will devote my life to the LORD

When I first started this blog, the blog name 'Mysteries of Life' sound so apt. That is how I feel about life. Always full of surprises and for me, always full of sadness and emptiness. I can never unravel this 'thing' call life. Its full of mystery.

Never thought all my thoughts would fall in place one day. Never thought the mysteries of my life can be unravelled through the Lord. To all who believe it would be unravelled. "I was lost but now I am found." "The Lord is my Shepherd"...all the hymns I sang from young...I finally understand that they mean.

I slept with the Bible last night. I called out to the Lord and asked him where he is. And I realised where he is, he's residing in me all these while.

I told him my mum and I will devote our lives to HIM. If he would allow us to.

TRUST in him.