SCG Classes ’09 March 29, 2009
Posted by esthertanc in Agape, Teaching.1 comment so far
March 29, 2009
It’s finally over. The first round of SCG classes for the year. Anne taught the 1322 group on Knowing God’s Will, Pas Sally taught the adults on The Beatitudes and I taught the rest on the 16 Fundamentals.
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I don’t know about the rest, but I felt it was a good time of teaching and learning and experiencing. It was also a very tiring time. Imagine the rush from church service to the class proper, and the setting up of the LCD projector and all. And the hunger pangs that always came while teaching, reminding me that lunch time was due and breakfast was not even gobbled down [that's really my fault, actually. Sunday is my day to sleep in, so I usually get to church only slightly in time. There would not have been enough time for breakfast].
Anyway, it’s come and gone now. Looking forward to the next SCG sessions – in June!
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Teachers Training 2009 February 28, 2009
Posted by esthertanc in Agape.add a comment
February 28th, 2009
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It had been several years since the teachers were sent for training, and A.Yeow thought it was more than About Time to have one. And so she set Feb28th as the day where EVERY teacher MUST come for training. So, all of us went. The trainer, Ps OiLin, trained very well, and it was an eye-opnener for many of the newer teachers and a good refresher course for all the old ones. I just wished she talked a little more about teaching tweens and teens – but Time just did not permit us to do so that day. Maybe another day…
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Dawn at the Lake Gardens February 21, 2009
Posted by esthertanc in Agape.1 comment so far
Saturday, February 21st, 2009
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It was Johanna’s last day in this country. She would be catching the flight back to NZ later in the evening. She asked on Wednesday if we could go ONE MORE TIME to K.Hill. I replied that if we do anywhere, it would have to be at 5.45am in the morning, for I have to get to the office by 9am. And then I also said that it would better if it was in the Lake Gardens instead of K.Hill. Safer anyway. She said OK.
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So today came. I started out at 5.30am, picked JoelJay and Jian, and arrived at the Lake Gardens slightly before 6am. The others arrived as well – all 7 stragglers at dawn.
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The air was good. The place looked great in the night lights. The company was the greatest. I learned a few pick-up lines from JoelC, FionaL and Johanna. Some extraordinary, some lame, but all cute.
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It was a good time. I’m still missing Johanna. May the year quickly pass by uneventfully, so that she can come back to us in December.
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What is the meaning of Healing? December 17, 2008
Posted by esthertanc in Agape, Articles without Pics.1 comment so far
December 17th, 2008
The Aspirers wanted to do some revision for their Gateway to Life exam this Sunday. They requested for revision sessions (a.k.a. additional lessons) especially for the sessions that they had missed throughout the last 6 months (class attendance is in the grade). So Anne decided yesterday and today for the sessions and I readily agreed to teach all 10 lessons these two days.
One of today’s lessons was on Divine Healing. It was a seriously funny session. I asked the question “What is Healing?” and here I’d like to share some of what the people thought…
1. Healing is Divine [What? That's all??!!]
2. Healing is being cured, la
3. Healing is the process of getting better
4. Healing is the divine intervention of being cured [??]
5. Healing is the process of a sick person not being sick [what a merry-go-round way to put it!!]
6. Healing is I-was-sick-now-I’m-cured
7. Healing is the process that my Father made that we do not understand the inside appearance of it [this is so convoluted that I don't even want to begin unraveling it!!]
8. Healing is the Unsickening of a person [!!]
9. Healing is not being sick
I had a good laugh, together with the class. Because this is what I had in my notes about the definition of Healing: It is the withholding of sicknesses as a result of keeping God’s commandments.
Haha.
What do YOU think Healing is?
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His Story – Christmas Musical 2008 December 15, 2008
Posted by esthertanc in Agape, Pics.3 comments
December 15th, 2008
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After all the stress and worry and nervousness, the Musical is finally over. Did we breathe a sigh of relief on Sunday night? I don’t think so. There is still work to be done. There were the tearing down of the stage – directly after the last guest had left. That went on till well past midnight. And then there is the clearing of the store rooms to wrap, preserve and store our props and stage materials this Thursday. And then, there is the Christmas Party this Saturday for the people who responded throughout the three days of Musical. The committee is setting that up even right now as I type. Lastly, there is the follow-up and integration into the congregation and cell groups for new people. That may go on for some months.
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Is it all worth the effort? Yes!! A thousand times YES!! I know I said I learnt my “lesson” a coupla weeks back about not taking on much more than I can handle [and I’m sticking on to this resolution – as much as I can], but I’m betting that if there were requests for us to do this Musical over again in another place which can seat more people, and the musical committee members agree to it, I will go full force along. Why? Because the results were all worth it. To see people being awed or impressed by the cohesion of the cast and crew is nothing to me. But to see people moved by the story to a point of making life-changing decisions for the better – well really, there’s really nothing that can beat that, is there?
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I am not sure about the exact number of people who turned up, but I think there were an estimated crowd of about 800 (?) on Friday, 870 on Saturday and probably about 960 people on Sunday. Our auditorium fits only a max of 850 people, and so the rest of the late comers were “overflowed” to another hall. That hall was filled as well on Sunday evening.
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I did not manage to take many pictures as I was backstage [most of the time]. And so I took them mostly while I was backstage, or after the Musical was over. Here they are:
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The Backstage Movement File - a 5,808-cell Spreadsheet indicating every movement of the cast and crew
The Backstage Movement File - a 5,808-cell Spreadsheet indicating every movement of the cast and crew
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The Stage at 3pm on the days of the Musical
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The Different Stage Scenes - all hand-painted by members of Agape
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The Auditorium at 3.30pm
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The Auditorium at 8.15pm, Sunday Evening
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The Dismal Downpour on Saturday Afternoon Did Not Stop the Crowd from Turning Up that Evening.
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Backstage: Groundsmen Hard At Work
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Backstage: Beard Artists At Work
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Backstage: Crew-in-waiting and Crew-at-work
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Backstage: King Herod Under Make-Up. Notice His Gap-branded Sandals
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Backstage: The Bloodying of The Christ - pics courtesy of Arthur Tan Sr
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Afterwards: En and Others
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Afterwards: En and Others II
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Afterwards: En's BFFs and Others
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Afterwards: Some of the Yeoh Clan Members who were Involved in the Musical
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Afterwards: Pics with Musical Mates I
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Afterwards: Pics with Musical Mates II
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Afterwards: More Pics - Couldn't Stop Being a Shutterbug
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Post Musical: The Dismantling of Spotlights by the HiVolt Team
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Post Musical: The Stage 90 Minutes after the Last Guest Left
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The entire Musical lasted about 2 full hours, and had 20 scenes. However, the hours of preparation on each Musical day itself was about 6 ½ hrs, sans actual Musical Time. Plus about 45 scenes behind the stage while the 20 scenes on stage were going on!
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All in all, I’m thankful to God for bringing us through yet another musical drama this year.
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Christmas Musical Drama 2008 – His Story: The Preparations December 11, 2008
Posted by esthertanc in Agape, Pics.add a comment
December 11, 2008
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Tomorrow is the Day, folks. Are we ready? Am I? I really don’t know. But here are a few pics that may show just a small bit of what large efforts have been put into the musical by volunteers from many states and countries, especially in the months of November and December. The below is mostly on Stage Production, the department which I am probably more involved in than others…
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The Stage at the beginning of November 2008
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The Stage Construction by mid-to-end November 2008
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Stage Dressing Up
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Details of the Stage by end-November 2008
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Painting of Backdrop I
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Painting of Backdrop II
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The Creation of Earthernware Props
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The Painting of Earthernware Props
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Establishing Cast Costumes
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There are many other departments involved – Design & Publicity, Choir, Drama, Dance, Costume, Make-up & Hair, Traffic, Grounds, Lights, Counselors, F&B, etc., etc., etc – all doing as much work and even more than the Stage Production department…all these done unitedly for just one thing – to point people to God. May He be lifted high this Christmas season. Amen!
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VBA 2008 December 2, 2008
Posted by esthertanc in Agape, Pics.add a comment
December 2nd, 2008
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It’s Over! Thank you, Jesus!
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Was it marvelous? I’d say the kids definitely think it was. Was it tiring? You don’t need three guesses for this one! But it was a great program. More than 110kids altogether. What was really charming to watch was the youths taking care of the kids while the teachers teach. Most of them were really good with kids. They were just too inspiring for words!
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Here are some pics. Enjoy them, ya?
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The Deco - Safari Theme
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The Classes - Full Enthusiasm from the Kids!
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The Craft - There are also Hippos, Zebras, Lions and Elephants
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And the Kids - Aren't they Absolutely Adorable??!
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The Engagement Party November 16, 2008
Posted by esthertanc in Agape, Friends and Family.add a comment
November 16th, 2008
I went to my friend’s EB’s engagement party yesterday – and learned lots and lots of new stuff that are actually old stuff, but are apparently still in vogue today..
Okay, okay, I’m confusing everyone with my sentence. Let me explain.
First of all, EB went and asked her family to find her a life-partner and arrange her a marriage. That, in itself, is pretty bizarre in my view. I mean, this is the twenty-first century, what.
And then, when her family found her a guy, they didn’t introduce EB to him until they and his parents have met and spoken about the matter and came to an agreeable conclusion. That is a second peculiar thing. It is usually we find the life-partner and then get to know the parents and then get both sets of parents acquainted – the parents are usually the last to “know” each other.
Then, EB’s parents got her an invite to the guy’s birthday party – where they were to meet for the first time. This is a pretty standard thing – that is, getting invited to a b-day party where you don’t know the b-day boy from Adam. One usually experiences that when one is visiting with overseas relatives and they bring one to a party of their friends (whom one doesn’t know). What is weird in this particular one was that: 1) it was just a mere three weeks back that the guy had his b-day party, 2) EB agreed to the whole marriage arrangement on the day itself, and 3) they were to be engaged in just three weeks of their first meeting together!!
As a fourth, the guy actually agreed to this whole arrangement thingy!!! Now if that isn’t all out of this world, I don’t know what is!
And then, another amazing thing happened. EB’s younger sister, upon seeing how the whole thing was set up, was quite pleased with it. She went to her parents and asked for a similar arrangement for herself. [Maybe it is too much of a hassle to look for a life-partner on her own?]
Now get this straight, folks – EB and her sister are not plain Janes, ok? They are some of the most beautiful girls I know. They do not lack suitors, of that much I’m certain!
And so, here I was at the party, soaking up all these wonderful information and enjoying the conversations with familiar friends who were also there, and admiring all the colors that were present. EB was beautiful. ULim gave a very good discourse and the two formally exchange rings. The food was delumptuous.
As I was mingling and making myself sociable, I found myself asking, “How can EB do this? Will it last? Will she be happier this way?” I thought about the accelerating divorce rates among the young adults of today. These were people who chose for themselves life-partners and later regretted the move. And then I looked at EB and her fiancé. Here was a couple who is stepping into the relationship with the fullest commitment possible. I mean, those two mean serious business with each other. Each has internally decided that the other would be their partner for life, for better or for worse – no turning back. If more people get into a marriage with this mind-set, I think we’d have found a cure for the rising divorce rates.
So anyway, EB is safely engaged now and is planning her wedding within the next few months.
I was to learn of one last info before I left the party – the engagement [exchange of rings] was followed directly by the signing of marriage registrar..! Which means, under the laws of Malaysia, EB is officially married!
Wow! They really mean business, don’t they? I’m really glad for them!
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The Perodua Driver November 6, 2008
Posted by esthertanc in Agape, Friends and Family, Me.1 comment so far
November 6th, 2008
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Note: This blog is posted late, the actual event took place on October 29th, 2008
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[Lunchtime, At Kemayan Sq]
Anne: So, we’re all agreed that we’ll go to the Laksa Shop for lunch? [nods going all around in the MyVi] Hmmm….the road the shop’s in is quite packed, and often does not have any parking space available…..Nevermind, we’ll just go the length of the road and see if anyone empties a parking lot for us. [drives at 10km/hr]
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Jess: Anne! There’s an empty slot! Quick! Get there before the next car overtakes us and takes the space!
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JChong: That parking lot is NOT empty, Dumb! It’s filled…with a Kancil!
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Jess: Oh. Well, the Kancil’s so short we can hardly see it…
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Joy: We’ve come to the end of the road already, shouldn’t you turn, Anne?
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Anne: Uhmmm, this is a one-way street, and we’d have to make a BIG circle around the square in order to come back to this road. I don’t want to do that…
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[2 seconds later]
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Me: [flabbergasted] Anne!!! What are you doing????!!!
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Anne: [casually] Oh, just reversing.
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Me: [scandalized] B-b-but…this is a one-way street…!
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Anne: [helpfully] Ye-es, and my car is in the right direction. Can’t you see that?
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Jess: Yes, AuntyETC, she’s like that.
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JChong: [obliviously] Ooohhh. Look at that car doing that illegal parking. I think it’s a government vehicle.
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Me: [moaning] Oh…this is so wrong! You can’t just reverse like that! What if there’s a policeman around? And slow your car down, will ya???
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Anne: Don’t worry, I can see from my rear mirrors. I’m not hitting anyone. And it’s lunchtime. No policeman around. Chill.
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JChong: [peering more closely out of the window] Yup. It’s definitely a government car, alright! Gotta report that fella.
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Me: [traumatized] I’m taking a pic of this – so that people will know that you’ve driven the whole length of this road in fast reverse!
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Anne: [confident] Go ahead.
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Zooming Backwards
JChong: Ooooh yes! Aunty ETC, take a pic of that law-breaking government car. We’ll report it to the authorities…
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Post-GLS Malaysia Refections October 29, 2008
Posted by esthertanc in Agape, Me.2 comments
October 29th, 2008
GLS 2008 Speakers
The Global Leadership Summit 2008 is Over. Phooeey!
What was it like? It was awesomezzz, that’s what it was like! In fact, in some ways, it was better than last year’s summit. Even though the speakers may not be as renown as the speakers of last year’s summit, they were insightful and they inspired me.
So, what did I learned from the summit? Here’s a list to start with:
- From Bill Hybel’s first message about the High Drama of Decision-Making, I learnt that Vision Leaks, and I need to start leading with axioms.
- From Gary Haughen’s “Just Courage: Charging the Darkness,” I learnt that if I want my leadership to matter, I must lead in the things that matter. And if God is passionate about it, HE will be responsible for it. And that effective leadership involves choosing not to be safe.
- From the interview with Brad Anderson’s on An Uncompromising Focus on People, I learnt that you can’t really separate job performance from personal problems. Many leaders make the mistake of doing that (like, dun bring your personal problems into the workplace, etc), without realizing that the two are inseparable. If you do not acknowledge your team’s personal problems, you’re in for a big performance problem sometime down the road.
- From Efrem Smith’s Leading in New Cultural Realities, I learnt that leading in things that matter is not about being qualified – it’s about being kicked up by a force beyond yourself (wow!)
- Craig Groeschel’s talk on How Leaders Can Get IT and Keep IT was mind-blowing for me. I’ve learnt that I need to really let go of most of my projects and have laser focus on the ones that are producing results only.
- From Bill George, I heard about Finding My True North. I learnt that I need to follow my motivated capabilities, and make a difference that way.
- Catherine Rohr is the most inspiring speaker yet for this conference. There were too many wet eyes to count towards the end of her interview with Jim Mellado, mine included. I learnt many, many, many things from her. The most awesome ones are 1) that I must not allow the emotions that are induced by criticism get in the way of my doing my mission; 2) If I don’t learn to take time out from work, then I won’t be in good shape. If I’m not in good shape, then I’m a liability to the people I lead; and 3) Find the leader, then start the project. Not start the project, then find the leader.
It’s not easy to be an effective leader today. I see the road ahead of me strewn with obstacles, some coming even from the very people who are supposed to be my push-forwards. But hey, as long as the things that I do matter, and as long as the Boss is passionate about the things I do, I’m going to be alright. I just gotta show up in the morning, get my orders and execute it!
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