Today is the Sabbath Day. As usual I went to church early in the morning. I woke up at 5 something, said a short prayer and then took my bath. My father woke up earlier than me and he made breakfast for me. I am blessed to have a father who loves to cook and at the same time, has a good appetite :) My mom, ha ha as usual, still sleeping in the bedroom. Still in dreamland, I guess.
This picture was taken on one Sunday morning in March. My father prepared it for me. I called it as 'The Breakfast of Love.'
After breakfast, I took my handbag and went outside to wait for the church van to pick me up. Uncle Francis used to come about 6.30 a.m.. I stand near the gate and waited. The weather looked wet. It was raining heavily last night. The rain poured like bullets on the roof while as I was asleep, alike a bear. Few minutes after standing and waiting, the church van finally arrived. At the front, there Uncle Francis at the driving seat with his son, Nahum next to him. The moment I stepped onto the large vehicle, they greeted me with a "Good morning" and smiles.
I closed the van's door and chose to sit next to Fellia's mother, Aunt Ajik. I realised that Fellia was not in the van so I asked Aunt Ajik. She went to the driving lesson centre. I felt a bit losing of something that morning. Probably because I used to be together with Tryphena and Fellia. Tryphena went to Sibu to further her studies in nursing. Next Tuesday, another one of my sister in Christ will be leaving us, Shirly Empaling. She is one of the Youth Worship Leader in the Calvary Church. She will be going to Labuan, to further her studies in matriculation. I cried silently in my heart. Years of being be with her in the love of Christ, I started to love this sister so much. She is very faithful to the Lord. Despite of her leaving, I am grateful that God blesses her studies and she passed her SPM with flying colors. We managed to talk to each other on the way home from the Saturday Youth yesterday. She reminded me to do well in my SPM this year. We talked about many things, including our feelings. She said that everything seems to be so fast. Time flies…
I trust that the Lord has a plan in her life. Shirly makes me amaze with her faith in God. Somehow in any ways, she taught me something about God through her attitudes. I have a lot of friends in school and other places. In contrast, having a sister in Christ is something that I call as a bigger picture of life. Seeing her life in Christ, the way she serves the Lord, enable me to understand that as youth, it is very good to come and seek the Lord. We need no big talent, we just need willingness to serve and obey God.
Next Tuesday she will go to Miri and take the flight to Labuan from the airport. Saying goodbye is hard. Farewell, my friend. I pray O Lord, that You will take good care this sister for us all. Amen.
We went to the Marina Bay, Miri to watch the sunset together.
From left: Patrica, Flora(me) and Shirly.
We took this picture during the Easter Sunday Water Baptism at the Tanjung Batu Beach.
Youth stayed overnight on the Christmas Eve 2010.
Front: Fellia From left at the back: Tryphena and me.
Our Calvary Youth will be missing Tryphena and Shirly so much. This reminds me of God’s Word:
'The Lord will never leave you nor forsake you.'
-Hebrew 13:5
The Word is true, indeed. I know O Lord, even though sometimes I feel all alone and without obvious direction, I believe, You still know what I’m going through. You know me as I was, as I am and as I will be. As the mother knows her baby’s face, You know me in the same way back round J I will never be a vagabond anymore as I used to be before I came to know Jesus. Pastor Daniel challenges us to take a leap of faith by giving tithes to the Lord. Not only that, he also wants the youth in the Calvary to be:
He shared the Word of God on Saturday. According to God:
I began to think about today’s society. How many people will be so willing to forgive? Many times, I fail to forgive. This time, I choose to forgive. Not only for my sake, but I do it for God. If we take too much time to hate, it will be less time to love, right?
Remember, God is Love and true LOVE is:
Jesus took the cross and thought of us, above all. We will never know how much it cost to see our sins upon the cross... As we sang the song ‘Teach Me Your Way’, God touched my heart. I might be small and look timid. Somehow God has His own way to work in me.
Ajar aku Tuhan,
Jalan dalam t’rang Mu,
B’rikan ku hati yang teguh,
‘tuk mengasihi Mu,
Ku puji Kau, selama-lamanya,
S’genap hatiku, s’genap kuatku, s’genap hidupku,
Ku sereahkan pada Mu,
Pakailah sesuai kehendak Mu,
Ajar aku...
Thank you, Father.