Benjamin

Saturday, November 28, 2009

The intensifying Tchoukball match under the heavy downpour!

(adapted from Caleb Lim's photo album)
It was a day where an intensifying match took place between team Apple from YM and team Orange from YM. Both sides battled really hard under the heavy downpour! but in the end it was team Orange who won the 99 goal thriller, 50-49.

Location: Bethesda Serangoon Church (Thanks Reon for opening up your church!, really thank God how He always provides for us when we needed him! The second time God answered our prayers! First if u look back when kovan team cldnt find a place to train, we headed to wesley for the equipments & now when wesley cldnt find a place to train we headed down to kovan area at reon's church! and ironically both happened on a public holiday!)

(the warm up!)

(the battle begins!)

(the defending!)

(the attacks!)

(the injuries!)

It was one of the more memorable wesley ym tchoukball events for me! Really excited at how this tchoukball ministry can grow from next year to come! When our very own younger players step up to lead this ministry and who knows a couple of them might be playing for the national team next year! =)

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Times well spend with churchies!

After a looooooooooong 2 weeks away from home, its really good to be back for awhile with like-minded people right after my booked out...like with the the ym leaders at mlm , followed by meeting up with more churchies at Chieh ming's wedding and than a good evening spent with my beloved small grp God's Clay!

(The scrumptious meal that benlei cooked for us at his house as we had a good dinner before we had some bible study!)

Looking back i'm really just so grateful and thankful of how GOD sustained me Spiritually,mentally & physically in the 10 days I was in the mud & storms in the outfield of tekong the last 2 weeks! It sure was quite a memorable experience which change me a lot!

Anywayssss i will be back to my home again in SAFTI in few hours time! =)

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Objection 1: Since Suffering & Evil Exist , A Loving God cannot?

That was the topic that my small grp discussed yesterday in our new curriculum on A CASE FOR FAITH by Lee Strobel! And through the discussion what concluded the long deep discussion on questions that agnostic or atheist wld asks like how can u explained all those "evils" in this world today... like Famine, Wars, terrorism..etc.etc...Wells (although we know that suffering happens bcoz of the consequences of Sins of so many different people out there in this world).....but others wld ask this than "How than does this prove that God is Loving?" or "How can God bear with all the sufferings in this world?" At the end of the day at "What point of suffering would actually disproved the existence of God?"....

wells... like me remind you if you have all forgotten...

God actually DID LITERALLY bore all the sufferings of this world...and that is what we Christians firmly believed and that is the amazing gospel story that we can concluded. GOD actually did had a GREAT SOLUTION to all those questions on sufferings & evil that we always throw out at God... The solution was God because of His GREAT LOVE for us... He sent His One and Only son Jesus Christ ...who is wholly GOD humbled himself by coming down as a human who actually took ALL the suffering of the world with His own body, as He bore the whole world's sins with His Blood on the CROSS at CALVARY and through that act He has CLEASE us all and FORGIVE ALL OUR SINs! And that gave us the bridge to overcome the sins of this world to whoever who BELIEVED in HIM!!!!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Now who can questioned the LOVE of GOD after what He did for us at that CROSS on Calvary?
Maybe now we should ask ourself instead ...WHY did WE have to allow suffering in this World?

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Will be away for the next 2 weeks!

GOING BACK TO LOVELY TEKONG for the next 10daysss! Pretty excited at what's install for us there as our section aims to get the BEST SECTION TITLE!!!! And i really think we have the potential to get there with an amazing bunch of strong and smart guys in our team! =)

"TOGETHER in EXCELLENCE. ADVANCING towards MUTUAL understanding!" (T.E.A.M) That's our platoon 3 section 1 motto!!!!

Seeyaaa civilisation till probably on 21 nov if nothing happens to me there! =)

Pray that we wil not abstain any injuries there, nothing "unfortunate" mishaps that can happened there and MOST OF ALL that i can keep my FOCUS on the LORD there even how tired i am there! =) THANKS GUYS! =)

Saturday, October 31, 2009

An eventful week!

Wells its been another eventful past week! Wells there is really so much i want to share abt the things that happened, but i cant due to the confidentiality of it to share things we do in camp on the net!

Anyways some highlights i wld say in my daily journey with the Lord in camp was... yet again, God showed how Faithful he was! As i was doing my daily devotion one night, a wing mate came in to ask in curiosity abt the bible and how he was actually interested to find out more abt christianity, and of course if u know me im always very glad to share! Not to "convert" ppl as i cant! only God can, but to share something that is the closest thing in my heart and that is my relationship with the Almighty Lord! And i just look forward for the many more weeks ahead i can share with this guy! =)

Another highlight wld be the HAPPY HOUR that i was assigned to organised for the wing as my job as a welfare ic! Was a little concern at the start how i was going to do this, but i really THANK GOD! For wonderful people that he place in my life to help me! First of all my awesome sect commander who help me alot in the setting up & advice, and really willing wing mates that just offered to help! From an awesome professional emcee that i got, reynold! to some expert dancers who volunteered to entertain the wing like rajan & miyanaga and my awesome platoon 3 mates who automatically just helped me with the preparation of the food and all! And looking back, how often u get to work with so motivated helpful ppl like u can find here in ocs! =)... and wells we end of with an awesome movie ... "A Few Good man"... a MUST watch if u havent! 5/5 stars for me! =)

Saturday, October 24, 2009

God's always FAITHFUL!

Had a bunch of test this week! And God certainly has been there with me throughout!
From finding out that i was top in the wing for one of the major test with a score of 99% which surprised me greatly! And then also getting GOLD for IPPT with a maximum score of 25/25 with my fastest 2.4km time ever in my life of 9.18mins! Which means i will get a $200 reward for that and a gold ippt badge!

And then one of the nights had some time of sharing and praying with my christian friend in an empty bunk, and i was desiring for opportunities to share my Faith! And INDEED GOD was FAITHFUL, as immediately the next couple of days after that, somehow, in small subtle ways, God did give me opportunities through the conversations i had, and got the chance to share abit of my life testimony and the many great things that God had taught me! =) What a fruitful week! =)

Alrighty booking back in less than 20 hrs time! Anyways i sld be contented that i cld actually book out today already! =) Seeyall next weekend! .... missing church on a sunday again! =/

Sunday, October 18, 2009

My second booked out!

Friday!

It was nice to finally book out and rush down to make it for YM GAP! And wow certainly cld experience God's presence so strongly as i step into the GAP room! Felt really ministered in the time of worship and prayer!

Saturday!

Our usual tchoukball training venue at kovan cc was changed at the very last min today! When we found out that the cc was close! So good thing we had the tchoukball equipment in wesley, so we brought the whole kovan team down to fort canning, and this time was a little special...as we had abt 13 new ppl suddenly! 8 primary 6 kids who came after their PSLE, 3 from JC and 2 more one from poly another from university, so practically today we had new people and old ones from all kind of backgrounds all coming together bcoz of TCHOUKBALL! From pri students all the way to working adults! What an amazing day!

(The pri 6 kids that i coach today, they were actually pretty good for their age!)

(the more older players!)

Right after that... had a good time catching up with all kinds of ppl, lunch with some of the players, than bump into my old coursemates in plaza sing, den met up with wenhao & asriel and than right after that had a good time spend with my small grp as we continue to discuss on plans for our grp in the future! And finally im back home! Ready for CHURCH FINALLY!!!
My first sunday going back to church in 4 weeks! =)

Friday, October 09, 2009

Finally out of my 3 weeks confinement in OCS! =)

It feels so good to be finally out! So far life in OCS has been quite an experience! It certainly been a huge culture change for me, especially in the first few days there. It's certainly so different compared to the welfare company that I was in, during my bmt days in tekong!

At the end of the day, I'm really thankful to God for wonderful mates that he has place in my life here again! Especially when he provided an awesome buddy in my first 2 weeks of the Common Leadership module (CLM). We manage to form a prayer grp, of 2 catholics and another christian mate where we all saw the common important purpose of putting GOD first in our life!

It was really amazing to see 2 Roman Catholics and 2 protestants who defer in some doctrines yet still coming together believing in the same ALMIGHTY Sovereign Lord and how important it was so important to keep our eyes on Jesus everyday!!! Still pretty amazed at the many nights we cld spend time sharing, and hearing God speak to us when we pray in that room even how precious and limited our admin times were! =)

On hindsight, i'm actually so glad i'm here in OCS! Despite the culture shocked initially, i'm definitely at the fittest point in my life right now! Getting a GOLD for my ippt cat test with 25/25 with a 2.4km timing of 9.30mins! I've definitely become much more resilient and i'm prepared for what to come next!

Parent's Visiting Day!

(My bunk! My buddy!... he had something stuck in his eyes the day before thats why his eyes are a little close in all the pictures)

(our HUGEEEE wardrobe! Compared to the small metal ones we have in BMT in Tekong!)

(My awesome prayer buddies! Tim, me, edmund and one more guy aaron who is not here in this photo)

(The Parade square where i hope to commission in 9mths time in a No.1 attire!... and thats the SAFTI tower next to it!)

(At the top of the SAFT tower!)

(My officer took a photo of me after coming out from the gas chamber!...my mucus was like all coming out!)

(TANGO platoon 3,section 1! The first to run up the SAFTI TOWER!)

(My parents!)

"Taking refuge in the Lord doesnt mean that all our problems will be solved instantaneously. But knowing that God is with us in our trying times should comfort us and give us the strength to go on." - A quote that my NS prayer buddy, Tim shared with me awhile ago! =)

Ben signing off now! as I look forward to booking back in on Saturday night! ...sad to miss Church for the third time in a row this Sunday, probably the longest time away from church in my entire life. But one thing I know for sure is, that God is with me where ever i go. =)

Monday, September 21, 2009

A new mission trip in OCS!

I'm all prepared and excited for my new phrase in my life as a soldier! Will be embarking for a 9 mths training at Officer Cadet School (OCS) in SAFTI from tmr onwards! And that will be my new home and mission trip for the LORD!!!

Below is a verse that Pastor Ivan shared with me yesterday that he kept to & memorise in his days in OCS,
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."Joshua 1:9

Please keep me in prayer! =)
1) Pray for me to meet likeminded christian brothers there!
2) Opportunities to share the gospel!
3) For me to keep my focus on the LORD ALL THE TIME! =)

Will seeyall again after my first 3 weeks confinement at SAFTI! =)

"to lead, to excel, to overcome"

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Events in my block leave after tekong!

This last 2 weeks of block leave sure has been quite fruitful & good break for me! I'm really thankful for the many people i got to catch up with! From my platoon mates, to my st.gabs friends, to church friends, to crusaders!

(LEOPARD 03/09 platoon 2 section 2 @ ISLAND CREMERY!)

Thurs

(BBQ with TRP crusaders! Its really been a looooooong time since saw this guys!)

Friday
Visited Tung ling bible college to attend a day session on a awesome module on Apologetics!

Saturday

(The crosstrainer food rally! The AWESOMEEEE Horfan at Geylang Lorong 9!)

The ultimate friendly match between Wesley YM as we visited the home ground of Crystallite methodist for a trilling match up! =)

(Planning our tactics!)

(Prayer from the Crystallite methodist pastor before the game start!)

(The huge supporters from the home crowd!...and with a small bunch from wesley!)

(WESLEY...WHOOO HAAAA!)

(videos of match match!)

Besides all this.... now mentally preparing myself for the loooooooooong 9 mths ahead as i got my posting to Officer Cadet School (OCS), army wing. Really appreciate all the prayers from my church mates! Especially today, when Pastor Ivan had a chat with me, which really encouraged and inspired me to give my best for the Lord in OCS! its going to be a new exciting mission trip there!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

DREAMS or REALITY of the future?

It's strange whenever i sit down & to actually think that i could recall my dreams of the night before! Wells, what i said actually did happened as i wrote this on my facebook status when that thought came...

And yes i really hope what i dreamt of won't happened! Its not like a life or death kind of dream or something very bad! But it was just 3 particular upcoming events that didn't turn out the way i expected. One that will be coming up on Friday, another on Sunday & a third dream which was a bit too weird as I have no idea & connection of how it cld possibly happened, actually a forth event but that was like of the past which was quite twisted too.

It was like i was the observer in those dreams & i could still recall vividly of what happened. The dream on sunday had people i know inside, the dream on Friday was abt my NS posting, which was strangeeee? Hard to describe actually as my posting type or rather TYPES didn't really exists in reality too? But i believed maybe, just maybe those dreams were a way of God teaching me something?

Thinking back DREAMS sure are strangeee , weird, bizzare & always seemingly impossible to comprehend that it would actually happened, but it's such a perplexing phenomena that its always just nice talking about it! =)

Thursday, September 10, 2009

My BMTC life in Tekong!!!

I have actually COMPLETED my Basic Military Training!!! 9 weeks just past like that! And looking back at the many events that happened, i definitely believe i have gain a lot! And i can say i definitely have change a bit too! BMT certainly make you more fitter, rugged, tougher and definitely train one to step up as a leader! And being in probably the largest company ever in bmtc and the only Enhance leadership batch in school 2, certainly makes one more competitive too as everyone here are trained to be future commanders to be posted either to SISPEC or OCS!

Belows a quick glance of the events that happened till my 24 km route march to my Graduation parade (GP)... no more called P.O.P...

(LEOPARD at GAMES DAY!!! ... we were the reigning champions for 12 times in the past! the most in sch 2!)

(The Leopard handball team of 03/09... we had the company best & best PT in our team, and we were actually the early favourites, as we came together a really strong team after 8 of us being short listed from abt 100 odd ppl trying out for handball! We dominated all our friendlies beating 4 other companies with convincing victories! but sadly...in the actually competition we only made it to the second round and lost to the eventual winner Raven which defintely was a really strong team too!)

(LEOPARD!!!!!!!!!!!!)

8 sep 2009!
A day i will never forget! As this was the day of our 24 km route march to our graduation parade! Looking back as we woke up at 3am, and prepared our gears, bandaging of toes,wore toe socks, extra socks, boots tighten and a good breakfast & warm up before we kick off by 5am! And the long march thru tekong certainly was very mentally and physically challenging, as your legs will automatically move after awhile, and ur mind just keep focusing on Graduating! And wow...after abt 9 hrs ... we finally reachhhhh our destination abt 2pm! It was a really huge achievement for all of us...feeling a great sense of joy that we are 3/4 done of our GP!!!!

The Graduation Parade! 2.45pm...

(after the march in!)

(The cool down exercise! I'm the fifth person of the front row)

(the march past!)

(the march past)

The re-entry!

(the re-entry .... Watch how as the 8 companies of BMTC sch 2 do a run in singing the song "Training to be soldiers"... and followed by an unrehearsed "LEOPARD HENTAKAKI SONG" led by our company best.. as LEOPARD COY probably the Largest company in BMTC history was the only one to show off our trademark song to the whole of sch 2!!!! We were all shocked he did that as by right we wld have stopped normally like in all our rehearsals!... but WOW at that point all eyes were on LEOPARD so we gave the best Hentakaki we cld!!! What a way to end our parade!!!!)

The putting on of caps on the recruits...

After that...

(THE BMTC ROAR!)

And FINALLYY!!!!!

(We have GRADUATED!!!!!!! It was a veryyy SURREAL EXPERIENCE as we threw our caps up in great JOY!!!! And we are actually finally officially graduated from BMTC and we are now trained soldiers!!! no more recruit... now a PRIVATE!!!)

Photos after the parade...

(the 200 push ups that Jeramy our company best shot owed our platoon sergeant! =) )

(PLATOON 2!!!!!!!!!!!)

(More photos of LEOPARD PLATOON 2!!!!!!!!!!!)

(My awesome buddy!!!)

(The Melvin,Melvin,Melvin, Darren,Darren, Ben,Ben team of PLATOON 2!!!!)

(This are really life long friends made! LEOPARD PLATOON 2!!! And the great memories that i will cherish with this people for life!)

Sunday, September 06, 2009

The"sort of" last week in Tekong!

It sure was pretty an exciting last week! With GAMES DAY, RECRUIT's Night and all the Graduation day rehearsals left me pretty BURNT!
Wells looking back i'm sure gonna miss all my section & platoon mates, and all the wonderful times we had together,from field camps, to trainings, to all those physical trainings and even having fun during admin times too!

Especially in our bunks! The platoon 2 ,3 v 3 soccer tournament! Where we had a make shift soccer "stadium" in our bunk! And the make shift ball that was made with a small rubber ball wrapped with newspaper, FAD gauze & black tape! And i attached a paper with all the platoon 2 soccer players signature for rememberance!

(The make shift platoon 2 ball with the signatures of the players who was part of this!)

Oh wells now preparing for my 24km route march around tekong towards my GRADUATION PARADE from BMTC on 8 Sep!!! =)