Getting Back into the Groove

I haven't attended dancing with the aunties at church since last year because of various commitments and...sleeping in...but I decided to make an appearance again today after Rebecca said she was going.

I have to admit it was quite a workout! I was sweating by the end of it, not to mention the stitch I got from drinking too much water throughout.

There were quite a few women who turned out today, and surprisingly one guy! He must've been someone's husband. He approached me afterwards, thanking me for not making him the only guy there as he was feeling a little lonely, and said he hoped I'd come again next week! haha

While having morning tea (besides being challenged to eat wasabi covered biscuit by Rebecca), a lady came over to talk to me about getting her daughter to attend our youth group. They just arrived in NZ six months ago, and her daughter's English isn't too good yet, and so she'd like her to come to our youth group to improve her English. It looks like we'll have a new friend this Friday!

Joylynn joined us for morning tea. She didn't do dancing as she had been helping out at the kindy today. I think she's getting some experience to put on her CV.

Everyone started leaving as I played with some of the kids. Soon everyone was gone, except for Rebecca, her brother David and me, just playing some 'Guess the Logo' game on my phone. My mum had went to the hospital with a few other aunties to visit one of their friends. Rebecca's parents had bought them lunch, and kindly invited me to join them! Thanks Liao family!

Eventually my parents came back and we went home. I just crashed on the couch! All that dancing must've taken its toll on me!

Oh, and this is something we created at church today for Joanna's birthday (one of the girls at church)

In case you were wondering, the hearts are not from me. Rebecca designed this! And yes I know, I know....I got the 'J' around the wrong way!

Let's Move On

I don't really know what to think about same-sex marriages becoming legal. I understand where those for same-sex marriages are coming from and I respect that, but due to my beliefs and my background, I have to admit to feeling a little uneasy about the whole issue and debate.

To be honest, I haven't been very impressed with either side. Both have been quite hostile, attacking and denigrating each other. It hasn't been very pretty. OK, so some people are gay, but they shouldn't be bashed for that. Some people believe in God. They and their beliefs shouldn't be bashed for that either.

I favoured the option of having a referendum, where everyone would have the opportunity to have say, not just MP's, many who weren't even directly elected by us (i.e. those list MP's). When it's a conscience vote, who do these MP's represent, themselves or the people?

Congratulations to all those who won, and commiserations to those who lost. Hopefully everyone will show a bit more respect for one another from now on!

Happy (Early) Birthday Steven!

Tonight after uni my brothers joined some of the older guys from our church youth group for dinner at Hak Ka Hut Restaurant in Albany to celebrate Stephen's upcoming birthday!

We had a table at the back of the restaurant. Stephen's mum and sister were the only girls at the table. They did all the ordering, but that was fine because the food was quite nice!

We had some beans, fried to-fu, beef, fish...I'll let the photos do the talking!

Once we had finished eating, it was time to bring out the cake!

After all of us took heaps of photos of the cake, it was time to sing Happy Birthday to Stephen, and eat the cake! Let me tell you, it tasted good!

Stephen, Wei and Cham soon had to leave for a movie while the rest of us headed home. I have a presentation to prepare for tomorrow morning which I haven't...started....

Happy birthday once again, Stephen and thanks for inviting us to dinner!

Old Already?

I didn't realise Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 is already outdated..

A Good Friday

It was Good Friday today, the day we commemorate the death of Jesus Christ!

The day started off with a service in the morning. Our church choir was to perform, so we had to meet up earlier at church for a final rehearsal. When I walked in, I thought I saw Stephanie (a youth group friend) at the water cooler, and called out

"Good morning Steph.."

As she turned around, I realised it was her mum! Woops...

After we got into our gowns, we rehearsed a few parts of the song 'No Greater Love' before the bell rang and the service started.

The service started with a hymn, and the choir sang the first part of 'No Greater Love'. After, the pastor gave a sermon.

The choir sang the second part of the song, followed by the communion, and then the last part of the song.

We finished the service with some prayer. I was quite surprised at how there was quite a bit of English translation at the service today, and attendance seemed to be up on past years!

There were quite a few photographers taking photos around the place today. I think it's a sign the photography group at church are onto it!

I hope the choir sounded good though! I have to commend Ruth for playing the piano very well! The song is quite long and there's a lot to play! The soloists and Yangzi, the narrator were quite good too!

After the service, we all went to the hall for some hot cross buns. Our fellowship and a few members of the Jeshuan fellowship stayed behind for shared lunch before fellowship. Quite a few people forgot to bring food though, so those people who didn't bring anything contributed money to some extra food that Tim bought.

Aonghas, Grace and I (aka OFB) left early to do a quick practice with Joylynn and Gabrielle, who were leading worship for the combined fellowship. Aonghas was on piano, Grace on acoustic guitar and me on bass. I used over six plasters just to protect my fingers this time!

We did two songs, 'In Christ Alone' and 'Because He Lives', and we didn't actually sound too bad! Well...I hope we didn't. It did sound like everyone was singing though!

We then watched this documentary called Mama Heidi, about a lady called Heidi who had been doing missionary work in Mozambique. It was quite touching, seeing the difference she was making over there. It kinda inspires me to do something like that, but I sometimes wonder if I'd be strong enough!

Andrew, one of the guys at our church who spent three years in Taiwan and two months in Cambodia, then shared his experience with us, showing some pictures of his time in Cambodia. It was quite fascinating! He taught English there along with doing missionary work.

We finished the afternoon by sharing what we thought was the thing that caught our attention the most, and then writing a letter to Jesus/God and laying it by the large cross on stage.

This evening we've just been chilling out in front of the TV. For the first time in a long time, the whole family sat down and watched Police Academy together! Usually our dad hardly ever watches movies! It was quite nice just to do something together, as simple as that (even though my mum fell asleep halfway through it!).

To end our Good Friday, we made a late dash to Wendy's for dinner! Now that is a good Friday.

(Some photos courtesy of Anni Zhou)