... Got rejected by MOE again...

The Wedding Day
Part 2

... Yum Seng was something very common in the wedding
banquet... Our table was roped into the Yum Seng gang.
Huh!?!? How come I don't know? Never mind, it's for
bro Vin. I'll Yum my lungs out... ha ha ha.

The MC addressed to the guests to raise their Teh,
Spirt, Brandy, Red wine and Newater... Newater???
Brother, you are in Malaysia where got Newater...
later you kena stoned...

The Yum Seng gang did out 1st Yum Senging... The MC
didn't give any signal to end... I'm running out of
breath... Yum... Yum... Yum... My face turning red...
Thank God, GH took the initiative to raise his hand
and put it down... to indicated cut.

The same thing happened to the 2nd and final Yum
Seng... My heart and lung was thrown out... Gasping
for air... The champagne was sweet... with a lingering
after taste.

Affirmed GH that he did a good job in initiating the
cut signal if not I would have fainted on the stage.

Proceed on with the dinner... Mike was planning for a
sabotage for the couple. He wanted the fish tail to do
some stunts.

There were 3 bowls to cover the various fish tails.
Each of them represent different sabotage.

After finished the photo sessions, the couple as
thinking of escaping the Sabo. James and another
brother to bring them back.

Vincent was hesitated about the whole thing... but
still he was still a good sport. So what was he going
to do. Mike explained that the fish tail with garnish
is to kiss the bride's bum, the one without is to kiss
the boobs and the one with chilli is to pass the
chilli mouth to mouth.

Poor Vincent, he chose the one with chilli. He had to
place 2 red and green cut chilli on his tongue and
pass them to Amanda. He wasn't successful the 1st
time... after 2 chilli passed he dropped the rest of
them...

Boo Hoo... need to retry. The 2nd time was worse
everything dropped. Finally, the 3rd time he was able
to pass the chilli to her successfully...

It was so embrassing for the couple, nevertheless it's
a good memory for them. Mike exclaimed that it was
purely Rebekah's idea... who was innocently blamed.

"Mike how can you say that.. Now no one is going to
marry me... hmph.", protested Rebekah.

Went back to our respective table to continue our
dinner... Melody decided to changed seat with Ja and
sit next to me... She wanted to talk with me. Guess
she was very comfortable talking to me. Dun get
mistaken, she was not a potential gal in my mind...
she is just a 5years old little gal who enjoy my
company. Thank God, I appeal to both women and
children in a good sense.

I'm comfortable talking to women and children even
elderly folks. I guess God gave me a bigger heart for
these group of people.

I pray and hope that by this I will be trained to have
a bigger heart for my girlfriend to be... Wherever she
is...

Ended the dinner around 8plus closed to 9pm. Some of
them who are not stayin over in the hotel needed to
catch the coach back to S'pore.

Went the exit to congratulate the couple again...
Gracia remarked that we will be there to Sabo them
again at 2am. Huh! You sure or not Gracia... you wanna
disturb the couple again... goodness.

Walked back to our room, to chill out... took off my
tie and shirt, collapsed onto the bed. What a day!

While the rest of them was taking turns to shower... I
looked at myself in the mirror... Oh no... I'm getting
fat. Staring in disbelief... Oh no... from workout
almost everyday to becoming a one day workout freak...
it's not getting my body any where... Jia Lat. Maybe,
I should working out again religiously when I go back
to S'pore.

Hmm... maybe... maybe... maybe... ha ha ha.

After my hot shower, continued to update myself with
lastest news of the War and SARS. Still kinda of sian
of the uncertainity of the whole chaos.

10plus... received a ring at the door. Gracia, Dave
and my little good friend, Melody arrived. Shortly
after Angie and Ja arrived also.

Dave decided to go back his room to rest... a very
long day for this husband and father...

11plus we decided that we had enuff of the rumble
cubes... (forgot the spelling). Everyone was thinking
of having supper. I was only interested in having a
drink.

Hired a cab while Dave drove the 2 gals... poor Dave
need to drive us around though he was so tired. He's
really a wonderful husband... no whether Gracia chose
him... out of the many suitors.

Went to don't know what Sentosa... it's where good
seafood was served according to some of my frens. We
ordered a few dishes and shared.

My personal fav was chilli Kang Kong. Enjoyed the
fellowship... had lotsa of laughters and fun.

Headed back to the hotel to Sabo the couple... James,
Kel and I were the first to greet the couple...

Few mins after, GH and Angie went... the couple asked
whether Gracia was coming... decide to abort mission
since the couple was expecting...

Went back to our respective rooms... when Gracia
called that she wanted to honor her word to disturb
them at 2am. Hence we moved back to Vin & Amanda's
room... We decided to sing Amanda the song, Vin wasn't
able to properly to be a blessing to Amanda.

When we reached there, we pressed the bell... no
response. Hmm... we pressed again a few more times
just in case they couldn't hear the bell. Still no
response.

Started to knock and press the bell... still no
response. Goodness. Either they were sound asleep or
they refuse to open the door... continue to press the
bell non-stop. Still no response. That's not good.

Plan B. We leave Ja and Angie to press the bell while
the rest of us go back to our room to think of another
solution.

We used our room telephone to intercomm to theirs...
still no response. Vincent is determined not to give
in... We made some plans like climb over the balcony,
called the house keeping to change their bedsheets...
(2plus in the morning???), blah blah...

In the end, we decided to forget it... and allow them
to enjoy their RM1000plus suite. The next day then
maybe we would disturb them when we see them for
breakfast.

Catch a little bit of the old HK movie before we went
to our individual slumberlands. Told the guys that I
had the tentative to snore when I'm in the air
conditioned room.

No response... wah the rest of them already knocked
out. 3plus... need to catch some sleep if not I can't
wake up on time for the complimentary breakfast.

.... Woke up around 7plus... refused to get up and
tuck myself back to sleep... when I heard the phone
rung... the 9am morning call... Argh.

Spent some devotion time with the Lord... before I had
my wash up. Went down to the lounge, in my shorts and
t-shirt. My typical clothes when I go overseas... hack
care style...

Got irritated by a waiter for his rude manners... I
have this thing against Malaysian malays... they are
not in my good books compare to malays in S'pore.

They were not willing to make some re-arrangement for
the seats for the 9 of us... What kind of service is
this... Good thing it's not Singapore or else I will
lodge a complaint.

Walked over to Vincent and Amanda's table... told them
about last nite's incident. Amanda told us she din
even hear a single thing... Vincent did hear the
commotion but he was already too tired to even move
his phyiscally body... Poor guy! Must be extremely
tired the whole of yesterday.

The breakfast was quite ok only compared to the one in
Thailand... where I was eating my heart out. Decided
to take a look at their room when we finished packing
our belongings.

Close to 12pm... knocked on their room and sung Ming
Tian Wo Yao Jia Ga Ni Ma... Examine their room... it
was spacious and clean looking... a living room, a bed
room, a balcony and a bed tub with Jacuzzi... Wah so
shiok...

Stepped to the balcony... We wanted to pray for this
God united couple. James prayed for Vincent, Ja prayed
for Amanda and Gracia end the prayer...

Bid them happy honeymoon... they were going to Bali
for 4 days then to Geccee for 7 days... So shiok...

Moved back to our rooms and collected our belongings
and check out from the hotel. Headed to Holiday Plaza
to shop for some goodies for my friends back in
Merlion City.

The whole place was a pirated CD paradise.

After our lunch at KFC, we went off in separate
ways... GH, James and I took a cab to the custom...
passed the custom. Seeing the endless queue, we
decided to walked back to S'pore.

Another hot and humid journey home...

The S'pore immgration is still better than the
Malaysian... well maintained and clean.

Had my passport stamped... I'm back to S'pore liao...
Home Sweet Home

Bro. James offered to send me back by the taxi since
my house was on the way... Thanks James appreciated
your thoughtfulness.

I'm really thankful to the Lord for placing countless
people who are such a blessing to my life...

Mins later, I reached home... hot and sticky. Had a
quick shower and went out to meet my friends...

5plus...

And today is already Tuesday. How time flies... Maybe
I should take a break in the month of May.
Destination: Bintan

I'm still lacked of sleep...

... Back to work, so tired... Din have enuff sleep over the weekend. Was attending a brother's wedding in JB.

The Wedding Day
Part 1

I was out in the morning, practicing motorbike... was super novice compared to 9mths ago when I was pretty good in handle the machine. Not very skillful in maneuvering it...

While practicing the bumpy course, I lost my balance and the bike was fell to the side. It was damn heavy. No one was there to help... After much struggling, it was finally lifted up.

By the time I finished my lesson, I was rushing home to get change and meet up with bro Kel Choo to go to Malaysia. Had a quick shower and changed a set of matching formal wear.

Hired a cab and headed straight to his house... when I heard over the radio that they are still looking for the taxi driver who fetch the 4th victim who was infected with SARS.

Oops, I'm in the taxi right now.

Met Kel Choo near the entrance of Chomp chomp, for him to pick me up. Drove further down to pick up bro James. After James, hopped into the car. Received a call from GH. He brought the wrong passport... a blue Malaysia passport.
My goodness... that was no longer valid. Kel Choo and I was dumbfound by the news. Called bro Kel Tan and told him we will be late to pick him up...

"What happened!” Kel Tan exclaimed

"GH bring the wrong passport, a Malaysia passport.” Kel Choo said calmly.

"That champion...” Kel Tan said impatiently.

"Yup, that champion.",Kel Choo laughed."See you later."

I looked at my watch. We will be horribly late for the wedding. 2:50pm we were still in S'pore. The wedding ceremony will start in 10mins time. I was abit upset. I don't really like to be late especially since this was a big occasion. A brother's wedding... No choice. I can't change the fact that we were going to be late. Might as well enjoy my fellowship with the guys in the cars....

When we reached the immigration, we were discouraged by the tremendously long quene at the causeway. To add to my irritation, those Malaysia cars cut our queue by using the side road illegally. Argh!

After passing thru the Singapore immigration, we were glad that the queue didn't take longer than we expected... Then to my horrible! I saw stream coming out from the front part of the car... Oh no! the car was overheating. Kel Choo was speechless when he witnessed the sight. He drove the car to the right shoulder of the road.

There is no way, the car was going to make it to JB. He told us to take our belongings and go ahead without him. He had to give the wedding amiss... though I knew in his heart he really wanted to attend it but no choice... he sian 1/2 already.

We bid him goodbye and walked the long and humid path towards JB.

I took off my tie, the heat was killing me if I don't remove the tie... Time 3plus.

To boost the morale of the rest of them...

"Hey, at least we are early for the dinner!", I jokingly commented.

Walking with the hot and humid air blowing across my face was something I had not been doing even since I got my current job. The feeling was rather refreshing but not appealing when I was dressed with long sleeves and pants... ha ha ha...

Finally, reached the Malaysia custom. Had our passport stamped. As usual, there would be people calling you to take their taxis to whatever destination you required.

Nah... I prefer to go to a proper taxi stand.

The four of us dived into the taxi and asked the uncle to bring us to Hyatt hotel where the wedding ceremony cum dinner was held.

4plus we were incredibly late... Quickly place S$50(About RM107) to into the Ang bow. Heard the market rate for Malaysia is RM80 - RM100. If my dad hear abt this... he would say I 'loo gei'. Nevermind lah, it's a token of blessing to the newly wed.

While signing the guest book, one of the MC urged us to sign it quickly. The wedding ceremony was about to start. Praise God! I'm not late...

The ceremony commenced.

Sister Amanda was so beautiful... I sincerely believed woman will be the most when they are going to be married. There is this joy and happiness oozing out from their face.

Brother Vincent though nervous... was able to compose himself.
Pastor Chua was addressing Psalm 23 to the couple... abit weird for wedding but it was chosen by them. The main theme was the couple need to first love the Lord in order to provide and comfort each other... what a beautiful Psalm for a beautiful and God-fearing couple. Bro Vin asked his good fren from HK to translate the whole exhortation in Cantonese for the benefit of Amanda and Vincent's parents and relatives.

My first time hearing exhortation for a wedding in Cantonese. It's so interesting and new. After that, they exchanged their wedding vows. What a stressful time, thank God. Pastor Tan was there to ponder them...
Follow after they exchange their wedding rings.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I now present to you Mr. and Mrs Vincent... !", Pastor Tan announced joyfully.

Praise God bring this couple together in such love and devotion.

The MC addressed us to leave the ballroom and allow the staff to transform the ballroom into a wedding banquet.

Bro James and I check in to our room. We invited Bro GH and Kel to put their belongings into the room and take a short rest. Liked the view from outside the hotel room.

Bro James and I agreed in unison that it was a guy' thing to dump our stuffs, hit the bed and 'nuan'. Dun know whether the gals will do that oso...

Had a little small chit here and there... I actually dun mind having my wedding in JB. However, it's really very troublesome for my relatives to come over the JB for wedding.

Aiyah... if not I think I can save a bit of money... Too bad. Hey, wait a min... what make me so sure some gals out there are willing to get married to this dumb guy... ha ha ha.

Daydreaming again!

5plus... waited for bro James to change to his formal wear before we revisited the ballroom for our dinner. Checked for my table no. and searched for my table. Table 25. The creative arts table. All the former cast in the musical in the same table.

Thanks bro Vincent for making such an arrangement.

Before the dinner commenced, there was a short video clip on how Vincent courted Amanda. It was hilarious. There was this part where Vin was running up and down... forwards and backwards... looking high and low for the ONE. Then there is a slow motion of his head turning and he found Amanda... Both of them looking intently at each other... Oh so sweet!

Then there was this guy interviewing Vin... it turn out Vin is playing a third person interview himself...
Vin, on the right interviews Vin, on the left. Really interesting... The end of it... "Mike Production"
which was my director for the last musical. Praise God for this man for his creative!

Hmm... I know who I will approach for the my wedding cameraman. Requested that he give a discount when it's my turn to get married.

Daydreaming again...

The starting of the first dish was entertaining... the waiter and waitress came in with heart shaped balloons led by 2 waiters who carried 2 fire torches... The theme song for British Airline... when they lined up in a straight row in front of the VIP table. They released the balloons... wah so romantic.

The dinner had begun...

After a few dishes, the MC wanted Vin to sing Amanda. One of her favorite song which happen to be the most common song in wedding by Emil "Ming Tian Wo Yao Jia Ga Ni Ma". Though Vin can sing well he wasn't able to remember the lyrics.

The MC wasn't going to give up. Another of her favorite song. It was by Teresa "The moon represent my heart" literally translated.

Good thing, Vin was able to remember the lyrics and sung so well that he was spared.
To be continued...

... Wrote an email out on Friday nite after my Praise and Pray time...
Make some amendments in case some names ought to be seen in the email...

------------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------------------

Dear all,

Just came back from this month Praise and Pray nite. by my church. Actually we already had our day of Prayer. the pastoral staff decided to have the last min Praise and Pray in view of the current chaos both in Iraq and many parts of the world, including Singapore especially.

Most of you have one way or another had been affected by the news of the SARS. It had claimed the lives of 2 individuals. many are still receiving treatments. Many parents are tremendously worried. Many were concerned. Leading to the closure of school from primary to JC level. there is still uproar in the higher institutions on how come they are not subjected to the closure.

Personally, my heart was already heavily burdened to know that war had taken many innocent lives. I thanked God for my CGL(Covenant Group Leader) decided to cancelled the Bible Study to a time of intercession for the war.

During the prayer, one of our members mention something about us humbling ourselves. immediately we knew what he was talking about. we searched quickly for the scriptures.

2 Chronicles 7:13-14
13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

We were reminded to humble ourselves and turn and pray for the people.
Thus, we worship God with songs and prayers. and ended with our hearts lifted up by the Lord.

Almost one week had passed, when I met Wee Leong(My Man to Man leader). We were doing some spiritual gift test. After discovering my gifts. he share from 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. The reason why we have the war and this virus.

He shared that we need to humble ourselves and turn from our wicked ways. we ended the sessions by praying for the war and SARS.

Friday, which is today, went for the P and P. Pastor Tony shared about 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. Praise the Lord. it's the 3 time, I come across from different individual about these verses. God is really teaching me something. not only me. but to the church as well.

We need to
1. Pray in Humbleness
2. Pray in Holiness
3. Pray in Hopefulness

Through the time of prayer, I realised that I was and am guilty of taking God for granted. I am like the Israel mentioned in the book of Hosea or the book of Amos. Continuously, sinning against God. attracting God's wrath and judgment.

I pray that many of us, Christians will start to take God seriously. God had indeed blessed S'pore with so many blessings, which we had started to get complacent.

I want to looked beyond this unholy trinity of the I, ME and MYSELF mindset.and Pray in Humbleness, Pray in Holiness and Pray in Hopefulness. would you join with me in prayer for the our nation and the world.

Pastor Simon Loh, had sent the example. He died in his duty of service. He was so eagerly praying for the Mok family that to he was contacted with the virus. hence, he was called home to be with the Lord.

Please do remember to pray for his wife Lorenza that she will still clung onto the Lord. Let not the angst or pain which she is experiencing when Pastor Simon left her and children. Please pray for the children too.

My church had did a love offering to support the family financially. though know may not aid them on the financial part. you can still aid them in prayer.

Oops, I realised that I am very long-winded tonight. Rarely, do I take time to sit down and pin down my thoughts in the format of email.

Just wanna to share that I'm learning to allow God to mould me to be a man running after His heart to yield to His calling. I want to start surrendering my life afresh and experience His loving goodness.

Let us be prayerful to those who are around us even the stranger sitting next to you.

p/p/s: Apologizes for sending out mass emails... really dun have time to separate to different mailing list. It's close to 2am in the morning... my eyes are heavy. Blessed morning!!!

In His partnership,

Raymond

I think it's really meaning to me personally... decided to post it over my journal to keep it in case my harddisk crashed...