A Passion For Truth Part 2

Please note, the "A Passion For Truth" series of posts are meant to be a sequel to the "Why Are They All Leaving?" series.

In the "Why Are They All Leaving" series, I gave my own views on why so many people left BEC. One reason is due to them not being able to get along with LH, and the other is due to tactless remarks passed by you-know-who.

If you wish to view those posts, you can do so by clicking on the "March 2006" link under the Archives section on my left sidebar.

In the preceding posts, I mentioned about Kelvin's case in making my point about you-know-who always being negative when he's supposed to be encouraging. Kelvin got a telling-off just because he didn't come for JY on Saturday due to work commitments. Yet Kelvin is a lot more regular compared to other youths, but he's taken for granted. No one who demanded his 100% commitment has ever praised him for being so regular, but miss one JY session and he's given an earful. They don't seem to see that Kelvin is hardworking in the sense that he chose to work during the holidays instead of slacking away at home. No, they just choose to be sore about Kelvin not turning up.

Today, I'm going to highlight another case of negativism in BEC. Thomas and Irene shared their feelings about you-know-what with me last year or so. I will not reveal the confidential parts of our conversation, but I can tell you that they were not happy about not being taken seriously during youth meetings. Why on earth one would want Thomas and Irene, or anyone else involved in meetings when one wants the final say in everything is totally beyond me.

Let me put it quite simply - since you wanna poke your nose into everything, you might as well do them all by yourself.

Besides, you-know-who would criticise Thomas publicly during sunday school as well, accusing him of not being as strong in faith as he should be, or not striving to fulfill God's Mission, and whatever. My goodness, does "teaching" require one to embarrass a fellow worker like that? He's always not contented with what others are doing anyway. Nothing's ever enough for him. Yet Thomas and Irene are faithfully running their own school in Batam today.

Even during Chinese New Year at you-know-who's home, Irene got a ticking off just because she asked for two oranges in exchange for the ones she gave as per Chinese customs. Okay maybe you think she should not have asked, but that's your opinion. I don't think there's a need to be so harsh. So, it's always good to speak the "truth" without ever needing to be tactful ya? No need for sugar coating, even if it means givin someone an earful which lands her in tears?

I don't know. Maybe I'm just more humane than you. I feel respect should be mutual, not an one way traffic from young to old. Maybe you think you're old, so you're great and the whole world should respect you. I don't know. But I'm thinking, so what?

And if you like and insist on being blunt, then don't start to whine when people leave because they are unhappy with your bluntness.

In addition, I have something to add in accordance with Rachel Tan's latest post. Leaving BEC does not mean we have been led astray, or worse, that we have gone to the "unholy side". Such comments are what I expect from kids who have no idea what it means to respect the decisions of others. BEC is NOT the only "holy side". And BEC is NOT the only church.

Leaving means we're going to somewhere that suits us better, and which is no less a church compared to BEC. Please don't be narrow minded.

Don't use words such as "betray" and "loyalty" or convince those who have wanted to leave a long time now to continue staying. They are fed up. Fed up of all this negativity, fed up of all this old fashioned mindset, fed up with the autocratic ways. I think loyalty and blind loyalty are two different things altogether. Please look at yourselves before you cry about others betraying you.

Lastly, thank you, but don't worry about how we will not have any chance to serve in mega churches, or pass indirect remarks about how you're so jealous about people flocking to mega churches when your beloved church is decreasing in numbers. You see, they are a lot more positive, encouraging and tactful compared to BEC. That for me, at least, is why I go there.

Times Of Jibberish

You know, my Mum came back on Sunday and told me someone had asked if I left BEC for a new church because "God called me to". I don't see the need to answer that question, seriously. Cause even if I say I did, they will say I must have mistook the voice. You know what I mean.

On a lighter note, I decided to compile some of your replies to my nonsensical jibberish SMSes. Yea, I keep them. Hahaha. All my friends know I do that quite often but I can assure you I only resort to such measures when I'm absolutely BORED.

I know it's lame and stuff, but when you're bored these replies can really get you laughing. You know, these very confused, blur replies to my incoherent messages.

So here we go.

Rachel Tan: Excuse me? -_-
Rachel Tan: I don't understand what are you trying to say.
Aunt Shirley: Does it make sense or just utter rubbish? But anyway it sounds nice after reading it out.
Uncle Denard: Huh?
Yong Qiang: Huh?
Emily: Wat you talking? Come my house?
Yong Cheng: ?
Nazryn: Aiyor. What the hell?
Fabian: .. What la?
Fabian: **** ***. You is it ORD already then f***ing free? Knn.. always send me this type of f***ing message?
Shao Xia: What the f*** you talking about lol..
Kenneth: -.-" What thing work?
Kenneth: Ni fa feng tian wang!
Sherlyn: Make what thing work..
Jason: You serious. Balls to you. You lost and sorry.. Lol.. That wont ever happen.
Jason: Balls to you lahz. Talking rubbish again.
Jocelyn: Huh? What thing? Did you send the sms to the wrong person?
Kelvin: Huh?? What talking you?? You sent to the wrong person izzit??
Mark: 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and so on..

LOL.

SPL#1 - Beijing Trip (4-11Mar 06) Compilation+Photos

Here's a compilation of day-to-day commentaries and photos of my Beijing holiday trip, dated 4-11 March 2006. Plus more photos!! Have fun browsing.

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

DAY 5

DAY 6

DAY 7&8

Dad, chopsticks are meant for eating, not poking purposes!


Just to prove my point, look at how steep it is


The world below us...


Ba Si Ping Guo


Entrance to Summer Palace


Statute of....... hellish proportions?


This is a lake, and its frozen (DUH!)


Pagoda Summer Palace? Whatever...


Boat services will resume this summer, hopefully


Some teahouse


I thought we were well above sea level?!


Side view of Tiananmen Square


Tiananmen Square by day


The point of this picture is not only in the trees


Hello, what were you thinking? No joss paper please


Love the sunset bla bla bla hill...


Moral of the story: you may be lonely when you grow old


Soldier's armor


Resting place, maybe mating place for Emperors


Typical couple's petty squabbles


Rise of the two-boaters.. Hahaha..


Ooooh I'm so enchanted by your voice


The KTV room


Xia and his apartment

A Passion For Truth

Disclaimer: This post requires the reader to be involved in a high level of thinking. If you do not possess this capability, do not even attempt to continue. Thank you for your kind attention.

In my previous post, I thanked all my leaders in BEC and everyone who have given me constructive feedback about my earlier series of posts entitled “Why Are They All Leaving?”. This time, I will be replying to a very select bunch of people who have made personal and non-constructive remarks about me. Not many such people though I must say, only maybe 2 or 3.

Notice I am not speaking to anybody in particular here. To decide whether I’m speaking to you, you would probably have to dig deep into your own conscience and examine what you may have said to me over the past week. LOL. These personal remarks I am about to make are directed at people who made personal, non-constructive remarks about what I had written in my posts over the past week. Yeah, this post is dedicated to YOU. Enjoy.

1. I’m not saying that I’m perfect. I am only human. I have my flaws as well. I guess the difference between us is that I dare to admit my flaws. Dare you?

2. I don’t believe that I need to be perfect to comment on others. Else the world will be void of movie critics, political commentators, feedback units, and everything that brings growth to the community, to service and quality standards. I have every right to express my views on the current issue in BEC even though I may not be perfect, as long as I’m not defaming anybody. Now let’s see what can you do about it.

3. Take note that Kelvin’s case, whereby he was given a lecture when he decided to work overtime on a Saturday at the expense of turning up at JY, is NOT an example of truth. That is, the lecture accorded him is not a lecture based on truth or facts, merely an expression of opinion that Kelvin should have attended JY at the expense of his job. Therefore, since it was merely an opinion, Kelvin is much less obliged to heed it, as he would a statement of truth. Kelvin didn’t deserve an earful because he had the right to choose whether to work or to attend JY. My gosh, do you really need the extra intelligence to distinguish between facts and opinions?

4. Pastor has the right to express his opinions. But just as he has the right to express his opinions, I also have the right to disagree with these opinions and give my fair opinion on why people are leaving BEC. People who left also have the right to leave if they are unhappy with the comments he made. This is the freedom of speech. You also have the right to agree or disagree with my opinions, just as long you do not resort to name-calling.

5. Those remarks I had made about BEC are based on my truthful, honest opinions. Nobody incited me to do what I did. I do not gain anything by lying about these things.

SPL#1 - Beijing Trip (4-11Mar 06) Day 7&8

DAY 7

Erm the first thing on my mind today?

I have to go home tomorrow. Zzz… I mean, home isn’t bad but I wished I could take the weather back with me, at least!

The road to freedom?

I went to visit the Palace Museum, otherwise known as Gu Gong in Chinese in the morning. There were plenty of ancient artifacts on display. I don’t know how to describe them - you take a look for yourselves. I took quite a bit of photos here as well, and talking about photos, I saw people taking photos in emperor robes. LOL. Exactly what I experienced while visiting Summer Palace, only that the queue here was a lot longer. I’m glad I took the photos then man!

The Palace Museum

Ancient literature

Ancient wares

After exploring the museum until about 1pm, I realized that firstly, it was time for lunch and that secondly, I would have to walk out the way I came in from. There were no other exits. Walking is absolutely enjoyable in this weather, but I think I’d die if this was Singapore.

I wonder if it's still sharp.. Hmm..

So you wish you were an emperor... Does that really look comfortable to you??

I took a cab to meet Xia for lunch. We were going to have Ba Xi Kao Rou for lunch. That’s BBQ meat from Brazil, simply translated. And it was a fantastic lunch, a wide spread at a low cost. After lunch, I took a cab back to the hotel and Xia went to meet his father at the hospital. Don’t be mistaken when I say “after lunch”, because it was already almost 4 when I arrived at the hotel.

I took a short nap until about 6pm, when I was awakened by a call from Xia. His two friends, Hao Li and Du Ying have arrived at the hotel I was staying at. And so has he. We’re going to the KTV lounge tonight, and it’s gonna be a time of cost-free entertainment! Free because Xia’s father knows one of the big bosses working at the KTV.

Childhood friends (from left): Du Ying, Shao Xia & Hao Li

We sang until about 11pm and then went our separate ways. And the last thing on my mind before I went to bed? Gotta go home tomorrow!


DAY 8

Woke up at around 8am, checked out of the hotel at around 9am, then took a cab to Xia’s residence. Kept my luggage at his home and then went down to do some last minute shopping. Bought a lot of snacks. And DVDs.

Returned to Xia’s home thereafter to have lunch prepared by his mother. His mother is a damn good cook man, haha! Then I went downstairs to enjoy the cold breeze once more. I still had some time on my hands before I had to leave to the airport. Flight’s at 3.25pm. And guess what, it snowed!! How cool is that! This is the first time I’ve seen snow in my entire life. Lol.

A snowin' good time

Then it was time to leave. Xia’s father drove me to the airport. Like they say, the rest is history.

SPL#1 - Beijing Trip (4-11Mar 06) Day 6

Time for Xia to take a break after entertaining me for five consecutive days. It’s free and easy day today!

I decided that I would explore the city today and enjoy the simple pleasures in having the cold wind blow in my face. There’s this awful realization that I would be going back in two days, and I wanted to enjoy the weather there as much as I could. I always welcome cold weather, after being roasted all these years under Singapore’s hot and humid climate.

Gloomy mood, gloomy skies.. Time to go home soon

I went to the Hong Kong restaurant downstairs at 11am for a meal. I thought they would serve tim sum since it’s a HK restaurant but I was wrong. Ended up ordering two dishes which looked good on the menu, but tasted like s***. Imagine cuttlefish ‘you tiao’ dressed with a weird mix of mayo and whatever that Japanese chilli’s called. Don’t think I would end up in this predicament if Xia was with me, heh.

In the afternoon, I explored the city on foot. And I do mean aimless wandering. There’s nothing scenic, but just like I said all I wanted to do was enjoy the weather. I walked continuously until about 6pm or so, then took a cab back to my hotel.

Here's my laptop, home to my daily staple of DVD watching

Bought Yang Zhou fried rice and mushroom omelette for dinner. And as usual there’s the DVDs to go along with. Food plus entertainment can never go wrong. I watched Brokeback Mountain tonight, and I was like laughing my ass off. Seeing the actors kiss each other is the sickest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Anyway if ‘love is a force of nature’, I think it can be said my love for cold weather is a force of nature, too. :p

Thank You Everyone :)

So I've heard that my blog has become the talk of the town in BEC recently, eh?

Well, first of all I want to thank each and every one of you for reading my blog. I feel very honoured by the fact you visit my blog. I treat blogging as a hobby, and I think it's a great way to release my emotions because I'm not the type who is contented with having feelings well up inside me without letting go.

It seems like word has gotten around really fast. I must say that I didn't mean to make matters this big. My blog has always been some kind of personal diary I use to express my opinions about the things happening around me.

I would also like to thank the people who have given me constructive feedback about what I have written. I appreciate your advice and encouragement. The posts entitled "Why They Are All Leaving?" may not be available on the main page due to me writing in excess of 10 posts this month. However, if you wish to view these posts, you can still do so by clicking on the "March 2006" link under the Archives section on my left sidebar.

I guess what some of you say is true. It's time for me to move on and not dwell on whatever happened in the past. Now that I have already let go of my feelings, let them be gone. Despite of what I have written, I do not hate or blame anybody. I just want to forget the past now and look forward to the future.

I have chosen to move on to another church as well to be exposed to a new environment. To all who have reservations about this, I hope you respect my decision as I have my reasons for doing so.

Lastly, I want to thank all the leaders who have been in charge of me all these years while I was in BEC.

John, I thank you for being so patient with me. You are one heck of a youth leader. I like the way you are so practical about things and I also like you for the fact you know how to respect the decision of others. You're certainly somebody I can relate to easily and I enjoy talking with you. Always.

Doreen and Uncle Jeremy, thank you for having me in the choir even though I may not be the best singer around. I hope the choir continues to improve and reach greater heights. Last but not least, I also want to thank Uncle Wee Ming, my communicant class leader, for his concern by smsing me whenever I am not around. Lol.

I wish BEC and each and every one of you the best in your future undertakings. Carry on the good work, Pastor Peter and Elder James. And please continue to visit my blog. Lol.

SPL#1 - Beijing Trip (4-11Mar 06) Day 5

Shopping day!!! Took a cab to Silk Market, otherwise known as Xiu Shui Jie, in a trip that cost RMB$29. The silk market is only a three minute walk away from Xia’s home so we thought it would make better sense to make my way there myself instead of having them fetch me at my hotel. Since Xia’s mother was not working today, she accompanied the both of us on this shopping spree. And boy, did she have some tricks up her sleeve!

Here’s how she bargained on our behalf. First, the shop dealers come up with an exorbitant asking price, say maybe RMB300. Which is 400-500% above cost price. Then, Xia’s mum bargains and tells the shop dealers the product should cost no more than RMB80, for example. Next the shop dealers will say that the price quoted is too low, and make a series of counter-offers. Xia’s mum will then walk away, and would you believe it…

They would grab us by the sleeve and prevent us from leaving the shop. Serious. And tell us we can have it for the price we quoted. In the end a deal is always in the offing, no matter how they had vehemently opposed our quotation in the first place.

Courtesy of Xia’s mum, I was able to buy several jeans, pants, t-shirts and a sweater at great bargains. A pair of jeans only cost me RMB200, when the initial asking price was RMB380. A t-shirt which cost RMB180 went for only RMB70.

No, I didn't buy the beds

I can already hear you asking, are the stuffs sold original goods? Surely original goods wouldn’t be so cheap right? Well most of them are rejected original goods. That’s why they are cheap.

After we were done with the Silk Market, we took a bus to Ya Xiu market. It’s similar to Xiu Shui, and the only difference is that they are two bus stops apart. Did some shopping there as well, though I was quite disappointed I could not find any Levi’s jeans of my kind.

:(

Soon the shopping spree was over, and we went for lunch at KFC! Cheaper than SG too! Next we took a bus back to Xia’s home to get the car, and drove to the hospital to meet his father and friends. There was a massive traffic jam, and it took us more than an hour to get there. From there we set off to Zhang Shuo’s parents’ eating house.

Zhang Shuo, one of Xia’s father’s colleagues, had invited us to his parents’ eating house for dinner. Lots of fishes for dinner tonight, all made in different styles. I wonder why, but the fishes they cooked had no fishy smell, unlike what we sometimes experience when eating fishes at home. The fishes served tonight were great. Very fresh.

To go along with dinner was a bottle of Chivas Regal and some beer. And for some entertainment they had this very cute pet we enjoyed playing with. Heard it’s some kind of cross breed between a Chow Chow and something else. It looks a bit like a dog, a bit like a cat, and a bit like a bear. Didn’t bring my camera along so didn’t manage to take a picture of it :(

And sleep is always welcome after such a long day

SPL#1 - Beijing Trip (4-11Mar 06) Day 4

Gonna visit Summer Palace, otherwise known as Yi He Yuan in Chinese today. Xia met me at the hotel at 10+am, drove to the hospital where his father was working, and handed him the car keys. We would be taking public transport to Summer Palace later. Presumably his father must have needed the car.

So anyway we decided to take bus number 320 to Summer Palace. And trust me, their bus services are far worse than Singapore’s. Almost every bus that passed was packed to the very maximum. And it wasn’t even peak hour. I can imagine having to fight my way up buses every day of my life. That would be unbearable - I hate being in crowded places. When our bus finally arrived, it was expectedly crowded as well. We boarded the bus and started hoping such a crowded bus would not give rise to the possibility of pick pocketing. After an hour’s ride, we finally arrived at the popular tourist destination.

So here we are!

And it can be crowded...

But don't ask me why this section is so empty

It was past 1pm when we arrived at Summer Palace. Originally, it was Emperor Qianlong who ordered the building of Yi He Yuan during his tenure as Emperor, and summoned skillful, ingenious artisans from all over the country to carry out this construction work in honor of his mother's birthday. However, it was destroyed by Anglo-French allied forces in 1860. Several rebuilding works were carried out since then, and Summer Palace of today is more or less the same as the palace rebuilt in 1903.

And the rebuilding doesn't stop there...

We bought entrance tickets, and then tried to find a place to dine as we had not had our breakfast, and were starving. There were several stalls near the entrance selling tidbits and cup noodles, but what we needed was proper, cooked food! After wandering aimlessly for some time, we managed to locate a restaurant selling delicacies emperors of old used to enjoy. But this didn’t come cheap - the set meal cost us RMB300 altogether.

Hmm so the emperors of old survived on these

A closer look at some of the dishes

After lunch, we continued our exploration of this unique place. It must have been the most scenic attraction I’d been to during this trip, and it was also the place where I took the most photos. About 50 of my 150 photos were captured here. I also managed to dress myself up in emperor robes - but this came at a cost obviously!

Ya ya okay, I know. Now stop laughing already!!

Climbed up a hill and was rewarded with wonderful scenery, overlooking the entire Summer Palace and its surroundings. Whenever tired, we would find benches to rest on and enjoy having the lovely cold breeze blow in our faces. We did not buy entrance tickets to Suzhou Street, so we boarded separate cabs home after further strolling around for some time.

A paranomic view of the surroundings

It was 5pm+ when I arrived at the hotel. Packeted two of my favourite dishes “Tang Chu Li Ji” and “Jing Jiang Rou Si” for dinner. Then, as I enjoyed the food in my hotel room, I watched the DvDs that I had bought the other night. This was the ultimate enjoyment. Good food to go along with great movies. What more can one ask for?

Why Are They All Leaving? The Finale

There are two main reasons why many members are leaving BEC. In my previous posts, I have touched on the first reason. Now I will state the second reason.

Sorry if I come across as complaining. I am not. The only purpose of these posts is to highlight the real reasons behind people leaving BEC. I just don't want people to feel that the departed members "mistook the devil's voice for the Lord's voice". They did not. The true reasons for their departure, according to my investigation and analysis are as follows:

Firstly, some members departed because certain remarks passed by some of the leaders are so needless, tactless and hurtful. These leaders have high expectations of others but are stingy in their encouragement. Week in, week out all they hear are negative remarks although they are making the effort to improve. It is as if they owed them a living. But they don't. Refer to my previous posts if you want to know more.

Secondly, many members departed because of Leng Hong. They cannot get along with her due to her attitude and the way she goes about doing things. This is what I am going to touch on.

Here are some REAL examples... You judge for yourselves...

Example No. 1

Pastor Peter and LH were paired up to do some work. LH had suggested that they meet at a place, but Pastor Peter was not sure where that place was. Therefore, he suggested to her...

Pastor Peter: Why don't you pick me up at my house instead?

LH: Petrol very expensive leh, heh heh.

Pastor Peter: I'll pay for the petrol then.



Example No. 2

LH offers to drive a mandarin service member, Jon, my mum, dad and sis home after Wed prayer meeting. The mandarin service member sat in the front seat while the rest of them sat in the back seat. Here's what she said after they all got into her car:

LH: Only 3 people can sit at the back leh, heh heh.

Why even offer to drive them home if you're so unhappy and unwilling to?



Example No. 3

This is what I experienced, first hand. LH's recruiting new tutors for year 2006, and she conveniently enters MY name into her tuition programme (to help give tuition on Saturdays) without even asking me if I wanted to involve myself in the tution ministry.



Example No. 4

Poor Lucy. She's suffering so much from her health problems already, and yet has to tolerate with LH at work. This is what happened last Friday.

LH: Lucy ah, how come the accounts are done this way?

Lucy: I asked Pastor about it already, and he wants me to continue doing it the old way. (The way Uncle Kim Yeow had been doing it)

LH, unsatisfied, continues questioning and pressing Lucy. She wants the accounting to be done her way but doesn't want to ask Pastor if it can be done that way. She wants to use Lucy as a scapegoat, but obviously Lucy isn't so stupid. They end up quarelling, because LH raises her voice at Lucy. Lucy is angry and raises her voice as well. LH then complains to Pastor later, saying that Lucy had raised her voice against her. Lucy hears it and defends herself.

Lucy: If you can raise your voice, why can't I raise my voice? What's the difference?



Example No. 5

Uncle Jeremy, Jon and my dad were having a meal at the coffeeshop outside of BEC just before the mandarin service commenced. Jon and my dad are planning the evening's activities. All of a sudden, LH pops out and told my dad...

LH: I thought/heard you are staying for the mandarin service?

Dad: Since when did I say I was going to stay for the mandarin service?

I mean, what would people think of my dad if she had told others that my father was going to turn up for the mandarin service, and then they realized that my father had gone out instead? My father never said he was going to stay for the mandarin service. Not that he has stayed back before, anyway.

Why Are They All Leaving? Part 3

So turning up late for overseas trips, having someone pay for your air tickets and then playing hard to get when he tries to contact you later on to claim the sum he had paid earlier on your behalf is what you consider to be mature? Or even the act of taking countless numbers of MCs while working at Pastor's office. Is that what you would expect of any matured person? I'm not highlighting these things to condemn you, but to remind you to speak for yourselves.

And what's like so great about you hearing others passing loads of comments about me? I also heard others passing loads of comments about YOU.

I must remind you that respect is mutual, and that if somebody cannot respect the decisions of others then he himself should not expect, or deserve any respect in return. I don't know how you came to conclude that I discredited his name with my comments because all I have done is highlight the problem. Besides, if there's anyone who got his/her name discredited, I guess it must be those who had left because people were painting a false picture of them "mistaking the devil's voice for the Lord's voice" behind their backs. And that I feel is very unfair to them, since some left due to totally different reasons.

I agree he has good intentions even though he is harsh, and there are people who respond positively to this harshness. Unfortunately, one cannot apply a single method to meet every situation because the same method does not work for everyone. Harshness may work for some, but it may not work for others.

Therefore, if members start leaving because of his harshness and tactlessness, it can be no fault of theirs that he refuses to change his negative, rough-tough attitude. It is the inability to relate to them in an appropriate manner which has caused them to leave. Remember, good teachings made in the wrong manner may still have a negative impact.

I mentioned that we cannot accept his teachings. And so? What are you trying to prove? His ways are indeed old fashioned and they are not something youths would adhere to readily. And that's a fact.

And always see things from the "lower" point of view. He has incredibly high expectations of everyone but not everyone is spiritually matured enough to meet these expectations without a hiss or fuss. Should anyone fail to meet these high expectations occasionally, it is only normal. I don't believe they deserve an earful. No one owes him a living.

Lastly, please check the dictionary for the definition of slander before using it because I ain't slandering anybody here. All I have done is analyse the situation from an independent, honest point of view, and echoing the thoughts of some of the departing members as the basis for my arguments. Don't make any more of a fool out of yourself than you already are by accusing me of slander.

SPL#1 - Beijing Trip (4-11Mar 06) Day 3

Time seems to fly when I’m enjoying myself. It’s my third day here already.

Don’t quite need to wake up too early today as the first event for the day was to meet Xia & his dad for lunch. I woke up at 8am nevertheless, took a bath and went downstairs for a buffet breakfast. And yes, of course, I recharged the batteries which went dead on me last night.

Xia met me at the hotel at 10.30am or so, and we drove to the hospital where his dad was working. Met his dad’s colleagues and acquaintances for the first time, discussed about how life in Singapore was different to life in Beijing and went for lunch together. For the first time in my life, I saw a cooked cow’s nose in front of me. Ewww.. I wondered how it must have tasted although I did not dare try.

Eeeeks.. How could anybody eat that?

After lunch, Xia drove me back to the hotel since he had a dental appointment. I wanted to not waste time and go for a haircut while waiting for Xia to be done with his dental appointment. However, the hotel’s hairstylist gave me the “35-cents face” and I decided maybe going for a haircut wasn’t the best idea afterall. So I went back to my hotel room and napped until 3pm or so when I was awakened by a phone call.

It was Xia. He had finished his dental checkup and was going to bring me to a Sim Lim type shopping complex - lots of hardware, software and games for sale at competitive prices. An original game can go for as cheap as SGD$10 here. I bought some DVDs, games and a Phillips headphone. It cost only SGD$40, but could easily cost SGD$100 in Singapore. Cheap stuff.

We went to some random nearby restaurant for dinner. Ordered 5 dishes, (yes you heard it right, 5 dishes for the 2 of us, lol!!) 3 of which were so absolutely fantastic I will never forget their names. Everything only cost less than a hundred yuan, which works out to be less than SGD$10 per pax. Cheap right!! Only disappointing part was the games I had bought, because some of them were not workable when I tested them out later on my laptop.

Stop staring! Refusing to eat doesn't mean you don't have to pay! :p

Why Are They All Leaving? Part 2

Maybe I wasn't precise enough in my previous post entitled "Why Are They All Leaving?", so I shall be more straightforward this time.

These are the issues I would like to raise:

1. I did not specifically blog about what Kelvin is going through. I am only citing his case as an example of how certain people in BEC are negative-minded when they should be encouraging one another. I would call them pessimists. Has anyone who demanded Kelvin's 100% commitment ever praised him for being a regular? I don't think so. But behold, one absence due to work commitments and he's given a lecture. A better way of highlighting this issue to Kelvin would be something like, "Dear Kelvin, I know you've been very consistent for JY. Keep up the good work. Don't let your job affect your good work." Now isn't that more tactful?

2. Look at the way most guest speakers encourage our congregation. And then compare the way they talk to the way some of our leaders talk. Totally different man! One's encouraging and positive; the other negative and stiff. How on earth some think they would be able to encourage others to grow in spiritual maturity by being negative is totally beyond me.

3. Kelvin does not owe anyone a living. If he has to work, or chooses to work on a Saturday at the expense of JY, so be it. Whether or not he has been taking leave frequently is not the point. If he so wishes to work on Saturdays to compensate for the times he has not been around, it is his choice. Nobody has the right to question or lecture him about it. Period.

4. If there is any chance my previous post will "lead people away from Christian fellowship", I think there is an immensely greater chance that a lot more have already been conned into thinking that the fault must lie with those who left, because they "mistook the devil's voice for the Lord's voice". This, however, is not true since I've heard some state the true reasons behind their departure. Like I've already mentioned, this is because certain remarks passed by some of the leaders are so needless, tactless and hurtful. I think we will do well to consider the real problem rather than deceive ourselves into thinking it's due to another reason altogether.

Still don't get it?

SPL#1 - Beijing Trip (4-11Mar 06) Day 2

Woke up really early today. Like 6.30am. This was so we could avoid the peak hour traffic. Xia & family picked me up at the hotel at 7am, and off we were to the Great Wall. It was a 1hr+ drive from the hotel to the Great Wall at Badaling. There’s nothing much to see though in springtime, as the hills’ grasses are still bald. According to Xia’s parents, it would be better to visit the Great Wall in autumn, as that would be when the surroundings' at its most scenic. It was extremely cold today, and especially so after I had gone to wash my hands in the toilet, since it felt like taking water out of the fridge and pouring it onto your bare hands on a winter’s night.

The Great Wall at Ba Da Ling

It just goes on and on and on...

Some parts of the Great Wall were really steep climbs, but climbing was just the easy part. The wonderful part is when you’ve climbed all you wanted to, and decide to make your way back down. For those afraid of heights, climbing too far up is certainly something you don’t want to do.

When we were finally done with the picture taking and climbing, we got back to the car and drove to Dalian Seafood Restaurant for lunch. It was another 1hr+ drive, another feast when we got there, and another beer drinking session. The fish dumplings were great stuff - the meat was so tender and juicy. Simply yummy. There were leftovers, as usual, and Xia’s parents had the remaining food packeted.

Now that's what you call a feast!

After lunch, they drove me back to the hotel and told me to entertain myself with the DvDs I had bought the night before while they went to visit Xia’s grandmother. They would pick me up again in the evening, to meet two of Xia’s childhood friends at Tiananmen Square. After taking some photos (Not that we spent too much time doing that anyway, since my camera’s battery went flat!!) we took the subway train to a shopping complex one station away for dinner.

Tiananmen Square by night

The shopping mall we went to was quite similar to the ones we have in Singapore. According to Xia’s friends, this is the case for most of Beijing’s shopping malls. After dinner, we went snack shopping before I headed back to the hotel in a cab.