Thursday, January 25, 2007

Looking for Apartment

-September 7 2006-

dear bros and sis,

here i am again=) hope that a good 2 weeks had passed
for u guys. after i sent out d mail 2 weeks ago, some
of u replied, to my delight. haha but sorry i cant
reply all of u, cause i have no access to internet
connection, except here in my campus. which means that
i cant chat as well, since the com lab here closes at
4 pm.

anyway, i mailed today to update u guys to wat is
happening in my life so far. hmm where should i start?
.. =) if i remembered correctly, in my last email, i
told u guys abt d palace that i was staying in. em, my
sponsor, jpa was paying for d rent, which was abt rm
750. at that time, an officer told us that jpa had
signed a contract with d palace's management for one
year. but one week ago, we received news that jpa is
not paying for our rent...!!! argh well, u can imagine
our response =) there were many calls to jpa, by all
of us scholars. after all, who wouldn't want to stay
in a palace right?

after d immediate uproar had passed, all of us started
to go around looking for alternatives to our present
accomodation. at that time, i was reading a book by
bro sam fife, titled "the law of faith and how to grow
in faith".. i praise God for reading that book. i was
able to apply what i learned in that book throughout
the whole time we were looking for a house, or a room.
=) anyway, d book talked abt having absolute faith in
God, trusting that He can bring us through everything.
that we can move mountains, if we have sufficient
faith.

so, to continue d story, all of us started to really
look for rooms (in Indonesia, it's called kos). uh, it
was really hard to look for a suitable kos.. caused
many ppl sleepless nights, endless discussions and
sometimes even arguments. it was hard because we are
staying in the middle of big city jakarta.. right in
the middle. so naturally, the prices of the kos here
are really high. the good kos are really ex, ranging
from rm 500 to rm 800.. the cheap ones, ranging from
rm 200 to 450, are really terrible. i cannot even
begin to count the number of kos that i had seen.. so
very many.

before i began to look for kos with my friends, i
prayed to God. I told Him that i believe He will
provide the best for me, wherever and however it is.
and then i told God that i believed i had already
received what i asked for. praise and thank God that
throughout the whole time, while i was looking for
kos, i had peace. and while everybody were worrying
abt where to stay, i was able to maintain that joy in
me =) His abounding grace to me. Praise God!!

so one day, i was in school, in the computer lab.
there were a few seniors with me. my friends and i
were planning to go look for kos at that time, but
somehow i jus got d inspiration to ask them abt nearby
kos. they talked rapidly in their indonesian language
(unintelligible, as of now).. and then they say, "come
follow us to our house". surprised, i decided to go.
it belongs to an old catholic oma (grandma) (80 years
old) and her family. one thing led to another, and
everything went so smoothly.. now im confirmed staying
there. what i want to say is that although ppl changed
their minds so many times, for me once i saw that
place, i had peace in my heart that it is the best
place that God had provided for me. Although after
that i continued to look for kos, somehow all the
other rooms i saw did not satisfy my "spirit"... haha
=) i also got many confirmations frm God.. for
example, after my initial roommate, poh wei, decided
to stay in another place, i was in a dilemma whether
to stay there or not. d rent was Rp 1.6 mln (do the
maths urself can? jus times it by 4. abt rm640). so i
decided to go and negotiate with oma to see whether i
can reduce d price to Rp 1 ml, for my own single room.
Oma and her son didnt agree, they wanted Rp 1.2 mln
(other tenants higher rent). but somehow, after some
time, miraculously, she agreed to reduce d price to rp
1 mln. Praise God!! For that price, to get a single
room with all d facilities (aircond, unlimited
laundry,tv, huge king sized bed...) , it was
wonderful!! considered very cheap here. i really thank
God ah!! =) i really feel so blessed at that time.

so.. im staying there now. Romans 8.28 all things work
together for good, for those who love God. Im sharing
a room with poh wei, rp 800k per person. its a
reminder for me that i have to love God even more!! d
family here is so warm.. oma and her family are very
caring. i praise and thank God again, because here in
a new and foreign place i managed to find a family (or
close to one). i feel that even if i pay Rp 2 mln for
d rent, i knot buy d family that i have here. so im
thanking God again!! =)

so dear ppl, d principle and d law of faith never
fails. all it takes is just for us to trust in Him
completely, to trust in Him and believe that whatever
we asked for we have received it already. jus like
when jesus cursed d fig tree, and it died d next day.
He jus said a simple sentence, and that fig tree died.
let's have that faith in Him, a childlike faith!!
again, i praise and thank God!! =)

well, i miss u all very much. take care much bros and
sis!! May we all grow in Him everyday, till we reach
that level that He wants us to be. God loves u all,
and i love u all too!!! GBU!!

First Week in Indonesia

-August 16 2006-

Dear people,

Praise God for His leading and abounding grace. I have been here for 1 week already, and throughout this 1 week i can see that God is indeed taking much care of me. I've settled down well here. My accomodation here is amazing, similar to a hotel. I have my own bedroom, my own toilet, and best of all, it's an air conditioned room. the single bed is huge, d study table is also huge.. and i can only say Thank God!! It's far far off from my expectations. Even when I was in Singapore it wasnt this comfortable. But the rent for this place here is quite high, RM 700++. There is no news yet from JPA abt whether they will continue to pay for our lodgings. so pls do keep this thing in prayers k? i may have to move somewhere else if they do not pay for my accomodation. either way, i'll thank God.

Last sunday i managed to find a church that preaches in english. The way i found out abt d church was so smooth.. it was amazing for me. I talked to a lady in a bookstore, and she introduced me to a church called CWS (Charismatic Worship Service). When i went there, they told me abt their sister church called International CWS, somewhere in the Golden Triangle of Jakarta. So I went there for d service last sunday. I'd only been in Indonesia for 5 days, and i managed to find an english medium church. For me, i could really see that God was indeed leading me, step by step. However, i'm still looking around for a suitable church, so continue to pray for me pls!! =) thanks

other than that, everyday here is a battle. a battle to stay strong and fervent for God. here i do not have brothers and sisters to encourage me, so it is hard to not slip out of Christ and into my own life. Mixing with non-christian friends, doing my own things, talking rubbish, etc etc.. there are days when i can feel that God is just occupying a little corner of my heart. again, i want to request for prayers. =)

My first semester is going to start on September 4th. till then, im free, except for days when the international office over here organizes activities for us. i was delighted to find out 2 days ago, during orientation, that there is a christian fellowship here in my faculty. (by the way, my faculty is situated away from the main campus). although i can barely understand them when they talked in the Indonesian language, but i can still sense the unity, and to a certain extent, the life of Christ flowing out from among them. Praise God for that =)

hmm i guess that's all from me for now. do email me, and share with me what's happening in your lifes as well. God's presence and mighty strength be with you all always! God bless!!