Bear Cave

Name: Ling Hui Xi, Joyanne
Gender: F
Birthday: 22 April 2009
Weight: 2.900kg
Height: 49cm

Sleeping soundly:)

21 April 2009
3am Pam experiences contractions
4am Some bleeding when going to the toilet (NB:Pam had no bleeding when she had J9)
4+am Start packing to go to Thomson Medical Centre (TMC)
7am Pam’s parents arrive
8.30am Pam’s parents drive J9 to school then drive Pam and I to TMC
10+am 1.5cm dilation. Pam is given the choice to stay at TMC or go home first. Nurse estimates that child would be born that night or the following morning.
11+am Pam’s mum picks us from TMC and we go to J9’s school to pick her up.
(Contractions continue to increase throughout. We were told, however, that only when the water bag bursts, contractions are painful to the point whereby pain killers are needed or when bleeding occurs such that half a pad is soaked in blood, it is time to go back to the hospital.)

22 April 2009
12am Pam is unable to rest the whole night due to contractions
4+am We get ready to go TMC
5am Check in to TMC
5am 4-5cm dilation
6am Pam gets her epidural (A nurse calls it ‘happy-dural:)
8.30am Dr Tan bursts Pam’s water bag and set up drip to regulate contractions
10:33am With 2 good pushes, Joyanne is born!

Thanksgiving 1: Thank God for the smooth delivery.
Bold request: Pray that Joyanne will not even have a hint of Jaundice.
(It is said though that babies born early get Jaundice as their livers are not fully developed. Joyanne was born 2 weeks early - birthday supposed to be 6 May 09).
Thanksgiving 2: For loved ones who have showered us with their prayers and love.

God bless you all!

A long overdued entry..but even as I prepare to leave for my Thailand trip in like 6 hours, I continue to give thanks for my last trip.

Pastor Chinnakorn and his wife, Pastor Seeda

Pastor Chinnakorn (See photo above; ignore photo date!)had invited me to preach in his church on Sunday and I agreed. With only about 4 days to prepare, I was asking God what should be shared.

Incidentally, before I left Singapore, my dad had passed me a DVD testimony of his accident for me to give away in Thailand. In addition, having told my family that I was going to preach on Sunday, my parents, after praying, told me that maybe I should preach from Exodus 3:7-9.

After prayerful consideration, not only was a portion of the DVD used; Exodus 3:7-9 was also used. This is the rough outline:

1) From the verses, since God sees and hears our cries for help and he can rescue us, so what should we do?

2) But if we bring our problems to God, will He take away our problems? 

3)  2 Corinthians 12:7-10. Note that God did not take away Paul’s problem even though Paul had brought his problem to God.

4) Also, God protected my mum and sis in the accident, but he has not healed my dad yet.

5) So what shall we do with our weaknesses and problems?

6) May we exclaim like Paul did in 2 Corinthians 12:9,10 > Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

7) Even though my dad is wheel chair bound, he uses his problem to witness to other people who are wheel chair bound. He also shares his testimony in churches.

Asked those who wanted to use their weakness or problems for God’s purpose to respond and nearly the whole church came forward.

Most of the church responding to altar call

Yes..its been a looong time since this blog has been updated…

Anyway,

1) I’ve started a new blog just for stories: http://polarbear1405.blogspot.com/

2) My blogs are really called rooms in my story about bears (Any resemblance are probably not coincidental).

3) This blog’s name has been changed from ‘Life of a Bear’ to ‘Place of Thanksgiving’ in line with the bear story;) Anyway, this blog’s purpose is to collect all the events I would like to give thanks in my life and this blog will continue to exist.

The bear story is really a story about stories and I think its really going to be exciting! The map of the bear cave has been drawn; the map of the whole bear country has been laid out; some of the characters have been created or rather renamed (See pt 2). Well, see if you can guess who Grandpa Bear, Grandma Bear and Princess are:)

TNXGIVING/PRAYER REQUESTS:

P: I do have lots to give thanks for..and I do have a lot to write in this blog…but yes..the evil hand of procrastination had stopped me time and time again…Pray for discipline!

T: Pam is pregnant! She’s due some time in May;)

T:  Had the most wonderful, miraculous mission trips to Thailand and China (Which I hope to share in greater detail in another blog entry).

P/T: Thank God our family is planning on going for a mission trip to China in December! Janine’s 1st mission trip! So ya..need lotsa prayer too!

T: Pam and I were in charge of the planning of the ACS Oldham Hall Thanksgiving Dinner with an ambassador at large as Guest of Honour. The preparations were crazy but thank God it went well! Even the rain stopped like 1 hour b4 the event! (The VIPs were supposed to enter the dining hall grandly via the spiral staircase so if it was still raining, the stairs would be wet!)

T: I love working at MMS! Rev Norman is really a wonderful boss too!

Ok..I still have lots to give thanks for..but I’ll stop here..else this entry would be too long and boring to read…

May you all enjoy life!

Blessings/ KY

When and why did you leave teaching?
22 Mar 2008: Left MJC. Would have stayed in teaching but believe God was telling me to move on.

How did God show you that He wanted you to move on?
1) God showed me a passage in Exodus about Moses leaving Egypt to go to the promise land.
2) In July 2007, my student, Abel, gave me a verse about Ezra going back to Jerusalem.
3) Also in July 2007, Rev Dr Norman Wong was discussing with me the possibility of working in the Methodist Missions Society (MMS).
4) At the same time (Yes! July 2007..hmm..some time ard 7/7/7?), I was offered a place to stay at ACS Oldham Hall, which is right beside MMS!

How did you deal with the pay cut?
Since now it takes me 5 minutes (compared to 45 mins drive in the past!) to walk to work, we save a lot on petrol. As Oldham Hall provides us with lodging, food and laundry, our savings every month is still about the same as before;) Thank God!

Seems like everything has been provided for? Anything else you need?
PRAYER! Even as work gets really exciting, I’m feeling a sense of weariness…Really need God’s strength!
I aim to update my blog at least once a month (1st Saturday of the month) with my prayer requests/ thanksgiving so do visit and pray;) I should also be doing up a news quarterly (called ‘Polar Express’) where I’ll note all the work that I’ve done and will be doing in addition to prayer requests/thanksgiving; the first issue (July - Sept) is already out. If you would like me to snail mail/ email Polar Express to you, just let me know!
God bless you all;) *polarbeary hugs*

Dearest family and friends,

Here are my vision, targets and strategies which have been set for my new job. I would like to share them with you so that you can pray for me and keep me accountable. Do let me know if you would like me to email/post my newsletter to you;)

Love XOXOXOX

Vision
- Unity among churches and para-churchs/ organizations, working together with Christ to make disciples.
Methodist Churches, both local and regional, multiplying and practising the 4Cs&7Bs1 , and putting Acts 19:18-20 into practice.
- More than 50% of the congregation involved in FWCGs2 and equipped to teach English in the mission field.
- The Methodist Schools and halls (principals/ teachers/ students/ parents/ house masters) also involved in disciplemaking.

Targets
- Complete and print English manual and teaching aids by July 2008
- Start FWCGs in various institutions by 2008.
- All pastors in Methodist Churches involved in FWCGs by 2010.
- All churches in Thailand to be self-sufficient ie. Pastors to be fully supported by their own churches by 2013.
- Set up English Centre in China (Date to be confirmed)

Strategies
- Be part of the English Language Manual Team to develop and introduce the English manual to the churches through the 2008 GoForth conference.
- Attend GoForth conference (16-19 July 2008) to build relations with brothers/sisters-in-Christ from other churches/ organizations and to be more equipped for missions and church planting.
- Be the local country coordinator for Thailand, helping the churches there to multiply.
- Build relationships with pastors by learning their language and by visiting them3.
- Assistant preacher: to understand the pastoral ministry better through teaching and preaching.
- Help in the introduction of the Church Planting Manual (CPM) to churches, working firstly with the pastors in Thailand.
- Start FWCGs in MMS (by June 2008), in a Care Group (Living Waters 2 in Bedok Methodist Church by August 2008) and in ACS Oldham Hall (by October 2008).
- Memorise the verses to memorise as suggested in the CPM by December 2008.
- Work with Shuit Kuin in the setting up of English centre in China.
- Support network: gather a team of people for spiritual support especially.

1 From the Church Planting Manual (CPM) titled Can you answer these questions by Rev Dr Norman Wong, 4Cs&7Bs denotes the 4 commandments and 7 beliefs which we should hold fast to.
2 FWG stands for Feet Washing Group in the CPM. The C in FWCG, which stands for Care, is emphasized here to highlight the importance to care or love God, to care for other brothers/sisters-in-Christ, to care for our neighbours and to care for the nations.
3 Going to Thailand with Rev Dr Norman Wong from the 1-6 July 2008.

Thank God for Dad & Mum

Dad was hospitalised on the 13th May due to some kind of rash caused by his own antibodies attacking his own body. (Click here to read more about Autoimmune Disorders)

I had initially wanted to spend 14th May with Pam. Unfortunately, she could not take leave. The alternative was then to spend the day with my parents…well..that was the plan. Guess God had something else in mind.

‘*Sigh* You have to spend the day in the hospital,’ Dad half whispered in a tone that seemed like he was blaming himself.

‘Its my pleasure Dad’.

Memories of how my parents had stood vigil with me when I was in a Taiwan hospital due to gastritis came to mind. Instead of enjoying the tour, Mum would keep me company during the day while Dad took over at night. That was 20 years ago…Truly thank God for my Dad & Mum.

Bold requests

John16:24 - Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

‘It would be a miracle if you could be discharged tomorrow,’ the doctor explained to Dad on the 15th May.

That day, Dad read about making bold requests from a book on prayer which my church, BMC, was using. His bold request was that he would be discharged the following day; it was granted. Much thanks to God;)

My bold request: That Pam would give birth to twins! haha

Its been a LOONG time since I last blogged..and much has happened!

UPDATES:

1) Resigned from teaching > I LOVE teaching and would have stayed if God did not call me elsewhere..

2) My J2 classes received their results. > Thank God for those who got A and Bs; thank God none of my students got U(=Ungraded). Can’t help but wonder if I could have done more for those who got S(=subpass) …Pray all my students will get into the uni course most suitable for them.

3.1) Applied to be full time Christian worker in my church: Bedok Methodist Church

3.2) Accepted in BMC as local missionary

4) Applying to be missionary under Methodist Missions Society

?! If you’re wondering why I’m still applying to MMS when I have a job in BMC. Here’s why: BMC will pay my salary even when I work in MMS.

5) Went to New Zealand to visit my grand aunt

Thank God for my grand aunt whom we affectionately call Dar Di (Our dear grandaunt is on the far right)

Still remember her praying at our Christmas dinner in 2004; still remember her tearing while thanking God for her loved ones.

Dar Di does treasure her family. Every other year, she would fly from NZ to Singapore to visit us and then fly to Paris to visit her other relatives. She was there at my wedding with Pam; she visited us soon after Janine was born; she has kept photos and videos of us since I was born!

In fact, when I was in NZ, she dug up some old videos of me when I was like in Primary School. I didn’t look like me! haha (Will add photo of Primary School Kin Yew if I can find:P)

To Dar Di: It was truly a joy to walk you back to your apartment nearly every night when I was in NZ. Also like to thank God for how He has moved in your life over the years. Thank you for teaching us how to outwardly express our love to one another. And I do hope to see you soon in Singapore.

Love and Hugs

May 2005: dad is paralysed chest down due to train vs car accident
June 2005: dad flies back to Singapore. Total hospitaliation n evacuation bills approx USD300,000. Thank God for helping us to pay e bills!
Sept 2005: grandma n dad meets b4 gandma passes away on dad’s bday
Oct 2005: dad is finally discharged from the hospital
2006: Dad is able to feel when his belt is too tight even though doctors say he’ll be permanently paralysed chestdown.
19-25th Nov 2007: Dad visits the orphanage in Prey Veng, which he had helped to set up.

Really thank God for working a miracle in my dad’s life;)

Thank God also for the Cambodia trip with my parents.
- The weather was perfect as God gave us cloudy skies when we were outdoors doing the well drilling.
- God provided us with a free room for the last night at Phnom Penh (shall elaborate in my next post).

Meantime, pray we”ll all have a fruitful month leading up to Christmas!

LONG time since I blogged…a struggle I must say..especially since sometimes I feel I don’t know what to write…

My principle is that if I must blog then it must be something that is worthwhile, something which others would enjoy reading. I do not want to write a super loooong blog whom no one would read, myself included. EXCUSE? Maybe.

Anyway, with regards to blogging, 2 things come to mind.

1)  Pam -my dearest wife;)- has revived her blog! Not only has it awaken from an almost 2 year comatose, it is more alive than ever - updated almost daily!http://kidkat075.blogs.friendster.com/pams_two_cents_worth/

2) Meridian JC Blk test compre was on blogging. Sound easy? NOT! Most of the students failed, getting 0 for summary and vocab!

As Janine - my darling 14 mth old princess daughter - would say (when she did something wrong): "How? how? How?"

HOW shall I help my students?

PRAY that all of them will pass GP for A levels!

Looking at my earlier blog entries, you can see how my dearest princess has grown. Now she can even run and dance! This is like the funniest video I have of her!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J71WrSlmFvI

I’ve also uploaded more photos of Janine: http://community.webshots.com/user/polarbear1405

Went to Cambodia from 9-16 December with my cell group Living Waters. We taught the orphans English, built an oven and a well for the villagers,and did food distribution. However,most of us came back with food poisoning….For me, it was my worst case of food poisioning….diarrhea for nearly a week…up to 20 times the first night! Thank God though that after it all I had lost about 5kg:)

Enough about diarrhea, here’s another dancing video of us dancing with the Cambodians

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orbpdcKNICE

If you have not been on a mission trip, would really encourage you to go. Every trip for me is a life changing, humbling experience.

Enjoing life;)