by Bethany Khng

“And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills” (Deuteronomy 33:15).

Philippines. The verse in Deuteronomy 33:15 describes a land that belonged to Joseph one of the sons of Israel, a land that was bountifully blessed by the Lord God.  However, the land of Palawan, one of the 7,000 islands of the Philippines, was nothing like Joseph’s mountains.  There were ‘precious things’ indeed, the indigenous local natives, who live in small crude huts or shelters tucked out of sight in the ‘lasting hills’ of Palawan.  Poverty, however, is etched on the faces of the people, although the land is rich natural resources.

This is the journal entry of a ‘reluctant missionary’ who tagged along, ‘reluctant to let go’ of her half-completed school work to go on a missions trip organized by the Church from 11 – 17 December 2012.  With an attitude such as this, one wonders if the Lord’s blessings will flow or cease because one person is not getting her priorities right! 

But God is good.  He did bless us – He did bless me, despite my unwillingness to ‘let go’ and let Him have His ways with me.   He watched over us, guided and protected us; He kept the mini bus we were travelling in from breaking down (it was known to be unreliable!) so that we were none the worse from the experiences, except throwing up a couple of times (in handy plastic bags or in the sea!)  Still, we survived the ordeal with precious lessons learnt.

by Lee Kai Ling 

This world is so vast; this earth is marked by diversity and its inhabitants differ in beliefs. Once again, another classmate comes along with the ‘Big Questions of Life’.

What do we live for? What’s the purpose of life?
Can Christianity answer all questions?
Are miracles for real?
Do we look to religion just because we are weak and need something to depend and place our hopes on?

Sometimes, they don’t bombard with questions. They hurl a statement in my face. Christianity is a blind faith, a figment of imagination. I swallow them in, all of them. Many a time, in order to prove my faith, I find myself embarking on this route where I choose to rationalize, painstakingly making use of all the logical arguments in my head. Yet these extensive table discussions and debates leave us without any conclusion and only more confusion.

by Ho Leng Li

Daily, I am challenged to be creative about meals to meet the growing appetite and demands of my growing sons and unspoken high standards of my husband. (Why? He has been overly exposed to restaurant-style food due to his constant travelling and his many business social functions)

I considered myself least fussy in my family when it comes to food. I love soft diet but to the ever growing male members, they need variety and meat dishes to feel like they have eaten something ‘sensible’.

The only pork and chicken flavoring I was exposed to is dark soya sauce. Surely there is something I can create on my own for my family that originates from ‘Mommy’!