I'm a MAN!

YaHoO!!! I just took a Brain Wiring Test, and my basic score was 30 from a range generally between 0 and 300, which means that.... (drum rolls)...

I AM A MAN!!

High Masculine Brain. You demonstrate strong logical, analytical and verbal skills. You will tend to be disciplined and well-organised. You are probably very good at projecting costs and planning outcomes, being only slightly influenced by emotional considerations.

I knew it anyway. No editing there, just got it on my first try! But I feel that for some questions, the options should be more flexible. So, for those who don't score favourably, don't worry - the results are not 100% accurate. And girls, this is one (lame) excuse if you find that I'm not that accommodating. Please understand!

How Great Is Our God

We had Missions Night this evening. Angus led us in an Indian song, Jesus SuperPower. Very simple, yet very funny.

We played (one of) my favourite song: How Great Is Our God (Key:G).

Verse 1
The splendour of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice

Chorus1
How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Verse 2
Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end
The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb

Chorus2
Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God

Today we have a guest speaker teaching us how to play this song. Please welcome Chris Tomlin, songwriter of How Great is Our God! (Key:C)



I love this song, and after dinner, I had the privilege to teach this song to my korean friend. He love the song as well, but he did not understand the words.

Lots of positive feedback tonight. Some friends said that I improved. Some said they liked my guitar. Actually, I haven't played guitar for a month, and I couldn't hear the speakers, so I don't know how I improved :P

Guitar Legends on Youtube

I've been back in Melbourne for 3 days. As usual, I'm struggling with jetlag. I used to recuperate very quickly, but I guess age is catching up. And the cold. But it was a pleasant flight, the landing was smooth as silk. I enjoyed the aerial beauty of Melbourne City in 3D, can't compare it with Google Earth.

During these few days, I've been trying to absorb all my experiences in Thailand, and seeking God for life directions. There's a bazillion opportunities for me, yet there's so little time. Jesus is coming back soon!

In the midst of my daily struggle, I've been feasting on what I couldn't access in Thailand.



This is a video of Doyle Dykes playing White Rose for Heidi. I met Doyle Dykes in 2003, at Guitar Garage in Brisbane. It was a free concert. I was an amateur (still am), he showed me what playing guitar is all about, he signed my guitar, and since then he became my personal hero. He is truly blessed in music, a legendary country fingerstyle virtuoso. I think he tickles his guitar more than his wife. Now I'll share a secret that I've kept for many years: If anyone wants to give me a truly appreciated birthday gift, it would be the orange Desert Rose (DDSM), his signature guitar.

On a less personal note, but a legend nevertheless, Tommy Emmanuel is an Australian icon. Just like Doyle Dykes, he has played with Chet Atkins, and in fact, Chet honoured the rare title of "Certified Guitar Player" on TE. For those in Thailand, it's worth crossing the border just to watch this video of TE playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps with Jake Shimabukuro. I found it on Philip Chee's blog. Now, the only common denominator between TE and me is that we both play on Maton.

Take My Breath Away!

Today is Sunday, and just like every good, bible believing, Holy Spirit empowered Christian, I went to church. It was at the carpark beside Royal Benja Hotel, 14th floor. The service was in Thai, but we had english translation. This service was interesting. I mean, I have been to hundreds of church services, but I noticed a few things that I've never seen before.

I've had my name written on sticker as a first time visitor in other churches, but they also gave me a notebook that has the pastor's family portrait on the cover, presented in a paper bag with a welcome message from the pastor. Plus, they gave me a little flower candle in plastic wrap, tied up with paper flower, and a welcome message from the church: Hope of Bangkok Church, Sukhumvit. And the winner: a mini curry puff in airtight plastic wrap. I'm sure you've never had it before. What a way to say that they care about me.

After the preaching was over, I immediately turned my head to the right, and I was surprised to see a table already prepared with food on it, and chairs neatly arranged around it. Apparently some groups would arrange to have lunch in the hall. Someone bought all sorts of local food in bulk and distributed to the groups.

I joined their bible study, with a group who are sold out for World Mission. I happened to sit beside a pastor who will be studying at a bible college in Melbourne, starting in July. Now, that's too much of a coincidence. I've been contemplating whether to go to that bible college, because it's a bit far, and I don't know which course to take. But if someone from Bangkok WANTS to go there, then what's stopping someone from Melbourne?

I ended up joining a second service, designed to train up those who will be involved in world mission, so that they can practice running a service in foreign language. It was a humbling experience, seeing how ordinary people put in their best to serve God.

And of course, God loves to reward His children with great food on Sunday evening. Especially today =D I went to Sam Yan, a restaurant on a market near Chulalongkorn University. Oh boy, it's the climax for my Thai food feasting! No more Tom Yum Goong, but all the 5 stars dishes! If you don't mind some baby roaches crawling on the table occasionally, then I strongly recommend this place!

After dinner, I went to Suan Lum Night Bazaar. Rumours has it that you can't go there in the future cos someone will convert it into condominiums. I like this market, it's much cleaner than Chatuchak market. There's a restaurant offering a puppet show. The market is divided into several building blocks. It looks like a cross between shopping centre and flea market.

I suppose that concludes my adventure in Thailand. I would like to thank everyone in Thailand for making this trip such a memorable and fruitful experience. I love you guys so much that if I don't leave tomorrow, I might consider spending the rest of my life here.

Tomorrow forecast: I will fly to Singapore at 7.45am. I hope I don't miss the flight. I only have 12 hours to spend in Singapore, and there's a lot of things to do!

Weekend Market

I arrived at Kamphaeng Phet MRT station at 3pm, and I couldn't believe my eyes! Chatuchak market is huge, probably the largest market that I've ever been to. Victoria market fades in comparison. I can't stress enough how big this place is - you'd be better off doing a quick search on google.

What I found interesting:
Puppies of exotic breeds for 1400 baht each. A little boy around 4 years old playing traditional musical instrument. Another boy playing musical instrument like bass guitar, but only 3 strings. A teenager playing rock music through a speaker, and pretending to play an electric guitar made of styrofoam. A young girl dancing like Britney Spears. A guy juggling soccer ball in all sorts of positions (raising funds to go to Europe for a competition). Hello kitty ice cream stall (the ice cream girls were wearing hello kitty ears). A guy dressed up as a high school girl, thick white make up, and singing weird songs. Lots of offensive/aggresive T-shirts. Plants and pots, and matching decorations. Beautiful celebrity selling clothes and collecting donations for AIDS victims (the patrons were more interested in taking her pictures than buying from her). Lots of jewelleries, antiques, local delicacies, clothes, home decor, books, toys, mobile phone pouch and accesories, car accesories, Thai ornaments, silk clothes, and many more that I can't explain with words or simply/intentionally forgot (I'm exhausting my vocabulary now).

I've tried feasting at Fuji Restaurant and Zen, so tonight I concluded my Japanese feastathon with buffet at Kuroda. We had countless rounds of fresh salmon sashimi, and I know that many of you are jealous already by now, so I'll just finish by saying that my friends couldn't finish their desserts.

Beach Thing

I didn't think I would ever end up in Bang Poo. What's that? Well, that's a place outside Bangkok. There's a beach, more like a swamp, and there's a restaurant on it. We had superyummilicious seafood, courtesy of brother Nui and his family.

I'm even more touched by the story behind the scene. 17 years ago, there was a boy and a girl who dated in this romantic place. Then they got married. Fast forward to present day. They have 2 daughters, and they never brought them to this place. But Nui and his wife Su happened to sit beside me during Thai Camp, and they just wanted to bless me because they just wanted to. So they chose this place, which they already forgot for a long time. They were not even sure if the place still existed. All they remembered was that seafood restaurant on the beach that would bless me.

Of course, today the place has changed a lot. From the traffic jam caused by the industrial growth on the way there, to the site itself. The original building was demolished, maybe by a mini tsunami. I think they must be affected by global warming, because there's a large flat surface that looks like wet sand. We couldn't go down to the sea.

We still enjoyed sharing our lives throughout the trip. I love the scenery, and seeing so many crabs running around on the sand like Tuk-Tuk.

Today I made another discovery: there's a fruit in Indonesia called duku, it's round, yellow, and the meat is white and sweet. In Thailand, there's a similar variant, but the meat is sour! So amazing, God is so clever :)

Man of Vision

At first I didn't think highly of this brother (Joseph/Ong)who waited for me at the lobby this morning. He was supposed to pick me up and escort me to Ascension University, one of the most glamorous university in Bangkok. Seriously, it looks like another Vatican!

On the way to the uni, we shared about our vision, and guess what? God has brought us together miraculously. He didn't know my vision, and I didn't know any better. I thought that he was just another student leader. But I learnt that God has called him to use business to impact the world through a vision fund.

We spent the whole day in local and international mini church. The idea is to provide persecuted students a church on weekdays, at the same time giving non-believers a taste of sunday church. In between sessions, we shared deeper about the plans that God has laid in our hearts. The result is a refining of our vision, and a refreshing of our call. We talked about practically anything, and we couldn't stop talking. I think we talked like 2 aunties who has not met each other for 20 years, gossipping about everything, non-stop.

God brought me to Sampan, a drummer, a new believer. He is so cool, like my dear brother Billy Simpson in Melbourne. Very talented in music, even though he's young. He loves Sonic Flood, Planet Shakers, and Hillsong. He's got a good artistic nature, especially in story telling and song writing. I love the way he dress up, very relevant for reaching out to the youth.

I was pleasantly surprised to see sister Pern preaching on the international mini church. It was her first time preaching in english.

On the way back, I dropped by a Pad Thai stall outside my hostel, it was supposed to be the best Pad Thai because they won stir frying competition. I knew about them from Google Earth. How convenient :) The food was allright. Worth winning a competition.