I’ve realized that it’s been 6 months since i last blogged! I even forgot my username!

You are amazing if you are still checking out this space…hahaaa… So many things happened that I don’t even know where to start. To make up for lost time, I will have a super long entry. I shall start with some thanksgivings…

I learnt driving in Chile! It was an achievement for me cos i had to learn everything in Spanish and the theory test was in Spanish too. Also I had to accustom to driving here cos its left hand drive here and the roads are off an opposite direction. Plus the drivers here honk a lot and drive recklessly. I didn’t pass my first practical test cos on the test day, i realized the car I had to drive was a new car. I accelerated the car too rapidly; the poor instructor was hanging on to the seat for his dear life.

Then I went for my second test 15 days later. I drove from my driving institute to the test place and I was all geared up for the test. Then I had to wait for the examiner with my driving instructor. He was explaining to me that there were 3 instructors. One who was very lenient, the other was strict and the third was very strict. My previous examiner was the middle one. He told me that he had 5 students the other with the super strict instructor and everyone failed. I told him to look for the lenient examiner and we were joking that we had to hide our examination slip from the third examiner in case he asked us to take the test with him. Just then the third examiner walked by, he looked at me and he said “vaya conmigo.” Which means come with me… I was groaning… I mean buy toto also not so “zhun”.

I went into the car, checked the mirrors, stepped on my brake, released my handbrake, changed the gear and all ready to go. The examiner was checking my test slip, just then I saw my driving instructor standing in front of the car. He was trying to tell me something… I didn’t put on my seat belt! Gosh…just in time…heheee…

I drove according to his instructions and everything went well. I returned to the parking lot but I didn’t park well. The back of the car wasn’t straight. He said “Estacionas mal” which means you park badly. My heart sank. Then he told me to park again. So I changed the gear and accelerated but the car couldn’t move and it went dead. I tried that a few times and I didn’t know why I couldn’t move the car. He asked me for the reason but I couldn’t tell him. Just then, I realized that I didn’t release my handbrake!! Que tonta! I kept telling him “perdon. Perdon” (sorry, sorry). I managed to park well this time but in my heart I didn’t think I could make it. After parking, he asked me a question (something about the distance) in Spanish. He spoke very fast and I couldn’t understand. I told him to repeat and that my Spanish wasn’t good. He gave me a good 5 minutes lecture on why I shouldn’t have a license in Chile if my Spanish wasn’t good. In order to appease him, I just told him 10. He asked me 10 what? 10 animals, 10 persons or 10 what? I said 10 km. He said no. I said 5. He said no. The answer was 1 km. I thought that I was a gonner and my heart sank…cos if I failed this time I had to wait for a month or so and to convert my license in Singapore I needed to have the license then.

The examiner then passed me my test slip and said “toma”. I asked him if I passed and he said yes!! So I passed and I have a chilean driving license! Ok… I know after this entry, I may have problems borrowing cars from my dear friends… But trust me, I can drive! So long if I release my handbrake =P

Another thanksgiving, God has been providing us! Christine has found a new job as a teacher’s trainer, something that she has wanted to do. Karen has a job from Singapore in which we can work from home.

We are also organizing an event at the end of July. This event is an exhibition for companies who are interested to do business in China. There are about 50 of them and mega food companies in Chile. So for now, I have to hunt for Chinese who can be ushers and actors for this event. It’s pretty fun and difficult at the same time. I realized that there aren’t too many Chinese in Chile.

We are having and also starting a number of kids’ classes. I’ve never thought that i could teach kids and it’s really not easy. However the satisfaction is tremendous. Our 2 year old kids can sing Chinese songs and a 5 year old boy can speak mandarin with our accent. Not bad indeed! With these open doors, we are thinking of the possibilities of starting a children church cos we have a few couples whom we can connect to the church.

On another note, its freezing cold here… brrbrrr.. and its not good for my waistline cos i have a greater tendency to munch! But karen and i are going to the gym, to balance out…hahaa.. and a great way to meet people too. Anyhow, I love the view in Santiago now. We can see the mountains filled with snow surrounding us, its spectacular just drinking in all of it. It’s especially breathtaking when the sun sets and the sunlight reflect on the snow-capped mountains… It’s really beautiful. I tried to take pictures of them but it didn’t do justice to them. We are planning to go ski the next month.

Lastly our cute puppy has grown into a tigress! She has very long legs..Shawn calls her the “Super model dog”. I’ll leave this entry with her pics..

Just in case you are wondering, I’m still ALIVE! It’s been a long time since I’ve caught up with any Singaporeans or heard any “loh”, “lahs” & “meh”…kinda miss them it

Dec was quite a fruitful month for us.

We had our Navidad con las estrellas. This was one of the projects we worked together as a team.

I was trying to act out a word… wanna guess what it was?

Our very special guests

Paula, one of my students kindly invited us to their house for a Christmas dinner. Her grandma was a wonderful cook.. One of the best meals i had in Chile =) Plus, they are really hospitable… love their family

A splendid meal

Getting ready to attack!

A beautiful family

Then we went to a children home to distribute presents. They were really adorable and I realised that i wore the same shirt as last year.

31 Dec 2008!!
We went for a countdown at downtown. It was madness…
The fireworks were great but we were under a big tree so we couldnt have a proper view

We were estatic nevertheless and cheers to a New Year!

The ladies =)

Thank God for 2008. I cant believe how time has flown!! Thank God for His faithfulness in my life. I am growing really fond of Chile. I am grateful for all the friendship i’ve established, the people I’ve known, the language I’ve acquired, the job i’ve grown to love, the team that he’s brought together in this far away land. 2008 will be a year I’ll remember for life =)

Anyhow, i shared my first teaching in Spanish last week! Sad that it took me so long but i was really ecstatic as the Lord helped me to overcome my fears to share my heart in Spanish and without looking much at my notes! It was a tremendous breakthrough for me…yeah!

The Lord also answered our prayers faithfully. We prayed that God will bring new students to our business. Normally Jan and Feb are very cold months in Chile cos everyone will go on vacation, moreover we are in the economic crisis thus people may not wanna take courses. But the Lord never fail to surprise us. We had quite a number of new students in the past weeks and we have just started an English class for the kids =) It’s true that when we put Him first, He will never short change us!

We had a successful cultural event at U de Chile yesterday! Thank the Lord for the participation of the students. I’m really impressed by their committment as many of the students were still having their exams & this project was voluntary.

These were some of the booths we had…

An imitation of the bamboo dance…

Bassey, from Hope Auckland dropped by at our event too

Shawn, Christine and Jiexian did a great job liaising with the students despite their limited spanish. This was also our first project as a team =)

Celebramos el cumpleaños de Jiexian en el sabado pasado. Fuimos al cine y despues comemos en el restaurante de Peruano. La comida fue muy rica y parece mucha la comida de china.

Hey room-mate,
I admire your courage and obedience in taking the step of faith to come here. You have a gentle & sweet spirit and super diligent. Thanks for sharing your life with me,  I’ve enjoyed the times together…jogging, buying veg, meeting friends and the night in which we shared & teared =P  I’m really glad to have a friend & sis-in-Christ like you =)

Singapore, Chile expand bilateral relations with education agreement
By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 27 November 2008 1039 hrs

	Photos 1 of 1       Chilean president Michelle Bachelet (L) and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (R)

SINGAPORE: Singapore and Chile have expanded their bilateral relations to include deeper people-to-people ties.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s visit to Santiago, Chile, was warmly received by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

The two leaders noted that Singapore and Chile are kindred spirits, as the two countries have much in common, sharing similar views on many issues.

In particular, both believe that promoting free trade, maintaining open markets and focusing on education are essential to economic growth and development.

Chile is one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America and hopes to be a gateway for businesses into a region that is still relatively unfamiliar to many Asian companies.

Singapore and Chile have a history of trade links. Chile was the first country in South America that Singapore signed a free trade agreement with under the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement.

But despite the agreement, trade growth has been relatively modest, signalling perhaps that more can be done to enhance economic linkages.

“My intention (is) when we go to APEC next year, I will also go with a business delegation so we can also find out possibilities of investments or joint ventures,” said Ms Bachelet.

Singapore will host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in November next year.

Also accompanying Mr Lee to Chile on this trip is a delegation from the Singapore Business Federation, which hopes to explore possible areas of cooperation with Chile.

Beyond trade, both sides have also signed an agreement on education which is aimed at enhancing people-to-people links. Chile, for example, hopes to send its post-graduate students to Singapore universities.

“I hope that through this initiative, more Chileans will come, spend time in NUS (National University of Singapore), get to know Singapore and when they come back to Chile, work in Chile. They will be our ambassadors in their own country and they will help us to develop more substantive ties between the two countries,” said Mr Lee.

And cultural exchange thereafter came in the form of what Singaporeans love best – food.

The first Singapore Food Festival in Chile was a gastronomic introduction to local cuisine and a welcomed treat for the few Singaporeans based in the country.

A 36-year-old Singaporean, David Lee, who runs a consultancy training business with his wife in Chile, said: “I’m homesick about food everyday. I’ve eaten more bread in the past five years I’ve been in Chile compared to the 30 years of my life! So tonight’s dinner is definitely different!”

Mr Lee also visited the Centre for Mathematical Modelling at the Universidad de Chile. He will wrap up his trip to Latin America on Friday, when he is expected to address Chilean business leaders and opinion makers.

- CNA/yt

Shirls has labelled my blog as a retarded blog and the dates i blog she can buy 4D… ok, you can start buying now…hahahaa..

The new team has finally arrived! It was great having them around. The house is much noiser and livelier. They have indeed added strength to our team! 

Here are some highlights of the previous weeks…

Our first team picture!

Our fav eating place for first time guest =)

And we celebrated David’s birthday on Thursday night.

with a candle light dinner

and my fav =)

We had our first committee meeting for the cultural meeting at out house. We had a game of chap tek (boys vs girls) and the girls won!

The first cg meeting with the team… group discussion

Finally get to update my blog… sorry for the slow update =P

Many exciting things coming our way! Firstly, we are gonna organise an ASEAN cultural event with the University of Chile. We have 12 students in our committee. Please pray for us as the timeline is quite tight. The idea is to have a mini ASEAN exhibition. The students need to prepare booths to showcase the culture of each ASEAN country. Also they are going to have their exams soon thus we need to finish the research and stuffs by these 2 weeks. The event will be held on 5 Dec.

Next, 3 powerful pple are coming to join us in Chile next week! Looking forward to receive them. I guess i have to start packing my room and the house. Anyway our house is really pretty these days. Cos its spring thus all the flowers are blooming and our garden has quite a number of red, pink and white roses . Its a rare sight in Singapore. The streets in Santiago are beautiful too. Filled with colourful flowers, leaves and falling petals. But the bad thing is that i have an allergy thus my nose is “running” alot these days.

Also we’ve been hearing some pretty powerful testimonies from our flock as well. God is indeed the chief shepherd, working in the hearts of the people in his timing.

God also reminds me how much he cares for me when he takes care of the little details in my life.

Last Monday, i was telling God that I sowed but it didnt seem to reap any results. The first student i had started to affirm me especially what i had shared with her previously. She said that she felt that God placed me in her life to bring her back to him. I was really touched. Then the student in my next class told me that she told her mom about me! So i asked her if it was good thing… she said that she felt that i wasn’t just a teacher but i cared for her… I felt as if God was speaking to me through the 2 of them that my labor wasn’t in vain…

I’ve also developed an “unlikely” friendship with another student of mine. She is about 15 years older than me, married and has a kid. Last thursday after my lessons, she invited me for lunch. She was very generous, offered to buy me ”anything” i wanted. We had a really good talk in spanish (from her life to anything under the sun) during the lunch time and today, she invited me again. The Lord meets my need for friendship =)

Then last week, all my markers ran out of ink, i wanted to re-fill them but my institute ran out of it too. I didnt have time to buy, just then one of the students in my class gave me one. Last Friday, i had a craving for chocolates before my class. One of the students came in and gave me a chocolate cake! What great timing!

thanks for all the encouraging comments =) here’s some quick updates.

We went to run at the famous san cristobal hill a few Sundays ago.  And Carla, the lady in white accepted the Lord. It was encouraging to hear her story. She shared with me that she tried almost everything, from yoga to meditation to investing in diff things in her life but nothing worked. She realises that God is the answer to her life. She said that she enjoyed coming to our meeting, knowing about God and she even bought and read the bible on her own accord. Finally, after the run, we sat on the grass patch and prayed the sinner’s prayer with her. It was awesome.

I’ve been praying that i can make a difference or encouraged someone in my workplace. Just 2 thursdays ago, for no reason, i decided to go to my institute earlier. Normally i reach my institute at 8.50am, just in time for my lesson at 9am. But on that thursday, i woke up earlier and i reached my institute at about 8.20am. On my way to my institute, i bumped into my student. She was there very early too!! That was really unusual cos  students dont normally arrive until after 9am. We started to talk and eat breakfast together. We talked about spiritual matters and i invited her to our place for the bbq and our meeting. I gave her my address and left the matter as it was. Me of little faith, i didnt really expect her to respond. But a few days later, she called me and asked if she could come.

And she came. It was a good feeling after being “flown” aeroplane many times =P

We had a mini national day celebration with some team building games

  Food… (This is the porch of our house)

 The ladies in the house

We had some sharing after. Maca’s friend accepted Christ too… she was closed to tears when she heard the sharing from PS. My student enjoyed herself alot too and she asked me if i can meet her earlier before our english classes to talk about the bible. God uses this incident to encourage me.  I was reminded that I only need to sow the seeds, the Lord will do the work. Some may respond, some may not but keep sowing… I am not responsible for the results but I’m only accountable to God, himself… I’m His hands and legs =D

We’ve been praying that we can meet people who have a desire for God and we are seeing how God open doors for us. Last week, we had dinner with another chilean.

It was very encouraging to hear her story! She shared with us how she had a desire to know God ever since young. She joined a Catholic group in her college then 2 momons visited her house and started to share with her family about God. She sensed in her heart that it wasnt the right doctrine. Thus she decided not to join but there was still a desire in her heart for the truth. So she prayed to God for someone to show her the light. Guess what? Some jehovah witnesses showed up at her doorsteps the next day. She decided to give it a try. So she had bible study with them for 3 years. Again, she felt in her heart that something wasnt quite right and she started to read the bible. Then the Lord spoke to her and she was so convinced that the WOG is the truth and she should follow it and nothing else. She took up the courage and confronted the JW with the WOG alone. So she left the group. She started to cry to God to help her grow in her faith and helped her to find a church.

One day, she was on the bus and she saw a lady reading the bible. Finally, she got to know her and she was invited to that church. She shared with us so many testimonies of how God helped her in her job hunt and her work when she carefully apply the principles of the WOG. You can see her love for the WOG .

When i saw her bible, the verses were carefully highlighted and the bible was so thoroughly read. Wow! I was moved to tears hearing her story and convictions abt the Word. She shared with us an instance of how her boss accused her of something she didnt do. Then she drafted an email to rebut her boss. After drafting, she just prayed and the Lord directed her to read Proverbs. The verses spoke to her specifically and she applied the verses. At the end of it, the Lord miraculously turned the situation again.

You could sense her excitement and see the glitter in her eyes when she shared about the Word. The Word is really like honey, so sweet, so true, so precious and so powerful. I was reminded of the goodness and how precious the WOG is once again. Muchisimo gracias, Señor!

Salmos 119
 97 ¡Cuánto amo yo tu ley!
      Todo el día medito en ella.
98 Tus mandamientos me hacen más sabio que mis enemigos
      porque me pertenecen para siempre.
99 Tengo más discernimiento que todos mis maestros
      porque medito en tus estatutos.
100 Tengo más entendimiento que los ancianos
      porque obedezco tus preceptos.
101 Aparto mis pies de toda mala senda
      para cumplir con tu palabra.
102 No me desvío de tus juicios
      porque tú mismo me instruyes.
103 ¡Cuán dulces son a mi paladar tus palabras!
      ¡Son más dulces que la miel a mi boca!
104 De tus preceptos adquiero entendimiento;
      por eso aborrezco toda senda de mentira.

Finally posting an entry. Sorry for taking so long to post up the pictures of our house despite saying that i would do it soon. Oh well, Jesus also said that he is coming back in a little while

I´ve gone through some ups and downs during this period of time.  One of them is learning to deal with disappointments especially when people go back on their words. I´ve been ¨flown aeroplane¨ quite a number of times in the past weeks. Recently, i invited my friends to my birthday party and some of our meetings. They said ¨oh yes, i will come.¨ but they never turned up. One of them was one of my English students whom i´ve known for some time. I felt that we clicked well and i sincerely wanna be a blessing and a friend to her. On her birthday, i bought her lunch, prepared gift for her and called her. During our English lessons, i gave her my best and my advice too. In one of the lessons we had, we were discussing about how the chileans would go back on their words easily and she said that she wasnt one of them. Then she said she would come for my farewell and she didnt. Then she said that she would come to my birthday at my house and she didnt. I met her again in our english class. When she saw me, she just apologised lightly and then continued as if nothing had happened. Honestly, i felt angry and hurt by her. The same thing happened to my other students and people whom i know too :’(

Oh well, i struggled with God in the beginning, it´s good that we can be free to be real to Him. In one of the team prayer meetings, i was feeling quite down. I started to unload to Him. Then, He spoke to me with the words from Isaiah 55

 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
       neither are your ways my ways,”
       declares the LORD.

 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
       so are my ways higher than your ways
       and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 10 As the rain and the snow
       come down from heaven,
       and do not return to it
       without watering the earth
       and making it bud and flourish,
       so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
       It will not return to me empty,
       but will accomplish what I desire
       and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

 12 You will go out in joy
       and be led forth in peace;
       the mountains and hills
       will burst into song before you,
       and all the trees of the field
       will clap their hands.

It was such a rhema word to me… words fail me… God is really faithful.. He knows how to mend my broken heart…hahaa.. Puisee was telling me that she felt that this would be the main struggle i will have over here, disappointments from people. She told me this just before i was going to bed, cause me a sleepless night…And i thought how true that is. I think all along, even in singapore, i am always tested in this aspect. Once i asked Pris why didnt God test me in other things? Cos it seems that i dun struggle with family, studies or other concerns too much. Mostly its ¨how come the group has no progress¨ and my greatest fear then was my sheep leaving God and the church… wah liao.. now, still the same thing. Prayerfully, the way i handle the situation and my being have matured.

On a lighter note, i have improved alot in my cooking. My cooking is now not only edible but enjoyable too. My team mates can testify to that. It is true that practice makes perfect so Shawn, if you are reading this, rest assured, cos i can cook chicken rice pretty well without the paste

The chicken looks a little black but it is quite nice. God is good to me, they actually started selling xiao bai cai here! My favourite veg.

our living room with a fireplace.

my messy room.. it´s quite nice actually…

our garden.. trying to be artistic…

We are praying that this new house will be a house of prayer and lives transformation. It´s coming to pass. We have 2 converts in the past 2 weeks in this house. I believe that though we may be seems like a mustard seed now but as long as we stay faithful to God and His Word, in due time, we will be like a big tree! If God says it, i believe it and that settles it!

Nos mudamos de casa. Esta casa nueva es mas grande y bonita. Parece una bungalow. Creo que es dificil para vivir en este tipo de casa en singapur porque es demasiado caro. Gracias a Dios porque estabamos buscando por esta casa por mucho tiempo. Por fin!

After many months of searching and waiting, we´ve shifted to a larger and more beautiful house! Prayerfully with this new house, we will experience many new breakthroughs and growth.

Voy a tratar a escribir en espanol para practicar y necesitar pensar en espanol.

Oramos que con esta casa nueva, Senor va a hacer una obra nueva en la iglesia y nuestras vidas tambien. No tenemos mucho tiempo en este mundo, necesitamos vivir al maximo. Con todas desastres sucedio, quizas  nos recurda que nuestras vidas son muy temporal y Jesus va a llegar por nosotros pronto! Me siento este muy fuerte.

Cuando estaba en singapur, escuche mucha historias que Dios esta obrando en todo el mundo. Incluyendo los paises que estan cerrando a el evangelio. Pero ahora, hay muchas reavivamiento. Ps PN, le dijo que cuando era orando con otro pastores en otras iglesia, les sientieron que puedan ver el Jesus en sus vidas. Tengo otra amigo me dijo que su pastor le dijo lo mismo sentimento.

Con muchas cumplimentos de las prophecias en la biblia, parece que Jesus va a llegar pronto. Entonces como debo vivir? Un dia, cuando veria a Dios, que me diga? Seria recibir complementas? Tengo solo una vida, solo joven una vez, necesito vivir al maximo! No con mi propia fuerza pero con el espiritual de dios! Que emotionante!

Tengo mucho convicion en construir la iglesia de Dios. Porque Senor nos dijo que el va a construir su iglesia y ella va a permanecer por la eternidad. Entonces si queremos investir en las cosas eternal, porque no investir en la iglesia. Me siento mucho pena cuando la iglesia falta crecimento y poder. Por que falta el poder del Dios? Por que el pueblo no ven la importancia del Dios? Por que no experimentan a Dios? Por que no tienen hambre por Dios y solo tienen hambre por cosas del mundo? Las cosas en el mundo van a pasar pero nuestras espirituals van a vivir para siempre. Entonces por que no investir en mejorar nuestras espirituals? Por que no ahorra oros en el cielo?

Efe 3
10 El fin de todo esto es que la sabiduría de Dios, en toda su diversidad, se dé a conocer ahora, por medio de la iglesia, a los poderes y autoridades en las regiones celestiales,11 conforme a su eterno propósito realizado en Cristo Jesús nuestro Señor.

Senor, creo en tu palabra!