Monthly Archive for March, 2010

March Updates

March 29, 2010, 11:51 pm

I figured since I haven’t been updating frequently, I’ll do kinda a summary? LOL.

Lets see, every alternate week was having MJZone’s The Winning Look Workshop. Guest speakers were Franklin and Sally Wuu. Just grabbed some random photos from the albums, most of them are quite, unusable.

There’s me serving, lol. Trying to figure out what was wrong with the sound. :S

.

Then there’re the ice breakers. Love this one really. Like play-theatre.

So they have these words or pictures that were flashed for the first guy in the line to see, and they gotta do it “pictionary” style to “pass the message” to the last guy.

Here’s an example. Mingyao with “Beatboxing”

Looking cool eh?

How about this.

Jiahui with “The Matrix”.

Cool eh? A lot of fun really, though guess she needs to lean back a tad bit more.

And there’s our wonderful Zone Supervisor, Meng Chin

.

Been trying to form up the media team and stuff. Starting out small, with rosters and stuff. Though of course, we need more people who’re able to serve in the area of media. Especially girls.

Yay! We’re now HD. Video, photos (duh), and slides (most of them that is).

And then there’s church too, like, duh right? Serving faithfully every week.

Love the atmosphere in church all the time. The joy and presence. Woo.

Oh, even more random photos. Saw the same pair of shoes on one of my train rides!

Super freaky. Managed to take a photo of it too actually. And btw, I don’t know who’s the one wearing it. Haha.

More random stuff. Got this through the mail.

Okay I had order something online and all. Got it delivered by registered mail, so I’m kinda expecting like a nice package thing right? Not.

Look at the number of stamps! I’ve NEVER seen something like that before! Really! Isn’t there like a $5 stamp or something like that? LOL.

Imagine how many times that poor dude/gal gotta lick them stamps. And I’m quite sure mine isn’t the only package.

Anyhow, think I went to Laselle School of Arts couple of weeks back. Quite smashed by their building and stuff. And the reception guy was very nice too. Went around their school, and I saw this.

If you can zoom in or something, you’ll realize that this is actually a photography class in progress.

Okay not so much of a class, more of an activity. Quite cool really. This is how they conduct their classes man. Unique.

And since it’s a university, you have people like this too.

Lying around on the grass and stuff. Synthetic grass in this case, since the building doesn’t have much green to believe with.

.

Another time, went over to Suntec, to kinda check out the place and all, and eventually ended up emoing there too.

Love them lights, love the water, hate the music.

They gotta upgrade la, it sounds atrocious really. Sorry guys, but it’s really bad.

Of course, went round taking photos. Or attempted to.

Yeah I managed to go into that said 500-seat theatre. Quite cool. The stage’s a bit small though.

Tried taking a couple more photos of Suntec. But all cannot make it. Also partially because said companion was like in a rush or something. Bah.

Spotted this at Northpoint Shopping Centre

KIDS@PLAY eh? Cool…..

Back to church stuff. TVM had this intermediate class of sorts. Teaching about TVM stuff of course.

There’s Melvin teaching on CCU panels. Genius he is.

And outside the TVM room at JW, there’s always these weddings going on almost every weekend right?

This one caught my eye.

Broadway style photo taking sia. Haha. Quite cool.

Didn’t take any photos with it though, cause no one wanna take with me. :(

Love serving really. It really shows how much time we can sacrifice to make time to serve God in different areas, to make a difference in other people’s lives, whether directly or indirectly.

And in TVM’s case, it’s like worldwide broadcast right? So there’s so much more.

So fun right? Haha.

Okay, this was actually supposed to be my futile attempt at taking a briefing photo. But the iPhone camera didn’t really allow that wide a photo. Doh.

Love this photo. Yay, both serving ministry in the same service! TVM and choir!

That Telex headset is so HUGE. I didn’t actually realize it’s that big until I saw this photo. Goodness.

Nonetheless, yay, got a photo with my friends! Haha. Haven’t had one of these in a long time. :(

Anyhow, managed to go down to Orchard. Haven’t been there in like the longest time. Got lost at Somerset MRT. You know how the old escalators were like right in front of you when you make that right turn out?

I got a huge shock when I turned right. I thought I had made a wrong turn, or I alighted at some other station instead. Goodness. So much has changed since I’ve been to Orchard.

And by the time I reached the surface from the basement of what they call 313@Somerset, I got an even bigger shock.

The building is gone! Like, MISSING!

It’s like the huge empty lot there with nothing in it but dirt and dust.

I was like, where in the world did it go??

But frankly, it’s quite a eyesore too. Like “omg there’s a hole in the ground” kinda thing. Only this hole is humongous.

.

Just this past Saturday, reached Riverwalk like at crazy 7:30am. Tried to take a couple of sunrise shots.

Guess my photog skills has taken a dip a bit though.

Over the SG River with the Marina Bay Sands in the background.

Alamak, terrible photo. Some might say it’s nice or what. But to me, this is called “jialat photo”.

No focus, no subject, no objective, no… boomz.

Just a very large body of water with nothing much in it either. Hmm…

Okay now for a bit of color. But quite dry eh? Too many subjects.

Was kinda playing with depth of field though, or rather the lack of it, see if I could get the building in focus together with them leaves.

Classic movement shot. Someone remove that dang ERP gantry. Such an eyesore.

.

Some random perspective shot….

.

Okay this one was super random. Cos there wasn’t really anything to take from the bridge.

.

Went to JW for service after that, fellowshipped with CG and stuff.

And look at what we’re crazy for.

Chicken rice.

At some point, it does get a bit gross too.

And I was so shacked after that.

And apparently so were my equipments.

They need their own seats too.

Okay that just shows how tired I was la hor?

Awesome man.

Anyhow, managed to go out today, quite enjoyed myself. Perhaps I’ll blog about it tmr, a short one.

But I’ve gotta post this up. This is funny. Spotted while window shopping at 313.

You mean you sell fire-retardant ones?? Where???

So MIC. (Made in China)

Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Earth Hour 2010

March 28, 2010, 12:51 am

Alright, time for a new post. A short one before I doze off.

Lots have been happening. Too much actually, but leaning more towards the positive side hopefully. ‘Course there’re the down sides at times, but then again, it’s like the same time over and over again. There’s bound to be a traffic light being built in my brain in the process. The traffic flow is just too much.

But then again, some things can’t be ignored either.

Anyhow, thinking of posting a picture intensive post tmr. Though “intensive” would not really be a choice of word when comparing that with Vivian’s blog. And also, my standard has got to improve somehow. Has declined too much now. Time to build it up to proper English terms again.

Anyways, since I’m seeing Earth Hour photos everywhere, I’m gonna post mine. It’s nothing much really.

This as like around 9pm? Only essential lightings as you can see. Don’t judge it by how bright it seems, it’s quite dim really.

This should be nicer look. See, lighting ministry did play their part somewhat in Earth Hour, whether intentionally or not. Lol.

Anyhow, off to doze. Can feel sleep coming to visit me.

Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments

City Harvest Church – Arise and Build 2010: Suntec Convention Centre

March 10, 2010, 12:11 pm

We finally got our promised building! Here’s the announcement video shown over the weekend service, revealing the exact location of our new premises!

I absolutely love this video.

Anyhow, grabbed this following FAQ from CHC’s website. Do take a look, it’s quite informative.

1. Why is there a need for CHC to secure such a huge facility?
We need a facility that will be able to accommodate the congregations from our English Services, Children’s Church, Chinese Church, Dialect Church, JAMs (Jesus for All Minds) Church, Indonesian Service, Tamil Service, and Filipino Service. By God’s grace, our membership has been growing steadily and it currently stands at 32,731.
At the same time, the cost of hall rentals in Singapore has been increasing. It therefore makes financial sense to have our own facility in the long run. What’s more, our ability to rent halls for worship depends on their availability and other contractual terms. Having our own property means we will no longer subject our congregations to the risk of not being able to rent a facility for use, or having to move from time to time to different venues.
2. Why does the project cost S$310 million?
There are three factors to consider regarding the cost of a project:
a. The size of the property: the land size of the property is large enough to contain a 12,000-seater auditorium to accommodate the needs of our growing congregation.
b. The location of the property: CHC has members coming from all over the island. Centrality and ease of access via public transportation is important to us.
c. The facilities of the property: The building will have many meeting rooms and restaurants, with sufficient car parking space for our congregants and the general public.
3. What type of building will the facility be housed in? Integrated mall? Or purely a place of worship?
It is not purely a place of worship. This property has a 12,000-seater auditorium, and many other meeting rooms and F&B outlets.
4. Why does the church need to be in the CBD area?
We already have an existing church building at Jurong West. But our members come from all over the island. Proximity and accessibility by public transportation is the key factor behind our decision to find another facility that is in the central district of Singapore.
5. How does CHC plan to finance the project?
We will finance the project from the free-will contributions of our members.
6. CHC is planning to spend S$310 million on their building, shouldn’t CHC take care of the poor and needy instead?
CHC spends 20 percent of its annual budget on local community and overseas humanitarian work to help the poor and needy. This work has been ongoing since the church began in 1989. For example, in the aftermath of the Aceh tsunami and Haiti earthquake, CHC volunteered teams of doctors and disaster relief workers with medical supplies, tents and water filters to help the victims. In addition, CHC has been actively giving to missions work and supporting its network of churches all over Asia. With a facility to house the church’s growing congregation and multifaceted ministries, we can serve the needs of the community in an even greater way.
7. Economically, wouldn’t the church save more money if its facility is outside of CBD or in the suburbs of Singapore?
Properties are scarce and property prices are generally high throughout Singapore. The key consideration behind our choice of location is proximity and accessibility for our members.
8. What does CHC plan to achieve in undertaking this massive project?
The facility is meant to meet the needs of our growing congregation for a place of worship. It also allows CHC to move from its present expensive rental model to a more financially sustainable ownership model for the long term.
9. Since majority of the activities of the church are on weekends, how will the building be used during the weekdays? Isn’t it a waste of space?
The facilities of the property and F&B outlets are open to the public daily. During the weekdays, the auditorium will be used from time-to-time as a venue for seminars, conferences, arts and cultural performances.
10. According to the laws of Singapore, can worship services be held within the Central Business District?
There is no legal restriction against conducting worship services in the CBD area, provided zoning and other legal requirements are met. Currently there are more than 30 places of worship in downtown Singapore. These include churches, temples and mosques such as St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Wesley Methodist Church, Orchard Road Presbyterian Church, Sri Mariamman Temple, Masjid Jamae Chulia, Kwan Im Thong Cho Temple, Maghain Aboth Synagogue; just to name a few. We will ensure that use of our new facility does not breach zoning restrictions or other legal restrictions applicable to the facility.
11. Since CHC already owns a property in Jurong West, why does it need another facility?
CHC has long outgrown the facility at Jurong West as its capacity is limited to 2,300 people.  Our present congregation is more than 14 times the maximum capacity of our Jurong West building. Since 2005 we have had to rent premises at Singapore Expo to accommodate our congregations.
It should also be noted that the new facility does not mean the Jurong West church building will be redundant. Activities such as outreach to the elderly and children living in the Jurong area will continue. The property in Jurong West will still be utilized for training, counseling, prayers, etc.
12. Should CHC elect to have its facility in the downtown area, would there be a potential for crowds and traffic jams in the already crowded CBD?
This is an important consideration which we factored into our planning for the new facility. There is ample car parking space, and the roads surrounding the property are wide enough to ensure smooth traffic.

.

Now, I kinda realized that there has been a bit of mixed feelings among folks around me regarding the location of the place. Some say that it was unexpected, and thought that we would have secured a piece of empty land that would allow us to build a place of our own, somewhat similiar to the AnB project of the JW Building. Build from scratch, it will allow us to have more customization of the building and facilities right?

Admittedly, that was how I also felt initially when hearing about the news. There was mixed feelings. On one hand, we have finally gotten another bigger place to house the congregation. On the other hand, it’s not exactly OURs. Get what I mean? Occasionally when there are super huge international events, we will still need to move to another location. However, this is not because we’re being evicted, it’s a voluntary decision so that the Government still can use the place at it’s full capacity. Doesn’t sound that bad eh?

But the most pressing issue I hear, and personally feel as well, was that there won’t be sweat of constructing another building altogether. And for the bunch of folks who had attended church post AnB of the JW Building, we all do feel a yearning to have been part of that project, and also anticipating an upcoming project that might somewhat allow us to really “build God’s house” in it’s literal sense.

But hey, I mediated on this, and got reminded of this story I read online. Don’t mind my English ya? I’m paraphrasing as much as I can remember.

.

There was a small church in NYC, located along a busy street. However, after decades of using the building, it was starting to look rundown, with all the new establishments that have sprung up over the years. Not to mention, the growing size of the congregation also proved to be a problem for their services in the small premises. The Head Pastor was troubled. He knew there was a need for a new, larger  building. But how was he going to find another plot of larger land, especially in NYC? The church just didn’t have the finances to finance a building project of that scale.

One night, a fire broke out at the church. Fortunately, there weren’t any casualties, however, the flames had engulfed the entire church building. After the fire was put out, there wasn’t anything left of the church at all! The church had been literally burnt down to the ground.

A passer-by saw the Head Pastor standing alongside the street, looking at where the church once stood. The said passer-by felt a great sense of grief towards the pastor, walked over and wanted to offer his condolences (I seriously don’t think this is the right word to use!!) to him, only to realize, the Pastor was actually smiling! Feeling odd, he asked the Pastor why.

“God knew we needed a new building. A new larger building. He also knew that we didn’t have the finances for the entire building project from start to finish. So He decided to help. Now the church has been burnt down, we save a huge load on the demolition costs itself! And in addition, I don’t have to look for another plot of land! This has where the church has been for decades, and this is where it will stay.”

.

.

I was really blessed by this story. And lead me to think, hey, God has this building standing there for such a long time. It has already been built, facilities and all has been provided for. All we need to do is to move in. In this time where construction costs are going through the roof, literally, God has saved us much by not having us build our own building! Awesome.

Can’t wait to move in next March 2011. It’s gonna be great.

Posted in Church | 0 Comments

AnB Countdown 2010

March 4, 2010, 2:37 pm

Arise and Build 2010

$17,300,000

Are you ready?

Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Weekends

March 1, 2010, 1:20 am

Really love the weekends. Though unfortunately, they only occur like every 6 days.

And as limited as it already is, SAF just had to burn our weekends. True they pay us back with day off on a weekday, but what’s the point? Everyone else is either working or studying on said weekday! Get the picture?

Anyhow, was supposedly confined over the weekend for some live firing exercise that I wasn’t even involved in. Not saying that it’s stupid, but it’s definitely redundant.

.

God does hear our cries doesn’t He? No matter whether our prayers are long, short, detailed or not, God hears them, and He sees the faith in the heart. Thank God they managed to finish their stuff on Saturday. And eventually, I was able to book out on Sunday morning! PTL! Of course it isn’t the most ideal of timings and plans, but hey, God does set a challenge for us from time to time I guess.

Rushed back home for breakfast and to unpack my stuff, and then it’s off to Expo for Service 3! Definitely won’t want to miss the Vision Weekend for CHC. The feeling of just knowing that you can attend a service when you thought you can’t, is just exhilarating! I didn’t know what to expect though, but God made it happen for me. Had already missed a service the previous week due to another live firing exercise, so being able to attend this week’s was definitely a plus.

Okay, here’s a typical breakdown of my weekends. Serve TVMinistry on Saturday for Svc1, after that fellowship with CG after service at JW. Occasionally will also service TVMinistry for Children Church on Saturday morning as well. On Sunday, go for Service 3. After that, occasionally hang out with close friends. If not, then I got some free time with my family and myself. And by Sunday night, gotta book in to camp.

Quite tight eh? But I like it that way. Cos it’s in God’s house that I feel a whole different sense of happiness. That unmistakable sense of joy and peace whenever I step into His house, to serve or just to attend service, is irreplaceable. Won’t miss it for anything else in the world, even my filming or photography stuff.

So, today. Not only did I manage to attend service, I also got to serve TVMinistry at Expo too! Been a while since I touched Expo’s equipments. So I was on 4 together with Shaoda for the service prayer meeting after the service. Though it was a completely new position, it still felt great to serve. And I believe I learned some things along the way too! It’s a new camera position I’m learning after all. Though, I would definitely love to learn and handle the crane. Handling the jib arm in poly was too simple. Think I handled a crane during show businesses before too. Need to practice more though. Wanna upgrade my skills. And my dream, to use to Egripment Crane Xtreme T12. It’s like… AWESOME! Do you suppose the new CHC building will have it? Man, how I wish to handle that monster crane.

See the video here!

It was a good time of serving I felt. Really felt the presence of God, being refilled with his Spirit every week is a must.

.

Even the smallest amount of time with a close friend in the midst of darkness, brings about His light and hope. Really appreciate it.

Posted in Church and TV Ministry | 0 Comments