The best GP & GP assistants in the world! =)

Haven't written for a long long time... cos i've been so busy with work! Also, my computer at home is SO WONKY and unstable, I'm so upset! I think it's time I get myself a new computer... =( Anywayz, I was down with fever, bad sorethroat, headache the last few days... thank God, I'm almost recovered now! =) Thought that u guys are probably bored with my wedding prep sharing, so I will share abt something else. Hehe.

Just wanted to tell u guys abt the best GP and GP assistants in the world! I fell sick on Sun... since my GP wasn't open, I went to another doctor. I wasn't really having fever then, so he gave me regular painkillers for the headache. On Sun nite, my fever got worse, and no matter how hard XLQ tried to put ice on my forehead, the fever wouldn't go away. On Mon morning, I woke up feeling crappy still... so I called my regular GP, who is usually open on Monday mornings and alas, Dr Leong has fallen sick! I felt sorry for him, and also for myself... cos I was thinking, oh no, who should I go to? On the other side of the phone, his assistant, Mr Chin, said," You sound very bad... very nasal. Is everything ok?" I explained my symptoms to him and told him the medicine that the other doctor prescribed. After looking at my history file, Mr Chin explained that my situation is probably complicated by my sinus problem (SINUS AGAIN?!) and told me to go to the clinic with the current medicine I have and to get some medicine to help subside the fever... so I went to the clinic, looking all pale and washed out. He patiently explained all the medicine to me and gave me instructions on when to eat them. So I went home and rested.

I mean, usually, I would expect that my encounter with my GP and his assistant will end at this point... but later at nite around 8 pm, Mr Chin called me and asked me if my fever was better! I was so TOUCHED. "Yes yes, much better Mr Chin. Thanks so much!" Then again, this afternoon (Tuesday), another assistant from the clinic called, asking me if my fever and headache got better! *sniff* almost wanted to tear man... never had a clinic/GP care so much about me before...

Haha, anywayz, after the long story, I just thought that Dr Leong and his team are doing a great job with the clinic!! =) Dr Leong's Christian and he goes on medical mission trips regularly, maybe that's how he thought of the name for his clinic- Mission clinic. At the common area where patients wait to see him, there is an LCD screen showing christian movies/cartoons. There's this particular cartoon which I've seen probably like 5 times! Haha. But it's really great that he's actively using his gifts to tell others about God. When I first started going there, I thought... Man, he's going to scare off the patients. But no! The queue to see him simply gets longer and longer... plus, everytime a patient goes in to see him, he/she doesn't come out until at least 15 mins later. Some go on even to 1/2 hour!! That's because Dr Leong bothers to explain details to patients, chat with them, ask them about their lives. He also explains the medicine he prescribes, writes down little notes on what foods to avoid to take home etc. It's simple gestures like these that make people wanna go back to him. I've been to MANY GPs where I get out of their room in less than 1 minute cos they can't be bothered to explain too much...

I'm really thankful for a doctor like Dr Leong and his team of helpers! I think even after I move in the future, I will still go back to him. =) Medical students, being a GP is equally wonderful and can be a real encouraging job to both believers and non believers. Lots of witnessing opportunities as well! So, study hard and be a good GP! Hehe.

That's all from me today... sleeping now!

Bridezilla!!!!!!

The other day, my friend asked me… "Huiling, are you a bridezilla?" HAHA. I thought she meant Bridenarexic… which is what I read from magazines, brides who are obsessed abt losing weight. I was like… "Erm, no leh!" I mean, I wish I can lose some weight… haha, which brides doesn't? But I'm really not obsessed with it… I still eat normally, and PUNJers can testify to me eating chips during PUNJ. Not that it's a good thing! I shld really cut out junk food more! But that's not what my friend was asking me… a bridezilla is someone who is obssessed with the details of her wedding and wanting everything to be perfect. I was like… NO way, I'm not a bridezilla!

Later on, as I thought more and more… maybe I'm suffering from a bit of the bridezilla symtoms!! Getting short fused, wanting things to fall into place, wanting nice details for the wedding!!!! But seriously, I hope I'm not obsessed!!! That's just stupid!!! Haha... so friends, pls help ensure I don't turn into a BRIDEZILLA!!!!

The reason why I haven't been able to blog is cos for some reason, I can't log in in the office, but when I bring my laptop home, I can log in! Strange... plus, desktop at home is down... so sad. I feel so handicapped!! My digital camera is also faulty... can't depend on technology too much after all!

I'm rushing work... it's going to be a busy few weeks for me! And I need to go KL for work for 1 week in Oct. By the time I come back from the KL trip, it will be less than 2 months to the wedding... *cold sweat* Am starting to panic a bit... but will not let it get to me!

I just finished the book "Disciplines of a godly woman". It's a very good book and I recommend it to all christians! Easy reading, good sound teaching combined with plenty of life experiences- my kind of book! =) I think it's even suitable for guys who want to know how the females function. Good book to read... I hope that I can keep up the reading... I'm trying to embark on other Christian books...

Ok, enough of rambling... gotta get back to work!! Yes, working at home at 12 am... but feeling productive! Just had a cuppa COFFEE!!! =) Thanks XLQ for making it for me...

Hood, hob, homogeneous tiles, mixer, tempered glass

Terms that had an insignificant place in my dictionary before my renovation works for the house… right now, I have a new found admiration for interior designers and architects- people who have a keen eye for details and coordination. Personally, it's driving me NUTS!!!!!!!! For a relatively indecisive person like me who love to weigh options (as long as I meet the deadline), I'm finding it so hard to make so so so many decisions in such a short span of time!!! It's really difficult trying to juggle family, renovation, relationship, PUNJ, friends, wedding preparation and work all at one time… plus decisions about the house have to be joint decisions, that's where XLQ's personality and mine differ quite a bit. He's the decisive sort, things are sorted by priorities and timelines. Once he makes a decision, he doesn't want to look back and regret. That's where the clash comes in because I love to look around and shop around for options, because I'm afraid of regretting my decision due to the fact I didn't explore the possibilities. However, we are working against Mr Time. We just don't have the luxury of time to explore so many things if we want to get our place ready for the wedding… so I really have to learn to let go a little of things. I really thank God that we both know Him personally in our lives. It really helps because everytime when we disagree on things… because we are always reminded that God is gracious towards us and we really should be gracious towards each other as well. Practically, this means saying sorry, compromising, listening to each other's opinions, to be other person centred… but it's ultra difficult!!!!!! Haha… But at least we have the basis of why we should even bother to try!

The above was written some time back and thankfully, things are better now… =) Maybe cos most of the major decisions have been made. Maybe we will end up with a weird looking house, but it's all ok! My friend said maybe I should have gotten an interior designer to help me with the decisions. According to him, "An interior designer could have saved your marriage!" Haha, I thought that was really funny! Anywayz, I think God has really been humbling me through all these… telling me, "Hey, you're not as patient and loving as you think!", "Where is the other people centredness?", "Why are you snapping again?" Sigh, it ain't easy being Christian.

To be single or to be married...

Don't worry! I'm not regretting my decision to get married... but I've been reading this Christian book lately and I'm very encouraged by the author.

Quoted from "Disciplines of a godly woman" by Barbara Hughes
The relationships in the family of God are eternal, unlike those of our earthly family. Mary Lou Bayly, a widow in our church, reminds us that earthly marriage is temporal (Matt 22:30). After years of serving the Lord as a wife, Mary Lou was comforted by a more enduring reality when her loving husband, Joe, died. She called her "assignment" as a wife and mother of 7 children "richly rewarding." "But I'm no longer a wife," she said. "There's wonderful security in remembering that my relationship to Jesus Christ is my real identity, and no one can take that away from me." Mary Lou has voiced an important spiritual truth. Our church family relationships will never end. Our relationship as sisters and brothers sharing the same Father will exist for eternity.

How sobering! In light of preparing for my wedding, I'm reminded that earthly marriages are temporal. It's kinda sad but yet comforting at the same time. Once, I heard Christopher Ash talk about marriage and how all of us start out as singles, most end up married, and most end up single again. Because in life, one spouse always die earlier than the other. Therefore, we really cannot pin our hopes and identity on our other half, or our marital status (be it single or married). We have to realize that our identity first and foremost comes from God. Does God have a special calling for us to be single or married? Babara Hughes refers to it as an "assignment". God has assigned us to be either single or married at different points of our lives, but whatever it is, the most important is to be living for the Lord in whatever state we're in! This is real encouraging to me… I hope it encourages you too, no matter what state you're in! =)

All the best to you Flops!

Floppy has found a new home… he will be leaving me tomorrow… after having him for 2 weeks, I've kinda grown slightly attached to him… it helps that I knew from the beginning that I will not keep him. Cos of that, I think I have not grown as attached to him... Nevertheless, it's really nice these 2 weeks to come home and instead of seeing 1 enthusiastic doggie greeting you, there are 2! =) Whenever I see Obi and Floppy, I will go "Hello boys!!" And they will come towards me, wagging their tails happily and wanting me to pat both of them. They've been getting along slightly better… there are times when I see Obi licking Floppy on his face. So sweet. =) But the 2 of them hanging out have made them bit smelly. Haha.. Think they play too much. I'm going to give him a good nice bath before he goes off with his new owner!
I wonder if the new owner will give him a new name… Floppy sounds so.. Loserish, defeated! Haha… me and my bad choice of names… maybe he can be called Yoda, or Jedi or something more macho, like my OBI. =)

More about Floppy

Here are more photos of Floppy! Obi and Floppy have a love hate relationship... let's say like-hate is more appropriate. Floppy is quite a domineering puppy, snatches Obi's food and bullies Obi at times... Obi, though he's SO huge, is just a harmless yellow looney, ADD, seeking-to-please, gracious dog... yeah, they don't really get along. After days of observation, few points I note abt Floppy:
- domineering personality (best if he's the only male dog at home)
- independent
- fun-loving
- smart (he already knows how to sit! Only after 3 days...)
- generally calm doggie

It's amazing how God creates even dogs with such different personalities! Pls help me find him a home yeah? =) Thanks!

Floppy needs a home... =(

I just decided to name him Floppy for now... cos he has real Floppy ears for a Lab/ Lab mix! I found him while XLQ and I were jogging with Obi on our way home. He looks very healthy.. I'm not sure if he lost his way or if he was abandoned... We have put up posters all over the place and I really hope that someone will call me up to collect the doggie. Really praying for that...

I can't possibly keep another dog when I already have Obi. And it doesn't help that Floppy doesn't seem to like OBi cos Obi is huge and I think he scared Floppy... if no one claims him, I will definitely put him up for adoption. Usually it's easier for puppies to find homes. But DO remember the committment required in keeping a dog. Once he's your dog, he's family. Cannot give up so easily! He will prob need a private home because he's going to grow quite big. If you know anyone who may be interested, pls let me know k? =)

Breed: Lab/Lab mix
Age: looks like 4 months to 6 months old
Colour: Cream
Gender: Male

Update of my life... = )

The sinus curse
I've been cursed with sinus... it simply wouldn't go away... I've had it since young, but it's gotten worse since I got back from the states. Recently my ears will swell up due to sinus as well. Yes, apparently, there's a tube of some sort connected from the nose to the ear and if the nose is stuffed with stuff, sometimes it affects the ear. And in recent years, I've been getting swelling of the ear quite frequently... not only does the ear swell up, it is blocked too! So I feel like I can't hear very well... "cao he lang"... Hahaha... so it's rather frustrating. That's why ENT (ear nose throat) specialists are needed in the medical field! Plus, I love to sleep in aircon room, which I think doesn't help the situation... =( But I LOVE curling up in my comforter when it's super duper cold and be warm in my little cocoon... hee... ooohhh... so nice! Maybe I have to make changes to my habits... I think it may really have to change after I get married because XLQ doesn't sleep in aircon rooms AT ALL! I'm so dead...

Work
There are so many new colleagues at work that I'm feeling bit like a hermit... just wanna be in my comfort zone and talk to the colleagues whom I'm familiar with. I'm tired of making small conversations and trying to make new friends... but Huiling, u shouldn't think that way should u? I mean, can you imagine? Being in a new place is already intimidating enough, add on some unfriendly colleagues, you will feel SO miserable at work! I know some of you must feel very puzzled cos I'm usually bubbly and friendly.. this is so unlike Huiling... but somehow at work, the feeling is different... sometimes I just wanna plug on my earphones and do my work. Been asking myself why this is so... maybe cos I don't realize sometimes that my colleagues at work need to know the gospel too! That I'm not extending my CHristian love beyond PUNJ and new people I meet in church... I have this thing about meeting new people.. I'm more enthusiastic abt meeting new people in church cos I know it's part of a bigger purpose... helping them to understand who God and Jesus is... I really should adopt the same attitude at work. Sigh.... sinful me. Just that sometimes I already find it tough to keep up with my own friends (ex classmates, schoolmates etc) that I actually am in inertia to make new friends... Usually when I pass the inertia stage I'm ok... in fact, I do make good friends at work. Hope that I will not think this way, but continue to see every conversation as gospel opportunity... doesn't mean that I have to be happy clappy with them all the time, but I think it means I should be genuine about sharing my life with them since the workplace is where I spend the bulk of my time every week!
Wedding prep
I'm finally starting to feel EXCITED!!!! Haha... =) I think it was when I sat down with XLQ thinking through the details and planning for the church wedding that I started to get excited... C+K have kindly offered themselves to help us organize the whole thing which reassures me a lot cos both of them are meticulous people! I'm so thankful and appreciative of their friendship and fellowship, and they're so genuine about helping XLQ and me... especially cos XLQ will be taking his exams right before the wedding and it's probably going to be such a stressful time for him already... which is why we're trying to get as much stuff done as possible so that we don't have to worry too much about them right before the wedding.

I got really excited thinking through the details of the decor, music, invitation cards, the songs we're going to sing, the color theme, the program, the speaker, the sermon and how we can use the wedding to witness to our friends about God's grace towards us... and it's really nice cos many of my friends are helping me with the prep here and there... that's where the personal touch comes in... I'm really touched that so many pp offered to help...

My good friend from Hong Kong called me and asked me how the wedding prep is going... and before we got too far in the conversation, she was like... "Ah Ling, you're so going to cry at the wedding" Hahaha... I AM A STRONG WOMAN, I WILL NOT CRY!!! Haha, ok lah, i think I most prob will, but just hope that I can get through the vows. Haha..

Our flat renovation is abt to start as well... so things are coming along quite well! It's going to be a new scary phase of life.. pray that I will take the changes well and not stress XLQ out... really thank God for His providence of all things!

Other things that I learned/noticed from my Nagaland trip...

1. How "Christian" the state is... All around town, one will see evidences of the Christian-ness of Nagaland... the abundant churches along the streets, verses scribbled on the city walls, shops closed on Sundays, people dressing in their Sun best walking to church carrying their bibles. It's quite amazing what the missionaries have done in the past... how the Nagas, in masses, have become Christians over the last few centuries. But now, we faced another problem of nominalism... where the younger generation Nagas have become lukewarm in their faith. Many think that they are Christians because their parents are Christian, or because they are born in Christian families. However, from the bible, we know very clearly that being a Christian is a very personal decision. We all have to make that personal decision whether or not we want to deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow Jesus. We tried to challenge the students as much as we can on that.. Many times, that's the challenge second generation Christians face... for myself, I always have great fears that my kids will go through that. But I guess we really need to trust God that He is sovereign over all things!
The Naga students always look shocked when I tell them, "My dad is not a Christian", "I became a Christian when I was 11 years old", "In Singapore, most people are not believers". Christianity and Christian activities are so much part of their culture that it's tough for them to imagine a world where majority of the people do not know who God is...




2. The social problems that plague the state...
Even though the state is Christian, there are plenty of social problems that plague them. It just reinforces the fact that men's nature is still sinful... currently, one big problem in Nagaland is alcoholism. Many of the students we met, their family struggles with alcoholism and they are really suffering the brunt of it. One of the gals even shared with me that she kinda like this guy, he also expressed interest in her, but he's an alcoholic and she doesn't know whether or not to get into the relationship. I will definitely say, "Don't get into a relationship with an alcoholic!" But to a girl in Nagaland, so many of the guys are into alcohol that she may be so tempted to get into a relationship for the sake of companionship... it's quite sad... I can see the girl struggling with her own emotions and her desire to please God. I hope that she will continue to remain faithful to God and trust that God will bring along a guy who's prepared to lead her in a godly way.
HIV/Aids- Some of the students shared with me that Nagaland is actually a very conservative state, especially when it comes to dating and stuff. But yet, from what I learned from them, they start dating at a very young age, like 15! And they do it without the parents' knowledge... Apparently, the parents and youth never talk about dating and dating is quite a taboo in the society. Though Nagaland is supposed to be Christian, HIV/Aids is on the rise. Youths lead promiscuous lives without the knowledge of their parents. Our friend shared that there are many babies born in Sep and they are known as the Hornbill babies... this is because in Dec every year, there's a major festival that goes on called the Hornbill Festival, where Nagaland comes together to celebrate the diversity of the tribes. However, people get carried away with celebrations and alcohol and 9 months later, there's a boom in birth rate... I think making a state christian really doesn't solve any problems at all... this is because at the heart of it all, men is sinful and there's nothing we can do to make our state better. We can put on the facade of being Christian, or having laws that ban alcohol, drugs and all, yet the societal problems still occur. It really reflects the broken relationship we have with God.

3. The Christians' hospitality and generousity
As Kevin and Wenjie have mentioned in their blogs already, that the Naga pp have such big hearts! They cook SO much for us and always ask us to go for at least 3 rounds! Haha... I was so well fed then. The food is really quite yummy!!! Especially, the deserts!! It's quite incredible how the women can bake all these yummy cakes from scratch!!
Sub point about the men and women in Nagaland:

a. The Naga ladies make housework+cooking look so COOL!!!
Haha, it's amazing how culture shapes us. In Singapore, if gals are too domesticated and don't focus on career, among your peers, you will feel rather small... as though you're less worthy just because you don't have a high flying career! At least that's how I feel sometimes... in Nagaland, I think if you can't cook, u're probably viewed the same way by your peers! Haha... but i heard that things are changing now, with modernization and all, the younger women are not as good in cooking as their mothers. The ladies (hosts) actually wait for EVERYONE to eat and make sure that everything is taken care of before they start eating!! I can't imagine being a Naga woman and having to wait for everyone to finish eating before I can eat... I think I will have died of hunger by then... HAHA. So useless!

b. The Naga men are so mild and gentle!!!! At least the ones we met.. =)
They all seem gentlemanly and mild. Hmm, that's all i have to say about them. Haha.

I will try to add some more photos later!! =)

Photos from Nagaland

Thought it will be less boring if I share using photos and writing little commentaries on the bottom! =)


Kohima, Nagaland, India- where we spent 7 days... it's actually considered really short for a mission trip. Nevertheless, learned loads and I will attempt to share it in the blog. Kohima is a city set on a hill, where stars are abundant at night. We truly see the magnitude of God's promise to Abraham when He said that Abraham's descendents will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. It never fails to amaze me! I wish we had that kind of sky in Singapore... I was trying SO hard to find the only constellation I can remember from my Astro class- the Orion, and I actually COULDN'T find it!!! Haha...

The gals on the team: (From left) myself (not a super flattering picture.. hehe), Naro's mum (Super cool, funny and loving lady who makes us feel so at ease putting up at her place), Betty (who hates taking pictures), Naro (our beloved host and wonderful sister in Christ), Shu'En (Baby-as known by Naro's mum)

All the students who attended our afternoon talks and workshops at City Church. They were the faithful 20 students who came for every single talk and sat through everything! Though it was a small crowd, it was amazing how God is the same everywhere, in Kohima and in Singapore. We would think that since we grow up in such different cultural backgrounds that we probably have nothing much in common. But after interacting with them for the short number of days, I realized that the struggles that we all face as Christians are essentially the same, just disguised under a different facade. Boy girl relationship problems, struggles with career choice, wanting to do well in studies, alcoholism, inter-racial marriage objections etc. It really boils down to the same sinful human self that we all have in wanting to rule over our own lives instead of letting God rule over us... I led a workshop on "Small Group Basics" on the 4th day. It was quite nerve wrecking, but they loooked like they understood what I was trying to say and some of them looked at me intently and nodding... it was really encouraging when some of them came up to me afterwards and told me that it was an interesting session. Just hope that we will all be convicted by God's Word that we all need to nudge one another along in this long race of perseverance!

More to come later! Sorry there's no sequence to it... just random thoughts and photos. Will try to post pictures that capture the essence of the work there!