Copa Iba 2008!

COPA IBA. The game of Captain ball, the game of skill, the game of Courage, and some say… The Game for girls!!! But well, as a Church we went there as one. With a few new faces. And here we are, at the stadium in Klang. SPARTANS!!!!
(Now you probably know who wrote this entry)

0900 Well, we are here in the Stadium. Guess what? We are Late!!! But well. We just crept through when so many fingers were pointing at the late comers. That was us. We just sat down and listen to MAXX as he spoke on a simple yet touching story about the Love of GOD. I could see that the Spartans were ready for action. Anxious and looking all around the other churches. Hoping to compare our teams’ strength with theirs. But well, at least we are one.

0930 The Games begin. As I was the manager for junior team. (I know what you are thinking) Yes. I am not so senior myself. You can see it. Then junior team started their strategy planning. Not long after, we got the fixtures and timetable for our battle. The SPARTANS are ready to Rock and Roll.

1000 Turns out… We ROLL instead of Rock… We were beaten into pieces of ham by SAGC in the first round. Probably we were too panic. but it’s ok. We reviewed our strategy and came out with a better one. Then It’s time to support our senior. King Leonidas (ONG)!!!

1020 Well, as expected, the other people are just too strong for our senior team. We did every necessary preparation. But we also encounter the same problem. The other people were always too tall. We were too short. They beaten us flat like a pancake. I feel the burn like an elephant. Though disappointed. But life must go on… the Junior Spartans are preparing for the next showdown.

1050 Now, we started the battle with PJGH. It was breathtaking. But most to my relieve, we nailed this round, with Aaron on the first half doing all the assisting. Man, you should see him run, he runs like a leopard, the opposite side was just too packed with players when he is doing the defending. Tzer Chyuan on the chair and Swee Rong on the Blocker. These guys were the bomb man. Swee Rong reminds me of myself when I was Blocker when I was form 3. But the fact was that. I suck big time. He rocked big time. Tzer Chyuan too. He reminded me so much of Magic Johnson. I will remember him as the Catcher who caught almost 100% of the ball. God must have send them to help us. What about our guys? Zhou Ming, Jason and Eric SOO? And our night elf warriors? Much more after the break.

1130 Lunch Break. As the team manager, I had to run around buying stuff for my homies. Ah… But I am glad that the ice between us is finally broken down now. I can finally talked to them like friends. Talked to Ash Li. Hsing Shan and even Phoong Li Yan. Phoong!!!! (Who hit me?) Then, as we talked, I assembled the team, to give thanks to the Lord for pulling us through the first two rounds. As to markup our 3rd and 4th match, we finally come out with an infallible Strategy. THE PLAN.

0130 Break is finally over and the SPARTANS are back in action. The surprising thing was that we are battling against PJGH again. Can you see the tension they put us in? We are up to battle. And this time, PJGH put up too a good fight. Though we won, its also a lesson well learnt. We have to be consistent.

0245 Fast forward too the match with SAGC. AGAIN!!! This time, we are determined to avenge our losses, we fought and fought, I have never been so tense in my life. But I guess, it’s never too late to get up and fight. Fought and fought, we finally won by a margin of 16-15, it was so close. But thanks to Zhou ming and ERIC, THEY nailed the match, you should have seen Eric Fly. When he got the ball and passed it to one of the girls, and Mariko, she sacrificed for us. She got the ball and passed it to ONE OF THE GIRLS, and immediately., Tzer Chyuan caught the ball. And Jason? He sacrificed a lot to put Zhou ming, Tze Chyuan, Eric and Aaron in . He wasn’t reluctant to come out when I asked him to. Looks like I have so much to learn from him. He was so eager to let everyone in while he only played a little, as well Aaron and Zhou Ming, I am so thankful for them. In Fact, I learned from them too that we should take turns, and as a group, its not who scores that matter. But who is involved, I am really sorry if I left out any of the guys. Zhou Ming, Aaron and Jason in particular. Please forgive me.

0345 Soon enough, we finished our routine by playing with PJGH again. We won this round. Fighting our way through. Before I went to the counter to obtain our next fixtures of match, Ashley Came!!!! We all thanked the LORD for the victory. I went to get the fixtures. However, things got a bit complicated. We found out our next opponent is PKGH. Port Klang Gospel Hall. We nailed this match as well… Fui-YoH!!!!

0445 And finally, we face PJGH for the 3rd time. Much to our surprise, they improved greatly in terms of their speed. I, myself was pretty shocked at the beginning as they scored the first ball. But thankfully, we still won this match. As the team retire, I am so glad we won so many rounds today. God has really been so good to us, the Junior team of TTDIGC.

0645 Time to take the prize. And after the prize giving, we went Home. What a tiring day. I have to say a few things to a few people.

1) The Junior team. You guys rock!!! This is my 1st shot being the manager, but if I get another chance, I would want to be the manager again.

2) Tzer Chyuan and Eric Soo. You guys really impressed me. Like I said earlier, God must have send you to our church to help us. Thank you both so much. I am happy that the both of you joined us. Tzer Chyuan, thank you for catching. You are 20 times the catcher I am. Eric, I never saw a human fly until I saw you. You guys rock!!!

3) The Girls. MAN… I never saw so much skills within you all. You guys rock too. You BATU!!! Li Yan, Ash Li, Wen Li, Hsing Shan and Mariko. Thank You!!! Your untimely sacrifice Mariko, Thank You.

4) Swee Rong. I just want to say. You are such a tall, yet nice blocker. I am so happy that you are here to play for us. At the same time, I so grateful to Hsing Shan for inviting you here. Thank You.

5) Evelyn. The warrior Princess. You are good as a captain man. I am so proud of you. Thank you for 3 of your friends. As I have said that day, your friends are now my friends too!!! ( Still remember the Gay Moment?)

6) Jason. Thank You J! You really sacrifice a lot for this team. I really want to thank you. If there is one thing you should know. Thank you!!!! I learn one every important lesson from you.

7) Aaron and Zhuo Ming. You guys were really good in passing the ball and in assisting. Thank you guys so much. I am sorry if I have left you guys out throughout the day.

Your Captain,

Johnson.

Copa Iba 2008

Copa Iba 2008 just ended and the post will be coming right up. Meanwhile, for some of you who don't know what Copa Iba means, don't fret. The word 'Copa' means 'Cup' and the acronym 'Iba' stands for 'Inter-Brethren Assembly'. Thus, it is actually the Inter Brethren Assembly Cup. Copa Iba is an annual affair for brethren churches to participate in games and sports competitions. While you wait for the post on it, here are some of the photos taken during Copa Iba.

Team Manager and the girls and Joshua.

Jo-Yee, Jo-Yi, Swee Ling, Nikki

Our Junior Team.

Our senior team who tried their very very best!!

Supporters.

Youth of TTDIGC.

Hip Hip Hooray to both our Junior and Senior Team!!

Parting words...

Alrite guys, I'm finally in Melbourne.. I want to thank God from the bottom of my heart, He made it possible for me, not just the past few months but throughout my entire life. God has truly been my Father, my Father in heaven. I'm sure as He blessed me, He'll bless you too. Our lives should be a blessing to others, as God blesses us, return it back =)

I'm sorry for hurting your feelings, as I do it unintentionally. For the times when I've said harsh words or rebukes, know that I only want you to grow and I did that out of love for God and you. I'm sorry also for not getting to know everyone on a personal level. There's just so much to be done. On Sundays especially after Morning Service. I'd love to talk more with you but I'm always running off somewhere.. Sorry. To the older ones, do mix more with the younger ones to make them feel welcome. That was how we made you feel welcome rite? LOL! Now it's your turn... To the younger ones, don't be shy!! They won't intimidate you, if they do, you can always tell on them, haha.

To the older ones, besides, you all must take up more responsibilities ya? Simple things don't need uncles and aunties to tell la, "Pick up the piece of paper, Bring the empty cup behind, Mop that patch of water, Arrange the chairs before service, etc". The church belongs to God, not to us, always remember that. We only do it for God, not for him/her to see. We must take up simple/basic responsibilities. Do not think, "Let others do it la". If everyone thinks like that then the chairs would arrange themselves overnight then...

I really wanna stress this, break from your cliques!!! Invite other people to join us and make them feel welcome. Let me ask you something, honestly, who was the last person to join us in the YF? And when was that? I dare say none. I bear equal fault to this as well for not inviting friends to the YF, all of them stay kinda far, but I should know better. Please! If there's one thing I want to see when I come back is not whether you remember me or not but rather the quality and quantity of your fellowship. I do not want petty misunderstandings and arguments to get in the way. We know in the past it did pretty much damage, and I really hope it has been fully settled among you. This is the work of the devil, do not give in to him at all! We are not children of the devil BUT we are children of God! Draw strength from our Father in heaven.

It's my sincere hope that you remember what I just said, I might sound like your nanny but those were my parting words.. Every single one of them. Yep, that's all. I hope you take this seriously, there's a time for everything, a time to play n have fun (yes we do have serious loads of fun), and a time to be serious. So let us give God what is due.

Love,
Ivan

Father's Day 2008 by JC

Hey guys! So so sorry for the super late post about the Father's Day event. Had some difficulties with the pictures I obtained from Unc. Vincent. Yes, PICTURES! Speaking of it, I have loads of them taken by none other than our 'Cam Pro'- Unc. Vincent. (thanks Unc. Vincent!) So, I have heaps of them, not knowing which to post. Anyway, it's impossible to post them all up, so I would only post selectively.

So, lets get straight to how the event went.

TTDI GC'S ANNUAL FATHER'S DAY OUTING @ TAMAN RIMBA!

Father's Day was held on 22nd June 2008. The reason why we celebrated it later was due to church camp. Anyway, this year's Father's Day was organized by Unc. Kon You. However, somehow it ended up becoming a family affair :P

At 11.20 am, families begin to arrive. Weather was just perfect. Thank God. Not too sunny and hot(Although it drizzle a lil :P). Me being the host of the day was expecting more fathers. However, it was so ironic. If I'm not mistaken, there were more mothers on that day! Hahaha, so they were mothers cum fathers.

The event started off with of course, gathering the people together! Oh my, was it difficult to 'command' a group of adults + kids. Hahaha, thanks to John's dad, who brought the MEGA PHONE! :).. but I think after a while the condition went back to square one. Hmm..must be they were too excited to start playing the games, since there was 4 telematch lanes and a tug-o-war rope in sight.

Hello?? Hello? Anyone there? Yoohoo!

Yes, Indeed there were a WHOLE lot of anxious adults and kids ready to

rock and roll :)

Before beginning the matches, they were divided into 4 groups of colours, which were BLUE, RED, GREEN, and YELLOW.

Ahh, yes...finally, the teams...Some where colour confused though :)

The 4 games that were prepared on that day was:

1. the passing of [non-sticking] table tennis balls. :P
Preeetty sure you guys have played this telematch during your childhood days or for some of you, still playing it? hahaha...If you haven't..uumm.. just bring a spoon and a table tennis ball, and I'll show you how it's done. :) So, I'll let the pictures do the talking!

First : Place the table tennis ball on the spoon. Then place the spoon

into your mouth and go " SEE, NO HANDS" :)

Second: Get the ball to the other point.

Lastly : Try using whatever technique/science/physics to not drop

the ball. However, most importantly, smile for the camera! :)

A good example is Alex in the picture :)

I think some teams manage to 'communicate' to their table tennis ball to stick onto the spoon. It made me go 'oooh la la! AWESOME technique!'. They managed to run so fast without the ball falling off. All of a sudden, I remembered the ball that was taken from my house, were the ones that were stuck to a decorative item of an eagle. (yeaps, its to represent the eggs). So, I quickly exchange the ball to another. MY Bad guys! :P

"WATCH IT UNCLE CHONG SHIEN! :)"

2. The Station games.
This game was brainchild by Ailin with contributions of myself and Unc. Kon You. This game was to me the funniest hence the highlight of the Father's Day event. With the wonderful assistants, (Xin-yi.......) contributing, I would say it went smoothly. The objective of this game, is for the groups to complete all the stations in the quickest time possible. There were 5 stations.

1. Taboo-a-like (Wen-Li & Swee Ling)
2. The tongues twister and the Macarena dance ( Ailin & Xiaolin)
3. Blindfold game ( Niki & Su-yi)
4. Charade (Johnson & Phoebe)
5. Finding-sweets-in-a-lump-of flour (Xin-yi & Ashley)


As I was the host, I did not manage to observe closely on how it went. So, to compensate, I managed to get the station masters to comment on their stations. The rest would be shown by the pictures! :)

1. Blindfold game ( Niki & Su-yi) - courtesy of Niki
Basically, what happened was the kids were separated from the parents. One by one, each parent was blind-folded and directed by all the kids to actually collect a can that could be found on the ground. The kids were all asked to stand at one side further away from the parents. The initial plan we had was to actually have all the kids at one corner but they got quite excited and went more forward with time. Besides that, all the kids were supposed to be directing the parent at the same time. However, the adults were smart and they only asked one kid to direct. Therefore, I being the evil culprit tried to misdirect the parents. A thousand apologies to parents and kids who were offended. Overall, I guess the kids had a happy time and I'm sure the adults did too.

"To the left, to the left" , wait right , no no , straight!

Yay! :)

2. Taboo-a-like (Wen-Li & Swee Ling) - courtesy of Wen-Li

Helping out for Father’s Day was fun! I was helping out in the game Taboo with Swee Ling. The kids were supposed to explain the word to the parents. There were five Malay words and five English words. At first, lots of people came up to check what station we were. I think the first group was Ivan’s group. Was it? Hmmm... Had to explain the game to them. One of the girls wanted me to translate in Chinese for them! I’m banana by the way! Anyway, the team had lots of young kids. So, I guess it was pretty hard for them. Especially when it came to the Malay words. I was shocked that the adults actually guess all five of the Malay words right so fast. For all of the groups actually. I thought the adults would have a hard time guessing the Malay ones. They proved me wrong. All of the groups were pretty fast to finish the whole thing I guess. Only thing I can remember was that when the word was “Surat Khabar” and then one of them described it as sesuatu yang di baca setiap pagi. The adults did say surat khabar, but my mum said the Bible. That’s my mum!! (:

"Don't say it Yen Ming, Don't say that word"

Oh no, I think you just said it! :)

3. The tongues twister and the Macarena dance ( Ailin & Xiaolin)

As the teams arrive at our station, we (Xiaolin & Ailin) got all the team members, every single one of them to dance and sing to Macarena. It was really fun watching the cute kids and older adults dance and shake their butts! hahaha. This is probably our 1^st and last time we’ll be seeing them do that…hahaha..

First you put you hand out

Then This

"Now, EVERYBODY!" (eeeehh, macarena, uu wah)

After dancing, the adults of the teams were asked to stand around us and we got them to say a tongue twister. It was a good laugh as some of them got their tongue twisted. It was difficult to get it right without repeating their mistake over and over again and as our laughter got louder & louder. Most of the adults we had to recite the tongue twister were pretty good. We agreed that the best has got to be Unc. Lay Seng and the funniest was Unc. Kook Yuu. After a few repeated mistakes, we could not stop laughing. As we continued laughing, we reached a point when we said, ‘Ok Ok, stop laughing,’

So, for those who missed out this hilarious tongue twister on that day, here it goes! p/s there’s no harm laughing at yourself. HAPPY PRACTISING!

One smart fella, he felt smart,

Two smart fella, they felt smart,

Three smart fella, they felts smart,

They all felt smart together

GO ON, GIVE IT A SHOT! and see how you fair! :)

Yeaps, that was the station games.

Later on, we proceeded to the tug-o-war. Even before I could start the game, everyone was already pulling the rope.

Check out the enthusiasm by the lady in orange :)

And the 2 guys here were like "Aiya, easy job la"

And the orange lady keeps pulling...

It later ended with price giving. And of course, not forgetting the wonderful lunch! :)

The winner !

I would say the event went really well although a lil haywire. :P Once again, thanks too all who helped out, namely the game assistants, people who prepared the food, Unc. Vincent for the pictures, Greg for the transportation, and to those whom I missed out here. You guys know who you are :)

FINALLY,

Surprise farewell

Most of you would remember me saying that I'll post my farewell speech, not here but on my blog cuz it's kinda personal. So go there if you want to read it.

God bless =)

Poll nominations

Wait!!!

Before I create the polls again, sorry to Min cuz I forgot her name. Oh how could I??? She's my little sister..

So to avoid any of this, do nominate your people (could be a few) before I put it up again.. Just leave a comment.
The question: Who would Ivan miss the most?
Thanks!

Youthing (?)

You must be saying what a weird title.. Yea i got it from "Parenting"

SO yesterday was the talk on Parenting or rather Youthing, which was a combined session. Some things really got me thinking, am I being a good/obedient child to my parents?

More often than not, we think that our parents misunderstand us. May I challenge you to think of their circumstances. E.g. The environment they were brought up, their education, their culture, etc.

Paul asked us to season our speech with salt, meaning we should think before we talk AND think of how our parents might feel. Yes you might be saying, it's no use cuz they always do that, but then again why do they always do that? It goes both ways, they're merely human too..

Many times, we're just plain lazy when our parents ask us to do something, be it take out the trash, mop and sweep. We or rather I always procrastinate by saying "l a t e r l a" I don't know why but it's my favourite excuse. Or studying for that matter. Aih. Maybe I should just think of the future as in doing all this builds character, which we'd bring with us to Heaven not some temporal pleasure of sorts by lazying around.

OK enough of my ranting.. Hope I didn't bore you guys

God bless =)

God is so good

The answer to everyone's favourite question, "Where are you going?" is finally here.

I'm going to Melbourne. Yes you read that right.

God is sooo GOOD! I've been waiting for 35 days and finally it's here...

All I can say is, phew, THANK YOU GOD!