Lost

Climbing gunung angsi for the second time did not make it all that easy. We were more prepared this time, but nonetheless it was still tough. The steep stairs were the hardest part for me. Each stair was almost a foot high and the flight of stairs never ended. Every time we reached a bend, we were met with another flight of stairs and this continued a few times. It was not only physically challenging but mentally challenging as well as we did not know exactly when we would reach the top.

Well, I think our Christian lives are like climbing up a steep, windy hill. It is never easy, always an uphill battle, be it against the world or against your old nature. On top of that, it is a life of faith. Often times we do not see the end result of God's plan. We are just called to do it. This is just like that bend with the flight of stairs after it. God reveals His plans one step at a time. We have to continually seek Him out for guidance on this journey of life of ours.

Easier said than done right? Don't we find ourselves sometimes lost and distant from God?

Sometimes we do tend to get carried away with our busy lives and stop keeping up with Him until one day when we wake up and find ourselves Lost.

So I just want to encourage you guys to keep focused on the goal which you have been called to. Lets not get lost and also encourage others to stay on the track and finish the climb!

Philippians 3:12-14

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

- Alex 'c o p h y' Tan

The Angsi Experience - With God

As everyone knows, we attempted to climb up Gunung Angsi once again last Saturday. I was rather excited about this trip even though I knew climbing up the mountain would mean that my legs would be in great pain for the next week. After the last experience, I was more prepared than ever this time; come rain or shine I was ready to conquer that mountain. I also told myself that if it didn’t rain, I would like to come down that mountain in less than the eight hours it took us last time.

The big part of why I was excited to go to Gunung Angsi once again was because the last trip really helped all of us become closer and I felt that since then our fellowship with one another has really grown into something special. So as we climbed up the mountain I must say that I was doing pretty well since I knew what to expect. God blessed us with beautiful weather and we reached the peak without much difficulty at all.

For the benefit of all of you who didn’t join us that day, our hike up Gunung Angsi was delayed and we only started our hike at around 11am. So when the time came to start climbing down from the peak we were essentially racing against time, hoping that we would reach the bottom before the sun went down. As we were going down, some of us started to fall behind; I was walking together with a friend that had some difficulty. All was well as we went down until the sun started setting and I knew that we still had a long way to go.

The whole time we were coming down, I kept looking up in the sky and as it became darker, I found myself picking up pace and walking faster. During the last two hours of our hike that was when my fear started setting in, I was really afraid that we wouldn’t make it out in time. Hence, I started praying out loud that God will keep us safe and help us to get out before it became pitch black. It also didn’t help that my legs started to become really tired and my ankles started giving way.

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As we reached the bottom, we got lost and couldn’t find our way out. At that point, I was at the brink of a nervous breakdown but I continued praying to keep myself calm. Thank God there was reception and we were able to call Uncle Vincent to ask for directions and we got out! By the time we headed out to the car park, it was already 7.30pm and I could hardly see anything. I was really touched that everyone waited for us to come out even though they waited for us for almost an hour.


I really thank God for protecting all of us during our hike, so many things could have gone wrong but it didn’t. The two verses in Philippians are so true (above) and I hope that this can be an encouragement for us to pray and seek God more!

I must admit that I was so shaken about the experience that when we were on the way back home, Uncle Vincent asked if I would want to climb Gunung Angsi one more time and my immediate answer was NO! I don’t know why but right now, I actually don’t mind going again! :p So guys when’s our next hiking trip?

- Xin-Yi