Salvation Army Youths, SAY

Light a Million Candles

2006-09-23T01:52:00.000+08:00

Hey people. It's been a long LONG time since i've been here, but I've just come across something which I have to put out there.

Recently there's been this clip on TV telling us about child pornography and how more children are being put out on the net.
The avergae age of a child being "displayed" is 9. Just imgaine, innocent cretures such as them being portrayed like this for the world to see.
Children who've experienced this, will probably never forget it.
It'll be like a horrible nightmare playing over and over again in their heads for (probably) the rest of their lives.

This really grabbed me, which why i'm telling you this.
By going to this website, you can light a candle for them.
They don't need your money, just your support.

thanks

http://www.lightamillioncandles.com/

Ignite!

2006-07-03T23:19:00.000+08:00

My oh my, long time no post liao. I think I speak for everyone when i said that. Haha, how's everyone, not much update except from the reports of Minjie from Lynn. Funny thing that we only hear about him on this blog when he is away.

Let's move on, I'm definitely not here to talk about Jie, I'll leave that to Lynn. I wanna talk about the FIRE conference that happened over the last weekend. It was really happening sia. Bonnke was a really inspiring with his simple yet passionate preaching. His illustrations were fresh and interesting, captivating his audiences with sharing his love for Jesus, with the emphasis of saving souls for Him. In his words "Hell empty, Heaven Full!"

The heart of this 60+ year old evangelist is for Africa and his mission: to see 100 million souls saved in this decade. So far up to now, he already has more than 40 millions recorded dedications to Jesus! How does he do that? Simply GO for Jesus.

Here's some of the highlights that he preached:
"The Bible says 'Young men see visions and old men dream dreams', but I say to the old men that its time to wake up. If not the dreams will always remain dreams."
"God work with the workers, He runs with the runners, but he doesn't sit with the sitters"
He also said that some Christians are frozen: after they received Christ, they freeze themselves. Cold to the world of unsaved and preserve themselves for heaven
And why be a millionaire in this world where things will perish, be a SOUL millionaire!

As I sit and listen, my heart beats to the resonance of the passion of his life. It also echoes what I have been telling my care group for the last few sessions. So young people, what is your passion and desire for God in life? Its time for you to thaw yourself and GO out there. For God has called all of us to be fishers of men.

Remember how many times we have felt God's touch only to go back and choose to be the way we were. How we believe the devil that its normal for us to just be fired up during conferences and camps only to go back and lead our old lives. My friends, we need to keep the passion a raging fire and not just a flame. For if we do not fuel it, by doing what God has set out or called us to do, it'll eventually go out.

Post Myanmar Syndromes

2006-04-24T17:15:00.000+08:00

MINGALABA! haha I"m back!!! :P btw. that's hello in burmese! haha :P e trip was TREMENDOUSLY good. hahaha never expected it to be that good. mel and i have to agree with each other that tho we're back, our minds are very much still in myanmar. haha everything here is reminding me of myanmar. and as obvious as it can be. NO REGRETS! haha.

I thought that 2 weeks might be a little too long for me. hurhur. totally wrong. i dint miss home at all. while i'm missing myanmar in jus 2 days back here. ha :P thanks to everyone for ur prayers ( and a personal thanks to my prayer partner, JOEL!!! u remembered to pray right? hehe) hmm. we did have some ups and downs during trips but e ups definitely beat the downs. heh :P

we arrived there on sat afternoon feeling warm and all. the temperature there was a big difference from the temperature in tha airplane! phew.. so hot. ha but yeap we soon got used to it. checked into our hotel and off we went to the supermarket jus across the street. ha i was given the task of handling money. i nv felt so rich in my life. i carried money is 200 thousands. ha seem like a lot of money right. 670 jaat is 1 sing dollar. that's how different the currency is! hurhur. having a meal cld cost us 100thousand! hahaha :P

we had kidsgames at MICT for 3 days. e kids were soooooo polite. so different from us singapore kids. tho they're so small, they insisted on carrying our heavy stuff for us! haha e small girls look too small to carry the big laptop bag, but they still do. ha :P i led them in action songs for kidsgames. they did it with such enthusiasm no matter hw times i repeated e same song! they never got sick of it!

our journey continued with the youth leader's training at SFOT (School for Officer's Training) in myanmar. that lasted for a week. and during the week was water festival! one of the most happening thing there! haha :P it was water festival for a good 4 days but we only went out for one day which was enough to get me sun burnt and totally drenched. they have stages like all of the road and many water hose on the stage den when u pass by in a vehicle, people on stage will splash water at you.. haha so fun! :P one of a kind experience. den came the next day when all 7 of us was down. some fever, diarrhoea, vomitting, headaches. everything. all 7 of us. ha:P i wonder wat we ate. oh well. we recovered in a day and were back on track soon. mel and i shared with the youth leaders on what changi corp youths has been doing as well. :) tho we were nervous, i thank God for whatever he has helped me to share and pray that what we shared will have some impact on the leaders in any way.

we continued to fellowship and to learn from uncle andy. the 4 of us girls also made friendship bands for all the leaders. that's 60 bands in 2 days! haha acheivement! :P we also learnt a burmese song from them. haha that's another acheivement! tho we're not perfect in prounounciation, the idea is there! :P the last three days were spent at this place (i honestly dunno wat place that is haha) it was on the 8th storey and guess wat? they dun have a lift!!! hahaha we climbed the stairs everyday for 3 days! phew. and tat place was like a full day sauna. the electricity will be cut off during some time of the day and we had only one generator to support a 3 aircons and a few fans for 150 people. hot man. ha. but. we survived! :P yeap.

well. we developed lots of new friendships. bonded closer between 7 of us. learnt new things about leadership. learnt burmese (quite interesting actually). and this is definitely my most fun trip even out of my trips to malaysia! :) i definitely am missing myanmar tonnes! u all should come if u can next year too!!

"Yours, truly" : the truth behind the journey to the cross

2006-04-09T14:44:00.000+08:00

Hi to all! we are having an evangelical good friday programme this coming 14th of april 2006 (this friday). It is going to be a time of praising, a time of reliving the journey of Jesus to the cross Read more..

Is it really possible?!

2006-04-07T19:04:00.000+08:00

Here's just a short entry of something quite spectacular and mind boggling. Okie so here's what happened. Most of you should now know that I have commenced work at Spageddies as a "runner" or serving food. Anyway, after my first day of work, I had a dream that I was serving food in a very busy restaurant. A different restaurant and I can still roughly describe the layout of the restaurant. There was this girl who was also serving food but I didn't know who that girl was. The dream goes on...

Amazingly, when I went for work the following day, there she was! Or at least it looked like the girl in my dreams. Weird? Stunning? Is this possible?

Has this happened to anyone else before? HAHA.

SAY Convention

2006-04-05T18:34:00.000+08:00

Movie outing TOMORROW!

2006-04-04T21:31:00.000+08:00

This is abit of a last minute outing, since everyone (inclusive of me) is running a tight schedule. We will be watching the sequel to the very funny, "Ice Age". I believe Kar Leong and gang will be meeting earlier for dinner but if you can't make it for the dinner gathering, the movie is at 7.30 pm at Lido. Do inform Kar Leong or anyone who says "contact me" in the tag board area, know that you are coming so that we can wait for you or buy tix for you.

Try this..

2006-04-01T22:45:00.000+08:00

This just in, I have been told that if you stare at the extreme 4 corners of your ceiling repeatedly, moving right each time for 3 consecutive rounds, seated at where you are, that you will experience that you are in a circular shaped room rather than a square or rectagular shaped room! Amazing! Try it..Remeber to turn 3 rounds for it to work properly.

APRIL FOOL! suckers. Yeah yeah yeah! 1 for Joel zero for you! =)

A different kind of army

2006-04-01T20:42:00.000+08:00

It has been confirmed! The boss of spageddies called to inform me that I was hired for the job. I will be starting next week as a trainee in the kitchen for the first 2 weeks, under the supervision of a trainer and to get used to the food before being able to take orders and serve the customers. One successful interview.

I hope my next interview will just be as successful. I was called for an interview by SMU for the business course which was one of my five options. It will be held this wednesday and I heard there will be a debate session?! essay writing and what not.. Scary! Please pray for me, that the interview will be smooth and that I will get the position in SMU.

Speaking of scary, afew of my school mates have just received their enlistment letters! Most of them will be enlisted in June which leaves just about 2 months more before getting drafted into army! I don't know if I got my letter yet. My parents are out of town and I think the letters get sent to the office. Our Army, the decisive force!

BUT I want to go for the Germany mission trip too. =(

70%, I like!

2006-03-31T00:56:00.000+08:00

I'll let the picture speak for itself!

Where did they go?

2006-03-29T19:26:00.000+08:00

I just returned from my 4 day trip to Thailand with some of my classmates. After watching all the chaos and rioting going on in Thailand on the news the night before our departure, it kinda got me a little worried. Questions flashed through my mind, Was I going to be caught in the riots? Was I going to die? Was I going to enjoy my trip at all? Amazingly, when we arrived in Thailand there were no rioting, no crowds and everything was just fine and normal! Where were the millions of angry people, holding anti Thanksin signs and armed with sticks and torches, we do not know. Anyway, I prayed that God would be in control of our trip and that we would be in His hands. I would like to thank the Lord for our wonderful stay and of course the shopping! I will post up some pictures of my trip soon.

We were also blessed because the very next day after we had returned, the news reported that 2 of the major shopping malls in Bangkok had to be closed due to the major rioting. I'm really baffled! Or was it the work of God.

I went for a job interview today at the Italian restaurant, Spageddies in Paragon. If I get the job, i'll be trained to be a waiter or to work at the bar. My friend who already works there says I will definately get the job since they are "desprate" to hire trainees now but I will just have to wait and pray.

wheee.. after a long time.. I'm back! :)

2006-03-27T14:18:00.000+08:00

wahaha :) i know it's been quite a LONGGG while :P heh. been quite busy. but yeap HELLO EVERYONE.. i'm back! haha :)

yeap. been 3 mths since musical ended. hows everyone? ha still missing e fun timeS? i sure am.. anyway similar to joel. i wanna thank God for clearing e last semester too! :) tho my results are not fantastic. but nonetheless! no need to repeat half a year!! haha I'm officially a 3rd year student. wheee. :P

well. i decided to update cus i'm as bored as manda in e office but of cos i dun earn as much as manda. hurhur. tt girl. incorrigible. ha :P interested parties go ask her hw much she earns per hr! grrr. n wat she does to earn tt kinda money. ;P (right manda?) and noppe. i'm nt slacking. jus tt boss is nt in yet. wahaha :P

well i might as well share some stuff with u people. since i'm so free now. Changi Corps have recently embarked on studying the fruits of the spirit in our caregroups. we've jus completed the topic on Love. so u can imagine how loving changi youths shld b now. ha erm. hopefully. :) well i guess what everyone probably remembers will be e topic on taming our tongue. bible reference was taken from James 3. ( i hope i get tt right) from that lesson i actually began to realise how powerful our human tongue can be. however e tongue is actually jus a small part of the whole human body.

while teaching it to e younger youths in church. i rememebred telling them.. the bible did say that we should speak the truth in love. but i wondered to myself. is there any types of truth that should be refrained from being said? hmm like if I personally don't like the shirt that a friend is wearing. are this kinda truths necessary to be said? ha well. it may seem like a stupid example. but yeah i actually thought about it to myself. and i guess i found my answer while discussing this with e youths. those are unnecessary truths that dosent need to be said. as much as it's the truth that i don't like it.. but saying it won't be building any one up and may unnecessarily hurt the other party. don't u agree? :) heh. well. jus a reminder to everyone. be careful of words that come out from ur mouth. can b quite deadly.. :) oh yes! promoting the youth tertiary cell in changi. we meet every friday at 7.30pm in kallang bahru tuition centre! if u wanna join us tell the cell leader (a.k.a Karleong) or actually. jus anyone of us. :)

oh yeah another thing. as joel announced the other time about the myanmar mission trip.. :) yours truly (moi) will be going!! haha :P yeapp it's 2 weeks frm nw. we're leaving on Sat, 8th April 10.25am on MI516.. coming back on Sat 22nd April 5.05pm on MI515 so that's exactly 2 weeks. heh. i'm requesting for prayer request for the whole team (Maj Andy, Jeff, Minjie, Lynn, Amanda, Melissa and myself) cus we believe prayer does things that human hand cant do right? pray for protection over us as well as our families back here in singapore. well personally, my family have yet to come to know Christ like i have so obviously there are obstacles that i have to cross to embark on this mission trip so would you keep me in your prayers while doing ur daily QT? thanks so much :) other than that i'll try to update on the details of our trip when i know more about it yea! till then.. take care people! :)

Indescribable

2006-03-21T15:52:00.000+08:00

First up, I would like to thank God for helping me to graduate from school with, better than I had expected grades. Anyway, I was browsing the web today in search for interesting bible facts and i stumbled across this site which provided some really cool fact findings about the bible.

Something that really got my attention was this phrase, "Scientists still have not decided exactly how the moon came to be in orbit around the earth or even how it was formed. What is interesting to us, is that the moon is so large that it could easily destroy the earth. A shorter distance away and the moon would not circle the earth. If it were any closer, it would impact the earth creating massive destruction. Our moon is unique in the Universe and is precisely placed to accomplish it's purpose."

This shows the awesome power of our God who created the heavens and the earth and placed everything accordingly, each with its own uniqueness and abilities. After reading that phrase, this song kept repeating in my head, "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin.

Lyrics:
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You put the stars in the sky and you know them by name.
You are amazing God!
All powerful, unchangeable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees and we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God, you are amazing God.
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You see the depths of my heart and you love me the same
You are amazing God!

This is the URL to the site with the above mentioned bible facts: http://agards-bible-timeline.com/bible_questions.html

New S.A.Y banner

2006-03-14T23:16:00.000+08:00

We have a new S.A.Y banner up for grabs! Many thanks to Tammy for designing and sending in this new banner which we can all use. How to use the banners: simply choose which banner you wish to use on your website, copy the html coding provided under the banner you have selected and paste the html coding into your own website, where ever you wish for it to appear. The result will be a link to this sa-youths-unite.blogspot.com site! Link us today! Help spread the good news.

This is the banner design which Tammy contributed:

The banners can be located on the right hand side of this blog. Design one and add to our collection of banners. Click here to find out how to create a SAY banner.

Carrie Underwood

2006-03-10T21:53:00.000+08:00

"Jesus take the wheel"
listen listen listen to the song man!!!
it's absolutely superb!
great words+carrie underwood's awesome vocals=something greatly awesome!
HAHA!!!
=D

What's NEW and what's HOT!

2006-03-05T21:14:00.000+08:00

Praise God, we are now one step closer to a more united youth group! Many thanks to Benjamin Wong and others for creating a Central Corps youths database cum informative website otherwise known as the SA Youths Wiki! The Torchbearers is the distinctive name of our youth group and you can learn of many other interesting topics such as "bible facts", "questions and answers", "youth information", "birth dates" and a page to share your testimonies with others. These are just a few of the goodies that can be found in this new website. So visit it when you are free and contribute to it too! Here is the URL : http://torchbearer.pbwiki.com/

Save it to your favorites today!

If your Corps wishes to come up with a similar website and I think that is a splendid idea and something fun and achievable for everyone, send me the link to your page and we can all know more about each other and what's going down in the various Salvation Army youth groups all over Singapore and maybe even all over the world! Haha! So.. what are you waiting for?!

Jesus answers prayers!

2006-03-05T20:26:00.000+08:00

I just want to SHOUT OUT! HALLELUJAH! I'm FREE! I'm finally delivered from the bondage of all the school work, projects and exams! My days spent as a poly student was quite the experience and a well-worth one. What I really want to emphasize is how God was with me throughout these 3 years, guiding me with every step and helping me even through the simplest of tasks. This is my testimony of how God can make a way, if we have faith, when there seems to be no possible way out.

I was certain that it would be almost impossible to complete all my projects in time, i was depending on my own strength rather than on God's strength and for a period I was feeling very down and stressed out but I began to ask for God's guidance and strength to accomplish my tasks and thank God for all of your support and encouragement, that I managed to pull through those turbulent times.

Isn't it amazing how God still answers your prayers no matter who you are, however trivial the matter or situation is, the color of your skin, no matter how many million gazillion people are uttering a prayer at the very same moment, he still hears your prayer?! We truly and really have a living and awesome God! I always make it a point to pray before I sit for any exam paper, asking for God's wisdom and for Him to help me remember the answers for the paper, just to name afew things. Well, that isn't cheating right?! Haha. It dosn't state on the exam paper that you can't ask for God's help and you know what is really cool? God really helped me with my papers, I could remember all the facts that I had studied and those which I could not even remember when I had my notes in front of me. So what i'm trying to bring across is to start praying for anything and everything and don't think there's anything too big or too small that God can't solve!

..but with God ALL things (not some things) are POSSIBLE!

Where Is He?

2006-02-27T23:48:00.000+08:00

In our cell group a couple of weeks ago, we asked the question, "Is it much more easier to find God in dramatic experiences?"

Then we were reminded otherwise when, in 1 Kings 19, God was not in the strong wind, the earthquake or the fire. Instead, He spoke to Elijah in the form of a gentle whisper.

God doesn't reveal Himself only in powerful, miraculous ways. To look for God only in something big (rallies, churches, camps, conferences, highly visible leaders) may be to miss Him because HE is often found gently whispering in the quietness of a humbled heart.

Remember the parable of the seed? The strong plants grew in the fertile soil slowly and gently, yet it grew strong and healthy compared to the plant that sprang up and withered under the hot sun.

As much as dramatic experiences might inspire, encourage, or motivate us, we also need to spend gentle and steady time with God.

Are you listening for God? Take sometime today to seek Him, and listen humbly and quietly for His guidance. It may come to you when you least expect it.

BELIEVE IT or NOT..

2006-02-23T15:45:00.000+08:00

No this isn't a promo for Ripley's believe it or not, but rather, something which I thought would be quite interesting to dig out from the past. Remember the little somethings you used to collect as a kid or are still collecting right up till today! We want to hear what funky and spunky stuff you used to collect. Interestingly enough, as a kid, apart from a heap of other ~~items~~ junk that I used to collect, I used to collect the middle part of toilet rolls! YES! Lots and I mean LOTS of toilet rolls in a big black garbage bag under my bed.

So post up whatever "treasures" you used to have in the comments. Then we can see who had the same hobbies. HAH =)

BELIEVE IT or NOT.. as the saying goes, "your rubbish could be someone else's treasure.."

I'm back!

2006-02-13T10:42:00.000+08:00

Yes! I'm back after my short break from blogging and i'm sure you all already know the reason. First of all, i'm still alive and still kicking and eveything is flowing on quite smoothly. THANK YOU LORD! Enough about me already. I hope everyone else is having a blast! We also pray for God's wisdom to be upon all the secondary students who will be sitting for their exams soon.

UPDATES!

Myanmar
Mission trip to Myanmar is held on the 8th - 18th of April 2006. It's going to be a whole new experience because you will be spending and celebrating Easter there! We will be planning KidGames sessions and conducting youth leaders training for the youths in Myanmar.

The revised amount is $1200 but the Youth Dept. is subsidizing $200. If you are interested in this Mission trip to Myanmar, do let us know!

Germany
If you are more adventurous and looking to travel even further, there will be a Sports Mission trip to Germany in June! Yes! We will be there for the WORLD CUP! The actual dates are still yet to be confirmed but you can be prepared to be at Germany for at least 2 weeks.

The fee for the flight to Germany is plus minus, $1500 . All meals and accomodation costs are all paid for and taken care of! If you are interested in this Mission trip to Germany, do let us know too!

For more details regarding the Mission trips, you may contact Jeff from the Salvation Army, Youth Development Centre (YDC) for more details and information at:

Tel: 6297-4100 or
Hp: 9622-0747

A picture speaks a thousand words

2006-01-22T19:40:00.000+08:00

Like to take pictures or pose for pictures? Excellent! Snap up as many photos as you can and send them in today! To make it easier for us to view all your beautiful pictures, use one of the following web picture hosts to upload all your pictures and all you have to do is pass us the web url where all your pictures have been uploaded to. We will then link your page under the "photo gallery" section of this blog! We are also planning to have a "featured picture of the month" display picture and it might just be your picture! So upload as many pictures as you can and send us the url.

Some FREE online picture hosting websites:
Flickr
Photobucket
Multiply
Shutterfly

We need your creative juices!

2006-01-22T12:58:00.000+08:00

The crew has thought about various ways on how to better improve on the sa youths blog, which includes flash entertainment (still constructing) and SAY banners, like the one you see below. There will be more banners up in the near future but here's where you can play a part too!

<a href = "http://www.sa-youths-unite.blogspot.com"><img src = "http://static.flickr.com/25/89544697_5bc8f5fafa_m.jpg"></a>

We need your creativity! Yes! We want you to create SAY banners for the blog! If you have Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Paint or any other software that allows you to type and draw in, do up a banner and submit it to us and we will definately put it up for sharing.

Banner Specifications:
If you are sending in a banner, below are the requirements for the banner size and details:

Banner width: 190 pixels or 6.7 cm
Banner height: 70 pixels or 2.47 cm

The banner should also include:

1) web url, "sa-youths-unite.blogspot.com"
2) Salvation Army Youths acronym, "SAY"
3) The Salvation Army logo (if possible)

Some might be wondering what a banner is or what it is for? It's very simple. A banner is a picture link and in this case, the banners will link you to this sa-youths-unite.blogspot.com blog! All you have to do is highlight the html code given below the banner that you want, copy the html code and paste it where ever you like it to appear in your very own website or blog. It's that easy! When you copy the html code to your own website or blog, all you will see is the banner and it will be a link to this blog. Below is an example of how it will look.

We hope to see your SAY banners and creativity! Don't worry about the html codes, just send in the banners and we will do the rest. =)

W.W.J.D?

2006-01-17T10:15:00.000+08:00

What Would Jesus Do? I haven't heard that phrase in awhile. Come to think of it, I used to wear a black WWJD wristband everyday, back when I was still in secondary school and I thought it was very "cool" until it broke one day. HAH.

Anyway, just to follow up from Yvonne's previous posted entry, Jesus was already preaching to the elders in the temple at the age of twelve! I suppose when he was about our age or my age, he would be rushing to complete someone's 3 piece sofa set? I doubt school would have been this stressful back then, with 6 weeks of school and 6 projects such as 'Interactive Multimedia', 'Content Design & Development', 'Technopreneurship', just to list afew. I can imagine the youths at that time playing with marbles and rolling wheels around on the sandy roads or maybe some wise crack was already building the early prototype of the BMW convertible! HAH.

Does anybody know what was Jesus' and Joseph's furniture shop called?
JJ's Furniture Shop =)

Anyhow, I shall not make the readers feel the stress, after reading my stress related blog about me being stressed up! Thanks Yvonne for your encouragement!

The crux of last friday's youth cell group message was about, "To be first you have to be the last" and during the video message, the woman was giving an example of how we always wanted to be first in everything that we did, in school we would strive to be the best in class.

When I heard that, I was struck instantly. Maybe she was refering to me! I'm a perfectionist, always wanting to do my best to be tops in everything that I do. Now I realise that maybe amidst all the stress of school, projects, studies and so on.. I have been so caught up with the things that i'm doing that I, unkowingly, shut God out and fail to see his true plans for me.

I think we should take time to just reflect and seek God's instructions no matter how flustered we get with our workload. Who knows? He might just provide us with the solution, IF only we would listen!

work...exams...projects...how are we to cope??

2006-01-16T17:59:00.000+08:00

2 weeks into school and people are already starting to feel the "BURN". In this case, the "BURN" being the stress. What with the 16/17 year olds preparing for their O's and um, Joel with his projects, hehe, who wouldn't feel stress. But just a few days ago i came across this verse;Colossians 3:23 "Work hard and cheerfuly at whatever you do..."
Think about the acronym "W.W.J.D"-What Would Jesus Do?"
If you think about it, if Jesus was our age and facing the same things that we're facing them now (exams and all...) how do you think He'd handle them? Probably by working hard and cheerfully, just like what His Word says. Reading that verse really gave me a boost and the "WANT" to actualli work hard and do my best cheerfully, without any complaints. Hehe, So make God happy and do what He says, He's the boss. Hehe
=D

Something To Think About

2006-01-14T03:37:00.000+08:00

Does God will something that is good, or is something good because God wills it?

Just something interesting think about that touches on God as the source of our moral absolute.

Important! Please take note!

2006-01-13T18:21:00.000+08:00

I'm sure you're all aware now of the "360 degrees sports workshop". I did a post on this topic last week. However, there are some minor ammendments to the dates. The sports workshop is now held from the 23rd - 26th of January 2006 instead of the previously stated, 23rd - 27th of January. Do take note of this change and you may wish to download a copy of the 360 degrees sports brochure. Plus, there is a sign-up form for you to fill up in this brochure! So if you're intending on participating in this workshop, you will have to print this form out and send it via mail or fax. See brochure for updated details!

Download Brochure Here

Step 1: click on the "Download Here" link and wait for a window to display the sports brochure

Step 2: click File -> "Save As..", to save a copy of the brochure

Step 3: Print out the brochure

Read more..

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

2006-01-13T10:21:00.000+08:00

Have you all heard it? Changi Corps is starting a new cell for all those aged 17 to 25 who are in tertiary institute or undergoing National Service. And they are calling themselves 3 degrees (I think 3rd degree sounds better, how about it guys?). We'll still be part of S.A.Y. but just need a name to differentiate us from the younger group in Changi. Not so nice to have people going around to refer us as the "older youths" (such an un-glam name).

Official starting date for this cell group will be on 10 Feb at Kallang Bahru Tuition Centre, so all those from Changi who didn't go for the briefing please take note.

For the rest of you(s), please pray for us as we embark on this new journey and also pray for the "humble" leader of this group; Kar Leong.

I know my redeemer lives!

2006-01-10T11:26:00.000+08:00

Great! It's a public holiday for all of us today because it's Hari Raya Haji, God bless the malay community and all our malay friends! Anyway, I thought I should start the day off by sharing a very meaningful song with all of you. The song is by Nicole C. Mullen and the title is, "Redeemer". I've been listening to this song for the past few days because it's very soothing and inspirational! For those who were at Changi Corps on the last day of the christmas musical, this was the song which accompanied the video of the motivated father who ran, swam and cycled the entire marathon with his disabled son and completed it!

For those who are searching for the mp3, add me in msn at jestercircus86@hotmail.com =) Enjoy the lyrics for now. Have a great day everyone!

Redeemer - Nicole C. Mullen

Lyrics:
Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning?
And who told the ocean you can only come this far?
And who showed the moon where to hide till evening?
Whose words alone can catch a falling star?

Chorus:
Well I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
All of creation testifies this life within me cries
I know my Redeemer lives

ye-e-eah
The very same God
that spins things in orbit
runs to the weary, the worn and the weak
and the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken
they conquered death to bring me victory

Now I know, my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
let all creation testify
Let this life within me cry
I-I-I know
My Redeemer

He lives
to take away my shame
and He lives
forever I'll proclaim
that the payment for my sin
was the precious life He gave
and now He's alive and
there's an empty
grave!

And I know
my Redeemer lives
He lives
I know
my Redeemer lives
let all creation testify
Let this life within me cry
I-I-I know my Redeemer

I know
my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives

* I know, That I know, that I know, that i know, that I know
He lives
*Because He lives I can face tommorow
He lives
*I know, I know* He lives *
I spoke with Him this morning!
* He lives *
The tomb is empty He lives
*I gotta tell everybody!!*

Mission trip to Myanmar 2006

2006-01-09T19:07:00.000+08:00

I believe you have already read the notice of the mission trip to Myanmar that the Salvation Army Youth Department is organizing. If you have not been on a mission trip before and want to experience it first hand, meeting the locals, planning activities and helping the community, reaching out to others and sharing God's heartbeat, spreading the love of God to the still non-believers, this is where you should begin!

The Youth Department has planned and confirmed the Myanmar mission trip which will be from the 10th of April to the 17th of April. The initial cost of the trip was $1000 but Salvation Army was kind enough to subsidize $250. So the cost per head for the mission trip is now $750. However, do not let the cost hinder you from participating in doing God's work! Just notify us on your interest for the mission trip and we will work something out, We have faith that God will provide! =)

Programs such as the Kidgames and Teengames have been planned for the mission trip. So you can expect fun galore! However, due to the political situation in Myanmar, the visa into Myanmar has to be applied 1 month before the trip itself. Therefore, we will need your response as soon as possible if you're interested! You may leave a comment to show your interest or if you have a question to clarify.

or

Contact Jeff from the Salvation Army, Youth Development Centre (YDC) for more details and information at:

Tel: 6297-4100 or
Hp: 9622-0747

Salvation Army logos are now clickable!

2006-01-08T20:15:00.000+08:00

Click on the Salvation Army logos you see around the website and they will lead you to the Singapore Salvation Army main website. The logos can be found at the header, The side picture where it says, "Youths Speak!" and the picture of the girl in the drop down notice board on entering the blog. =) I thought I should let you people in on this because these logos are quite "hidden" and since we are representing Salvation Army, I thought we should link them up too to let people know what's going on in our beautiful church!

Yeap! Do continue to spread the word about the SA youths blog. =P

Driving along the roads

2006-01-07T22:31:00.000+08:00

I had a driving lesson earlier this afternoon and amidst the pouring rain and the extremely cold weather, this lesson has got to be the most interesting lesson i've had so far! While I was driving out of the driving school compound and onto the main roads, my instructor pulled out a McDonald's cheeseburger out of the dashboard and asked me if he could have his lunch! HAHA!

We were doing our usual rounds, driving around the test routes and according to some people, I would crash my car! For the record, I did not crash my car! Thank God. Hais. Look at the amount of faith and encouragement i'm getting from you people. HAHA. Kiddin! =P

While I was driving, my instructor suddenly asked me what phone I was using and I whipped it out for him and he started playing all my mp3 songs in my phone. That was quite cool! Somehow, every instructor that instructs me will always ask if I have a girlfriend! What's with that man?! It's like they have a set of standard questions to ask their students. HAH!

Alright, I've made serveral changes to the blog to spark it up abit. Hope you guys will enjoy it! I will need feedback if you guys see any areas that can be improved on or added in.

If not, back to the books for me! I have a paper this wednesday and there's not much to study. Only 60 powerpoint slides. Continue to pray for all those who are taking their exams!

God bless.

Transforming the community through sports

2006-01-06T23:21:00.000+08:00

I'm sure all of us are interested and involved in some kind of sport in one way or another. What better way to reach out to others in the community through the favourite game or sport that we enjoy playing! Come and join in the workshop to learn and understand more about how you can excel in this ministry.

Lowrie McCown, the founder and president of 360 sports, will be conducting a total of 4 sessions. Click on the link below to view the brochures and learn more about the workshop details.

Download Brochure Here

Step 1: click on the "Download Here" link and wait for a window to display the sports brochure

Step 2: click File -> "Save As..", to save a copy of the brochure

Step 3: Print out the brochure

Venue: Singapore Bible College
Date: 23 - 26 January 2006
Time: 7.30pm - 9.30pm

Adult: $40 per person
Students: $20 per person
Sign-ups in groups of 5 persons: $180
make cheques payable to The Bible Society of Singapore

There will be a 50% subsidy for students! Yes! Students pay only $10!

So what are you waiting for?! Sign up today and see how God can use you in a mighty way, to bless others through sports. If you have any further enquiries or anything that you are uncertain about, do contact Jeff Ang from the Salvation Army, Youth Development Centre (YDC) at:

Tel: 6297-4100 or
Hp: 9622-0747

God can use YOU to perform His wonders and miracles!

Life does go on..

2006-01-04T21:35:00.000+08:00

Whao! come to think of it, I only have 6 more weeks of poly school left! 3 years of my life spent studying in a poly and it's all coming to to a full stop in 6 weeks, that's way way too fast! Anyhow, i'm sure you already know that i'm going to say, "whao! How time flies! It feels like I just enetered into into poly just yesterday". HAH! Well, that's what everybody says or will say at the end of the term.

I'm suddenly receiving career guide magazines, letters from NTU, "The reason why Singapore sleeps peacefully" join the police force letters and post cards. All these make me feel so old and lost! HAH. Until now, I don't even know what i'm going to be or do after I graduate from poly or after National Service for that matter. I mean, am I going to futher my studies in a uni? Am I going to sign on in the army? Am I going to venture out into the workforce? Am I going to be overseas doing something else? Who am I going to be? What am I going to do?

All these questions I can't even answer for myself but I know that God can!
I was reminded by Lynn the other day when she reassured me that God has great plans for me and that he already knows what i'm going to do even before I even attempt it! Not only for me but for everyone! Forgive me because I can't remember the exact verse from the bible. If you do do let me know. =) That verse is just so reassuring! That no matter which path we take or what we're gonna do in the future, God has already planned our steps and has already gone before us.

I read from, "Our Daily Bread", one of the verses which I came across..
"God is great enough to care about the smallest details of our lives. God not only knows every move we make but also the motives and thoughts of our heart. God knows the number of hairs on our head, the concerns of our heart, and even the condition of a fallen sparrow.
(Matthew 10:29)

I understand that there are a number of youths taking their O's this year. We continue to pray for them and I hope that you too will be reassured by this verse to stand strong knowing that God has greater plans for your life, no matter the outcome of your current situation.

Study hard! Play harder! Pray Hardest! =) HAHA.
Good luck and God bless y'all.

Fly High

2006-01-04T01:21:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year everyone. Late I know, but better late than never. =)

So it's the another year of school and while I never was one of the top fliers in school (I was interested in more important things like football and girls), everyone should aim high and become toppers in their school.

Just like this guy.

That's the attitude, I say.

Jeremiah saves the day.

2006-01-03T21:09:00.000+08:00

Nice one, von.
Well if you're starting a new year in a totally different school or you're going back to your school or if you're starting the year with either the big O or A level stress. Not to worry but my all time favourite& the one verse i'll remember for life will be revealed to levitate the stress off you.

"For I know the plans I have for you." declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
-Jeremiah 29:11

Now take a deep breathe& chillllllllllllllllllll.
=]

We're in His Hands

2006-01-03T18:14:00.000+08:00

Yo people!! haha!! well first day of school's FINALLY ova! WOOHOO!! HALLELUJAH! haha....anyway...i was just thinking about the song we sang at church on New Years Eve, In HIs Hands, and it's really a good song if your're afraid about what 2006 has in store for us.

I'm in His hands
I'm in His hands
What'ev the future holds
I'm in His hands
The days i cannot see
Have all been planned for me
His way is best you see
I'm in His hands

haha....so we all have to remember to just relay on God's strength this year, since we really won't be able to do it on our own using our own strength. Hehe
Have a great year y'all!!
=D

What HE said..

2006-01-02T18:54:00.000+08:00

A prayer meeting for cell leaders was called for on the eve of New Year. This prayer meeting was different in the sense that we did not just pray but we prayed and waited for God's response. Many a times when we pray, we do not actually stop to hear God's response to our prayer. What we did was to set out individually and to spend our quiet to with God, asking him for direction and what HE wanted to see change in the youth group, for the year 2006.

These are the names of the cell leaders in Central Corps and what God revealed to them:
All these pointers were adapted from e-mails re-written by their own words. Sorry if it's abit hard to read because I just copied and paste them directly from the e-mails.

-Aaron Sim
mine is the openess with each other in the youth group.

-Isaac Choo
i can't find the lyrics of holy fire anywhere on the net, urgh.
but yea mine's the lyrics of that song. i think the lyrics speak for itself? need in-depth analysis?

-Ben Wong
Ok mine was... psalms 15...

1 A psalm of David. Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD? Who mayenter your presence on your holy hill?

2 Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking thetruth from sincere hearts.

3 Those who refuse to slander others or harm their neighbors or speakevil of their friends.

4 Those who despise persistent sinners, and honor the faithfulfollowers of the LORD and keep their promises even when it hurts.

5 Those who do not charge interest on the money they lend, and whorefuse to accept bribes to testify against the innocent. Such peoplewill stand firm forever.

i suspect... that would mean to see our youths grow to be morechristlike in both words and actions...

-Chris Chen
E-mail not sent

-Daniel Ng
E-mail not sent

-Guan You
vibrancy and activity. to see our youths more involved in church activities, corps activities, and also to have a passionate heart for God.
not just to be satisfied by God in their hearts only, but to live it out loud.

unity. to have a common constancy of purpose to seek God and to love each other.
walk the talk. to practise what they read in the Bible, to live out their lives as worthy testimonies for God's kingdom

QT. must do QT everyday to be a cutie.

other than that, it is to reignite the passion in us to want to evangelise to the lost. and to see the mercy seat being fully utilised during youth service.more regular worshippers, as well as newcomers calling this church as their home church.

-Joel Lee
Okie, my two pointers were:

1)To mature in our faith
2)To be unified in the body of christ

Maturing in our faith by diging even deeper into the word.

and for youths to be more sociable, mingle around abit more, be more friendly not only on the surface but also internally.

I can't really remember what I said on that night but yeah this is about what sums it up. =P
It's funny how I can remember other peoples pointers but I can't remember my own. HAH. God help me!

=) Happy New Year everyone!

-Yurong Lin
ha..shall write before i lose the paper..

okay mine was the song Holy Fire come burn in my heart.
- evengelism
- igniting a spark- equal to dryness and leaders to catch it and pass it down. btw, dry stuff are terribly difficult to ignite yet burn the quickest when they have caught the spark.
- security in Christ. to feel how He would feel.
- I think that one thing diff for most people is to make the right decision. so let me see through Jesus eyes, let me feel how He would feel. Let me love as He love and gave as He gave.perhaps guidiance. wwJd

I think besides the above two other thoughts came to mind act on that day.
- our members belong to God and He loves them more than us so we should surrender them to God and not worry bout them too much.

- God's word. I think that loving one another, standing in unity, discipline, fire etc and all we talked about on that day are not just like feelings but somehow connected to the grounding in GOd's word. solittle is known.

yups.. sry for its length.

-Biru Ong
ahah..okie..here's wat on my list..

1)unity
2)take away all the disagreements within the church or youths or...hah
3)spiritually alive
evangelism-->more initiative...e,g show love to the unloved?

-Sarah Thang
E-mail not sent

-Amelia Yeo
E-mail not sent

-Clarissa Low
From HIM

FIRE : the dryness within us thus we need the fire
FOCUS: wrong/incorrect focus of the youths. to get our spiritual focus right
UNITY: youth in our church being scattered there's a need to bring them as one

-Kathryn Ng
E-mail not sent

-Lurong Tan
ok i think i'll start first la..

ok... He told me "i want You" ...and i think there are many things that i want to see done in the church...many things that i want to do to make the church better... but what He wanted to say to me was that He dont want all these results and that He only wants me... i dont now whether this message was for me only..or for other ppl..but i believe that He did touch the hearts of those whom this message is suited for.

and i saw a bible with its inside detached from the cover. (i need help interpretting this one k) .It's quite weird, cos no matter how it was positioned,,,like if it's lying down..the inside just slips out..and if it is vertical in the air..the inside just slips out of the cover...leaving an empty cover.. well..i did discuss it with ben... and we think that it's probably something to do with discipleship...either that the programme that we're having is not serving as a proper means of discipleship ..as in like a futile attempt...or that maybe we are like empty covers that do not live according to the word..u noe..like christian on the outside..nothing on the inside...heh... anyone can interpret it please do ah!thanks!

Do continue to pray for us and for yourself, to seek what the Lord wants of you in the year 2006. Once again, have a blessed new year everybody! If you do have any prayer pointers and requests, do drop them in the comments area. =)

another random post :)

2006-01-01T21:36:00.000+08:00

hey youths! :) found some time to just blog randomly and share some stuff. yes i know. i'm suppose to be studying. i'll go off soon after i finish typing this ok? be sure i will study. :)

so how has the first day of new year been for everyone? i guess i must say i had a great day. simple but yet meaningful day. being in church the first minute of the year. spending some time in silence with the Lord. being able to start the new year with the Lord. its jus so greaT! :) i've been really confused this period of time over certain issues but yet God has shown clear to me once again thru this verse.. ".... 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."- Philippians 3:13-14 i wonder if this verse speaks to any of you like it does to me. Jus leaving what belongs to 2005 and looking ahead to another great year tt God has planned for us.

i've also jus been reminded of this song. i've heard of this song a while ago but have never taken a good look at the lyrics and trying to understand the meaning of it till i was at a camp this december. i guess i'm being reminded of what i've been given so far. all e luxury and even to the little detail... my life.. tt was given by Him. and the fact that all the price for my sins have been paid off by the Prince of Glory. i guess it's hard for me nt to be blown away by that fact :) well i end off with the lyrics of this song to bless you this new year! :) Have a great year ahead!! God bless!

The Wonderful Cross

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

See from His head, His hands, His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ev'r such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Oh the wonderful Cross, oh the wonderful Cross
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live
Oh the wonderful Cross, oh the wonderful Cross
All who gather here by grace draw near
And bless Your name

Were the whole realm of Nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2006-01-01T14:52:00.000+08:00

The old has gone and the new has come. Yet we shall not forget the lessons, friendships, love, etc that we've gotten from the year of 2005.
The new year for me is filled with new challenges as I take on new roles in many areas and as I strive to better what I already am doing.
What's up for you guys this coming year? Anything to look forward to? Any resolutions? Share with us

The coming of the Lord

2005-12-31T07:53:00.000+08:00

A short film was screened during last evenings cell group at Central. The title of the film was, "Left Behind", and it speaks of the end times and the Lords return, mostly adapted from the books of Revelation and 1 Thessalonians. To cut the long story short, people just started disappearing! In planes, in the streets and all around the world! People were just taken and their clothes left behind as they were, originally. Later in the film, we learnt that these people did not just vanish mysteriously or according to man's reasoning, disappeared due to nuclear activity, but they were taken up to heaven by God because the end times had come.

What struck me the most was that not everyone was taken. Mostly children and only a select few of adults and youths. It was quite sad to see families being seperated, missing loved ones and all the others who were left behind on earth. There was even a pastor who wasn't taken up with God because he was merely living a lie!

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first."
-1 Thessalonians 4:16-

"Now brothers, about the end times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a theif in the night."
-1 Thessalonians 5:1-

It got me pondering, how scary it would be if one day, I find my family and close friends missing because they were taken up to heaven and I was not. It would be so saddening.

But there is hope! Our good Lord is a God of second chances and the bible says,

"After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words."
1 Thessalonians 4:17

As this year draws to a close and as we embark on a new year ahead, I hope and pray that we can all start it right with the Lord so that even when the day of the Lord's return comes, we will all be together in heaven, just as we were on earth!

Happy new year's eve everyone! God bless.

i'm on too!! (:

2005-12-29T22:42:00.000+08:00

yay i'm on too!! :P ok i'm not familiar with blogger and i'm definitely bad at html. haha give me sometime :P hello to all you S.A.Ys out there! it's so cool to be a part of S.A.Y duncha agree??? :P anyway i'll blog back soon once i finish my common tests! keep me in ya prayers yea! LOVE u all! Blessed New Year guys! :)

I'm ON!!!

2005-12-29T21:09:00.000+08:00

hello hello, can see?

We still need you!

2005-12-29T18:44:00.000+08:00

As you can see, there are a few minor changes about the SA youths blog. I managed to tweak the header bit and also added in the crew members profile portion, which I hope to be able to input more detail there but have to wait till you guys pass me more information. HAH.

*NOTICE*
If you haven't already noticed, there is no background music! Don't worry! Your speakers are not spoilt. It's just that I received feedback from some people that they were having difficulty accessing this blog, with pop-up error messages. Hence, I decided to remove it altogether and until I find a source which does not generate pop-up error messages, you can just sing your own song whilst viewing the blog. =)

Our dearest Edda has flown off to California for her further studies. Her flight was early this morning and she will only be returning 3 months later. The last I heard, the estimated journey period is a whooping 20 hours! Ouch! That's a pain in the bottom, literally! Anyhow, we wish her all the best in the things she does and good health. We pray that God will continue to pour his blessing upon her and to grant her journey mercies until she returns. We hope too, that the rest of her family and friends won't be too anxious and distressed about her departure to the States.

On a lighter note, the rest of the the youths who had their little vacation in Thailand should be returning soon! or have they already? HAHA.

Anyway, we are still searching for more bloggers to contribute to this blog. We need more people! Because more people equals more writing styles equals more zest equals more fun! equals sa-youths-unite.blogspot.com, rocks mah socks! However, all this can only be possible if you would come forward!

WE WANT YOU! =)

TESTING TESTICLES, ONE, TWO, THREE.

2005-12-28T16:57:00.000+08:00

okay. banned me from blogging again 'cause of the orgasmic title.

anyhoo, on a lighter note, i would like to introduce myself.

hallo, i'm TAMMY TUMNUS & i love FAUNS. i love reading too.

i'm PROUD to be a christian. & i LOVE salvation army churches.

to everyone here, WELCOME TO THE SALVATION ARMY YOUTHS WEBSITE!

okay that's all for now, folks.

Goodbye & toodle doo.

testin 1, 2, 3....

2005-12-28T14:54:00.000+08:00

hey...it works!! haha...yay...i'm de first member...joel as u see it workz....yahoo!!
haha...ok..um....run outta things to say actuali...hehe
o..btw....ppl who r obliviousto who is dis...itz VONNI!! haha...
=D

Searching for bloggers!

2005-12-28T00:00:00.000+08:00

I'm back in Singapore! Hallelujah! Safe and sound from my short, 3 days 2 nights, overseas trip. I hope I didn't miss much while I was away but I truly enjoyed my visit to Penang. We did a little shopping, gorging down the local foods and we even bumped into Brian's and Edda's dads! Apparently, their cruise docked over at Penang and it so happened that they were shopping in the same mall as us! Speak about a small world! HAHA. Okie, I shall not go on and bore you people with the grandmother stories about my trip.

Anyway, I would like to announce that SA youths unite is searching for bloggers! Those who would like to contribute to the website's bloggerings or to be a member of this site, please indicate your interest by leaving your name, e-mail address and we will get back to you as soon as possible!

You will have to check your e-mail after you have indicated that you are interested in contributing to the blog's blog enteries. You might also need to sign up with blogspot if you are not yet a blogspot user. All you need to do is follow the simple instructions and you will soon be able to see your very own blog enteries and contributions in this SA youths unite's website!

Unfortunately, there can only be a limited number of slots available. Let us know ASAP and spread the word to all your friends! Be a part of the SA youths unite crew today!

There are no qualifications required! You do not need to have excellent english or a bombastic range of vocabulary. All you will need is your keyboard and probably abit of your time! Do give it a thought if you are really keen of blogging and letting people around you know what's going on in and about your life!

For all those who still haven't received their Christmas wishes, do not fret! Christmas is still not over yet! Remember, there are 12 days of christmas. =) Fa la la la..

Happy birthday Jesus!

2005-12-25T00:12:00.000+08:00

Merry Xhristos everyone again! HAHA. Just thought i'll sneak in this final post before I head off until I come back on tuesday.

It's Jesus's birthday today and He's only 2005 years old. HAHA. Can you imagine all the candles on the cake! Anyway, read the previous post too. Have a great week ahead y'all!

Goodnight and God bless!

Joel

Merry Christmas eve everyone!

2005-12-24T16:48:00.000+08:00

Looks like i'll have to wish everyone here a Merry Christmas in advance since I doubt i'll have the time tommorow to come in and post an entry.

Christmas greetings and many wishes..

Here's the sa youths unite crew wishing all you SA youths, family and friends the MERRIEST of a MERRY CHRISTMAS ever!

Before I go on, I would like to say a special thanks to everyone for making this blog work! Thank you for spending your time, reading the posts and keeping this place busy. I believe everyone should be accustomed back to their normal lives now but as i've said, I hope that we will not forget all the memories and new friendships that have been formed! This does not only apply to those who participated in the musical but also goes out to ALL the youths out there!

The christmas party held at Central Corps yesterday was not too bad. Although, I thought the party was catered more for the children under 14 and the adults. Nonetheless, we did have fun! There were games and food, lots of food! The youth carollers performed 3 songs and they were great! The fee was only $2 and we also received a bracelet which reads, "TGIC". Can anyone guess what that means? If you can, i'll TREAT YOU nicely! HAHA!

Okie, this is an interesting topic which I just learnt today! Do you actually really know what "X" in X'mas really stands for even when you've been writing it on all your cards and saying it to one another? This is interesting! It is actually derived from a greek word which, according to my dad who studied greek in bible college, is christmas in greek or "Xhristos". Thus, the word X'mas! Which is the combination of greek and english. Merry Xhristos everybody! =)

All I want for christmas is you..

2005-12-23T17:59:00.000+08:00

Christmas day is drawing nearer by the day and already, there are multitudes of people bustling up and down Orchard road, choirs and ensembles rally along the pavements playing on their instruments and filling the air with the christmas spirit. There were even funky robots cum statue buskers, performing along the streets. Totally awesome! We dared Yvonne to stand in front of them and make them laugh with one of her "Yo mama.." jokes but all she did was to get a handshake and she also attempted some british bow, I think.

I love the atmosphere in the shopping centers during christmas! Firstly, there is shopping to do and the mood created is so soothing! Espeacially, with all those lovely christmas songs playing in the background. One of my favourites being, "All I want for christmas is you" by Mariah Carey. Well, at least I know Yong Kiat will be singing this song alot this year! HAHA. Kidding bro. Anyway, if whosoever out there is reading this and whom Yong Kiat is talking about, please make this christmas the BEST christmas for Yong Kiat this year! =) Cheers!

The movie Narnia was beyond what I had expected it to be. Not only was the movie exciting and funny, at times, but the company was a great bunch of laughs! However, the movie somehow reminded me of a storybook or cartoon which I used to like when I was really young. Well, I suppose this is the "Hollywood" version of it. The movien definately makes the $8 weekend fees worthwhile but the untimely intrusion by the "security spot check women" definately wasn't! I don't even know if they have a proper name for that but they shall be known as the SSCW for now! She made us miss out the major scene of the movie! The part which caused the Lion to sacrifice his life!

I thought Orion was way cool! The half man half horse.

Oh! How could I forget Marche! We ended up at Marche after the movie and I swear we were the loudest table there and almost everybody on our table ate Rosti, Rosti's some potato dish. "Rosti the snowman.." Okie not funny. Anyway, we were talking like nobodies business, laughing our heads off and I think we chased everyone away since we were the only ones left at our section at the end of the day. They even tried to shut us in. HAH! We learnt of many new secrets that day, at least I did! Like what ****** likes to do while in lifts. HAHA! Oh man. That meal was just crazy!

We continue to pray for all those who are going overseas, literally for some, over the weekend and next week. We do pray that God would provide us with journey mercies and that we would have a kick'in good time! Brian, Edda and Isa would be sailing off on a cruise. Bon voyage! Shan will be heading overseas with his family and myself too, will be out of town from sunday till tuesday with my family. (and others not mentioned too) AND ZARRAH! =)

Don't worry i'll be back real soon to keep you guys updated! Till then, "Have yourselves a merry little christmas!", all you beautiful people!

-Out-
Joel

Dear Santa, I would like a..

2005-12-21T22:01:00.000+08:00

The Christmas Musical pictures are up! Visit the following web links for more photos!

Joel's Multiply: http://jellybean.multiply.com/photos/ - 103 photos
Kar Leong's Fotopic: http://karleong.fotopic.net/ - 50 photos

We hope to be able to publish even more photos!

Have you been busy running around doing all the last minute Christmas shopping lately? Trying hard to find out what he or she might like or dislike? Remember! "Christmas is not just about the shopping, parties or christmas presents!". There is much more to that which we perceive "Christmas" to be (parties, presents, etc..) and that is sharing the love of God with each other and the birth of our Lord saviour, Jesus! Sometimes, we do get carried away with the "Christmassy" atmosphere that we forget the real reason why we celebrate this day.

Also, do not cross CHRIST out of Christmas! X'mas =)

I'm glad to see that christians out there are still actively outreaching to the public community. Just today, while I was waiting outside a shop, 3 boys approached me.

Boy: Err..excuse me. Are you free this coming saturday?
Me: Why? For what?
Boy: We want to invite you to church.
Me: Oh. I'm already going to a church. *smile*
Boy: Oh okie. Thanks. Merry christmas!
Me: Merry christmas!

At first, I was quite taken aback when he mentioned inviting me to church. Besides the fact that they approached me rather quickly and the 3 of them surrounded me. I felt really bad that I had to turn them down after their effort and courage of approaching a stranger but I did tell them that I was already going to another church.

However, I later realised that that's probably what most people, non-christians, would say just to shrug them off. Oh no! What if they thought I was just lying to them. HAH. Oh well, God bless their hearts!

Okie, here is something for everyone to participate in! Leave a short message in the comments of what you would like to be receiving this christmas! "Who knows..WHO KNOWS? It might just come true!".
Here's how it's done. Type "Dear Santa, I have been a good [your gender here] this year and I would really really wish to have [your wish here] this year!"

You may wish to stay annonymous or better yet, put down your name too! Let us hope that Santa has internet access so that he can view all your requests!

If you are able to think of another header slogan besides, "WE HAVE FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES", do let me know too!

Prayer requests

2005-12-21T09:14:00.000+08:00

Bible verse taken from, "Our Daily Bread, food for the soul". - Mathew 6:15

"If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses."

I have a prayer request today and that is to pray for my neck! Haha, funny right? Anyway, I was stretching my arms out yesterday, probably my neck as well and there was a crack sound around my neck area. Ever since then, i've been having difficulty looking around! The feeling is that of a stiff neck. So please pray for God to perform his miracles on me and to heal me as soon as possible else i'll be having a jolly good christmas with a stiff neck!

If you have a prayer request too, do drop it in the comments so that we can pray for you.

Have a great day everyone! I'm off to school now.

Joel

Re-living the past again

2005-12-20T23:58:00.000+08:00

Two days has elapsed since the end of the Christmas Musical and it has been a tough struggle trying to get back to my normal, everyday life. The point is, I still hold many fond memories of the musical in my thoughts and it feels like a huge part of me is suddenly missing! There's just a weird and awkward feeling which I just can't quite comprehend enough. I'm sure i'm not the only one who feels this way and that is one of the reasons which inspired me to create this website too!

Some of the things which I am looking into starting is:

A list of all the names of youths from all the various corps with their birthdays (I will require lots of help for this)
A calendar of events showing all the activities planned (this too)
A forum (maybe only)

I really hope that this would work out.

How I wish Salvation Army could just be one big church where we all could worship together and have fun with everyone. Won't that be awesome! But then again, that's just me being unfair since distance is a factor for everyone and that can be quite inconvenient. However, it would be nice to see you guys more often than for just the yearly events.

Speaking of events, Christmas is just around the corner and there is going to be a Christmas party over at Bishan Central Corps this coming friday, 23 December 2005 at 7:30pm. Oh my! I just realised that there is going to be a dress code of silver and blue?!? God knows where i'm going to find that sort of outfit but i'm sure the party will be a blast! However, tickets have to be purchased at $5 for adults and $2 for youths. Dinner will be served! Endulge yourself in the juicy, tender turkey for only $2! I already purchased my tickets and I will be going down this friday.

Anyone interested in watching the movie Narnia this thursday? Please approach Amanda for more details.

I am still in the midst of sorting out the photos to be uploaded. There are just too many photos now and I will be uploading them into other websites and later linking them to this site so that they do not lag this website. For now, do visit Kar Leong's website @ http://karleong.fotopic.net/, to view the pictures which he took.

"Home for Christmas" the musical 2005

2005-12-19T23:19:00.000+08:00

Here are some of the pictures that I managed to grab from my dad's camera. I will upload more of the pictures tomorrow and arrange them accordingly. For now, I'll just put up a few to feed your appetite. Commentary and more photos will be added in tomorrow. Check back real soon! Enjoy!

The sim family! From left: Poh Leng (mum), Kar Leong (dad), Joel (bob), Emileen (gina). Although, the picture projects a lovable and close family, do not be fooled! This family packs a punch, when Bob demands for his share of the money, the family is torn apart and Bob leaves home!

Picture taken just before the public performance at Bishan Heights. We're surprised they still managed to pull of a smile for the camera amongst all the stress.

Who said dancers and actresses don't get along? Representing Central Corps are these 3 gorgeous girls! From left: Lurong (actress), Tammy (dancer), Amelia (actress). Tammy shows that the spider man stretching procedure before the dance performance is still the best form of stretching.

The dancers plus 1 faithful supporter. The dancers were all out to put on the best show for the viewers! There were a total of 3 dance scenes throughout the entire musical and they took the crowd by storm! From left: Evangeline, Edda, Ally, Sandra ( faithful supporter), Serene.

Why Sandra is our faithful supporter? She was there for most of our rehearsals, keeping us entertained with her witty talk and singing which we, by the way, have video clip proof of her singing! She's one funny, sweet and bubbly girl.

Capt. Ian Robinson. Together with his wife, Isabel Robinson, and William Tan, they worked extremely hard, with the help of God, to make this year's Christmas Musical a success! They pushed the cast beyond their limits but we all have them to thank for what we have become today!

Stephanie! Played by Amanda Lim from Changi Corps, is Bob Sim's girlfriend in the musical. She is money minded, cunning, unscrupulous and above all, a very materealistic girl! She's all out to spend Bob's money and in the end leaves him for Mike, who is actually non-existant.

Here is Amanda in the midst of a make up session. Check out the little white specks around her eyes! Makes her look so adorable. The sa youths unite crew gives her a two thumbs up for beauty and bimbo-ness.

Hmm. It's that spoilt brat! The sa youths unite crew has no words for this little punk!

Minutes before the public performance, participants show their moral and enthusiastic support for an outsider singing at a koraoke session.

"Wave your hands in the air! Like you just don't care! There's a party over there! Theres a party over there!"

Okie. Ahem. Moving on..

There is still time for pictures to be taken with friends! From left: Joel, Dave, Major Bob. Background: Daniel, Major Wendy. Dave was formerly one of the youths from Central Corps. He was one of the lead guitarist back when he was still around. Unfortunately, army and his hectic school life has left him with little or no time to join our activities but we are glad to see him around every once in awhile.

The grand finale!
Pictures taken by Major Bob Lee

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!
Okie, Since there has been such an overwhelming response by all you people, submerging us with all your beautiful photos and others, there is just too many to upload onto this website itself and it will suck up everybodies bandwidth and the site would be a living lag! Therefore, we have decided to link out your pictures instead! Take your time to view them and you can even save the pictures that you like! (right mouse click on the image that you want, click "Save Picture As.." and choose a destination folder) Do continue to send us more of your pictures!

Pictures by Kar Leong: http://karleong.fotopic.net/

We need your help!

2005-12-19T17:21:00.000+08:00

Those who took pictures during the rehearsals or any of the performance nights of the Christmas Musical, "Home for Christmas" , please send them to me. We need them so that we can post them up on this site to share the memories all over again!

Please add me on msn:
jestercircus86@hotmail.com

All pictures will be gladly welcomed! If you want to be featured in this site, you may also send us a picture of yourself that you took during the musical. (may be individual or a group photo).

Help to pass the word around so that we can have full coverage of the musical and the happenings, in and behind the scenes!

Important
All those who own a blog or a website and wish to be on the readers list, kindly please leave a comment in this entry with your name with surname, the URL adress of your site and also the corps which you attend. Thank you!

Joel

sa-youths-unite.blogspot.com

2005-12-19T16:22:00.000+08:00

Hi all and welcome to this brand new site, http://www.sa-youths-unite.blogspot.com. Since the recent conclusion of this year's Christmas Musical 2005, "Home for Christmas", which lasted over a period of 3 months, I have been inspired by all of you "SA-ians" or youths, rather, to create this website. I hope this website will serve as an avenue for all SA(Salvation Army) youths alike and others to come together and just hang out, chill and get to know one another better.

I hope you will join me and all of us in this journey of new friendships and sharing of fun filled experiences! So what are you waiting for?! Get the word around about this new website and hopefully we shall all see each other soon!

Since, this website has just been created, it is very raw still with little or no design features. Nonetheless, I shall try to work doubly hard to get this website up and running as quickly as possible, which may be quite a task for me since i've got mountains of school work (projects, tests, exams) piling up, on top of my already time consuming driving lessons. No worries, I shall come in to update this site as regularly as I can and the least you funky monkey bubbly youths can do for me, is to support this website by participating and making it lively. =) I'm sure that's what you people do best anyway!

"So what am I gonna do now? Try something new? Venture out on my own? YES! I've been thinking about this for a very long time now!"

Remember, this may be the end of the Christmas Musical 2005 but it is only the beggining of a new adventure with God and the sa-youths-unite.com website. HAH.

This is only a short introduction to this new website. If you have any creative ideas which you want to see happening in this site or anything at all, drop me a note and I will definately look into it. Comments are always welcomed but no spamming please!

It was been a fantastic journey with you guys, the long tiresome rehearsals, the stress before going on stage and even getting the timings right for the lighting, sound and props, not forgetting the dance scenes which I love the most! (esspecially the "coldplay" song dance). I'm sure we all have our memories of the musical, whether they may be good, bad, happy or sad. But one thing I know for sure is that..

"..We're all going to have a blessed and most happiest Christmas ever!"

Jesus is the reason for the season!

Cheers.

Founder of sa-youths-unite.blogspot.com
Joel