Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Muar Retreat 20-22May + Dinner with neighbour

Yup as the heading says, I was at Muar, Johor from 20th to 22nd May. It was an awesome get away with God and cell group. As some of you may know, this was the trip that I really wanted to go. I know monkey wasn't as excited as I was, but ya, she came along in the end. Let me tell you why I really wanted to go to Muar. First of all, I really wanted to have a time-out from my family. My parents had been arguing recently ( and still is), and I just felt that I really needed a break from all the noise. I've never cried so badly in a long time, and now because of this, I cried again. Secondly, I wanted to go to Muar as it is a prayer house owned by my church and I've never been to it before. The previous time when my cell grouped went to Muar, my parents objected me from going. Thus I wanted to go as this is probably my last chance to go. I kind of insisted on going, of course by asking nicely and by God's grace, He allowed me to go. And lastly, I really needed to seek God. I have so many questions in me, so many issues I needed to ask...I really needed an alone time spent with God. 

We reached Muar around 1 plus in the afternoon on friday. I fell in love with the prayer house immediately. It was quiet, serene, super duper clean (like the cleanest place in Muar) and of course, the care taker Auntie Grace is the nicest grandmama I've ever known. She actually personally went out to buy back breakfast and lunch for us. That was so sweet of her. When we first got there, Auntie Grace shared with us the history of the prayer house. How the Lord preserved the place from the Japanese during WWII. Many christians came to hide there and worship there and the house is still stanidng today. That story changed my perspective of the place. That it is indeed a unique and special place.  

We explored Muar on friday. After lunch, we walked for nearly an hour before reaching our so-called 'The Promise Land', a shopping centre! haha. As you know, Muar is a small town towards the end of Johor. To be able to find a shopping mall is already considered really cool. The girls and guys split upon entering. I bought a pair of shoes for about $15 sing. CHEAP man. The guys went grocery shopping, they bought a lot of snacks. On our way back to the prayer house we ta pao-ed dinner. Had KFC. We ate, bathed, and went for our night session. Thought that it was good. Michelle shared on the grey areas in christian living such as going clubbing, wearing bikini and smoking etc. God spoke to me on not doing anything that will cause a stumbling block to my fellow sisters and brothers in Christ. After the session, we ate snacks, played a bit of games. I slept around 1am...

Sat 21st, woke up around 830am. Had breakfast (the one ta pao-ed by auntie Grace). Then we had our morning QT till about 11am. Then the girls and guys had a split session. For the girls, we had an informal session with Michelle and just chatted and heard her sharing about her business trip in China. I got to understand what she's been doing in her job and how tough career life can be. We ate lunch at around 12 noon. Then it was our own personal solitude time with God. I went into one of the rooms in Prayer Hall with a piece of majong paper. The entire room was empty except God and me. God lead me to the book of Hebrews and I just sat there reading the entire book of Hebrews. I had 2 agenda on my mind. First is regarding my career and calling in  life. There's a part of me that wants to help children with special needs, that's why I took psychology in NUS. However, there's also a part of me that wants to work in an area that has something to do with creating christian songs in a christian music industry. My second agenda is regarding my family and the rocky relationships that we're going through right now because of some money issue. Regarding the first agenda, I told God, God if it is really your plan then bring it to me. If it is not, take it away. Just like how I've told Him regarding my family's immigration to Australia. If it is His plan for me and my family to go, then provide a way. But if it's not, then do not make the application successful. Well, all of you already know that we got our PR status in the end. After the session, I really thank God for speaking to me. He reminded me to live a life by faith, that I should trust Him and do what I have to do. And He showed me that the reason why I have to go through this tough time with my family because God is disciplining me. And He disciplines because He loves me. The rest of the day was spent playing games, went out for dinner, and another night session about the goals for our cell group.

Sunday was a round-up sharing session. We took pictures and set off for lunch and then boarded the bus at 115pm to Johor Bahru. We then took SMRT transit 170 to customs and back to S'pore.

Reached home around 530pm. Washed up and went over for an awesome dinner with our neighbour. Mrs Ang was so sweet to invite us over for dinner with her family, it was such a lovely time and I love talking to her.       

Okay, my post is getting really long. Guess I'll end here.

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