Vivo a Roma

1 Dec 05 - Pension scheme in Italy

2005-12-01T08:21:00.000+01:00

Source: The Straits Times, Dec 1, 2005

Italy:

The state pension system has helped make Italy one of the world's most indebted nations. At 15% of gross domestic product, its pension spending is among the highest in Europe.

To ease the pressure, a 2004 law raises the retirement age for men to 60 from 2008 or after 40 contribution years.

Vivo a Singapore

2005-10-31T00:00:00.000+01:00

Ho creato un nuovo blog si chiama "Vivo a Singapore". Vedi qui http://deelohyh.blogspot.com.

I have created a new blog called "Vivo a Singapore". Check out http://deelohyh.blogspot.com.

20/21 Oct 05 - Farewell dinner...

2005-10-20T12:00:00.000+02:00

I watched La tigre e la neve, my first movie in a cinema in Rome with CK and Lea. This film is directed by Roberto Benigni. He is the one who starred in the famous "La vita e' bella". CK and I met our ex-classmates and teacher from Dante in there watching the same movie. This movie is so-so.

My last dinner in Rome with Antonio, Vincenzo, Liesbert, Jee Won, Angelina and CK. We went to Il Pomodorino at Via Campania. I enjoyed the fiori di zucca. It is a kind of flower with morzerella and anchovies. I will miss Italian food and of course the friends that I have in Rome....We had a good dinner and time together.

Thank God for Angelina and Vincenzo for sending me to the airport the next day with my heavy luggage.

If I have not know Him, I don't think I will make the trip to Rome for 6 months. During these 6 months, I discover a lot about myself and the areas that I need to learn to grow in. I see His hands moving among us. I thank God for Angelina, Estella and CK. Do you know you guys are really great and I am very encouraged by all that God has done our lives!! Our God is great in your lives!! Baci e abbraccia per voi!

18 Oct 05 - Lunch...film

2005-10-18T00:00:00.000+02:00

Today I had lunch together with Jee Won, a Korean. I knew her in my Italian class. We had a good warm seafood noodle together in a Chinese restaurant. As Italian is our common language, we need to converse in Italian. Good practice!

Angelina, Estella and I watched “Vacanze Romane” starred by Audrey Hepburn and Greogory Peck. It was a very old romantic movie made in Rome around 1953. Some scenes were quite funny. It is a romance story about a princess ran away from her duty to take a break and then met a journalist and when the journalist realised that she was a princess he wanted to make big buck out of it by asking his friend to take secret shots of her while they went out together in Rome. In the end, both of them fell in love with one another. It was not a sweet romantic ending. The princess decided to go back to her “prison” to fulfil her responsibility as a princess. It is a fact that sometimes we cannot have everything in our lives.

16 Oct 05 – Eurochocolate – International chocolcate Exhibition at Perugia

2005-10-16T00:00:00.000+02:00

More photos at http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9YauXLNsw1Q

Early in the morning, Angeline, CK and I went to Termini station to meet Liesbert, a Flemish and Lea, an American to go to the yearly Eurochocolate festival at Perugia. We were shocked when we were going to board the train to Perugia. It is packed with people and there was no seat left and many were standing. It would be very tiring to stand all 3 hours from Rome to Perugia.

Our plan to have breakfast and devotion on the train was almost destroyed. We needed to find a cabin to squeeze ourselves through the crowd. Wow!! I saw Giuseppe when I boarded the train and we called him and he was surprised to see us too. He joined us in the squeeze to the middle of the cabin and we set on the floor. As the train moved, we decided to continue our breakfast together. Giuseppe was amazed at the way we organised the breakfast and he also mentioned that it seemed like we were having lunch instead ;p Thank God for Lea for preparing the lunch for us. We also met a Mexican and Italian on the train and we had an interesting conversation together. We will arrange to meet them again.

When we reached Perugia train station, Giuseppe met his two Italian friends from Bologna. We moved together as a group. Later Giusppe and his friends left us for their lunch. As expected, there were too many people and I did not see much things and I was a bit disappointed as I expected some beautiful sculptures made of chocolates for display and some interesting performance. I only saw people and more people. Liesbert and CK managed to beat the crowd to ‘grap’ some free dark Perugina chocolates from the remains of the chocolate sculpture.

We ate gelato in the cool weather and felt a cold chill running through me after I finished my gelato. We need to stand in the sun to feel the warm. Angelina and I tried to get some free chocolates again but gave up.

We told a walk around the little old town in Perugia to see the Eruscian arches and the architectures of these buildings. Beautiful place.

On our way back to Rome, we had a good talk with Lea about the teaching in the church and we got to know Liesbert better and what she believes in.

Despite the crowd, I really enjoyed the time together with my friends and new-found friends. It is always interesting to know new friends and you will never know whether he or she will be your good friend too.

http://www.eurochocolate.com/

14 Oct 05 - First pay in Euro and last day of work

2005-10-14T00:00:00.000+02:00

Yeah!! Today is pay day. My first salary in Euro dollars.

Giovanna told me today that she does not need me to work for next week as she has enough people for the next week. I was ‘shattered’ as I thought this job that I have could last me till December but I was wrong. I will not be able to sustain myself without income and after some thinking I decided that it would be better for me to pack my bags and go home.

12 Oct 05 - First Week at Work

2005-10-12T12:00:00.000+02:00

Estella and I started our work as part-time English tutors for the public school in the northern part of Lazio this week. We are employed by AMICA association, which was setup 3 years ago to teach Italian children English through games and activities. We have to travel about 6 hours to and fro from Rome to the school for only 3 hours of work. It was quite tiring just travelling on the bus, train and car. We will tutor for one week in the public school.

Despite the long travelling, it was a good experience to be able to teach the high-spirited and active Italian children in Italy. We played games, activities and also to prepare the children for a presentation for the parents on Friday.

I was not in the good mood on the first 2 days of work. Things were quite disorganized and I have to remember that we are in Italy. On the second day of work, Estella and I missed the train to Orte and we were late for one hour and thus late for work for one hour. Despite of how I lousy I felt, God is always so full of surprises. He showed me 2 rainbows on the sky on my way home. Rainbow always reminds me of God’s covenant and promises to us ;-)

The children are really hyperactive but adorable and I start to grow to like them. They are not that hard to manage and I taught them a new song called "Dancing snowflakes" today.

7 Oct 05 - Answered prayer again!!

2005-10-07T00:00:00.000+02:00

Praise the Lord!! He answered our prayer again. We found a new apartment to move in at a much cheaper price than our current one. We will move in by end of this month. It is difficult to find an apartment for short-term (2 months) in Rome and without contract.

He is good all the time!

5 Oct 05 – Fight, Strive and Thrive!

2005-10-05T00:00:00.000+02:00

Meteorological Report: Rome is getting colder. Please put on extra clothes to keep warm. It is expected that there will be shower in Rome these few days. Remember to bring umbrella.

I learnt something about life and plants from our landlady who came by to our apartment today. When the plants do not have enough water, it will still strive to survive despite of its adverse living condition. Life toughens up in adverse situation when life itself strives to outlive such situation. Well, this lesson taught me not to give up but to go on fighting the good fight. Fight, Strive and Thrive!

Plant, animals and human beings have life, which deserve to be respected. God gives life to all the living creatures around us. Let’s be sensitive to the life around us and also to appreciate His beautiful creation, which is there for us to enjoy and to love.

But most importantly, LOVE OUR CREATOR, the giver of life!!

Dio ti benedica!

4 Oct 05 - A turn of event

2005-10-04T00:00:00.000+02:00

Oggi ho cercato il lavoro. Comincio il lavoro prossima lunedi fino a Decembre. Facendo insegnare inglese in camp per bambini. Ringrazio a Dio!

Today I found a part-time job as an English teacher for Italian children. Thank God for His providence.

I will return to Singapore in mid December. I have the following objectives during these 2 months:

· To continue the research on business opportunity in Italy especially on import/export. If you have any ideas or information, please email to me or leave a message for me.

· To experience working in Italy.

· To continue to practise my Italian.

2 Oct - Pompeii, Napoli

2005-10-02T00:00:00.000+02:00

We went to to Pompeii, Napoli with Yean Shien and her parents. We had a good time together. The ruins are awesome. A friend told me that Pompeii is like Ostia Antica in Rome but it seems that Pompeii is more popular maybe because of the history. It is a trip worth going. If you are visiting Italy, please do not miss this place.

Pompeii is in the region of Napoli and in AD 79 the Roman civilisation was buried in the pumice and ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted. For more information, please go to www.pompeiisites.org

More photos here, share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AauGrVszasWQ

1 Oct 05- Happy Children's Day

2005-10-01T00:00:00.000+02:00

Happy Children’s Day for those who are still a child at heart ;-)

Saw this link, http://www.vexatori.de/zib/spstudio.html from Pei Shan's blog. Made my own design... snow-skiing is something that I would like to try in my near future.

Ieri era mio l’ultimo giorno a Dante Aligheria. Asppettavo per qualche giorno e finalmente posso restare e non bisogno fare I compiti ogni giorno. Stanchissima!! Sono molto divertito in questa classe. Le gente e’ umoristico e interessante. Ciao tutti, se vi leggeste questo messaggio, io vorrei ringraziare per tutto e sono molto contento. Ma e’ peccato che abbiamo incontrato per pochi tempo. Ci vediamo!

A thought came to my mind today.

Do we feel secure in our world today whether physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually? Let me know what do u think? U can drop me a comment.

28 Sep 05 - American Beauty

2005-09-28T00:00:00.000+02:00

Life is like a candle that flickers for a moment and dies off.

Yesterday, I watched “American Beauty” together with Angelina. It is a movie about dysfunctional families that are searching for meaning in life expressed in different ways. The mother was career-minded and had an extra-martial affair, the father was ‘loser’ who lost his job and ‘fell in love’ with his daughter’s friend, the daughter was distancing herself from her parents. Her friend who thought that she was the most ‘beautiful’ woman on earth said that the worst thing in life is being ordinary and she boasted about her great exploits with men. There was another ‘sick’ family. The son was a dope who earned extras by selling drugs and his father who was a colonel in the navy was actually a gay….

Life was complicated in this story and I felt very sad after watching in movie. I believe this movie reflects the reality in life now. Everyone is seeking meaning and love in their life and each one of them is trying to find them in their own way to significance in life. Everyone is sick and we need the doctor to make us well again. It is something simple that everyone is looking for in life but yet many fail big time in life.

Where is the real source of life?

If we just look deep within us we will discover how wretched we are and that we need someone to rescue us from the mire and mud. We need someone absolute who will clean, love and nurture us. He is near if only we seek Him.

“I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;

I will guide him and restore comfort to him,

Creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel.

Peace, peace to those far and near,” says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”

Isaiah 57:18-19

The Lord will guide you always;

he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strength your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Isaiah 58:11

The poet, William Cowper

2005-09-22T00:00:00.000+02:00

God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform

He plants His footsteps in the sea,

And rides upon the storm.

His purposes will ripen fast,

Unfolding every hour:

The bud may have a bitter taste,

But sweet will be the flower.

Blind belief is sure to err,

And scan His works in vain:

God is His own interpreter,

And He will make it plain.

- The poet, William Cowper

21 Sep 05 - A World of Images

2005-09-21T00:00:00.000+02:00

Keith Haring, Tree of Life, 1985

Oggi sono andata a scuola per studiare la lingua l’italiano. Due settimane ancora e finira’ questa classe. Ho sentito meglio di prima e lo so che cosa mio insegnante parla durante la lezione. Ma non parlo Italiano bene ancora. Ho fatto un buono conversazione con Mizuko. Dopo la lezione, sono andata Borrisbook,una liberia a Termini. Sto cercando un dizionario ma ne ho comprato nessuno. Ho ricordato che Matthieu aveva detto e’ possibile a studiare due lingue a stesso tempo. Per esempio impara il tedesco usando l’italiano. Questo modo e’ bravasimma. Provo.

I went to the Art and Design section in Borrisbook to look for a suitable graphic/advertisement book for my brother. I browsed through the books in this section and I like designs by Keith Haring. Some artists are quite crude in how they designed their pieces and I was reminded that even in the art scene we need wholesome and healthy artists to produce these kinds of art pieces that will bring glory to His name. In “Mind games in a world of images”, a sermon by Ravi Zacharias, he quoted a person who said that first the art imitates life, then life imitates art, and finally life will draw it very reason for its existence from art.

Oggi ho comprato un DVD si chiama “Il diario di Anna Frank” dal negozio.

Dio e’ buono sempre. La gloria a Lui.

20 Sep 05 - Le storie del mondo e lingua di Italiano

2005-09-20T12:00:00.000+02:00

Oggi e’ prima giorno di lavoro per Angelina. Ringrazia a Dio per questo lavoro!

I have been reading a book, “History of the World in Christian Perspective” by Jerry H. Combee and it really helps me to understand the history all over the world and the bible better too. Bible is a very special history book that tells the stories of people living in different eras, culture and beliefs and how God works through people throughout the history and even now. It makes me realised the importance of history in our lives as the past links to our present and the future. “All new news is old news happening to new people”, said by Malcom Muggeridge, is indeed true. Throughout history, we see how civilizations rose and fell due to the leadership. It is possible for one person to lead millions of people into untold evil as the nation has ceased to think clearly. The government only is not enough to bring the nation to be great but the leaders and the people must be touched by something greater than themselves.

The Bible is a book whose facts can be tested outside of itself. The historical, geographical, archaeological and prophetic data can be verified from outside the Scriptures. It is the most widely read book in the world which stirs up a lot of emotions, discussions and arguments which no other books can do. It’s worth the time and effort to read this provocative historical book that has changed many lives.

Some civilizations made great development and impacts in our present days. Hebrews provided us a base for our moral categories. We should be thankful for the written Word, which we have now. Without it being written, we will not be able to know, understand, and appreciate the power of life. I will learn to write down what I have learnt. You never know what you have written down can be a blessing to others.

Ho decisio scrivere mio blog in l’italiano anche. Comincia oggi ma piano piano! Se voglissi capire che cosa ho scritto, imparesti l’italiano ;-) Attenzione mio l’italiano e’ non sempre corretto.

Not all civilizations influenced and impacted the world, some destroyed, some built and some living lives for economic and warring purposes. In the same way, how do we live our lives in our society and the world? Do you want to destroy, build or sail through life as the wind and tides bring us without a destination? I believe that as one man can lead millions to untold evil so can one man lead many to life.

Ritorno’ mio paesa a Ottobre. Ho qualche progetti a fare, per esempio, cercare il lavoro, imparare e practicare l’italiano anche e fare la corso di insegnare Inglese.

17 Sep 05 - Notte Bianca

2005-09-17T00:00:00.000+02:00

Notte bianca means sleepless night

Notte Bianca was a night where there are many special events, like art exhibitions, musicals, threates, cinemas, activities for children, sport and shopping, happening all over Rome from evening till the next morning. It was wet night. We had several places to visit but we only went to a contemporary art exhibition and afro-brazilian instrumental performance.

15 Sep 05 - In such a time as this...

2005-09-15T00:00:00.000+02:00

In times of uncertainty, where do you find your anchor?

When you are in doubt, how do you know whether your decision is the best?

Do you trust your carnal feelings or your human mind?

How much can you trust your feelings?

Sometimes feelings can be deceiving and drive you to act in selfish ways that hurt others and yourself.

Feelings can change when influence by people and situations.

Feelings can reveal the real part of you, which is in the deepest recess of your heart.

Such feelings do not change with time.

It reveals what really mean to you.

Do you deceive yourself by ignoring what really mean to you?

Do you dare to face up to the real self and deal with them in your life?

Strong feeling, like passion drives you to do things beyond yourself.

What is the passion in your life? Will you die for love?

Love makes life meaningful and worth living for. Love never fails.

Is the decision you make the best for others, the bigger picture and yourself?

Can you make decision devoid of your feelings? Isn’t like removing the heart from the body?

How can you make sound decision with your heart, mind and values in the proper places?

Lord, only You know the complexity of human heart, the wellspring of life.

Only You can help me to keep everything in proper perspective.

May Your Word be the light to my path that I may always make the best decision for Your purpose.

14 Sep 05 - American Heritage

2005-09-14T00:00:00.000+02:00

This week CK and Estella started volunteering in a Christian organization, which was set-up by the Americans, to teach the non-Italians. Both of them will receive a meagre amount for their work. They have to bring back books to read and prepare for their lessons. “Our American Heritage” is one of the textbooks used to teach the children. It is an easy read and it covers the key persons that made a difference to America like Christopher Columbus, John Smith, Pocahontas, Miles Standish, Squanto, William Penn and Benjamin Franklin.

I extracted some wise sayings from Benjamin Franklin:

None preaches better than the ant, and she says nothing.

Half the truth is often a great lie.

A lie stands on one leg, truth on two.

Haste makes waste.

He that cannot obey cannot command.

If you have time, don’t wait for time.

Well done is twice done.

Sin is not hurtful because it is forbidden, but it is forbidden because it is hurtful.

How many observe Christ’s birthday; how few His precepts! O,’tis easier to keep holidays than commandments.

Who is strong? He that can conquer his bad habits.

The Declaration of Independence, which was written by Thomas Jefferson, was accepted on July 4, 1776. It is an important statement of American’s beliefs about government. It tells the world that the people of the United States believe that God has given each person the right to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”.

I enjoy reading biographies of great men and women. It really encourages me and reminds me the important of having integrity and courage in our daily dealings. May God be our strength and courage always.

Heard many exciting stories from CK and Estella on their teaching experience in the school. :-)

9-12 Sep 05 - All the way from France

2005-09-13T07:54:00.000+02:00

Matthieu, all the way from France, visited us in Rome from 9-12 Sep 05. It has been more than two years since I last met him. It was good to catch up with him. I enjoyed the time together around Rome and he also prepared French cuisine for us. We also learn how to taste wine from French ‘expert’. Learning new things every day.

A dedication to my friends

2005-09-12T00:00:00.000+02:00

I want to dedicate this “poem” to my dear friends who have made a difference in my life:

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17

Friends are like precious gems that need to be discovered.

It is not an easy find and I am indeed blessed to find you and to grow together with you.

The rough edges in me were smoothened by your influence in my life.

Your love and care has softened my indifference and selfishness.

My life has facets of you in me.

I shine because of you.

As iron sharpens iron, your life has sharpened mine.

This treasure that cannot be bought I will learn to cherish and nurture in my life.

9 Sep 05 - Back from Basel

2005-09-09T00:00:00.000+02:00

Another trip again out of Rome. We have been travelling out of Rome practically every month...wow!! It's shiok! ("Shiok" is a Singaporean's lingo which means "enjoyable")

On 1-6 Sep 05, we were in Basel, Switzerland helping a couple (Singaporean + Chin, a tribe in Burma) with their wedding's preparation. Preparing for wedding is hardwork but staying in a marriage is even harder. May God will bless this marriage and make it beautiful. We helped to decorate, prepare the dining tables, wash and clean the hall after the dinner. It was a pleasure for me to help and also to attend a different kind of wedding in Basel. The first 'overseas' wedding that I have attended. Indeed it was an international marriage attended by many internationals. There were many adorable children too.

Actually we expected the weather to be cooler in Basel than in Rome but we were wrong. The temperature was about 30 degree celsuis then. Piu' caldo!

We also went to the famous Rhine river where we saw people swimming late at night.

Some interesting facts about the Swiss culture:
1. They can choose to work a certain percentage in their work and then paid for the amount of work done and not many of them work full-time as in receiving 100% full salary.

2. The transport systems and the facilities are very well organised and timely.

3. As the living standard in Switzerland is high, they have minimum salary.

4. We observed that the children in Basel can have freedom to roam, jump, climb about in the playground. If the children were to do than in Singapore, you will see teachers scolding and reprimanding them for doing that. I think children should be given freedom to play but within boundaries. The problem is sometimes it is hard to draw the line between freedom and safety.

5. It seems to me that the Swiss are very neat and tidy. When we were cleaning the hall after the dinner the next day, they were very focused on getting the job done and they did them with diligence and with the spirit of excellence. Even the basins were wiped dry after all the washing. Something new to me and I admire such attitude.

To view the photos there, please go to http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AauGrVszasV-

29 Aug 05 - Deliver us from Evil

2005-08-29T12:00:00.000+02:00

I just started reading “Deliver us from Evil” by Ravi Zacharias. I like reading this book. The section that I am reading now is about culture and how its affect our perspective and thinking. It also talks about the importance of knowing the history and how such knowledge will affect the future.

Some extracts:

About culture

Old Chinese proverbs says if you want to know what water is don’t ask the fish. The fish does not know any other kind of life because it is submerged in the monotony and single vision of a watery existence. To the fish, no other existence by which to measure its own existence.

It is important for those immersed in a culture to recognise that proximity does not necessarily guarantee an accurate perspective.

28 Aug 05 - Lake Bracianno

2005-08-28T12:00:00.000+02:00

We went to Lake Bracianno with ICF in the morning for water baptism. It was a beautiful lake and we saw several white swans on there too. The sky was cloudy and dark. We prayed and sang praises to the Lord and the sky ‘opened’ and lightened up when we sang. It was amazing.

After the water baptism, we had an international spread of food for lunch. Delicious!! While having lunch, the rains started to pour and we had to eat in the shelter and then after lunch we left for home as the rain got heavier.

Despite the rain, I enjoyed the time there with the nice scenery, people and the food and most importantly, the delightful time of praising and worship God with songs.

Rumi, a Japanese, went home together with us after that to have dinner together.

27 Aug 05 - Aperitivo..

2005-08-27T12:00:00.000+02:00

Angelina went through the answers of the Italian test with CK and I. We did not do very well and thank God we are clearer of the mistakes that we made and it will definitely help us for our coming test. Quite tired after that!

Emma asked us to join her and her friends for aperitivo in the evening at Campo di Fiori. Nice drink and snacks at a reasonable price. It is interesting to know that all high school students need to study law about the government..etc. We don’t study that in Singapore. It motivates me to read more about politics and various issues. Networking is very important in Italy. Italians work through people they know. It’s a ‘shock’ to me that Emma’s brother is given life-time employment in an engineering company. We will not have such contract in Singapore.

26 Aug 05 -Italian test...VCD...in His Time

2005-08-26T12:00:00.000+02:00

Today CK and I had our Italian pre-test prepared by Angelina. Thank God for Angelina!! We are going to have an Italian test on 7 September after our trip from Basel. We were raking our heads to do this test. Thank God it is not the real test.

Paolo joined us for lunch today. Angelina and Estella prepared laksa but there are not enough gravy for 5 persons so I ate the pasta with the left-over green curry for yesterday’s dinner. Paolo is interested in oriental culture and he is studying Chinese and Japanese languages and cultures. He inspires me to learn more about my culture and roots. We watched “The Cross: Jesus in China” with him in Chinese and we paused and explained this film to him. It was a good time of sharing and he is open to hear from Christian’s perspective. He is learning about Buddhism in school as well. Probably we can have comparative religion discussion after his exams.

After that we went to ICF to watch an interesting video, “Message from heaven”. It is a film about the pseudo-Christ signs that are happening in the world and how we as Christians should handle and response when such signs from ‘heaven’ are not based on the Word of God.

God reminded me that in His timing He will make all things beautiful. In His time…In His time…

25 Aug 05 - Pumpkim....dinner

2005-08-25T12:00:00.001+02:00

We had morning jog again today and then to the market. On our way back home, we saw apple tree and fig trees and the fruits. We never know that we have fig trees so close to us. We bought pumpkin to make pumpkin soup for lunch. Yummy!! I like it. It’s the first time I prepared it. Not that difficult.

We invited Simone and Emma, 2 Italians for dinner at our house. CK and I prepared green curry, beef and vegetable stir-fry. Both of them are students from La Sapienza and they are now preparing for their exams in September. We have a good conversation with them.

"Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, and working together is success." - Henry Ford

Fig fruit....yummy!!

2005-08-24T12:00:00.000+02:00

Recently, my blog becomes a showcase of food...Guess what is this? It's fig. I first saw this recently in the market. It's soft and it tastes good too.

Health Properties:
The Egyptians, being preoccupied with their digestion, had a habit of fasting. The fig, having mild laxative properties, appealed to them as food which was delicious as well as good for them. Figs are rich in calcium, iron, phosphorus and potassium. Vitamin C and the B group vitamins are also present in small quantities. They are also high in fibre. Figs have the highest overall mineral content of all common fruits. A 40 gram (1/4 cup) serving provides 244 mg of potassium (7% of the DV), 53 mg of calcium (6% of the DV) and 1.2 mg of iron (6% of the DV). Figs are fat-free, sodium-free and cholesterol-free.

Menu in our 'restaurant' at Via Scarpanto

2005-08-23T00:00:00.000+02:00

We have been cooking a lot since we arrived in Rome and we have many success stories. We can even open a restaurant too with the culinary skills that we have now ;p Have a glimpse at our choiced menu!! We also have desserts like Tiramisu and cheesecake. The talk of food makes my mouth waters....

21 Aug 05 - Anche Trastevere..Porta Portese...ICF

2005-08-21T12:00:00.000+02:00

The sky is gloomy and dark today. The meteorological news reported that Italy would have showers and rain today. It’s strange weather to have rain so frequently recently especially during summer but I like the cool and fresh air it brings after the rain. The rain is not like the heavy downpour in Singapore. It is slightly more than the drizzling.

We went to Trastevere in the morning to visit Chiesa Evangelica Battista di Trastevere. It is an international church which holds her service in Italian. I enjoyed the praise and worship songs and I can manage about 40-50 percent of the spoken Italian during the service which is a great improvement from the first time when I visited an Italian-speaking church. Friendly people in the church too. We met an American couple who are here in Italy exploring the possibility of doing mission work too.

After service, we went to a nearby pizzeria for lunch and then went to Porta Portese, which is 3 tram stops away, to see the equivalent “pasar malam”, which is a flea market, in Trastevere. I was quite shocked when we were there. Many ‘stalls’ were setup on the floor and the most goods that were sold were second hand and were not in good condition. I’m wondering in my heart where they get all these goods. Are they there legitimately? Maybe I’m too judgemental but that’s what came to my mind where I saw the scene. As we walked further down, we saw the ‘genuine’ flea market. Stalls were setup under big umbrellas by the roadside. Some stalls have interesting things to see and may not be necessarily cheaper. We strolled, stopped and bought some stuff.

We went to ICF for another service and there after went home for our tuna cake, which is made of tuna, potato, carrot, chives and other spices, and vegetable salad. Yummy!!

19 Aug 05 - Opus Dei...Trastevere

2005-08-19T12:00:00.000+02:00

Angelina, Dee, Adela, Paty and Estella.

Opus dei means the work of God in Spanish. We visited Opus Dei today with Adela and Paty as our guide. It belongs to the Catholic church and these are some of the things that I observed:

· The design of the church. They have an underground chapel. From the outside of the building you will never know that there’s a church inside. The design of the church is somewhat like a maze. To me, it was the first time I visited an underground chapel. There is also a door on a wall that leads to nowhere…haha..just a picture of the corridor when you open the door.

· International organization. It has many branches all over the world..

· Praying to the saints. We saw many people from different parts of the world coming to this church in Rome, which is the headquarter, to pray to the founder, who is canonized by Pope John Paul II as a saint, Mary and Jesus. According to the Bible in Eph 2:20, Jesus is the chief cornerstone and not the prophets or even saints. Adela and Paty explained to us that as Catholic they prayed through Mary (also applies to other saints) to God. They gave an analogy of a child asking for something through the mother to the father. To me, it makes no sense as the child can ask the father directly as well. It may show that the child fears the father and does not have close relationship with him to ask him for something. A thought came to my mind if the child asks for something legitimate why would not the father agree and give the child all that he asks for.

I remembered something that Marcus Vigilante told us when he visited his relatives somewhere near Foggia, which is at the southern part of Italy. He saw the statutes and pictures of a particular saint everywhere, in the churches, in the houses..etc. People from the south are generally more religious than the people in the north.

· Mary was a virgin before and after her death. It’s something new to me. According to the Bible that I read, Mary had other children with Joseph beside Jesus. To the Catholic, they always called Mary, My Lady and she represents purity.

· Aesthetic design. A lot of attention is paid to the design and structure of the chapel, statues, paintings and symbols with their unique meanings.

· Holy communion. It seems to me that there is something magical or even supernatural about the holy communion to the Catholic. They believe that when the priest puts the bread into their tongue, it is the same as Jesus himself putting the bread in their mouth. The priest suddenly becomes Jesus. To the Catholic, holy communion is not a feast to remember Jesus on sacrifice for us on the cross but to relive the times 2000 years ago at the crucifix except that it is cleaner as there is no real blood.

We met Emmanuele for dinner at Trastevere….

18 Aug 05 - Dubbio...

2005-08-18T12:00:00.000+02:00

I went for a jog in the morning alone. Ran the normal route and then I saw that the ‘wet market’ is opened. I dropped by the market after my run to buy some stuff home.

House-cleaning today. Our lives need regular house-cleaning too.

We watched the WYD events in Cologne from the TV. There were pop singers singing secular songs in this supposively a ‘spiritual’ convention. Some of the singers are not even believers. Wow!! Syncretism of the so-called spiritual with the secular. Is this how the Vatican want to be relevant to the youth in the world? I am doubtful how the Pope can bring the youth to a better knowledge and understanding of who God is in their life.

17 Aug 05 - Chinese painting exhibition ... Trastevere

2005-08-17T12:00:00.000+02:00

We went out together with a group of Italians and one philipino this morning to a Chinese painting exhibition near Piazza Venezia. They are university students who are studying oriental culture and languages. Most of them are studying Japanese and Chinese. One of them is even learning Hindi language. Paolo, an Italian is able to speak mandarin reasonably well. He went to Tianjing for 3 months of Chinese language course and he said he likes the Chinese cooking and he thinks that it was much healthier than the Italian food. Cristina, an Italian who loves the Chinese painting so much that she would like to visit the museum again and also to buy the collection magazine with the showcased paintings. It was really interesting to know that they are Europeans who are interested in the history of China. I think they know more about China’s history than I. Wow! I believe I need to start to know my roots!

All of us were hungry after viewing the exhibition and wanted to have some pizzas. We walked to many pizzerias but most of them were closed. August is the month where most Italians will be away for holiday. We had to walk back to Termini for food, as most of the shops there will still be opened for tourists. We managed to have our lunch there. We invited all of them to our house next month for mooncake festival.

We went home for a rest and then in the evening CK, Estella and I went out to catch up with Joy and Laura. They brought along Zaina, a Norwegian girl and another Italian girl. We went to Trastevere. It was full of life at night. Very different from that time when Angelina, Raff and I were there in the afternoon. Along the way to find a bar to sit down, there was this old, unkempt woman motioning and telling us to go to her so that her little bird can foretell our future to bring us good luck. Zaina was quick to respond to her that our God will bless us. Our God will guide us in our steps and bless us indeed when we obey Him. We went to a bar for a drink. I think the waiter must be wondering why these group of girls come to bar and just had juices, coke and mineral water.

I thank God for the many Italian friends that we made in just a day. A good time to practise our Italian too!

God is teaching me to give thanks for the team, for the people who are in my life, the life that God gives me….all things. Sometimes, I just forget to remember the giver and ‘complain’.

Our heartfelt expressions of praise are rooted in the discipline of thanksgiving. To be grateful is consciously to acknowledge our debt to another and this is an activity that we are commanded to choose:” giving thanks always for all things to God the Father.” Eph 5:20.

The struggles that we have in our lives are real and we need to face them honestly. Like what Paul said in the Epistle, he knows what he ought not to do but he keeps on doing. I know my weaknesses and sometimes I find it hard to yield them to God. He is breaking me down to acknowledge it honestly before Him and in repentance. When I am weak then He is strong!! I have to put down my pride again to admit that I need Him and that He loves me dearly!

16 Aug 05 - WYD & Cheesecake!!!

2005-08-16T12:00:00.000+02:00

Today is the 20^th Catholic World Youth Day (WYD) in Cologne, Germany. It will be from 16-21 Aug 05. About 400,000 youth from all over the world will gather at Cologne and the pope will address and share with them the Catholic virtues. I was chatting with my friend from France recently and he asked me why I was not there at Cologne at this meeting. Oh Dio!! He did not know that there is a difference between Catholic and Protestant. I will explain to him more when he visits me in Rome.

Angelina and Estella made cheesecake today! My favourite!! It was yummy!

15 Aug 05 - Ferragosto

2005-08-15T00:00:00.000+02:00

Today is a public holiday in Italy, Mary’s ascension day or Ferragosto.

Ferragosto, August 15, is one of the most important Catholic holidays, because it's the day that the Virgin was Assunta in Cielo, in other words transported directly to Heaven to be with her son, Jesus, and also to look after those of us still here on Earth. As is the case with many other Christian holidays, Ferragosto goes back further and has Pagan origins, which in this case are multiple. On the one hand, in 18 BC the Roman Emperor Augustus declared that all of the month of August would be dedicated to the Feriae Augusti, a series of festivals and celebrations; the most important was held on the 13th, and was dedicated to Diana, the Goddess whose task it was to oversee the woods, the phases of the Moon, and Maternity. The services, which were celebrated in Diana's temple on the Aventine, was one of the few occasions in which Romans from all walks of life, masters and slaves alike, mingled freely, and the women, who made offerings to the Goddess throughout the year in the hope that their labor would be safe and happy, offered prayers to Lucina, the guise Diana assumed when she was acting as protectoress of Labor.

In addition to Diana, the Feriae Augusti were an occasion to celebrate Vortumnus, God of the Seasons and therefore of the ripening of crops, Conso, the God of the Harvest, and Opeconsiva, who personified the abundant harvest. In short, the Feriae were a celebration of fertility and maternity; like many other Roman holidays they derived from the East, and in particular from the Syrian celebration of Atagartis, a Mother Goddess who oversaw both fertility and work in the fields. With the advent of Christianity people turned to the Virgin for help in these matters, and began celebrating Her in August in the church in Jerusalem that was said to be Her resting place; the custom spread through the rest of the Empire under Mauritius, in the late 500s.

It's important to note that this was just a celebration of Mary; the modern dogma that she was transported to Heaven on Ferragosto took hold in the 18th century, and was only formally proclaimed by Pope Pius XII in 1950. [Extract from http://italianfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa081103.htm]

Estella and I went to Piazza del Popolo to meet Adela, an Argentina journalist and Patricia, a Mexican architect. We walked down from Popolo to Spagna and then to Burger King to have a drink and talk with them. Both of them are Catholic and we shared our faith with one another. Patricia said that today’s festival was not written in the bible but in another Catholic traditional book. We enjoyed the time together and we even planned to visit a museum this week.

I shared with Adela about Singapore and she is interested to find out more about Singapore too. She is very surprised that Singapore has only 4 million people. She even told me that she will read up more about Singapore. We are not just ambassadors of Christ but also for Singapore ;-)

Estella and I went home for dinner…our cous cous is waiting for us!

14 Aug 05 - Chiesa Cristiana Evangelica Cinese

2005-08-14T00:00:00.000+02:00

Today we visited Chiesa Cristiana Evangelica Cinese. Male and female sit separately. The aisle separates the male and female. Initially when we were there, they were singing to the tune of the song without the lyrics. The style of worship is different from ICF. The songs are slower and more meditative. I like a phrase from a song which goes like this, “It is not just to imitate Christ in our life but to let Christ grow in my life”. I like the sermon that was preached by a man whom we met at a Chinese restaurant. He is the owner of the restaurant.

He shared about the characteristics of the palm tree, the growth of the palm tree and the fruit of the palm tree. Psalm 92:12. Palm tree, unlike most of the trees, has very deep roots and is able to withstand the storms like the tsunamis. It is not uprooted when the strong waves swept across the beach. It does not matter whether how abundant are the fruits of the tree if it is not deeply rooted, the tree will still be destroyed when storm comes. We need to be deeply rooted in the word of God because the storm can come unnoticed. We will grow when we are put to test. Like the palm tree, when the stones are tied to the branches, the stress will force the roots to go deeper into the ground to draw water and nutrients.

The coconut is the fruit of the palm tree. It yields its fruits in season and likewise in our spiritual life, we will only yield fruits in season. We need to sow everywhere and at the right timing it will bear fruits. Isa 42:3, John 15:4, Ps 1:3.

After the service, we spoke to the preacher and he remembered us when we went to his restaurant for dinner. Then we went to a famous gelateria, which is just beside the church, for gelato. ;-) The best in the world....

12 Aug 05 - San Giovanni & Santa Maria Maggiore

2005-08-12T12:00:00.000+02:00

We visited San Giovanni church, of the 4 major churches in Rome, in the afternoon. This is the first Catholic church in Rome. A few popes stayed in this church. It can be seen in the interior of the church that there are many statues of the popes and also inscription of their names on the floor or even on the ceiling of the church. St Peter and St Paul were one of the saints that the Catholics worship beside Jesus Christ and Santa Maria. Wow!! Such idolatry! How can someone stray away from the Word of God to such an extent…it’s beyond comprehension!

We went out of the church and then sat down at the stairs and prayed and worshipped God. We prayed for God to open the eyes of the Italians to see the truth and have a genuine relationship with God. God is not found in a church building, in the statues and in the tradition made by man. God is spirit. He cannot be contained in a statue. He will reveal Himself to us when we know the truth, which is found in the Word of God, Bible. We can seek Him anywhere at any time.

We went to another church, Santa Maria Maggiore church near Roma Termini. It was a church dedicated to Saint Maria, Jesus’ mother. It was believed that this site snowed during Summer. On Mary's acension day, which is on 15 Aug, white petals will be thrown to symbolise snow. When we were inside the church, it was funny to see nuns over the counter selling the souvenirs. What should nuns be doing in a church??

We went home for dinner.

10 Aug 05 - Taking the cities for God...

2005-08-10T12:00:00.000+02:00

I start reading “Taking our cities for God” by John Dawson. It was a good book. These are some extracts (Italics) from the book.

Spiritual warfare begins at a personal level and escalates through layers of increasing difficulty – from personal and family to the realm of church life, and beyond that the collective church in the city and the national and international realms.

God uses us only as a contributor to victory not as the prime mover, lest any man should boast that he had done the work of God.

· Claiming this generation for God

· Seeing with the eyes of faith

· Power of prayer and fasting

· Discerning the unseen enemy

· Prayer strategy

It’s true that God uses us to do this work. We are so prone to be proud of what our hands can do. How people have started well and ended badly because of pride in their lives.

We are the fruit of the powerful labour of past generations. Before we were born, the saints of the past cried out to God for a revelation of Jesus in our generation. It is a dangerous thing to lose the knowledge of the past. Judges 2:10.

We need to know and to give thanks for Christians before us who sowed and toiled to bring the gospel to us. Without them, we would not have known God and His church. Remember the past and look forward to the destiny that God has prepared for us.

Knowledge of history can put everything in perspective.

In a time of war, battles are won by the strategic concentration of force. Soldiers don’t just attack along a scattered front. They follow a plan designed by a general with a big map and a lot of information.

Neh. 4:20, Mat 12: 25, Mat 18: 18-19, Col 3: 1-2

We need to be united together in heart, mind and purpose as a church so that God’s authority and anointing can flow through the leaders to the people. God reminded me the importance of teamwork and to give thanks for the brothers and sisters in Christ that we have in our church in Singapore and all over the world.

Spiritual authority is present in proportion to the harmony of relationship among believers moving together toward a common goal. Spiritual authority is a by-product of personal devotional habit.

Harmony of relationship is a matter of the heart, not a structural problem. All relationship moves through a natural process and must be allowed to progress at its own pace:

· Observation

· Attraction

· Courtship

· Covenant

· Intimacy

· Fruitfulness

· Celebration

The rightly prioritised agenda of a biblical believer should be personal repentance and holy living, leading to united prayer, to revival of the church, to awakening among the lost, to reformation of society and international missionary endeavour. This is the historic path of renewal. We must consciously move toward it in each generation.

9 Aug 05 - Singapore National Day

2005-08-09T00:00:00.000+02:00

Today is Singapore National Day. We prayed for our nation too that God will continue to bless our nation.

We had a dinner celebration with Antonio, Giusippe and Vincenso. Giusippe and Vincenso are friends of Antonio. We had curry (with chicken, tomatoes, potatoes, mushroom and dices of pineapple), beef stir-fry and cauliflower and carrot stir-fry. Good food. I liked them and our visitors liked them too. They said they would like to cook for us too.

We shared with them Singapore National Day Parade photos and also played "Home" by Kit Chan. We started sharing our Singapore and they shared with us Italy's and also Calabria, the place where they came from. Then Giusippe noticed a banner which Charmaine gave us which has a verse from the Bible and he asked what was written on it. Then naturally we started sharing together about church, church camp in Prague and also their personal experience with the Catholic church and their faith. It was a good time of sharing.

All glory to God.

8 Aug 05 - Prague

2005-08-08T12:00:00.000+02:00

I will start my one-week praying and fasting today.

We met Marcus and his parents at Ciampino and sat down together at the café together. We had a good talk together and Sally, Marcus’s mother, shared with us her interesting story when she travelled around the world on cruise, car..with his family when she was about 14 years old. Great experience for a young girl at that time. Phil, Marcus’s father also shared with us his trip to Foggia to visit his relatives. It was good to know that Marcus’s parents enjoyed the church camp too even though they are Catholic.

The flight back to Rome was delayed again. I went to a bookshop and saw a few books written by Franz Kafkar, a famous writer from Prague. Flipped and scanned through the pages and I like it but I did not buy it. I think I will be able to find them online. Indeed, I found his famous book, The Trial, at http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/k#a1735.

We will make friends and share the gospel to people wherever we go. I need to learn to be thick-skinned. Perfect love drives out fear.

7 Aug 05 - Prague

2005-08-07T12:00:00.000+02:00

Our last day in the church camp.

Teaching 4 by Ps Simon Eng – Relevant Strategy

After the teaching, Giovanni shared about his testimonies on how God answered his prayer by giving his the gift of prophecy during the camp, which he asked from God 3 years ago. John also shared his testimony about having baptised by the Holy Spirit. There were many testimonies after the camp and I was so very encouraged and excited to see what God is going to do in our lives too. God is good all the time.

After the service and lunch, CK, Estella, Sebestian, Margo, Steve and I went to the city centre while Angelina attended the leadership meeting. At the tram station, Estella saw a group of people from Salvation Army and then we realised that Joy, who is from Salvation Army is also having their Youth camp in Prague. Our campsites were only one street away.

We had good fellowship time together with Sebestian, Margo and Steve. Sebestian, Margo and Steve left us along the way. Estella, Ck and I went to the meeting place where we were supposed to meet Angelina after her meeting but she will be late. We tried a sugared roll made from flour and also the hot dog. Yummy!!

The sky was gloomy and drizzling when Angelina, Markus, Yun Long and Edmond came. We went to a sheltered place for a while then decided to find a place where we could have a hot drink to warm ourselves. We went to KFC and bought hot chocolate. Markus shared about how he came to know Hope and the 2 Czech ladies’ eyes sparkled when Markus mentioned the word, “Jesus”. They were just sitting beside us. We talked for quite a while. Misa shared about her trip to Ukarine to help the ‘abandoned and runaway’ children and her faith and Seno shared about her work and her faith as a Christian. It was amazing how God can bring people from different parts of the world together because of our same faith in Him. It encourages my heart to know that there are people in Prague too who are on fire for Jesus.

We went for a walk in the city with our umbrella. It was getting very cold and we stopped a several shops to take shelther. We noticed that Markus always takes opportunity to share the gospel to people he met on the street. He always brings tracks with him wherever he goes so that he can share with others. It was very encouraging to us.

More photos at http://www.hope-europe.org/hec, http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AauGrVszasU6

6 Aug 05 - Prague

2005-08-06T12:00:00.000+02:00

Teaching 3 by Ps Marcus Rose – Relevant Evangelism

There is water baptism today and it was really encouraging to me to hear all the testimonies of my brothers and sisters in Christ from different parts of Europe before they went to the cold water to be baptised. It is interesting to see that it is not always the pastor who baptises the people but the ‘shepherd’.

We had a good time of praise and worship together in the evening. I prayed to God and told Him that I want to have total freedom to worship Him and indeed I became ‘free’. I had never danced and jumped so much during P&W in my life. I just felt so joyful and I could not stop praising Him. Estella, who was beside me, thought that there was something wrong with me because the others stopped dancing and I was the only one still dancing. She even wanted to stop me but she did not. God is worthy of our praise and worship.

Preaching 4 by Ps Simon Eng – Relevant life

After the preaching, we had a good talk with Michel and Sebestian from Hope Paris. Sharing and encouraging one another.

5 Aug 05 - Prague

2005-08-05T12:00:00.000+02:00

Teaching 2 by Ps Prakich – Relevant Community

We presented our skit after the teaching. Many people enjoyed the skit and we were very glad ;-)

I attended a workshop on “Counselling” by Ps PK on Friday and Saturday.

After the workshop, we went to the city centre with Steffen, Giovanni, John, Daniel, Yun Long and a few other Chineses and Germans from Hope Stuttgart. Steffen was our unofficial tour guide. It was good fellowship with them.

We received an sms from Stella, our landlady that we can stay at our current apartment until September and probably till October too. Praise the Lord for His providence and also for answering our prayer.

I told God that I want to love and feel the way He feels for the people so that I can be more effective in my prayer life and my service to Him and His people. I want love to be my motivation in all that I do for Him. Love never fails.

Preaching 3 by Ps Simon Eng – Relevant Miracles

4 Aug 05 - Prague

2005-08-04T00:00:00.000+02:00

Teaching 1 by Ps Prakich – What is a relevant church?

I attended a workshop on “Making multi-cultural teams successful” by KaJin.

After the workshop, we went for a trip to Karlstejn castle which was about one hour from the university. It was a beautiful castle from outside but inside there is nothing much to see ;p We had a good time sharing and talking with our Chinese brothers and sisters from Hope Stuttgart.

Preaching 2 by Ps Simon Eng – Relevant power

God impressed upon my heart that I should pray for Italians to attend the next convention in Europe. Wow!! It’s exciting! All things are possible with God.

3 Aug 05 - Prague here we come...

2005-08-03T00:00:00.000+02:00

I woke up 4am today. The weather is killing. I am perspiring and sticky all over. I took a lot of water and washed my face then went back to bed again. I prayed to God to lower down the temperature because I could not sleep and in less than 5 minutes it rained. I felt asleep.

Yeah! Today we are going to Prague for the Europe camp. We were almost late for the check-in for our flight to Prague. We need to arrive at Ciampino airport 45 mins before the flight takes off. We took a cab and thank God we made it on time. We were on time but the flight was delayed for one hour. Neverthless we used that time to plan for our Team Rome presentation on Friday morning in the church camp. We had so much fun discussing how we are going to present the skit which will tell the people about our experience with the language, job search and also the people.

When we arrived at Prague, we had dinner then took a bus and then walked to the Physical Education and Sports Charles University which is the site for the convention.

The theme of the church camp is “Right here Right Now: A Relevant Church”.

Preaching 1 by Ps Marcus Rose – Building Relevant Churches

Good to be in Prague because the weather is much cooler than in Rome.

2 Aug 05 - God is good...cookies..

2005-08-02T00:00:00.000+02:00

We had a good time of praying together in the morning. God encouraged me with the words of prophecy from my brother and sisters. I thank God for everything that He is doing in my life and the many things that He revealed and spoke to me.

Stella and Paulo came today to show the apartment to a family to view. This family wants to find an apartment to stay for 2 years. Pray that we can stay in the apartment until end of October because it is really hard to find an apartment for short-termer like us.

I made cookies again because we ate quite a lot yesterday and there are not enough to bring to Prague ;p

Angelina and Estella have an interview.

Rumi visited our house today. Had a good time with her.

We finished our Chinese dumplings for dinner. Finalmente!

1 Aug 05 - Animal farm and cookies

2005-08-01T00:00:00.000+02:00

Finished reading “Animal Farm” by George Orwell. It was about the animals wanting to overthrow the ‘ruling’ of the human beings and after they did that, they tried to make a name for themselves by building a tower and to manage the farm themselves. At the end, they still succumbed to the love for power to rule and reign over the ‘lower” animals.

I made some almond, raisin, chocolate cookies today to be brought to Prague camp for the brothers and sisters there.

31 July 05 - Last day of retreat

2005-07-31T12:00:00.000+02:00

We had American breakfast today. Wow!! Pancakes with peaches, whipped cream, syrup and bacon. I love it!! After breakfast, we continued our devotion on Daniel. Pastors also shared their personal testimonies on how God encouraged them when they were discouraged. God sent them a person to speak to them and encouraged them from Isa 43.

We were very blessed by all the sharing and the fellowship. After that we left for lunch near Acille and then went to ICF for church service.

30 Jul 05 - ICF Retreat...Martin Luther

2005-07-30T12:00:00.000+02:00

We had breakfast together and then went to a pine forest for devotion together. Ps Michael and Ps Lolita shared with us from Isa 61 and Daniel 1-2. It was about God’s favour upon His people and we did a study on Daniel and his 3 friends’ lives.

We had a good lunch (hamburger, potato salad and morzerella with tomatoes) together.

Before we continued our bible study on the book of Daniel in the late afternoon, we had banana pudding for dessert too. All thanks for Ps Lolita. Ingredients for banana pudding: Pudding, whipped cream, sugar, banana and biscuits.

God reminded me about the importance of having a consistent and disciplined life. Daniel and his 3 friends were able to go through such testings, to the extent of even willing to die for their faith, are because they have a vital and strong relationship with God. They have a consistent and disciplined life. They did not pray to God only during the struggles but they prayed and seeked God all the time without fail.

After bible discussion, we watched a DVD on Martin Luther. Wow! I was very inspired and touched by his dedication to share the truth to his own people in Germany. Though he was forced and compelled by the religious authorities to renounce all that he had preached and wrote, he did not concede to their demands as he was not able to go against his conscience and the Word of God. Many tough situations, disappointment, fears that he faced but God sustained him and used him to reform the church in Germany and even beyond.

God is faithful and He never fails to sustain and keep His people. We need to learn to persevere to see God’s will and purpose come to pass through our lives. God can use everyone of us in His own unique way to impact the world that we are living in now.

It was good fellowship with our brothers and sisters from ICF. Though the retreat was short, the bonding is built because Christ is among us.

More photos, http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AauGrVszasUY

29 July 05 - Discovery & Retreat

2005-07-29T12:00:00.000+02:00

This morning, Estella and I went for our morning jog. We discovered a wet market that sells meat, seafood and vegetable at a relatively much cheaper price than PAM supermercato and Tutto market near our apartment. We are so excited. We continued our run after having a tour in the market. We went to a ‘sport complex’ too, but we have no idea which kind of game is played there even after the man explained to us. Towards the end of our run, we went to a Catholic church and stood outside to observe what is in the church. We notice that there are many activities for the youth in this church.

We went to Tutto market to buy sausages for breakfast. Very hungry after the run ;p We had egg with cheese and sausage for breakfast ;-)

In the evening we will meet Andre and the rest at Pyramide to go to ICF pastors’ house for the retreat.

We had a sumptuous dinner (tuna tomato pasta and salad) together.

28 July 05 - Ostia beach..

2005-07-28T12:00:00.000+02:00

I went to Ostia beach together with Raff in the afternoon. It was my first time since I arrived in Rome. The beach at Ostia is divided into different sections. Paid section and non-paid section. You will have facilities with shower rooms, toilets and swimming pool at the paid section. While the non-paid section does not have such facilities. Almost everything that you want to rent or use needs to be paid ;-(

We had a slow stroll along the beach. Enjoying the breeze and a good talk with one another. Picked up a few stones on the shore. I enjoyed the time at the beach just talking and reading book and had a short swim in the sea.

There are quite a lot of people sunbathing and there are some nudes too. Sunbathing is a national past time. In Italy, there are also “solariums” where people can paid to have artificial sunbathing under special machines.

A few weeks ago, I felt an impression in my heart. God asked me,” Do you want to have a job in Italy? If you want I will give it to u.” I am actually quite scared of getting a job in Italy. If I get a job here, it means that I need to stay for sure. On my way back home from the beach, I prayed a prayer to God for the land of Italy and also if God provides a good job for me I will stay in Italy. I prayed that I could work in an international company where I can use the experience and skills that I have acquired and to work in an English-speaking environment.

At night, I found a job that matches my prayer requests to God at Monster.it. It’s exciting! Pray that God will open doors for the team.

27 Jul 05 - Good fellowship...

2005-07-27T12:00:00.000+02:00

I met Raff at Termini in the afternoon and then we went to a Christian bookshop where I bought an Italian bible. I will read Italian bible together with my English bible so that I can improve my Italian. After that we went back to our apartment, as it was too hot to move around much in Rome.

I received a call from Ester, an Italian who is interested in Chinese language and culture. I sms her a few days ago in response to her advertisement to request for language exchange. We had a good talk over the phone. We are not able to meet up, as she will be going to Beijing for 4 months of Chinese language course. We exchanged emails and we shall correspond via emails. Hope to be able to meet up with her. She seems a nice girl.

We had a good caregroup today in the evening. Raff, Joy and Laura joined us. We splitted into two groups after praise and worship. One group shared on Holy Spirit baptism and speaking in tongues while the other group continued the sharing on Romans 3. A small group is better as we can share more in depth.

We had a good fellowship over the dining table after discussion.

26 July 05 - Deut & 1984

2005-07-26T12:00:00.000+02:00

God reminded me from Deut 28:1, 13 that I would be the head, not the tail if I obey Him fully. To always aim for God’s best in my life. To be the best that God has made me to be. I want to see the day when God’s church is set up among the nations when all His people and many others will stream to Him. To bring His church to such level which is even better than that of the world.

Finished reading “1984” by George Orwell. A good book, which makes me think and feel a lot. It was about “BIG BROTHER”, a totalitarian society that controlled the lives of the people to the minute details. Winston and Julia were ‘rebelling’ against the BIG BROTHER by having an affair and revolutionary thoughts against the BIG BROTHER. Eventually, the THOUGHTCRIME police caught them. O’Brien, an inner party leader, broke the will of Winston and others down to pieces to realise that at the end it they themselves that they really love and at the end Winston submitted to the BIG BROTHER.

24 July 05 - Good time..

2005-07-24T12:00:00.000+02:00

Marcus and Boom joined us for church service at ICF. After service, we went to Termini to buy some food and then went home.
Estella prepared tuna mushroom pasta for us. It was good. We had good sharing together. To understand about each other’s ministries.

23 July 05 - Devotion & Tour in Rome...

2005-07-23T12:00:00.000+02:00

Marcus and Boom had morning devotion together with us. After that we brought them to Colosseo, Roman Forum, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Navona and Trevi fountain.

Rumi visited us and joined us for dinner.

Boom and Marcus prepared authentic Thai food like fried vegetable, eggs, green curry and red curry for dinner. Yummy!! I have not eaten Thai food for a long time…actually we tried it in Berlin when Chrissi cooked green curry for us. The green curry is ‘powerful’, it can even make me tear a little. I have not eaten such spicy food for a long time and I need to get use to it again.

22 July 05 - Mom's birthday

2005-07-22T12:00:00.000+02:00

Today is mom’s birthday. Called her and had a good talk with her. We could talk like good friends. wow! I thank God. I think the letter and the 2 packets of tomato and sunflower seeds that I sent to her really touches her heart. Love my mom and my family ;-) Miss them.

Today’s caregroup, we have Luigi, Raff, Edgar and Andre. We had good discussion together and thereafter dinner together with Marcus and Boom, who just arrived at our apartment.

21 July 05 - Surprise & Waiting...

2005-07-21T12:00:00.000+02:00

It was a sweet surprise to receive an sms from a friend, who have ‘disappeared’ for a while, wishing me a belated birthday.

Angelina and I went to Termini in the evening to wait for Marcus Vigliante and Boom from Hope Chiang Mai. We waited for 2 hours still no sight of them. I tried contacting Cara for their contact number and Angelina went to Internet café to check her emails to see whether they sent any email. True enough, Marcus sent an email to Angelina that their flight had been delayed and they would only reach Rome the next day.

20 July 05 - Mio Compleanno!

2005-07-20T12:00:00.000+02:00

Today is my birthday ;-) One year older.

Estella, CK and I met Joy at FAO for lunch together. A good time of catching up.

Received several well-wishes phone call from my family and friends.

We had dinner together and Estella and CK bought me a bouquet of flowers. Angelina cooked dinner for us.

19 July 05 - Trastevere

2005-07-19T12:00:00.000+02:00

Angelina and I went to Trastevere together with Raff for lunch. We have a good time of getting to know her better. Thank God for her openness towards us.

17 July 05 - Tour in Rome..sending off.

2005-07-17T00:00:00.000+02:00

We had a weird combination of food for breakfast. Chinese dumplings, potato salad and egg salad from last night party. It was very kind of Steffen, John and Giovanni to buy so many things for us.

We went to Vatican City together. Estella suggested that she looked after the bags of our German brothers instead of going into the church. I did not go into the church too and I stayed to accompany her. While we were waiting, we read our Bible. An old man, with long white beard approached Estella and started to tell us to believe in Jesus and not the Pope and even referred us to a few verses in the Bible. Initially, I thought he was a beggar or wanting to sell us something but he said he is a missionary. Thank God for his heart.

After that, we went for a short walk in the market where stalls are set up to sell various products, and then had gelato together. We sent off our German brothers at Termini and then went to church service at ICF.
We shall see them again in 2 weeks time at Prague camp ;-)

16 July 05 - Villa Borghese & Birthday Party

2005-07-16T00:00:00.000+02:00

In the morning, we went to Villa Borghese for breakfast and devotion together. It was good time of discussion and we went to Pincio to pray for Italy. There after we went to Piazza Popolo and then returned home to prepare the food for the party at night.

The theme of the party is based on FAITH, HOPE and LOVE from 1 Cor.13:13. We had friends from Germany, Japan, Brazil, and Italy joining us. We had good food, fellowship and great fun dancing together led by our Italian friends. The atmosphere in this celebration started to rise when we sang birthday songs in various languages and our dear Japanese friend, Rumi, even sang a song for me. She is a good singer.

I gave everyone a card that I made with a Chinese character of either faith, hope or love and the verse from 1 Cor. 13:13 then I shared briefly about this verse to our friends. Amazingly after the sharing we could enter into spiritual conversation and we shared the gospel and testimonies to our friends.

Every one of us enjoyed ourselves very much and it is the best birthday celebration that I had. I felt God’s presence among us. All glory to Him.

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15 July 05 - Dumplings...German brothers!

2005-07-15T00:00:00.000+02:00

Early in the morning, we started preparing the Chinese dumplings, agar-agar for the party and dinner for the tonight. It was practically a whole day of cooking for us. I have never cooked so much in my life before; p I can imagine how tired our mothers will be after preparing so much food for us.

It was announced that there is a strike in Rome. Public transport will not be available from 8am to 5pm and from 8pm onwards. CK and Estella walked probably one hour plus to school in the afternoon.

Steffen, John and Giovanni arrived in Rome in the evening and they waited 1 hour for the bus together with CK and Estella. Thank God the bus came if not they would have to walk more than one hour to our apartment with their heavy luggages.

They carried with them many ingredients all the way from Stuttgart to prepare the food for tomorrow’s party. We were all astonished at what they brought with them. Really thank God for such supportive brothers from Hope Stuttgart.

13 July 05 - CG..

2005-07-13T00:00:00.000+02:00

We have Luigi for care group today. Though there is only one person, we had a good discussion and Luigi shared us more in depth about his life and his main concern. We also shared with him about Holy Spirit baptism.

God, I believe that everyone who desires to know You will know You because You are never far from anyone of us. I thank You for this assurance that you place in my heart. I thank You for reminding me the importance of team work. Teach me Lord on how to build up one another not just for myself.

12 July 05 - "7 Kings in Rome"

2005-07-12T00:00:00.000+02:00

In the evening, we met Marco, the English meet up organizer, Rossa, a Spanish and Maria, Marco’s girlfriend for a free performance at Roman Forum, “The Seven Kings in Rome”. It was an interesting performance. There after, we went for dinner together in an Italian restaurant and then gelato. An English meet up became an Italian meet up. Most of the time, we spoke in Italian instead of English. It was good time together and we could practise our Italian too.

10 July 05 - Shopping craze!!

2005-07-10T00:00:00.000+02:00

Sale is everywhere in Rome now. Shopping craze is in town! We went for shopping..mainly window-shopping before church service down the shopping streets. It was good to be meeting the brothers and sisters in church. The pastor’s wife invited us to join them for a retreat end of this month at their house. We accepted the invitation.

9 July 05 - Jog n Meetup

2005-07-09T00:00:00.000+02:00

Estella and I went for a jog together in the late afternoon. It was good to exercise! It energises me to burn all the extra fats; p

After the jog, CK, Estella and I prepared ourselves to go out to meet Luca at Piazza Popolo. Luca wants to learn and to speak English. We got to know him better. He studied fine arts and is working in the Arts industry.

8 July 05 - 1984

2005-07-08T00:00:00.000+02:00

I went to Borris Bookshop at Termini to read some books. I spent most of my afternoon there and I found an interesting book, “1984” by George Orwell. He became famous after publishing “1984” and “Animal Farm”. I searched the Internet and found free online books by him ;-) http://orwell.ru/library/index_en

6 July 05 - 2nd CG

2005-07-06T00:00:00.000+02:00

We had our 2nd care group today with Andre, Luigi and Edgar. Edgar is a Peruvian working at a pizzeria in a disco. We decided not have praise and worship as we want to have more time for discussion. Indeed we had a lengthy discussion and good fellowship together.

4 July 05 - Italian Test....;-(

2005-07-04T00:00:00.000+02:00

We had our Italian test today and I did not do well for the test. I was asked to repeat the 3rd level. I talked to the director of the school and asked to be promoted to 4th level, as I do not want to repeat learning the same thing again. I know the reason why I did not do well and I believe I can do well if I have sufficient preparation. He said he would let me know the outcome. After returning home, I decided to stop my Italian class probably for one or two months so that I can brush up on my own.

We received a call to view an apartment and we went there. Not a very ideal place.

On our way home, we met Tilman at the bus stop. We had a long talk by the roadside and later decided to invite him to our apartment for dinner. We shared the gospel to him and understand more about his views about God. We played guitar and sing together till midnight.

3 July 05 - Return to Italy

2005-07-03T00:00:00.000+02:00

Only had 3 hours of sleep and we had to wake up early to catch the train to the airport to fly back to Napoli, Italy. Initially, we wanted to travel in Napoli but we were too tired and the next day we need to prepare for our Italian test, so we decided to take the earliest train back to Rome.

We had rest and then prepared for our test tomorrow.

2 July 05 - Cheesecake and Jewish Museum

2005-07-02T00:00:00.000+02:00

Ariane made cheesecake for us and we made pasta with pesto for the ministry house. We had a good lunch together. After which, we went out with Rene to visit the Jewish museum. It showcased the history of the Jews in Europe especially in Germany. I enjoyed the time in the museum and I learnt so much. We did not manage to see everything in the museum due to time constraint. Do u know that Levi Strauss is a Jewish trader? Holocaust in Greek means burnt offering for religious ceremony. I also know my name in Hebrew ;p A meaning quote that I like from Anne Frank’s diary is ”I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.”

After the visit to the museum, we had kebab together then we went to our apartment. Our cheesecake is waiting for us!! At night, the girls decided to go for Salsa dance but there is Asian Karaoke instead. All the girls went except myself, Ariane and Katherina. Katherina and I were talking about “The Germans” Spiegel magazine that I bought and we started talking about our lives. Somehow we started to talk about the bible. Ariane came into the room too and we had good bible discussion and sharing together.

It was our last night together and I enjoyed the time together with my brothers and sisters in Hope Berlin. It is a privilege to be part of Hope movement and most important to be part of God’s plan to see how God is moving in different part of the world. God loves all and He shows no favouritism.

1 July 05 - Devotion and Prayer

2005-07-01T00:00:00.000+02:00

In the morning, we had devotion together at McDonald. It was a good time of sharing. After that we went to the Dome church, Bandestag Tor and the Parliament house.

We went to Angela’s house in the evening for prayer meeting.

30 June 05 - Meetings..

2005-06-30T00:00:00.000+02:00

We tried a good Taiwanese beef noodle in Berlin ;-)

We met Marcus and Stephanie at their house for discussion on what we have observed and learnt in Hope Berlin. Marcus shared with us that we can discuss with them on issues that set their emotions high. To find out what they really want and what they really hate. An all-time favourite topic that we can discuss is “No sex before marriage”. Marcus reminded us the importance of keeping God’s standards.

To the Europeans, the gospel is like a product that nobody wants. Thus we need to repackage this valuable product that appeals and meets the needs of the people.

After the meeting, we joined Angela’s team meeting. A causal session. We played a simple game and had a celebration for Klaus.

29 June 05 - Good Swim & Lunch & People

2005-06-29T00:00:00.000+02:00

Early in the morning, Edmond, CK and I went to Berlin arena at Landsberger Allee for a swim. I have not swum since I arrived in Europe. I’m impressed by the facilities available and the technology used. It was much advanced than Singapore. We had a good swim. While swimming, I prayed and asked God to continue to change my attitude to be more Christ-like. There are anxious thoughts in my mind and I prayed to God and commit all to Him. Let my heart not to be proud but to always exalt Jesus in my life. Lord I still fall short of your standards by so much. Teach me Lord to be more like you.

After that we went to the Jacuzzi. We had a good talk together. CK and I encouraged Edmond for the good work that he has done in Berlin.

We went Turnstrasse to go to Ulli’s house for lunch. Chrissi made green curry for lunch. Wow! Asian food. Chrissi was in Thailand for 2.5 years and it is encouraging to know how and why she went to Hope Bangkok in search of God and to see for herself the church that Marcus has been sharing to her. Ulli shared her testimony too. She shared that many Germans think that it’s foolish to believe in God and that people who believe in God are weak and being a Christian is not someone who will aspire to be one.

God is powerful and great! I can see how God amazingly works in the lives of individuals. God will prepare His people. Wow! My God is real.

Through the testimonies, I see and feel the needs of the people knowing and experiencing the love of God more. So many people are yearning and seeking for true happiness but they are not able to find it at the right place and thus destroying their lives.

Ulli and Chrissi also shared with us how they lead CG discussion. They have to think and prepare discussion based on the needs of the people. In their discussion, they will discuss on social issues and link them to bible principles.

In Hope Berlin, a house church is equivalent to a unit, which takes care of a few care groups. Care group will run and reach out to people and is catered to seekers thus usually there is no P&W as the visitors may feel awkward and uneasy to sing songs to God whom they have yet to believe in. They will discuss on topics like “Stereotype” and then try to link to biblical principles. Germans prefer to answer ‘provocating’ questions like “do you think sex before marriage is right?” than superficial questions like “how is the weather?” It is not normal for Germans to have small talks. They do like to play games in care group, as they do not want to draw attention to themselves.

After the fruitful time with Ulli and Chrissi, we met Matthias to join him and the rest for care group. Carsten’s care group is very fun loving. We feel very comfortable with them and the testimonies that they shared encouraged and amazed me again of God’s hands in their lives.

God, help me to remember your goodness in my life always!

“…They overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;..” Rev. 12:11

Pray and hope that God will help me to understand the mindset of the Europeans and to give me the wisdom and understanding to contextualise the gospel. All glory to my God!

28 June 05 - Shopping & CG

2005-06-28T00:00:00.000+02:00

A day of shopping again!! We took a train, which is about 20 mins from the city centre, to a place where there are a lot of warehouse sale for brands like NIKE, ADIDAS, MANGO..etc. I only bought a sling bag as my current bag is too small for me and it is not strong to hold more things. After the shopping, we went back to the city centre to buy some food for this evening care group at Edmond’s ministry house.

3 Chinese girls who are studying in the university in Berlin shared with us their lives on how they met Edmond, their experience with God and Christianity. We had a good talk with them. Intellectual discussion. They are very independent and I admire their courage to move out of the familiar to unfamiliar grounds. It seems to me that they are like weeds that can grow and flourish everywhere they go. Every face tells a story and I’m amazed how God moves and touches the lives of individuals. My God is a great and mighty God indeed.

I am impressed by what God has done in Edmond’s life to bring him this far in his ministry with the Chinese community. The testimonies that the girls shared about him are an indicator of the fruit of his labour in their lives. I can see the respect that they show to him.

I pray and hope that I can do likewise. To have such perseverance to even go through hardship and tough times with God being my strength, my shelter and my love. 1 Cor. 13:13.

27 June 05 - Tour in Berlin

2005-06-27T00:00:00.000+02:00

It was kind of Edmond to be our guide today. He has been a great guide these few days while we are in Berlin. A humble brother with servant hood spirit. A quality I can learn from.

We visited the city centre like the “broken church”, Schloss charlottenburg palace and the East side gallery, which showcased many beautiful artworks. At the palace, we saw a performance being rehearsed by the lake. It was beautiful. I have never seen such performance before.

While shopping, we noted that the prices of the things in Berlin are generally cheaper as compared to Rome. Even the rental in Berlin can be only half of that we are paying in Rome. We bought ingredients to prepare dinner and the Edmond and CK joined us for dinner at the girls’ ministry house.

26 June 05 - Hope Berlin

2005-06-26T00:00:00.000+02:00

We joined Monica’s team meeting in the morning in the park near the ministry house. We had breakfast together and shared the reasons why we were in Rome. It was an encouraging time together with our brother and sisters in Christ in the Hope family. They also shared that for many Germans, it is foolish to believe in a God and they think that people who believe in God are weak. Being a Christian is not something that a normal German would look up to. They do not accept things at face value, they want to understand the reasoning and explanation and then accept the instructions. Germans can be critical and they like to air their views on certain issues and the discussion may seems “heated” at times. At the end of the discussion, they do not take offences against one another. It is just their way of discussing over issues.
After the meeting, we went to the church prayer meeting.

The structure of the service is different from Hope Singapore. After the prayer meeting, they will have the service catered to non-Christians. A session with the objective to stir the mind and heart of the seekers about the relevance of the bible and God in their lives. It was not easy for me to understand the thought-provoking sermon based the bible though it was translated from German to English. After the service, they will have tea break to mingle and to talk. We joined Marcus and a few brothers to understand more about Hope Berlin. Marcus shared how he came to know Hope Movement and about Hope Berlin. There is word for life after the break and then team meeting.

We have a good fellowship with the brothers and sisters in church. I prayed that God would continue to bless our Berlin church.

25 June 0 5 - Berlin..Christopher Street Day

2005-06-25T00:00:00.000+02:00

Photos from 25 Jun to 3 Jul 05 – Berlin, http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EegNXDVq2ZtWGQ

Angelina, Estella and I had breakfast with Silvana in the morning. We had a good talk and I learnt more about the Germans (east/west) and Germany. In Hope Berlin, unlike Hope Singapore, the committed members are called team instead of members. To them, the word ‘member’ is associated to a club. A church is not a club.

Just knew that today is Christopher Street Day, a day where the gays in Berlin will come out to the public and parade on the street. We did not see the parade but we did see a lot of gays on the street behaving intimately towards one another like holding hands, kissing and hugging. A public declaration of their love! It rained after the parade. Even the mayor in Berlin is a gay. Thinking to myself, God must be grieving deep within. There is also an ‘erotic’ museum.

As it is raining, we are not able to see the sights in the city thus we went for shopping in the mall.

24 June 05 - Florence, Pisa...Berlin

2005-06-24T00:00:00.001+02:00

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We took off early from home to the Termini station to catch the train to Florence. It is interesting to know that different regions in Italy have different holidays dedicated to the Saints. When we were in Florence, it is the Florentines are actually having a holiday dedicated to San Giovanni, which Pisa does not have on the same day. Florence has a lot of tourists. Everywhere you turn you will see tourists. The weather was very humid and not long after, we were hot, sticky and tired and thirsty. We tried the famous bread with mutton in a kind of market. It was delicious! We had a short tour in Florence before we took another train to Pisa. Catch the leaning tower of Pisa and then took a bus to the airport to check in for our flight to Berlin.

We had our homemade dinner at the airport and then went to the departure hall to wait for our flight to Berlin. The flight was delayed for one hour and our poor friends, Edmond and Sebastian, had to wait for us at Berlin airport. We made it to Berlin at almost 12 midnight and thank God the train system was running 24 hours that day if not some of us may have to walk to the ministry house. We took S-Bahn and U-Bahn to the girls’ ministry house. We had a late night and slept at about 2am. The guys went to the guys’ ministry house after sending us to the girls’ ministry house.

22 June 05 - Lost len in the eye..CG

2005-06-22T00:00:00.000+02:00

I woke and have my normal wash-up before I go to school. After I’ve put the contact lens on, I rubbed my eyes and then suddenly the vision of one of my eyes went blurred. I lost my contact len IN one of my eyes. I tried ways to find it in my eyes but I could not. Estella and Angelina tried to help me but to no avail. It was my first time losing contact lens in my eye. Decided to surf the Internet to find a solution. I found it. One of the ways is to put saline or eye solution in the affected eye and blink the eye. It works!! Praise God if not I may need to go to optician for help in Rome; p

Today is our great day!! We have our first care group with Luigi, an Italian and André, a Brazilian. All of us are very excited and we prepared the discussion based on the book of Romans. We had sumptuous dinner together. After which P&W and discussion. We had a good time of sharing together and we ended with dessert.

It is encouraging to know that André would like to have a regular bible studies together. God is good all the time!!

19 June 05 - Caregroup!

2005-06-19T00:00:00.000+02:00

In the morning, we went to Piazza Colonna to meet our Italian teacher who will be bringing us and other students around to learn more about the history of the various monuments and sites. Everything was spoken in Italian and thank God we have a translator, Pei Ching, who translated most of them to us. It was quite interesting but tiring. I got to know more people in this excursion.

We had pizza as usual and then walked to ICF for service. It is a memorial service for an African who died in a fatal car accident. After the service, we invited Andreas and Luigi to our apartment for dinner and bible discussion on coming Wednesday and they said “YES”. Wow! Thank God we will have our first care group with a Brazilian and an Italian. Andreas even said that he wants to have a regular bible study.

All of us are very excited about our coming care group!!

18 June 05 - A reminder

2005-06-18T00:00:00.000+02:00

We went for a morning jog today. It’s good to exercise and to work out those excess ‘fats’ in our body. We have been eating too much lately. I’m putting on weight; p

After which we had devotion together and then did our own things.

I am reminded by God that I should be grateful to those who are sharing the gospel especially friends who share the gospel to our closed ones.

17 June 05 - Bad dream

2005-06-17T00:00:00.000+02:00

Woke up in the morning with a heavy heart. Dreamt of someone close to me passed away and it is a reminder for me to focus on the most important thing that is to share the gospel. I will regret the rest of my life if I miss the opportunity to share and to see people come to know God.

Today, we went to view an apartment in the evening. The venue is good and the price is reasonable but there are no utensil and bed sheets. After viewing, we talked to the landlord and he will consider whether he will rent the apartment to us as we will only be renting for 3 months.

We continue our discussion on the Catholic practices after our return from the flat viewing and prayed that:
- For the priests that God will open their eyes to see the truth.
- Christians in Italy to rise up to have the urgency to share the gospel.
- Against fear that they need to pay back their sins.

Actions for us: To be strong in the WOG and to memorize Bible verses.

16 June 05 - Joy and ICF

2005-06-16T00:00:00.000+02:00

Estella and I met up with Joy for gelato near Salvation Army. We had a good catch and learnt that she is keen to join us for Bible Study next week.

After meeting Joy, we went to ICF church office for Bible discussion. It was the first time that we joined them. They were discussing on "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” - Exodus 20:15-17 The discussion group has a lot of Africans and a few Italians, Albanians, Brazilians and a Jew. The discussion was not very well led and most of the time the Africans dominated the discussion. Nevertheless, I did learn something out of this discussion.

On our way back to the Termini to catch the bus home, we talked to an Italian and CK shared with a Jew about our church back in Singapore.

15 June 05 - "Live 8" discussion

2005-06-15T00:00:00.000+02:00

After class today, we went to La Sapienza to meet the Campus Crusade to learn from them how they conduct English discussion with the Italians. It’s interesting to know that they use the upcoming event in Rome, “Live 8”, which is concert, which has many famous artistes to promote global poverty, to discuss and then link to spiritual conversation. After the interesting discussion, we went for a drink with the students and Campus Crusade.

14 June 05 - Tivoli and authentic Italian dinner

2005-06-14T00:00:00.000+02:00

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After class today, we went back to school after lunch to do our homework before meeting Laura at 3.30pm at Piazza Bologna’s post-office.

We went to Laura’’s house first to put our bags and books before going to Tivoli. Tivoli is a hill-town about one hour car-ride from Rome. We walked down the streets towards Villa d’Este and the streets are quite modern and have many negozi (shops). Villa d’Este is a famous sight and it is a country residence created in the 16th century by Pirro Ligorio for Cardinal Ippolito d’Este from the shell of a Benedictine monastery. It is known primarily for its gardens and fountains and it gives a vivid impression of the frivolous luxury enjoyed by the papal families.

We saw a rainbow while viewing the beautiful fountains in the garden. Remembering God’s promises in my life.

After the tour in Villa d’Este, we walked down the shopping streets and we saw a Cappucccino walking passed us. We went to Laura’s house for dinner. It’s interesting to know that the house that t she is staying in was built by his father and there are 3 families (relatives) staying in the house. Beautifully furnished house.

We had an authentic Italian dinner with appetizer, main dish and dessert. Even before we had the main dish, we were almost full. We tried speaking to Laura’s parents in Italian and it was good to know that we can manage somehow ;p It was a good time together and after dinner Laura and her friend drove us back home to Monte Sacro.

Thank God for such hospitable friend that we have made.

12 June 05 - Powerful experience!

2005-06-12T00:00:00.000+02:00

God impressed upon my heart that He would set my feet on solid ground before the praise and worship started in ICF church service. I was very encouraged.

The spiritual atmosphere in church today was very good. It seems that heaven came down to us. I have not felt this way for a long time and it is great to experience the spirit of God moving in this church. The pastor also had a word for the church, “What do you need God to convince you that you can trust God for everything?”

It was good to know that ICF is going to have leadership training on follow-upping, discipleship, evangelism and so on. All those training that we already had in Hope Singapore. We have so much that we can bless the Christians in Rome.

An African preached this week’s sermon. He shared about outreach. A question that he asked that makes me ponder, “Must we be empty-handed when we meet our saviour?”

11 June 05 - We jogged together!!

2005-06-11T00:00:00.000+02:00

It was the first time that the 4 of us went for a jog in the evening near our apartment.

A quote that I read from Life?Answer devotional guide is meaningful.

“A man’s stature is measured by his dreams, by the love he is able to show, by the values he respects, by the happiness he is able to share, by the truths he is able to express, by the help he is able to give, by the life he leads, and by the destiny of which he dreams.” – Anonymous.

10 June 05 - Berlino...

2005-06-10T21:00:00.000+02:00

10 June 05

Today we had classes in the morning as usual. For lunch, Edmond prepared bolognoise spaghetti for us. Delicious! I would like to try to prepare this too!

Waying and I stayed at home and had a good talk with his dad sharing about Jesus Christ. Tonight, Edmond and his father left for Berlin. We will see Edmond in Berlin in 2 weeks time.

9 June 05 - A fruitful day - Part 3

2005-06-09T21:00:00.002+02:00

We had talked about the Catholic practices in Italy. The first communion is very important to the Italians especially for those who want to get married in a church. Before the Italians have their first communion, they will have to go through the Catechism class, which can last for about 2 years. After which, the Italians will be given a certificate. To get married in the church, they will need to produce the certificate beside registrating with the government.

For the Catholic, they believe that there are 2 types of sins: mortal sin and venial sin. Mortal sins are serious offences against God. The priest can forgive venial sins. The type of venial sins varies as time passes and also dependent on the priest. Even for Emanuele, he is not comfortable confessing his sins to the priest. He would go to churches that he does not usually go to confess his sins at times.

Is Cappuccino a type of coffee or a person? Well, we learnt that the coffee that we usually have in Italy derived its name from a name of a Catholic group called Cappuccino. We found it so amusing!

We had a great time together. In a few weeks time after Emanuele’s exams, we shall go to the south of Tuscany to see the Etruscan remains. Looking forward for the trip to Tuscany!!

After the dinner, it was almost 1130pm. We were dead tired and were trying to finish our homework for tomorrow’s class. Thank God I am able to finish everything.

9 June 05 - A fruitful day - Part 2

2005-06-09T21:00:00.001+02:00

Erica is a Roman, which initially I thought she was from Romanian. She only speaks Italian thus Peiching and I spoke to her in Italian. With my limited Italian, I did most of the listening instead. I can practise speaking Italian too. We talked about her life in university, what sports she like to and so on. I enjoyed the time together. It is easier to speak to the Italians. They are very approachable and friendly. While we were chatting with Erica, Simone whom we knew yesterday approached us and gave us a kiss.

As Andy and his friend do not speak Italian, it was amazing how God uses Chee Keong’s limited Italian to talk to the Italians.

After the time with Erica, we met Simona and his friends for a while before we left the university. I went home to do some shopping for the dinner in the evening, as Emanuele would be joining us for dinner, while Pei Ching and Chee Keong went out to view a possible apartment that we can move in August.

I prepared Bak Kut Teh, sweet and sour chicken and Edmond prepared eggs with onion and tomatoes. We had a delicious dinner. Emanuele brought us “dolce”, which is dessert, from Pasticerria, a shop that sells cookies and sweet cakes. In Italy, almost everything has a specific name to it. For example, a shop that sells pizza is called pizzeria and the shop that sells gelato is called gelateria.

....

9 June 05 - A fruitful day - part 1

2005-06-09T21:00:00.000+02:00

9 June 2005

Every morning, we take a bus to school and it is usually very packed. While we were on our way to school, we heard a cry that someone was not well in the bus. We are not aware what has happened until we alighted. A lady fainted in the bus. What amazes me is the kindness that the Italians show to this lady whom they do not know. I am impressed at such a kind gesture.

Thank God that my Italian has been improving progressively but I still need to work on my speaking. I need to stop and think to find the right words to use as I have learnt a lot of words in less than two months and my brain cannot work that fast to retrieve the correct words. I am now learning to read the free daily newspapers that we can get at the metro or along our way to school. Italian lessons are quite intensive and I am getting used to it though at times I do not understand what the teacher is saying or even what the students are saying. We learn a lot of grammar and vocabulary in the class but we do not really have much opportunity to speak in class.

I have found another alternative to practise my spoken Italian. Today we went to “La Sapienza”, a University in Rome, which means wisdom, to meet the people from Campus Crusade for Christ whom we met yesterday at the garden. They have a weekly English exchange with the students in the University. We are interested to learn from them how they do such activity with the students. However today, they do not have this activity. We saw Andy and an lady, Americans, on the field sharing with the students in the garden. We spoke to the lady for a while and then went to a shaded spot and had our lunch. We looked around at the people in the garden and prayed that we can meet a few students. We have not approached people to share Christ for a long time and I was quite hesitant and I was grateful to God that the first person we met was quite friendly though she do not speak English. Peiching and I talked to Erica, an Italian student while Chee Keong joined Andy and his friend to speak to two Italian students.

....

8 June 05 - Prayer Walk

2005-06-08T21:00:00.000+02:00

8 June 2005

We went to La Sapienza for prayer then and we met Campus Crusade for Christ at the garden. They were sharing Christ with the students and at the same time there is another group having English exchange with students who are interested to learn English. It was a surprise to meet Tilman and his friend, Simone in the garden. Divine appointment!!

After that we went for prayer walk in the university.

7 June 05 - FAO

2005-06-07T21:00:00.000+02:00

7 June 05

After our Italian class today, we went to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is part of United Nations to meet Joe, whom we knew in ICF. We had lunch together with Joe and his wife. They shared with us the job opportunities in Rome, Italy. It is not easy to find a job in Italy especially for non-Italians. The long waiting time, which can be up to 7 months, for the permesso di soggiorno is a deterrent for potential employers to recruit the employees.

4 June 05 - Street evax

2005-06-04T09:00:00.000+02:00

4 June 05

We joined ICF for evangelism at Roma Termini Station. I was very encouraged by the spirit of the people in ICF when we shared Christ with the Italians, Africans, Peruvians and others. Most of the people in teams are mainly Africans, one Italian, two Brazilians and four Singaporeans. I have limited Italian so i gave out the leaflets and the book of John to people I see as we went on our way to Termini. I tried to share Christ with a Chinese with my limited Chinese. It's good to go on the street to share the gospel to train our boldness!

After the street evangelism, the spirit within me was ‘revived’. I have not go on the street to share Christ for quite a long time and it was very refreshing. We went for Chinese dinner at a restaurant within Andreas, Raff, Boris. Andreas knew the owner of this restaurant who is also a Christian.

So far, the Chinese food that we had in Rome is not as good as that in Singapore. Quite oily. Non mi piace.

31 May 05 - Meals..

2005-05-31T09:00:00.000+02:00

31 May 05

We met Laura, an Italian who is David’s friend, for lunch together near Piazza Bologna and also to pass her the gift David asked me to give her. We ate at a Chinese restaurant. She is a very enthusiastic and friendly lady. The Chinese food is not very good. After lunch, we went to a gelateria near the university for gelato. It is the best that we have found so far in Rome. Big scoops of 3 flavoured gelato of your choice for only 1.30 euro. Laura invited to go to her house for lunch next week and there after we can visit Tivoli which is near her house.

We invited Zaina, Joy, and her sister, Laura to our apartment for dinner. Pei Ching and Chee Keong prepared curry chicken, cabbage with carrot, and egg with tomato and onion. Zaina’s mother made us a chocolate and nut cake. We had a good time together with them. Even though Zaina does not speak English, she is a real sanguine and she brought so much laughter to us. She even sang us a song which she is going to record in a studio the next day or a few days later. A great vocalist. Laura told us that she will be going to Kuching for 6 months to teach English at Salvation Army. We will try to link her up with Hope Kuching so that she can attend a church in Kuching. It is really divine to know that Salvation Army youth group is also having a camp at Prague which is the same date that we will be in Prague. They can join us for the camp for one session and vice versa. We had the dolce after dinner. Yummy!!

30 May 05 - IBC Bible Discussion

2005-05-30T09:00:00.000+02:00

30 May 05

We have completed our intensive course for the level that we are in. Today we need to do an entry test to test whether we can go to the next level. We stayed for the conversation section of the lesson.

We went to IBC for evening bible study discussion. We had spagetti today after discussion.

29 May 05 - ICF

2005-05-29T09:00:00.000+02:00

29 May 05

We attended the service at ICF. After service, Pei Ching, Waying and I talked to American pastor who just came back from America. Chee Keong got to know an Italian from Napoli who has just accepted Christ in less than a year. He was converted through an African. Africans are really enthusiastic and good “evangelists”. God can use anyone to touch people’s lives. It is not determined by our nationalities.

When God is with you, nothing is impossible!

28 May 05 - Villa Borghese & Piazza Popolo

2005-05-28T09:00:00.000+02:00

28 May 05

We went to Villa Borghese for our morning devotion. After the devotion, Waying and I jogged in the park. It was a good jog. After the jog, we brought our lunch at a Pizzeria and then went to Piazza del Popolo for a walk. We saw a big group of people outside a church waiting for the bride and bridegroom to come out from the church. It was my first time to see a wedding in Italy. It was a great feeling to see two persons coming together but another question comes to my mind too, which is whether this marriage will last? Divorce rate is quite high in Italy.

There is performance is going on to raise fund for the African countries. It is good to see the Comune di Roma doing its part to help the poorer countries. Italy is not far from the African countries. That's why there are quite a lot of Africans in Italy too.

There are many booths set up to mainly on the volunteer works for the African countries. We talked to a man and he shared about the volunteer work he is doing in Africa. They can take a boat from Rome/Africa to reach each other in about 12 hours. It’s encouraging to know that Italians care for others less fortunate.

27 May 05 - Dinner with Sara

2005-05-27T09:00:00.000+02:00

27 May 05

A few days ago, Pei Ching and Chee Keong happened to see Sara near our apartment. She has just found a new job near our apartment. We invited Sara joined us for dinner at our apartment. We have a good time together. We can practise our Italian with her.