CG (29/11/2007)

Hi everyone!! This week we're doing sommething different for cg... As some of you know, the Christmas celebration in IMU will take place from 11th to 13th of December. There're quite a number of activities and programmes that have been organised. One of the highlights is the reptile exhibition themed "Jingle in the Jungle" which will take place in IMU on the 11th of Dec.

We're trying to reach out to the community around here in Vista apartments to promote the reptile show, and also to sell the tickets to them. This is a fund raising event to cover the expenses for the FREE CHRISTMAS LUNCH PARTY for everyone in IMU on the 12th of Dec. Some of you might ask, what's the connection between the reptile show and the meaning of christmas? We're trying to tell people the meaning of christmas via a puzzle that visitors have to complete during the show. So we really need people to come!!

I'have decided that we could do this as a cg activity. So tomorrow we're going to promote and sell the tickets to the residents of Vista B2 apartment. We'll meet at my place first B2-9-3 by 8pm. I'll brief you all on what we're going to do then. Do come and support this event yeah!



Ps : I really need the guys to come because we're going house to house and it's safer if there's at least 1 guy in each group.

Time bomb

Hey ppl,

This week is an awful busy week for me. With SSC (student selective course) topics were out yesterday, as kia-su kampung boy from Borneo ( the ang mo peeps heard before Borneo cause apparently Orang Utans are more well known than Malaysia, yeah its true.... haha) I quickly grabbed the choices.

Other than that, I took a history from a man with chronic asthma ( type A brittle asthma) with complications of Aspergillosis and in his PMH he has testicular teratoma and had spreaded to the kidneys and lungs. PLUS he is MRSA postive. In short, hes dying. As I am reflecting back on the whole history taking session, though I was figuring out how to take a good history on his chronic asthma, he also share with me that he is dying soon. THEN I stopped from jotting things down and went straight to how he felt back then. DING! In Manchester curriculum, they follow the so called Cambrige-Calgary model in history taking and one of the components is ICE (ideas, concerns and expectations). He told me that life is like a time bomb, the clocks starts ticking with every heart beat. With every seconds, cherish it and embrace it purposefully.

Pondering upon this statement, its really easy to get off side track whenever we are busy busy busy like a bumble bee. For me, sometimes its feels like every week is a robotic routine schedule PLUS being a medical student is like down under the food chain in the hospital PLUS PLUS PLUS so much more.I do ponder why I took Medicine at the first place. It is really hard work. Hahaha, ppl said its one of the hardest course and very costly too. PLUS its a life-less career.

Hmmm, God is a creative God after all. In spite of all of it, God shows and speaks to me by the exprience when i take history from patients with many different backgrounds, by showing empathy to them. N above all knowledge that is available in the medical research world, somethings are not curable ( like this man, he went to ICU 3 days ago). God is above everything, including medicine.

So ppl, indeed life is like a time bomb. God is a detonator. N live life for the audience of one.

God bless

CG meeting 23/11/2007

Hey everyone! How's the week? As usual, we're having cg meeting tomorrow. The details are as follows:

Ice Breaker - Eugene
Worship - Kay Teck
Word - Richard

Venue - B2-9-3
Time - 8pm

Hope to see all of you then!! May God bless everyone!

*Oh yeah, do decide which day u guys prefer to go for the Church Christmas Musical "Lost" k?? Then purchase the tickets this weekend yeah*

Prayer Request

Hey everyone...

I just wanna ask all of you to keep all the sem 2 students in prayer due to the handphone incident that happened today during their OSPE... Apparently 50 people brought in their handphones while in quarantine ( not sure bout the details though)... I heard that as this is their first time having EOS, they do not know that they have to hand in their handphones even during quarantine before they have the exam.

Pray that the uni would have mercy upon them and the fact that they were caught before they enter for OSPE (according to what I heard this happened to the first group, not the 2nd so there shouldn't be any leakage of questions)... I'm not sure when would the results come out though...

Continue to pray for them yeah... I understand how frustrating it would be coz I was in the same position before...

CG meet (16/11/2007)

Because of last week's demontration, the bus is unable to come and pick most of us up for church celebration last saturday... So we were unable to meet then... Never mind this week we're having our friday cg as usual.

Ice breaker - Christine (YAY!!)
Worship - Kiryu (YAY no. 2!!)
Word - Pui Fun

Venue - B2-9-3
Time - 8pm

I have some annoucements to make during the cg so do come yeah. And please pray for the sem 2 people (Kay Teck and Michelle) since they will be having exam the following week.

See you all then!! God bless and have a nice weekend...

Bersih

As a follow up to Ken's post...

Honestly when I saw the pictures and videos online, I was intrigued.
After all, you know la we all Malaysians, we always sit around the mamak talking a lot about politics but if asked to go and berhimpun and if raining some more, we would rather check out the new Pavilion or Gardens at MidValley.

So yea, the turn out was pretty impressive for us "never mind la" Malaysians.

Is this really the start of something different?

But more importantly, am I going to be part of the new change?

I have always been fascinated by autobiographies of those who preserved under persecution. Stories like Corrie Ten Boom were full of drama. How ordinary people risk their lives to hide and save the Jews during World War 2.

Yet, when I reflect back on my life, I know deep down if I were placed in such positions, I probably wouldn't have done the same. True, I would not have supported the Germans either but I'd probably just shut up, keep quiet and be neutral.

Even now, I often just keep quiet when my friends discuss about their own contraception or when the conversation goes about Christians marrying/dating non Christians etc. And I can almost say 100% if I was in KL last Saturday, I'd probably be snoozing in Vista rather than marching.

am I going to be part of the new change?

I hope you get my drift. I end this with a quote I myself need to think about...

The opposite of love is not hate..........

............... it is indifference.




If he did it, where am I? Credits

11 November

Today, in UK and other commonwealth countries ( eg: Australia, NZ) ppl here observed this day as Remembrance day. Another name are "Poppy day" or "Armistice day". It is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and civilians in times especially since World War 1. It is recalled on 11 November to recall the end of World War 1 on the date of 1918.

Well I ask my fellow Ang Mo mates, they said its not only for the sacrifices of World War 1, but including other wars in the world where they gain liberty and freedom in the country for all the sacrifices that their forefathers. I shall not brief for more about the details of the ceremony, you could wikipedia it and check it out.

But I'm disturbed by what happening over half of the globe, Malaysia. It is a day we had a riot. A riot that our ppl are crying and urging for a clean politic and election. Eventhough after 50 years of independence, do we really gain independence? As christians, I urged you to pray for our land.

I miss everyone in VcCG~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No cg meeting tomorrow

After reading Sarah's post, I don't really feel like posting about this but I have to... Because I hope Sarah's post would be on the top of the page and not mine...

Anyway this is just to inform you all that there will be no cg meeting tomorrow. Since it's Deepavali and quite a number couldn't make it...

Happy holidays and God bless !!

Check this out! Highly inspiring

Hi guys.
This is one of our IMU seniors.

He sought to excel despite bad childhood

DAVID YEOW

Dr Vinod Laxmikanth’s fervent belief in God got him through his most painful period in his life. Now he shares his story of hope with the people he comes across.

The product of an unplanned pregnancy, he grew up to see his parents divorce at 13. By 15, he was emotionally scarred. But he persevered in his dream to become a doctor. Today, he is a first year houseman who plans to specialise in paediatrics.

UPON meeting Dr Vinod Laxmikanth, one would not hesitate to use the phrase "tall, dark and handsome".

His friends constantly tease him as being every Indian mother’s perfect son-in-law, and it’s not hard to see why.

An Asean Scholarship holder by the age of 12, he left his home in Terengganu for Singapore, where he was named best athlete and top student at Victoria School for a number of years.

He also held the Singapore national Under-14 record for discus throw.
Confident and charismatic, Vinod soon became the popular guy in school, even gaining the respect of his seniors.

"But for a while, a rumour went around that I was a ‘test-tube baby’. I didn’t get it at first but soon realised that they meant to say that I was a designer baby," said the 25-year-old with a laugh.

In fact, the truth was far from the rumour. "My mother was pregnant with me when she married my father.

"It was an uncommon thing then. So they got married out of duty."

When he learnt that his parents were getting a divorce, Vinod was devastated as he blamed himself for the failure.

"I thought things would have been better if I had not been conceived. If the reason they got together was me, then the divorce wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t exist."

About a year after the divorce, things became worse.

His father, who had remarried, was cold and detached due to marital problems.

"I was left so confused."

His grades started dropping and he became more reserved. It was not long before circumstances forced him to give up medicine in Singapore.

When he was at his lowest point, he accepted a invitation to attend a religious event at the Singapore National Stadium.

Until this day, Vinod said that he does not remember a single word preached then. But Vinod claimed he saw a vision of God being with him at every dark and painful moment in his life.

"I literally felt a heavy weight lifted off me and gained a new confidence that everything will be all right."

Vinod returned to Malaysia in 2000 to stay with his mother in Kuala Lumpur and began to get back in the groove.

He re-sat his A-levels, got straight As and enrolled in the International Medical University, graduating last year.

At the same time, he started going to the Acts church in Subang Jaya, a move he said helped tremendously in his fight to overcome the negativity and abuse he had previously been exposed to.

"I felt God was bringing the right people to me to help with my emotional healing. The right pastor, the right church and the right friends."

Nothing about the University Malaya Medical Centre doctor hints of his troubled childhood.

According to his fiancee, Dr Tan Ling Ling, he sends many a nurse’s heart aflutter and the children in the paediatrics ward love being around him.

"Besides being a people magnet, he also loves to share his story with those willing to listen," she said.

But for Vinod, his reasons for speaking out are simple.

"I can’t help it. How God transformed me from a victim to a victor is the most outstanding thing about my life and I won’t stop talking about it."
-----------------------------------------
I highly recommend you to

Check the video out!


I guess it reminds me that yea, God can transform ashes into beauty.
If I didn't know his whole story and met him somewhere I would have thought that this guy had all of life's perks...a intern job at UMMC, a beautiful fiancee, confident, articulate.

But knowing the complete picture puts things into perspective. That this is just not an inspiring guy, but someone whom God has transformed and also someone who lives out this faith.

And I pray that this would be my life. To rejoice and to give God glory despite life's circumstances.

Cg meeting (2/11/2007)

Komenazai!! Sorry for the late update for this week's cg... Now the details are as follows :


Time : 8pm
Venus : B2-9-3
Word : Richard
Ice Breaker : Pui Fun
Worship : David Goh (Yay!! First time worship in our cg!!)

Hope to see all of you tonight!! God bless...