Thank You!

As 2007 is coming to an end, Ps Tim always helps the church to reflect how our year has been, and how God has graciously brought us through our year despite the valleys and mountains we each faced uniquely as our year went by. As pastor was talking about giving thanks to God, I was reminded that how much blessings and provision God has poured unto my life this year.

I really thank God for being God! Without having Him as someone I can totally rely and count on at every corner of my life, I can’t imagine how my 2007 will turn out to be, especially being in Melbourne.

My top 5 thanksgiving to God in 2007:-

1. Thank God for always there to comfort me, to provide peace, especially when I first landed in Melbourne, when everything seemed so foreign, everyone seemed so distance, where I have to make every effort to try to get used to without having my family & close friends with me, without having a car to move about, having to start finding a suitable church and praying for like-minded friends. I praise Him for the doors He opened and the grounds He leveled for me so that my path is straight and smooth! I found a group of great friends and spiritual family, a church that continuously stirring me and I kinda got used to the lifestyle there although I very much prefer the life in KL.

2. I thank God for the growth He had planned for me. The way I read the Word, on how I interact with people, how much I’ve been challenged by Him to step out of my comfort zone to interact with people, to speak boldly on what I believe in, and to never compromise my faith & stand. I thank Him for the doors He opened to allow me to be a part of others’ spiritual growth and spiritual journey. It’s such an honour to be a part of His work! And I’m excited for more in 2008.

3. I thank God for His favours and blessings. I was sick when I first arrived Melbourne and it led me to undergo few months of medication. The peace, assurance, and hope that He has promised sustained me and keep me going all the way! Even looking for houses, air tickets, settling some issues with my landlord were doors of favours by God. I don’t know how it works, but I know it is His works.

4. I thank God for the financial blessings that You’ve sustained my family, and constantly holding us together as one. I thank Him for the doors the He has opened and the strongholds that He has torn down. I pray that more and more of His ways will be working through my family as 2008 begins. Even these holidays, I thank God that You provided many days where we as family are able to spend time together. I thank You for the healing power that You’ve poured unto my mum and I thank You that she is recovering well!!!

5. I thank God for blessing me with my results, the reassurance that He restored in me, and I thank God for the rest that He provided even with the busy schedule I have throughout my clinical semester. I thank Him for His love and with His love, comes every other thing in my life!

Psa105:

1 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
5 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
6 O descendants of Abraham his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.

THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU!

Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Blessed Christmas!

Been a busy weekend... Just had our Christmas production over the weekend. This time around, it is a talk show where PC was the host and 3 different people were invited to share their lives and how the found God’s providence & His gift in the midst of life struggle!

First is about a mother and her child.

“One moment she was expecting to hold her newborn adopted baby in her arms. The next moment, her baby’s life hangs in the balance.”

Second story is about “A young man suffered years of shattered relationship with his father. He never thought he would ever speak to him again.”

Thirdly is about “One man faced depression that threatened to destroy his life…”

They shared how God’s gift turned their lives around! I watched the production twice, and it still melts my heart to see how great our God is. How much is His love for us; not collectively but He loves each of us individually. We are each special in His eyes. He desires to know us personally, and more and more, and want to have a relationship with us.

That is what today is all about. It is God’s expression of love towards us. He so love us that He gave His son, Jesus Christ as a ransom for many, so that through His son, we can come to Him. It takes a personal encounter to know Him, I can’t explain much about it, but once you know Him, and experience His encounter, you will not leave Him!

He is the GREATEST gift of all!!!

Since I’m back from Melbourne, people kept asking me whether I’ve eaten everything that I’ve been craving for when I was in Melbourne. Some asked me if I’ve devised my must-eat-list and others have asked if I’ve been to this, or that place for meals.

So I thought I should come out with my 2nd must-eat-list again in no particular order:-

1. bak kut teh – in puchong and in pandan indah one. Trust me, the reason why I didn’t add klang in my list because the place is so far away, and the bak kut teh over there is over-rated.
2. nasi lemak in ampang
3. my Mongolian steam boat which my friends love it a lot when I brought them there.
4. beef noodles at jln silang & pandan indah – I had it the other day but I want more!!!
5. yong tau foo which I just had it for lunch but won’t mind another round.
6. mee rebus & rojak stall in ampang
7. my fish ball noodles near jln alor
8. how can I forget chilli’s!!!
9. my penang seafood & asam laksa in tanjung tokong which I’ve yet to fulfill since my first list
10. er, I think I’ll cancel buffet cause my capacity for a meal seem to have shrunk
11. tandoori and naan opposite ampang point and at jln masjid India
12. the funky fruit juice in murni’s
13. beef rendang and more beef rendang that my friend’s mum make, but since my friend ain’t around, I guess, I gotta continue this craving.
14. saisaki buffet (this is an exception) for sashimi & sushi
15. seafood noodle soup at jln alor.
16. hokkien mee at jln imbi
17. had my yee mee soup in ampang but I want more.
18. my grandma’s bake cauliflower with cheese is awesome.
19. mum’s homemade soup
20. steak and more steak! oh yah, since I said I’ll stop at #20, thought I wanna add my Dutch restaurant @ Changkat Bkt Bintang. The pork knuckle is awesome!!!

Ok, I think I better stop at #20 coz if not, I think I’ll take up the entire blog. Nevertheless, just hope that these holidays will be meaningful as I spend my time with my family, church, & friends. Am excited about the Christmas production that church is coming up with and looking forward to trips. Really need a break after 19 weeks of torture in clinical years. Those who have read the list above can start \ inviting me for meals. I won’t mind company and treats.

Unexpected welcome!

Everything seems so different. I never thought I had to rekindle my blog with such a post. But I believe there is a reason for this season.

Everything seems to ebb away when I found out my mum is in the hospital as soon as I landed in KL last Saturday. The joy of being back home from a terrible 19 weeks of clinical school vanished instantly. I was filled with sorrow; sadness overwhelmed me. I found out that mum had an 11cm mass in her ovary, and she is currently in the hospital, waiting for operation. Even as I was having my brekkie with my dad & sis, I was eating one of my fav hawker food, but somehow, that morning, my taste buds seemed to lost their function. The desire for all my fav food had fade away, and I was consumed my mum’s condition. In my heart, I can only cry out to Jesus. I don’t know who to cry out to. I don’t know who to perfect this condition besides Him. The world is spinning around with wars, riots, demonstrations, protests… the heart of mankind is always troubled by the things of the world – career, love, money, security, loneliness, depression, the list goes on. I myself am guilty of it sometimes. But at this very moment, I need God to be more evident in my family’s lives.

As I met with mum at the bed of hospital, my heart shrank in side. Seeing her in bed, holding on to her pain made me feel that someone is tearing my heart bit by bit. The slow agony of pain she is enduring yet having to need to put on a smile just to not to keep us worry made me want Jesus to come touch her instantly. In my heart, “Jesus, Jesus you are the only One who can set her free. You are the only One who can comfort her. You are the only One who brings the entire peace & keep us strong in one spirit. Lord the battle is Yours not hers.” I sat there at the corner helplessly, trying to answer every questions she asked about my happenings in Melbourne. I tried to contain my emotions as much as possible.

I came back, shut myself in the room, and try to do my morning devotion. But I can’t bring myself to read the Word. Tears just start flowing down as I play, asking God for another miracle in my life, and over my mum’s life. “She deserves better” is what was going through my mind. “Lord I just long for You to bring upon the impossible in her life right now”. As I went back to church for SNL, it was great to see everyone. It was good to be back in somewhere familiar after weeks of being away from it; but my heart was troubled by the mum’s condition. But as soon as Ps Tim mentioned this:

“Stop wondering, start worshipping”

There’s this shift in my heart. Stop worrying what’s next & start honouring God, start worshipping Him. He will make the path straight. Afterall, He is the mastermind of everything. Everything in life – whether good or bad are intended to be good in His eyes. There is a purpose for this situation to happen at this time. The story Peter walking on water began to come into my mind. A story I am familiar with, that I constantly tell others about. God is reminding me not to let the waves pull me down. He is telling me not to let the waves water down my faith. Mum is in His hands. I believe He will change the circumstances. He will change the bad to good. I was remembered by the verse in Malachi2:15… So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. The verse reminds me to continue to stir myself in spirit, to believe Him even more. He did the impossibles in the past, my life has been filled by His miracles. This time is no different. It is gonna come, and come at the perfect time. God works in miraculous ways. All I need to do is stay in faith & believe in Him for everything. Words can’t seem to describe how much I want my mum to be fine. How much longing I need God to come & extend His lovingkindness heart & gracious hand over her.

Thank you to the leaders and friends who are standing with me in prayer. But above all, thank You Jesus for being in control.

But today…

Today is a PERFECT DAY!

PRAISE HIM FOR EVERYTHING!

Mum is scheduled for surgery today. Walked her til the theatre and the doctor said the surgery is expected to complete about 1 1/2hrs. So, we went out to grab some lunch. As we were waiting, dad received an urgent phone call from the hospital at about 45 minutes after we seen her. Our hearts pumped faster; anxious and nervous about the call and as to what sorta news the doctor wanna convey to us. We rushed into the theatre and the explanation began:

“We finished the operation. It was an unusual finding. The 11cm lesion we saw in the scan that we thought is a mass turned out to be an old blood clot the size of a coconut. Nothing cancerous found. The clot was due to a ruptured vessel nearby and this may be due to trauma. We cleared off the clot and send some for analysis. Her ovaries & uterus are retained and she is fine now.”

My heart was jumping with joy. Tears of joy started to flow. All praises to Him. All glory to Him. Thank God for such an amazing miracle. The unexpected happens, the impossible became possible, bad turned out good. God is gracious & merciful. His love surpasses all understanding & endures forever!

I was reminded of this scripture:-

Luke8: 48Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."

Luke8:50Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed."

This part of the scripture talks about Jesus healing a dead girl & a sick woman. In order for healing to take place, we gotta have faith & start believing. Fear has to leave for His miracle to come place. This weekend really taught me a lot about believing, about trusting God, about having greater faith in Him knowing that He will turn things around.
Believe that God is gonna oversee her recovery til she is as good as before! Thank You so much for taking care of us all.

With love,
Jonathan

The God who provides!!!

Awesome!!! That’s all I can say.

Many things have been happening lately… & God made it a perfect day today!!!

Situation #1
Jia Ren (JR), Andrew (AW), James (JC), & I intended to move out of IH next year. House hunting hasn’t been easy for us; especially 4 bedroom houses are so limited at Carlton Gardens or Parkville. So, since the search began, we haven’t had many choices, and after the first visit to a Victorian design house (which means it’s a super old house), we decided to pray that God will provide a place and we will be able to settle this by 24th Oct (which was a fortnight from then).

During that period, JC & JR were thinking of staying back in IH, and the thought of not being able to stay together, or finding a suitable house for 4 of us, just made things a lil’ difficult. Cut the long story short, in the end they decided to move out together, but we still haven’t located any suitable units. A consideration of getting a two 2 bedroom apartments came into our mind, but we continue to press on for a place that fits all of us, and praise God, on Oct 24th, we found a place & applied & got it!!!

Situation #2
Recently, been so consumed by the amount of work I have. So many studies need to be done. So tired every time after hospital, and with lil’ time left, it just doesn’t help me. Began to feel medicine is like a chore, and the passion slowly fading.

Over the weekend during DNA encounter (a course in church I’ve been attending), as I was worshipping God, I just felt a rising sensation from my body, slowly up my head, and accumulated inside my head for a while before it lifted out of my body. Just felt so light & elevated since this semester started. Tears started to pour as I felt God’s joy & peace filled me. Jesus said in Mat11: 28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Situation #3
Staying in IH means I gotta move out of this place by Nov 24th, the date where Melb Uni students finished their exams & summer term starts. Unfortunately, being in clinical years, I have fewer holidays, and my rotation only ends on the Nov 23rd, followed by 2 days exams that end on Nov 30th.

For days I’ve been looking for places to stay, as to which friend’s place is available to host me, or should I pay IH (AUD450) to stay on further until my exam date. But today, when I went to the office to discuss with the accountant regarding the rents, by God’s grace, the charges that I’ve to pay was only AUD127 after additional days that the college compensated for me. Yes! So now, I’m staying in til Nov 30th!!!

Situation#4
Being the homesick me (esp since it’s exam season now), I decided to make a phone call to MAS to change my flight from Dec 4th to 2nd. But to my surprise, my ticket was accidentally booked on a different class without me realizing it. If I go to the airport on the 4th, I would not be able to fly and I can’t imagine how crazy I will be if that happens at the ticket counter in Melbourne airport. So, because if this issue, I am forced to leave on Dec 6th due to the overbooked flight seats for my ticket class.

But when I was in hospital today, my friend came over & told me that he changed his ticket to Dec 1st and paid only AUD100++. With great anticipation, and a sense of hope I immediately rush home and get my air ticket & head straight to MAS office in the city and see if there’s any seats available for me. Thank God, there’s still one left & I have to pay AUD106 to change my flight (If I were to stay in Melbourne for another 5 days, I would spend more than AUD106). Without much hesitation, I paid & left the office with a ticket home on the 1st. YEAH!!!

Psa94: 18 When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me. 19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. (NIV)

Psa94:18-19The minute I said, "I'm slipping, I'm falling," your love, God, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, you calmed me down and cheered me up. (MSG)

Psa94: 18 I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. 19 When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. (NLT)

Really wanna honour God for what He has done in my life lately. In less than 3 weeks, so many things have been happening. Everything seems to fall into the right place, and God’s favour is constantly magnified in every area of my life. Just affirmed me that God is so real in my life, and always interested to bless us. His hands are never too short to bless us, His ears never too dull to listen to our prayers. Just made me wanna trust Him more and more, and want Him to be included in every aspect of my life! Indeed, what He said is true. Psa84:12Blessed is the man who trust in You.

I just wanna say...

Just let me say how much I love
YouLet me speak of Your mercy and grace
Just let me live in a shadow of Your beauty
Let me see You face to face

And the earth will shake as Your Word goes forth
And the heavens will tremble and fall
But let me say how much I love You
Oh my Savior, my Lord and Friend

Just let me hear Your finest whispers
As You gently call my name
And let me see Your power and Your glory
Let me feel Your spirit's flame

Let me find You in the desert
Till this sand is holy ground
And I am found completely surrendered
To You my Lord and Friend

So let me say how much I love You
With all my heart I long for You
For I am caught in this passion of knowing
This endless love I've found in You

And the depth of grace, the forgiveness found
To be called a child of God
Just makes me say how much I love You
Oh my Savior, my Lord and Friend (x2)

Just makes me say how much I love You
Oh my Savior, my Lord and Friend

Adelaiders in Melbourne

---Austin's Code Black---

Time:- Lunch hours (noon-2pm)
Place:- Austin Hospital mainly the student common room
Person:- N, M & myself (names are abbreviated to protect privacy)


*As usual, I was playing ping pong with my friends as we were eating lunch in the common room. As I returned the ball skillfully to the opponent…

- Ding Ding Ding Ding (Doesn’t sound quite like that, but almost the same)

Voice talking thru the speaker *Attention, there’s a code black going on in this and that area & the warn us to be careful & not to go to that area

(Btw, code black means there’s an armed threat or hostage going on in the hospital, so STAY AWAY!!!)

I was telling my friend, “Hey there’s a code black going on. Sounds cool. This is the first time hearing this kind of announcement. Wish I am there to witness the situation. It’ll be so cool!”

Thoughts about the drama in the TV series Grey’s Anatomy was running through my mind as I continue playing ping pong. It’ll be such a fun thing to be in the situation, trying to do something (although I don’t know what I can do besides er standing there), like what the interns in Grey’s did when things happen.

After a long hour of ping pong rallies, I decided to go to the ward with M to do a long case for my presentation tomorrow. N decided to come along since N wanted to go to the ward too. As three of us were heading towards the lift, we overheard the residents talking about the threat and started walking towards the old building of Austin.

Then,

N: Let’s just follow them. They might be heading towards the “crime” scene.

3 of us were following the residents closely… They were heading towards the old Austin building. Then,

Me: I don’t think it’s in the old building. It’s a researched area; no patients will come to this part of the world! Let’s just go to the Outpatients (Level 3)

Once we got to the Level 3, everyone was sitting calmly. Nurses & doctors were busy running the afternoon outpatient clinics.

Me: Why is it so peaceful? Hrm, maybe it’s at the lobby, where everyone is.

So, we walked towards the lobby, not wanting to give up easily, hoping to get a sense of Grey’s anatomy feel! We walked around the lobby, disappointed as soon as we found the area was free from threats, so N has this brilliant idea.

N: Let’s just go security department. I need to get my pass card fixed. Maybe they’ll tell you what happen. (True enough, the guard told us there’s something going on at the age care outpatient)

With that blur faces,

M: WH, why don’t you go and ask the reception counter where is this age care place is?

Me: *walking towards the counter. Excuse me, we are medical students & we heard that there’s a code black going on. Do you know where it is? Just wanna make sure we don’t go near that area.

We were told it’s at level 4, in the Austin old building. Argh!!! Right where we were heading towards initially. N & M gave me this look & we hurried to the “crime” scene. As we were on our way,

Ding Ding Ding Ding “Code black has been cleared!”

The look of disappointment and sadness on our faces. When we reached there, we saw a couple of police cars, and funny thing is, our neurology consultant & fellow were there, checking out the “scene”.

N: I think the detective part of tracking down the “crime” scene was much more fun & exciting & hilarious compared to actually reaching the actual scene.

Laughing at each other, and feeling somehow satisfied at the “drama” we had running around the hospital, we went to the ward & start our work. THE END!

Voice of truth!!!

Casting crown – Voice of truth

Oh,what I would do

To have the kind of faith it takes

To climb out of this boat I'm in

Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone

Into the realm of the unknown

Where Jesus is,

And he's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name

and they laugh at me

Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed

The waves they keep on telling me time and time again

"Boy, you'll never win, you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story

the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"

and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"

Out of all the voices calling out to me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh, what I would do

to have the kind of strength it takes

To stand before a giant

with just a sling and a stone

Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors

shaking in their armor

Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me

Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed

The giant keeps on telling me time and time again

"Boy you'll never win, you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story

the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"

and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"

Out of all the voices calling out to me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

but the stone was just the right size

to put the giant on the ground

and the waves they don't seem so high

from on top of them looking down
I will soar with the wings of eagles

when I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus

singing over me

But the voice of truth tells me a different story

The voice of truth says “do not be afraid”A

nd the voice of truth says “this is for my glory”

Out of all the voices calling out to me (calling out to me)

I will choose to listen and believe (I will choose to listen and believe)

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

I will listen and believe

I will listen and believe the voice of truth

I will listen and believe

'Causes Jesus You are the voice of truth

And I will listen to You.. oh You........

What an amazing song! Was really blessed by the lyrics of the song. In the midst of going through my Neurology block in Austin hospital, I felt overwhelming at times, especially when I am not familiar with this complex part of our body system & having all the consultants constantly bombarding me with thousands upon thousands of information and people around you answering the questions confidently & as for me; remaining at my spot, quiet, confused most of the times, trying my very best to understand their explanations, & crying out to God most of the time for His grace!

It’s not like I have a breakdown or something, or overly stressed or immensely pressurized, but it’s just tough walking through clinical years alone without experiencing His presence uplifting me every moment. But I remembered God assured me one day, telling me that I’ll be alright! That He is always in control of my situation, that I could trust in Him & His plans for me in future is to prosper me!

Exo1:12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. During the times when the Israelites were oppressed by the Egyptian king, it grew even more. God is telling me to apply this to my condition. The more I feel oppressed, burdened by my studies, the more I will grow, learn more & get better! Was reminded of these verses,

psa4:8 I will lie down & sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Phil4:6-7Do not be anxious in anything, but in everything by prayer & petition present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your heart & your mind in Christ Jesus.

Psa55:16But I call to God, & the Lord saves me. Evening, morning & noon I cry out in distress, & He hears my voice.

Psa55:22Cast your cares on the Lord & He will sustain you, He will never let the righteous fall.

Psa56:3-4 3 Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?

I really thank Him for the love & the promises He made with me. This week, although workload continues to increase, His peace remains in me. His confidence assures me that “It’ll be alright”. I should not listen to the voice of my flesh, but focus & substitute it with the voice of truth! The voice that constantly says “Don’t worry”. The words of “Yes” & “Amen”. Like Peter, I should keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. Then my life will be like a journey of “walking above the water”. Filled with miracles & the impossibles! Filled with perfect love!!!

Bendigo moments

It's over!

It’s finally over. The end of my surgical rotation has marked its date. I left Bendigo, with mixed feelings. A part of me rejoice and celebrate because I no longer need to travel back & forth during the weekends, no longer need to be away from my friends here in Melbourne. The other part of me feels bad because I really really really enjoy this rotation in Bendigo. I love the hospital there, and being under Surgical Team 1 is the best thing to learn and experience my surgical rotations. I have wonderful registrars and surgeons teaching me and guiding me along my rotations. My top 10 moments in no order is:-

1. Being able to scrub in 5 laparotomy & open bowel surgeries; thyroidectomy; appendicectomy; lung resection; witnessing a femoral-popliteal artery bypass, lower knee amputation, skin cancer resection, & some others that I can’t remember their names.

2. Waking up at 6a.m. to walk in the icy cold weather of Bendigo for ward rounds.

3. Enjoying the historical & unique Bendigo architectures across the city.

4. Listening & laughing together with my registrar at how some funny & weird patients complaining about their surgical conditions to us.
5. Being able to cannulate & take blood from real patients.
6. Singing “Irreplacable” & “Do-Re-Mi” with my group members.
7. Cooking & Barbeque dinners with my group members.
8. Obsess with a British registrar who has absolutely pure & typical British accent.
9. Still love surgical team 1 a lot a lot a lot.
10. Build relationship & encourage certain patients that I’ve seen. Really taught me a lot of things on people’s reactions and emotions in response to their medical conditions.

Just hope someday, I’ll be able to work under my registrars during my intern year. It is a pleasure to work with them & hope I’ll be as capable as them in future. Hopefully neuroscience in Austin will be as exciting as surgery in Bendigo. Being in surgical rotation really affirms my desire to specialize as a general surgeon in future. This is truly a memorable 6 weeks experience. Will post photos soon. Cheers!

He made a way!

One day, as I was having meals with my friends, one of them said, “Hey, don’t think you can eat food prayed over by the Muslims. It’s blasphemy if you do.”

In my mind I was thinking, hrmm… if that’s the case, I’ve sin so many times. I’ve disobeyed God abundantly since I’ve gone to food stalls in KL eating nasi lemak, roti canai, etc cooked by Muslims. That’s no good. Some even say the food offered by Chinese to their gods is not “clean” to be eaten. Some Christians even say there is certain food which we can eat, and some which we can’t. I asked God; if that’s the case, if You are limiting the types of food which we can eat, then why create every other varieties. Why placed skills and talents into different people from different background to come with different varieties of food!!! Just stay on with bread, or rice, chicken & green vege. Not only you will stay within rules, you won’t get fat by consuming food like nasi lemak, rendang, barbeque pork, etc.

As I was doing my devotion today, this verse was so real to me!

1tim4: 1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

His word says He made everything good!!! Everything that God created was good (Gen1:31) So if God says everything He made was good, who are we to say there’s restriction to food. This verse reaffirms me that, God is not a God of rules, but a God of relationship. He said that everything should be received with thanksgiving, & by His word & prayer, it shall be cleaned. In the name of Jesus, all that we eat shall be sanctified. If we still live a life following a bunch of rules, then our salvation, our relationship with God is no longer by grace, but by our deeds.

This verse also speaks about faith, about our believing life. It talks about whom we believe & the power of who we believe. I believe, Jesus who made His way to the cross & paid the price of our sin & rose from the death on the 3rd day is able to make a way for me in all the food that I eat. There is freedom in the name of Jesus. Free from all sin and shame! We no longer need to live by the dos & don’ts put forth by men. All we need is Jesus in our lives! In Jesus’ most powerful name I pray!!!

Level up!

What another week. A tiring and energy consuming one… Being back in Melbourne for the weekend somehow took my mind off study and medicine, but I certainly didn’t get the rest I needed. Time seems so short (1/2 of the time I’m not sure what I’ve spent it on). Anyhow I had a good time with my friend, Wern & her family. She graduated yesterday a degree holder of Bachelor of Arts. Had a wonderful meal together with them and it did somehow remind me of the times our families used to hang out together & go for meals. It’s just fantabulous!

I haven’t been doing much devotion due to my dense schedule. It’s not an excuse and I know I must get my time sorted out for God, not out of obligation, but out of hunger for His daily bread. Last week, as I was going through my church’s beginner course, these verses captured my attention.

romans4: 18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."[d] 19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

What a high level of faith Abraham has. Despite the reality of “hopelessness” knowing that in the natural world, rationally speaking, he and his wife were too old to have a kid, but Abraham did not waver, his belief was not shaken. Rather, he strengthened his faith even more and continues to praise God for it, trusting and knowing that God will do whatever He has promised.

Sometimes, we are persuaded and convinced by the situation around us, when things go out of our hand, when we lost controls of situations of our lives… we began to lose hope, we tend to believe that we gotta end up with the consequences of the situations we are in. We forgot that God is the ultimate control of our lives. Situations are never in our hands, within our control; they are always in His control. He has ordained our days before they come to be. Let’s believe for a greater breakthrough in whatever things we are facing, let’s believe that God’s promises and favor prevail. His hands rest on us. We are always in His heart. He always thinks about us. He will never let anything bad happen to His creations because He so love us.

Yesterday, as I was talking to Shawn, he told us that ECF sealed the deal for the new lot for our extension service in Damansara. It doesn’t end there; he said that church has bought a new land for our new building. It’s gonna be bigger & can accommodate the expansion that God has entrusted us. Felt that God’s favor and provision are resting upon us now. It is THE SEASON for ECF!!! Really praise God and thank Him for such a tremendous blessing. If it’s God’s will, it’s His deal. Now, praying for His bill too. ;-) Am excited to go back end of this year to see and hear the plans that God has for our new place. It’s gonna be a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!!!!

Prophetic dream?

Recently had a dream. I dreamt that I was in the church, a church I felt was ECF, and there I was standing on stage – either sharing a testimony or preaching a message. I don’t have a calling to be a pastor, for I believe God is gonna use my career as a doctor to touch lives that I come into contact with. But as I finished what I meant to share, I walked down the stage, heading towards the back seats, smiling at the people around me who were clapping their hands vigorously for such a wonderful word. (I don’t mean to be boastful or what-so-ever) As I reached the back of the sanctuary, there I saw the familiar face of a middle-aged man, clapping together with the congregation but with a joyful tears running down his cheek. He was my dad!!! There he was standing in the church… I quickly walked towards him and embraced him…

I remembered this much about my dream. I woke up, thinking about this dream. Is this a prophetic dream??? Is God gonna open great doors to this household?

Acts16:31They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."

Recently this verse really spoke to me, Rom15:13May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!

Green means fresh! It means growing! It means full of life! It resembles God’s given hope into those who believe in Him… His hope that lives forever, that never will fail or fade, that is gonna be new and fresh every day. It’s a life-giving hope! This verse says this type of hope will fill us with joy & peace so that our BELIEVING LIVES will BRIM over with hope. Our believing lives will be filled with His hope in full capacity. Not just that, our believing lives is filled with life-giving energy from the Holy Spirit. God’s presence and energy brings life to the people around us. It changes lives!

I am praying that God will increase my believing life! Pray that more and more people will see the Christ in me. Pray that His glory will be reflected in me, through me, my household will know Him and His presence reign mightily in my household! He made everything beautiful in His own time.

2nd week in Bendigo

Another week has passed by. Finally, back in my room in International House. Never felt so at home since I got to Melbourne until now. It’s good to be back here with all my friends around.

Never had anything exciting this week. Been very lazy and hardly gone for any morning ward rounds. I attempted IV cannulation (which means you stick a needle in a tube into the vein so that you can infuse any fluid into the vein) on a patient in the presence of an intern, but failed to get it into the vein totally. Patient lost confidence, so I had no second attempt. I tried it on my friend, first on her left hand, and failed. I made my final attempt on the right side, but failed again. I think I’ve bruised her veins in both of her hand badly.

My friend attempted a try on me too and got it through. However, the process was painful and now, my forearm had a blue-black mark… I never thought cannulation was so bad, because when I had it during my admission for dengue fever, it didn’t felt as painful as now. Well, maybe I was too sick to feel the pain. This time, it’s no joke.

Hoping to get to get my cannula in someday next week. Need more patients to try on. Sounds evil, but well, I need to learn. I gotta learn how to take some blood too. Sigh. I missed out on a hemicolectomy(removal of 1/2 of the large intestine) this Wednesday... Hopefully there will be more exciting surgeries next week... :-(

View of Sacred Heart Cathedral outside my room in Bendigo

Stretching week!!!

What an amazing week. Tiring and filled with eventful moments. I truly enjoy my time in Bendigo, although I doubt I’ll stay there for the rest of my life. Nevertheless, it’s not as doggy as I thought it would be, it’s not as ulufied as other rural areas like Kuala Kubu Bahru. The town is quite big, and it was filled with skillfully built historical buildings. It sort of took off the whole “country” mentality in me. The place I stayed, Lister House is near to this magnificent and huge cathedral. Its beauty is magnified at night when the building glow with glory as the yellow light falls on its walls.

As for my rotation, it is awesome. My first block is Gastroenterology and General Surgery. Bendigo Hospital is great. The doctors and nurses are very nice, and helpful. The real action kicks in on Tuesday when Mohana & I tried to go to the theatre to check out an inguinal hernia surgery, which turned out to be cancelled. So we ended up seeing a vascular bypass surgery, which truly amazed me when the surgeon showed me the venous & arterial thrombus. Well, I learnt a lot about it in IMU but I never actually seen nor felt one. That experience was amazing. Had my outpatient in the afternoon under this surgeon. Met the registrar under him and he has been very helpful. Taught us a couple of stuff about abdominal exams. I saw a patient with gallstones and she was scheduled for an operation the next day. He asked us to come for morning rounds the next day before scrubbing in for her surgery. I was totally like “YES” and thanking God for meeting such a nice registrar. So, I went back and study a bit on cholecystectomy.

On Wednesday morning, Mohana & I woke up at 6 a.m. and head straight to the surgical unit & found out that the team has already started the morning rounds. I met this 5th year Monash student, Hang is her name. Noticed that she’s very good and knows her stuff and her whereabouts in the ward and writing reports for investigations & stuff… hope that by the end of my 5th year, I’ll be as equip as her if not better! After the rounds, I scrubbed in for a abdominal cancer surgery. It was pretty cool though as I felt the tumour mass which was almost the size of a knuckle.

Thursday started off with morning rounds, followed by appendicectomy. The surgeon asked me a couple of basic questions regarding appendicitis, but I found myself out of words. Realized that I’ve forgotten so much of my pre-clinical stuff. As for Friday, I saw how to perform an IV cannula on a patient’s vein. I’ll try it next week.

Nevertheless, it’s good to be back in Melbourne for the weekend and have proper food. Haven’t been eating healthily the entire week. Lunches are always sandwiches packed from home, and dinners are all microwavable food such as pasta or lasagna. Too tired to run out to buy food or cook anything. Been waking up at 6a.m. and finishes about 6.30p.m. Slept around 2a.m. almost every night.

Anyway, looking forward to next week. Hopefully there’s interesting cases to see or nice surgeries to scrub into. Gotta make a lot of effort to learn.

First week

Thank God it’s Friday!!!!! Had a long and tiring week. I had my first week of introduction to clinical school in Austin. Every morning, I woke up at 6.30am, before the sun rises, get ready as fast as I possibly could, catch the tram down to the city, then a train to Heidelberg, where my beautiful Austin Hospital is. It took me about 45 minutes to an hour to get there. All these happened in the cold freezing morning weather! My day starts at 8.30am all the way til about 4.30pm. When I reached IH at the end of the day, the sky turned dark… but as for today, it is my first day since I got back to Melbourne where I can sit in my room, facing the cloudy sky and typing this blog.

Clinical was pretty fun though, despite the fact I am going to Bendigo (which happens to be a pekan). Did some cool stuff this week:-

1. I learnt some basic physiology stuff like helping the patient to sit up from lying on his bed, helping patient to stand from sitting position and using different walking aids and their functions in assisting patient walking.

2. During my respiratory tutorial, the registrar thought us a couple of new stuff during physical exam. The patient which has a hyperinflated chest presented with shortness of breath. In addition to that, he has rheumatoid arthritis on his right hand and osteoarthritis on his left. Pretty interesting eh? Plus, the reg taught us how to check if the diaphragm is working through physical exam. Thought the session was awesome!

3. Yesterday I was tagging a nurse in a stroke ward. I assisted a doctor in a male catheterization on a patient with urinary retention because of his lower spinal problem and prostate enlargement. I think we were in the room for about 40 minutes but the catheter can’t seem to go into the bladder because of the obstruction by the prostate and the much clot in the urethra due to the trauma by the previous catheter. I think the doctor informs the urologist and I think the patient might undergo suprapubic catheterization.

Overall, it was a tiring but exciting weekend. Can’t wait til next week. Starting my gastroenterology (gut system) and general surgery block next week in Bendigo. I think I gotta take a lot of own initiative in order to learn. Just have to be more “semangat” in learning and interact with patients.

A blessed holidays!

I think it’s about time I drop a post before the blog master starts emailing me and ask if I wanna continue on with my blog. 5 weeks seemed like a dream. It ended so fast and felt like it had never happened. I’m back in Melbourne and started my clinical school in Austin Hospital this week. The taste and joy of holiday has faded away, consumed by the tiredness of my daily schedule in Austin Hospital.

Nevertheless, I really praise God for such a blessed 5 weeks. I remember the 3 weeks back in KL was totally amazing. Praise Him for an opportunity of time and blessing me with cheap tickets back home. The joy of seeing my family and spending time with them like usual, hanging out in the living room and having meals together like good old times. Seeing friends that soon going to UK, my high school buddies, and spending time with the leaders in church just made my holidays back in KL more fulfilling. Driving in KL, hanging out in KLCC, eating my favourite food and spending ringgit completed everything!

I remembered the time in KLIA when I was leaving for Sydney, Jessica asked me “Are you the only child in your family?” & of course I answered “No. & why do you say so?” She said, “Coz you look like one.” I began to realize why she had that impression. I’m so loved and blessed by my family & I know they were sad to see me leave so early. Some of my friends might think I’m a “brat”, well in a way, I’m glad I was treated as one. This magnifies my parents’ love for me, and I truly thank God for blessing me with such an awesome family.

I flew to Sydney & spent 2 days touring the city with my church members. It was great fun. I enjoyed Fish Market the most since the food is so cheap, and it was top-class fresh seafood! But the highlight was Hillsong Conference! About 30, 000 people from different nations gathered under one roof, united as His body, worshiped Him and encountered Him for a week! Was so blessed to be part of it! I remember a statement was made which really ministered to me:

“The church is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church!”

Amazing eh? Will blog more about the things God spoke to me in Hillsong.

After that week, I spent another week in Adelaide with my friends. I must somehow say that Adelaide looks better than Sydney, I sorta like the place more than Sydney. Anyhow, Melbourne is still better. But the best part is not about the city, but it’s about spending time with my friends. Se Yin, Lay In & Chun Peng were there too. Sneaking into Village, visiting Handoff together, feed kangaroos, preparing steamboat and cooking together, play boggle & boggal (Malay version of boggle), catching up with each others’ lives... it’s such a good time spent together. Was really sad on my last night in Chris’ place. The thought of having to return to Melbourne didn’t excite me. Chris & Chuen kept saying, “You’ll enjoy clinical much more. It’s so relevant and makes so much more sense” but in me, I longed to remain in holidays. I know that once I get back here, I’ll miss home & friends & church more and more, I’ll be so exhausted by the clinical school schedule & rotation, I’ll be loaded by the amount of studies I needed to do & I’ve to go for my country rotation for 6 weeks.

In 5 weeks, I mourned 3 times for 3 departures. But during my stay in Adelaide, Wai Meng’s brother had an accident. What amazed me was, when we heard how serious his brother’s condition was, we sat down and prayed for his brother… and after we prayed for him, the very next day when CP contacted Wai Meng, he told CP that the brother responded and was conscious!!! Really praise God for His healing power. Really awesome to see the power of prayer as we come together as one accord!

This week is ending soon. PC, Kelvin & Sharon just left few days ago. Good to have them here in Melbourne. Gonna miss my IH Shakers & my UL members! Will miss the time we go to the park at midnight and hang out there. Well, just pray that God will prepare me greatly for clinical, not just in studies, but in influence, in being the salt & the light!

Adelaide sweet moments

Hillsong Conference 2007