Uppsala: Day Fifteen
It’s our second last day at Ribbingeback!
We spent the morning cleaning and sending KS off…it was an emotional moment for many of us (well, not us Singaporeans because we’re going to see him back home), especially the guys! Johannes teared a little, and some say that even Justin looked like he was tearing. I don’t believe that though. Matthieu has lost his beloved roommate too.
After that, Joanne and I spent a good part of the day waiting for Pastors’ arrival! We had no idea what time they would come, only that it would be between lunch and dinner, so we simply waited! We fell asleep, woke up, had ice-cream, read books and tried to find cows, horses and sheep (to no avail) while waiting!
Of course, Pastors finally came! It was SO GREAT to see Pastors today, we missed them so much!! Rinnah, Pam and Aunty Lilian were there too! It was so so so good to see all of them again! Brad took Pastors on a tour around Ribbingeback, and the rest of us spent time catching up with Rinnah! And because it’s Rinnah’s birthday tomorrow, we decided to give Rinnah her birthday presents one day early! Charmaine got her a bubble machine, Joanne got her a water gun, face paint and cute stamps, KS and I got her a cute little red bag that looks a little like a lunch box, and Joanne, KS and I got her a playdough ice-cream factory! Rinnah put her water gun, face paint and stamps into her new bag (which she will proudly carry through customs) and she looked so cute walking around with it! Happy birthday Rinnah!!
Pastors left with Pastor Joakim soon after (too soon….) and we had our last supper at Ribbingeback! After that, we had a short meeting about our next few days in Gothenburg, traveling down, luggages, housing etc.
To end off the day, Joanne and I decided to have a worship session in the chapel. It was so good; we spent so much time just dwelling in the presence of God, enjoying the presence of God and sharing our revelations on the bible, on love and on life. We spent so much time worshipping; we realised that we were in the chapel for more than an hour, but it felt like it was less than 30 mins!
I think this trip has really taught us so much. In the hustle and bustle of city life (i.e. Singapore), one can hardly find the time to get away from all the noise and retreat into a quiet place to seek God. While we were out here in the countryside, we found that opportunities to seek God were aplenty! I believe I speak for every single one of us here when I say that our relationship with God has gone up to a whole new level. Now we’re fully refreshed, recharged and regenerated, ready to take on the world in full force!
Well, we’re probably not going to get much of a chance to blog for the next few days, as we will be traveling down to Gothenburg (7 hour ride!!??) on Thursday, and Nordic 07 will be on from Friday to Saturday! Thereafter, we will have the Leaders’ Conference (on a yacht, how cool is that?) before (finally!) flying off to Singapore on 20 Sep and reaching on 21 Sep.
It’s been great blogging about Ribbingeback! Look out for more on Nordic 07!
In searching for a name for next year’s Nordic Conference in London…………
London baby.
Woo.
onsdag 12 september 2007
tisdag 11 september 2007
Uppsala: Day Fourteen
Uppsala: Day Fourteen
It’s been two weeks! Wow…that’s really fast.
We didn’t do much today either, everyone is preparing for the big event in Gothenburg!
Nordic 07!!
Speaking of which, everyone’s in Sweden now.
Pastors, Rinnah, Aunty Lilian, Pammy…
Garrett, Dom, Fifi, Yassy, Jian, Sky…
Woo!!
This is what I call a Singaporean invasion!!
Pastors were at Stockholm today!
AC told us they were in Skansen…that’s gotta be cool!
Anyways, KS will be leaving tomorrow!
He’s become part of the brotherhood here in Sweden, everyone’s gonna miss him.
We did a little farewell thing for him, sang the song ‘Peng You’, got him a flight survival kit (Swedish candy) and had some pie with ice-cream.
Yum.
It was really hilarious to see all the international teamers huddled together, outside the toilet, practicing the song in Chinese! When we finally got down to singing the song after dinner, it was a roaring success…KS wept buckets of tears.
(Actually, he only teared a little.)
We’re going to try to post up the video of us singing, so watch out for that!
Tomorrow, we’re going to embark on a major clean up of Ribbingeback! 30++ youths all gathered in a huge house…your socks can’t even stay clean for more than 10 minutes! It’s gonna be a whole lot of fun! Also, we’ll be meeting up with Pastors when they come over to Ribbingeback!
Then on Thursday, we’ll be going down to Gothenburg to join the rest of the leaders at Nordic! Oh man, that’s gonna be so fun!
Well, that’s a basic run-through of what’s going to be happening the next few days! See you guys again tomorrow!
It’s been two weeks! Wow…that’s really fast.
We didn’t do much today either, everyone is preparing for the big event in Gothenburg!
Nordic 07!!
Speaking of which, everyone’s in Sweden now.
Pastors, Rinnah, Aunty Lilian, Pammy…
Garrett, Dom, Fifi, Yassy, Jian, Sky…
Woo!!
This is what I call a Singaporean invasion!!
Pastors were at Stockholm today!
AC told us they were in Skansen…that’s gotta be cool!
Anyways, KS will be leaving tomorrow!
He’s become part of the brotherhood here in Sweden, everyone’s gonna miss him.
We did a little farewell thing for him, sang the song ‘Peng You’, got him a flight survival kit (Swedish candy) and had some pie with ice-cream.
Yum.
It was really hilarious to see all the international teamers huddled together, outside the toilet, practicing the song in Chinese! When we finally got down to singing the song after dinner, it was a roaring success…KS wept buckets of tears.
(Actually, he only teared a little.)
We’re going to try to post up the video of us singing, so watch out for that!
Tomorrow, we’re going to embark on a major clean up of Ribbingeback! 30++ youths all gathered in a huge house…your socks can’t even stay clean for more than 10 minutes! It’s gonna be a whole lot of fun! Also, we’ll be meeting up with Pastors when they come over to Ribbingeback!
Then on Thursday, we’ll be going down to Gothenburg to join the rest of the leaders at Nordic! Oh man, that’s gonna be so fun!
Well, that’s a basic run-through of what’s going to be happening the next few days! See you guys again tomorrow!
Uppsala: Day Thirteen
Uppsala: Day 13
Today was girls’ sauna day!
Yes, we have a sauna in here.
A few days ago, Saturday, if I’m not mistaken, the guys had their own sauna outing. Not to be beaten, the girls decided to have our own too.
I personally dislike saunas. I don’t see the point of going into a room just to sweat. It was only after a few days of coaxing that Joanne finally managed to convince me to go into the sauna. She says it helps to lose weight. I don’t think so.
But since we were in the sauna, why not go all out? It was hilarious watching the rest (Sarah Steel, AC, Tanya and Joanna) sweating in the sauna while Joanne and I were happily pouring more water in. But that was not nearly as hilarious as Joanne refusing to wear something light into the sauna (i.e. bathing suits) and insisting on wearing her t-shirt and long pants in. She wanted to wear jeans into the sauna. JEANS?!
We went up to 80 degrees in the sauna. The guys went up to 120 degrees, but that’s because they also had some Russians and a Middle-Eastern guy. We girls only had some Singaporeans. Ask KS how he nearly vaporized in there.
After the sauna, you can walk right out into the blistering cold Swedish night wind and not even give the slightest hint of a shiver. In fact, it felt like good ol’ breezy Singapore.
Honestly, I don’t think saunas help you lose weight. I think they drain all the water and energy out of you, but that’s it.
Well, I guess you would pardon the lack of photos in this particular entry then.
Pastors are finally in Sweden too! They’re currently residing at a hotel in Uppsala, and we’ll get to see them on Wednesday, which is tomorrow! Right now, they’re having a great time sight-seeing and shopping in Stockholm!
Can’t wait to meet Pastors….just one more day….
Today was girls’ sauna day!
Yes, we have a sauna in here.
A few days ago, Saturday, if I’m not mistaken, the guys had their own sauna outing. Not to be beaten, the girls decided to have our own too.
I personally dislike saunas. I don’t see the point of going into a room just to sweat. It was only after a few days of coaxing that Joanne finally managed to convince me to go into the sauna. She says it helps to lose weight. I don’t think so.
But since we were in the sauna, why not go all out? It was hilarious watching the rest (Sarah Steel, AC, Tanya and Joanna) sweating in the sauna while Joanne and I were happily pouring more water in. But that was not nearly as hilarious as Joanne refusing to wear something light into the sauna (i.e. bathing suits) and insisting on wearing her t-shirt and long pants in. She wanted to wear jeans into the sauna. JEANS?!
We went up to 80 degrees in the sauna. The guys went up to 120 degrees, but that’s because they also had some Russians and a Middle-Eastern guy. We girls only had some Singaporeans. Ask KS how he nearly vaporized in there.
After the sauna, you can walk right out into the blistering cold Swedish night wind and not even give the slightest hint of a shiver. In fact, it felt like good ol’ breezy Singapore.
Honestly, I don’t think saunas help you lose weight. I think they drain all the water and energy out of you, but that’s it.
Well, I guess you would pardon the lack of photos in this particular entry then.
Pastors are finally in Sweden too! They’re currently residing at a hotel in Uppsala, and we’ll get to see them on Wednesday, which is tomorrow! Right now, they’re having a great time sight-seeing and shopping in Stockholm!
Can’t wait to meet Pastors….just one more day….
söndag 9 september 2007
Uppsala: Day Twelve
Uppsala: Day Twelve
It was service at Word of Life for us!
We woke up really early today, because we had to leave at 8.45am for service at 10am (there weren’t enough cars, so we had to make a few trips). The four of us were with Mathieu, who was entertaining us throughout the ride.
Service was super anointed. The worship team was so anointed! Our favourite Swedish family was playing today, the drummer, pianist and 14-year-old bassist. After the worship, they brought out the children’s church to perform. They are so adorable! To see the children singing and dancing on stage was awesome!
It was service at Word of Life for us!
We woke up really early today, because we had to leave at 8.45am for service at 10am (there weren’t enough cars, so we had to make a few trips). The four of us were with Mathieu, who was entertaining us throughout the ride.
Service was super anointed. The worship team was so anointed! Our favourite Swedish family was playing today, the drummer, pianist and 14-year-old bassist. After the worship, they brought out the children’s church to perform. They are so adorable! To see the children singing and dancing on stage was awesome!
Word of Life Children's Church!
Pastor Robert Ekh preached a great word about loving others. It’s funny, because we’ve heard the same word from two different churches the past two weeks! Can’t be a coincidence man. We met up with Weena after service too! It’s so great to see a familiar face in Sweden!
After service, we went to the bookstore to grab some books and CDs. I think we spent a bomb there! Some of the books they had aren’t available in Singapore, which explains our expenditure.
We were invited to lunch at Jonathan’s place (Jonathan from Sweden!) and they cooked some Chinese looking food! It was rice and some sort of chicken and vegetable stew with Thai spices, milk and yoghurt. Sounds weird, but it tasted awesome! Their desert was ice cream and fruits coated with melted white chocolate….mmmm yummy. I think the Swedes deserve an A* for hospitality!
Jonathan and KS!
Us at Jonathan's house!
We stopped by at Granby’s to get some cards, gifts and groceries. Joanne was going crazy over the ham there (she really likes ham…) and I went straight to my chocolates. It’s so difficult to survive without them.
Justin Style is going a little nuts because the guys went to play soccer with the Russian teamers and lots of endorphins have been pumped into his system. He just jumped out of nowhere, striked a pose and started singing a worship song! He never fails to crack me up!
Well, we’re all sitting around using the internet now. Trapped by the web. Tsk tsk.
That’s all for tonight! See you again soon!
P.S. Pastors are coming tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!
Uppsala: Day Eleven
Uppsala: Day Eleven
It was a day out with Evelina and Julia for me and Joanne!
We went to Uppsala to do some shopping, and it was great! Managed to get some real steals amidst the very expensive Swedish market. There was nothing much to shop really, because Uppsala isn’t that big, but the company was great.
It was mostly a free day for all of us, so we took the time to use the net and hang out with the teamers. At night, some of us came together and watched a movie, The Painted Veil. It’s an arts film, and I personally hate arts films, so I thought it was boring. Apparently, everyone else liked it.
Quite a relaxed day I’d say, so there’s nothing much to talk about.
But hey, we’re going to Word of Life tomorrow! Looking forward to that!
P.S. Two more days to Pastors coming to Sweden!
It was a day out with Evelina and Julia for me and Joanne!
We went to Uppsala to do some shopping, and it was great! Managed to get some real steals amidst the very expensive Swedish market. There was nothing much to shop really, because Uppsala isn’t that big, but the company was great.
It was mostly a free day for all of us, so we took the time to use the net and hang out with the teamers. At night, some of us came together and watched a movie, The Painted Veil. It’s an arts film, and I personally hate arts films, so I thought it was boring. Apparently, everyone else liked it.
Quite a relaxed day I’d say, so there’s nothing much to talk about.
But hey, we’re going to Word of Life tomorrow! Looking forward to that!
P.S. Two more days to Pastors coming to Sweden!
lördag 8 september 2007
Uppsala: Day Ten
Today was AMAZING!
I know I say this about every single day, but today was AMAZING!
We came into the chapel for our usual morning prayer, but the presence of God was so strong that we all decided to continue praying and worshipping! It was a very personal moment for all of us; many of us were just being ministered to by the Holy Spirit. It’s so amazing, because there weren’t any loud drums or electric guitars; there wasn’t a worship team, only a piano, but there was the sweet, sweet presence of God and that’s all we needed. We started praying for each other, praying for the teams going to Singapore (that’s us!), Scotland, England, the main international team, and for Brad and Sarah. We were at it for so long, we totally skipped the afternoon session!
I know I say this about every single day, but today was AMAZING!
We came into the chapel for our usual morning prayer, but the presence of God was so strong that we all decided to continue praying and worshipping! It was a very personal moment for all of us; many of us were just being ministered to by the Holy Spirit. It’s so amazing, because there weren’t any loud drums or electric guitars; there wasn’t a worship team, only a piano, but there was the sweet, sweet presence of God and that’s all we needed. We started praying for each other, praying for the teams going to Singapore (that’s us!), Scotland, England, the main international team, and for Brad and Sarah. We were at it for so long, we totally skipped the afternoon session!
Prayer at the chapel
That was really the highlight of the week!
Thereafter, we went about our usual routines and sessions. We have been practicing doing group visits and Pastors’ visits over the past few days, so for today, we practiced calling Pastors! It was so funny, because Arash and Justin were acting as our Pastors and they can be really funny! It was not difficult to make the calls, but it sure was difficult to control our laughter! (Justin was voted the entertainer of the year by his youths. It was supposed to be a youth thing and he isn’t exactly part of the youth…)
Joanne and Arash preparing food!
During the evening, we went to Pastor Joakim’s house! Pastor Joakim’s house is BEAUTIFUL!!! I think I mentioned before that some parts were built in the 18th Century, around 1711!! How cool is that?! Pastor had invited us over for dinner, and all of us had a great time! We were chatting, laughing at what the teamers used to do when they all stayed at Pastor Joakim’s house, laughing at videos we took when we were eating the rotten fish, and then laughing at me because I can bend my fingers and legs backwards and put my legs behind my head! It was absolute fun!
After that, we came together for a short worship and prayer. Sister Maria led us in worship, and it was so good to come together as a team to pray for New Generation! This is truly part of the New Generation heritage, PRAYER!
Our last item of the day was a performance from yours truly. I had refused to bring my flutes over to the house, but AC (Anna-Carolina), one of the teamers, happily took it from my room and brought it over anyway!! That’s terrible. Joanne and I played Alleluia for Christ the Lord, and we worshipped together with Lord, You Are Always Here With Me, before ending it with the Pocahontas theme song, Colours of the Wind.
Me and KS!
KS and AC (Anna Carolina)
KS and Clara!!
By the time we reached home, we were so exhausted, but it was truly a day to remember. :)
Uppsala: Day Nine
Today was awesome. We had the usual Morning Prayer and all. The vision and the all were shared to us Singaporean teamers! It is totally cool to see how the heart for youths and young people is the same here and back in Heart of God church. All of us were blown away by the ‘big-ness’ and the vision of the work that we are going to do. I was at the brink of tears when Pst Joakim was sharing with us about New Generation and all the testimonies. Also, Pst Joakim spoke about uniting the churches, and Pst Ulf going to speak in a Catholic conference! I felt so strongly that God is going to unite the body of Christ together. The left hand should not slap the right hand, they should work together. It was also very powerful when Pst Joakim stated that we do not need compromise our beliefs for doctrinal issues, but we must learn to understand why people think in their way. ‘If I know where I live, I can visit other people’s houses’ is a stated parallel to this issue. Pst Joakim was also sharing some practical issues like how to handle counseling issues and all.
Today, I(umm well I’m KS.) was working on the food team, we had classic Swedish meatballs. Oh man, I tell you it was good. We also had typical salad and cheese and all. It was great. The diet here is healthy with lots of green. Well, some of us might flinch at the bare thought of it, but nonetheless, it is good.
Also, that night we had a practical session with Brad, Sarah and Arash. We were practicing how to handle sticky situations when we are talking to Pastors when we meet them. The night was not so much of getting impacted and blown away, but rather it was a lot of tips and more skills.
The day was a good fruitful day, and we learnt a lot. It was a good time to refresh our vision and fire the youths and the skills.
I just can’t wait to get to get to work, out of army and back into The Army!
Love you peeps.
See you back in Singapore. Live free!
Today, I(umm well I’m KS.) was working on the food team, we had classic Swedish meatballs. Oh man, I tell you it was good. We also had typical salad and cheese and all. It was great. The diet here is healthy with lots of green. Well, some of us might flinch at the bare thought of it, but nonetheless, it is good.
Also, that night we had a practical session with Brad, Sarah and Arash. We were practicing how to handle sticky situations when we are talking to Pastors when we meet them. The night was not so much of getting impacted and blown away, but rather it was a lot of tips and more skills.
The day was a good fruitful day, and we learnt a lot. It was a good time to refresh our vision and fire the youths and the skills.
I just can’t wait to get to get to work, out of army and back into The Army!
Love you peeps.
See you back in Singapore. Live free!
Uppsala: Day Eight
Uppsala: Day Eight
Well, it’s the same routine here at Ribbingeback again. Breakfast, own time with God, morning prayer, sessions, fikka, dinner, testimonies and evening prayer. But there was something that really impacted me today, and I thought I’d just share it with everyone. :)
Attitude:
It is our true self.
The roots are inward, the fruit is outward.
It can be our best friend or worst enemy.
It is more honest than our words.
It is an outward look based on past experiences.
It draws people to us or repels them from us.
It is never content until it is expressed.
It is the librarian of our past.
It is the speaker of our present.
It is the prophet of our future.
Good night everyone. :)
Well, it’s the same routine here at Ribbingeback again. Breakfast, own time with God, morning prayer, sessions, fikka, dinner, testimonies and evening prayer. But there was something that really impacted me today, and I thought I’d just share it with everyone. :)
Attitude:
It is our true self.
The roots are inward, the fruit is outward.
It can be our best friend or worst enemy.
It is more honest than our words.
It is an outward look based on past experiences.
It draws people to us or repels them from us.
It is never content until it is expressed.
It is the librarian of our past.
It is the speaker of our present.
It is the prophet of our future.
Good night everyone. :)
Uppsala: Day Seven
Uppsala: Day Seven
Today, we had sessions with Justin Style and Fredrick Karlsson!
They were teaching us about the media aspects of New Generations, which are really cool! The websites have loads of stuff about New Generations, resources we can use to reach out to the schools, forums, newsletters, idea banks…the full works! It’s really cool!
I was on the cooking team today! I’m just so amazed at how everyone here can cook! I told them that I could probably cook something too, but we don’t have the ingredients like rice available. Oh well..another time then. Maybe when they come over to Singapore!
It was really more laid back today. After the sessions, we had filming to do for the Nordic Conference. I was just standing there, in my New Generations t-shirt, and doing whatever Justin and Johannes were telling me to do. When I saw the video though, I think I looked terrible. Nothing I can do to change my physical features though.
We had the internet connection set up in the chapel today too! It was so funny to see everyone sitting in the CHAPEL, typing away, updating facebook accounts, emails, Skype etc. I think people forgot that it was time to eat! Internet…how much are we hooked on to it…
We had another great testimony night! Justin was so funny though. He has this dry humour thing going on, and it’s so funny with his English accent, you know? He had us laughing to tears when he was sharing his testimony. I realised that many of the people here come from broken families, having a rough background…we are really very blessed in Singapore. It really made us see how every single person has a different story to tell and a different experience with God. But what is really the most amazing is how God touched every single life and turned it around for him.
Another great day out here in Sweden. Nordic is coming up really soon! It’s gonna get busy!
Today, we had sessions with Justin Style and Fredrick Karlsson!
They were teaching us about the media aspects of New Generations, which are really cool! The websites have loads of stuff about New Generations, resources we can use to reach out to the schools, forums, newsletters, idea banks…the full works! It’s really cool!
I was on the cooking team today! I’m just so amazed at how everyone here can cook! I told them that I could probably cook something too, but we don’t have the ingredients like rice available. Oh well..another time then. Maybe when they come over to Singapore!
It was really more laid back today. After the sessions, we had filming to do for the Nordic Conference. I was just standing there, in my New Generations t-shirt, and doing whatever Justin and Johannes were telling me to do. When I saw the video though, I think I looked terrible. Nothing I can do to change my physical features though.
We had the internet connection set up in the chapel today too! It was so funny to see everyone sitting in the CHAPEL, typing away, updating facebook accounts, emails, Skype etc. I think people forgot that it was time to eat! Internet…how much are we hooked on to it…
We had another great testimony night! Justin was so funny though. He has this dry humour thing going on, and it’s so funny with his English accent, you know? He had us laughing to tears when he was sharing his testimony. I realised that many of the people here come from broken families, having a rough background…we are really very blessed in Singapore. It really made us see how every single person has a different story to tell and a different experience with God. But what is really the most amazing is how God touched every single life and turned it around for him.
Another great day out here in Sweden. Nordic is coming up really soon! It’s gonna get busy!
tisdag 4 september 2007
Uppsala: Day Six
Uppsala: Day Six
We all had breakfast in the boys’ dorm again, because they’re still doing renovations in the kitchen. I’m not sure if I mentioned that we moved over to the boys’ dorm, but if I didn’t, well, here it is! Only for meals of course.
We had our usual routine, breakfast, own time with God, corporate prayer and sessions with Brad Hawkes and Sarah Steel. Of course, we had our usual fikka in between, but we all made a decision to lay off the food and avoid the pounds. I don’t know how they do it here in Sweden; they manage to stay so slim at the same time! I’m so afraid I’ll have to roll myself home at the end of 3 weeks!
Brad told us about the history of New Generations, and it was really interesting! It all started in Norway, from a student in the university (I can’t spell the name again!), and it triggered a movement across Europe. However, it was only when it came to Sweden that things started boiling! Sweden was to be the hub of Europe and the centre of revival. It’s just like how we hear about revivals in Singapore, China, Taiwan and all nations across Asia. It was so cool to hear about how God is working His way all around the world!
Sarah was talking to the international teamers about their stay in England for the year. Most of the teamers would be in England, but the rest would be in Scotland and Switzerland. It’s so amazing because they’re all so young, around 20 – 29 years of age, and they are all so independent, living out of their home towns for a whole year to spread revival! I think that’s just amazing.
After that, Brad talked to us about Nordic 07! Joanne, Charmaine and I will be USHERING at Nordic, so for the leaders who will be joining us in less than a week, do catch us then! Nordic 07 is going to be so awesome!
Dinner was really hilarious. Joanna and Sarah were using the oven to cook the potatoes, and because they left it there for so long, it started smoking when they took it out and the fire alarm was set off! It was so funny because the next time they wanted to take something out of the oven, Clara had to stand on a stool to fan the smoke away from the smoke detectors!
After our very interesting dinner, we gathered together for the highlight of the evening: testimony night! 6 of us shared our testimonies tonight, myself, Mathieu, Johannes, Joanne, Charmaine and Linn. I was the first to start, and my testimony felt so short compared to theirs! But the testimonies were amazing. Some of us shared stories about how God touched us since we were as young as 4 – 6 years old, and about our experiences with God, about when we turned away from God and He pulled us right back to Him, about how God is always there, even in the midst of our troubles. All of us were so blessed by the testimonies that were shared tonight. (P.S. Everyone came over to check out my tattoo after the sharing.)
We ended our day with our evening prayer, led by Tanya. Things are very much quieter here, it’s not like in Singapore, with all the enthuse, loud rock music, electric guitars and drums, but God’s presence is as strong as ever.
Pastors and the leaders will be coming over to Sweden really soon, we just can’t wait for our big reunion!
We all had breakfast in the boys’ dorm again, because they’re still doing renovations in the kitchen. I’m not sure if I mentioned that we moved over to the boys’ dorm, but if I didn’t, well, here it is! Only for meals of course.
We had our usual routine, breakfast, own time with God, corporate prayer and sessions with Brad Hawkes and Sarah Steel. Of course, we had our usual fikka in between, but we all made a decision to lay off the food and avoid the pounds. I don’t know how they do it here in Sweden; they manage to stay so slim at the same time! I’m so afraid I’ll have to roll myself home at the end of 3 weeks!
Brad told us about the history of New Generations, and it was really interesting! It all started in Norway, from a student in the university (I can’t spell the name again!), and it triggered a movement across Europe. However, it was only when it came to Sweden that things started boiling! Sweden was to be the hub of Europe and the centre of revival. It’s just like how we hear about revivals in Singapore, China, Taiwan and all nations across Asia. It was so cool to hear about how God is working His way all around the world!
Sarah was talking to the international teamers about their stay in England for the year. Most of the teamers would be in England, but the rest would be in Scotland and Switzerland. It’s so amazing because they’re all so young, around 20 – 29 years of age, and they are all so independent, living out of their home towns for a whole year to spread revival! I think that’s just amazing.
After that, Brad talked to us about Nordic 07! Joanne, Charmaine and I will be USHERING at Nordic, so for the leaders who will be joining us in less than a week, do catch us then! Nordic 07 is going to be so awesome!
Dinner was really hilarious. Joanna and Sarah were using the oven to cook the potatoes, and because they left it there for so long, it started smoking when they took it out and the fire alarm was set off! It was so funny because the next time they wanted to take something out of the oven, Clara had to stand on a stool to fan the smoke away from the smoke detectors!
After our very interesting dinner, we gathered together for the highlight of the evening: testimony night! 6 of us shared our testimonies tonight, myself, Mathieu, Johannes, Joanne, Charmaine and Linn. I was the first to start, and my testimony felt so short compared to theirs! But the testimonies were amazing. Some of us shared stories about how God touched us since we were as young as 4 – 6 years old, and about our experiences with God, about when we turned away from God and He pulled us right back to Him, about how God is always there, even in the midst of our troubles. All of us were so blessed by the testimonies that were shared tonight. (P.S. Everyone came over to check out my tattoo after the sharing.)
We ended our day with our evening prayer, led by Tanya. Things are very much quieter here, it’s not like in Singapore, with all the enthuse, loud rock music, electric guitars and drums, but God’s presence is as strong as ever.
Pastors and the leaders will be coming over to Sweden really soon, we just can’t wait for our big reunion!
Uppsala: Day Five
Uppsala: Day Five
Today, we went to a Lutheran church in Uppsala. This is the same church that Pastor Joakim brought us to on our first day. It is a BEAUTIFUL church. Really tall and all. I’m not sure if I shared about the history of this church, but I’ll share it anyhow.
Kings and martyrs are (yes, present tense) buried in this church. Quite creepy when you come to think about it you know, you could be walking around and all these people are buried just under your feet! But these guys are really cool. One of them was the former king of Sweden, and as he was preaching about Jesus in the church, some guys from the occult were waiting outside the church for him to take him away and kill him. The king’s servant tried to get him to flee, but the king refused to do so, insisting on ending the service and walking out the front door because he was not ashamed of following Jesus. In the end, he was captured and beheaded (right in the present carpark outside the church). Also, if you look at the top of the tower, there is a statue of a rooster erected on it. This rooster is a reminder of how Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed, and is a reminder to us that we should never deny Jesus. Isn’t that amazing?
So, the experience at the Lutheran church was, interesting. It’s very traditional, so they had priests and the choir dressed in robes, ceremonies, communion, the full works. But we were equally blessed with the message about how we should love our neighbours as ourselves. A bit difficult to catch because we had to have Arash translate for us, but other than that, it was good.
We headed into Uppsala town for lunch after service. Lunch was fantastic, this time, we had kebab! The chicken kebab was delicious; it was breakfast, lunch and dinner all served on one plate! One of the teamers, Justin, was amusing us with his imitations of Scottish, Irish and all the English accents (from Liverpool to Newcastle to Manchester). He’s a funny guy. After lunch, we headed into the New Gen office! It’s quite a small office, nonetheless quite cosy. There, we had our highlight of the week: Skyping with Pastors!! We’ve missed Pastors so much over this week (it seemed like eternity!!) and it was so good to meet Pastors over webcam! Oh, what would we do without technology? We met some of the leaders as well, Charleston, Leonard, Ivan, Roy, Daniel, Xinyi, Jieru and Nicholas to name a few. Pastors met Justin and Linn, who is Joanne’s bunk mate. It was really funny to see everyone exchange cyber hugs and handshakes!
Well, time was running short, so we headed back to the carpark and got ourselves pre paid cards, candy and chocolates along the way. Oh, I must tell you about the culture of car parking here in Sweden. One would take a good 15 minutes to walk to your car because everyone here parks so far away! It’s the equivalent of parking in Park Mall and walking to Far East to shop! Also, it’s really cute how in Singapore, they tell you the spaces you can park in and everywhere else you can’t, while in Sweden, they tell you where you can’t park and everywhere else is free for parking!
The rest of the day was pretty much freed up for us. We started doing our laundry at 5pm, and only ended at 12am because 6 people were doing laundry all at the same time! It was the first time in my life I’m actually doing my own laundry! Mum would be proud. In the meantime, we had dinner, watched a movie and snacked. Linn, Joanne and I were watching ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, but Joanne was so tired she knocked out halfway through the movie!
Laundy, laundry, laundry. The chore.
The concert team should be coming in tomorrow, so let’s wait up for that!
In the meantime…
Jesus alskar dej. :)
Today, we went to a Lutheran church in Uppsala. This is the same church that Pastor Joakim brought us to on our first day. It is a BEAUTIFUL church. Really tall and all. I’m not sure if I shared about the history of this church, but I’ll share it anyhow.
Church
Kings and martyrs are (yes, present tense) buried in this church. Quite creepy when you come to think about it you know, you could be walking around and all these people are buried just under your feet! But these guys are really cool. One of them was the former king of Sweden, and as he was preaching about Jesus in the church, some guys from the occult were waiting outside the church for him to take him away and kill him. The king’s servant tried to get him to flee, but the king refused to do so, insisting on ending the service and walking out the front door because he was not ashamed of following Jesus. In the end, he was captured and beheaded (right in the present carpark outside the church). Also, if you look at the top of the tower, there is a statue of a rooster erected on it. This rooster is a reminder of how Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed, and is a reminder to us that we should never deny Jesus. Isn’t that amazing?
Rooster!
So, the experience at the Lutheran church was, interesting. It’s very traditional, so they had priests and the choir dressed in robes, ceremonies, communion, the full works. But we were equally blessed with the message about how we should love our neighbours as ourselves. A bit difficult to catch because we had to have Arash translate for us, but other than that, it was good.
We headed into Uppsala town for lunch after service. Lunch was fantastic, this time, we had kebab! The chicken kebab was delicious; it was breakfast, lunch and dinner all served on one plate! One of the teamers, Justin, was amusing us with his imitations of Scottish, Irish and all the English accents (from Liverpool to Newcastle to Manchester). He’s a funny guy. After lunch, we headed into the New Gen office! It’s quite a small office, nonetheless quite cosy. There, we had our highlight of the week: Skyping with Pastors!! We’ve missed Pastors so much over this week (it seemed like eternity!!) and it was so good to meet Pastors over webcam! Oh, what would we do without technology? We met some of the leaders as well, Charleston, Leonard, Ivan, Roy, Daniel, Xinyi, Jieru and Nicholas to name a few. Pastors met Justin and Linn, who is Joanne’s bunk mate. It was really funny to see everyone exchange cyber hugs and handshakes!
Myself, KS and Jonathan from Taiwan!
Streets of Uppsala!
Well, time was running short, so we headed back to the carpark and got ourselves pre paid cards, candy and chocolates along the way. Oh, I must tell you about the culture of car parking here in Sweden. One would take a good 15 minutes to walk to your car because everyone here parks so far away! It’s the equivalent of parking in Park Mall and walking to Far East to shop! Also, it’s really cute how in Singapore, they tell you the spaces you can park in and everywhere else you can’t, while in Sweden, they tell you where you can’t park and everywhere else is free for parking!
The rest of the day was pretty much freed up for us. We started doing our laundry at 5pm, and only ended at 12am because 6 people were doing laundry all at the same time! It was the first time in my life I’m actually doing my own laundry! Mum would be proud. In the meantime, we had dinner, watched a movie and snacked. Linn, Joanne and I were watching ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, but Joanne was so tired she knocked out halfway through the movie!
Laundy, laundry, laundry. The chore.
The concert team should be coming in tomorrow, so let’s wait up for that!
In the meantime…
Jesus alskar dej. :)
söndag 2 september 2007
Uppsala: Day Four
Uppsala: Day Four
Today, KS touched down in Sweden! So now we’ve four in our team!
Today, KS touched down in Sweden! So now we’ve four in our team!
KS, Johannes and Mathieu (from Le France!)
It was great to have KS here. It was so funny when KS was freezing to death and the rest of us were telling him that it was actually quite warm.
We went to Skansen, which is like little Sweden. Everything you can find in Sweden can be found in Skansen! It was super cool because it’s almost like a little zoo, there’re bears and moose and otters and owls and wolves and foxes and such. And you can find little houses, traditional Swedish houses and all.
Super unglam shot of KS, myself, Tanya and Clara
Little house in Skansen
Duck!!
Horse!!
Bear!!
Moose!
(Do you know, they are actually a real threat in Sweden? They can cause major car accidents and all! Just a little moose!)
Fox!!
Seal!!
View of Stockholm from Skansen
Joanne, myself and Clara!
Stockholm...is beautiful.
Streets of Stockholm (shopping!)
Oh come to Singapore quick...
Cafe in Stockholm (coffee is reaallly good..)
After that we headed downtown to Stockholm!! Stockholm was amazing, it was so beautiful! You’d be amazed, because everyone dresses so well here! We did some shopping (in fact, we shopped the whole day!), bought great stuff from H&M! Joanne bought some earrings and a pair of sunglasses, and I bought a nice pink coat! A beauty.
Well, not much to say except that we shopped a lot!!
See you soon, so wait up for Day Five!!
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