Post Examination Pre Evaluation

I realised that I am quite lazy in updating my blog, pardon me for this!

Before I move on to my post, let me start with the song of the week:

#1 Flumpool - 花になれ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zyF9MwqZOE


Alright so I am done with my examinations, and I am satisfied with my overall performance. My module on Samurai and Geisha proved to be a real challenge among all the papers. Thankfully it is only 30% of the module so I dont lose out too much.

As I shared during my cell group meeting, I must thank God for the favour and grace He has shown me in all my projects. I really liked Sociology so far and enjoying the things I am learning. In fact the 3 projects I did essentially revolved around the Japanese and Singapore societies.

I was especially proud of my GEK 2022 project which I researched on the issue of neighbourhood school students in Singapore. I asked earlier what do you think of them, and I found out they are normally seen as stupid, delinquent and a failure in life.

The world out there needs to give a second chance to these people. The culture of Singapore is driven by an incessant need for success, and in the education system if you cannot have success aka score good results, you are out of the race and otracised to one corner.

In the end, what is Success for? To show people one is capable? And why the need to show and prove one is valuable and of worth? Is it because of insecurity? or fear?

In my study of sociology and time with God, I am convinced that the culture of the world is opposite of the culture in the kingdom of God.

One is rooted in fear; the other in faith and love.

The culture of the world is defined by cynicism and criticism, while the culture of God's kingdom is defined by faith, hope and love.

In Singapore's society, there is little tolerance for failure, in God's kingdom, failure is not fatal and will be turned around to success.

I feel, as especially after the Asia Conference, there is a need to reclaim the world to the culture of God's kingdom. People in today's society are defined by their past which they hardly had control over, and more often than not, they are victims of their circumstances. For the neighbourhood school student in delinquency, he lacked the affection and care one can receive because the parents are working and slogging so hard to make ends meet. They have no time for supervision and guidance for the child. The child searches for hope and belonging and finds that in gangs. That delinquent neighbourhood school student did not really chose to be one; he was influenced by his circumstances and society's prejudice to become one. As is called a self-fulfilling prophecy, all too often people become who they were not destined to be because the society imposes unfair expectations on them.

And today's society is swift to judge and condemn such people. They are being made to feel they are worthless because of what they CAN/CANNOT DO instead of WHO THEY ARE. I feel for these people as they have to try so hard to break out of the social prejudice on them. And I feel its time for a change. I believe that no one should be judged based on his background and everyone has a great future ahead of him. People need to find their self worth in their identity and not their roles. And this identity comes from Jesus Himself.

As a child of God, I never forget that I was once a sinner and received the grace and mercy from God. Similarly I want to give grace to that gangster who is smoking his health away and not aware of what he is getting himself into. I think we should stop a moment at times and ask ourselves, are we giving a second chance to the people around us?

This is an excerpt of the concluding paragraph of my project and as I sought the Lord, He filled my heart with a sense of conviction as I typed it out. I think the marker could feel the conviction and maybe thats why I scored 18.5/20 for the final report. Here it goes:

J.F Kennedy once declared that ‘children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future’. This statement takes on even greater importance as people are Singapore’s main asset. With the pressing need for economic growth, can the society treat students from neighbourhood and prestigious schools with the same dignity and respect? Can the youth of today be valued not based on what they can do for the nation but on who they are as citizens of the country? Can neighbourhood school students be integrated and be a part of the mainstream society, or will they continued to be despised and excluded as apart from the rest?

Asia Conference Thoughts

I have just came back from the second night of the Asia Conference. Yes its the studying week for those in NUS, but that is not stopping me from experiencing a historic event in the making.

For one, I truly believe exams doesnt mark the end of the world, it doesnt mean everything else in life other than studying should stop. The school culture here is too competitive that the first thought that normally comes if one makes time for other stuff is: Oh no! Im going to miss these few hours of revision! Im going to lose out to other people!

I succumb to such thoughts as well, but I tell myself, if I dont have a breakthrough in my mindset now, then when?

God has been speaking to me through this 2 days. Pastor Kong talked about the 3rd space, the elite and high flyers of the society. There is a stirring in my heart that God has not set me to be someone mediocre, but someone who can be the one Pastor says will 'engage the marketplace' and be invited by those from the 3rd space. Ultimately, this is what God wants and can bring us to. The 12 disciples who turned the world 'upside down' in Acts 17:6 are TRULY people like you and me and Jesus made that happened to show all of us can do it.

I have this one life to live it for the Lord and I feel the need to engage my 'marketplace' of NUS.

From being the class chairman in secondary school, to become Council President there, then to head the largest CCA in my JC, and becoming an officer in the army, and finally being appointed by the grace of God to serve Him as a cell group leader, I know He is not done with me yet. I am 21 years old now, there's so so much more I can and will do for Him. The only thing I know I cannot do is not to stay close by His side. The greater things I do for him, the more I need Him.

I also realise that strength is revealed under pressure and resistance. Today I would rather get my strength tested by being the light in the world out there in the marketplace, going through all the trials and mockery, than staying strong but just being strong within the church without being tested.

The years between 20 to 30, to me I feel, is going to be the golden years of my life. There will many opportunities to do big things and be successful and enjoy life by getting that coveted job. But this is also the best time to serve the Lord, to give all I am to Him to bring a great impact to the people around me. I want to choose the latter. I want to tell my Father when I am in heaven that I did my best for Him in NUS semester 1, not just scoring a good grade, but also because people has been blessed by my ministry.

In the end I am not perfect, I make mistakes, I fall and fail, but I know with what I have and as who I am, to God that is enough to be the salt and light. Amen!

Friends, what is the most important aim you have in life today?

Song(s) of the Week!

This will be a new segment by me every week! And the first song goes to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StN0OvNthJA

(Pleasant pleasant surprise! Enjoy the song! )

(I still don't know how to upload youtube videos yet! Next time will put the actual video for you)

You are wasting your time

Many a times I have to remind the enemy that he is wasting his time trying to put me down etc. Once God has settled it, its settled! Stop wasting my time trying to remind you the evil one!

And yes, not we can, but we did. Obama has won the election and the whole world is really still trying to grasp the significance of this victory. I read an article of Obama's half brother in Kenya saying how impropable it has been for Obama to be the US president.

The article wrote: (Obama's) story is that of a grandfather whose stubborn will found a match in a austereity of Islam and drove his son to seek a scholarship abroad, which in turn led the young man to Hawaii, where he met and married Ann, a Christian, and had a son - who, at 47, will become the first black President of the US.

I feel Obama is the personification of change. Change mindset, change values everything. I mean people in America is still saying that just 100 years ago it will be outrageous to even have a US president shaking hands and welcoming a black guest into the White House, and 100 years later we see an African American occupying the Oval Office. This is CHANGE man.

Its my prayers that he will move in God's wisdom, and be a man that can live up to his words. I think the world has seen too many broken promises made one after another. But people are giving Obama another chance to prove them wrong.

Well Im not a politically inclined person (unlike my brother), but I think to live in such a time to witness such a historic event is trully amazing and deserves my attention. 200 - 300 years down the road when Im with the Lord, my descendents will be talking about the day when US chose its first black president.

Personal

Once again, let me say all the below and above posts (that will come) are all part of my personal opinion and represent no organisation's stand. Thanks!

Believer

I can say I am called a believer not for nothing. And I am called a believer to believe in something. To believe that out of something dead something can resurrect, something going wrong will become right, someone with depression will become freed from it and that nothing will turn into something.

What do you believe in today?

As Obama's campaign slogan says, Change we can Believe in.

Obama. Minstry. NUS

This is the first time I have been so faithful in following the US presidential Election for my entire life. That fateful night which began with me wanting to find some entertainment over youtube brought my attention to Obama's Presidential Nominee Speech. After hearing him speak I was completely blown away by his vision and hope for a United States of America. I was captivated by his speeches and down-to-earth personality throughout the entire election.

Obama is certainly a far cry from George Bush, that Texas wildboy image seemed never to leave his tenure in the White House. Lauded as a national hero after 9-11, all he did was to drag the whole nation into political, military, social and now economic chaos- what 'WOW', or should I say 'WILD', things the 'national hero' had gotten America into. I pray that Obama will live up to his words of establishing the moral integrity of the nation in the world and I have this sensing he will make a great president.

Just got back some of my results as well, and although somewhat disappointed by my score in my film analysis paper, God is faithful and I was delighted to see the grade A for my sociology mid term test! I would honestly say I upheld the name of SOT (perhaps quite an exaggeration but anyways) by impressing my tutor on the subject of secularisation in the modern world. Praise the Lord!

I learnt one thing: Academic excellence and ministry fruitfulness go hand in hand together.

Another thing: Every disappointment can be changed into an active declaration of faith and confidence that God is faithful and will give the best to my life. What Marx regarded of God as 'the opium of the people' was to me a misintepretation of the faith people had in God. Accepting disappointment is an acknowledgement that we live in an imperfect world where we fail to have our expectations met, but it is also a confidence in God that despite all things, God works together for our good. Is that passive resignation to reality?

And as Obama proclaimed in his closing sentence of his Democratic Convention speech, he quoted from Hebrews 10:23 --

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope WITHOUT WAVERING, for HE who promised is FAITHFUL.

Finally

Finally I found some time to blog. As you can see here, I have added a tagboard for you to comment on my blog. Apparently, I understand you have to be a member of this chatgroup, if not you will appear as anonymous. If you choose not to be a member, you can just put down your name together with the message for identification. =)

I don't intend to stay with this blog skin, and I am still figuring out the different parts of blogspot. But I guess you as the reader come and read my blog more for the content right? Haha. More additions and designs will come in the future.

I had been inspired by my dear's blog (yes you are the first person I shall mention here!), and I realise that when people say internet and technology had made people lose touch with each other with less interpersonal communication, at the same time internet had become the alternate way for online communication to occur. I may have not met up with this so and so friend for a long time, but through internet, especially blogs, I get to know what another person is doing. Now even wanting to know how friends are doing got to be an efficient process...

The month of October had been a hectic one, focusing on cell group growth with all the projects and assignments due. November is going to be another busy month, with the Asia Conference and the exams at the end of the month.

Well I just gave my presentation today from my Samurai, Geisha module. I did a project on stereotypes and I focused on neighbourhood school students.

Do you know that although it is such a common term here in Singapore, when I tried to find an official definition of that in Yahoo, I get ZERO results! Even my sociology tutor didnt know how to define it. He said he could use it for his thesis paper haha.

Actually to talk about neighbourhood schools, you should say as 'neighbourhood schools' instead. Because the original meaning of that is very neutral, it just means a school serving the neighbourhood around it. But Singaporeans think of 'neighbourhood schools' with some degratory connotations. You are from neighbourhood school, you are lousy. That

Is that what you think of them today?

Testing Post

Hi to all! This is Kee Liang's blog and more will be coming soon!