3 days to go - the year of dog...

it's so good to be a Chinese... since we have two new years to celebrate...

according to the Chinese calendar... jan 29 gonna be the Chinese new year (CNY), a.k.a. Lunar new year... and it is the year of dog in 2006...

CNY is time for family union... CNY is time for food and fun... CNY is time for the Chinese to give thanks... CNY is time for holidays... but out of all - CNY is time for us to get red pocket - the CNY money, from our parents, relatives and colleagues (esp boss)... another important source of income for the year... haha...

still 3 days to go... but having no mood to work already... =p haha... wish u alll having happy and "moneyful" chinese new year!

"moonlight in mongkok"...

this evening, the three - carter, petrus and i - went for a movie: Moonlight In Tokyo... casted by leon lai and chapman to... it is just more than a comedy... the ending is indeed quite sad but also touching...

we have a quite common feeling after watching... our relationship among we three is so "ar jun and ar hoi" like... not about the cheating... but simple and deep-in-heart brotherhood...

cheers to our "moonligh in mongkok"... cheers to our friendship...

isn't it, really? yeah~~~

another 3 hours of exam...

today i took another exam - AORE: the ex-CRE part II...

in this exam, u need to read some 20 pages... and finish all 3 writing tasks in 3 hours... one task is in Chinese... another in English... and u can choose to use either language to complete the third one...

this year's topic is about post-secondary education... self-financed sub-degree programmes... and self-accrediting policy of government-funded universities...

how's my performance? i think so-so... spent too much time in the first task... and left not enough for the final one - which required much creativity... and yet to improve my language skills and capacity of vocab... plus missed out quite some points...

but it is really a very good experience... as i haven't taken any writing tests for 3 or more years...

let's see... if the result is good enough, then i will be invited for the next round - that is the interview...

welcome to 2006...

wish u a fruitful and wonderful new year~~~

may Lord's blessings shine on u...

p.s. have got my CRE result today... thx 4 ur prayers...
i've got ALL passes again!!! yeah... the best gift for this new year~~~

christmas is a time for movies...

christmas is a time for movies...

DONE
1. perhaps love...
2. chicken little...

{maybe} TO DO (?!)
1. king kong...
2. harry potter IV...
3. merry christmas...

any suggestion?

bel is back...

bel is now in town... not in ottawa... not in montreal... but in hong kong again... second time in this year... she just arrived tonite... safely, in one piece... thx God...

so, it's time for us to have party again, again and again... yeah~~~!!!

NO service on Christmas sunday...

yes... i'm talking about sunday service, sunday worship @ church...

NO service on Christmas sunday, becoz it is a family day - this idea comes from the Willow Creek Community Church in chicago, one famous megachurch in US... but it is totally unacceptable to me...

just read the article... Some megachurches closing on Christmas

#@%#$^&#$^%#$^&&~~~!!! //sigh...

月光光 [the bright, bright moon]...

i don't listen much to boyz or kenny... but this one, the lyrics, is written by my best friend... so wanna share with u...

/////////////////////

月光光 (Radio Mix) - 關智斌

細看每副笑臉會帶我的心返到往昔從前
愛說也最愛笑　做架小小的飛機很想一飛沖天
我最愛陣雨裡　看雨水沾濕透身邊
那有擔憂只有歡欣一切簡單經已開心足夠昨日令我盡懷念　
冰一般的冬天於家中跟爸爸緊緊一起溫暖抱擁
漆黑中　驚慌中　聽媽媽輕輕細唱　
月光光　照地堂　快樂童年時光每刻也在迴響　我心窩
月光光　照地堂　我在回味著舊時狀況　如何翻播　昨日再看

記掛每個摯友偶訴過不知所往已不再見
你與我也有說過　夢想終於可以一天真的一飛沖天
每次我若碰了你　也會輕輕撫我的肩
與你一起觀看天邊星宿一起歌唱思憶中重唱拾著愉快的昨天
只可惜這一天聽不到知己一起溫馨的可愛笑聲
孤單中　深宵中　風吹起一曲童謠
月光光　照地堂　快樂童年時光每刻也在回響　我心窩
月光光　照地堂　我在回味著舊時做過　如何返得　昨日再看

每段往事總也能教我再細想千遍
腦內再響起這童謠　又緬懷　當天
月光光　照地堂　快樂童年時光每刻也在回響　我心窩
月光光　照地堂　我在回味著舊時做過　如何返得　昨日再看

只有再回望　想再回去一趟

nite tour @ cu...

it sounds a bit crazy but... petrus & i were taking photos with carter at cu campus last nite... it was 10:30, 10:30 at nite... carter was wearing his graduation gown... we were celebrating his graduation from the bible seminary... BUT who will take photos in such a late nite @ cu? here we are - the three fools... =p

it has been quite a while since my last visit to the cu campus (expect a few times for friend's wedding)... we visited many places and recalled me quite some memories... the main campus, the u-lib, NA/UC campus... the whole campus changes a lot... it looks like more "modern" and beautiful(?!), but less "classic"...

after the photo-taking session, we continued our nite fever - having dessert in taipo... haha...

soooooo mucccchhhhh fuuuunnnnnn~~~!!! hahaheeeee...

CRE...

today i took the CRE - Common Recruitment Examination... this is part of the recruitment process for applying some civic service posts in hongkong... but also kind of benchmark of ur language & reasoning abilities... the three papers are aptitude test, use of chinese, and use of english...

i did take the exam in spring 2002... and got passes in all three papers... since the results only valid for three years (?)... so i have to retake the exam... just wonder if i could pass this time... =p em... will receive notification in a month's time...

"minister pang"...

today is a big day for my best, best friend - carter... his graduation from the bible seminary... eventually becomes "minister pang"... =p

he must hit me (or break me into two piece) as i call him a "minister"... but i DO think it is an honour for him to receive this title... i'm so proud of him, and to be one of his best friends...

carter: it is only a beginning... and more challenges are there waiting for u... may Lord be with u and strengthen u... pray 4 u...

chek lap kok...

today i went for another "outing" to chek lap kok...

so as to resolve uplifting procedure for boat/yacht from water... we went to the marine cargo terminal MCT @ chek lap kok... and had meeting with its operator - chu kong transportation... the terminal has only been operated for 4-5 years... they have the equipment and enough space for uplifting... plus in-water display is feasible there...

after meeting with MCT, we visited the asiaworld-expo AWE as well... the newly built exhibition centre, next to the airport... construction work should be completed by next month... so they are now rushing for the final stage of renovation... to take a look of this new site of fair ground, pls check here...

china bi-week...

last two weeks has been my "china bi-week"... i have been to different parts of the guangdong province during the last two weeks...

other than the mission trip to songguang on 5-6.11... i went to dapeng (shenzhen) on 7.11 and jiangmen on 11.11... and today (18.11), i went to pingsha (zhuhai)... all these are business day trips... meetings with many government officials... and boat / motorbike investors & manufacturers in the region... really a very different kind of experience... also very tired...

may have to continue my "china tour" - as my boss & i should be going to huadu (guangzhou) as well... awaiting confirmation from huadu government... well...

sandy lam in concert...

sandy lam is just so wonderful...

i've been fan of sandy for 10 years... she is a real super star, a charming performer... she has the kind of "starness"... her concert is so amazing... i was like crazy... and kept moving my body with her music... hehe...

just to share my happiness... click here...

p.s. thx danny: helping us to get the tickets @ the 3rd row... yeah~~~

back from songgang...

back from songgang... what a wondeful trip...

it was so hot... as the churches were packed with ppl, with no good ventilation... so we sang, we sweat... we danced, we sweat... and we kept on sweating all nite...
(just reminded me the sweat we had in the brooklyn church...)

but we are, at least i do, encouraged by these "thirsty hearts" in china... they so want to receive the gospel... they so want to be taught... they so want to know more about the Bible... their hearts are so pure... their hearts are so ready for God... and there are so many of these "thirsty hearts" in china waiting to be nurtured...

more spiritual leaders are needed... just don't have enough... but they don't have the materials... and they don't have the manpower - qualified teachers... as we are in hong kong... and just a few hours of drive (or flight) apart... are u ready to serve them? they are there and waiting for u, if u wanna...

thx God for such a great, wonderful experience... hallelujah...

p.s. cheers to rm 303 combination... ivan & henry, i won't mind be the "0" (old) one... =p ur sharing does encourage and enlighten me... keep praying for u... add oil~~~

songgang...

acm will have a 2-day mission trip to china today (about 12 hr later)...

we (around 30 ppl) will be serving in songgang... 1.5 hr drive from shenzhen downtown... northwest of shenzhen city... in two days, we will have 2 praise & worship + EM gatherings... sunday service... choir training workshop...

be back on sunday late nite (11.00pm)... pray for our safety and health...

tour summary...

summary of links to my day-by-day sharings regarding the tour...

herman @ new jersey
part one: 15 & 16 . 09 - arrival & brooklyn [click]
part two: 17 & 18 . 09 - rccc, somerset [click]
part three: 19, 20 & 21 . 09 - days of relax [click]

herman @ toronto
part one: 22 & 23 . 09 - rehearsal & scarborough [click]
part two: 24 & 25 . 09 - downtown & markham [click]

herman @ visual
acm tour (new jersey & toronto) [click]
canada: revisit (toronto & montreal) [click]

toronto (part two)...

24.09.2005
we headed to downtown toronto today ... it took around half an hour driving from alfred's place to the church... we would have a seminar in the afternoon and followed by a P&W gathering...

the church was another "classical" one... it was more like a theater (phantom of the opera?) than a church... its detailed hand-craft and decoration were so amazing... a very beautiful church...

the cantonese congregation was relatively "mature"... with less teenagers or young adults... but the overall response was good...

as told by the pastor... not so many christian org would come, and held events at their church... since their congregation was not large and its location wasn't in the chinese-concenrated district... //sigh...


25.09.2005
we had a busy day today... leading worship at a community church in markham... then a seminar in the afternoon... plus a gathering in the evening...

the community church had only some-30 brothers & sisters... they were quite "cold"... needed extra efforts to push, push and push them really worshipping... hopefully, some of them were willing to step up, to change and to (re)dedicate their lives to our Lord...

the seminar and P&W gathering held at HOME church - alfred's church... for the P&W gathering... the church was completely full... which was really out of our expectation...

a little story to tell...

when rev mak was calling for believing in Christ... worship team and choir were singing... alfred, who was supposed to be with his bass guitar, walked into the congregation... and we were so shocked... alfred went past the control panel... and he came to an old woman - his mum... alfred kept inviting his mum to believe in God... eventually she didn't and alfred cried...

not only alfred was crying... esther and i were crying... some others might have cried too... we felt sorry... we felt the sadness in alfred...we thought of our parents... we were touched by what alfred did...

it was the last gathering in the toronto stop... it was also my last nite with the team... so i was so energetic / hyperactive / excited during the entire gathering... indeed i knew that i would so miss the team... and i still do...

toronto (part one)...

22.09.2005
weather was changing... it was much cooler when we got to toronto... i stayed at rowena's house... just less than 5 mins walk from alfred's... this area is pretty new... it is far far north... north of 16th street... just a few block from mccowan...

it was so good to be in canada again... can't imagine that i was here 3 years ago...

esther & alfred had some admin / business stuff to finish off this morning... so rowena drove me to a western mall - markville - nearby for killing time... i did a few things - to check my cibc account... to exchange currency... to buy a phone card from fido... and i did a quick shopping as well - bought 2 casual shirts from old navy... then i joined them at market village to have lunch with alfred's parents...

the choir in toronto was hugh... they had around 50 ppl (regular + ad hoc)... and we had the first rehearsal tonite...really not bad... u can see that bro & sis are praising God from their hearts... doing their best... just the stage is bit too pack...


23.09.2005
the first gathering tonite in scarborough area...

we had problems with ppt projection... first, we only had an hour for ppt try-out since their technician could only come by 6.30pm... well... okay...but, for some unknown reasons, none of our 3 laptops worked properly with the projector in that church... the image was so dim and blur... so we tried to work on the PC system from the church... yes, the image was back to normal... but the PC re-booted itself every 5-10 mins... //sigh...

only 5 mins before the program started... and we had warned the worship leader on this situation... but we still needed to make a choice... and we chose to take the risk and use the church's PC... so we prayed, we prayed for the PC... we prayed that God would protect the PC from any attack...

thanks God... the PC worked well without rebooting itself during the entire gathering (which lasted for 2.5 hours)... hallelujah...

forgot to introduce a new teammate from hong kong - tony... deacon from rev mak church... to experience how the ACM tour would be... he worked with me on the ppt... so both of us had experienced an unforgettable God's miracle tonite...

new jersey (part three)...

19.09.2005
thomas & meggie were heading back to hongkong today... thomas was on equipment set-up / panel control / photographer... meggie was on powerpoint control... they joined the tour for second time... they really had a passion for the ministry in the states / canada... some other toronto team members had to leave as well... seeya in two days later...

only 5 of us stayed for two more days in new jersey - rev mak, alfred, michael, esther and i... we had a day of rest... just rev mak needed to give an ad hoc workshop at ita's house in the evening... around 10 bro/sis from ita's church joined this "underground" workshop...


20.09.2005
haha... we went out for shopping today~~! yeah... we went to woodbury outlet - 1.5 hours drive from ita's house...

we learnt a lesson today... don't trust the so-called "technology"... we had turned on the GPS with alfred's palm when we drove... but all the way the system gave us "alternative" direction... when we were on the highway (the easiest and most time-saving route)... it kept saying "take the next exit"... well~~~

we had our "last supper" with ita's family... finally our "new jersey" stop had came to the end... take care...


21.09.2005
we took the flight to toronto today... after having viet food for lunch... we headed to newark airport...

praised God that no much trouble with the custom... just we needed to wait for an extra hour at newark airportl as our flight was delayed... and it took us another 45 mins for taxing, queuing and really taking off... //sigh...