Inflight Blog: Leaving my home...

As I am typing this, I am in a flight on the way to Toronto, Canada, where I will continue my further studies as an undergraduate in York University. Communication Studies would be my major throughout my four years study. Most of my fellow graduates of MSA have already started their university terms (kinda feel left out but also happy because I have a longer holiday :P). 

Leaving home is not easy at all... I am currently having mixed feelings of anxiety, excitement, nostalgia, and utter longing for my friends back home. I did not feel the “burden” of leaving until the morning of the day I was leaving. It was Sunday and I was ministering in the Kids on Fire Sunday school in my church. A bit of background: Kids on Fire (or KoF in short) is the first area of ministry in which I volunteered when I was about 10 years old. Back then, I was just working as a front desk registration person. My job was simply write down the children’s names who attend and give them coupons for the Kid’s Store. God gave me that chance to serve in KoF and I stayed faithful throughout the seven years after that. I wouldn’t be able to serve in the church choir nor be a musician if I had not ministered in KoF seven years ago... I decided that my last Sunday before leaving for university should be dedicated to where all my ministry started. I played the bass for both services. At the end of the worship session of the second service, Ms. Istha (wife of Ps. Jahja Gani) called me to the center of the stage to be prayed for. Her son, Joshua, came up the stage and prayed for His blessings to be upon me wherever I go. I was deeply touched... 

After the end of second service, I went up to the Music Hall to ask for the pastors’ blessings to send me off. I met Pastor Frans first. He prayed that I will hold all the moral values I have learned back home to Toronto. He prayed for the anointing of Daniel to be upon me wherever I go. After that, I went to Ps. Jahja, who prayed thanksgiving for putting me in the church to minister. Finally, I went to Ps. Markus who prophesied for me. “It’s true that you might not give your first fruit in the school like your brother and sisters did. The devil will tell you that you are missing out, but that’s a lie. ‘I have a greater plan for you’ says the Lord. I see you as a righteous man in God who stands on the right convictions. You will learn a lot of other ideas and religions, but you would not practice them.” After each prayer from the pastors, I embraced them saying my last goodbye before leaving. 

In the airport, I received several blackberry messages, tweets, and comments from several people wishing me “all the best” in Canada. Some even went through the trouble of typing out a long paragraph. I was deeply touched by their thoughtfulness in writing those long messages before I leave. I read through each one and thanked everyone. After that, I departed for Singapore. 

The next day, I went out with some of my friends (namely Tasha, Leon, and Josiah). My brother and sister (Adelene) tagged along. We went to visit our friend Abraham who is recovering from leukemia. We met the family and spent quite a while catching up with him. At 6, we parted ways. Leon, however, suggested we hang out in Marina Bay Sands’ Sky Garden to take pictures of the nightlife. This idea was quite random, but we went with it anyway. At half past 10, the four of us (excluding my sister and Tasha) arrived in the Sands. We found out that the Sky Garden had just closed half an hour ago. We decided to just take pictures inside the Sands Mall. As Leon and my brother took outdoor pictures of the Fullerton View, Josiah and I had a long talk about things that happened in MSA and things happening in the present. After a while, we both decided to search for Leon and my brother. Apparently, Tasha was already with them while they were taking low-shutter speed shots of themselves. It was quite fun! It’s able to make a figure seem like a specter in the image result. We took quite a while doing so. Around a quarter before 1, we decided to search for a 7/11 store to get some beverages. After a long search, we finally did find one in the mall. We had our drinks and exited the building. We took a long walk on the “Olympic Walk” while heading towards a cab. Leon never ceases to amuse all of us with his random comments and stories. Josiah took a separate cab home. I said my farewell to him. Then, we dropped off Tasha at her dorm. After that, we dropped Leon in his condo. Finally, we reached home at about a quarter past 2 (I have never gone home that late...or that early :P) I went online in Skype and saw Tasha online. I started a chat with her when I saw Leon and Josiah popped up online in Skype too. Then, we had a chat conference. Unfortunately, my internet broke down in the middle of the conversation... I didn’t get the chance to thank them for the awesome night I had. So I only tweeted and status-ed it. They made my last night there memorable. So if y’all are reading this, Tash, Le, and Jos, I wanna thank you SO MUCH for being such awesome friends for taking the time to hang out. =) I’ll miss you all... In fact I do already.........

I took a short nap on the plane earlier. After the inflight meal, I decided to look for something to do... However, the map’s not working and the inflight movies are not that interesting. So I decided to be alone with my thoughts for a minute. It was then that God showed me the blessings He had provided for me ever since childhood. I have a great family who takes care of me. Even now, my parents and sister are in the flight with me to Toronto to help arrange my necessities when we arrive. This is how much they love me =) Second, I had a great church. MSI had been my church ever since it was formed in early 2000s. My pastors cared for the welfare of each member and newcomer. I love my Sunday school ministry and worship ministry. I would definitely miss being in my church ministry... Finally, I have great friends who are thoughtful, random in a fun way, and supportive. I only regret that I did not spend more time with them when I had the chance... When experiencing all this, I almost shed tears. But now that I’m thinking back on all that happened, a cry of desperate longing is raging in my heart...

I learned a lot from my childhood, but I am now moving on to another phase of life. What I did is the past now. Sadly, it is now just a shadow in my memories... But as Switchfoot sings it, “The shadow proves the sunshine.” I believe I will enjoy a lot more things in university life as I move on. My memories of childhood are sweet as it is, but I pray that God would let my latter be sweeter than my past. I’m missing you all back home... I hope I can visit you as soon as I can. 

You all have marked a permanent seal in my memories. I would be sinning if I ever forget all the things you did for me. May God bless you all for the lessons you have taught me and the fun experiences we had together...

Desperately homesick, 

Justin

For my fellow graduates of 2010-2011

This composition is dedicated to my fellow senior classmates of MSA 2010-2011...

"I’m traveling through the sky overlooking the waters below

I looked out on my window and saw it’s all dark

The waters, the darkness

Even these brought longing memories to my mind...

I remember clearly those times

Resting our heads on the deck

Gazing upon the stars above

The dark waters surrounding the boat

My friends around me all adoring God’s beautiful creations

I can never forget that moment together

Looking back, it just hurts to recall

A feeling I haven’t felt before

The bond we all shared

Knowing that we are all far apart now

I just wish we could relive those moments..."

MSI Sunday Service August 21, 2011

It was just another Sunday service in Morning Star Indonesia (MSI Jakarta). Nothing extraordinary will happen. Oh, we have a guest speaker. Then I guess the sermon would be quite fun. Nah, nothing amazing...........

These are the thoughts I had before the Sunday service started. Boy, was I wrong... In fact, this last Sunday service was the best service I have ever been to in my life so far. I felt the amazing presence of God fill me as I worshipped and witnessed His greatness. This is definitely a day to remember.

________________________________________________________________

I woke up at 5:30 in the morning with my alarm ringing from my blackberry. I just had the experience of a "Sunday Morning Scramble" the week before, and I'd say that it was not something I would want to occur again. Off to the shower immediately. I got dressed and we were off to church.

We arrived early, seeing that only a few of the musicians had arrived before us. As they prepared their instruments, I took a seat in the front row of the right wing in the auditorium. I glanced at the clock and realized that we still had at least 30 minutes before the service starts. At that moment, God softly whispered to me to "prepare your heart for His presence". I pulled out my iPod from my pocket and tapped on the Bible application. There, I read the whole chapter of I Corinthians. After I closed in prayer, I felt that my heart is prepared for the morning.

Everyone took their stations, mine being in the choir stage. The opening song started. Kak Petra (our youth leader) opened the service with greetings. Even in this first song, I can already feel the peace around the atmosphere. After that first worship song, we moved on to praise. It was jumpy and joyous! I don't think I've ever jumped and dance that much on stage :P but I do this all for His sake (we sang the Rebirth song "You Are Great" with one phrase in the bridge: "I'm not ashamed to jump and dance before You; I owe it all to You"). It was fun yet meaningful.

After that, we sang a new worship song by Sidney Mohede. It's amazing that the song was actually quite familiar. We were able to engage so easily with the words. I started to reflect on those words as we sang. Immediately, I felt God speaking to me. All I could say was, "God... You have been so faithful to me. You deserve all the praise and honor, and with my whole heart, I worship You (S'gala puji, s'gala hormat, seg'nap haiku menyembah Kau). Accept my life today, Father, as a living sacrifice unto You alone (Terimalah s'gnap hidupku s'bagai persembahan yang hidup). Tears fell from my eyes as I said these words from my heart.

The pastor came up to commence the Holy Communion. We sang "Jesus Be the Center" until the end of the praise and worship. Powerful words...

Verse: Jesus be the center of my life Jesus be the center of my life From beginning to the end, it will always be It's always been You Jesus Jesus Chous: Nothing else matters Nothing in this world will do Jesus You're the center Everything revolves around You Jesus You Bridge From my heart to the heavens Jesus be the center It's all about You Yes it's all about You Chorus 2: Jesus be the center of Your church Jesus be the center of Your church And every knee will bow, and every tongue  shall confess You Jesus Jesus

(Just recently today, I was Skype-ing with a friend of mine discussing this song. "When all else fails, Jesus is all you got," we agreed. It's true. We can call ourselves "Christians", but if Jesus is not the center of our lives, then it is meaningless.)


The sermon was really touching too. It's about giving our life and dedicating it to God and His ministry. The speaker was a missionary named Ps. Rusty Russell. In one of his testimonies, he mentioned that he visited a village in Nepal to minister. One time, a deaf girl came up to where he and his team were camping. Pastor Rusty placed his hands near the girl's ears and prayed for immediate healing. Suddenly, the girl was able to hear again! She went back to tell the people in the village about the miracle that recently  happened. An old man approached the missionaries and asked for the "magician". "We have no magician," was the reply. "But I can pray to my God to heal you as He did the young girl." The old man was also deaf in one ear. As immediately as the prayer ended, the man was restored! The news spread among the villagers and most of them got saved after the incident.

After the sermon, Pastor Rusty called on all those who wants to accept Jesus to their lives for the first time. A lot of the congregation stepped up and gave their lives to Christ. Then, Pastor Rusty caught us off guard when he said, "God is telling me that some of you need a healing miracle. Among you, there's one who is deaf in your right ear (an elderly man stood up and walked to the front immediately). There are also people here with kidney pains, neck pains, shoulder pains, knee pains." A long line formed in front of the stage. Pastor Rusty called on the leaders of the church and prayed for God's healing anointing to be upon them too. He poured oil and rubbed it on each of the leaders' hands. After doing so, he prayed for the elderly man who was deaf in the right ear. After a short prayer, he began to snap his fingers in front of the elderly man's ears. "Can you hear now?" The man smiled and shouted "Yes!" There was another elderly man who came up to the line with his son. He had a knee injury. After a prayer for healing, Pastor Rusty told the man to skip around. The man did so with no pain whatsoever. The surprised look in the son's face was just priceless! He stared with wide eyes at his father's recent recovery. Throughout the whole healing service, the worship team sang Hillsong's "Healer". Everyone was touched, even the audience. After everyone was prayed for, the first service came to an end.

By the beginning of the second service, my voice was already half gone due to the high notes of the songs. Common sense dictates that I should rest my voice for this service. But God is beyond common sense. I made a decision to "sing out loud until my lungs explode if it comes to that" =P (Thank God it didn't). The opening song already drew tears. By the time we reached the song "We Have Overcome", I already felt my throat hurting a little. Ironically, this made me sing out more :P I had fun throughout the praise. We sang "Jesus Be the Center" again. I have never sung a song in which I meant every single word before. "Nothing else matters", "From my heart to the heavens, Jesus be the center", "It's all about You". When we reached the part where we sing "Jesus" over and over again, tears literally RAINED down. In my heart, I kept saying to myself, "Yeah, sing the beautiful name of Jesus. The name above all names. The name that conquers all. The name that softens the hardest heart. The name that heals. The name that saves..."

It was a beautiful praise and worship session... I have never felt anything like that. The last time I felt a huge "tsunami" of God's presence was back in Manado when we had a youth service at the church there. Never before have I experienced the best worship session in my home church. After 17 years, this was the first time I felt something like that. It was truly amazing. Our God is so awesome. I saw the deaf regain their hearing, I saw the crippled walk, and I saw the lost found. I praise and amazing God...


Thank you for reading,
Justin

The Savior, my Hero...

I would first like to apologize for not updating my blog regularly. Things had been routine ever since I got back from my China trip. We had our MSA Orientation camp and had a few hangouts with some of my friends, but other than that, nothing much is happening.

Okay, so the reason why I'm writing a new entry now is because I felt the need to share what I'm feeling inside right now. I had recently watched the movie Braveheart (actually just finished the movie right before opening my blog). I didn't know it was made in 1995; therefore, I didn't know to watch it. The overall movie itself is amazing...and gruesome. It's no wonder they won many awards. But putting those awesome movie-making aside, I especially love the message of the film. For those of you who do not know what Braveheart is all about... Well, it's basically about a Scottish patriot (William Wallace) who fought against the oppressing English kingdom in their land. He led his Scots army to achieve freedom. Many times, William was tempted to sidetrack from his conviction. And each time, he turned it down and stood his ground.

What hits me the most was the ending of the movie. Eventually, William was betrayed and captured by the English people. Before his execution, the princess of Wales visited him in the prison and begged him to drink an anesthetic liquid that will dull the pain he'll be facing during the torturous execution. William refused, saying that, "For if I'm senseless, or if I wail, the [English] would have broken me." As he was paraded towards the execution site, the citizens of England threw things at him to shame him. The executioner gave William a chance to submit to the English throne, which will give him a quick death instead of a long torture. William stood silent. There comes the first torture: hanging. After suffocating half dead, the executioner gave another chance for William to submit. And again, William silently refused and stood back up. The second torture fell on him: racking (which involves stretching the legs and arms with a rack). After that phase was over, the executioner asked William again if he wants mercy. William remained steadfast. The third torture involves cutting open his body and body parts (gruesome...I know...). Even then, the executioner offers William to shout "Mercy!" to end this suffering. The audience watching this execution also cried out for William to utter "Mercy!" William only had one last word to say: "Freedom!" as the axe ran through his neck, thus ending his life.

As I watched this scene, I was reminded of our Lord Jesus' brutal crucifixion. Jesus suffered alone. Picture this: you're going through a situation and you need comfort, but you find that all of your friends are not there to give you the encouragement you need. This is exactly what Jesus had to face. His closest disciples were sleeping while He had to pray hard before the arrest. Jesus was even tempted to escape this torture, but He made a resolution in Luke 22:42, "Father, if it is Your Will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done." It takes great strength and personal conviction to say those words. Jesus had to die for our sins. He was accused of deeds He did not do. Jesus was whipped several times before being paraded around Via Dolorosa to be humiliated more by the people. On the cross, His flesh were already torn out that He doesn't even look like a human being anymore. He had to hang there for six hours, His body all covered in blood. Jesus was tortured mercilessly for something He did not do, yet He accepts it just to save us from the bondage of sin. If He is willing to die for our salvation, how much more should we be willing to die for His sake.......



God bless you,
Justin