Author: Andrew

Categories
the otnaicus daily

Edition 300 – Serving God

I thank God that I was woken up on Sunday morning, and subsequently couldn’t fall back asleep. So I took the opportunity to turn on my computer, surf on over to CHC’s webcast and started watching. And I was really touched by the sermon that Pst. Tan preached.

I was reminded of a time not too long ago by the sermon. The time where CHCTVM would come together to serve God just because we wanted to serve Him, and not serve at OUR convenience. I guess this is something that needs to be caught and not taught. Granted that there are some situations that we really can’t get out of and as such, we can’t serve.

The question we have to ask ourselves is, “Why do I want to serve?” Is it because we are told to serve? Is it because we are forced to serve (this then, is not called serving)? Or do we really want to come before God and sacrifice our time to serve him joyfully? Serving is a conviction, and not a preference. Serving God is something that requires a level of commitment, but above all that, we come to serve with joy, passion, and wholeheartedly!

I’m reminded of how important serving with joy and passion is. Without that joy, we lose interest in all that we do. It’s like our job and career. We all want to do something that we like to do and we do it with joy and passion. When we lose that, we become demoralised in where we are.

So the big question is how do we keep our passion alive? I guess some of it is personal. For me, it’s always reminding myself of the first love; why I joined the ministry. For the most of it, a strong walk with God must be always at the centre. Look at it this way: you’d do more for your loved ones right? So our relationship with God has to be right there in the middle of everything.

The leaders over us and friends around us also play a part. We need to be fed, refreshed and inspired. In short, we need to fill up our “petrol tank”. Yes, we do get tired as we are all humans. We need people in our life that will encourage us to keep us going. We need leaders to inspire us to reach higher and further, and not to stagnate.

So what keeps you going? Why did you start serving in the first place? Is the ministry where God called you? What is your first love?

Find the passion… Find the joy… Let serving God be just that. All other things are secondary. Oh yes, and while you’re serving, learn and learn and learn new skills. That’s how we all go higher and further.

Cheers… :Þ

Categories
the otnaicus daily

Edition 299 – Asian Youth Games 2009

I’m fresh out of an external directing gig. By external, I mean not church related. Grateful for the opportunity to direct the Asian Youth Games (AYG) 2009 Opening Ceremony. Even though it was just for live projection within the venue, the experience is nevertheless an enriching one. I haven’t seen the live broadcast version yet, but I’ve been hearing that our version could have been better that the broadcast version.

Anyway, it couldn’t have been done without a wonderful crew. Their first time seeing the entire performance was on the night of the full preview. We were left with a lot of room for improvement. And improved they did. Felt the crew gave it their all during the actual show. Moments captured and cues were prepared way before the AD gave the cue. We were just one lean, mean and well oiled machine. And some of the crew even got airtime on national TV.

The experience also broadened my horizon in terms of working with people in the marketplace. I guess we really have to know their lingo, to know how they work, to be able to take all the crap (excuse the language), etc. and at the end of the day, not be too affected by it all. Learn the good stuff, forget the rest. And sometimes, keeping it simple is the key.

Tiring? Of course. Being holed up at the venue for 3-4 days watching rehearsals is no joke. But learn much? That’s for sure! And I would definitely jump at such a chance again. Kudos to the fantastic crew!

Until the next time, cheers… :Þ

Categories
the otnaicus daily

Edition 298 – Birthday

First off, a very big thank you to everybody who has wished me Happy Birthday. I think this year, I received a record amount of birthday wishes. It definitely made my day.

The Princess played a game with me. It was definitely very elaborately planned. She dropped by my place at around noon and handed me one of the seven cards that I would receive throughout the day. At every hour, I received a new one, each containing a note and a clue. At the end of the day, I was greeted with a dinner with a close group of friends. A nice surprise indeed as I have already had dinner and celebrated my birthday with them the previous night.

And the gift from the Princess is a Braun Buffel wallet. Something that I’ve been meaning to get for myself for the longest time. It is already in service. My old wallet was falling apart anyways. Haha… Timely indeed…

Oh… Not to forget the little rubber duckie that with my horoscope that Wanxia gave me.

A very memorable birthday indeed. One where they made me “cry”. Here’s to a fantastic year ahead. Thanks once again to everyone who has made a special day even more special. Cheers… :Þ

Categories
the otnaicus daily

Edition 297 – Hall 8 Teardown

Yes, yes… We are shifting yet again to Hall 1. This time round, it’s because of the BroadcastAsia exhibition that’s happening in a couple of weeks. I’m praying hard that one day not in the too distant future, we can stop doing this on a regular basis.

Just am proud of the crew for sacrificing their sleep for the teardown. You see, this time round, the teardown could only start at 10pm because of the Global Day of Prayer. And because we had good planning and pre-packing courtesy of J Koh, the teardown was surprisingly fast. We were done in 4.5 hours. And we were the second or third ministry to complete our shift to Hall 1. Cool eh?

And now the setup begins. 4 days to the first service. 4 days? Yes, we’re having the CWBS on Friday. So we have only 4 days to setup. Praying for crew to avail themselves and for a effective and efficient setup.

Again to all the crew, a BIG THANK YOU!!! Cheers… :Þ

Categories
the otnaicus daily

Edition 296 – Drought….

Referring to the fact that I haven’t updated for close to a month. Aside from the fact that I’ve been quite busy at work, nothing much has transpired.

Grateful for the chance to go on a mission trip once again. Went to KL last weekend to complete the trip that was aborted the previous time round. All in all, a very good trip. And also a very busy one. I was on the ground running from the moment I touched down in KL. We stayed at the same hotel, Sunway Pyramid. And this time round, I only stepped into the shopping centre next door exactly once in the entire stay. A testament to the packed schedule that I had. Next one should be in July, and this time it’s to Jakarta. I’m not exactly alien to the place, but it’ll be my first time on a mission trip to Jakarta. And it has been ages since I last went back there.

This weekend is packed. We have Emerge (supposedly, a “mini” one), and then Global Day of Prayer and then teardown. To say that the weekend will be tiring is an understatement. But God’s strength and provision shall prevail.

I wonder why these days I find it hard to blog. Nothing seems to want to come out. Anyway, I shall leave it here for now. Until the next time, cheers… :Þ

Categories
the otnaicus daily

Edition 295 – A Post… Finally…

I just realised that it has been a good half a month since I last blogged. Think I’m falling into the rut that my blog once fell into. The updates just get less and less and finally stops altogether. Trying hard not to let that happen.

Work has been busy. Suddenly, I seem to have multiple things that I need to work on and they all seem to come with high priority. As much as I want to prioritize, how do you do that with things that rank very much the same on the priority list? I guess I got to set up a schedule for me to finish up all the tasks. At the moment, it seems quite overwhelming. God, grant me the wisdom to manage my time…..

I’ve begun to treasure my days off very much. I don’t know why, but it suddenly seems as though I don’t have a lot of alone time anymore. Maybe it’s because of the nature of the job. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the work. It’s just that off days seems that much more precious in this line. It feels as though you’re on a well-deserved holiday and all you want to do is to just sleep in, and slack around at home. Ahhh…. Bliss…..

Weather has been murderous lately. Hot, humid, and no wind. Reminds me of summer in Taiwan. The sun beats down relentlessly and hurting your skin. It has been raining the past few days and the weather slightly cooler, but I long for the weather that we had at the beginning of the year. Pray that this hot and humid season will come to and end. Almost feels like a heat wave.

Suddenly just crossed my mind why I may be blogging less: Twitter!! You can check me out at http://www.twitter.com/otnaicus. But do note that my posts there are protected, so you would have to ask for my clearance.

Anyway, time for me to hit the sack. So until the next time, cheers…. :Þ

Categories
the otnaicus daily

Edition 294 – The Week After Easter

Random post coming up…. You’ve be warned….

  • Been busy rushing for a project. Suddenly felt like the Taiwan days again, rushing people for changes and testing the rushed changes.
  • Immediately following the Easter drama, the TV crew and myself had to attend yet another rehearsal for the Love Busters series.
  • The Princess made her directorial debut for dramas. She did a fantastic job.
  • Another TV crew made his debut as a drama AD. Did not too bad of a job too. Definitely trainable.
  • I can see myself being replaced as drama director… PTL!!
  • Spent some nice time with the Princess last week and this. Feels good to make time and spend it with the loved one.
  • Discovered that I appreciate coming to TD for SOT in the mornings. Nice to have a bit of quiet time away from the office to do work.
  • Am at SOT right now typing this.
  • Went for karaoke session with the TV gang yesternight. Had a good time laughing and fellowshipping.
  • Had a pretty expensive dinner before that though..
  • The first time I saw the Xtron office close, locked up and armed by 7pm.
  • I’m coming to the end of this post.
  • Until next time, cheers…. :Þ
Categories
the otnaicus daily

Edition 293 – Easter 2009

chctvm_easter2009

And so Easter 2009 is over. A fantastic drama production, coupled with powerful preaching from Pst. Kong led to a lot of lives being saved. Praise the Lord!

This Easter is pretty taxing. Tonnes of services, most of which has its own drama and its own sets of rehearsals, meant that our crew is stretched to the max. But I thank God for willing people who are ready to stand in the gap and go all out to make Easter happen. May it be serving multiple services, or being part of the many drama crews, these individuals have come together to work as a team, and together produced a fantastic production that made a difference!

So a big THANK YOU goes out to all the willing individuals. YOU have made a difference and God will surely remember your faithfulness. Keep on keeping on!! :Þ

Categories
the otnaicus daily

Edition 292 – Rawr!!!

A few strangers got on my nerves while walking back from Tampines MRT station after Easter drama rehearsals on Sunday. I don’t know whether it was just me in a not-so-good mood, or it was really the inconsiderate, everything-for-myself attitude that a lot of people seem to have on that particular day.

First up, it was the lift. So the lift doors opened and people stepped out. Before anybody could even get in, the doors started closing. Now, should common sense and a bit of considerateness prevail, people standing inside the lift by the controls should have reached out for the door open button. But no. The entire “contents” of the lift was just staring at me trying to keep the door open. Imagine that.. Just STARING… I mean, how selfish and ignorant and inconsiderate can one get? Oh, not just one, it was a lift-load of people. Argh!!

And then while trying to get out of Century Square, a bunch of people just started squeezing past me and Debbie as if we were not there. Just plain dumb lah. Either they couldn’t estimate the space correctly, or they are underestimating their own size. I know it’s mean, but that was what was running through my mind then.

Sigh…. Am I being very idealistic? Is common sense really not that common? Is considerateness (if there’s such a word) really that difficult to come by?

Le sigh……. :Þ

Categories
the otnaicus daily

Edition 291 – Long Day

Finally got around to visit the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, better known as ICA, to submit my application for Singapore citizenship. As usual, when I submit these kinds of applications, it tends to become a bit “drama” during the process. Today didn’t prove to be an exception.

So it started from the day before. Forgot to bring documents to photocopy. So I thought that I’d just scan it from home and print it out using my printer. As my scanner was old and could only work with my old computer, I had to setup my old computer to do the scanning. When all was setup, I found that the scanner, for some odd reason or other, refused to work. Spent another hour or so trying to figure it out but finally gave up. Went into office at the crack of dawn on D-day to get things photocopied. After that, I had to rush home to pick up another document that I forgot.

At the same time, I discovered very late on the night before that I needed some details from my parents. I had to wake them up very early in the morning just to get their details. Felt very bad.

Met with a bad traffic jam when travelling from home to ICA via cab on the PIE. Second time in a row while taking cab in the morning and meeting with a bad traffic jam. This time round, I saw three sets of pile-ups. All within 100-200 metres. I was wondering whether it was all part of the same big pile-up. At least 7 to 8 vehicles were involved.

Anyway, after all that “drama”, I finally submitted the application. Thank God that the number of people applying for citizenship is far far much less compared to people applying for permanent residency. So it took much faster than anticipated. All I can do now is sit and wait for a favourable outcome.

All in all, a very good day indeed. Tiring, but good. Do keep me and my application in prayers. Hope to hear good news from ICA very soon. Until the next time, cheers… :Þ