Everytime I see a coconut tree now, I think of PNG, and remember how I felt when we went to that very first village.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
Resolutions Continued
Here are some things I can cross off since 2013 began..
Walked through a paddy field - Check!
Carried a 5kg Tenggiri fish - Check!
Cut a rambutan off a tree using a long bladed stick - Check!
Stepped into muddy beach water with connections to the Klang River - Check!
Visited the National Palace - Check!
Ate my first roti tisu - Check!
And so, resolved:
To never fear the pursuit of new experiences.
To believe Malaysia to be a beautiful place even if opposed by many.
To learn and practice the courage to talk to people I have never known about life, and about how to make fishing nets.
To make time for people.
And mostly..
To never stop being so hungry for life.
"Let's go crazy crazy crazy and live while we're young."
- One Direction
Love,
Dice
Walked through a paddy field - Check!
Carried a 5kg Tenggiri fish - Check!
Cut a rambutan off a tree using a long bladed stick - Check!
Stepped into muddy beach water with connections to the Klang River - Check!
Visited the National Palace - Check!
Ate my first roti tisu - Check!
And so, resolved:
To never fear the pursuit of new experiences.
To believe Malaysia to be a beautiful place even if opposed by many.
To learn and practice the courage to talk to people I have never known about life, and about how to make fishing nets.
To make time for people.
And mostly..
To never stop being so hungry for life.
- One Direction
Love,
Dice
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Resolution
I've been thinking about my resolutions for this year. Sure there are the usual - know and love God more, pray more, study harder, lose weight, be a good daughter, sister and friend etc. But just as I had a theme for last year, I've been wondering what my 2013 should be all about.
As I sat on the train back yesterday from KL Central, I got to spend some time with God. Train rides have always captivated me so, perhaps it is because I am moving even though I am still. I heard this in my spirit:
Everywhere my foot treads is my inheritance.
That is what my 2013 is going to be about. Claiming the promises of God over my life and claiming the promises in the Bible that we can do even greater things for Christ, that we can see the blind eyes open and the sick people healed. This year, I am going to have more faith than ever that everywhere I go, I carry Him, and because of that lives will be changed, people will be set free, and chains will be broken. It is no coincidence that I begin my clinicals this year too, because I refuse to walk around a hospital full of sick people defeated. I believe in my Father in Heaven's furious love, one that is willing to move for His people through His willing servants. This year, I will believe that my prayers carry more significance that I ever realized.
I have always been a firm believer though, that if you ask God for something long enough and patiently enough, He'll give it to you. As I ponder upon 2012, a year that I first thought carried so many unanswered prayers and unfulfilled promises, I see His hand upon me and the subtle favour that I had been living in all along.
One of my sisters had been struggling with a skin condition for years now, and it really bothered her. I had been praying and believing for a supernatural healing, that she would one day wake up and see she had been completely healed. I received prophetic promises for it from other people too. Yet, through the year, I got no such news. Then one day, as I was struggling through something, I prayed to receive something encouraging, and right that instant, I got a whatsapp image from her, a picture of her almost clear skin from the new medications she had been taking. I had mixed feelings then, because my promise didn't come to pass as I thought it would, although I was obviously happy for her. I got rebuked a few days later though. Haha, it's so Him. He said "If you don't believe in Me working through medicine, then why are you studying what you do?"
That's a pretty personal story for me that I debated sharing here for a while, but I remember God saying once "Tell your stories, cause they speak not of you but of Me."
And one more things about 2013, I'm not going to just live in the testimonies of yesterday anymore. I'm gonna start believing for fresh testimonies every day, that in time I will see miracles happen every where I go. And when that happens, I promise, I'll tell you my stories as often as I can. :)
"Every place on which the sole of your foot treads will be yours, from the wilderness and Lebanon,from the river, the River Euphrates and even to the Western Sea, shall be your territory."
- Deteronomy 11:24
Hopeful,
Dice
As I sat on the train back yesterday from KL Central, I got to spend some time with God. Train rides have always captivated me so, perhaps it is because I am moving even though I am still. I heard this in my spirit:
Everywhere my foot treads is my inheritance.
That is what my 2013 is going to be about. Claiming the promises of God over my life and claiming the promises in the Bible that we can do even greater things for Christ, that we can see the blind eyes open and the sick people healed. This year, I am going to have more faith than ever that everywhere I go, I carry Him, and because of that lives will be changed, people will be set free, and chains will be broken. It is no coincidence that I begin my clinicals this year too, because I refuse to walk around a hospital full of sick people defeated. I believe in my Father in Heaven's furious love, one that is willing to move for His people through His willing servants. This year, I will believe that my prayers carry more significance that I ever realized.
I have always been a firm believer though, that if you ask God for something long enough and patiently enough, He'll give it to you. As I ponder upon 2012, a year that I first thought carried so many unanswered prayers and unfulfilled promises, I see His hand upon me and the subtle favour that I had been living in all along.
One of my sisters had been struggling with a skin condition for years now, and it really bothered her. I had been praying and believing for a supernatural healing, that she would one day wake up and see she had been completely healed. I received prophetic promises for it from other people too. Yet, through the year, I got no such news. Then one day, as I was struggling through something, I prayed to receive something encouraging, and right that instant, I got a whatsapp image from her, a picture of her almost clear skin from the new medications she had been taking. I had mixed feelings then, because my promise didn't come to pass as I thought it would, although I was obviously happy for her. I got rebuked a few days later though. Haha, it's so Him. He said "If you don't believe in Me working through medicine, then why are you studying what you do?"
That's a pretty personal story for me that I debated sharing here for a while, but I remember God saying once "Tell your stories, cause they speak not of you but of Me."
And one more things about 2013, I'm not going to just live in the testimonies of yesterday anymore. I'm gonna start believing for fresh testimonies every day, that in time I will see miracles happen every where I go. And when that happens, I promise, I'll tell you my stories as often as I can. :)
"Every place on which the sole of your foot treads will be yours, from the wilderness and Lebanon,from the river, the River Euphrates and even to the Western Sea, shall be your territory."
- Deteronomy 11:24
Hopeful,
Dice
Monday, January 7, 2013
Some More Stories
"What is the life you want? You choose it with every breath."
- Jon Foreman
I spent my first week of 2013 in back to back vacations across Malaysia, from Sitiawan, Perak, to Johor and Malacca. I have loved staring outside the window towards my Creator's masterpiece, of mountains in the distance, trees standing strong and an overwhelming sense of beauty and serenity. I am thankful to have begun the year in such a way, just so in love with life, and life all around me.
Sitiawan is a small town I never knew existed till living with a housemate from that area. I loved being able to escape the city life for a bit though, the cars, the tight spaces, to see things like rubber trees, rambutan trees and how people make kompiangs and be amazed. There is something about small towns and the lives of people with simpler lifestyles that moves me in captivation. And today, I had this thought, that God will use anything around me to remind me of the call and purpose He has designed into my heart. Even a spontaneous trip to a little town in Perak. :)
...
With a new year, comes the risk of comparison. As I move and think about where I stand and where I want to be this time next year, I find myself falling into that trap. I find myself comparing with others who have been more successful than me in various areas. Yet, in a moment of surrender today, I realised that it's okay to lose sometimes, because it is far better to lose the battle and win the war. In running alongside people and looking at their race, I have forgotten to keep my eyes on my race alone, at the pace and timing that He has determined for me. And to lose sight of my passions, my heart, the experiences I have been generously blessed with, all because it seemingly did not match up to that of those around me, that would have been a real pity.
The only truth I need to know is this - that God makes everything beautiful in His own time. :)
...
Love,
Candice
- Jon Foreman
I spent my first week of 2013 in back to back vacations across Malaysia, from Sitiawan, Perak, to Johor and Malacca. I have loved staring outside the window towards my Creator's masterpiece, of mountains in the distance, trees standing strong and an overwhelming sense of beauty and serenity. I am thankful to have begun the year in such a way, just so in love with life, and life all around me.
Sitiawan is a small town I never knew existed till living with a housemate from that area. I loved being able to escape the city life for a bit though, the cars, the tight spaces, to see things like rubber trees, rambutan trees and how people make kompiangs and be amazed. There is something about small towns and the lives of people with simpler lifestyles that moves me in captivation. And today, I had this thought, that God will use anything around me to remind me of the call and purpose He has designed into my heart. Even a spontaneous trip to a little town in Perak. :)
...
With a new year, comes the risk of comparison. As I move and think about where I stand and where I want to be this time next year, I find myself falling into that trap. I find myself comparing with others who have been more successful than me in various areas. Yet, in a moment of surrender today, I realised that it's okay to lose sometimes, because it is far better to lose the battle and win the war. In running alongside people and looking at their race, I have forgotten to keep my eyes on my race alone, at the pace and timing that He has determined for me. And to lose sight of my passions, my heart, the experiences I have been generously blessed with, all because it seemingly did not match up to that of those around me, that would have been a real pity.
The only truth I need to know is this - that God makes everything beautiful in His own time. :)
...
I leave you with this, a random picture of me holding my prized reward that I cut off the tree with a massively long stick thing. This reminds me that there are beautiful adventures out there, seeking people who are brave and curious enough to pursue them and live it out. :)
Love,
Candice
Monday, December 31, 2012
Bid Thee Farewell
Today is New Year's Eve. How quickly time has gone by.
2012.. was my most difficult year by far, a phrase that the people close to me must have heard hundreds of times by now. It felt like the obstacles that challenged me deeply as a person rolled in one after another, threatening to crumble me unless I could use them to grow in character to greater heights.
This year I learnt a bit more about life, and death. I watched friends discover love and begin new stories with their partners. I got to get a glimpse of the life I had always wanted to lead in a secluded village somewhere in Papua New Guinea. I saw how far my dreams could carry me if I had the courage to chase after them. This year, I lived with the most amazing housemates ever and learnt more about friendship, life, God. I experienced how people from different circles of friends can come together to pray and seek God, and end up growing so close with the love of Christ surrounding them. I received new prophecies about the direction God wanted me to grow in, and the amazing future He has for me.
This year, I had to let go of some things that were holding me back from life and choose to keep looking forward expectantly.
This year, I have cried walking home alone and asked no few times why God had forsaken me.
But, this was also the year that I found joy in the little things, laughed without a care in the world, depended on the people around me for strength, felt His peace that could calm a raging storm and learnt faith, so much more faith. This was also the year that I began to truly believe in my dreams, and dream for even bigger things.
So while 2012 was undoubtedly the hardest one yet, it was also the most beautiful one yet.
Because there lies a beauty in brokenness, and an opportunity to be molded into someone tougher, who may be able to show others what life can be like with Jesus by your side, even in the worst of storms.
I am beyond thankful for the year You have given me Papa. :)
So, what lies in store for me next year? I don't know. But, one thing I do know is this, I have asked Him a few years in a row now, how the next year could possibly be better than this one, and every year since, He has not failed to amaze me with the kind of grace and heights He brings to my life.
Next year will be.. new. I will be on placements all year round in Frankston, a place which always felt like it had a bit of magic for me. :) I will have to encounter sick and dying patients every day, and study even harder to keep up. I will be learning to lead even more people in their walks in life, and with God. I will have to say goodbye to people that I have come to love so dearly.
Yet, as I look forward to the new year, I feel a small stirring in my spirit. I hear one word resounding - favour.
And for now, I'm gonna hang on to that, and simply keep believing.
With much love as always,
Dice
2012.. was my most difficult year by far, a phrase that the people close to me must have heard hundreds of times by now. It felt like the obstacles that challenged me deeply as a person rolled in one after another, threatening to crumble me unless I could use them to grow in character to greater heights.
This year I learnt a bit more about life, and death. I watched friends discover love and begin new stories with their partners. I got to get a glimpse of the life I had always wanted to lead in a secluded village somewhere in Papua New Guinea. I saw how far my dreams could carry me if I had the courage to chase after them. This year, I lived with the most amazing housemates ever and learnt more about friendship, life, God. I experienced how people from different circles of friends can come together to pray and seek God, and end up growing so close with the love of Christ surrounding them. I received new prophecies about the direction God wanted me to grow in, and the amazing future He has for me.
This year, I had to let go of some things that were holding me back from life and choose to keep looking forward expectantly.
This year, I have cried walking home alone and asked no few times why God had forsaken me.
But, this was also the year that I found joy in the little things, laughed without a care in the world, depended on the people around me for strength, felt His peace that could calm a raging storm and learnt faith, so much more faith. This was also the year that I began to truly believe in my dreams, and dream for even bigger things.
So while 2012 was undoubtedly the hardest one yet, it was also the most beautiful one yet.
Because there lies a beauty in brokenness, and an opportunity to be molded into someone tougher, who may be able to show others what life can be like with Jesus by your side, even in the worst of storms.
I am beyond thankful for the year You have given me Papa. :)
So, what lies in store for me next year? I don't know. But, one thing I do know is this, I have asked Him a few years in a row now, how the next year could possibly be better than this one, and every year since, He has not failed to amaze me with the kind of grace and heights He brings to my life.
Next year will be.. new. I will be on placements all year round in Frankston, a place which always felt like it had a bit of magic for me. :) I will have to encounter sick and dying patients every day, and study even harder to keep up. I will be learning to lead even more people in their walks in life, and with God. I will have to say goodbye to people that I have come to love so dearly.
Yet, as I look forward to the new year, I feel a small stirring in my spirit. I hear one word resounding - favour.
And for now, I'm gonna hang on to that, and simply keep believing.
With much love as always,
Dice
Friday, December 28, 2012
Life On A Banana Leaf: My Two Cents
Being home this time has taught me much. As I roam the streets of KL, watch its people live their everyday lives.. I find my heart captured, captivated. I feel God opening new eyes in my soul to see His heart for KL.
I love this place I call home.
Yesterday, my sister and I followed my mum to the heart of KL to fix some shoes, do cheap shopping and have one of my favourite nasi lemaks. I pondered the way of life most people have there, especially after meeting Pepsi, who was very skilled at fixing shoes. Life for them, was simple. You learn from others, develop a skill set, you work hard and you make a living from that. It was a way of life that eluded me to an extent, a way of life that fascinated me immensely for some reason. It was what drew me to and fascinated me about Koivi too.
And then we met the uncle who sold nasi lemak, who has been selling them even during my childhood. According to my sister, he didn't change a single bit. He is a very cheerful man, and appears very content to live life selling delicious food on the side of a street. Maybe he had other dreams once. Maybe this wasn't the life he intended to live at all. But then again.. maybe he simply made the most out of the cards he had been dealt. All I know is this, encountering his joy next to a busy roadside gave me a glimpse of what 1 Malaysia is truly all about.
Encountering KL itself (in stories for another day) has awakened a new calling within me, one that assures me that I will one day return here to watch change happen right before my eyes and hands, a change for a better future for all Malaysians. I still believe in that future. :)
As with many of my posts, I don't have a point to this. In every case, I write simply because I am compelled to share my convictions. I write simply to think out loud, and hope that maybe, just maybe.. these two cents worth of thoughts may inspire another person to dig deeper and dream even further.
Till next time,
Dice
I love this place I call home.
Yesterday, my sister and I followed my mum to the heart of KL to fix some shoes, do cheap shopping and have one of my favourite nasi lemaks. I pondered the way of life most people have there, especially after meeting Pepsi, who was very skilled at fixing shoes. Life for them, was simple. You learn from others, develop a skill set, you work hard and you make a living from that. It was a way of life that eluded me to an extent, a way of life that fascinated me immensely for some reason. It was what drew me to and fascinated me about Koivi too.
And then we met the uncle who sold nasi lemak, who has been selling them even during my childhood. According to my sister, he didn't change a single bit. He is a very cheerful man, and appears very content to live life selling delicious food on the side of a street. Maybe he had other dreams once. Maybe this wasn't the life he intended to live at all. But then again.. maybe he simply made the most out of the cards he had been dealt. All I know is this, encountering his joy next to a busy roadside gave me a glimpse of what 1 Malaysia is truly all about.
Encountering KL itself (in stories for another day) has awakened a new calling within me, one that assures me that I will one day return here to watch change happen right before my eyes and hands, a change for a better future for all Malaysians. I still believe in that future. :)
As with many of my posts, I don't have a point to this. In every case, I write simply because I am compelled to share my convictions. I write simply to think out loud, and hope that maybe, just maybe.. these two cents worth of thoughts may inspire another person to dig deeper and dream even further.
Till next time,
Dice
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
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