I see the light..

Another week has past by! This week has been quite relaxing, which is seriously a rarity in Armour. Anyways, I made use of my free time reading and finishing Witnessing Without Fear. I now know what I am commanded to do. It is actually so simple!

"Success in witnessing is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, and leaving the results to God. " - Bill Bright

It is so beautifully summed up in this sentence. I have been reading this book for the past 2 weeks, and I have learnt loads from it which really enlightened me. This book made me want to live my life differently and walk closer to Him to be sensitive to all of His promptings. Several positive incidents have happened, and I hope you will be encouraged by them as I share them with you.

On my book in day last week, the book was in my hands because that seemed to be the only time I am free to read. I was supposed to take the bus then the MRT and then the bus again to my desolate camp, but I somehow decided against the idea, and hopped onto a cab instead. After telling the uncle my destination, I focused my eyes on the book. Suddenly, a strange prompting came to my mind - why read, do what you have learnt so far from this book. I closed the book and took in a deep breath. I wanted to witness to the cabbie but I did not know how to start this conversation, and I was a little embarrass to bring this topic up. I immediately prayed and asked for guidance from the Holy Spirit. After around 7mins of mind-fighting, I blurted out, "Uncle, have you heard of this person called Jesus?"

To make things harder, the entire conversation was in Mandarin. Before you jump the gun, I wish to clarify that I can speak fluent Mandarin, but the problem was that I have never witness in Mandarin before. This was a first. I stepped out in faith and I believed that God will honor that and bring me through this sharing process. Throughout the witnessing, I kept telling myself that it is not of my own strength but His. I was amazed that the uncle was quite receptive to my sharing! Praise the Lord! As we talked, I realised that his brother was a Christian. However this uncle never really got witnessed to by his brother. Upon reaching my camp, I told the uncle to get more information from his brother regarding this matter. I left him with the 4 Spiritual Laws I shared.

Earlier this week for my book in, I took a cab again. This time I still had the prompting to share the Gospel with the cabbie again. The usual mind-fighting begins, but this time it took a shorter time before I asked the uncle how he spent his free-time, and suggesting that he could visit a church. He was yet again very receptive! Amen! Apparently, his daughter-to-be brings him to church but he hardly understands a word spoken because his first language is Mandarin. I shared with him again, and even suggested that he visited my church for the Miracle Service on saturdays. Upon reaching my destination, uncle assured me that he will do just that when he finds the time. On both occasions, I walked into camp smiling from ear to ear. I was just so happy and filled with joy. Witnessing was indeed simple if you just obey.

I really believe now that people out there are receptive to the Gospel, it is just that no one has approached them to reveal this wonderful present that is readily available to them. Matthew 9:37 depicts this as "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few." Therefore people go out there with your harvesting bag and axe and claim what belongs to our Lord!

I depended on Him..

This week has been a can of sardines - it was packed to the max! Basically what I went through was the driving package. I learnt how to drive the tank and how to maintain the different parts of my vehicle. I learnt how to strip the tank's tracks, what to do if my tank breaks down and the basic maintenance that will prevent such incidents from occuring. I also obtained my tank driving license! Woohoo, it is official! I can drive!

This week is not just about driving, I also had my IPPT test on Friday. The rule is simple: no gold, no bookout on Friday night and remedial training on Saturday morning. My only problem was the standing broad jump again. I had to hit 234cm in order to qualify for the gold award and the $200. It seemed seriously impossible to jump that far, and I have never really actually hit that distance before. I prayed.

Throughout the week I tried to train for my jump, but time was very limited. We return from driving classes and after-driving maintenance very late everyday. I only had the opportunity to train once in the entire week. I just had the faith that God will see me through this obstacle that seemed so massive to me, but is so insignificant to Him. On Friday morning, an hour before the IPPT test, doubts crept into my mind, screw the devil. I rebuke it straightaway, and prayed for God to give me the belief that through Him all things are possible. My faith was never stronger. I just knew that I was going to bookout that night.

When I came to the SBJ station, I knew I was going to jump 234cm. I muttered a short prayer before tossing myself into the wind. Upon landing I hit 234cm. The next few tries even see me hitting further distances. I could not believe myself, and I thanked Him repeatedly. It was seriously not possible for me to do what I did, I know it for sure. Just like my SOC few months back, God has helped me overcome my obstacles. It is written in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please Him. Therefore people have faith in God for He is almightly and nothing is too big for an alreadly so massively big God.

New experiences..

Well..my first week in the School of Armour had been pretty ok, all praises to God! I prayed for the initiation to be less torturing, and God answered my prayer. It is a custom that if you are new to a unit, you have to undergo initiation. On monday, I had my initiation. That night, we had happy hour at the mess, and guess what? Every cadet had to down a mug of Tiger Beer! I was scared stiff because I do not drink. I looked to the Lord in prayer again, and He pulled me through. After drinking the beer, my face was the reddest amongst the cadets, this caused quite a commotion. However, I felt quite ok other than being very tired. =]

This week was also very hectic. We had to rush from place to place. Furthermore, it is all just the tip of an iceberg. What is to come will be worst. I am looking forward to it though. Learning new things and all. This coming week I will be learning how to drive a tank. I will get my license by Friday if I pass the driving test. Hahas..I will definitely pass it because I have an almightly God!

Lastly, something which I read this week : A man who kneels to God can stand up to anything. Beautiful isn't it?

The road less travelled...I guess...

After returning from the 10 days training at Brunei, I was seriously dead beat! Looking back at the things I did, I could hardly believe I overcame the training. The climb up Mount Biang was the ultimate killer experience. One would be faced with a slope almost close to 85 degrees to the horizon, climbing up such 'common' slopes required one to be on all fours, any slip proved to be injury-causing if not fatal. To top it all up, the route up and down the mountain was not as direct as it seems. It was full of ups and downs for the ascension and descension, causing you to wonder whether or not have you progressed up the darn mountain.

However, inspite of all this, everyone looks forward to 5pm because it is then when we settle down at a suitable harbour site to rest. Hammocks sprout up like mushrooms after a rain, and bonfires were a frequent sight. For me, I derive great joy in cooking Maggi Mee when I harbour. The feeling of surpling down warm noodles and sipping hot soup was the ultimate killer concept. Temperatures at night and in the early morning was cool. It was like being in an air-conditioned room, just that the air-conditioner was too cooling that most of us shivered loads.

A lesson that I have learnt from this trip was that water is seriously precious. We had to collect river/stream water because 3days 2 nights of walking and climbing took a toil on our personal water supply of average 4litres. The water collected was cooling to the max! Just seconds after filling your bottle, you could see water droplets forming on the surface of it. Of course, Puritabs were added to the water to kill off any bacteria present, making the water potable. It was truly a cool experience...literally.

Now, back in Singapore at Sungei Gedong Camp, I am undergoing an extremely packed and vigorous training programme. Being selected to be a tank officer-to-be, I am excited yet apprehensive toward the training that is about to occur. I will learn how to drive a tank and how to operate the main gun of the tank in the coming week. Sounds like fun! I hope I will be able to survive another week in the School of Armour. God will pull me through. I believe!