The curtain call~

After my exams, I started on another 5 weeks of placement at a children's hospital in Sydney. When I was 16, I never could imagine myself dealing with children. "They are cute when they are not yours." That's what many people tell me after they have their kids and they progress to the age when they can understand the meaning of being defiant:/ Scary enough, now at the age of 23, when my maternal instincts are calling out, I chose to do a placement that will have me face children-from neonates to adolescents- for at least 8 hours a day. I've never had any experience dealing with children- the closest I got to having dealing with childish behaviours was in Tekong and when I was in Australia dealing with most bizarre events of my life.

After these 5 weeks, I had such an urge to be a teacher! hahaha..I enjoy just playing imaginary running games in gyms, laughing at and joking about the littlest things, hearing honest comments, playing counting games from 1-700, arm wrestlings, pool therapy, ballet in the pool and birthday parties. I cherish the moments when my children listen to what I teach them to do and disciplined them so that they will be more well behaving children. I relish the moments when my children are able to get better from the conditions they are suffering from, smiling at me when they are get well. I indulge in every little victories my little warriors accomplished in their rehab process because I know it might seem small for us, but it could be the greatest thing they ever tried to do after being ill for so long. I learnt to celebrate the little steps they make, I learnt to love yet be firm in my rules, I learnt to be like a child.

The faith they placed in me makes me feel so important and responsible for their lives. Never mind the wailing and cryings I had to put up with them~ their lives create an amazing time for me at the hospital.

As I finished my last placement, the next time i step into the hospital- I am a physiotherapist. No more student before that name. I can no longer hide behind my supervisor and pretend that I know nothing. I can throw away the ugly looking pants that i wore for 4 years of my life. Probably for the first time in my life, I will look proper and well dressed in a hospital. HAHA...

When I look at the children, they remind me of that child like faith I had in Jesus when I first started out this course. I knew nothing about physio but still He took me by the hand and saw me through the goods and bads, the bad decisions and many victories. It was never easy finishing this course but still I managed to complete it:)

These 4 years been a real drama, whether it has been that in school, in canoeing, in church, at home, with my time in Australia- I knew there are things that i will not want to experience if i had a chance to turn it back, there are words that I said that I wish i could take it back, and there are people whom i trusted that i hope i did not trust in the very first place. Similary, these are things that if God had not given me, i'll have not grown much to know what I could and could not accomplish through him:)

Finally, time to take my curtain bows as the end of the my performance as a physio student has come to an end:)- curtseys for you-

When I call finally burn those papers without a worry

Week 11 into semester~ I finally put my pen down for the last written paper in my education life ( at least for now.) That feeling of knowing that I have no papers to study for in my life was ...WEIRD. I remembered that when I was in NYP, I was so happy..i threw almost all my notes away!!

Here~ I just felt that..MAN~ i'm going to be a physio back home.. how surreal is that and I so don't wanna go into that just yet.

Coming back from Mudgee was like yesterday's thing. I got down to cooking some Thai food when I reached Lidcombe and we had too much coconut and chilli padi that night..but I enjoyed cooking after long drought of not touching the pots and pans to whip up something nice to eat.:P Then, it was full swing on for assignments and also exams. Guess what!! I didn't sleep more than 5 hours in the past 3 days all because of my habit of procrastinating that got me into a real mess with work:P Somehow, I still survived till this very point to write this blog so I pray with all faith I will do fairly well for my papers:P

I'll be moving away from Lidcombe so there will be achange of address..if anyone of u wants it..just send me an email and I'll get back to you with the new one.

Lately, my family in Australia has been seeing additions. My cousin in law got pregnant and my other cousin is getting engaged. Then, the turn came to me when everyone started asking if I was goin to be at that stage any time soon. I was stumped..i thought of that but..I don't have one to fulfil that so I kept quiet. hahaha..o well~ It's all in God's good hands..He will send the biggest and most complementing person in my life:)

getting tired..need to sleep..NITE!

Mudgee-nest in the hills~

It was our 3rd week at Country Physiotherapy!!!

As we count down our weeks to the end of the PPD, I had mixed feelings as I approached the end of the week. We are half way there- we are half way there leaving Mudgee.

The 2.5 weeks of mornings that starts at 0600h when we have to make our way to Church street of Mudgee where our clinic is located marks the crucial countdown that we cannot make any mistake at our placements. Any mistake could cost you everything.

Even so, the warmth of the country people and my clinical educator caused me to put aside all these worries. Liz gave us a surprise treat at the High Valley today!!! I was so excited when I saw that we are going for cheese tasting and a good lunch.

She said we worked really hard so it’s good time for a reward. I had a good treat of hot chocolate in the morning from her too:P I feel super duper blessed!!! Liz’s the best!! She always encourages and gives pointers on how to improve. She teaches and not expects a whole load of you (which is good so I can learn the basics that I used to ignore LOL).

Sherry and I had a great meal with Liz at a beautiful place. I must go back there again:P
Then, Sherry and I had afternoon tea at grandma Shirley’s place again. I went to pay her a visit last week and got Sherry come along because grandma wanted more company.

Grandma Shirley made COffe CAKE!! Fabulous coffee icing I must say:)!! Boy~ Mudgee placement is really a thrill for the stomach, the heart and the brain. We talked about war days of Singapore- she actually read a book on that so we can have a chat on that and also her family and her days in Sydney. Granny had a new set of teapot and I took pictures of it- amazed at the collection she has.

As Mudgee had one of the coldest days in Autumn in the last few decades, I had the most amazing warm embrace from the Australians in Mudgee.

1) Frontline Christian Centre- Pastor Robyn’s ever welcoming hugs, meeting Christopher and Caroline who prayed for me, having tea at May’s and Grahm’s place and getting a VCD of Christian songs from May, Karen who chat with me real long, Emma’s offers to ride home, Rachael’s lunch invite to her place.
2) Granny Shirley’s afternoon tea.
3) Patients who don’t mind you treating them even when you are students
4) Liz- our amazing clinical educator who drops us home almost every night and offers to pick us up on rainy days, lunch and chocolate treats, cute winks and ever ready to teach us.
5) Ash and Karla who never cease to help us out with the administrative stuff at Country Physiotherapy
6) Ash’s mother who gave us blankets and a warm heater.
7) Getting a ride from a stranger when I was walking in the rain from work.
8) Wayne’s pumpkins and FREE RANGE EGGS!!
And the list just goes on..
Father, thank you for bringing me here. It was Mudgee that brought me back to the foundation- my foundation in you.

PS: thanks elain for your hugs given by shirlynnJ

A hope that never disappoints

I remembered of my youth days when I used to hear of the pastor sharing about the hope that is in our Lord Jesus Christ- because of that we can rejoice even in the midst of worries and adversities.

I then took the posture to rejoice and sometimes place myself in a position of self denial- denying the sadness and disappointment if I have to in order to demonstrate an attitude of belief in the so preached “hope”. Yesterday, I realized I had never truly understood and embraced such a hope till I read Acts 27:13-44.

That chapter of Acts is really long. So long, I fell asleep while trying to finish reading it. I bet it’s the pile of work that I had to keep up with that brought about such sleepiness (I know excuses as usual.) Anyhow, it was the study at Blue Sky that gave me an opportunity to truly examine and read in depth of what this common hope Paul and I shared- that Paul embraced but I had not.

As I read of the passage, the Holy Spirit begins to convict of my heart in the never failing hope that my Father in Heaven promises. As Paul, a convict that was due to sail and stand for trial before Caesar, was caught in the storm with the crew, he was the one who had the hope and faith in God to see that they will survive the storm without anyone lost to the menacing waves.

Paul was the only one on the ship who believed that God will deliver them- he spoke to the officer in charge, having to be rejected in the face on the first attempt because (perhaps) he was a mere convict. In fact, the entire crew banged on their sailing experience and knowledge to handle the rough winds, only to lose all hope of any chances of being saved when all attempts were in vain. (27:20) Then Paul came along once again, having first encouraged and assured the crew of preservation of their lives, and providing advice on how to manage the boat to deal with the sea happenings.

Paul did not have to do that. Why?
1) He was a prisoner on his way to stand trial- this was most probably the best chance to run away and escaped from the trial.
2) He was in the least position to speak because he has a status of a convict.
3) The situation out at sea was terribly bleak
4) He was not a sailor- does not have the relevant experience to advise
5) Nobody was bothered to listen initially.

Then, why did Paul still stayed and helped?
1) He heard from God
2) He had a promise from God
3) He found the hope in God
4) He was the only one who heard of the promise from God.
5) He saw the people- not himself.

Do you feel like you are Paul? You seem to be the only person in the light while the rest are in the dark or in their world? Do you think you will be as brave as Paul to vocalize if God has called you to even though you might be the most unlikely person to speak? What did you see in your situation of adversity- yourself, the people involved, God?

I believed with all my heart that Paul positioned his hope such that he saw God first and God led him to the people.

You could be in a situation now where you are of the least likely position to comment on a situation. It could be because you are not experienced, you are the involved party and might seem to be providing a bias opinion. You could be like Paul- at a lowly position that does not offer you the right to speak in the eyes of authority because you stand at their hand of mercy. I reckoned that Paul was frustrated when the officer refused to listen to him. Could you imagine if he stopped at that and never pushed his way through to make him heard? They could most probably have lost their lives to the raging seas.

For the hope he had in Jesus that he so wanted the people on board to have, he made sure that he must be heard.

As it was like Abraham coming to God and bargaining for God to spare the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, I believe God saw Paul’s heart and because Paul was on board- His mercy came and cover the ship all because of one man.

If you are the only person in a mess/situation that has hope and faith in God’s promises, God will deliver the group from the circumstances. Because of you (the only one), He will intervene in the situation. Because of your hope and faith, He will turn things round. Because of your hope and faith, He will change things. As such, that He shall be honoured and glorified by your faith and hope.

Today, you might be stuck in a real mud mess. You are thinking- Boy, I am the worst person to comment/ provide advice or even make mention of the matter. Could you have realized that you might be the only person that has a relationship with God and hear from Him? You might be THE ONE that he will use mightily to change things around- if you will only choose to position yourself in the posture to be used by God.

It just takes one person- are you the one?

PS: Was it worthwhile to go for the plunge? Paul’s hope and faith kept the lives of the 276 onboard the ship with the centurion having spared his and other prisoners’ lives. I think it will be.

His timing

I always struggle with punctuality. Friends who go out with me often will know that I am one that has poor estimation of the time I will take to get from one place to another. My days in junior college was way classic- I’ll reach my spot in the class line up at the ring of the second bell before the national anthem plays.

Having stayed in Australia for some time, I’ve tried my best to change that habit of being a few minutes late. Well, I must say it’s still in the primitive stage of correction :P When I made my shift to Mudgee( which was 2 weeks ago), I decided that I should put discipline into my punctuality- especially since I am on clinical placements. It has pretty much been effective in making me waking up early and getting ready for work

I like having timetables to tell me what I have happening in my day and I believed that God also has a great timetable- so that he can handle every little thing to every big things in our lives without missing anyone’s at all. I reckoned God’s a real sticker to time because the happenings of the world are dependent on when He calls for them to happen. Even the time you are to cross the particular traffic light- who knows He might have arranged to meet a long lost friend that will make a difference in your life.

My time at Mudgee, I believe with all my heart, was God ordained, orchestrated and blessed. When I arrived in Mudgee, I went looking for a church to attend on the 2nd day ( Sunday) that I arrived. The church that I intended to visit had a supposed 6pm service so I went for that. Frontline Christian Church youths met me at their venue- only for me to find out that there was no service going on at 6pm. However, a bigger piece of news awaits me.

The pastor, Pastor Robyn, wanted to invite me to the night conferences for the mid western regional churches and I agreed! She waived the fees for my attendance and arranged for people to pick me and drop me at my accommodation so that I can go out at night. The conference was in God’s timing- the last night was a night of prayer and commitment. On that very last night, God came and spoke to me about two issues, through three people, that were on my heart for the longest time. I rarely knew these people for a week but pastor Robyn, the preaching pastor and also this gentleman called Christopher came to pray for me- sharing the heart of God for my life.

Leaving Sydney at this time gave me time to review my past 10 months and also to take a break from the hustle and bustle of happenings that really got on my patience and nerves. There were so many occasions when I could take a chair and break it because I was so helpless over the behaviours of human beings- I had to find a way to vent that frustration but thank God the chairs were spared. Instead, this retreat has brought me back to the very heart of serving Jesus Christ- serving and loving His people.

It helped that I managed to escape the coldest time of the year from Mudgee- I will definitely freeze to death if I come in July.

God’s timing is so “zhun” isn’t it? Amusing as it may sound, but like it was said in

Ecclesiastes 3

There is a time for everything

A season for every activity under Heaven.

A time to born and a time to die
A time to plant and a time to harvest

A time to kill and a time to heal
A time to tear down and a time to rebuild
A time to cry and a time to laugh

A time to grieve and a time to dance
A time to scatter stones and a stick to gather stones

A time to embrace and a time to turn away
A time to search and a time to lose

A time to keep and a time to throw away
A time to tear and a time to mend

A time to be quiet and a time to speak up
A time to love and a time to hate

A time for war and a time for peace…

11 God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

14 And I know that whatever God does is final .Nothing can be added to it or be taken from it. God’s purpose in this is that people should fear Him.

15 Whatever exists today and whatever will exist in the future has already existed in the past. For God calls each even back in its turn.

I feel I am slowly walking back onto His big palms.

Vivian @ Mudgee

Greetings from the midwestern region of NEW south wales!!!

I'm currently up at Mudgee. It's in between Dubbo and Orange ( my definition of her location to people)!! It's a beautiful peaceful town that has really nice people..

I'm having placements here at the rural area- currently at a private practice called Country Physiotherapy and having a great time learning and interacting with patients.

If you ever watched those old English films with those small towns with maple trees lined along your roads in autumn, those brownish red maple leaves falling- yea! that's Mudgee for you:)

I'm surrounded by the mountains and hills and every morning i see a differnt outlook of the moutains. It's getting colder but still tolerable..:P i think i've gotten used to the weather fairly well. The thought of returning to a humid weather kinda makes me upset a little but that's not gonna stop me from wanting to come home!!! I must confess- I do miss everyone back home in Singapore. Nevertheless, I shall make full use of my time here:)

After this stint, i'm heading back to Sydney. I must say a million times THANKEW!!! to people at 6A/6 Georges for that emo farewell( i didn't cry fyi) but i really enjoy the love and hugs and the pretty card. I will write love letters to u..LOL~ am so lookin forward to your arrival at Mudgee~

Alrightey~ it's been a long week..one week down..4 more to go~ looking forward!!

Luke 24:30- my year in Sydney

It may seem a little too early to reflect..but just felt a tugging in my heart to conclude my year ( as I make my permanent exit from 6A/6 Georges Avenue:P)

Luke 24:30
“As they sat down to eat, he took a small loaf of bread, asked God’s blessing on it, broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. And at that moment He disappeared!”
As I spent my first Good Friday out of home and Trinity, I recounted the many “firsts” I have had thus far after arriving in Australia to pursue my studies. First Chinese New year with friends, first Christmas party I organized, my first meal that I cooked myself and my first baking session when I nearly burnt my house down. I had the very first taste of living overseas alone, living with friends who became strangers overnight and having to learn to cope with the many “sudden” incidents. How exciting is studying overseas!!
Having been in Australia for close to 10 months, my experience is like that described in verse Luke 24:30- Taken, blessed, broken and given. I was taken into the hands of God and received prayers and letters of blessings before I left Singapore. The first few months in Australia was close to a scary place called hell..haha.. The misunderstandings that arose from different lifestyles and values made 3 of my housemates shift out of my current accommodation. The struggle to fit within the church and the campus ministry and dealing with school demands did not really help with the process of settling down. I never felt so vulnerable, and all I could do was call upon God’s name and pray even though I witness the deterioration of relationships and circumstances. After one incident has appeased, another came along. Those were not big hurdles. The greatest one came when a very treasured friend whom I really trusted, broke an important promise and got me hit rock bottom. It got so bad, I did lose my faith in believing that God will come and rescue me. My desperation drove me to tears and I will sit in my room calling out to God silently because I was so afraid He will not answer. Then He came and called out my name, whispered into my ears, “I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn, before you have harvested your grain and before the grapevine, the fig tree and pomegranate and the olive tree have produced their crops. From this day onward, I will bless you.” Haggai 2:19
Bearing the brunt of all the rumours from the happenings was really challenging. I was challenged not to retaliate in language even when I underwent verbal attack from people whom I thought were good friends, I was challenged not to hate when they set out to teach me a lesson for the flaws that I had. The anger crept into me and made me gave up in believing these are people that deserve forgiveness. However, He called me to love them in all circumstances because Jesus did. 1 Corinthians 13: 13 “There are three things that will endure- faith hope and love and the greatest of these is LOVE.” When He chose to die on the cross even when people did not accept Him, it was love that kept him on the cross for men’s sake. If Jesus could still love these scary people who crucified Him, surely I can love these people no matter what they had done- Love the sinner and not the sin.
It was a humbling process- breaking of pride and surrendering my rights to hate and fight for what was my rightful way to address the grievances I suffered because of people’s actions. I asked God why I am the person who has to go through all these things. The breaking of every aspect of my life took a toll on my emotion basket. I got into really weird moods that my friends could not bear to see at times. 2 Corinthians 12:8- “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He said, “My gracious favour is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.”
I really did not want to love them for all the bad reasons I could give. I chose to but I struggled to love. My daily prayer was like Jesus did when He hang on the cross- Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive these people because they do not know what they are doing.” Then I looked upon that cross and He asked me- John 21: 15 “Do u love me?” 21:17 “Lord you know everything. You know I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”
I envisioned that coming to Australia will be all fun and rosy, exciting things that will happen in my life. Fun and rosy things there were, but the tough times that came along were really tremendous testing of my faith in Jesus, my love for people and my focus on the race. 1 Peter 1:7 – “These trials are only to test your faith to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold- and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. If your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trails, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
The most amazing part of this journey- The love I chose to show, to people who were against and misunderstood me, liberated me from fear. “Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment and this shows that His love has not been perfected in us.” 1 John 4:18-19
“Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” 2 Corinthians 12:10”
As I look back on the things that have happened, it may seem like it’s all over but the hurt that has been done will take time to heal. The greatest joy was to know that even as I endured the past 10 months of seemingly never ending pain- I grew stronger because of the love of God that taught me to forgive and love. As Luke 24:30 states, as I was taken into the hands of my Father, blessed and broken by His grace, so that I can be given to do the will and work of God in this world that so needs the love of our Father in Heaven.