Taiwan Emerge Recollections...!

Dear Lord,

Thank You for such a wonderful Taiwan Emerge trip! Though there were many good things and bad things and amazing things that happened during the trip, i still thank You that overall the Taiwan Emerge and the Sun Concert was a magnificant success! Your will was really done this past week, and I really pray that the youths were so impacted and touched and challenged by the sessions in the Emerge, that a new spirit of evangelism will sweep through Taiwan all the way to China! Amen! It is a wonderful experience to be able to experience the miracles of God day after day, to feel Your presence with the Taiwanese, with the Strikeforce members, with me always, answering desperate prayers and showering us with blessings! Haha! Really thank You for providing us with good food and lodging, great leaders in the strikeforce, with good admin & logistics management and i really pray that they know what a great job they have done for the ministry, for the church and most importantly for the kingdom of God!

Actually that is my prayer for all the 20+ Strikeforce members who went over to perform in Taiwan. And even our beloved Titus who is doing some internship there. I pray that Lord You would instil in us a new spirit of unity, of excellence, of holiness unto the Lord. Speak to each person on what a good and faithful servant of God he or she is, those who need ministering and reassurance, Lord You be their peace and sanctuary.

Now, a short recollection of what happened all the way from day 1 at the airport!

1st day (12th July) : oh Amigos!

From the moment we were supposed to meet at the airport, things already didn't look good for us. Quite a few people were late, overslept, caught in a traffic jam n various other reasons. I had planned to reach there early, yet because someone was late due to dunno what reason n the cab i had taken refused to wait for that person, we had to take another cab to the airport. God i was so frustrated in the morning already and it only served to make things worse later at the airport. Checking in took even more time as usual, and everyone took their time eating breakfast slowly at Macdonalds. We only had about 10 to 15 mins to run to the gate before it closed, and there were still people strolling along and visiting the toilet as if the plane would wait for them. yeah, true, the plane would wait for passengers as long as they've already checked in, but i really found the pple's attitude a bit wrong. But nothing can compare to the nonsense that happened later at night.

The plane journey took about 5 hours and by the time we reached the airport in taiwan, everyone was rather sleepy n a little stiff from the long ride. But still we were pretty excited, some more so than others for it was their first mission trip and first overseas trip. To me, it was one more strikeforce event, one more time to minister to Your people, nothing really extraordinary for me. Not that i'm being a wet-blanket, or do not appreciate the chance to go to taiwan. No, on the contrary i hope i appreciate it even more, not for its entertainment or fun factor, but for its spiritual factor. After the whole trip did i realise that the Taiwanese really need to take a new, modern approach to evangelism in this age! A nation of 22.9 million people and tens of times larger than Singapore, and yet the Emerge event attracted only about 4000 youths from churches all over taiwan! One CHC service packs around 7000 pple, n we just expanded the hall in expo to include hundreds of new chairs. I realised that to impact China, we really need to train many more youth leaders in taiwan as well as in the mainland, which is still pretty restrictive on religion. We saw a few churchs in taipei while travelling, but while in shanghai i never saw a single religious building. The Christians in taiwan need a revival to sweep across the churches from the youths, reaching to the campuses and schools. And the strikeforce was part of the CHC team to impact them for the Lord!

But even heroes and champions need a place to rest when the battles of the day are fought. The sanctuary of rest and recovery.

Something which we had searched for and thought we had found. What an excellent example for misrepresentation and fraudulent advertising!

What the internet site said about the hostel:

Comfortable beds, fans, air conditioned, cable TV, lounge, internet computers, breakfast provided, washing machines, etc. With nice bright pictures of a clean building.

What a joke.

I don't think any of the 14 of us would ever forget that word: Amigo. The most horrible hostel I have ever seen in my life.

Yes, perhaps i live a pampered life, as mentioned by one of the SF members. Perhaps we singaporeans expect too much. but honestly i don't think its so wrong to expect a decent place to rest after a hard day's work and servitude. Like what bro boon said, we deserve a nice place to rest after serving so much in the day. Its not like the pastors and other church workers have a shabby hostel, cos Alvin n a few of us went over to help the musicians shift instruments, n they were staying in quite a nice hotel. Probably at least a 3 star hotel, do i venture to say?

And the Amigo hostel looked like something in old chinatown, and smelled like some "longang". Crammed, dirty, hot and dimly lit, it really resembled an old residence in chinatown maybe in the 1960s. I've no problem with that actually. To live in a historical artifact seemed sort of interesting. Haha.

But the axe on that notion came down when we took a peak at the guys' room. In the basement. Moist, damp, smelling like dirty mattresses from an old folks home which hasn't been washed for a sometime. Cockroaches scuttering in the corners. Ian hitting his head on the low ceiling.

I don't think anyone would've expected us to stay there.

But the thing is, i was not as appalled by the condition of the hostel as i was appalled by the condition of the hearts or the attitude of the people.

Like typical Singaporeans, comments about how terrible the place was simply flew out of everyone's mouth, including mine, without any thought or consideration for the people who helped booked the place. I still remember Jennifer's advice to us before we left for the trip: If we got nothing good to say, then keep our mouth shut! Even the NDP pple were told this, for many complained about the costume or the training times or 101 other things they managed to actually complain about. But most heeded the advice and learnt to be more accepting and to take things in their stride. To behave like a Christian, and not a Singaporean, as Pst Rob Thompson said.

Yet people made comments on the place, comments on the Taiwanese pple, etc. God had ears, He hears everything we say, even every thought we think. And God loves everyone, including the Taiwanese right? Who are we to make rude comments about their culture?

I admit even i was guilty of making some unpleasant comments. Yet i made them with reasons. i have sensitive skin n staying in such a place will surely aggravate my skin condition. i've been outfield in the jungles and overnight duties at tekong n other army camps, n even those were more hygienic than that hostel. but i must learn to shut up and talk at the right times.

But thank God for Alvin, who really rose to the occasion as a leader and made a call for the guys and girls. Nobody is to sleep in such a place. Even bro boon agreed to that, he was stunned by the shabbiness of the place the moment he stepped in. We all tried to put that place out of our minds as we went to the Taipei Uni to practice.

But the bad thing is, somehow Titus got to know of it, his cell leader got to know of it, the Taiwan pastors got to know of it, then even Pastor Kong's secretary got to know of it, that Strikeforce suddenly became homeless.

Thank You God for providing for us, at the last minute, a very nice hotel called Rosa Hotel, merely minutes away from the University! It seemed like heaven to us.

yet even when presented with a miracle there were problems of price. and of pple wandering off from the group without informing anyone. tempers flared and pple cried. it wasn't exactly the best night for the strikeforce.

We realised we had to do something about it. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, even the devil knows that, the Bible says. So we had discussions, prayer meetings, and the peace of God filled our hearts. I don't know about the others, but the prayer with YQ and Reid sort of calmed me down, Lord, thank You for rebuking me, reminding me the original purpose of the mission trip at that time. Reminding me of my responsibility to teach instead of complain, to encourage rather than rebuke.

2nd day (13th July) : Destiny - the UDMs emerge!

The second day of the emerge, things began to look a little better. After the tension and unhappiness the previous night, i dare say we begun the day pretty well with breakfast at Mos Burger, before heading to the Taipei Uni for practice for the upcoming performances.

(I can't really remember what happened on the second day as i'm typing this on Tues 18th July at 11:12 pm.)

All i can remember for this night is the adrenaline rush and the excitement burning in my stomach as we prepared for the Destiny item. the 8 UDM players practiced like crazy the whole afternoon. During the rehearsals, Lydia injured her leg cos a UDM rammed into her from behind, n the cut was quite bad. YQ accidentally hit his head on one of the metal bars on stage. The devil really seemed determined to hinder us from doing the Lord's work! But of cos in the end, we put up a terrific performance. Honestly to me, the first night's performance was the most memorable one for the whole trip,the best performance we put up.And i remembered the prayer, when the 8 players and Bro boon prayed behind the stage before service, i remember the warm feeling of the anointing flow from my head down to my hands, preparing me for the performance! I have only felt the Holy Spirit move like this only when pastor prays and ministers to me, or when the CGL prays for members during cg meetings, and when Rev Benny Hinn prayed for the choir earlier last year. Yet the heat was unmistakably Him. A surge of excitement and passion for the souls consumed me, and honestly for the few minutes of stage, i became semi-concious, i can't even remember playing the whole FHW sequence, only the roar of passion and the energy of the whole performance cutting thru the crowd! Before i knew it, we had finished the song n had pushed the UDMs backstage, and dripping wet, highfived each other for a great performance! Despite the mediocre lukewarm cheers from the crowd, bro boon complimented us on a great performance, n that was really rare! Haha.. Thank You Lord for giving me the strength to go thru with the 1st SF performance on the trip!

Yet later that night, differences arose again. Some wanted to stay in the hotel, others wanted the uni hostel. In the end the decision was to stay in the hostel in the university, and some pple, including myself, weren't really happy with that. More scolding from the leaders about disunity and learning to accommodate everyone. i remember what bro boon said. Moving 3 times in 6 days is ridiculous. Yes, in the natural that was what i was thinking, but now upon reflection, it was Your will to have us stay in the hostel at the uni, not only saving costs, but saving precious time and allowing us to bond even closer which we couldn't have achieved at the hotel.

the discussion ended in that unhappy tension once again similar to the previous night. then they wanted to go for supper at some toufu street or something. a few of us were tired and wanted to go home. Even more scolding from leaders about fellowshipping more with the SF on a mission trip.

Lord at this point was the only time when i lost my temper on the mission trip, and i'm truly sorry for that. I really didn't mean to shout at shirley, but i just couldn't see what was wrong with a few pple going back to the hotel to rest, given the early call time the next day. plus, the UDM players were already exhausted n wet. n i really wanted to go for supper with everyone else, but i knew lydia was injured n should've someone accompany her back so she can rest early n tend to her cut at the ankle. i'm not trying to sound altruistic or gentlemanly or whatever, but i was just trying to do the right thing in the wrong way. I really need to deal with my temper. i don't have a short fuse, but its just that i believe in practicalities more than idealism. But of cos at the end of the day, people matter than things. things wouldn't have turned ugly if only i had held back my anger for a few more seconds.

Nevermind, it was an interesting learning experience for all of us. N i felt i had built a better friendship with some pple after the fallouts n disagreements. Afterall friendship and character is put to the test only thru the fire, not the peaceful times.

3rd day (14th July) : Prophesy - Brother Boon's prophecy for the strikeforce fulfilled!

We moved into the university hostel in the morning. the lobby was filled with a weird stench, n this really put us off, but we were there just to put our stuff in one room, and the room was quite ok.

This day, ALL 22 of us somehow managed to squeeze on stage to perform prophecy! No doubt it was out of time again, due to some pple's inexperience and excitement of performing, yet it was a triumph in itself, that not only a few pple were selected, but every single person was allowed to play for the performance on stage. that is what bro boon wanted for the strikeforce from the very beginning, not a group of skilled drummers, but a united group of fervant energetic Christians who happen to play drums for God! How cool is that. hehz.

gotta get the CD of that performance.

but what was memorable for me was the aftermath of the performance. everyone felt really happy and there was a spirit of true unity for the first time on the trip! yeah, the prep talk / scolding from bro boon before the performance probably helped, but it was the supper treat that really got us fired up to go together for supper! we had supper at this taiwanese BBQ buffet restaurant, n it was really great! the first R&R on the trip on the 3rd day, n we have a meaty BBQ buffet! i remember sitting with alvin n ben n nic, and boy were we swallowing up the meats like there was no tml! Truly a servant gets his just reward at the end of the day! Thank You Lord for such a generous leader who treats his men so well! We took so many pictures it felt like some sort of graduation ceremony and the graduation song just popped into my mind. but in a way it was a sort of graduation.

To me, in the spirit it was a breakthru. everyone was of one mind for the performance, of one spirit, of one heart. there was no disagreement n pple had learnt to be more accepting n easy-going, less self-centered and more joyful! it was a transition from the selfish attitude from the first day of the trip, n i belive the Lord was pleased with our prayers and transformation, n the spirit of the strikeforce! I even took photos with Brandon and Berlinda, who walked into the restaurant merely half an hour before closing time. It felt great being a loving family once again instead of a tense battle-zone! Its true that the Lord works in an atmosphere of love and unity. the next few days simply got better n better!

at night we slept really well. a little spat with Ian before the end of the day, but nevermind. in the end sleeping on the upper bunk of the dorm was rather comfortable. though i let nic n neo take the blankets n i had to sleep with just a thin sweater for the night n woke up several times shivering with cold, i decided to make myself feel happy n contented that i'm doing everything for God. the bible says to put others before oneself, n here was an opportunity to see how i obey His Word, n i'm glad to say i did. And miraculously i didn't feel a bit sick at all from the cold! (Normally i would've woken up sneezing n coughing from such a cold night, but thank You for the divine health!)

4th day (15th July) : Emerge Finale, Final Destiny!

Though we still didn't get to busk for the whole emerge, and bro boon had flown back to singapore to see his family, nevertheless i felt that we did OK. The supper the previous night had really made a difference. Haha!

We had a few practice runs for the Sun concert as well as Destiny. I remember helping carry the UDMs up the creaking small metal stairs, feeling a fear grip me that at any moment i might slip n the heavy UDM would fall on me or i would fall off the platform n get injured. but whenever such thoughts appeared, immediately i felt the presence of God rebuke the devil on my behalf! trust in the Lord, lean not on my own understanding, acknowledge Him in all my ways, and He will make my paths straight, verses shot into my heart encouraging me. normally i wouldn't have the strength to carry such stuff, as i know the physical condition of my body isn't as fit as most of the other SF members. Yet somehow the strength of God sustained me thru out the practices and performances, it was truly amazing! Carrying UDMs filled with water over 3 storeys, in the dim coloured lights. Thank You for Your protection over me Lord, thru out the trip!

We didn't play as well as the first Destiny, yet the crowd was wild with screams n cheers! i'll never forget this night as well, the taiwanese christians had received such a break thru! from the 1st day of emerge to the last day, we could really see the change in the countenance, in the behaviour n demeanour, in the whole spirit of the conference! the final night, we worshipped for more than 1.5 hours, i remember the heavy presence and saturation of the spirit of the Lord, it was simply too much for me n i cried n wept n knelt before You, knowing that every heart in that place had surrendered totally to You, to feel so loved n touched by the Lord, that every youth in that place was forever changed to be a warrior for You, to go out n impact the thousands of schools n teenagers in the country! It was in this atmosphere of passion n revival that we played the UDMs that night, n though there was some rather funny mistakes which led to the crossing of sticks n many cuts on my fingers from both hands, i felt it was all worth it! We had completed the job that the Lord had sent us here to do.

Oh n after the finale, about 100 over CHC members created a super long human chain to transport about 600 chairs from level 3 in the concert hall to the storage area near the carpark in level 1! It was amazingly, the spirit of unity, of Your people all working together without any complaints, all willingly carrying hundreds of chairs each, literally shifting a mountain on their shoulders! darshan neo n I passed hundreds of chairs down the chain for about an hour or so, and amazingly everyone seemed so happy doing manual labour for the Lord! cell leaders, brohter n sisters, young n old, all chipped in working with one mind. truly i feel so blessed to belong to such a united n strong church, City Harvest Church, working late into the night while the taiwanese go home after the meetings!

That night Nic Neo n I got our own room with hot water to bathe in! Ah, the little delights n surprises that befall the children of the Lord! i love my roommates, couldn't have asked for better ones. That night we had a little prayer meeting, thanking the Lord for all that He had done for the strikeforce, all that had happened, all the pple's hearts who were touched and changed by the Lord, the future youth Christian leaders of taiwan! praying is really the key for revival, not just for the big events n large groups of pple, but for our own spiritual lives.

5th day (16th July) : Sun's Concert! The abolition of the IEM metronome! Midnight shopping!

Shoik, first day we woke up later than usual. I went to buy Mac for the SF guys with shirley n YQ. The mac's there is really nice n posh, n taste better. haha.

This was one of the funniest performances because we played out of time. Almost every single person played out of time. Sounds bad right? But in fact it was good! Because we played out of time together in time! Hahaha...

Lord, was it a sign for us not to use the IEMs anymore? that we can hold our own, that the beats resound within the SF members so strongly that the clicks of the metronome don't really make a difference anymore? haha.. not to be overconfident of cos, but i felt that the strikeforce really rocked at the concert! yes, it wasn't a christian event, but the presence of God was definitely in that place. why? becos everything went so smoothly, members of the audience were so touched by Sun's testimony they began to tear. and the strikeforce played so well, we literally rocked their spirits up! even small things like my UDM water failing to flow up, n the dim lights on UDM no.3, n a few pple getting knocked by the metal bars while running into position, everyone felt super charged up n super satisfied after the performance!

For the last song, amazingly Sun called the dancers n strikeforce members on stage with her to sing the last song n wave to the audience! it was exhilarating waving to the audience who were screaming n raving n absolutely ecstatic! n sammuel used his stomach to bump shona out of his way so he can wiggle closer on the stage to Sun, it was so funny!

And of cos, i really enjoyed myself on the midnight shopping trip! the taiwan shops open until about 2-3 am everyday! went with lydia, millie, joan, YQ n reid, running from shop to shop looking for the coolest cloths with the cheapest prices. the guys were actually quite annoyed with the relentless shopping frenzy of the girls, but hey, i'm not ashamed to say that i'd rather shop n go hungry than to waste time eating n not buy anything. my logic being clothes can last for months, but a meal can only last at most half an hour! hahaha.. God, thanks for the R&R on the trip!

At the end of the day i sensed that some pple were not happy that we shopped until 3 am n reached the hostel only at 4 am n did not call back, but i felt we were relaxing n trying to make the most out of the trip.. but thankfully the girls didn't argue about it. probably everyone was too tired n happy to make a scene anyway. we chatted in the lobby eating tasty instant noodles till about 5 am, when the sun started to rise. haha. loved the fellowship, love the strikeforce members, love You for putting me in such a great ministry!

6th day (17th July) : Sleeping, Shopping & Home sweet home..

Alvin Ben me n Neo went to help pack the musicians stuff n load up the buses, meeting friendly pastors at the hotel who chatted with us casually! haha. it is good to see Your leaders behaving so humbly n nicely to mere ministry members!

Another miracle was the hostel allowing us to store our drums in the rooms until 3 pm when the actual checkout timing was before 12 noon. Miracles after miracles, blessings after blessings, thats what i'd describe the trip in 6 words!

We shopped around for another 2 hours in the afternoon before rushing for the airport, when i snapped at joan for some reason i can't even remember. Sorry for that Lord, i was quite annoyed that she was trying to get close to me for the whole trip n i had to draw back from her, knowing tat its difficult for me as much as it is for her. but thats another story. hehz. But no matter, i shouldn't have snapped at her until she cried n i think pple were rather shocked that she suddenly snapped back at me n started crying. i really must learn to control my temper if not i can't be an effective leader for You.

But one thing i was quite concerned was the pple who shopped till they spent literally every last penny n had no money to eat. From their faces anyone could see that they were hungry yet had no money to eat. So those of us who had money left pulled together our resources n managed to buy 14 set meals at burger king! i believe tat nobody should go hungry when they're Your children, You will take care of them, or send pple who will, amen.

So we all touched down at changi airport at about 1055 pm. There were a few loyal committed SF members there to greet us, and i was really touched that they actually came down at around 10 pm and waited for an hour just for us to come! I want to say a big thank you to all those who came down to welcome us back to singapore! i felt so touched n loved, truly you guys are living proof of a loving caring God!

Lord, here's some of the thoughts of the whole trip in general.

I felt that the strikeforce is indeed a very young ministry with young members, who're not yet spiritual giants. Nevertheless, all of us were willing to stay focused and united and banded together for Your purpose. And that's extremely important, no matter the individual conflicts, at the end of the day, all of us want to serve You, because we all love You. that's the real gem n treasure of the strikeforce, Christians who serve You in a loud, passionate way!

Yet i pray that thru this trip all of us discover our weaknesses in our character, the areas which we need to change, the attitude that needs to be fine-tuned. I pray that the next trip overseas, the strikeforce will be even more spiritual, more united, more in tune with the Holy Spirit.

Of cos, i've grown to love every single one of them even more thru out this trip. Haha. Lord, i love the strikeforce because of the pple, not really cos of the drumming, and i think everyone even bro boon knows that. i still stay on cos i simply love the pple too much! haha... i pray that everyone of us moves up another level, from glory to glory, n continue to impact the nations for Christ!

In Jesus name I pray,
Amen!