ESPlosion 8 Testimonial

Alright, youths..!
Now that some of you are back from the camp, would any of you mind sharing your experiences..?
What you like most..?
What you hate..?
What impacted you most..?
What struck you..?
What(or who XP) you miss most..?

Do share a testimony here..! Feel free to either e-mail it to here or just drop it at the CBox right there..!

Let us all pray for ESPlosion 2010..!




=Jeremy=

My Dad Came to Jesus By Marijo Phelps

My Dad Came to Jesus By Marijo Phelps


Picture the German guy with the dry and droll sense of humor, the one with wonderful stories to tell, the one who treated children as people of worth. Kids were to be seen and heard and listened to. He was the one who spent time with the neighbors that the rest of the neighborhood avoided, totally. Yet he had never asked to be forgiven of his sins and was breaking God's heart like we all have. Maybe he thought his "good deeds" would earn him a way into heaven. The Bible doesn't say that's how it works.

Romans 10:9
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.(NIV)

Romans 10:10
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (NIV)

Yes, he went to a Bible study and read to Mom from the Bible each night. We thought that was because he really wanted to please her.

Ding dong. There were two little neighborhood girls at the front door. Mom was back in the kitchen fixing lunch but could hear those eight year olds.

"Mr. Schacht, if you were to die today, would you go to heaven?"

"Well, ahhh, yes, I believe I would."

"Why would you go to heaven, Mr. Schacht?"

"Well, because I asked Jesus into my heart."

"Thanks for taking to us, Mr. Schacht and we are glad you'd go to heaven!"

Mom dropped a few pots on the floor and came into the living room in a BIG hurry, "Richard, when did you ask Jesus into your heart?"

"Ahh, it was when we lived in Hawaii, about either years ago. You remember that Bible study? Well, I decided I had too much sin in my life.."

Shortly after this moment of truth with the neighbor girls Dad decided it was time to be baptized. This meant talking to their pastor and discussing scripture so the pastor was sure that the person being baptized really knew what they were doing before baptism.

Eight years and this German gentleman hadn't told ANYONE in the family (we can safely say that stubborn and silent were his strong suit, when it came to "personal" things, like his relationship with Jesus)

At Christmas that year I couldn't let this rest. We had heard Mom's version of this story but never Dad's so in front of the rest of the family (grandkids who were young adults, my sister, mom and dad) I casually asked him about being baptized and what he told the pastor.

With that prompting all his "testimony" finally came out. What a lot of smiles there were around that Christmas dinner table.

A number of years later, when Dad went from "time" into "eternity", the Lord Jesus very graciously spoke to the immediate family again.

I wrote this prayer in my journal shortly after Dad's memorial service:

Lord God, thank You that Dad "saw" and was excited about angels before he went to see you. Thank You for assurance of his salvation for each one of us, after I prayed to ask You for this without telling any of the rest.

Mick said he "saw" Dad in heaven, young and whole and strong like the photo of me with dad and the fish (dad was 36 then)

I got quiet time scriptures the day he died all about faith and not works, You and not us and how we were "but flesh" I certainly knew You had paid the price and Dad had asked to be forgiven.

Mom saw Dad smiling when she spoke of Jesus, he hadn't been able to smile for months due to the Parkinson's "mask" and his "frozen" face. He smiled and took a last breath and went to be with You!

Ahhh, Lord God, You love us so much and are right there to walk us through. Even in the death of a beloved Dad and Husband. Thank You cannot begin to say what is in my overflowing heart.

(C) Marijo Phelps all rights reserved. Use with with proper credits.




About Self

Saved by His grace in 1974, from 9 years of professing atheism into His loving arms. RN for 23 years, missionary with YWAM then statistical analyst for Every Home for Christ over 9 years. Living with my husband in the middle of a mountain meadow. GRIN! Wanting to spread the good news

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com CHRISTIAN WRITERS

Rapha Boys' Home Visit: Recap

Uncle Peter fixing the ladder..

Preparing the painting tools..

The painting in process..

Lunch after a good job done.

The people involved..!

=Jeremy=

Times.

Young people spend a huge amount of time on the Internet.

But how much time do you spend on your daily devotion..??
Or.. Do you do your daily devotion..???

Leave a comment or drop a message on the CBox and let us know.

Thanks.

=Jeremy=

Attention, KPC Youths..!!

Attention, KPC youths..!

This blog had already made it through the trial period. It's time for all of us to give a little bit of feedbacks and responses to it, since this blog is quite inactive/idle.

So, what do you have to say..?

Please send an e-mail to here or simply text in a short response to the CBox in this blog. Your responses and suggestions will be reviewed seriously. Thanks very much..!

1 more thing.

If possible, kindly link this blog to all your respective blogs/sites, just to let more peopple know about this blog's existence. Your cooperation is most appreciated..! =)

God Is Great

From the album 'King of Majesty' by Hillsong United.

Dear youths,

What do you think about the new header and the minor changes of this blog, noticeably the template?

Please voice out your opinions at our CBox at the right side. Your opinions are kindly appreciated.



=Jeremy=

Manga Bible by NEXT

Hi youths,

There's a new link added to our array of links. Do check it out. The product was available quite sometime ago, but never gained popularity among Christian youths in Kuantan due to unavailability in the local bookstores.

HOWEVER......

Do check out the excerption page. You can have a preview of it there. Don't worry, the link is safe.

Tell me about what you guys think after viewing it, okay?

Sincerely,

=Jeremy=

Salvation.

Exodus 15:2 NIV

² The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.



New International Version
Biblica
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984


=Jeremy=

Daniel Cheng: Cambodia and Me

A testimony of Daniel's missionary trip to Cambodia and his personal experiences as a Christian youth at a country he had never thought of going before..

"Going to Cambodia was a totally different experience for me. I'll start with how I ended up there. On a perfectly normal night I came home from tuition and heard my mom on the phone with my sis, and they were talking about going to Cambodia. After the phone conversation ended, I asked her, "Is sis going Cambodia? With who?" Guess what, she gave the most shocking answer ever in my life. her answer was; "Yes, she's going Cambodia and she's going with you and Dad." I was like NO WAY I'm going there, but that 'no way' definitely turned into a 'yes way' because the next thing you know, I'm on a plane flying to Cambodia.

"Our group leader is Uncle Wang. Well, he is something like the discipline teacher in our group, leading a bunch of lost children. He made sure we come for our morning devotion, briefing and de-briefing. Next is my dad, Uncle Peter, which is always the one who shares with old people there. He is the one always going around with Uncle Wang to minister to the adults. Aunty Tay which is like the "mother figure" in our group, who always pack her things tidy and always give good suggestions. She would always share stories with the children too. On top of that, she has a really beautiful voice Aunty Helen. She was really the tun of this mission trip. She was in charge of the children ministry but seriously, she would do alot better if she was in charge with the laughing ministry (joking..!). I think she did a really good job handling the children ministry and I believe many children were blessed by her. Grace, the treasurer of the group. She would count any money we would use as a group like meals, the transportation fees, etc. For your information, she can really count. We were using US Dollars there and everything would seem really cheap when you divide it by 3.5. But unlike me, she was always aware of the that and we were able to go through this trip without overspending. Well, that leaves me and Alex. We are the youngest in the group and we are like the 2 kids they brought along with. They seriously had to take care of us because we got sick. I had a fever and Alex got serious stomach upset. Anyways, I think God really planned us for the trip and make in suce a way that we could go together as a team. No coincidence.

"While we were in Cambodia, there were many shocks for me. Goingthere make me realize that the things we have everyday and take it for granted is actually a luxury for the Cambodians. It also makes me look at things with a different light. What I think I can't live without, they are actually going through it everyday. The best example would be electricity. When we were there, we could not get used to the hot weather, and sweating all over. However, we could not find any place to hide from the sun because there wasn't any. Everywhere was so hot and no air-cons, not even fans. So the best place to hide when we were in Baray was the van. I never thought air-cons can be such a relief. There were also many, many other things that we have and they don't. But these things that they don't have actually made them even happier than us. They know how to appreciate things that are given to them. One night, after diner, we had nothing to do and we saw some kids playing. It was a dark night and my vision wasn't clear. We could not see what they were playing with. Throw up to the sky and see who can catch it first. Later we found out that it was just an ordinary bottle cap.

"In Cambodia, there's someone that I can really look up to- Aunty Esther. She managed the Baray Home Stay, the place we stayed- from scratch. She really cares a lot for Cambodia and gave up her life to serve God there. God worked through her, blessing many people in Cambodia. by creating many job opportunities, spreading the gospel, managing the homestay to generate income for the workers to support their family, and many, many other things she had done as well.

"It's impossible to sum 7 days into this piece of sharing. I encourage everyone to go there if there's a chance. Well, if you're going to ask me "So are you going to Cambodia again then?" I would tell you, "Sure, but only if Aunty Helen is going too. =p"

Daniel Cheng.

An Encouragement From Our Dear Rev. Koshy,

Today was Reverend Koshy's last visit to our KPC, as he won't be able to visit us for a very, very long time. But Rev. Koshy left us a very meaningful verse as an encouragement for all of us, and for all of you young people out there;

2 Corinthians 5:19-20 KJV

=King James Version=
¹⁹To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
²⁰Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

=New International Version=

¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

New International Version, King James Version
International Bible Society
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984


Dear Reverend,

We, youths of the Kuantan Presbyterian Center will always remember all the times you've spent with us.

P.S.: Thanks for the bookmarks you gave us previously very much, Rev. Koshy. We appreciate them very much. =)


=Jeremy=

Lost Generation

Shin Wei

A Verse On Prayer (1 Samuel 2:1 NIV)

Hannah's Prayer

¹ Then Hannah prayed and said:
"My heart rejoices in the LORD;
in the LORD my horn ^[a] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.

New International Version
International Bible Society
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984

=Jeremy=

The KPC Prayer Drive 2009

In conjunction with the Global Day of Prayer 2009, our church had our very own chapter of GDOP today. Our KPC Prayer Drive's main objective was to encourage corporate prayer as a step towards church revival. The participants involved were members from the Deacon's Court, Mega Youth, the KPC Youths and some of our church members. About 20 of us took part in the Prayer Drive.

After the Sunday Worship service and refreshments, we gathered in church and spent 40 minutes to pray for our church. Our prayer covered the OA Ministry, Megakids and Mega Youth, the Deacon's Court, KPC YF, the Student Center Ministry(a.k.a Ministry of Music), Bible Study Group as well as the Cambodian Missionary trip.

After the 40 minutes prayer, we split into groups to ease management and transportation. We made a trip to various locations that represented the manyfacets of governance and administration in the city of Kuantan.

Our first station was the high ground of Bukit Pelindung. At that station, we prayed for Kuantan, as we could overlook the whole city.

Our second stop was the Kuantan District Police Office which represents law and order of Kuantan. We prayed for God's protection upon policemen and for the Lord to give them a heart of impartiality and professionalism in carrying out their duties.

Next was the Kuantan Parade shopping complex. We prayed for the economic activity of Kuantan, and asked for God's blessings and prosperity to propel the city and country's economy to greater heights.

Our fourth stop, the State Mosque. Despite the barriers of our religions, we made our best effort to pray for our fellow Muslim friends. Besides that, we also prayed for the various religious groups of Kuantan.

Then, we walked from the State Mosque to the Wisma Sri Pahang and Wisma Persekutuan, as the two stops were rather near. These locations are the seed of the Kuantan government and we prayed for godly management and administration of the state.

Our last stop was the Sultan Abu Bakar Secondary School, which represents the education system. There, we prayed for the educational system of the country as a whole, Kuantan schools, students and teachers. As we know, the youth are the assets of our nation, and we need to earnestly pray in this area.

Prayer at the Bukit Pelindung.

Overall, the Prayer Drive went well as we joined hearts in corporate prayer, thanks to the grace and guidance of God. We strongly hope that the number of participants will multiply next year.

P.S: Credits to Pao Suen for the photos. More can be viewed on facebook.com. God bless you.

=Jeremy=

A Verse On Revival (III)

Isaiah 57:15

¹⁵ For this is what the high and lofty One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
"I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.

New International Version
International Bible Society
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984

=Jeremy=

A Verse On Revival (II)

Psalm 85:6

⁶ Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?

New International Version
International Bible Society
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984

=Jeremy=

A Verse On Revival (I)

Psalm 80:18

¹⁸ Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.

New International Version
International Bible Society
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984

=Jeremy=

Courage.

¹¹ "Amariah the chief priest will be over you in any matter concerning the LORD, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe of Judah, will be over you in any matter concerning the king, and the Levites will serve as officials before you. Act with courage, and may the LORD be with those who do well."

New International Version
International Bible Society
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984

=Jeremy=

The Great Commision.

The Great Commission

¹⁶Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

New International Version
International Bible Society
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984

=Jeremy=

Doubts

<sup>Matthew 14:31

31</sup>Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

New International Version
International Bible Society
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984

=Jeremy=

[Delayed Post] KPC Church Camp: A Blast..!

Yea.. yea.. I know.. Sorry for posting about this so late.. Anyway, here's a brief flashback on our church camp, carrying the goal "Lord Jesus, Revive Your Church We Pray."

Speakers featured were Rev. Johnson Chua and Lucy Chua and Pastor Philip Soh and the leaders and elders of KPC.

Well.. It's kind of late, but here are some of the photos from the Church Camp..

Revive our church, Lord.. =)


Preparations before the worship session begins. Haiyo, Jared ar..! Smile at the camera la..! XD


The fun and games time begins..!

Discussion time..

Beach volleyball! I like it.. Although I don't know how to play. How about you..?


It's time to get wet..! Whee~

"Look, he's all wet..! Shall we drag him in again..?"

Pull..! Pull..! Get him into the pool of H2O..! XD

Worship session.. From the left: Timothy, Alex, Me(Jeremy) and song leader Daniel Cheng.

Rev. Johnson Chua speaking.

Pastor Philip Soh..

Will try to retrieve more photos.. =)

[P.S: Photos courtesy of Shin Wei.. Thanks a lot..! God bless you..!]

Idolatry...Don't!

©2009 ~silvermoon76

Remember the 10 Commandments ?


NO ONE, I repeat, NO ONE, should worship any carved image or any form of statue/picture (image) other than the LORD our God, for our God is the only one whom everything on Earth should worship.


Today Pastor Koshy paid a visit to our church and shared about the 2nd Commandment (continuation). Yes, it's about idolatry. Owh, Pastor gave us some really cool bookmarks too..! Thanks Pastor..! Thanks… person who made them..? LoLx.


Okay, back to our point. What portrays idolatry? According to Pastor, the word 'worship' in Hebrew, when translated into contemporary English, literally carries the meaning 'to bow down before'. I guess everyone here knows how it looks like to bow down before something made in the image of anything. Yes, that 'image of something' is the idol. It is not worthy of worship, for we should worship the one and only living God, our Father who art in heaven. Remember - we shall have no other Gods before Him.


Worshipping idols is a sin. Repent. Pray and ask for God's forgiveness.


So, brothers and sisters, think of what Pastor Koshy has shared (and what I have typed)


Pray and ask for God's light to shine upon your path. I'm sure you'll find peace of mind. =)


=Jeremy=

Weary? Burdened?

[© image subject to copyright by webby.com/humor/i/Weary-Traveller.jpg/. No copyright infrigement intended.]

Are you weary? Tired and heavily burdened with all that life demands of you? Looking forward to rest after all those tuitions, homework, assignments, examinations, sports, and everything else that you have to do?

Let's remember what we learnt in Pastor Hiew's session last week.

The Lord has promised you rest in His presence; a lighter burden than you've been carrying all along.

Matthew 11:28~30 says:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Seek no more, for the Lord our God has offered rest to everyone who will come to Him.

The promise is ours! Let's proclaim it and live it out loud!

May our days be productive as we fully utilize the time and resources He has given us. And let us remember to enjoy His rest!:)

Easter & Sacrifice – Painting Project @ Rapha Home

It's Easter! A very blessed Easter to you! Christ is risen!

As we know, Easter is the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ after the sacrifice on the cross. This year, we wanted to do something different in the right spirit

About 2 weeks ago, during Joanna’s session in youth fellowship, we watched a touching music video about the crucifixion of Christ. That’s when Elder Peter Cheng spoke about sacrifice and shared an idea about getting involved in a small community project.

Talking about sacrifice, we decided to save some money, sacrifice our time and energy and do something meaningful; following the example of Christ.

We decided to paint the grills and gates of Rapha Home, which was terribly in need of a new coat!

We met up in front of our church after Easter Morning Service. Uncle Peter Gan was our team captain, and he provided the necessary supply of painting materials and equipment. The cost was covered by our Youth Fellowship. We were also honored to have Rev. Johnson Chua pray for the success of this project.

We arrived at Rapha Home at 11.10 a.m. Without wasting any time, we started scrapping the dirt and rust off the grills and the gates so that we could coat them up with white paint. Some of us used scrapers, others used sandpapers, while some were innovative enough to use screw drivers and other tools to get rid of rust and dirt.

As soon as the grills and gates were clean enough for a new layer, we were each given brushes and paint to start work! Even the kids from the home were eager to help! The taller ones among us climbed ladders to paint those hard to reach places. The rest of us painted the lower areas. The kids were very helpful, but as older youth, we did quite a bit of touch up in an effort of ‘quality control.’:P

Youth involved in this project are:

Jared Yap, Daniel Cheng, Joyce Cheng, Ariel Poh, Jaslene Ku, Daniel Hiew, Aaron Pua, Joyce Ang, Pao Suen, Alex Ho, & Jeremy Yap (myself).

Among the adults who came over to help us paint, provide transport, food, support etc. ( Thank you all!):

Brother Peter Gan (team captain), Elder Peter Cheng and wife, Brother Ang Joo Kang, Sister Tabitha & Joseph, Uncle Pua Kim Teck. Aunty Jessie & daughter, Aunty Li Chin, & Joanna.

[Please let me know if I left out any names. Sorry and thank you.]

It was really tiring, being a first time experience for many of us. Besides, it was not easy to protect our hands from the paint. Naturally, we got a little dirty. Thus, we had to use turpentine to get paint spots off our hands and faces.

Nevertheless, we had a great time! It was truly satisfying to see the gates and grills finally repainted! It is true; you feel good when you do good things!!! xD

Besides, teamwork fosters a closer bond among all members. The fellowship built as we worked together towards one goal was wonderful - we chatted, joked and laughed while working with our hands till the painting was completed.

Apart from that, we learnt the value of commitment. When we have an idea, it takes commitment to make it happen. Each of us played an important role to make the project a success. When we made an effort to keep ourselves free for that 3 hours after Easter service, we put away our personal plans, we planned our time and made a few sacrifices so that we could be part of it – and that is the kind of commitment we need to make anything a success.

It was totally worth it!

Upon completion of the task, we were exhausted and hungry. Lunch was brought to us and we were thankful for the chicken rice, biscuits and drinks. After finishing up with the painting and clearing, we dismissed at 2.30p.m.

We left the place with gratitude to the Lord for giving us the opportunity to serve and celebrate Easter in such a meaningful way! We had such a memorable time, and I strongly hope that we'll have more of such outings again. Don't you agree, guy & gals?

-Jeremy Yap-

Foreword

Praise the Lord!

Welcome to the Kuantan Presbyterian Centre Youth Fellowship’s blog. The purpose of this blog is to share what we are doing and discuss issues that are close to our hearts.

Our church has been around for more than a decade and our Youth Fellowship isn’t something new. We have been here to serve the Lord over the years, and we are here now.

Being members of an English Speaking Presbyterian church, we have been part of many yearly activities, for example the Esplosion Camp, church camps and several others. We are looking forward to more!

As you know, this blog is a new effort to add a touch of technology to our youth fellowship. We are young, and we are here to make a difference. We need to move with the times. So, your support and contributions are the very things needed to make this blog happen!

So what are you waiting for? Share your thoughts, ideas and anything that can keep the fire burning for Christ!

Thank you very much and God bless you!

-Jeremy Yap-