When Autumn Falls

I fell for autumn.

Autumn has always been idyllic in my mind, something I looked forward to experiencing...eventually. I thought maybe it'd be in Wales, but that hasn't happened. What did happen though, was an autumn surprise in South Africa earlier this year - my first transnational trip outside of the Southeast/East Asia region.
 

The past year has been filled with God-executed surprises.
It started with me being able to spend my 31st with beloved family back home due to a visa emergency and a passport emergency. Then, I was emergency activated with 10 hours' flight notice for the last bit of the Indonesia di Hatiku prayer tour where I got to see more of Indonesia, joining heart and hand in prayer, and working with sound and media teams in different cities.

Papuan Christmas was a whole new world and lasted from November till the beginnings of February (maybe even till Easter haha.

Then came 2024 with the unexpected experience of autumn on the surprise South Africa trip. Seeing the autumn leaves turn colour and flutter to the ground was everything I thought it would be and more. The temperature was a nice surprise too! It never connected in my mind that autumn comes with cooler weather. Meine Mutter called me a polar bear because of how much I was enjoying the low double to single digit temperature. They also said that the cold was rolling in sooner than they thought it would. (I think God did it just for me ☕)
Amidst the wonderful missions and experience of a new culture (also the surprise of authentic Indian food that's not available in Papua but very much a part of Malaysian culture), there was also the surprise of intentional space made for experiencing the wildlife of South Africa up close and personal.
Towards the end of our five weeks there, I was asked if I was feeling homesick and ready to go back to SEA lands. I was reminded of a quote SKJ shared with me - "let not our longing slay the appetite of our living". To make the fullest out of the present circumstance, to live in the present so I don't miss what God is doing in my now.

Coming back to Papua, I felt an invitation from the Lord to let Him stretch my capacity, and I said yes to start being an active voice. The differences in Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia, had previously caused me to refrain from extensive sharing/teaching and the like for fear of miscommunication and misrepresentation of the Word. Within a short timespan, there were different opportunities to share and in various ministry and church settings. I also did my first international team teaching. It was precious to be able to share things close to my heart and experiences that the Lord's been taking me through. What made it even more special was being able to call my parents for SOS prayer, and know that they were sowing with me. For the times where I had more preparation time, they made time for me to bounce my thoughts and unpack Scripture with them.

In the midst of all of that, a passing whisper of "I wonder when my next trip home will be..." was the precursor to God pulling yet another surprise of a work trip back to my home church, and then to a city in my heart's homeland. It was both amusing and heartwarming to be back 'home', but also felt 'new' as the Lord began to speak to my heart about how he's woven parts of my story with the thumbprint of different nations on my heart. Going back to Sarawak on what I would consider my first official assignment in a role transition was so incredibly defining and moving as I witnessed and felt God bringing the sounds of my islands to a point of convergence in my heart.

This time of the year is what I usually associate with autumn, and is also one of the times of the year when I reflect on my journey and growth. The annual family celebration was a time of lots of good tears and encouragement. God is so, so kind, and so, so faithful. He's the best planner and best surpriser, and I so look forward to continuing to take each step with Him, with my hand in His.

With the mark of my 32nd year, all I have to say is this - my soul is satisfied.

Stepping Out

Just a little over two months ago, I stood in the Changi International Airport, bags packed, passport and one-way ticket in hand. It took me three flights, fourteen hours between my first takeoff and third landing, with two timezone changes. I am now as far east as I can get in Southeast Asia, in the beautiful land of the cenderawasih.

I had come with a team from church last November on a week-long mission trip. I returned to Singapore with a love for the place and the people seeded in my heart, and then the Father made a way for me to return for the forseeable future as a missionary.

There is a different kind of fulfilment that one has when in the right place at the right time, and that is something I can say that I have here. It's a simpler life, but I have really been able to give of everything I have. There is space for worship and prayer, music and teaching, audio/technical work and language, hugs and children, conversation and cooking...everything that I had thought was a jumble of random skillsets seems to have come together in this one place. I am coming to understand that this is what 'breaking the alabaster jar' looks like for me.

While all of that is happening, there has been time for rest and balance in managing my day-to-day. I have been able to join more family calls over the past two months than I was able to in the past year. Am really thankful that technology has helped with the whole communication-and-staying-connected thing. But still. I miss being able to have a cup of coffee or a Macs sundae cone with my girls, being able to share a meal and htht for hours, being able to sit and pray together.
I miss my community a whole lot, but at the same time, I am thankful for the new community that is here. I've found a church to call home, one that has a heart for family growth and missions.

I never would have dreamed that I would be where I am today. The prayers of my parents, my mentors, my chosen family have all been instrumental in my growth and in my faith. We speak much of the plans that God has for us. Most of the time, when those plans are unboxed, we freak out. But that's okay :)

In my learning to trust God more and more, I am learning to yield to what He opens for me more and more. The stretching is uncomfortable, the testing and purifying painful, but at the end of the day, it opens into the beauty that He had in mind from the very beginning. If I truly hold Him in the highest regard over my life, and come to Him just because (not just when I need something), there is so much to learn and see and understand and marvel at.

That, my friends, is why I am constantly in awe and wonder at who He is and how He works.

Faith Translated

I've known for a while that my heart is drawn to Indonesia - her people and her culture. I used to serve with the local Indonesian congregation at their services with the sound team, and sometimes with the worship team. Due to my current scope, I've just been able to help with the recorded worship. It's been something that has been a pain point with the way things have evolved, and it's something I've cried about quite a bit, but it's also something I have surrendered to the Lord because He knows my heart the best. (He made it!)

September was when things (not just thoughts) started churning and I had told the Lord on the 28th that I didn't want to just respond to altar calls. If there was something to be done, steps to be taken, tell me what it is and I'll do it. The seriousness and readiness led to conversations, which led to an opened door to go on a mission trip to Indonesia.
In my natural thought, Indonesia comprises Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, and many smaller islands...but in late September, my perception of Indonesia had expanded to include West Papua. Manokwari, West Papua, was the locality of said mission trip.

As I learnt more of the profile of the trip and its' workings, it became clear that this was something very far removed from my current portfolio. The focal point was to go and work with the children at the centre, and also to run a curriculum-planning training for the Sunday school teachers. The cost of the trip was something that I had faith that God would provide for, so that wasn't really a huge concern. Sure, I could speak the language. I could sing songs and help to lead worship...but would I really be a help to the team?
I then told the Lord that at the slightest resistance, I would withdraw from the team. One thing after another, the process took its course with surprising smoothness - release from my HOD (this was huge for me considering some experience I had with leave approval prior to this), positive recommendation from my cell group leader, approval from the overseeing pastor. I still wasn't completely sure, despite the excitement of my spiritual Mum, and the encouragement of my parents. My parents, being missionaries, told me not to overthink it, and I didn't have to take it with the seriousness of a decision that would affect my life trajectory.

"How many confirmations do you need?"
This was a question posed to me when I reached out to someone who is also mentoring me in this journey to ask for prayer alongside. Having the release of my boss should be enough, he said.

It's true. It does seem like I took it way too seriously, but I'm glad I did. I ended up only booking my tickets after having come to a place of peace and assurance about the trip personally during a time of prayer and worship. That time of waiting and learning to sense and hear what the Lord was speaking and not run ahead was an exercise that has become another layer of the foundations of my faith journey. It wasn't that I was asking to know what was ahead, I was asking to know the heart of the Father, if this was something He had for me to be a part of.

Throughout the week in Papua, a constant question on my mind was, "Why am I really here?". There were many capacities we got to serve in, from the practical tasks that we helped with, to spending time with the children, to getting to know the staff and even encourage them.

Some of my discoveries included learning that I still love sound and technical work - it had been the pace and the circumstance that had me spiraling downward. In fact, earlier in the year, I had been talking to the Lord about future steps and asked if I could just not do anything sound-related anymore. This was certainly a revelation of what was happening with this thing that I seemed to have an in-built affinity for.
I was really thankful that the language was a gift that came from my relating with the Indonesians and the Indonesian culture over the years. Growing up in Sarawak and being exposed to missions and groundwork through stories and culture through experience seeded my curiosity to learn about Papuan culture. I brought back reminders of this precious time with me in the form of stories and the local arts (a very pretty Manokwari batik skirt!).
I learnt that contrary to what I had believed before that my 'random and very varied' skills and abilities were really for different seasons of ministry and life as it evolved, this was a place where all of that seemed to just come together and happen all in the same space. It was really a breath of fresh air for me.

This trip was what I would call my first overseas mission trip. Tracing the hand of the Lord in the things that prepared me for and led up to this trip has left me in a trail of gratefulness and awe. The question of "Why am I really here?" had so many layers to it - and the beauty is that all the answers came together as puzzle pieces, forming a picture up to this point. I am convinced that there will be more to it as time goes by, and as I revisit and keep tracing the Lord's hand through the seasons of this faith journey. There was major heart work as the Lord revealed some of the mysteries of His heart to me, and a keen sense of reverence that His heart has touched mine in things I have only read about in missionary accounts before, and are now personal experiences, that these are now things I know for myself.

I've been praying about and considering a major decision pertaining to next year. There has been much to learn about not adding on my own perception and understanding. Am reminded of how the manna provided for the Israelites was for daily consumption, and it was fresh every day. In the same way, the grace provided for my sustenance is something that I go to the Lord for the measure I need daily. When it comes to this crossroad I've come to over the past month, the understanding given and what is required is also daily, in that it really is one step at a time.

During a conversation with my parents last week, I was seeking their counsel over what I was putting together from my times of prayer and waiting and working through. I asked if it was reckless to make a decision at this point, or if I should wait for 'more information' before I make my choice. Mum then responded with this question, "If you had the answers to everything, then where would the faith be in your decision?".

What does faith translate to in this situation?
How much does it factor in to the choice I will make?
Is it something I am consciously posturing in?
What is the cost, and what is the price I'm willing to pay?

Is Jesus worth it?

But most of all, what does trusting Him in my daily look like?

Of Swishy Skirts and Slip-on Shoes

Each rise and drop has been wilder than the last.

It's the beginning of June, and I feel like I've been put through the wringer, squeezed and stretched out, over and over again. There were a few things that I was quite convinced would happen this year, but in the past five months - particularly in the past four weeks - I have come to realise afresh that I really don't understand many things that I had thought I did.

March saw the beginning of a once-weekly training for potentially stepping up in leadership a bit more. It ran for eight weeks, and that is now done! [I graduated yay~]

May kicked in with the four-day internship programme and we are now just done with Week Four. The intensity in which I am understanding the weight of the "Yes" is no joke.

Having said that, I am beyond grateful to be able to take time to just sit and learn and hear from the hearts of the leaders in the house. If there is one consistent thing I have noticed about every leader who has come to share on any given topic, it is that they carry such a zeal and conviction for what they speak on. All of them carry something in common that they repeat over and over again as they teach - that they love Jesus. It's said in a reverence and with an earnestness, with a depth that gets deeper in their expression and living out of what the Lord has planted in them. It has really challenged me in my desire to discover the depth of the passions He's put in me from the time He formed me.

(Just taking a moment here to be in awe at how He intentionally created this little human who He decided is worthy for Him to make in His own image.)

Desires. *sighs*

The week before the programme started, I was pretty tightly wound. I was stressing over the speculation of how I would be able to cope with the lessons and responses that would be required, with my regular workload to be completed in one third the usual time, and with balancing meetings and events and ministry. A 'pretty bad state' would be an apt description.

God - in His kindness and gentleness and mercy, and in His knowing me better than I know myself - bapped me on the head and told me to stop stressing over speculation. This little human heard, but as with most things, it took a while to understand what that meant specifically in this context.

In the first two weeks of the internship, there was a very real wrestle with the Mary and Martha - emails were coming in, WhatsApp messages were coming in, everyone needed something urgent that was due yesterday. The sledgehammer of the fact that I am pretty much a one-person department who deals with various other departments hit me full-force.

Reminders of "Just tahan first ok?" said over the past one year came back with me mentally throwing back "Tahan till when?" - and then the reminder of the one character that the Lord spoke of through my parents and mentors when I came full-time followed. "Meekness."

Rest and peace came as I chose to posture myself in everything I have. My attention, my heart, my hands. It was then that God began to speak and break things down, showing me that I really didn't understand what I thought was my calling. And I won't understand it at this point - I will only have the clues that He gives me in terms of my heart-wiring and serving, in terms of my ministry and interactions, and in terms of the relationships I have with those around me.

Major processing, redefining, and refining is happening, but there has been a peacefulness in understanding that I really don't understand many things. It's been a journey of retracing my steps, being more intentional about zooming in on different parts of my journey thus far, including my love for a specific land and people and the heritage I claim just by having walked through a significant part of my life there. I've been at my parents' hearts a bit more about what the Lord has spoken to them about life and ministry too. There are tiny little things and loves that I've missed in the 'growing up' and 'adulting', and this time has been so, so refreshing as the Lord invites me to take a closer look at things and stuff.

One of the visible restructuring things that has happened in the past month is a 180 degree wardrobe revamp because of a dress code that we have for the internship programme. I'm usually in my default black t-shirt and jeans or palazzo pants and black sneakers because of the mobility requirement that comes with my role, but for the past month, there is a no t-shirt and no jeans policy. It's been a month of donning dresses (a couple of them have swishy skirts that make me feel like I'm on the set of 'Funny Face') and slip-on shoes (they are still Skechers though, but have a slight wedge), which I was not super keen on at the beginning, but am coming to quite enjoy.

So the question that the Lord asked me on December 18th, 2021 returns.

"For all your desires left unfulfilled, will you bring them to Me and let Me put My dreams upon your heart?"

The subject of dreams and paying attention to my dreams have been coming up quite frequently of late. I don't consider myself to be a dreamer. I don't have vivid dreams other than the two brief ones I had where the Lord spoke so clearly regarding my one relationship back in April 2020 that led to me choosing Him and snowballed into my coming onboard full-time ministry.

I chose Him then, and I am still choosing Him now.

I'm His daughter. He knows me better than I know myself. When I said yes to Him writing my life story and my love story, I meant it. Even so, I often get excited and try to run ahead of Him to explore - that's just the reality of my feels and emotions, but He is such a gentleman and waits. So He knows, and I have no doubt that the story He's writing will appeal to all of how He made me to be. I did pour my heart out about a week and a half ago in a letter to Him and was very honest about where I find myself at this point. I'm pretty sure He read the letter and grinned and looked just ahead to where I couldn't see, and then back again at me and winked.

And so that leaves me sitting at His feet, tinkering on the keys in C (or D or G...maaaaaybe A) and singing to Him. In a dress with a swishy skirt. Probably barefooted though.

I leave you with this heart response.

Grace and Peace

I am thankful that the Lord is my constant.

Things add up and pile on and get to me. Just before my brain goes into overdrive, it kicks into survival mode. I often don't realise how stressed I am...until something major happens to my health. Before this when I was in MG, it was about six weeks in when I came down with a high fever, and then that morphed into losing my voice for a bit, a horrible cough, and being really winded every few steps I took. It took about three weeks to recover from there.

This time, also around the six-week mark, I spiraled into exhaustion, coupled with feeling that what I knew wasn't enough. A little bit of imposter syndrome, a little bit of inferiority complex...it all added up. It was different though - different in the sense that the Lord started to pepper my days with little things that all added up to counter the nonsense. There was encouragement in the form of hearing a testimony of the Lord coming through in an amazing timeline shared between three people, the working out of the reality of His grace being sufficient and His strength made perfect in my weakness in my life, and being able to hear stories, speak life, and pray with people the Lord brought along my week (which I know I can only do from a place of rest).

One of the things He's been teaching me is what I've taken to calling the 'ministry of encouragement'. It's something I'm being very careful with, not wanting to just say generic things or pray generic prayers, but asking the Lord what it is that would speak specifically to hearts and bless the individual. It takes time, and it takes heart. Why bother? Quite honestly, because this is the burden the Lord's given me the grace and heart for.

As I got slowly refreshed this time, the Lord opened the door for me to act on something else He has placed on my heart. Unity in the church.

I was approached to come alongside and run with the youths for two of three days of an event they were having. I jumped on the offer, showed up for the tech run, quite honestly, wondering if I would really be able to help. I felt bad during the run because I highlighted an issue that caused a panic moment as they tried to understand the situation. We took some time, I tried to explain the flow to them and once they got it, we managed to find a solution! I came away from that session not so much proud that we found a solution, but more honoured to be part of that team.

This past Thursday was the first day of said event. My right ear started feeling funny and I noticed that my earphones were going in quite tight. The inside of my ear canal continued to swell through the day, and by evening, my right ear pretty much felt like it was underwater. I didn't say anything to the team or anyone else because I didn't want to alarm them. Took a panadol, slept early...woke up at 5am with pain. My pain tolerance is higher than average, and this was PAIN. I remembered the sharing from the day before about the supernatural being normal, said a quick prayer and the pain subsided almost immediately so I went back to sleep for a bit more.

On my way to church a couple of hours later, I asked God, "How ah?" There was no panic, no anger, no anxiety - more of a "Hey Lord, I'm supposed to be the sound[wo]man for this. There's a whole day ahead...how am I supposed to mix with...only one functioning ear?" I could hear 'sound', but I couldn't hear detail. By the grace of God, the pain wasn't constant, just on and off, kind of in the background. My right ear was still 'underwater' and I couldn't put my earphones, much less my in-ear monitors in at all. I really felt handicapped while trying to eq and mix.

BUT, He gave me peace that surpasses all understanding.

The speaker of the day mentioned something in passing - that the Lord asked a burnt-out him what would be left if everything else was stripped away. I was brought back to the question I asked the Lord in the morning, "How ah?" I felt like I have this job to do, but my ability and the little skill I have is now half stripped away. The answer came quite quickly.

Just a heart that is fully in love.

It was a completely honest answer from my heart of hearts. Right in that moment, I felt the victory over the situation. I don't think I will end up having to see an ENT specialist, and it really feels like my focus through this period was right. I clung on to the Lord, to what He was speaking, and He gave me peace through the whole situation, He gave me rest and comfort from the pain. Perhaps this was the test of the lesson on His grace that He's been teaching me over the past three weeks from when I first realised that I was exhausted.

He gave me a gift of a couple of days of a personal retreat of sorts (because He knew I needed the time away), encouraged my heart as I reached out to encourage the team I was running with. I have been so incredibly blessed. My ear feels like it's slowly being unblocked, and I have full confidence that I'll be back to normal quite soon.

Your grace is sufficient for me
Your strength is made perfect when I am weak
All that I cling to I lay at Your feet
Your grace is sufficient for me

New Season Ahead~

I am so thankful that it is not me who determines the time and the season for things to happen.

Initially, the new role should have commenced mid-Feb, but there were things that cropped up beyond our control. Thankfully, I have an amazing boss who just allowed me to stay on till things were sorted, and on hindsight, I realise that my heart would really not have been ready to leave then.

The time extension allowed me a couple more monthly birthdays, as well as my long-awaited and very, very significant souvenir from The Muramatsu Flute. It allowed me extra time with people I truly appreciate, and the opportunity to show gratefulness for a little bit more. It allowed me to take the whole 'operating from a place of rest' thing to another level.

Just a couple of weeks after I got the news about the delay of my new chapter, my housemate forwarded a message from our landlord - we had to find a place to move to as they would not be renewing our lease, and we had six weeks. That was another adventure, but in short, after two weeks of searching and viewing and trying, it ended up that my housemate and I got to pray together and trust God to provide a place. He did. In the following week. We've just moved in and are still taking time to settle down and unpack. Something else to really be thankful for out of this situation is that she is open to us having small group meetings and the like at home!

There are many other things that have piled on simultaneously, but above the physical stuff that's happening, there is grace and favour as the Lord works things out the way He wants to.

This week, I will be letting go of my current role and preparing to begin my new role. I know my heart is now ready. I'm just astounded and amazed at how God is so gracious and would allow things I need even when I don't know I need them. It's a week of reflecting and recounting not just what He's doing in my life and where He's taking me, but also the people who have been instrumental in sowing into my life.

Learning to Say Goodbye

Day 30 of Month 30 with the MG Family.
I have no words to express how thankful I am, how thankful I have been to be part of this team.

Saying goodbye is not new to me. At all. My family and I moved around quite a bit while I was growing up - whether to different states altogether, or simply moving houses. Later came the saying goodbye to my country as I moved to a different one, moved back, and then away again. I've heard stories of some who move around and just don't put down roots because it's difficult when it comes time to uproot.

It is difficult.

I'm not someone who can go through life and relationships without putting down roots. Something I've come to learn in the past month or so is that it's not so much of where my roots are physically as it is where, or in this case, Who my source is.

I love people, I love being part of community. I love reaching out, and I love building friendships. I'm a relational person, but I also realise that there is wisdom in having an 'inner circle' to journey with. I'm talking about the guys who see me at my best, and my worst. They are the first ones I want to share news with, whether good or bad. There are some who journey together for a season, and others who journey for a much longer period.

Above all these relationships is my relationship with the Father.

He's been teaching me the importance of prioritising my relationship with Him, the value that comes from sowing into that, and how it then spills over into how I relate with the others around me and the community He places me in.

The past few weeks have been a pretty extreme roller-coaster ride. To date. It probably gets crazier as I stay on, but just like the safety harness, I know He's got me. All He requires is for me to rest in Him. Come along with Him for the ride, experience the things He's taking me through. Allow Him to give me the grand tour of my life. It almost seems too easy - but 'seems' is the catch.

The surrendering is hard.
The not getting overexcited and running ahead to explore is hard.
The saying goodbye when it's time to move to the next thing is hard.
The being ok with having to say goodbye is really hard.

I don't typically do floor service here, but I do have a small group of regulars who I have the pleasure of serving when they come in. I've got clients I have come to work very closely with, some of whom have been nothing short of patient and encouraging as I communicate with them in a language and with skills I'm picking up on the go.

As I reflect and take stock, I'm pretty amazed at how much I've learnt in my time here. None of it came from me saying I've never done it before so I can't. By God's grace and mercy, it was all happening so fast that I really didn't have the time to stop and think and convince myself that I had no experience therefore I couldn't. I've learnt not to tell God what I can and cannot do, and just let Him take me through the things He wants to teach me. One of the most precious things about Him leading me on this journey is that some of the things I've had the pleasure of picking up along the way, and even some of the connections (hello, Muramatsu!) have been purely for the delight of my heart.

My chapter with MG may be coming to a close, but I will always be Team MG. There has been such favour in this community of companies and it is truly an honour to be able to walk and learn with them. I am so grateful for the welcome they have extended, and continue to extend even after I step into my next adventure.

They took a chance on me, gave me room to grow.
They are family.