My favourite transportation in Quito

Thank God for the cycling system in Quito. It was $26 per year but it was just annouced to be free  from last month onwards. I signed up in Nov and have been cycling to work since then. It is faster and I enjoy cycling. Peiru and I cycle at the Carolina Park too. It is great exercise! :)

Cycling in Quito

Live session with Bill Hybels

It was a a divine appointment that Ps Jeff, Timothy Yeo, Shawn, Peiru and I get to attend a live training session with Bill Hybels in Quito. I have read Bill Hybels' books but this is the first time we get to see him face to face. It is really a rare opportunity to learn about leadership from him. :)

Us at the training session

Bill Hybels in action

World Cup 2014 here we come!

Watched the match between Ecuador and Uruguay in our house with Shawn, Shufeng and Trung. We won 1-0! That means we will most likely enter World Cup 2014 as we are in third place in the South America table with only one match left. The top 4 teams in South America will enter World Cup in Brazil next year. Looks like there will be many evangelistic soccer events in 2014! :)

Our victory cry after Ecuador won 1-0 over Uruguay!

Our favourite breakfast in Quito

This is our favourite breakfast from the Korean restaurant. Bread with beef inside, 2 fried eggs and unlimited coffee. Only $2.90! :) Sometimes we do our devotions at the Korean restaurant as the owners are Christians and they play worship music in the morning. I think we will miss doing devotions with this breakfast when we go back to Singapore in the future.

Korean breakfast set at $2.90

Treasures on earth

Peiru, Shawn and I found a second hand English book store in Mariscal area and we bought a number of books together. There is a variety of books and we were surprised to find a section on Christian literatures. It is really difficult to find English books in Quito so we are happy to find a bookstore that sells second hand English books. The price of the books are reasonable too! :)

Lighted word "Books" from outside the bookstore

Shelves of books to choose from

I am currently reading a book bought from this bookstore called "Just like Jesus" by Max Lucado. It is really a good book about the heart of Jesus. I am also reading a classic "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I bought it from Amazon.com. The English is rather difficult but the content is very rich. Thank God for books which help us to know Him more. They are indeed treasures on earth! :)

Gold for IPPT

If you have read my earlier post, you would have known that I had been training for my IPPT in Ecuador. I visited Singapore for 2 weeks in July and took the army fitness test. Thank God for the training in Quito, I have got full points for all the stations in my fitness test and ran 2.4km under 10min. The thinner Quito air in the high altitude of 2,800m above sea level surely helped me to be stronger and faster. Below is the summary of the results:

My IPPT results

Alfredo Seafood Pasta

This was one of the rare times I cooked. Surprisely it turned out quite nice. I cooked the sauce with prawns, mussels and green beans, then poured it over the pasta. A simple tasty dinner and my wife liked it too! :)

Alfredo Seafood Pasta

Hope kids outing

Thank God for my wife and Karina who brought the Hope Kids for movie and lunch at KFC. It was a great bonding time together! :)

Lunch at KFC

Children's Day and my birthday celebration

We had Children's Day and my birthday celebration after service last Sunday. Below is a photo of the children in church and I after service:

                                                The children and I with the cake! :)

Mother's Day corner

We celebrated Mother's Day in church last Sunday. My brilliant wife set up a beautiful Mother's Day corner for people to take photo in church. She arranged the flowers and decorated the wall with the word "Mama" with rose petals. Below are a few photos at the Mother's Day corner:

Angie posing for a photo

Arthur wishing Elena a happy Mother's Day! 

Group photo at Mother's Day corner

Training for IPPT 2013

It is the time of the year when I train for my army IPPT (Individual Physical Proficiency Test) again. I am visiting Singapore in July this year so I have started my training already. I take my IPPT every time I visit Singapore.

Today, I did interval training of 6 X 500 metres in Carolina Park. The timing of each 500 metre is 2 min 5 sec. And the rest time is 2 min 5 sec too. I did all 6 within the timing and my target is to run under 10min for my 2.4km in IPPT this year.

Last year, I ran 10 min 11 sec for my 2.4km and got $400 for the IPPT gold. Hopefully this year I can get full points for each station and improve my timing for 2.4km even more.

Elena's birthday

We celebrated Elena's 51th birthday at Uncle Ho's on 13th April. We had Thai and Vietnam food, and a great time of fellowship. We thank God for Elena and Arthur who supported us when we most needed help in Ecuador. They are good and faithful servants of God. We truly appreciate them being in our lives. :)

Arthur and Elena with the imperial rolls

Celebration of International Woman's Day

Thanks to Angie's initiative, we celebrated International Woman's Day for the first time in church on 8th March. The purpose of the celebration was to encourage the women in church to trust and follow Jesus more. Angie and Brianna first presented a meaningful song called "woman of faith" and they sang it so beautifully!

Then the brothers in church took turn to share their appreciation to the women in their lives. Alejo started the ball rolling and the rest of the brothers just continued sharing. They talked about the women in their lives and how they exhibit the character of Christ.

At the end, the women cut the cake and got the flowers in the church for themelves . They were encouraged by the song presentation and the sharing of testimonies too. 

It was a great time of mutual encouragement and we pray that the sisters in church continue to grow in Christlikeness in their daily lives. 

Inspirational School Song

I had taught in the Chinese High School, Kranji Seconday School and Singapore Sports School before. This is the first school anthem that I’ve ever come across that strikes me as truly inspiring. Very fitting… since it’s a school that’s set up with a definite purpose to excel in the areas it’s called to excel in. It really has that modern inspirational feel. I can also identify the lyrics with my walk with God too.

I could not find the anthem on YouTube but found it on the Singapore Sports School website: http://sss.ntrix.sg/infolinks.aspx?id=1 You have to click on the link and stroll down to the school anthem and profile to listen to it.

Singapore Sports School Anthem

We will rise to the challenge
The Sports School as one
With pride and with passion
In the journey we run
Every step leads us closer to our goal
And a voice keeps telling us to stay strong
To keep on walking cause it won’t be too long
Till we can soar
Beyond our fears
We’ve been living for this moment
We’ve been dreaming all these years
It’s gonna be worth the struggle
It’s gonna be worth the fight
We can hear the crowds roar
Upon our wings we soar

Tang Poetry

Suddenly thought of another poem when I was studying Chinese literature in secondary school. The poems of Du Fu (杜甫, AD 712-770) were most expressional of the outlook of social unrest and the feeling of the people in that period.

A Portrait of Du Fu

Du Fu was in Changan when An Lushan’s army took the capital. He wrote “春望, Chun Wang, Looking Around in Spring”:

A seal script carving of the poem

国破山河在，          Guo po shan he zai,
城春草木深。           Cheng chun cao mu shen.
感时花溅泪，           Gan shi hua jian lei,
恨别鸟惊心。           Hen bie niao jing xin.
 烽火连三月，           Feng huo lian san yue,
家书抵万金。           Jia shu di wan jin.
白头搔更短，           Bai tou sao geng duan,
 浑欲不胜簪。           Hun yu bu sheng zan.

(Translation of the poem to English)

Mountain and rivers still remain even though the state fell,
Spring is in the city while grass and bushes are tall.
Seeing so much misery flowers are shedding tears,
Hearing so many parting words birds are startled.
Flames of battle have been raging till March,
A family letter is worth of ten thousand tales of gold.
I find my white-hair shorter when scratching it,
There is no way to fasten the hairpin on my head.

Korean food for Valentine's Day Dinner

Peiru and I celebrated Karina's birthday over lunch on Valentine's Day and went to a Korean restarant for dinner. We ate our favourite spicy beef soup, Yukgaejang and the typical Korean rice, Bibimbap in the Korean restaurant called "Muskus" near our house. :) Below are a few photos:

 Peiru happy with her Korean food

 Spicy beef soup "Yukgaejang"

Yummy Bibimbap!

Random thoughts during festive season

It is Chinese New Year and I just remember the poem that I learnt when I studied Chinese literature during secondary school. It is a poem written in the Tang Dynasty by Wang Wei. Basically it is about missing the family members during the festive season. Below is the poem, enjoy reading! :)

“九月九日憶山東兄弟” jiǔ yuè jiǔ rì yì shān dōng xiōng dì

by 王維 wáng wéi

獨在異鄉為異客， dú zài yì xiāng wéi yì kè

每逢佳節倍思親。 měi féng jiā jié bèi sī qīn

遙知兄弟登高處， yáo zhī xiōng dì dēng gāo chù

遍插茱萸少一人。 biàn chā zhū yú shǎo yī rén

“Double NinthMissing My Shandong Brothers” — Wang Wei (Tang Dynasty)

Translated into English version poem:

As a lonely stranger in the strange land,

Every holiday the homesickness amplifies.

Knowing that my brothers have reached the peak,

All but one is present at the planting of zhuyu.

Chinese New Year Celebration in Ecuador

Thank God for LaoBan and LaoBanNiang for inviting us for steamboat reunion dinner during the Chinese New Year. We had a great time sharing and eating together with their extended family! :) Below are some photos:

Steamboat dinner

LaoBan's sister and grandnephew

LaoBan and LaoBanNiang

Noodles with crab and mushroom

Stir-fried squids with green pepper and carrot

Amazing grace in Spanish

This was one of the last few songs we sang during our worship community "Presence". We decided to sing agapella (without music) to God after playing the instruments for a long time.