Sunday: Edit video, write application, book hostel, plan Singapore


Monday:
return library stuff
grocery shopping maybe-GET THE SPICY XO Sauce for Dan
maybe go to UTS, call UTS

Mail application and DVD for Mo.

11:30 Doctor leave the door at 11am
2pm grocery shopping for dinner
4pm prepare dinner
Finish making dinner by 7pm

do some last minute room cleaning

Tuesday:
ready to go.

My left leg is still a bit sore. It's been 3 weeks. I really need to rest it. It's still a bit tense.

Summer will be...a bit of flying again. It's getting real hot in Sydney but at the same time we have the occasional thunderstorms here which are pretty spectacular. I just enjoy looking at lightning. The rain cools down the place very quickly and several times I was caught without my jacket or umbrella. Like a few days ago, it was all sunny the whole day until 6pm when a thunderstorm started. You can literally see the cloud coming and raining several kilometers away and come over to where you are standing. The raindrops are huge here, like little rain bombs.

I think I am overstaying a bit in Singapore, I wanted to leave earlier from Singapore and arrive and leave at different time but everything booked out. So I will be helping the economy of Singapore with my overstay. So I think I will be walking around a lot.

I was looking at the weather forecast for Singapore and it had been raining there for the past week and it's pretty warm there, 30C more or less, even when it was raining there. It's gonna be hot and humid, yuck!

A lot of people are going to Taiwan in Nov and Dec. I wonder why? 

Thankfully, I found something to do in the summer. I am going to intern for a documentary filmmaker, Tammy Cheung. In the mean time, I also need to do a little preparation for leading Bible study next year at Focus. The good thing is that it's going to be on Philippians which we did at Tin Chuen earlier this year.

Yet at the same time, I don't want to be too busy. Need to spend time with the fam and hang out with friends and get some time to think. It might be my last summer as a full-time student. I want to enjoy it.  At the same time, I think I fly way too much in the past year, it's really tiring. It's different from traveling for fun. It's just a bit unsettling considering that I spent the past three, four months in Australia and before that a little over a month across US and in between, Hong Kong. I am a bit tire and at the moment, I just wanted to stay in one place and doze off a bit.

Something about editing, it's never finish. It's actually the same with editing text, you can always work a bit more on it.

After editing a bit and burning dvd and waiting for the computer to render and convert files, i met up with Michael at UTS library, how convenient! I had been trying to get hold of him for ages. I only saw him twice  during my stay so far. He works 3 jobs. I didn't get much time with him, well, I didn't get much time with everybody actually, because we were all eating but Karina and Mike spent some time walking the dog. It was good seeing him and catch up a little. He changed a lot but at the same time, some of his characteristics are the same. He is very straight, he doesn't filter much from what he thinks to what he say. I saw Mindy this time and she changed some but personality-wise she is still there. And I can't believe it but she is dating Ed hahahahahha. Gosh, this kid that I had trouble with when small. Ed was really naughty and cried a lot when he was a kid. Gosh. I can't believe this.

Anyway, it was just so cool to hang out with them. We ended up eating at 9pm, walked around Sydney a bit and saw Mindy's office. We haven't seen each others for like 6 years. I haven't seen Ed for maybe 17 years. Gosh. I felt awkward. Funnily, we went to Outback for steak. We were originally going to a cafe Ed suggested, but it closed down. Then we went to Ding Tai Fung, the famous dumping place that we also have in Arcadia. The line was too long so we went to North Stratfield. It's a nice place. It reminds me a bit when I was in Washington DC and met up with my cousin Jeffery and we ate at Outback with his friends who were all leaving some where. I had a wonderful time. It's a bit surreal. Ed and Mindy were asking me so many American questions like, "Do you own a gun? Do you like Obama? Are you a republican or democrat? Have you seen Arnold Schwarzenegger? and etc. I was really tire. Been tire the whole day for some reasons.

I felt like Mindy is my own younger sister. Mike and Mindy are also PKs so we have some shared experience. I felt we could really open up to one another. The guards are down. We could be honest about things coz there is some mutual understanding of things that most people probably won't understand. It is so good to see them doing alright. Sometimes i do think back about what if we didn't leave? if we grew up together?

I don't get why people have so much clicks. Can't we just all accept one another? We all have prejudice. People are good. I hate seeing how people get affected by others negatively. People do get hurt and it takes ages to heal. We need to lower ourselves. I am thankful that they are alright. We are not here to judge, we are not qualified to. There is only one judge. Please be with them and take care of them. Thanks so much.

http://www.dccma.org/publish/200303_3.pdf

A faithful servant of God went back home.

曾永煇牧師簡介

曾永煇牧師年青時信主並奉獻為主所用﹐先後畢業自香港海外神學院並美國惠頓學院研究所。曾於菲律賓華人教會牧會(1975-1978)﹐ 於香港宣道園作主管監督(1978-1989)﹐ 並於美國馬利蘭州蓋城華人宣道會當主任牧師(1989-2000)。其後四年於保加利亞﹐烏克蘭﹐羅馬尼亞和西班牙宣教﹐建立華人教會。自2004年11月始，就任羅得島華人基督教會主任牧師

About the English Speaker: Joshua Tsang

I accepted Christ as a child. I lived in Hong Kong until finishing elementary school. In the 9th grade, I recommitted my life to God. I attended a Christian fellowship at my high school. I was also active in my youth group at church. My favorite subject in high school was science. God led me to 'Mr. Jefferson's university,' University of Virginia, where I received a Bachelor and Master degree in Systems Engineering. Then he provided me with a job in a research lab of the US Army Corps of Engineers. After four years, God called me into seminary. I am beginning my second year of study.

「我的心哪，你要稱頌耶和華，不可忘記他的一切恩惠。他赦免你的一切罪孽，醫治你的一切疾病。他救贖你的命脫離死亡，以仁愛和慈悲為你的冠冕。」 詩篇103:2-4

2004 年八月曾牧師結束在歐洲四年的事奉工作，回來美國。神為他開了另一扇事奉的門----出任羅德島華人基督教會主任牧師。九月和十月間，他在亞里桑拿州、紐 約、新澤西州、芝加哥及維珍尼亞州多所教會講道，故要十一月才能前往羅德島教會履新；而我和女兒則留在馬利蘭處理房子的出售及搬遷事宜。神很恩待我們，房 子在十月初上市，不到兩周便有買主簽約。另一方面，在羅德島買房子也深深經歷神的恩典，房子完全符合我們的需要，更奇妙的是：在我們準備遞交合約之前不足 一小時，賣主降價三萬元，感謝讚美主！衪替我們行事，何等奇妙！

牧師工作十分起勁，弟兄姊妹對他愛護有加。他暫住一執事家，食住都得到照顧，執事更陪他去看醫生，因數周前牧師頸部長出幾顆硬塊。醫生先後給他服用兩種抗 生素，都不見效，便取組織化驗。醫生推斷他患了鼻咽癌。他得知這消息後，心情有點起伏，但很快便回復平靜。當他把診斷告訴我時，我立時想到約翰福音十二章 ２４節「一粒麥子不落在地裏死了，仍舊是一粒；若是死了，就結出許多子粒來。」這是他2000年往歐洲宣教時所領受的話。我想：若是主把他接回天家，我心 也得安慰，因為在過去幾年，他帶領了不少人認識耶穌，目睹他們生命的改變。

十二月十日化驗結果証實他患了鼻咽癌，而且是屬後期。蓋城宣道會知道曾牧師患病的消息後，在主日崇拜中全體同心為他禱告，而多位弟兄姊妹來家裏幫忙收拾裝 箱。十二月十四日舊房子成交，當天李弟兄駕車送我們到羅德島。弟兄的愛心盛情難卻，我們懷著感恩的心領受。翌日新房子成交，一切順利。在此期間，我們向數 位主內醫師詢問有關治病之安排及地點事宜，並在禱告中尋求神的引導，終決定在馬利蘭州的約翰霍金斯醫學院附設的癌症治療中心接受治療。感謝主，承蒙范醫生 介紹耳鼻喉科醫師，再轉介醫學院的專科醫生，一切安排就緒。

在這段日子，我們經常從主的話得著信心和力量。「我呼求的日子，你就應允我、鼓勵我，使我心裏有力量。」（詩138:3）「我雖行在患難中，你必將我救 活…耶和華必成全關乎我的事。耶和華啊，你的慈愛永遠長存。」（詩138:7-8）十二月十七日靈修時，神以詩篇九十一篇激勵我。「他是我的避難所，是我 的山寨，是我的神，是我所倚靠的。…你必不怕黑夜的瘟疫，或是午間滅人的毒病。雖有千人仆倒在你旁邊，萬人仆倒在你右邊，這災卻不得臨近你。…神說，因為 他專心愛我，我就要搭救他。因為他知道我的名，我要把他安置在高處。他若求告我，我就應允他。他在急難中，我要與他同在。我要搭救他，使他尊貴，我要使他 足享長壽，將我的救恩顯明給他。」

十二月十九日，曾牧師在羅德島教會主領崇拜和浸禮，教會表示對我們全力支持，薪金照支付，請牧師安心治病休養。十二月廿一日，我們駕車回馬利蘭。詹姊妹愛 心極大，願意接待我們，把她的主臥室讓給我們使用，眾多弟兄姊妹在各方面表示對我們的愛心和關懷，於此不能一一盡錄，卻是令我們銘記終生。

牧師一月中開始接受三次化療，三月中至五月初，接受一周五次的放療並四次化療。感謝主，在最初三次化療期間，他身體能抵受，並沒有太大的不適，只是掉了頭 髮。後來，當放療與化療同時進行時，他的喉部被灼傷，唾液腺受損，不能下嚥，不能講話，靠導管把營養直接輸到胃裏。因口部灼痛，加上噁心嘔吐，不能成眠， 甚是痛苦，但靠著主的力量和眾弟兄姊妹的禱告支持，平安度過了這段艱難的日子。以下輯錄兩段牧師寫給弟兄姊妹的信函：

二月四日
感謝主！我已於二月一月接受第二次化療，醫生說癌細胞對化療藥物有很好的反應，我頸部的淋巴腺腫脹已顯著地縮小了。因此，醫生加了藥量。過去幾天我非常虛 弱，靠主的恩典，今天氣力稍為恢復。我相信主的話：「你的日子如何，你的力量也必如何。」我的頭髮已掉得七七八八，但它會長回來的。因此下次我們會面時， 將會是個新的我。若是我們眾人都經常換新，豈不是很美好嗎？謝謝你們為我禱告，我也祈求神讓你們在新的一年裏有更新的力量！在主裏歡欣！

三月二十日
三月十七日開始接受放療…我感覺十分疲倦，這是意料中事。…周間，我們住在美國癌症協會屬下的希望之家。這是一個愛心的社團，我們為這樣的預備感謝神。神 的恩典豐足有餘。師母有機會在此間並在癌症治療中心向多個病患及其家屬傳福音，以神的話安慰鼓勵他們，並為他們禱告。我們知道這一切皆因神的恩惠並你們的 禱告才能成就。願一切榮耀歸給衪！衪的話語是何等真實！「然而靠著愛我們的主，在這一切的事上，已經得勝有餘了。」（羅馬書8:37）

現在，牧師在康復中。他的體重恢復，聲音洪亮如昔，並於九月初復職。誠如英語部的Evans 牧師所說：「讚美主！這實在是個奇蹟！」

這次經歷，由始至終，我們心裏滿有主的平安，因深知這事是出於主，必有其美意。首先，透過疾病，讓我們體會生命的脆弱和人生的無常，必須抓緊機會為主作 工。第二，要好好照顧身體，讓它發揮最高效能。第三，得以反省個人與神、與家庭和與事奉（工作）的關係，多作改進。第四，要隨時準備迎見主，每天儆醒生 活。第五，經歷神的美好安排和預備：牧師發現得病的時間恰好。他父親去年病危，九、十月間多次往院，我們於十月曾去芝城探望並照顧他。其後，他於十一月廿 四日安息主懷。待安葬事宜辦妥後，牧師才獲知生病消息。其次，羅德島教會提供給我們的醫療保險比我們原有的保險優勝。第六，經歷眾教會及肢體的愛心、代禱 和關懷。在美、加、歐洲、中國大陸、香港、菲律賓、澳、紐、中、南美洲各處的教會及弟兄姊妹為牧師的病切切代禱，更有多位牧長提名為他禱告。第七，親身體 會病者的痛苦，以後能更有效地安慰病人，為他們禱告和提供幫助。第八，有機會向癌症病人及其家屬傳福音並播送愛心。

全是恩典，感謝上主！


勇士 撒母耳記下 23:8-39

今天我要跟弟兄姐妹講的題目是勇士。每次當我讀到大衛的