Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Last week was a rather rough week. I felt totally homesick! I missed the friends in sg and also the things I used to do, from church to cg to usher, everything! There was one day when I think I almost went crazy. As I walked along the road, I was like scrutinising every face in hope I found some familiar face. Well, how impossible will tt be to meet my sg friend in aus at this time. Sad. But I know tt this is just one of the process I have to go through to adjust life here. The reality tt I am in aus away from previous lifestyle began to sink in and I began to accept it. So this week being the third week, I start to embrace a new day, knowing that I have to learn to adjust. Thankfully, I have friends here whom I can connect. One gal is Wendy 19 from HK and the other gal is Binny 22 from Korea. We often have laugh tgt. They are fun and caring :) Wendy will be gg to church with me tis sun. Tis somehow brings comfort to my soul tt I am still Olivia. The future is unfolding. My greatest desire now is to study hard and be the top student to receive a scholarship of $5000. The lessons are tough and more in depth than I used to learn. I will give my best effort.
Yesterday, it was raining cats and dogs. Can you believe it was raining intermittently since morning till nite?? One memorable raining experience happened yesterday morning on the way to school.. I was standing by the roadside, waiting for the greenman to light so I could cross the road. Then, a bus drove past, past a pool of water in front of me. And u can imagine what happened next?? What a shower. I was so stunned. I was literally wet from the top to the toe. (O.0) A guy next to me quickly stepped back to avoid similar fate happened to him. Some ppl behind giggled. I just kept cool, pretending tt as if tis unfortunate incident is not a big deal. I was laughing inside too. Tis is so comical.. Then, I went to toilet to remove the outer white top. It was soaked. So I just had my blue spaggethi inside and jacket outside. And throughout the day I was shivering. When you shiver, your muscles are actually contracting. And I have muscle ache after sometime. Well well well, just learn a lesson: NOT to stand near the roadside when it rains.
Well, when I decided to come to aus to study, I reckoned tt I need to have some self control over shopping. The school fee has alr cost a bomb. But the phrase 'Leopard cant change its spot' seems to be so true. Last sunday, after from church, we went around the city to buy some household stuff. Then, I noticed posters of SALE plastered around one of the clothes shops, called Cotton On - a rather popular shop in aus. Halting in front of the shop, I took a better look at the inside and to my great amazement, there are sections of tops that only cost $5-$10. So I stepped inside the 'trap'. To my greatest excitement, the clothes are of quality design and so it was a definitely a good buy tt I simply cant miss. Suddenly, I felt so alive. haha. In the end, I bought two tops. One for my sis, Sylvie, and the other for my cg friend, Huiying. I have to send the tops by post. But since the tops are light, hopefully the postal fee wont cost alot.. Even though the tops are not for me, I still feel very happy shopping. haha. hopefully they will like the tops. It's the thought tt counts rite? :)

NB: I am eyeing tis retro black and yellow tube top and waiting for it to be on sale! haha :D

Saturday, April 14, 2007

CCC

finally, Finally, FINALLY, today is sat and I was looking forward to CCC (Christian City Church). The svc starts at 6 and I set off at 4.30. I walked to the train station -Town Hall- and boarded the train to Chatswood which is a suburb area. The journey took about half an hour. From there, I got on the bus 136 and asked the bus driver for the bus fare to Brooker Avenue. N the bus fare was.. $4! The train fare was $4.40! my jaw dropped. so expensive! Anw I asked him to inform me when the bus reached Brooker Ave.

After the bus travelled for some time, it brought me further from the city and to like a hilly area. The scenery was great! so greeny, lots of trees. Then, it went down the hill and up again. Not long, the bus driver told me to alight and even showed me the path I had to take. Thankfully, he knows where CCC is. So I walked down the hill. Yes, down the hill. The narrow road was somehow deserted with a few cars speeding down. The sky at 5.30 in australia is getting dark and the weather was getting cold. As I continued walking, it really didnt seem that CCC was anywhere nearby. No sign indicating, nobody to ask. At my right was rock wall, my left was like a big field for horse race. I was getting worried.

I prayed inwardly for God to help me. Soon, there was a red car driving down and stopped further front of me. I was elated as I could ask for direction. The driver was a lady and she asked at once if I was going to church. I said YES! She asked me to hop on the car. Praise the Lord!! my heart was bursting with joy and gratitude. Thank God! The car travelled for about another 5 min. If I continued to walk, I would probably took another 20 min walking in tears. ha.

CCC was an awesome place! it looks more like a resort seriously. Really amazing. I wont go into details about its description now. I would take photos of it nxt wk and post it here. it's better rite. haha. Anw I 'skipped' my way from the carpark to the hall. On the way, the praise song just started. I could recognise Nikki Flecher's voice. Someone at the front door, giving out a welcome brochure. The hall was brilliantly bright! but empty cuz most ppl go to sunday svc. I got a seat and took my mobile out to switch it to silent mode which is a habit developed from CHC. ha. It was 6:01. At tt instant, I realised I had reached at 6 and was amazed at how God had brought me to CCC just in time. When I began to sing, I felt tis huge sense of love from God. You think about it: walking down the road, I was kinda stranded at nowhere, prayed to God for help and was answered and I reached safely just at the right time. amazing.

The message from the ps was tt we are a new creation in Christ, putting off our old bad attitude, and having revelation from God about our spiritual identity in Christ. It was a great msg for me who is starting out a new chapter in aus. I was blessed and encouraged. At the end of the svc, there was an altar call to receive an encounter w God. I went down. When I reached the front, the presence was so thick. my mouth began to quiver and tears rolled down my cheeks. For those who dont understand what happened to me: God was touching my heart. It just happened. One will weep in the presence of God. Like wad ps kong always says: when we take one step towards God, God will take a thousand step towards you.

Anw I had alot more interesting things tt happened to me. such as a drunk teenage guy trying to be funny with me or a horrifying experience in the carpark basement when I was looking for an accomodation. I will write again tmr. :)