Once again, I will miss my birthday at home and with family. This time round I am still in Korea with the National Floorball Team participating in the Asia Pacific Floorball Championships. As I become older, birthdays seem to be less important and there seems to be less emphasis on how elaborate it should be. Keeping it simple is the way to do it.
The guys from the floorball team decided to give me a surprise celebration as they all knocked on the hotel room door just before midnight. Surprised? Not really...but it was really nice of them. They claimed that they bought the most expensive cake in their life (five figure), so i must be really privillaged! :)

Birthdays, no matter how simple or elaborate it may be is significant. It marks a specific time in history that a seed was planted into this world to grow, become, and do great things. So as I spend my birthday and a couple more days here in Korea, I as myself if I have grown, become, and am I doing great things for God? I enter another significant year. This is the year of possibilities!

The most expensive cake ever?! Very nice...and yummy! :)

Today the National Floorball Team arrived in Korea for the Asia Pacific Floorball Championships (APAC). The team started initial preparations in the 3rd quarter of 2008 and we were planning to take only 15-18 players this time as opposed to a large team of about 20 in the past years. By January, the team was named and there were 15 on the list. The other 3 who qualified could not make it. However last month another 2 key players pulled out and there was 13 of us left. At that point, my role as coach also had to switch a little in that I would still be coach by took on an additional role as a "spare" player if anything were to happen. And "anything" did happen! Just 2 days before our travel date, I get news that another 2 will not be able to make it! That leaves 2 lines (10 players) and one keeper including me. That means no spares, no back up players. What is happening?

This reminded me of Gideon when God reduced his team from 32,000 men to a mere 300 (Judges 7) when they faced the Midianites and defeated them. How do you draw strength in times when the odds are against you? The National Floorball Team will have to do just that. We will have to search within to look for inner strength, mental strength, and most of all to draw strength from the Almighty. Gideon won the battle with trumpets and torches in empty jars. How will we win the battles in our lives when we seem to be "reduced"? It is only by the grace and strength of the Almighty God!

Just a week after the arrival of the Silver Ark, we decided to dedicate this gift that God had given to us back to Him. The van is only a tool that is given to our care and we are to use it to make Him famous.
Amazingly, we had a guest speaker in our church that Sunday in the perosn of Pr. Victor Wong. So obviously, we took the opportunity to invite him to perfrom the "dedication ceremony".
Well, that wasn't the amazing thing...the amazing thing is that we also have another vehicle in the family - a Produa Kancil that was given to Selina some time ago. Fact is, this Kancil at its birth was also dedicated by Pr. Victor Wong years before it became ours to possess.
Now, we have two vehicles given to us; and both dedicated to the Lord by the same person. There must be some significance in that! :)