Me in His Tree

It was me by His Tree

Taking refuge, whilst being free

Shielded from the glare

Unfazed by the wind

Splashing in the water

Satisfied from within

Now, it’s me in His Tree

Taking in others, setting them free

Shielding from the glare

Barring the wind

Keeping in the water

Bidding, “Come, jump in.”

This was the unofficial "carrier poem" of CYAF's involvement in Bradford's Ministry Fair 2010, in November of last year.

The title, which was the drive of CYAF is a play of words: MINISTRY ---> ME IN HIS TREE

It tells of our growth, or aspiration to grow, from being blessed to becoming blessings to others.

Stop-motion animation

I received this plastic model of a gundam for my 19th birthday. I figured it's from an animated series so why not animate it? This right here is my first and only (so far) shot at stop-motion animation, or at animation for that matter.

(This video was made in late 2003 or early 2004. The pictures were taken with my long-dead Fujifilm 402 compact digital camera. The animation was done with Macromedia Flash.)

(Almost) cover story

This was supposed to be the cover story of UCCP Bradford's "Acts 16:9" Sunday Bulletin on CYAF Sunday 2010.

Tipping the First Tile

The Bradford Christian Young Adults’ Fellowship (CYAF) believes that care, if done right, will have a “domino effect" in the community.

Domino effect does not work on one tile only, not even with a few tiles. It works best if there are several tiles. In the same way, care is best seen at work in the community.

However, the beauty and wonder we see in the successive knocking over of several tiles starts with one push. Even after all the hard work involved in setting up the tiles, it still needs that one push to make it all happen. That one push is often something we find so hard to do for others. The fear or reluctance of doing that one push often makes us give up on caring for others.

And we are all called to care for others.

Let us all, by God’s grace, be bold enough to make that one push and start the domino effect of love and care in the community.

One might argue that he/she is not fit or built for caring and point to someone else to do it. It is valuable to note that arranging domino tiles in order to achieve the “domino effect” is not in any way connected to the game for which the tiles where made. “Domino effect” is a product of resourcefulness and of thinking out of the box. Caring for others should not be so different at all.

a shrimpy reflection

The following article is the cover story of the Feb 6 2011 issue of Acts 16:9.

I had shrimp sinigang for dinner the other night. Yum!

Shrimp, as well as crab and lobster, is arguably the best produce from the sea (or rivers). That is why it is among the top of everyone’s “my favorite food” list. That is why parties run out of shrimp before they do any other dish. That is why it is so expensive.

If there is one drawback in the whole shrimp thing, it is the need to use both hands to get the shell off – you would have to have shrimp matter in your nails; and the smell does not come off easy. I remember my brother saying he loves crab and shrimp; he just doesn’t want to go through the whole process of taking the meat out of the shell.

As members of the Christian community, many of us do not bother to get involved in the little details of Christian life. We don’t bother attending Bible studies and Sunday school. We don’t fellowship with others in the different organizations and ministries. Maybe we just want the brand name – we just want the shrimp meat.

We do not see that, just as having to remove by hand the shell before actually eating the shrimp is half the experience, getting involved and fellowshipping is half of what it means to be part of the faith community. The only way to enjoy shrimp is hands-on experience; the only way to enjoy being a Christian is hands-on experience.

Be a full-time member of Christ’s church. Be involved.