Our Animated Journey

Dear Prayer Warriors, Apologies for the lack of a proper update this month. Thankfully, I was reminded while praying for a sister this morning that I haven't given you guys a heads up for the month of March. So here it goes - Since its the last lap of Term Two Semester One for both Jonathan and I, we are pretty busy with our essays. Busy is an understatement. Jonathan spends most nights working till the wee hours of the morning, on days he's too tired, he instead sets his alarm for 3am and works till we get up. I am amazed at his resilience. I just find pockets of time during the day to catch up on various parts of multiple essays I am writing all at the same time. Thankfully, this has worked well for me since I have a very short attention span anyway. I find myself ahead of most of the deadlines and its certainly by the grace of God and your prayers. This month was special because we went to Kuching for a family trip to meet my brother's fiancee's family. It was ...

     First up, a very blessed Lunar New Year to all readers of Our Animated Journey. And thank you for your patience. We have good reason for this delayed update which you will read about very quickly. But I just wanted to say before that, thank you so much for all your love and prayers! We have been receiving your gifts, emails and texts of encouragement, and it fuels us on in this journey. Thank you!                  As the title post reveals, God has decided to change our plans quite significantly this year. Initially, I (Amy) was meant to finish my Theological studies in 2019 and begin part-time work (secular) whilst volunteering in the church Missions department thereafter. However, our gracious Father has decided to give Jonathan and I another child!      We are very grateful that Mya will finally have a sibling. One that she has longed for since she started talking really. We are also...

     This year, to be very honest had been off to a rather weird start. As a family, we took turns to fall sick over the Christmas cum New Year Celebrations. Starting with a huge bout of stomach flu, fevers and the regular incessant cough. That being the backdrop of 2017, we barely realised we were in 2018 when it happened, all of us catching up on our sleep as others took videos of fireworks and clinked champagne glasses at the various countdown events.      Nonetheless, the New Year descended upon us, without our consent. And school begins officially this coming Monday. With our holidays behind us and an immensity of readings ahead, we are once again humbly asking for your thoughts and prayers to accompany us in this new term. THANKSGIVING 1.        Wonderful short beach holiday in Desaru after the exams 2.        Slow-paced, nature-filled Taiwan trip with close friends 3.  ...

October went by like a whirlwind, quite literally, with group projects, individual assignments and the like. Every day was a mad rush, to classes, to group meetings and the top it off with revision that often went past midnight. Yet we have much to be thankful for. School ended off with a wonderful Sports Carnival last week. And we were so grateful to have little Mya join us. The little cheerleader was happily chasing bubbles and running around with the other children on campus. It was a true joy to have her with us.  Despite our busyness and lack of time to meet our Cell Group members individually, we have seen much fruit and are greatly blessed. A couple who had been attending our home church since Easter, were just baptised the week before! We had so much encouragement hearing their testimonies and how God worked in their lives. Another cell member decided to spend their block leave going on a Mission Trip! How wonderful it is to serve alongside like-minded indivi...

This school holiday past, I (Amy) found myself spontaneously sharing with a few teacher friends during the school holiday about this new phrase of seminary life. After they got over their surprise, remarks that followed all centered around the great sacrifices we were making as a family and concerns about financial challenges etc.  This is no sacrifice. And no, I'm not making a noble famous missionary type statement like 'If Jesus be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me..." CT Studd.  I am honestly and simply telling you the truth of the matter. Being called to Seminary, having the joy of studying His word day after day and surrounded by God-fearing individuals is a huge privilege. Why would anyone consider this a sacrifice? Or rather, what are we sacrificing? To this question, I have no answer.  Even then, this month, we want to give God much glory and thanks because indeed before a word of prayer is uttered from our lips, He knows it completel...

In this second month of Seminary, the whole family is officially in school. Mya’s childcare is now officially opened! We are so grateful for all who have prayed, this is indeed an answered prayer. Yet, to be honest, this past week has been really challenging. As with every transition, it takes adjustment, especially for a two-year old. On a more positive note, Mya seems to be enjoying school a lot. Showing off her craft work and dragging me around the different classrooms to show me ‘her’ toys. And God has so graciously given us a car for the month of August so that these initial days in school would be less challenging. Ministry on the church front for both J and I have also slowed significantly in the last month or so, this has given us more time for revision but more importantly more energy to engage Mya at home. Here’s how you can pray for us in the second month –

"Hi, my name is A. I come from Church B and serve in these ministries for X number of years." Throughout the first week of seminary, I think the most daunting thing is not the number of readings we have to do per week, but really the wealth of experiences many of our classmates bring in. Some are returning Missionaries, taking time to get a Masters during their sabbatical, whilst others are Pastors, seeking to better serve their churches and still others who are nurses, church workers, business owners and many more. Hearing these stories on loop all week as I attended the various classes made me feel tiny, or maybe even miniature in comparison. Not the mention the life-sized portraits of Spiritual giants like Hudson Taylor, John Wesley etc. hung all around the campus. How humbling and privileged I am to be doing school alongside these folk! Here are some ways you might pray for us this first month -

It was no surprise that J.G. chose Moses for his opening passage as part of a Call to Worship this morning before service begun. He has always loved the character of Moses and sought to exemplify his life in many ways. I dare not say, he has succeeded, but more than a handful of close friends and co-workers have called him 'humble', 'meek' and 'mild-mannered', character traits which seem to run parallel with his biblical role model. Allow to me share from the start. These writings will be intimate and personal for the most part. They will include stories and photographs of my family and our lives. The main aim of these journal entries is to keep those faithful prayer warriors in the know, but more so for us as a family to record Our Animated Journey we believe is ahead. Hopefully, in times of discouragement and disappointment, which are to be expected, we may read back and see that He never left us or forsook us, just as He promised at the very beginning. ...