Jen Lee's week 28 (25 - 31 aug 2010)

Hey friends...

let me begin by wishing all Malaysians - Selamat Hari Kebangsaan - happy national day!

i realise i can't remember how to sing the national songs that I used to know when I was young...will need to go on a youtube search one of these days...

anyway...here's how my past week has been...

1. I finished my first round of assignments - yay! with the last one being on Fri - an essay about the Better Access initiative in my public health class on Australia's mental health policy. I had a hard time getting my head around the assignment cuz i don't have any background on this...and I had been concentrating on my other assignments.
But thank God, i think i got it figured out and I finished at 4plus on fri - i didn't have to rush back after lifegroup ended to finish it (as the deadline was 11.59pm).
I'm now preparing for my next assignment for this class - which will talk about the concept of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)...if you're going "what is that??", i want to welcome you to the club cuz i'm still trying to figure that one out even after doing a few readings on it :P
Please pray for enlightenment - I'm waiting for the a-ha moment :) and that I will do a good job for the essay that is due 13 sept.

2. Right after I submitted the assignment on Fri late afternoon, I checked my email and found out that my wallet had been found in the indooroopilly mall near my home! thing is, i didn't even realise it was lost! it had dropped out of my bag when I was there on thursday evening. i remembered it sitting quite high in my bag cuz i was carrying too many things (overambitious shopping that day).

24 hours had passed before I realised it - and only because of the email that my school sent me as the mall had contacted them after a kind and honest soul returned my wallet. I really thank God because if i had known about my missing wallet, i would have had a hard time concentrating on my assignment. When I collected my wallet on saturday morning, everything inside was intact - including the $40 cash that was in it. I know, some of you must be thinking, why does Jen Lee keep losing things?? handphone, hat, the same hat (this happened during my sydney trip, i lost the same hat, twice :P), one half of a sock, one half of a glove..the list goes on....

that's a mighty good question...i already look behind me whenever i leave a place e.g. when i get off the bus...but now my new mantra is "zip zip zip". i will zip my bag from now on, especially when i have a lot of things inside. pls pray that I will not lose any more things! thank u!!

3. Friday night's movie-themed lifegroup went pretty well - not as many people came as we had hoped but it was still pretty fun. See the pictures for the various get-ups people came in :)







more pics at
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=204843&id=544591952&l=05abaf0c1f and http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=244254&id=550454008&fbid=475542614008&ref=nf
A BIG THANK YOU to the folks who helped in planning and execution. we watched the short movie Most (czech for bridge) about a drawbridge operator who has to choose whether to lower the bridge to save an oncoming train of people from plunging into the river, knowing that it would kill his son who has fallen onto the lever/gear. more details here if you're curious http://www.mostthemovie.com/
My friend Edward, whom I mentioned in the last email, was there and he said it was very touching. Pls continue to pray for him as he is under a lot of pressure from school work with the midterm exams coming up.


4. finally, thanksgiving for my presentation on tuesday (i wrote about this in the last update - i had worked all night and finished in the nick of time) - i got my marks for that: 24/25 :) praise the Lord!! the lecturer says he has come to expect strong presentations from me...it's a compliment for sure...but also pressurising in a way :P pls pray that I will be able to do a good job in October when I have another presentation for the same lecturer :) that's for my other intensive course, on info-com technologies and social change. once again, time management will be key! thank you very much :)

alrighty then, that's all from me for now. Take care and God bless,
jen lee

Jen Lee's week 27 (18 - 24 aug 2010)

Hi folks.

the week has absolutely whizzed by since i last wrote...will use the 5Ws and 1H method to do this update, cuz it's faster and I don't have to think about sentence structure too much haha :)

1. what: I'v attended a talk on the reliability of the Gospels
where: UQ
when: Wed
who I went with: Edward, colleague from China who is currently searching for truth. He has been coming to lifegroup a couple times and loves it - praise God :)
how did it go: speaker was pretty engaging and we had a good discussion after that. Ed said he believes God is real, although for 20 years of his life, he was thought otherwise. The gospels is evidence that Jesus existed and now he's sorting out how he wants to respond to Jesus. He has been having some trouble sleeping cuz he has many things on his mind about school and future; i prayed for him and he said much better because he felt at peace. Praise the Lord! Pls keep him in prayer :)

2. what: i've done my first night dive in Australia
where: Tweed River down south, at the border of queensland and new south wales
when: sat
who i went with: Mark, Shanee and Pete from the UQ Unidive club. just the four of us, cozy group, Mark drove. I had not known them before the trip, but after two dives - which were pretty cool (we saw these really groovy cowries - see pics) - we feel like friends :)
how did it go? So thankful for the extra vest and hood that Shanee lent me, my wetsuit is a bit too thin for end of winter diving. Indeed, God provides, cuz i had a dream earlier in the week about getting a dive hood/beanie. i had tried to borrow from one friend, but it was too small and I had no time to buy a dive beanie so I was just going to wear my swim cap in the hope that it would prevent cold water from continuously circulating round my head and stealing away my warmth.
That reminds me...I should order my dive beanie soon so i'm ready for my next dive :P

oh and there were no whales, haha, which is a good thing cuz i forgot that I was going to dive in a river - max depth was only about 10m so if there had been a whale, it would have been stranded - not something I want to see.


3. what: I've iceskated for the second time :)
when: sun morning
where: Ice world in acacia ridge
who i went with: my two colleagues Cathy and Cate.
how did it go? we had a great time. I was afraid that my first time iceskating back in May was just a fluke/beginners' luck or sthg so it was good to discover that i can still do it. I did fall once, when i was holding cathy's hand, but in a way it's good because now i don't have fear of falling. there was no permanent damage, so it's fine :)


4. what: I've experienced the renowned Watoto children's choir from Uganda
when: sun afternoon
where: UQ at my church service
who I went with: besides the usual folks from my lifegroup, Cate came with me after ice skating. My coursemate Lorena, who will be going back to Mexico on Thu, also came but we didn't sit together as she was late.
how did it go? i was really touched by the children's singing and dancing. Even before hearing their stories of how they were orphaned, i was already tearing. Later on, Cate told me she cried too. To borrow her words: "My heart is full" :) I bought a DVD and I'm going to watch it with Cathy and Cate this sa :) Pls pray for a good time, for me to know how to continue engaging them.

5. what: I've done my presentation on "contentious online journalism in M'sia and S'pore"
when: Tue morning. I had worked through the night on Monday, didn't have time to go to bed, i just took an 1.5 hour-long nap on my study desk
where: in my communications and social movements class
who: i've about a dozen classmates
how did it go? one of my classmates said it was coherent - yay! I was not all that sure I was making sense because I had to speak fast to keep to the 10-min limit.
I have another assignment due on Friday - it's for my public health class which is looking at mental health. it's a short essay but I have not done many readings so I need to be able read and write FAST! pls pray for me, thank u!

ok that's all from me for now...i'm super sleepy! thank u for reading, hope it doesn't put u to sleep :P

In-Christ,
jen lee

Jen Lee's week 26 (11 - 17 aug 2010)

Hi folks,
it's been half a year since i got here - 26 weeks spent away from Singapore...

how time flies...

not only when u're having fun...but also when u're doing things like looking through supermarket catalogues at the expense of doing your school work...suddenly i realise that I'v spent more than 1.5 hours comparing prices of shampoo, storage bags, etc etc - how aunty can i get??

so because of that, i'm so sorry but I have to make this update real short...jus snippets under the following categories:

1. most incredulous moment:
when one of the floodlights around my school swimming pool crashed into the water due to severe rust at the base of the metal pole and a particularly strong wind that day (see pictures). Thank God it was during the day time, if the light was on at night, swimmers would have been electrocuted. as you can see, the huge pole went across several lanes and eyewitnesses said it narrowly missed hitting two swimmers. i have never been more thankful that I'm a slow swimmer so I was in the extreme right lane...if I had been more to the left, I may not be writing this to you now...






2. most happy moment:
when i got the news that the stepping stone clubhouse director has okayed my documentary video proposal :) i will be doing a short piece on housing challenges faced by people with mental illness. My first assignment related to this documentary is due this Fri - i'v to do an outline, a script, explain how i'm using visual/sound/editing elements for impact, compile a shot list and do a storyboard (i've to draw!). Please pray I will be able to finish everything and do it well by Friday 5pm.


3. most satisfied moment:
when i finished organising birthday celebration for two people in my lifegroup on Sunday - it actually takes quite a bit of effort to coordinate cake, gifts, and dinner treat...while involving over 15 people. I found myself quite unreasonably irritated at certain points - like when i had to wait for people to tell me how much they want to contribute (since we were getting vouchers of variable value) - I think it was a sign of mild burn-out. So i told the other birthday coordinator in the lifegroup that he will need to take over organising for sept and oct. please pray that I will have the right heart when i serve the lifegroup and i will rely on God's resources and not my own as it's not always going to be smooth-sailing.

In the upcoming week, I am looking forward to many things:

1. cold and wet experience: night diving on Saturday! woohoo. my first time doing so in Australia. Pls pray for safety :) and whale-sightings too!

2. inspiring and musical experience: watoto children's choir from Uganda. Performing concert of hope as part of my church service this sunday. the singers are orphans, having lost their parents to Aids etc. Please pray my friends whom I've invited will be able to come :)

3. cold but dry experience: ice skating on sunday morning before the church service. i had such a great time the first time i went that i want to go again :) hope my ability to skate was not beginners' luck :)

okie doke, that's all for now...gotta hit the sack.
take care, God bless and Good Night!

:) jen lee

Jen Lee's week 25 (4 - 10 aug 2010)

Hi folks,

to those in singapore happy belated national day :) hope you had a good long holiday...

i'm having a public holiday tomorrow (wed 11aug) too :) it's called Ekka (wikipedia says: The Ekka is the annual show of Queensland, Australia. Its formal title is the Royal Queensland Show. It was originally called the Brisbane Exhibition, however it is usually shortened to Ekka. It is the last public holiday of the year before Christmas and is celebrated as the unofficial end to winter).

Ekka started out as an agricultural exhibition back in 1876 but it has grown a lot since and it is apparently Queensland's largest annual event. I was thinking of going to the showground tomorrow with my friends but it's predicted to rain buckets so i think i will try to go on saturday instead. Hope there's good weather!

speaking of good weather, last Saturday when I went diving, the weather was fantastic, sunny with clear skies.

Unfortunately, the sea condition was quite choppy and I threw up quite a few times :( I don't know why...i have never been really sea sick before. But thank God, I was still okay to dive and once I was under the waves, I was fine.

We dived at this sunken ship called the ex-HMAS Brisbane - it was a guided missile destroyer that served during the vietnam war and was also deployed in the gulf war. it was decommissioned in 2001 and sunk in 2005 to create an artificial reef. It's interesting to think that the ship that was used to bring death has now become a centre of life in the ocean. Just look at the pictures i've attached and you'll know what i mean.

Almost every square inch is covered by coral/anemone/tunicate/sponge etc. and on top of that are invertebrates like marine slugs (aka nudibranch = naked lung, they breathe through this appendage sticking out of their back) and in the water all around are fishes of different shapes and sizes... I included the picture of the tail of a rainbow wrasse (i'm quite sure that's the name of the fish) because i feel it represents my forays into the ocean - i'm in an unnatural environment in a sense, so capturing the animals is that much harder because they are in their element...but even just a glimpse of beauty, as seen in the tail, is enough to draw me back, again and again... :)

i didn't get to see whales on this trip, although the dive guide said they heard whales at the dive site the last time...oh well, my quest to get close to the largest mammals in the world continues... I hope to go diving again soon :)

Because diving costs quite a bit (for the two dives on sat, i paid $144), one deciding factor of how often I dive is how much i earn at my part-time job at the massage place - thank God that I had quite a lot of customers on monday so i earned $142 :) Pls pray that I will continue to improve as a masseuse - although I have gotten tips, I hope to have customers who like me so much that they make bookings under my name. so far that has not happened yet :)

School work is going ok - although the readings and assignments are beginning to demand a lot more of my time. Pls pray for good time management and speed in reading/writing academically. I realise that my winter break, almost two months, made it a bit hard to get back into school work at the efficiency level I was in before (which was not that efficient actually but at least i don't recall falling asleep so much during my readings :P)

One last prayer request has to do with my digital video production class - we're required to make a short documentary/narrative video during the semester. I am having a hard time thinking of what to do. I have one idea, but it's pending approval from the director of this clubhouse for people with mental health diagnoses to fulfil their potential.
The organisation is called International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD) and this is from their website:

The emergence of Clubhouses around the world demonstrates that people with mental illness can successfully participate in society through education, employment and other social activities.

ICCD Clubhouses offer people who have mental illness hope and opportunities to achieve their full human potential. They provide:

* A place where people with serious mental illness – who are known as “members” – participate in their own recovery process by working and socializing together in a safe and welcoming environment.
* An organization that operates on proven standards coordinated by ICCD and effective in over 300 Clubhouses worldwide since 1989.
* A community-based approach that complements available psychiatric treatment.

The personal stories of members and their families and an increasing body of research provide evidence that Clubhouses provide a holistic, inspiring and cost-effective solution for people living with mental illness.

What i hope to do is to help tell some of these personal stories, but I don't know if anyone would come forward for my video...if people's faces have to blurred out/they have to sit in the shadow throughout the video, it's not going to b very interesting visually. The backup plan is to have a video about the people who work with the clubhouse members, what are their experiences like. My contact, who works at the Stepping Stone Clubhouse has asked me to send him more details and he will ask his director on Thursday. Pls pray for favour, that I will be able to do this project with them.

Finally, I've happy news to share :) On monday i got an envelope in the mail that contained a certificate of commendation from UQ's executive dean for high achievement in my first semester. I think it's their equivalent of Dean's List - which I've never been on - hehe :) really want to thank God and praise Him again for helping me through my courses.

Please pray that I will continue to work hard and smart this semester, for His glory, amen!

Thanks for reading, God bless you all and take care,
love,
jen lee

Jen Lee's week 24 (28 jul - 3 aug 2010)

Hey folks...

i'm sitting here with a smile on my heart because someone that I met in the Ipswich lifegroup way back in early March has just told me that she accepted Christ last Sunday.

Chloe spoke of how she's "no longer emo"...only a few days old as a believer, but already testifying of God's love and goodness.

i feel very privileged that she messaged me on MSN to share the happy news, and I thank God because her sharing is very timely.

you see, i have been feeling apprehensive abt an upcoming social movements course where the lecturer has said he will talk about Christian fundamentalism. the book that he got us to read for the course defined fundamentalism as a set of Christian beliefs and experiences that include
- the belief that the Bible is inspired by God and without error
- that individuals are saved by accepting Christ's substitutionary atonement for sin in His death and resurrection
- that Jesus is coming again, and other Protestant orthodox doctrines such as the Virgin birth and the trinity.

well, according to this definition, i'm a fundamentalist and my lecturer has already said that fundamentalist social movements are "negative".

just now at our weekly prayer meeting, i asked my lifegroup members to pray for God's wisdom as I grapple with what will be presented about Christianity in class.

i believe Chloe's testimony is part of God's answer to their prayers as her story stands in defiance of what these intellectuals say - no matter how much they dismiss God, reducing Him to a human construct (the book author actually said: "Indeed, outside us (humans) God would become homeless.") etc...HE IS REAL.

and He continues to bring REAL change to REAL people's lives...people like Chloe.

I think that is my main sharing for this week. Please do pray for me about this course, which will run from 10-26 Aug (it's an intensive course so it's tue-fri, every day 9-12):

1. Pray that I will be able to effectively critique the book i'm reading - we're to do a book review for the course as one of the assignments. I don't just want to be emotional in reacting towards what the author says, I do want to stand up for my faith in a cogent manner. As the Bible calls us to be ready in and out of season to give a reason for the hope we have.

2. Pray that I will not be afraid to speak up in class to explain the Christian faith, as necessary and as directed by the Holy Spirit. Pray against fear of what people think of me, whether it's my lecturer (who actually considers himself a Christian because that's his family background...but he does not believe in "this conversion business" as he puts it).

Other quick prayer pointers:
- i've started work after almost a month of rest. pls pray that I will have strength and stamina to give massages that are a blessing to my clients.

- my housemate Michael (one of my housemates, Jess, has moved out) has attended a couple gatherings organised by my lifegroup/Campus Christian movement. my lifegroup leader has shared the gospel with him, pls pray that he will come again for lifegroup this fri.

- my sandfly bites are much better now and I take the anti-histamine at night so the effects are not a problem. I finish the last tablet tomorrow, as i bought a pack of 10. pls pray for complete healing of the bites. thank u to those who wrote to ask about them :)

- i plan to go diving this sat, to HMAS Brisbane, a ship that was sunk to create an artificial reef. I've not dived in a sunken ship before, but this ship is apparently very safe because they took out all the dangerous parts and cut out big holes for divers etc, before sinking it. whatever the case, pls pray that I will dive safely, for good weather and sea conditions, AND that I will see a whale (on a trip last week, divers saw a humpback whale come to within 10 m of the dive boat, it was doing tail waving, breaching etc!! I wish i was there!!)

Thank you all for reading and any thoughts would be most welcome on what I have shared.

Take care and God bless you,
jen lee