2010.05.29 TGIS Blog

2010.05.29 TGIS Blog (Posted by Ronnie)

Hallelujah! It's me again. I am sorry that I am writing again this week. I will get someone else to write next week. Haha =P

Anyways, this was what happened in today's TGIS service.

Icebreak

Kayoko led the icebreak activity. Instead of 2 truth and 1 lie, she improvised the game and made it 3 truths and 1 lie!  Basically, everyone will have to write on a sheet of paper, three facts about themselves and one thing that is not true. This was what I wrote.

1. I had a piece of noodle come out of my nose before.

2. I had rice come out of my nose before.

3. I had banana come out of my nose before.

4. I had milk come out of my nose before.

Can you guess which one is the lie?   Number 3 is the lie! I hope you got it!.

 Worship

This week Colin led the worship and here were the songs we sang.

1. Might to Save by Hillsongs

2. How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin

3. Great in Power by Hillsongs

4. Friend of God by Israel

Testimony

Today, I decided to give my testimony about my faith because my childhood friend, Kim, came to Japan to visit and he joined TGIS too. This was what I shared.

My family is a typical Taiwanese home with no particular belief, so I didn't know Christ until I went to high school. It was a Christian mission school so everyday I had to take Bible class. I really disliked it and i doubted God and questioned God for His 'cruelty' in the old testaments.

However, when i graduated from high school, I felt a sense of uncertainty because it was my first time to leave my family and go study in university. Due to this fear and thanks to a dear friend's testimony, I decided to take a chance in accepting Christ when I was 19, as my personal savior and see if God really exists. My struggles with life had just begun.

In university, I didn't go to church or read the Bible. The only time I would pray was before the final exams. LOL. I was studying Computer Engineering. My goal was to graduate with high GPA and get hired by Microsoft. However, in my 2nd year, my grades dropped from an avg of 92% to 65%. My application for internship program was rejected. My goal to get into Microsoft was crushed. I didn't know what to work for anymore and I realized that I hate computer engineering. I just wanted to graduate and get out. Because of stress, I developed  stomach ulcer and my health worsened day by day. I was in bad mood everyday and my relationship with my family also worsened. This situation continued until 4th year of university.

One day, I went to visit my friend in Seattle and he took me to church. I forgot the details of the message that day but I cried after I hear it. I started reading "The Purpose Driven Life" and I learned that i need to surrender the control of my life to God. I decided to do that.

I prayed to God to bring me away from Vancouver, away from computer engineering and to somewhere that I can enjoy.  At that time, I really enjoyed watching Japanese anime so I prayed to God that I want to go to Japan and learn Japanese so that I can watch anime without the English subtitles...LOL

 I prayed to God that if I am able to go to Japan, I will start going to church and seek Him. God answered my prayer and here I am in Japan. Day by day my relationship with Him grew closer and of course at times I strayed away but now I would never forget about Him.

Thank You Jesus.

Message

Psalm 23:1  "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want."

Today Wayne shared the message about the Lord being our shepherd. We read Mark 5 and learned about the power of Christ. Even the legion of evil spirits obeyed Jesus and was cast out of a man. The man returned to his normal self, became dressed and healed.

When we have the Lord as our shepherd, we would be in the right spirit and walk the right path. Let us not desire the things of this world but of the treasures in Heaven. The Lord will guide us to Promised Land. Hallelujah.

 Fellowship

Again today we had a lot of snack and a great time chatting with each other. It was nice to have two newcomers, Kim and Masaya, to TGIS today.

Ukulele Lesson

After the service, Colin also taught two brothers how to play ukulele!