A Celebration of Love :)

Congratssss Megggg! :DDD

Today I went for my first Indian engagement ceremony. It was fun, filled with joy and laughter, colour and happiness, and most of all, love.

I see what the Bible says about love, and I think of what the world would be like if everybody loved each other with the love described in the Bible. Imagine that. Wouldn't that be an amazing world to live in? Love never fails. It brings people together, and it connects them at the heart level. I think love is pretty cool, don't you?

Today I saw people of different skin tones laughing and dancing with each other, teasing and playing with each other in good fun. Aunty Olive said to me, "Our church may be small, but we are all so close", and it hit me. We are all so close because we are connected at the heart level. It doesn't matter what colour our skin is, what language we speak, how old we are, or where we come from. There is a love that binds us together, linking all our hearts together as if we were little pearls being strung together to make a beautiful pearl necklace. God taught us how to love, and the love we have for each other holds us together and makes us a family.

Probably my favourite photo from that night (even though I'm not even in the photo!) -
Some of the people who have grown to be my family here in KT being their usual adorable/funny/weird selves!

Today I pray that the people of this beloved country of mine will experience and know Love, and all of us Malaysians will be able to stand together, hand-in-hand, united as one in love. Love never fails!

Jagung-y Durian!

Duriansssssss! I have been seeing more and more durians lately, and finally, I got to eat some a few days back!

It was after our CG/Fellowship thingy (where the FES staff who is taking care of KT, Wan Ling, was our guest speaker :D), and she, Ruby, myself, and one of the UMT students, Enoch, were on our way to Chinatown for a late dinner. We passed by Pasar Payang, and we saw durians. Then we smelt durians. Then we joked about stopping for durians. Then, we realised Malaysians never joke about stopping for durians, and so we parked the car, got down, and yayyyyy! We had durians! :DDD

We had two different kinds, one called kacing baju and the other was a Thai Musang King. The Thai Musang King was, you know, your typical Musang King, but, well, Thai. Okay I don't know what I'm saying, but the bottom line is, it wasn't all that impressive, especially for Musang King standards. The kacing baju was interesting, though! I don't think I had ever tried one of those before, and it was one of the most peculiar durians I had ever tasted, because it tasted like a blend between durian and corn. It was really creamy and sweet, though, and though I'm not to big a fan of the flavour of corn, I found I quite liked this corny durian!

Now I'm wondering if there are other kinds of durians that taste like other things. Banana-y durian maybe? Or ooh! Maybe it could be the other way around! Durian-y bananas! That'd be cool! Maybe. Or just odd. I wouldn't know until I actually try one (that is, if they do exist!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NIKOOOOOO!!!

Thank God for technology! Daddy's and mummy's three children are all away from home, all in different places, but still we managed to have a wonderful time online together :)

Brother #2, happy 25th! Thanks for being such an amazing brother! I'm sure you already know how much I look up to you, and how much I love you! In case you don't, though, I do look up to you and love you a lot a lot a lot! I am so blessed to have be able to call you my "brard brudder"!

Happy birthday! Love you!

HAPPY (boxing) BIRTHDAY, MUMMY!!!

Guess who came to KT?

DADDY AND MUMMYYYYYYY!!! :D :D :DDD

It was mummy's birthday yesterday, and she and daddy arrived in KT last night! And in just one night, they have fixed up most things that needed fixing, and even some stuff I didn't think need fixing. Not to mention the fact that I now have enough food to last me a long, long time. I have the best parents in the whole, wide world!

Koko and Niko didn't come because Koko is working and Niko has something on, but that didn't stop us from singing the birthday song to mummy together!

We Skyped Koko and FaceTimed Niko. Hahaha poor koko's face is weird and shiny and have things reflected on at weird places xD But at least we have a family photo from mummy's 56th birthday! :)

We went to church this morning, and I'm glad mummy and daddy could finally meet some of the people I'm always talking about because of what a blessing they have been to me since I started attending the church!

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, MUMMY!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Stop. Staring. At. Me.

So here I am, back in Terengganu, on the 4th day of Chinese New Year, in the middle of the night, sitting at my laptop. I feel something staring at me persistently. I ignore it. It continues to stare at me. I hear it call my name, I sneak a glance in that direction and I see exactly what it is. Only, it isn't just an "it". More like a giant pile of them. I ignore them. I turn back towards my laptop. Still, I can see them staring at me out of the corner of my eye. They just won't quit, will they? I try to ignore them again.

It's too late. My body has started responding to seeing them. My eyes have a mind of their own and keep darting towards them. My hands start shaking. My mind plays tricks on me and I imagine all sorts of things.

Then I can stand it no longer. I have to leave my room. Something must be done. They have unleashed something within me.

So... I step out of my room and promptly devour everything I can that is on the dining table. I eat from the containers that are already open, and I open those I haven't opened. It's torture, really, it is, to see so many jam tarts you know taste awesome, and not to be able to eat them because they are not meant for you. Torture, I tell you, tortureeeeeeee. And you know what else is equally bad? Trying to get to new year goodies but having to tear the cellophane tape. Those things are always the thing keeping people from being united with the food that will make them happy.

All these being said, I'm glad mummy made me bring new year goodies up with me. Even though they did get squashed up a bit on the journey, now that they have arrived with me, they help me keep a bit of the CNY mood going. Anddddd they make me happy in the middle of the night when I get hungry. Even though they are the ones who made me hungry in the first place.

Mummy, the jam tarts you made know my name! :O

Moral of the story:
Mummy knows best. Always. So when your mum asks you to bring new year goodies, bring them. Don't argue that they are going to be difficult to carry or that you won't have time to eat them. Listen to your mum and bring all that food with you. They can be your best friends in the middle of the night!

Also, you can take the Amanda out of the home full of people eating the whole day long and not caring how much weight they are going to put on, but you can never take the eatfulness out of the Amanda.

As was written on a T-shirt my family saw some time back (and which kept us plenty amused for a long time), there was eatness.

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone :D

Yeah, yeah, one of these days maybe I'll start being conscious enough about my health/weight to try and control myself from stuffing my face full of these food in the middle of the night. One of these days. Maybe. In the meantime, if anyone wants to snack on some new year goodies in the middle of the night, you know where to find me. Obviously, while stocks last ;P

Homey Smiley :)

It wasn't easy, but I finally managed to get these two goofballs to sit there and smile for me to take a proper photo!

It's really good to be home. It's true what they say - home is where the heart is. Niko is already back, and Koko is on his way home. To be surrounded by family, loved ones, this is pure bliss :)

Happy (2 days after the mainstream) Valentine's Day!

Colossians 3:14

But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Well, who needs a particular day to celebrate love when the greatest gift of love has already been given to us? We only know how to love because of the love of God, and even then, the love we know of is nothing compared to how deep God's love for us is :)

Found this online and I really like it :)

So to whoever is reading this, please know that YOU ARE LOVED! :DDD

Lamentations 3:22-23 (King James Version)
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.