Wednesday CG 260809

Together...

waiting

chatting

eating

pizza-ing

sharing

praying

Monday CG 240809

It begins...

...with more to come.

Jin Cong's thoughts on CGW and CGLT

The first Care Group Workshop and Leaders' Training is finished and I think it's a good job done. Although there are several areas to improve on, I feel that God has done a pretty good work in me such that I coordinated something of this level solo. However, there are many people who came alongside and helped me plenty. I can sense the blessing that God is showering upon me through the help received and the equipping given to the members and leaders.

Although there were some stressing and disappointing moments, I was kept in good spirit through prayer and words of encouragement.


God: You're creative and in You is joy. We, who are gathered in Your name, enjoyed these sessions that You've put together and the fellowship we share in You is accented with joy.

Stephen: You're a blessing. Your wedding is two days away and yet you still opened your house for us to use for our leaders' training. The environment is fantastic and I'm inspired by your generousity.

Sherry: It's amazing that you kept to the time and got us to learn about IBS. The session although dry, was lightened by your jokes and cheery personality. I remember your pointer "Showhand.... hahahaha". It's indeed hilarious.

Shari: You're a great help thru the whole two days. Your "ABO then" session is fantastic. I'm sure this left a deep impression on the Fellas. They were so in tune with the idea of "Acts of Love" and so clear on meeting the needs of NTU. You were perpetually cleaning and giving us welfare. Thank you for serving the way that you do. I'm prepared to "wash you feet" too.

Kaihong: With such readiness you came and help out in the session. I'm glad to see that faithful servant character in you.

Shawn: Always reliable =)

Ainsley: I'm very thankful that you rushed down for the session that you are supposed to lead. The thermostat and thermometer analogy was thought provoking. The second half of the session, although, did not happen, I'm sure that the session would value add to the Fellas even more. Let's do the colourful activity during CGW 2.

Rhoda: You've clocked 10 hours! Ha.

Vivienne: Got to pass you the card I prepared for you somehow. I enjoyed asking questions and the insight you gave.

Samantha: Although the worship you prepared didn't happen, you still kept a positive attitude throughout the session although you spent so much time on it.

Samuel: The session you've lead turnout to be differnt from how I wanted it but the content you covered in "Interogation 101" is essential and a great tool for the leaders. You got to help out by leading more sessions in the future.

Tien: Thanks for the reminder and feedback. I appreciate the sensitivity that God have given you to watch out on the need to align the leaders with the same idea and mentality.

Leaders: Thank you for making the effort to come by hook or crook and showing so much support and brio.

More obstacles ahead. God, grant to me wisdom.

Zhi Loon's thoughts on CGW and CGLT

Care Group Workshop (5th August 2009)

Our dear Care-Group coordinator, Jin Cong had put together what we call the Care Group workshop. It seeks to answer the question: Why have Care Group within CF? Or even, why CF at all?

Really glad to have made it to CG Workshop, we had very VERY special ‘speakers’; from within our own...10 10 10! Guess who?! Shari, Shawn and Ainsley! Haha! To be honest, I never quite remembered what was said (Oops! Blame the Big Fat Roasted Chicken at the Quad...Crap) but am just happy to remember their faces with moving mouths again after the hols and catch-up with the other ‘old time’ CFers and catch a glimpse of this coming semesters bright looking CG leaders! Wee!!

But...not forgetting everything I heard...heh...

We students come together on campus for different reasons, with different needs and expectations (some have nothing better to do..yeah rite haha); but at the heart of it all, is Jesus. CG and CF is an expression of His love for us, and our response to His love.
Ainsley then went on to facilitate a discussion about thermometers and thermostats (probably those NTU emails by the Dean asking to record our temperature has left its effect on Ains...). How we seniors can play those roles to help the CG remain strong and healthy (free from H1N1, kiddin).

Shari then shared the CF direction for this acad year. It is...*tung tung chiang!*...ABO then! What’s it again? ABO then lo..Really wanna know.. Come check out the CF booth during the CCA fair and the Welcome Tea on the 21st Aug 6pm ... hahaha Gotcha.

Seee YOU soon!! ;)


Care Group Leaders Training (6th August 2009)

After CG workshop, we little brats gate crashed (nah.. actually with consent) Stephen’s (our beloved staff worker from FES) house two days before his wedding to have CGL Training. Stephen Rocks!! =P

The Care Group Leaders Training seeks to equip Care Group leaders for the coming Acad Yr. So what did we do? We did ‘Inductive Bible Study (IBS)’... by watching some sappy French romantic drama... thanks to Sherry (our other cute and beloved staff worker). The link?... I am still wondering..ask Sherry when you see her haha...

The following day, equipped with jellies and Roucher (yummy!), Sherry VERY patiently and painstakingly walked us through a 4 hour IBS course (She even smuggled a briefcase of books from FES just to illustrate something to us..shh..)

Vivienne and Sam then gave us a course on navigation and interrogation skills 101 respectively... actually, both are more glamour names for CG development and facilitation skills haha.
In between all that, we caught our dear brother shawn napping!

All in all, it was great fun and fellowship: watching French movies, napping, play board games, slacking and stoning together =P.

So...do join us next year! And see ya around CF soooon!

See Wah's thoughts on CGW

I’ve never heard of a care group workshop before and I’ve been going for CG for like a year already. So, not knowing what else there is to talk about bible study + fellowship, I went to CG workshop on a good Wednesday afternoon.

The workshop sort of redirected my focus to God. I guess sometimes you just have so much fun eating and laughing your head off with one another that CG meetings slowly morph into a sort of social networking club. Granted there’s the bible study component that helps us grow spiritually together, but there’s also a purpose for us to fulfill as a CG, which is the vision set for CF this year (outreach, acts of love and something??) and then something about Ruth and the community showing love and including outsiders was mentioned. Blurred memory but the main point, if I remember correctly, is that as a CG we do not just(i.e. growing together also v impt) focus on ourselves but also extend to other people outside our group (and bringing them in) and be the salt of the earth in school. But more importantly, whatever we do in CG, whether it’s outreach, bible-study, or eating and laughing, the core of CG is God and the main purpose is to shine for Him.

And then Ainsley started talking about thermostats and thermometers which raised my awareness about certain aspects of CG that I’ve never really paid attention to before. Being a thermostat in CG means to set the tone/mood/atmosphere/dynamics of the group (like how the thermostat sets the temperature) while the thermometer-people are the ones that indicate/reflect/propagate the growth of CG. I guess realizing such roles give new significance to being a CG member.

It was overall a fun day of bonding, laughing and learning new stuff with the CF people. Then I went home at 6 o’ clock so the mystery of what happens after that remains with those who did not leave.

Charlene Lee's thoughts on CGW

Whilst thinking of my reflections, it occurred to me, quite suddenly, that I had always been through Care Group (CG) in CF not knowing the clear and concise reason of why I attended it. It was for learning from God’s Word- yes, but we can also learn from God’s Word through one-on-one Bible Studies with a single person. It was also for fellowship- the oft used reason for a CG; yes, but if fellowship meant just hanging out, chatting, eating; then you could also do so with your non-CG friends in school and outside school, right?

The reason for why I attended CG was rather muddled and unclear to me. So, I was rather interested upon finding out about the Care Group Workshop (CGW). After repeated announcements that CGW was not just meant for Care Groups Leaders (CGLs), I decided to attend CGW, hoping that my reason for attending CG could be further defined and clarified.

I learnt that Christian fellowship in CG is God-centred. It is not food-centred or ‘chatting-centred’. The heart of it is a common relationship to God. It is only in Christ and centeredness on Christ that our relationship with a brother or sister-in-Christ will grow deeper- and this is where the meals or chatting follow as a result of this deepening relationship with Christ.

With this fellowship with one another in Christ, we can then reach out to our campus effectively and united in spirit, knowing that we are ‘outreaching’ for Christ- being effective salt and light on campus.

So, Christian fellowship is all about Christ, not about self. Its ultimate purpose is in outreach on campus for the glory of God.

This is a snippet of what I learnt from this one day of CGW. The bunch of CF members getting together was, quite aptly, a time of fellowship too; for we did have a great time learning from God’s Word and also had fun in the process. After spending half the day in the Students Activities Centre, we proceeded to Steven’s (a staff worker’s) house for the second half CGW. We had fun through board games, chatting and (of course) snacking.

Though I did not stay for the entire CGW, the one-day spent gave me a refreshing take and reason for CG in CF, was time wisely spent learning from God’s Word, and was a fun time of interaction. An enriching experience for the mind and soul!