Session Inspirations

A profile of what goes on during a typical session from 8.30am to 6.00pm. My mind and heart has been stretched by the Holy Spirit and my paradigm and thinking is now being "thrown about"!

Mr.Dhanan of Sri Lanka - a man who really walks the talk. I am amazed at how he is a steward of the multiple resources he is entrusted with. Plus I am inspired by his laser-sharp ministry focus.

Susanta Patra - the Secretary General of India Missions Associations. A visionary and yet down-to-earth man of God. His famous line to me is - "So, Joseph - how is Mary?" He inspired me to include a "last chapter" of personal testimony in my book.

This is Sam Rufus - the faculty for Communications and Writing who inspired me towards writing a book. I have now made it a firm goal to have a book written next year. Amen.

The Down and Up of Hana

Here are the two rented min-vans (each can seat 15) ready to roar! Will be driving along the Hana Highway with stops at beaches and waterfalls.

This is Ho'okipa Beach Park - Maui's popular windsurfing and surfing beach.

Our first waterfall stop - The Twin Falls.

We had to trek in quite a long way before reaching the twin falls. Waters quite deep so only take photo without getting ourselves wet.

When we stopped by the roadside to attend to those who were car-sick, our battery ran flat! That certainly got us kicking into high-gear and we stopped almost every car that passed us by asking for a jumper cable! We waited for almost an hour before locating a kind Samaritan (he mentioned that we were the 4th vehicle that he had helped that day!).

Oh the the joy of receiving more power!

With my room-mate Maged at the Seven Falls. The rushing waterfalls was so strong that it creates a permeating mist all around.

Part of the coastal drive journey. Instead of taking the easier road home - we decided to persevere on and go for the windy route back to the Institute. But the sights were well worth it!

Praise God for this fantastic stop-over spot! We arrived here minutes before the sun-set and we were treated to a wonderful blend of green pastures, majestic mountains and heavenly clouds. Am I glad we did not turn back after the vehicle breakdown but decided to press on!

What a glorious view (and conclusion) to our Hana adventure! The coastal sights were well worth the windy pathway and not to mention, the vehicle breakdown. God is good ... all the time.

Regional Presentations

This is the regional presentation team of South/Central America consisting of Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Columbia, Guatemala, Brazil and the island of Trinidad.

This is the team for the regional presentation of India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The countries which represented my regional group presentation - South Korea, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Bahrain (not pictured).

Presenting my own nation of Malaysia through interviewing Yew Soon.

Interviewing to better understand the spiritual conditions of South Korea.

My First Earthquake Experience!

At about 6.40pm today, there was a tremor in Maui and we all feel the shaking at the Institute which lasted a few seconds! The whole building literally shook (a slight one) - but enough to capture our attention! At that time we were having our small group prayer and reflection. So, we thought that our prayers must have been really powerful! Thank God that all is normal and the shaking was just a very slight one (but enough to jolt me and captured my attention). For more information, go to : http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/11/24/47-magnitude-earthquake-hits-Maui/UPI-33251290583996/

Weekend & Weekstart

On Saturday, the sessions end at 5.00pm, so we had time to take a walk down to the nearby beach here in Kihei. Managed to catch the beautiful sun-set. Plan to catch the sun-rise in another place (up a volcanic mountain) in 2 weeks time - that would be an adventure! It was a good to catch the beach breeze at the conclusion of our first week of training here at the Institute (and 3 more weeks to go!).

On Sunday, a few of us went to Kihei Baptist Church where we attended both the adult Sunday School and the Sunday Service. The one thing that impressed me was the session of spontaneous testimonies - that drives home the authenticity of faith in Christ.

Seated with my two brothers from South Africa - Cecil & Kovilan (who is a faculty).

A glorious lunch (with turkey and ham!) was served after Service. I guess with Thanksgiving (Nov 25) around the corner, the lunch spread was a signal of many more goodies to come! This is Mitra from Nepal who pastors a family-based church. He really has a heart to strengthen families.

This is my rental bike (....only kidding). It is a Honda - missed the driver. My other friend from Bangladesh managed to hitch a ride back to the Institute on this bike!

Today, Monday 22 Nov is the start of an intensive week ahead (7am to 7pm). What was remarkable about today was that we kick-started with a live Skype conference with the founder himself! That's me seated in front on the far right.

Here's the founder - 86 years strong! And it is amazing how the Lord used him and I am even more humbled by the fact that he took time to answer the question I asked. It came to me as such a strong, personal Rhema word from the Lord. Just the catalyst I need for this coming week. Amen!

Serious Work from Now On.....

From today onwards, the group of us will be meeting for "Poolside Prayer" at 6.45am. It was a unique experience of hearing prayers being vocalized in Korean, Spanish, French, etc. Sounded very pentecostal but the languages were spoken with understanding!

This is my seating position in the classroom - the place is arranged like a Parliment House with microphone and comfortable seats! Today is the first day of a full schedule from 7.45am to 7.00pm. There are many more of such days to come - so, my update on the blog is going to be less frequent. Please pray that the Lord will expand my vision of what He can do. Mingling with people from 25 different nationalities here have increased my faith in a BIG God. The concept of global evangelism is gradually sinking in .....

This is my "prayer & reflection" team representing Brazil, India, Egypt, Philippines and Namibia. We meet together at 6.00pm to reflect on insights gain on the lesson for the day and also pray for one another. We all combined faith today to pray for Eliza and Eunice to fully recover from the sickness and also protection for Wai Bing. Amen. Praise God for holy unity within cultural diversity.

Formal Launch of the Class Sessions

I am amazed that the two Advanced Leadership sessions here in Maui is the 883rd and the 884th time since it first started! These are the final two sessions for this year before a new series of classes start again next year. We were seated with volunteers and also ministry supporters - am impressed with their spirit of servanthood and generosity in wanting to equip Christian leaders worldwide to be put first priority on the last command of Christ. We had a kick-off lunch with all attired either in business formal or their national dress.

This is part of the "Malaysia Boleh!" contingent. Two are not pictured here. We are the second largest contingent (6 persons) after India (which had 7 persons). Pictured here (from left to right) - Raj (Consultant), Alvin Lim (Malaysian Care) and James Nayagam (Human Rights Commissioner).

This is Rudy from the Philipines Air Force Chaplin. A mighty spiritual warrior who has been through the scars of real-life battle on the field!

Thomas from Papua New Guinea.

A-ha - This is Maged - my room mate from Egypt. A dynamic pastor who is also the Assistant Director of a Bible College. Admire his boldness in being a witness despite the persecutions.

This is Diego (not Diego Maradona!) from Argentina.

Kulasekaran and Dr.Raju from India.

John Komuo (Nagaland - a state of India) and Eric from Pakistan.

Day of Warmth, Walks & Water

Woke up at 5.00am today so that I can jog for 30 mins. This was the scene which greeted me at my room's balcony as I took time to meditate on the first three verses of Matthew 5. My devotional project during the time here in the institute is to memorize Matthew chapter 5 (together with my family).

After breakfast and a morning briefing, a group of us walked around the neighborhood checking out the stores, a public beach and also planning for upcoming sight seeing trips. Am thankful that we have capable leaders in our group who knows what to do! Checked out a rental company - we are considering hiring a 15-seater passenger van! Standing next to me above is Kim - a Pastor from South Korea.

Together with Irwin (Malaysia) and Deigo (Argentina), we will form the first team that will be leading the worship session tomorrow morning. It's great to be worshiping with believers from different nations. A foretaste of heaven!

We had the first official function today i.e. the "Welcome Games". I was selected to be the leader of the "Golden Conquerors" team. Tough job to lead a team of leaders because everyone is so capable! I feel more like a follower than a leader.

Getting the most water around tough obstacles....

Too bad, we had much shorter ropes compared to the next team! We lost this one. The ropes were given "lucky draw" style. Still, we had fun!

The guy in the Brazilian shirt is REALLY a Brazilian! Can't say the same for Mgullu who is wearing the Manchester United shirt (He is from Tanzania!). Well, guys bond well through activities, that I can say.....

Outing for Shopping

Taking a break after close to 2 hours in Walmart (from left to right) - Prince (Philipines), Dexter (Trinidad) and Mgulu (Tanzania). It was kind of interesting to be shopping together as a group of guys and then comparing best buys! (p/s : something later I ended up returning most of the products because I found cheaper products elsewhere - the great thing about customer service here in US is that they do not make a big fuss over product returns!).

A unique feature that reflects the outdoor culture here in Maui. The public bus has extensions upfront that allow for cyclist to enjoy the bus rides as well! Sure would come in handy for exhausted cyclists!