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!

Sunday Service at Hope Chapel

And the saints go marching on ... a 15 minute walk to Hope Chapel for Sunday Service.

Time for shaking hands and exchanging "Aloha" greetings at Hope Chapel.

The Leadership Institute Tour

The classroom for the normal sessions.

The main lecture auditorium.

The Prayer Room.

Part of the recreational facilities. Place to unwind after a heavy-duty day of lectures.

Serious looking exercise machine! Receive warning that it is easy to put on weight with the many meals here!

The laundry & dryer room. Also facilities available for ironing as well.

Arrival in Maui ... Finally.

Me and my usual Latte at the Honolulu Airport - awaiting the flight to Maui.

So, we are now finally in Maui..... The baggage collection and the shuttle ride all went very smoothly and we arrived in Kihei at about 5pm. Jimmi, our RC (Resident Coordinator) will be our father/mother for the next 25 days - the advice given is simple : DO NOT SLEEP .. wait till the night hours before you hit the sack else the jet lag effect will linger on! There is a cable internet connection in the bedroom ... so this will make the Skype calls home much easier. Wonder what's for dinner tonight?

This is Gary - a retired school principal who is a volunteer. I am so encouraged to see a team of dedicated volunteers greeting us at the entrance and the team could just sense their spirit of servanthood immediately! After showing me around the facilities in the room, he concluded by saying a special prayer for me - talk about first-class service! Am staying in Room 236 - had a really good shower just now and will be going for dinner in about 15 minutes time. My room-mate has not arrived yet ... hmm, I wonder who is the Holy Spirit sending to be with me for the next 25 days?

Faces Along the Way ...

This is Irwin from Kuching, Sarawak. The latest Malaysian member to join the group. He was also on MH704 with us but he was not affected by the "transit trial" because he checked out directly from the immigration. So, all in all, including myself, there are four Malaysians for this upcoming leadership training (so far....). Photo above taken at Honolulu Airport, awaiting to board an inter-island flight to Maui.

This is Carlos Marquez - a US citizen (emigrated from Venezuela) who was with me on Hawaiian Airlines HA456 from Manila to Honolulu. We had a great time conversing about relationships, life goals, marriage and parenting. Although he is a single, I am impressed with his desire of wanting to make life count. Carlos was amazingly impressed with the life principles from the Rebuilders Guide (pictured above) that he browsed through it himself! I also drew for him a chart on how one can discover their life purpose and calling - he actually asked to keep the scribbling which I did because to him, that chart brought great clarity to his thinking! Before landing, I shared the Gospel with him using Bill Gothard's "spirit-soul-body" illustration and it made a lot of sense to him. Praise God for this wonderful opportunity to transmit His Living Word.

This is Ronaldo who was my companion on flight MH704 from KL to Manila. Interestingly enough, the day of the flight (Nov 13) was his 30th birthday! So, I gave him my Ferrero Rocher chocolate (part of the MH snack) as a way to celebrate this occasion. Although a Filipino, Ronaldo works in PJ as a programmer with Standard Chartered. He was on his way back to Manila to rendezvous with his mother (whom he has not met for more than a year) for a holiday trip to the US. We had a great time talking about parenting (he plans to get married by 35), life goals and other family matters.

Mr & Mrs Vincent from the Republic of Vanuatu - a island in the Pacific with a total population of only 234,023. Mr.Vincent is a high-ranking judge of Vanuatu and I met him while waiting for the "transit trial" to be sorted out at the Manila transfer desk yesterday.