The Greatest Gift Testimony

This is a testimony for "the Greatest Gift" song
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The Greatest Gift Testimony

First of all, Merry Christmas to everyone. I assume everyone is having an awesome time together with Friends, Family, Spiritual Family etc...

Well I'm alright. Christmas day can be pretty pressuring especially when it comes to buying gifts. I couldn't breathe when I was buying gifts. I had a list with my friends of the people who had blessed us this year and man, every time we would shop for someone, a "name" would pop up and the list kept growing and growing and our cash kept decreasing and decreasing. Wahahahha!!!!! Guess what, I just realized I still missed some people out.

At the end of the day, it's the thought that counts. If I spent, I spent to bless. Which is a good thing cause I was and still am pretty much a receiver than a giver.

Anyway, what did you get for Christmas? If you look back and think of the gifts you've received all the years of your life during Christmas, what would be the best gift?

I haven't received the best yet but the Greatest Gift I have.

I wrote a song a few months back called "the Greatest Gift". The song talks about Jesus being the Greatest Gift. If you ask me what was my Greatest Gift, it would be Jesus. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I sound religious and all but seriously He is.

Oh yea, though our production was called "the Gift", the song was never written for the event but we used it anyway . Kelvin added the second verse of the song and now sounds complete.

You see I was going through a time where I felt I was useless. Not good enough to serve in the ministry God called me in. Surprised? Well I guess its just one of those days the enemy tries to lure you down. You have to understand that when I was a teenager, there was a time I asked myself that "What am I gonna do when I become an adult in the working world (This was before I knew Christ). I was never good enough in the things that I do or studied. What I've started, I've never ended. There was one thing though that stayed and had seen improvements and that's the area of music. I've noticed that through out the boy-band era of my life, my ability to write songs, sing and play the guitar has improved. Accepting Jesus in the next few years changed my life and made me want to serve Him with the talents and gifting He gave. If you noticed in some of my mails that I've written, I mentioned "I know nothing but to serve". That is an honest statement because the truth is I really don't know anything else but to serve Him with what I got which is music.

That night when I went back home from one of the worst worship session I led, I came before God asking "am I ever good enough? Do I have anything that's good and am good at?" I was in my bed thinking and in silence I heard God speak that "I have Jesus and the music given to me is what He is gonna use through me". I wrote the song that day and in a week the song " the Greatest Gift" was written. Quiet long to finish a song but I wanted to make sure that this song spoke strong.

You must be wondering why I received the Greatest Gift and not yet the Best Gift. What is the difference? You see, I remember PC(Pastor Cathryn) mentioned that the best gift she received are those that she can't get but given to her and so the same for me. I'm still waiting and that gift is salvation for my family.

To watch the video, click on the link provided below http://carolyong.multiply.com/journal/item/352/The_Gift_-_a_song._You_HAVE_to_see_this

Greatest Gift

Verse 1

I'll sing to the one
who is worthy to receive all blessing, honor and power
I'll sing to the one
who sent His one and only son
The greatest gift, the greatest gift of all

Chorus

I'll sing about the love
about the love I didn't deserve
I'll sing about a Father God
A Father I ignored
Coz now I've learned to love because you love
You showed it on the cross for all
Your the Greatest Gift, the greatest gift of all

Verse 2

When I was weak you gave me Strength
You gave me Hope when all seems lost
Why do you love?
Why do you care for me?
You pick me up each time I fall
You never given up on me
You are my friend
The greatest friend of all

Bridge

Forever Jesus
Lord Jesus
Here I am, Forever I will worship
Lord Jesus
My Jesus
Here I am, Forever I will worship you

1a.m. 2007

Teenstreet

Six days spent within a community of hundreds of teens from various parts of the globe was truly a great experience…and it was truly a privilege and great honor to be used by God to inspire worship to this group of people.

It was a picturesque moment witnessing these kids letting go off and denying themselves in worship. In the eyes of any human being it was like the usual hysterical moment at any other concerts, but in His eyes it was the kind of a heart-melting show that He is well pleased with.

Every evening our showmanship was jeopardized as we ushered the young crowd to experience genuine worship. It was not just mere music that connects people we were playing; it was a melodic symphony that unites us with the Creator.

In between songs as several challenges were made, seas of teens were seen making commitments to pick up their own cross and carry the call to live a purposefully contagious life especially among their immediate sphere of friends and families. Some were also convicted to get out of their comfort zones to exist as sold out ambassadors for God…leaving behind their old self and starting enthusiastically afresh.

Above all, many of these young lives were liberated and set free during the expressive and yet intimate moment spent with God in worship. It was never about us…not even them…but truly about Him and Him only. For most, the entire experience was totally something fresh. For us…it’s one of the only things we knew what to do best.

Sabah Trip

As a full-time worship ‘minister’, it doesn’t take too much before certain things begin to feel a little dry. Suddenly trying to stir people’s hearts in the presence of the Lord becomes something it should never be; nothing more than a duty, a responsibility that you bear the burden to carry. Even as you get more skilled at playing the songs, or more accustomed to building the environment with your instrument, there is still a stark difference that shows and comes through when you’re not there yourself for God, not tuned in to worship yourself. It’s something that can’t be explained.

Our first concert in Sabah went pretty well by technical standards, hardly any mistakes, the flow went down smoothly, a ‘performance’ by any means in which you’d expect a roaring uplifting of great enthusiasm from the congregation. However, sadly the reality was they didn’t sound much more than polite claps, it didn’t look as if they were ministered to very much if at all. There was something missing that night; it was the tangibility of the Holy Spirit. If there was one thing I learnt this trip, it’s the most important component to any worship service. Too many times we over emphasize the importance of skill, playing the right notes at the right time, and while nevertheless important, we forget the most important part, the part that makes the biggest difference; the Holy Spirit.You could visibly see the difference in environment when it came to our second concert. This time we took the time to prepare our hearts, internally and externally, to make it a point to worship him ourselves, and repented for not doing so in the concerts we did not. Most important of all, we humbled ourselves, that despite all we’ve been through, we still needed God to do anything at all.

To be frank, the 2^nd concert wasn’t that much different in how well we played. However, it was how we worshipped, and how we brought worship. The congregation went crazy, they lifted their hands, some bowed, some cried. The difference? It wasn’t us, it was presence of God.It teaches me that you can’t depend on yourself to make a difference in worship.

Make a prayer to God when you minister, we need Him.TJ1am

Kuching Trip

Kuching Trip

It was a journey home for me, back to a familiar territory…my comfort zone, the land I left not too long ago before God challenged me to walk on waters. This time around I didn’t head home for what would normally be a leisure trip for me; it was more of an assignment...the kind that caused us all to settle for nothing less than being totally Sold Out to His call. Secularly, it felt like a Home Coming Concert for me…in my dreams…

The few days spent in the land we call the Cat City has evidently helped me, or us all as a band, unearth some of the needs the locals are desperately seeking help in. For most, they know very well it is about time for them to escalate their worship to greater heights but there is just no clear direction on how to get there. Some are just hampered by the absence of a visionary in their midst. The whole picture is like wanting to drive a car forward but can’t keep your eyes off the rear view mirror.

From our own workshops I personally discovered the importance of being able to gel with people of different generations especially when the only language you and the other person could converse in is music. For the young punks, they’d grumble about the elders for not being able to fulfill their demanding musical needs. On the other hand, the seniors can always be heard nagging about how intricate the music of today’s shocking generation has evolved. More than often, this is one of the main and obvious reasons we seldom see a mixture of age groups being put together to serve in the same band. Imagine the blend of flattering sounds produced should the best of these two worlds are being put together!!!

Another significant moment worth freezing from this trip is when I took the band for a simple dinner with my clan…to the historic spot where I was ejected from my mum’s womb. Though the food was traditionally exceptional (and it was fun witnessing Neil confessed to enjoying something his taste bud has been rejecting) but it was truly the chance for the band members to speak into some of my relatives’ lives that caught my attention.

On one end, Neil was seen paying undivided attention to every word my uncle spat out while Kelvin was caught mingling and exchanging thoughts with my dad. On the other end I saw PC was engaging in a deep conversation with my other uncle who once was a faithful servant in the house of God until the storm in his life struck causing him to not wanting to be associated with church at all. I have no clue what PC said or how God used her that evening but two weeks after that short talk with her, that very same uncle of mine finally found his way back to the church he left more than 10 years ago! I was just so amazed at how God could timely use a deliberate person to defrost a frozen heart!

Overall…convinced with our growing strength and passion, in the course of this trip I’ve seen God helped us unlock doors which were right in front of us (or was it only me?!) but never saw. No details can be confirmed yet but definitely something hot is in the pipeline for the very near future. Somehow we are all so inspired to do greater things as were sinking into 2008!!! Slowly but surely are we gonna be stepping really hard on our spiritual accelerator pedal as we are gearing to yet another exciting new year. That I can be very sure of…

Do what we do best

Do what we do best

Bangkok Jazz experience was just cool. It was a good night for the band as it helped us increase our confidence in the things that we do for God. It was also totally awesome. Why? Coz God was present.

After a night of worship concert on Saturday and an opening service of our sister church (ECF Damansara), I can tell you that the band was already tired. Daniel the most since he had to help out with the videos for the opening service and play for Sunday service in the morning.

When we got there, I could hear music from outside, songs being played by other bands. There were about 18 bands all together I believe, and 1a.m. were the second to the last band to perform. The bands present were not bad. Some had skills, some really surprised us with their skills like there was this really young band and man they ROCK! I’m in my early 20’s and I’ve got areas to improve in music but they look like they’re just 15 so imagine with me on how they would be when they reach my age?

Well, as our turn to play drew near, I was in a position that I really needed God. Personally, I was nervous, how would the people react? Will they boo us off stage? Joke about us? You have to understand that we are playing our original songs from our next album and man the songs clearly speaks of our creator, our savior, our God right on the dot. This ain’t switchfoot.

I went back in to listen to the other bands for a while, did my normal stuff to observe how the sound was and just when I was doing that, Doris, one of our church members who came along to support the band came to me and praise the team that we’ll do great but the thing that caught my attention was when she said that “ Do what you guys do best”.

When she said that, I asked myself the same question “What do we really do best? And in a few seconds the answer to that was “Worship”. With that, I found comfort. We may not have the best musicians or vocalist in the world but it is worship that we do best. A responsibility that we as a worship ministry do is bring down God’s presence and man we wanted Gods presence to be there. Guess what? The presence of God was there in fact HE was there watching His kids play. Front row, front seat.

Just before our turn came to play, I gathered the team and reminded them about what we do best. I reminded them to worship God with the talents God had given us and not be distracted by how good other bands were. Our goal was to bring down the presence of God in Bangkok Jazz and there he was.

God was so good were just before our turn came, the band before us were singing praises to the Lord. We were shock coz we thought we were the only Christian band there. Hearing them sing that, I could tell that set the tone for us 1a.m. Personally my spirit man worship and praised God when that song was playing and was ready to do what I’m called to do at that moment, at that time and place. A moment prepared by our God for us as a team.

So here we were. On stage, sound check done and ready to worship in front of different people, cultures and religion. We struck the first chord of the first song (Pour Out) and when the music came out of our instruments, I felt that Spirit of God just explode in that room. (It was like a grenade that exploded).The respond was quiet receiving that they enjoyed it. We ended with our second song and the rest is in the history books of heaven. We came out with a very positive respond that after our “so called GIG” people approached us and said a lot of overwhelming comments. Glory to God! The team gathered together with the people who came to support us outside Bangkok Jazz and prayed to God giving Him the Glory.

I am excited for what the future brings for this ministry, step by step God has opened doors and I tell you, it’s always challenging than the previous which only makes us stronger and better ministers of God.

We did the show to represent the God that loves us by doing what we do best which is “Worship”. People may have not understood what we did but we planted a seed. And in faith, just like a seed, God would cause it to grow and at the end of the day God’s people will reap a harvest.

Worship!

August 07 Onwards

Wow...

A lot of things has been happening and this section hasn't been updated. Sorry for the delayed updates in a lot of things. Will try to update everything as fast as I can.

Heres whats been happening (in short) and what to expect :-

1) The band has toured around East Malaysia, Kuching and Saba. Did a couple of concerts in Kuala Lumpur. The most recent one is @ EFC,PJ. We're gathering up testimonies from the team to be posted up here in the blog soon. Bangkok Jazz testimony will be up as soon as I'm done with this.

2) Win an IPOD promo is out. 80 Gb guys so who knows, if GOd is willing, YOU might get it. Plus loads of other cool prizes to be won like Ipod Nano's, etc,etc...

3) Indieheaven Momentum Award 08 is up so Vote for 1a.m. Oh by the way, the song "Always in your heart" is up so go to FanFaves and vote the song to climb up the charts. www. indieheaven.com

4) 1a.m is in the process of releasing its 3rd album. This will be different as the youth will be taking over. An EP album is planned to be released early next year before the main album so stay tune. Previews, V-blogs will be up in a few weeks so be excited ;)

5) 1a.m future tour dates 08 will be up soon. Please email us early if your local church or some event (regardless of whatever nation) wants to invite us .We will need to plan and arrange dates so that it doesn't clash with what our local church(ECF) is up to.

Thats it for now,so keep logging in.

SOLD OUT

Neil1am

Day 16

Date : 16 May

Day : Wednesday

Event : Time to fly and go home! Back to Malaysia! Uh oh, we were kind of late again. The stress of checking in, is so bad. We had the challenge again, as usual. This time, we were in excess again (not new, huh?) Anyway, PC again explained to the officer and we didn’t realize there was this new ruling. We learnt that different airports have different requirements and rules. Now we’re smarter. Praise God, the officer let us through and we managed, just to pay our taxes and dashed to the gate! Again, it’s another adventure. It’s always exciting with 1 a.m.!

We took off and arrived in Singapore. It didn’t even feel like a 10 hour flight, thanks to the great selection of movies that was offered. The thing now was that we had to stay in Changi for another 10 hours before our flight back to KL. Changi has great facilities i.e. free internet. You could see so many people logging on and chatting with friends.

Anyway, we slept at one of the airport lounges, allocated specifically for those who are tired and weary from traveling. We met again later, at the appointed time and headed towards the departure gates. It was really tiring but it was good to heading home.

We finally got home, touched down KL at about 6.30 am and we went our ways. God brought us back safe and sound, with great stories to tell, with much more wisdom and growth. We could never have done it without God and the support of the church. You never know how blessed you are until you go out and see what’s happening in the world out there. Pastor Tim, leaders and ECF – you’re the best and we love you!

In summary

We are so honored and bless because God has always been there before us wherever He takes us to. He protected us, assured us and the best is He anointed us just like what he promise us in Isaiah 61. We have seen salvation, healing, people liberated from their mindset, people who are bound set free to worship God and many other testimonies. We just want to give God the glory for what He is doing in 1a.m.

If you are reading this and you want to know Jesus, please do write to us and we are more than happy to walk that journey with you.

Day 14 and 15

Date : 14 May

Day : Monday

Event : Breakfast - then the guys came over from Alf’s place to Pastor John’s place which is just 5 minutes from each other. That’s pretty cool. The plan for the day was to go to the beach, which isn’t very far away as Auckland is pretty much near the sea. That was really nice. Pictures again? ;p

Lisa didn’t’ join us because she wasn’t feeling that well but on the other hand, she got to bond with Kelly and Cindy.

Blessings : Cindy cooked Bak Kut Teh for us! That is sooooooo yummy! We are so very blessed!

It was sooo good that we saved the soup and then bought more meat so that Kelly could cook another meal with it. Mmmmmmmm

That night, we had the core worship team over. This time it was like a forum and there were many things shared. PC and Kel shared about how the structure of 1 a.m. is like and how it is run, how we grew and the history of the ministry. They also fielded questions from the worship team and you could sense that they really want to move to the next level of worship. They also shared their concerns and what they want to achieve for their worship. It’s really humbling to see all this and to be grateful that we have such visionary and great leaders.

Date : 15 May

Day : Tuesday

Event : Shopping! Buying souvenirs in town! Visiting Parachute. We were so privileged to meet with the Parachute Marketing Director. Parachute is such a big name and they hold a concert every year which draws about 20,000 people. The great thing is that they are looking for true worshipers and not just great musicians. (We think alike!) We left our CD with him and pray that the door will be opened, all in God’s will and timing. It also got TJ thinking about his deferment and calling, ha ha ha! However, we all know that our lives are in God’s hands and we need to know what He wants and obey. His plans are always better than ours, always.

R & R : Then we went shopping with Alf. We also got to go to the city of Auckland. We got more souvenirs! Ha ha ha!

PC however, had a meeting with one of the leaders doing the ZEAL program for youths in Auckland and is currently doing very well in the high schools. It’s also recognized by the government. God is really doing something in the midst of all that is going on in NZ. The country is facing much onslaught from the enemy; the new PM is passing laws i.e making prostitution legal, possibly even making it a subject taught and acceptable in school, passing a bill where parents can’t smack their kids, legalizing gambling, legalizing the marriages of gays and lesbians; claiming to be a liberal country but going against the principles of good and the Bible. However, we believe that God is raising people in that country, young people to be a standard against the enemy. It reminds me of that scripture “when the enemy comes in like a flood, God’s Spirit will raise up a standard against it”.

Event : Pot luck dinner at a church sister’s home with the worship team. We were asked to share a few things that we learnt while being in NZ.

It was nice to see so many people. We made a lot of friends i.e. Sale, Ulu, Daphne, Sisela, Samantha, Ola, Joe, such great and talented people. We really enjoyed their company, exchanged gifts, e-mails, etc. It was kind of emotional at the end. However, I was already homesick…..!

Tonight, it’s time to pack though, we leave the next day.

Day 13

Date : 13 May

Day : Sunday

Event : Morning to set up and sound check at Northside (Pastor Ken Dew’s church), Rosmini College. That day was the celebration of Mother’s Day. This place is quite big and very nice and could fit about 300-400 people? We were a bit slow on the sound check so we started about 5 minutes late.

The Line up of the songs were The Anthem, singing & Living, Take It All, Dive In, Secret Place, My Father and Sold Out.

This was the praise and worship session that we ministered. As we ministered to God, the presence of God was also evident in the hall. We did the same flow but PC didn’t share the Word this time but instead we sang and flowed prophetically. Again, we got to do Dive In, and you could tell that not only the youth but the whole church were into it. It was fantastic! All glory to God again.

We were so blessed with all the encouraging words that came from Pastor Renee (Pastor Ken Dew’s wife), the leaders and all the people. One of the Pastor’s wife went up on the stage to actually promote a women seminar but she kept on raving about how she enjoyed our worship songs because she felt the tangible presence of God. It’s humbling, because we know that it’s not us that did it, but God’s anointing. Without God, we’re nothing.

God moment : We were not meant to get a collection of the offering for that day but we did. Pastor Ken Dew called Pastor Richard from the States to instruct him to do that. That was totally divine. That was God. Isn’t that all the more evident that God really moves, even without us asking. He knows and that’s so cool. ;p

Fun : After that, the church celebrated Mother’s Day. That was very sweet. There was a “Mother of the Year” contest. You get a foot massager. That’s cool! A treat for tired, worn out mothers, ha ha ha!

R & R : That afternoon, we were given a tour or Mission Bay by Calvin, a Malaysian who’s now migrated to NZ. We went for another bout of fish & chips and this time, a bunch of the other Malaysians came with us, together with a few of the locals. It was great! We also took a lot of photos at the bay….hmmmm posing again!

Calvin is a very generous guy as he opened his home to us. We had a great time getting to know him and the people. It was nice as we even went for Spiderman 3 (which was a disappointing movie for us). Lisa went out with Samantha and Oka They are all such great gals, especially Ola. She’s so sweet, she actually wants to audition for 1.a.m. ;p Awesome! They bonded big time!

While we were doing all that, PC , Kel and Calvin went to Pastor Renee’s home for dinner.

After all that, we got back and talked a bit about what we would do the next day i.e. Pastor John wanted to spend time with the band. ;p

Sad moment : Charlene was leaving for home. Work commitments. We’re so blessed to have her though. Love her. .

Day 11 and 12

Date : 11 May

Day : Friday

Event : Morning devotion – we got together to pray for the people of Auckland. We wanted to do what God wanted us to do here. We prayed for the acoustic session for the night’s street evangelism. We also found out that day we didn’t have drums. What a challenge! We haven’t had that experience before. Well, there’s a first for everything! We were doing this by faith.

Felt that God wanted to test us and wanted us to grow in our faith. It will be to see whether we will come forth as gold. Word 1 Peter 1:7 and Job 23:10

We practiced and the line up : My God Is So Big, Secret Place, Singing & Living, My Father, All I Wanna Do and Sold Out. It was the first time we’ve ever done street evangelism. We had the pre-event prayer where everyone gathered round to pray for the city and the people of the city.

Felt that God really wants to reign in this city and the country; we needed to pray for God’s presence to be strong in the people and the city, to declare Jesus’ name high in this land. That God wants to raise great leaders in the nation to do something, to rise up.

Event : That night, the band that was on before us was very skilful in every way and it was very intimidating for the guys. They also had people coming up to testify about what God did in their lives. It’s powerful and challenging. It’s different for us because we can’t do this in Malaysia.

We got off to a shaky start because we couldn’t get the sound right. It’s a bit awkward as well as this was our first time doing anything like this in a city, out in the open. But despite the rocky start, despite the cold and despite the rain, we were able to get into worship and everything changed from there. Then PC started to sing and prophesy to the city of Auckland and you could see that it was powerful as the presence of God was there and you could see that people, strangers were engaged and “locked on”! God was doing something great and Kel started to pray over the city and declare over the city that God reigns .

God moment : pastors who headed this ministry came up to PC and talked about the anointing that was of God when we ministered. It was very encouraging to hear that and this is another confirmation that God can use anybody, despite our level of skills, despite us not having any drums, to reach people.

Fun fact : We didn’t even have drums! We only had a toy box (a yellow Sesame Street toy box) as our drums and a funny looking shaker. It was a fruitful night. God is glorified ;p

Date : 12 May

Day : Saturday

Event : Gathered together to discuss the workshops because we didn’t do a good job the last time in Christchurch. We talked about what to share to the people as they are so skilful and the best way to go is that we shared our own testimony, intimacy with God, the flow of the HS and worshiping with our instruments.

The workshop was supposed to start at 2 pm but we started at 3 pm due to the traffic. We shared :-

1. being a contagious worshiper
2. the 3 H’s
3. shared testimonies
4. worshiping with our instruments
5. Word – not being too familiar with worship

God moment : Again, we had technical difficulties. No instruments to show dynamics but we shared from our heart and our experiences. It was fruitful.

After the workshop, we fellowshipped and had pizza for dinner. It seems like we’re having a lot of pizza lately? ;p It was great, we got to talk to some people and got to know them a bit better.

Concert : it was supposed to start at 7 pm. Venue : Rotorua Girls School (Southside) The line-up was the same as Christchurch. PC shared about the prostitute and Simon the Pharisee and I felt that this time around, she was preaching it so much stronger! (way to go PC!) people began to be liberated and especially when we hit Dive In; it was amazing! People were dancing! Again, we were told that was something new and liberating! God is really awesome in His power! All glory to Him. God really showed up that night. When we did My Father, you could almost feel the tangible presence of God – The Spirit of God filling up the place. 2 salvations and about 10 or more pledges to be Sold Out to Jesus! ;p

Lisa’s personal thought : When we were worshiping, I saw the Spirit of God fill up the whole hall like His robe, covering everything, every person and it reminded me of His glory when the train of His robe fills the temple – Isaiah 6:1-3. .

Day 9 and 10

Date : 9 May

Day : Wednesday

Event : We got up, had our breakfast. There we met 3 Singaporean guys who had just finished their NS training. They went skydiving and showed us the pictures. It sounds exciting but for me, it was too expensive. Everything is pretty expensive in NZ. All the fun stuff, was way out of our budget.

After breakfast, we went for a walk around town. It was a nice day and a great souvenir shop but was warned by Kel not to carry too much stuff.

We wanted to go to Subway but the offer was only for dinner so we walked back to the hostel for Maggi Mee. Praise the Lord for creating that! ;p

Today was “free and easy” day. We were given the freedom to do what we wanted. So we split into 2 groups.

1st group : PC, Kel, Charlene and TJ. They went hiking and had a toboggan ride. They had a fun and exciting time, ended up with aches and cramps.

2nd group: Dan, Neil and Cuz. They went walking. Lisa, on the other hand, stayed in to catch up on writing the blog. The weather wasn’t that nice, it rain.

Fact : We discovered that we all have different ideas and different interests.

Date : 10 May

Day : Thursday

Event : Morning - check out from the bed & breakfast and leave for the airport. We had to all go to the airport and then return the cars to the car rental company. It was all pretty organized.

At the airport, PC shared a story a from a Max Lucado book and about understanding one another. She then suggested that we all write notes of appreciation and of encouragement to one another. It was good, to promote unity. We all need to be in the right spirit and the right frame of mind if we are to be strong together. We need to be united in the spirit and heart.

Check in point : we always seem to have some form of challenge or other when it comes to this. It’s interesting that somehow or other, God pulls us through. We didn’t have to pay for excess weight. It’s also always very interesting to note that Daniel is always the one that has a bit of a snag(?) He had to go back to the check in point even after passing customs to check in his hand carry luggage. And it always seems that PC has to talk to the authorities to explain our situation. Thank God for leaders! ;p

God Moment: God is always looking out for us. We are so blessed. Every time we step out, even though we face challenges, God pulls through every time. Even in the instance of the luggage, the authorities here are pretty strict. They would charge $5 per kilo so we were quite worried because 2 of our bags were over the limit. But we are so grateful that God gave us safe passage and smooth travel.

Arrival in Auckland!

Alfred and Kelly came to the airport to pick us up. We were so very, very happy to see familiar faces. It’s great to have family wherever you go. ;p

We had to go get some food and stock up before we go to Alf’s home. Five, big guys to feed is no easy task. We went to Alf’s place and caught up, with our e-mails! It was quite funny to see 3 laptops hooked up on the dining table at the same time!

R & R : That night, we had dinner and fellowshipped with Ken and Millie. It was a surprise for us as we had met Millie at Christchurch on the day of the dedication of the new church. It was nice to see another familiar face. We chatted a bit and caught up. We had lamb, mushroom chicken and hell’s pizza. We then talked about the people and how they were like here; the culture, the style of worship. It’s very Israel Houghton here.

PC and Lisa had to stay at Pastor John’s place. It was a great place. .

Day 7 and 8

Date : 7 May

Day : Monday

Event : Getting ready to leave for Lake Tekapo. We rented 2 vehicles; 1 was a van, the other was a little hatchback. Neil and Kel were the designated drivers. Kel drove the little car and Neil drove the van. It was exciting and we didn’t know what to expect.

The journey south as we were driving was really beautiful. The land, the hills are so picturesque. So many sheep and cows! We reached the motel at Lake Tekapo. Lake Tekapo town was really small and quaint, with just 1 street of shops, a supermarket and restaurants. There were many tourists so you know that it’s really a tourist attraction/spot.

God Moment : gathering and worshiping by the lake. It’s breathtaking. One cannot help but stand in awe of God’s creativity. His touch of blessing on this country is something that is so very special. We begin to see and understand how great our God is and how great the works of His Hands are. We praise and give thanks and just truly appreciate Him. God’s beauty inspires praise and worship. There were new songs birthed and written here at this place. ;p

There were picture taken by the lake. It really look like we were in postcards. It seems surreal.

We also took time to watch the United DVD. Again, we learn that to do great things, takes a lot of faith and grace. We also had to learn to ration our food. We were on a budget and we needed to eat sensibly.

Date : 8 May

Day : Tuesday

Event : touristy stuff! We would go check out the tourist spots around the Lake and throughout the journey to Queenstown, the most beautiful place in the South Island. That was our next stop and it would also be the point where we would fly to Auckland.

We got up early, had our breakfast, and went to a little church and it looked like a little house by the lake. We took pictures there. (our next album, maybe?)I think 1 a.m. are such a bunch of posers, ha ha ha!

We took a drive up an observatory point. There we found that the land was like Marlboro country. Up on the point, there is a little café where you can look through a power telescope and admire the view or study the stars. The owner is a professional photographer and he had a photo album, with really impressive pictures. We took some more photos and the view? Marvellous!

Hopped into the cars again and off we went. We were on our way but we stopped several times to take pictures (?) we also stopped for fresh salmon – yummy! Save some for later. TJ and I shared our money to buy a pack of salmon. We went on and the further south we went, the more beautiful and awesome the country was. Rolling hills and mountains, clear, blue, streams, green and brown terrain; it was a feast for the eyes.

On our way, we stopped at Puzzling World. That was fun! We (Pc, Kel, Charlene, TJ , Cuz and me) went in though some of the guys didn’t .It was really interesting because the whole place is a big puzzle! My favorite is the room with the following eyes and faces, really cool! The other is the room that explains the technique the directors of the Lord of the Rings used to create the illusion of the different sizes between the hobbits and the humans.

We then headed to Queenstown. We got to the Bumblebee, a bed &breakfast place. Here, again we needed to watch our food. The place was small but cozy. The guys got a room by themselves while the girls had to share.

We went for a little stroll around Queenstown to explore it a little. We looked for a place to have dinner and found a little food court. It was good. We had northern Indian food. It was authentic, too. We all shared our food. We walked to the lakeside and took more photos. The water is so clear, it’s unreal. It’s just to pretty here.

It was getting late and around 8 degrees so we got back and watched a video – The Lord of The Rings. It was nice. It’s my favorite anyway.

Day 6

Date : 6 May

Day : Sunday

Service : A prayer for every nation was prayed for by each person who represented their home country. There was a “Haka” dance and an interpretation dance – that showed the message that 1 heartbeat, a pulse that signifies life, can beat and cause others to come to life, too. We sang the NZ national anthem. It was interesting to note that the lyrics are very Christian! Then there were also prayers and prophecies by the pastors for the church. Finally, there was the dedication of the church and breaking up into groups to pray for the church and the nations.

PC and Kel led in a prophetic worship for the nations .

R & R : After the service, we took refuge at Ray & Gloria’s house. The guys had some fish & chips and barbecued mussels. Boy, are we blessed! PC and Lisa fasted, though. ;p

Word : Exodus 33:12-20 We came back to church and set up. Some of them were late because they got lost walking. PC & Lisa practiced what we learned from Pastor Bob – praying the scriptures. They are very powerful. They prayed that God will draw people into worship and encountering Him.

Challenge : soundcheck took forever – a problem with Kel’s laptop. It was giving problems. There’s no lighting – just white light. We worked with whatever we had.

Line up : The Anthem, Singing & Living, Take it All, My Father, Secret Place, MY God Is So Big, All I Wanna Do, Dive In, sold Out, You Are All/Lift The Name, Reprise, Dive In.

PC shared about the message of True Worship Matt 26:6-13, about the prostitute’s attitude. During All I Wanna do, there was the blessed draw and for Dive In, there were giveaways. You could tell that people were really enjoying themselves and letting loose – FREEDOM!!!

Concert : we were very thankful that some of the people that we invited, actually turned up. It was great to see that they were also joining in. According to one of the leaders, there was quite a famous Christian band that came just before we did and only about 60+ people turned up, but for our concert, God drew about 150 people. Praise God! It certainly wasn’t our doing. ;p

The atmosphere was totally different after the concert. There was the liberation of the people, they jumped and danced! People started opening up – people were inspired and began to see that there is freedom when you worship. We realize that due to their culture, they weren’t free; that there is another level worship, which is engaging in the Spirit. It was fruitful.

Many came to us later and shared that they had never been so free to worship God ever in their lives before. This is their first time. The Lord used us as what Isaiah 61:1 says “To proclaim liberty to the captives”. That is what exactly what we can see they felt, free from what was holding them back.

Fun : Supper at Denny’s. We had a great time, fellowshipping. Neil did some magic tricks. Paul and Tanya did some games. Relationships and friendships were strengthened, especially with Jody, Paul, Tanya, Brad, Sian, James, Ray and all the people in the worship team.

Day 5

Date : 5 May 2007

Day : Saturday

Event : Prayer Conference by Pastor Bob Perry

God is taking back the music world by raising more and more Godly musicians. IHOP – Pastor Mike Bickle’s church.

Word : Acts 13:22

Interesting fact : Chris Tomlin’s songs are the most popular songs and most sung in the US.

1. Worship should be vertical – praise the name of the Lord, pray and sing the Psalms and scriptures. It’s not all about the horizontal – what we ask for, what we need, our petitions. The Cross’ vertical line is longer than the horizontal line. ;p We need to give worship and prayers more towards God then we will see God doing His miracles, salvation etc.

God is drawing His people into intimacy with Him; to grow to know Him more, and in knowing Him more, there’s power.

Event : We showed the community video *sigh* there were technical glitches again. However, we were all in good spirits. We wanted to convey the message that there are people out there, that need God’s love and we need to remember them.

During the worship, people were encountering God, getting touched and healed by the Father’s Hands. The Lord wanted to restore the people to Him; He wanted to heal them and their relationships. People were responding.

Lunch : We went to a Chinese Restaurant with Paul and his wife Tina, who’s a great cook. She makes a mean lasagna! Yum! But we were very blessed by the Filipinos that are there. They’re so warm.

Fun : We went to the city and visited a church, the landmark of Christchurch. The church is very historical, very old and pretty. There, in the middle of the city, you can see the people. We also visited a souvenir shop. Shopping, yay! ;p

Later we went to Ray and Gloria’s place to crash. We got to sleep! Yay! They guys chilled. Then it was time to get to church. We were to meet Pastor Bob Perry at his request. We didn’t know why but we went. PC knew him from long ago, though.

What a great time we had talking to him. we learnt so much just from that chat. We learnt that :-

1. when we obey God, others around us may not understand. He shared about what god wanted him to do and yet people around him did not see or agree.
2. We are pioneering a powerful worship movement – what we’ve done; coming out with an album, going to nations, etc. isn’t heard of in the Every Nation movement.
3. It’s very encouraging to have almost a whole band going full time – many can’t do what we do due to many things for e.g. support financially, support from the leaders, etc. We are so very, very blessed!
4. That prayer & worship is not a new thing but has been done since the old testament. That this is the end time generation, where in the book of revelation the waves of prayer and worship is the wave that we are going to see God move in these last days.

Later after service that night, we were again invited to Jody’s home for Pizza and dinner. We played games and fellowshipped. Jody’s parents are also pretty great. Her dad is a prison warden. We had a great time. For the games (Peckock! Peckock!), the Malaysians won – ahem! ;p

Day 3 and 4

Date : 3 May

Day : Thursday

Event : Morning Devotion together. The band prayed and shared what they heard from God. It’s amazing to see that all the Words that came were related and close. There’s a “new thing” that God wants to do in NZ and it’s going to be something great. God will give “new zeal”, “new life”. Word was Isaiah 42 and 51

Event : Going to UCSA to invite the students to the concert. It’s a bit scary and intimidating at first. But we’re doing this for a cause – this is mission. ;p

We were amazed to learn that all our food was so very well organized. The Kiwis are very organized people. They had everyone scheduled to cook food for us so that we don’t starve. I’m very thankful for that! ;p

They would come to church and lay out a spread for us each mealtime. We are so very blessed. We have home-cooked Kiwi food!

Band Dynamics workshop at night – didn’t go very well

It started late. There was time limitation. We were not organized. Some of us dragged on, some were too short. Conclusion : we needed to be more prepared.

We also began to learn that the Kiwis are very particular about time. No more “Malaysian timing”. Punctuality is good! ;p

Date : 4 May 2007

Day : Friday

Event : Morning Devotion together – PC shared about the prostitute and her attitude of worship. It was a reminder to all of us to have the right attitude/the right posture of worship. We should always remember that God knows our thoughts, our hearts, our intentions; He knows ALL. Even though what we way may not be what we feel inside. In short, we humans can be so deceptive.

Lisa’s personal thoughts: We learn that humility should always be our posture. We should always remember that every time we sing our songs and as we live our lives, we should practice it. It shouldn’t be just a form and worship should always be fresh – KEEP IT REAL!!!

Kel shared again on how God is going to move in this nation; how He’s going to bless New Zealand.

Event : Prayer Conference led by Pastor Bob Perry

Word : Isaiah 61 (sound familiar, guys? ;p)

Interesting fact : Worship and prayer is the next wave of the prayer movement. People nowadays want to have more, they want to know God in a greater measure. This is the cry of this generation! Prayer is also moving by music. David has done it.

Word : Knowing God Revelation 4 & 5 ( doesn’t that sound familiar? That’s the title of our last album) ;p

We ministered to the people with “My Father” leading them to encounter God, the Father. Though the people here are used to the R& B/Israel Houghton style, we feel that God really moved in the midst of the people. He had already begun to do a great work in the people. Many were touched. We also did My God Is So Big and Secret Place.

R & R : Jody took us to Hadley’s Park. That is a very beautiful and scenic park located in the city of Christchurch. It was very nice. We saw a lot of ducks and the little streams are so clean!

We then went to Jody’s home. It is very beautifully and artistically decorated. We got to meet Jade, who is a great girl, a worship leader with a great voice. Unfortunately, she’s got the flu. We also met Alicia, the cute and perky dancer. It’s was like a Girl’s afternoon out, away from the guys. That was nice. ;p

Fun : We went up to a hill, by the sea. The view was breathtaking. We prayed for Christchurch. We took pictures and then it was time to get back to church.

We went back to church later to attend the night conference

Day 1 and 2

Tuesday May 1st

Event:

Departure from church – PC was late! Rushed to the airport. Praise God we reached in time – SQ’s pretty strict…weight – always a problem. Uh-oh 5 kg overweight! Had to transfer a few thing from check-in luggage to hand-carry. Each extra kg is worth RM100?! We were a bit discouraged.

James and I prayed.

Word:

“Don’t let these events dampen your spirits”

Fun:

Charlene and Cuzario were the smallest – they sat at the back and were both squeezing theselves all the way to the airport. They didn’t say a word till they reached KLIA. When they arrived, they said, “ We survived” =)

it’s just the beginning – we should persevere to see what God has in store for us.

Event:

Transit in Singapore. Hung around the lounge in Changi. Had a cup of coffee and muffins – yum! Wrote the notes.

Wednesday May 2nd

Event:

Arrival at Christchurch. Wasn’t as cold as we thought it would be. Met by Paul, Chris (Pastor’s son), took us from the airport straight to the church. Met Pastor Bernhard and Pastor John. It’s a new church building. =)

The nation’s population 4 million ~ only 4% Christians (and probably not even active) ~ a great mission field. The impression we get is that it’s very “hard ground”. Relationship take a long time to build…it takes a long time to reach the lost. People are very laid back as well – apathetic, passive.

Met Jody, briefing on how we promote the concert, brainstorming via a survey. Going to the university campus (Canterbury) nearby.

Word:

It’s time for a breakthrough – Isaiah 13.

Fun:

Tea is equivalent to dinner time! Interesting…we had lunch then all of us slept – we were knocked out! Fish & chips – very very yummy and cheap! But not the healthiest.

Event:

Our 1st workshop – led by PC (on worship) and Dan (on sound). The song used – “My Father”. Presence of God was there – PC taught about the awesome power of the POG and how miracles happen through that; how we need to constantly seek God/ turn our face to Him. Kel + PC ministered on God’s love and God as the Father. Felt that God wanted to encourage and restore those that are far away – to restore lost relationship that, He wanted to shower His love.

Word:

Exod 29:42-46

Tour New Zealand

Tour New Zealand

Arriving in Christchurch was an evidently refreshing outlook, even from the moments of leaving the airport; fresh weather, beautiful scenery, and great people; all the prerequisites for a great trip. Rallying the people in a laidback country took slightly a little more effort than we were normally used to; going campuses ourselves to promote our own concert, how often does that happen?

Nevertheless it was an awesome experience chatting to the locals, some foreign students, and definitely some cool campus ministers. Our first workshop went as usual, the ideas came through. It is odd to note, however, that the kiwis down south don't usually worship with contemporary music, but with R n' b.

The folks at Christchurch were really good in their organization and punctuality. Go to bed early, wake up early; a way of life. Our first worship concert took stage; and by God's grace and miracle we actually had the place packed with people. It was definitely encouraging to see students from the campuses we were at usher in excitedly. However, of all the things to note about what occurred, it was the obvious liberation of the people, dancing, laughing, shouts of praise; apparently something that's a little harder to come by in this part of the country. It was great.

We spent the next few days in New Zealand on a road trip further south. We visited what must have been the most beautiful views, Lake Tekapo, Queenstown, and even Puzzle World!

Just a few hundered miles up though, Auckland stands to be an extremely different change of pace; a hustling city with far fewer trees and scenic locations :). That's not necessarily bad, the ‘Aucklanders' are the warmest mix of people; pacific islanders, kiwis, Asians; Auckland seems to have every nation of the world in their church. The most notable hosts were of course though, the homes of whom which we stayed; Alfred, Kelly, Pastor John and Elaine.

We kicked off our Auckland tour with a street concert right in the middle of the city square. Other than the fact we had never played on the streets, and that we had never done an acoustic set before, and that we had no real idea what we were dong, it was something we were totally used to. God came through, we aren't the most skilled, nor the best entertainers, but the city street was definitely awed in worship that night.

The next day followed up with a workshop and our second concert. Of all our expectations, this concert totally rocked! The tangibility of God heightened, lengthened, lifted us powerfully; there aren't really words to describe it when you feel Him all around you and within you. People were awestruck. People got saved, people were on their knees, people were crying. Of the things to remember that night, were the famous words by Pastor John "I now have something extra to add to my favorite things about Malaysia; Nasi Lemak, Mee Goreng, and 1a.m.! Malaysians should be proud.

We finished off our tour with praise and worship at North shore the next morning. Once again the presence of God tore through the roof. It has to be God when leaders down in the congregation start comparing us with Hillsongs :)

New Zealand received new zeal (no pun intended), a ‘Sold Out' message, and a liberation only God can give. We ministered and were greatly ministered to. It is truly nothing short of a miracle to be able to experience God wherever you go in this world, especially in a place so different and so far from home. Of all the things we gave, we can only say that we were grateful we received even more. Beyond all expectations, we did take something home, a contract with the biggest music distributor in New Zealand, world famous Parachute Music. Our albums began distribution nation-wide August 2007. A hallmark in 1a.m.

Statement by Pastor Aljay - Dubai

Statement by Pastor Aljay - Dubai

hi bro,

I'm doing fine now. all i needed was a 2 day sleep. Cant cope up with your fire and energy. All of you were on fire man.,

Here are the summary of the impact you all have made while visiting us.

FAITH: Faith has been stirred up in the hearts of the people in the UAE as we've seen 1a.m. band members so young yet making an impact in the nations.Your voices were heard not just in Dubai, Sharjah, and Jebel Ali but to the many nations represented during our Spirit filled worship concert. The same way the walls of Jericho crumbled in the days of Joshua, i believed that a lot of demonic strongholds went crushing down as you declared the praises and worship of our King Jesus here in the Middle East.

Worship: All of us were inspired by how you worshiped our King. Our worship team have been challenge to bring His worship to the next level. The workshops helped them see the bigger perspective of unity and teamwork.

The message of Sold Out: One can be sold out to anything or anyone but theres nothing like living a life sold out for Jesus. Its not just the songs and the melodies, but your lives spoke the real meaning of Sold Out.

- Pastor Aljay Lumapas,
Every Nation UAE

Day 8

Day 8

It's time to go home to beautiful sunny Malaysia. We had only 2 ½ hours to do our shopping for gifts though we left in the morning as the traffic took us a while to move around.

Pastor Rouell just came back from Phillipines early in the morning that day but came to see us off at 4pm.He mentioned he heard so many great report from his pastors and the church members that they were all really bless by our ministry. He then drove us to the airport and while in the van, he shared with Kel that the weather should not be as good as it should during this time of the month. It should be scourging hot and the wind should be blowing hot air.

That was when we realise God did another miracle for us, He gave us a beautiful weather, He showered His rain down twice in that week we were there and we believe that the Holy Spirit ministered to the people of U.A.E. that week.

We are so bless by the people in U.A.E. The Pastors and the people there are all servants of God always ready to bless us. If you are reading this all you people of U.A.E. ... YOU GUYS ROCK!!! We thank the Lord for you all and we are so bless to have known our Every Nation family in U.A.E. Keep the flame burning hotter than the heat over there

Day 7

Day 7

Some of us went for trhe safari desert adventure and some went shopping. But before that all of us went to the desert and did the quadra bike. It was totally fun for all of us.

On the way back Pastor Aljay's car over heated and he drove all the way back, which was at least almost an hour drive away.But God was great because nothing happened to his car. Praise God for another miracle

Day 6

Day 6

We were given a tour of a beautiful hotel called the Madinet Jumeirah. It is built by the sea and the waterways are open i.e. the seawater flows into the waterways built in the hotel,felt like we were in Venice. It was an exotic and beautiful place, very romantic, ha ha! It's a famous spot. The architecture is beautiful. It looks like a Morroccon palace.

After the tour, it was time for us to have some fun! We went to the Wild Wadi.It was right next to the Burj Hotel (rated 7 star). It was fun for the guys. We played together. We were also blessed to know that one of the church members, Dong worked there so he could get us in for only dhl15 (normal price dhl150). We were so blessed.

During the drive to the malls and wid wadi, Pastor Aljay shared with us how inspired the worship team was. The fact that Daniel only 20 years old, TJ going 21, Cuz and Neil in their early 20's took the step of faith and showed what God can do with the talent God has given them, inspired many of their musicians who may be much more talented than us yet we were in faith to show that God can use us. What more with them who has greater talent and yet not use it for the glory of God.

He also mention that many people were SOLD OUT through the worship and preaching messages to know that they have a greater calling in Dubai not just their carrier but a purpose to reach out to the nation of U.A.E. We thank the Lord that God used us to inspire and challenge the people.

Then we went to one of the malls to have a look around. In that mall, there was the skiing place as well as a lot of shops.

Day 5

Day 5

We got up late today because we had such a late night on Friday. But this time, before we had lunch with the leaders, we got together. PC wanted us to take some time together to think, meditate on what we can be thankful for, and what God has taught or shown us during this trip. It was evident that God impacted each and every one of us. It's so profound and yet life-changing. Each shared 1 or 2 things that God has taught us, plus things that we are thankful for. I personally was so blessed!

Suddenly someone came in to announce that our chicken was ready. The announcer came in the form of Pastor Rouelle's son. We were also blessed with a giant pot of beef briyani and barbecued chicken!!!

After that, we prayed and got ready and headed out to the DECC Maranantha Hall. But before we did that, we went to the shopping mall near the DECC. It was very beautifully designed. The name of the mall was... We went to Starbucks to kill time and then we went to the DECC to prepare for the concert.

The hall is great, very big and spacious. Apparently Matt Redman did a concert in the same hall. We were expecting about 500-600 people.

By this time, our Sold Out cd's were all sold out! Our t-shirts as well. We're so blessed. We're so amazed.

The worship concert was supposed to start at 8.30 pm but we waited till 9pm to start. In the beginning, we didn't see that many people but towards the later part of the night, the hall filled up. It was fantastic.

Our line up this time was fewer songs:-

The Anthem

Freedom

Singing & Living

My Father

Breathe

All I Wanna Do

Blessed Draw

My God Is So Big

Always In My Heart (community video)

PC exaltation

Sold Out

PC exaltation

Lift The Name of Jesus

Dive In

The Presence of God was evident. Even from the start.

PC then gave a word of exaltation. It was about encouraging people to take little steps of faith wherever they were; she gave illustrations on David, as he was just doing his chore and to deliver food to his brothers in the battlefield and instead he became a hero because he was ready to move and to act in faith. The people were ministered by the Spirit. We felt that God told them that they can do it.

We were amazed at what God did at the concert. We could feel His presence and we found that we were also touched by His Spirit. We were doing our last encore which was " Dive In". The people yelled for more so we did "Freedom" again. In the middle of the song, Pastor Cathryn dragged Daniel to the front of the stage and he had no choice but to do a solo. He was in the flow of the Spirit. Then it was Cuzario's turn; as he beat the drums, you could tell that there was an anointing. Last but not least, was Tj! He seemed a little shocked at first but the Spirit took over and he belted out an amazing instrumental unto the Lord.It was unbelievable as they had never soloed in a concert before! All of them were amazed by how God used them.

Again, after everytime we do P&W, we prayed and gave thanks to our Lord for all that He's done and thankful that He's chosen us as His vessels. All Glory to God!!!

The concerts & workshop was finally over! It was a spiritual experience for all of us.

Day 4

Day 4

We had an early start. Today is a very, very packed day. It's morning service at Holy Trinity at 10.30 am, then lunch at Pastor Mar's Villa and then afternoon service at St Martins at 2 pm and then back to the Villa in Dubai for Workshop/Q&A.

We went early to Holy Trinity. It's interesting to see the people doing the set up again.

This time, people knew us and there were more people today. It is a holiday - Prophet Mohammad's birthday so the next day was a public holiday.

Service starts at 10.30 am and finishes at 12 noon.
Our line up :- Take It All, Singing & Living, Our God Reigns, Sold Out

Neil led worship here and did very well. We finished and quickly packed up and left for Sharjah (Pastor Mar's villa). It was interesting, the van was stuck because Neil didn't see a hole and the wheel of the van got stuck. But it's so good to see how the brothers in the church took over and helped us to get the van out. Praise God for spiritual family!

So we went over to Pastor Mar's villa for lunch. The food was great and we had a great time of fellowship with Pastor Mar. He opened his house to us and is a very gracious host. We rested and relaxed. Then at around 1.30 pm, we left the villa for St Martin's. The sound team had already gone ahead and set up the equipment while we were at the villa. They are pretty organised. ;p

So service started. Our line up was:- Majesty, Take It All, Here I Am to Worship and Sold Out

Pastor Cathryn led worship and this time, Kel took the pulpit. He preached about David and how Sold Out was evident in the scripture. He shared about his dreams and his call. He even showed a physical example of Goliath and David.People were touched and encouraged. He challenged the people to live a Sold Out life. The church in Sharjah is also starting a new service in one of the hotels. We pray that it will be another breakthrough for them. They have to be very careful and watchful. By the time we finished at Sharjah, it was already around 4.30 pm.

Then straight after that, we went back to the Villa to prepare for the last workshop on Vocals, Sound and Q&A. that was supposed to be at 7 pm. So we waited for the equipment, setting up, etc.. we had to also wait for the people to get to the Villa after work. We finally started our workshops around 7.30 pm.

Each workshop was fruitful. I felt that people received and the response was good. We are sooo thankful and grateful to God that we can be a vessel in this area.

We finished around 10 pm and headed out to the beach for a barbecue. They arranged for food and invited the people who were in the worship teams to come and fellowship.

The event was great. We didn't have much time at the park/beach but it was fun. We got to fellowship, build relationships and shared our lives even more. As the place closed at 11pm, we went to another beach, near the Burj. It was amazing. There were many people there. People from different backgrounds were at this place. This place was full of life, even so late at night. It goes to show that people in Dubai don't sleep!!! We left this place at 1am (another sign ), which was again about 5 am in Malaysia!!! But it was worth it.

Day 3

Day 3

Today, we had Praise and Worship at Holy Trinity in Dubai and then the workshop later on at night.

We were given time to rest, we got up and did our devotion together. We were all asked to pray and meditate about what God wants to do and what God was saying to us personally, to share what was one thing or some things that we are grateful to God for. We were all expressing our thanks to the Lord and it was refreshing to always remember that.

During our devotion Kel shared that he felt that God wanted to heal the dry bones (Ezekiel 37) of the Christians in Dubai. He asked the Lord for a sign to confirm whether it's really from the Lord. In the morning, it rained and we all thought that it's normal since we often get rain in Malaysia. But we later found out that some people who have lived 5 years there only experience rain twice. We knew then that was a sign from the Lord that he wants to heal the dry bones. We also recalled the prophetic word that Pastor Mar prophesied that God is pouring His presence down on U.A.E. We were excited to see how God is moving.

During this time, Pastor Mary joined us and told us that did we know that there in our conccert 4 people came to accept Jesus as their savior. We thank the Lord truly " worship brings change". We did not even make a salvation call but because of the power and presence of God through worship that people can't help but know that He is truly a living God.That was our greatest desire in our worship to see people save and delivered.

The next thing, we went downtown for lunch at a local Filipino restaurant. It was interesting for a lot of us as that was the first time. We ate a lot and then returned to the Villa to get ready to get ready for Praise and Worship in Holy Trinity at 4.30 pm.

It was quite amazing to see the people in Dubai do their set up. Holy Trinity, like St Martin's is a compound that is the assigned place of worship. There were quite a number of churches in the same place. It's pretty amazing. Each church comes into a hall, at their scheduled time, take 15 minutes to set up their equipment, instruments, etc. and be ready to start their services. Service ends after 1 hour and a half and then they pack up their things in 15 minutes and leave so that the next church is able to come in and use the hall. It's something that makes us so grateful to God that we don't have to do this. They have such limited time. We are so blessed!

The line up for this service was :- Take It All, Dive in, Breathe, Cause I & I Lift the name of Jesus

Kel led worship and the service starts at 4.30 pm and finishes at 6pm. We then had to rush back to the Villa to get ready for Band Dynamics and Worship Leading for the Dubai P&W Teams.They call it the "WAP" teams.PC was left to preach the Word. She preached on Sold Out.Many of the people there gave their feedback that they were ministered and convicted by the message.

We had some technical glitches at Holy Trinity. The keyboard was set on "transposed" and so the whole time, we were in the wrong key and weren't able to do our best. Kel didn't anticipate. That taught us something. So straight after, we had to get back to the villa but due to the traffic, we got back at almost 8 pm to the Villa. This was for Band Dynamics and Worship Leading Workshop that was supposed to start at 8.30pm. We had to wait for the equipment, setting up, etc.. and we also had to wait for the people to get to the Villa after work. Many people finish work late plus the traffic doesn't help. We finally started our workshops by about 10 pm. We did the same as for Sharjah, except that this time, we had more time to finish everything as we paced ourselves better. By the time we finished, it was about 12.30 am. That was 4.30 am Malaysian time.

We were so bushed!!!But one thing, I'm very proud of us, is that we were all in great spirit and were united.

Day 2

Day 2

Cuz is unwell. He has a tummy problem. Lisa still has her cough. It's annoying. She can't sing properly and we're sure that Cuz can't play properly as well. Lisa felt that is was a test, to see if she can worship God without her voice at it's best. Tonight, it's the Worship Concert at St Martin's Sharjah

Devotion : we came together in the morning. Thanking God and the word that came from Kel was Ezekiel 33:31-32 and from PC was Psalms 4:4. We prayed and asked for a Word from God for the people. Tonight is the first concert and it was to be in Sharjah. It's exciting.We are going to declare how great God's strength is and that there will be redemption. The people needed healing in all areas and God will show Himself. We also needed to think of God, think of His thoughts and not have our own way of thinking.

Sharjah is a more conservative place and foreigners are expected to adhere to their dress-code; we're not supposed to expose our flesh too much - no mini-skirts, shorts, tank tops, no sleeveless tops ; on the other hand Dubai is very modern and open. It's something that we need to get used to.

The hall in St Martin's was able to fit about 400-450 people. It was quite big. We had to be there by 5.30 pm to set-up. When we arrived, they hadn't opened the doors yet. Finally, the doors opened at around 5.45 pm. Every minute is precious. There were problems during the sound-check especially for the vocals and the keyboard as Kel was using only 1 keyboard. The structure/layout of the stage is a bit cramped and there are 2 marble pillars on the sides. We had to work around it. The sound engineers did their best and we learned to work around the situation.

Before we started, we prayed and asked that God's glory be shown.The songs that we did are :

1. The Anthem
2. Majesty (Planetshakers)
3. Take It All
   Community Video - sharing by Kel
4. Breathe (altar call by Kel)
   Neil's Testimony
5. Sold Out
   Exaltation by PC
6. Sold Out
7. All I want Do
   Blessed Draw
8. Here I Am
9. Here I Am to Worship
   

There were people of all ages in Sharjah. At the beginning, there weren't that many people but later that night, there were more. It seemed that it was almost full. For the first altar call at Breathe, we couldn't tell how many people were ministered as Kel encouraged them to stay where they are and to worship from there. The young people and the leaders of the church were standing in the front rows. They were so responsive and you could see that the Presence of God was strong. For Neil's testimony, quite a number of people responded as he's their "homeboy" and knew him personally. People were blessed and encouraged. Then for Sold Out, PC preached to the people, encouraged them to live a Sold Out Life for God - she preached on Peter's call; the question that burned Peter's soul - on whether he truly loved the Lord enough to live the Sold Out Life.

This time, the 2nd altar call, people were encouraged to move to the front. They were challenged to come up to give their lives; to recommit and live "Sold Out" for God. The leaders and PC prayed over the people as we sang Sold Out.

By the time we finished, it was around 11 pm. We prayed and thanked God. That will always be the first thing that we do whenever we finish something. God is to be glorified, always. In fact, the center space on stage is for God, nobody else takes that place. It's His rightful place of honor. We weren't able to finish all the songs that we lined up due to time constraints. The pastors also came up every now and then to give a prophetic word. One of the prophetic word's Pastor Mar gave was that he felt God open the ozone layer and He is pouring His presence down upon U.A.E. He also prophesied that 1a.m. is a fertile ministry and it will bear much fruits.

We went back, came together and talked about it. It certainly wasn't our best musically or technically. We had to straighten the kinks, we discussed what could be improved and discovered that timing and execution needed to be improved. We also discovered that we needed to reflect even more and rely even more on God. This was truly a test of our faith.

PC exalted us to think and focus on God before we rested. That we needed to quiet the other voices and listen clearly to the Voice of God. PC is very wise. She constantly reminds us to condition ourselves so that we didn't fall sick and be able to minister at all times.

Day 1 - Dubai

Day 1

We arrived, got settled. The place where we stay - is a huge bungalow! A Villa! It was also their office. It's very comfortable and the bathrooms are big!

Today, we all gathered just before lunch and did our devotion. We came together and prayed and meditated. The word from Kel was Matt 10:39. What stirred us most is the fact that Jesus was talking about a Sold Out life. We needed to reflect again on our lives and what a Sold Out life should be like. That reminded us and aligned us.

We had lunch with all the pastors. Our host was Pastor Rouell (the Senior Pastor and his wife Pastor Febs) and then there was Pastor Aljay, Pastor Mar (the Senior Pastor of Sharjah church). There were also a few other people we met from the technical side, like Peter, Roy, etc.

After lunch, we had a quick discussion on our itineraries. Today we are to prepare for a workshop in Sharjah. But we had to leave the Villa by 4pm even though the workshop was at 8pm because of traffic. From what I can see, Dubai and Sharjah are like KL and PJ. So the distance is about the same. However, we went to the Megamall in Sharjah to have lunch. We discussed on how the workshop will be conducted. We talked about how we can inspire the church.

We were quite prepared as we ran through again all the things that we needed to do. We were rather unsure of what to expect. On the way, we looked at the place. It is a desert - the land is dry.

We arrived at a compound, where all the churches are built. In the UAE, you're not allowed to worship anywhere unless they were designated places/are. So all the churches are in one area/compound. You can meet at people's homes but it has to be done very discreetly. You can't have your own building. The people are praying and we should stand together with them.

After the workshop in Sharjah, according to Pastor Aljay, we did very well. We felt though that we didn't time ourserves well enough. However, we learn and by God's grace we will do better the next time. We felt that we did what God asked us to do and felt God's presence. We did band dynamics with "My Father" and Pastor Cathryn did the workshop on worship leading. The Lord ministered and the people received.

As Dubai is 4 hours behind us, it takes some getting used to. So when we finished at 11.30pm, it was actually 3.30 am in the morning.....

Destination : Dubai UAE

Destination : Dubai UAE

Today is THE DAY. The preparations that led up till today were indeed one filled with challenges; we felt like God was molding and working in us to be better vessels. ;p Each of us were growing in our faith and also getting to know each other better. We had much to do: equipment lists, itineraries, schedule practices, prayer, worship etc... these were the main things that we concentrated on and it's different this time. Why? Not only because this is a new line-up but also because we are 7 different people learning to be with one another for more than a week and doing things together as a team. We have to be united.

There was a buzz of acitivity leading till today. TODAY, we will depart but before we left, our heart and mind were filled with questions, uncertainty, excitement and anxiety at the same time. It's not that we are not in faith, but just that it feels surreal. It's hard to get a grip on what's happening. And this mission, this call for 1 am is sooo BIG! How does one begin to actually understand what God is doing? It amazes us, everytime we see how God moves; how this trip came about, how the band got together, how the album came about, there's no denying that they're all divine works of God. We serve an awesome God; too awesome to comprehend but the important thing that we learned is this: when He calls, you gotta give your all.;p

These are some of the comments from the guys prior at KLIA while waiting for our flight :-

TJ : nervous but excited

PC : excited - "I always wanted to minister to the Middle East people. Can't wait to see what God will do. Going to have the opportunity to get to know the boys better".

Kel : excited. 1am's first trip and feeling a sense of anticipation of what God's gonna do

Neil :Just wants to go home!

Dan :?

Cuz:Pictures

Lisa: excited, wondering what God will do and very, very honored to be a part of this

We are so blessed by our church, ecf. We received many messages, prayers and well wishes. That's so encouraging to know that we have the church standing with us. We are not alone. ;p We wanna make God and our church proud.

Scripture : Psalm 10 and 1 Peter 3:12

Most memorable thing : TJ's bag doesn't lock; the Idol guitar sound?

Our flight was delayed!!! But that wasn't the only thing, we had to run!!! The gates were changed - which was quite a distance for us to cover. However, we got there in time - Praise God! It was final call ;{ But we managed. What was interesting was that we lift off at exactly 1 a.m. in the morning! Thought that was a sign of confirmation from the Lord. ;p We can't wait and we pray that He'll really reveal Himself to us and to the people in Dubai. May there be great things and great reports,

in Jesus name, amen.

Tour Dubai

Tour Dubai

With finally a tedious flight and formalities out of the way, we happily trudged out of the airport onto official Dubai soil. Pastor Aljay met us excitedly, a great guy, passionate speaker, and awesome host. Of course, as humble ‘missionaries' we never expected for Aljay to put us in a huge mansion for our weeks stay. Then again, nearly all homes in Dubai are huge mansions.

It wasn't long before we had work on our hands. Our first workshop in Sharjah was fruitful, as a band still learning to reach a certain standard of public speech, our delivery of ideas met well, well absorbed. People were excited; our concert the next day was chocked full. Crowds met excitedly in praise and worship, you know the presence of God is strong when you find out the next day 4 people gave their lives to Christ without an alter call, even though we didn't play that well.

The rest of our trip consisted of more workshops, praise and worships sessions, getting to know the ‘Dubai-ans', which are a socialite bunch of photo-loving, warm, and fun people; even though a little extreme at times.

Of course we had our grand finale concert in Abu Dhabi, once again chocked full with people. Congregation was wild, people's hearts open to worship; it was definitely a blast. More than just playing well, the presence of God was definitely strongly tangible in the theatre; so tangible in fact the band burst out into solo performances - something we've never rehearsed or done before.

We've accomplished what we've come to do; bring aspects of worship to bring their team to the next level, preach the gospel, helped others encounter God. One of the prophetic words Pastor Mar received was God opening the ozone layer and pouring His presence down upon U.A.E. He also prophesied over 1a.m. as a fertile ministry, and will bear many fruits to come. People were SOLD OUT!