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.