Chijazz 2008

Get ready for Chijazz 2008 folks, on the 26th Oct (Sun, prob from 5pm onwards)!!! :)
That little nugget of information came straight from the horse's mouth too- the famous Joshua Wan. So mark that date in your diaries, let's whip out our picnic baskets...bring along the booze and have a fabulous night of live jazz, swing, funk n soul under the stars. :) Last year's event was really reinvigorating for me, so am looking forward to this year's event.

Let me know if you wanna join the fun!

[btw, Timbre MusicFest 2008 is on too...19th-28th Sept. The groupies and I are all hyped, and will probably be going down to catch a few acts. This is a great season for music eh? :)]

Wanderlust

I miss horse-riding in the Blue Mts...and yes, that's me, in Andrea's pink MNG jacket. hee!

Every now and then....Mich gets Sydney Wanderlust. Today is one of those days. haha! So I thought I'd post some pics from my 2 previous Sydney trips to make myself happy. (Hey, its MY blog, I can do whatever I want! :p) So will Hillsong Conference 2009 materialise??? I dunno...but I hope so! :)

Tammy my pretty horse!

Camomile Cottage where we stayed in the Blue Mts.

Sunny moments in the garden behind our cottage

May snapping pics during our Coastal Drive trip in Feb.

Having a BBQ at Bondi Beach...that was so fun!

Darling Harbour....Shan and I strolled there by nite and drank hot choc from Starbucks, while snuggled in our warm jackets. :)

One of the state libraries...."Mich in heaven" moment. haha!

The Rocks area...facing the Sydney Opera House. Ahhh...beautiful Sydney! I miss u.

Arise

My students have been blowing me away lately...especially those at the highest level, AWD2. It's been surreal seeing how much they've grown over the past 15 months....and so rewarding. :)

The past week, I heard my students compose new songs on their own (i'm so proud of them)...
T sing with new tenderness and richness in her expression.....I heard A lead worship with great passion, and sing a powerful new song which sounded so prophetic that everyone got goosebumps.....and then there was 18 yr old J, one of my favourites, lead worship with such sincerity that from his first note, I wanted to cry. I mean the boy's got an amazing voice, but what moved me was how humbly and authentically he led from his relationship with Jesus.

It's quite rare that I see someone's heart shine so clearly and beautifully from their worship leading. That boy has got a real gift, God's hand is so clearly on his life. As the time of worship with Paul Baloche's "Your Name" came to a close, God's presence was thick in the air....and the whole class was just singing "Jesus" over and over again in a beautiful chorus. We were quite speechless after that. Everyone knew something special had taken place.

After I dismissed the class, I decided to speak to J privately, just to give him some words of encouragement cos I sensed that he was still quite fearful about stepping boldly into the role of a leader. As the words came out, I felt so proud of him...I found myself holding back the tears. And I could see the tears in his eyes too. OMG, that was such a classic "teacher moment".

This is why I do what I do.... :)

The Way That I Was Made...

Just came back from band rehearsal in church....and it was good, really refreshed me. Think I really needed it. I started out my day feeling rather appalled at a rather ugly episode, and then feeling frustrated cos I was having a hard time writing this report for church (it involves a lot of charts and numbers...not my forte). And there was also a part of me that felt restless cos I haven't had time to find my soul's release in writing, and music-making. So yeah, I was tired, snappy, and feeling kinda 'bruised'.

But things turned out quite miraculously as soon as the rehearsal started. Nigel, our worship leader, started out with a prayer to settle our hearts....and Andrea, somehow sensed something was in the air, and spontaneously led us through a time of worship with "There is none like You". [Andie: I've been listening to the Watermark version of this song earlier in the wk btw. heh!] You know....God alone knows the condition of our hearts...and what we need at that particular point of time. And I really felt God was in that tiny studio tonight, and meeting each of us at our point of need. And there is amazing strength, faith and blessing that arises when we choose to worship God for who He is, and not just for what He's done.

I really enjoyed the time of fellowship we had too. It was fun listening to them rehearse their original songs for the "Genesis Project", songwriting festival too. I'm so proud of them lah. :) Looking forward to supporting them during the showcase this Sat!
[Go Dawnie!!! Sing your heart out! I'm your biggest groupie! :)]

Tonight made me realize that I don't need a lot of things to be happy....
Definitely not expensive clothes or jewellery,
a big fat bank account balance, or some important career title.
I just need the love of my God, my dear frens (thanks for being on my side!) and family,
my music, and a meaningful ministry where I can make a difference by building people up, and helping them grow.

It's like re-discovering the way that I was made...
So tonight....I'm not gonna give into the darkness,
I'm gonna sing my way to freedom.

A little bit of Joel goes a long way

Oh Joel!

Some people have asked why the word "Woh" is popping up all over my blog.
Hey guys, it's the hottest new word/sound now...get into it.
You can call it the Woh Revolution.
And it's all thanks to Joel Houston (some of us call him king. not capitalized)....who's popularized the word/sound in praise & worship anthems like "Solution", "With Everything" and "Your Name High". Go listen to them....and soon you'll find yourself singing along at the top of your lungs. It's infectious.

"Woh oh oh...oh oh oh..Woh oh oh!"

And I've discovered how hearing/seeing that word just cheers me up.
Glenn and I have concluded that "Woh" is a very rich word, it's filled with depth.
Yeahhh..... a little bit of Joel goes a long way. :)

Groupies' Nite Out @ Esplanade Outdoor Theatre (Part 2)

We.are.hardcore.
I'm sure everyone knew how hard it was raining on Sun, and yet Muffin, Dawnie and myself still made our way down to the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre to catch the AMPs (Ang Mo Pais), Ngak's latest bilingual band which features Ngak on lead vox, Eric Ng on electric guits, Clement Yang on bass, Jim Lim on keys and vox, Brandon Khoo on drums.

After our dinner at Thai Express, the rain lightened and we were pretty hopeful. But the Esplanade crew informed us that the 1st set at 7.30pm was cancelled due to the bad weather. And since we were there already, we figured we might as well wait it out for the 2nd set at 8.45pm. We even had to chope seats lor. *shakes head*

The seats were quite wet...so Dawnie and I had to sheepishly approach the Thai Express manager for plastic bags for out butts. haha! Thankfully, he happily obliged.

With the Muffin

Groupie group shot with pretty lights in the background

Waiting in eager anticipation. Muffin can't stand us. Tsk tsk. But SOMEBODY was gushing like crazy lor when the band started the first song. haha!

The Ang Mo Pais....they were really tight as a band. The set consisted of English, Mandarin and even Hokkien songs. Not bad lah..Ngak pulled it off decently.

Ngak on lead vox

Eric having a rockstar moment back there. hehe!

Check out this video of the AMPs opening song, "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay. Quite happening!

What has Dawnie done to Mich??

Oh gosh...I seriously cannot believe I'm posting this. But I think this video of Wu Jiahui performing live at Esplanade recital studio in May this year, is AMAZING!!! After you get past the super tenor observation, you start to realize how brilliant his vocal delivery is. Very emotive too! Yeah...I listen until teary.

Check out the video here.
(I am having probs posting youtube videos directly to blogger. So sorry ah...)

What has Dawnie done to Mich???

Groupies Nite Out @ Esplanade Outdoor Theatre

Shirlyn from The Unexpected

Michelle had a pretty packed day....but she had lotsa fun with good fwens (or "Frins" as Muffin would pronounce it....so poser lah he, he's adopting that pronunciation cos Brooke Fraser says it that way. *rolls eyes*). After classes...I ran down to Raffles City to meet up with crazy Steph cos she's back for a rare visit from Japo land. [Hey crazy gal: I really enjoyed our little meet up. :) It's like we just picked up from where we left off....dunno how many months/yr? ago.]

When Steph dumped me to meet up with another grp of frens, Muffin joined me for a little shopping at Marina Sq, and Audrey came by soon after. We headed to Esplanade for dinner...and it was CRAZY crowded cos of the Singapore Fireworks Festival (we.don't.like.crowds.). After waiting for ages, we finally got some dinner at this new cafe, "Sour Puss" opp Thai Xpress. It turned out to be quite serendipitous...cos we had a pretty gd view of the fireworks from our dinner table. Can you imagine, the throngs of pple had gone down hours earlier just to jostle for a good STANDING position for 15 min show in the rain! Haha!

I'm not really the kind to jostle with the crowds to ooh and ahh over fireworks ....but it really turned out to be quite fun. :) Saw some pretty fireworks, and it did feel rather celebratory cos it coincided with Singapore's historic silver medal win at the Olympics. A part of me felt very proud of our little island nation. hee! Anyway, the rain didn't stop for quite long.....persistent drizzle it was. BUT the groupies felt like we couldn't let it hinder us from grabbing good seats. haha! So we made our way to the newly opened Esplanade Outdoor theatre which was heavily packed with waiting spectators already. We were very lucky to get decent seats....cos A LOT of pple were just standing around. While sitting in the rain with our umbrella...we joked about how majorly groupie we were. Hardcore lor....wait for Ngak/Jack & Rai/Shirlyn Tan in the rain.

Sitting there also brought back great memories of my previous gigs at that Esplanade Outdoor Theatre. :) I remember years ago...I caught Corrinne May there (yes, when her concerts were still free). And I told God that it would be a dream come true to perform there. :) And I was so blessed to have that dream fulfilled....more than once in fact. I think I've sung there around 4 separate occasions by now. Each gig was amazing in its own right...and I've grown so much through each gig. Muffin: I hope you get a chance to see that dream of yours fulfilled too! :) Go for it!

Ngak + Clement

So the line-up just now included opening act rocker chick Shirlyn Tan, Ngak + Clement, Kewei (yucks! I really cannot stand her. Too showy for me.), Wu Jiahui (I only know of him through Dawnie. She actually called me during Jiahui's set to ask us to record it for her. haha! Well, I must say...after listening to him tonite, I think he's really quite good, especially as a vocalist. And I like how down to earth he is. This is quite a big deal, considering how Mich doesn't listen to chinese pop), and crowd favourites Jack & Rai! Their funny "Fa la la la" song was a great way for us groupies to end the night. (We left before finale act Jonathan Leong. haha!)

Quite enjoyed the whole concert which featured mostly original compositions....the band that backed up all the acts was very very tight. I spotted famous keyboardist Mei Sheum....and the band even had a string section. Added a lot of class and fullness to the music arrangements I must say!

Tmrw night, the groupies (together with Dawnie) shall return to the Esplanade again to catch Ngak's new band, "The AMPs" (Ang mo pais). Awesome! :) Just realized something through today's turn of events....that life will be enjoyed or endured through our perspective. I can get all grumpy over today's horrid crowds, the mud and dismal weather....OR I can celebrate the joys of frenship, music, a surprise fireworks display and nature's refreshing drizzly symphony. :) I choose the latter. Mich is simply..quite happy. :)

To end, I shall post a little snippet of Jiahui set...the 2nd song is the duet with Ngak, taken from the 881 soundtrack. Dawnie: This is FOR YOU!! :) First time my blog got chinese/hokkien songs leh. haha! I'm really quite surprised at how much I like Jiahui now. :p Yeah...I've got this video on repeat mode. I'm turning into you Dawnie!! Aiyoh!

Sweet Treats

See what Abi put on my table today....the post-it says "Your donut!"
It was from J.Co. :) Sure took up a lot of space for ONE donut. haaha!

I had a pretty good day (well, except for one unpleasant work incident...but its fine now), met my aunt Rena (from Sabah) for a big lunch at Canele, Raffles City basement. I've always avoided that place cos it looks so royally atas and pricey. But when I looked through the menu, I found the items to be decently priced. :) Shall be returning soon.....Canele is famous for its deserts (OMG, the choc cake!!), but I found their mains quite excellent too. :) I tried this Crab salad thingy....very tasty with generous portions! Was quite pleasantly surprised. And when I ordered the savoury crepe, it was served the traditional french way, folded in a square. Wow! Impressed.

Had a great time of catching up with my aunt. I love my aunt...she's not here often, so I treasure the times we have together. My own mum can be pretty verbally abusive towards me, very hard to handle to be honest.....so my aunt is always a breath of fresh air to me. She's always been loving, encouraging and supportive. I remember when I was in NUS, and my Dad got retrenched.....she was the one who supplied me my ENTIRE monthly allowance. Even though she had to take care of 4 kids of her own. Wow rite? Thank God for family!

Well, my aunt gave me more good news during our lunch.....my two cousins, Aeron and Sabrina, my fav cousins in the whole world :), are coming to S'pore to work and study respectively next year!! I'm so happy....I'll get to see them more often then just 2 times a year.
Sweet! :)

Then in the evening, I met Berno for a quick dinner at Coffee Bean. :) We both ordered the kid's sized pasta. hehe! I only get to meet my Berno once a week now, so its precious time. After classes, we hung around the office until 10 plus with the rest of the coaches. Erica kept talking crap, and teasing Theo.....haha! Very entertaining. I like. Now, they're organising a Taboo Game Nite next Mon. haha! We haven't done that in a long time, so it should be pretty fun.

RSS

I love my fwens who send me random song lyric smses (RSS). I think we took it to new heights today though. haha! While S'pore's women table tennis team battled it out with China's team for the Olympics finals (hey! We got our silver!!! haha! Rare moment of patriotic pride.:)) this evening, Glenn & I had our own little 'ping pong' game over sms with random Praise & Worship song lyrics. If you can actually follow our exchange and recognize the songs, bravo for you! :p


Mich: "Woh oh oh....oh oh oh....woh oh oh!"
Glenn: "Fill us up and send us out!"
Mich: "All majesty to the God of creation!"
Glenn: "My soul now to stand..."
Mich: "We are living to make Your name high, Jesus!....Woh oh oh!"
Glenn: "I know I am filled to be emptied again.."
Mich: "You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same." (recognize that not?)
Glenn: "Indescribable"...hur!
Mich: Wow you're good. We're both good! haha! "Glorious, over us!"
Glenn: "Lord I'm amazed"
Mich: "Every sunrise sings Your praise!" (you know?)
Glenn: Wa crap! You got me there. ha!
Mich: Yay! I win! It's "It's all because of Jesus" by Fee. haha!


Answers:
============
1) With Everything (Hillsong)
2) God of Justice (Tim Hughes)
3) Majesty (Planetshakers)
4) The Stand (Hillsong United)
5) Your name high (Hillsong)
6) Desert song (Hillsong)
7) Indescribable (Chris Tomlin)
8) Glorious (Chris Tomlin)
9) Amazed (Desperation Band)
10) It's all about Jesus (Fee)

In Withdrawal

Michelle is suffering from Passion World Tour withdrawal symptoms. I know Abi is too. We can still hear the songs in our heads..and we break out into random (but coordinated) bouts of headbanging. haha! I'm not sure how it works out, but it does. We just need one person to sing the intro, or to countdown ("1,2,3,4!") and we're off in a frenzy. haha!

It doesn't help to watch youtube videos recordings of that awesome night in KL either...totally missing the experience as I relive it in my bedroom. Sigh!!

Anyway, if you're interested to find out how Passion KL went...you can watch these videos. They're a bit blurry, but these are the better ones that I found oredi.

Chris Tomlin, "Holy is the Lord"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC9bjPhuYgw

Chris Tomlin, "Let God Arise" (this will give you an idea of the madness that was Passion KL! WOOHOO!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrSKHq5oHII

Chris Tomlin, "How Great is our God" (i love how Chris doesn't have to lead at all in this song, cos the crowd is just singing so loudly on their own. Awesome!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m-F6VX4ASU

Wayne & Libby Huirua @ RiverLife

L-R: Family pic with 10 year old Josh, Libby, 14 year old Gracie, and Wayne

Last week was really special for us at RiverLife as Wayne & Libby Huirua, who used to front Parachute Band, came all the way down from New Zealand to spend time with our Creative Arts Ministries. :) Over a couple of days, they conducted a series of equipping sessions for us and really just imparted their wealth of knowledge and experience into our lives. They were really inspiring in their lavish worship, and how they encouraged us as lead worshippers to "let our hearts be known". :) It was incredible as all that they taught and shared over the sessions was all that I've been praying and longing for this ministry of late. God is stirring something up here....you can just sense it, and He's knitting our hearts together more and more. :)

It was such a blessing to have them hang out with us, speak into our lives and pray for us (Wayne prayed for me...and it was really powerful). They've got such beautiful and generous hearts...it's always wonderful to have them with us. Looking forward to having them return next year. :)

I don't think I can capture all I wanna say in words right now....so I'll just close with a song that Libby wrote while she was recovering from an operation about 6 weeks back, to remove 3 cysts from her vocal cords. I was really moved when she shared this....cos I've lost my voice temporarily before, and I know how it feels. For a singer, its just so scary and devastating! Anyway, she said that during her recovery period, she had to endure a time of enforced silence. And it was quite terrifying because she didn't know if her voice would return fully after the risky operation. During that time, she cried out to God, "What if I can't sing anymore?", and in the poignant silence, God replied, "But will you still sing for me daughter?"

It seems like an odd reply, but that was when Libby started to realize that although she couldn't sing with her physical voice, her soul was still singing to God all this while. And that life song is so much bigger than what mere lyrics can express of our God. So what is the song that your life is singing? Is it singing fear, anxiety or is it singing of the miracle of God working in your life? :) Awesome revelation eh? Anyway....Libby is recovering well today. And I've posted a video recording of their Huirua family item, "My Soul Sings" at the bottom of this post, together with the lyrics.

To view the full photo album, go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=36429&l=85d01&id=712113073

Waiting eagerly for our main session to start.

The guys from the band sharing a light-hearted moment

Wayne conducting a live workshop for us

The attentive crowd

Wayne and Libby spent some time praying for the different teams.

Growing to be a people committed to worship

Me with Wayne & Libby!! :) They were so so encouraging to me.

Sun service

Wayne & Libby wowed us with their super funky and creative rearrangement of Hillsong's "For All You've Done". You could feel the congre's excitement and joy from the ground. I've never heard our band sound better...am so proud of them! :)

They look like they're having smashing fun eh? :) Yeah, the atmosphere was electric that day.

The band with Senior Pastor Vincent Lun

Family item, "My Soul Sings". They look so cute right? Like the Von Trapp family.

A proud daddy and his son. Josh is only 10 yrs old!! Amazing.

Josh & Gracie

Andrea (or Andie as they call her), our music director, with Wayne & Libby

Wayne taking us through a workshop on sound.

Markus, our Swiss keyboardist, and now the worship min's new poster boy. haha! I love this pic that Jerry took.

Different generations and ministries uniting in prayer for each other.

Sarah & Andrea closing the sessions with prayer. God truly took us higher and deeper with Him as a church that weekend. :)

My Soul Sings
(By Libby Huirua)

Words are not enough to describe the majesty of God
There’s a sound of worship rising up from deep within my heart
In the place of silence
I find a way to praise you
In the place of silence
I find a way to praise you still

It’s a new place from a new heart
It’s a new day
My soul sings
My soul sings
As I reach to God-alive

Beyond the words
Beyond the songs
My soul sings
My soul sings

I will be still and know
You are God
I will be still and know
You are God

Sing, sing, sing! :)

On msn:
========
Glenn: *randomly* Woh oh oh....oh oh oh...Woh oh oh!!
Mich: I can't believe I actually understood that! *stunned*
(it's from the chorus of "With Everything", from the new hillsong album)
Glenn: It's all the rage! Tunes without words!
Mich: I know, I'm riding on the wave too! Joel rocks. (he wrote that song)

In a cab today:
==============
Dawn: *sings her own version of Alarice's "Away"* "Saw the sun peek through your head, to make the blind man smile!"
Mich: *weird look* No! It's "Saw the sun peek through the skies, to chase the blues away!"
How did you even get blind man??? haha!

Major Music geek moment at KL, Hilton Hotel:
===========================================
*Daniel, Theo, Mich and Abi waiting for the valet to get a cab for us*
Valet: *claps his hands once*
Theo: Wow...so that's how you get a cab around here?
Mich: Hmm....wonder how it works if we clap double-time?
*instaneously all 4 of us launch into double-time clapping a la Planetshakers and start laughing insanely*
Daniel: *laughing* Mebbe we'll get many cabs!!

Passion: A Generation United For His Renown

It's been almost a week since I returned from the Passion Conference KL....but the excitement, impact and memory of that event is still fresh in my heart and mind. :) I hardly know where to start describing the magnitude of it. 4000 people packed (it was a crush!) into the Sunway Convention Center....young people from all over the world, Asia, Africa, Arabic nations, the U.S etc gathered for one purpose- to worship the Almighty King.

It was a glorious night indeed.....the worship was breathtaking. It's been a long time since I've witnessed and been part of such full on, passionate worship. It really stirred something deep in my heart, and I think a lot of us were worshipping with tears streaming down our faces. The atmosphere was very very special.....I've gotta give it to those Malaysian Christians, their hearts are really aflame for Jesus, and they're not afraid to show it. :) And so for a surreal 4 hours on Sun evening, we made music with the heavens, sang at the top of our lungs (and we lost our voices at the end of the night), danced with all our might, heard awesome, life-transforming preaching, and united in fervent prayer for nations around the world, and above all, for His renown.

I really felt like I was part of something bigger that night....the move of God that's undeniably sweeping over the world. If I was blinded before by my own needs and circumstances...that night opened my heart and eyes to the powerful work of God's hand. And I really earnestly caught the passion that night....from the lavish worshippers that are part of the Passion team (Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, Louie Giglio), and the beautiful collision of believers all over the world. It reminded me once again of what Tim Hughes said when he was here for the Worship Central conference....."Passion is not just taught, it's caught."


My heart is aching for this desperation and passion for God to sweep over my church, and over S'pore as well. I think prosperity has dulled our desire for God. We need to get acquainted with carpet again, we need to let God break our hearts, and let God arise in this nation. At this point, I need to reiterate that it's really not about getting addicted to an emotional high that these worship events often create....but catching the fire, and going out there to change the world, to burn for our amazing God.

"Yes, LORD, walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You; Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts." Isaiah 26:8 [The theme verse for Passion]

Read the Passion Team's official blog post on the event here:
http://268generation.com/blog/

Photo-memories from our unbelievable Passion KL journey :)
[Photos taken by Abi. You can view the rest of our photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35386&l=0a9bb&id=712113073
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35387&l=5ce5b&id=712113073 ]
===================================================================

Arrival at our hotel room, The Hilton, Petaling Jaya after a 5 hour coach ride. Ooh..the funny thing was after we got off our coach, we headed to Giant supermkt for groceries. And the first thing we saw was Chris Botti and Lee Ritenour on this giant TV screen. You can imagine the state Abi and I were in! haha! Chris welcomed us to KL leh!

Abi taking a shot of herself

Our shampoo, conditioner and body lotion were from Crabtree & Evelyn!! We kept asking room service for more. haha! And throughout the weekend, we kept gushing to each other, "Touch my hair!! Oh so soft!!" haha!

Lunch at an Italian restaurant in Sunway, before we collected our passes.

Priceless lah this pic. Someone's hair super long hor? haha! And Theo's expression perfectly matches his t-shirt. The poor boy wasn't used to the random ways of Abi & I. He asked "What are you going to order for lunch?"...and I excitedly spurted out "Bm7 - A- G2!!!" cos I had the intro of "God of this City" playing in my head. He was totally lost, and said "huh?? I asked what you want for lunch!". hahah! Only Abi understood what I was referring to.

Daniel at a loss at what to order.

A quick spot of shopping at Sunway before the event. I bought that embroidered jacket in the end from East India Company. But u know what? The guys bought way more than us girls!! *faintz*

Check out my lovely purple Passion pass!! :) Here we are lining up outside the doors at 4pm.
We accidentally got pushed to the front of the line, and at the strategic centrestage entrance. WOOHOO!

Passion pass, Passion postcard, Passion cd+dvd. We.are.groupies. :)

It was a gigantic crowd...absolutely insane. You can't see it here, but we after they made us stand up, we were squashed like sardines for 1 hr or so. But there was such a great sense of community even as we tolerated the suffocating heat and torturous wait. Complete strangers chatted to each other, passed around fans, randomly started counting down ("10, 9, 8, 7 etc") and cheering for no good reason except for sheer fun.....and the best part was the bunch of ang mohs who chanted "Open LAH, Open LAH!!" hahaha! Absolutely hilarious.

Beaming, cos we finally got in!!! Seated 4th row from centre-stage too!!
Interestingly, we bumped into some of our BMI students sitting next to us. haha! They travelled down too. When the Passion crew started to take videos n photos of us, one the guys exclaimed excitedly, "We're going to be in the DVD!!" And then, some other dude nearby went calmly, "Er...no lah. Maybe just the website." And the guy went "Oh." HAHA! So cute!

Group pic!

Lights dimmed, music started playing....people starting cheering. This was the spectacular opening that consisted of a video montage ("Bittersweet symphony" as the bkground music), and live music from the band on stage. Very slick, very cool! :) And yes, very Hillong conference 07 too. I know. haha!

Daniel rocking hard on guits, Matt grooving behind on keys.

And Chris Tomlin takes the stage with his red hot guitar!!

The energetic opening praise song, "Let God Arise"!! The band was fantastic! So tight.

Beautiful, dramatic lighting. It really enhanced the atmosphere. I never thought I'd say that of a worship event. :)

Chris Tomlin is so cute in real life....very chiselled, very adorable. haha! And we had a great view from our seats.

Phenomenal lighting once again

Chris rallying the 4000 strong crowd to praise God.

Charlie Hall whom we saw in the morning, seated on one of the benches at the Sunway mall. He was working on his Macbook Pro. We didn't recognise him though...and we made some comment about him looking like he belonged to Daughtry's band. Oops! Anyway, Charlie Hall's band was actually tighter and groovier than Chris's band. There were quite a few moments when Abi and I would stop in mid-song, turn and face each other with dropped jaws and go "SO KENA!!" (meaning the band was very tight, very shiok lah)

I love this dramatic shot of Charlie Hall's keyboardist (he played a red hot Nord!). The lyrics behind say "who renovates the human heart."

Louie Giglio, one of the founders of the Passion movement. He's such a fantastic, charismatic, inspiring speaker. He moved us to tears with a testimony he shared. And he made us laugh so hard as he taught us how to pray the "Passion way"- gather in threes...one person leads in prayer, the rest agree by saying "totally!", "right on!" etc. haha! Gotta love that. :)

Louie, inspiring us to go out and change the world. :)

A powerful moment as we sang "God of this City", prayed for our own nations, and Jakarta, the next site for the Passion World Tour.

We're all in this together.

Chris taking the stage again...and man, how we sang and danced with ALL OUR MIGHT!!! :)
The final set consisted of "Mighty to save" (by hillsong), Chris' amazing new songs '"Jesus Messiah" and "Sing, sing, sing", and of course, Chris classics like "How Great is our God", "Amazing Grace (my chains are gone)".

There were many times Chris just stopped singing...cos the crowd was just singing so heartily and enthusiastically on their own. God was worshipped that night. It was incredible.

A generation united for His renown

The perfect shot to sum up Passion '08- "You are amazing God."

Tired out physically but our hearts were recharged and refueled. :) When we returned to our little hotel room...we were greeted with this cute scene of our pillows stacked up altogether by the chamber maid. haha! We called room service for A LOT of pillows the previous nite.

Passion World Tour, KL...you have left an indelible impression upon our hearts. :)