I hope this post finds you in good health, spiritually and physically. I am currently on Easter break, and boy do I need it!
My last three weeks before the break were hectic to say the least. I had two assignments due each of those weeks, and on top of that I had to prepare lessons for my teaching placement at Carey Baptist. While I somehow managed to submit my assignments on time (one with only 15 minutes to spare), my preparation took a back seat and I paid a hefty price for my lack of organisation. There was one day where I was to teach all three of my classes - a Year 7 and Year 9 German class, and a Year 11 English Language B class. The Year 7 and Year 11 classes were 80-minute periods, and because I was underprepared I spent the whole day running around frantically trying to get stuff together. Needless to say, my teacher mentors weren't exactly impressed.
Proper preparation for a beginning teacher is mentally taxing, but the alternative is far worse, as I have learned the hard way (as mentioned above). After this break, I will be embarking on a two-week block placement at Carey, where we will get our first experience of full-time teaching. Among other things, I need to compile a mini study unit for my English Language B class, and get my lessons for my German classes prepared for at least the first week of the block placement.
On the weekend of 16-17 April, I went on a rehearsal camp with MUCS up in Mount Evelyn Recreation Camp. I had just completed my last assignment - for the time being - which enabled me to relax, enjoy the camp and focus wholly on the music. To my (and the conductor's) delight, we not only had fun, but progressed ahead of his expectations. The concert we were rehearsing - Henry Purcell's King Arthur - will be showing on Sunday 22 May at the BMW Edge in Federation Square. There will be two concerts - one at 3 p.m. and another at 8 p.m. Contact me if you want tickets! I have ten - five for each show.
A few days later, I quietly celebrated turning a quarter of a century old. My mum took me out to Rasa Malaya, an established family favourite restaurant near our place. Then in the evening I went to see an act at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival - MY STRUGGLE* by German stand-up comedian Henning Wehn. Herr Wehn is based mainly in Britain, but this was his second time in Melbourne, having last come in 2009 with compatriot Otto Kuhnle.
* In case you don't know, MY STRUGGLE translates into German as "Mein Kampf", the name of the infamous book written by Adolf Hitler, in which he outlined his ideals for Germany.
Easter has fallen rather late this year, and on Good Friday I was pleasantly surprised to hear a sermon about the thief on the cross who came to salvation. The other thing that made an impression on me was the way Jesus responded to requests from different people. First, the way he responded to the thief. I'm quoting from the English Standard Version, Jesus' words are in red:
Jesus, Truly, I say to you
remember me you will be with me
when you come today
into your kingdom in Paradise
Then on Easter Sunday, Josh Teo shared a message at youth service in which he highlighted Jesus' responses to the skepticism of his disciple Thomas:
Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails see my hands
and place my finger into the mark of the nails put your finger here
and place my hand into his side put out your hand, and place it in my side
I will never believe Do not disbelieve, but believe
The season is again ripe for weddings. Tomorrow I will be attending the wedding of two friends from church, Ning and Wendy. And then on Friday is the "big" one. I'm talking, of course, about Prince William and Kate Middleton. Although I don't know the couple personally, and it is just another wedding, I do nonetheless wish them well in their marriage. I also don't know how important our Lord Almighty God is in their lives. I'm sure that most of you know that when William eventually becomes king, he will also become head of the Church of England.
So my prayer for the royal couple is - besides having a long and prosperous marriage - that they will pursue God and what He wants for them as a couple and as individuals - to "do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with [...] God (Micah 6:8)" and to "rejoice always, pray without ceasing, [and] give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18a)"
Cheers and God bless
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