Held once a month, the week-long morning (and evening) prayer meetings is a highly anticipated feature of City Harvest Church (CHC). From 8 to 12 June 2009, alarm clocks rang in the wee hours of the morning as thousands in CHC made their way to the various venues for the morning prayer meetings at 7am.

Although many find it a struggle to wake up early for an entire week, without a doubt, all who attended the morning prayer have had their passion for prayer strengthened, and their hunger for an encounter with God, deepened. It was truly amazing to see how the prayer meetings drew people from all walks of life, from different backgrounds and age groups, to a common purpose. Adults in their office wear, students in their uniforms, and even the elderly turned up in full force at the various locations.

Numbers was not the only factor that was evident, the quality of the people’s prayer showed plainly through their fervency. The people set up “personal altars” and prayed with focus to hear from God. While some preferred to pace back and forth while praying, others contemplated on verses in the bible; most preferred to sit down and pray with hands uplifted. No matter the different styles of engaging God in prayer, the same fire was available to all who sought after it. Towards the end of the prayer meetings, the atmosphere was noticeably charged with a mighty presence of God, as faith rose in the hearts of the people. At the close of the hour-long prayer session, the crowd prayed corporately for the needs of the church, crying out to God for a greater move in the coming months.

Prayer is a cornerstone of the church, the fire that fuels every believer, and is our connection to the living God. Through the week of prayer, many experienced for themselves how fresh fire from heaven falls when we humble ourselves and seek God wholeheartedly. Truly, prayer should always be a lifestyle for all believers!

PHOTOS: Aaron Low Gabriel Seow, Jason Lee, Raymond Lee

Once again Matthew McConaughey proves that he is only good in one kind of movie: The chick-flick. Though I’m disappointed by this once sexiest-man-alive, the demise of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past doesn’t fall solely upon his broad, hulking shoulders.

The entire plot was laughable and in dire need of wit. It was a complete, unapologetic ripoff of A Christmas Carol. Dickens should sue.

Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey), hot-shot photographer and jack of all women is headed for his hometown to be best man at his brother Paul’s (Breckin Meyer) wedding.

A notorious player, the men all want to be him and the bridesmaids want to sleep with him, now where’s the justice in that? And among all the lovely ladies who flock to him, is his one true love.

Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner) was his childhood sweetheart (who gave him his first camera — which clues you in on how the movie will end) with whom he fell apart in their youth. They meet again at Paul’s wedding and old feelings are rekindled.

After a lousy, and completely rude speech during the rehearsal dinner, Connor heads to the toilet where his deceased Uncle Wayne, who brought him up and taught him everything he knew about women, appears out of thin air to warn Connor that three ghosts will be visiting him.

If there is one saving grace to this film, it’s the cheeky, brash Uncle Wayne (played by Michael Douglas), a hilarious addition to the cast.

The three ghosts show Connor his past: Allison Vandermeersh (played by Emma Stone) the girl he lost his virginity to, shows him how he was crushed by Jenny ditching him on prom night.

His personal assistant Melanie (played by Noureen DeWulf) wasn’t a ghost, but showed him what happens every time he broke up with the girls.

Then his ghost of girlfriends future, showed him what happens if he continues on his philandering ways.

Just as A Christmas Carol goes, Connor Mead has an epiphany. He has to start accepting real love, and to confess to his one true love.

The movie lacks energy and originality, and feels like a replay of Matthew McConaughey’s recent flops, the aptly titled Failure to Launch and Fool’s Gold.

With such a weak lead actor, this movie would have been completely unwatchable if not for the supporting actors: Douglas’ Hugh Hefner-like Uncle Wayne, Emma Stone as Connor’s ’80s girlfriend and Lacey Chabert (you’ll remember her as Gretchen from Mean Girls) as Bridezilla.

Rating:

Hannah Montana: The Movie is basically a two-hour long episode of Hannah Montana the TV series. Same plot, same cringe-worthy moments, same identity crisis, all that’s missing is the canned laughter.

However, HM fans will love this big-screen version of the Hannah-Miley story. And very likely watch it over and over again.

Miley Stewart (played by Miley Cyrus) has grown too big for her booties. She has a hissy fit when Tyra Banks tries to take the pair of heels she has her teeny-bopper eyes on, ending in an embarrassing cat-fight between the two stars. That’s not all, she attends her best friend’s (played by Emily Osment) birthday party as Hannah Montana, stealing the limelight from her best friend and ruining the party.

Her father, honky-tonk heartthrob Billy Ray Stewart decides enough is enough and wants to teach her a lesson. And what better way to show a diva the light than to dump her in the middle of Tennessee amidst cows and other barnyard animals.

Miley struggles to reconnect with her distant past, rebelling for a while before realizing that she actually misses Tennessee after her many years in Los Angeles. Of course, it helps that a love interest in the shape of teen cowboy Travis Brody (Lucus Till) shows her the way.

The highlight of the movie is the hilarious Hoedown Throwdown, where a barnyard full of people get down and do a dance with Miley rocking on the mike. “Boom boom clap, boom de clap de clap”, it started, followed by actions with names like, “hawk in the sky”, “countrify it”. Before the movie opened worldwide, the video of how to dance the Hoedown Throwdown was all over YouTube.

The movie ends on an expectedly sweet note, with Miley realizing that Tennessee will always be a part of her. The denouement of the show is when she reveals to all her fans who she really is, and sings ‘The Climb’ (only every pre-teen girl’s favorite song right now, just watch One Minute of Fame on Okto!).

For fans of Hannah Montana, this movie is a sweet treat. For other moviegoers, this movie is likely to cause diabetes.

Rating:

for Hannah Montana fans

Rating:

for everyone else

Contributed by Debbie Ong

City Harvest Children’s Church (CHCC) literally saw stars during their Superstar Weekend on 13 June 2009 at 1, Jurong West St 91.

An atmosphere of excitement was rumbling throughout the auditorium as the children started streaming in. They brought along with them glow sticks and handmade posters, and were all ready to show support for their favorite superstars.

Beginning with exuberant praise, the children were all up on their feet, singing and clapping joyously to the music. Without delay, the hosts then introduced the highlights of the program — live performances by Campus Superstar 2009, Jarod Lee and popular Taiwanese band, F.I.R.

The young and talented Lee, sang ‘She Will Be Loved’ by Maroon 5 and ‘Yes Or No’ by A-Mei. As the 13-year-old crooned, adoring fans went forward to the stage to shower him with gifts and flowers. In a live interview that followed, Lee shared about his exhilarating experience at the nationwide singing competition. Addressing young aspiring singers, Lee encouraged them to keep chasing after their dreams.

Taiwanese band F.I.R performed two of their hit singles ‘Get High’ and ‘月牙弯 (Crescent Moon Bay)’. They also presented the top three prizes to winners of CHCC’s recent Camp Rock. Faye from F.I.R commented that it was a blessing to be in a church where a platform is created to discover and groom the talents in every child.

8-year-olds Amelia and Randy exclaimed, “We enjoyed the performances by Jarod and F.I.R. Their songs were very nice!”

PHOTOS :Bernard Yeo

After a time of worship and listening to a message from the Bible, the children were taught the principles of “H2O” which stands for Humility, Heartfelt and Obedience. Testimonies were also shared by CHCC teacher Anson Ang and 12-year-old Megan Mok. The service ended with many children responding to the altar call for ministry.

Showing no signs of being affected by the current economic recession or the H1N1 scare, the 19th PC Show 2009 held at the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre packed in a record crowd of 1.13 million visitors over the four-day event. Organizers and exhibitors were pleased with the turnout as this meant a higher sales return, registering S$52.1 million compared to S$51.7 million last year.

In an email interview, Lines Exposition & Management Services’ Project Manager, Gillian Loh, affirms that the economic downturn did not have a major effect on the PC Show. “The PC Show 2009 offers the latest IT products as well as the hottest deals. Consumers look forward to the annual PC Show as a great platform to source out the best bargains and enticing promotions for the latest IT gadgets. Also, many companies use the PC Show to showcase their latest products and that is a key reason for its year-on-year success.”

Sharing the same sentiments was a sales-coordinator at the Sony booth during the Show. He agrees that the PC Show is an ideal event to display products for branding and sales. It also acts as a tool for exposure, spiraling benefits for retail.

Contrary to the belief that the PC Show is just another “pasar malam” (flea market), the unique attraction of this year’s exhibition has set a platform for both local and international brands to launch and showcase products such as Ovation — the slimmest external hard disk; iNo Mobile — the first locally manufactured user-friendly mobile phone with thoughtful features designed especially for the young and old; the new Seagate® FreeAgent® Theater™ HD media player and the Acer Aspire Timeline series notebooks, just to name a few.

PHOTOS: Lu Guo Rong

With Singapore having one of the highest IT literacy rates in the world and 80 per cent of households having at least one computer, it is of little wonder that exhibitors are cashing in on consumer dollars, with satisfied customers lugging home the latest gizmos. Stretching the dollar just a little further, consumers were able to participate in the “Lucky Purchaser’s Draw” standing a chance to win a grand prize of S$10,000 including an LCD television, camcorder and MP3 player for every S$50 spent.

Earnest Kho who spent more than S$2,000 on a Compaq computer, a HP printer and other accessories, was seen beaming with satisfaction as his purchases resulted in close to 20 per cent cost savings.

With an obvious increase of visitors every year, the PC Show is set to go on next year at the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre from 10 to 13 June 2010.

Contributed by Tess Chia

The recently-concluded National Achievers’ Congress 2009 was themed “How the Rich Get Richer — and How You Can Be Rich Too”. It proved a draw for many in these economically challenging times.

The Congress, organized by Success Resources, took place from 26 to 28 May at Singapore Expo Hall 2. This year, it centered around financial education and featured world-class speakers such as Robert and Kim Kiyosaki, as well as their group of advisors including Kathy Heasley, Andy Tanner, Ken McElroy and Blair Singer.

Robert Kiyosaki is the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, the USA Today #1 business bestseller for 2003 and 2004. The huge popularity of Rich Dad, Poor Dad created an empire of the iconic purple-and-yellow business books, all focused on various aspects of financial education from sales to real estate and investing. Kiyosaki has built a reputation as a “financial educator”, declaring that his mission is to increase the financial literary of people around the world.

He said, “This is the biggest wealth transfer in the history of the world and whether you want to or not, you will be participating in this wealth transfer. Whether you are on the winning or losing side depends on your level of financial education; that is why it is so important that we take charge of our financial destiny and get educated.”

During the congress, Robert and his team of advisors took turns explaining the fundamentals of financial freedom — how passive income allows people to escape the rat race — and introduced a range of investment vehicles such as stocks, real estate, commodities and businesses. They engaged the audience with witty anecdotes and casual banter, giving tips on how everyone can embark on the journey to financial freedom.

An especially inspiring moment of the congress occurred when Kim Kiyosaki, author of Rich Woman and self-made entrepreneur-cum-investor, shared how it all started from her burning desire to become financially educated and get her money to work for her, so she could be financially free. Today, her passion is educating women worldwide about money and investing. Together with Robert and their team, they travel all over the world on this mission to spread financial literacy.

When City News caught up with Kim Kiyosaki, she had this to say: “It’s more important today than ever that young women learn to take control of their money and let go of the Cinderella story — they cannot depend on a Prince Charming to take care of them. Knowledge is the new money, and ladies must learn to be financially independent.”

The third and last day of NAC 2009 featured T Harv Eker (author of the NY Times Number One best-selling book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind), Stephen Pierce, an internet wealth advocate and Greg Secker, founder of an award-winning stock market training company in the UK. Participants learned more about forex trading, Internet marketing and the millionaire mindset that rich people share.

Donald Chen, a participant at NAC 2009, has been attending the congress for the past three years. “We don’t learn about money in school and it is so important that we know how to manage our finances. That’s why I have been faithfully attending NAC — the congresses are very enriching and have broadened my mindset greatly.”

NAC 2010 takes place from 27 to 29 April 2010 at Singapore Expo Hall 2 and registration is now open. For more information, go to www.srpl.net.

On 7 June 2009, some 229 youths set out to Pulau Ubin to take part in a treasure-hunt event known as ‘Lost in Ubin’.

Similar to the popular reality TV hit ‘Survivor’, participants or “survivors” of Lost in Ubin had to outwit, outplay and outlast one another in order to win the ultimate cash prize of S$200 (2nd Prize was S$150 and 3rd Prize was S$100). In this game, teams of 5 had to cycle all over the densely forested island to look for small yellow acrylic boards known as Checkpoints (CP) where they had to use a Chinagraph pencil to shade over the engravings of the CPs onto the answer sheet provided to accumulate as many points as possible. The survivor also had to unscramble the hints given at each CP to find out the location of the next CP. They had to check in at all the CPs and reach back to the jetty within three hours’ time. Failure to comply would result in a deduction of marks.

Upon arriving at Changi Jetty, the youths were given a ‘survival pack’ consisting of three bottles of mineral water, a pack of Mentos mints, an envelope containing an instruction manual cum score sheet, a Chinagraph pencil, a map of Pulau Ubin and the location of the first CP.

The survivors wasted no time in hopping on their bikes to gain a head-start. At the beginning of the game, the survivors were spoilt for choice, with a total of twenty-one CPs to choose from. But as the game commenced, they soon discovered that they had to make several critical decisions, such as, whether to look for CPs located further away, but carrying more points; settle for CPs that were easily located but not carrying many points; or whether to look for the ultimate CP carrying the most points, but located in a obscure corner of the island. Some of the strategies included looking out for rival teams; finding the CPs they found, or attempting to conceal the location of the CPs. In the highly competitive game, rival teams were seen trading information on the location of CPs, with the hope of outwitting the other teams.

The terrain of the island was not less challenging. There were many off-trail paths that survivors have to travel on, which had bumpy down-slopes as well as treacherous up-hills. The teams had to grit their teeth and brave through the bug-infested forest.

Toward 4.30pm, it was a race to the finish, as the exhausted survivors tore down the forest trails towards the finish line. The teams were neck and neck with the top three scores different only by a matter of a few points.

Leader of winning Team 23, Peng Bo, 21, NS man commented, “One of our teammates was so enthusiastic [about the event] that he actually ferried his personal bike [bicycle] for this competition! All of us enjoyed the treasure hunt although it was very challenging. I’m elated to say that our hard work and efforts have paid off as we’ve won the 1st prize! We’ve decided to use the prize money to have a good meal with the rest of our cell group members over the week!”

PHOTOS :Ng Zhi Wei Ryan

At the end of the day, though only three teams could win something, every survivor learned the importance of teamwork and more importantly, everyone had a great time! They truly outwitted, outplayed and outlasted Pulau Ubin!

The mere mention of blood donation can produce images of pain and needles for some youth.

“Mainly we fear pain. No matter how little or fleeting it get”, said 19-year-old Neo Ming Yu, a PU3 student from Millennia Institute.

Well, this could well be a myth.

In Asia, Bangkok youths gathered for the first time in South East Asia’s inaugural youth blood donor workshop in 2006, hosted by the Thai Red Cross Society’s National Blood Centre and the International Federation. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, providing assistance irregardless of nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.

Singapore youths are also making a difference in blood donation. The Youth Donor Club (YDC) is a club set up by the Singapore Red Cross for young Singaporeans between the age of 16 and 25. These youths are empowered to make a difference in the lives of the people by spreading the message of giving blood to their friends and peers. Even 16 and 17-year-olds can donate blood as long as their parents give consent to the club.

Singapore celebrated the annual World Blood Donor Day [WBDD] on 14 June 2009 last weekend and more than 1,600 blood donors were honoured. This is encouraging for the Singapore Red Cross Society as it aims to increase the number of blood donors in Singapore to 80,000 in 2010.  In Singapore, only 1 per cent or 40,000 people are active blood donors.

With around 90,000 units of blood needed to treat the ill and injured in Singapore every year, the youth can certainly do their part to help.

The next blood donation drive will be on 20 June 2009 at the Riverwalk.

So why wait? If you are eligible and eager to make a difference in someone’s lives, be a blood donor today!

As the first online platform created for women living in Asia, Nanz Inc is the brainchild of Singaporean model-turned businesswoman Nanz Chong-Komo (founder of the ONE.99 Shop) and former magazine editor, Theresa Tan. Seeking to be a nerve centre for Asian women to come together, live, learn, laugh and connect with one another, the site features daily one-minute multimedia clips where Chong-Komo will share on themes ranging from family, marriage and time-management to self-help issues like surviving setbacks and reinvention.

“I went from being a fashion model to businesswoman to a mother. You have to be conscious about what comes next in your life, and be able to use what you have in your hand to overcome obstacles in order to advance on to the next phase of your life,” she says of the essence of reinvention.

PHOTOS: Cristopher Teh

The idea for Nanz Inc came about after many women approached her for advice on things such as juggling multiple commitments when she was travelling over Asia for the past six years doing talk shows. Set up about two years ago, the company had a soft launch in July last year, and are in the midst of recruiting business partners and sponsorships. Differentiating her talk shows from Oprah Winfrey’s, Chong-Komo reasons, “As Asian women, especially those with careers, we have many expectations to meet and a lot of cultural rules to obey. And who can be better understand these challenges than an Asian woman herself?”

On why Nanz Inc joined the SME Fiesta, she says, “We SMEs have to get together and create a positive atmosphere.” Chong-Komo credits her husband, her close friends and her Christian faith as her inspiration. Additionally, she learnt much from her hardworking parents, saying, “Much of what I know now is caught, not taught.”

The inaugural single parents’ network conference organized by Empowering Single Parents’ Network (ESPN) was held on 7 June 2009, at City Harvest Church and attended by some 40 parents. This quarterly gathering aims to provide a place to “build relationships” and allow single parents to “find encouragement and support from one another.

It was an eventful afternoon as the session kicked off with an icebreaker, aimed to lighten the atmosphere and create a platform for organizer, Derek Dunn to address the crowd.

Isabel Sheena Ng, a 30 something single mother of a 1-year-old daughter shared her testimony on how her life turned around through love shown to her by her friends in church. In the midst of bringing up her child single-handedly, she overcame conflicts and grappled with emotional upheavals, and pressed on to become “her strongest even at her lowest.”

Clearly, the road to recovery for many single parents begins with fellowship and a listening ear from caring family members and friends. Besides providing emotional support, the organizers hope to give practical assistance through workshops such as basic home appliance knowledge, essential financial management courses, and services ranging from handyman jobs to legal advice, so as to ease the single parents’ parenting journey.

Jenny Lee, 36, sales and marketing coordinator and a mother of a 15-year-old teenager, found the child custody evaluation process particularly challenging. She says, “I’m blessed by the family and financial support I received during those difficult times.” All these helped her tremendously, especially with child-care arrangements whilst balancing the needs of her job and family.

Catherine Goh, 26, a students’ affairs officer, who sat in to accompany her single parent church member, believes that ESPN will help lone parents build meaningful relationships with one another and help them cope with various stages of parenthood through sharing a collection of experiences.

PHOTOS: Koh Meng Kwang

Ultimately, Empowering Single Parents’ Network aims to provide an “environment where there is security” and the knowledge that “God will fill the gap for the children.” If you would like to join this fellowship or volunteer in organizing its events, you may write in to [email protected] for more details.