The church..

My eyes stayed glued on the computer.. I spent endless hours on the computer trying so hard to beat the computer in a game. I have decided to spend less time on it and spend more time doing more productive stuff such as reading. I seriously think it is taking a toll on my eyes! From tomorrow, hopefully if I keep by my word, I am going to start on some trashy novels! Haha..

Yesterday (20th Nov)..

I was on the other end of Singapore, surrounded by hundreds of people seemingly in a trance. As you all have guessed it, I was at City Harvest Church. It is a Christian Church and I, on the other hand, am Catholic. I wasn’t attending the service by choice, in case you were wondering. Michelle brought me there. She said it is a wonderful church with wonderful people so I went there to experience the wonder of it. I asked Daijing along so I wouldn’t be the only one new to it.

Daijing knew Michelle since Sec 1. So we did not have to go through the formalities once again. It is hard to believe Daijing was from St. Anthony, anyway throughout secondary school, I didn’t even know she exists! Haha.. I am such a mean person!

We took a free shuttle bus from Tampines all the way to Boon Lay and we had to stand all the way. Not only was the journey so long, the driver kept braking, I tried so hard to keep my balance. It felt more like a roller coaster ride.

When we got there, the place was flooded with youngsters, the three of us had to squeeze through the massive crowd just to get to the front of the queue. Michelle’s friends ( all sacians) were already there. Oh gosh! The moment they saw me, they got so excited, God knows why! They immediately screamed, “hey! I know you, you are THAT prefect!” I don’t even know them.

Almost everyone I meet, they all say the same thing. That tickled Daijing.
Was I that infamously known? I wonder what ‘that’ refers to? Hmmm…
Anyway, I was very shocked by their friendliness. They are indeed wonderful people, no doubt about that!

As we entered the auditorium where the service is held, I was astounded by the décor of the place. It surely didn’t look like a Church. The place was lit with spotlights, the band was playing, and the music was played loudly-hard metal, I think. It was more like a rock concert. There were no cross or symbol whatsoever, unlike the Catholic Church. This was indeed an experience to be a totally new environment.

The service began, and lots of people fell into a trance, including Michelle. Looks like only Daijing and I are the only people still sane. I was rather scary because they seem to be chanting. Haba..habahaba..blah blah..
Michelle said it is suppose to be speaking in tongues. Only God knows what you are talking. Ok, I heard of it before but Catholics don’t practise it. I always thought only a few people can speak in tongues. But it seems like anyone can speak it.

Oh! There was jumping, people were singing and jumping. Although I did not sing, I jumped. It was fun. Daijing did not do anything, she just stood there stiff and still.
The pastor who preached was Sun’s husband. According to Michelle, she is a singer. He keeps wanting to expand the church. That seems to be the only goal. Whatever he says, the people always agree with him. It feels like a brainwash, maybe I am just not used to it.

He said: We should expand the church to 20,000 people. We must find a better location for our church. So people please contribute generously!
The people chorus together: Oh Yes! Oh Yes!

Throughout the whole sermon, I was so caught in the world of my own, although occasionally, I managed to get some humour from the pastor.

By the time it ended, it was already night. We ate our dinner at boon lay before proceeding to our long journey home.

What an experience! What an eye-opener! What a day!

Stillness.. Tranquailty.. Silence.. Peacefulness.. That’s what I need now after a day of loud music!