Frogs, Frogs Everywhere! (February 11, 2018)

Written by Toh Jern Ling
Edited by Eunice Tan

Welcome back everyone! Ah.. our last meeting before our Chinese New Year break. After Ranen welcomed and set the atmosphere, our meeting started off with an icebreaker led by Charis. It involved us sitting down in a circle, each of us saying a sentence to make a story. The circle was filled with laughter and mind-blowing ideas, as our story turned out to be about a frog that swallowed Ranen, then died and resurrected, then became a wax frog!!

We settled down with Jonique leading us into our devotion time. She talked about doing all for God, and also for others. We learned about being respectful with our words and our intentions. For example, the new trend of "burning" people (joking insults) can be offensive to some people, so we should all be careful with our tongues, so we do not hurt others. Thanks Jo!

Coach Joseph stepped in with the Dad-Sharing, starting off with the introduction of our guests, Uncle Tommy, inviting him to introduce each of his family with something he admires about them. Then, he started his sharing with the story of John the Baptist, being brought in the desert, away and in private before he made his appearance as an adult, preaching and teaching. Same thing goes for Jesus too; being privately brought up in the ways of God for thirty years before he began his ministry for three years. He then related it with his own story of a pastor, who served in the smallest church building, in the smallest denomination. After serving and meeting the needs of his small church for ten years, he started becoming well-known, having written many books, and serving in an ever-growing church of about 6,000. He linked it to our homes and the ICC community, where we are groomed and shaped in the Godly way, being humbled and available to serve, before we got out to the public, shining our light for Christ. Indeed, it was such a great reminder for all of us.

We moved on to teaching sessions, with Jonique handling the YCCers. Here's Jonique's side of the fun!

 For the YCC Teaching, I taught the excited bubbly kiddos/YCC speakers about Interpretation. I was blown away by their awesome acting skills and their contagious energy. Together, we did an interpretation of Horton hears a Who and a Frog story, and we play games. - Jonique


While the YCCers were having their session, the older speakers moved into our speech coaching, replacing our YSG teaching session with speech practice.

We had our three musketeers Ranen, Ian, and Eunice present their Orad, combining "The Beauty and The Beast" with "The Sleeping Beauty". We were all amused and thoroughly enjoyed their presented.

Next up, we had Carlson with his delightful interpretation of "The Frog and Toad".


Finally, with our stomachs grumbling, we headed out to fill them 'tum tums' with cakes, tong sui, bananas, and cookies. Yum!


We marched back in with the discussion of our roundtable topic. Our minds were cranking with information and explanations.


And that puts an end to our chapter meeting! What a fulfilling day together! Until the next time :))) Sayonara!  

Forging Into February! (February 4, 2018)

Written by Charis Chen

Edited by Eunice Tan

// february fourth //

today was good

two lines we stood

observing

grinning

Today's meeting began on a cheery note, with Ian kicking off the meeting with a laughter-filled icebreaker where we were divided into two parallel lines. Each person had a partner from the line opposite them. We took turns to look away while our partner changed something about their appearance, before we turned back to face them and try to identify what they had changed. This activity was definitely a fun, yet important reminder to always be observant of what's around us! As communicators, this comes in crucial to being able to act or respond appropriately to what is happening around us!

words - be they fiction or fact

make an impact

so speak with reason

and say what's wholesome

Ranen then led us in a devotion centered around Ephesians 4:29.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Our discussion on words led us through questions such as, "What impact have you seen words make?" "What kinds of words should we avoid?" and "What kinds of words should we use?" My favorite part of the devotion was when Ranen had us share, within our discussion groups, ways we planned to encourage people in our life this week. I really appreciated getting to hear from both the coaches and speakers on ways they wanted to show care and appreciation for their loved ones.

hold that sneeze!

we're traveling to ancient greece!

learn to win them to your party

just remember - the key is brevity

Our Dad-Coach Session was led by Coach Daniel, who brought us back in time to Ancient Greece. With the aid of some photographs, he showed us places in Ancient Greece that were key locations in the Apostle Paul's mission career and explained the culture behind those places. One of them was the Areopagus, where murderers were charged and philosophers discussed ideas. In that day, a water clock was used - a clay vessel with water that would flow out for six minutes. These six minutes were interesting minutes; it was the time allotted to someone to present his ideas to the people. Together, we read Paul's speech in Acts 17, noting that it was most likely a speech he would have presented at the Areopagus. We identified parts of the speech where Paul had used the three modes of persuasion - logos, pathos, and ethos. In the passage, we see how Paul was careful to not just show logic, but also present the truth in a manner that appealed to the Athenians, and in a manner they could trust.  Likewise, we need to strive to be relevant to others as we communicate with them.

pause

not just at a clause

you've got to find a way

with your pauses to take them away

Pause. Yes, you're going to need it. Brace yourself for...

OnthefirstdayofChristmasmytruelovegavetomeapartridgeinapeartreeontheseconddayofChristmasmytruelovegavetomeTwoturtledovesandapartridgeinapeartree.OnthethirddayofChristmasmytruelovegavetomefivegoldenrings.OnthefourthdayofChristmasmytruelovegavetomeFourcallingbirdsthreefrenchhensTwoturtledovesandapartridgeinapeartree.

Now brace yourself again for...

On
the
first
day
of



Christmas
my

true
love
gave

to me,

A
par


tridge

in
a pear

tree.

Okay, I think we've had quite enough of that erraticism. I know I have. But that came not without a point. Jonique led us laughing into our YSG session for the week, for which we learnt about utilizing pauses in our speech. Pauses can serve many purposes; they can add interest, build suspense, create emphasis, and more. Used out of balance, however, it might leave a listener feeling breathless with confusion, or waiting in annoyance for your next word.

As has been wisely stated, learning without doing is dead, so we practiced using pauses in our speech. We each picked a passage to read to a partner with effective pausing at appropriate places. It was a pause-some time!

Don't stop pausing!

Pause for the time of eating!

Get the break you need

Stretch your hands and stomp your feet

And, we're back! We wrapped up our chapter meeting with two speech practices - a Public Advocacy by yours truly on reducing the stigma of mental illnesses, and an energy-filled Cultural Storytelling by the Toh siblings. It's been a long while since we've done speech practices at chapter, and I'm glad we're kicking back into it! Little reminders of how ICC is a safe environment to grow :'))

As Coach Joseph always reminds us, "Feedback is the breakfast of champions!" - Ken Blanchard

And that brings us to the end

Thank you, dear friend

For joining us again 

Stay tuned for more adventures that remain!

Open House Day!! (Jan 7, 2018)

Written by Toh Jern Ling
Edited by Eunice Tan
All photos by Coach Daniel Toh

WELCOME BACK!!!

Today was a very special day for our chapter, Words A.L.I.V.E. because today was OPEN HOUSE DAY!!!!!

We invited the families who attended the 4:12 conference in Malaysia and are interested in joining and applying the curriculum to their lives. 

Our chapter meeting started with a BANG with our chapter chair, Ranen, welcoming and making our guests feel at ease. Then, keeping the energy up, Jern Yoong led us in an icebreaker that involved us transforming into a particular scene. Group 1 had to transform into a sports car. We got all the little kids to be the engine in the front, some of us curled up into a ball as wheels, and some of us were the wings at the back of the car

Group 2 presented a scene of "buying ice cream in an ice cream store/truck." We all had a good laugh at how big the "ice creams" were.

After getting thoroughly exhausted, we quickly moved on to the devotion by Charis. She shared based on Philippians 4:4 about rejoicing always no matter  the circumstances. To me, it is a constant reminder to be joyful, always knowing that God is in control. 

Coach Joseph took the stage on "love letters". He started with a story of a couple having a long distance relationship, and since there was no email or any internet back in those days, the man would write letters to his girlfriend every single day (that is true commitment and love y'all) only to find out that his girlfriend was getting married to the postman who sent the letters to her everyday. Coach Joseph reminded us that it was not because of the letters or the content written in each letter, but more of the day-to-day delivery. He shared with us that in ICC, it's more of the day-to-day coaching, influence, and daily communication that helps us grow and become "love letters".

 He then introduced us, speakers, and our chapter roles.

We quickly broke off into our own groups for the teaching session. Eunice led the YSGers in a session on Radio Broadcasting. After demonstrating a broadcast, she conducted an activity where we broke up into groups and analyzed articles in preparation for a broadcast.

The YSGers

Meanwhile, Jonique led the YCCers!

The YCCers

Teabreak time! 

After teabreak, we settled down to listen to the speeches some of the speakers have prepared.

Ranen: Abortion

Eunice: Identity

Ian: Personal testimony

Carson: Humor 

Lafayette: Fruits and Vegetables

And that was IT! I am sure everyone had a great time bonding, learning, and sharing during our chapter meeting. TILL NEXT TIME!!!

A.L.I.V.E. FM

Written by Ian Chan
Edited by Eunice Tan

Good Day to you all! Thanks for tuning in to our Words ALIVE Broadcast! I am your host Ian keeping you updated on the latest news in Words ALIVE!

Our special guest, ICC's East Asia Coordinator, Cassandra Shepherd, joined our meeting today!

Ok, we started with an icebreaker called Mirrors conducted by Speaker Jonique. Basically, we each had a partner and we took turns leading each other. After a while, we had to follow the leader three seconds after he does an action. This icebreaker helped us to stay alert and be attentive.

The devotion, led by Speaker Jern Ling, focused on the verse Matthew 13:34. She then broke us up into two groups and we shared our favorite parable from Jesus and why. Then we each shared an experience on how we influenced others. Our discussions yielded many meaningful insights and truths. 

Hey! Feeling bored? Well, here's something that will cheer you up. You are living, you occupy space, and you have mass. You know what that means? You matter! 


Now back to the meeting. 

My dad, Coach Wai Hong, shared with us the importance of communication and applying it to our life. He told us of a position in the UK called the Minister of Loneliness. The minister's main job is to deal with resolving social problems relating to loneliness. As communicators, we should help to make lonely people feel comfortable and include them. Noticing them and talking to them can mean a lot to them and can relieve them from depression. 

If you haven't guessed it yet, our YSG session, facilitated by Jonique, was the all-time favorite Radio Broadcasting! We were separated into groups and given some time to prepare the necessary details such as, Station Name, Program Name, Advertisements, and articles you want to report. 

First, we had Speaker Jern Yoong and Ranen from Hot Nachos FM. 
I am seriously considering buying the weather ball which predicts the weather. When its wet, I know its raining. When its dry, its sunny. When there's snow on it, its snowing, And if you can't find it, RUN!

Next up were the two Eunices. 
Very cheerful and exciting duo, best for people who need some relief. 

Last but not least, Charis and I with the Sizzling Sunday News fresh off the stove. Sounds like a cooking show, eh?

Chandler Hamby, a dear friend of the ICC community, passed on recently. Our Chapter and the Singapore Chapters decided to send a collage of notes of encouragement and comfort to the Hamby family. 

Photo by Ian Chan

That's all we have for today! Thank you once again for tuning in to A.L.I.V.E. FM, and I hope to see you again!