When people go through natural disasters and their homes get destroyed either by earthquakes, fires, floods or other calamities, the most important thing that they look for when they can get back to their destroyed homes are photographs... snapshots of moments in time, captured onto little pieces of paper. Everything else is gone, but photos are the only thing they can carry with them to remember the good times - a comfort in difficult times.
In this digital day and age of the digital camera, we seldom print out pictures anymore. All our memories are now stored on hard drives, flash drives, CDs, DVDs etc.
So what happens when technology lets us down? A friend of mine lost all her precious photos when she accidentally formatted her iPod with all the digital photos stored inside. Some people might think... yah it's just a bunch of photos.... but in reality, quite often it is the only link left with people you've invested time with, who now live far away, or you don't get a chance to meet so often. So I can feel and share the pain of that loss.... hopefully she'll be able to find a way to recover the files.
How many of us really back up our digital data? I'm also guilty of that... doing it once every month or so if I can. The digital parts of our lives are becoming so much of our reality that we will be lost without them. Recently, I accidentally deleted all my MSN contacts when I was resetting my temporary phone..... unfortunately, it also resulted in my entire online MSN database being deleted and my losing all my friends online.... It was such pain... like losing loved ones...
So I had to go back to asking people to give me their contacts and added them again one by one until now where I have about 80% back.... maybe I'll never get the remaining 20% back...
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
2 rewarding and tiring weeks... media training done!
Me with Bernard Lee from Navigators Singapore looking at something in the shot
Everyone's looking forward to tonight, Friday 24 Oct 2008. It's where all the long hours in class dealing with writing stories, acting, camera, lighting, editing and the hard work of 3 full days of shooting all come together. Tonight is the final film showing and graduation for the 13 students from all over East Asia including 4 from Singapore who have come together for this 2-week intensive media training course. We are all eagerly anticipating the first time the 3 short films produced in the past 2 weeks are shown on the big screen.
For me, these past 2 weeks have been very rewarding and an answer to a prayer when I first went full time. I asked for 3 things.
1. To be able to train others to produce and use media to connect to the lost
2. To be able to have an impact in and beyond Singapore
3. To work with and to speak into the lives of young people
This is the week that I saw all the above come together. I'm so thankful to see this happen. PTL!!
I had the opportunity to teach camera and lighting classes, as well as to be Director of Photography on 1 staff film called The Blue Elephant. The staff film is designed as a real life demo for the students on how films are shot, the different production roles, and how a set is run. The staff also split into 2 groups to assist the students as they developed their own script and shot their own films over 2 days. Looking at the crazy schedule, it was quite incredible and definitely God's provision that all of us were able to not only survive the long, long hours but also to be able to finish and deliver the films on time. I was personally very impressed with the quality of the scripts and production for these first time filmmakers. I think they will go far if they continue to make their films as they return to their own countries and places of work.
I also had a chance to develop friendships and spend some extended time with several of the younger staff to learn about their own journeys in ministry as well as the struggles that they face. I was especially touched by how some of them have parents who are not believers who may not fully understand their reasons for choosing this path.... I am now so thankful for the support that my immediate and extended family have given to me to do this at this point in my life.
Fred (left) director and acting class instructor, and Karl, New Zealand staff based in Hong Kong await the start of the dinner
Well, it's 7pm, and the guests are slowly starting to trickle in, hampered by bad traffic on the way. The staff and trainees sit in the room set for 60 people for a buffet dinner eagerly awaiting the start of the event. A few of us are busy trying to solve some projection issues that is making the films come up looking like someone went through them with a shredder horizontally. After panicking for awhile, and trying to recompress the files and changing the projection settings, we finally found a setting that would minimize but not totally remove the problem. This will have to do for tonight.
We finally started at 720pm for dinner. Various VIPs from our regional office came to officiate and to see the results of their investment in the training. We showed the 3 films in between testimonies from the students in their various native languages with translation to English. Some of them were really touched our hearts.
My son Matthew acted in the Blue Elephant film. It's about a boy who is looking for that perfect present for his father for Christmas. He goes into the second hand store and the storekeeper recommends him a most unexpected but "really special" item.
I was very proud as I watched the films - some of them for the first time - and as I listened to the testimonies. I finally felt that all the tiredness is all worth it. As the students went up to receive their certificates from the Regional director, I was a little like a proud parent... giving wings to them to fly for the first time.
After the event, we all took the obligatory photos with everyone, and promising to continue to keep in touch. I'm sure some deep cross border bonds have been built in these 2 weeks. Only God knows what can happen after this.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Blue Elephant
We shot a short film this past Saturday called The Blue Elephant. It's about a boy who is looking for a special Christmas gift for his father when the shopkeeper suggests an unusual "special item" - a Blue Elephant stuffed toy. The father didn't seem impressed, until he accidentally found out the special power of this unusual present.
It was a busy and tiring day as we had a very rushed schedule shooting at 2 locations - the Salvation Army Thrift Store at Upper Bukit Timah and my colleague's home in Clementi. This film is part of the 2 week short film production training that I've been helping out and teaching at. At this shoot, the students from around Asia had a chance to witness and learn from the staff as they produced the film. In the next 2 days, they will then shoot their own short film, edit it, and screen it on Friday night - the last night of their training. Very exciting, and very tiring. I think that the course should be renamed Short Film Production Boot Camp instead... but maybe people will be too afraid to sign up if we call it that.
I don't know when we will be doing another course... maybe next year. One thing for sure though, we'll be saying goodbye to 2 of the staff when their internship ends at the end of this year...sob sob :(
It was a busy and tiring day as we had a very rushed schedule shooting at 2 locations - the Salvation Army Thrift Store at Upper Bukit Timah and my colleague's home in Clementi. This film is part of the 2 week short film production training that I've been helping out and teaching at. At this shoot, the students from around Asia had a chance to witness and learn from the staff as they produced the film. In the next 2 days, they will then shoot their own short film, edit it, and screen it on Friday night - the last night of their training. Very exciting, and very tiring. I think that the course should be renamed Short Film Production Boot Camp instead... but maybe people will be too afraid to sign up if we call it that.
I don't know when we will be doing another course... maybe next year. One thing for sure though, we'll be saying goodbye to 2 of the staff when their internship ends at the end of this year...sob sob :(
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Wayne Wang lecture
Went to the Wayne Wang lecture this morning at GV Vivocity. Wayne is an Asian American director famous for films like Joy Luck Club, Maid in Manhatten, Eat a bowl of tea etc. Wayne has spent time both in San Francisco and New York and has particular interest in Asian American women's stories.
He went through the journey of his life and films. What's interesting about him is that he has made both indie productions all the way to major Hollywood productions. In comparing indie to Hollywood productions, he said that while Hollywood has big budgets, he is very limited in what he can change as any changed from the approved script needs to go through several layers of approval from the studio before the change can be made. On the other hand, as an indie director, he makes all the creative decisions and can really shoot the film by the seat of his pants.. actually building the story as he goes even. Since I don't have experience shooting Hollywood films, I guess I'll just treasure the flexibility we have now in our small shoots.
He went through the journey of his life and films. What's interesting about him is that he has made both indie productions all the way to major Hollywood productions. In comparing indie to Hollywood productions, he said that while Hollywood has big budgets, he is very limited in what he can change as any changed from the approved script needs to go through several layers of approval from the studio before the change can be made. On the other hand, as an indie director, he makes all the creative decisions and can really shoot the film by the seat of his pants.. actually building the story as he goes even. Since I don't have experience shooting Hollywood films, I guess I'll just treasure the flexibility we have now in our small shoots.
Reminiscing
It's 630am in the morning and this the is the scene outside my bedroom. With the deep blue pre-dawn sky and the warm yellow street lamps, it's a rare time for me to be awake at this really peaceful time of the day.
I'm now listening to this old 1978 favourite of mine called Reminiscing by the Little River Band, and realising that this song is 30 years old.
Indeed this has been what I've been doing these last 2 days.... After several postponements and missed opportunities, I finally met up with 3 old friends. Two were from Temasek Junior College days and one from my very first Christian rock band in the mid 80s. We've been talking a lot about old times, people we knew and what they were doing now, remembering some who have passed on at a young age etc. I guess at 40 I finally have enough of a history to spend more than an hour reminiscing about the good times we've had. Through this, I also realise how God has been so faithful to me all these years.
I can see how God has taken us through our different journeys in our work, marriages, kids, spiritual journeys etc. I realise that as we get older, our circle of good friends usually get smaller and smaller. The incredible thing in recent years - and I thank God for it - is facebook. It's incredible how many long lost friends have been found and reunited. I'm sure there are also many stories out there of long lost sweethearts finding each other again..... In the good old days before facebook, it would be a one in a million chance of finding each other. This song by Dan Folgerberg has been one of my old old favourites. I didn't quite relate to it so much when it was popular in the early 80s, but I sure felt many of the feelings and related to many of its wonderful images brought up by this song called Same Old Lang Syne.
This year, in December, I will celebrate 30 years since I became a Christian. Wow.... time really flies. It was in 1978 that my whole extended family on my dad's side, save for my one stubborn uncle Phil, came to accept Jesus Christ as our personal saviour at the Billy Graham Crusade at the Singapore National Stadium. Through the 5 days of crusade, we all came separately in small groups, and all gave our lives to Jesus..... what a wonderful testimony to His goodness to us.
In December this year, the Billy Graham crusade organisation will celebrate this milestone with a project called MyHope Singapore which will bring the gospel into the homes of hundreds of thousands of people.
Talking about my uncle Phil, it's an incredible journey for him. 20 odd years after Billy Graham, he is still the only one in the family who has not made a decision for Jesus. In 1989, my grandfather passed away from a heart attack at the airport. Being the filial son and the only person in the family without a church to go to, he decided to now be responsible for bringing my grandma to church every Sunday. She attends a Chinese service, and since his Chinese was probably one of the better ones in the family, it made sense to him. Well after some time of that happening, his heart was finally open and he accepted Christ and was baptised!
Yesterday morning I visited this same Uncle Phil in the hospital where he's just been moved to the ICU. Apparently, his small intestines were blocked and his stomach had bloated big and hard and was causing a lot of pain. Normally it would be a rather simple affair to have surgery to remove the blockage, but for his medical condition... a weak heart.
More than 10 years ago, we almost lost him to a heart attack. He had collapsed at the airport like my granddad and was warded at Changi hospital in a coma and the prognosis was not good. We thought that he we were going to lose him. Well, the family gathered around and prayed like we never prayed before..... he was transfered to Glen Eagles hospital where he was operated on and after a good number of days, he miraculous survived against all the odds!
Well, back at this same hospital surgery and ICU area after all these years certainly brough back memories of that time. There I was with my Aunty Jane - Uncle Phil's wife and Aunty Anne - another aunt of mine. Uncle Phil had just been moved to the ICU and I took some time off from work to go visit him. He was definitely in pain and was coughing a lot, thirsty but could not drink as the liquid cannot drain through his stomach. He had a tube in the nose to drain the stomach, and another tube to provide oxygen. He was still able to talk and I was so happy to be able to pray for him together with Aunties Jane and Anne. The doctor said that they cannot operate because his heart was failing, but the condition of the intestines will get worse if they don't.
I left after awhile for another meeting, and in the afternoon, I received an SMS from my dad saying that Uncle Phil's heart has stabilised enough that they would proceed with the operation to unblock the intestines at 530pm and to pray. Praise God. Pray I did.
At about 630, I called my dad who was at the hospital and found out that God has been gracious again.... my uncle had appendicitis (inflamed appendix) that was causing the block. Had they not operated then, it could have burst and caused poisons to flood inside his body. However, this is a common surgery and they were able to quickly and safely remove the appendix. Praise God.
This morning, I'll be visiting him again.
As I get older, I get more aware of the frailness of our bodies here. I am so thankful that as Christians, we have the hope of an eternal life and new unperishable bodies when we get to heaven. No more pain... how nice that would be.
I'm now listening to this old 1978 favourite of mine called Reminiscing by the Little River Band, and realising that this song is 30 years old.
Indeed this has been what I've been doing these last 2 days.... After several postponements and missed opportunities, I finally met up with 3 old friends. Two were from Temasek Junior College days and one from my very first Christian rock band in the mid 80s. We've been talking a lot about old times, people we knew and what they were doing now, remembering some who have passed on at a young age etc. I guess at 40 I finally have enough of a history to spend more than an hour reminiscing about the good times we've had. Through this, I also realise how God has been so faithful to me all these years.
I can see how God has taken us through our different journeys in our work, marriages, kids, spiritual journeys etc. I realise that as we get older, our circle of good friends usually get smaller and smaller. The incredible thing in recent years - and I thank God for it - is facebook. It's incredible how many long lost friends have been found and reunited. I'm sure there are also many stories out there of long lost sweethearts finding each other again..... In the good old days before facebook, it would be a one in a million chance of finding each other. This song by Dan Folgerberg has been one of my old old favourites. I didn't quite relate to it so much when it was popular in the early 80s, but I sure felt many of the feelings and related to many of its wonderful images brought up by this song called Same Old Lang Syne.
This year, in December, I will celebrate 30 years since I became a Christian. Wow.... time really flies. It was in 1978 that my whole extended family on my dad's side, save for my one stubborn uncle Phil, came to accept Jesus Christ as our personal saviour at the Billy Graham Crusade at the Singapore National Stadium. Through the 5 days of crusade, we all came separately in small groups, and all gave our lives to Jesus..... what a wonderful testimony to His goodness to us.
In December this year, the Billy Graham crusade organisation will celebrate this milestone with a project called MyHope Singapore which will bring the gospel into the homes of hundreds of thousands of people.
Talking about my uncle Phil, it's an incredible journey for him. 20 odd years after Billy Graham, he is still the only one in the family who has not made a decision for Jesus. In 1989, my grandfather passed away from a heart attack at the airport. Being the filial son and the only person in the family without a church to go to, he decided to now be responsible for bringing my grandma to church every Sunday. She attends a Chinese service, and since his Chinese was probably one of the better ones in the family, it made sense to him. Well after some time of that happening, his heart was finally open and he accepted Christ and was baptised!
Yesterday morning I visited this same Uncle Phil in the hospital where he's just been moved to the ICU. Apparently, his small intestines were blocked and his stomach had bloated big and hard and was causing a lot of pain. Normally it would be a rather simple affair to have surgery to remove the blockage, but for his medical condition... a weak heart.
More than 10 years ago, we almost lost him to a heart attack. He had collapsed at the airport like my granddad and was warded at Changi hospital in a coma and the prognosis was not good. We thought that he we were going to lose him. Well, the family gathered around and prayed like we never prayed before..... he was transfered to Glen Eagles hospital where he was operated on and after a good number of days, he miraculous survived against all the odds!
Well, back at this same hospital surgery and ICU area after all these years certainly brough back memories of that time. There I was with my Aunty Jane - Uncle Phil's wife and Aunty Anne - another aunt of mine. Uncle Phil had just been moved to the ICU and I took some time off from work to go visit him. He was definitely in pain and was coughing a lot, thirsty but could not drink as the liquid cannot drain through his stomach. He had a tube in the nose to drain the stomach, and another tube to provide oxygen. He was still able to talk and I was so happy to be able to pray for him together with Aunties Jane and Anne. The doctor said that they cannot operate because his heart was failing, but the condition of the intestines will get worse if they don't.
I left after awhile for another meeting, and in the afternoon, I received an SMS from my dad saying that Uncle Phil's heart has stabilised enough that they would proceed with the operation to unblock the intestines at 530pm and to pray. Praise God. Pray I did.
At about 630, I called my dad who was at the hospital and found out that God has been gracious again.... my uncle had appendicitis (inflamed appendix) that was causing the block. Had they not operated then, it could have burst and caused poisons to flood inside his body. However, this is a common surgery and they were able to quickly and safely remove the appendix. Praise God.
This morning, I'll be visiting him again.
As I get older, I get more aware of the frailness of our bodies here. I am so thankful that as Christians, we have the hope of an eternal life and new unperishable bodies when we get to heaven. No more pain... how nice that would be.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
2nd anniversary of the accident
It was 2 years ago today that the terrible accident happened where my friend Irene went home to the Lord and my son Matthew and I were injured in a car accident while crossing the street in San Mateo, California. This morning Matthew and I said a prayer of thanksgiving to God for saving us, and also prayed for His continued protection in all we do. We also prayed for Irene's family.
For those of you who have not read it, here's the account of what happened
http://harrychua.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html
For those of you who have not read it, here's the account of what happened
http://harrychua.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html
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