Flower Arrangement

          Last Friday 17.5.2013 my friend coaxed me into entering a flower arrangement competition. I ain't an expert in flower arrangement. I can do simple arrangements which I usually do during Christmas. I was to do an arrangement with artificial flowers. I learnt to do flower arrangement from my mum. During my school days I used to follow Ama to church to arrange fresh flowers for the alter and hence picked up the art of flower arrangement. 

 

        
 So off I went to the pottery shop near my house where they sell all kinds of flower pots, vases, candles, decorations for the house, miniature fountains, porcelain figurines, all floral arrangement essentials etc etc. With a little help from the florist, Pauline who is also a friend of mine, we selected the flowers and fillers for the arrangement. I told her that I wanted to do a dining table arrangement with candles at the center. With Pauline's guidance I managed to do this flower arrangement which consists of white tulips, liatris, berries and fillers. On the 17.5.2013, I entered the competition and guess what.....was awarded the 1st prize for this flower arrangement!
         

         

          
          

Retreat At Stella Maris, Penang

          I attented the Parish Leaders Retreat organized by my parish - Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Ipoh for all leaders of the various ministries in the church. About 70 of us attended. I accompanied my BEC leader Lourdes for this retreat which was conducted by Dr. Steven Selvaraju (who has a doctrate in Theology) from the 19th to the 20th of April 2013 at Stella Maris (which means 'Star of The Sea' in Latin.  Our Blessed Mother is also known as Our Lady, Star of The Sea) in Penang, located just by the seaside in Tanjong Tokong . This retreat was focused on the theme: Discipleship Through Deepening & Sharing Our Faith with the objective: To Enter The Door Of Faith. On the first day we had 4 sessions, each  followed by sharing from a few members. The second day we went for a pilgrimage to The Assumption Church and Rev. Fr. Dominic Santhiyagu celebrated mass together with my Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Francis Andrew. We also visited The Little Sisters of the Poor. 

        
 I experienced the joy of sharing my views will my fellow parisheners. We shared our feeling and thoughts about Our Lord Jesus Christ and Our Mother Mary. This retreat really opened our minds and heart, taught us about leadership and helped us to have a deeper understanding of our faith. Praise The Lord! Well, I really enjoyed myself, the retreat and the beach....... I walked along the beach in the evening picking sea shells on the seashore and the next morning we walked along the beach around 5.50am and when the clock struck 6.00 we said 'The Angelus'! We had to go to the beach quite early as our session started at 7.00 am.

 

           I am sure that this retreat would have refreshed, renewed and rejuvenated all of the participants. Praise The Lord!