We came this far.

Hi dearest readers and main committee, I have very EXTREMELY good news.

OUR.

BUDGET.

IS.

APPROVED.

:D I am so happy. We've worked so hard and ORTABO is going to take flight.

From the very beginning we knew it wasn't going to be easy and will take up quite a lot of time. Nevertheless we stayed through conflict after conflicts.

The stress is over, for now. (:

Jesslyn.

UPDATE

Hellos!

We didn't get to go for the LCEC meeting on Wednesday in the end. (:

Pastor William kindly helped us present it to the LCEC committee. :D

I hope all goes well! We still don't know the outcome of the meeting but I will try to get it asap. (:

Meanwhile, things are looooking fine!

OUR FINAL BUDGET IS DONE. DONE. DONE.

Heh. Sorry, too elated. I am so proud of the main committee. :D

GOOD JOB GUYS YAY.

We just have to print some stuffs, go buy some boxes, publicise, collect, deliver and yay!

God showed us so much mercy.

1. We had more time because the LCEC meeting was supposed to be a month ago but it was pushed 3 weeks back. Therefore we had more time to do the budget.

2. We had a few problems within the main committee but what's important is we managed to break free from it.

3. We had enough time despite our busy other lives to do research NOT ONLINE HELLO for what we're in charge of.

4. WE DIDN'T GET H1N1.

Thank you for all your prayers thus far (:

Jesslyn

Hi guys. (:

IMHO, Ortabo has progressed much more in the time in between our last blog post and this post. In fact, I feel Ortabo has made it's first real progress, and it's looking good. (All IMHO)

Our new budget's half done, everything's looking fine except for a few minor problems which can't be disclosed >:) but please pray that these problems will clear up soon, we don't want the devil to be happy. (:

AMC's LCEC meeting is next week and I will be presenting it to AMC's leaders. If it doesn't sound too thick-skinned, please pray for me and the main comm to work together to bring across the ortabo message clearly. (:

While everything may not be completed yet, at least the main comm knows what to do now.
As we're rushing everything by the deadline, this Sunday, I hope that we will still be able to find the source of peace and strength to fall back on.

Please pray please pray please pray for ortabo!

1. Main committee to work together well well well.

2. People to give honest opinions for ortabo

3. Main Committee to rest in Him, as we rush to meet the deadlines and balance this with our social life, homework, assignments and other commitments.

4. Discernment.

Thank you! (: I hope and pray that we'll come back with better news!

p/s The weather's so hot these days. D: I was at a racee with my girl guides batch mates and my slippers melted. D:

Letters have gone out!!

The letters/emails to the 5 homes have been sent out and i'll be eagerly awaiting any replies within the next 2 working days. If there aren't any replies, or if some of them reject the proposal, we'll be looking into arranging appointments with those who want to find out more, as well as looking into secondary alternatives (i.e. other christian homes 1st, and if that's still not enough, then eventually non-Christian homes as well).

Children's Day is fast approaching and the main comm is getting busier as the academic calender starts to heat up, with common tests etc all flying in fast and furious.

What we need from all the fans out there is for everyone to stop procrastinating and start doing some real work (CONTRIBUTE!!!!)

Okay so what can we do now while we wait for all these corporations to respond? Simple.
Design, plan, create. This is the school holidays for non-poly people!!! Come on!!!

Get creative and start churning out designs for publicity.. for the booklet.. for posters.. for flyers.. for videos even!!! Get going!!

I know what you're thinking.. nah.. i can't help.. i'm not that good la.. i've got lots of tuition and other commitments.. CCA.. projects etc etc.

Lemme ask you these few questions:

(1) Have you scribbled in your textbook sometimes?
(2) Have you drawn random things on your paper when you're bored?
(3) Have you coloured in the bold words on your school crest just to make it look nicer?
(4) Have you drawn a circle round another shape or vice versa?
(5) Have u cancelled out a word so many times in an essay u can't even see it anymore?
(6) Have u ever coloured in a book meant for colouring?
(7) Have u ever coloured in a book NOT meant for colouring?
(8) Do you think God is awesome?
(9) Do you believe that prayer works?
(10) Do you want to be a blessing to other kids?

If your answer to one or more of those questions was yes...

Approach the main comm now!!! WE ARE NOT MONSTERS!!! WE WILL NOT EAT YOU UP. AND ABRAHAM KANG IS THE NICEST PERSON IN THE WORLD. HE IS SO FRIENDLY AND WILL BUY YOU LUNCH IF YOU SIGN UP TO HELP US.

Remember: Signing up isn't an excuse for us to scold you when your project screws up. It's for us to show the LCEC of AMC, TRAC President, Rev Wee, as well as the participating homes that we have a structure, which is very important for this kind of project.

So.

Sign up.

Now.

Message Terminated.

HI.

SORRY FOR THE LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG DELAY IN UPDATING YOU ANXIOUS READERS!

Many things has been happening since our last update!

We had a main committee meeting where we finally decided on a direction to head instead of doing everything all at a time.

Currently we will be approaching a few orphanages whether they would like to partner with us to give the boxes to the children on Children's day.

They are:

Chen Su Lan Methodist Children Home
Canossaville Children’s Home

Children's Aid Society

Marymount Centre and

Salvation Army Gracehaven

Right now the existing problem is to present ortabo to these various organisations as an appealing idea over the phone or letter so they will be willing to settle the details for an appointments.

Please pray for openness from the various leaders in the various organisations regarding Ortabo.

WE'RE FACING A CRISIS.

Abraham will be presenting ORTABO in AMC's Local Church Executive Committee (LCEC) meeting. Please pray for him! (:

Our budget's drawn up by Eugene our treasurer with the help of MAP (Media and Publicity) and LOL (Logistics and Liasons) SO THAT'S A RELIEF TO ALL OF US IN THE MAIN COMM. :D

We're still waiting for the orphanages' replies so that we can go ahead with ortabo (:

In the meantime, remember to wash your hands often! I recommend Dettol hand sanitizer >:)

Jesslyn

We met Pastor William Today!

Hi excited readers who cannot wait for another update, Abraham and I met the pastor of Aldersgate Methodist Church (AMC), Pastor William today!

Ortabo has been accepted into AMC's 30 blessings project! Praise God!

30 blessings is a project in which 30 projects will be carried out to bless the community in line with AMC's 30th anniversary.

We really have to praise God for allowing us to meet the various important people and also for patience among the main committee as we massively try to settle a day to meet. 

God has been so so so gracious right from the very start, from the recruitment of main committee till this very day where we progressed so much from just a small idea. 

There are many things brought up by Pastor William the main committee has to carry out and discuss. After much discussion on our discussion details, the main committee will be meeting this Friday. Thank God for the fixed details.

Pastor William mentioned that Children's day (1st October) will also be a good time to give the boxes for the fact that not many events are occuring around Children's Day.

More details will be shared once we have our main committee meeting. 

Lastly, please pray for wisdom, patience (for main comm) and guidance from Above. (:

Dont forget to drink lots of water BECAUSE THE WEATHER IS SO HOT! 

We met Rev Wee today!

HELLO!

Abraham and I had the pleasure/honour/privilege of meeting Rev Wee at his office today!

He shared his views about Ortabo:

Pros: 

- It's a youth initiated project

- Something came out of TRACKERS

- It's a simple concept that's easy to grasp 

- It involves everyone from young to old from the church

Cons:

- The end date is around Christmas - a lot of events like ortabo will be going on concurrently as well, therefore they may be a clash of events

- Identifying the children from lower income families may be insensitive as some families may be embarrassed 

He also mentioned that we should talk to the local churches for help instead of going straight to TRAC because it is the local churches that can do more (funding, publicity, logistics, manpower) for us. We will be speaking to the leaders in our respective churches first before making anymore decisions. 

The main committee will also be meeting up to discuss issues raised prior to this meeting with Rev Wee.

Please pray for guidance from above to the direction that He wants us to head and for good communication among the members in the main committee.

Recruitment for sub committees has been pushed back to a later date, it's not starting from 3rd May anymore. Further notices will be given. 

However if you wish you state interest or have any questions, you can call or sms through myself @ 98485928 or by sending a email to ortabo@gmail.com.

Thank You for your prayers and support!

Jesslyn.

We need help!

Hellos friends!

Currently the main comm needs the rough church and youth size (number of people) of every church under TRAC. If you have any friends from any church under TRAC or you're from one of them yourself, we would greatly appreciate this little help you can offer us :D 

We need this info from the following churches:

Christalite Methodist Chapel
Living Hope Methodist Church

Aldersgate Methodist Church

Barker Road Methodist Church

Methodist Church of the Incarnation
Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church

Fairfield Methodist Church

Kampong Kapor Methodist Church

Toa Payoh Methodist Church

You can call or sms me at 98485928 THANK YOU IN ADVANCE. :D

Jesslyn.

Budget $$ Budget

In the midst of the run up to our meeting with Rev Dr Wee on 30th April. We have decided to come up with a rough budget outline, including estimated costs of printing for publicity and the transportation of boxes etc etc.

Anyone who has any "lobangs" for any of the services we might require please let us know.

-Abraham =)

ORTABO ISN'T DEAD.

HI GUYS :D

The main comm just had our first fellowship meeting and by God's grace we had no problem bonding :D

We are really looking forward to meeting Rev Wee so that everything can be finalised and WE CAN START ON ORTABO! (this is so exciting!!)

Recruitment will start on 3rd May!! So for all of you guys out there who CAN'T WAIT TO JOIN US, it's only a few more weeks :D :D :D

For those who are still considering joining us, dont worry! The commitment will only be for a few months! The event will be paused around September-November because you guys have exams, so dont worry about this issue. (: 

It will resume around End November :D 

If you still cannot decide, pray about it :D I am sure it'll be a fulfilling experience to bring God's love to this less fortunate children :D

Please pray for the Holy Spirit to lead the main comm :D Thank you!

MORE UPDATES ARE COMING SOON!

Jesslyn.

Latest Update!!

A couple of issues:

(1) Main Comm has been set up.
Thanks to those who have committed themselves to this project, namely, Eugene Teng, Rachel Tham, Henry Tan, Wei Xiang (sorry i don't know your surname!!), Tiffany Tan.

(2) Meeting with TRAC President
Jesslyn & myself have a high tea appointment with Rev Dr Wee Boon Hup on the 30th April to discuss ORTABO over coffee. YAYNESS. Please pray for us.

(3) Setting up a few more urgent meetings:
(a) Arrange meeting with MWS Chairman
(b) Meeting up with ALL main comm members

(4) WE NEED MORE PEOPLE TO JOIN US.
-Don't worry. It's not a 6month commitment. Let's say you want to do the publicity. Then once that segment is done, your commitment to this project would be over, and because some segments (such as logistics), only start later on in the project, there will be many areas you can help out with during your free time (whichever part of the year that is).

-Remember. This is not CIP or anything like that. Do this because you want the kids to have a taste (sneak peek) of God's love.

Take care people.

ORTABO EXCO
=)

Main Comm Up and Running!!!

Thanks to those who have such a heart for the little kiddies!!!

WE REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY APPRECIATE YOU!! Committing all that time and effort to this project, amidst your busy schedules.. thanks!!

We had a chance to have a short chat with TRAC president Rev Dr Wee Boon Hup on Sunday (face to face!!) and we got his BUSINESS CARD!!!

We'll be planning a lunch appointment with him in the next week or so, to discuss ORTABO in great details. Hopefully something good will come out from that meeting.. it'll be really exciting to get TRAC on our side.

Here's the newest members of the main committee:

Rachel Tham

Eugene Teng

And there were many others who either expressed interests or made commitments to join us. Praise God for providing.

Don't hesitate any longer!!!

Take that step of FAITH to serve the LORD, in whatever small way you can.

The kids need you this Christmas. Will you be there for them?

-ORTABO EXCO
=)

The time has come.

So we've sent of countless emails.. posted stuff on blogs.. on facebook.. on like everywhere.. so what's next? What happens after the main comm has been formed (it hasn't been formed yet by the way)?

We face probably the toughest part of this entire project, that is to identify personally, the kids whom we want to be blessing come Christmas. It'll be easy to simply go to a Family Service Centre (FSC) and request for a name-list of families under their assistance schemes, but like the name suggests, that family already has assistance.

We want to focus our attention on families whose kids aren't receiving much (if any) assistance. Orphanages are another consideration. We feel that the kids there should also receive something from us. Sure, we can't show them earthly parental love, but at least we can try to show them the love of our Heavenly Father.

After much googling, we came up with a long list of potential kids that we could help, not individual names, but places we might be able to approach for the names. These places provide residential care programmes for kids, who might come from one of these categories:

(1) children from dysfunctional families and in need of shelter
(2) children who are abused or neglected
(3) children in need of care and protection
(4) destitute and abandoned children
(5) children who are beyond parental control
(6) children who are in conflict with the Law

These are the main categories (in no order of significance) that we want to be helping with.

We will be putting up a list of possible partners that we can work with (without contact details) to successfully identify the kids we want to bless.

Andrew & Grace Home
Boys' Town
Canossaville Children's Home
Chen Su Lan Methodist Children Home
Children's Aid Society
Infant Jesus Centre
Kids United Home
Marymount Centre, Ahuva Good Shepherd
MINDSville@ Napiri Children's Home
Ramakrishna Mission Boys' Home
Salvation Army Gracehaven
Salvation Army Haven
Sunbeam Place
The TENT (Teenagers Experience New Truth)
Darul Ihsan Orphanage
Darul Ihsan Lilbanat
Jamiyah Children's Home
Muhammadiyah Welfare Home
Pertapis Centre for Women and Girls
Pertapis Children's Home
Bukit Batok Hostel

But then.. this brings us back to the first issue, that these kids would already be on some sort of assistance scheme. We are really praying for God to open doors for us on this issue. If you have any contacts or links with anyone who might be able to help us find these kids.. PLEASE HELP!!

-ORTABO EXCO
=)

More infomation for Main Comm Folks!!

Our target audience are kids aged 7-12 who should be in primary school, but come from families struggling or unable to support them through their education. We will be collecting boxes, in which people will pack items for the individual kids, who will each receive one box (details on what and how to pack will be put up soon). We are also designing a simple, easy to understand pictured booklet/pamphlet which will be illustrated to tell the story of Jesus Christ dying for our sins, and also the 4 spiritual laws. (This booklet might be printed in different languages should the need/sponsorship arise)

Who are we partnering with:

We’ll be partnering a couple of organizations in order to successfully undertake this operation. Among them are TRAC, MWS, and the various Methodist churches in Singapore. Eventually, if the programme succeeds, we would like to see it to a national level, where other religious groups can also get involved, as it would be of greater benefit to society as a whole, although the leadership of this programme will always remain under the umbrella of the Methodist church.

When will this start:

The planning stage is already is progress & we are seeking a team of committed Christians who will be willing to help see this project through to completion and beyond. All ages are welcomed. =) We hope to get the boxes to the children on Christmas eve 2009.

How you can get involved:

(1) Contribute boxes for kids. The boxes will be split into girls and guys so you can choose which sex you would like to give to. Items like textbooks, clothes (preferably new), stationery etc would be ideal, along with toys and other things that the family can use in general. Vouchers (NTUC, Popular Bookstore etc) can also be included. There is only 1 restriction we place on boxes, the maximum weight be 2kg (due to transport restrictions).

(2) Pray for the Main Committee as we lead the teams, planning, co-ordinating and liaising with the various organizations involved. Pray for wisdom and perseverance as we lack a lot of experience in holding together such large scale projects, pray that God will always be at the centre of this project. Pray for people to respond willingly to this new initiative, support from other organizations. Pray for our financial and material needs to be met so we can meet the needs of many others.

(3) Join Us. At present there’s only a few of us doing operating under many roles, we need people, of all ages and background to join the team to help facilitate and see this programme through to completion and beyond.

If you have a talent in media, design, communications, admin, faith, prayer, or even music, please do approach any committee members for more details on how you can contribute.

Other information:

For Enquiries:

Abraham (HP) 93364685

Jesslyn (HP) 98485928

ORTABO email: ortabo@gmail.com


-ORTABO EXCO
=)

ORTABO: Recruitment for Main Comm

So here we are. Looking for a dynamic bunch of youths to be at the helm of leadership for this project. All we ask is that you be committed, and ready to serve God above all else. The Exco has come up with a document, for those interested in joining the main committee. Members of the Main Comm will be heads of the other sub committees, and will sit in with the exco and mentors for all crucial decisions. Here's part of the document for those interested. =)


About this project:

This proposed annual project enables caring individuals, families, schools, churches, businesses, and other organizations to fill ordinary boxes with small toys, school supplies, and other gifts for needy children in Singapore. Your box will make a child feel special and valued, and let them know that you care about them. Choosing gifts and then wrapping and filling a shoe box is a fun and rewarding activity for all the family – especially when you know these gifts are going to be used and treasured. Your box will be hand delivered to a child in need. All boxes are given to the neediest children regardless of language, race or religion. We will be printing a booklet which gives a message of hope and includes an explanation of the 4 spiritual laws as well as the story of Calvary to be given to each child. Boxes will be delivered to the kids on Christmas Eve, either straight to their homes, or at an evangelistic concert.


Why are we doing this?

We were inspired by the casual words from a Pastor, “Some people have this great idea of going overseas to do community service but there are so many people here (in Singapore) who need help.”

So instead of a major idea of collecting things to give to the slum kids over in Third World Countries why not help those that are right in our backyard?
When we were in Cebu for a mission trip, we were involved in a programme called Operation Christmas Child where an organization collects shoe-boxes filled with items that would make the children in Cebu happy. We were involved in helping to give out the boxes. When the kids opened their shoe-boxes, the expressions on their faces were indescribable. That scene, till this very day, has been etched in our minds. We want to bring this same blessing to the less fortunate kids here in Singapore.

We want to be a blessing unto others because The Lord has blessed us greatly. We want to bring God’s love and kindness to these people too. We want to let these people know that they are not short of anything because God is all they will ever need and they’re definitely not short of God’s love.

Every child should have the chance to experience a happy childhood.

We earnestly hope that through this project many people will be touched by God’s love and compassion.

Another point that we feel is important is the the importance of the great commission in the context of this project. Through the “gift-boxes”, we intend to bring the gospel to otherwise hard to reach areas of society, so that many more many come to know the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.


The more in-depth details of how exactly we are going to make this work will only be revealed to the final Main Comm. So what are you waiting for? Join us now!!!!!!!!!!!!

-ORTABO Exco.
=)

The birth

Greetings to all;

This is the start of something special, it's a project started by 2 youths on a mission, a local mission. Many youths these days have the impression that they need to go for overseas mission trips in order to do good. This is not true. In Singapore alone there are so many avenues for us to help the less fortunate. There are already so many people here yet to experience the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, let's start here and work our way out.

In the words of a famous school motto.. the best is yet to be. And no, we are NOT from that school.

Please keep watch in this space for regular updates. =)
Or if you're more in-tuned to facebooking.. check out our facebook group too. Here's the link..

ORTABO on Facebook!!! (click here)


-ORTABO Exco
=)