Chapter 3 of Sarawak Mission Trip (Day 3, 20th May)

It was raining. Heavily. I slept too well after a long sleep, especially preparing till so late at night yesterday. Didn't want to wake up. Had to anyway. The team were to head to Debak town to have breakfast. I got up, wash up, dress up, and got ready to go.

8.30 a.m

The town of Debak wasn't that far away really. And it ain't that big either. Though we didn't really have the chance to explore the entire, yeah, kind of small. However, this place has EVERYTHING: shops and grocery stores that has literally everything you need (really, you should go and check it out. Amazing). The town even has a snooker center and a cyber cafe!!! How cool is that! Hehe. =)

FYI: The cyber cafe over there charges RM4 an hour. XD

And guess what? The coffee shop that we ate at sells too! The best part is, it only has one store. By fisrt impression, one would think that that shop only has one or two food on the menu. However, when we look up at the menu board, it had a list of choices. A store that sells a few kinds of noodles and rice, and many drinks as well. Well...

10.15 a.m

We returned from town after having a good breakfast and doing some shopping for the children's ministry for the night later and Sunday morning. I managed to get a big bottle of 100plus (I promised myself that when I get out of Debak, the first thing I'll get is 100plus, but since I saw it there, I couldn't resist XD), while the rest got the necessary things they need. We then went straight to have devotion and prayer. *After we finish praying, me and Ee Chiet went off to continue preparing for tonight.

I know one thing. I'm not ready. However, I know that God will do wonders. It's just what kind of wonders. =D

We were to depart at 3p.m, so we had a bit of an early lunch at 12 plus. The food is still the same as ever, DELICIOUS. Rating: 5/5. Hands down totally. After that meal, I took a nap, 'cause I was too sleepy. =P

2.45 p.m

I couldn't really sleep well. Probably due to the distraction in the hall, but that's not the reason. Or at least I think it's not. It's something else. Ahh yes. I had a dream. Bad one. Couldn't remember much of it, but I just know it's bad. That's all. Anyways, got up, put my bed away, washed my face a little, and got ready for tonight.

Seems that some of the ladies in the team are really "in" for it. Apparently the like of Doreen, Joyce, PC, KL, Pei Lee and Irena will be wearing sarong to the longhouse that night. Well, talking about being a Sarawakian. =DDDD

3.30 p.m

We left for the longhouse. Departed a little later than originally planned due to some unforseen circumstances and waiting for Pastor Liang. Anyways, the longhouse is just further up from the one we went the previous night, tho it's about an hour plus long. The journey I mean.

The journey to Sungai Kali wasn't all that smooth either. In fact, it's a little worse than the road from Kuching to Debak. There's this part of the road that rose up like a bump, but sharper than a normal bump. It's like as if the road was "smashed literally up, but stayed that way" sorta thing. Anyhow, arrived safely at the longhouse after having to cross a dangerous yet innocent looking bridge.

5 p.m

Ahh. THIS is more like it. A proper, or should I use this word - original - longhouse. Wooden, not so modern, small, longhouse. A longhouse with only 7 doors (meaning only 7 household), but still. It looks more like it. Hehe =D

We were a little early, so some of us decided to have a look around and went to the pig farm. Yours truly was still thinking about how to share for that night. Nervous as ever (well you can't blame me can you?). Got prayed for by KL, and I somehow know that God will do wonders. It's just a matter of what and how.

There were lots of animals there. Dogs and cats (fancy that. They live together =P), chickens, geese, and pigs. Kind of cool actually. I was amazed though, by how the dogs and cats can live together without chasing each other. Maybe they stayed too long together and got bored of each other, so they thought it'll be better to make a truce so that they wouldn't get tired of chasing each other everyday. =D

7 p.m

Dinner time! The moment we've been waiting for. Or at least I have. They cooked almost the same thing as Pastor Liang's wife did - same vegetables, same fish, but heck. It's still as tasty. Again, 5/5. Hands down.

I chose to eat more of the vegetables this time, rather than having rice, as I do realise I grew a little... bigger. XD After all the eating and fellowship, it's time for cell to begin.

I got more anxious. So did Ee Chiet. Again you can't blame us. It's our first time sharing the word of God to people of totally different culture and race, hence different language. We prayed still, and let God's will be done.

8 p.m

The gathering started with worship, with another pastor leading this time (forgotten his name =D) Again, they sang praise and worship songs in Iban.

Ps: I forgot to mention. In the previous longhouse, Pastor Liang gave us lyrics books so that we can sing along, or in my view, know what we are singing, 'cause really, you can't panthom what they are singing about without the book.

This time though, no books, but they happened to sing songs that are familiar to us, so we sang in English instead. Despite singing in different languages, we still sang together, in one voice. Amen.

My heart beats faster.

As usual, we were asked to introduce ourselves, and again to answer the same question of whether or not we are married. Perhaps they are serious about us getting engaged with Iban boys and girls after all. Just kidding. XD

So it begins.

8.30 p.m

It was time. Ee Chiet went first, as she was the first to speak. She shared about the two most important commandments of the bible, and after she was done explaining about it, she linked it with my topic, which is "Be Faithful". And here I was, already doubting about whether or not I can do it. Never mind, here goes nothing.

When my turn came, I stood up and begin to share. I shared about how in times of trouble, we can be faithful to God, and even if we are not, the Bible says God will still be faithful, because that's who He is. I also shared about how to be faithful within family members and spouses, and how God has commanded us as children to be faithful to our parents.

I know one thing. The confidence I got came from God. It had to be. There can be no other source, because if it came from my own, then I'd probably mumbled and mess up the whole thing. I really praise God for the entire session. He saw me through, definitely. After finishing my sharing, I sat down and breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. It's like.... Man, I don't even know how to describe it. Never mind. =D

I suddenly remembered about the children's fellowship, this time being taken charged by Pei Lee and Doreen (plus Daniel and Joyce). This time, they did about the five loaves and two fishes, and the children enjoyed themselves.

After everything was done, we had tea fellowship. This time however, the serving was bigger. They not only served biscuits, but also some sort of Sarawakian-made cookie or something. They even served as bananas and corns. My, were they SWEET!!! Especially the corns. Usually people will want it hot, so that they can put butter into it, and eat it. Well, there's no need for butter this time. It's naturally sweet. Goodness.

I took this time to chat with some of the locals. Speaking to one of them, I struggled to get into a conversation, as I did not know what to ask him, until I asked how did they go about with electricity. Apparently, they use a generator for electricity, with a maximum of 4 litres. That can only last them 4 days at most. Guess how much they pay for it? RM3.30 a day! That's close to Rm10 in 3 days, so a month will see them pay close to RM100 a month. Me here at Kampar don't even pay close to a quarter of that. That guy is currently hoping that the government will build poles so that they can have direct electricity.

10.45 p.m

It was time to go back. All of us enjoyed that night at the longhouse: the food, the surroundings, the warmth of the people. Off to the bumpy roads again we went, and it was almost 12.15 a.m when we arrived.

PC called for an emergency meeting, concerning the Youth Revival Meeting and the whole of Saturday. Apparently, Pastor Liang wanted us to conduct the entire thing as a camp. Youth camp sort of thing. Again, last minute stuff, but nevertheless, PC immediately put us into positions about what we're suppose to do.

Tired, but having this, indescribable feeling of joy, praising God for what He has done, and will continue to do in this mission trip.

Adios then. Off to bed, and to the next chapter....

Breather

I didn't get to share (phew)

*everyone laughs*

But I was there...

*everyone laughed louder*

Ok ok ok. Heh.... Let's be serious.

*uncontrollable laughter all around*

Chapter 1 of Sarawak Mission Trip ( Day 1, 18th May)

Finally! After the two months of preparation, the day has finally come for us to depart to a state with many different cultures and races. It was going to be a full-day-travel, but still, destination: Debak. =)

I woke up at 7 that morning, finalised my packing, and set off to the Yoyo Bus Station in Bercham. When I reached there, I thought I missed the bus, 'cause there was NOBODY from the team there (or at least I thought there was nobody =P). Little did I realise that Doreen was already inside.

The rest arrived later, and Uncle Kelvin Chew prayed for us before we left.

8.22 a.m.

We went up this bus that had a little different design, as the entrance to go up is not at the usual front, but at the middle. Upon going up, one has to turn left to climb up the stairs of the bus, and from there, one turns left or right depending on the seating. Feels kind of special. ^^ It took us another 20 minutes of waiting while the bus was slowly being filled with more people and luggages.

And we're off. 8.40 a.m

All of us settled down in the bus quickly, excited yet anxious about what is to come ahead. I was seated next to Daniel, and he already took pictures with his new birthday-gifted camera.

Haha. Quoting him, "The only two guys in this trip."
Two GG fellas. =P

Couldn't really sleep much during that time, 'cause the bus played a movie called "The Little Big Soldier", staring Jacky Chan and Wang LeeHom. Although the movie was rated "ok", that man sitting besides me made almost every part of the movie funny, and I think we laughed the loudest in the bus. =P That however was only the first reason. After the movie ended, I decided to try sleeping again. Not till I heard a baby crying behind.

10.45 a.m

There were two old ladies trying to calm the baby down, one, I presume, is the mother, while the other might be a friend or relative. Either way, they tried very hard to make the baby go to sleep. The mother went, "lai lai lai lai... (Chinese)" every now and then, which in English means "Come come come come...". However, the baby went on crying.

11.10 a.m

I was trying my very best to sleep, but I remember reading something from my notes during the exam, that audio intelligent people are VERY sensitive to sounds around them. And there I was, taking in every single cry from the baby, while the mother went on going "lai lai lai lai...". Daniel said it felt as if she was speaking in tongues. XD

11.30 a.m

You wouldn't believe it. THE.BABY.WAS.STILL.CRYING. By that time, I was getting a little frustrated, but I didn't really showed it. All of us joked about how are we going to take care of our own baby next time, and PC even joking asked KL to go and handle the baby. Lolx. After another 5 mintues, finally there was peace. Finally. I could get a little rest. But before I knew it, we reached LCCT.

12.10 p.m

We took our luggage from the bus. Our flight was at 1.50pm, but as most of you might know (or FYI), one has to be there an hour earlier before the flight. We checked in our respective luggage, and with everyone cleared, we went ahead with our lunch. I bought McD, as I haven't tasted it for a long time, and wao, the service there was fast! Despite the place being very crowded, I still managed to get my food in less than 5 minutes. Wonder how fast Pizza Hut can be in that place. XD

The rest of the team joined me later, me having a hunch that either they don't really know what to eat, or they just want to grab something, "familiar". All of us ate our respective meals, and off to the custom service we go.

The team in full (L-R, sitting): Yours truly, PeiLee, Doreen, Irena, PC
(L-R, Standing): KL, OiKam, Joyce, EeChiet, Patty and Daniel

It was my first time going through the custom. Heck, it was my first time in an airport anyways. So, being a newbie, I didn't really know what to do before going through the customs, so me and Daniel got a bit left behind as we acted like noobs trying to take out our phones and wallets from our pants. We joined the team in a while. We waited in the terminal for 20 minutes, and at 1.30, we were called to board the place.


1.35 p.m

It was my first time boarding a plane in the 20 years of my life, and I've never felt so excited. We board AirAsia FYI, and it's kinda nice, though I've not board planes like MAS before, so there is no conparison to make. I sat at the same row as Daniel and Irena, as assigned to us, and a good friend of mine "advised" me to sit at the seat closest to the window. I chose that, and after all of us settled in, we were ready for take off!

(The following is the experience I got while on my very first flight)

The only 3 students boarding the plane to Sarawak. Apparently, the one in blue has Sarawakian blood in her too. =D

There's only one word that fits: INDESCRIBABLE! As it was my first time, all the nausea and headache didn't really bother me much. The plane slowly made its way towards the lane where all planes took off, and when it did... Woohoo!!!! That was perhaps the fastest vehicle I ever travelled in, and as it took off, I felt myself being lifted up. At last. I'm (in/at/on?) the sky! =D

As the plane slowly stabilized itself, I realised why my friend asked me to sit near the window. The view was AWESOME! I managed to see the distance between the clouds and the ground. I saw how tiny everything was from a few thousand feet. And ohh, did I forget to mention, I was sitting next to the wing as well, and the wing moved, the plane turned as w ell. Cool eh? =P

The right wing of the air-plane...

This is Kuala Lumpur... I think XD

Then I saw this other thing: there was a second layer of clouds. Perhaps I might have studied that during secondary but forgotten, but it really never crossed my mind that there was a second layer of clouds. Really, only God could create such things, and as quoted by Irena: "Who else would think of that?" So true.

2.20 p.m Leaving Semenanjung Take 1

Leaving Semenanjung Take 2
Is this South China Sea? I don't know... XD

We were out of Semenanjung Malaysia, and towards the sea after flying over Singapore. Man, watching the sea from above is a totally different view altogether. You've just got to praise God for all His creation, 'cause really, there's no one who can create all these. It was then Daniel decided to come up with this joke.

"Eh, you see all those clouds ah, reminds me of the World War II days you know. The planes drop all the bombs, and the people from the ground shooting the planes (r eferring to the dispensing of the clouds that looks like shots from the defending soldiers). Ah. Can see right? Ahh.. Those were the days."

The clouds that looked like explosions...

If you get the joke.

I literally laughed my ass off, not only because it was a "zZz" joke, but because of the way he put it. It was too hillarious that I couldn't help myself, and tears came out of my eyes. Ohh goodness me...

At that time, the captain and pilot of the plane gave us a short announcement about certain details of the plane, and he told us that we were travelling at 840 km/h, and 37,000 feet above sea level. I was like, "wooo..." Managed to nap for half an hour, and when I woke up, we were already reaching Kuching International Airport.

Upon reaching Sarawak. What the river.. lolx

Or at least I thought we were, till I realise that we're actually some 15 minutes away. The pilot will usually ask his passengers to put on and tighten their seatbelts. As we did that, I felt great pain on the left side of my brain. It felt like super great rush of the blood running through my veins. I literally had to close my eyes and hold on to that side of the brain that hurts, though I tried to stay calm. Heh.

It came to a point where the plane had to turn and slowly dive into the lane, and when it did, we felt a little tud, meaning that the plane has touched down. After the plane has come to a complete halt, we took our stuff, and managed to shake hands with the pilot and one of the air-stewardess.

We have reached Sarawak.

Down the plane we went, and up the terminal we go. We had to collect some kind of immigration ticket in order to pass, and after that we went and collect our luggage. Pastor Daniel was there to meet us, and we went up two vans that Pastor Daniel booked for us to travel on. It'ls kind of like, vans for visitors, the kind that takes you were you want or need to go.

4.15 p.m

The first thing we did after touch down was - SHOPPING!! Well, we kind of had to, 'cause one of the dress-codes for a specific night requires wearing a Sarawak t-shirt, hence the shopping. Got myself a navvy-blue t-shirt, while buying a small bag too, so that it's easy to carry my phones around, instead of having to put it in the pocket of my pants.

The next thing we did was - EAT! Apparently that will be our dinner already as the trip to Debak will be 5 hours, so we had to eat first in case we go hungry later. We ate the famous Sarawakian "kolo mee", which is kind of like, dried-noodles with a bit of pork/char-siew, and a few of us tried the Sarawakian laksa. The food was nice, though little did we know that was the first nice meal of many.

5 p.m

I have to say, the sky in Sarawak is MAGNIFICENT. It was so beautiful and clear. Anyways, we we started off to Debak at about 5 plus, and while we were on the way, we saw a beautiful rainbow (as it was raining). It was as if God was saying, "I am, and will be with you all."

What an assurance. =)

The journey was a tiring one, as we have been travelling the entire day. And to make things worse, the road all the way wasn't that well made either. It was bumpy throughout. I was surprised I managed to nap though. Anyways, we stopped at a rest area, and I had a burger, half a packet of biscuits, and a cup of teh-tarik.

Big mistake. 9.30 p.m

From then on, as the journey continued, I.SO.WANTED.TO.PUKE. The manner in which the driver was driving in made me sick, and I kind of wished I could tell the driver to slow down, but the driver looked like he wanted to catch up with the driver in front, who was going faster.

Daniel : "I know why the driver in front drive so fast d."

All : "Why?"

Daniel : "Cause his name is Stanley."

Yet another Daniel classic. If you get the joke that is.

Anyways, I held on to my seat, not wanting to puke. I said, "God no matter what happens, I'm going to believe that You will help me not to puke." I know what is like to do so, and it's not going to be nice. Yet at the same time, to suffer all the way, or to let it go now, and be relieved earlier? The latter sounded more comforting, though it comes with a cost. But so does the first. With that, I was battling it in my mind, and before I knew it, we reached the church in Debak.

Praise God!!!!!! 11 p.m

The church was called Hallelujah Baptist Chapel, pastored by Pastor Liang, whose family also stays there. It's like a small motel, and we were immediately served with delicious food, cooked by Pastor Liang's wife. Although I did not get to taste it as I was still recovering from the journey sickness, others gave two thumbs up. So yeah, good and tasty food.

We then went into our rooms. The girls were to sleep outside, as their room is a little too small for 9 people. Yours truly and Letterman-in-the-making got the chance to sleep in another room, though it was actually better to sleep outside, as it rained before this, hence leading to cool weather.

We unpack, some bathed, and all of us washed up and prepared for a super good night rest after a full-day travel. All of us were excited, as we know that this is only the beginning...

Ps: Photos will be uploaded soon, but I currently just want to get this done, so yeah. Patient. =)

Sarawak Mission Trip - Behind the scenes

I guess I'll start off this entire amazing story of the trip with the pre-preparation of it. The team consists of yours truly, Letterman-in-the-making Daniel Chi, PR hopeful Gan Pei Lee, animal doctor Doreen Phee, Mass Comm Master enroller Ee Chiet, Bio-med enroller Irena Chua, photographer-of-the-trip and bank worker Joyce Tan, administrative worker Patty Koy, a servant of the Lord working in church, Oi Kam, and of course not missing the most important people in this trip and co-organisers, Ping Chin and KayLynn (PC & KL for short).

I will not go into detail about each and every single meeting, but I'll sumarise what we have planned during those meetings. The main challenge of this trip is to share, teach and preach whatever we prepared in Bahasa Malaysia, a language which many of us struggled as we have not been using it for (fairly?) a long time. Anyhow, we still did it, as this is what signing up for a mission trip is for.

Each of us were given a specific topic (which, after the trip I realised that it's related or connected), and we were also given other responsibilities. For me in particular, I was ask to give a teaching to the Iban people at one of the longhouses, and also to worship lead on Saturday night, which I'll go into that in a later post.

We also prayed for the entire trip, as none of us really know what to expect as most of us are first timers. Still, we trusted that God will do great things, and indeed He has, which I'll begin explaining in the next post, as we go into chapter one of this amazing journey...

I IZ BACK!!!!!!

At last. After one long week. I'm back.

And finally I see number plates of cars starting with "A" instead of "Q"
Finally I see roads that are more familiar
Finally I see buildings and places that are more recognisable.
I am home
But Sarawak

YOU.SHALL.BE.GREATLY.M.I.S.S.E.D

More to come later. =D

~eNd~

The Root of it all

Tomorrow marks the end of yet another Barclays Premier League season, with Manchester United and Chelsea fighting out for the title till the last day. It's not the first time though: they did this about a few seasons back, and now they are at it again.

Not that I care.

What I do care is my beloved club Liverpool falling apart. Gone were the days where they entered a season challenging for the title (last season was perhaps, closest). Now having a new non-executive chiarman in the club to help look for new buyers, it seems that there is renewed hope.

Ya. Renewed.

I use that word because all season, it has been about two cowboys who does not know where to place their horses. Well, partly Rafa was to be blamed, but heck, even he can't do much if those two wild-westerners don't know how to lead this club.

Ever since they came here, there has been nothing but trouble. From the beginning, when they first took over, it seems that Liverpool were to spend and challenge for major honours once more. They even had the design for the new stadium.

Guess what? Before any fan in the world knew it, the bank book in Liverpool's account has turned red (ironically, Liverpool's colour and nickname). You don't need a "-" sign to tell you they are in debt. They promised to cover the debt, and have the stadium plans go ahead. The following season, it's still red.

Liverpool had to use the sales of Bellamy to bring in Torres; sell Alonso to bring in Aquilani (but that's 'cause the former wanted to leave). Did the money ever came from the owners? For Babel and Benayoun? Reina? Agger? Mascherano? Also, Liverpool suffered early hangovers: two defeats from the opening three games. At that time, you couldn't blame Rafa for still being optimistic. After all, it's still too early. Little did he know, that it would be a "foundation" of what's happening today. Up till date, Liverpool has lost 19 games (11 in the league, 1 each in FA and League Cup, 3 in Champions League, 3 in Europa League - all first leg). They still have Hull City tomorrow, which I do not really fancy Hull beating them, but anything's possible. Obviously, when something's cooking at the backroom, it's hard for the boys in red to concentrate on the pitch. Yes they ARE professionals (don't get me wrong), but there is also such a thing called psychological factor. Once the opponents know there's something not right, they'll take advantage, and Liverpool has been hit by many surprising defeats - Aston Villa, Tottenham, Fulham, and even Wigan. One thing's for sure: EVERY LIVERPOOL FAN in this world DEFINITELY wants both George Gillet and Tom Hicks to L.E.A.V.E. They are not doing Liverpool any good, bringing down the legacy that Bill Shankly took quite a while to build. Let's hope there will be a saving grace, and perhaps Liverpool can conquere Europe next season once more. Ps: A couple of positives from this season: the rise of reserve players (Spearing, Kelly, Darby, Pacheco, Eccleston, Insua, and hopefully next season, Nemeth), Lucas's ever improving style of playing, the steal of Soto and Maxi, and the return of Ryan Babel. Other than that, it's yet another trophy-less season. Wake me up when July ends. I don't really care about the World Cup.
~eNd~

Escape from this afterlife

Being in my own home
Standing against the steel bar
That protects this small confined area
Staring at the only hotel
That sits in the middle of this small city
Music in a distance
Going "Ra ra ru la la"
Gazing at the street lights
Holding that steel bar
As if my own prison
Smelling the fresh air
After a heavy storm
Wanting to take in more fresh air
But knows there's no time to waste
There's an appointment
At 2pm tomorrow
One of the crucial appointments
That can determine my future
"You reap what you sow"
"If you don't do it now, you'll regret it the future"
"What you do today determines your tomorrow"
Well....

~eNd~

Awakening - Switchfoot

Face down with the LA curbside endings
With the ones and zeros.
Downtown was the perfect place to hide.
The first star that I saw last night was a headlight
Of a man-made sky, but man- made never made our dreams collide,
Collide.

Here we are now with the falling sky and the rain,
We're awakening
Here we are now with our desperate youth and the pain,
We're awakening
Maybe it's called ambition, you've been talking in your sleep
About a dream, we're awakening

Last week found me living for nothing but deadlines,
With my dead beat sky but, this town doesn't look the same tonight
These dreams started singing to me out of nowhere
And in all my life I don't know that I ever felt so alive,
Alive

I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want to know that my heart's still beating
It's beating,
I'm bleeding
I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want to live like I know what I'm leaving
I want to know that my heart's still beating
It's beating... it's beating...
I'm bleeding

Nice Thought

I was having dinner with my friend today, and when we were talking about discovering characters I came up with this:

"Sometimes it takes others to discover you."

~eNd~

Transfer Tosh : Don't Believe the Tripe - Paul Tomkins

Of all the falsehoods that get spouted about Benítez, the misrepresentation of his record in the transfer market is perhaps the most baffling.

John Toshack is the latest to be quoted criticising, saying that Rafa has spent €300m and only signed three good players: Torres, Reina and Alonso.

(Note: Benítez’s net spend is only around £90m, although he has paid out circa £250m on players – a big total, if you ignore that much of that money was raised by selling other signings. However, the cost of his squad has rarely been above £150m at any one time, whereas those of rivals have been £200m-£300m.)

But getting back to Toshack’s point, is Mascherano not a success, then? Despite the Argentine’s undoubted pedigree, he was in West Ham’s reserves and not looking like a natural for English football. Now he’s regarded as the world’s premium holding midfielder, and valued well in excess of the £18m paid.

What about Agger? Is there a better footballing centre-back in Britain (who can also defend)? And like Skrtel, he’s only just entering the second half of his 20s (both are now 25), when centre-backs start to really look the part (look at how Michael Dawson has improved in his 27th year). If the pair can stay fit, they have the best part of a decade at the top ahead of them.

What about Yossi Benayoun? – a goalscoring record at Liverpool almost twice as good as Joe Cole’s at Chelsea, and one of the best players of the second half of last season. Injuries have disrupted his campaign a little this time, but he’s still close to double figures, and in recent weeks he’s played some great stuff in the build-up to goals. At £5m, he was an absolute steal.

Or Glen Johnson? It might be too soon to make a conclusive judgement (although that doesn’t stop Aquilani being written off in the same space of time). His defending is supposed to be suspect, but for Liverpool he’s hardly put a foot wrong at either end of the pitch, and is another who has had to overcome serious injury this season.

(Stats from Opta: Johnson has made more successful crosses per 90 minutes than any other Premier League defender; created more goalscoring chances per 90 minutes than any other Premier League defender in open play; and his rate of 2.19 completed dribbles per 90 minutes is 0.83 more than any other Premier League defender. In other words, on average, he completes one more successful dribble per match than any other full-back.)

Fabio Aurelio was arguably the best left-back in England last season. Cost? Zero. Again, injuries have proved hugely frustrating – he came with that risk – but what a good footballer he is. Is he not a good ‘get’ on a free transfer?

Then there’s Dirk Kuyt. He’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but he is versatile, reliable, committed, and yet again is in double figures for goals, despite a lot of time spent on the wing. He also creates a lot for others, and although not a ‘highlights player’, often does the job of two people at once. I think he’s worth his weight in gold, and so have successive Holland managers.

Elsewhere, Lucas, N’Gog and Insua are all promising players, with Lucas, in particular, starting to make that breakthrough towards convincing the doubters; the other two only turned 21 in 2010, so patience is required. Each has done enough to suggest a bright future, without the guarantee of anything exceptional.

If we’re talking bargains – which Rafa supposedly can’t spot – then Maxi and Kyrgiakos have been two of the Premier League’s better investments this season, for a combined fee of £1.5m.

Kyrgiakos has surprised me in how well he’s adapted, and to be honest, the biggest compliment is that, with his clear lack of mobility, he looks no worse than a 35-year-old Hyypia as the 4th-choice centre-back; replete with experience, positional sense, bravery, and the height to dominate forwards.

But it is Maxi who has the potential to become a regular; indeed, in the league, he’s already achieved this. Almost 30, he still has good pace to go with the assured technique, but is never going to be a jaw-dropping player who has fans on the edge of their seats.

His game is about movement, finding space and rarely giving the ball away; as well as popping up in the box at the right time. (With a bit more luck, he could be in double figures by now!)

It’s unclear if he offers something radically different to Kuyt and Benayoun, in the way that Ryan Babel would, if only he could get his brain to engage with his feet on a more regular basis. There’s still a perceived need for an outstanding old-fashioned winger, but Maxi is clearly a good addition to a squad simultaneously weakened by Albert Riera’s stupid behaviour.

Then there are those who’ve been sold. Where do they fit in with Toshack’s thinking? If you note Rafa’s total spend, taking into account every single player, then you cannot intimate that only three were successful.

Did Luis Garcia not provide, say, six goals on the way to winning the Champions League, and a decisive FA Cup semi-final goal? He drove me mad at times, but equally, he drove the team to Istanbul (not literally, although he may have driven them to Madrid last week).

Did Peter Crouch not enhance his reputation at Liverpool before leaving (in search of first team football) for a profit, even though he was just 12 months from freedom of contract? Is Arbeloa, another whose contract had just a year left to run but still departed for more than he cost, not now a regular in the Real Madrid side?

Did Sissoko offer nothing in those snarling two years before the serious eye injury, after which he left to Juventus for a profit? (A fee which helped facilitate the purchase of Mascherano; the same as the Bellamy money going, in some way, towards the procurement of Torres.)

And if critics are going to include young players who vanished without trace, what about Ayala and Pacheco, two teenagers whose cameos this season suggest they won’t suffer the same fate?

(Of course, young reserves who’ve yet to really feature are always the ‘answer’ to some fans, before they become the ‘problem’ after their first poor game or dip in form. It takes time to mature, and the learning curve of first team football can be brutal; but is necessary all the same. If they are loaned out to get this experience, that too is seen as a sign of weakness.)

Hypocrisy

Why Rafa’s spending is totted up into one large figure, rather than taken for the ‘buying and selling’ to trade up that it is, remains baffling to me.

So is the incredibly common insistence on listing only his flops. Contrary to any other manager, he seems to get judged by what he gets wrong, whereas they are judged by what they get right.

All managers get plenty wrong in the market; they don’t know how the player will adapt, nor do they know if he will stay free of injury. And of course, you can’t really have a squad of 25 perceived successes at any one time, because some will automatically be viewed as failures if they are not in the starting XI.

Take Alex Ferguson. How many top-class strikers has he signed in the new millennium? Van Nistelrooy and Rooney.

That’s two in a decade, with one eventually replacing the other. (Plus Carlos Tevez on loan, but then turned him down.) Louis Saha was also a success, but not without caveats.

But that’s enough. Clearly. The key is that he’s got some major signings very right indeed; as has Benítez. (Another key is that Ferguson buys players to bed into a side used to winning titles – a priceless commodity he eventually instilled into his club, after seven years of trying – and has always had a more expensive squad to pick from than the current Liverpool manager, and a far bigger wage bill.)

What about Bellion? Owen? (More injuries than league goals). Alan Smith? (Ended up a defensive midfielder.) Diego Forlan? (Talented, but often hopeless at United.) Mame Diouf? And what about Berbatov? £31m, often on the bench, despite ability; not a total flop, but then nor was Robbie Keane at Liverpool.

Manucho? Dong? – onomatopoeic players, clearly.

Ferguson’s successes were, on average, around the £20m mark in value. The flops range from free to £31m, and easily outnumber the successes. But my point is, no-one says “for every Rooney there’s a Dong and a Forlan”.

When people talk of the midfielders Ferguson has signed, they don’t focus only on Veron; yet when discussing Benítez, there seems to be a disproportionate amount of attention foist upon Robbie Keane.

“For every Fernando Torres there’s a Fernando Morientes, an Albert Riera, Andrea Dossena or a Robbie Keane,” wrote one Media Muppet last week, hinting at four perceived mistakes (even though it was done with an ‘or’) for every success. Does it read the same if I reverse it and say that for every Torres, Reina, Mascherano and Alonso there’s a Dossena? – you’re instantly left with the impression of an (untrue) 80% success rate.

The fact is that most top managers get plenty wrong, but also a fair few right, and the occasional über-star.

A lot of it is about perceptions, and people have a mindset about Benítez.

Take N’Gog, who has 8 goals in 17 starts this season: a very good record for a young lad, including a few vital goals. Compare his record with Carlos Vela at Arsenal. The exact same age, Vela has one league goal in his 23 league appearances for the club since his arrival in England.

But because he scored a hat-trick in the Carling Cup against Championship opposition in 2008, including one stunner, he seems to be viewed as another example of Wenger’s genius at scouting youngsters. Maybe N’Gog would only fit the narrative if he had banged in the goals for the Gunners in the League Cup. Vela certainly has promise, but so too does N’Gog.

And it’s not as if Rafa cannot spot young talent; he had a deal in place for Aaron Ramsey, well before he joined Arsenal, but others at the club thought there were better local talents already at the Academy. (Quite who, I’ve no idea.) Pato and Walcott were also approached before they were fully on the radar of most people, but again, Benítez was denied by the Liverpool hierarchy.

But this is an area where the Reds have finally acted.

Jonjo Shelvey, signed from Charlton for an initial £1.7m, and Danny Wilson, believed to be close to a move from Rangers, are two 18-year-olds who, unlike Paul Anderson and Jack Hobbs for example, would arrive with a lot of first team experience.

While the Championship (in which Shelvey played aged just 16) and the Scottish top division are not Premier League standard, it tells us a bit more about their ability – and temperament – than merely being talented but untried.

Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling, 15, recently signed from QPR, has masses of potential. It seems that Benítez has finally received the backing to bring in a better quality of British youth player, without having to wait for the Academy to automatically provide outstanding locals.

Improvements

Whether or not Shelvey makes an impact next season, it’s important to remember the different rates players develop at.

The list of vastly improved players in the Premiership is incredibly long, both for those who’ve changed opinions this season, and those who did so a while back and continue to shine.

Look at Zamora, Malouda, Bale, Dann, Bent, Lennon, Rodallega, Carlton Cole, Gomes, Downing, Modric, Nani and Pavlyuchenko: amongst the best performers at times this season, but a year or two ago, often seen as joke figures. I’m sure there are more I’ve overlooked.

Others, like Milner and Dawson, were seen as unremarkable but have developed massively in their mid-20s.

Go back a bit further, and Peter Crouch and Darren Fletcher were the victims of the boo-boys. Back further still, and even Lampard and Carragher were once regarded as two who were never that special.

Adebayor, Flamini and Hleb were seen as Arsenal flops (or at the very least, unremarkable) for at least two seasons. Two seasons! Malouda, at Chelsea, is another who only started to shine in his third year.

Just because of all these players improved or adapted doesn’t mean every squad player at Liverpool will do likewise. Equally, players who have a good first season or two can fall by the wayside, temporarily or permanently.

But again, we need to remember that every manager gets a lot wrong, because there is no option to get everything right. It just doesn’t work that way. There isn’t enough luck – not a single player failing to settle or avoid injury? – or room in the team, to have it be so.

It was only when researching for “Dynasty: 50 Years of Shankly’s Liverpool” that I realised how many ‘flops’ Shankly invested in; but the key point is that those he got right, he got really right. (You could say the same of Benítez: some flops, but Torres, Reina, Mascherano, Agger and Alonso all stand comparison with the stars of any Liverpool era.)

Indeed, I keep using the Arsene Wenger example, because it’s widely believed he can “do no wrong” in the transfer market; on numerous occasions I’ve quoted journalists saying as much. While I agree that he’s about as good as there is, he also signs his fair share of apparent mistakes, even if some may come good later in their careers.

Christopher Wreh, Gilles Grimandi, Pascal Cygan, Alberto Mendez, Jeremie Aliadiere, Tomas Danilevičius, Łukasz Fabiański, David Grondin, Nelson Vivas, Matthew Upson, Luis Boa Morte, Moritz Volz, Sebastian Svärd, Igors Stepanovs, Jermaine Pennant, Oleg Luzhny, Remi Garde, Stathis Tavlaridis, Jose Antonio Reyes, Philippe Senderos, Julio Baptista, Richard Wright, Kaba Diawara and, dear God, Francis Jeffers.

Admittedly I don’t even know who some of those players are, and they might have been young kids bought as a ‘punt’; but does that make them any different from someone like Gabriel Paletta, who only last week (in a Sunday rag) was quoted as one of Rafa’s “forgettable” flops? Or a selection of teenagers brought to Anfield in exchange for what amounts to loose change in today’s prices?

Some of those signings by Wenger were also far from disastrous, but then neither was Mark Gonzalez at Liverpool; he was mediocre, and he left for a small profit. He wasn’t a bad player, as shown by his return to form in Spain. Nor was Upson a bad player after leaving Arsenal, but his time there, as a young centre-back, was seen as a failure.

If there is one criticism that is harder to counter it’s the sheer turnover of players at Liverpool. There are reasons for this, as I will explain, but not everyone will appreciate or accept those explanations.

A lot of the turnover has been due to a need to ‘trade up’. For someone accused of persisting with certain individuals who are struggling, Benítez is ruthless when it comes to those who, once he’s seen them at close quarters, lack what he’s after. It’s led to a large number of purchases and sales, and in some ways that might not be helpful, but the alternative would have been getting an abnormally large number of cheap signings spot-on, and making no mistakes whatsoever at the top end of the market (again, unrealistic).

If he sticks with someone, it’s because he believes they can make the grade; plenty of others have found themselves quickly spinning out through the revolving door, so it’s not like Benítez is sentimental. At times it’s seemed a little chaotic, especially with those brought into the reserves – too many average players were scouted. But again, a good deal of this comes back to budgetary limitations, and a lack of real starlets already in the Academy pipeline when he arrived.

Conclusion

On the whole, the expert panel I assembled for “Dynasty” rated Benítez’s signings very highly, certainly by comparison with any Liverpool manager since Dalglish.

Souness only signed one unqualified success (rated as an 8 or higher) – Rob Jones – and Roy Evans didn’t manage any. Meanwhile, Houllier’s best signings were all defensive (in the Value For Money rankings I devised, his top 7 were all players whose job was to stop the opposition, with the exception of Gary McAllister).

But Benítez has signed a truly great striker, a undoubtedly brilliant keeper, an outstanding defensive midfielder, an outstanding playmaker, and, I believe, in Daniel Agger, a centre-back who (if Peter Bruckner can keep him fit) can still go down in history as one of the Reds’ greatest.

I also honestly believe that Glen Johnson can join that list, if he continues to consistently do from right-back what no winger signed by Benítez has managed: provide genuine width, pace, skill and delivery (but doing so from a deeper position, that can make it harder to pick up his runs).

The key, though, is leaving no weak areas in the team, and indeed, in the squad as a whole. And for this, more money is required; money that doesn’t come from having to sell other useful first-team/squad players.

I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous)

I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene
And I wonder how He could love me,
A sinner condemned, unclean.

Chorus:
How marvelous, how wonderful
And my song shall ever be.
How marvelous, how wonderful
Is my Savior's love for me.

For me it was in the garden He prayed,
"Not my will, but thine"
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine.

He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calv'ry,
And suffered and died alone.

When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
'Twill be my joy thro' the ages,
To sing of His love for me.

Why.

God, what is it you want with me?
I don't know anymore.
Life is full of answers
Which I can't seem to find
Full of questions left unanswered
Typical? I guess so.
Happens everywhere.

You teach us not to sin
And that's EXACTLY what we do.
You teach us to love others
We do the opposite
You teach us to reach out to others
We hide behind our grandmother's skirt
Like dogs running away with tails between their legs
We are THAT scared.

Why?

You teach us to share
We become selfish
You teach us to forgive
We choose to hate
You teach us to pick up the Cross and follow you daily
We drop it and follow the world.

Why?

You tell us You're always there
Heck, we sing about it too!
But we don't "feel" it
You promise us a lot of things
Things that this world can NEVER GIVE
And yes, heck number 2, we sing and READ about it!
But we don't "see" it.

Why?

Screw the listening skill God has given to me
I just can't seem to hear or listen to His voice
Screw the hands and fingers God has given to me to play musical instruments
I can't even open the BIBLE for crying out loud!

Why?

'Cause it's all about us MAKING.THAT.CHOICE. About whether or not we choose to follow. About whether or not we choose to obey. About whether or not we choose to listen. About whether or not we choose to read. About whether or not we choose to LIVE.FOR.GOD.

Best part is, while I'm complaining about all of the above
The answer
Is just right in front of me. =)

Happy month of exam and mission trip. God bless us all.