To all present, I bid you good afternoon. I thank you for making time to come for our third YES Alumni annual general meeting.

There comes a time where we all need to move on in life and let others continue running the race for us. Being the president of YES Alumni is indeed a privilege, and honor to lead the alumni for the past 1 1/2 years. I thank you all for entrusting me with this post. I am sure it was a risk to take, of which, I hope I have brought this alumni up to a certain level.

My personal principle to life is you can, and you will if you want to. In this past two years of leading the alumni myself, I had the greatest opportunity to personally lead the team to organize a few projects, one of our most successful project is the Paint for Peace Petition Weekend. The weekend was a great success, not because we had the time and resources needed to organize. It was not a success because we had nothing to do, and therefore we decided to organize this event. It was not a success because we hired professional event managers with the skills to do it. However, the weekend was a blast because a small crazy bunch of us who willfully gave all that we have to learnt, commit and sacrifice our personal time and money, through out the planning to make this a huge success. You can, and you will if you want to.

It was Yah Tyng and her team's enthusiasm to organize YES Alumni regional leadership camp for ours, sponsored by the State Department which was made, possible in June this year. The camp places its mark to be the first leadership camp organized by the alumni ourselves, in which we brought in two professional trainers from the States to conduct the training for us. I must take this time to commend those involved, Yah Tyng, Burn, Azhan and Chan How who were  part of the team.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

            Besides all the activities conducted, we have more importantly made the necessary actions to build a foundation for the alumni, in coordinating our activities, and making long term plans, we have also establish a good relationship with important networks, like AFS USA, the State Department and US Embassy here in Malaysia throughout this year. This effort is indeed important as being an alumni of the young people by young people, and for the young people, we need support from  stronger affiliations to aid us especially with  resources.

I would like to acknowledge those volunteers especially those who are out of town and yet still stay in the scene despite their circumstances - Charlie, a YES returnee from Johor, Azhan from Penang, Elaine and Chan How from Kuantan, and who came all the way to be with us today.  These are the core alumni who were always available whenever they were  called upon to run any events - road shows, conduct interview sessions and orientation camps for AFS. We also have Syant, a pioneer YES Program camp facilitator for Sarawak, Ain from Negeri Sembilan, who served as Secretary in the committee and many others who are actively involved in their respective chapters. You can, and you will, if you want to. This is an important principle that we need to live by as empowered youths of this nation.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge a few key persons who have substantially contributed to the alumni. First of all, to Nambee, my vice president, (who happens to be in Indonesia with his family right now), thanks for all your support, your word, and your rebukes. It is indeed a great privilege to be able to work with you all throughout our term, I could not have done half the things, if it is not for you behind my back.

Ain, my all time, quiet, yet very hardworking secretary. Many people do not realize half the job you are doing because it is always behind the scenes. However, it is people like you who form the backbone to the committee, and therefore the alumni. I do appreciate the sacrifices that you have made through these years, and I thank you, for all your offers.

Yah Tyng, wonderful most appropriate person to be the communications leader. I have seen you move from the quiet person to where you are at now, and today, it takes my breath away. You are a great manager, who is responsible, reliable and trustworthy. Most of all, you have been a very good friend to me, of which this will I will always cherish. . I hope that you keep this passion burning, not only within you, but  influencing those around you as you remain in the committee.

Faisal who also will still be part of the new committee, I see a great potential in you to lead the alumni to greater heights in any position you are at now. I thank you also for all your contribution and support you have given to the alumni.

To Dr Yahya, for your great wisdom and encouragement.

To the AFS staff, especially Atty, and Annie for your support and guidance as our advisor, we could not have done it without you.

Finally to all the YES Alumni members, thank you, for your support and enthusiasm.

            A word of advice to the newly appointed board, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you. This appointment to be in the committee also comes with great responsibility to continue building the alumni and bring it to  new levels- teamwork, is the key to success. We have  history to make. I have no doubts that you will see this alumni progress rapidly in years to come.

Be prepared also, because you will face many stumbling blocks in the future. Yet, always remember that every stumbling block you hit will also be an opportunity to learn something new. In serving the alumni, you will learn about commitment, responsibility and people skills. You will learn about life itself, you will learn about sowing worthy things into your life to make it meaningful. These life long lessons are not available in your textbooks in school.

            To all the alumni members, we need your support. I urge you all, to not despise yourself, in any ways. We are all made equal, with equal amount of talents and skills to offer. It is diversity that makes the world go round. It is my weaknesses made strong with your strength. No man is an island. We live in an inter-dependant world, and we need each other to complement ourselves.

The alumni do not belong to the committee alone, but it belongs to you. It is largely depended on the support we get from the members to grow, the alumni have gone through the thick and thin to be where we are today yet, as I mentioned before, the best is yet to come. Let us continue being a blessing to the community, to the nation and the world, in spreading peace.

You can, and you will, if you want to!

            With this, I now take a bow.

Thank you and God bless you.

 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Dear beloved,

As I thought about life, many words came into my mind, excitement, disappointments, uncertainties, faith, irony, and yet, I seem too disjointed to connect all of it together. Then, I came to a conclusion that this is how life is. They are full of uncertain moments, whether good or bad, paints the whole picture.

I've been through 12 weeks of school this semester, and find it more memorable than my whole first two semesters , combined altogether. This 12 weeks I spent sowing into different lives, visiting sick people in the hospital, making time for friends and family, and taking countless risk in letting people into my heart, apart from the usual school rush, I spent more time giving rather than sowing into my personal achievements, fame and glory. I find myself more transparent, original and happier than ever.

They say we've got to keep Him as our first love, and everything else comes in secondary. The problem with us is always because our minds and hearts are not working at the same direction. When we say that we love someone, do we truly feel it that way, about that person? I've tried something that I've never done before, and that is letting my emotions rule with boundaries. Although I found myself rather 'uncontrollable', yet, genuine. I learn to align what is in my mind to my emotions.

Three months ago, I blogged about losing my touch to life to find a better definition; now if you ask me, I would say I found it. Life is all about trusting God. Trusting in Him to have dominion over your soul, trusting Him to plan every single moment of your life. To trust in His plans also includes clinging on to Him even at your most shaky moments recognizing that we may not find answers to everything, but the God who has control does it for the best of His children. So we learn to submit to His authority and praise him for His control and love because He designs things for the benefit of all. We learn that in all circumstances that we face, we learn to seek God first before taking any measures.

Did you know,  I took the road not taken? This crazy decision I thought I will never do, but when doors are open right in front of you, you need to the choice. What I decided would probably let many down, yet a few will rejoice, because I chose to give it to Him. I gave up on a dream that was once very dear to me, a dream that I focused on making it a reality, a dream that I'd do anything to make it happen. I realized that all I want was a meaningful life, one which is prepared out of love, one that is beyond my control. I want to be commended by Him, and not anyone apart from Him. So I realized that, because His standards are greater than anyone else. His will is most often not mine or any other men, until some miraculous work happens within.

Proverbs 3:5-6

 Trust in the LORD with all your heart

       and lean not on your own understanding;

 in all your ways acknowledge him,

       and he will make your paths straight.

The essence to life is really that simple. It's all about learning to trust in Him to direct your paths. Yet when it comes to the practicality of this truth, we all have fallen short in various ways. Our natural tendency of wanting to life independently from God causes us to take our eyes off the prize.

They say, we are like Adam in the Garden of Eden.

Adam was instructed not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil because God wills for Adam to live dependently on God who determines what is good and evil. Yet, from the beginning of creation, we see that Adam, wanting to live independently, caused him to disobey God and ate the fruit.

As I ponder upon my own life, I realized how much I take pride on the things I do independently, and pride is exactly what made the devil fall. Sometimes I do wonder how much is God pleased with me, whenever I wrestle between what I want and what He wants. In the midst of seeking for directions, it came to me, that He said

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." (Luke 9:23-25)

Yet, as hard as His words are, He also promised that

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I'm excited to the truth that God, in all His might, and His lawful ways is also a compassionate God, full of grace. He sees the limitations to our capacity of obeying His Word fully because of our fallen nature. He knows that we are totally deprived from our final destination, and that we need his grace to go where we are destined. God opposes the proud and give grace to the humble, and grace is what is needed to be more Christ like.

God loves a teachable spirit. It is great when you realize that He would do anything to make you listen and obey His voice - putting people to rebuke with love, throwing you in the pit and the dessert place, until you learn to listen and to trust him. They say that the man He disciplines is blessed, for he learns the ways of the righteous.

Isn't life exciting because of the many uncertainties?

 I pray that you build yourself up in faith and love, keeping close to God as you wait for His mercy to bring you eternal life. Let's all help one another to grow in the grace of God, and the knowledge of Jesus. Take pride in nothing but to the glorious Jesus Christ.  It is in the end, our duty to carry the weight His glory to wherever we go.That is what we are made for.

Yours Truly,

His servant.