Friday, June 12, 2009

Abraham Lincoln(1861-1865)

Lincoln warned the South in his Inaugural Address: "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you.... You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it."

Lincoln thought secession illegal, and was willing to use force to defend Federal law and the Union. When Confederate batteries fired on Fort Sumter and forced its surrender, he called on the states for 75,000 volunteers. Four more slave states joined the Confederacy but four remained within the Union. The Civil War had begun.

The son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Lincoln had to struggle for a living and for learning. Five months before receiving his party's nomination for President, he sketched his life:

"I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families--second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks.... My father ... removed from Kentucky to ... Indiana, in my eighth year.... It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up.... Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher ... but that was all."

Lincoln made extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War, spent eight years in the Illinois legislature, and rode the circuit of courts for many years. His law partner said of him, "His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest."

He married Mary Todd, and they had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity. In 1858 Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator. He lost the election, but in debating with Douglas he gained a national reputation that won him the Republican nomination for President in 1860.

As President, he built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. Further, he rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.

Lincoln never let the world forget that the Civil War involved an even larger issue. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Lincoln won re-election in 1864, as Union military triumphs heralded an end to the war. In his planning for peace, the President was flexible and generous, encouraging Southerners to lay down their arms and join speedily in reunion.

The spirit that guided him was clearly that of his Second Inaugural Address, now inscribed on one wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C.: "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds.... "

On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth, an actor, who somehow thought he was helping the South. The opposite was the result, for with Lincoln's death, the possibility of peace with magnanimity died.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Youth Enrichment Seminar(8th June - 10th June)

8th June 2009,

The register camp should be from 9 to 9.30a.m. , I woke up at 8.30a.m.++ and I finished my washed up only packed my bag to the camp in 10minutes time. I carried a quite heavy bag and cycled to the church. While I reached the church, I only saw Tze Wei, Uncle Yew Chong and his daughters in the church. I parked my bicycle between the church building A and B. About 9.40a.m.++, Uncle Chris Lopez already reached the church and still a lot of the participant are not here yet, Uncle Chris even thought he was late for the program. After Sean leaded few hymns, we had the lesson with Uncle Chris. Uncle Chris made us into 5 groups, each group needed to do his prepared work one page. After the lesson 1 was finished, Tze Wei make us into groups for games and washing up the kitchen. Then we had lunch, the food were too much for us, even we had about 20++ people who is eating. After the one hour of eating and cleaning up, we continue our lesson. After 2 hours lesson finished, we had our tea time then we had our games program. When we had our introduce, our team make it easy while people is asking their hobbies, we changed to which congregation you from. But Tze Wei asked us another question like who is Stephen's father. After this introduce, the 1st game started was the captured the flag. This game rules were super blur to everyone but in the end team dumplings make it so they get 10 points while my team and team Noobs we played until Tze Wei and Daryl were giving us the blur rules so the points was 5 to each team. In the night, we had Ee Ren for devotion then Uncle Richard Lim came and gave us singpiration and teached us how to lead song, this program was good for those youth who are going to lead song. After all the programs were finished, we had our free time, as Randall and I were giving out food to all the people, then I helped out Stephen with his sketch. After all were singing, Ee Ren and I were taking care the door until Joel was reached the church about 12a.m.++. After Joel was back, I when to sleep while they keep make noised.

9th June 2009,

Today, I woke up about 7.30a.m.++, quite numbers of people already woke up while Tze Wei and Joel still sleeping. When Joan starting to fries the eggs, Joel suddenly came to the kitchen and do the rest all the things, while I helped out the breakfast. Then we had devotion by Daryl. After that, Uncle Chris do the same thing but change the groups to another members. My group got Joel, Annrene, Christine, Patrick and Ern Shern. We done our work quite well and the presentation too. While about 2.20p.m. , I went for my tution. After my tution, I came back to church and the game was started. I wonder Tze Wei loved toilet while all the clues is in the toilet, my team get 15 marks for been punctual in time while Tze Wei said stopped finding and the others teams were - 5 marks. After that we had Ice and Fire game, this game were easy. Thanks Sean for running to me. All the games were finished, they started to take water balloons to throw, I was lucky because I was taking my dog for doing her business. While I came back Ern Shern was totally tired after he wanted to faint, thanks to Uncle Eng Boon to fetching him home to rest well. While the dinner can started, Tze Wei asked me to call all the people who were up stair, when i go in the room all were waiting for the bathroom to take bath. So we had a peaceful dinner. In the night, we had Bryant to gave us his devotion and then Randall gave us 3 new songs to learn and sang it. Actually I was not paying any attention about his prepared songs, Sorry Randall if you read it. Then I had my chinese song practiced in a study room, we sang it twice and already finished. So I continue to helped Stephen's sketch and the sketch taking too long while we had Joel and Randall together acting. All the members went for mamak while I still helping the sketch, but never mind I still had fun on it. In the late night, thanks to Christine for the two horror movies to make us all alive in the midnight. In about 4a.m. they stopped watching the movies and I had a good rest but they suddenly played murder, with shouting, making noised and also making me keeping awake. So I went to Tze Wei, at the table around Tze Wei teaches the 3 indian girls about card games. We played heart attack at 4.30a.m. thanks to Tze Wei suggested it while we all were tiring. In 5a.m.++, I finally can sleep.

10th June 2009,

Today many of us have RR. We can't wake up and they keep making stupid sound to make us awake. After we had our breakfast, we had devotion by Ern Shern, everyone of us were so tired and can't followed what he said and even the preacher's son sleeping while devotion. Then we had a small little game to add and minus the teams point, Tze Wei gave team Noobs extra 5 points on cleaning that surprised me while I washed up all the dishes on this 2 days. But never minds I knew they do their best also. Then the time to minus points, thanks to Tze Wei minus team Smashers points. So Tze Wei added up all the points and guess what, Team Smashers with negative 4 points, Team Dumplings with 15 points, my team Feeder with 21 points and team Noobs with 20 points. Team Smashers's leader, Jonathan Lee with getting a can of pringles, Team Dumplings's leader, Alvin Lee with getting the same thing but different flavour, Team Noobs's leader Cendric got a basket with full of junk food and sweets, and the Team Feeder's leader which is me to get the basket wit junk foods, sweets and even a doraemon ruler for Tze Ren. Then we gave out all the items and we take photos while I not involve in it. We all went home with a tired mood, I can knew everyone sleep after they unpacked their things.

To the organizers for successfully organizing this event. All of us had a great time singing, praising God and learning more about God in the 3 days. Hope see you guys next year.