Sunday, July 13, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
we've learned how to make a living, but not a life;
we've added years to life, not life to years.
we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.
we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.
we pane more, but accomplish less.
we've learned to rush, but not to wait.
these are days of quick trips, disposable diapers,
throw-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies.
and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.
it is a time when there is much in the show window
and nothing in the stockroom.
- unknown
we've added years to life, not life to years.
we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.
we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.
we pane more, but accomplish less.
we've learned to rush, but not to wait.
these are days of quick trips, disposable diapers,
throw-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies.
and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.
it is a time when there is much in the show window
and nothing in the stockroom.
- unknown
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
some1 challenged me on something dat i wanted n believed, yet my actions dun really reflect that.
i want people, on hearing a message that i deliver, say, "what a great God!" and not "what a good speaker!"
not technics, not theatrics, not training...
but power, but abiding, but presence of God. so it's about walking close to God.
not work on your tone, your eye contact, your powerpoint presentations etc. you work on knowing the word of God.
if u are running a spiritual race, you dont train in human methods.
i must watch what i put my focus on.
i must relearn to consider rubbish as rubbish.
philippians 3
i want people, on hearing a message that i deliver, say, "what a great God!" and not "what a good speaker!"
not technics, not theatrics, not training...
but power, but abiding, but presence of God. so it's about walking close to God.
not work on your tone, your eye contact, your powerpoint presentations etc. you work on knowing the word of God.
if u are running a spiritual race, you dont train in human methods.
i must watch what i put my focus on.
i must relearn to consider rubbish as rubbish.
philippians 3
Saturday, June 28, 2008
will b working thru the weekends again. sat n sun retreat. last weekend was games dry run in NUS. next week will be "D" weekend b4 "D" camp! yikes! will have 2 pace myself properly. it s gonna b crazy.
i cant believe how much work i gotta do with more n more "mini" projects coming my way. but wat is amazing is dat i m feeling better abt it.... like a runner warming up to his race in the 5th, 6th km where he ups the tempo. ok steady now, evan...
run the race with perseverance, fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith.
i cant believe how much work i gotta do with more n more "mini" projects coming my way. but wat is amazing is dat i m feeling better abt it.... like a runner warming up to his race in the 5th, 6th km where he ups the tempo. ok steady now, evan...
run the race with perseverance, fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
i got my dream band for worship tmr! and we had such a fun time jamming today. they are so good! every single instrumentalist, backup vocalist! my dream band! haha.
God will U come and be enthroned in the praises of Your saints? come Lord, come.
Testify to Love - Avalon
Testify to Love - Wynona Judd in Touched by an angel (psalm 151)
oh i have to keep blogging vids! a Wynona judd's version of one of my fav songs! except the music is 1.something secs faster than the visual. sigh... this contains her testimony too.
blogged the mercy me i can only imagine MV b4 so i shant put it here again.
God will U come and be enthroned in the praises of Your saints? come Lord, come.
Testify to Love - Avalon
Testify to Love - Wynona Judd in Touched by an angel (psalm 151)
oh i have to keep blogging vids! a Wynona judd's version of one of my fav songs! except the music is 1.something secs faster than the visual. sigh... this contains her testimony too.
blogged the mercy me i can only imagine MV b4 so i shant put it here again.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
mon, i got a new baby! a white electric guit! n an accompanying blackie - an amplifier. at 1st i was worried abt my buy - that i should ve gotten d other way cheaper one blah blah... but wen i got home n looked at it again, those worries melted away. i made a right choice. a way better guit n amp. u noe, these things seem 2 have a personality, a soul, a life of it's own, n of course, its own voice. buying a guit is a very personal thingy. u gotta connect. n yesh, at home, connected we did. hee hee. it has a great feel, a good tremble sound to it. N i look good with it! haha. so in everyway, we connected. juz hope i can play it to its best.
i had a guit connection gone wrong b4. yeep gave me an acoustic which was better than wat i had, but i juz didnt click with it. so didnt really pract or sound good on it. i kept going back to my own (d one i had blogged abt dec ago.) so i ve decided to return it to yeep, n rely on the blackie tin helped me buy fr thailand. i hope this blackie wont feel neglected by me tho. i ve been spending time with whitey so far!
m hoping to change the look of this blog for 4eva! but sorry somehow i m not getting to it yet. oh well... juz bear with it longer eh?
i ve been feelin rather scattered this whole week. like i m missing something hence cant function properly. juz cant engage my gears to go into overdrive. i need 2. lots of deadlines comin up. FOC prog, games write-ups, emails, IES OIC storyboard n ppt.
ok. i noe wat i gotta do now. i d betta spend some time now doing QT. writing this so i d hold myself to it instead of launching back into work. yep. tata for now.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Monday, June 02, 2008
i ran my 1st ever marathon! sundown marathon. a misnomer if u ask me. should b called sunrise cos we started off at 11.59pm on 31st may n effectively run till the sun's nearly up. or in my case, when the sun comes up!
was a gr8 run. b4 this i was concerned abt my health cos i had a bad bout of bronchitis which didnt clear for weeks. had residual stuff that worried me abt whether i was fit for the marathon. had a little heart attack scare which my dr put me thru ECG n x-ray. both results being normal, did away with the stress ECG test, n upped my meds. that did helped n he concluded dat he should ve done it earlier so i wouldnt have such a long drawn thingy with the lung infection. so yeah, by the time the run came along, i havent trained and was still a tad worried abt my heart. committed it to God and asked Him if i should run, n if i shouldnt, asked Him to juz stop my stupidity. anywayz, i had peace, n my health was fine. had a gr8 run. i was in pretty good shape. n surprisingly so since i hadnt trained.
then met my fren at ard 19k who said she couldnt go on.she busted her hips n knees said she was v v tired n couldnt go on. i stopped n walked with her. tot since the route was bringing us out of ECP to siglap, kembangan etc, i could walk her till she reaches the road to get a cab. then of course, encouraged her to go on. esp so after she said "hey u r supposed to scold me n tell me not to give up!" so yeah. we walked the rest of the 23k!
pp tell me it is very excruciating not training well to walk in a marathon. i fully agree! walking 23k was no joke! it took SOOOOOOO long! wat could be a 3 hr run become a 6-hour walk.
PS grimaced in pain every step of the way. after the run we joked n laughed abt it n she said "oh no! u saw my ugly side!" i didnt. wat i saw was her strength. walking 23k, 6 hours in pain is no mean feat. she could ve quit. hailed a cab or took the bus (since we were v much along the roads after the 19k). i wouldnt n couldnt have tahan so long.
aside fr dat, we had a gr8 time catching up. lots had happened since we last met (3 weeks ago) n tears ran down her cheeks as she recounted the various ridiculous incidents. we turned out walk into a prayer walk at tampines ave 10. then when we were at ave 9 the sky lit up with lightning. b4 long, it poured. we were soaked to the bone. took the opportunity to go to toilet at petrol station as we wait out the downpour. when we finally got out,the rain become a drizzle so we cont walking, our shoes n socks squeshing out water as we went along.
of course i was in pain after the marathon. but surprisingly, i recovered faster than last dec when i ran half marathon. today d pain is gone. no knee or ligament prob.
that's y i love to run long dist. reminds me dat life/ministry is not a sprint. it is not a 100m event. u need to last, to persevere, to pace yourself. the run lasts longer than an adrenaline rush. u go thru energy ebbs. fatigue sets in, doubt too. dont rain on my parade? well this time it did. i started running when i was in med min. when i was alone in min. then i realised i needed to learn how to go the distance for God, with pp.
some lessons i learnt on this marathon:
1. heb 12:1-2. the theme for the camp i m organising. ECP was crowded with campers, teenage "ton-ers", cyclists, pp fishing... sometimes, pp come out fr their tents n shelters as we round close to them and they cheered and clapped. i was touched n reminded of "since we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses..." i wondered abt the true cloud of witnesses who are cheering us on as we run this christian race. dat this knowledge of being cheered on should encourage me 2 run on, 2 run well.i thought about the sin and hindrances. and of course, perseverance. Jesus, for the joy b4 Him endured the cross. i had thought the joy was the medal n the tee. but after getting them, i came 2 admit dat they were but shows of pride. they didnt thrill as much as the thought of getting them did. my true joy was not in them. it was in crossing e finishing line, knowing dat i did the whole distance and did it well. (well not in timing but in attitude and character) and despite me walking to it instead of sprinting to it in past races, the joy was far greater at this one than the rest.
2. a filippino stood by a cardboard as she looked out for her fren. the board blasted, "JO FULFILL YOUR DREAM!" Running a marathon b4 i m 30 is my dream n i was fulfilling it by a margin. but this is a small dream, a by-dream if there's one. i tot abt my dream. THE dream. i tot abt THE dream of those i love. i teared.
3. i rediscovered myself. i like myself again. it's been sometime actually. these past months God was doing a good work tearing "me" down. n now building me up. thru this run, i liked who i was, or maybe who i've become. i liked wat i valued and how i acted. i had thot dat i became this goal-oriented, results-focused person. but He showed me, no. He showed me i was less "self" than i tot. that i do love pp, the process, the journey. i like me! haha.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
FP - Wednesday, May 28
LONDON (AFP) - - Aid workers and peacekeepers are sexually abusing young children in war zones and disaster zones but their actions are largely going unpunished, a British charity said Tuesday.
"Children as young as six are trading sex with aid workers and peacekeepers in exchange for food, money, soap and, in very few cases, luxury items such as mobile phones," Save the Children said in a report.
It also highlighted instances of rape, verbal sexual abuse, child pornography and prostitution and trafficking of youngsters, many of whom are poor, displaced or orphaned by conflict.
The group said the scale of abuse was "significant". Its findings were based on work with hundreds of youngsters from Ivory Coast, southern Sudan and Haiti, said the charity's chief executive Jasmine Whitbread.
"This research exposes the despicable actions of a small number of perpetrators who are sexually abusing some of the most vulnerable children in the world, the very children they are meant to protect," she added.
"It is hard to imagine a more grotesque abuse of authority or flagrant violation of children's rights."
The charity said "endemic failures" in responding to the abuse that was officially reported were letting down the abused, and better reporting mechanisms should be introduced.
Fear of aid and assistance being withdrawn, being stigmatised by the local community, fear of reprisals, lack of faith in the response or simply ignorance about how to report abuse were also major factors, it added.
Whitbread said the United Nations, the wider world as well as humanitarian and aid agencies have made important commitments to tackle the problem in recent years.
But most had failed to turn their promises into action, she added, calling for all agencies working in emergencies, including her own, to "own up to the fact that they are vulnerable to this problem and tackle it head on".
The UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations was said to be the group most likely to be responsible for abuse. Save the Children said there had been 15 claims against its staff and partners last year, of which three were upheld.
UNPKO spokesman Nick Birnback said it was "entirely unacceptable" that those sent to help the most vulnerable are instead causing grievous harm.
"Clearly a lot more has to be done," he told BBC radio but he rejected allegations that the problem was widespread and those responsible were getting away with it.
"The vast majority of UN peacekeepers all over the world, of which we have over 100,000 now, serve with honour and courage in very difficult situations and don't engage in this unacceptable behaviour," he added.
The reputation of UN peacekeepers has been tarnished in the past by cases of sexual abuse against women, notably in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast and Haiti.
In November last year, the UN said that more than 100 Sri Lankan soldiers were to be sent home over charges that they paid for sex while stationed in Haiti.
After turning a blind eye for decades to cases of abuse by its peacekeepers -- the world body recommended in 2005 that erring soldiers be punished, their salaries frozen and a fund set up to help any women or girls made pregnant.
The "zero tolerance" policy towards sexual misconduct includes a "non-fraternisation" rule barring them from sex with locals.
It was brought in after revelations in December 2004 that peacekeepers in DRC were involved in the sexual abuse of 13-year-old girls in exchange for eggs, milk or cash sums as low as one dollar.
YOU GIVE PEACE A BAD NAME
LONDON (AFP) - - Aid workers and peacekeepers are sexually abusing young children in war zones and disaster zones but their actions are largely going unpunished, a British charity said Tuesday.
"Children as young as six are trading sex with aid workers and peacekeepers in exchange for food, money, soap and, in very few cases, luxury items such as mobile phones," Save the Children said in a report.
It also highlighted instances of rape, verbal sexual abuse, child pornography and prostitution and trafficking of youngsters, many of whom are poor, displaced or orphaned by conflict.
The group said the scale of abuse was "significant". Its findings were based on work with hundreds of youngsters from Ivory Coast, southern Sudan and Haiti, said the charity's chief executive Jasmine Whitbread.
"This research exposes the despicable actions of a small number of perpetrators who are sexually abusing some of the most vulnerable children in the world, the very children they are meant to protect," she added.
"It is hard to imagine a more grotesque abuse of authority or flagrant violation of children's rights."
The charity said "endemic failures" in responding to the abuse that was officially reported were letting down the abused, and better reporting mechanisms should be introduced.
Fear of aid and assistance being withdrawn, being stigmatised by the local community, fear of reprisals, lack of faith in the response or simply ignorance about how to report abuse were also major factors, it added.
Whitbread said the United Nations, the wider world as well as humanitarian and aid agencies have made important commitments to tackle the problem in recent years.
But most had failed to turn their promises into action, she added, calling for all agencies working in emergencies, including her own, to "own up to the fact that they are vulnerable to this problem and tackle it head on".
The UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations was said to be the group most likely to be responsible for abuse. Save the Children said there had been 15 claims against its staff and partners last year, of which three were upheld.
UNPKO spokesman Nick Birnback said it was "entirely unacceptable" that those sent to help the most vulnerable are instead causing grievous harm.
"Clearly a lot more has to be done," he told BBC radio but he rejected allegations that the problem was widespread and those responsible were getting away with it.
"The vast majority of UN peacekeepers all over the world, of which we have over 100,000 now, serve with honour and courage in very difficult situations and don't engage in this unacceptable behaviour," he added.
The reputation of UN peacekeepers has been tarnished in the past by cases of sexual abuse against women, notably in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast and Haiti.
In November last year, the UN said that more than 100 Sri Lankan soldiers were to be sent home over charges that they paid for sex while stationed in Haiti.
After turning a blind eye for decades to cases of abuse by its peacekeepers -- the world body recommended in 2005 that erring soldiers be punished, their salaries frozen and a fund set up to help any women or girls made pregnant.
The "zero tolerance" policy towards sexual misconduct includes a "non-fraternisation" rule barring them from sex with locals.
It was brought in after revelations in December 2004 that peacekeepers in DRC were involved in the sexual abuse of 13-year-old girls in exchange for eggs, milk or cash sums as low as one dollar.
YOU GIVE PEACE A BAD NAME
Sunday, May 18, 2008
the truth does not alter with your inability to believe
the barrier between your life now and the life you've always wanted is YOU.
the power to change does not come from you.
there is no such thing as a self-made man. just because he is successful in his work, probably made more phenomenal by a rags to riches story, doesnt mean he made himself. what he did succeed in making is merely a name for himself. which, he probably likes more than the one given to him at birth. or maybe not. can u imagine calling a tiger, with 100% successful hunts/kills, a self-made tiger? i think "self-made man" is the most used, most delusive paradox. dun get it? think self created creature.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Bernard of Clairvaux(1091- 1153), Sermons on the Song of Songs:
We must not give to other what we have received for ourselves; nor must we keep for ourselves that which we have received to spend on others… You dissipate and lse what is your own, if without right intention and form some wrong motive, you hasten to outpour yourself on others when your own soul is only half-filled.
If you are wise therefore you will show yourself reservoir and not a canal. For a canal pours out as fast as it takes in; but a reservoir waits till it is full before it overflows, and so communicates its surplus… we have all too few such reservoirs in the Church at present, though we have canals in plenty… they [canals] desire to pour out when they themselves are not yet impoured; they are readier to speak than to listen, eager to teach that which they do not know, and most anxious to exercise authority on others, although they have not learnt to rule themselves… let the reservoir of which we spoke just now take pattern from the spring; for the spring does not form a stream or spread into a lake unti it is brimful… be filed thyself; then, but discreetly, mind, pour thy fullness out of thy fullness help me if thou canst; and if not, spare thyself.
Ole Hallesby(1879- 1961), Prayer:
Prayer and helplessness are inseparable. Only he who is helpless can truly pray.
Listen to this, you who are often so helpless that you do not know what to do. At times you do not even know how to pray. Your mind seems full of sin and impurity. Your mind is preoccupied with what the Bible calls the world. God and eternal and holy things seems so distant and foreign to you that you feel that you add sin to sin be desiring to approach God in such a state of mind. Now and then you must ask yourself the question, “Do I really desire to be set free from the lukewarmness of my heart and worldly life? Is not my Christian life always lukewarm and half-hearted for the simple reason that deep down in my heart I desire it that way?
Thus an honest soul struggles against the dishonesty of his own being. He feels himself so helplessly lost that his prayers freeze on his very lips.
Listen, my friend! Your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas. He hears it from the very moment that you are seized with helplessness, and He becomes actively engaged at once in hearing and answering the prayer of your helplessness.
We must not give to other what we have received for ourselves; nor must we keep for ourselves that which we have received to spend on others… You dissipate and lse what is your own, if without right intention and form some wrong motive, you hasten to outpour yourself on others when your own soul is only half-filled.
If you are wise therefore you will show yourself reservoir and not a canal. For a canal pours out as fast as it takes in; but a reservoir waits till it is full before it overflows, and so communicates its surplus… we have all too few such reservoirs in the Church at present, though we have canals in plenty… they [canals] desire to pour out when they themselves are not yet impoured; they are readier to speak than to listen, eager to teach that which they do not know, and most anxious to exercise authority on others, although they have not learnt to rule themselves… let the reservoir of which we spoke just now take pattern from the spring; for the spring does not form a stream or spread into a lake unti it is brimful… be filed thyself; then, but discreetly, mind, pour thy fullness out of thy fullness help me if thou canst; and if not, spare thyself.
Ole Hallesby(1879- 1961), Prayer:
Prayer and helplessness are inseparable. Only he who is helpless can truly pray.
Listen to this, you who are often so helpless that you do not know what to do. At times you do not even know how to pray. Your mind seems full of sin and impurity. Your mind is preoccupied with what the Bible calls the world. God and eternal and holy things seems so distant and foreign to you that you feel that you add sin to sin be desiring to approach God in such a state of mind. Now and then you must ask yourself the question, “Do I really desire to be set free from the lukewarmness of my heart and worldly life? Is not my Christian life always lukewarm and half-hearted for the simple reason that deep down in my heart I desire it that way?
Thus an honest soul struggles against the dishonesty of his own being. He feels himself so helplessly lost that his prayers freeze on his very lips.
Listen, my friend! Your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas. He hears it from the very moment that you are seized with helplessness, and He becomes actively engaged at once in hearing and answering the prayer of your helplessness.
Marva Dawn, The Sense of the Call:
If we lack prayerfulness, then the solution is not to hammer ourselves with guilt that we are so bad at it, but to engage in practices that help us know God. We receive grace best by watching it descend from God rather than focusing on our reception of it.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Austria. woman kept hostage by her father for 24 years! click this for the CNN report of the article below
AMSTETTEN, Austria (CNN) -- Police in Austria have confirmed that three children freed from a cellar in which their mother had been imprisoned and raped by her own father for 24 years had never seen daylight.
Austrian police spokesman Franz Polzer told CNN that the 73-year-old man, known as Mr. F., admitted holding his daughter, Elisabeth F., 42, hostage in the windowless cell and fathering seven children by her.
"The mother had memories [of the outside world] and got used to the situation," Polzer told a press conference Monday afternoon. "The others knew nothing else."
Elisabeth F. told police that she and her three children Kerstin, 19; Stefan, 18; and Felix, 5, did not see the light of day during their entire time in captivity underneath the building in Amstetten, a rural town about 150 km (93 miles) west of Vienna.
Elisabeth F. is described as "very disturbed" and having trouble talking to police about her ordeal, reports CNN correspondent Fred Pleitgen. She went missing in 1984, when she was 18 years old, police have said. Watch police describe House of Horror investigation. »
More details also emerged at the news conference about the basement dungeon in which the daughter and her children were kept -- and how her father managed to keep them captive for more than two decades.
The authorities have revealed that the prison, constructed in the basement of the 1960s building, ran underneath both the building itself and the garden outside.
The entrance was via a small door, hidden behind cupboards in the basement, controlled by an electronic keyless-entry system. Polzer said that the prison was hard to find, even if someone was looking for it, and had been soundproofed.
"Even though they shouted and called they were not in a position to let anyone hear them," Polzer told the press conference.
Polzer said that the father made clear to his wife and other children that the area was out of bounds and they were not to go into the basement. He bought food and took it to his captives in the evening.
Don't Miss
Austria wakes up to 'House of Horror'
Images emerge from House of Horror
8-year kidnap: Accomplices hunted
Kidnap girl: Family never gave up
Detectives made the grim discovery about the cellar earlier this month after Kerstin was hospitalized in Amstetten after falling unconscious and taken to a hospital in Amstetten by her grandfather with a SOS note from her mother hidden on her.
A DNA test was later carried out which revealed her grandfather, Mr. F., was also her father, according to ORF, Austria's state-run news agency.
That sparked a police investigation, which revealed that Mr. F. fathered at least six children with his daughter, forcing her and three of the surviving children to live in the cellar of his house, according to ORF's Peter Schmitzberger.
On Sunday, police searched the hidden rooms where Mr. F. admitted he kept his daughter and their children, including sleeping quarters, a kitchen and a bathroom, which Mr. F. told police he built, Polzer said.
Amstetten police say they were put on Mr. F.'s trail following an anonymous tip off. They apprehended the pair on Saturday near the hospital and once police assured the daughter that she would never have contact with her father again, "she was able to tell the whole story," Schmitzberger said.
Elisabeth F. said her father began sexually abusing her at age 11. On August 8, 1984 -- weeks before she was reported missing -- her father enticed her into the basement, where he drugged her, put her in handcuffs and locked her in a room, she told police.
For the next 24 years, she was constantly raped by her father, resulting in the six surviving children, she said, according to the police statement.
She also told police she gave birth to twins in 1996, but one of the babies died a few days later as a result of neglect, and Mr. F. removed the infant's body and burned it in an oven.
She told police that only her father supplied her and her children with food and clothing, and that she did not think his wife knew anything about their situation
Mr. F. lived upstairs with his wife, Rosemarie F., who police said had no idea about her husband's other family living in the cellar. The couple adopted three of the children that Mr. F. had with his daughter, according to police. He told his wife that his missing daughter had dropped the unwanted children off at the house because she could not take care of them, police said.
When Kerstin fell ill, Mr. F. apparently told his wife and the hospital that his "missing" daughter had dropped off the sick girl on his doorstep.
In an effort to find out about Kerstin's condition, the hospital asked the media to put out a bulletin requesting any information about the girl or her missing mother, attorney general Gerhard Sedlacek told NTV.
Sometime later, Mr. F. brought Elisabeth F. out of the cellar, telling his wife that she had returned home with her two children after a 24-year absence, police said.
He took Elisabeth F. to the hospital to talk with doctors about Kerstin's condition, and at that point, authorities became aware of her situation, Sedlacek said.
more on it:
click on this for news coverage of the same shocking crime on asia one
pray for them. pray for the team of psychologists helping the victims. pray for salvation, healing. for everyone including the dad. pray for many others who are in such abuse!
AMSTETTEN, Austria (CNN) -- Police in Austria have confirmed that three children freed from a cellar in which their mother had been imprisoned and raped by her own father for 24 years had never seen daylight.
Austrian police spokesman Franz Polzer told CNN that the 73-year-old man, known as Mr. F., admitted holding his daughter, Elisabeth F., 42, hostage in the windowless cell and fathering seven children by her.
"The mother had memories [of the outside world] and got used to the situation," Polzer told a press conference Monday afternoon. "The others knew nothing else."
Elisabeth F. told police that she and her three children Kerstin, 19; Stefan, 18; and Felix, 5, did not see the light of day during their entire time in captivity underneath the building in Amstetten, a rural town about 150 km (93 miles) west of Vienna.
Elisabeth F. is described as "very disturbed" and having trouble talking to police about her ordeal, reports CNN correspondent Fred Pleitgen. She went missing in 1984, when she was 18 years old, police have said. Watch police describe House of Horror investigation. »
More details also emerged at the news conference about the basement dungeon in which the daughter and her children were kept -- and how her father managed to keep them captive for more than two decades.
The authorities have revealed that the prison, constructed in the basement of the 1960s building, ran underneath both the building itself and the garden outside.
The entrance was via a small door, hidden behind cupboards in the basement, controlled by an electronic keyless-entry system. Polzer said that the prison was hard to find, even if someone was looking for it, and had been soundproofed.
"Even though they shouted and called they were not in a position to let anyone hear them," Polzer told the press conference.
Polzer said that the father made clear to his wife and other children that the area was out of bounds and they were not to go into the basement. He bought food and took it to his captives in the evening.
Don't Miss
Austria wakes up to 'House of Horror'
Images emerge from House of Horror
8-year kidnap: Accomplices hunted
Kidnap girl: Family never gave up
Detectives made the grim discovery about the cellar earlier this month after Kerstin was hospitalized in Amstetten after falling unconscious and taken to a hospital in Amstetten by her grandfather with a SOS note from her mother hidden on her.
A DNA test was later carried out which revealed her grandfather, Mr. F., was also her father, according to ORF, Austria's state-run news agency.
That sparked a police investigation, which revealed that Mr. F. fathered at least six children with his daughter, forcing her and three of the surviving children to live in the cellar of his house, according to ORF's Peter Schmitzberger.
On Sunday, police searched the hidden rooms where Mr. F. admitted he kept his daughter and their children, including sleeping quarters, a kitchen and a bathroom, which Mr. F. told police he built, Polzer said.
Amstetten police say they were put on Mr. F.'s trail following an anonymous tip off. They apprehended the pair on Saturday near the hospital and once police assured the daughter that she would never have contact with her father again, "she was able to tell the whole story," Schmitzberger said.
Elisabeth F. said her father began sexually abusing her at age 11. On August 8, 1984 -- weeks before she was reported missing -- her father enticed her into the basement, where he drugged her, put her in handcuffs and locked her in a room, she told police.
For the next 24 years, she was constantly raped by her father, resulting in the six surviving children, she said, according to the police statement.
She also told police she gave birth to twins in 1996, but one of the babies died a few days later as a result of neglect, and Mr. F. removed the infant's body and burned it in an oven.
She told police that only her father supplied her and her children with food and clothing, and that she did not think his wife knew anything about their situation
Mr. F. lived upstairs with his wife, Rosemarie F., who police said had no idea about her husband's other family living in the cellar. The couple adopted three of the children that Mr. F. had with his daughter, according to police. He told his wife that his missing daughter had dropped the unwanted children off at the house because she could not take care of them, police said.
When Kerstin fell ill, Mr. F. apparently told his wife and the hospital that his "missing" daughter had dropped off the sick girl on his doorstep.
In an effort to find out about Kerstin's condition, the hospital asked the media to put out a bulletin requesting any information about the girl or her missing mother, attorney general Gerhard Sedlacek told NTV.
Sometime later, Mr. F. brought Elisabeth F. out of the cellar, telling his wife that she had returned home with her two children after a 24-year absence, police said.
He took Elisabeth F. to the hospital to talk with doctors about Kerstin's condition, and at that point, authorities became aware of her situation, Sedlacek said.
more on it:
click on this for news coverage of the same shocking crime on asia one
pray for them. pray for the team of psychologists helping the victims. pray for salvation, healing. for everyone including the dad. pray for many others who are in such abuse!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" - Corrie Ten Boom
my med students see death during their studies in the hospital n i quote one of them here "the tragedy is not in the death but in the life." sometimes we think it is sad when some1 dies. dun get me wrong, it is indeed sad. but sometimes, the life that was lived was a sadder tale than how death came upon the person. how do you live?
Jesus said, "i came that they may have life and have it to the full. " John 10:10 how do you live life and live it to the full? do you know Him who claimed "I m the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6)"?
(blogged the above on 21 april but didnt published it)
---
my fren's mum passed away suddenly. severe stroke in the day then passed on in the night. she was younger than my mum. i was a little shakened. fren was having her 2nd baby due in 2 weeks' time n she is in a terrible state now. wanted to go n be there for her. but finding myself too tired n dry right now to offer her anything.
came back from a team retreat on fri. most of us went into it kicking n screaming. well, not literally. but nearly. but all of us agreed it was a good time of fellowship. did work a little. not too much to cause us to feel repulsed. for me, i havent laughed so much in a long time. i missed laughing. some of u might be surprised cos i do laugh v easily n heartily. well, yeah. where did all the mirth go?
the working part of the retreat made me question so much. n i asked more questions than we manage to find answers for. there were so much uncertainty n hesitation from me n SW. we r still v raw from a v draining acad year. the late night talks with her were so good. i didnt realise how fearful n tired we ve gotten. still reeling from last year.
the workshops n team birkman were good. still trying to find my footing in the new team n coming new year. new role, new team. so much apprehension, so much past baggage. so much fear n hurt. gotta trust God to help us heal n move on in His strength.
came back v tired. planned to get back to office to get some accounts n IT things done. but was SO beat. slept from 11-3pm. then struggled to go out. came home n immediately slept from 11pm last night-12.30pm today! so darn tired! can u believe it?
hoping right now that today or whatever's left of it can be productive. need to prep the 2nd session of a message which i blew last week. i so desperately need clarity, not juz for the message but for my life.
so many questions, so little time.
my med students see death during their studies in the hospital n i quote one of them here "the tragedy is not in the death but in the life." sometimes we think it is sad when some1 dies. dun get me wrong, it is indeed sad. but sometimes, the life that was lived was a sadder tale than how death came upon the person. how do you live?
Jesus said, "i came that they may have life and have it to the full. " John 10:10 how do you live life and live it to the full? do you know Him who claimed "I m the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6)"?
(blogged the above on 21 april but didnt published it)
---
my fren's mum passed away suddenly. severe stroke in the day then passed on in the night. she was younger than my mum. i was a little shakened. fren was having her 2nd baby due in 2 weeks' time n she is in a terrible state now. wanted to go n be there for her. but finding myself too tired n dry right now to offer her anything.
came back from a team retreat on fri. most of us went into it kicking n screaming. well, not literally. but nearly. but all of us agreed it was a good time of fellowship. did work a little. not too much to cause us to feel repulsed. for me, i havent laughed so much in a long time. i missed laughing. some of u might be surprised cos i do laugh v easily n heartily. well, yeah. where did all the mirth go?
the working part of the retreat made me question so much. n i asked more questions than we manage to find answers for. there were so much uncertainty n hesitation from me n SW. we r still v raw from a v draining acad year. the late night talks with her were so good. i didnt realise how fearful n tired we ve gotten. still reeling from last year.
the workshops n team birkman were good. still trying to find my footing in the new team n coming new year. new role, new team. so much apprehension, so much past baggage. so much fear n hurt. gotta trust God to help us heal n move on in His strength.
came back v tired. planned to get back to office to get some accounts n IT things done. but was SO beat. slept from 11-3pm. then struggled to go out. came home n immediately slept from 11pm last night-12.30pm today! so darn tired! can u believe it?
hoping right now that today or whatever's left of it can be productive. need to prep the 2nd session of a message which i blew last week. i so desperately need clarity, not juz for the message but for my life.
so many questions, so little time.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
on leave today n d rest of the week.
went down to NUS at 830. bumped in XL n Grace on the train. saved a trip to go n view her wedding day photos. she is the only fren whose wedding i helped out dat didnt get 2 c wat went on! well well...
met the M1s b4 their physio paper. had McGriddles meal for breakfast in eng. was wonderfully surprised by the the maple syrup in the pancake thingys... went down to mass media spent $217.26 on books! i got myself a whole lot of reading 2 do! haha. well, not all for myself. also as gifts 4 others.
somehow i seemed 2 b so famished 4 books after the seemingly slow rate of reading since the beginning of this year due 2 busyness n fatigue. all this l change. i ve finished 4 books since last sat! they're rather easy reads tho. yet, i ve gleaned alot fr them - a sense of gratitude n appreciation for my mum, for those i hold dear, for the everyday small blessings in my life yet BIG in the way they hold me thru the grind of living, a new awe at Creation (Genesis), a tribute to friendship and love. i felt, after my first novel on sat, as if my brain went on a holiday. sometimes when u bring yourself on a hol, your brain doesnt really go on a hol... u know wat i mean? reading is to my brain like a ice-cold drink to my body on a hot day. so darn refreshing!
went for facial after my few hours combing thru bookshelves. was so very tired. came home 2 sleep till american idol. slept thru 5 missed calls n not a few sms-es even tho my hp was right by my ear. tho now it seems my day has turned into night once again. hope i can go back 2 sleep in a few hours' time instead of when the sun is next up.
had a rather fruitful day nonwithstanding. felt it a gr8 timing 2 begin fasting lunch with LB today n finally a renewed sense of purpose n passion came flooding back as i prayed. this i so desperately need cos it's the biggest reason for my tiredness n fatigue. i know of pp who can drift thru life without much thought on purpose, much less on passion. yet for me n some others i know, it's a slow but sure death for us when the 2 "P" words dissipate.
O Lord, come, direct us, renew us. help us 2 pray once again even tho words may fail. we push past our disappointments, our weariness, our questions n press on in to seek You. refresh us dat we may want 2 ask once again, dat we may know again. wipe away the tears, the grime, the cuts n bruises. make us lie down in green pastures, lead us to quiet waters. restore our soul.
went down to NUS at 830. bumped in XL n Grace on the train. saved a trip to go n view her wedding day photos. she is the only fren whose wedding i helped out dat didnt get 2 c wat went on! well well...
met the M1s b4 their physio paper. had McGriddles meal for breakfast in eng. was wonderfully surprised by the the maple syrup in the pancake thingys... went down to mass media spent $217.26 on books! i got myself a whole lot of reading 2 do! haha. well, not all for myself. also as gifts 4 others.
somehow i seemed 2 b so famished 4 books after the seemingly slow rate of reading since the beginning of this year due 2 busyness n fatigue. all this l change. i ve finished 4 books since last sat! they're rather easy reads tho. yet, i ve gleaned alot fr them - a sense of gratitude n appreciation for my mum, for those i hold dear, for the everyday small blessings in my life yet BIG in the way they hold me thru the grind of living, a new awe at Creation (Genesis), a tribute to friendship and love. i felt, after my first novel on sat, as if my brain went on a holiday. sometimes when u bring yourself on a hol, your brain doesnt really go on a hol... u know wat i mean? reading is to my brain like a ice-cold drink to my body on a hot day. so darn refreshing!
went for facial after my few hours combing thru bookshelves. was so very tired. came home 2 sleep till american idol. slept thru 5 missed calls n not a few sms-es even tho my hp was right by my ear. tho now it seems my day has turned into night once again. hope i can go back 2 sleep in a few hours' time instead of when the sun is next up.
had a rather fruitful day nonwithstanding. felt it a gr8 timing 2 begin fasting lunch with LB today n finally a renewed sense of purpose n passion came flooding back as i prayed. this i so desperately need cos it's the biggest reason for my tiredness n fatigue. i know of pp who can drift thru life without much thought on purpose, much less on passion. yet for me n some others i know, it's a slow but sure death for us when the 2 "P" words dissipate.
O Lord, come, direct us, renew us. help us 2 pray once again even tho words may fail. we push past our disappointments, our weariness, our questions n press on in to seek You. refresh us dat we may want 2 ask once again, dat we may know again. wipe away the tears, the grime, the cuts n bruises. make us lie down in green pastures, lead us to quiet waters. restore our soul.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
the best proof of Christ's presence in lives is the costly love flowing out of us. - John Sater, staff of CCC, Here's Life inner city
AMERICAN IDOL gives back FINAL 8 actually sang "shout to the Lord"! but instead of starting of with the actual lyrics "My Jesus, My SAviour" they sang "My Shepherd, my Saviour"... but it s "wow!" still! singing a worship song on TV to the world! way 2 go! the show was so clearly christian... mariah carey sang some v christian song too... actually i didnt watch the show. heard fr it fr my gals...checked out youtube... n praised God. ahaha.
AMERICAN IDOL gives back FINAL 8 actually sang "shout to the Lord"! but instead of starting of with the actual lyrics "My Jesus, My SAviour" they sang "My Shepherd, my Saviour"... but it s "wow!" still! singing a worship song on TV to the world! way 2 go! the show was so clearly christian... mariah carey sang some v christian song too... actually i didnt watch the show. heard fr it fr my gals...checked out youtube... n praised God. ahaha.
Monday, April 14, 2008
time to blog~!
4 the 1st time (dat i can rem), i didnt have the "urge" to blog. i was on this chill pill. juz wanted not to do anything much.
so yeah... finally the said urge came back! dun u juz heave a sigh of relief? hha.yeah... i was in tis weird state right... n i didnt wan to do much n also feeling tired physically (oh m still recovering fr bronchitis. puffing my puffs still. n yes i mean puffs. plural.) so after a long day in a prayer min session n a seminar on sat, started reading A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. maybe cos i was so tired, i didnt wan 2 pack my table, embark on my to-do list, or hack thru my work... so i decided 2 juz read... n read n read. finished it in a night. a very woeful night i must say. i cried so hard n loud, my bro said it felt as if some1 REALLY passed away. it's such a sad tale! so sad dat i cried the first few minutes i woke up this morning recalling the story. so darn sad la! but i think it s better than kiterunner. i felt kiterunner was a little OTT (over the top)! rescuing sohrab. well, it's like Hosseini is fixated on the number "1000". in kiterunner- "for you a thousand times over!" Hassan to Amir, then at the end of the book, Amir to Sohrab. thousand splendid suns -the title taken from a poem.
This poem was written in the 17th Century by Saib-e-Tabrizi
KABUL
(Translated by Dr. Josephine Davis)
Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountains
And Rose, of the trails of thorns she envies
Her gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyes
But I love her, for knowing and loving are born of this same dust
My song exhalts her dazzling tulips
And at the beauty of her trees, I blush
How sparkling the water flows from Pul-I-Bastaan!
May Allah protect such beauty from the evil eye of man!
Khizr chose the path to Kabul in order to reach Paradise
For her mountains brought him close to the delights of heaven
From the fort with sprawling walls, A Dragon of protection
Each stone is there more precious than the treasure of Shayagan
Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye
Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls
Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowers
Her nights of darkness, the reflections of lustrous hair
Her melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songs
Ardent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats
And I, I sing in the gardens of Jahanara, of Sharbara
And even the trumpets of heaven envy their green pastures
then, it's as if one wasnt enough, i spent sometime today at borders reading FOR ONE MORE DAY by mitch albom. man... i nearly finished it too. so yeah... its on my mind now... n tho i was so cheapskate enuf 2 sit at borders to read, i wanna buy DAT book! i think it is a must read! for all of us mummy-ingrates!
4 the 1st time (dat i can rem), i didnt have the "urge" to blog. i was on this chill pill. juz wanted not to do anything much.
so yeah... finally the said urge came back! dun u juz heave a sigh of relief? hha.yeah... i was in tis weird state right... n i didnt wan to do much n also feeling tired physically (oh m still recovering fr bronchitis. puffing my puffs still. n yes i mean puffs. plural.) so after a long day in a prayer min session n a seminar on sat, started reading A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. maybe cos i was so tired, i didnt wan 2 pack my table, embark on my to-do list, or hack thru my work... so i decided 2 juz read... n read n read. finished it in a night. a very woeful night i must say. i cried so hard n loud, my bro said it felt as if some1 REALLY passed away. it's such a sad tale! so sad dat i cried the first few minutes i woke up this morning recalling the story. so darn sad la! but i think it s better than kiterunner. i felt kiterunner was a little OTT (over the top)! rescuing sohrab. well, it's like Hosseini is fixated on the number "1000". in kiterunner- "for you a thousand times over!" Hassan to Amir, then at the end of the book, Amir to Sohrab. thousand splendid suns -the title taken from a poem.
This poem was written in the 17th Century by Saib-e-Tabrizi
KABUL
(Translated by Dr. Josephine Davis)
Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountains
And Rose, of the trails of thorns she envies
Her gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyes
But I love her, for knowing and loving are born of this same dust
My song exhalts her dazzling tulips
And at the beauty of her trees, I blush
How sparkling the water flows from Pul-I-Bastaan!
May Allah protect such beauty from the evil eye of man!
Khizr chose the path to Kabul in order to reach Paradise
For her mountains brought him close to the delights of heaven
From the fort with sprawling walls, A Dragon of protection
Each stone is there more precious than the treasure of Shayagan
Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye
Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls
Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowers
Her nights of darkness, the reflections of lustrous hair
Her melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songs
Ardent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats
And I, I sing in the gardens of Jahanara, of Sharbara
And even the trumpets of heaven envy their green pastures
then, it's as if one wasnt enough, i spent sometime today at borders reading FOR ONE MORE DAY by mitch albom. man... i nearly finished it too. so yeah... its on my mind now... n tho i was so cheapskate enuf 2 sit at borders to read, i wanna buy DAT book! i think it is a must read! for all of us mummy-ingrates!
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