Memories of Chengdu

Having went along with my hubby to Chengdu for a business/mission over the weekend proved to be an enriching and fulfilling experience. There were many many firsts for me on this trip and the company we had on the team was a great joy.



We very much spent the first day doing some sightseeing and familiarizing ourselves with our surroundings while waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. The places we went to were majestic and in fact, very advanced too!




The food we had throughout the trip was equally glorious, save some being rather like exotic, like rabbit heads (Chengdu's specialty)!!! Not feeling so adventurous that day, I settled for a piece of rabbit meat instead.




The following day, we met with many members of the church, including the missionaries who speaks PERFECT Mandarin. This is but one of the many things that inspired me. Having met the women entrepreneurs in the city has also greatly encouraged me that women can indeed do much more. Amongst them are Candy Guo (General Manager of Empire’s Forever Garden Restaurant), Lu Ya Lan (President of Century Ophthalmology Hospital) and Susan Yan (Chairman of C.G. Families IT mall). They are really powerful women shaping the business world.

The warm welcome by the church during the service made us feel right at home as we worshiped together. Hubby really took a step of faith and preached in Mandarin that very morning. Words can't describe how proud I really am of him! Glad that the service was a great success!

The next part of the day was very much spent on visitations and what I would term experiential learning. We went to a farm in the mountains, owned by a church member. We had everything homemade - food, milk and wine. We even went rowing on a boat together! There was also time spent on recreational exercises with the guys pitting against each other in China's national sport - table tennis!

The last day of our trip was of course to have our inaugural businessmen meeting! There were many new people and friends in the midst of us. Hubby shared in Mandarin again. I do wonder sometimes how he actually does it. Gary and Sara also shared their testimony during the session. Powerful! By the end of the meeting, many lives were touched, changed and impacted.

I had so much fun and of course, work done over the five days. And one thing for sure, I'm looking forward to come back again and see what has been done as a result of this trip! :)

You can check out my tweets of the trip on http://twitter.com/yuanwenling.

Farewell, JR

It's been some time since I last had a STEAMBOAT BUFFET LUNCH... The occasion? Farewell the City News intern, Terence Lee Jun Rong :'(

With the City News Team, we ate and ate and ate... for a solid 2 hours, non-stop.

Many of us skipped dinner that day cos we were too stuffed!

After helming 6 weekly issues of CNW with us, JR is leaving sunny Singapore to further his education...

All the best, JR... We will miss your lame jokes! Remember to visit us when you are back in sunny land!







Best Wishes,
From the CN Team

The Most Meaningful Party Ever

The first sight that caught my eyes for the evening was the sea of pink. many had turned up in pink to show their support for power over cervical cancer. The bazzar in the afternoon was buzzing with life as various ones set up stalls at Zouk.

I found out that some of the items were actually handmade by performers themselves! I thought that was really sweet... I contributed a watch, a pair of earrings and a scarf too!

At the party, I had the chance to interact with the other ambassadors of POCC. One of them is Mediacorp artiste Apple Hong. Here is a photo of us taken together.

Doc Lim, the ambassadors, and 6 female bloggers took turns to encourage women to be vaccinated against cervical cancer. It was both unnerving and exciting at the same time as I shared my experience of taking the vaccination. But I'm really glad and thankful for the chance to make a difference in the lives of the people present. In the least, they are more aware about how cervical cancer can be prevented and be prompted to action :)

The programme lineups were nothing short of intriguing and interesting. Especially the Acro Polates segment, we had pole dancing instructors performing and taught basic steps to all that were present. My friend and City News reporter gave a shot at it too! Not a bad experience! After that, Magic Babe Ning & JC Sum took the stage for a good 30mins or so... and blew our minds with their performances and had many interaction with the audiences through games.
The entire evening has been an eye-opener and learning opportunity for myself. Once again, I'm just thankful for my supporters, my hubby, who came all decked out in pink too to support the event. Till next time... Remember to get your vaccination!

POCC Biggest Pink Party @ Zouk

POCC is having a bazaar cum party at Zouk on 24th July, Saturday to celebrate life and of course, having power over cervical cancer. I'm looking forward to be there together with my friends! the dress code of the night? PINK or TEAL!

Some highlights of the evening will be the launch of the limited edition POCC wristlet (specially designed by Muiik) and a magic show by one other ambassador, Magic Babe Ning (also the first female magician in Singapore!).

There will also be goodie bags that are given away and a one-for-one drinks promotion. Better yet, free tickets are given out when you register online today. Otherwise, tickets are sold at S$12 (still a very good deal!).

And... I will be part of a fashion show alongside with a few others. Believe that it'll be a fun and meaningful experience!

Looking forward to see more of you guys and gals there. Register with www.pocc.sg for your free tickets quick!

Hope Community Reaches The Elderly

Together with my beautiful friends, we organized a community day for the elderly for Hope Community Services.

More than 16o elderly were present today. We took turns to emcee the day's programme and spent some quality time with the old but wise ones. See the team's group picture at the start of the day...

We had some gifts prepared for them... and took turns to present it to each individual. Their delightful faces were such a joy to behold.

There was also a lucky draw! Some of the wins were pretty attractive too!

See my friends serving food to all who were present...

Birthday celebrations!

Becoming Mrs Singapore is more than what i imagined it to be. This platform is giving me so many opportunities to do more for people. I use to only counsel misled youth... right now, i find myself in events (such as this) that allows me to see more and do more.

Thank you all for this new life! I'm loving it :)

Getting Involved With POCC

After winning the title of Mrs Singapore Queen of Hope 2010/11, one of the greatest privileges was to have been approached to be an ambassador of Power over Cervical Cancer (POCC). So of course, I had to do my own little "research" and reading up on it to get my facts right.

Here it goes:
1. Cervical cancer is the sixth killer disease in Singapore and the second worldwide, affecting many women and their families today.

2. Many of these deaths could have been prevented through early detection at the pre-cancerous stage and vaccination.

3. Thus, with the increased use of Pap smear testing between 1955 and 1992, the cervical cancer death rate declined by 74% and continues to decline by nearly 4% in each year.

4. But even so, it is still very common along Singaporean women and the rate continues to be higher than most of Europe and USA.

5. Each year, in Singapore, there is about 200 women detected with cervical cancer each year and only half of them survive.

Personally speaking, death from cervical cancer is almost like death resulting from personal neglect...

These points gave me added motivation to make my part count for POCC by working closely together with them to educate the public by conducting talks and workshops to raise greater awareness towards cervical cancer. Essentially, I will want to advocate early vaccination as a preventive measure and encourage women who are married or have had sex before to go for Pap smear testing (which is offered free-of-charge in polyclinics by the Singapore Cancer Society). Each of these measures takes only but a few minutes to administer and helps to save years of the lives of many women. Wisely said, prevention is better than cure and the best way to get prevention is through educating the masses.

Check out this link on Pap smear testing: www.singaporecancersociety.org.sg/wwd-pap-smear.shtml

And of course the POCC site: http://www.pocc.sg/

I sure am looking forward to the events to come :)

At Avita Experience Event

Kenny Santika (Mrs Singapore World 2010), Pilar Arlando (Miss Singapore World 2009) and myself (Mrs Singapore Queen of Hope 2010) were invited to grace the Avita Experience Event.






We had a great time mingling with the guests, clients and staff of Avita. Avita was the main sponsor of Mrs Singapore 2010 Pageant. CEO Ms Lee Xiang Yin is a super nice and warm lady too. She took time to personally bring 3 of us around and introduced us to the company's products.






See our group picture - including the beautiful finalists of Miss Singapore World 2010.