Every Saturday morning while the church is quiet, our small team gathers to carry out restoration work so we don't disturb any weekly services. 1. Clearing the Pews: Going bench by bench to collect worn, torn, and heavily used copies that need extra love and protective wrapping. 2. Sortin

I honestly thought I had already finished restoring every last old Hokkien hymnal in the church... but I was so pleasantly surprised when we stumbled upon another 20 copies hidden away! What made me even happier is looking closely at them: even though pages are completely torn or detached at the

Exactly 30 days ago, we completed "The Durian Operation"... deep cleaning several cartons of mold-damaged hymnals. This weekend, we checked the results: 100% mold-free, crisp, and pristine on the church benches! 🎉 To stop the spores, we combined deep wiping with intensive UV therapy (

To wrap up my Bali trip archives, I wanted to share the two big highlights of our trip: the Mount Batur Jeep Ride and dolphin watching! 🚙 🐬 They look incredibly serene and magical in photos, but the unglamorous reality? Both of these activities required us to wake up very early to catch the bes

Back home from my trip and sorting through the food archives! Overall, the food quality in Bali was incredibly impressive...a beautiful mix of vibrant local flavors and classic Western dishes. But here’s a little insider tip if you're planning a trip: on the main Bali island, the restaurants

Thank God for his creation. While I'm taking a break from my weekly book restoration, I'm blessed to watch sunrise 🌄 at Mt Batur and stunning sunset at Uluwatu. 🌊 Are you a wake-up-early sunrise catcher, or a sunset watcher? 👇👀 #Lemon8SG #restorationproject #sunrise #sunset #go

This pair of hands needed a break from the relentless weekly book restoration cycle. 🛠️🤚 After pushing through the limits and successfully completing about 200 hymnals for "Operation Spine," the physical toll completely caught up with me. The glue, the raw paper edges, and the constant fri

How to rescue torn heritage pages at home? If you have old Bibles, hymnals, or cherished novels at home, please stop using regular plastic tape to fix torn pages! Over time, tape turns yellow, brittle, and permanently ruins the paper fibers. As part of my journey restoring church books, I wa

​Month 8 of our church Bible and hymnal restoration project brought a shocking discovery. 🛠️ While unpacking the new stack of hymnals at the church office, we found mold on every single book. 😱😰🦠 ​Thank God we managed to find a solution. Instead of expensive chemicals, we used a time-tested,

We just received 200+ new hymnals and the supplier skipped the most important part: the spine seal. As a restorer, I couldn't let this slide. So today, I conducted a test on the recovery plan. The Fix: 1️⃣ Using 200 GSM paper from my son’s leftover wedding bulletins, cut to the size of th

One chapter ends, another begins. 🕊️ Took the past 2 weeks to prepare for my son's wedding. Wedding week was a marathon of precision bottling 100+ olive oil bottles tagged with gratitude! So satisfying to see the happy smiles from guests receiving these DIY bottles. 😊 👰 💒 The workshop at th

​Last Saturday, our restoration work at the sanctuary turned into an accidental HIIT session. Sorting through 3,000+ books isn't just a desk job… it's a full-body commitment. 📚🏋️‍♂️ ​The Saturday Stats: ​🪜 The Climb: Constant movement across 5 levels of stepped pews on the upper level.

Don't be too eager to throw away things! That's my recent learning when I try to repair torn edges for the 1982 Hokkien hymnals. My approach.... ​1. The Diagnostic Many of the 43 year old Hokkien hymnals suffered "edge fatigue" where pages snag and tear along the margin. ​

Phew! I just finished sorting through this batch of hymnals and the reality finally hit me. These 60++ books on my floor? They represent less than 1/4 of the total project. ​Looking at them all spread out like this, I realized how much work is truly ahead. ​The Hardest Part: ​The Decision: S

I used to think my years in Process Engineering (35 years ago!!!), Market Research and Strategy/Project Management were only for hitting KPIs and optimizing corporate workflows. I was wrong.🙅 ​When I took on the mission to manage the 3000+ Bibles and hymnals in my church pews, the first thing I

My DIY Book Restoration journey: From MNC Leader to 165 books. They say you can’t put a price on peace. After years in corporate leadership, I finally know what that means. ​In my corporate life, I managed people, navigated politics, and hit KPIs. It provided well, but the price was heavy: ment