Birthday Celebration Surprise For The "Principal"

Last Friday after dinner at Dataran Pahlawan, the boys wanted to buy something for the four girls from the Doulos team who visited the Care Home a few times during their stay in Melaka. After discussion, they decided to offer them our local snacks. While Albert P was choosing the items at a shop with the boys, I thought, "If the boys are so thankful to these occasional visitors, how much more they are grateful to their 'principal' who has been spending time with them almost every day since last year?"

I also suddenly remembered his birthday was in less than a week. I had come across his date of birth in the Calvary Life Assembly directory while verifying the phone number he was using to contact me. The day and month of his birth were the exactly the same as my former high school good friend TH's. I immediately had a plan in my mind. After Albert dropped us at Calvary Care Home (CCH), I talked to Isaac from whom I had got the idea for Albert's birthday present, and Luke who would be in charge of drawing something on a card. They were very keen to give Albert an early birthday surprise. When I asked Luke what kind of cake they liked, he immediately answered "chocolate cake!".

I was hesitating between two bakeries. During the Sunday service at chuch, Jagan gave me a few pieces of fresh chocolate cake that she had bought from a home bakery in her residential area which was very near to CCH. That was exactly what I desired! So I asked her to place another order on my behalf and would collect it on my way to CCH on Tuesday. Monday, Jagan informed me that the home bakery did not sell any 0.5kg cakes I wanted. She suggested another bakery. But I still could not decide where to get the birthday cake.

In the evening when I talked to Siew Hong at Agape Care Centre (ACC) about it, she said, "We also sell very tasty chocolate cakes here baked by single mothers. You can order from us." Later, I learned that their recipe provided by Auntie Gek would produce a 1kg cake. Since they only charged RM30, the price was not expensive at all. Moreover, it was another way to help their ministry besides my voluntary work. I could not be more willing.

When I arrived at CCH Tuesday afternoon, Albert was still having a meeting in school. So the boys and I had ample time to plan the surprise. We passed around the birthday card that Luke had designed to others to sign or write a few sentences. When Albert came about twenty minutes later, we acted like nothing special.

Albert was staying in the dining room when John and I took the cake out of my car. Then William found an occasion to bring Albert to the office with the door closed. Wilson lit the candle, carried the cake and led the other boys to sing the birthday song while marching into the office. The "principal" was not expecting his "children" to remember his birthday and to celebrate a day earlier. He seemed to enjoy the good surprise

and began to act funny when cutting his birthday cake.

When I told him that the cake was baked by single mothers from ACC, he said, "I'm also a single father!"

I suppose he, as a committed teacher for years, had received numerous cards or presents from his students. But I think reading words of appreciation from the CCH children must be more meaningful to him as a loving volunteer. His birthday present was something practical that he needed, especially when he went out with them.

All of us gathered at the dining room to eat the moist chocolate cake and drank my version of pandan tea which I had tried to imitate the one we had had at "Johnny's".

Without knowing my plan earlier, Wilson and John had also ordered another birthday cake to celebrate Albert's real birthday the next day when other staff and the Doulos girls were around. The CCH children were no doubt the happiest ones as they could eat their favorite chocolate cakes for two consecutive days!