Salam sejahtera dan selamat tengah hari kepada yang dihormati Dr Wong Fort Pin, pemimpin pusat Harap Bukit Baru, Melaka, Ps RM Richard, Ps Joanne, Puan Ooi Piek See and hadirin-hadirat sekalian,
Terima kasih atas kesudian tuan-tuan dan puan puan untuk meraikan jamuan makan sempena pembukaan Pusat Harap Bukit Baru, Melaka yang terulung bersama kami.
Pusat Harap Bukit Baru bermula daripada inisiatif dan titik peluh Dr Wong Fort Ping. Beliau telah lama mengoperasikan sebuah klinik di Pangsapuri Seri Siantan. Melalui klinik ini beliau mengenali dan mengasihi penduduk-penduduk sekitar kawasan ini terutamanya kanak-kanak kurang bernasib baik yang dikasihi bagaikan anak sendiri. Visi dan harapan beliau adalah untuk membantu keluarga-keluarga yang kurang mampu untuk memelihara dan memperkukuhkan institusi keluarga mereka supaya mereka dapat berdikari and keluar daripada kitaran kemiskinan ini. Salah satu daripada caranya adalah memberikan kemahiran pra-sekolah kepada anak-anak tersebut supaya mereka mempunyai kamahiran yang setara dengan anak-anak Malaysia yang lain ketika bersekolah. Ini akan meminimakan peluang untuk anak-anak ini putus sekolah di hari kelak. Moto kami adalah memusnahkan kitaran kemiskinan melalui pendidikan.
Kami amat berterima kasih kepada Dr Peggy Wong dan Living Hope kerana bersetuju untuk berganding tangan dengan Pusat Harap dalam usaha membantu kanak-kanak tersebut di Melaka ini. Living Hope telah menyumbangkan buku-buku dan alat-alat permainan untuk perpustakaan Pusat Harap kami.
Kami juga mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih kepada Gereja City Community kerana mereka telah menyediakan seratus kotak hadiah untuk disampaikan kepada kanak-kanak hari ini.
Mari kita bersama memberi kasih sayang dan harapan kepada anak-anak ini agar mereka tahu bahawa adanya kita yang mengasihi mereka.
Dengan ini, saya ingin mengalukan kedatangan saudara-saudari ke majlis ini.
Monday, December 13, 2010
First Party Of Harap Learning Centre Bukit Baru, Melaka
Last Tuesday, I went to the Harap Learning Centre Bukit Baru at about 9.30am to help in the preparation of the first party. The previous night, we had a dinner gathering at Mrs Ee's house with Ps Richard and Piek See.
The flat and the playground looked quiet but I was sure that many residents were aware of our forthcoming event.
The young adults were already busy there since as early as eight o'clock. Two boys from the Sri Siantan community also came to give a hand.
After less than two hours' efforts, the walls were nicely decorated with colourful strips and balloons. Every corner was clean and neat.
The first guests who appeared were Sajar's lovely children whom I had seen on the opening day of the centre and the other day during our meeting there.
Very soon, a few more children from the neighbourhood also stepped in. I arranged them to be seated on small plastic stools and began to memorise their names.
While waiting for the food, drinks and other people to arrive, I tried to amuse our little VIPs without whom the centre would not even exist. In return, some of them with their cute acts made us laugh more.
The programme started with the photograph session with the key members of Projek Harap, my MLM classmates, the volunteers from City Community Church (CCC), the children, etc.
I had been appointed as the amcee, first time in my life. I gave a welcome speech in Bahasa Malaysia. Then, Dr Wong, the main leader of Harap Learning Centre Bukit Baru, talked in a simple and demonstrative way about the importance of having a life with purpose.
Lack of experience, I did not coordinate very well with Ps Joanne's team who distributed presents wrapped in shoe boxes to the children of different ages. As a result, the process was a bit noisy and chaotic. However, the children only cared if their hands and stomachs were full. Most of the packed nasi lemak were given away within five minutes. Nyonya kuih and curry puffs were popular side dishes. Sis Grace had generously sponsored packed drinks while Sis Poh Lin had brought tasty fried noodles. Dr Wong had also ordered steamed buns and ABC (ais kacang) from Sajar who had rejected passivity and was now running a stall to support his family.
I did not stay until the end of the event as I had to rush for my next personal activity of the day. I have learnt a lot from this Projek Harap even though it was just the beginning. I thank God for putting me in this team to reach out to these marginalised children in Melaka so that they know that someone out there cares for them.
The flat and the playground looked quiet but I was sure that many residents were aware of our forthcoming event.
The young adults were already busy there since as early as eight o'clock. Two boys from the Sri Siantan community also came to give a hand.
After less than two hours' efforts, the walls were nicely decorated with colourful strips and balloons. Every corner was clean and neat.
The first guests who appeared were Sajar's lovely children whom I had seen on the opening day of the centre and the other day during our meeting there.
Very soon, a few more children from the neighbourhood also stepped in. I arranged them to be seated on small plastic stools and began to memorise their names.
While waiting for the food, drinks and other people to arrive, I tried to amuse our little VIPs without whom the centre would not even exist. In return, some of them with their cute acts made us laugh more.
The programme started with the photograph session with the key members of Projek Harap, my MLM classmates, the volunteers from City Community Church (CCC), the children, etc.
I had been appointed as the amcee, first time in my life. I gave a welcome speech in Bahasa Malaysia. Then, Dr Wong, the main leader of Harap Learning Centre Bukit Baru, talked in a simple and demonstrative way about the importance of having a life with purpose.
Lack of experience, I did not coordinate very well with Ps Joanne's team who distributed presents wrapped in shoe boxes to the children of different ages. As a result, the process was a bit noisy and chaotic. However, the children only cared if their hands and stomachs were full. Most of the packed nasi lemak were given away within five minutes. Nyonya kuih and curry puffs were popular side dishes. Sis Grace had generously sponsored packed drinks while Sis Poh Lin had brought tasty fried noodles. Dr Wong had also ordered steamed buns and ABC (ais kacang) from Sajar who had rejected passivity and was now running a stall to support his family.
I did not stay until the end of the event as I had to rush for my next personal activity of the day. I have learnt a lot from this Projek Harap even though it was just the beginning. I thank God for putting me in this team to reach out to these marginalised children in Melaka so that they know that someone out there cares for them.
Monday, December 6, 2010
A Bad Day Turned Good Day
Last Saturday I had two meetings to attend in the morning. The first one was at Calvary Life Assembly at 10am. After driving twenty minutes, I arrived at the church and only was told that it had been called off. Since there was the second one at Harap Learning Centre half an hour later, I did not feel too bad, though I would have preferred to be informed earlier.
After another fifteen minutes' journey, I reached my next destination at Bukit Baru. The centre was locked. There was no sign of those who were called. I SMSed and called Mrs Ee but no reply. Since Dr Wong's clinic was in the same flat, I telephoned him to find out if there were any changes. As he was having a patient, he sent his assistant to open the door for me to take a seat inside.
I prayed, "Father God, you know I hate driving all the way for nothing. And I could have gone back to Batu Pahat if not for these two meetings. I can consider today a bad day. But I want to think positively and believe that you have a better programme for me in town."
I telephoned my former colleague Saratha who lived nearby, planning to visit her if she was around. She was not in the house but her happy voice immediately cheered me up.
"Hi, Lee Sah! I haven't heard from you for such a long time. Yesterday my maid was asking me what was happening to you. Today I've got your call! If I had known you were coming, I would have cancelled my outing. I should be back by four o'clock and will give you a call when I'm at home..."
Dr Wong came later, invited me to his clinic to check emails and introduced me to his assistants. From Mrs Ee's latest email, we learned that the meeting was actually postponed to 1pm. Dr Wong let me continue to surf the Internet and shared with me his vision to serve God and the people. Since I had known him because of the EFC Leadership Summit last April, I hardly talked much to this MLM classmate whose initiative to help a poor family had led to the opening of the first Harap Learning Centre in Malaysia.
Mrs Ee and others finally arrived at the centre. She gave Joel L and me a giant mango each which resembled a papaya! She told me that she was attending a talk in the morning and that her handphone was off when I contacted her.
When the meeting was over, it was before 3pm. I decided to hang out alone at Jaya Jusco Ayer Keroh. To my great surprise, there were special sales that day! Holding a sub-card, I was not a shopaholic like Ping. However, during two whole hours at the ladies department there, I could not resist the temptation of buying my favorite items at discounted prices. Oh! Weak vessel... Convincing myself that I needed them when the new semester started in January, I happily seized a blouse, a pair of shoes and a handbag which Ps Richard had reminded the men to never buy for women. Moreover, I got to redeem a voucher for the price I had paid. As you may imagine, I left the shopping mall full of joy. Although Saratha forgot to contact me because she had fallen asleep after she had gone home, I did not mind at all.
God had definitely answered my prayer by fulfilling my desire of shopping at Jaya Jusco and by turning a bad day into a good one. Hallelujah!
After another fifteen minutes' journey, I reached my next destination at Bukit Baru. The centre was locked. There was no sign of those who were called. I SMSed and called Mrs Ee but no reply. Since Dr Wong's clinic was in the same flat, I telephoned him to find out if there were any changes. As he was having a patient, he sent his assistant to open the door for me to take a seat inside.
I prayed, "Father God, you know I hate driving all the way for nothing. And I could have gone back to Batu Pahat if not for these two meetings. I can consider today a bad day. But I want to think positively and believe that you have a better programme for me in town."
I telephoned my former colleague Saratha who lived nearby, planning to visit her if she was around. She was not in the house but her happy voice immediately cheered me up.
"Hi, Lee Sah! I haven't heard from you for such a long time. Yesterday my maid was asking me what was happening to you. Today I've got your call! If I had known you were coming, I would have cancelled my outing. I should be back by four o'clock and will give you a call when I'm at home..."
Dr Wong came later, invited me to his clinic to check emails and introduced me to his assistants. From Mrs Ee's latest email, we learned that the meeting was actually postponed to 1pm. Dr Wong let me continue to surf the Internet and shared with me his vision to serve God and the people. Since I had known him because of the EFC Leadership Summit last April, I hardly talked much to this MLM classmate whose initiative to help a poor family had led to the opening of the first Harap Learning Centre in Malaysia.
Mrs Ee and others finally arrived at the centre. She gave Joel L and me a giant mango each which resembled a papaya! She told me that she was attending a talk in the morning and that her handphone was off when I contacted her.
When the meeting was over, it was before 3pm. I decided to hang out alone at Jaya Jusco Ayer Keroh. To my great surprise, there were special sales that day! Holding a sub-card, I was not a shopaholic like Ping. However, during two whole hours at the ladies department there, I could not resist the temptation of buying my favorite items at discounted prices. Oh! Weak vessel... Convincing myself that I needed them when the new semester started in January, I happily seized a blouse, a pair of shoes and a handbag which Ps Richard had reminded the men to never buy for women. Moreover, I got to redeem a voucher for the price I had paid. As you may imagine, I left the shopping mall full of joy. Although Saratha forgot to contact me because she had fallen asleep after she had gone home, I did not mind at all.
God had definitely answered my prayer by fulfilling my desire of shopping at Jaya Jusco and by turning a bad day into a good one. Hallelujah!
Launch Of The Biggest Snowman At Jaya Jusco Bandaraya Melaka
Last Wednesday, the Calvary Care Home (CCH) children, staff and volunteers were invited to attend the launch of the biggest snowman made of recycled plastic bottles at Jaya Jusco Bandaraya Melaka. After I arrived at the shopping mall at 10.30am, I found the exact location while walking towards the ten-metre-tall huge statue.
While waiting to be assigned to seats near the snowman which looked rather like a white cat, they boys entertained themselves by watching and playing with the lifts.
The first VIP who arrived was Dato' Siti Nurhaliza, the ambassador of Malaysian Jusco foundation.
The wife of the Chief Minister of Melaka turned up last at about 11.15am. Had I known the programme was going to start so late, I would not have turned down my colleague's invitation to have breakfast at a hotel in town earlier. Anyway, I noticed that the amcee was displaying great patience.
After their speeches, the VIPs were invited on the stage again to light the snowman together.
The moment I enjoyed most was the live mini-concert of the sweet songbird Siti who presented three songs, one of which "Aku Cinta Padamu" I had just got to know recently.
The children from different homes were given a bag of goodies each. Being the smallest in size, Joel with his cute face attracted the attention of many people, including Siti.
As usual, our CCH boys stood out with their unique style of covering their faces during the photograph session. Nevertheless, standing behind these "men" were graceful "women"...
After the ceremony, we were blessed with a happy meal treat at KFC. The boys were glad to munch burgers, French fries, sip soft drinks and take back Spongebob toys.
I had promised John to send him to a conference soon after lunch. So I left the mall thinking of the shopping and of course the earlier breakfast which I had missed.
While waiting to be assigned to seats near the snowman which looked rather like a white cat, they boys entertained themselves by watching and playing with the lifts.
The first VIP who arrived was Dato' Siti Nurhaliza, the ambassador of Malaysian Jusco foundation.
The wife of the Chief Minister of Melaka turned up last at about 11.15am. Had I known the programme was going to start so late, I would not have turned down my colleague's invitation to have breakfast at a hotel in town earlier. Anyway, I noticed that the amcee was displaying great patience.
After their speeches, the VIPs were invited on the stage again to light the snowman together.
The moment I enjoyed most was the live mini-concert of the sweet songbird Siti who presented three songs, one of which "Aku Cinta Padamu" I had just got to know recently.
The children from different homes were given a bag of goodies each. Being the smallest in size, Joel with his cute face attracted the attention of many people, including Siti.
As usual, our CCH boys stood out with their unique style of covering their faces during the photograph session. Nevertheless, standing behind these "men" were graceful "women"...
After the ceremony, we were blessed with a happy meal treat at KFC. The boys were glad to munch burgers, French fries, sip soft drinks and take back Spongebob toys.
I had promised John to send him to a conference soon after lunch. So I left the mall thinking of the shopping and of course the earlier breakfast which I had missed.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Flowers In My Garden
As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. (Psalm 103:15, NKJV)
The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land. (Song of Solomon 2:12, NKJV)
For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect And the sour grape is ripening in the flower, He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks And take away and cut down the branches. (Isaiah 18:5, NKJV)
The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “ All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. (Isaiah 40:6, NKJV)
The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. (Isaiah 40:7, NKJV)
The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8, NKJV)
but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. (James 1:10, NKJV)
So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Matthew 6:29, NKJV)
The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land. (Song of Solomon 2:12, NKJV)
For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect And the sour grape is ripening in the flower, He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks And take away and cut down the branches. (Isaiah 18:5, NKJV)
The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “ All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. (Isaiah 40:6, NKJV)
The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. (Isaiah 40:7, NKJV)
The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8, NKJV)
but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. (James 1:10, NKJV)
So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Matthew 6:29, NKJV)
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Celebrating Albert's Belated Birthday
After all the Calvary Care Home (CCH) boys' birthdays passed this year, I realised that we were coming back to the starting point of the circle where I got involved more actively with CCH activities and first organised a birthday celebration there last year.
When I was planning Albert P's birthday celebration in November 2009, I treated him as the "principal" of CCH. This year I regard him as a working partner and friend, so I did not feel too bad when I only sent him an SMS greeting on the day itself, gave him a present one week later and finally found a suitable date another ten days later to gather the gang together at my place to prepare for them a salad of tomatoes and celeries,
raw sengkuang,
baked potatoes accompanied by mayonnaise,
and hotdogs which Daniel helped to fry until burned.
It was amazing to see that my God-given family members loved the combination! The success was due to the fact that they were bored with curry, overcook vegetables or outside food, and thanks to my self-discovered golden rule that "feed a person when he/she is happy and hungry".
My theory did not work well when it came to taking photographs of them. Knowing that I was going to show the pictures in my blog, the teenagers hid their faces as if they were running away from shark loaners. Only the oldest and the youngest ones were always cooperative in front of the camera.
Albert almost forgot that the dinner "party" was for his belated birthday and that there was a cake to cut. Since early this year, the cakes I presented were downgraded each time. As a result, our birthday star seemed to pray that it would not be hard enough to break the plastic knife, crack his teeth or scratch his tongue.
Being merciful this time, I had actually decided to just buy a chiffon cake and spread cooking chocolate on it. Amazingly again, everybody was satisfied with this dessert.
Albert, I hope you enjoyed the simple celebration with our company. Keep up the good work in the CCH boys' lives. Your best years are ahead of you!
When I was planning Albert P's birthday celebration in November 2009, I treated him as the "principal" of CCH. This year I regard him as a working partner and friend, so I did not feel too bad when I only sent him an SMS greeting on the day itself, gave him a present one week later and finally found a suitable date another ten days later to gather the gang together at my place to prepare for them a salad of tomatoes and celeries,
raw sengkuang,
baked potatoes accompanied by mayonnaise,
and hotdogs which Daniel helped to fry until burned.
It was amazing to see that my God-given family members loved the combination! The success was due to the fact that they were bored with curry, overcook vegetables or outside food, and thanks to my self-discovered golden rule that "feed a person when he/she is happy and hungry".
My theory did not work well when it came to taking photographs of them. Knowing that I was going to show the pictures in my blog, the teenagers hid their faces as if they were running away from shark loaners. Only the oldest and the youngest ones were always cooperative in front of the camera.
Albert almost forgot that the dinner "party" was for his belated birthday and that there was a cake to cut. Since early this year, the cakes I presented were downgraded each time. As a result, our birthday star seemed to pray that it would not be hard enough to break the plastic knife, crack his teeth or scratch his tongue.
Being merciful this time, I had actually decided to just buy a chiffon cake and spread cooking chocolate on it. Amazingly again, everybody was satisfied with this dessert.
Albert, I hope you enjoyed the simple celebration with our company. Keep up the good work in the CCH boys' lives. Your best years are ahead of you!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Attending Joshua's Baby Dedication Ceremony At Calvary Life Assembly
Last Saturday evening, the Calvary Care Home (CCH) gang attended Joshua's baby dedication ceremony at the church. That afternoon, I was already at CCH with some of the boys. A car drove in and a few Indian first-time visitors left us plastic bags of white rice, nasi briyani, fried mihoon, chicken curry, fried vegetables, papadam, milk tea, coffee, payasam, etc. They had just had a wedding lunch and wanted to give away the leftover food to bless an orphanage. Luke reminded me that we could bring all these ready dishes for the baby dedication ceremony dinner later. So two of us immediately poured out the food into pots and containers. And I quickly SMSed Joshua to tell him about it so that his family could estimate how much more food to prepare from their house.
Later, Sis Annie and Adrienne also dropped by to give us bread and cakes that they had collected from bakeries. Our thoughtful Luke again suggested that we kept the cakes for that evening. So we went to CLA as guests-cum-caterers!
The ceremony was at the end of the Tamil service. I had attended the Vietnamese service once, and the BM service one whole year. This time, the experience with the Tamil language was also very exotic. Sitting at the back behind the Indian congregation, Albert P with a giggle told me that he understood at least words like "Jesus" and "Hallelujah". I thought that was good enough!
It was the first time I witnessed a baby dedication which was so beautiful with the presence of the baby, the parents, the pastor, and of course Jesus.
When I was small, I was often sick. Mum brought me to a Chinese temple to dedicate me to the god of the Emporer of Monkeys to "protect" me, whom I never believed in. Thank God I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, and thus prayed to break the bound. And fortunately I had not caught too much the spirit of monkeys apart from my vivacity...
Since her birth, I had not yet met this cute Joyana. I was a bit surprised that she was dressed in blue instead of typical pink or white for a baby girl.
We finally had dinner after the service at about 9.30pm. As it was quite late, I served only little food. It was a pity that the vegetables and nasi briyani that we had brought had already turned sour and had to be removed from the table. But the rest still kept the original taste. Together with the food from Joshua's family, there was more than enough to feed the whole congregation. The Lord had indeed provided for this baby dedication ceremony.
Later, Sis Annie and Adrienne also dropped by to give us bread and cakes that they had collected from bakeries. Our thoughtful Luke again suggested that we kept the cakes for that evening. So we went to CLA as guests-cum-caterers!
The ceremony was at the end of the Tamil service. I had attended the Vietnamese service once, and the BM service one whole year. This time, the experience with the Tamil language was also very exotic. Sitting at the back behind the Indian congregation, Albert P with a giggle told me that he understood at least words like "Jesus" and "Hallelujah". I thought that was good enough!
It was the first time I witnessed a baby dedication which was so beautiful with the presence of the baby, the parents, the pastor, and of course Jesus.
When I was small, I was often sick. Mum brought me to a Chinese temple to dedicate me to the god of the Emporer of Monkeys to "protect" me, whom I never believed in. Thank God I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, and thus prayed to break the bound. And fortunately I had not caught too much the spirit of monkeys apart from my vivacity...
Since her birth, I had not yet met this cute Joyana. I was a bit surprised that she was dressed in blue instead of typical pink or white for a baby girl.
We finally had dinner after the service at about 9.30pm. As it was quite late, I served only little food. It was a pity that the vegetables and nasi briyani that we had brought had already turned sour and had to be removed from the table. But the rest still kept the original taste. Together with the food from Joshua's family, there was more than enough to feed the whole congregation. The Lord had indeed provided for this baby dedication ceremony.
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