My Birthday V: Christmas Eve Service And Present Blessings

That evening, Albert's two nephews were going to perform during the Christmas Eve service in their church. So he invited us to go along to Straits Baptist Church after our dinner. As we arrived a bit late, we discreetly sat at the back rows.

A group of Mandarin speaking women who had been learning English for several months sang in both languages.

One of Albert's nephews played drum while the other was in the caroling team. The church building and the congregation were not big. But the atmosphere was very nice.

At the end of the service, Christmas gifts were given away to everyone who was there--first, the children, then, the visitors and last, the adult church members. We just drew a number from a box to exchange with a present.

When Joel went forward and said out his number in BM or English, I imagined the helpers must be wondering why on earth this little Indian boy had appeared in their Chinese service.

We two adults were more excited than John who shyly remained seated at first. I had almost wanted to ask the organisers, "Today is also my birthday. Can I have one more present?"

Matthew unwrapped his. It was a handphone box! Unfortunately, his hi-tech gadget dream shattered as soon as he opened it and only pulled out some stationery. We laughed at the disappointed boy. Luke was luckier. He won a toaster which I advised him to bring home to his mother on his next visit. Later, both cheated by approaching the stage again to receive a present each for the second time.

Everyone of us was back with the hands and stomach full. Another present giving ceremony was awaiting me.

This time, I did not have to draw any number and I discovered two gifts in one box--a beautiful key chain with the verse "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord." (Psalm 31:24, NIV) and a plaque with the prayer of kitchen so that I would "bless" the CCH gang more often with my experimental foods.

My friends, with such a wonderful programme, this was definitely the most unforgettable birthday in my life and you all made me very happy. My joy came from the fact that you were willing to spend quality time for me and with me. Once again, thanks for your friendship and kindness. May we continue to love one another in Christ.

My Birthday IV: Pizzas Treat

A few weeks ago, John SMSed me to find out if I liked cheese. Had he known I loved this dairy product to the extent of choosing it as the topic for an assignment when I was in the university, he would not have asked the question.

So, when Luke mentioned the word "pizza" in the car and we passed by Jalan Hang Tuah behind my city campus building,

I instantly got the answer for the place for our dinner--Pizza Hut.

Though they let me choose the topping of all the pizzas we ordered, the two guys still discussed about the menu in a whisper. I was wondering what extravagant tricks they were going to play.

They even gathered the younger ones to plan something without my knowledge. When they came back to the table, Albert said to me, "Later, when the thing comes, you must imagine some fire there."

During this Christmas season, the scene that appeared in my mind was a turkey being grilled on charcoal fire. However, sitting in a pizzeria, I was realistic enough not to look forward to the big bird on top of the bread.

We had moved to a round table which was cosier. The mushroom soup, cold soft drink and small pies were served first.

According to the waiter, we had to wait within seventeen minutes and a half for the pizza. While chatting and laughing, time seemed to pass very fast. The shining six-cheese Hawaiian chicken pizza, together with garlic bread, were placed in front of us not too long after we started to take the soup. I had purposely picked this popular topping to please the tastebuds of my Calvary Care Home (CCH) family members.

The two guys asked the waiter to bring a straw. When it was put on the pizza, they told me, "This is your birthday cake!" Next, they led the younger boys to stand up and sing softly the birthday version of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" to me. Albert must be reminding himself that it was not the stage to raise his alto voice to perform the caroling. As a result, we did not disturb other diners too much.

I finally understood the earlier part of the cinema. What an original idea! I liked it.

Thank God they had not requested the number of straws according to my age. Otherwise, we might have faced extra charge in the bill and the "cake" filled with "candles" would have looked like the black forest...

My newly adopted "son" Joel was very keen to feed me a piece of pizza. I wished I could be as thin as him after temporarily relieving myself from the diet I had been on since this semester break.

I forgot why these two guys were arm wrestling. But I was sure that they were not fighting to settle the bill, because I had been told that John was the boss for this treat. He contributed some of the pocket money he had earned after helping in a conference in the hotel nearby early this month. To this generous boy, I'll give him a ramen treat in future.

My birthday celebration was still going on.

My Birthday III: Shopping Surprise

My birthday was one of the things which I cared least in my life, though I had memories a bit here and there--the fire engine toy that Dad gave me when I was small, the two hard-boiled eggs I had to swallow together with soup mee suah that Mum specially cooked, the meals with my friends in France, etc.

This year, after my record breaking of organising six simple birthday celebrations for the Calvary Care Home (CCH) gang, the home administrator Albert P finally found out my date of birth and appointed John as the "event manager" to plan together a birthday surprise for me. They asked me to make myself free for them on 24th December from 5pm onwards. Having learnt the lessons of obedience recently, I obeyed happily and immediately.

My birthday finally came. Since morning, I was busy with my breakfast appointment with guests, helping in church for the preparations of the Christmas party and my shopping appointment with Sis Annie. At five, I could finally relax and let others entertain me.

I had not got a clue about the programme. I simply hopped into the "pirate ship" and started my adventure! Besides Matthew, the two finalists who were qualified to join the fun were Luke and Joel.

The first destination was Jaya Jusco Bandaraya. Once we reached there, Albert said to the boys, "Bring her to the ladies' department!" While following the "masters" with mysterious smiles to the first floor, I felt myself like a lamb to the slaughter.

"Don't tell me you're going to ask me to buy bras here and pay for me," I began to worry a bit.

"Lee Sah, we want to make you happy today. I remember you said never buy clothes, shoes or handbags for women. And I know you like shopping. So you're given a RM100 voucher to buy anything you like."

It was definitely unexpected to me. However, what Albert did not know was that I would not like shopping under the stress that five guys would be waiting for me. And neither would I enjoy letting others pay for things that I could afford, while being with some of the children who still lived on people's donations.

Looking at the four boys with us, I immediately formed an idea in my mind and told Albert, "Let's go to the children's department then! They'll buy something they like. RM25 for each of them." And in return to his kindness, I was also going to bless him back with a present which God had placed in my heart.

Albert was the one in surprise this time. But he respected my decision to transfer this blessing to others as long as it made me happy. My joy was beyond words, of course! John and Matthew also showed their love to Joel and Luke respectively by spending less than the amount they were allowed. I quickly brought Joel to see clothes. I had almost wanted to buy a shirt for him during my earlier outing with Sis Annie. Now he was choosing a blouse and pants exactly according to his size and taste.

During the one hour there, while I was trotting energetically between the racks and the fitting room with Joel, the guys were already exhausted.

I was very pleased with the first activity. "Thanks, I liked it!" I told Albert, "Another lesson to learn--never go shopping with a woman to buy things she likes. It's tiring." He laughed, "Why didn't you tell me before?" I answered, "That's my latest revelation!"

My Birthday II: Greetings And Presents

My dear custard apple tree, thank you for the ripe fruit on my birthday.

My dear friends and family, thank you for the birthday greetings and presents in different forms.

I may not remember your birthday, but I will never forget your kindness and the great moments we have spent together.

My Birthday I: Message From God

On 24th December morning, I was driving to church. As soon as I switched on the radio, I heard a familiar English oldie with the refrain:

Nothing's gonna change My love for you
You ought to know by now how much I love you
One thing you can be sure of
I'll never ask for more than your love

Suddenly, I realised that this was the message for my birthday.

Father God, thank You for Your love.

A Piece Of Cake And A Burger Meal

Yesterday morning, while I was clearing my inbox, I read this email forward by a church friend:

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Sometimes we asked ourselves, "What did I do to deserve this? Why does God let these things happen to me?" Here is the explanation...

A daughter tells her mother how everything is going wrong for her: She probably failed her maths exam... Her boyfriend just dumped her for her best friend.

In times so sad, a good mother knows the thing to cheer up her daughter... "I'll make a delicious cake."

In that moment her mother hugged her daughter and walked her to the kitchen while her daughter attempted to smile.

While the mother prepared the utencils and ingredients, her daughter sat across from her at the counter. Her mother asked, "Sweetheart, would you like a piece of cake?"

The daughter replied, "Sure, Mum, you know how much I love cakes."

"Alright," the mother said, "Drink some of this cooking oil." Shocked, the daughter responded, "What?! No way!!"

"How about a couple of raw eggs?"

To this, the daughter responded, "Are you kidding?"

"How about a little flour?"

"No, Mum, I'll be sick!"

The mother responded, "All of these things are uncooked and taste bad, but if you put them together, they make a delicious cake! God works the same way. When we ask ourselves why does He make us go through these difficult times, we don't realize the what/where these events may bring us. Only He knows and He will not let us fall. We don't need to settle from the raw ingredients, trust in Him... And see something fantastic come about!"

God loves us so much. He sends us flowers every spring. He makes the sun rise every morning. And any time you need to talk, He is there to listen. He can live anywhere in the universe. But He choses to live in your heart!

...
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This story reminded me of one of my favorite Bible verses "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28, NKJV)

Later in the afternoon, an impromptu decision which I had made led me into a trouble. I remembered John once wrote to me "I wish trouble will disappear.", to which I replied, "Trouble won't disappear, but the fear of trouble will disappear as we learn to confront it." The statement "Hardness of heart, much more than failure, is the true relationship killer." that I had read the previous night from one of the "Boundaries" series also flashed into my mind.

So I calmly prayed, "Father God, You know very well my motive. I didn't expect the reactions I received. I can become bitter or better. I believe that all these things will turn out a good learning process for all of us. Give me Your wisdom to deal with this situation." Very soon, I had three pictures in my mind.

I presented all my ingredients to God for baking. Not only I felt peace, I was virtually savouring the piece of cake. And because of an emergency meeting due to this incident, I stayed back longer and was given a burger meal treat to fill my hungry stomach and quench my thirst. Moreover, it was something I had just thought of in the morning! I also had the revelation that baking a cake is much more fantastic than preparing fastfood. In the end, I smiled all the way home.

I truly thank God for this wonderful experience.

Blessed Are The Sponsorer And Recipients

Among my Batu Pahat friends, Yean Tian is not doubt the one who has been witnessing most my walk with God. In fact, I first attended the children's church and knew about Jesus because she had invited me to a swimming pool outing organised by her church when we were both 11 years old. Even though I hardly went to any service after I moved to the secondary school and university, I always kept the simple faith that Jesus is the only God.

In 2008 when I drew closer to God again, I shared with her my decision to abandon ancestor worship and later other testimonies from myself, my church members or another former classmate PG who had accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour that year.

Since I began to serve at Calvary Care Home (CCH) in 2009, I had more things to recount whenever we met up for a tea in our hometown. Early this year, when David followed me back to Johor for the first time, Yean Tian kindly gave him an ice-cream treat.

As she grew more curious and interested in my "business" at CCH, she took out a sum of money every month to let me invest in the Kingdom of God on her behalf. She also told me that she would sponsor the boys' school shoes.

This school holiday, not only she did not forget her promise, she also kept reminding me to measure the feet of each boy. After much delay, I finally found out the brands and size of the shoes they were wearing this year. Last week, my generous childhood friend whose "Champion" is the most famous shoes shop in Batu Pahat passed her sponsored items including two pairs of socks and shoe white to Mum who came with my brother Leong's family to Melaka.

This was the happy reaction of the blessed recipients from the right in the picture: Luke, Joel, Paul, Daniel and David.

The miracle was that this time, our cool and handsome Paul was the most sporting boy in front of my camera.

My dear, thank you very much for your generosity. May God bless you abundantly!

Never Bored With My Nephew And Niece VIII

When Zer Yih and Zer Nin came to Melaka, the floor was used as a chessboard;

Lego bricks were assembled to construct chess pieces;

all the food was tasty to them;

Bible stories were interesting to them;

gardening was not hard work;

flower petals were a piece of art;

the shopping mall became a construction site;

and their big aunt looked even smaller among the giant snowman and the two growing children.

10th NSCD 2010 Camp V: Bye-bye, Maybe Next Year

I actually had no desire at all to participate in any beach activities. However, on the last morning of the camp, the mood slowly came. I began with stepping into the water bare-footed, splashing about with Joel and finally joined the girls on the other side to bathe in the sea! I did not know the correct way of crawling, nor changing breath. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the fellowship with a few friendly girls and planned to learn more swimming skills next year.

The final session of the camp was held at the open-air amphitheatre.

Rev Sinna used the sea to illustrate the power and the glory of God. Having swallowed salt water several times earlier, I could not agree more. No matter how good swimmers we claim to be, men are powerless in the sea.

I had got to know about Rev Sinna's life testimony through his own sharing during the devotion. His wife, in whom I had witnessed a quite opposite temperament, had also shared with Sis Chui Ping, Albert and me in private how they had started their care home. I would like to pay a visit to their Rumah Faith in future.

A few participants went forward to testify how God had touched them during this camp.

Without surprise, my "spider disciple" aka dancing partner was not shy to speak in front of the crowd.

Even my young roommate who was the greatest "DJ" during the "Tamil radio broadcast" for the past three days in our dormitory continued to share her stories to a bigger audience, this time in English of course.

I pray that one day our CCH boys would be confident enough to stand upright in public and mature enough to give a speech with constructive topics like them.

The three groups which had gained the highest marks were rewarded. Every participant was also given a mug and a set of sponsored toothbrushes as souvenirs. After the lunch, it was time for separation. Luke was no doubt the most popular member in our CCH gang, for many of his new friends were running towards our van to say goodbye to him.

We returned to Melaka by taking the old road and experienced some heart-attack moments. Likewise in our lives, God also allows us to follow our own will and face the consequence.

During this camp, I had learned a lot from other staff and realised how selfish I was in certain situations, even though it was unintentional. To improve as a care giver, I needed to set new new heights, new goals for myself.

May the Lord continue to show me the clearer picturer of the way He wants me to go on.

10th NSCD 2010 Camp IV: Best Of The Best

I was sharing a dormitory with a staff member and eight girls from other homes. As I was the last person to check in on the first day, the bed left to me was one on top at the end.

All my roommates were Indians. As soon as they gathered, they had endless conversations in Tamil even after the light was off at 11.30pm. I normally slept well anywhere and in any situation. It even occured to me to doze off at a Mamak stall while my friends were chatting right in front of me! Strangely, I was not able to get much sleep during my stay in this camp.

The third day, I still woke up at dawn. It was raining heavily. I could not go to the beach side. So I stayed at the reception corner. A few single shoes, slippers or socks were scattered on the road. Who were the naughty ones behind this?

Stray dogs were the culprits. The committee had overlooked this matter and no warning was given to the campers. As a result, every morning, I saw stolen, abandoned and sometimes torn objects desperately waiting for their owners to take them back.

Rev Jeremiah's wife Sis Me Ngoh who was in charge of the devotion asked the first question "Which stone can capture light?".

The answer was diamond which she compared to the believer of Christ with the following characteristics:
1. Saved from the kingdom of darkness.
2. Separation from worldliness.
3. Realize our weaknesses.
4. Allow God to use people and circumstances to cut away our weaknesses.
5. Exposure to God's Word.
6. Need for continual cleansing by the Word of God.
7. Know our spiritual gifts and God's special calling for us to serve to benefit His Kingdom.

How are we cooperating with God's discipline in cutting the flaws out of our lives?
1. Dedicate our life to the Lord.
2. Avoid the "flaws" that come through rebellion.
Then we will be a splendid jewel for God's glory.

I was supposed to go to Hall Two after that. The previous and third session about character, inner motivation to do what is right, was very interesting. For some reason, Paul, Matthew and David were transfered to Hall One to listen to Ps Joel's preaching and I was asked by Mrs Sinna to accompany them.

Because of this sudden arrangement, I responded to one of the most important altar calls in my life. While my tears were flowing, God comforted, encouraged me and confirmed the things in my heart through Ps Joel who laid his hand on me.

When the session was over, all the campers took group photographs together. I had no idea of the exact number of participants. I only knew that due to Albert's and my unique status as teachers turned busybodies turned volunteer staff and the CCH boys' "high profile", others easily recognised nine of us.

After the lunch, the children carried on with their group discussions instead of going back to their rooms to take a nap. When it came to outdoor activities,

they were still full of energy.

The not so energetic adults like us just sat on the chairs and talked about our joy as well as frustration of dealing with these children whom God had placed in our hearts. I had befriended Sis Chui Ping from Praise Home whose testimony in Mandarin I wished my family members would hear in person one day.

That afternoon, I was annoyed to see some of our CCH boys covering themselves with caps, jackets, withdrawing themselves from the crowd, acting passively or complaining about the dizziness caused by sunlight. I made up my mind to do something to turn these "ladies", whom even I myself as a woman could not stand, into authentic men!

After the dinner, my "spider disciple" approached me again to invite me to dance with him, the requirement of his task. I was told that he had a twin brother who shared striking resemblance but had a different personality.

I also moved my limbs a lot during the worship. When the "Best Of The Best" group performance started, at first I watched the drama,

singing and advertisement with full attention.

After awhile, I could not focus any longer and nodded off. But when I finally went to bed at 1am, I was not able to sleep immediately because of the Tamil "live broadcast" which lasted another half an hour...

10th NSCD 2010 Camp III: Group Activities

The second day, I woke up before 6am. Lying on the bed, I waited almost one hour until the sky turned brighter to leave my dormitory. Mrs Sinna was already having her devotion alone at the place where the campers usually gathered. I said "good morning" to her and walked towards the hut.

The first time I came to the Port Dickson beach was in 2004 with a colleague and students for a course trip. I was never excited about swimming, even though sometimes I did immerse myself in the water when I had a company.

I simply enjoyed watching waves hitting the shore.

After the breakfast, the groups named after the fruit of the Holy Spirit were either having their discussions about the drama they were going to perform the next evening,

or running after the staff to ask for a task to complete in order to gain points.

As usual, I commanded those who approached me to do some funny acts, like jumping with a leg, walking like crabs, stretching their muscles,

making my trademark spider faces, etc. Later, one of them told me that he really liked this.

The teaching in Hall Two continued with the topic of obedience. The main point was that God helps us to be more obedient through our parents or guardians' training. When we have an obedient spirit, God will reward us. At the end of the session, the staff prayed for the children.

Paul

and Matthew were approached specially by Rev Jeremiah who reminded them that Jesus loves them and has a bright future for them.

In the afternoon,

games were conducted in the basketball court,

and at the beach.

While many of them were exposed to the sun,

a few of the staff preferred to take a shelter at the amphitheatre.

During the dinner, a boy was required to give Rev Sinna a hug.

I felt that Mrs Sinna's voice was full of authority though she was not a pastor.

That night, some of our CCH boys still showed acts of disobedience after three learning sessions. But I was very glad that Luke for example had been behaving very well.