Siew Hong's Family At My Place

Siew Hong's family were among my guests who found my place very homely on their first visit last year. However, due to our respective busy schedule, I hardly had a chance to receive them this year. Last Friday, she finally made up her mind to spend the weekend at Paya Rumput. As she did not want her son to miss his tuition from 7pm to 9pm, she was thinking if they would come that night or the next morning. I told her, "You start packing your luggage in the afternoon. As soon as Johanan finishes, you all just shoot off to my house. I don't mind if you 'check in' late."

That evening after ten o'clock, the mother and the three excited children appeared at my door. Siew Hong often says that I am like the younger version of her. As soon as we meet up, we always have countless stories to share. That day was of no exception. As the clock in my dining room was not working anymore, both of us did not realise the time passing. When we decided to go to bed, it was already over 2am!

The next day after lunch, she was very sleepy. So while she was taking a nap, I went to the living room to be with her sons and daughter.

How do I usually judge whether my guests make themselves at home?

By looking at their position on the sofa and the floor,

and the way they play

with my gadgets.

Siew Hong told me that she sometimes insists to mop the host's floor which her children have dirtied before they leave the house. In my house, these lovely angels not only keep it clean, they also clear up the toys.

How do you judge if I am very glad with their presence?

By looking at the food I prepare for them.

Nadine only sought her mother's attention later in the afternoon, which had allowed Siew Hong to take a good rest.

Before they departed, Nathanael said to me, "Teacher Lee Sah, thank you very much for your hospitality."

At his age, I did not even know what "hospitality" meant because I had never learnt it from my family... I truly thank God for having first blessed me with people who opened their houses to me in the past, so that I in my turn was inspired to do likewise.

Women, Friends And Tears

These few months, three ladies opened their hearts to me.

The first person had bitterness towards her in-law family, which indirectly led to her husband's having affair with another woman who lent him her ears. She wept and said to me, "I never thought that one day I myself would become a main actress in this kind of drama. Lee Sah, after you told me that the most precious thing he found in me before our marriage was the fact that I got along with his family very well. I've been trying to make effort to treat them like I used to. But it's too late..."

When I held her arm, my tears also dropped.

She is temporarily separated from her husband to calm down. I could not offer my house as her three-month shelter. Nevertheless, I welcome her as a guest to drop by anytime to chat, even late at night, or have a meal with me.

Since this incident, she realised that close friends are very important because there are things she cannot tell her original family who live in other states, even though she keeps in touch with them on the phone every day.

The second friend has been experiencing difficulties dealing with her lady boss who has a very different personality. A few weeks ago, she told me that she was very busy. In order not to disturb her, I seldom telephoned her, let alone visited her. Last Thursday morning, when I was driving to work, I received a call from her with a sobbing voice. "Lee Sah, please pray for me. Actually I've been restraining myself from revealing to you my working stress and anxious thoughts, but I can't take it anymore. I don't feel like going to work. I remember you told me that even if the people in whole Melaka ignored me, you would still care for me..."

After she hung up, I also moved to tears in my car and started praying that the Lord had mercy on her who had been going through so much hardship for years. I went to her place that afternoon and spent one hour eating her oyster chicken rice with her family, telling them about my recent social life, then my turn listening to her and hitting her shoulder softly when we were alone in her room. She looked quite cheerful after crying to God and to me. Since I had known her, I learned to give physical comfort to friends of the same gender.

The third lady was someone I had only met two times. I was told that she had been working as a shopkeeper in a bookstore but I did not step into that shop for a long time. Two weeks ago, I thought of going there to survey bibles and sermon CDs. As there were nobody else besides us, we began our casual conversation. She was facing more and more unfavorable situations with her husband who had transferred his feeling to another woman as a result of their past long geographical separation. Being a foreigner in this land, she had limited moral and financial support.

As she poured her heart out, she took tissue paper to wipe her wet eyes and nose. All I could do was to say encouraging words, offer some simple help and remind her that God has His timing for everything. She invited me to go for lunch with her but as customers entered on and off, I preferred to join her one week later. Last Friday when I saw her again, she told me that she felt better after talking to me.

In the latest MLM class, Ps Richard said that the most underutilized resource in the Kingdom of God is the men, most of whom are still in a lying position. Maybe when the men finally get up, the women will no longer need to shed so many tears in front of their friends.

And The Blessings Continued!

During the Calvary Care Home (CCH) mini-camp, Sis Grace telephoned and told us that she preferred to conduct a separate Christian education course for the boys instead of mixing them with the adults. So that Sunday morning, we did not have to be in church as early as nine o'clock to attend the class. Since Sis Christine was around, we let her continue to minister to the boys at the breakfast table.

When we were about to set off with two vehicles at 9.30am, I could not start my car engine at all. The same drama had happened to me in Batu Pahat exactly two years ago during the Raya holiday. I remember it was also on a Sunday morning. I had not closed the boot properly before I left for a two-day family trip to Kukup, which accelerated the "death" of the already weak battery.

This time, thank God that I was also surrounded by people I knew and that I was not rushing to work. The only problem was that my passengers and I would be stuck in the house without the transport. I did not feel comfortable to borrow my colleague Chew's car who lived nearby. Albert P quickly called Joshua to come all the way from Bukit Baru with the CCH van to fetch some of us and reassigned those who would go to church with his car first. Finally, Luke and Daniel were the ones who had the "privilege" to skip the warden service to accompany me at home.

Joshua arrived about forty minutes later. I took this opportunity to put the boys' own mattresses in the van to send back to CCH. At first, I was very sorry to disturb his free time with his newly-wedded wife. He told us that they could not go anywhere together anyway because she had to go to work that morning. After learning that that day was actually his birthday, I led the boys to sing the birthday song for him.

After dropping us at CLA during the worship, Joshua went off with the van. Albert later made another arrangement with Joseph L to bring the whole CCH gang of ten members to the Home. We had planned an outing to a shopping mall after lunch but it would not be possible with only Albert's car available. The solution was found when the home administrator decided to drive the van.

Since I had begun the partnership with Albert to bring the boys for outings, we always travelled by car. Because of my worn-out battery, I had the blessing to relax as a passenger. Our driver sweated profusely in the van which he described as an oven due to the poor air-conditioning. He was also tired after spending a lot of physical and mental energy for the mini-camp.

He gained half an hour's rest on a massage chair at the new Jaya Jusco (JJ). John and I also acted as if we were potential customers. David who was not allowed by the promoter to try the product could only watch us and count the years before he got a more mature look and harder bones.

In the same shop, David stepped on a jogging machine and accidentally fell down and caused himself light injuries in his both arms after misunderstanding a button. John who had been showing his good leadership qualities recently immediately behaved like a caring big brother to give him some first aid. Later, when my foster son had his snacks, he temporarily forgot his pains.

All of us met again at the parking at 6.30pm and returned to CCH. Albert kindly sent me back to Paya Rumput together with Matthew and John. He also offered to look for a mechanic to solve my car battery problem the next day. As a result, I opened my "lodge" again to receive these VIP guests who had been in my inner circle since last year. A lover of Japanese food and sweet stuff, Albert had bought sushi and doughnuts from JJ to share with us. Nevertheless, he admitted that his appetite had dropped without David's presence.

The next morning, I managed to get help from Chew's in-law's family to change the car battery. I kept my guests until lunch. After they "checked out", I suddenly felt that the house was unusually quiet at the end of the mini-camp and the extended gathering.

I had not felt tired at all with my "kitchen ministry" despite my long hours there and little sleep. Instead, I experienced the joy and satisfaction more than my teaching job. And surprisingly, my fridge still looked quite full after the four-day clearance. Jesus had multiplied my five loaves and two fishes to bless His people including myself!

Calvary Care Home Mini-Camp At Paya Rumput III

John slept on the sofa the two previous nights. According to him, he always woke up automatically at around 5am. So he was the first person I talked to after I started my day in the kitchen at 6am. Albert was the next person to join our conversation. Having transferred from the living room the first night to the VIP guestroom the second night, he managed to gain some sleep to recharge the battery.

David was also one who did not stay long in bed. This time, I could not offer him any swimming pool outing. So I let him be immersed in the nice smell of garlic bread.

My foster son's gluttony "virus" spread to Albert who, since the second morning, had been claiming his special order of kaya-butter toasts and coffee-chocolate drinks. He observed what David had, then he also wanted the same, if not more. He ended up being the last contented person to quit the dining table.

We were supposed to have Sis Christine as our guest speaker in the morning. To save Albert's trouble of travelling several times, I suggested that we rescheduled her talk so that she could take her time to minister to the boys and spend the night at my house and go to church with us the next day.

After David and Matthew left with George who had come as a family to fetch them for tuition, there were six of us left. Albert asked John to organize some indoor games.

This time, he himself became an active participant.

Last December, we saw the boys playing the musical chairs at Avillion Legacy. Nine months later, I was competing with four guys whose big buttocks were all powerful enough to squeeze out mine.

At 5pm, Albert left with his car to send John to church for his music practice, brought Matthew and David back from the tuition centre and picked our third guest speaker in town. I was very glad to have this occasion to receive Sis Christine since the eve of the prayer meeting at St John's Hill last November.

Recovering from a bad cough, she somehow looked energetic. During the teaching session, she urged the boys to take their moves to come forward individually for repentance.

She also reminded us that Jesus is in the midst of us when we worship the Lord together.

Next, she asked us to stretch our arms and imagine the physical suffering of Jesus who was hanging on the cross. Albert and I took turns to count a hundred. After about five minutes, this elderly woman still had no problem keeping her arms lifted. Her junior who had been exercising his back and limbs excessively since the afternoon telematch was already having aches all over his stiff body and needed to apply cream to ease the pains...

A former school teacher, our guest speaker was abundant in words as well as gestures in order to explain to the boys persecutions they as followers of Christ might face in future.

After this mini-camp, I totally agreed that teamwork makes the dream work. I thank God that everything was carried out as we had expected and pray that God continues to bring revival to CCH.

Calvary Care Home Mini-Camp At Paya Rumput II

On the second day of the mini-camp, the person after me who looked forward most to breakfast when waking up was David no doubt, especially since Sis Fei Gin had bought two packets of cheese for the boys. When my foster son was around, I started to attend to his preference to have chopped tomato, herbs and cheese as topping of a banana naan, then wholemeal sandwiches without butter, etc.

Ps Angeline, the guest speaker that morning, arrived later with a tray and a small pot of coffee to illustrate the result of the strong worldly influence in we believers' lives despite our input of godliness. We will be able to get rid of the worldliness only when we come to Jesus for His cleansing. She ended her talk by leading the boys to a prayer of confession.

Ps Angeline was going to break fast at 12 noon. She gave me a hand in the kitchen while I fried fresh bamboo shoots with fish and cooked dried bead curd skin with pucuk manis from my backyard. I did not hesitate to tell her that those were my first experiments and that they were going to be my guinea pigs. She was interested to try new ingredients and recipes.

That afternoon the weather was very mild for outdoor activities. We divided the six boys into two groups to compete with each other. After a session of quiz by Albert in the living room, we led them to the field for a telematch.

I had prepared containers, spoons,

chopsticks, rubber bands,

balls, etc.

I explained the rules; Albert judged and announced the final results. The prize for the winner team was a set of bubble gun which Ps Lee had passed to me the previous Sunday.

To make sure the dinner was ready soon after we stepped into the house again, I had already cooked a pot of tomyam soup to eat with mee hoon. I was so busy the whole day that I had no time to even tear the calendar! I moved to every seat to serve and add food to the campers' plates.

When I came to Paul who always regarded me as his sister, he looked at me and said, "You're like a mother." I had never fancied to be a mother. Suddenly I realised that God must be joking with me by sending me a lot of children to feed!

Luke and Daniel were patient enough to wait for me to soak the second packet of mee hoon for additional serving. Although I finally almost did not have any soup left for myself, their great support was my satisfaction.

Not only the boys' stomachs were well taken care of, their feet were given a treat as well. The evening devotion was about service. To demonstrate how Jesus washed His disciples' feet, Albert asked me to bring a pail of water and a towel. Then he began to do likewise to the boys one after another.

To us adults, it was symbolic. However, to the boys, it was rather amusing to be served in this manner.

I shared Albert's role of Jesus to wipe their feet with another dry towel. Later I had to act like Martha to mop the wet floor.

Thank God we did not have to put up with any stinky feet because all of them had already bathed before the dinner...

The interesting programme did not end there. We took a mat and the bubble gun to go to the field again.

While the younger ones were keen to play

and run everywhere,

the senior ones preferred to sit down to save energy.

John chose a place to be alone. When we were back to the house, he told me that while he was watching the night sky, the symbol of love appeared to him instantly. What a creative way God was showing love to His child who longed for it!

Calvary Care Home Mini-Camp At Paya Rumput I

Since some time ago, Albert P and I felt the burden to focus on the spirituality of the Calvary Care Home (CCH) boys. As the September holiday was approaching, the idea of a CCH camp became clearer. We planned to have a mixture of the Calvary Life Assembly church camp, home stay holiday and retreat. After taking logistics, convenience and costing into consideration, we decided the mini-camp to be at my house.

I told John with a mischievous smile, "You guys are going to have the monks' life again soon, and three times longer!" His response was a stunned look, "Serious?"

Of course. It was so serious that the home administrator had to type out the schedule neatly to get the official approval from the CCH chairman Ps James. When I received a copy from Albert, I was surprised to learn that it would be three full days from 8am to 10pm. Anyway, as his assistant, my main job was just to provide meals, games and accommodation. So my preparations were to simply plan the menus, shop for food, stuff the fridge, clean the house and think of some games.

On the 9 September morning as early as 7.15am, Joshua already sent the boys to my house. Albert came with Matthew later. Joseph and Isaac who were back from Montfort Youth Centre for holiday were only participating in our morning session.

Ps James was invited as a guest speaker for the first day. His message was about the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20:1-17.

Talking about "Honour your father and your mother", he said to the boys, "Uncle Albert and Auntie Lee Sah are like your fathers. You have to honour them..." When I heard that, I felt I was being "ordained" as a special senior priest who was keeping long curly hair, liked to wear skirts and was now holding the title of "symbolic father" as well.

As Ps James was fasting and needed to return to the church office, he did not stay with us for lunch. The two older brothers left with George who had come to fetch them. As few were around, we relaxed in the afternoon by doing some reading, school work, spiritual test, etc. Sis Fei Gin who had spent the day doing some motivational programme with the younger brothers Paul and David dropped them at my house after dinner.

When we were having our devotion and prayer, the fireworks began to be set off in the neighbourhood, which distracted our attention. Albert quickly prayed against it and during the entire evening we no longer heard any loud noise. Praise the Lord!

The first day of the camp was run in a very smooth way. With the presence of two "fathers" and six "sons", the occasional "monastery" at Paya Rumput was more lively than ever.

Joining The "Authentic Manhood" Class

In early May, Ps Richard started to conduct the "Battlefield Of The Mind" (BOTM) course for women in Melaka. As a rare species among my classmates most of whom were married with children, I enjoyed listening to situations which they faced in their life. Later in June, the "Authentic Manhood" (AM) syllabus was launched. Since, we have men in Melaka who wake up very early in the morning to faithfully attend the sessions at 6am.

Last Tuesday afternoon, Dr Wong followed his wife to attend the BOTM class and found it very interesting. I was also curious to find out what the guys learnt in theirs. And I thought the content might be useful for me to mentor to the Calvary Care Home (CCH) boys. So I asked Ps Richard if I could join the AM class as well. He did not say yes directly. Instead, he told me to come as if I was going to help in the registration.

Having obtained the green light, I happily got up the next day at 5am, even much earlier than on my normal working days. Being a morning person, driving during that hour was quite pleasant to me. Nevertheless, I realised there was potential danger in the dark despite the smooth traffic. Thank God I managed to avoid accidents twice.

When I reached the centre at Malim, I saw my MLM and BOTM classmate Sis Christine Low in her car. She came on behalf of her sons-in-law who were still having sweet dreams at home! So both of us turned up and sat together in the class which meant to teach the men to "honestly examine their lives and take the courageous steps necessary in their journey to embrace authentic manhood".

Unlike the BOTM class, The session consisted of video teaching

and group discussion.

While the men were sharing among them the wounds they were carrying in their "suitcases", Sis Christine and I had our own conversations. As her working hours were very flexible and I was on holiday, we decided to go for breakfast at Kampung Hailam with others who were free to continue the fellowship.

I had been to this area at Klebang a few years ago when I had to carry out a questionnaire for families below the standard of poverty in Melaka. Mr Ee who had grown up in the village recommended this coffee shop.

Sis Christine noticed that the man was the one who was doing the job of removing the bean sprouts' hulls and roots.

Very soon, Mrs Ee, her daughter Christine and Piek See also arrived. We began to place our orders.

As we shared the food, I had a chance to taste a bit of nasi lemak, fried noodles and toasts to accompany my coffee.

Since the representatives of AM outnumbered those of BOTM, the men's voice was louder. A brother talked about his experience of offering his wife expensive flowers on Valentine's Day. Another one said that he was satisfied to stay at home watching "National Geography" and did not understand why women love to travel. We all had a good laugh.

Ps Richard also advised the men to never buy clothes, shoes or handbags for their wives.

I added, "You guys just take out your money or credit card to pay for your wives. That's good enough!"

After this session, I drew a conclusion that we need to know the opposite gender better and change our mindset to tolerate each other, which will be a lifelong lesson.

Let Go To Appreciate Better

After treating my house like a motel for months, I finally gave it back its original identity of my home sweet home when the Raya holiday started. Early last week, I spent a lot of time to attend to my garden which I had been neglecting due to my rare presence during day times.

Four years ago, as soon as I was back from work, I squatted in the frontyard and backyard until sunset to remove small stones from the ground, pour in soil and plant flowers which I had bought from nurseries. That was one of my ways to bury my grievance for Dad's passing.

Some plants died for various reasons. Others still grow very well this year despite lack of fertilizer. As I was cutting grass, I noticed that a survival plant was blocking the view of the some purple trumpet flowers.

Actually it also sometimes produced very beautiful orange and red flowers. But this time, I decided to let go one of the plants, which I would not have borne to do in the past. I began to use scissors to cut off the branches and pulled the trunk together with its roots out of the ground.

Once the job was done, the small purple flowers were immediately in a better position to show their lovely smiles.

I was reminded of myself. As I learnt to set my priority and chose what to let go, I could appreciate better the more beautiful side of my life.

Calvary Care Home Retreat At My Place

This year, I give the priority to the Calvary Care Home (CCH) gang beside my family members for all kinds of activities in Melaka. When Merdeka Day was approaching, I offered them to come to my place like two weeks earlier.

This time, Paul followed us and Luke was no longer allowed to go back to his mother's house. Without my willingness to drive the long distance, it was impossible to bring the boys for any outstation trip. So, Albert P said to them, "This time, we won't go anywhere. We'll only do spiritual things like the monks."

Among the CCH boys, only Paul had expressed his desire of singlehood like "Father" Albert. Even then, I doubt this teenager who loves fashion would look forward to leading a priest's life. In around year 2000, I rented a student's room in a convent in France but was never keen to join any of the Catholic sisters' religious activities. Ten years later, my own house turned into a occasional "monastery" for my brothers in Christ!

Albert was in charge of the intensive programme for the spiritual--
conducting sessions of Bible study and discussion,

quiet time,

listening to worship or sermons.

I joined them once awhile when I was not preparing food or doing other housework which was due. It was challenging to me to plan the menu because I had never taken care alone of all the three meals of so many people. It was also rewarding to me when I saw the plates and bowls and containers empty after I had served these "monks" whether the sweet sour fish, omelet, soup, oyster sauce chicken, Japanese tauhu, cakes, fruits, burgers, sushi, baked potatoes, or ice-cream etc.

Although the boys had little time for outdoor activities and no chance to watch a Holywood movie on DVD nor listen to a pop song, they did not complain too much. I believe that they got more bored when there was nobody to guide them and pay attention to them. The retreat made the CCH administrator tired rather than let him rest but he found it very fulfilling. As an assistant, I rejoiced in serving with my spritual gifts. I was also very glad to learn that the CCH gang felt my house as homely as Trekker Lodge.

And they already made a reservation for their next longer stay...