Christmas Charity Drive At Avillion Legacy Melaka

I was planning to go back to Batu Pahat last weekend when Albert P asked me if I would be free to replace Letchmy, the cook of Calvary Care Home (CCH) who needed a rest to recover from an operation, to attend a high-tea with them at Avillion Legacy Melaka on Saturday at 1.30pm. Since I had no appointments in my hometown, I happily accepted the invitation and postponed my trip to Johor. As the hotel was near my city campus at Jalan Hang Tuah, I would go there with my car alone and meet them at the lobby. Albert who had already known the same function last year told me, "You don't have to be there too early. Normally they'll start at about two o'clock."

That morning, I took my time to do house chores, thinking that I would leave my house at 1.30pm. Albert called to confirm again my attendance at Avillion and my stay for dinner at the Care Home so that Adrian could estimate the quantity of food to prepare. Lastly, he informed me that George, the driver of CCH van, would not join us.

"If we put all the boys in the van, it's like an oven."

Indeed, that day was particularly hot. Even wet curtains that I span with my hands dried very fast. So, I immediately got his point and agreed to drive to Bukit Baru to fetch four boys with my car. Albert would bring the rest with his.

The CCH children were already familiar with this annual charity event called “Time For Giving, Time For Sharing” organized by Avillion Legacy Melaka.

During this Christmas season, about fifty orphans from three orphanages were invited to the hotel for hi-tea, entertainment and presentation of gifts by Santa Claus.

When Isaac saw the Santa Claus girls, he reminded me of the movie "Taxi 3" on DVD that he had watched at my house three days earlier. The younger boys were only interested in asking for more chocolate sweets from these friendly ladies.

During the hi-tea, there was a quiz session for children. The first question was "What is the full name of the Chief Minister of Melaka?" A girl from another orphanage raised her hand first but her answer was very incomplete. I knew the longer version of the name with the title. As Luke was willing to give it a try, I asked him to repeat the answer several times after me before he went on the stage.

Luke's mind was so occupied by those words that when the host asked him, "What's your name?",

he simply uttered, "Dato Seri Ali Rustam!" Everybody laughed out loud. The host kindly guided Luke to say the exact answer and finally gave him a present.

When our stomachs were filled with food, then only the host announced that there was going to be a hamburger eating competition for boys. Luke and Daniel volunteered to take part. Without surprise, our CCH boys were the winners. Luke had finished first while Daniel, second, had actually removed a small bite from his mouth and hid in his pocket with tissue paper.

Next were the musical chairs and the balloon blowing competition. Knowing very well the tactic to win, Our CCH boys tried to cheat again by secretly bringing stapler bullets to stab into their balloons to make them burst faster without blowing to the fullest.

One month before Christmas, the hotel employees, guests and the public had made cash contributions to the orphanages or purchased gifts for the orphans. Albert was of course the one who represented CCH to receive the donation.

When he was away to the hotel office to collect the exact amount of the share, I stayed with the boys who started to bully Snow White's friends.

Not only they dug nostrils at the dwarfs' noses, they also lifted a poor character from under the Christmas tree and strangled him.

I could not stop laughing during the three hours. Without our CCH boys, this event would definitely not have been a time for having fun!

Shanghai Acrobatic Show

Thursday morning, I was supposed to go to work after sending the boys back to Calvary Care Home (CCH). As there was a change of time and venue to drop them, I decided to take leave to spend that whole day with them again.

Since I stayed there until evening, Albert P suggested that I joined them to an acrobatic and magic show, to which the CCH children were blessed with free entrance. We adults had to pay our own tickets. He also invited Adrian and her mother, two volunteers who always looked for donated food and kindly brought to the Care Home, but they could not make it.

The five boys were divided to go with two cars. Due to a miscommunication, my passengers and I went to Melaka International Trade Centre before we learnt from Albert on the phone that it was actually at another exposition hall near the zoo. Thank God the distance was quite short between the two places. When we finally arrived at the right destination, Albert and his passengers were waiting for us. There was still ample time left for us to hang around in the open space before the show.

As soon as I saw the beautifully lightened animal-shaped decorations, I realized that I had watched similar items at Summit Parade in Batu Pahat two or three years ago. When Daniel told me about the aeroplane at the magic show that he had already watched last year, I immediately confirmed to have known the trick too. Since the outing was meant for the boys, I did not mind seeing the same things.

We were the first to enter the hall and sit at the first and second rows. After us, other visitors also came in. About ten minutes later, Shanghai acrobatic troupe was introduced to the stage to start the performances.

The team was composed mostly by children. Compared to the acrobats from CCH, those young performers from China were much more skilled after numerous years of practice.

In terms of physical force, the girls were not weak at all.

This soft-boned girl of nine years old had started her training at the age of three. She could twist her body at 360 degrees!

Later, she partnered with her senior again to perform an acrobatic roller-skating which had won them several national and international awards.

According to them, the Shanghai acrobatic troupe presented some of the fifty-eight skills every evening.

If we returned there the next day, we would see different actions.

Another highlight of the evening was the magic show. The magician pulled out several boxes from an apparently empty paper bag. As Albert was sitting nearest to the middle of the stage, he was asked by the lady to verify if there was something unusual inside the bag.

Last year, Albert had also watched the same magic show with the children. So the appearance of the aeroplane later did not impress us any longer. However, the boys always enjoyed their time as long as there was an outing, though they might not love the photograph session (Paul had gone missing for awhile).

I also always enjoyed mine when accompanied by these fellows. How about their "principal"? I have no idea. Anyway, thanks again for your treat, Albert!

Experience As A Single Mother III

When I had Sarah with me, I brought her to my campus and a shopping complex so that she would not feel bored. Having the CCH boys this time, I did not have to crack my head to plan for outings since they seemed to be contented staying in the house as long as they had their PS2 with them. When the evening approached, I tried to move their bodies from the sofa by calling them to prepare the dinner together.

There were chicken and salad left from lunch. So I cooked the chicken again in a pan. David was in charge of frying cabbage with the leftover tomatoes and capsicum. Paul was very keen to prepare a third dish, knowing that I had fish in the freezer. The eldest Isaac and the youngest Daniel were more interested in playing hide-and-seek while I was clearing fallen leaves in the garden. After I found both of them, I returned to my work.

Several minutes later, David came to me and said, "There is a monkey!"

Since I had settled down in this house four years ago, the biggest animals which appeared were cats. Even though there were trees in the garden, I had never seen any tree-climbing creatures. It must be a trick. Nonetheless, I followed David to the backyard and saw this "monkey"

who was so used to climbing the rambutan trees at the Care Home. The rest of the boys then lifted him

to train their muscles and present to me an acrobatic show.

When the nonsense was over, Daniel helped me to water plants while Paul was almost ready to serve his masterpiece.

It was grilled talapia that he had learnt from Fei Gin, the full-time worker who had spent nine years at the Care Home before she resigned last year. As we did not have sambal, he had used tomyam paste instead. The fish had both a nice smell and a good taste.

At the table, my actions and words showed how much I appreciated the little chefs' cooking skill. Seeing that I enjoyed the food, David said to me, "Next time if you've nothing to eat in your house, just come to the Care Home. We'll cook for you to bless you." The previous day, he had also told me, "Before I came here, I thought you lived in a small hut in a village, because everything you have is small--your car, your handbag..."

I was always amused by this lovely boy whose smiles and laughter would melt icebergs.

The next morning, I had to send them to the church by 10.30am as Isaac and Paul were required to help in the decoration for the forthcoming Christmas celebration.

After the breakfast, we had to get ready to leave the house. The garbage store seemed to be Isaac's favorite place

as he had also hidden there while playing hide-and-seek the previous day.

When all my "sons" got into the car, I suddenly felt myself like my Indian next door neighbour who drove her two children to school. The difference was that mine would not be back that day. But I was glad that they looked forward to coming to this house again.

These children, who were sometimes infamous for being too naughty, had behaved very well at my house during these two days. I think that was because we had established a good relationship during the past few months I reached out to them. This latest experience to be with them from sunrise to sunset was even more enriching. Now I was virtually and cheerfully joining the single mothers' club!

Experience As A Single Mother II

My first evening with my "sons" ended at 11pm with canned longan as dessert and the second DVD "Taxi 2". Isaac alone occupied the second bedroom while Paul and David shared the third one.

The next morning, I got up first. David next. I treated him like an adult by asking him if he would like to walk around in the garden or within the residential area before it was getting hot, or go out for breakfast. He was only interested to make our own toasts. Then Paul also came out from the bedroom. I immediately understood better their preference to stay at home. The reason was the PS2 (Play Station)!

As I had not consulted Albert for the do's and don'ts of the boys, I was not aware that they were actually not allowed to play the games but they had secretly brought the gadget to my house without Albert's knowledge.

Isaac also woke up and joined his younger brothers. Seeing that they were not keen to move, I left them alone in the living room and cut grass in the garden for awhile until I needed them to beat eggs, immere slices of bread into the egg and grill them on a frying pan to prepare the toasts.

Already surrounded by three males in my own territory for the first time, I was more heavily outnumbered when the second batch of guests Albert, Matthew and Daniel arrived at the house for lunch!

We had prepared a roasted chicken and some salad. As the chicken was very big, the inner part of the meat was still not very cooked after having been in the oven for one hour.

After the meal, the boys watched a movie on DVD again while Albert rested two hours before he left with Matthew to attend their next function. Daniel would spend the night at my place. Now, the number of "sons" I had to look after had increased to four!

When their "principal" had disappeared from their sight, only did the boys dare to continue with their games. When I was at their age, I only knew an electronic game where Mickey Mouse picked eggs rolling down from many shelves and later a few 2D games on the green screen of my brothers' computer. To know their world better, I also joined in a wrestling game and of course lost very fast, even with their help to press the different buttons they were so familiar with.

As a language teacher, I have to admit that I would never pick up this language as well as my "sons"--the PS2 language!

Experience As A Single Mother I

Last year, I had invited Pastor Albert's daughter Sarah to spend a few days at my house. These school holidays, I gave priority to the Calvary Care Home (CCH) children. For a start, Albert P sent me three siblings: Isaac, Paul and David. These boys usually spent most of their holiday time at the Care Home as they were not brought back to their biological family.

Tuesday before I left campus, I informed my three colleagues with whom I was keying in the time-table for next semester, "I've applied for leave for tomorrow. I'll be a single mother staying at home to look after some children."

SS who had just given birth to her first baby ten weeks ago, SB who was already a father of two and KC who was still enjoying her single life all laughed. They must be wondering how a big old child like me was going to handle the little ones alone.

To make sure my "sons" were well fed, I had been checking and storing food in my fridge and kitchen cabinet. Before I picked them at the Care Home, I had gone to Tesco hypermarket again to buy groceries. When the three boys were about to leave with me, Isaac suggested that they would bring along food that people had donated. Then the boys entered the house again to carry a chicken, a whole tray of 30 eggs, two big packets of instant noodles and a packet of Milo (which was later replaced by a dozen of sachets of Nescafe)! I did not want to accept their generosity at first but they insisted that I let them bless me with what they had. So we headed to Paya Rumput with my car full of God's provisions!

As soon as we reached my place, the children immediately made themselves at home by excitedly exploring almost all the corners. Isaac took my DVD "Taxi 1" and started to watch it. Paul and David even offered to cook dinner. Since we planned to eat the chicken the next day, I took out frozen prawns for that night. David asked me if I had any cabbage to fry with the prawns. That was the last thing I would have ever thought of, for I assumed that children grown up at a care home or a big family were sick of cabbage which was very often found at meals cooked at a large quantity. When David told me that he would love to eat cabbage every day and I saw that Paul was munching it raw after his brother had peeled it into layers, I was totally convinced that it was their favorite vegetable.

Since there were a lot of eggs and tomatoes, we decided to prepare another dish with these. After Sarah, my nephew and niece, I entrusted children to my kitchen more and more. So I became these two little chefs' assistant to cook rice and help in the preparation of the dishes while they performed in front of the gas stove.

Growing up at CCH, they were more independent than other children at their young age. Their culinary skills were therefore discovered when the cook of the Care Home was absent.

While sitting at the table, I kept giving compliments to the cooks. David smilingly asked me to text Albert telling him that we were having a wonderful dinner. Thanks to these two wonderful kitchen stars,

the ordinary ingredients turned out to be extraordinary dishes for all of us.

The Hole In Our Gospel

Besides the notebooks, I had never bought any reference books from the MLM class. Two months ago, Piek See was promoting a few books during the break. After her recommendation, I was attracted by "The Hole In Our Gospel" written by Richard Stearns, president of World Vision US, and immediately bought the book.

Here’s an excerpt from the Chapter 1:
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More and more, our view of the gospel has been narrowed to a simple transaction, marked by checking a box on a bingo card at some prayer breakfast, registering a decision for Christ, or coming forward during an altar call. I have to admit that my own view of evangelism, based on the Great Commission, amounted to just that for many years. It was about saving as many people from hell as possible--for the next life. It minimized any concern for those same people in this life. It wasn't as important that they were poor or hungry or persecuted, or perhaps rich, greedy, and arrogant; we just had to get them to pray the "sinner's prayer" and then move on to the next potential convert. In our evangelistic efforts to make the good news accessible and simple to understand, we seem to have boiled it down to a kind of "fire insurance" that one can buy. Then, once the policy is in effect, the sinner can go back to whatever life he was living--of wealth and success, or of poverty and suffering. As long as the policy is in the drawer, the other things don't matter as much. We've got our "ticket" to the next life.

There is a real problem with this limited view of the kingdom of God; it is not the whole gospel. Instead, it's a gospel with a gaping hole. First, focusing almost exclusively on the afterlife reduces the importance of what God expects of us in this life. The kingdom of God, which Christ said is "within you" (Luke 17:21), was intended to change and challenge everything in our fallen world in the here and now. It was not meant to be a way to leave the world but rather the means to actually redeem it. Yes, it first requires that we repent of our own sinfulness and totally surrender our individual lives to follow Christ, but then we are also commanded to go into the world -- to bear fruit by lifting up the poor and the marginalized, challenging injustice wherever we find it, rejecting the worldly values found within every culture, and loving our neighbours as ourselves. While our "joining" in the coming kingdom of God may begin with a decision, a transaction, it requires so much more than that.
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Christianity is a faith that was meant to spread--but not through coercion. God's love was intended to be demonstrated, not dictated. Our job is not to manipulate or induce others to agree with us or to leave their religion and embrace Christianity. Our charge is to both proclaim and embody the gospel so that others can see, hear, and feel God's love in tangible ways. When we are living out our faith with integrity and compassion in the world, God can use us to give others a glimpse of His love and character. It is God--not us--who works in the hearts of men and women to forgive and redeem. Coercion is not necessary or even particularly helpful. God is responsible for the harvest--but we must plant, water, and cultivate the seeds.
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As a reader with a preference for biographies or autobiographies rather than fictions, I always love to know how others go through their lives. As a Christian, I am eager to follow the steps of those who have "set aside worldly success for something far more significant, and discovered the full power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to change their own lives".

The true story of this former corporate CEO has truly inspired me to be one of those who use their journeys "to demonstrate how the gospel--the whole gospel--was always meant to be a world-changing social revolution, a revolution that begins with us".

Making Hot Dog Buns

Yesterday, I went to Agape Care Centre (ACC) to help in a school holiday programme. The children had come back from morning activities at Straits Baptist Church (SBC). After lunch, they looked too exhausted to play any games in the afternoon. As many were also absent, Emily, the facilitator, decided to run only a simple activity with them. When I heard that SH was going to make buns, I was very interested to give a hand.

ACC started a hope shop last year by selling cookies and other delicacies on Chinese New Year. Since, they also provide food and drinks based on orders. Besides their chocolate cake that I bought for Albert P's birthday, I had also tasted a few of their dishes and bread when they catered for functions. Even though these single mothers did not have any formal training, their food was always tasty.

For their long-term business, ACC had invested in professional equipments.

This time, they needed to deliver 150 hot dog buns to SBC the next morning. SH prepared an extra amount of ingredients so that ACC children and staff would have some for afternoon tea.

Apart from Siew Hong and May, the rest of us were not familiar with the making of these buns. First, I was instructed to remove all the packets from the hot dogs. Then I was asked to break eggs, pour them into the flour in the mixer. Next I wiped the wet hot dogs with a clean cloth. When the dough was formed and rose more than two times bigger, Auntie Gek was in charge of dividing it into smaller portions weighing 60g each, while I was entrusted by Siew Hong to knead the dough into a stripe and roll up a hot dog tightly.

Andrew, the new employee who had been in the baking business previously, also joined us. At first, Siew Hong was still tolerant with the results of our poor performance. When she realized that there were too many buns from our hands which were not presentable, she had to "fire" us. So I helped May who had taken out the rested hot dog buns to brush beaten egg over them. Then May sprinkled roasted sesame seeds on top of them before sending them to the oven.

The dough was transformed into golden shells. The freshly baked hot dog buns looked very appetizing. Those with irreproachable appearance were placed in trays

while those out of shape were put aside for self-consumption. The children were already very impatient to wait for the nice smelling buns to be served.

Nathanael was a great supporter of his mother Siew Hong's cuisine. After finishing one whole bun, he requested another half.

We adults also paused to have our self-made snacks.

When I left the centre at around 5.40pm, there were only 63 buns which had passed the "quality control". Siew Hong, May, Andrew and Emily stayed back to achieve the target of 150.
Bon courage!