Youth Rocks!

God NEVER ceases to amaze me. I am ever thankful to Him for giving me a lot of life lessons even though I sometimes question my own ability and the situation I am in. I have learned that He will make things happen and that's exactly what happened during CLA Cafe Night 2010.You see, during one of my difficult quiet times, I was told to " just prepare the field and they will come." Seriously, I felt it was so difficult for me but at the end, I just obeyed. Yunno what, HE made it happened! All glory to Him! I just want to say a big Thank You to Vive too for encouraging me all week! Thanks, buddy!
Together with my trusty RR commanders i.e. Errol, Jessica, Stef, SLing, Ivy and my good friend, Lih Gin, we managed to man the Food Dept. with great fun, a lot of chill [ Thanks, Ivy for this phrase! ] and efficiency. Of course, we also had Faith, Eunice, Jocelyn, Josephine and Odelia helping us out in the hectic and sometimes chaotic kitchen area. It was really awesome time for all of us to able to serve a crowd of 120 screaming, adrenaline pumping, hormone-raging and fun-loving youths. What a crowd!

I must say that I didn't really know how many youths are going to turn up for the event while not having that type of figures can play havoc to your food planning. It wasn't a nice situation to be in and I really had to dig deep in myself to do what is right. Yeah! I did pour out my heart and mostly, on my knees to my Creator! Yes, I was stuck in a situation I was most uncomfortable to be in while balancing work and ministry can be very taxing indeed on the body , mind and soul. I am sure it is the same with Errol and Jessica and I just want to thank them for their steadfast commitment, help and passion in making this event a success. Their spaghetti and chicken chop were a great success indeed. Thank you very much, Errol & Jessica!

Heaven's Kitchen ( that's what we call ourselves ) rolled out food like Spaghetti, Chicken chop with fries and black pepper sauce, Golden Nuggets with fries, Hot dog with chili and mustard sauce, Creamy Mushroom soup with Garlic Bread, Yummy Waffles with a choice of chocolate, peanut butter or jam toppings, Tau Kee & fishball with har kor, lime & peanuts toppings, Toast Bread with kaya and sticky rice with coconut milk & longan. With a short prayer administered at 7.45pm, it was rock n roll time in the kitchen from then onwards. Plates and bowls of spaghetti, mushroom soup and chicken chop just went out like crazy while the drinks department with creations like Bahama Mama , Arsenic and all that went out like crazy too. Orders came in very rapid succession and we worked hard at keeping up with the orders. It was fun seeing everyone in their fun "tension " mode but I am proud to say the atmosphere in the kitchen remained very calm and cheery. There was a lot of laughters and fun in chaos situation. What puzzles me was where is all the load of food and drinks are going? I must say, these youngsters had food processors as their stomach and their holding capacity in the stomach must be bottomless! They just eat and eat and eat and eat and eat as though there is no tomorrow. Anyway, with food and drinks getting snapped up fast, it was easier for us to clean up!

Anyway, I took the opportunity to go the multi-purpose hall to see what was going on and it was really nice setting. Dimmed lights, decorations and nice spotlight on the stage dolled out a great ambience. Good music from Lara & her team, Stef and her team [ Tuneless Sounds ], Garret Quek & his team , Daniel Chia & Johanan Sim and special guest, Copper Coins led by Shearson Lian and his team helped lightened up the program for the nite.It was a night of good music, good fun and good food. I managed to speak and shook hands with some of the youths who came and it was encouraging to see so many of them turned up for an event such as this. My heart immediately warmed up to the fact that they, the youths, are in the right direction. They are happy with the food, the music, the fun and what more can we ask for, right? To cap off a fine evening, the kitchen staff and friends had exquisite wild boar curry courtesy of Mdm.Chin ( Ivy's mom ) as our supper. Many of us did not have time for dinner as we started out our duties but it was a beffiting gift of food for our fine work. It was heavenly indeed.

As we bid farewell to each other after a long day, I have been blessed and what a privilege to be able to work with such good friends. That, to me, is so priceless.

Thank you, God for enabling us!~

1AhLong

I was having my usual tea break when my colleague passed me a rather pleasant looking pamphlet and had me in tatters of laughters when I read it's contents! Gosh! Ah Long has gone high-tech and ........"humane" in that sense. The title read " Skim Pinjaman Segera" and at the bottom of the front, it read, " Kami sedia menolong anda pada bila-bila masa." As you flip the pamphlet further you wil see a pretty hazel haired lady with a bundle of US dollars [ why can't they get local girls to wave a bunch of Malaysian ringgits - this I can't understand! ] and a whole bunch of words plus the contact number which I had oblirated from the picture.

As you flip the inside of the pamphlet, a nice background picture of a small plant on a hand definitely will catch your eyes and attention followed by the types of loans available both in BM and the Mandarin language. Fuuyooh! Ah Long also gone ballistic with a sense of "safe the environment" mode, man!

I'll tell you this, the Ah Long corporations have heeded our nation's call to be united in one solidarity brotherhood of men & women, of course, to build an environment friendly situation to launder money, bringing perfect misery when you can't pay your debts and of course, hand out dog chains so that you can pee and pooh in the modified parks call rooms! Yup, they have gone a long way from the olden days of beating you to pulp when you can't pay your loans to a more sophisticated and "creative" approach of recalling loans - they take your car, your house, beautify your house walls with Jotun or Kansai weathershield creative colors code paints or even make you an overnight well-known celebrity by peddling photos of your well-built body and of course, they held " fiery ceramahs" at your house every other night so that neighbours will know that you are being supported as the next candidate for GE13, of course!

Now you know the reason why people just love to patron the unofficial "friendly" neighbourhood banking corporations we have in our streets today. Go ahead and make a date with these people. Give away your house grant, your car registration card , a copy of your IC, bank books and all that are neccessary for you to secure a loan in these difficult economic times. Afterall, if the local banks can't provide you the necessary loans for you to start your business or make you stay afloat in these difficult time, these "thoughtful" corporations could well help you. That's why with higher inflation rate, increase in food prices, raise in petrol prices, lips service from politicians & local councillors and all the elections & all the erections has made these corporation aware of our needs and they are the willing "helper" at this time of hard times. So, go ahead, recruit help from your politicians, afterall, their signature can't get you to get a loan from the local banks, no harm getting their signatures & support can help you secure a loan from the 1AhLong corporation, right?

To me, it's a farce when you talk about personal loans, SME loans or even business loans today. It is always who you know , which cable do you have to pull and what do you have to offer. Right? Or is it wrong? Hmmmmmnnnnnnn.....................

Youth Ministry - Cafe Nite 2010

Calling all the youths, young people and young at hearts! Hear ye! Hear ye! The Youth Ministry of Calvary Life Assembly will be having their Cafe Nite 2010 edition on 30th April, 2010. I know for a fact that much planning, hard work and good music are in store for the guests with plenty of goodies in store to be won. So, if you want to have a great time of fun, lounging to a serenade of great music and making new friends, this is the perfect place. Mark it down in your calendar and make an effort to come for this great event.
You and I can make a change by supporting this event. I'll definitely be there to lend my support for this event. I pray that you'll come too and be part of this great event. Hope to see you there! Afterall, you'll never know what surprise will be awaiting you ~

P/s Entrance is by RM 8.00 ticket or is it RM 5.00 ticket ( I wonder... ) Well, no matter what, it is a small price to pay for a whole load of fun awaiting you! That's quality assurance!~

Love God - RK Slumber Night 2010

What do you get when you have 11 smart, energetic, innocent-looking and fearless children in a camp? You get a gastronomically joyful, stressed and energy-sapping joyful pandemonium! Yup, that's what you'll get!! That's how I felt during the RR Ranger Kids Slumber Night Camp 2010. Firstly, I must thank God for making this camp a real success while young lives are being transformed and moulded. I also must thank the young RR leaders for taking the courage to help helm the leadership role for this camp. People like Comdr. Ivy, Comdr Stephen Raj, Comdr. John Ng, Comdr.Joa Wee together with their helpers, Matthew, AR Shwu Yuen, AR Josephine, AR Jocelyn and Julien Gan had been a tremendous help in ensuring these young nutcracking kiddos are on their leash at all times!
It is indeed always a privilege to have Comdr. Steven, Comdr. Jessica, Comdr. Jason, my wife, SLing and good friend of the ministry, Jenny for helping out in the camp. Though we were all physically and mentally exhausted at the end of the day but the joy of being able to be an inspiration to the younger ones are itself a great reward. Nothing beat seeing smiley faces, quirky faces and even crying faces on these young ones. Their lives and their expressions tell you a story itself of who they are and what they are. Well, I was more delighted that we shared very good times with the children, roughing out in games, fun and sleeping places, scrambling for food and taking part in fun activities. Ah..... what a barrel memory of fun!

We started out by setting up tents in front of the chalets. The weather started out mighty fine till later in the night where it belted out it's blitzkrieg of lightning and serious claps of thunder. But we weren't fazed by it. Not one kid shudder in fear or had any fears after the wonderful sharing by Comdr. Tan Bee Ling, our speaker for the night. Pitching up the tents were a great way to see the interaction between the younger ones. You could see some "mandors" around but at the same time you can see the real "kulis" around. I guess, being first timers to camping, there were a lot of apprehension in working together for these kiddos. But soon, the leaders gelled them together to put up the tents. It was good to see the camaraderie spirit among the kiddos. Then, it off for a camp briefing and distribution of Camp Booklet & Camp Activity Book. For this year's camp, the commanders had decided to think out of the box and get the kiddos to participate actively in gathering leaves, flowers and go back to the nature trail. After the briefing, we had lunch and again, a tussle of feeding the kiddos with food started out. It was fun to see the kiddos trying to wiggle out of their way from consuming their vegetables, chicken, fishball and rice. Well, in Rangers camp, they don't get away with it. So, no matter what , they would have to swallow some of the food in one way or another. Then it was off to the obstacle course and the barrel of fun started. You could immediately see the change in attitude and their eyes tripled in size with sheer delight! That's children! So, they tried out every imaginable obstacle course down there and at the end of the day, there were happiness and smiles on their faces. It was wonderful to hear their chuckles, their cajoling, their teasing to each other and even their constant ways of trying to outdo one another. Then it was back to the chalet for some more fun in barnock wrapped on sausage which I will call Pig-on-a-Stick time! I will tell you this - the children just love sausages! I taught them on how to prepare the dough and also to get the dough onto the sausage and toast it over a wood fire. It was a fun time for the commanders and the children. After completing this task, they went on their nature walk time and we started to prepare for dinner. Comdr. Jessica had prepared "Macaroni in creamy mushroom soup with sausages! Yummy, yummy! The children had their stomach filled before Comdr. Bee Ling shared the Word of the Lord. I am blessed by Comdr. Bee Ling's sharing and so did the children. Comdr. Bee Ling shared on the need to love God , to do the things of God and to love one self as God would have loved us. Thank you, Bee Ling. We have been blessed!

To top off a great day, the children and the commanders shared some home-made waffles. Yup, I had prepared the waffles batter the day before and it was being wolfed down before the waffles maker machine could churned out more waffles. Every waffle which was being produced was snapped up almost immediately after it was cut to a desired size. Topped with peanut butter, jam and chocolate, you could see the hungry wolves pack.........hahahahahaha.........all in all, it was a fun day. As the children lay down to sleep that night, Comdr. Errol and myself were awake most of the times to take care of the children as the rain pelted the thatched roofing of the chalet. Comdr. Errol lie down near the front door while I lay near the midsection door. Afterall, you will never know which children is going to sleep walk and so on, So, it was good for us to be awake. Praise God that the children slept peacefully that night.

We then had an inspirational morning devotion by Comdr.Jason and the children were treated with a fare of cruelties that had happened to children in our country. Comdr. Jason spoke on the need to love God and to love others too. The children were blessed with the message that was shared by Comdr. Jason. After a sumptuous breakfast of bread, egg sandwich and other fares, it was time to souvenir presentation. There was a joyful ruckus as we gave out the souvenirs. We even had everyone laughing in stitches over the "DO GOOD" pledge. Well, we have decided that all those "naughty" ones to take the pledge of being a better camper the next time! It was such a fun, really! Every camper had a souvenir pack as usual and the Best Camper Award went to Caleb & Joshua Moy. These two wonderful children are really obedient, fun and really cool kiddos. We were all blessed with their characters, the way they act, behave and talk and also their pleasant disposition. Bravo to Caleb & Joshua Moy!

Again, as the parents took them back home after the camp, I sighed a big relief. I will never know what these young tots have to say to their parents about the camp and about the commanders but I will lived with that. To me, I am relieved that God had made it happen and blessed the commanders and helpers with strength and courage. Another round of fun, a different set of children completely and another year of moulding lives. I guess, I am resigned to the fact that we are in the character moulding ministry and what a privilege. What a privilege indeed. Despite our not-so-young bodies being punished over and over again during the activity sessions, I am eternally grateful to my fellow commanders, young & old, who had given their best during the camp. What a joy when you get leaders and children having a great time in fun, in test and in play. Praise God for that privilege and Praise God for the joy, fun and laughter!

A young boy stepped up to me after the camp and asked me this " Commander, will you have another camp soon? I want to join again. Thank you, commander." I just looked at this boy , hugged him and just smiled. My heart is already filled with joy.

That is the best present from God to me!~ Wouldn't you agree?

P/s Best Campers - Caleb & Joshua Moy

Untelanable!

Sometimes, I do certainly feel that some of our leaders comments on our beautiful destination are like people who has not used their bestowed gift called brains from God at all. I am intrigued if they ever have any brains at all in the first place! For far too long now, our country's popular destinations had virtually been rampagedly raped over and over again by unscrupulous people who sets up chalets and modern facilities in protected areas of interest. While these facilities mushroomed over the years, it comes with plenty ofhazards along the way. When it gets over populated, they start putting the dollar sign in all earnesty to garner in as much as possible rather than thinking of ways to conserve that beautiful destination. I remembered that during my younger days, hiking up Gunung Ledang was a pleasurable thing to do and it's free. Nowadays, you need to pay for climbing permit, guide and what not before you can even take a step up the mountain. The worst part is even before you reach Gunung Ledang, there is a booth asking you to pay for your car and your passengers too. Choosing the wise words from Chinese vocabulary - NIAMAH!
The latest controversy involved Pulau Redang. My question is , in the first place , who issued the over-subscribed chalet building facilities on that island way before anything else? Why complain now when you issued so many chalet permits in the first place? I remembered the days when I went over to the island with the teacher's trainees group and it was really beautiful with really basic facilities. Now, the island is cramply littered with chalets and 5 star hotels and what not. Yes, development comes with a price, you may say and now, you want to make it an exclusive place to go with a hefty ceiling price? Now, that's a bit too much to swallow. It is like my future generation of children will NEVER ever be able to enjoy a stay on that island with THAT price! What a shame indeed. We have been outcast/3rd class citizen in our own country when foreigners gets priority over our own place! Even the Indons are getting better treatment than us when it comes to places of interest, right? That's shockingly stupid or is the government indeed is adamant in losing another election? Look, you shockingly nitwits , if the proper authorities do their part in cleaning up the rubbish on our island , educate the people of the need for clean environment and really put an effort to clean up our act in the administration side, I am sure our islands will be clean and affordable. If my group of travellers comprising of people of all ages have done that conscientiously when we went to Redang Island about 3 years ago, why can others do the same? BTW, the coral surrounding the marine park where thousands and thousands stupidly snorkelled there have turned whittish and dead, ok? The answer is the dumbish attitude of authorities and the people itself. I still remember the beach being littered with beer cans, bottles and what not during our nite out at the prime beach area in Redang Island. Why can't there be adequate rubbish bin around, why can't senseless loud music & open air parties be curbed [ afterall, they go all the way till the wee hours of the morning ] and why can't the resorts/chalet ensure that the beach is cleaned instead of hoping for the tide to flow the crap /rubbish to the sea? Afterall, they make their living because of the prime beach, right? Make them clean up and make rubbish disposal an urgency. That's the problem with attitude!

Next comes, Taman Negara. This place is virtually a place for foreign tourist nowadays. One reason I have given up hope in going over to this place is because of the pricing of accomodation and food at the National Park itself. It is ridiculously expensive and only an elect few of our country people will be able to stay on the Park itself. I remembered telling one of the resort staff that Taman Negara accomodation are for foreigners only and he told point-blankly, " Yup, it is for our foreign tourist now and we don't encourage local tourist!" Niamah, am I not a Malaysian citizen and am I not a tax payer whereby some funds are already been invested here or am I not a paying individual, meh! This is the type of mentality we have in our popular destination these days! The dollar sign mentality generation! That was the last time I step my foot at the accomodations in the Park itself. Now, it's over the other side of the river accomodations that had captured the local market. Again, we are alienated in our own beautiful land. With this fees and that fees and what not, climbing Gunung Tahan is definitely way out of the reach of our children one day. To me, I am okay. I have scaled Gunung Tahan and the beauty scenery had captured my heart a lot but seeing the overpriced fees and so on, I shuddered at the thought of my children taking an effort to scale the mountain. I wonder if we will ever wake up from this.

Then, there is the majestic Gunung Kinabalu. Like I said, I have scaled this mountain many times and it is always a joy for me to see its beauty. It is a majestic feeling when you are the top of Mt.Kinabalu. But have you ever tried working out the cost on such an expedition? Well, I have and the figures are really too much for a local person to scale the mountain. Sure, it is peanuts money for the "angmoh" or foreigners while the same amount of money spent on such a mission will be bring much paradise to me and my family if I were to spend it in Phuket, Haadyai or even Ko Samui, Thailand! I haven't even touched on the highlands accomodations and fees yet ! Yes, you are damn right, I am disillusioned as a Malaysian when it comes to the rape of our islands, our highlands and our mountains. It is simply because I am a nature lover and I believe in local holidays but these rocketing prices in accomodation, food and services are really eating into our holiday expenses with the family. What quality of life you are talking about when I can't even bring my children and family to a decent holiday destination in Malaysia without raising a bomb of finance which is incidentally my beloved country. I can say one thing for sure, Malaysia offers some of the most beautiful places of interest and nature in the world but we are making it so exclusive only for foreigners who had repeatedly raped their own land until they have become wasteland and museum bound. Do you want to see our beautiful flora and fauna of our beloved country in historical museums or do you want to see it alive and well? To me, there must be sustainability in business but affordable while conservation should also take priority. Even if the locals themselves can't afford to pay the required permit fees and what not, how on earth are we going to tell our children that we have such and such of plant or animals in our land? I bet you, some of it had probably land in some dish, soup or broth somewhere in smaller towns! So, leaders of our country, a big majority of our nations hardworking men and women - single , married or otherwise are hardworking, industrious and average income individuals. Please, spare a thought for these people. We, too needs breaks and places to go with our families. If the people in their own land can't even get to go their own places of interest, that's call poorness in the administration of the natural wealth of our beloved country!

For goodness heaven sakes, think of the people - not how much more we can make/charge from this place or that place! If you are going to charge , by all means charge but be it minimal and worthwhile for the people to still enjoy the beauty of our land. Exhorbitant fees and what not will definitely hurt our place of interest and the people. Imagine if you pay RM 10.00 entrance fee to see one monkey! How would you feel? That too is a preserved monkey! I leave this thought to you! You can infer or think what ever you want. My conscience is crystal clear!~

SYUEN....

Many years ago, a shrill baby cry hit the labour room in a private hospital and I was there to enjoy that moment. I remembered that the attending doctor, my friend, Dr.Selva held up a beautiful little bundle joy and immediately did all the cleaning up. The nurses then cleaned her up and bundled her into a poignant pink towel. It was the very first time baby SYuen saw light in this world. This was the birth of my beloved daughter, SYuen. I am very proud of her and I still do because she is not only wonderfully given to us by God but she is really a pleasant girl.
I don't know if it's a stupid culture thing or whatever, baby girls are always being treated second best but in my household that NEVER happens. She is not only loved, cared for and nurtured, she has a very special place in my heart.

Though, she was rather a stickler with her mom when she was very young, somehow, I have watched this beautiful baby grow up to be a girl now. I am glad that she has grown up to be independent and have pleasant disposition. I know that many times, her good heartedness and her givng heart lands her into a lot of trouble, ridicule and sometimes being taken advantage of by leechers. I am glad that she has learned this and came out stronger. Like any other teenagers, she is blessed with friends that support her and gave encouragement to her. Her friends in church, school and Royal Rangers ministry have helped her grow to a level of maturity in action and in her mind. The additional encouragement from good friends like Abby, Jessica, Lih Gin, Wan Sin, Bee Ling , Sathy, Vive, Steven, Errol and many others has helped her grow indefinitely. On another note, I just want to express my heartfelt thanks to Jenny L. for taking the initiative and extended a lot of help in ensuring that the birthday gathering a success. Thank you so much, Jenny!

So, to my beloved daughter, HAPPY BIRTHDAY and God's blessings upon your life, girl!~

WHY?

Yesterday, a good friend of mine shared with me about the plight of a family and somehow, I was not myself. Usually, I would be the very first to react and to start a lot of things rolling in my head. In a flash, I would be in my thinking mode and devising plans to garner support - financially or in kinds to help out this family. I would have no hesitation and I have done the giving part so many times and yet, I froze yesterday. I froze at that critical moment. I hesitated and I took a longer time to respond. What has happened to me? My friend was right when he said that I should just respond as Jesus would have responded but I didn't. I was so ashamed of myself and I am really ashamed of what I have become or turned out to be. It is like I have developed into someone I didn't recognised at all. The hesitation and the momentary pause is what I could not accept. Why have I become like this while I hate every bit that I have turned out like that. It is as though I have taken a "non-caring" stand! It really kills me inside as I am not like that, believe me!

I am one person who would not shy away from lending out a helping hand to the needy. Ask my friends and they will testify to that and sometimes to the extent that I bleed! I know that there are times I've been taken advantage of while I am not shy to let go a volley of shelling when the situation warrants it. I am not going to take away from the fact that I have turned somewhat.......cold and stoned hearted a bit. No excuses and no buts this time. That is really NOT me at all. Sheesh! It's frustrating and for one minute, I fell like a lump of useless clay on the ground. As I analyzed what I have done, I could only bring back to many examples that I have seen or participated. I have seen how stingyness has affected me as I see the examples aorund me all the time and at the same time, I have seen how hoarding has done its damage directly or indirectly in my life. I guess, I was caught up in all this when I should only focus my eyes upon the Lord. It is certainly no help at all that I "learned" a lot of this from the place I expected to be nurtured.

I seek forgiveness from God as this is really a simple straightforward responce and I have failed in that sense. I need to be awakened from my slumber , do my bit for the needy and focus on Him alone. I need to always ask myself, " WWJD?"Then I would be on the right path after being derailed by the situation around me. Like I said, never mind if we will look like fools in the eyes of men but then again, it's the Lord's account that matters, right? Forgive me, Lord. Help is on the way for the family!~

Ryan & Ashley

"Ah Cheoong!" Yup, that's what my favourite nephew calls me these days! As long as it is not "chee cheong fun" yet, I am more than happy, though! It's been some time since I wrote about my special nephew and niece. Well, Ryan has added more words to his vocabulary while Ashley had grown prettier and cuter. Really, I miss these two tots indefinitely. Well, activities and workload had got the better of me and the family these days and this has taken much time off away from seeing these two special kids. So, whenever, we get the chance to take a peek at these two kids, it was always a time of refreshing. This weekend was indeed a fun time.
Ryan has become somewhat of a movie specialist. He seemed to remember every conversation in his new Toy Story movie including his favourite rendition of " Noooooooooo" and Buzz Lightyear stance. He is smart , witty, smiley but moody! Always a joy to be with but choosy with his meals. Other than that , he is growing up nicely though. We even gave him his favourite treat Lays potato chip with seaweed flavour. He was smiling ear to ear and somehow his eyes seemed to sparkle ever brighter!! Anyway, when he strips for his bath, I could still count his guitar string ribs..... Hmmmnnnn..... I wonder if a meal of my staple food, pork, on a regular basis, would put some meat into that knockout body of bones! Hahahhahahahhaahhahahahaaaaaaa........ Ryan is such a delight too when he is in his own world of expressions. He certainly has improved a lot in his speech but his favourite word JUSCO is still crisp as ever!

Then we turned our attention to take care of Ashley. Wow! She has grown a bit and still a smiley girl as ever. She has grown stronger too and picking her up in my arms was heavenly. She is a real delight. She laughed and smiled a lot nowadays. Her chuckles were sweet and nice too. Yunno, she has such a sweet disposition and she exuberates so much life and radiance when she smiles. I really love having her in my arms. I guess, wonderful children [ Ryan & Ashley ] does that to you. They just ...............hmmmmmmnnnnnn.......grow on you!

Aaaaarrrrggggggggghhhhh! I miss the children already!