My Testimony....

Today, I want to share about one of the most encouraging thing that happened in my life recently. Not too long ago, I went for a camp in PD and I had learnt so much from that camp/seminar. Attended by some OA youths and adults plus some truly passionate families and friends, it was truly an eye opener for most of us.

The accommodation provided was superbly clean and adequate while the food served was also adequate and delicious too. Nothing luxurious but enough for a camp/seminar such as this. Of course, it was a great event and it was such a great learning curve for me as I learned to be like one of the participants and see the greatness of our God.

I almost miss this camp/seminar as I wasn’t sure if I could make this due to a lot of personal matters that had occurred and the ever pressing mount of decisions to make in life. Look, it ain’t easy being breadwinner for the family and decisions would have to be made soon and I just put it off my mind and heart for a while.

Yes, like everyone else, I do struggle a lot in making crucial decisions and I sometimes felt the brunt and weight of heavy responsibilities on my shoulders. Someone used to tell me that fathers are supposed to be like that – shouldering the responsibilities, cry in silence and away from the prying eyes and be like a strong tower for the family even in the most difficult times. I guess, fathers would have to go through that but we are human too, right? Thank God, literally, that I have great listening and BIG hearted friends!!! Seriously, GOD listens…..

Coming back to the camp/seminar, I just want to share my testimony of what had happened on one of the nights of the camp/seminar. During one of our late night supper, Edwin, Errol, Joa Wee and myself were having a grand time of fellowship and drinks at the cafeteria of the centre. In one of the moments, Errol and I walked towards the hot water area and made ourselves some coffee and Milo drinks there for Joa Wee and Edwin. As we walked pass the path that led to our table, we had to pass through a table belonging to another group of church participants from Kampar, Perak.

There on that table which belonged to the participants from Kampar was a squarish blue top container filled with the famous Kampar “ kaya kok “. The moment I saw it, I knew that the kaya kok not only looked good but would taste fabulous indeed. Somehow, my heart and my mind sorta spoke up simultaneously, “ Lord, how I wish I could have a piece of one of those lovely kaya kok! They looked so good, Lord! “ as Errol and I walked passed the Kampar participants’ table.

To me, it was a simple and innocent request of my heart's desire and later, I came to know that Errol had the same thought as I did! I guess, both of us were praying that we would have a taste of that lovely kaya kok from Kampar. It wasn’t that long later, probably, 20 minutes later that a bespectacled young man and a young woman from the Kampar group approached our table as all fours of us were engrossed in our conversation, and asked us if we would like to have some Kampar kaya kok. Errol and myself looked at each other and then to Edwin and Joa Wee, who were puzzled too but we quickly took the blessings off the hands of the young man. All four of us thanked him profusely for the wonderful blessings and the young man just asked us to finish up the kaya kok and leave the container at the table as we go off that nite. There was about nine pieces of kaya kok in the container box! "Heavenly sent!" was what flashed right before my mind, to be honest!

Oh God, How wonderful you are to even listen to the very minute desires/cries of our hearts! I was so stunned for a moment and so was Errol. When I related my wish earlier to Edwin, Joa Wee and Errol when I passed through the table, Errol exclaimed excitedly too that he had the same wish and now God had fulfilled that small requests of ours even though no one knew what we had in mind. Edwin and Joa Wee shared our joy and the four of us had a piece of lovely kaya kok in our hands! Sure enough, it tasted real good indeed….real good!

It just goes to show me that our God listens and honours those who honor Him despite all our shortcomings. I am so thankful in my heart that God hears even the smallest of our request! I felt so blessed...so blessed indeed. That night, I could not sleep well as I thought of what had happened and that small incident of miracle from our loving Father in heaven. Only God can do that miracle and only God hears that intently to the cries of our hearts and his people. I am so humbled and thankful that He cares to listen to our pleas even no matter how ridiculous it may be. How each day we have taken advantage, complained and even come before His Throne with our own ridiculous shopping list and yet, He is ever so patient and kind.

I am really thankful that God is so real to me despite my highs and lows in life. His ever loving ways and goodness prevailed even though I doubted, wearied , broken and sometimes questioned my own sanity but He is able and good.

THANK YOU, Lord! You are my testimony and you are my GOODNESS! All Glory and Honour to Him!

Rights Sold!

Two days ago, I was felt strained and buoyed a lot for what had happened over the weekend and I was looking forward to having a quiet and quintessential breakfast to start my day. As it was quite packed with customers that day at my regular roti canai haunt, I had to share the table with three Indonesian men, one Bangladeshi and a Malay couple. It wasn't a difficult thing sharing tables for food but somehow, that day, things did not turned out nice as the day unfolded that morning.

I guess, I wasn’t really in the mood of speaking to anyone as I just wanted to some peace and quiet as I struggled daily with myself on my temper ( I have really made a lot of effort to tone down and repent of it daily!) , decision making in a lot of life matters and also, daily dealings at work. It is a real struggle for working individuals to juggle so much responsibilities and sometimes, it is an awful lot of load to carry on one’s shoulder. I am thankful that I can channel all my anger, frustrations and sometimes, my own needs to the One Above who patiently listens and instructs in the most subtle way through the inner conscience and promptings.

As I was mouthing down and chewing slowly for the tiny morsel of roti canai to my mouth, one of the Indonesian bloke told the Bangladeshi that Malaysia is truly a gold mine for foreigners like him. He even boasted that he had been in the country for 10 years and he had obtained a NRIC blue card. He went on to tell the other blokes ; his fellow Indonesian blokes and the Bangladeshi that it is easy to obtain an identity card when you know how ; winking his eyes and flash of the rubbing of his left thumb and pointer ( money la….what else! ) His fellow Indonesians smiled and tore heartily at the roti canai while the Bangladeshi, the only sensible guy at the table that day was just smiling and sipped his Nescafe drink without uttering a word! This fella went on to tell how easy it was to get a local Malay lady to marry and then worked their way into getting licences for motorcycle , car, lorry and even businesses. He even told them that it would be easy once they have settled down to bring in their own relatives or own kind from Indonesia to work here like operating a coffee shop, food stall and other small businesses undetected. Nothing conspicuous but opportunity nevertheless to bring over family for life is good in Malaysia. 

Imagine the shock to my body and not forgetting , the blood system ( temperature and level of heat started to rise up! ) on hearing such ludicrous talks. The very idea of coming over and getting citizenship as easy as ABC , well, that makes my stomach sick! The audacity to boast about it even makes the whole conversation such a repulsive and nauseating topic of conversation. Robbing us of our work opportunity and acting like they own our country seemed like  kacang putih to them while robbing, stealing and acting like thugs are kinda ingrained in them as they run riot in this country.  Here in Malaysia, we still have genuine Malaysians having the difficulty to obtain a NRIC card and earning a decent living while these jokers/clown gets them easily and boast about it some more!  

I guess, when the guy continued speaking about playing the cards right to get local Malay women to marry them, somehow, my roti canai meal doesn’t seemed fulfilling that morning while the tea also had also lost it tea goodness! Even the young Malay couple seemed disgusted by what had been said and they did not finish their meal. They just paid for their meal while the Malay lady was visibly upset and she glared at the Indonesians intently as she walked past them. I bet, she and her husband wanted to say something but they kinda held back. Moments later, these imbeciles then rode on their motorcycles and headed off to do their work…I often wonder how the universe ( trying not to swear nor get angry! ) did they ever get the motorcycle licence or even a car licence in the first place!!!!

So, here you are – these foreigners came in through our borders and even through the back door of our country, take our womenfolk to be their economic brides or vice versa, take our land all in the name of saudara serumpun / sesama bangsa, take over our jobs, steal & rob our homes when life gets hard for them and we still want to build multi-million ringgits bridges and super highways to link to their mainland? Interesting, isn’t it? Imagine that they come in through the sea, kidnap our people, asked for ransom and get bloody paid again and again as this sadistic scheme is used over and over again right before our eyes! Imagine! Meanwhile, every day, GENUINE Malaysians goes through thousands and one hassle to get their NRIC cards, jostle for jobs, fearful for their lives as they walk down the streets or even wonder how these foreigners get so much freedom in this country. Yeah, I wish I had seated myself some other place that day…..not amongst these goons!

So, SYABAS, WELL DONE and THANK YOU, Immigration Dept., Royal Malaysian Police , National Registration Dept, Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan Malaysia and A BIG BIG THANK YOU to Malaysian Govt. and State Govts. You just sold the rights of every Malaysians away BIG TIME! 

His Space.....

Being back to a place I had not visited for 7 months, it was indeed an eye opener for me this time around. To be honest, my heart is always at this OA village which I shall leave unnamed for very obvious reasons. The entrapment and greedy hands of the evil are always waiting to pounce at every opportunity of naming the OA village and I can only say that God’s people will always persevered in such circumstances. Anyway, leaving the plays of evilness for a fraction of second, I was extremely glad to have arrived at this OA village together with Errol's family, Edwin's family, Gilbert & Mel.

Upon parking my car, I immediately greeted a familiar face; an elder and the welcome was exceedingly too incredible to describe in words. The simplicity of our handshakes, hugs and smiles says it all. This familiar elderly folk was building a new platform for his home. He told me that it would be used for discussion, bersantai ( to relax ) and to enjoy the stillness of the night. We had a good laugh together and I was amazed by his skill of building the platform that quick using the resak wood which he had carried out of the woods. My amazement went ballistics when he confided in me that he lugged the wood out on his shoulder while riding the m/cycle. He said that it was faster that way than walking! I tried lifting one of the resak wood and it was pretty heavy despite my best effort in my laterally large frame. I was blessed seeing him tying the knots using clove hitch and quick lashing works using rattan strips also sourced from the woods. What a tremendous effort! I have nothing but sheer respect for this elderly man of skill and faith!

Then I noted the progress of the congregation by the fenced up humbled church building and children church building cum rest house. What a great effort indeed! My heart leapt with enormous joy & new found admiration for this congregation! Though the fencing woods were roughly cut but the effort itself was applaudable  and commendable. My elderly friend informed me that it was through a concerted effort of pulling resources that they were able to buy the chain-linked fence and did what they did. There were just tears of joy in my heart and I tearied up that day but away from the eyes of my elderly friend. Even in the little they had, they honoured the house of God and did the best they could muster for His Glory. Gosh! What an effort indeed!

I was and always am at home in this place. The tranquility and the quiet deafening sounds of stillness hits my soul a lot. Together with great friends in Errol & Jessica, Josephine, Bro. Edwin, Sis Lorna, Lara and Ethan, Melissa and Gilbert ( steady and delightful young husband & wife team ) plus my own family ( Soon Ling & Shwu Yuen ) , we had a great time of food and fellowship. Laughters and hearty good spirits were contagious indeed. The food was simple namely rice, luncheon meat, canned goat curry, fried eggs, baked beans and eggs. Truly camping food at its best. I truly enjoyed it so much and there was such a peak of great fellowship and light hearted laughters. That made it all so beautifully poignant indeed on a night such as this.

Then came the moment whereby someone had to share the message for the following morning. It was quite a hilarious moment and I ended up having the honor and pleasure again to share the message. In my heart, I wasn’t gonna struggle like when I was first asked to share the message, Somehow , this place made me real calm and collected though I still had to tag my Bible pages for the appropriate scripture passages and so on. I did it gladly and I re-read what I am going to share before I hit the sack for the night. It would be momentous again for me to share the Word in BM! I told myself , "Forward march, you soldier!"

Morning comes soon after and after a good morning shower, we were all ready for Sunday service. I met the young man who was driving the people to service and I was warmly welcomed and hugged. I guess, that is the specialty of this place. The people are so warm and friendly though they do eye you with curiosity at the first time because they simply had to for there had been far too many evil people coming around with devious schemes, evil intent and evil plans. Rightly so that they are wary of such people.

Somehow, maybe, just maybe, God had given that wisdom to them to differentiate and sieved through the genuine from the fakes. It would definitely seemed so, I would say. As the people slowly trickled in for Sunday service, I must say, I wasn't nervous at all. Testimony by a young Semai woman was truly encouraging and  I was really encouraged. The gist of it all is that she trusted God for her provision and even a ticket fare home was a welcomed miracle from God. It was the awesome rawness of her testimony sharing that set the praise & worship atmosphere that had ensued. As the P&W session ensued, you could feel the eclectic presence of the Lord.  It was the right setting and when the opportunity arose, I took it by sharing the Word, from the very depths of my heart and gave my all that morning. By the time I finished the message that I had shared, I realised that my t-shirt was soaked wet. It was that intense for me that I had sweated profusely as I was told it was a hot day indeed. Never mind the sweat and the heat! The most important is that the message was presented in a great manner for the listeners.

I shared from my heart that morning though I felt that a more qualified person or preacher could have done more or better. I am just thankful and humbled ; standing up there and shared my life story in the best manner I knew how; giving glory to God for His grace! Hopefully, the message had blessed the people and touched their hearts and give glory to God. May the storm of righteousness sweep the evil away while rebuilding many more lives in the OA village with hope and a future. Let us never forget that God is a good God and He is in control of everything. I guess, in all humbleness I must say that I do not know how the people would perceived/received my message that day or how much they would be inspired that day. I just wished that I had done justice for God and for His people.

I am constantly reminded that we are all to play our part as the sower, the water boy and the harvester. Each one to their own strength. For me, being able to stand out at the front, gave my all and be with these loving people are rewards itself beyond words. May His continual blessings be poured out to this OA village always! 

Done....

The completed Pondok Buku......lovely.

1st October, 2016 will always be a significant date in my life from now onwards. It was the date of the official opening ceremony for the use of Pondok Buku in the OA community in which many men hours, sweat , blood and tears were finally made to shine. It wasn't about the money involved and neither was it about man's pride. It is always about God's glory and a date of destiny of good, compassionate and caring feelings towards the needy. I am well aware that there are far more wealthier, more equipped, more skillful, more competent and more influential people who could take up such a cause but somehow God chose His own mighty, brave, tenaciously hard working , men and women of valor and good honest people to get the job done. Being part of the team, I felt so blessed indeed. God made use of people from all walks in life to accomplish the building of the Pondok Buku. 

The interior.....books & cosy feeling for children.

Earlier, we ( Capt. Sim, Daniel , Aaron, Errol's family and my family ) went there two days earlier to tie up the loose end not thinking as there was just so much things to do before the official opening launch. It was hard work all the way indeed but a very happy and satisfying one at the end. All the painting works, grouting works, slate painting and fixing of the door were done & ready by Saturday mid afternoon. Suffice to say that it was really encouraging and a sigh of good/great relief when the works completed. Now, the children in the OA community can enjoy the beautiful world of reading and ascend out of the root of illiteracy. May God richly bless their lives as they marched on to seek better prospect and way of life in the future.

THANK YOU & BLESSED THE HEARTS of the wonderful people who made it all happen:

GOD - Joanne Lee - Edwin Sim - Lorna - Ethan - Lara - Errol Gan - Jessica Han - Josephine Gan - Jocelyn Gan - Dinesh - Abby - Johnson Tay - Christina - Tan Joo Li - Wong Fook Meng - Sophia Joy - Zachary - Tan Dau Lim - Thomas Liu - Aaron Liu - Daniel Teo - Loreen Lim - Grace Teo - Jui Jian - Alvin Yip - Annie Yip - Dr. Pang - YChengHo - Walson Teo - John Tan - Gilbert T - Mel - Chua Chong Chye - Tan Yong Heng - Tan Jin Hui - Sunny - Gilbert Ang - Jane - Candice - Laura - Mary - Leon - Alex - Ling - Hephzibah - Joel Tan - Shirley - Jonathan - Jaclyn - Robin - Christopher - Jenny -  Abigail - Jonathan Yip - Ken - Shwu Yuen - Soon Ling - Ivan.

Raw faith....

Being back to a place I had not visited for 7 months, it was indeed an eye opener for me this time around. To be honest, my heart is always at this OA village which I shall leave unnamed for very obvious reasons. The entrapment and greedy hands of the evil are always waiting to pounce at every opportunity of naming the OA village and I can only say that God’s people will always persevered in such circumstances. Anyway, leaving the plays of evilness for a fraction of second, I was extremely glad to have arrived at this OA village together with Errol's family, Edwin's family, Gilbert & Mel.

Upon parking my car, I immediately greeted a familiar face; an elder and the welcome was exceedingly incredible to describe in words. The simplicity of our handshakes, hugs and smiles says it all. This familiar elderly folk was building a new platform for his home. He told me that it would be used for discussion, bersantai ( to relax ) and to enjoy the stillness of the night. We had a good laugh and I was amazed by his skill of building the platform that quick using the resak wood which he had carried out of the woods. My amazement went ballistics when he confided in me that he lugged the wood out on his shoulder while riding the m/cycle. He said that it was faster that way than walking! I tried lifting one of the resak wood and it was pretty heavy despite my best effort in my laterally large frame. I was blessed seeing him tying the knots using clove hitch and quick lashing works using rattan strips also sourced from the woods. What a tremendous effort!

Then I noted the progress of the congregation by the fenced up humbled church building and children church building cum rest house. What a great effort indeed! Though the fencing woods were roughly cut but the effort itself was applaudable  and commendable. My elderly friend informed me that it was through a concerted effort of pulling resources that they were able to buy the chain-linked fence and did what they did. There were just tears of joy in my heart and I teared up that day but away from the eyes of my elderly friend. Even in the little they had, they honoured the house of God and did the best they could muster for His Glory. Gosh! What an effort indeed!

I was and always am at home in this place. The tranquility and the quiet deafening sounds of stillness hits my soul a lot. Together with great friends in Errol & Jessica, Josephine, Bro. Edwin, Sis Lorna, Lara and Ethan, Melissa and Gilbert ( steady and delightful young husband & wife team ) plus my own family ( Soon Ling & Shwu Yuen ) , we had a great time of food and fellowship. The food was simple namely rice, luncheon meat, canned goat curry, fried eggs, baked beans and eggs. Truly camping food at its best. I truly enjoyed it so much and there was such a peak of great fellowship and light hearted laughs. That made it all so beautiful indeed on a night like this.

Then came the moment whereby someone had to share the message for the following morning. It was quite a hilarious moment and I ended up having the honor and pleasure again to share the message. In my heart, I wasn’t gonna struggle like when I was first asked to share the message, Somehow , this place made me real calm and collected though I still had to tag my Bible pages for the appropriate scripture passage and so on. I did it gladly and I re-read what I am going to share before I hit the sack for the night. It would be momentous again for me to share the Word in BM! I told myself , "Forward march, you soldier!"

Morning comes soon after and after a good morning shower, we were all ready for Sunday service. I met the young man who was driving the people to service and I was warmly welcomed and hugged. I guess, that is the specialty of this place. The people are so warm and friendly though they do eye you with curiosity at the first time because they had to; for there had been far too many evil people coming around with devious schemes, evil intent and evil plans. Rightly so that they are wary of such people.

Somehow, maybe, just maybe, God had given that wisdom to them to differentiate and sieved between the genuine from the fakes. It would definitely seemed so, I would say. As the people slowly trickled in for Sunday service, I must say, I wasn't nervous at all. Testimony by a young Semai woman was truly encouraging and I was really encouraged. The gist of it all is that she trusted God for her provision and even a ticket fare home was a welcomed miracle from God. It was the awesome rawness of her testimony sharing that set the wonderful praise & worship atmosphere that had ensued. As the P&W session ensued, you could feel the eclectic presence of the Lord.  It was the right setting and when the opportunity arose, I took it by sharing the Word, from the depths of my heart and gave my all that morning. I knew God's presence was there at that hall that day. I wished I could describe it but  the tangible presence of God and peace was really indescribable. By the time I finished the message that I had shared, I realised that my T-shirt was soaked wet. It was that intense for me that I had sweated profusely as I was told it was a hot day indeed. Never mind the sweat and the heat! The most important is that the message was presented in a great manner for the listeners. I was most touched as the people listened intently and gave me encouragement by their "Amens" and clapping. God, you deserve all glory....All, Lord!

I shared from the very depths of my heart that morning though I felt that a more qualified person or preacher could have done more or better. I am just thankful and humbled ; standing up there and shared my life story in the best manner I knew how. Hopefully, the message had blessed the people and touched their hearts and give glory to God. .May the storm sweep the evil away while rebuilding many more lives in the OA village with hope and a future. Let us never to forget that God is a good God and He is in control of everything. I am deep believer that God had made this day such a special day indeed.

As I bid farewell to my OA friends that day, I felt as though I had left a big chunk of my heart there at the village. Though I do not know them that well and I would love to get to know them more especially their way of life but the love for a loving God binds us together. As I pondered on, I know deeply in my heart that this is what is lacking in this disturbing world and society today - A good dose of His love and the fear of God. A good dose of God's love would definitely help our ailing society today...........I am sure of it!