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!

Murtabak Kambing....

The kawan-kawan and family at the Restaurant Bohari.....

There is a new place whereby my good friend, Fook Meng swore that the murtabak kambing is the best in the world as far as he was concerned. The fact that FookMeng raved about its goodness makes the anticipation to taste this morsel such a kancheong fare, I tell you. But you know what, he is absolutely spot on when it comes to his food. Prior to tasting this bready goodness, his graphic description makes the saliva drool to its side especially if you are a food lover like me. One look at the sideways of me, you will definitely see where all the muscles had gone….exactly…GONE ! Hey, Round is a shape, people! Yessiree, round is a shape and a fine one, I tell you.

Anyway, this buddy of mine actually gave us a sampler during our Friday corporate prayers.....to be exact , we “hijacked and ate” the murtabak kambing pieces off our pastor’s packed container, actually. Well, you can’t keep good food from food loving people, right? To do so would be extremely sinful and cruel since we had just finished prayer meeting and there sure were some hungry folks around, I tell you! Yeah, it was good and definitely good.

 

Two good ol' blokes having the murtabak kambing!

Fook Meng described the fare as “an explosion of spices, succulent meat , sambal and dhall curry bringing it such a mixture of great explosion of culinary fare in the mouth! “  It was that vivid and graphic explanation that made me say to myself , "This one I’ve gotta to try! " When he says things like that a trip to the shop is the most likely response and true enough, friends and yours truly were at Restaurant Bohari in Kota Laksamana to get a sample of that goodness explosion. An entourage of good friends and family were gathered at the restaurant to sample the goodness that was offered by this restaurant. We were not letdown by the food and the service - this, I must say! 

Earlier, road trip to this place was hell as Mat Rempits were everywhere on the main roads causing so much unpleasantness to the motorists. I just wished that these Mat Rempits would go to the racing track near Air Keroh toll house and finished their life once and for all at the prepared tracks there. At the tracks, they could bawled out their innards or internal organs on the tracks or have their legs, hands, toes, eyes or even their brain matter broken, splatter or even missing as far as I was concerned. A real social menace and nuisance to the society, actually. I mince not my words when I say this to the Mat Rempits - law breakers, careless, arrogant and dastardly road bullies. I am really displeased that our ruling govt approved of such behavioural pattern of loafing, goofing off and even pure laziness in or young people. If there is an iota of actual care, these Mat Rempits should be given a few good strokes of rotans, some nasi bungkus slammer time and asked them to straighten up their lives! Good for nothing clowns! This culture of messing up motorist car/vehicles, kicking motorist bumpers, smashing side windows, ramping up their m/cycles and intimidation/rough house tactics are disgracefully childish, immature and blatantly moronic. I’ve got no kind words for people like these who are generally “monkey see, monkey do” imitators! If you breed racism and intimidation tactics , this is what you get/produce in your future generation! It is actually such a sad thing to see young people/boys and even young women participating in such useless and senseless act of loafing and goofing around when they could have done something else more meaningful and productive like sharing time with their loved ones and caring for their elders. Ah….come to think of it, another bunch of clowns will be running the country for years to come, I guess!

 

The gastronomical delight, murtabak kambing.........

Anyway, leaving the ugly and sad episode aside, we arrived late at the restaurant while our friends and their families were there early. SLing ordered the murtabak ayam and I went for the murtabak kambing. Sure, it took a while for the food to come as there is some preparation to it. I guess, the anticipation and the wait was quite intense and worthwhile as you wanna just dig into the good stuff and saviour the lingering joy in such a high fashion! While some kawan-kawan ordered roti canai, thosai, maggi goreng and roti telur, I awaited eagerly for the arrival of my gastronomically delightful , murtabak kambing.

When the metal platter with my murtabak kambing hit the table, I could immediately get the aromatic scent of the spices and the ever wonderful goat meat aroma. Yup, folks, secondary heaven had arrived. I immediately tore to the murtabak and gotten a small piece to my mouth and savored the magical moment of flavorful explosion. After closing my eyes for a few blistering seconds, it happened. Like a portable cement mixer, the spices kicked in and the soft but firm meat of the goat plus a good dose of sambal and curry dhall did the trick,man! It was good…very good indeed.   When Fook Meng asked me, “ Hah, good ,eh?” smiling sheepishly and grinning from ear to ear,  I just could only muttered a soft “ Good” as I was still enjoying that goodness. Yeah, it was that good and in fact, it was perfect. Maybe, I have not tasted other stalls or restaurant serving murtabak kambing before but I must say, this one tasted really good. Yes, the trick was to get a good dose of sambal to go with this murtabak kambing and once you get the right dose of sambal and pieces of murtabak together, it is open heavens! Yup, with good ol’ teh halia kurang manis, it washed down nicely into the ever waiting voluminous and bottomless belly of mine! Hahahahhahaaaaaaaa...............

Yup folks! The crowd goes "wild" after murtabak kambing!

I can’t tell what others think of the fare but I simply enjoyed it very much. I guess, the great laughters and fellowship that ensued were good enough cause to gather but to have a good murtabak kambing fare was the bonus of it all. The fellowship and the warmth shared as friends were enormously great. With great food fare at the sides, what more could the old blokes and the not-so-old-blokes ( like me! Hahahahaha........) asked for…… As we bade our good nights and goodbyes, I could not help but feel that we definitely have found a new place to “freak out” and to have fellowship plus great food along the way…..murtabak kambing jingling all the way to home, I guess……..in a very satisfied belly…………..

Wednesday ramblings....

Two of the greatest connectors of life has always been fellowship and friendship. The two most used words but seldom deciphered to their true context. Here is my simple take on the two words – the connecting factor to these two words is the word – FOOD! My explanation is simply that if there is good food on the table be it durians, sambal ikan bilis, Nyonya pong teh, assam pedas, tom yum, BBQ ribs, braised chicken or whatever goodies, fellowship & friendship will ensued/come through easily. Of course, you must throw in the right people and the right purposes into the mix bowl or else it is going to be the longest night of your life!

Interestingly that over the years, I have found that great people are the ones that would make the conversation in a meeting or a party a lively discussion or a lively riot. Add up with people of the same like-mindedness, the party or the discussion will turned into a riot very quickly; a good riot though and sometimes becomes the envy of the guys at the next table or even of the party.

I guess, over the years I am blessed with great friends with superb humour and a barrel of laughs. Sure, we all ain’t some nut cases from Tanjung Rambutan mental institution or Hospital Bahagia but we are all pretty nice gentlemen, blokes and women, I must say. I guess, the chemistry when in a group of happy, lively and ever humorous group, you tend to be lifted up in spirits and forget the axe thrown at you at work earlier or some bloody assassination plot to blow up your piss pot! Yeah, I mean, it is such an uplifting feeling just to be able to share a laugh or two and even be part of the joke at times as it lightens the heart and sure as hell give better flow of your blood to reach those vital places of interest in your body. It is no wonder that “happy “ people tend to outlive the grumpier ones! I know, I know, I have no statistics to back this up but I do believe that people on prune juice diet will definitely konked off earlier than the laughing ones! 

Somehow, reading too much of the Obituary Section of the daily papers had somehow influenced my view that grumpier one definitely will appear at that section faster than they can say " Not me! ". By the way, I love the Obituary Section as it gives me the opportunity to read the lineage of that person and their pictures are always smiling faces which is so much lovelier, actually. I envisioned that the smiling faces are actually the "screensaver" of the people. Who wants a grumpy picture in the Obituary Section, right? 

I have had my share of being with seriously “dead” serious group of people( believe me, they are as good as dead! ) and some hilariously riot bunch of humorous old blokes and let’s just say that I KNOW where I want to be! So, I just wanna say thank you to all the people that had gone through my life , touched me in more ways than I’ll ever know and even bringing so much brighter changes in my life. I may not be the best of friends but I do hope in my small little way, I’ve been a friend to each and every one of you. My utmost sincere apologies if I hadn’t been a good one. 

One of the things I love to do in the office is to groan out that so and so had died after flipping the Obituary Section of the papers. BTW, it is not morbid to read the Obituary Section of the papers. It is perfectly okay, people! We will all die one day and there is absolutely no need to get overly sensitive over this matter! So, one day, one of the clerks asked me if I knew the person in the papers. I would always have my fun by telling her - "Nope! But she /he is dead , isn't it?" Most of the time, her face would lit up and more often than not, I would get a gentle slap or even the longest Chinese " Choi!Choi!Choi! exclamation!  It sure brightens up her days and mine too! It is good to have humour and be joyful and stop being a prude!

Yunno, life is really funny. You can find out about this easily when you sit at a funeral sit in. No one in their bloody sane mind is gonna tell you the horrific facts of this person or that person that is laying down there “in their best” in the casket! Everyone will try to be as polite as possible but amidst the politeness, you can actually hear the truthful facts about the one lying in the casket by people whom regarded that person as friend/family. I guess, in many ways, I have had been in such situations and I would like to hear the truth of that someone rather than the “re-constructed“ truth of that person. Don’t you agree? Sometimes, it is just polite to say something nice to the dead and it makes me think, actually. My questions is simply – why can’t we say nice things to that person while he/she is alive and before that person changed their address permanently as they lay in their 6’x4’ plot? Hmmmnnnnn….interesting.

Anyway, it is always so much nicer being around sincere friends and nice folks AND believe me, there are plenty of such people around once you get to know them. It is because they have been hurt, used and twisted around that people start to close up and get nasty. I believe that somehow there is no rotter to the core person as one starts their life. Bad experiences and bad peoples made that turnabout of events and lives. So, let’s get rid of all these goons and start with good people again, shall we? Yeah, give it a try today and see if it works. Sometimes, we are that stumbling block itself and so, we, ourselves, would have to make a change before others do that. I guess, with that happening, the place we lived in would be so much nicer. Don’t you think so? I think, it would be good indeed…….

The Opportunity....Sharing The Word

The one thing I can do quite okay... better than sharing ....hahahahaa..

Bangkitlah! ( Yesaya 60:1)  - This was my message scripture last Sunday as I shared in the OA Sunday morning service. I must admit that though I was nervous and had butterflies in my stomach, my mind was racing like 100m runner and I was overly concerned if I would do well even before it even started, I made it! Gosh, I was a nervous old fella indeed that morning but the morning gathering and prayers held by the worship leader, musicians and Sunday school teacher helped me eased up a lot. It was the morning after the all night long work at the Pondok Buku!

the sweet sweet langsat..... from Pak Ghani...

Once again, I must thanked Bro.Errol and Bro.Edwin for giving me the encouragement and support to speak/share a Sunday morning message. As I looked back and turned back the clock to a couple of years ago, I am most glad that I had fulfilled one of the things that was spoken over my life. I may not be good in my BM but I just took it at heart that I wanted to inspire and be an encourager to the congregation that morning. Yup , my eyes were transfixed on Him and the congregation that morning.

The physical food galore by our women folk....

I had prepared my message earlier ( 2 days before driving out to the OA village ) and I tried getting the words correct as I wrote out the outline of my message. Somehow, some small still but firm voice had asked to share the experience of a dark period of my life to encourage the congregation that morning. In obedience, I did and words just came out that day. I guess, what was important for me is that I took that step of faith despite being exhausted to my bones from work the previous day and used an episode of my life as encouragement to the congregation consisting of young and old, men and women of OA community.

I felt so lifted up and confident as I spoke on. Maybe, seeing that the people were listening to me helped me a lot while no one left their seats to go to the toilet is a good sign indeed! I must admit that I do not know how I managed to get through speaking and sharing the Word in BM. I knew that I did not struggle much to say what I wanted to say though the sharing of my story was kinda a bummer story as I recalled the difficult times. I guess I just wanted the people to know how much they are loved by GOD and how they could be an encourager to one another. 

The future...baby Gary & Jessica.....

I asked for GOD to give me that strength and courage to put forward my sharing that morning. I am so glad and relieved when I am done! Phew! No eggs are thrown or no disruption at all! hahahahahahaha...... Sure, there will be children running around and shouting at the top of their voices but it is all good. What is important is that the Good News is shared and the people are encouraged. 

Yup....Sharing the Word with much enthusiasm.......

It is my hope that the OA community would rise up, keep their faith and trust in the Lord always. With so much challenges, trials, tribulation and corrupts ways they had to endure each day, I pray that they would be steadfast in their faith and loved one another.

I also pray that their yield in the fields would multiply and be in abundance so that they could prosper without being harassed and cheated all their lives of the hard work they put in. Somehow, the rambutans and the langsats come sweeter that morning, this year. Lord, you are good! May you continue to prosper the hands of the OA community! Felt very blessed indeed!

Pondok Buku - Accomplished!

Started work early morning....

September month is always the significant month each year as the days edge closer towards the end of the year. It is the month of missing a loved one ( my dad ) and a day of celebration. (my birthday) This year, September seemed extra special as I recalled the days I've gone through. I am glad that I had gone through the missing of my late Dad rather well as each day of that month (10th September ) I would feel down. But somehow, this time I had managed to get through the day without a sad feeling as I had something important to do that day.

It was the day, I had spent every available ounce of energy I had in this thick frame of mine ( learn to use positive words instead of "fat"! ) to finish the building of the Pondok Buku for the OA community at a place I shall leave unnamed. 

Working hard to finished the windows....

I remembered having travelled the night before it with fellow friends to this special OA kampung as we had yet to finish the building of the Pondok Buku. This project started about some 3 months ago under the stewardship of Bro. Edwin and Sis.Lorna with the co-operation and support from Pastor Joanne and the elders of CCC Melaka. As the volunteers are generally working individuals with a string of work and responsibilities , it took some time to finish the project but what a project indeed!

I must say that the ground work was the most difficult as one would have to toil hard and bore a tanned skin under the energy sapping blistering sun. There are some days that cool breeze does blow our way but majority of the time, it was sweltering & blistering hot sun. 

Works on the prima board walls...

We ( the building team ) are thankful though that we had managed to complete the building of a Pondok Buku for this OA community. With the building of this Pondok Buku, many more OA children would have assess to books and knowledge  which is important for the growth of literacy among the OA people. For far too long, these beautiful children had been deprived of such joy of reading and enjoying the habit of reading. Yes, many, many more children would stand to benefit from the building and equipping of the Pondok Buku.

Working through the night....Edwin & Daniel for tiling work.

I must say convey my thanks to the team that made it happen. Whatever help given, whether small or big sacrifices, the Lord sees and knows. I am just glad that the CCC members are supportive and worked hand in hand to ensure that each section of the building was done well. I am proud to say that the team did their best. All monies spent, all works done and all arrangements were made with full accountability, responsible and with great integrity. All glory to God! 

The beauty of it all is that despite our short comings, our imperfections and mistakes, the spirit of goodwill and love prevailed. I believe that it is important when working as a team in a project such as this. I could never be able to describe to you how tired I was at the end of each day work but the joy at the end of the day is simply too marvelous and too enormous of a joy.  I am so thankful and amazed that every one gave a little of their talent  while in areas where we aren't good, we compliment each other is doing the best we know how. Guess, that really made this project such a special one. 

Stopped work for sumptuous lunch prepared by the women folk

Suffice to say that I am thankful to many people who are far more talented and skillful than I am and they are the real heroes. Of course, the womenfolk helped a lot in making our work and stay such a sweet one especially the preparation of food and drinks. Not forgetting, their helping hand and great advice during construction helped a lot in ensuring that everything is in order too. Thanks for the support, ladies! 

That evening as we sat down to look at our finished work, alas, it is an inspirational building as we know many more children are going to be blessed. Many more lives are going to be touched and encouraged. Hallelujah God!

Completed! The Pondok Buku for the OA community......

Every tile laid, every prima board wall put up, every layer of roofing fixed, every lighting switch and power point fixed, every sliding bar, naco windows and glass pane fixed and every door being put up, someone's life is being touched and encouraged. I am so blessed and encouraged seeing how these volunteers work and their great enthusiasm. I pray that many more OA children will get their lives blessed as the books kept rolling into their Pondok Buku. What a nice feeling! What a wonderful feeling!