Death of a drunkard......

Yesterday afternoon, I had a late lunch at a nearby Indian restaurant. Moving carefully along the slanted and horrendously dangerous steps of the office to the safety of the ground floor can be quite daunting too. Nevertheless, I must proclaimed that I am alive and well, thank you very much despite the not-so-friendly wooden staircase at the office. Never mind, it is an old wooden structure building with many facelifts to cream its so-called beauty. Been at it for the past 20 years and climbing the staircase every morning seemed to be the gauge for me to see if I still welcome the challenge to walk those steps each day. I guess, for the time being, whether I like it or not, I would still have to climb them. 

But that wasn’t the point I wanted to make. The point was that there is a slumped, dirtied and alcohol reeked smell middle aged man at the doorway that hindered the doorway out of my office. Looking at this man, he was most probably in his late 40s and he had two pack of meals at his sides as he laid down on his stomach. However, he was so wasted with alcohol that he was virtually incorrigible to what had been said to him or what he said to anyone for that matter. He was clothed in a striped red and black striped t-shirt and jeans. So, I took the next best alternative that is to speak to the man and asked him to move to his side so as to not scare the women and children folk.  He was somehow oblivious to where he was or what he was doing when I woke him up. Not rowdy nor violent, the man just sat up but looked groggy. After a while, the man simply slumped back on the cold hard five foot way near our office door making it very difficult for the ladies in the office who are afraid of such people. Believe me, we have had to deal with such people before. Not wanting to make it difficult for the man, I left him to be on his own as I moved on for lunch.

After coming back for lunch, the drunkard man was at where he was and I noted that he was still sleeping on the hard floor while the elderly car park attendant near my office told me that we, meaning our office guys, should call the police to look into this fella. Before walking up the staircase, I had checked out the man and noted that he was still very much alive but still smell a bit. Going up the stairs, I was thinking, “ Why should we call the police? The car park uncle could do it himself, right?” left the thought as it was. Usually, drunkards and street people who sauntered at our office door usually would be gone in a day or two as the alcohol effects wore off. As the day wore on, it was soon time to leave work and go home. Again, at about 6.10pm yesterday, I had visually checked on the drunkard man and I was checking him out by sight if he was okay. I noted that his body rise up and down in a steady fashioned. “Phew! He is still alive!” was what went through my mind. Thinking nothing of it, I left for home but not before making a stop to get some things done.

This morning, as I arrived at the office, I noted that the man was nowhere to be found. “Perhaps this one is different. He must have awakened and moved away”  was what I had in mind today. Imagine my surprise when at about noon time just now, the elderly car park attendant came to the office to exclaim that the drunkard that was at the door since Monday morning was dead upon arrival at the hospital.  He went on to exclaim loudly that we should have called the police and so on. He just rambled on as I pondered that he too could have played his part by rousing up this man and asking him to seek treatment or help. Instead, like many of us, he heaped scornful remarks, unwanted remarks and did not give a second glance at that man that day. We all did that, for the record......

Isn’t it ironic that we are all guilty of such things each day? The poor, the destitute, the drunkard and the dirty don’t even warrant a single glance from us. We are guilt of neglect, you and I included. I felt sad just now and don’t give the bulls that “we will always have the poor among us and so on” or "how man can we save and so on" sermon on this. The fact remained that my colleagues, passer-by , general public and I did nothing to help this person. Even I just made sure he was still breathing but did not even lend or extend a helping hand. Instead, we labelled him the undesired people in our society and just let him be as we moved about to do what we do each day.

Yeah, I am critical of myself too as I took a good hard swipe at myself at this incident. A man died because we did not care enough and a great shame to whatever we have learnt all these years. I guess, when you are down and out and downtrodden, no one gives a two hoots about you, huh? This is what that had happened to our society today. The more advance we are in technology and in our fields, we had loosened and lost our sense of humanly empathy and sympathy for others. We had become mechanical, methodically robotic and ruthless in our daily dealings with people. Maybe, this is what the world is all about. Maybe, this is just the ramblings of an old man like me, the young may say. But verily I say to you that one day, the proud and cocky young would grow old too and suffer the same actions and reactions. One forgets that one’s youth remains only for a short period of time before the unstoppable aging process starts and creeps in. Thereby, compassion, humbleness and respect are the values of life we should nurture.

I am saddened that no one cares enough for the poor, the derelict, the homeless and the unfortunate at times like this. It is like “every man for himself” mentality and all the religious teachings on human values just got flushed down the drain. I am ashamed today. I really am, believe me. I really am ashamed today for my inaction. I am usually not like that and I felt so ashamed beyond words as I also questioned myself on how I have moved that far away from the values I cherished so much.

Yeah, I am affected by the death of this so-call insignificant death episode of this drunkard because I did not care enough to see him be alive today. Mind you, this is someone’s son, father, husband, brother, uncle and even friend. Where have all they gone? I often wonder….. I often wonder......

Where are they? 98 days and counting....

This morning, church service was certainly different to me as far as I was concerned. Firstly , I was moved to the core of my being with a great sermon from Prof.Dr.Maniam who was the keynote speaker of the day. He not only challenged my thoughts and my heart today in fact he challenged the very core of my own personal walk and faith with GOD. No need to make police report just because he put his life in the hands of Jesus Christ, the true and living GOD while he inspired me to want this GOD,ok? I must say that what he preached was the core essence of my faith and the faith of millions around the world. A simple message of good, love and the ways of GOD. I was inspired and encouraged in so many ways. Earlier , on Saturday morning, SLing, SYuen and myself had attended a seminar from Prof Dr.Maniam on "Handling Stress and Distress". I appreciated the insights he had given to the attendees that morning. 

Coming back to Sunday morning events, then came the turn of Sister Susanna Liew, the wife of the abducted servant of GOD, Pastor Raymond Koh to speak a few words. When she shared her experience of what they family had gone through, I swear that there wasn't any dry eyes among the congregation that Sunday morning. It was heart wrenching and sad to hear her speak of the abduction and events that had been ongoing without any updated news nor feedback from the authorities. It is the deafening silence from the authorities that many questions were raised about the abduction itself. The abduction was done professionally with 3 SUVs, 2 cars and 2 motorcycles. I often wonder that with our Malaysian advance  IT technology and super corridors and whatever house corridors, is it not possible to identify the abductors? I must admit that I have seen the abduction so many times that I often wonder who these professionals were. I must admit that it certainly raises a lot of questions especially the use of SUVs and the whole modus operandi of the abduction that took less that 60 seconds. Small frame man in the built of Pastor Raymond Koh required 15 professional abductors to do the job? 

I am most glad that despite of all these questions, Sis. Susanna took the positives from this abduction whereby candlelight vigils held all over the country had helped unite the Christian community, unite the general pubic in seeking answers for such atrocious act of abduction and the solidarity of the NGOs on this matter were solid too. 

Tonight, as my family and I attended the candle light vigil at our church, CCC Melaka, I could not help feeling proud of my fellow Malaysians that had turned up for such a cause. I am proud too for doing my part and support this candle vigil. About 60 to 70 people attended the candle light vigil tonight but boy, we sang our hearts out when we sang " Sejahtera Malaysia" because we love our country , Malaysia but we hate the atrocities that are being thrown to the Malaysians as though we are some uneducated fools and need to digest every bit of untruth that had been hurled to us.

Tonight, we stand against all forms of intimidation to people professing their faith and to be able to practise our faith freely without fear and intimidation. Tonight, we stand against such blatant lack of protection and security for the people in Malaysia especially men and women of GOD. Tonight , we stand against all forms of suppression of information and the right to update the families and victims of such cases. Tonight , we stand against the lackadaisical efforts to allocated resources to bring these abductors and culprits to justice. 

Tonight, as I stood in line with my brothers and sisters on the road, I noted that there was SB personnel monitoring our activities. There is no animosity towards this personnel as he was just doing his job and in fact, some of us took pictures with him as we stood in our candle light vigil tonight. I often wonder how the authorities could get such information of our candle vigil so fast and yet could not use these same resources and technology to track down and locate Pastor Raymond Koh and the rest of the people who had mysteriously disappear over the years? It often makes you wonder if the same treatment is given if some Datuks, YBs or self made or self proclaimed Datuks are missing. Hmmmnnnnn....I am being cynical, ain't I ? Well, I can't help it. I even joked with my wife that if I am missing next for what I write, just remember that someone else before me had suffered the same fate. I guess, I will be having "nasi kari" next, huh? I can safely tell you that you need not fear when you stand on the truth of your faith. Sure, persecution would come , unfairness would be uncurtailed but standing on the truth of your faith gives you the assurance and the peace of GOD. 

I often wondered too that if the hostages taken by the bloody pirates and moronic abductors in Semporna and the parts of Tawau and Sandakan could be freed and found, could not the same intelligence and technology be used to help locate Pastor Raymond and the rest of the missing people like Pastor Joshua & Ruth Hilmi and activist, Sdr. Amri Che Mat? I am sure the families of Pastor Joshua Hilmi, Ruth Hilmi and Amri Che Mat were as anxious and felt helpless like Sis. Susanna and the family. Afterall, their waiting days had been much longer than that of Sis.Susanna. BTW, if ever the authorities are going to spin any obnoxious hogwash lies about the life of Pastor Raymond and what he does for the community, please remember that he helped the community when these people had been turned down flatly by their own community and every community for that matter. For your information , Pastor Raymond and his family provided  Harapan Komuniti for the HIV community, the core poor,  single mothers including giving hope to prisoners to start over with in their lives. Yes, do not spin lies about this man of God just to justify as usual. Afterall, the rot does start from the very top! Just do your work, locate and free the man! Use all the satellites, China made parabola dishes or even telecommunication 1001 towers to help locate these missing people. That would be most helpful relief for the affected families.  

It has been 98 days and counting since Pastor Raymond Koh had been abducted. 98 days of anxiety, pain , suffering and mental anguish for the family of Pastor Raymond Koh. Praise God for churches, NGOs and well wishers for helping the family to cope mentally, physically , emotionally and spiritually. It is never easy when one goes through that uncertain news of a loved one. I pray that Sis. Susanna and daughter, Elizabeth would be strengthened in courage, faith and spirit by the small gesture and part played by our church , CCC Melaka today.  Let us not kid ourselves as I say that persecution is right at our doorstep. It will come and it will happen. We need to steadfastly hold unto our faith and walk that faith when it mattered most and be willing to lend a supportive hand to our fellow brothers and sisters including all Malaysian from all walks of life and faith.  

I often wondered who else is going to be missing next. I do sympathized with their families and the unthinkable anguish one has to go through this ordeal. So, please, spare a thought for Pastor Raymond and the rest of the people that had been abducted. Please pray for their safety and a safe return to their families. We can all stand in unity and in faith for the safe return of these people. 

Remember, I am often reminded of this quote : Evil triumphs every time when the silent or good does nothing! 

"Lord, help me save one more, one more....." - Pvt Desmond Doss, Hacksaw Ridge

WOW!

Watching the Oscars or rather the American Academy Awards 2017 a few days ago was kinda entertaining and a delight in many ways. The show was definitely an awesome show in many ways but like all good shows, it would have its’ glitch too. Never mind that someone screwed up the ending with the most prestigious award for the night , “Best Picture” award but it does highlight some great movies to watch for simple blokes like me. So, I chose to see the movie  Hacksaw Ridge directed by Mel Gibson at the cinema with SLing and SYuen. Somehow, I was really excited as I do love true story movie and inspiring ones too! Like always, I would do my homework of reading up about the movie before going on to read about the character of the movie, Private First Class Desmond Doss , a role so brilliantly taken up by the actor Andrew Garfield. I believe, Andrew Garfield did a wonderful job of potraying PFC Desmond Doss in the movie. Powerful performance indeed!

Private First Class, Desmond Doss

Hacksaw Ridge is based on the true story of Desmond Doss, a pacifist and conscientious objector who enlisted in World War II but refused to carry a weapon or kill, preferring to save wounded men as a medic. Director Mel Gibson doesn't shy away from showing extremely graphic war violence. Bullets pierce flesh in slow motion, explosions toss men in the air, bleeding leg and arm stumps are shown, throats are slashed, soldiers bayonet each other to death, and men are graphically gutted, disembodied, and beheaded, with entrails and ligaments left hanging. Doss is also beaten by his fellow soldiers during basic training due to his refusal to carry a weapon. And his superior officers jail and put him on trial. Doss kisses and marries a nurse; they're seen (him shirtless, her clothed) on their wedding night. Doss' father is an abusive alcoholic. Adults smoke cigarettes and use language including: "s--t," "ass," "t--ties," "bitch," and the racist terms "Japs" and "Nips." Ultimately, though, the movie's message is one of courage, integrity, and sticking to your convictions.

The actual Hacksaw Ridge. Doss at the top.

The fighting took place on the hellish Maeda Escarpment in April 1945 in Okinawa , Japan. The battlefield, located on top of a sheer 400-foot cliff, was fortified with a deadly network of Japanese machine gun nests and booby traps. The escarpment, nicknamed Hacksaw Ridge for the treacherously steep cliff, was key to winning the battle of Okinawa, the bloodiest battle of WWII. The mission was thought to be near-impossible, and when Doss’s battalion was ordered to retreat, the medic refused to leave his fallen comrades behind.

Facing heavy machine gun and artillery fire, Doss repeatedly ran alone into the kill zone, carrying wounded soldiers to the edge of the cliff and singlehandedly lowering them down to safety. Each time he saved a man’s life, Doss prayed out loud, “Lord, please help me get one more.” By the end of the night he had rescued an estimated 75 men. The always modest Doss reckoned he saved about 50, but his fellow soldiers gauged it closer to 100. They decided to split the difference at 75.

I must admit that I was glued to the silver screen as the movie started and this lasted till the end. I guess, a good movie does that to you. The opening lines of the movie was from a Bible verse and it was a meaningful one indeed. From then on, I was hooked on the movie.

It is Isaiah 40:28

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

The real Hacksaw Ridge (left) and the movie on (right)

The flashback and the parts of the movie came into perspective very nicely. I was moved deeply and stand in empathy for Doss insistence for being a conscientious objector. Yeah, no one would understand him at that time, actually, thus, the bullying and the rough treatment on him. No one in the right sane mind would enlist in the Army and not hold a rifle/gun to defend himself during the War. It was such a mind blowing decision on Doss part and to stick to it was like suicide enlistment and statement. Somehow, defying all logic and the comprehension of the human understanding, Doss survived it all. You know that it is God's hands of protection was upon his life and that's really a test of faith. In one of my readings over the battles at Hacksaw Ridge, there was one particular reading which many of his fellow army buddies testified that it was not that Doss was not in the shooting range of the Japanese soldiers who were chasing him down at one time but somehow their guns just jammed and Doss was able to get away from their shooting sight/range. Even when Doss was shot, somehow, the sniper who usually aimed for headshot, somehow, misfired and wounded Doss at his arm. I could only attribute this to God's protection over this man's life!

 

Doss with President Truman

I guess, what I enjoyed most was Doss tenacity to withstand the atrocious behaviour of his army buddies and non-compromising stand on his principles. It made me wonder what would I do in such circumstances. Long gone after the movie had ended, I continued to hammer my head and heart with the question “ Would I be able to withstand that type of physical and mental onslaught because of my faith belief and principle?”  I guess, that is the beauty of this wonderfully aspiring movie. It makes you question the basic principles of life that you hold dearly on to.

Sure, there were plenty of gory scenes of war, bodies ripped apart into two by bullets, maggot filled corpses and body parts, blood splattering head shots, bayonet stabbing of bodies, severance of limbs by swords, body shattering bomb blasts and so on. Leads were flying every where mingled with crest fallen able and bloodied bodies of men as the soil at Hacksaw Ridge was fought. Gory, gory scenes indeed but typical real ugly side of war. I could really relate to what message Mel Gibson was trying to send across – the simple horrors of war. The pain of losing a friend, a relative, a fellow bretheren and fellow human beings from the other side of the fence. It also hit the nail hard on the need to have war in the first place. Some deemed war to be necessary while others see the ugly side of it. Most young people are eager about going to war and serving their country but when the dust had finally had settled down, you see no winners except lifeless, contorted and ripped apart bodies under the cake of earth swimming and flowing with stream of blood oozing from the veins and arteries of the fallen. It often makes you wonder what are we really fighting for. The sixth commandment of the ten commandments ring loud and clear ; “ Thou Shall Not Kill “. How many of us could be tempted to tear apart from that commandment? It sets me thinking too of my own spiritual conviction and life as a whole. But here stood a man, PFC Desmond Doss with that clear conviction in his heart, mind and soul. Truly an inspiring individual and my research had shown that the movie portrayal of this man was as factual, true, real and honest as it was in the movie. Amazing!

This movie moved me as I pondered upon all that is happening in our nation today. The morning papers headlines doesn’t help lift up the gloomy spirits amidst stories of war, gloomy outlook of the world and imminent death in body , mind and soul as lifestyle spins out of control in tandem with a corrupt nation we lived in today. We truly need to understand the need to eradicate this prideful and nonsensical dominance race among the people and have more peace in the world starting with our country. There is a need for concerted effort to locate the missing abducted pastor, raping of Orang Asli rights and lands, more stringent checks on inflow of religious fanatics, rising daily cost of living, handout and bailout mentality, leakages in our national spendings by our Govt Departments and damning corruption that had eroded the delicate balance of racial harmony in our country and the need to get crooks, murderers, rapists, corrupters and racists behind bars indefinitely. We do no need shedding of innocent blood in our soil. We need to mend fences with our neighbour - Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sikhs, Iban, Kadazans, Portuguese and others. We need to know,  stand united and stand strong to shout to our so-called dungu leaders that hatred, racism, religious fanaticsm, corruption in all forms and extreme factional divide do not built this nation. Love, peace, joy, respect and harmony are the key components for a better and harmonious nation of ours.  

Above all, put GOD and honour GOD at the highest level first - not money, power, success nor status! These are things that will NEVER ever bring you to the place GOD had intended you to be. Prideful men and women will fall before the throne of GOD.  History doesn't lie. Just look at the history of wars, the men and women of so-called importance  to this success and that success.......I am often reminded by one of the quip by one of my late Dad's good friend, the late Pakcik Mahmud. He used to say this :- " Biar lah kita jadi macam padi was berisi, bertambah lebat buahnya, bertambah tunduk ;  bertambah kita rendah diri. (humble)"

Go and see Hacksaw Ridge......who knows, you might learn something or maybe...just maybe...God has a divine appointment with you.......... just mussings from an old bloke, perhaps.

Mukjizat Tuhan......

Mukjizat Tuhan - that was my sharing with the jemaat at the OA community Sunday service. I must first admit that I am always a better worker and planner than preaching a sermon, actually. I guess, it is such a heavy responsibility to speak to a community lest an OA community on the goodness of God. But somehow when you know and always in awe of His mighty hands of miracles in your life, you just want to stand up tall and proclaim His great involvement in your life. 

I must thanked both Edwin and Errol for always pushing me forward to preach the Word despite my reluctance as I perceived that there are more qualified and better people to speak the Word than me. Somehow, their encouragement and support helped me a lot along the way.  At first, I just imagined that someone else is going to do the sharing of the Word that Sunday service as all of us were pumped out by the water pipe laying works earlier. So, when Edwin brought up the question of who should share the Word during the Sunday service, I was given that honour despite my usual reluctance and feeling of being tired. Somehow, by the unanimous show of hands, I was given that job to share the Word. I picked up my courage to take up the challenge and share the Word for the second time in the OA church service. Maybe it was God's timing or God's arrangements for me to speak that day despite my reluctance. 

I must admit that I was nervous as usual and I had picked out the salient points and Bible verses for the speaking arrangements for the next morning. In the night prior to the sharing of the Word, I had realised that the entire bag containing our toiletries and bibles were left behind at our home sofa set. Luckily, Sis. Lorna had lend me the BM and English bible for my references. I guess, I then wrote down the gist of my message and tying it up with the bible verses of reference. 

Soon, tiredness crept over me as the team and I had worked tirelessly that entire morning to ensure that water supply flowed strong and freely through the pipes. I decided to go to bed and do some touch up of the message when I wake up the next morning. As the events of the day had impacted me a lot, I decided to titled my message as "Mukjizat Tuhan." 

The next morning, I woke up early to work on my message and ensured that I am aware of what I am saying. I decided that I will allow God's word to flow freely that morning. During the pre-service, I could hear the worship dancers and the worship team members praying for me too. It was such a nice feeling having the team do that for you and with you prior to the service proper. It was a good practise indeed.

That morning, I believed I shared from my heart. It wasn't an easy message to speak on but one that should be spoken as miracles of God are truly an amazing feat. Nothing beats that at all. I tied it up with lots of personal life testimony and events that had happened over the last few days.  Somehow, whenever I was stucked in a idea, the words would flow easily while I shared a lot on the water pipe works. That was the epitome of what God's miracle is all about.

I believe that when one opens his/her heart to God, He would put that conviction and message in your heart. I believe God wanted the people in the OA community to focus onto Him and He would provide for their needs and their direction. I am just another vessel like every one and there is no superiority ever in my mind. I believe that God is to be exalted and be given the highest honour. If we ever felt proud and fed our inflated egos with uncontrollable self praise, we are just being foolish and had forgotten of His love to us. That's why I could never emphasized it more that God deserve all honour, glory and praise!

I wouldn't know how I did that day or how was my KPI index that day. All I know is that I want to share the Word from my heart, I prayed and hoped that they, the listeners and the OA jemaat would be blessed. I know that no one left the hall that day and nether did I end too late or too early that day. I just know that deep in my heart, I have done my best. Sharing from my heart and feeling blessed!

Water! It flowed freely that day.....

The team ....

"Dari umur saya 8 tahun, tidak ada air paip sampai ke rumah. Tapi sekarang, Puji Tuhan, sudah ada sampai ke rumah. Air Paip. Mencecah umur saya 21. Saya rasa macam mimpi saja." - Isan, 21 years old.

This was the whatsapp message long after we completed the laying of water pipes to flow good and clean water to the families in one of the OA village. Praise be to God for enabling the water team of CCC Melaka to finish the timely works for the OA village. It was like the best CNY present ever from all of us in CCC Melaka to the OA community.  For 13 long years, these villagers had to endure a 10m walk down to collect water from the river below, the source of their drinking water, bathing and washing too.

The team

The river had long gone in terms of cleaniness and it was inhumane to let this people suffered for 13 years and counting more had it not been God's mighty hands of intervention that prevailed. GOD placed that burden in our hearts and the water team just obediently followed that call. It wasn't easy. It wasn't an ego trip. It wasn't proudness or showing off. It was humanity in the grace of a miracle! It was mukjizat Tuhan! 

There is no humanly glory nor personal glory nor prideful gloating/boasting that the team sought after by carrying out this water pipe laying works. Instead, we were just thankful and felt the joyous feeling in our hearts. The smiles and the thankfulness look on the faces of the OA community were good enough for us. It was worth it all - the sacrifices, the physical exertion to go the extra mile and all the hard work!

The pipes and helpers....

Sure, there were challenges ahead but miraculously, God smoothed it all out in His time and in His ways. I am thankful and humbled to be part of this team. These people had become like family to me and I am so appreciative of their effort. Pastor Joanne, Pastor Chua, Capt Edwin and Sis.Lorna had been instrumental in bringing water; good clean water to these simple folks. What a great effort indeed!

As usual, Edwin and Lorna had arrived earlier on Friday morning at the OA village to supervise the placement of the ordered water pipes in rolls and the accessories. They had made arrangements that the water pipes were delivered and in place but we weren't sure how many OA youths and community would turned up to help in the works.

The kuli kangs are at work....

I guess, it was on my mind too as Errol & Jessica, Jin Hui and Zach, SYuen, SLing and myself drove to the OA village after working hours. We arrived shortly before 1.30am on Saturday morning after an arduous drive in the midst of drizzling rain and heavy downpour. It was tiring for me personally as I was working in Segamat that morning and I had a fall while at work. Though the back and bums hurt, I was not going to miss that opportunity to be part of this band of brothers! I must thanked the people who had came alongside us to work on the water project all this time but were unable to come for this finale. Thank you for your sacrifices. The people had not forgotten you and so do we! 

The water source...

We hit the sack after our arrival as everyone needed the much needed rest as it was going to be a long day the next day. I guess, with such great responsibilities in our minds, we did not sleep much. I guess, it kinda wedged in our minds that we just needed to let the water flow through the pipes and in homes, no matter what! So, we were up early and eager to do our work despite a gloomy day with pendulous hanging dark clouds signalling the imminent arrival of showers that morning. Never mind! showers of blessings,  we shall call it! Our spirits would not be dampened by such hindrances.

As we got ready, the helpers from the OA community began to trickled in. It was amazing to see about 27 people coming out to help us lay the water pipes from the waterfall to Ibu Leha's house signalling  the beginning of the flow of water after 13 years of wait. After a few minutes of getting to know each other and some last minute instructions, we were off to the waterfall nee the water catchment area. These OA blokes carried a roll of polypipe each and strolled along in the secondary jungle while we , the city folks tried keeping up with their paces. It was drizzling, wet, slippery and difficult terrain this time. 

My two buddies - Edwin and Errol,,,,

I must admit that I was extremely tired than usual, maybe because of the wet, slippery and soft grounds we were threading that day. Slips and falls were the order of the day even though, I wanted to stay as firmly as possible as a fall would mean more pain to my bums. Thank God, I was more careful not to fall on my bums but it still happened. Nevertheless, just bite the tongue, made a quick swear under my breath, pick myself up and moved on. Slowly but surely the cleared path which was carried out by the villagers earlier helped us all a lot. Equipped with the convicted encouragement and determination to bring water to the community, we threaded on until we reached the waterfall.

At the water source....

At this place, there was talk of a cleaner pool of water and a great place. At first , I must admit that I was agitated by all these insistence of climbing higher at a steeper angle to get to the so-called ultimate place to flow the water. I must thanked Errol and Edwin for calming me down and asking me to focus on what that matters and who are serving. So, I climbed up another 30m up at a 60 degrees angle climb on big boulders to reach to the ideal water catchment area. At first,  I was just exhausted while my thighs had started to cramp up due to the tremendous amount of stretching done and it was a physical challenge but words of encouragement and spirit of cohesive togetherness helped me get through this indefinitely.

Jin Hui , Zach and  myself were at the water source while Edwin and Errol were at the bottom section joining the water pipes with the OA helpers and Pak Panjang.

Errol Gan..that's one helluva climb!

I must say that Pak Panjang and Pak Sabri were instrumental in ensuring that the pipes were properly affixed and ready to contain the voluminous water which would flow through the pipes. After some anxious moments of fixing and filling up the water pipe, water gushed out with such tremendous power and volume. It was a great success. The OA helpers cheered and shouted in joy each time water shoots out of the affixed water pipes.  After securing the water trapment container at its place, it was a huge sigh of relief . It was such sweet success indeed! 

Edwin coming down from the water source...

Coming down the waterfall was the tricky part though as the boulders were wet , slippery and rather big. One has to carefully manoeuvred through the cracks and smooth area to slide down indefinitely. After some time, we got down and it was time to check the fixed fittings to ensure no leaks and no wastage of water. Everything went on smoothly with occasional repairs to the fittings. Soon, the one and a half hour trek back to the original point seemed insignificant important as we just water to continue to flow from pipe to pipes soon enough. It was challenging zig-zagging around the mountain with rain showers being our companion as we trudged along to reach our final destination , Ibu Leha's house! 

Zach, myself and Edwin...

When water flowed from the affixed pipes and reached Ibu Leha's house, the joy was unspeakable. The lighted faces says it all. After fixing all the required fittings, it was time to hand oven the pipes to Pak Ya and Ibu Leha. It was such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment but very hard work. I was pumped out of my energy and I was extremely tired. There are just no words to describe how I felt that day - pure bliss and joy for the OA community. GOD , you are so good!

A stop to repair a leak.....

Now, 27 families will have the privilege to have water after a 13 years wait. To me, equipping that one house ( Ibu Leha's house ) was the ultimate joy for me. It is significantly important to equip her home as she was faithful and have caring heart towards her community. It just goes to show us that God is a wonder working miracle giver. Ibu Leha's  faithfulness in God had come to fruition. Due to her diligence, steadfastness and faithfulness in God, her community had benefited and been blessed. It is a miracle indeed!

The finished water pipe at Ibu Leha's house.

The resonant wave of relief and mood in the OA community had changed from one of bleakness and downtrodden feeling to a joyous and uplifting in spirit occasion. A miracle had happened after 13 years of wait! Fresh clean water had arrived in the pipes! It happened because there were people who dared to make a difference even if it was like throwing pebbles in a vast pool of water but the resonant ripples seemed bigger and more effective. God listens and God cares! I am just so humbled to be part of this team of wonderful brothers and sisters!

Knowing who the miracle giver ( pemberi mukjizat ) will always bring cheer to the heart. For me, it is never the miracle that I sought but always the source of the miracle - the miracle giver. (GOD)

Enjoying a meal from Ibu Leha and the mothers.

I leave you with this : Wayat nak Yesus: "Menda haq head kugyerg ouq benusieq, Kugyerg ouq Allah." - Lukas 18 : 27
( But he said the things which are impossible with man are possible with GOD - Luke 18: 27 NKJV )

BLI Course and OA Youths......

For the past two days , I have shared and spent the best two days of my life with seven lovely young people from the OA community. As usual, my great buddies, Edwin, Errol and their families in Lorna, Lara, Jessica, Josephine, Jocelyn and my own family in SLing and SYuen made it all such wonderful days. The six OA young people in Latifah, Ercy, Zunaida, Intan, Rose Alia, Isan and Mustafa were in Melaka for the Bible League International (BLI) - Faclitators' Firm Foundation Course held in CCC Melaka.

Besides having attended a truly enriching, invigorating and meaningful course for English literacy teaching, it was a truly touching and wonderful time spent with the OA youths. 

We made it!

They may struggled a bit with the interaction part of the course and so on but they can speak good English when it matters. I guess, a lot of us underestimated them and this course gives them the opportunity to surprise many especially the city dwellers. Sure, they may not speak Cockney/Queens English for all I care but they could speak English and that was important! As usual, they were shy and inhibited at first but wonderful tutelage, encouragement and prompting from BLI Master Trainers, Lynda, Lee Ping, Ervina and Irene Huang made it all such a wonderful teaching & learning experience. I am especially thankful and inspired by Sis. Lee Ping who is such a smiling encourager and a good teacher of the English language. She is fun, encouraging and helped articulate the English words clearly and precisely. She is a wonderful teacher of BLI. The three of us - Edwin , Errol and myself truly enjoyed ourselves in the course.

Group 2 - Roleplay & drama winners

Group 3

Group 1 - The jovial & fun group!

Aaarrrrrrgggghhhhh.....we are fun!

Coming back to the OA youths, due to the compact schedule of the course, we were only able to spend the evenings together with some sight seeing and beach fun. I guess, being in the OA kampung, they are used to be at the river, waterfalls, mountains, terrains and jungles. So , when they were asked where would they like to go after "class", they simultaneously answered " The beach! ".  Yunno, for a city dweller like me, the beach is like such a common thing for all of us but to these OA young people, it was such a happy time for them. Thanks to Edwin, Lorna and Lara for hosting them in their house and also for taking care of their needs. Incidentally, their house is nearby the beach and so , it was very convenient to bring the OA youths there. To me, when they said "beach", 

Fun, fun, fun.....

I could see their eyes lit up immediately and so we were off to the Klebang beach to fly kites, horsing around at the beach, playing with sand and eagerly awaiting the sunset! Yes, they were eagerly awaiting for the sunset at the beach. What a very simple request! Seeing them happily flying kites, playing around, laughing, teasing one another, taking snapshots of themselves and just basking the moments were momentous moments for me. I too get to go back to my childhood memories mode when I used to play on the beach and be carefree but somehow, the constricting demands of work and whatnot had certainly robbed me of that small pleasures. This experience with the OA youths made me realised how  much I had lost in time due to the ever demanding rat race in life and life snuffing demands of work all for the fistful of ringgits and a better life. 

Classic lovely photo....leaping with joy!

Somehow, for moments like these, I felt the OA youths have better life than me, seriously. Sure, they do lack a lot of facilities and so on but at least, they felt at ease with who and what they are. Often neglected, robbed of their rights and harassed to the brink of embarrassment and robbed of their livelihood, they continue to put their faith in God and how wonderfully mannered they are. They behaved well, soft spoken and truly thankful lot. That is what I like about them very much. Boy! We really had fun at the beach before taking them for dinner as  Errol & Jessica joined us for a meal. As we posted the pictures on our Whatsapp group chat, there were wide smiles all the way. We even spoke in English as we had promised to speak in English throughout the entire BLI course! It was fun being with them.

Stadhuys & Christ church....

I guess, after graduating from BLI course, we were off to Melaka sight seeing trip. Again, these young people eyes lighted up with enthusiasm and glee! This time, we started off with the Stadhuys building with Edwin being the tour guide. Edwin was hilarious in many ways and told the young people of the historical background of the Victoria fountain and the history of the red Stadhuys building. Then it is off to the museum building which was unfortunately closed as we were there after 5.00pm. It was pciture session with Pokok Melaka and the OA youth even braved themselves to taste the sourish & bitter buah Melaka and you should have seen their faces! It was so funny indeed! 

Oh! Pokok Melaka.....

Posing at the step to St.Paul's Hill

St.Paul Church.....

Iconic A"Famosa fort....

We were taking photos along the way as we climbed up the stairs to St.Paul's Hill. Tour guide, Edwin explained to the OA youths on the significance of St.Paul's Hill, the statue of St.Francis Xavier , the church and the huge tombstones that were in the church atop St.Paul's Hill. I thanked God that it was a windy and beautiful day for sight seeing in the evening. The Melaka city view was absolutely gorgeous! It was obvious that these young ones were very happy and they were at the best in photography sessions too. We were then off to the iconic A'Famosa. No trip on the historical trail in Melaka is complete without the trail to A'Famosa. Edwin , Errol and myself prided ourselves to tell the youths about this iconic fort as we know it during our younger days. It seemed like we were living in the swashbuckling times again. 

It was at this place that Isan said to me, " Brother, dulu kita hanya baca dan tengok gambar saja. Sekarang saya dapat lihat sendiri. Sungguh gembira!" I was choked with emotion for a moment. I never knew how much this trip meant to these young people as echoed by Isan. 

Let's blast away the ships!!!!!

St.Paul's Hill...

We are at Jonker Street!

Macho young men and macho women!

We are the handsome ones!

Fun time together....

Edwin, Errol and myself at BLI course....

It was truly an eye opener for me as trips such as this could be so meaningful to them despite it being just another historical trail trip for us, the Malaccans. I guess, when I see how happy they were at the historical sights, I was so happy for them. My heart is so full of thankfulness to these young people as they showed me what it meant to enjoy the simpler things in life and how not to take them for granted too. Like I said, I thought, I was taking them for a historical trail but instead they took me to my childhood trail and showed me how far I have travelled from my perspective in life. Simple joys in life and simple innocent love & care.  I was touched indeed. 

Even when we were are the food court for them to taste a variety of food, they stuck to known food such as Nasi lemak while some tried mee soup while Isan tried hokkien mee! They even tried the spiciest sausage ever and I tried two small pieces. Though my tongue was like on fire, I weathered through it and  made it! Boy! It was really hot & spicy, I tell you! It was fun being with them as they asked me to try the sausage! 

That night as we bade farewell, I really miss these young people a lot! They are truly amazing people and I truly wish we could have spent more time with them. Maybe, it is good that we all shared a little of our lives and inspire each other until we meet again soon. 

Together in perfect harmony, closeness and friendship.....

Miss all of you very much !

Latifah - Zunaida - Ercy - Rose Alia - Intan - Mustafa - Isan - THANK YOU VERY MUCH ~ TERIMA KASIH ~ PUJI TUHAN !!!!!!