Heartwarming Seconds...OA heartbeat...

The team...so proud of them.....

Rustling light breeze, stillness of the night, sounds of gentle rustling leaves and great aroma of barbecued chicken pieces and lamb filled the air against the backdrop of an OA rustic house – what more could one asked for if one is out at the OA community village. Ah! The peace and occasional break in atmosphere tranquillity of excited children running about and chasing one another in the vicinity of the yard. This excites me a lot. I guess, I must say that I feel very much at home staying in a place in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by nature and the elements of nature-rubber trees to be exact & secondary jungle.....What a therapeutic path for an old bloke like me!

 

Fill stomach first at kopitiam.....

Pulling back the covers of the events leading to this, CCC Melaka launched Book Drive Campaign for OA Community after the first successful Food Drive campaign for the OA community was a great success. Continuation of this good works was first mooted by Sis. Tan Joo Li who was together with the team during the first trip. With her great enthusiasm, passion and concern, she picked up this idea and threw the challenge to the church members and like all good things for the Lord, the idea caught flames of passion in the hearts of the people and the books came in. I must say that it wasn’t easy for the Book Drive team as the sluggish economy doesn’t help much but the good and faithful gave what they could in terms of donations and books. Praise God, there were enough books to set up a mobile library unit for the OA community in Kg.A and Kg.B. As always, we can’t mention the names of the kampungs for fear of backlash to these folks when no one is watching…but alas, God is always watching, right?

 

Buku team in action.....

Buku team....

Anyway, a team was set up and this time, Pastor Joanne was ready to travel to the OA villages and see first hand and meet up with Pst.X ( name withheld for safety reasons too ) whom the church had faithfully sponsored in terms of student grants/funds. What a great opportunity indeed! So, once again, Capt Edwin led the team of 13 ( Thomas, Errol, Gilbert Ang, Aaron Liu, Jui Jien, Grace Teo , Pastor Kisol and his wife, Pastor Joanne, Sis. Lorna, myself  including our dear lovely boy, Ethan Sim, the youngest of them all. ) in the OA community village. It was a pleasant surprise to know that Pastor Kisol and his wife were travelling with us this time. I had met up with Pastor Kisol at his OA village during a Royal Rangers mission trip to OA village in 2003. It was indeed an honour to be able to meet up with him again. The team was rather small this time as most of the “former” team members were tied up with other job matters and other arrangements.

Jui Jien & Grace in action......

This time I managed to rope in the services of Errol Gan, my friend and family in the team. His knowledge in electrical and mechanical works would come in handy for the works that was to be carried out. Like I have always said, I ain’t no engineer nor an expert but I certainly can help out in whatever way I could. I am humbled that there are many more others who are far more qualified for such works but I do my best with whatever little talent that God has bestowed upon me so that I can help the team. 

Yup, unity, friendship & getting it done...

As Errol and I worked together in the Royal Rangers (RR) Ministry some many years back, I am always encouraged by his honesty, confidence presence, work rate and humility in ensuring that a task is completed. This had been our work ethics since we were in the RR ministry. I guess, I had good examples to follow especially in the likes of Vive & Sathy. Thanks to these two wonderful friends of mine.

So, it was definitely good to have such a person on board the team. Uncle Thomas, the old wise man with a dollop of good humour and a good sense of work is always a welcome sight. I am glad to have the chance to work with him and to get a lot of things done. His insights of things and how to get some things done were awesome. Boisterously humorous and always a good elderly figure, I tipped my hat for this man. With a busted back but balls of steel when it comes to work, it is always a real honour working alongside him. A definite honour, Uncle Thomas!

  

Modified tangga ...don't do this at home..

We managed to complete setting up of ceiling fans and get the guests house equipped with running water. Toilets were also in working condition and basic. It was good to know that we had accomplished much work that day. It gives you that sense of accomplishment and a sense of responsibility to do what we can for the community.

Meanwhile, the Book Drive team led by Pastor Joanne, Jui Jien and Grace Teo together with Aaron Liu managed to launch the “Pondok Buku” successfully in both the OA kampongs. It was good to know that with the inculcation of the reading habit; many more children and youths in this community will grow indefinitely. It was such a delight seeing the children being enthusiastic about reading books and seeing the colors of the pictures. My prayer for that day is that more of these OA children will be educated , rise up and helped out their community in the future. The hope is always for the future of the community, isn’t it? I am excited for the fact that CCC Melaka had taken that very step of providing that book avenue and doorway of basic educational needs to these young children. What a great investment on the lives of the OA community.

 

The team....

Anyway, besides the hard work that had been put in into the works and book drive, there is always the human side of any event. I felt very blessed once again to be working and mingling with the people. For people in the team, it was a chance to get to know each and every one of them in a close manner. I remembered clearly the emergency of a burst tape head in the middle of the night and the way the team responded was just superb. It was interesting to know that people with such diverse background , experience, spiritual walk and different personalities could get together and worked out a grand solution even for a menial repairs such a burst tap head and still have fun together as friends and brothers of faith.

Pastor Joanne.....one tough cookie....

I am always interested in the human side of our mission trips because our lives are sometimes the only Bible these people in the OA community will ever know. Make no mistake that this has been my personal view all along that books and all the learning means nothing if we do not portray the love of God which is sometimes doing simple, logical and apt things. What is the use of bombastic, proud and out of this world’s word vocabulary when our living life doesn’t show a single ounce of love, compassion and mercy as God does. So, I constantly chided myself so that I toe the line by being humbled, down to earth and sometimes make sure I act appropriately so that I do not let down the people who believe in my ability and my humble works and also, for the God I love. 

Enjoying the waters......

Yeah, more often than not, we forget who were represent. We represent not our proud church institution; but we actually represented GOD in the big way by the way we talk, we work, we mingle and even when we behave ourselves. So, I say again, our lives may be the only Bible these people know and it is important we know that and we do not collapsed all the good works that had been carried out by our peers before us. I am thankful for people who will chide and correct me when I am wrong or when I am overboard with my actions. I guess, sometimes, we are just being human and we too need advices, strong words, hard words including love, praises and affirmation too.

 

The midnight "minum" team.....

Other than that, the midnight coffee session was such a delight. We laughed in the middle of the night over our own antics and fun for the day. Hot coffee, simple organic breads and biscuit including a good dose of humour filled the air. It was such a poignant moment indeed against the backdrop of a very quiet and cold night. The fun we had while working in the guest house was also such a delightful time but most important of all, we got the job done. These are moments that will last a lifetime in my memory. I am thankful for being a part of this team and I am so proud of each and every one who had volunteered to come for this trip.  

 

Ethan, Uncle Thomas, myself & Errol....

As I sat down there looking at the people around me, I am most blessed to know these people. They will never ever know how much they had inspired me and encouraged me. So, thank you, friends, for igniting the fire of fellowship and inspiration. I must admit that there was a time in my life that I had been in a rut and to get that ignition of fire to the heart once again was such a joy. I enjoyed this moment so much. Thank you very much, people!