“Terima kasih kerana membantu
kami,” exclaimed one petite Indonesian woman as she received her food pack
consisting of ketupat, chicken rendang and a pack of light condiments from
Pastor Jarren yesterday evening. Her smile and grateful expression on her face
says it all, really. As the other workers who had just came back from work
started to line up, the team of volunteers consisting of Pastor Jarren , Jionn,
Shwu Yuen and Pastor Daniel gave out the special food packs to them. You could
see the beaming joy on their faces, the widened smiles and that grateful
endeavor in them. I guess, as a volunteer, it really gives me a lot of joy and
blessing knowing that all of us in the Hope Kitchen team of City Community
Church, Melaka had played a small part in not just feeding the needy but also
attending to the comfort of the matters of the heart and mind especially during
this difficult time of pandemic and Hari Raya celebrations.
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| Pst.Daniel, Pst.Jarren, Shwu Yuen and Jionn |
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| Shwu Yuen & Pst.Jarren preparing the Raya food packs |
Hope Kitchen, an initiative
from the Youth Ministry of City Community Church, Melaka had its first spark
sometime in May, 2020 by a group of youth leaders who wanted to do something
more for the community. Under the tutelage and leadership of Pastor Daniel and
Pastor Jarren, the boys and girls made their rounds at the nearby Malinja flats
and saw first hand experience for themselves the reality of living and living
conditions of the various migrant workers ( Indonesians, Bangladeshi, Nepali,
Myanmar, Cambodians ) and the locals at the flats. Somehow, the trip experience
touched their lives and after some discussion, they picked up the idea of Hope
Kitchen. Soon ideas flowed and flourished while the initiative took off with
the first sharing with the needy during the 1st MCO period whereby
many lives were touched with simple food groceries such as rice, salt, sugar,
eggs, dried mee hoon, flour and other simple groceries. Needy folks in Banda
Hilir, Kg.Jawa, Bukit Baru, Ujong Pasir and many other areas benefitted from
this food grocery drive. It has been on-going ever since and with the grace of
God, Hope Kitchen has been a blessing to many in the community ever since. With
donations and givings in kinds ,thus far, Hope Kitchen had been able to produce
approximately 100 packs of food groceries to be given out each time. The team
faith grew from a small number to about 100 packs today. Indeed, God has been
good and merciful.
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| Waiting for the workers to arrive...Shwu Yuen, Jionn & Pst.Jarren.. |
For me, I took part in the
latest two events of food grocery giving and Raya food pack blessing which was
held yesterday (15/5/2921 ). I had the opportunity to serve together with some
really nice people in Bro Shaun, Suzan, Yeona, Sean Teh, Aidan Teh, Jionn, Shwu
Yuen, Daniel, Dave, Pastor Jarren and Pastor Daniel. With the raging pandemic
and the constant scrutiny for SOP, everyone worked well, masked up, kept our
distance and packed the food groceries diligently while spreading a lot of
cheer and happiness as we go about packing the food. I guess, everyone is well
aware of what we are supposed to do as we took the proper precautions in
sanitizing our hands, masks on, keeping distance, wear gloves but ensured that
we greeted our recipients well, with much enthusiasm and with cheery quips to
boost the atmosphere. Truly remarkable people with wonderful spirit of
cheerfulness. Undeterred but always under the watchful eyes of the presence of
the police personnels, we made sure that the food groceries were all given out
with the proper procedures like registration, temperature recording, a good
spray of hand sanitizer and social distancing procedure which were strictly
adhered to.
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| Arrival of the workers and asking them to do safe social distancing........ |
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| Giving out the Raya food packs.... |
I believe that despite all the
gloominess of the prolonged pandemic situation, I could not help but noticed
that we are truly a joyful lot of people when serving. Everyone is always on
high spirits and the right attitude. I guess, all of us understood the need to
spread some cheer to the already despairing situation and to lift up the
spirits of others. I guess, it also rings
true that it is more blessed to give than to receive thus, bringing joy to
others and helping out in whatever way does bring out that inner satisfaction
that no one could ever experience. I remembered distinctively when two older
folks from the Malinja flats came over to collect the food groceries but they
weren’t capable of carrying them, immediately Daniel and Dave volunteered to
carry the groceries for them and to their homes. It was really so touching and
such a blessing to see such rare acts from these young people nowadays. This
reflects very well of their upbringing and mannerism plus effective youth
ministry lessons. Personally, to me, nothing beats the gratefulness, the cheer
and the smiles we bring to the people with food groceries/food packs in hand. I
guess, we would never be able to gauge the joy and the blessings we bring to
these folks but I believe, God is watching above us.
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Each getting their Raya food treats.....
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It is never about glory, fame
or populist move to do what they did. The team did it because they had fine
examples of giving, blessing and love from GOD, the Elders of the church ( Pastor Chua, Dr Pang CW and Wong FM ) and
the shepherd of the church, Pastor Joanne. This trickling of blessings from the
top right to the bottom hierarchy helped in formulating the very essence of the
heart of God and serving the people. Like I always say to people out there, you
can only do what you see your top fellas do, right? That care, concern and
blessings trickled generously from the very top of the church right to the
congregation of the church and that made a big difference in our mindset and our
journey to do what is right for the community around us. |
| Nearby migrant worker...... |
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| Raya treat food packs....... |
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| Recipient of the last pack of Raya treat food packs.... |
As we packed up yesterday
evening after giving out our final food pack, I can’t help but noticed that
there was another bus load of workers who had just arrived after work ; who had
missed out the Raya food packs we gave out. Pastor Daniel and I looked at each
other and we kinda have the same thought of what if we could have had another
50 Raya food packs to give out to these latecomers. It was already 7.20pm and
Pastor Daniel had to sadly informed them that we had given out all of our food
packs for the day. You could see the disappointment in some of them but I guess,
they knew our limitations too. Well,
Pastor Daniel and I consoled ourselves that we did what we could and we would
do better the next time and try not to missed anyone out the next time. Armed
with this determination, we prayed that in our next giving, we would be able to
help more people in the future! Btw, the food packs were catered from the nearby food vendors ( food condiments ) and food sellers (ketupat & rendang). This is our way to help out the local food vendors and help out their small businesses. At least , they have a chance to eke out a living at these times, don't you agree?
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| Food condiments...... |
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| Food condiments and the ketupat & rendang pack.... |
On the way back home, I have
asked my daughter, Shwu Yuen about her experience of helping out in the Raya
food packs distribution that evening. She confided in me that it was truly a wonderful
experience of serving as we discussed further of what it meant on the inside of
our hearts rather than the exterior service. There was also a wide smile on her
face when she informed me of how great the food condiments looked and how
grateful the people who received the packs. To me, that’s a quiet satisfaction
for me and I’m happy that she was able to serve alongside me and the people who
were there that day.
I realized that in this
difficult and trying times, everyone is strapped tight in terms of business,
monetary planning and even on survival mode. I truly understand your situation
and I feel for you.
However, if you would like to
help sponsor food stuff or give any financial assistance to help Hope Kitchen
or if you really need any assistance in grocery needs ( only in Melaka for the
time being, my sincerest apologies!) the
team would be very blessed indeed. You could speak to Pastor Daniel Teo or
Pastor Jarren Chua of City Community Church , Melaka or you could email :
cityccmelaka@gmail.com
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| Getting the food packs ready....... |
I am not being critical nor being
judgemental in any way but I would like to request that may you please seek
assistance when you are really in need. Here’s the irony. Last week, a woman in
a Honda Accord car came to seek for a pack of food groceries as the team gave out
the food grocery packs. The car was sparkling clean and pretty new while the woman and the driver were decently dressed up.
Personally, in my view, they weren’t poor nor seemed to be in need of food grocery pack.
Pastor Daniel had to inform them that the packs were meant for the needy only.
The woman retorted by saying that she thought it was just free giving out of
food groceries! So, she came because she thought it was free NOT because she
was in need of it. You get what I mean. So, people, please spare a little
thought for the team who worked hard to feed the folks who are really in need. Don’t
take away whatever little we can provide for the needy and the low income
community. Have a thought for them. Sometimes, they too are shy to come forward
to receive any aid. It’s just how it is with the community. Let us all play our
part to help the community around us, shall we?
Go ahead, spring up more Hope
Kitchens wherever you are and help the community around you. Just stay safe, be
safe and have a heart!
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