A rare chance for this period to be typing an entry from the house PC

To sum things up, here's what's happened so far during the preliminary examinations period.

God was so good to me during the Elective History period. Mind you, I wasn't in the mood to study because of the cold weather these days, but I still pushed myself to study in unlikely places. I went to KFC, which was downstairs from my house, to study and have lunch. I was the first customer there, so I was entitled to sit wherever I want and stay there until the customers start pouring in. Hey, at the end of the day you've still got to be considerate for their business-running protocol, right? I mean, if you aren't buying anything much from them, don't hog those seats - at least it makes everyone a little happier that they don't have to face some donkey occupying the seats when you badly need one to sit and eat. I spent my time studying the crap out of myself.

When I started the paper, I was completely clueless about the source-based questions(SBQs). I was thrown off-guard by the sources and Question (c). I had planned to follow Kevin's method of finishing the SBQs within 25 minutes, but I gave myself a little allowance - 30 minutes. I didn't meet that 30 minutes, because I spent 15 minutes more. In the end I was panicking for time, and I prayed real hard that I could remember whatever I studied, at least the ones that I've looked through and memorised one day before. Thanks to Him, I managed to quickly write and check my answer before I went back to question (c) which I left hanging in the air beforehand.

Well, that's that for now, and I've taken English Paper 1, Chinese Paper 1, AMaths Paper 2, EMaths Paper 2, Social Studies and Elective History papers, and Physics Paper 2. There's more to go, but thank God I still have an extra 11-day holiday period to push myself to the limit and more.

Now to some stuff that's been going on within our cellgroup:

(Hey what, you can't expect me not to show some care and concern about what's going on among our brethren, right?)

1. Auntie Sunitha, Brother Jerry's maid, has to go back to Sri Lanka a week later, because from what I heard from Uncle Kelvin, she has something growing in her stomach, and to remove it requires surgery which is much more expensive in Singapore than it is in Sri Lanka. Look at ~S$9000 and now look at ~S$1500. Big difference. So, we're having a cellgroup meeting next Thursday instead of Friday, so she has at least a moment to remember when she goes back to Sri Lanka.
2. Testimony of Shen Jin Xing, a TCS artiste, tomorrow. Since we are not going to have any cell group meeting tomorrow, it's perfect timing that the canteen auntie gave me the flyer. However, she told me this morning that Shen Jin Xing, the testifier, isn't going to turn up because of his busy schedule. In his stead is 3 other artistes and stars that's going to testify in his stead. Wow... one testimony becomes three.

Well that's that for now. If you're interested in going there to hear their testimonies about Jesus coming in their life, it's at the Church of Singapore, at 7.30pm. Admission is free. Do come!

The first of the many trials of my life in Christ, I reckon

Been to the library to use my time more efficiently that at home, been to the Expo to study. Been to home cell meetings. Been even to a healing rally the night before the GCE 'O' Level Chinese exam. And I'm slogging my guts out just to gain the approval to go to church and be with the people there.

Sometimes I wonder why I have to do what I'm doing, risking my grades and all that persecution for my faith in Christ even within my own family. But I cannot fail here. This is just one of the many trials to craft me into His image more and more. Tribulations works patience, patience in turn works experience, and experience hope. I want to be a man of God. I must succeed here, how else can I be able to serve Him at this juncture?

The preliminary examinations

Books! They remind me of the upcoming examinations. There's much less time now, and still the same amount of work to do. I'm already trying my best, and am pushing my limits further.

But there's always the problem with books - you get tired of reading the same material over and over again. And being a person who doesn't like being made to study, that's certainly something that I by hook or by crook have to overcome.

Amazingly, the Bible is magically interesting because when you spend time reading it and understand its meaning within the verses it just gets you fired up - it never gets boring.

Prelim examinations - what you see is what you get!

Busy flow of traffic, eh? That's a representation of the work that's going to come up soon, after the prelims, courtesy of my 4-year old cousin Glenn's toys.

There's just so many things I'm looking forward to do, but there's just so little time left. I have to agree with what Brother Chris told me - it's a rat race out there. All for that stupid piece of paper for a decent job in society. But it gets you everywhere as easy as an ez-link card, 'cos it's internationally recognised.

When it comes to studying, this is the decisive moment, though there was no longer any time left for any back-to-the-books revision since the end of the Mid-Year Exams at the start of this semester. Although I don't know how, I have to put in all that I have, but how?

The construction of a new building

Nope, this isn't the church building progress - that's going to be confidential for now, but the building is pretty much in good progress, and it should be ready by April 2009. For years, I hear my senior brethren say, they have been praying for that new building, and after such a long time, it's finally seeing progress at breakneck speed. Hallelujah!

I'm beginning to enjoy mobile blogging, as i now save time having to use the computer when I can do this while travelling, thus making my study time more productive, since I usually eat into my study time just to post a couple of entries.

Testing out mobile blogging - nice!

Wow, just look at my table - just messy, but it'll do for now. Anyways, I'll not be able to use the computer for quite a while, because it's nearing the preliminary examinations now, so I'll be using this more pricey solution, for now.

Hey this is great, man. Finally I can blog from my hand anytime, from the MRT to the bus. Cool!

God answers prayers, this I believe.

Just the other day, the rain started pouring at 6pm. I was supposed to bring my sister back home before 8pm when the sudden downpour started. The first thing that came to my mind was how I was supposed to bring her back home on time, without getting myself wet and sticky under the humid weather, or risking having to take another shower.

I called for Dad's help, since he was driving the taxi at that time of day anyway. "Sorry ah, son," he replied. "I'm driving to my customer, so can you fetch her back when the rain stops? It's a better idea this way." ...Great. Another trip to the shower after that...

...or maybe not. I went to God, prayed for the weather to stop momentarily, just long enough for me to bring her back home in time, and still not get drenched by the rain. It was then I saw His supreme power over the weather, and His faithfulness which never fails, right before my eyes - the rain stopped by 7pm!

Isn't our God wonderful? Praise be to His name, hallelujah!

Praise be to God!

Uncle Kelvin has been asking for a complete Chinese Bible, which I haven't been able to get without risking spending big bucks at Mount Zion Christian Bookstore. I promised him that I would be able to get one for him from All Saints' Church, which is right within the school compound. I have been yearning to ask one from them, but I didn't know how to go to them seeking for a Bible just like that, because usually people would have told me to just save up and buy one for myself.

So, just a few weeks ago, I went for breakfast as usual, buying my breakfast from the auntie at the drink stall. Tuna sandwich, a can of green tea(they weren't allowed to sell cold coffee anymore). I popped the question about how I can get a Chinese Bible while waiting for her to come up and collect the payment. She said that she had one at home, but she needed to dig for it, and that she could only give me notice by the following Monday.

I waited faithfully, and my waiting paid off. That morning, the canteen auntie passed me the Chinese Bible, both complete with Old and New Testament parts. The amazing thing was how she actually got the book - she said that throughout the whole week she didn't dig for the book at all, when on that Monday morning itself, the Bible was sitting on her bedside table, her maid putting it there.

Wow, it must have been God who helped the maid dig out the Word of God in time. Praise be to God!

The Good Samaritan

The people around these days have so much animosity for each other, it really saddens me. What would seem as a friendly greeting from a stranger could be met with comments that the person greeting is crazy and doesn't know who he's talking to. C'mon man, just harmless attempts to brighten up the day for one another can be met with such far-fetched accusations? Of course, it doesn't happen all the time, because at the end of the day some people would recognise that effort and return you the favour.

Well anyways, I randomly pushed my finger through the book during the weekend, and it led me to the Parable of the Good Samaritan(Luke 10:25-37).

This story really struck me hard, in that it portrayed the Jewish priest and Levite as being cold-blooded people who'd rather walk the other path than to help the dying man lying on the original path.

Because Jesus spoke this parable to a Jewish lawyer, who wanted to test Jesus and justify himself, I suppose this parable is used to highlight that this priest would rather go to all lengths to keep the Law of Moses, and save the hassle of doing all the cleansing for the dying man with blood on his skin(Leviticus 15:1-15) and nursing his wounds, than to do what is morally right in both God and men's eyes - to offer first aid to the dying man. Hence this shows the blind faith of the Jewish people in that time. (I don't know about the Jews of today, but this is lifted off the Bible)

In this, the Samaritan fared much better than the priest and Levite. This must have been a shameful thing to an expert in the law, because Samaritans were despised by Jews, yet a person whose background and heritage were treated as inferior to the Jews could actually be much kinder to his neighbour. From this, I see that the Samaritan indeed showed love to the dying man by taking all the trouble to treat his wounds with oil and wine, bring him back to the inn, and ensured that all his needs were met by paying for his lodging. Now, isn't that good when you have someone to take care of all your needs when you are at your worst?

As Christians, we do in fact enjoy this benefit of the grace and mercy of the Lord, in that he loves us enough to die on the cross for us, paying the price of sin in order to redeem us, just as the Samaritan paid the money to the innkeeper, so that we may be taken care of. We didn't deserve it, just as the man did not deserve any help from the good Samaritan, but he did so willingly, just as God provided for us, and still is to this day, providing for our every need.

Even though the Samaritan had so much to carry that he needed his donkey to carry it, he took the trouble to attend to a dying man, which isn't a small feat in those days. Indeed, loving our neighbour is sometimes tough - he may hurt you so badly you couldn't even walk, but Jesus was able to love us even though we sin against Him. While we were still sinning, He died for us as an ultimate example of loving our neighbours as ourselves.So, what better way to learn how to love our neighbours than through Him?

Intensive Study Time - no time for mistakes!

It's getting harder day by day. You get tired of studying after a few hours of studying when you could've put in more. The lack of time for extra study has its toll on my sleeping hours these days. You hardly have to relax, and considering all the church activities that I'm gonna miss in favour of studying, not to mention the upcoming tests that the teachers are going to throw at us. Man, this is intensive...

...or maybe not intensive enough. Something ought to be done for more effective studying than just staying in school and just studying, studying and studying. I find that I can't concentrate in school, partly because of noise and socialising with fellow classmates and stuff, and a Mathematics teacher who can't really keep the class in control once everyone goes restless with the practice papers. Sometimes the stuff they throw at you takes more time than what is needed.

For now I think I'm gonna stick to the ten-year series, since there's only so much I reckon that I can do for now until then...

Something really challenging

Well now. I've got just a measly 39 more days to the preliminary examinations, so the call to fully make use of the time left is there. More tests, of course. But homework needs to be done, even more so in this period of time. Ms Tay said that the revision would only work while the homework is done. I totally agree.

Anyways, here's a rather profound question: Why must men suffer on earth?

Non-biblical answers:

1. We are fated to suffer.
2. Suffering makes us learn where we've gone wrong.
3. Suffering consists of birth, old age, illness and death, and these are unavoidable. To end suffering, achieve nirvana by following the Eightfold Path
4. Theories about suffering, etc etc...

Biblical answers:

1. Because of the Fall of Man when Adam ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and sinned against God. Since then sin has caused curses to befall on mankind.
2. God's using suffering to punish you for something you've done wrong.
3. Suffering is a means of a test of faith in Jesus Christ.

However, I'd pretty much prefer this answer, though: Jesus Christ, being the Son of God, came down from heaven to suffer for our sakes. Think about this: God, being God of everything for all eternity, came down to earth as a man, which is, in my opinion, one of the most humbling acts of all, and to suffer and die for our sins when He didn't need to. There's no reason that an almighty and omnipotent God should even be hurt by the floggings of men, and the pain and bleeding on the cross. But he did it.

He did it for our sakes. He doesn't want us in hell, where we aren't supposed to belong anyway. Sin will ultimately separate ourselves from God and cursed to go to hell after our earthly bodies die off, but thanks to Him bearing all of what was supposed to be OUR curses on the cross, those that believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life(John 3:16).

Even Jesus Christ suffered on Earth for our sakes, what more us for His sake then since we love Him?(doesn't apply to those who still reject Christ at this point of time, but He's still willing to receive you when you receive Him in your life today)

Seriously though, having His presence sometimes brings the unanswerable questions answers that bring it to full circle. Really, He has taught me many things in the past two months.

Smacked right in the face - wrong purposes of studying, I'll admit.

Okay, I'll be honest with myself.

I studied a lot, but I did so half-heartedly, just wanting to get over and done with the Mid-Year Examinations. Because of this, I lost sight of my goal towards the As and I ended up with Bs and Cs for my results. Of course, there was quite some difficulty in the Biology, Physics and Chemistry papers, and that everyone scored badly for them. I however, simply wasn't mentally prepared to get so low a mark.

Why all that bad grades? I found that I am studying just for the sake of getting an opportunity to make it big out there and earn money, but then I found that what I'm working for in my studies is just to let my parents have a better life than what they're working so hard for. If that was so, why bother to study so hard? I could just get an average grade, get into average school, get into average university and get an average degree to earn an average income and feed my parents...

That was what I thought. But this low results and Kevin's words, though soft and casual, woke me up. Why am I doing all this for?

"Don't do it for your parents - they won't care shit about what you're gonna be when you grow up. Do you honestly think they'll follow and guide you for the rest of your life? No - just study to glorify God." He struck a chord in what I was vexed about, the whole time I was studying during the June holidays. I now find that the reason that I'm studying this whole while was just something very temporary.

Given my father's character and what he's done for the family so far, I don't think he deserves much, other than simply for the fact that he's my father. My mom, slogging just to keep us alive, is the one who deserves the bulk of the pay I'm gonna get when I get to work. But then, who am I really gonna work for ultimately when they and the people around me start going off to, touch wood, the grave?

Pondering over this for a while, I start to think: "Yea, the grades are mine, not theirs." Who's gonna care about what I'm getting in the future when nobody else is around? Only Jesus would. He died on the cross, gave his life for me, so why shouldn't I give him what he expects of me - to get better results to glorify His name, rather to please men? It is impossible to please everyone, so I reckon I'll just please God instead. Given His high standards for me, I'll do much better for the preliminary examinations, for ultimately, I will trust in Him to give me strength and discipline to do better.

If anything in particular, I declare that Jesus will be my guide in my academic success from this moment on, however He is much more than just help for my academic successes, you understand... So far I've not met any God who is gracious enough to help me out in academics, other than Jesus.

A great injustice to a man who doesn't deserve it

Recently Uncle Hin, our tenant, got kicked out of our house by our father. Apparently, it was said he was not giving my father the due respect he gets for being the landlord, and were already fighting a cold war.

The cold war, from what I've heard from Mom, happened when Uncle Hin lent my father his CDs to watch, and that my father left scratches on the discs, so Uncle Hin went to get a replacement. However, my father misunderstood it as him not wanting to borrow the CDs to him. Given my father's "addiction" for watching home-bought movie CDs, it broke out into a cold war that lasted for quite a couple of years. From there, many quabbles and temper outbursts led to what happened last week.

I wasn't at home that weekend, due to preparing for my examinations at my grandma's place(where I usually live in). But from what I know, my father was angry because Uncle Hin didn't even greet my father or ask him to eat, which was a common sign of respect in Chinese families. Moreover, my father was even told by my mom to carry his food to the living room so that he can enjoy his food and watch TV at the same time, which was how he usually has his meals at. Because of this, he was way well pissed off because it seemed to him that he was treated more like an outsider and Uncle Hin was behaving more like the man of the house, when my father is the actual landlord.

This turned the cold war "hot", and Uncle Hin, a person who has a proper family to feed in Malaysia, and never owed us rental, had to leave. In fact, WE were the ones who owed him a favour of fetching my sister home everyday after work from my grandma's place ever since our maid, who had served under us for a long period of time, left us.

Obviously, everyone was distraught, even Uncle Kelvin. "Your father always never thinks of what people has done for him, and the consequences of doing so," he commented. "Now see what happens - $500 per month income now lost for nothing!"

My family isn't well-to-do anyway, and my dad, from what I see, never brings back any money from his taxi-driving, but squanders his money elsewhere on his bling-blings like handphones, good food for himself or on his cigarettes and CDs. My mom is the only one supporting this house, I reckon, since most of the family expenses were from her own pockets. Needless to say, a woman with only a fixed salary of $1500 per month working under my aunt, and subject to GST and rising taxes and prices, that extra $500 is extremely important to us.

Unless my father realises that he didn't do any shit in keeping our family together and alive, he's gonna continue being a failure in life... As for why I'm making this statement, I'll put it up on my future posts - it's got to do with my family history, and probably too wordy to put within one single entry.

Doing a quickie

Ah, finally back to blogging after a hard week's work in school, preparing for Mid-Year papers. I still have 2 more papers to go, both of which I'm going to sit for tomorrow, so I'll have to go back to studying right after this quickie post.

As usual, we gathered up to put our bags at some corner so that people wouldn't find and steal stuff from our bags, before going on to the exam hall. Skipped breakfast for the whole week - wow, didn't know I could last till 11am without food. So, just to sum up what I've been doing this whole period of absence from this blog:

• Prayed for His wisdom, knowledge and quick-wittedness before and after studying, and also before and after the papers.
• Studied, studied and studied.
• Ate, slept and drank.
• 2 hours of computer games per day
• 2 hours of TV everyday
• Set the alarm for 5.45am everyday
• Slammed the alarm clock a couple of times(hey, this one's durable!)
• Worried about examinations, but fell back to God's promise of victory

...okay. Gotta go back to studies again. Will be updating again soon.

The true reason

Just a few hours ago, my friend Kevin and I were waiting for bus 31, to go home after school. During the waiting and journey, we talked about how Wei Chiat was having the wrong mindset about studying and how this leads to him being always going to be a follower instead of a leader. Sad to say, it turned out that his attitude and having mixed with him for some time led us to think that he's gonna fail in life - though by all means we may be very wrong about it.

Then we talked about how he, being a Christian, has only two ways to realise his ill attitude - either the Holy Spirit reveals it to him while he's alive, or on Judgement Day, when everyone sees his or her own life in front of their own faces after their physical deaths. Later on, Kevin asked me this question that he asked the Lord the other day. It got me really stumped:

"Yea, it's unfair right? I mean, why do some people who do lots of bad stuff like conning people of millions of cash, killing and robbing each other, but at the end of the day are saved because they believed in Jesus Christ, and people who don't seem to sin at all by indulging in these vices don't acknowledge God and are condemned to go to hell ultimately? Like people like Jin Meng, good in studies, rich, morally sound, but aren't Christian. It's just so unfair!"

"Uh, because of sin?" I was brainstorming.
"Actually, no. We still sin all the time, what."
"Uh... I don't know." I was stumped.
"Actually, the answer is very simple. Because they don't acknowledge God."
"Don't acknowledge God?" I was gagged.

"Let's put it this way. You know God is our Creator and Father, right? Not acknowledging God is like not acknowledging your own father. Put yourself in God's shoes - you are His child, and He is your Father. Even though you might do all sorts of things, he has no reason not to forgive you, as long as you repent and seek his forgiveness, simply because you're His child. Tell me, then - would He rather forgive a child that recognises Him as his Father, or forgive a person out there who doesn't even acknowledge his own Father?"

Actually, he's quite right, now that I think of it. Not acknowledging your own earthly father is bad enough already - showing utter disrespect to him and dishonouring his(or the family's) name. What more a heavenly Father up there, who created you and was there for you even before you were created in your mother's womb?

Clearly, the 10 Commandments say "Honour thy father and mother." Not honouring His name, instead choosing not to acknowledge him as who He is, our Father who art in heaven, is clearly sin. (Then again, if the 10 Commandments weren't there we wouldn't know what's sin.)

He later quoted on the story of Ananias and Sapphira and how they lied about the money from the sold property. They both died not because of lying to men, but because of lying to both God and men. We may lie to men, but we cannot lie to God - He sees us like an open book.

"Whenever I read into this story, it scares me, man. They lie once, and they died - on the spot. What more, if we lie so many times in our lives - and do even worse things than just lying! It's really a miracle that we're still walking on our two feet even after doing all those things," he exclaimed.

"Well, it's gotta be by His grace for us, then."

After the conversation and we both set for home on separate paths, it soon struck my mind - so much Bible knowledge, but so little use for that! It was then that I realised just how much I know about Jesus Christ, our Lord. Sure, I know about him - he did miracles, he taught that He was the way to Heaven, he died for our sins to redeem us from them, but how much do I really know Jesus as my Saviour and Lord?? How much do I really know about God as our Father?

The answer - very little.

Just a little thought for thought

While taking a break from study time, I recalled a conversation with my aunt over why people are racist. I was talking about the period of time that I've been spending in My Saviour's Church since around February or March until now, and how Uncle Yiye had some of our Tamil church friends into his condo the other Sunday, and used the facilities in it at the request of Uncle Kelvin. Probably to him they were probably "uninvited guests," as it seemed that Uncle Yiye was telling us not to invite other "geh-leng kia"s for tennis or swimming.

Me: "But they're quite alright, what. They're still people, human like us, what. Why?"

Uncle Yiye: "They're not that goodie-goodie like you think they are."

Me: "But why? I've been around with them for so long, and they don't seem that bad as you've put it."

Aunt Wanyin: (cutting in) "Aiyah, Ah Boy, what you see in your cellgroup is only just one portion of a whole lot of people of other races."

Uncle Yiye: "Yah... so limited! Wait till you go to the workplace, or JC and work with the other races, and you'll see what I mean."

Me: "Whalau, you all very racist leh..."

Aunt Wanyin: " ...'Cos we've haven't had quite a good impression of them in the workplace, as neighbours, as friends... Anyway, bottom line is, you'll know why people are racist when you grow a bit older and have worked with them for some time."

Firstly, there's something I don't quite like about them going about their "when you grow a bit older" statements. Why the procrastination about telling me about the things, when you could just explain the stuff in detail? I ain't a kid anymore - surely telling me about a few incidents wouldn't bring the topic off-centre or something. Why, adults are people whom we're told to turn to when we don't know about stuff, and you tell us to wait and experience it for ourselves to find the answer. More often than not, when we actually do reach working age, we would've already forgotten the question we're asking now by then, so how's that for a change? To me, "when you grow a bit older" is simply telling me "Forget about the topic altogether; Let's talk about something else."

Secondly, why deem the people bad when what you see is only in the workplace? I'm glad for myself that I brought this topic up, because I get to see from all angles and views over how Tamils in Singapore live, in the workplace, outside and at home.

Sure, I've learned in school that we shouldn't be stereotyping people all the time - but what I see is just the opposite! Sure, I've only been with the morally and socially upright Tamils, but there's bound to be black sheep around too, since nobody's perfect anyway. I mean, just look at the Chinese society of our own. There's robbers, thieves, conmen - but that doesn't mean we don't have Chinese judges, policemen, lawyers, doctors, etc.

My point is - They're just human like us. They have different skin colour and language and culture, but they bleed the same way as we do. For their first visit to their condo, and not even giving themselves a chance to talk and make friends with them and living among them... That doesn't give me enough reason to judge them by their race.

What, we Chinese must stay purely Chinese? Like the Aryan superiority theory that Hitler made up to persecute the Jews, nearly 70 years ago? Look at Hitler, then look at ourselves. You'd be surprised what people do without thinking back at their actions and speech.

An episode of PC death

Being without the computer for the last 14-odd hours sucked. And it sucks like hell. The power supply unit broke down - it just up and kaput! - though there wasn't smoke or anything resembling it blowing up. Because I had an appointment with the dentist this morning, I didn't get to press the power switch until after twelve in the afternoon.

"Tick, Tiak. Tick, Tiak." No power. Shit.

I pressed it a few more times, this time also experimenting with the restart button. Nothing happened. Shit. Whatever the hell happened, it can't just up and die just like that, surely something must be wrong! I rang Uncle Yiye up.

"The PC I think die liao," I told him. "Press the power on-off also nothing happen, no light, no sound, no nothing."

He came up afterwards in the evening, came to fix the computer and declared the power supply unit dead, and we had to look for a replacement before Uncle Kelvin comes back and finds it totally defunct and unable to reclaim the stuff inside the hard disk. He brought the batteries to run the motherboard, but that didn't help either - it had nothing to do with it anyway.

The speakers are well and running - nothing wrong with it.
The parts all look okay, just dusty. No burn on them - nothing wrong with it.
The circuit breaker in the consumer unit wasn't tripped, indicating there wasn't any short circuit - nothing wrong with it.
The power switch was turned on, but there wasn't any humming although the mains switch was turned on - something must be wrong with it.

It couldn't be anything else, since everything within the box was okay, so we deemed the power supply unit condemned. Now, here came the problem: How were we going to get a decent power supply unit box replacement at such short notice? Sim Lim Square seemed quite a far-fetched idea, since it would mean going there on a Saturday to buy one. The LAN gaming shop downstairs suddenly seemed like a very good idea, and we proceeded to buy one for $40.

Though it was quite good, it didn't have enough power supply outlets to connect to all of the PC fans, and we ended up having to forgo the side one. Let's just hope it doesn't overheat, otherwise...?

Honesty is the best policy

Today's sermon was very timely when it touched on honesty as pleasing to the eyes of the Lord.

We offered Brother Chris and Sister Osheana a ride to church, since both of them are also our own brethren and Uncle Daniel went to fetch other fellow brethren to our church, all the way from Pasir Ris to quite a distance, possibly from Potong Pasir or Bukit Batok. During the journey I noticed this stench that very much resembled cigarette smoke reeking in Brother Chris's shirt. To be honest, I was quite put off by that, and kept quiet since nobody was actually talking about anything much at that point in time.

"Hey Chris, how's your work?" Uncle Steven asked, while on the way.
"Mmm, okay lah." came the reply.

Being sensitive folks, we talked among ourselves, speculating over what happened to Brother Chris in his newfound job. Having to pay room rent because of being kicked out of his own family for his faith in the Lord, having a job was definitely very precious to someone in his predicament. To speak about it in such a casual tone, and not adding any more to it hinted that something bad must have happened to him.

Church service was good(it always was), but it was now better because Pastor Bennett gave us some Bible scriptures to study on our own, saying that we will be blessed by the verses, if only we took some time to meditate on them. I haven't been memorising much recently, so this served as a good reminder to me that it was high time that I should be reading the Bible more seriously.

During lunchtime while Brother Chris went to buy some fried kway-teow, we then found out from Auntie Noreen and Uncle Daniel that he got the sack after the first day of work, just for being like 5 minutes late for work, both when coming to work from home and after lunch. Later, it was then that I was told about some employer who didn't want to employ him just because he was a Tamil. One employer even called him "Geh-leng kia"(a Hokkien term for calling Tamils, possibly racist) in the workplace, so he threw that job down.

"Eh, like that also never pang-chance for him ah? Mana eh sai?" I exclaimed upon hearing such things. It just dawned on me - racial and religious harmony is just very hypocritical in Singapore; they should just simply say it's racial and religious tolerance. Where's the harmony, if racism can just run rampant in the workplace like that?

After discussing about the matter on how to help him, I offered to try to get my friends to hook up a job in the newspaper for him, but it seemed impractical given my age and that I haven't even taken my 'O' Level papers yet. "Well then, is there any practical way I can help out?" I asked.

"You just pray for him, lah," Auntie Noreen replied with a smile. She was right - I couldn't do anything much for him yet, except to just lend a listening ear to him and asking the Lord to help him through everything he's having trouble with.

Just then, Uncle Kelvin received an invitation from Uncle Yiye to take a dip in the swimming pool at his condo, and the rest of the big family got invited too. How nice of him to allow such a large group of us go there. Thanks Uncle Yiye!

After lunch, we decided to hang around Uncle Steven's house, since Brother Chris wanted to view the vacant room that Uncle Steven offered to put him up in, and Uncle Kelvin had to have a haircut downstairs too. At around 2.30pm we foursome were having fun talking.

It was later on in the afternoon when both Uncle Kelvin and I packed the swimming stuff up into my bag and coming down back to the car when Brother Chris became candid about his smoking problem and his background. Due to it probably revealing too much personal info, this shall be written about again after getting his approval first.

In any case, he told me later that whatever was happening in the house between my grandparents and my uncle was that my singing of praises of Christianity in front of them was actually literally scaring them off into their own ancestral worship, and I got some useful advice off him. After talking a while, this verse struck both Brother Chris and me:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
- Proverbs 1:7

The second part may seem harsh on some people, but this verse has a whole lot of meaning within itself, just as Brother Chris said about it when he mentioned that this is one of his favourite verses in the Bible, during the journey. I couldn't agree more - I'll share more on this verse on my later posts when the Lord has taught me more through it.

Disasters strike anytime - cherish your own loved ones while you still can!

Been reading the news these days, and it's very negative. The earthquake at China killed many, Cyclone Nargis killed many, both left many homeless. Natural disasters are on the rise these days, so many so that you never know when a disaster might hit us. So far, Singapore has been a reputable safe spot from many disasters, since it's nowhere near the Ring of Fire, safely at one tetonic plate to be free of earthquakes(tremors maybe, but never earthquakes, yet), nor cyclones at sea yet.

It's morbid, the news. I mean, there's people dying, both young and old. Pictures and videos of the victims and survivors were disheartening. With China's one-child policy, it is indeed a devastating blow to many families whose only sons and daughters get devoured mercilessly by a ugly force of nature.

China's in the news, big time. Look at the Tibetan protests, the Dalai Lama hoohah, Beijing Olympics 2008, and carcinogenic(cancer-causing) Ma-Ling brand canned luncheon meat. Earthquake just had to make things so much worse in China, I can already see myself shedding a tear right in front of the computer screen, producing this blog entry.

And it's not just the Chinese calamity - look at Myanmar's Cyclone Nargis disaster, over a hundred thousand people(estimated) fell victim to it: people losing their homes and family members. Wrath of nature - that's what we get whenever we answer nature's call faithfully every morning?

It didn't just hit them Burmese and Chinese alone - just look at the soaring rice prices, and the possibility of eating bread or potatoes as staple foodstuffs just might be very possible. Singapore suffered severe food shortage during the Japanese Occupation... maybe it's time to go back to eating lalang grass, rumoured to have high vitamin content?

It's a good thing that in Singapore there's still plenty of food around, but then, it's really high time to learn how not to waste a single morsel of food, given the disasters going around and the soaring rice prices. Looking at the food shortages in pockets of Asia, food seems much more valuable than ever...

Combined Family Service-cum-Picnic Day on 18th May

The outing at Pasir Ris Park for a whole of 12 hours, from 9am to 9pm, was significant. It was my first trip with the rest of the church as a family of God. Here, we witnessed many baptisms, which was heartwarming for me, seeing people going back to Jesus Christ.

In the morning, I woke up without the alarm. Packed the stuff the night before, so by morning the things were already done, and we set off to the beach at 8am. Reserved some seats for Uncle Daniel and his family, but they came late, at around 10am, an hour after the service started. It turned out that he had made several trips to bring Auntie Noreen's sisters here as well, resulting in them coming late together as one family.

Morning sermon, about the family as designed by God Himself. After the sermon everyone was stuffed, due to the hot weather, and the limited ventilation underneath the tentage. The weather wasn't the problem actually - the grass was, respiring and giving out carbon dioxide as well. As carbon dioxide is a heat-trapping gas, it was no wonder the tentage was an inbuilt furnace, given the numbers of people that were there.

It was hot, it was boring, it was stuffy. No sports, no swimming, no football. Now I saw the purpose of bringing the guitar, again, as Uncle Daniel, Uncle Kelvin and I sat under the nearest tree singing Chinese worship songs, hoping to spread His love through the songs to the passers-by. It was then that Uncle Yiye and his family came along, being told of our performance to be held later at night, but ended up coming too early.

In any case, the games started, and we were appointed to Orange Team, which ended up the last team. However, we didn't play for nothing - they gave us a tidbit prize which consisted of a bag of Mamee noodle snack, cookies and a sweet. How nice, even losers get some kind of consolation prizes.

The rest of the day after the team games was virtually boring, as there was practically nothing to play or interact with, other than talking to people, playing kapadi(a traditional Indian game that resembles sumo-wrestling) in the mud, or playing soccer with a small football. I thought, no kick, playing with such a small ball! I went later to talk to the fellow brethren watching the soccer game, and then took a shower.

The door was unlocked as the bolt got knocked off, and the floor was barely clean, with mud and sand at all the four corners of the cubicle, but thank God I managed to shower successfully with the help of Uncle Kelvin holding the door from outside, maintaining bathroom privacy in such a public place. After getting out of the showers, the sight of the Married vs Singles football match was already starting, and the first thing I thought to myself was "Why on earth did I hit the showers in the first place? What a waste!"

Eventually I gave in to the urge to play in the fresh new clothing, fully expecting myself to go dirty and sweating in blue jeans. Pastor Bennett was there, and it was enjoyable. Though I was merely playing as a goalkeeper, the tension was there whenever the ball came close, which was often. Caught 2 balls, let in one. Married Team won over us, the Singles Team.

Performance started after dinnertime, and it was then God's mercy and grace truly shone in my life at that moment when a blow of stomachache hit me when the land breeze blew against me near the tentage. The urge was there, nature was calling...

I can't answer now. I can't answer now. If I did, I'd be cocking-up the whole performance item and waste the effort that we've put in to prepare the programme as one whole cell group. "Lord, please protect my underpants, lest I shit myself during the performance," I prayed in desperation as the throbbing gut started to already slowly let out gas stealthily.

The medley went well. Made minor blunders with the change in key, and finished the playing perfectly. Guess what happened - I made a run for the toilet without any toilet paper, still thinking in my mind, Hallelujah Lord for answering my prayer.

"Oops," came the exclamation when I was already at the toilet bowl letting go of that atomic bomb to answer nature's call. "Alamak, what to do?" I groped around for my phone, my only hope of getting out of the toilet, yet remaining clean in the bottoms at the same time. If only I could shout "Hallelujah!" loud enough that the people in the tentage could hear from the toilet that I was in, more than 200 metres away from it.

Mishaps happen all the time, but that ultimately didn't spoil the fun the other programmes had in store for us, and of course there's the exhaustion. What mattered to me even more was that we, as a cell group, could serve God in a practical way by offering a performance programme, to which they were lacking in items for. Praise God for all that!