Unfinished Business

It's been awhile since I went to the mall. My first stop as usual was to eat the excellent assam laksa at a small little place tucked in between all the bigger restaurants.  It's good to the last slurp, And of course I had to get my favourite Roti Boy bun. I  thought a Monday afternoon would be a good time to catch the local flick Tarung -  Unforgiven at the cinema, as normally it isn't crowded at all on week-days.

 

 But it turned out the hall was actually quite packed. The nice lady who helped me get my senior discount ticket at the online machine said it's because it's the first day of school hols. The audience was mainly Malay; to my left were some ladies, to my right were some young boys. And I even spotted very young kids up front, causing me to wonder if the parents knew how violent the show was. 

Yes, it's violent - what do you expect, with a title like Tarung meaning battle/fight. There's been a lot of hype over this 100% Malaysian film, as it featured an all-star line up of local actors. I had watched Blood Brothers - Bara Naga, another Msian movie exactly a year ago in 2025 and enjoyed it. So I knew I had to catch Tarung- Unforgiven as well.  Both share some similarities; being heavy action-cum-drama flicks premised on gangs.  

With Tarung, it's gawking at muscles, muscles, and more muscles on handsome hunks. Plus fight scenes that made me flinch in my seat. Top it with emo dialogue that tug at the heart-strings.  Amusingly, as I was trying to get pass the young boys on my right to exit after the show, one of them asked, "Acik, kau menangis ke - Aunty, you cry ?" He must have noticed me wiping at my eyes every so often during the show. Ha ha.  I am a sucker for family drama. I mean, how can you not relate to the emotional struggles of a broken family ? An elder sister - a single mom with her own kid - and who has borne the brunt of taking care of her brother all the while, and is now stricken with brain cancer, which calls for an operation that would cost  $80k. And the young brother, Hatta, an ex-silat champion, is now a delivery-rider.  He quit the ring because he killed his opponent, his best friend's brother, and lives haunted by the past, unable to get over the guilt. 

The emotional confrontation between brother and sister is so...well, emotional. When Hatta blurts out, "I never asked you to sacrifice for me....now you blame me for messing up your life...".. that hits hard. I am reminded of someone  who said the same thing to me, as I was sharing about how Jesus sacrificed His life for sinful humans  - "I never ask Jesus to sacrifice Himself for me." That's true. But Jesus did it anyway, for all mankind. Didn't matter to Him, whether or not people appreciated it, even when they rejected Him. It's a done deal. That's the supreme sacrifice, done out of love, totally unconditional, independent of recipient's response. 

How Hatta reacts is understandable. His own life is filled  with unresolved self-condemnation buried deep inside, over his loss of control in the ring when he delivered that killer-kick to his opponent. But at

least he's got a good buddy  to "anchor" him . Ucop, a fellow delivery-rider, who looks out for Hatta, stays by his side, for better or for worse, who tells him when enough is enough ("Cukup la"). This is Hatta's "guardian angel" trying to stop him from doing the wrong things like getting drunk, and do the right thing like get the money needed for his sister's operation, even if it means having to fight his own private battle with his inner demons.  

But sadly, Ucop is gone in a flash, without so much as a goodbye, literally whacked to death in a gang- ambush, all in the course of protecting Hatta, who's down and out on the ground.  Actually the reality is life can be snuffed out in just a moment. People die unexpectedly all the time; in accidents, of sickness, in all sorts of ways, violently or quietly.  We can be here today, gone tomorrow, in the blink of an eye. As the bible puts it, in James 4:14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." Which really should make us  more aware of how we ought to live our lives whilst we are still on earth. 

Ucop may be just a movie character, but his actions  in not only standing by but standing up for Hatta to protect him speaks volumes about what real friendship is about.  I don't have many really close friends. Sometimes it gets a bit lonely, but then I remember  I already have Jesus, the best-est of all friends, who already laid down His life for me, and is now alive forever more with me, watching over me, by His spirit as He declared in   John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. As Ucop would say, Cukup la... actually Jesus is certainly more than enough...Seriously how many people can love that much as to lay down their lives for another?   

Of course in any good movie, there must be bad guys. Tarung has  big-scale gangsterism - an underworld syndicate  named Marga complete with chieftains and downline, rife with betrayal, scheming and dirty tricks. The evil is  within the organisation itself, as all the chiefs are in a  power-play for the right to sit on the "throne", as the next supreme leader of the mob. The coveted position is decided in a fight - Tarung - amongst the best of their men. Hatta is drawn into this web as he is offered a huge sum of money to fight for one particular chief; money that could save his sister.  Like in the game of cock-fighting, the fighters are the "ayam sabung" pitted against each other by their owners. 

That's where the "unforgiven" part comes into play. Hatta finally comes up against Isa, his ex-best friend as his opponent, after the preliminary knock-out rounds.  Isa is all rage and anger, waiting to avenge his brother's death; to him it's  either you die or I die kind of duel.  The action scenes in an underground fighting ring  -  all the throws, punches and kicks - are very realistic. And the shot of Hatta practicing silat moves against the dark KL 118 skyline is so cool. Likewise Isa with his long hair, dark brows and muscle-toned body is an eyeful.  

The climax features some fine silat moves indeed. Hatta seems to be losing but in an about-turn he has the chance to execute his "trademark" killer-kick  to end it all.  In that split second, he relives how he killed Isa's brother. As the past flashes before him, Hatta hesitates, and...switches his move. Instead of delivering the fatal  kick, he locks his arms around Isa's neck. And whispers the "magic"  words into his ears "I am sorry." In that forced embrace, the years of  enmity, the pain of  a broken friendship, the grief of loss is released.  The uncontrolled anger that blinds, the bitter thirst for revenge, is soothed. The violence stops. Both parties are set free, as repentance opens the door for tears, forgiveness and healing to flow. 

Reconciliation is always beautiful, as Hatta and Isa - both bruised and battered - get up and walk off together, with arms around each other's shoulders. Finally the unfinished business between them is settled. 

Don't we all, at one time or another , have some kind of unfinished business in our lives - whether it's against ourselves or against others ?  We bury it somewhere inside our hearts, and even think we are "over it." Actually it's still there; whether we realize it or not, it "eats" us up , like the invisible worms that spoil the plants in my garden.  So I have to cut off the bad parts, sometimes even uproot the whole plant. 

Likewise when we deal with our heart's unfinished business, there's hope as in  Tarung - Unforgiven, can be changed to  Love- Forgiven, even as the bible teaches in Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

The Best Gift

 So it's another Mother's Day in yet another year. So what else is new? Of course celebrations to honour the ones who birth and nurture life are in order. And it's always nice to have a reason to celebrate. A world that's now so much in crisis would do well to celebrate the right things, and Mother's Day obviously ranks right up there in the list.

Still personally although I appreciate all the grand gestures of being appreciated on this special day dedicated to mothers, I would rather be remembered everyday. The gifts and well-wishes are certainly nice but it's the before and after that special day which really matters. There's  this cute cartoon of a mom being surrounded and hugged by her kids with the caption Mothers Day, and right next to it is the same mom sitting all alone with the caption Other Days. Point obviously taken. I am blessed my children remember me on days other than Mother's Day. 

The church as usual had a special Mother's Day programme with the usual photo shoot, cake cutting and gifts. This year's gifts were all very feminine  stuff - a flower clip , scented candle and jewellery box. 

Back home,  I was going to cook  a normal dinner  meal as I really didn't fancy joining masses of people celebrating the day out. My no 2 had just returned from overseas, so  I had opted to celebrate a belated birthday the week after instead.

Just as I was starting the dinner prep, a call came in. It was an unknown number. I normally don't answer such calls as from past experience, it's always scam. But inexplicably I answered this one. And I am so glad I did, as the caller identified himself  as the son of someone I knew from long ago. He went to the same school as my son back when they were still kids. That's indeed a very long time back, at least 15 years. I remember on Sundays, with his mom's consent, I would pick him up to attend church with my own 3 young ones in tow. As the song goes, those were the days.... 

With the passing of years, they all stopped following me. I also kinda lost touch with the boy's family, though they lived in the same neighborhood. Now and then I would message the mom on festive occasions. Like all kids, hers and mine grew up and moved on with their own lives. I guess that's the familiar story of the "empty-nest syndrome" in most families; particularly of this generation.  

It was indeed a very pleasant surprise for me to hear the manly voice of this once-upon-a-neighborhood kid, wishing me a Happy Mother's Day . When he explained he always considered me his "other mom" I was so so touched. But what he said next really moved me to tears. He said he wanted to do it, because he didn't want to miss the chance of wishing me whilst there's still time. For he had experienced the regret of being "too late" when someone  he wanted to wish had already passed away.  Indeed that's the very reason why I personally don't care much for "official celebration days" for this or that person or group of persons. Surely we should always be appreciating and appreciative of the people who mean something in our lives, not just on 1 official date in the calendar.

I asked the young man  if he remembered those days when I brought him to church and whether he still had Jesus in his heart.  His answer was the best mother's day gift for me - Yes, and Yes. Truly how faithful God is. I am ashamed to admit I had "forgotten" this family - a single mom, handling 4 kids on her own. But thank God, He never forgot. And this one little boy who grew up without a human father but who attended Sunday school  didn't forget the One who is called Abba Father in heaven.  

It's all too easy to forget and literally drift away from God, when we are navigating through the seas of our life. I see some sail so far off ,whether by choice or by circumstance, and it seems impossible for them to return to that eternal safe harbour . Still  as I once told a dearly beloved ...You can walk out on God, but God never walks out on you. 

And so it is, this Mother's Day, I feel so blessed...to be remembered and called mother by someone not of my own flesh and blood, not of my race. Yet we are truly 1 family, because of the love of 1 Abba Father who joined us together through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Praise God for His faithfulness. 

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,  but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" - Ephesians 2:19 

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

I was looking forward to a quiet time, counting down (or rather up) to 66 years of life on planet earth. But a couple of days before the date,  I had to get up very early in the morning to drive a foreign Pastor who had been unexpectedly "stuck" over 4 days in KL to the airport to catch a 7 am flight out. I had received an urgent  call  to help him out,  as there was an unexpected "hiccup" in his missions trip, which necessitated him to come to KL to return to his home country. The problem was compounded as he is blind. No one I approached was willing or able to help. I had resigned myself to putting him up in the small back-room in my house though I had serious misgivings about how I was to manage the whole situation. 

But I needn't have worried. For the minute I said "Yes, Lord" to the call placed upon me, God in His grace provided everything. As things turned out, a brother was travelling together with Pastor and they had already checked themselves into a hotel for the duration. The only hitch was this brother was leaving a day earlier to continue his own missions assignment. Which meant the blind Pastor would be alone for 1 day. So really, all I had to do wasn't much. I only took them for Sunday church service, spent some time over lunch together and drove them back to their hotel. Even on the last day, Pastor managed remarkably well on his own. I was left with only 1 task - get him to the airport for the flight back to his home country. 

Of course driving him there wasn't a problem. But I was wondering how to manage the logistics of leaving him alone at the departure gate with all his luggage, whilst I had to go round to park the car before helping him to check in. And I was concerned because I certainly couldn't get him through immigration. Again I needn't have worried. He was so much more experienced than I, so "cool" about everything. He was the one advising me, to just ask for special disability assistance at the check-in counter. Indeed, all things turned out well.

 I managed to park the car, met him where I had left him at the entrance and yes, indeed the airline had special assistance available that would see him through all the way to boarding. All he had to do was sit and wait 1 hour for the airline staff to help. So I got him seated, bought him some light breakfast, wished him well, and said goodbye. But as I walked the rather long way back to the parking lot, my heart was very uneasy. As I reached the car, I heard the voice of rebuke , "Go back, Finish your job properly." I knew whose voice it was. And I have learnt when God talks to me, I better just obey. So it was, I turned around and headed back all the way to sit with the Pastor for 1 hour, before finally handing him over to the airline staff at the appointed time . Only  then I felt the release in my heart - my job was finally finished. 4 hours later, he video-called me from a car;  his family had picked him up safely. 

As I look back on this episode, I knew God was setting me up for something different. There were so many other people who could have been called . Indeed I was disappointed at some of the responses I got about assisting a foreign stranger.  Plus I had my own doubts about my ability to help. But as I sat in church that Sunday, listening to the Pastor's  amazing testimony, I knew why I was called. Here he is..a totally blind man...can be Pastor of an independent church, can plant  14 other churches, can go on  evangelistic missions to 22 countries, whose wife is blind like him, yet all their 4 children are normal. God was showing me, Hey, see what I can do when someone says, "Yes, Lord, I am all Yours." This blind man wasn't a "big name", he didn't have any "mega church" backing. But his life spoke volumes of the God he served so faithfully. No excuses, no fear. Indeed lots of things in life can go wrong, even when we are faithful, as in this case.  But God will always work them out right. We just have to finish the portion given to us, even if it's just a small thing. Not leave it half-done or walk away before its time. No matter how inconvenient.   

So as I contemplated entering  the 66th year of my life, I see God's perfecting His work in me.  In my email was a message from a devotional website, greeting me with a special word for my specialday...from  

Ephesians 2:10 We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. The message was entitled "The Masterpiece Within."  How appropriate and how uplifting it is to know I am created by the Mighty Hand of a divine Artist who wills me to be His masterpiece to be seen, a living poem to be read by all

I spent my birthday pottering about in the garden in the morning. Finally I could get rid of the decaying mulberry tree -   it had rotted enough for me to just pull it up, trunk,  roots  and all. I had started with chopping off its diseased branches many many  months ago.    For good measure, I also cut off all the badly-infested spinach leaves in my back garden. I was reminded of all the poisonous  rubbish we all have , some buried so deep and so long inside us, that we have ceased to be even aware of them.  I don't want my garden of life to be filled with rotten and rotting stuff.                                                            

Happily, the first birthday  greeting in my watsapp came from a "old" fren...she had sent a really cute GIF of a cat holding forth a rose. I was so amused, for the cat looked so much like my own fat cat  Maffin. I take it as a sign that the year/s ahead will be a beautiful blooming of my life, as the planting of the Lord Himself. 

For surely, "It is God who works in you (me)  to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose” (Philippians 2:13) ...for my future. Interestingly 66 broken down 6+6 =12  which is one of the foundational numbers of Scripture. It symbolizes  God's power and authority,  completeness and perfection. I can't ask for anything more than that for my 66th birthday..... 

NOT JUST ANOTHER LOVE SONG

 The news came over our watsapp group. The father of one  of the brothers who served regularly with us in the street work had passed on. I sent condolences, not expecting to be able to attend the funeral wake service as it was my church prayer night. But it was postponed, which meant I was free to go pay my last respects. So on a dreary week-day evening, I made my way to the funeral home. What was actually just a 20 minute drive took 45 mins, because of heavy traffic after an afternoon storm.   I am glad I went though. There were not many people on this second (final) night of the wake. I bumped into some familiar faces from the street ministry. 

The brother was the one who did my house renovation some months ago. He had learnt the tricks of the construction trade from his father. Some 5 years ago, his mom who was a Christian had passed on. His father was much affected by the loss, and himself was stricken by Alzheimer's subsequently. Which necessitated this brother to take on the role of full-time care-giver for the old man. 

No easy job, as those who take care of aged, sickly family members can no doubt attest to. The burdens are very heavy; looking after old people requires a lot of physical, emotional and spiritual strength. It's so much easier to just send them to a nursing home. But that's easier said than done. For some it's a finance issue - these homes are not cheap. Moreover some old folks can be very adamant in not being "packed off"  just like that.  For others, it's a "conscience " issue - they don't have the heart to do it to a family member. 

So it was, with this brother. Year after year, he had borne  the major brunt of tending to a father who can be very difficult to handle. I know of another sister who has spent years of her life, shuttling between 2 houses -her own, her parents' - and hospitals, plus juggling her own family needs and a part-time job. I know she's physically and emotionally over the top, yet she can still say Praise the Lord during the rare times we get to chat a bit over the phone.  I know of  several others in the same situation. So much patience is required to cajole and/or  assist the aged to eat, bathe, change; all the little things we able-bodied so take for granted. And I recall my own ordeal when I was sending my husband to/from the hospital for his cancer treatments, having to navigate the walk-ways of the huge place, always getting "lost" in the labyrinth of different departments, always waiting for the lifts that seemed to take, like, forever. 

So as much as there's a sense of grief when the end comes, it's also a release. Certainly we don't want to lose a loved one. Still, especially in cases where the person is already  suffering so much, we know it's better to just let go. As in  the case of this brother's 90 years old father who had already received Christ and been baptized some time back.  The doctor said he needed dialysis for a failing kidney, amputation of a bacteria-eaten leg, and probably his arm too, since it was also infected. The family decided no point surviving in a worse condition than before, just to live.  This brother knew it was time to just let God to either do a miracle of healing or bring his father to finally re-unite with his mom in a much better place, where there are no tears, sorrow or pain - indeed no more death, but eternal life in Christ. That's the joyful assurance that all Christians can look forward to, even in facing death on earth. 

The Pastor who spoke at the wake is someone I have known since some 20 years ago, when we started out together in the street ministry. An ex-drug addict gloriously set free, healed, saved and mightily used by God to reach out to those caught in the death-trap he was in. I would say his message taken from Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom is the most beautiful I have heard preached at a funeral. And it didn't even take long. 

He recounted how humans are always counting stuff. We  keep count of all our material possessions of the world - shoes, clothes, houses and (especially) money. Aptly he reminded  the words of Jesus in Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?  I was thinking how we also keep count of immaterial things - complaints, offenses and hurts done unto us -  festering like poisonous thorns embedded in our hearts. 

I remember a quote from somewhere - we enter the world with fists clenched and leave with hands open. Pastor put it another way: all the water we try to cup and hold within our hands throughout our lives on earth will still drip away, bit by bit by bit, till nothing is left.  But when we hang onto Christ instead, we catch hold of an eternal life that can't slip away.  He even made a dig at AI, which is all the rage now...indeed AI can give answers to everything, but AI can't give eternal life. Only Jesus can do that. 

Still humans being human would rather do their own thing their own way. He told the story of a boss who sent one of his employees to the drug-centre to be rehabilitated. The young man accepted Jesus as his Savior, was totally freed of his addiction and returned to work again. When he tried to talk to his boss about Jesus, the latter said he didn't need God since he already had everything he needed - money, good life, successful business, family. Eventually the boss died of a heart attack; leaving behind everything he had accumulated on earth. 

And that's why we should be counting our days on earth, instead of all the other stuff that we can't take along when we leave it, as we all must...one day in our lives. The problem is we don't realize how fast our days pass. When we are 30,  we think we have another (very long) 50 years to live, since it's stated in Psalm 90:10 The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty. Anything more is a bonus.

But in the blinking of an eye, especially when we look at how our children or our own white hair have grown, we are counting down to 25 years left, then 15, then 10, then 5 years left. What about the last 5 minutes before we breathe our last?  Or the last few seconds...will we be like this brother's father, who can't even remember anything much, but because he's called upon the name of Jesus, he's done counting the old life;  and is set to begin a new life forever more,  safe and saved with God, His Creator. 

I like how Pastor puts it... our life is merely a candle that burns away day by day by day. Some candles have already burnt half its length. Some still have a long way to go . Some are burning dangerously - from both ends.  

Fittingly, the brother who leads worship in our street work, sang a song for his father. It's a Cantonese song titled (in English):  Unreserved Love  with some very touching lyrics..." nowhere can one find love long and true ...the world just thinks love comes and passes thru ..Who died on the cross and took away my curse? Great is Your love, I don't think I should deserve....Your bleeding hands proved Your love unreserved...You're my only joy and treasure on earth.. let the whole world know Your love and grace... "

A son, singing a final song for his late father,  choking at some points, overcome with emotion.  But it was carried through by other voices in the hall; apparently it's a well-known tune. Two others told me the same song was sung at their wedding and baptism respectively.  A love song that never "goes out of date" because it's grounded in a divine love totally undeserved and unreserved, yet freely given to all by a God who is Himself love.  As the wake closed with the usual walking by the casket, I looked into the coffin, seeing the face of an old man I didn't  know. But this one thing I do know - death has lost its sting, swallowed up in victory, at the cross of Jesus...

"For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality." 1 Corinthians 15:53

 

 

 

What's Out There?

It was the title that caught my eye, Project Hail Mary. I mused why would a sci-fi film made in Hollywood use that kind of title? Hail Mary is a Catholic prayer I remember the nuns in my Convent secondary school taught us to recite. I didn't know anything about Christianity then. I just knew I felt so... peaceful whenever I entered the small stained glass chapel in the school. I would  dutifully dip my finger in the basin of water placed outside and cross myself before I stepped in to kneel on the pews to say the prayer.  It was only more than 30 years later that I learnt what Christianity is really all about .  

Apparently the film's title echoes a certain technique in American football called the Hail Mary pass, which essentially means a desperate, last ditch effort to score.  According to Wikipedia, due to the difficulty of a completion with this long forward pass, it references the Catholic  "Hail Mary" prayer for strength and help, implying that it would take a miracle to succeed.

So likewise, the film features the near impossible attempt of a scientist-downgraded -to- teacher-turned-reluctant hero to save humanity on earth,  because its sun is being eaten up by a spreading microorganism called  Astrophage. The spacecraft itself is named Hail Mary, representing its make-or-break, last resort mission.  Mary is the AI computer system on the ship, functioning as back-up assistant to the sole protagonist Ryland Grace. 

I dunno if the author of the book itself is a Christian, but for me, the names and the whole plot have  the  markings of Christianity all over it. A last-ditch attempt to save humanity. A suicidal one-way trip to another star system that would be the only hope for earth's survival. Straight away I think of  Jesus who sacrificed Himself on the cross to save mankind from a destructive "organism" called sin. 

Ryland Grace is no willing savior though; here's a guy who considers himself a failure, who has to be literally kidnapped and forcefully injected into a coma to get him on board Hail Mary . When he wakes up, he finds  his other 2 crew-mates dead, leaving him the sole survivor to  bury them in  space.  His  very name is such an apt pun - Grace, mirror-ing the first line of the prayer  Hail Mary, full of grace. Indeed, grace was what he needed and what he had for the journey, which would involve just him and an alien he named Rocky.  Rocky, a totally funny,  really lovable and solidly dependable character which name envisages for me  the true Rock of salvation who goes all out to save a friend, a being so totally different, yet so totally loved. That's what a divine Jesus did when He came to earth for the human species - the creation God so totally loved. 

From the very first "go", the movie had me. Who can Not relate to Ryland Grace, actually a scientist with a brilliant mind, ostracized, rejected by his own. Which human has never been disappointed by another human? How many of us simply withdraw into our own "safe" shells, letting life pass us by, because of fears and hurts we have experienced,  which are easier to just bury in our hearts than to resolve? 

But God our Creator doesn't pass us by.  Whether we like it or not, His call will come, most probably when we are at our most "contented as we are" stage in life. That's when He pops up to shake us up. So it was with Grace, "happily" (or not) trying to explain to kids why earth's sun is being "eaten up", a bit or a lot. When the call comes through Eva, the tough lady in charge of the project, and Grace says he's not ready to sign up, she refuses to accept his "no" because she has faith in him. Isn't that so like God, who refuses to give up on anyone, even though they give up on themselves? That's my God who says, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain..."(John 15:16). Big fruit, small fruit, doesn't matter. What matters is good fruit - which remains.  

When Grace makes excuses, that "I don't have the bravery gene that you all have.." the lead scientist who has volunteered simply pointedly says, " ..it's not a gene. You just need to find someone to be brave for."  There are indeed many worthwhile altruistic causes people can volunteer for; all of which are very noble and good. But the one that beats them all is that which calls for a sacrifice of oneself for others, even to the point of death. In other words, who would we die for? Jesus  died for the world. 

The first meeting between Grace and Rocky is so endearing. Imagine a big rock with 5 appendages sticking out like our hands and legs.  Grace uses Mary the AI computer to "translate" Rocky's sounds into English so they can communicate. Very quickly Rocky learns human language, expressing itself in a quirky way, ending almost everything with the word, question. It's like Msians ending our sentences with "la." 

So here's 2 lonely beings, 1 earthling and 1 alien from planet Erid,  thrown together in a wild frontier called space. It's a long movie - 2 1/2 hours - with just 2 main characters interacting most of the time, yet, they manage to pull it off superbly; making me laugh and cry, sometimes even simultaneously. Rocky moves in to become Grace's space-mate, since both have lost all their crew. It's so touching  when Rocky tells Grace it will watch him sleep, because Eridians are totally paralysed when they sleep, they can't wake up themselves. And Rocky in turn insists Grace watch it sleep. It reminds me how my God watches over me... In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)  

There's plenty of action that follows as they journey through space to get the precious anti-Astrophage specimens to save their respective planets. But after learning that Grace cannot return home, Rocky offers enough astrophage to refuel Hail Mary. There's such pathos when Rocky says simply, "Rocky watch whole crew die. Rocky not fix. Grace say Grace will die. Rocky fix."  But Grace is rendered unconscious in an accidental fuel leak.  Which leads to Rocky breaking  his own protective  spacesuit to save Grace, but in the process is itself severely injured.  So now it's Grace who takes care of Rocky. After Rocky "resurrects" from hibernation,  both head off to return to their respective home planets. It seems all will end well. 

But in a twist of events, Rocky's ship is in danger because its fuel is being eaten up by the astrophage- consuming organism. Now Grace has to make a choice - he can go on back to save earth, or  save Rocky.  It's a poignant reminder that we will all have to make difficult and/or conflicting choices in life.  How we choose reveals whether our heart is for self-preservation or for others.  Grace chooses to forego his own "thing",  sending off his research and specimens back to earth on automated mini-ships launched from Hail Mary . He himself turns back to rescue Rocky and so gets to begin a new life on planet Erid; living in a special biodome exactly like earth with beaches and all, created for him by his alien friends. 

Even when Rocky tells him that Eridian scientists have finished repairing Hail Mary so he can go back home,  Grace simply turns to  begin another day of teaching science to Eridian children. It's a beautiful scene,  it makes me contemplate - where is home really?  Is there a better place, a heaven "somewhere out there?"  For me, it's not a physical location, no matter how beautiful. Home is ultimately where we can be with the One who loves us with an everlasting love, that goes beyond human love, which ultimately is all transient and temporary. 

In an earlier scene before the onset of the journey into space, Grace had asked the project leader Eva, "Do you believe in God? Her reply: "It's better than the alternative." It wasn't so much of her personal belief but a pragmatic response to a scenario of total destruction, that anything is better than death.  Actually, that's not just a line from a fictitious film, but a reality already spoken of in the Bible, for the wages of sin is death. Unlike a fictitious Hollywood film, there really is an alternative to death  which doesn't depend on anything that human heroes can accomplish; but on a God who alone can save :   "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men  by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12.) That name is Jesus Christ, the One who gave His all for the all whom He loved. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUST A LITTLE FAITH

It's been awhile - probably some months ago - since I last walked the streets of KL Chinatown at night with my street- ministry brothers and sisters in Christ. Counting down 2 days to Chinese New Year 2026, the area around Petaling Street was jam- packed with vehicles and people; foreign tourists and locals. The area had been “cleaned up “ considerably. The dinghy back-lane where pimps and prostitutes worked their trade now had a long mural painted along it. But as I was told, they had simply shifted their business to the front.  Eateries were full to over-flowing, some popular ones had queues spilling out onto the road. Lanterns and lights made for very nice photo backdrops. But in the midst of all that, there were shadows lurking in dark corners, on benches at the bus-stops, in open spaces, along side-walks 

       

I have seen them time and again, but I never can get used to the sight of the folks hanging out on the streets. I am sure no one would intentionally want to live that way – homeless, destitute, wandering around with no hope, no meaning. Some have been that way for years.  Behind every face we see is a sad story, a broken life. As we walked on, I was asking God, please send me to someone who needs You.

There were “regulars” gathered at the spot where a certain charitable organization would distribute food-packs. I started talking to a woman who was with her husband and another male friend, who was obviously drunk. They had no time for me, as the group distributing food had arrived.  Further down the road at the bus-station area, there were so many others lounging on the benches. We approached 3 men. 2 were sitting, the other was lying down. They were all Christians.

The one lying down said he had fallen and hurt both legs some time ago. A doctor had confirmed no fracture, and told him to go “urut. I very much doubted that part of his story. But the point is  he was still in pain. I asked him if he believed Jesus could heal. He nodded but added, he had been lying there for many days, unable to move. The brother with me released the Word, praying for everything that was out of alignment in the man’s body be re-aligned properly and healing to come. I remembered the Acts 3 story of the lame beggar at Beautiful Gate. And I was moved to call this man to rise up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ, as I spoke life and strength into his legs. Then we both lifted the man up, one at each side of him. He stood, took 1 step, and another and another. He said  his shoulder hurt. So we prayed again, calling him to lift up his hand. It went up, slowly but surely- higher and higher. His whole countenance changed. I could literally see his faith shine, every trace of doubt gone.   As much as I know we pray in faith, but I am still very much the "ye of little faith" type that Jesus rebuked, since I  rarely get to see instant results when I pray healing for people. So seeing this guy miraculously healed right before my very eyes was such a beautiful moment for me.    

As we walked on, taking the route by the mall, I noticed a woman sitting on the kerb-side. She was eating a late dinner . Her body was “decorated” with tattoos and she had lots of “bling-bling” on her -earrings, rings, bracelets, necklaces. I plopped myself down beside her, saying hello, I want  to rest a bit, can? She smiled. There were several others hanging around the area. Every now and then, the men who passed by would speak to her. She would smile, laugh and answer back in a language I couldn’t quite understand.

I waited for “Ms Bling-bling” to finish her dinner, before I asked if she was a foreigner. She replied father Msian, mom foreigner. She wasn’t at all shy when I enquired about her family. Apparently  she had married and been divorced by 4 men.  At age 39 now, she was already a grandmother, since she first married at age 14. One of her kids had been placed with the Welfare Department (JKM) after her latest divorce. I expressed my surprise, because usually it’s the men who marry multiple times, hers is the other way round. She laughed.

At that moment, I just felt led to say “God sees the pain behind your laughter.”  Immediately I saw her eyes change although she was still smiling. I told her simply everyone in our lives can leave us, but there is One who will never leave nor forsake us. I shared with her the God who feels our pain and Himself suffered pain as He hung on the cross, to set us free from our past. I could see her eyes full of unshed tears. She kept saying I don’t know, when I asked if she wanted a new life, a real life where she doesn’t need to hide behind false/forced smiles and laughter, pretending she is ok. But she wasn’t prepared to commit. I knew there was no point pushing it, so I left her with a simple prayer that God would bless her to know Him.  I had sown the seed. Let someone else harvest it some day.

Or who knows, maybe on some other night, when I get to walking about the streets again, I will bump into her and this time, she will be ready for God to turn her mourning into dancing. After all, it only takes just a little faith. 

Matthew 17:20 ...For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lost, Found and Missing (Again)

She was the only woman sitting with some men at the table. There was an empty seat beside her. I knew it was meant for me. I sat down and said the 1 word that came to my mind then - susah-ke? Immediately she burst into tears and couldn't stop crying as I moved to hug her. It had to be Holy Spirit at work. I had never seen her before in the centre. After awhile she calmed down sufficiently to open up. 

She is a foreigner; having entered Msia  some 6 years ago. She's only 25 years old but had already worked multiple jobs. She had suffered at the hands of some employers. One had such a bad temper he burnt her passport. So she became an illegal immigrant. She had prayed many times she would be caught  and deported back to her home country. But that didn't happen, so with no job and no money, she ended up on the streets of KL. 

This latest (no. 4) boyfriend had walloped her head with a piece of wood, Thankfully there was no bleeding, just a huge bump. That was the reason she covered her head with a knitted cap, as she was ashamed. She had "hooked up" with the guy just recently. He never told her he was married. His wife had come to the field where she was hanging out and humiliated her publicly. So much drama. He had stolen the motorcycle he was using, was on drugs and had kept her hand-phone on the pretext of charging it. She said she was scared he would follow her afterwards. I told her I would accompany her out later after the service concluded. I prayed God send angels to guard her from every harm. 

But as I finished my sermon, I felt I couldn't leave her on the streets. A little voice spoke to my heart "Take her home." But how to get her out as the guy was still hanging around in the centre? In fact he kept looking at her throughout the service, although she had moved to the front to avoid sitting with him. Yet he had followed suit and  shifted upfront as well. 

Thank God for divine intervention. He made sure the man was fully occupied, by Pastor no less , so I could get the woman out of the centre. After dinner, as Pastor talked to the guy, I quickly led her out and straight away drove her back to my place in PJ for the night. 

In the aftermath of things, I realised how God deliberately gets us to be the answer to our own prayers. Sure Christians are supposed to pray about everything, but the problem is we often "leave it up to God" to handle the issue. So many times I would pray God, please help these street people...provide for their needs blah blah blah. That's all well and good, I am sure. But that night when I heard the voice "Take her home", I was ashamed that I didn't even think of it  in the first place. 

 She refused to use the back-room, saying she could just sleep on the floor in the living area. I told her to use the sofa. As we talked, she revealed she is a pastor's daughter. She said she had desired so much to go to church, but she felt so ashamed at how far she had fallen. 

I reminded her of Jesus's parable about the prodigal son, who left the father's house, squandered his money and ended up totally destitute, before he finally decided to return. All the while, the old man was waiting for his lost son to just come home . We both knew she is every inch the prodigal daughter. 

The next morning which "so happened" to be a Sunday, I took her to church, where my Pastor prayed for her. She said she was so overwhelmed. I was supposed to send her off to the MRT station after the service, but at the last minute I felt she should stay on for the session after lunch. Again at Holy spirit urging, I got her to join in prayer to stand for her nation. 

Only after that , I drove her to TBS station to catch the bus out of town because she said she has an adopted Christian sister  in another state  who could take care of her. I gave her money for the journey and thought that was that, thanking God she could begin afresh somewhere else. In hindsight I shouldn't have left her on her own at the station, even though she reassured me she was familiar with the place.

Things didn't turn out well. Apparently she was somehow intercepted by the boyfriend, who took all the cash I had given her. So she didn't manage to leave KL. Instead they both went back to the centre. The Pastor to whom I had already told the whole story wisely separated them, bought a bus ticket online and even got people to escort her all the way to TBS station again. The only hitch was they didn't get to see her actually board the bus, since only passengers holding tickets are allowed into the boarding area. 

That was more than a week ago. She hasn't contacted anyone of us since then. There was nothing we could do anymore, except pray God's hand be upon her to keep her safe and to guide her physical as well as spiritual journey. We may not be able to keep track of her, but we know God goes after every wandering sheep. 

 Jesus the good and great Shepherd will bring them all - the black sheep -  the  hurt, lost,  missing "somewhere out there" -  home to Himself somehow anyhow.... “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?" - Luke 15:4 

UPDATE: A week later, she was back in KL. I met her at the regular Saturday street-feeding I serve in. She said her sister outstation had no place for her, but at the very least, had put her in touch with a relative who got her a job as a cleaner. She kept apologizing to me for all the trouble, the money lost, etc etc. I just reminded her to live as daughter of  God Most High, her Abba Father who has already opened new doors for her, bringing her back to Himself.