How do you see 2009??

Well, Dec 25th has come and gone, now everyone's counting down to Dec 31st 2008. Its with a mix of dismay and excitement that i realise school's gonna start in 6 days' time!! Dismay coz aiyah, no more sleeping beyond 5 am anymore; now hv to build back the discipline of early morning routines... excitement becoz hey, my boss is still my boss, and God's shown me such a challenging vision for the year ahead for the school.. my kids couldn't understand why on earth i would hesitate to be promoted to Principal of Mighty Kids, ha ha, guess that's the initial reaction of most. When my boss first sounded to me about 4 months ago the possibility that she may move on to other things in her life, i quite dreaded her suggestion that i shld take over. Not that i m not ready; and i know i can do the job; so its not a question of ability or readiness. As always its a question of heart - do i want to? And honestly i had to tell God, Lord, i dont want to lead,i just want to follow. Just as my boss candidly admits she feels she's so comfortably settled into a 'rut'; we call it comfort zone... so likewise i confess i m also reluctant to assume new tings, becoz my 'rut' is so comfy!After all, i've been with her from the time the kindy was set up 8 yrs ago, and praise God for His favor on the school that we hv come to a stage where growth has steadied throughout these years. Yet i didn't wanna be disobedient, if really God wants to move me up to other things, well, who am i to say no?? So i simply left it to God,and told Him, if He wanted to promote me, He would hv to give me the passion to head the school; well, He didn't burn my heart, but He did burn my eyes with vision instead of better things are coming, i know... coz i saw 2009 as a year of spiritual liberation - its Mighty Kids 7th year of operation, and biblically, 7 is freedom! How exciting.. I know this is the year we need to start using those wonderful fabulous wings God hs already given us to fly for Him! For those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall fly on wings of eagles; they shall run and not be weary, walk and not faint... Wat a promise!

So, despite all the gloom and the doom-sayers of 2009,yes, i m excited. The whole world has been bombarded with how things are just gonna get worse and worse in the coming year. There is such a burden of heaviness in the air, despite all the surface festivities of Christmas and New Year; i tink they call it 'window-dressing'. But the outlook is being trumpeted daily in the news reports of lay-offs, no/less bonus, frozen salaries..and that's just the economics; wars and unrest are still being fought all over the world; just look at the mess our neighbour Thailand is in, and we still read about humans killing humans in Palestine. So you ask me wat's there to look forward to in 2009 except more bad news? I guess if i look with human eyes, there really is nothing beautiful on the horizon. But if i look with the spiritual eyes of the heart, with a confidence that the God who created all things good (and that includes man) in the beginning, the God who knows everyone by name (tho some dont even want to know His name), the God with whom ALL things are possible, the God who says I AM the same, yesterday, today and forever... if i focus on that God who is King of kings and Lord of lords, then i see different things... i see that in the midst of bad, evil and suffering, God can turn it all around in His own time, in His own way to make it good. Dont ask me how or when, its enuf for me that He can becoz He says so, and God never lies. (only man do that) He came to dispel all darkness, by virtue that He is the light of the world. So why shld i wallow in fear and worry abt this, that and the other ting hitting me? Ok, if bad times are coming, so be it, my God is still good!Watever times it may be....
I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made the heaven and earth... Psalm 121:1-2 .. for God promised:
When you pass thru the waters, I will be with you, and thru the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk thru the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you... for I am the Lord, your God... Isaiah 43:2

Celebrating Christmas at Home 08

Well, Dec 25th has come and gone again (and Dec 31st 2008 is already counting down..4,3,2,1 day away) . As a Christian, i bemoan the crass commercialisation of this most holy and blessed event, reducing it to nothing but ubiquitous displays of Christmas trees and blaring of sacred hymns in every shopping mall, with strutting Santa Clauses and SantaRinas...i only ventured into but 2 shopping malls this year, and that was just for presents and groceries and i almost didn't even want to put up the Christmas tree in the house; not that i have anything agst such a beautiful tree, but its just that its got absolutely nothing to do with the birth of the Savior of the world !! Buuutt... well, the kids raised a fuss and as my smartie eldest princess said, if i wanna do away with paganistic rituals, i might as well dont even celebrate Dec 25th as Christmas, since it wasn't even Jesus' real birthday, but just a handy date picked by the Roman Emperor Constantine for purely political reasons! Well, she's right, and the house does look kind-of incomplete w/out the tree; so out it comes for yet another year....and i guess it does look kind of pretty, esp with the lights twinkling and all, even tho truth to say, our tree is not the 'normal' orderly decorated in 1 theme kind that's common to most. I like mine 'hotch-potch' which means everything jumbled up everywhere, so every year it's a different look, altho the ornaments remain pretty much the same...
To me, just like that tree, Christmas is always the same, and yet always different - fresh and new as each day that is given of the Lord. Just like God is always and forever God , but each day should bring a new living reality of God in our lives. So i go to church/work every day, i do lots of things the same everyday, but i wanna look for that newness of life that makes mundane things meaningful. Truth is as i discovered, its not anything i or anyone can do that gives purpose to this life on earth. Its not making more money, its not fighting for a noble cause,(tho that is worthy of itself), its not doing good and avoiding evil, its not dreaming big visions (tho that can be a motivation), meaning and purpose in life has already been given to all, as expressed " The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever "...but in the finiteness of our flesh, we only want to 'live well'= a happy trouble free existence on earth. How sad it is when God has prepared so much for us and we are content with so little. As one writer puts it, we humans are so easily placated; we are like little kids content to make and play with little mud-pies in the sand, when the Creator of the universe tells us to look up and see the glories reserved for those who would take their eyes off the mud !!
I want to enjoy God forever becoz that goes beyond enjoying life on this earth. And each Christmas i m reminded once again how God has made that enjoyment possible - now on earth, this very moment - by coming to earth 2008 years ago, in the form of flesh... that we might behold Him, full of grace and glory..
Christmas reminds me how blessed we are that God has done all that needs to be done for us to enjoy Him forever... if only we would come to Him, who came to us and loved us first. My heart was bursting as i sat in church Christmas morning with the kids beside and behind me, singing those old sweet hymns which praise so aptly of the Savior born unto the world, that whomsoever believes in Him shall never perish but have eternal life. All other earthly pursuits pale into nothingness in comparison to this one purpose of the Divine - that He came to seek us, His creation, who were lost and to reconcile us back to Him, thru that little baby born in a manger in Bethlehem at Christmas...

So, tho we end up doing the same things this year like last year...my no. 1 princess turned chef for the day and we 'servants' sweated it out in the kitchen to produce a labor of love for the dinner table.. a quiet time with family gathered around, and of coz the mandatory opening of presents,yet for me, this is the ever new wonder of Christmas ...
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders; And He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.. Isaiah 9:6

Celebrating Christmas in Cell Fellowship....

And so the parties continue... the same nite after the street-feeding, my cell held a gathering for invited guests of the members. Looking back at the fotos, i rmbr how it was 8 yrs ago that this cell first became part of my Christian life..
at that time, they were complete strangers , yet they so readily opened their hearts to me at the time of my deepest grief,as i was trying to come to terms with the loss of a dearly-loved husband... i rmbr how one of them approached me in the midst of all the people trooping in and out of the house to pay their condolences - i was too 'pooped' to even cry, and she asked if she could get me groceries - and she returned with bags of stuff later, for which she refused to be reimbursed...
i rmbr how my very own boss, the headmistress of the church kindergarten i had just joined some 5 months ago insisted, despite my protestations, to stay over with me, and in the middle of the nite i ended up crying becoz i missed my husband so, and all she did was hug me...
i rmbr how the whole cell offered to help me shift house - a nightmare! - and the men went around nailing, drilling and hanging heavy stuff for me after that, not only my cell, but there was a whole troupe of youngsters from my daughter's cell driving a convoy of cars, loading and unloading continuously thru out the shift...
i rmbr those times when i had no money to go for India missions trips - which is like every time practically! - and one or other of my cell members would draw me aside and give me a love offering, and always somehow end of the day, there would be enuf...
i rmbr how in one of our cell outreach projects, we all (some even brought their kids)were driven, many standing in the open back portion of 2 jeeps, bumping all the way up to a remote mountain deep in the forests of Raub to minister to the orang asli community there, and then bumping all the way down again in the dark nite, pelted by rain..

And now 8 yrs down the line, it's this bunch of people (minus a couple, add new ones since then )with whom i am still meeting up every Friday nite... praying together, worshipping together,learning about the ways and the Word of God together, eating together, laughing and yes, sometimes crying together, and of coz celebrating Christmas together, joined by a love greater than ourselves - the love of Christ that binds us as one in the family of God. And best of all, bringing non-Christians into the circle of this love that can only issue from Jesus , the God of all love, grace and mercy
For Jesus said: A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another - John 3:34-35

Celebrating Christmas in the streets...

Tis' the season again when Christmas is in the air...Dec 25th is now only days away, but already celebration parties have been and are being held here, there, everywhere. My first started last Sat on the streets, as I pulled in some of my Bahasa church members to help out at the street feeding programme I minister at weekly. It was the 1st time we did it all in Bahasa M'sia; right from the worship songs to the sharing of God's Word, which I delivered by my own testimony of how i and my whole family was saved 8 yrs ago, during the crisis of my husband's cancer, thru receiving Jesus Christ, God's most precious gift to mankind...
indeed every Christmas i can't thank God enuf, realising that if not for the birth of Jesus, it would be impossible for man to be reconciled to God, and we would all be condemned into the pits of hell, as we actually deserve...but becoz of Him who was born at Christmas, a way has been opened for everyone to walk right into heaven... praise God for the Hope...
and so in that little dirty alley, on that Sat, i thank God that even in such a place , the message of Hope went out to the poor in spirit,the hungry, homeless, hurting.. for even if no one in the world cares for these who are looked down as the very dregs of society, God still loves them, and God still calls everyone to repentance and everlasting life - He is ever in the business of saving souls, no matter how wretched they are, and how privileged i am to do my little part to lead them to Him...bringing Hope to the hopeless; that's what Christmas is all about...
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son (Jesus) that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life - John 3:16

Mumbai

IMAGES OF INDIA ...















Today i am home, sweet home after 10 days in India...10 days of being so blessed by God to be able to give the little i can give in terms of preaching, prayer and ministry to Christians and non-Christians alike...
10 days of seeing God move in spite of and above things which happened out of our control, but always within His control. For truly the entire team of 12 stood only by His grace, as we experienced physical and spiritual challenges in doing our work...
The day before we left Mumbai had been bombed by terrorists. I was praying so hard that God would make it possible for us to go despite the danger, and so was jumping for joy when the official word came that we can go. But had to reassure my 2nd daughter who was quite dismayed that i should be going into such a place at such a time - that God holds my life in His hands all the while; there is no one and nothing - not even a bomb - which can take away my life, if He doesn't will it. So Mumbai, it was...
It was hard enuf planning logistics for 3 teams going 3 different directions; what more, within my own team, we were split again into another 3 sub-teams; straight away upon arrival at Mumbai, we were whisked off to diff. places. I found myself quite alone travelling into a village some 1 1/2 hrs drive away from Mumbai. The church was slap in the middle of a field, and to reach it or get out of it, we had to walk via a small pathway strewn with rocks; at nite it was absolutely pitch dark and we had to carry torchlites. Toilet was 2 shacks outside the church building, which thankfully were clean and decent. Along the pathway was a hut where a family made muruku for a living, and a slum settlement where we did children's work in a little space within houses...children ministry is always fun, for Indian children are ever so approachable and friendly; they come forward to touch you, shake your hand, ask your name again and again, so... lovable. I had a grand time teaching and they learning the Malay song Goyang-Goyang, and telling them the story of Jonah and the fish!
God is so good to answer the desires of my heart... i had so much looked forward to visiting Dharavi, reputedly Asia's largest slum settlement, but it appeared initially i had to stay in the village. So again i was praying hard, God, i want to minister in Dharavi.. and again He made it be.. the plan was changed and i found myself in the most horrible, gut wrenching, pit of pits, where so many human bodies live together side by side in what i call holes, not homes or houses. Built 2 storey high out of concrete so close to each other you just have to stretch out both arms and that's the distance btw neighbour and neighbour. Each hole is barely 10x 10'- its kitchen, bedroom and everyting rolled into that space. They use steel ladders to climb up to the 'homes' built one on top of another; and get thru by a hole in the wall of the downstairs portion...outside there is no drainage, drains are stuck full of stagnant water, rubbish everywhere... children naked, everyone walks around barefoot... such filth, dirt ... i dunno how to describe it. People hv to gather at water pipes to collect water, and yes, to lug pails all the way up the steel ladders to get it into their 'house'. Alleys are so narrow if one person is coming one direction, the other from the opposite has to move aside and stand still to give way. And amidst all this, people are doing business, tanning leather, selling sundries, sewing/ironing clothes.. my heart broke... no human being should be living in such conditions...
But even in such hovels, God moves.. as we distributed tracts and our Indian church members shared the love of Christ, some listened, invited us into their homes to pray, posed for my camera...and in the midst of all that misery, a teenage girl who spoke English responded to my sharing and opened her heart to Jesus... yes, in the midst of such darkness, the light of God can and did shine..
Even in the places which were bombed, which we managed to visit on the last day in Mumbai...yes, i was at the Taj Mahal hotel, and the other 2 places as well.. it had turned into a huge parade of people massing around the area, some praying, some walking holding placards proclaiming peace and unity,TV crews,police and guards evrywhere.. wat a heartbreak that it shld take a tragedy to bring together people of all tongues and age in a common denouncement of the utter incomprehensibility of terrorism - the ultimate derangement of man's nature - humans killing humans...yet again in the midst of such horror, God preserved 1 sole terrorist to survive to tell the story of man's wickedness, 1 out of 9... who says there is no God?
We left Mumbai by nite train, which took us 1,600 km 24 hrs from west to east, down south to Chennai... and again, He answered my prayer; for stuck in a coach with us, 2 of our fellow occupants, a young girl and a Nepalese guy heard the story of how God gave His only Son to save the world...
I can only thank God for His faithfulness, for even at the end of our missions, He was with us... our car suddenly stopped in the middle of the highway as we were journeying back from the village.. the brakes had jammed... i wouldn't be here today if there had been a bus or a lorry tailing us, the 3 of us were all seated at the back, literally sitting ducks for a rearend collision... truly angels must have been shielding the car from any other vehicle, despite it being the main busy h/way into the city.. and such are the wondrous works of God, that even in this kind of situation, in the middle of nowhere, we were able to share in broken Tamil to an Indian Muslim family, whose run-down house was by the roadside.. God is truly everywhere, everytime... it was only later that we realised our accident actually averted another more serious one which would have happened to the car owner's family, becoz the next nite they had to travel long distance for a relative's funeral... thank God it happened to us, and not them... that's the wonder of a God who knows all things and works them out for the best.
So,i look back on the past 10 days, in awe of an awesome God to whom i can only give thanks, praise and glory , for indeed He is worthy.