Fools for Christ...

It has been months since i last posted... I am currently out of St.Gabriel, but my spirit will still be there. Din update on my last few moments in school. But it was good. Plenty of photos taken, but not one with my dear Eu-Jin in it, only one monkey toy standing in the pics on his behalf. His death taught me so much... Nothing matters more than the soul...

The school holidays started and I remembered telling God how I wish the church-organised Cambodia mission trip was on. I would be the first to sign up man. Oh well... Guess I din wanna waste my holiday. I told Daddy that I wanna do something meaningful. And yes! God answered and opened the door for me, along with 12 other youths from the Anglican diocese to go for a mission trip to N.Malaysia.


The truth: Days before the trip, I really questioned how much we can contribute there. I really dunno why are we going to Perak or Ipoh. I mean... It is not a poor country... Ya.. They have a new church St'Philip (which is not that new after all, about 2 years)... but they have a main church St'Michael there with a congregation of about 200 to help in St.Philip... I mean... Why Perak?

I didn't feel prepare for the trip. Not at all... So many changes, so many uncertainties.. Most importantly, I seriously dunno why I am going there!

Talking about uncertainties and changes! Guess what... Less than one day before the trip, we found out tht our dear sis serene don't really know how to play keyboard for the worship... Mainly also becoz of the new songs that she din hear before. And, yes... I know how to play the piano by ear, but... NEVER have I imagined myself playing in a worship session setting. And almost 10 songs to prepare and practice! I must be crazy to even put my fingers on the keyboard in the first place! Ok... God's jokes and His grace.... Oh well...
Playing the keyboard was a faith-stretching experience. Always thought that it would most probably be the HIGHLIGHT of the trip... But... Nothing matters more than the soul... God's grace and empowerment went beyond the few notes i played on the keyboard. He showed me soo much...

Ok... I really cannot stop once I start sharing! REALLY CAN'T! haha... i was sharing with wei tian a bit yesterday through the phone. And the outline of the trip itself, with A BIT of details took us about 2 hours! But... I still wanna update and share on this blog A BIT of what we WENT through...

15 of us from different backgrounds... Meeting a bunch of ppl from another land... If it wasn't becoz of Christ, our paths would most probably never have crossed, and I would not have realised that the love of Christ is really beyond comprehension...

Rev Frank Ling and Brother Eric Tan also known as Ling Mu Shi（凌牧师）and Sor Shu Shu（傻叔叔)... These 2 brothers were the ones who brought us around and took care of us. Like I have been telling others... I felt that we were being served more than serving... Throughout the 6 days, two church vans were utilised to drive us around... Petrol Prices are on the rise!!! Sor Shu Shu took 2 days off, plus 1 day of emergency leave to serve with us in this 6 days (wed no need take leave, sat and sun no work)...

St. Philip’s Church, Sungai Siput
The place where we stayed, served, and saw 5 shooting stars!

I guess I really can't summarise... I have been staring at the pic on top for a while already... But I really dunno where to start... And dunno where to stop... In summary... God is love!

What did I learn most? We are all fools for Christ... From ling mu shi, sor shu shu, to the joke i made during visitation, to the bro and sis we met, to we ourselves, i saw how foolish Christians are in the eyes of man. Ling Mu Shi is a really good motivational speaker "人生有了大目标，千斤万重我能挑！人生没有大目标，一根稻草要弯腰！" And a good motivational speaker as talented as he is can really earn a lot out there... But he dedicated his life and offer up whatever he has for God's Kingdom. How foolish is that. Sor Shu Shu, a typical worker in the secular world, took 3 days off for us, risking the possibility of being sack just to serve with us... But... Haha... Ok... More about him later... But ya.. 3 days of leave just to be with a bunch of ppl he don't really know... Bro and sis in Christ.. There was this auntie whom I met during one of the prayer meeting at St.Michael on friday night. She saw that I was losing my voice and that i was not feeling very well. Next day, one of the church youth who came over to St.Philip handed me a bag of cucumbers from Japan "Hey! Auntie asked me to pass you this cucumbers... 可以降火！" What can I say? Love in deeds! Ourselves... The way we tried to speak cantonese, and 厚着脸皮，硬着头皮talk to the ppl there... Haha... 真的好"SUM FU"!

Highlight of how foolish or ridiculous Christians are... The last night of the trip, we went to the house of a brother in Christ with cancer (last stage). He and his family were going to get baptise that night. It was really heartbreaking to see the family at first. The kids are so young... A daughter 2 yr old, a son 6 yr old and the oldest son is only 8. After the baptism, Ling Mu Shi prayed a prayer of blessings over them... He said "Hallelujah! Praise be to God! 我们要感谢赞美上帝！感谢神，你有这个病！" At this point, I can't help but start laughing inside my heart. What a ridiculous prayer! NOONE in their right mind will rejoice for an illness! NOBODY will thank any God for a 病痛! But... Mu Shi continued on... Because of this illness, this brother got to know Christ and his whole family came to accept Jesus as their Saviour and their source of strength. So what if he managed to live a 100 years but yet have to spend eternity without God. Indeed "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked." - Psalms 84:10
I am glad to say with full assurance that I will see this family in the house of the Lord!

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18

Yes... Many of the things that we are doing really seems foolish. Putting aside your job, giving up other high paying jobs, showing love to someone you just met... If it wasn't becoz of Jesus, and His blood that binds us together, all these would not have happened... And I was reminded... My dear Lord Jesus Christ did the most foolish act ever in the eyes of man - His death on the cross for the sins of mankind. He has set an example for us to follow... The act of sacrificial and unconditional love... Such that whatever we are going to do after Him is not as silly as compared to what Christ has done.. Silly in the eyes of man, but it indeed is the power of God!

Sor Shu Shu... After typing soo much... I've decided not to type much about this brother... But he really has been an inspiration. If Perak was a mission field for us, it must have been a training ground for him... He has the heart to go full time for God! Guess it was also a time to reaffirm God's calling in his life... Many struggles... But as long as he make this decision with God, nothing is too difficult for him becoz his God is POWERFUL!

This is Sor Shu Shu and his son matthew aks Sor Zai! And I am Sor Mui! Look at his yellow shirt! He has never changed his shirt since the first day we met him! Ok... Becoz he has plenty of the same shirt...
I miss him the most!

Talking about God's goodness... Just to share something... St'Michael is not a mega church in terms of size. But... 200+ congregation... They currently owe 4 vans for ministry purposes! Every week they will drive the van around and fetch old folks and kids to the church. I have been asking sor shu shu how much do they spent on the vans. Till today, he never really did reply. He only said that this is a ministry and simply becoz Ling Mu Shi insist that 一个都不能少！Yup... In God's Kingdom, He will go out to find even the 100th lost sheep. I am really touched by their love and faith. So you ask me how they get the money? Haha... Read the miracle of how Jesus fed the 5000!

During the trip, there were break throughs... Doors were being opened.. At least, we were not useless.. None of God's ppl are useless.. It is just whether we are willing to be used by God or not! And on the last day, there on the sky, we saw the promise of God:

The rainbow that marks the everlasting covenant between God and man! The promise of God not to destroy mankind by water.

Looking at the sky... It was a reminder of God's everlasting presence in my life. It was a promise of God, that He will never leave me. It was a sign to sor shu shu, that He will take care of him and his family. Plus the 2 shooting stars i saw that previous night. One was for my ah ma, the other one was for his mum... 彩虹下的约定！What a beautiful way to end the trip...

Though I am back here... My heart is still in Perak... Let it not be an obsession, becoz obsession will fade and change... But may this heart lead me to love and pray for them more... The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few... I was telling some ppl that I should really have just stayed there when they were joking about it... Maybe not for 1 more year la! but 1 more week or so... But... Really need to trust that God will take care of the ppl in 和丰村through St'Michael Church. In the meantime, I shall go brush up on my cantonese so that I will not really make a fool out of myself when I go back! :)

P.S. Haha... Told ya I can't summarise.. This is probably only 5% or less of the whole trip!