I needed a new pair of glasses n I went to enquire at an
optical shop. It cost RM800 just for a pair of multi-focal lenses! It looked
like I needed to budget RM1k for a new pair of glasses. Rumors had it that by age
24, our short-sightedness shld be more or less stable. It was, for a short
while until I began spending more n more time in front of the computer screen.
After I completed the first draft of my dissertation, I needed stronger reading
glasses. But to spend a thousand? I was hesitating; each time I planned to walk
into the optical shop, a still small voice told me to wait a little longer.
Then the day came n I knew why I ought to delay; bcoz someone blessed me with
RM1k! Just the budget needed for a new pair of glasses! But a blessing is not a
blessing until n unless it is shared, right? My OA frenz needed RM400 for their
youth Christmas program n so I parted RM400 to my OA fren. I went to make a new
pair of glasses n before I went to collect the new pair…someone blessed me with
the amount almost as much as what I gave to my OA fren! Ha…fantastic! Praise
the Lord…
The first day of the last month of the year was spent in the
OA village with a CG team. We spent abt 12 hours of the day for the trip with
only abt 2 and half hour in the village itself! Actually for most part, we were
stranded in the village church as it was pouring heavily n there were leaking
spots in the church building. Nevertheless, it was a good time of fellowship
that day. Trips are fun depending on travel mates. In fact, a trip to the best
place in the world can never be good if travel companions r not. Yet, a simple
trip can be magnificent if travel companions r great travel mates.
In a few days’ time is another trip to the interior. This
time is an overnight trip to the OA villages with SAM Penang students. After
hearing so much abt the indigenous community, the students were pestering me to
bring them in the OA village. Though timing is quite tight, this Thurs/Fri is
the best possible option for one final trip before wrapping up the year. Plz
pray for us. There will be 10 of us visiting 2 villages. We will climb for abt
an hour to minister to a church on higher ground before returning to the base
for another time of ministry before zzzzzzzzzzzzzz for the night. The next
morning we return to Penang.
I’m late in preparing SAM annual report as time is much
taken up by a series of activities recently. Towards the end of November, a
group of 15 OA youth together with their pastors came to Penang
for a mission trip in the city. Preparing n hosting them took quite a bit of my
time besides the Christ Church Community Christmas where I was co-opted to
coordinate the entire event to reach out to the community. The event is on
15Dec n I can’t wait for it to be over so I can concentrate on my pending
reports. So, sponsors plz accept my apologies for the late report. In fact,
certificate classes are only wrapping up with their final classes in early Dec.
I’m waiting to usher in the new year with new challenges
ahead. N I’m pretty sure many of us r too; especially for us, the church as we
anticipate the next GE n how the church shld play a significant role in
steering the destiny of our land. Finally, allow me to greet all of you a very
merry Christmas n a Happy New n challenging Year ahead.
