Memories of a Dear Friend by Mr Gan

Memories of a Dear Friend

(Lim Peng Leong 2.5.46 - 25.7.15)

I received a call from my good friend Joseph Naden when I was at my Suria Utama Townhouse in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya last month, informing me that our dear friend Lim Peng Leong had passed away. I could not believe what I heard and I asked him to repeat what he said. The next day when I went with Foo Lai Ning, Periasamy, Joseph Naden and Jenny to pay our last respects to Peng Leong in Malacca, I learnt from his son Andrew that his father went for what was thought a normal gallstone operation three weeks before but the surgeon found cancerous tumours spreading inside his body. Peng Leong didn't want to have any treatment and left the hospital. He gave Andrew a list of his friends to be informed after his passing and said, "If you have problem to contact any of them, uncle Gan may be able to help."

Peng Leong passed away peacefully at 1am on Saturday, 25 July 2015 after feeling tired and lost consciousness in the previous evening.

I first met Peng Leong in 1971 when I was sent to Kuala Lumpur Technical School, Jalan Cheras for teaching practice. I was pursuing the Certificate in Education at University of Malaya after graduated from Kuala Lumpur Technical College. He was a big towering fellow and was always wearing a smile. Peng Leong was three years my senior in college and in spite of being a young teacher, he was given important responsibilities by the school principal Mr Xavier Nathan. He was also highly respected by his colleagues and students.

I was posted to Penang Technical School, Jalan Ibbetson in January 1972 after I completed my Education Course in University of Malaya. There I became close to a colleague Koh Moh Tang who was a good friend of Peng Leong. Peng Leong always came back to his parents' house at Jalan Besi, Green Lane, Penang and would spent time with Moh Tang and me.

Moh Tang left Penang Technical School to join the private sector at the end of 1973 and later migrated to Australia. Peng Leong was transferred to Alor Star Technical School in 1972 to assist his principal En. Abdul Razak bin Mohd Sharif in setting up the new school. My relationship with Peng Leong continued as my girl friend (later wife) Siew Lean is from Alor Star and I normally contacted Peng Leong when we were in Alor Star. Peng Leong would invariably call for a dinner together with a group of his colleagues at their favourite haunt, the Cafe Siam in Jalan Kota. There was always a lot of laughter during the gathering. Peng Leong was a carefree bachelor then but one day when he was giving me and Siew Lean a lift from Penang to Alor Star, there was a petite lady sitting in the front passenger seat of his car. I observed that throughout the journey she was constantly and gently wiping off sweat from Peng Leong’s face (The Fiat 850 had no air-conditioning). She was Miss Koay Hock Tin, a teacher from Penang teaching in Alor Star and the future Mrs Lim Peng Leong.

I passed the Council of Engineering (UK) Examinations and was transferred to Ungku Omar polytechnic, Ipoh as a lecturer in January 1976. In May of the same year, I was moved again to Technical & Vocational Education Division (BPTV), Ministry of Education Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur as a Senior Assistant Director. Our destinies intertwined again in 1979 when Peng Leong was posted to BPTV after his return with a Master Degree from University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA under Ministry of Education Scholarship.

My 11 years in BPTV from May 76 to November 87 was one of the most rewarding periods of my career. I worked under a great boss Tuan Haji Mohd Rafik Khan and had a team of dedicated officers with me. Peng Leong was a very competent officer who always gave me good supports. The other officers who had helped me greatly were Foo Lai Ning, Sia Kah Ngan, Tan Hock Ghee, Joseph Naden, Periasamy and Rahman Arif. I have fond memories of our curriculum meetings together with vocational school teachers. In the old days when the Government had limited operating budgets, we could only organise our meetings in low-cost venues. One of our favourite places was the Telecom Training Centre in Malacca which provided us with meeting rooms and hostels. It was not all work and no play for us as we played badminton at the centre’s gym in the evening and spent happy hours at the Portuguese Square at night. Another memorable venue was the NUBE (National Union of Banking Employees) Centre in Port Dickson where the chalets were comfortable and the meals were

good. We used the dining tables in the chalets for meetings, and Peng Leong and I would volunteer to sleep in the living rooms in order to have enough bed rooms for the teachers.

I left BPTV for Ungku Omar Polytechnic as Head of Mechanical Engineering Department (Dec 87 - Jan 98), then as Director of Johor Bahru Polytechnic (Feb - Nov 98) and Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Polytechic (Dec 98 - Jan 05), and retired in January 2005. Peng Leong stayed on in BPTV (Became Technical Education Department in 1996) until his retirement in May 2001.

Peng Leong studied theology and devoted himself to church work after his retirement. After his dear wife Hock Tin passed away in 2012, he moved from Subang Jaya to live with his son Andrew who is now a Pastor in Wesley Methodist Church, Malacca. Andrew is a graduate in Electric Electronics Engineering but left the corporate world for God's calling. Peng Leong’s daughter Audrey is working and living in Australia.

Peng Leong was one of my most admired and respected friends. He was a principled, selfless, humble and simple man. He will be dearly missed...

Gan Chee Kuan

August 2015 

 

Our last exchange after my missed call

With Foo Lai Ning, Joseph Naden & P Periasamy

Eulogy for Dad by Lim Ai Ling

First let me share how at the beginning, there was this awkwardness of not knowing how to address Peng Leong.  He was after all, Pastor Andrew's father and so, I thought Mr Lim or Uncle Lim seemed more appropriate.  However, this awkwardness was soon put to rest when he joined the Kelbang 1 Disciple Group last August.  In no uncertain terms, he told the group, "You can call me Benny or Peng Leong, it doesn't matter, but don't call me Mr Lim".  And so with that, the ice was broken, and the awkwardness vanished.  That was the beginning of a special friendship we enjoyed with him and not with "our Pastor's father".

And now to explain why I am standing here giving the eulogy.  Three Sundays ago, I met Peng Leong as we were walking to the sanctuary.  We stopped to chat for a while.  Then he said, "I'm going to ask you a favour."  He paused and said seriously and yet in a lighthearted manner, "Don't laugh when I tell you what it is. "Don't laugh..."  So I thought it must be some embarrassing incident that had happened.  More soberly this time, he said, "When the time comes, can you do the eulogy for me?"  It was totally unexpected and my instant reaction was to show a cringed face which probably spoke of my uncertainty and sadness to undertake such a task.  He continued, "So, I'm saying thank you first.  You can't say "No".  Anyway, don't worry; I'll be watching you from up there."  I nodded and whispered to him, "Live to the fullest."  Little did I know that I was going to fulfill my promise so soon.

Peng Leong came to Malacca about 2 1/2 years ago with his son and family.  He had always kept a low profile, but even from afar, I could see that he was a doting grandfather who handled his grandson superbly.  There was one bible class he was attending and for some reason that day, Erwyn chose to be with him in the class.  I was amazed that Erwyn sat on his lap throughout the session without a squeak.  The little chap was so contented and secure in his grandfather's care.  Many a time, he would also share what Elyse likes and does - like any proud grandfather would do.  His devotion to them was blatantly obvious.

Knowing him from a closer range started sometime in August last year when I was facilitating the first Journaling class.  There were only 5 members in the class and we met about 6 times.  It was here that I discovered the deep and intimate relationship Peng Leong had and was enjoying with the Lord.  Allow me to go a little further on this and try to capture his thoughts in the first person.

Once he said:

"I know the discipline is to read a portion of scriptures, to ponder over them before the Lord and to write our response.  But my personal experience in this that is my conversation with God can often stretch for days.  It is like an endless communion and a two-way conversation with Him.  Sometimes I would wrestle with God and would hear Him say to me, "You are stubborn" and at other times, I would just bask in His loving Presence."

An unceasing communion with God!  How I envy him for such an intimate relationship with God.  For sure, he had gone beyond the structure of the journaling discipline.  I felt that the journaling tool was too restrictive for him.  He had already found something better and had moved on further ahead of us, but in no way did he push his style upon us nor discourage us in any way.  On the contrary, the facilitator was humbled and inspired.  His sharing revealed to me the lack and the poverty of my personal experience with our great and loving God.  It left me with a deep thirst to know God like he did.

It was also sometime in August last year when he joined the Klebang 1 DG and we got to know him so much better since then.  When we talked about death, he would readily and wholeheartedly say that he was ready to go home to the Lord.  This was way before he had any inkling of his medical condition.  He felt that he had done everything he was supposed to do and would be ready to leave the world any time without any regrets.  I'm not suggesting that he was waiting for it.  Far from it, he was enjoying his grandchildren and family fully, he was doing his exercises to stay healthy and he was still thirsting to learn about God by attending the after-service Bible classes consistently.  But he knew that should the day come, he was ready to return to God joyfully and peacefully.

If I could try to pinpoint the key to such a deep assurance and confidence, it would be his faith made alive through the nurturing of a continual and intimate communion with God.  Many a time, he would share during our DG that our relationship with our Heavenly Father could be compared to a bedroom relationship.  It is an intimate one.  It is also the source of spiritual sustenance for a daily "walking the talk".

I am tempted to elaborate on his many other thoughts regarding his personal faith, but that would make a very long eulogy indeed.  When I try to think of what Peng Leong would have wanted to say to those he is leaving behind and who are missing him.  I believe he would want us to remember what he had said about his readiness to return home with no regrets when the time comes and that he felt he had completed his earthly task as best as he could.  It is no small comfort to hear him say that with such confidence and assurance of his heavenly destination.  Yes, I believe that is what he wanted me to say for him - "It's okay.  I'm ready.  No regrets."

And one more thing I am sure of, and that is, not only is he with our Heavenly Father now, he must be enjoying his unceasing communion with Him, asking Him all the questions he had while on earth...

Finally, Peng Leong, if you are watching like you said you would, I hope this is ok for you.

Mission Trip

This post was written quite some time ago... I delayed in posting it because my dear hubby wanted to publish it in the church magazine.  Wives, you ought to submit to your husband, right?  :p  Well, as my faithful blog followers, you are rewarded with the editor's version (i.e. the 'bonus' paragraphs are highlighted in red).

Wesley Melaka has recently adopted an Orang Asli village, Kampung Inoi as part of their missions project.  The church is partnering with Pastor Joseph from Jasin.

The first mission trip was launched December last year.  Both pastors, the mission chairman, and a few members of the church visited Kampung Inoi and stayed overnight at another village, Kampung Ridan.  This visit opened doors for us to reach out beyond the four corners of the local church.

On 14th March, a second mission trip was organised.  Tengkera 3 DG was invited to participate with a special hair-cut service for the Orang Asli.  Well, who else are more qualified than our very own hair stylists, Cornelius and Irene.

Honestly, I was not keen to join the mission trip when my DG decided to participate.  Two reasons: First, my boy is a bit too young to go for such a trip. I do not want to go all the way there just to take care of them instead of meeting others' needs; secondly, the poor sanitary system put me off.  Basically, there's NO TOILET at all!

However, when hubby and I mentioned this mission trip to our daughter, she was very enthusiatic.   We then decided to bring her along for an eye-opener experience.  Our intention is that she may get a glimpse of how the other part of the world is living.  Now, how about my boy?  Well, God's timing is always perfect!  My mom paid us a visit that week, and so Erwyn was under her care with the help of my father-in-law.

We left for Muadzam Shah as early as 8am.  There were altogether 10 adults and 4 children squeezed into two four-wheels and one Exora, with loads of food packed for the villagers.  After a 3 hours' drive, we finally reached Muadzam Shah and met up with Pastor Joseph.  We stopped by at one grocery shop to purchase more food to bring in to the villagers before proceeding to a mamak stall for lunch.  This would be our final toilet break.

The journey into the village took another 40 minutes with half of it driving on dirt road.  We parked the Exora at Kampung Ridan as it could not withstand the journey into Kampung Inoi.  Pastor Joseph drove a Kembara and an aditional two vans carried all the goods, ie rice, oil, instant noodles, biscuits, etc.

We had quite a bumpy ride but thank God for a sunny day as the road could become quite muddy when it rains.  The Orang Asli village is located deep inside a plantation.  Their livelihood depends on rubber tapping, fishing and some of them left home to pursue a better life in the city.  They live a simple life with no TV or any form of entertainment.  Many women are married and have children as young as 14.

The pastor showed us the kindergarten which was sponsored by Wesley Melaka.  It was still under construction but the main structure has been completed.  It is expected to be fully functional by the end of the month. This piece of land was donated by one of the locals there.

One of their biggest problem is the water supply.  The government has built several water tanks but it is all empty.  The reason being, due to the distance and weak pressure, water is unable to reach the tanks in the village.  So the villages are dependent on wells.  This has been going on for years. 

We proceeded to the church for their weekly service.  The church is just planks of wood with no fans, needless to say air-cond.  The weather was humid and warm, yet their heart for the Lord is warmer.  Some of them had to walk for 30 minutes to attend service.  This, however, did not hinder them from worshipping God.

It is indeed a miracle for this precious people to come to know the Lord.  The story was told of how the church started.  One of the villagers was sick and had gone for medical check-ups, one after another, yet with no improvement.  One day he asked to be prayed for and was instantly healed in Jesus' name.  His testimony was so powerful and convincing that several families accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.  Does this sound like what happened in the book of Acts?  It certainly is!  Our God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Amen.

Such conversions usually cause uneasiness amongst some "outsiders".  In another village a huge sum of money was offered to the Ketua Kampung if he would deny Christ.  It may not seem a lot to many of us, but for the Orang Asli, the amount was enough to last a lifetime.  It is tempting as they have been living in poverty for many generations.  Praise God that he remained faithful.  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.  (James 1:12)

Our hair-cutting service started right after the church service.  Cornelius, Irene and Karen were given the honor (and hard work) to trim those locks; whereas Jerry was assigned the task of treating lice.  As for the rest of us, a factory production line was formed: One got ready the plastic bag, another place a packet of oil in the bag, yet another put in two packets of biscuits... etc.  This was so much easier compared to the 'jungle saloon'.  In less than half an hour, the production line has completed its job.

A namelist was prepared with all the names of the head of the families of the entire village.  Each family was given a packet of rice with 2 plastic bags of goods.  Pastor Andrew distributed it to them one by one.  However, there were some who were absent due to various reasons.  The remaining goods were kept by a trusted church member, to hand over to the rest of the families.

Later, we found out that the government also delivered some goods to the people.  However, the goverment only gave a packet of rice to be shared among a few families.  The church instead, gave one bag of rice to each family.  The generosity of the church was a good witness to the villagers.  We pray that this would plant a seed in them and in the near future, they too, will come to the saving knowledge of Christ.

The children were also given a handful of sweets and goodies.  Most of them were very shy.  They do not interact with us much.

When the 'jungle saloon' finally completed their God-given task, Pastor Andrew took us further deep into the village to discover the simple life that these Orang Asli have been living all these while.

After the tour, we came back to the church compound  only to find a big feast has been prepared in honor of us.  A few of us ate a mouthful.  The presentation of the food may not be apetizing but their generous hearts have touched us deeply.

As the sun began to set we started our journey home. We were exhausted, but for most of us, seeing the poorer side of Malaysians helps us to appreciate the many blessings that God has given us.  No, we are no heroes.  We were just there to help, to share and to bless.


* My DG leader made a video presentation of the trip.  It included pictures and interviews with a few of us.  It was presented during the Missions Sunday.  My boy was so upset when he saw the video in church.  He asked, "Why I didn't go?  When I can go? Why Jie Jie go but I didn't?"  I have since changed my mind that I should have brought him along.  Age is never an obstacle in reaching out to others.  As a mom, I am concerned of the well-being of my children.  Stricking a balance is never easy, and I pray that God will give me the wisdom to handle.

p/s: All photos are courtesy of Karen, wife of the Missions Chairman.  

The Unsung Hero

I was taken aback when I read the news on the earthquake that struck Sabah which left hundreds of Mt Kinabalu climbers stranded.  The memories of climbing this magnificient mountain still lingered at the back of my mind.  It was only 3 months ago.  I followed the news closely.  I couldn't imagine how the climbers survived under the freezing cold wind at the mountain top.  I remembered how I struggled to keep myself warm.  "I hope my mountain guide is safe.  He should be.  After all, he's very experienced and agile."  That's my thoughts throughout the day.

The next morning I scrolled down the computer reading all the latest news on the Sabah quake.  My heart sank when I came across this post from Amazing Borneo that mentioned one of their mountain guides, Robbi Sapinggi, has passed away.  Tears were rolling in my eyes and I mourned for the loss of such a great man.  No, he ain't related to me at all.  Neither was he consider my friend.  Somehow, at one point of our lives we crossed path.  And that itself has left a great impression on me.

I was introduced to Robbi when we reached Kinabalu Park Headquarters.  He was our mountain guide for the climb.  My first impression was he's quite small size for a man.  He was very helpful in renting the hiking poles, giving us our ID and packed lunch; he even offered to take a photo for us.  At Timpohon Gate, just before we entered the trail, he checked our bagpacks, making sure that nothing was obstructive to our movement during the climb and advised us to remove our windbreaker though the temperature was a bit cold.

We started our climb without Robbi.  Yup, he was no where to be seen.  I was pretty upset coz I thought our guide is supposed to be with us all the time!  Nevertheless, we continued on.  We met him on and off throughout the trail.  But he was never following behind us as it should be.  Finally, I concluded that his presence was unnecessary since the trail was quite straight forward.  At one reststop, he even flirt with one of us.  That caused us to be rather uneasy.

When we finally reached Laban Rata, Robbi checked us into Waras Hut and briefed us on the climb the next morning.  He left us after that and we saw him again at the empty field where the porters and mountain guides were playing handball or something.  He was the referee sitting on the high chair, keeping the scores.

The next morning we continued the climb.  This was far more challenging as compared to the day before.  At one part of the climb the level of inclination was almost 70 degrees.
 
Quote from my blog dated March 11th:
Robbi, our mountain guide was with us all these while.  He was very helpful in instructing us where to put our foot on, even holding our hands leading us the way.  Did I mention he has been a mountain guide for 11 long years?!  No wonder he is so experienced.  He doesn't even need to hold the rope while climbing.  If any one of us lose our balance, he'd pull us back up. 

My perspective of Robbi changed.  I realised perhaps he knew that we could complete the first part of the climb without him, and probably we would be more relax without a stranger around.  But in this second part of the climb, his outstanding service was clearly shown.

When we reached Sayat-sayat Checkpoint, we expressed our concern on continuing the climb.  Robbi, did not force us to go on, but happy to assist in anyways we wished to.  He left the decision in our hands.  We've decided to continue.  However, Robbi stayed behind puffing on a cigarette.

Herein after the trail was plain rocky boulder.  One of my team-mates stayed behind and amazingly Robbi found her in the nick of time.  He brought her back to the checkpoint and attended to her needs.  Then he came back to look for the rest of us at the summit.

As we descended back to Laban Rata, Robbi must have noticed something wrong with me.  He asked me a few times "Are you ok?"  Seriously, I was feeling extremely cold.  Although there's nothing much he could do, I appreciate his sensitivity and his kindness shown.


From Laban Rata back to Timpohon Gate was really a test of endurance.  Two of us were moving very slowly but Robbi was following behind us most of the time.  At times, he would stay a little longer at the restpoint to smoke but he caught up with us in no time.  The last 3km Robbi practically holding both of our hands down every steps.  He jokingly told his friend, another mountain guide who was on the way up, that he had two wives, ie me and my team-mate.  I noticed that Robbi seemed to know most if not all the mountain guides and porters.  Almost everyone he met on our way down he greeted them.  He also offered to carry our backpacks without any charges.  I declined graciously though.  However, his thoughtfulness is well-remembered in my heart.

No, he's not a perfect man.  None of us are.
Yes, he has his weaknesses.  All of us have.
But his kindness, thoughtfulness, selflessness are qualities and characters that not many possesses.

His passing was truly a loss to many.

A Facebook posting by Amazing Borneo:
Robbi was accompanying a climber when he was hit by falling rocks.
“Despite being injured, Robbi’s only thought was for the welfare of his guest, urging his guest to continue ahead to climb down the mountain to safety.
“He bravely chose to remain alone and wait for help rather than to put the guest’s life at further risk.
The Facebook posting revealed that Robbi was unable to make it down the mountain in time to receive proper medical attention and he died due to loss of blood.

I am honored to know of a hero, his name is Robbi Sapinggi.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:13

p/s: My heart goes out to all the mountain guides and porters.  To us, Mt Kinabalu is just a mountain.  For them, it is their livelihood.  Many porters carried heavy stuff up the mountain.  Some of them are women and seniors.  Robbi told us he climbed the mountain 3 times a week.  These mountain guides know Mt Kinabalu so well that I believe it meant more than money to them.  They recognise their calling.  And they embrace it with their lives.

母亲节

女儿长大了！

今年的母亲节，女儿非常贴心，让我深受感动。过去的几年，女儿都会送我小卡片。即大多数都是来自于幼稚园，美术班或是主日学的成品。于往年不同的是， 今年女儿还送了一份小礼物给妈妈。更甚的是，这份礼物是她自个儿掏腰包付钱的。

那么，她的钱是从哪儿来的呢？

自去年年尾，女儿就开始上补习班。补习班老师几乎每个星期都会给她听写或默写。 有几次的默写更是超过150字以上。小小年纪就必须背诵150个字以上的作文，女儿虽稍有怨言，但也应付有佳。公公得知以后，决定以奖金的方式鼓励小女。只要是小女得到100分，她都会兴高采烈地展示她的辉煌成绩给公公。因而领取她的奖金。女儿把这些奖金默默地收存起来。有时候会炫耀一番。但从来不曾提出使用奖金来买她心爱的玩具。

母亲节即将来临之前，女儿悄悄地向爸爸提出她想买份礼物给妈妈的心意。俩父女偷偷地趁着妈妈不在家时溜出去买了份礼物。星期天早上，我正在忙着准备去教会之时， 女儿默默地来到我身旁。“Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!" 随即一双小手递上一张卡片及一个小盒子。女儿的那份心意，温暖了我的心怀。而她选的礼物竟然是一个音乐盒。

小时候一直希望有个音乐盒。 打开来， 一个美丽的小女孩在跳舞。虽然现在已有能力自己购买，却始终没这么做。而这个梦想 尽然由自己的女儿来达成。 

谢谢妳，宝贝！妈妈永远爱妳！

Church Camp 2015

Missing in action for awhile… Thought of taking a short break trying to concentrate on my studies, ended up doing lots of other things.  One of those was preparing for the children ministry at the church camp.  I have no intention of taking up the responsibility of planning or conducting lesson and activity for this year.  Time to take a break after two years of teaching consecutively in the children ministry at camp, right?  After all, I have been involved in children church almost every Sunday and the children are probably tired of seeing this Aunty Shally.  So, for this year, we have invited a group of dynamite children church teachers elsewhere to take over the children ministry.  However, due to the small group (only 13 children), they had graciously decline and so we took over the baton.  Haha… no running away, ya?

Honestly, I did not spend as much time as the past two years in the lesson planning.  It was simply because I was not given as much time to prepare.  After all, I only took care of one lesson.  Hooi Poh and Michael took over the other two sessions; and the final session was a movie time!  The lesson was in line with the camp theme: Let the Flame Burn Brighter. 

The teaching part was quite simple and straight forward.  However, if I plan to dig deeper, there’s too much to cover in a single lesson.  So, I just briefly explained to the children the 3-points outline with an object lesson each.  The 20-minutes lesson took me 2 hours to prepare.  Too much time spent, huh?  Maybe it is because I have higher expectations when in comes to children ministry.  I never thought of children ministry as "baby-sitting".  Each time a child comes to children church, it is a divine appointment for him/her to connect with God.  If we could spend an X amount of time and effort for an adult service, children deserve the same, if not more.

Putting that aside, the 13 children consists of the youngest being 2+ to the oldest 11+.  Quite a wide gap.  I was told that our camp speaker, Pastor Steven, is one who takes time to minister during the altar call.  Since my session was the 2^nd day night, which is also the last night of the camp, I expected the altar call to be extra long (from my previous experience in other camps).  So, how to keep the children occupied after the teaching?  My main concern was the older kids.  With all the technologies that they are exposing to, what kind of activity that could keep them focus and interested?  And something that required limited amount of preparation time (in less than 7 days).

My first idea was something to do with circuit board i.e. with LEDs blinking like a fire and maybe some buzzers or buttons to control the LED lights. and etc.  Doesn’t this sounds like an interesting project and it has everything to relate to our camp theme?  However, Andrew, being the electronics engineer who has to do most of the design, was very unsuportive of the idea.  Not because he didn't want to help, but his complaint was that he can't get any equipment or electronic materials in Melaka within 7 days.  "In KL, no problem, just go Jalan Pasar and you have tons of shops there ... blah blah blah", as he continued to compare KL and Melaka.  Well, anyone out there would like to use this idea?  Copyright reserved, ya!  So, that left me with my second option: T-shirt painting.  I’m not sure whether the kids have done it before but I thought if done well, the kids could actually wear it after the camp.  Thus, creating a longer lasting impact.

If you have been following my blog, last year I organised a water gun fun time.  A few children actually still remember it today (I’m surprised) and they were so hoping we could do it again.  That is the kind of impact I wished to create.

However, I have a hard time finding fabric paint or fabric marker.  Perhaps I am still ‘new’ to Melaka and have no idea where to find those materials; perhaps I need to befriend local people who are more resourceful.  I was already prepared to make my purchase in KL since our camp this year was held at Pearl International Hotel.  Finally, I stumbled upon this new shop ‘Golden Egg Crafts’ via web search which will only be opened officially on 9^th May.  I called up the owner, Jean, and she agreed to open up her shop just for me!  Isn’t that awesome?  Guess what… I am her first customer.  The shop hasn’t even had their cash register ready yet.  Here again, Andrew continued to nag on how easy it would have been to find fabric paint and even fabric marker in KL.  Unfortunately he was right.  The day before the camp we went to MPH in Subang Jaya and immediately on the shelf we found fabric marker pens with assorted colours.  Seems like something so common there (like colour pencils).

Meanwhile, Siang Ling graciously helped me to order the white t-shirt from a t-shirt printing company.  The order was supposed to be collected on Thursday noon but the delivery truck was delayed and it only reached Melaka at 9:45pm.  Both Siang Ling and I were a little bit nervous as I planned to leave for KL on Friday noon. 

To be honest, I am not good with art and craft.  At the same time, I do not want the children to simply paint on the t-shirt just to fulfil teacher’s order.  So, I printed some pictures and cut it, thinking that this could be used as a stencil.  The children are free to paint anything they want with an exception that the camp logo must be painted somewhere on the shirt.  The stencil serves as a guide especially for younger kids.  It turned out to be rather useful.

Meanwhile, Debbie was having second thought of helping me in the children ministry.  She was a great help to me last year at the camp.  This year, she was also involved in the worship ministry.  I am so thankful that finally she agreed to serve together with me. 

Through this activity, I discovered a different aspect in some of the children.  I am totally amazed at Kok Weng and Samuel, they did such a marvellous job with their shirts.  Kok Weng claimed to be a perfectionist.  Jia Ning has fantastic idea although her shirt did not turn out the exact way she wanted it to be.  Bryan and Joel are both lovers of Captain American.  Nathaniel may not be very good with painting, yet his imagination carries him far beyond the galaxy.  Carryn chooses to be on the safe side.  I love Erwyn’s handprint on the shirt.  Will definitely keep this for a long long time.  Elyse’s love for God is shown clearly on her shirt: Jesus loves me.

All in all, I am quite proud of the final product.  Seriously, that was my first time painting on a shirt as well.  And out of 13 kids, at least 3 of them treasure the shirts, ie my two children and another older boy.  I am thankful to God that serving Him has given me the opportunity to tap on something that is extraordinary; something that I know I would not dare to venture in.  Truly, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

Who could resist Olaf?

Product of the youngest child amongst us.  Of course, with a little help with the parent.

Parents came in to help after the service

Happy children, happy teacher