catering confinement meals

Nowadays it is costly to employ someone to help to cook and to take care of baby during confinement period.  Not everybody can afford it.  Some of my friends have no one to help and have to do everything by themselves.  They were supposed to rest and recover but too bad they could not do so.
Recently my friend gave birth to her fourth child, a beautiful girl.  She just shifted to a new place and could not find anybody to help her to cook Chinese confinement food.  Someone recommended me to cook for her as she saw me always preparing lunch for church on Sunday.
I had no experience at all to prepare confinement meals.  I was hesitating whether to take the challenge and do something I had never done before.  Finally I decided to give myself a chance to try something new.  This will widen my scope and experience. And it is good to keep my mind from getting old and inactive.
I started to ask the people around me to share their experiences.  Besides this I managed to get hold   of a good cookery book about confinement meals.  I browsed through the whole book and selected some meals which I could manage to get the ingredients and cook.  Some meals can be taken during the first week.  Some can be taken everyday and some can be taken only after two weeks.  I listed down few sets of meals to be taken at different times.  To be sure of success I tried out beforehand some of the meals.
Every alternate day I went to market to get fresh "kampung chicken" and some vegetables.  I also purchased some Chinese herbs like red dates, black dates and others. At night I started to boil the red dates drink for the next morning.  During confinement period it is an important drink to replenish the blood loss.
Every morning I had to get ready the food before 10am.  A friend would come and collect the  food daily.  I prepared food enough for her lunch and dinner.  She ate not much ,half chicken for two meals.  I gave her one vegetable dish and one meat dish together with the red dates drink in thermos flask.
In the process of cooking I learned new ways of cooking which I could use in future .
I think it is one way to cut cost and yet to enjoy a good confinement.  The only thing is to find someone willing to help.  After the first experience I look forward to help and bless someone again in future.  All glory to God.

Trip to Newzealand - part 4

It was an exciting experience for us to fish in Newzealand.  The country has strict rules about fishing.  In order for the future generations to continue enjoying the fish, all those who fish have to abide by the law.  Small fish caught has to be put back into the water.  The fishing rod and equipment also must be according the standard of the country.
We tried lake fishing at Lake Taupo.  At the lakeside we could see many boats.  We went around to look for the cheapest boat.  After negotiating we went out with the boatman.  His name is Alex.  He took us to the far side of the lake.  Alex told us if we were lucky we could get a Rainbow trout. This lake is actually at the mouth of a dormant volcano.  Alex told not to worry about the volcano as it has been dead for a long period of time.  At first we caught a small trout and put it back into the water.  We prayed and hoped for a big trout.  After some time the fishing line was being pulled strongly.  To our joy we caught a big Rainbow trout about 2 kg in weight.
In our country we normally steam the fish but we did not have any equipment for steaming.  So we wrapped it in aluminium foil and baked it.  To our disappointment it had a strong taste of shellfish.  Probablty we did not cook it in the right way. Even though we spent quite a lot of money and just caught a fish we were satisfied .
Then we tried sea fishing near Opotiki.  Our friend Loy took us out fishing when the weather was fine.  The sea was 30 meters away from his house.  He towed his boat and put into the water.  We started off soon.  At a certain part of sea it was rough so we bounced above the waves.  We had to wear the life jackets.  We anchored at a place to fish. Loy prepared the fishing rod and bait for us.  Each of us fish at different corners of the boat.
We waited for some time for the fish to be caught.  My daughter started to vomit as the sea made the boat toss about.  Strange thing was that after the vomit we began to catch a lot of fish.Ernest caught the first fish. It was a gurnett fish.  Then we began to get some Kahawai and red snappers.
Our expert in fishing caught the least number of fish.  But the others who had no fishing experience caught more fish.  Thank God I caught the biggest fish among them .  I caught a 4 kg red snapper.
After going back we helped to cut the fish into fillets.  We took some to bake and it.  This time it tasted good especially the snappers.  Loy smoked the rest of the fish.  Smoked fish also tasted great.

Trip to Newzealand pt 3

Skydiving is one of the exciting game tourists love in Newzealand.  My son and daughter did not miss the opportunity.  We looked around and chose one near Lake Taupo.
Skydivinig with camera man would be more expensive .  The camera man also jumped down from the plane together with you to take photograph while you are flying with parachute in the sky.
They were given a short briefing and video before taking off.  They have to wear the flying suit.

Each participant had an instructor with them to control the parachute.  A small plane took them to a height of 12000 feet where they jumped down from the plane.  Soon you could see many colourful parachutes in the blue sky.  About 5 minutes later all would land on the ground.  It was a thrilling experience.
Next my son tried to drive an airplane at the driving school nearby.  Certificates were given to each new pilot .  I followed and sat behind.  It was a small plane.  The instructor explained how to fly the airplane.  From the sky I could see the river beneath.  It was bright blue in colour.
The two activities were exciting and interesting.  Further more it was cold up at 12000 feet.
After the flight we continue to travel to the next town.  Along the way we stopped at Lake Rotroiti to take some beautiful sight.
For that evening we lodged at a friend's place at Opotiki.  His name is Loid.  He has a bungalow with many rooms.  He did not charge us for our lodging.  The night at Loid's house was very cold. May be the cold air leak into the room.  I felt very cold even with the thick blanket and a sweater.  The next night he provided us with heater.  Then I felt comfortable.
Loid's house is at the seaside.  He has a boat outside his house.  He planted flowers and lemons around his compound.

Opotiki is a small town.The population is small.  We walked around the house to the nearby areas. It was windy.  The town is quiet, peaceful , a relaxing place..
For dinner we cooked asian food and Loid enjoyed the food with us.  We used his oven to bake some cupcakes.  The dishwash is biodegradable.  Loid washed the plates with the dishwash and did not rinse with water.  We were not used to it.  The people in this country cared very much for the environment.  Nobody threw rubbish everywhere.  At the beautiful lakeside or seaside I could not find a piece of rubbish.  Everybody was conscious of cleanliness.

Trip to Newzealand part 2

For the first week we spent most of the time visiting places in the North Island of Newzealand.  There were not many cars at the outskirt.  Sometimes for five minutes I did not see any oncoming cars.  In fact we could sit in the middle of road to take photogragh.
As we travelled we stopped at the side of road to snap some photographs of beautiful scenery.  My son and my husband took turns to drive.  We cook breakfast and dinner at motel or backpackers.  For lunch we just took some potato chips or biscuits in the car while travelling.  I love the potato chips here especially the one with vinegar flavour.
We stopped at Lake Taupo to walk along the lakeside.  It is big and beautiful.  The scenery in this country is like beautiful picture.  We found a bench and put our bread and margarine there.  I spread the margarine on the bread but the bread dropped down on the sand.  As shown in the picture it formed a nice picture.

We felt free and relax to travel on our own.  All the kitchen stuff and food were in the car with us.  We had to make sure the petrol enough to go from one town to another town.  The price of petrol was different in each petrol station so we went around to look for the cheapest.  We had to abide by the speed limit strictly as you could be caught and fined the next moment.
We visited Huka Falls.  I was so amazed when I first looked at it.  The water was flowing down at great speed at bottle neck junction.  It rushed down splashing white foams.  The water was clear and blue in colour .  We stood on the bridge and admired the majestic sight.

Then we moved further down along the upper stream and stopped at lake side to fish.  There were many wild ducks and they were not scared of people.  They came to us for food.  They were beautiful.  After feeding I washed my hands in the lake water.  It was ice cold.  I never realised the cold could stay on in my palms and fingers for few hours even though I tried rubbing my hands.  It was winter time.  That day we caught no fish.

It was quite far from one town to another town.  In the afternoon we had to decide whether to go to the next town, whether there was enough time to reach there before 6 pm because we had to find a lodging place to stay and cook.  We checked the price of different motels or backpackers and
booked the place.  In backpacker those who wanted to cook had to go to a common kitchen to cook.  Everybody had to put back the things in order after cooking.  We usually bought the food to cook from hypermarket nearby.  They closed early that was why we had to stop travelling before sky turned dark.

Trip to NewZealand part 1

Newzealand is my dream country to visit.  My son and wife went there to work and tour for about 9 months.  Two weeks before they came back my husband and I took the opportunity to visit the country together with my daughter.
We did not join the tour group but traveled on our own.  Earlier on Air Asia provided direct flight to  Newzealand.  Now we had to take a transit from Singapore.  Changi Airport is beautiful and clean. Food is not too expensive.  I particularly like the Awang Stall there.  With about six dollars Singapore money, I could enjoy a bowl of curry mee ,two slices of toasted bread and a cup of coffee, all satisfying.

We flew across the continent of Australia and soon we reached Auckland.  It was winter time in Newzealand.  I had not experienced winter before so I was quite worry whether I could stand the cold.  I managed to get a winter coat back home in my country.  It was good and cheap though I got it from a second hand shop.  The weather was cold but bearable.
My son and wife waited for us at the airport.  We were not allowed to bring in any food at the airport.  We drove a short distance to have breakfast at Mc cafe.  My son bought a stationwagon for travelling.  Cars are cheap here.  We managed to put all our luggage inside the boot.  My son and wife had stopped working and packed up everything to travel with us.
In tropical country we see tall trees everywhere.  Now I could see large areas of pasture with few trees.  We wanted to stop and take photogragh but my son said there were better scenery along our journey later on.  But the first sight attracted us so much.
Along the way we saw many pasture land with a lot of sheep.  It was common there.  We saw some fruits being sold at road side.  Nobody was there but any buyer would just put the money and take the fruit.   In my country we could never do that.

For the first night we stayed in a motel in Taupo.  We rented a place where we could cook.  We had bought some food at hypermarket.  We baked some oysters.  It was cheap.  Everyone of us helped to prepare food and soon the dinner was ready.
After the hot water bath, I felt stronger and could resist the cold as it was getting colder at night.  The toilets were in another building about ten meters from our room.  In the middle of night I struggled to leave my warm blanket to go to the toilet as it was very cold outside.  I had to run fast
to and fro.

The next morning the windscreen of the car was covered with a thin layer of ice.  I used to complain about too much sunlight back home in my country but now I yearn for the sunlight.
I felt happy with the surrounding.  The land is big but the population is small.

Turning over a new leaf

Pure and undefiled religion before God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
There are many people in this world that need a shelter even though they have their own house to stay.  My cousin in Pulau Ketam is one of the case.
When he was young he was a good man, handsome and hardworking.  His job was to row a small boat called sampan to transport the passengers from the ferry to the fishing village.  When the jetty was built he lost his job but instead he was given a place at the jetty to sell drinks and other things.  His was the one and only stall at the jetty.  He was doing well and soon I saw him wearing a lot of gold on his neck and hands.  This is what the villager normally invested in when they have money.
The houses here were built above the seawater and the roads were built above the swampy mud.  Only bicycles and motorbikes are used as transportation.  No car is used in this island.
The past time for the villagers are gambling, cinema shows, videos and karaoke.  The island is small.  In fact most of the young people went to big cities to earn a living.  The remainders are mostly old people and small children.  Not many people are interested to continue the grandfather's profession of catching fish.
I did not see him for about 15 years.  Recently I visited my auntie.  I was surprised to see him changed totally.  He is no longer innocent and kind looking but he looks like a bad guy.  His sister told me about many things that happened to him that caused a lot of trouble to the whole family.  He takes drugs and sells drugs, owes people money.  The brother and sisters had helped him to settle a lot of debts but he still continues to live in the same way.  His sister is fed up of helping him to pay his endless debts.
One week ago he was beaten up by the neighbours who gambled with him claiming that he played trick.  One of the man rode motorbike and knocked him from the back.  His right leg was broken and he was hospitalized.
Knowing that I am doing social  caring work my cousin sister wants me to house him after discharged from hospital.  The Vietnamese wife and the small daughter came together.  For me it is a joy to be able to help him.  The sister fears that he might be further harmed by the neighbours.  He needs to get out of the former environment.  So my place provides a new and healthy environment for him.
Every morning we have prayer and worship time in the sitting room.  His bed is in the sitting room as he cannot walk upstairs.  He will need few months to rest and recover.  I hope his life will change after knowing Jesus as his personal saviour.  No drugs and cigarettes are allowed so that he will get rid of these bad habits.

 

Unable to sleep?

Recently  I visited my cousin who is staying in Johor Bahru.  I have not met her for many years.  My cousin is near to 70 years old.  She is not so healthy and so is her husband, Alex.  Alex is 72 years old.  He looks weak and tired.  He cannot sleep well at night but always wake up in the middle of night.  He finds hard to fall asleep too.  So every night he will spend time doing Chinese brush writing copying the Psalms in Bible.  This is one of the ways to make himself tired and sleepy.  During the day he cannot drive alone as he sometimes dozes of in the midst of driving.  The lack of sleep makes him weak and tired.
Many years ago I also suffered from the same kind of sickness.  I was busy working, taking care of  my family.  I did quite a lot of part time job at the same time.  I could not take the pressure and one day I reached my breakdown point.  I felt giddy and could not concentrate my mind.  The doctor said I suffered from anxiety.
Since then I was always in tension even though the surrounding was peaceful.  I could not calm myself even though everything was going on fine.  I found hard to fall asleep.  It was my first time taking sleeping pill.  When I took the first sleeping pill I felt nice as if I was sinking deep into the ocean.  Soon I fell asleep.  But then I knew I could not depend on sleeping pills.  I need to get over it in a natural way.
The tension in my mind tortured me.  Outwardly I looked alright but inside me was terrible.  I dreaded the news of mentally sick patient jumping down from tall building.  I worried I would go mad.  It was one of the worst kind of sickness.  The doctor told me that this sickness could not be healed completely because it will reoccur under pressure.  What a negative statement that sentenced me to death.
I began to read up many articles concerning this type of sickness to find out ways to get out of it.  Everyday I worried about getting to sleep at night.  Sometimes I could not sleep till the morning.  I drank milk every night as milk helped a lot.  Another way of calming myself was attending the praise and worship church services at night.  It helped even more.
When I started to serve God full time in discipleship training centre the sickness was gone completely.  Everyday I was so busy doing work and helping people in the community.  I worked until I was so tired.  I fell asleep straightway when I lied down to bed.  The problem then was not unable to sleep but craving for more sleep.  I had to wake up for early morning prayer everyday.
The feeling of that sickness did come back once or twice.  Instead of harboring the fear of madness I confronted it literally.  I told myself,'So what if I go mad.  Let it be.'  Then I realized that I have overcome the fear and soon the feeling of sickness coming back was gone.
If I believe in what that doctor told me I will always be in the same condition.  Thank God He has healed me and helped me to overcome the negative feeling.  I could cope with pressure and it did not make me sick again.

Learning to cook

Cooking was a difficult chore for me in the past.  I could only cook some simple things like cooking rice, frying eggs and cooking instant mee.  That's all.  Before the day of marriage my father had to tell my mother in law that I could not cook.
After marriage, I avoided cooking.  My husband and I used to eat in food stalls or restaurant.  Most of the time I catered food.  My food caterer sent the food to me everyday except weekend.  Occasionally I would cook something but the result was not good.  And I would wonder why my stewed chicken was not good as others.
My cooking improved as I joined the discipleship training and live together as a community in the church.  When I first joined the training, my pastor put me in charge of kitchen and food.  I did not tell him that it was my weakest thing but then I just obeyed and gave a try.  Pastor's wife was my spiritual father and teacher.  She taught me how to cook.
Fried rice is the easiest thing to do but I failed many times, countless times.  I felt bad because if I did not cook well everyone had to suffer eating the lousy fried rice.  The rice turned out to be soggy.  According to expert, the rice grain should be able to 'jump' in the wok but mine was wet.  Then I realized that the rice for frying must not be cooked with too much water.  It must be cooked with just enough water for best result.
Frying eggs first will leave a smooth surface on the wok so that the rice will not stick to the wok and be burnt.  No water is added in the midst of frying.  I do not use soya sauce as it will make the rice wet.  All the lumps should be loosen.  I learned it through many failures.
I told myself that it would take a miracle for me to be a good cook as I was slow in learning in the area of cooking.  I jotted down all my mistakes so that I could refer to it to avoid future mistakes.
In the beginning I did not know how to cut carrot and long beans into small pieces in a fast way.  I learned the ABC in cooking.  I learned to cut different types of vegetables.
I learned budget cooking.  With the least ingredients and the cheapest things to produce tasty and nutritious food.  We do not use artificial seasoning.  To improve the taste we use meat, bones or small fish called 'ikan bilis'.  Vegetables like carrot, cabbage also improve the taste of soup.  Mushroom does wonders in taste.
Coming back to fried rice, we can use frozen mixed peas, corn and carrot .  Most of the time I use carrot, long beans or French beans, big onions spring onion and eggs.  For seasoning I use pepper powder and salt only . Some dark thick soya sauce added to add some brown colour.
Learning the basic is very important as it can enable us to upgrade to more complicated way of cooking.
I thank God that today I am able to fry rice not just for my family but also for more than fifty people or even for a hundred people.

Selling goat milk

Selling goat milk at night market is one of the most exciting activity we used to have.  It is one way to get some income for the work in centre.
We started to rear goats about four years ago.  Since then we started to sell goat milk.  In the beginning we put up advertisement at bus stops but it did not work.  Then we tried to sell near train station.  We managed to sell a few bottles only.  After that we tried to sell at morning market and  night market.  The best sale is at night market.
In the beginning we were so shy to call out to the people who walked pass our stall as we had no experience of selling.  We did some studies about the benefits of goat milk and found that goat milk is indeed better than cow milk.  Its molecules are much smaller and can be assimilated into the body within half an hour.  It is one of the antidotes for jaundice.
Most people can accept goat milk but there are some who are allergic to it.  Some people cannot stand its smell.  However we found customers who drink goat milk regularly.  One of the customers used goat milk to reduce his weight because his body was allergic to it and he purged after taking it.  I could not believe it but he did it.
Another customer took goat milk as breakfast as it filled the stomach till noon so that she would not feel hungry.  She used it for slimming purpose too.
One old man who coughed for a long time was healed after taking goat milk.  Another lady testified that she no longer feels cold and needs not put on socks at night.  So you can see that goat milk helps people in different ways.  Another lady was so happy because new hair started to grow on her head.  Two old ladies who drink a bottle of goat milk continuously for two years found their complexion fair and without age spots.  A bottle of goat milk is about 250 ml.  It is especially helpful to the undernourished old people or invalid.
Most people are not aware of the goodness of goat milk so at times it is difficult to sell.  We give out leaflets to introduce to the people around.  It is not easy to find a place to sell if you are new to the night market.  Before going to a new night market I normally walk around to look for an empty
 space to put the ice box.  If certain stall does not turn up that night I can use the place.  Sometimes  
the stalls besides me demand money from me as rental.  If there is no empty space available then we have to push the trolley to and fro as mobile stall.
On rainy day the sale is very poor as there are not many people.  to boost the sales it is better to bring a small goat along.  Most of all prayer and faith is very important for good sales.

Happiness of a simple person

Not everybody can survive well in the society.  There are weaker people who need the support and help from the stronger ones.  When they are young they can depend on their parents but their parents will grow old one day.  Some can depend on their brothers and sisters but some are unfortunate.
Ah Yong is an example.  He came into the centre when he was twenty two years old.  After many years he claims that he is still twenty two years old.  He does not know  he ishis age as he cannot count beyond digit 5.  He cannot recognize colours.  Everything to him is either red or black in colour.
Physically he is mature,tall and strong but mentally he is same like a ten year old boy.  His face has a weird look.  If you do not know him you might be afraid of him.  He cannot pronounce clearly so it is very difficult to understand what he is saying.  And yet he is so eager to tell you many things.  I could only catch what he means by guessing.
Most of the time he is cheerful but at times he can be very moody.  He is quite open and can share his feeling.  The most exciting time for him is going back home for Chinese New Year.  Every now and then he will ask you when is Chinese New Year as he does not know the time.
He likes new slippers and like to wear other people's clothes.  If you forgot to collect your clothes from the clothes lines , the T shirt will become his the next day.  Even though he is mentally undeveloped but I feel comfortable with him.  He is friendly and likes people.
He does things in a slow manner.  He can do things quite well like washing plates, sweeping and washing toilet.  His main job is washing the lorry and follow the lorry driver out to carry things.   When I took over the job of driving the lorry around, I was not familiar with the route.  To my surprise he was able to direct me to the destination.
The happiest time for him following me driving the lorry is drinking ice tea.  He always begs me to buy tea for him.  I would gladly buy for him ice tea packed in plastic bag.  After all he does not demand much in life.  He only wants to eat and drink tea.
During fasting time he becomes very cunning.  Often time he secretly went to the neighbour to ask for food.  When he followed me out to fetch things he would think of ways of getting food from the people .  But the people do not mind giving him food.  Even though he is simple minded but he can be very intelligent in times of his need.
Helping these people and be with them brings joy to my heart.  It is a joy to see them happy and being loved.

Fasting is good for our health

Fasting is a good practice.  Corporate fast is easier than fasting alone as everyone around you is not eating so there is less temptation to eat.  We used to do corporate fast in our living together community.
Fasting is good for our body.  It helps us to reduce weight.  Most of all it is a time of detoxication for our body and a time for our digestive system to rest.  Some people eat so many meals a day and their digestive system overwork.  It is good not to eat supper so that the next morning we can truly have a break fast.  I believe that is good for our body.
Before we start fasting we normally have a lot of fear and worries whether we can do it.  We usually underestimate what our body can go through.
The first time I participated in a fast I worried that I would become thin .  I also worried that I might not be able to gain back the weight.  After many rounds of fasting I realize that it is so easy to put on after that.
In our church we fast twice a year.  Twenty one days fast in the middle of year and forty days fast at the end of the year.  We have it for praying and spiritual purpose.
For the first week we only drink plain water.  For the first day it is not difficult as there is still some food in our stomach which we ate the day before.  On the second day we normally feel weak ,tired and sleepy.  Some people might have cold sweat and vomiting .  Our mouths will become dry and lips will crack so it is important to drink a lot of water.  We still work like normal days.
It is a religious fast so we do a lot of praying and Bible reading in between.  Some of us can continue the water fast for eight to ten days.  On one occasion my friend did it for twenty one days because God convicted her to do so so she had special ability to do so.
Normally our weight will go down half kg per day during the water fast.  After taking fruit juice or
milo drink the weight will not reduce much.
The greatest challenge is during the water fast especially when you are required to do some physical work like mopping floor, washing toilets.  I remember the first time I fasted we were having a project to clean up a drain which was filled up with soil.  It was real tough but we made it by the grace of God.  In between we took some milo drinks.
At the second week we will take some beverages like milo, barley drink and soya bean drink.  After taking the beverages the discomfort in our body normally disappears.  We will feel strong and energetic.
Then at the third week we will begin to take some fruits besides the beverages.  Watermelons and apples will be good.  Coconut water is very good as it cools down the body.  Eat in small amount as we are fasting.
At the fourth or fifth week we eat vegetables.  We either boil vegetable soup or fry it.  For the whole six weeks we do not take rice or any starchy food.

The result is: I feel much healthier.  The pain at my joint disappears.

Overcoming fear through outdoor activities

I had a lot of fear in the past. I was fearful of height, deep water and new experiences.  I thank my leader who trained me even though I disliked him for forcing me to do things which I was afraid of.  As I looked back it was good for me.
During school holiday we had a lot of outdoor activities.  Near our centre was a stream, about 15 minutes drive.  All of us would go there in the evening to swim and play.  The water was cold and fresh.  Everybody was happy and had no struggle about swimming in the shallow part of water.
Then our leader wanted us to climb to the higher part by the rock besides.  We lined up to climb up the rock to a higher ground.  We could see the pool below from the rock.  The rock was about 15 feet high above the water.  Then our leader wanted us to jump down one by one into the pool below.  It was not difficult for those who could swim well.  I could not swim well so I was afraid to jump down.  Many thoughts ran across my mind.  'What if I sink to the bottom?  Will I be drowned?'  The pool below was quite deep.
 When it came to my turn everyone shouted 'Jump down! Jump down!'  Whenever I looked at the water below I shrank back.  I hesitated for about 15 minutes struggling in my heart greatly.  I knew I had to do it.  So I repented in my heart and committed my life to God.  Then I took a deep breath , closed my eyes and plucked up my courage to jump down.  I went down inside the water but soon I started to float up automatically.  I quickly swam to the shallow part.
After this incident I noticed a change in my heart.  Whenever I encounter difficulty I will think of this jumping experience and my courage will be restored.
In another incident we climbed up some hills as they were next to one another.  These hills were blacklisted by the police station because some climbers died when they fell down.  Again I was very worried about the trip few weeks before the day to come.  I started praying everyday about my fear of climbing.
One day my fear was lifted up and I knew God had done something in my heart.  I had no more worries.  My heart was peaceful waiting for the day.
On the day of climbing I was doing alright.  I took the steps of faith and totally trust in God to enable me to do so.  There were five hills one after another.  The path was narrow and we could only walked one by one.  We came down from one hill and then went up another as they were joined together.  We could only move forward as it was more difficult to go back.  Two sisters who followed us were so scared and started crying. Their legs were trembling and wanted to send SOS for helicopter to bring them back.  Then our pastor accompanied them , consoled them and
encouraged them to continue on.
At the edge of one hill we had to go down by holding a hanging rope.  It was scary but I manage to do it and landed safely.  Some screamed as they went down.  At certain part the rock was steep with little foot ground to stand .  We climbed up like spiderman.  Some shoes gave way and opened up like the mouth of crocodile.
There was another terrifying part where we had to step over to the other hill.  The gap between two hills was about a foot only but if we did not cross properly we might fall into the deep valley below.
After this trip our pastor banned us from going to the hill again as it was so dangerous.  Thank God He gave me courage to go through the whole thing.  It was a thrilling and unforgettable experience. It gave me the strong will and courage to overcome other obstacles in my future life.

Going for holiday at little cost

Travelling in the usual way is rather easy.  How about taking a big group of people from small children to the old with some mental problem people and go for holiday?  All by hitchhiking.
In the living together community this used to be our way of living.
We were planning a trip to Pangkor Island in Perak.  We were then divided into groups of three or four people.  Each group had a leader.  Some groups had to take care of one mentally sick person.  In fact each one had to follow their spiritual father except those who became leaders.  Some brief instructions were given before we started off.  The leaders knew where they were supposed to meet at Sitiawan , the last town before we could travel by boat to the island.

Every group hitchhiked there except for one van that carried things.  All the groups reached at different time at the jetty.  If possible we were thinking of getting free boat to the island.  In the end we managed to get .a half price boat tickets for the whole group of us to go over to the island.  The van that carried all the cooking utensils and food could not go over to the island so all the things were unloaded into the boat.  We parked the van at the jetty.

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When we reached the island the leaders were again given the instructions as to where to meet.  Again we had to hitchhike to the particular beach.  The cooking utensils like gas stoves ,gas container, rice and so on were distributed to different ones according their ability to carry.  We had to carry our knapsack and sleeping bags plus some distributed items.  Every one was excited of the new experience.  Soon everyone reached the destination.
We put our knapsacks in order and the cooking utensils were put at a level place under some shade.
Those who were in charge of cooking started to cook.  We made tea for breakfast.  We cooked curry fish, fried vegetables and some simple dish for lunch and dinner.  We had bread for breakfast with some hard boiled eggs.  for cooking we went around the neighbourhood to look for water.
We played games at the beach and swam in the sea.  For bathing we went to the nearby area to use the toilet available.  Some areas we had to pay using the toilets.
It was expensive to rent a place for the whole group of 50 of us so we slept in the open beach.  In the evening we collected some woods to start a fire.  The fire gave light at night and helped to dispel the mosquitoes.  All of us slept in our sleeping bags around the fire.  We could hear the waves beating in and watch the twinkling stars up the sky.  This was indeed better than the five star hotels.
On the second night we could not sleep on the beach because it was raining.  We quickly move everything before the rain became heavier.  Thank God we found an unfinished project nearby.  It was supposed to be a centre for hawkers.  Everyone of us found a place to sleep at different parts of centre.  Soon we slept soundly.  In the middle of night someone started talking to herself loudly. She was one of the mental problem girl.  We were so tired so we just ignored the noise.  She kept talking till the morning. The next night we made sure her took her medicine and she was quiet.
Early in the morning we had morning prayer at five am on the beach.  Then the pastor gave some teachings.
On the last day early in the morning we packed our things and started to leave the place.  There were no cars early in the morning so we could not hitchhike.  Instead of having morning prayer on the beach we walked and prayed at the same time to the jetty.  It was about 7 km to the jetty. We walked in different groups.  Everyone enjoyed the trip.  At the jetty the same boat took us back .
There were order and obedience in our groups so we were able to mobilize the groups to do many things.  Everyone knew whom they must obey and everything went on smoothly.  We could travel at minimum cost.  Cooking on the beach also saved a lot of expenses compared to eating in restaurants.  We had been trained to cook in bulk.

The weak shall became strong

One of the most unforgettable experience is hitch hiking with an injured foot.  During one basketball game, I jumped and landed in an improper way and sprained my ankle.  It became swollen.
The next day we were supposed to go up to Fraser Hill.  We had already planned it the week before.  As usual we were divided into groups to hitch hike there.  Even though there was a van going up transporting the things but my leader insisted to let me hitch hike.  Everyone thought it was cruel to let me hitch hike because I walked in pain.  I took the challenge without murmuring in my heart.  I wanted to trust God to lead me there.
My group started walking to the main road.  We had to cross a road to go over to the other side.  Usually I could do it within a moment but this time I had to wait for a long time till there was totally no car passing by because I was slow like a snail.
I managed to cross to the other side of road.  Soon a car stopped to bring us to the outer main road.
Along the main road I need not walk much because vehicles stopped for us as soon as we put out our hand to hitch hike.
We must choose the right car in order to reach the destination as some cars went to different way and it would take longer time to reach.  Soon we reached the foothill.  Finally we had to thumb a lift to go uphill and everything went on smoothly.
In the end, my group was the first to reach uphill though I was at the weakest point.  Those who were strong reached much later.
We stayed in an apartment.  That night my friend offered to massage the ankle for me.  The more she massaged the worse I became. I was yelling in pain. Finally I gave up the massage and I knew that God wanted me to trust in Him totally.
I tried to escape when they played games outdoor but my leader made sure everyone was out of the apartment to the field.  Again it looked like torturing but I obeyed.  Though I could not run But I tried my best .
The next day we walked to the waterfall nearby.  I also followed.  To my surprise the more I walked the better my ankle became.
The following week I had to follow the mission trip to China as it was already planned some months ago.  I had to follow the trip.
By faith I boarded the plane to go to China.  It was not convenient for me but I managed to go through it for about two months.
It took me about three months to recover completely.  I did not take any medication or therapy.

Little money yet enough

If you were given just a little amount of money, would you be able to feed the whole family?
When I first started joining the discipleship training, I was put in charge of food.  I was given RM 200 to run the finance for food.  These money was for all the eight of us in the spiritual family.  From this we bought food, broom, soap powder and so on.  I was complaining all the while and always ran short of money.  I even argued with my leader.  With my human calculation it was impossible to live with that amou nt of money.
I realized it was pointless to murmur and complain.  God's way is higher than our way.  I started  to quiet down my heart and surrender to God.  I knew I could not do it.
One day I went to the whole sale market to buy vegetables.  As usual I had to be very careful with what to buy so that I would not exceed the budget.  I could only buy the seasonal vegetables which cost less.  I could only afford to buy small fish.
I walked about in the market looking for the things I listed down.  The market was very big.  It took me a long time to walk from one end to the other end.  Then I saw some workers throwing away some baskets of vegetables into the garbage room.  The vegetables were still in good condition so I quickly went in to collect the unwanted vegetables.  With these vegetables I could save some money because it was free.
Since then whenever I went to the market I would go in the garbage room first to look for vegetables which were disposed.  I even jumped inside the garbage container.  After some time other people also came in to look for vegetables so it became tougher for us.
However I was then able to manage the finance.  God had open a way for me.  Sometimes we  asked for unwanted cabbage leaves which they removed from the outer layer. To them it was rubbish but to us it was precious.
I went on for quite some time.  Later on some vegetable seller started to give us some vegetables which were even better than those collected from the garbage room.  Some stalls are so generous
and gave us according to what we want.
During weekend more people joined us for dinner.  It was always enough.
When we care for others and help the orphans, mental patient and problem youth, other people also respond and offer their help to us.

Kicking off the cough

In the past I was always susceptible to cough.  When I was five years old I had whooping cough.  My body was weakened since then.  At that time I coughed for two to three months.
When I grew up I was sensitive to cough.  Once I started coughing it would drag for few weeks or even a month.  In the middle of night I would cough badly until I disturbed others in their sleep.  I could not stop coughing until I took some hot water.  My throat was so itchy.
I had my own ways to minimize the chance of getting a cough.  I took cod liver oil, almond beverage and particular brand of cough mixture.  I had to abstain from cold drinks and most types of fruits.  Cough made my life miserable.
After joining the community life, I was taught about healing by faith.  Instead of depending on medicine I started to exercise my faith on God for healing.
According to Bible , faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  I sit on chair because I believe that it can support my weight and it will not fall apart.  Do I trust in God more than I trust in chair?
I began to focus on God to trust in His healing.  I need to do something to show my faith as faith without work or action is dead.  Many times we do not get healing because we do not have active faith.  I trusted in my own way by abstaining from certain type of food but this time I wanted to depend totally on God.  I started to show my faith by believing that I was healed.  I started to eat anything that was served before me even the cold drinks and fruit.  If I did this in the past my cough would become more serious.  But to my surprise my cough stopped.
All these years sometimes I fell sick and cough again but it is no longer so serious like before.  It stopped soon.  I am totally free from the bondage of cough.en
Then I started to apply this faith in other sickness on my body.  I used to have skin disease on my feet.  It reoccurs after getting well.  The itchiness made me scratch and scratch.  Then I told God I believed He could heal my skin problem just like He healed my cough.  What then was my action of faith?  When the itch came , I believed that I was healed and I refused to put the ointment on it though I knew the ointment would stop the itch.  I bore the itch for some time.  Soon I was healed.  And till today the skin disease never appear again.

Clearing the jungle - unity is strength

What a person cannot do can be done by a group of people.  This is what happen when we unite together to clear a jungle area.
A friend from Singapore called for help to clear her bungalow lot that was left vacant for many years and turned into jungle.  Not only her lot was affected but also her friend' lots.  The neighbour opposite the lots complained about the vacant lots because it became a hiding place for the snakes and also the robbers.
Our church was called to help.  First of all to get the whole group of people there was a problem.  We could only afford to bring a van there to carry the cooking utensils and other things.  Three or four persons could follow the van. The rest of us about 25 people had to hitch-hike there.(I shared in the article hitch-hiking)
When we arrived there, the sight of the wild trees put me off.  Our leader divided us into six groups.  Two groups handled the electric chain saws.  Three groups used the 'parang' to chop down the small trees.  One more group was in charged of food and drinks.  There was no building for us to cook.  We cooked under the tree by the road side opposite the bungalow lots.  All the cooking utensils were transported there including the gas stoves and gas.  For cooking we had to ask for water from the people in the neighbourhood.  We bought the vegetable and meat from the nearby market.
I was heading one group chopping down small trees and shrub.  It was very hot in the midday.  We worked from morning to evening.  We chopped down the trees in the area allocated to us.  Sometimes the big red ants crawl all over our bodies and bit us.  We had to be aware of beehives on the trees so as not to puncture it.
The chainsaws were used to saw the big trees.  The main branches were sawn first  before we started to saw the main trunk.  The followers in the group would help to carry the branches to put into a heap to be burnt.  Everyone had to be cautious when the tree fell down.
We could not finish the work in one day as we had to do a few lots.
We cannot afford to rent a place for so many of us so we used sleeping bags and cardboard to sleep on the grass at the side of the road.  That was a lonely place and not many cars passed by.
We lighted some mosquito coils around our sleeping place.
On rainy night we moved to a row of unused shop lots.  We slept on the corridors.  Even though it was not a comfortable place to sleep but we slept soundly after a hard day work.
It took us four days to finish all the work.  Although it was tough but we felt strong after the work. It was an unforgettable good experience.  My inner self was being strengthened.

Living together for fun - Boys addicted to computer

It all started with a call from a mother.  "Can you take in my boy?  I cannot manage him.  He seldom comes back home.  He indulges himself in computer games and the school has already kicked him out as he always plays truant.  He does not want to work but always asks for money.  He is my only son and the father has passed away.  I worry about his future.  Can you come over to see him and take him with you?"
A week later she called again.  "My son will only agree to go to your place provided his two good friends follow suit."  In the end we got to help three boys.
We decided to open up our family and extend the help to the boys even though we know it is not easy and we have to pay the price.  It takes sacrifice .
Soon the three boys came down with the mother.  We fetch them at the train station.  The boys look playful and rude.  They smoke and speak vulgar words.  How are we going to help them.
We prepared a room for the three of them.  Everyday we counsel and advise them.  We tried to limit their cigarettes.  We set some rules for them.  They are not allowed to speak any vulgar words at home.  No smoking is allowed inside the house.  They have to go outside to smoke.  On Sunday they have to follow us to church.  Twice a week we have worship and short session with them in the house.  They have to do some housework like sweeping, mopping and washing the plates.
We are helping them to live a normal life so that they will not over indulge in computer games.  We encourage them to look for job as they are not good in study.  They are only 15 to 17 years old and
they have to do some thing about their future.  They manage to find some work to do.  Two boys work in mechanic shop while one of them works in printing factory.
Since they started working they have to learn to shoulder some responsibility.  They are required to  put in some money for lodging and food.  At the same time we provide three meals.  Every morning we will prepare some lunch for them to bring to work . This will help them as they do not earn much.  They spend a lot on cigarettes, drinks and cybercafe and always overspend.  Only one of them manage to save some money.  He did not borrow money from boss and he seldom play computer games.
During the weekend they will spend almost the whole day in cybercafe.  However they have become better compared to the past.
With  these boys around we have to tolerate their noisiness when they play with each other.  Sometimes we struggle with the cigarette smokes.  The white wall turns black as they put their hands on it when they come back from car workshop.  The toilet is dirty after they use it.  They spoilt our eco bicycle .  We let them use as they do not have transport.  Somehow they simply use and the bicycle became out of shape. These are the things we have to bear with them.
These are not important as long as they could improve and become more responsible.  Hopefully one day they know how to appreciate what we have done for them.  When they become well we are able to take in other people that need help.

My cat - Mao Mao

My friend the cat – Mao Mao

Mao Mao is the name of my cat.  She is white in the whole body but the tail and head are orange with black patches.  I have been keeping her for the past 6 years.  In fact she was not the cat that I wanted when I first got her back from mamak stall at the road side.  The first few cats that I reared were stolen each time so I kept Mao Mao as a “spare tyre” in case the one that I have chosen disappeared again.  Indeed the last cat before Mao Mao got lost again .  So Mao Mao became my pet.

Mao Mao is a friendly cat and like to join the crowd whenever we gather to sing songs and worship.  Whenever the door bell rings or someone open the gate at the ground floor she will go down to the middle part of stair case and look at the people.  If she can talk perhaps she will talk to them.

She loves to go in to the rooms that you forbid her to do so.  She will sneak in and hide inside for a long time.  If I cannot find her normally I will shake the cat biscuit tin and immediately she will appear.  If she still does not appear then I know she must be locked up in one of the rooms and I have to rescue her.  There was one time she was locked inside a room for few days because nobody went inside the room and I was back to my hometown for Chinese New Year.  Then she kept jumping up to show herself through the glass at the top part of door .  Then someone noticed her and open the door to let her come out.  Luckily she did not urinate or shit inside the room.

Her favourite food are of course fish, ikan bilis,egg..If I scale and remove the gill from the fish she can smell it even though she is in the hall quite a distance away.  She will come for it.  If I forgot to put the bag of ikan bilis away she will tear the bag and help herself.  She even know how to roll the egg out from the egg case which I put on the floor under the shelf.  She loves raw eggs.  But she does not like cooked fish ,she prefers raw.

When I brought her to my new house she was upset for two days.  From her cry every now and then I know she felt not secured.  Then she refused to eat also.  After two days she got used to the new environment .  If she is relax and happy, she will run up and down the stairs, running round the sitting room.  And also running inside and outside the house for few times.

She has brought  so much joy  to my family.