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.