I have always been thankful for my Pentecostal heritage. Like a river of life, it has enriched, fertilized and nourished my spirituality. I have many reasons to be grateful and here are just a few of them:
The Pentecostal experience has made the reality of God’s presence and activity in my life is undeniable and unforgettable.
It gave me a vision of how great and alive and loving our God is.
I have a deep assurance of faith and never doubted the reality of God throughout my Christian life.
I have experienced the spiritual empowerment and abilities of God’s Spirit in diverse ways.
I am glad to be part of such a vast and enriching spiritual movement.The Pentecostal movement has resulted in the salvation of millions of unbelievers around the world as well as impacted social concerns like political oppression, poverty, racism, unemployment, and even the green movement.
Again my sister, Beryl, reminded me that I was the one who passed to her a book that impacted her so much it changed the course of her destiny. The title of the book was “My All For Him” by M. Basilea Schlink, the founder and leader of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary. She devoured the book, which I received free together with other books from the sisterhood. She began to read her other books and even wrote to visit the sisterhood in Darmstadt, West Germany. That visit and later visits eventually saw her become a Sister of Mary.
She was here in Singapore for about 3 weeks. The last time she was here was when mother went home to be with the Lord about 5 years ago. She stayed mostly with my eldest brother, Colin. Two nights she stayed with us so we could catch up with what God is doing in our respective situations. She did quite a few things. She visited all the surviving uncles and aunties and cousins. She spent time with us her immediate family. She met up with former classmates and friends. She ate all the different foods she had missed while in Darmstadt all these years. By the time she left she virtually tasted everything Singaporean with everyone eager to ensure that she gets to eat what we thought she missed.
I suppose there are people who are tired of the Causeway customs and City Square gamut. That was what I felt and since I lived near the Jurong East MRT/Bus interchange, I went with my wife and some friends by bus via the Second Link to Bukit Indah’s AEON, a spacious and less crowded mall. You may want to venture there yourself and spend a day loitering and chilling out for a day. Here are the steps you need to take if you are taking the public bus:
(1) Go to Jurong East bus interchange (next to Jurong East MRT) to board the Causewaylink bus that goes via the Second Link. Double check with the bus driver that you are on the right bus. Keep your S$4 bus ticket with you.
(2) First stop is Singapore customs checkpoint at Second Link. After clearing that, go look for any Causewaylink bus and board to go to the Malaysian customs checkpoint on the other side of Second Link bridge. Show them your S$4 ticket.
(3) After you have cleared your Malaysian customs go look for any Causewaylink bus that goes to Bukit Indah shopping mall. Ask the driver to confirm as you board the bus, and show your S$4 bus ticket.
Bus stop in front of Bukit Indah (also taxi stand)
(4) You will pass by Leisure Farm bungalows and wished you had bought one long ago. You will pass by Lego Land and wished you had gone there before. Finally you find your bus right in front of the first huge building in front of the Bukit Indah AEON shopping mall. Get off, and get in. The whole journey would have taken you about an hour and a half, including customs.
Keep the bus ticket at hand – 5 Malaysian ringgit
(5) Do a tour of the shops and available food outlets and go look at the cinema to see if there is a film you are interested in and can squeeze into your day’s program. Buy your ticket and go for your lunch. Whatever you do try to leave the place by 4.30pm to avoid the traffic jams at that time.
(6) You wait at the same bus-stop you alighted in the morning. Always ask around to see if you are at the right place. Things change in Malaysia and we have no idea at all when its changed. The ticket home is Malaysian Ringgit 5. Pay the driver the exact amount and get your ticket and KEEP IT AT HAND.
(7) Malaysian customs (make sure you have no sugar, oil, rice, or that sticky something else). Look for any Causewaylink bus and head for Singapore customs. Show the driver the ticket.
Bus stand at Singapore customs
(8) Pass the Singapore customs and look for the Causewaylink bus that heads to Jurong East bus interchange. Always confirm with the driver and show him your 5 ringgit ticket. It gives you peace of mind.
The route to Bt Indah
(9) If you are Singaporean, by the time you arrive at Jurong East bus interchange, about an hour and a half later, you have already asked yourself, “Was it worth going all the way there and back? To shop, to eat, to see a movie, to chill out and take advantage of the superior Sing dollar. Was it worth it?”
If you can answer the question in the affirmative, then I trust that this step by step guide will tease you into making one of these trips, preferably on weekdays if you are an introvert, and on Saturday if you are an extrovert!
A doctor with a heart for pastors and missionaries
I have sometimes wondered what had happened to that wonderful gynaecologist who delivered all my children. Dr Lawrence Chan, a Christian elder in a Brethren church, was very gracious towards missionaries and pastors. He delivered their babies free of charge. If the wife was working, they would still get a very special rate for his services. I am sure he delivered many pastors’ and missionaries’ children.
Pleasant surprise at a wedding dinner
So it was a pleasant surprise when we met him at the wedding of my nephew. Professor Lawrence Chan also delivered all the children of the bride’s and the groom’s parents. His name was mentioned from the podium and my wife and I decided we must meet him. This was a wonderful surprise meeting. Dr Lawrence Chan has reached a ripe old age. He looked healthy and he had more hair than me! We introduced ourselves and our son Joshua Chee to him, and chatted for a while.
A traumatic and dramatic delivery
My son Joshua who is the surviving twin in a traumatic and dramatic birth was keen to meet him too. For several weeks, my wife Jenny, and the twins, Joshua and the late Caleb, were all in Intensive Care Units, fending for their lives, as doctors and specialists tried to save them. By the grace of God, at the end of much prayer and suffering, Caleb was taken home to God through respiratory problems and I had to bury him without my wife’s knowledge as it may affect her adversely if she knew. Joshua was discharged but due to the fact that he was born blue without oxygen for many minutes as the incubator equipment was rushed from one ward to the room where my wife was warded for Hepatitis non-A, non-B. You see, the births were sudden and unexpected, and at that time (mid 1980’s), Singapore General Hospital did not have maternity wards.
Joshua will be gong-gong
When Joshua was discharged the doctors warned that since Joshua’s brain had been deprived of oxygen for too long, he would be intellectually disabled. One of the specialist even said that Joshua will be “gong-gong”. Every time we met with the head of paediatrics for Joshua’s medical appointments we were being prepared for the worse. “He will need to go to a special school when he grows up…..etc.” But God had other plans. We prayed for him constantly, laying our hands on him, praying in tongues over him, and commanding the brain cells to be activated with his life and resurrection power (we were desperate and tried everything we knew!). Well, the Lord has answered prayer and Joshua has since graduated from NUS with a second upper honours and is now working in the civil service and active in the church. Praise God.
God’s ways are higher: trust Him
As to the twin that went home to God, the peace of God and faith in His infinite love has helped us to reconcile with what has happened and we believe that God works all things for good and for His glory. Sometimes we do not fully comprehend His ways. However we can go on trusting in Him even when we don’t fully understand the things happening around us that seem to contradict His loving character.
Meeting Prof Lawrence has reminded us of God’s many blessings and the channels God used. To Prof Lawrence Chan we wish God’s blessings of health and satisfaction in the afterglow of a life of faithfulness, integrity and generosity. May his tribe increase!
The paint was wearing off my Sony Ericsson Xperia, thanks to keeping it in my pocket with car key and coins. It is almost two years old. Its still running, but slowing down. As the date got close when my contract was due for renewal, I decided to look for a new smartphone. It has to be a smartphone as I cannot see myself going without some basic things. High on my list of essentials is a good camera. So I consulted a talented professional photographer Eirik. Which smartphone has the best camera? His opinion was clear. No1 is HTC One. No 2 is Nokia Lumia 920. The rest, including iPhone 5, comes third. I suppose most smartphone cameras are good with regards to bright light photography. Its in the low light category where the smartphone cameras that are outstanding have to fight it out. I bought my Xperia because of its slim body, clean lines and its low-light capabilities. The downside of buying HTC One is its price. It costs $270 more than Lumia 920 (S$199) under the same plan. But Lumia is a Windows Phone with a small store of apps. In addition I will have to learn new smartphone ways unless I buy an Android. So after doing the due diligence and watching many phone fights on YouTube, I was no closer to making a decision. However on Monday, I kept thinking of Lumia 920 while half asleep in bed at dawn. Must be all the videos I watched the night before. Since this is not a life and death decision, and since my left brain could not make a decision, I let the more intuitive right brain take over. I bought the Lumia 920 on Monday afternoon. I surprised myself at my willingness to risk crossing the line from Android to Windows. There are less apps but I do not need that much apps and never liked playing games. The basic functions of a phone, the camera, notes, calender-planner, timer, music, Bible and some surfing are what I use the smartphone for on most days. I must say that so far I do like the Windows Phone and the Nokia Lumia 920 experience.
