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Panoramic views at Fremantle and the King’s Park

10 November 2010 blogpastor Leave a comment

Genteel Fremantle

Fremantle is not another city of Western Australia, as I had thought. It’s part of larger Perth. It’s only 20 minutes away by freeway. Anne Brinkman, a Penang lady married to a Caucasian, kindly offered to bring us around. She was a former tourist guide. So how blessed can you get. The buildings were old colonial. Well conserved, they had a genteel, timeless aura about them. The pace of life in Fremantle seemed even slower than in Perth city. There’s even a Notre Dame University there, some kind of twinning program perhaps with the one in USA. We lunched at Kaili brothers Fish and Chips and shared a tasty seafood platter.

Margaret Court a pastor?

Later in the afternoon, we went up north and were introduced to pastors Alan and Angie Wells, from Victory Life Centre. The unique thing about this church is that it is helmed by former tennis woman professional Margaret Court. She dominated women’s tennis in the 1970’s and 80’s, winning a total of 62 Grand Slam titles. Frightening. Now she’s the senior pastor of the thriving Australian megachurch.

Walking in the King’s Park

Nature and space and weather is what makes Perth so refreshing a place to Singaporeans. The King’s Park is huge but I only saw the touristy part of it. Nancy brought us there and we walked around the grounds and over the treetop walk and went back to the outskirts of the city for a fantastically authentic Hainanese chicken rice. Later, we had a great time of fellowship at a cafe in a huge shopping mall.

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Interests Fremantle, Kailis' fish and chips, King's Park, Perth, Victory Life Church

Chuang Kwang Liang: “Don’t go down….”

8 November 2010 blogpastor 2 Comments

He went down and up

The nurse injected penicillin, and he felt like something lifted and he stood up. A bright light beamed from his forehead to a door that opened up to a path. As he walked through a hall he saw hundreds of people screaming and crying in the shadows. It was eerie and distressing to hear voices crying in agony and suffering. It was like death filled the whole atmosphere. Next he saw bright sand and stones and entered a beautiful place. He felt extraordinarily happy and good. He said, “I want to stay here forever, I don’t want to leave.”

“Go back to where you came from”

A bright figure stood before him and said, “Go back to where you came from.” Immediately, Chuang Kwang Liang woke up in a hospital bed in Singapore and heard the nurse saying, “Good thing he didn’t die or some mother will be mourning.” It was 1967, when Liang, experienced these visits to what he called “down” and “up”. His girlfriend Margaret kept hearing him say in dialect, “Don’t go down there. It is terrible. I want to go up there.” She was as puzzled as he was about the whole experience and even wondered if he was sound. They were not Christians; they venerated their ancestors.

Trying to figure out the bright figure

He migrated to Australia and worked as an electrician with a mining company in Western Australia. For many years after his strange experience, he had been trying to figure out who was that bright figure and how to go up there. But without success. Jehovah Witnesses had knocked on his doors. A Mormon had talked to him. But they could not answer satisfactorily the questions he asked.

The Lord had pursued him

One day he accepted a brother in law’s invitation to an evangelistic rally. The moment the people worshipped, his eyes rained tears that he could not stop. He lifted his hand like he saw the rest did, and knew that this was it. The speaker was Vernon Falls and he had been invited by Full Gospel Assembly. That night he was saved and filled with the Spirit and knew he had finally met the bright figure who told him to go back to where he came from. The Lord Jesus had pursued him for over two decades. Finally in 1991, Liang gave his life to the Lord.

Meaning and purpose

Asking the FGA pastor, Mrs Ang Swee Khim, what she thought of his experience, she replied, “God loves you and showed you hell and heaven to give you a chance to choose.” Liang was so grateful and became a fiery witness for the Lord. With a fresh infilling of the Spirit, and armed with an understanding of what he had experienced, he went forth boldly to share with everyone who would listen, what he had experienced. In season and out of season, he would share and warn people, colleagues, friends, and family members not to end up down there but be sure they went up there. He now knows why Jesus sent him back to earth. Besides him, many others came to the Lord as a result of his earnest testimony.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end.

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Gospel, theology and story Heaven and hell, spiritual phenomenon, Testimony

Found in Perth: my maternal great grandfather

7 November 2010 blogpastor 4 Comments

Aunty in Perth

We took the train and she picked us up in her new Toyota. Yes even the retired widow can afford to buy a brand new car. Eat your heart out, Singaporeans. It was nice to visit her in her modest but clean and tidy home with a well maintained backyard garden. We chatted over coffee. This was the aunty who went forth with her nursing qualifications and worked overseas in England, Kuching, Brunei, and Australia. She stayed in Australia because she fell in love and married a Caucasian Australian.

Roots in black and white

She showed us her photo album and I struck oil. A black and white photo caught my attention. “Who’s this?” “Its my grandfather and your great grandfather.” “Do you know anything about him?” I queried eagerly at the prospect of fitting in another piece of my ancestry. Of course I know my spiritual ancestry but I find it interesting to fill up the blanks in my past. “No I know nothing about him.” Sayang. There is a picture, and a list of names written on the back of some envelope. That’s all. Below is the picture and the names of the great grand uncles and aunties, some of whom are in Singapore, in Kuching and who knows where else. Maybe by typing their names somebody may stumble on this post, and make contact, and I’ll get more information !

Standing Left: Joseph >Henry; Patric; Anna; Arthur >Lydia; Phylis; Bery

Second from Left: John >Philip; Ida; Mabel; Ada; James; Harry; Lily; Florence > all my siblings and cousins.

Third from Left: Andrew> Dot; Thomas.

Fourth from Left: Julia > Chan; Tay > Chan -Maud; Helen; Cecilia; Dolly; Tay-Henrietta; Hilda; James.

Fifth from Left: Mary > Lily Chee; Thambb(?)

Sixth from Left: Allen > Meg; Paul; Winni; Sysl; Amy; Rose; David; Lily; Augusta; Michael; Morgan; Henrietta.

Seventh from Left: Sammule (Samuel?) > Soong —: Lawrence.

Eighth from Left: Charles > Josephine; James; Min; Kit; Rosalind; Soon Siang.

Seated from Left: Great grandfather

Seated second from Left: Henrey (the towkay, I surmise by his posture)

Seated third from Left: the great grand stepmother.

I also found out their surname in Mandarin, which I cannot read (see right).

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Personal and family

Faith Community Church: a Bible-teaching, migrant church in Perth

4 November 2010 blogpastor 12 Comments

Welcomed warmly by the Senior Pastor Benny Ho into the foyer of a Baptist school’s auditorium, we engaged in some small talk and quickly made arrangements to meet after the service. There was a sizable crowd in the auditorium when the service began, but like in Singapore, latecomers streamed in even as people lifted hands in worship.

A migrant church

Looking around, I saw that the congregation were mainly people of my age with about one third or more youths and young adults. There were less than two handful of Caucasians. Most worshipers were ethnic Chinese. This is an English-speaking migrant church in Perth. Most had come as immigrants from Singapore and Malaysia, led by the Lord, or seeking better and fairer opportunities for their children’s education, and a more satisfying work-life balance.

Being a migrant church, one of the unique strengths of Faith Community Church is that new migrants get referred here and the church is very effective at helping migrants settle into Perth and assimilate into the fellowship. Easily people get fitted into such a helpful and well-networked community.

Detailed and relevant Bible teaching

The worship gave way to the teaching of the Word and this is where Faith Community Church excels. Pastor Benny delivered a masterly exposition of Haggai chapter 1, the beginning of a series of messages. This is my third or fourth time hearing him speak and he certainly lives up to his reputation as a good expositor and teacher of the Bible. It was clear and relevant. His detailed and interesting Bible teaching has in no small way contributed to the recent surge in the church’s numerical increase.

Surprise, surprise

Later I met Benny to make an appointment for lunch and to my pleasant surprise I heard that Rev Dr Norman Wong my friend would be in Perth on Monday. So we did lunch together and they gave me some good advice on a difficulty the church I served was facing. These guys are experienced, unassuming and effective pastors whose wisdom and opinions I respect. I was not disappointed with the informal consultation.

Forget about retirement

An interesting aside was meeting Norman’s father, Mr Wong, I called him. He’s 88 and he’s still working. He’s had open heart surgery but looked healthy and still played golf. He said thankfully, “Every day I am still alive is a bonus!” An accountant by training, he still sat on the boards of several listed companies. Mr Lee Kuan Yew would have been happy to use him as an example of working into your old age.

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Church in general Asian church, Benny Ho, Bible exposition, Norman Wong, Perth, seniors

Road-trip to Busselton and Margaret River

1 November 2010 blogpastor 2 Comments

Over a decade late

They gave us lots of love and air time. Of course, my wife and I were grateful to them. Their invitation to us had expired a decade ago, but what was there to lose in asking. After all the promotion flights were already booked. So my heart leaped when we saw Michael and Soo Kin at the Perth airport.

The weekend came and went so fast I thought I was still in Singapore. Sorrento Beach, Soo Kin’s surprise birthday dinner, worship at Faith Community Church, and Rod’s birthday barbecue. It went past like a cool Perth breeze.

Road trip to Busselton

Michael and Soo Kin brought us on a road trip to the great south west region of Western Australia. This is as big as Johor, as Western Australia is so huge you could put in the UK, Germany, and Japan in it, and still have leftover space for Philippines. But most of it is desert or bush land and rich minerals underneath.

Smitten by blue

Never saw so much blues in my life. The Indian ocean, the Swan river, the Mandurah esplanade, the clear blue skies: they reach out and hold your senses hostage whenever you look their way. Smitten with scenery and freshness you cannot buy or bottle, nor have to pay for, we surrendered to the Naturaliste Cape, the Mandurah foreshore, the Busselton jetty, Yallingup beach and the small towns of Busselton and Margaret River. People were polite and friendly and were not competing or rushing to be first to the queue or carpark lot. How many public campaigns did they have to reach this level of courtesy and civility? It must have come from knowing they have plenty of resources and time.

Whale surprise

The Lord surprised us when He answered my prayer to be able to see whales migrating along the coast. Though they were but water spray from the nozzle and black specks in the vast distant blue ocean, it thrilled us, and filled our hearts with praise. The Lord is generous in His kindness towards us, giving us not only what we need, but also what we wish for.

Polished arrows

We had devotions in the morning, not because I was a pastor, but because we wanted to. Sweet times of reading scriptures, sharing and praying together before we went out for the day. We talked a lot about our lives, about missions and church, about life in Australia, our families. Michael and Soo Kin are like polished arrows that the Lord had polished over the years of walking by faith, and they have such a passion for the poor, needy and powerless in Cambodia and Philippines. They have pioneered and networked with key indigenous leaders in these countries and are doing significant work in those countries. Michael often repeated his mantra, ”It’s all by prayer, it’s all by prayer.” When we begin praying, things start opening up and opportunities come our way to join God in His work.

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Interests Busselton, Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse, Mandurah, Margaret River, Perth, road-trip, whale watching, Yallingup