Violation

The first time in my adult life my purse was stolen and that in broad daylight! I was very much affected by the incident. I was running through my mind if only I have had done this or that…. And as I was running through the event, I could not understand why I could stay in that shop that long. If only I had left that shop once I finished my purchase, I would have had saved my purse and my depressing emotions.

I was surprised myself how emotionally low I could plunge! It was not a big loss monetarily and also none of my cards were there. However, somehow I was very depressed. And after talking it over with a friend who is truthful and sincere (not very common here), I recognized that it is very common here to be pickpocketed; her purse was pickpocketed too! She was the one who revealed to me that it was a violation of my right! Suddenly the vocabulary, ‘violation’ made sense to me and answered my query.

It was then that I realized my reason for the emotional turmoil within myself. At the same time, God was teaching me more about myself, especially my weaknesses and my response towards Him and the culprits.

It was also through this incident that I discovered children as young as ten years old steal. And stealing is very common here. As I was talking to my students, they also narrated to me that they lost a lot of things, ranging from exercise books to cash. I even came to know that a friend of my friend’s whole bag was stolen!


This is a big part of stress being here, having to be always alert when I am out. On the other hand, it is also a test of my trust in Him and how much I look to Him for help and solution, protection and safety.

Permanence.......

Guzhang is gone.
The familiar vitamin shop that I go every six months when I return is gone.
People expect me to be what I was before I left/what I should be (since they are).
It was the mercy and grace of Jesus to bring my guzhang to be with Him. It was unexpected but it had come to pass that my guzhang asked Jesus to save him.
The stubborness of my aunty not to grant my uncle's wish at his death bed shocked me.

Singapore is a merciless place, she expects her people to take care of themselves; she moves on and you are left behind, she does not wait for you, you have to catch up, and that on your own initiative, own effort, own strength.

The only permanence is the love of God and His presence. Rom 8:38-39.
Only He is the same yesterday today and tomorrow (Heb 13:8).
And very sweetly, He will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb 13:5).

Upon landing at the airport, news of my good friend's father passing away struck me.
This very good friend had been my pillar of support when I was going through spiritual attacks and she, besides praying for me helped me in practical ways. I wanted to be the support for her at her declining moments too. Thus, the next day after landing at the airport, I went to visit her at her father's wake.

It was great to see her again, and also to give her her birthday card; her dad's passing on is just a day before her birthday.


Prior to my friend's dad's passing on, I recalled my prayer of telling God to keep my uncle living till I would see him after knowing that he had only about 2-3months
to live.

Indeed, He has been very gracious and I could visit him twice on two consecutive days
before he went to be with Jesus, all to His mercy and grace.

My very good friend's father is gone and my uncle is gone. The familiar vitamin shop is gone too.

After a week of running around to wakes and hospice and finally to my uncle's funeral, I could settle down a little to rest, rest away the Indian fatigue. However, that too not for very long because I had to be moving house..... again; which accompanies adjustment to new environment and moving around again....

All these ununderstandable moving and changes made me question permanence.

I concluded it to be:
The love of God and His presence. Rom 8:38-39.
Only He is the same yesterday today and tomorrow (Heb 13:8).
And very sweetly, He will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb 13:5).

First Experiences

Witnessed a girl alighting from a bus and seconds later was pulled out from under the bus unscathed

Having six people, including me in a three-seater motor (three-wheeler) commuter, one on top of another

Attacked by a dengue mosquito

Bitten by a harmless creature and almost died

In a public mini van with 13 other men at night in Delhi

Went to Singapore Embassy in Delhi by public transport by myself

Applied for post-graduate studies in Delhi

Moving house three times in one month

Witnessed pee coming out from a man in public (on the street)

Attended BSF

Asked by a stranger for water in a metro (MRT)

Received unclaimed mailed package from home country

One hand fanning myself with a small stack of paper and one hand writing with a marker on a whiteboard teaching. It was summer time and the electricity failed!

: D

28 November

Pa, it has been 12 years since you left us.

Have been wanting to ask you, ‘how are you?’

Thinking of wanting to have a chat with you

To tell you about my venture to Cambodia

And now India

Would you approve of my ‘going into’ community work?

I’m pretty sure you would as you had always been supportive of me

Since the time I asked if I could learn Taekwondo.

You had been supportive of my decisions because you trusted my wisdom

Or because you doted on me that you did not want me to be disappointed

I’m still praying that I’ll see you in heaven

So that I can see you again and we can have a catch-up

Closing the Gap

Though the road seems tough and hard to please
Society has changed with man-made twist
The world we live is distant from perfect Eden
Man has taken on the unnecessary burdens

Standing firm and carrying our cross
Holding tight we complete our cause
Seeking His Word, His standards we live
Facing the world we meet their needs

With purest simplicity breaking from complexity
May we live His purpose with eternal longevity
No more quarrels, no more tears
Time is running
The Lord is coming

Do what is purposed quenching every thirst
Be the link you need to be
Be the one God made to be


Poem by Sir Knight Yeap - Inspirational collections by His grace

GRACEWORKS: The Author: SOO-INN TAN



The extract below is taken from Graceworks as shown above. It is an interesting way of looking at God's rest comes first in a full day, and then His work in the second part of the day in co-labourship with Him. Would you like to begin your day with rest? See below the write-up by brother Soo-Inn Tan:

Commentary: Night and Day
Sometimes, something stares you in the face but you don't see it till someone points it out to you. It never occurred to me that the Hebrew structuring of a day was night/day rather than day/night. But there it is in the creation account. Genesis 1:31 reads: "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. (NIV)" The sixth day, like all the other days, starts with the evening and ends with the morning. Never saw it till I read Eugene H. Peterson's Working the Angles.



If we structure our days as day and night, we begin the day with our work, we toil throughout the day and when night comes, we take the rest we deserve. Along the way we ask God to help us in our work. But a night and day sequence means we begin the day by going to sleep. While we sleep God does His work. When we awake the day is half over and God invites us to join Him in what He has initiated. We are called to significant work but we remember that it is God's work and it is by His grace that we are allowed to co-labour with Him.

Some of us may be slackers but too many among us take our work, should I say take ourselves, too seriously. It seems we need to be reminded daily that the world rests on God's shoulders, not on ours. We need to be reminded daily that God is the main mover in life and He does it out of sheer grace. He doesn't really need our help, but as another expression of grace, He allows us to participate in His work.

There is much that is wrong in the world. We want to see our churches renewed. We want to see our governments govern with justice and compassion. We want to see a lost humanity come to follow the Saviour who died for them. We want to see the end to wars and violence. We want to see the environment healthy and thriving. The question we need to ask is this: Is God concerned for these things?

We know the answer. Christ came announcing the Kingdom of God. With His death and resurrection and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, God has begun His programme of establishing His reign on earth. One day Christ will return to finish the job. In the meantime He is working out His purposes in history. He goes ahead. He calls us to follow.

Energy Saving Car Pool?