In Every Victory

Hello there, my beloved friends!

Congratulations to all of you who have graduated!!!!! And to those who are in the process of completing your studies, all the best to you!!!!

I realize that while I was celebrating my joyous moments, there were others who were struggling with failure and feeling terrible about not being able to graduate yet...and note that I said YET. But all is not lost...It's not the end of the world for them...Before they know it, they'll be back on their feet again..striving hard to complete their studies and enjoying every moment of their remaining university life! It's the best, really! They will realize that it's only a matter of time before they graduate! Difficult moments are an inevitable part of life, and they are there to make us stronger and learn about life. Hope is always there no matter how hopeless things may seem:)

As you know, I have already graduated, and I really thank God for blessing me graciously with a First Class Honours award of degree.

My years in university were so blessed and my final semester in university had been so remarkable and unforgettable. I had learnt so much about life and God in just those few intense months.


As I have shared in my blog and even personally with some of you, my final semester in university was not only intensely challenging with my studies; examinations and assignments, responsibilities as Vice President in my club, financial difficulties (delayed study loan disbursement) and health problems but also a love relationship, which naturally implicated family. Initiating and handling break ups during examination times, and dealing with pressure from family regarding the relationship was extremely stressful…in fact more stressful than sitting for my most difficult examination paper!..

I can only say that surviving that ordeal and still obtaining a First Class Honours was not my own achievement. I could never have done it without the love, strength, discipline, wisdom, knowledge, hope, support and comfort of Christ, and the friendships and everything He gave me through the wonderful people around me ( you know who you are) .I thank God for you and I want to thank all of you, my precious friends, for being there with me through thick and thin.

With that, I conclude with this short but meaningful and beautiful song thatI learnt at a Christian conference years ago.

In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find my glory
In the power of the Cross
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone.

God bless you!!!

My Temporary Job

Hello, my dearest friends!!!

So sorry for my silence for some time…Now, here I am, back with this long mail

As you know, I have graduated. I haven’t found a suitable permanent job but things are going great. I attended several interviews but found the jobs not suitable to my area of study as well as interest and personality. Even rejected interviews from some good companies because of the company location. I’m praying for a suitable job in Kluang. Of course, it’s very convenient and cost saving staying at home in a small town. Furthermore, I’m quite involved in my home church and feel that there is a need to serve here. While searching for a permanent job, I thought that it will be a good idea to serve for a period of time in a church or non-profit organization and utilize my time in a meaningful way. And during this time, my mother mentioned a Christian school. I contacted the Pastor and learnt that they were actually in need of a BM teacher.

With that, I’m currently working temporarily as a teacher in a Christian school called Shalom Learning Centre. It’s a ministry oriented school run by Peace Assemblies of God here in Kluang. This church is not my home church but I used to attend its Youth Fellowship during my schooling days, It’s a new and wonderful experience teaching in a Christian school. School starts at 8 am and finishes at 1 pm. The dress code for students and teachers is casual. The school is run in an air-conditioned shop lot building, upstairs of the church. Before school begins, the teachers have a time of devotion. Everyday, even the students are so privileged to have time of praise and worship and devotion after the recess. And on Fridays, we have Chapel service in the church (sanctuary) downstairs – a service just like our weekly Saturday/Sunday service for the children. It’s so wonderful to begin the day corporately with our Lord in school. Wish I had that privilege during my schooling days.

I’m teaching primarily Bahasa Melayu, and have to coach students in History and Geography. Other tasks include scoring and helping students with their English, Science, Maths and Bible (they have a primary teacher for each of this subject). Oh yes! They have a subject called ‘Bible.’ Isn’t that nice? The entire syllabuses come from the United States of America (except for BM of course) and the medium of instruction is English. There are about 32 students ranging from ages 2 to 18. Students learn at their own pace. Classes are not conducted in our school like manner, in a class of 30 students and a teacher in front. Here, it’s more of coaching and personally tutoring the students. The syllabus are designed to enable self learning and students are individually tutored, or at most in groups of 3 or 4. It’s using the home-school concept, practiced widely in the US.

The education system is approved by our government and students have access to all colleges and international universities upon the completion of their studies. However, they cannot enter the local university. In another sense however, a student’s life in this school is pretty much like that of a student’s the secular school. Students study similar subjects. They have Physical Education and games, and interschool tournaments. They have a small Science laboratory for experiments and a playing area with ping-pong table.

It’s really surprising that the majority of the students are not Christians although it’s a Christian school. We even have international students – children of expatriates who have been sent to work here. Some of the children come from broken homes, are very problematic and require a lot of grace and patience in teaching. I was also told that some of the students were children found by the church, abandoned on the streets. This place is really a place raised up by God to reach out to the lost. It’s also a great place for children to grow in a godly environment where they are instilled with Christian values such as integrity, love and respect for one another.
I really enjoy serving at the centre and am learning a lot through my interaction with the staff and while teaching different students of various family backgrounds. I’ll only working here temporarily till the school term ends in November. I’m sure I’ll miss this place a lot when it’s time to leave. The staff and children are such wonderful people.

In the meantime, I was called for a second interview by a company here in Kluang. The company was expecting me to start work next month. I explained my situation that I have made a commitment to serve at the learning centre till November and was hoping that they could accommodate that, and I’m still waiting for a reply. I’m praying that if it’s the will of God that I should work there, they would wait for me. If not, I have no regrets.
By the way, I met the international children’s parents. The family is from India and they happen to live in the same row as my house. They are a Hindu family and their daughter just accepted Jesus into her heart today during chapel service. The parents asked me to tutor their 11 year old daughter and and 5 year old son for Bahasa Melayu since they are going to be in Malaysia permanently. The children are really brilliant with superb memory power, and they like learning BM.

You know something, one thing about being small sized is about blending in with children..On my first day there, one of the bigger children, rather mature looking, came and asked me if I was a new student and started making friends with me!!! Some of the children actually run and hold my hands and talk to me like they are talking to the fellow children friends when they come to me with their studies related problems or just want to chit chat! (something that they don’t do with their other subjects’ teachers) They even bring their card games and ask me to play with them. Well, I happen to be the youngest teacher there at the moment. The rest are above 30 years old, and married with children… (no wonder:P)

I seem to have written a rather long mail…well, u know me. If you have read up to this point, THANK YOU for your time:)….I think I shall stop here for now and give your eyes and mind a break :P

Take care, friends! Have a productive week and the blessings of the Lord be with you! Hope to hear from you soon:)

With Love,
You know who:)

IT IS WELL, IT IS WELL, WITH MY SOUL

-My experience of being sick, on drips and all right again.

It started 2 weeks ago on a sunny Thursday morning. I normally walk to the school in the mornings as it’s only about 25 minutes away from my home and it’s a good form of exercise. To go home in the afternoon, I take a bus or get a lift. Sometimes, I walk. On that Thursday, the minute I arrived at the school door, I felt so weak and dizzy, although I had a good breakfast (bread and sausages & milk), but tried not to show it. I just took something sweet and had a drink. The feeling became less intense but it did not completely go. I continued teaching and scoring till recess. During recess, I bought some fruit juice and a piece of cake. Right after devotion, the terrible feeling of weakness and dizziness returned with greater intensity, and I could feel ‘bubbles’ in my stomach. I figured that it might be caused by gastric, which I thought was already okay. Maybe it was something I ate…

(I really thank God for keeping me well while I was walking to school…I can’t imagine how it would have been if I felt dizzy and weak while crossing the roads on my way to school! I would have been disastrous if I had collapsed on the road)

The feeling grew with more intensity and one of the teachers noticed that I was looking very pale and the school arranged for me to be sent home. Several minutes upon reaching home, I vomited. After that, I felt much better and took my gastric medicine before my next meal. My next light meal, lunch, went alright. I felt a little weak, but I was ok.

(I also thank God that I didn’t vomit in school…Being sick at home makes a great deal of difference...I’m sure you know what I mean…Having mummy to care for me and rush and get me a plastic bag…and making me a glass of glucose drink , milk etc..)

I had a 2nd interview to attend that particular day and did not wish to postpone it. So, I attended the interview that afternoon. It went very well, for more than an hour. The manager seemed to have a good impression of me and asked if I could start working the next month itself. But since I made my commitment to serve at the Christian learning centre and I know that the centre would be very shorthanded if I were to leave suddenly, I explained my situation to them. The manager said that she would have to talk to her boss and would get back to me soon. Throughout the interview, I felt very good. Praise the Lord!

After 10 minutes of reaching home, I vomited again! After vomiting, I felt much relieved in my body but still a little weak. I was all right that night and even the next day.

(Thank God he saved me from vomiting during the interview! What a terrible impression I would have made of myself, otherwise!..God really is so good.)

….But the next night was a terrible nightmare! I took my food and medicine as usual…But this time, right after I swallowed my medicine, my head started spinning like never before in my entire life! The whole house seemed to be going in circles, my body felt very cold, and then suddenly warm again…I asked my mother for a glucose drink…I couldn’t walk on my own...I turned as white as a ghost…My family was really panicking and my dad wasn’t at home…. We didn’t even have the transport to go to any clinic and it was already around 10.30 at night. As my condition didn’t seem to improve, my mother finally called her brother, who’s also the pastor of my church, for help.

Since it was already late, my family doctor’s clinic was closed. We had no choice but to look for a 24-hour clinic. And we found one. The doctor diagnosed me as having bowel infection and prescribed me 2 types of antibiotics and medicine to stop the vomit and prevent dizziness. The doctor asked me to come back the next day if my condition didn’t improve. I was a little better that night in the sense that at least I did not vomit…but the next morning I felt weak again and a little dizzy even after taking the medicine. All I could do was sleep or just sit down...eat and then rest, and sleep again.

(But throughout this time, 1 hymn which I learnt and loved in the Baptist church kept playing in my ears, offering me a lot of peace and comfort despite my circumstances…The hymn ended something like this: “ Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well, IT IS WELL, WITH MY SOUL.”)

So I went to the doctor again…I mentioned to him about my history of gastric and all that I was feeling. This time, he said it might be appendix and said I needed a blood test. I was even put on one bottle of drips as I didn’t seem to have any energy in me (the total amount of food I consumed in a day was only about half of 1 plate of meal…no wonder, right)

It was the first time in my whole life I was put on drips. I wondered what it would be like...to have that needle go through my little vein and have that tube attached to me till all the Dextrose with Saline from the bottle flows into me…..Hmm…it wasn’t too bad…Just a sharp little pain when the little thing ( whatever it is called) was inserted into my vein, it think.

As I was asked to lie down on a little bed in the clinic itself, I was actually marveling at the discovery of drips, the knowledge of medicine and how it saves lives… How much God has blessed human kind with knowledge of so much that my mind could never ever fully comprehend….And when the doctor came to remove the drips, I was so amazed at how God has created the human body and its specific functions…that blood does not gush out of the body after the drips is removed…

After that dose of drips, I was alright for a few hours. The doctor said he would call me if I needed urgent treatment after the results of the blood test was out. But the feeling of weakness returned. I picked up a pencil to write a poem, but I couldn’t write. I attempted to draw a cute little goldfish but I just didn’t have the energy to do so. I could only read Psalms 23 for a few minutes and after that I feared that I might have a headache so I stopped. But it felt so terrible not being able to do anything. Just getting up, eating, taking my medicine and sleeping the whole day. Every time after I took my antibiotics, I began to feel so drowsy and would be in bed after an hour. My waking hours were so few in a day!

My mother was earnestly praying for me. My dad was very sad. My whole family was terribly worried about me as I had never been that sick before. And even when I do fall sick, I am not in such a feeble state. I would still have the energy do keep myself active. I felt extremely terrible being like a sick patient at home…I needed aid to go upstairs and downstairs and almost everything had to be done for me… Even when I went to the loo or bathroom, I wouldn’t lock the door, and ask someone to wait outside for me, because I was so afraid that I might faint inside!

That night my dizziness returned…This time, I decided not return to the same doctor. Furthermore, the doctor said that if my condition did not improve, he would give me a letter of referral to the hospital. It was Sunday night and my family doctor would be closed. And I realized going to the doctor only gives me temporary relief. When I get home again, my condition does not improve much.

The doctor gave me 3 antibiotics tablets to eat. I decided to take only 1. Even my parents said that the medicine might be too strong for me. And my mother kept saying that if I go to my family doctor, he wouldn’t even ask me to take a blood test. He would know what is wrong with me. My mother strongly believed that it wasn’t appendix and that her heart would only be satisfied after I visited my family doctor.

That night was not an easy for me. I was just praying and took the additional antibiotics. But I didn’t take my 3rd antibiotic tablet. Eventually, I fell asleep and the dizziness went away. However, the feeling of weakness did not leave me, as my appetite was so poor. Throught the night, my mother kept coming into my room to touch my forehead to check my temperature and to ask if I was allright. I think she made her visit every 15 minutes until I eventually fell asleep….How much love God shows through Mummy that He has given me!

I took sick leave from my school. I slept very well that night. On Monday morning, when I woke around 8 am, suddenly I felt a gush of energy in my body. A song started playing in my heart and mind…”Don’t worry about anything. Because every little thing is going to be allright..” and I just felt a great sense of peace. When I looked at my handphone, I saw a sms from the principal of my school saying that the staff had prayed for me during the time of devotion before school started… I smiled to myself, knowing the power of God at work.

When I got up from bed and went to wash up, I felt the weak feeling returning but the positive song in my heart kept playing stronger. When I went downstairs, my mom said we should visit my family doctor, and that after that, I would be fine.

So we made a visit to my family doctor, and he said it was caused by gastric. He told me to cease taking all my other medication and to take his. He gave me no antibiotics at all nor mention appendix. Neither did he ask me to take a blood test nor say anything about sending me to the hospital. He didn’t ask me to return if I did not improve. He said I would fine after taking those medicine and the right food – only steamed food for a week.
And he was right…drastic changes were seen right after my return from his clinic. As I ceased taking the antibiotics and consumed the gastric medicine in table form, I was did not feel sleepy the whole day. And the quiet little figure that hardly spoke that week started talking and singing a lot. Previously, I didn’t even have the energy to hum or sing as I usually do. My sister jokingly complained to my mother to stop me from being so hyperactive…humming and singing, and talking so much. My mother was very happy to see me going up and downstairs, and talking and asking for extra food! My cousin said he even feared that I might lose my life and prayed for god not to take me when I was sick!

I was just so happy…tunes of praises to God was continually on my lips…I just finished the last tablet of my medication today and I am truly very much better.

I don’t really know what caused me to fall so, terribly sick. I did consume oily food that I should not have. But most of the time, I was maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. But it doesn’t matter, I allright now. And I certainly will try my level best to be more watchful over the food that goes into my body. The doctor never called me for treatment after the blood test and I am back to my self, talking, writing, humming, singing and drawing.
Throughout my time of sickness, I felt that Jesus had dealt with me emotionally more that just physically. Do you remember the time when a guy and I had fallen in love and my parents totally disapproved of it? Well, eventually, I did leave the guy and things have become kind of back to normal at home. But the scar of the terrible times I went through at home when I refused to leave the guy I loved still remained in my heart and mind. The hurtful words and actions of my parents, especially my mother often haunted my mind. She did apologize to me before and I know that my parent love me a lot. But those thoughts would still occasionally come into my heart and mind and hurt me, often leaving me in tears when I recall the whole episode.

However, Jesus has such an amazing way of dealing with hurts. He allowed me to be in such dependence on my mother. And my mother showed me so much love and care that I am eternally grateful for. Although I knew in my heart that she loves me as she always has, her care during this time of my sickness seems to just wash away the painful memories of my forbidden love. Each time those hurtful memories invade my mind, the picture of my mother coming into my room every 15 minutes to touch my forehead, of her steaming food especially for me, of her making sure I was alright etc…just overshadows those painful memories and makes me smile in my heart.
I have experienced the love and goodness of Christ in such a marvelous way throughout this whole time and I can only look back and say…”Holy Spirit, you were there. All along…just as you have always been and will always be….Whatever circumstances we may face, eventually it will be all right…..Indeed, it is well, with my soul.

Verses for the day:
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
- Isaiah 41:10, The Bible.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
-I Thessalonians 5:16-18, The Bible.