My Blog

People matters. People brings meaning to whatever we do. Without people, there can be no meaning to any cause.

The other day we were sitting around my house, we were having a brothers gathering. Suddently I just realized how much I was involved in these people’s lives, hope I don’t give the idea that I am bragging, but just to tell you how meaningful life can be when it revolves around people you have helped. All glory to the One above.

Shammah, met him in GuangZhou 3 years ago in our gatherings, received Christ and did some foundation One to One with him. Later on he met some changes in his lives and left the spiritual family disappointed with God. He came back a couple of months later but was still down, I invited him to Shanghai to help me out, he was so excited he got on the train next day. There was one season he was confused about his direction, I talked to him a couple of hours, found out that God gave him a dream to plant churches a year ago but he threw it away because he was disappointed with God. I encouraged him to pick it up and pray about it, that night he could not sleep and thought about his life’s purpose. Right now he is faithfully serving and working towards the destiny God has for him.

Alex, my room mate for 2 years. He moved out of his old place so that he could be preserved from the bad culture of his room mates. He didn’t have a job nor a place to stay. His temporary stay turned into 2 years. We became good friends, I taught him how to do housework (by the way, a lot of mainland Chinese youth do not know how to do housework), taught him how to mop the floor and wash dishes, right now he loves to wash the dishes, his family was shocked to learn about this. He is a great brother right now, helps whoever who needs help, helped so many people to move house etc. He has vision especially to help the poor in the rural areas of China (he himself is from a village in He Nan, TV used to be powered by bicycle).

James, he came to Shanghai with lots of expectations and complains. Used to prideful, didn’t like Shanghai nor us. He was a smart guy, did his Degree one year faster than others. He was a bit hard to disciple, until he started discipling others, then he knew how much hurt he has caused me He changed so much after that, learned to be thankful and humble. Future church planter / missionary.

Jerry, young dude, around 20 and came from a broken family. Used and dealt drugs liable to capital punishment. He was saved around 3 years ago, but turned his back and went with the world, started off with light drugs. He broke down and cried one morning when we spoke, I prayed for him and he repented, but he went back to drugs again. He did this cycle 2 more times, until one dayhe saw hell opening up and people started to pull him down, then he knew it was a final warning from God, he knew he was about to die from drugs. When he came to see me, he lost like 30 kg, super pale, obviously dying. We prayed and even cast out demons from him, he slept like a baby for the next 18 hours, slowly regained his health. He is right now serving in the family’s admin and planning to go for a bible training next year, wants to preach to people like himself.

There are a few more that I didn’t mention here. But just looking at this 4 person, I know that however much time I spent, it was all worth it. I don’t think I did much, but I know that they needed people to help them at some point in their lives, and I know for sure God has used me in these instances. Nope, I didn’t reach 1000 people, nor did I win any noble prizes, nor did I receive any earthly award for this, but I believe this adds the "purpose" and "meaning" to my existence.

Sitting around the coffee table looking at them on fire for God, as Apostle Paul said in Philipians 4:1  "Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved." I now know what he means when he refers them as his crowns.

Now, it’s another phase of this special bond when these few guys and I go out to reach people the same way I have reached them a few years ago. It’s no longer me alone, but us as a team to reach out to others.

Without people, there can be no meaning to any cause.

The place I work is about 2 hours (public transport) from my home, i spend about 4 hours in total just commuting everyday. I can afford a car, but the traffic is crazy here, chaotic is the word, traffic laws are just some suggestion and help to assist you to get the driver’s licience.  The licience plate cost about RM20,000 - they are discouraging people to get private cars.

Part of the journey I spend on the bus, about 40 minutes. A lot of things happens on the bus, people scream at each other, some times you might even be able to witness a fight (that’s why wrestling is unpopular in China -  they get to see the real deal everyday upclose), and quite frequently and only if you pay more attention to what’s happening around, you may spot the thief on the bus, a new hobby I have acquired.

Last week was the 2nd time I witness a thief trying to steal a guy’s wallet. The first time I was with my girlfriend, the thief was staring at me while "fishing" out the guys wallet from his pocket, I stared back at him, he didn’t stop, as the wallet just came out of the guy’s wallet I took at and returned it to the owner. The owner thanked me, got off the bus, my girlfriend, myself and the thieves (they move in gangs) were left on the bus, thank God we safely got down at the next stop.

Incident 2  - The thief tried to pull a fast one on my bag, I pulled my bag closer, he then moved on to the next target. I was observing him all the time, he moved towards another guy, trying to "fish" out the wallet with his 2 fingers. I was staring at him and cough a LOUD "ahem", his partner then moved in front towards me trying to block my sight. However, the victim realize that his was being picked. Both thieves got down the bus immediately.

What I want to bring up in this blog is this, I know it is right to stand up to injustice, but in this case is it worth it ?

A zealous friend told me that being Christians we are to be the salt and light of this world, we are to stand up to injustice. I agree and have done that in both incidents, having said that, I gurantee you that it is easier said than done. How many would say they would stand up and chicken out ?

Another friend quoted me about an incident that a police trying to catch a criminal and slipped to his death, although my friend said it was worth it, I don’t know if the answer would be the same if he were the police.

I agree about standing up against injustice and all, and I hate seeing injustice go unnoticed or ignored. The difference is that if the wallet get stolen, the victim would just have to report police, get a replcement I.C and mourn over his few hundred bucks (or maybe he didn’t have any money in his wallet like me??). Life goes on for him.

On the other hand, if I play hero, and stand up against the thieves, the owner thank me and goes away happily. The aftermath is faced by me alone (worst still if my girlfriend is with me). There are stories of people pointing out thieves and get beaten up by the thieves, and yes, in front of a whole bus load of spectator who pretended to be blind.

is it worth it? Is it worth it to risk my safety, my loved’ one’s safety for the few hundred bucks, heck, i don’t even know how much there is in the wallet.

Justice or Safety ? Courage or Wisdom? Responsible for justice or reponsible for my loved one’s safety? 

I chose Justice and Courage the 2 times I had to choose. I might choose differently the next time.

What do you think? I want to hear from you.

Two brothers were on the plane reading, when one of the brothers who was on his first plane ride told his older brother, I feel like vomiting, fortunately there was a paper bag for those who feels sick. After vomiting most of his lunch into the paper bag, the paper bag was almost overflowing. The older brother got up and told the brother to hang on while he get another bag from the stewardess.

2 minutes later, while the older brother was rushing back, on his way, he saw people around his brother vomiting as well, curious he asked his brother what happened, the brother said :" I saw that my paper bag was almost full and you were no where to be seen, I drank half of it in order it will not spill out, I don’t know why after that people started vomiting too…. do you think its the food?

….today is a good day to fast!

It’s summer here in Shanghai, I have been going to swim at the nearby health club, closest I could get as a substitute to Pulau Redang. Oh well, here is one joke my friend told me after I finished swimming, enjoy:

One fine afternoon, at one of the many swimming pools in the city, a lifeguard at the pool shouted at a boy : " EH BOY!!! You cannot pee in the pool !!!"

The boy replied: "But… but….. but everyone pees in the pool".

The life gurad replied: " Yeah, they pee while IN the pool, at least don’t stand outside the pool and pee in it lah!!!"

…… Gets you thinking, I think I will go back to plain old jogging for now…

I had a discussion with Joanna the other day, we were enjoying a good dose of jokes over lunch, then we wondered how would we be when we are in our 40’s, married, with kids etc.

Will we be dull, lifeless, routine bound? The thought of it scared both of us.

Take a look around you and you will find many people who are tired of life, just getting on with life - Living just for the sake of living. The worries, problems, challenges, hurts, disappointments that lines up to take us on in life has somehow killed the "engine" in our lives.

I wonder if I am becoming like that? The dare to dream, dare to fight, fun, cheerful spirit that I once possessed has kind of mellowed down. I am now more tilted towards stability, routine, responsibility etc, not that its bad, but could I possess these qualities and yet be fun? I feel more at ease and natural being the cheerful and outgoing person that I always was.

Is this normal? Or is this one of those "That’s life" kind of phase?

I don’t want to believe in this, I believe that I can be someone cheerful, fun, out going and yet responsible, stable and strong in character.

I am on a rest and relax month right now, not doing much. Taking a 6 months break from serious ministry after almost 3 years of labouring, and also before starting a new phase in life again in the corporate world. Taking a look back at the journey, which so much happened so quickly, yes, I have definately grown in many ways (including sideways), I also have lost the ability to enjoy what I do, evrything has become a responsibility to me. I have lost the fun touch in someways.

Does everyone who grows up also have to grow dull?

Nah,  looking back, I believe that every little problem and challenge have took apart a bit of me. Every pressure stopped me from laughing wholeheartedly, every disappointment held me back from dreaming big, every  past hurt  prevented me from   opening my heart up.

I believe that we become who we are and who we will be is because of our experiences. Common sense. The difference is how we let these experience mold us. A betrayal by a friend, does not mean the next friend will betray us. A failure now does not mean the next try will be a failure. Its easy to use logic now when there’s no storms, however, I guess its important to make logical decisions now, so that when storm comes, you will still make the same decision that seems illogical.

I have met pastors and missionaries who are well advance in their years, who joke like I did when I was in college, who are cheerful, fun to be with yet have faced much persecution, challenges bigger than most of ours add together, threat of death etc. I believe along the way, there is a filtering machanism that is in them, that decides which experience mold them and which does not.

After discussing with Joanna, we decided to be fun, outgoing and cheerful ! On my part I will have to gives all these negative stuff that’s in my heart to my Lord Jesus, so that I may be renewed in my spirit.

On my 40th birthday (if I am not dead or Jesus hasn’t come back yet), I will see if I am the person I have decided I want to be.

Winter is here! The weather is cold! And as for me, a tropical guy, it’s been tormentingly cold. But I do like the atmosphere, especially when it snows, boy I do hope it snows this year! We have been busy with Christmas preparations over here in Shanghai, because of cost saving measures, we decided to DIY most of the Christmas decos. So last 2 weeks we have been churning out Christmas decos from ideas we have seen on the streets and in the stores. Time consuming but fun while at it.

Last trip back to Malaysia, I attended a life group, all youth. We had fun (actually they had more fun seeing a few of us eat some funky cocktail thingy). The theme for that night is what would you like other’s to remember you for which would be engraved on your tombstone, e.g. Here lies a loving husband and a caring father… etc etc..

While in the process of thinking seriously what would we want to be engraved into our tombstones, some funny ideas popped up in my mind (as usual). Below are some ORIGINAL wacky tombstone phrases that came into my mind :

1. Please Don’t Pee here 

2. I am fertilizing the grass on top of me. (Environmentalist)

3. I wanted the other plot. (fussy Feng Shui guy)

4. SSShhhhh…. (librarian)

5. I’ll Be Back (Those who believe in resurrection)

6. Rest in Pieces (Suicide Bomber / Suicide Bombing victim)

7. Decomposing… (Former composer)

8. All Good Things Must Come to An End ( Optimist)

9. Am I There Yet? (patienceless person)

10. Don’t Worry Be Happy

11. I’m telling you, it’s a conspiracy!

12. Don’t talk to me, I can’t hear you!

13. It’s smoking down here!

Well, of course I didn’t share it with anyone (except the first one), we discussed, mine (seriously) would be as below:

"Here lies a servant of the Most High, a loving husband and a caring father. A man of faith, courage and joy that inspired, encouraged and changed many lives for Christ. "

Simple enough, what’s more important is what we do and did that will be engraved in people’s heart and memories rather than on stones. And of course, be marked in the Hall of Faith and the Book of Life!

Merry Christmas!

Most of us overseas Chinese don’t have a clue about our roots. I have been tracing my roots in China for the last 2 years, although I know the name of the village my great grandfather came from, apparently it has vanished on the face of the earth. My uncles and I came to a conclusion that the Ting Zi Gang Village could very now be a parking lot, highway or shopping mall for all you know, I mean after 2 world wars and a couple of revolution, what do you expect?

Anyway, since there’s no Hakka province on the map of China (I bet some of you didn’t know this), then it’s hard to pinpoint where Hakka people came from. Unlike GuangDong people or Shanghainese - you could tell where they came from right away (Duh!).

Hakka means guest family, or guest. It is said that Hakka people originated from Ping Yuan (Henan province / ShanXi province), and during the last 2000 years because of the numerous wars and upheavals, people from the north started migrating to other provinces in the South. When they reach the South, most fertile lands were already occupied by the locals, thus the Hakkas had no choice but to settle in the outer fringes. The Hakkas were not welcomed all the time, although they are considered a pure Han Chinese people, a lot of times the locals treated them as foreigners. Therefore the Hakkas stayed together in a walled round building, designed especially to protect themselves.

Hakka people have their own set of language and culture, they are also considered nomads in certain ways. Hakka can be considered as one of the most dispersed tribe in the world, you could find them in almost any corner of the earth, heard that the most northern restaurant in the world is a Chinese restaurant owned by a Hakka.  There are an estimated 80-90 million Hakka people around the world (Incl. mainland China).

Below are some details about Hakka people:

1) Because of Hakka people had not much land, Hakka men were more likely to work in Public Service, Military and Trade.

2) Because Hakka men worked outside, Hakka women worked in the fields, hence Hakka did not practice footbinding.

3) Because Hakka people were foreigners, they had to work harder to compete with others. Hhmmm -  I think I lost this particular gene.

Hakka people are also influential to both mainland China and as overseas Chinese. Below are some prominent figures that you may know of:

1.Charlie Soong and the Soong sisters

2.Deng Xiao Ping & Mao Ze Dong

3.Yap Ah Loy - One of the early founders of KL

4. Lee Kuan Yew - Founding father of modern Singapore

5. Thaksin Shinawatra - Recently ousted Prime Minister of Thailand

6.Yong Koon, founder of Royal Selangor, Malaysia, the largest pewter manufacturer in the world.

7.Sir Solomon Hochoy, former Governor and Governor General of Trinidad and Tobago.

8. Supachai Panitchpakdi, (1946-; born in Thailand), first and only Director-General of World Trade Organization of Asian origin.

9.Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah (born in Malaysia), founder and chairman of The Sunway Group of Companies, Malaysia.

10. Michael Lee-Chin, Jamaican-born Chairman and CEO of AIC Limited - one of Canada’s largest mutual fund companies

11. Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-Fat, Leon Lai, Eric Tsang, Guang Liang, PingGuan..

It’s good to know there are so many Hakka people out there, it’s also good to know the history and background, kind of explains some traits that my family has (and some friends).

So if you are a Hakka or KeJiaRen, now you know where your roots are, be a proud Hakka!

(Credits to many websites)

Catchy title huh? I am sure this thought crosses many people’s minds now and then, and a topic widely discussed, I’ve got to be careful here about what I write, I have got lady readers inspecting…. I don’t want to sound like a sexist.

Well, it’s hard to imagine women ruled the world… we would have to go back into history to change a few facts. Firstly, wars would be fought by women, the people would appoint the Queen as the ruler… Knight in shinning armour would be a woman, and the beauty would actually be a man (bear in mind that this beauty could very well be bearded, chest hair and  funky smell).

Tax will be collected by the Queen, however, because the Queen is not adrenaline filled, she would rather not to be at war, but most of her time and money would be spent on her castle, garden, clothes, pefume, jewelleries, shoes, handbags…. the the list goes on forever. Hence, every nation would have no need for warriors, horses, swords, armour…

Coming down to the everyday life, the amount of public toilets would be multiplied by 10e. Guys are forbidden to pee on the nearest tree, fire hydrant or anything that resembles a tree or a fire hydrant, violators would be punishable by death sentence.

All parking space would be L parking, cars would not be separated  / differentiated by horse power, engine capabilities, 0-100km/h time etc, but by Big Car, Small Car, Medium Size Car, Red Car, Blue Car. Simplicity.

All food are labeled diet food. Whether it is really good for dieting does not matter, as long as it has a Diet word on the label.

All phone calls are free. In fact all guys are required to call their wife, girlfriend, mum, grandma in order to clock in the number of hours allocated for your line, failing to talk for the allocated period of time, you will be charged. Boys from young are required to attend a talk class, teaching them to increase their daily word count.

Top 3 things that will cease to exist:

1. Powertools, screwdrivers, hammers - all outlawed to be dangerous

2. Maps

3. Not so good looking footballers who can ACTUALLY play football

Top 3 things that will come into existence:

1. Bio-chemical weapon to kill all rats, mouse, cockroaches and all crawling creatures with more than 2 legs.

2. High heel basket ball shoes

3. Lemon scented petrol

Just joking ladies

After shepherding for about 2 years now (not a lot), there are things that I learnt that has made me grown and mature, I think I learnt more than I taught. There were many disappointments, happy moments, angry, hurt, exciting moments and so on…

Shepherding is never about a task, never about who I am assigned to care for, who is my "target". It is something very natural, getting to know someone and taking interest in them and caring for them.

As I get older, I feel that I am inclined to spend timewith people I know best, people I am familiar with. The problem with that is that we create an invisible wall that divides up the new sheeps and the old sheeps. It is as if I have to go the opposite of what I feel like doing.

In the Bible, Jesus describe us as sheep and He is the Good Shepherd. I have learnt some insights in this parable and know exactly what He meant, after spending some time with some REAL sheep in some so-remote-you-can’t-even-pronounce-the-name-of-the-place village. Bet you city folks have no clue except for some educated guesses.

In the Book of John 10:3-4  "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. "When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

A shepherd basically spends most of his time with his sheeps, bear in mind that they don’t bring a book along to read while watching the sheep grazing the plains. David played some music instrument, but my point here is that they have nothing to do except start naming his sheeps and start conversing with them, they litearlly have names for each sheep. And because the shepherds talk to them so often, hence John 10:27  "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me". That is why if you spend time with Jesus our chief shepherd, you would know His voice. Same goes with the REAL sheeps, because they keep hearing the shepherd’s voice and no one else’s, they only respond to the shepherd’s voice. This point was proven when I went near some real sheep, you could tell the older sheeps were moving away from me, while one young sheep came to me, yet at this very moment the older sheeps kept "meehhing" the young sheep, as if telling it to stay away from me, as I was not their shepherd.

In John 10:11  "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. " Here Jesus was talking about shepherds, and he really meant it. Shepherds had to stay with his flock at night, at times when wolves come, the shepherd had to literally save the sheep from the mouths of the wolves, and many times at dawn, you will see a scattered flock of sheep, with the shepherd injured or dead…. that’s why a good shepherd goes all out to protect his flock.

Serving others has much to do with this parable. Here are some of the things I thought I could share to you:

1. You have to get your hands dirty and be among them.

2. You have to spend time with the chief shepherd Jesus.

3. Some sheeps are blind! They keep running towards danger no matter how many times you tell them, but be patient, the day will come the sheep will awake!

4. Titles don’t work with sheeps - They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care! Trust is one major factor here.

5. Lay down your life for them, including your pride, time, money….

6. Shepherding is no easy task, be ready to be disappointed! I believe disappointment-less ministry does not exist, a lot of times you will be hurt, offended, have bitterness…. but move on and love them! Hahaha…

7. It’s ok to have disappoinment - Hey Jesus had a traitor in His discipleship group and another denied association with Him, Stephen was stoned for his sermon, Paul was beheaded…. you get the idea, just praise God your head is still on your shoulders!

8. Have fun while at it! Shepherding is not only about Bible studies, but also life outside of Bible Study… be REAL!

9. When the pressure gets too high on you, check where the pressure point lies, you or Jesus! Make sure it’s the latter! Else you would be bald by year end.

10. Want the best for your sheeps! Don’t give anything less!

I think the best way to make a person mature is to let him or her care for someone, shepherd someone. When you see others’ problems and needs, you would start caring for them, and slowly you would realize that you are NOT the only one in this world with problems, and that there are so many many more people with bigger problems than you. Slowly, you realize the universe does not revolve around you, but that you are part of it. Then when you look back at your own problems, it seems so petty…

I think I kinda learn what it means to be a shepherd, a father, a mother, a friend, a leader by just caring and loving people.

I am still wondering if I am the right man for the job, if I am capable to "hold the fort" for 10 months (6 months left). Every morning, there seems to be a very familiar voice telling me I am not good enough for the responsibility, on the other hand, I hear my Big Boss voice telling me His grace is sufficient. The constant battle in my mind definately makes me hesistant. I know I am suppose to listen to only one voice, and I know the other voice is a lie…. but my soul keeps falling for it.

I don’t know how everything led me to this road, as far as I know I chose to give God 4 months to attend some "cell leaders equipping" seminar - which was actually a 10 months School of World Missions Course. And shortly after that, I thought I was coming to be an administrator, turns out I have to hold the fort. Funny huh?! Somehow God has His ways of not letting us know what’s to come, not letting us know what would turn out if we chose the "faith" path.

It’s almost like all the other path is certain and is clear, while the "faith" path is like a wild card… the next step is a suprise! If I knew what I am doing now 2years ago, I would have chickened out and chose the clear and certain path. Praise God that His timing is always right.

One thing I learnt about calling is that the cost will always be high (cost somewhere around "leave everything and go") but something I leanrt also is that ignoring your calling cost nothing lesser too… Just like Jonah, he knew God was not please and was after him, he had force himself to sleep on board. When you escape your calling, whatever you do does not have peace….

I use to think that calling was something like when God called Samuel - there was a audible voice, somehow about 2 years ago, everyone heard this voice except me but I am sure there are people like me who are a bit deaf so below are some Biblical examples of what constitute a ministry calling:

1. Esther - "Such a time like this" You are the right person, at the right place at the right time with the right criteria!

2.Nehimiah - You feel the burden and hear the cry of the people, and you are inclined to GO!

3. Samuel - You hear the audible voice of God (need I say more?)

4. Samson - You are super gifted in that particular area

5. Moses - Trained for future use, 40 years wilderness sheep tending for 40 years leading the Isrealites out of wilderness.

If all the above still doesn’t convince you that you are called to be a minister for God…. consider this last one…

6. Donkey - available for use

So don’t give yourself too many excuses, if God can use a donkey to rebuke a prophet…. He MUST have better use for you.