My Favourite Hymn

There’s this beautiful story about a small boy who was helping his father. The father asked him to pick up all the rocks in a certain part of the garden. Father looked over and saw the son struggling to pull up a huge rock buried in the sand. The boy struggled and struggled . The father watched…

Finally the boy gave up and said, “I can’t do it.”
The father asked, “Did you use all of your strength?”
The little boy was hurt and replied, “You know I did! I used every single ounce of strength I had!”
The father smiled and said, “No, you didn’t. You didn’t ask me to help.”
The father walked over and then the two of them pulled that big rock out of the sand.

Life is a continuous journey beset with problems. As long as we live in this world, problems and troubles will always be a part and parcel of human experience. All of us in one way or another would have experienced loneliness, rejection, exhaustion, depression. It is so comforting to know that God is always there, waiting to lift our burden. Ever so willing to lighten the load on our backs. All we need to do is ask….

That’s why I love this beautiful hymn:

What A Friend

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and grief to bear,
What a privilege to carry,
Everything to God in prayer.
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden?
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Saviour still our refuge,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer,
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou will find a solace there.

Mr. Lian Meng Fatt's Retirement Dinner

An-nyung-ha-se-yo! (Greetings)

I was in South Korea when Miss Siew messaged me: Mr. Lian Meng Fatt’s Retirement Dinner, 23.04.2010. Fortuna. 7.30pm. Please reply, joining or not.

Straight away I replied: Yes, I’ll be there.

Mr. Lian was a very hardworking and dedicated teacher. Of course, I want to be there to wish him “Happy Retirement!“

It turned out to be more than just a retirement dinner. It was also a gathering of old SMS teachers. There were many retired teachers. They retired long before I went to Munshi. Retired principal Mr Lee Chang Ngee also came along. And then there were teachers who are now teaching in other schools (like Ms Kang and Pn Chua).

Of course, the present batch of SMS teachers turned up, full force. I saw new faces among them and I was introduced to the new teachers.

Good food. Laughter. Catching up with old friends. It felt great, like a gathering of one big happy family.

Below are some photos that I took:

I asked Miss Siew, “When’s the next gathering?”
She replied, “Next year. Pn Wong’s retirement.”
Looks like the school will be losing another hardworking and dedicated teacher……..

Anyway, since I have just come back from South Korea , I would like to share some photos that I took while I was there.

Click here to view my South Korea photo album

Retirement life is simply awesome. So what shall I be doing next?

Well, in May, I’ll be going to KL to watch the musical “West Side Story” at Istana Budaya. Then I’ll go with my children to Tasik Kenyir for a few days.

In June, I’ll be going to Shanghai for the much publicised 2010 Shanghai Expo.

And then, in September, I’ll be going to Melbourne to spend some weeks with my daughter. While there, I’ll also pop over to Sydney and Tasmania .

As one teacher recently said to me in his sms... Seronoknya!