May 3, 2011

记得有一次在洗礼课，我跟新信徒分享有关我喉咙出状况的见证。我提到我已经很难过与困惑我的喉咙严重失声许久，也无法再持续唱歌。我告诉他们上帝很怜悯我，因为就在那个时候他派一位牧师介绍我医治喉咙的秘方，即把鼠尾草煲成又苦又浓的汁用以每天漱口或喝下去。但我说那位是新加坡的牧师，回到古晋我不知在哪里找鼠尾草。

洗礼课程结束时，有一位阿姨就兴致勃勃上来问我鼠尾草怎么写，她说她要去找。。。我听了很感动因为她只不过是一位新信徒，竟然已经会想到要祝福牧师！
正当我望着她，等她继续说更感动的话时，她说：牧师，谢谢你的分享！我要去找这鼠尾草，因为我的喉咙也是已经沙哑很久了，我要试试看能医好我的喉咙吗。。。

说完就走掉了。。。我楞在那里，幸好我还没跟她说谢谢，要不然那可糗了。。。

那就叫“perasan”…

I remember once in the baptismal class, I was sharing with the new believers my testimony regarding my throat and vocal condition. I mentioned I was very desperate and perplexed as I had lost my voice for a long time and I could not carry on singing anymore. I told them God was very merciful to me because just at the right time He sent a pastor to introduce a cure for my throat, that is to boil the herb sage into very thick and bitter juice and use it to gargle or drink it each day. But I said that was a Singaporean pastor so I did not know where to look for sage in Kuching.

After the class had ended, an aunty very excitedly came forward to ask me the writing of sage in Chinese, she said she would go and look for it… I was so touched as I listened to her since she was only a new Christian and already she was thinking of blessing the pastor!
As I looked at her waiting for her to say some more touching words, she said: Pastor, thanks for sharing this, I’m going to look for this sage because my throat has been very bad for a while, I want to see whether this sage can really cure my condition…

And she turned to leave after saying that… I was stunned for a while there, just as well I had not said “thank you” to her, otherwise that would have been so embarrassing…

Now that is called “perasan”…

January 11, 2011

有没有一个人会让你见到他就很欢喜？看到他就把烦恼忘记？

在我生命中，确实是有这样的人。。。嗯。。。好奇，好奇，那到底会是谁？

但我想，与其一直追求及希望我们生命中有这样的人出现，我们何不努力把自己塑造成这样的人，好让很多人见到我们就欢喜，看到我们就把烦恼忘记。。。？

或至少不要做那种别人见到我们就叹息，看到我们就更绝望的人。。。

Is there such a person whom you feel happy each time you meet him or her? And that your worries will be forgotten when you see them?

In my life, there indeed is such a person… Hmm… curious, curious, who could that be?

But I think, instead of pursuing and hoping someone like that appears in our lives, why not we strive hard to become someone like that, that many people will be happy when they meet us, and their worries forgotten when they see us…?

Or at least, don’t be a person whom people sigh when they meet you, or feel even more hopeless when they see you…

那，叫我一见到就很欢喜的又会是谁那么厉害，和那么有魅力呢？你们说这个问题会不会又弄一些人“perasan”（自作多情，以为是他们？哈哈！）。。。
但认识我的人大概都会猜得到吧。。。哈哈。。。对啦，当然是小孩子会叫我很欢喜啦！

Then, who is that person so capable and charming to make me very happy each time I see him? By the way, do you think this question will make some people “perasan” again (self-assuming, thinking I’m talking about them? Haha!)…
But I think those who know me can guess easily… haha… yes, it has got to be little children that make me very happy…

其中一位，当然是我的宝贝恩恩啦。。。
One of them is of course my baby, Moses…

哇，不知不觉都九岁了！还记得他这么小的时候，有空就载他去飞机场看飞机，那时还能抱他放在我车顶上坐呢！
Wow, in the twinkling of an eye, he is now nine! I can still recall when he was this small, I would bring him to the airport to watch aeroplanes whenever I was free. At that time I could still carry him and put him on my car roof!

现在都抱不起他了。。。
Now I can’t even carry him…

其实教会很多小孩，因为父母都认真信主，所以孩子灵性很好，很讨人喜爱，看到他们就会很欢喜。。。譬如：恩希。。。
Actually many kids in church, because their parents believe in Jesus seriously, so their children have good spirit and are very adorable in nature and they make you happy when you see them… for instance, Ricca…

至于恩希的爸爸嘛。。。嗯。。。还好啦，哈哈！
As for Ricca’s dad… well… not too bad, haha!

神迹小孩，绚恩，当然不在话下。。。从一出生就很友善。。。
Miracle baby, Shannen, is of course one of them too… very friendly since birth…

更何况他父母这么爱我，哈哈。。。
Furthermore, her parents love me so much too, haha…

还有大家公认的卡通小孩，宇翔。。。
And also the popularly acknowledged cartoon kid, Shane…

小孩那么讨人欢喜，最主要原因就是他们的单纯，和什么也不跟你计较，心中也纯洁。。。连耶稣都很喜欢小孩到他面前来。。。
Guess kids make you so happy becuase they are so pure and innocent, they are not calculative with you, and their hearts are clean… even Jesus loved little children to come to Him…

当然还有很多没提名的小孩啦。。。所以现在知道我一见到谁就欢喜了吧？
那你们见到我，是不是也很欢喜呢？哈哈哈。。。
Of course there are still many other kids not mentioned here… so now you know who make me happy when I see them?
And do you feel very happy too when you see me? Hahaha…

August 29, 2010

那天我邀请两位稀客到我家吃饭。。。
其实已注意到他们来教会一段日子了，所以想更认识他们，也让他们感觉古晋人的温情。。。
That day, I invited two unique guests to my house for dinner…
Actually I have noticed them coming to our church for quite a while, so I thought of getting to know them more, and also to let them feel the “warmth” of Kuching people…

他们抵达时我很讶异，因为都穿西装领带，而我短裤和T恤。。。很不好意思，我赶快跑上楼去换衣。。。
他们解释说在他们国家很难那么近距离接触牧师，所以听到是来牧师家吃饭，一定要穿最好的衣服来。。。哇！真的很尊敬神的仆人！
When they arrived, I was astonished because they were all suit and tie while I was in shorts and T-shirt… feeling embarrassed, I quickly ran upstairs to change…
They explained that in their home country, it is very difficult to have such close contact with pastors, so when they heard they were coming to pastor’s house to eat, they must put on their best clothes… Wow, talk about honouring the servant of God!

他们来自尼日利亚，在古晋求学。左边的叫回忆，右边的约翰。。。
他们真的比我们华人还有礼貌，我发现他们一直站着没坐下，原来是我还没坐下，他们就不坐！而我其他的“古晋”客人却早就坐在桌子旁等开饭。。。
然后，我还没开始吃，他们也不敢动汤匙，真的是等牧师先吃，他们才吃；哪像我们的年轻人，嘴巴说“牧师，吃！”，牧师还没动手，他们已经吃几口了。。。

They are from Nigeria, studying in Kuching. On the left, Memory and right, John…
They are even more polite than us, Chinese. I realised they were standing all the time because I had not sat down, so they did not sit down too! Where as my other “Kuching” guests were already well-seated getting ready to eat…
Then before I started to eat, they would not even touch their spoon, they were really waiting for me to start first; so unlike our young people who would say “Pastor, eat!”, but before I even move a finger, they would have already eaten a few mouthfuls…

那一天跟他们沟通分享，学了好一些功课，也看到我们自己的偏见，常以为非洲人就很穷，没饭吃，等等。。。
人家穿的西装还是网上订购，从美国寄来超过千多令吉的名牌货呢！
我们砂拉越人不是最讨厌别人说我们住在树上吗？回忆和约翰说他们在这里也经历很多人的鄙视，和对非洲的偏见，求主赦免！
我希望有一天能拜访他们家乡，你们呢？
While talking and sharing with them that day, we learnt many lessons and saw our own prejudice of always thinking that Africans are all very poor and lacking in food…
They were wearing branded suits ordered via internet and sent in from the USA which cost more than a thousand Ringgit!
Don’t we, Sarawakians hate people saying we still live on trees? Memory and John said they also experienced similar despise and prejudices about Africa from people here, may God have mercy!
I hope to visit their homeland one day, what about you?