mom's cool

Just received this email from my Mom. She's such a great Mom and Grandma!

"I went to fetch Davis this morning and found out he had just woken up
with just fifteen minutes to go before the class started. So to make use of the
time he had his breakfast in the car. He ate two sausage rolls
for breakfast and some water and was happy...

On the way to Lincoln with Davis from school, I gave him the digestive crackers.
He liked it so much he had four pieces and I said, "You should not have anymore,
save some for JJ kor kor." He said, "One for JJ Kor Kor, one for uncle Raj, one for
Daddy, one for Mummy, and who else? (wow, who else? I didn't know he
knew these words) oh, goo tsae (you) Ya Ya, and Ma Ma." What a
generous boy? What a lovely boy? He thinks like older boys now.
Me oh my!

He is so cute. Lyn cooked his food and he finished every grain, before
I took him home to take a bath and to sleep. He is so used to me that he
slept like an angel from 2-4:30 pm. I had to wake him up as the mini
ball game started in 15 minutes.

When we came back to Manderly, it was six thirty. I immediately fed
him and he was free to play. He had such fun playing with me and
reading a story before Dor came home with JJ.

He is such an easy child to take care of. What a joy!"

What a Mom I have, and what a nephew!

three hundred pages

M: JJ, I really have to stop playing now, because I have to read one hundred pages for homework today.

JJ: Aww. Why can't you do it tomorrow?

M: Weeell, if I leave it til tomorrow, then I'll have two hundred pages to read!

JJ: Wha?!? TWO HUNDRED PAGES?!?!

M: Yeah, if I wait another day, then THREE hundred pages!

JJ: THREE HUNDRED PAGES?!?! I think your teacher should give you a reward if you read three hundred pages.

M: Yeah, that's a good idea. What kind of a reward?

JJ: You should get a longer recess.

M: Yeah! I like that! What else? Give me some options.

JJ: No school for TWO weeks!

M: But I already have next week off...

JJ: Then an upgrade!

M: huh?

JJ: You know, go from grade two to grade four!

M: But that means there'll be MORE homework!

JJ: That's OK, you'll be in grade FOUR! But if you don't like it, then you can downgrade back to grade one.

M: Hmm..that'll work too. OK, more ideas please.

JJ: Alright. Your teacher should give you a present for FREE, and you don't have to trade anything back... Make him play badminton with you... He should give you his house as a present.

Yeah! I like this kid!

the little guy

Big brother and I were playing badminton, and the screeches and screams attracted the attention of the little guy. He had just woken up from his nap. In fact, according to Mom, he couldn't sleep because we were creating such a racket. So there he stood, sleepy-eyed yet excited.

He followed the birdie fly through the air, and giggled. He started toddling down the steps towards us. Big brother, in his excited voice, yelled out, "Little guy! little guy!" which made little guy all the more eager to hurry down and join the fun--a happy smile of anticipation on his beautiful face.

The closer he came, the more emphatic and shrill big brother's voice became, "Little guy! Little guy!" But big brother was so engrossed in hitting the birdie he couldn't finish his sentence. Finally, when little guy was approaching the last step, big brother got his wits together and blurted out, "Little guy! Stay back!!! Go back up!!! Don't come down anymore, OK?!!!?!!!"

Little guy stopped in his tracks. The smile didn't know where to go. There was a split second of confusion. Anticipation and expectations did triple back flips in his two year old brain.

"Go back up, little guy, OK?!!! Go back up!!!!!" big brother repeated, concentrating on the little birdie wobbling through the air.

Little guy looked down at the last step.
Then he looked up at his big brother,
and said,
"OK"

we looked, we leapt...we're locked in

Duo Hao and I had an extra tutorial session. I always look forward to these times, because he's so much fun. We splutter a lot, as we try and twirl our Chinese tongues around the English eth-tee, ah-loe and ah-ung sounds. And we laugh so hard, so often. He's a great guh-guh. I respect him so much. And I respect him more after tonight.

We were merrily reading Genesis two, about the Man and the animals, and trying to pronounce "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" when I decided to look at my watch. It had seemed a bit longer than my mental half hour. Library closing was at 10pm, and we started at 9:30. So I looked at my watch. I leapt and attempted a laugh. 10:20???!!?? I looked at Duo-Hao. Our jaws dropped into the "aw" sound position. It couldn't be. The librarian was supposed to knock on our door at closing time.

We opened the door. Darkness. Silent darkness. Pin-dropping, church-mouse silent darkness. Not even a green bleep from computers. We felt our way around the stairway. If only we had black eye masks and zebra-striped shirts! Just as we suspected--the big black iron gate slitted the moonlight into silver black columns barring our front door exit. We were really, truly and totally locked in in the LTS library.

I laughed. Fortunately, Duo Hao was a bit more practical, and started flipping through his phone book, leaning against the window to catch the silver beams. We called Chui-Pok--no answer; we called B--no answer; we called Duo-Hao's own phone--no answer, um, naturally. I was still laughing. Finally, I thought I should help a little, so I felt my way over to the computer and turned that on. Should I email, "Help!" or should I write a story? A lightbulb flashed above D-H's head--there was an emergency chain of keys..somewhere. So he went on all fours and scoured every inch, and sniffed up every wall, until I heard jingles, crisp and clear from a corner of darkness. What a detective my partner was!

We jingled open the front door. We squeezed my hand through the little opening and jingled open the gate. I squeezed my arm further out and felt the padlock. D-H became my eyes, and told me where the keyhole was. Jingled blindly into the key hole, and voila! unlocked! We've succeeded! We pushed the door, but it wouldn't open. Oh. The other door was in the way. We quickly unlocked the other door. Voila! Freedom! Pushed--stuck. The gate wasn't opened wide enough. Easy. Push the gate open a bit more. Not so easy, the doorknob was stuck between the bars. In fact, impossible. So close, yet so far away.

Back to the drawing board. Computer and phone. "Wan-An, Soon Lau Shee..." Good old Duo Hao--he got hold of Teacher Sun. Soon, Teacher Sun sauntered up the 121 stones steps, pushed open the gate and helped us complete our escape from the moonlit bookcellar. How appropriate!

wheeling

The sunny days continue. Too nice to study.

We checked in our scholastic caps with the librarian, and put on bike helmets...er, mentally.

For $20 a piece, we mounted our metal horses and sped away , from Tai Wai to wherever our legs would take us. Old men were fishing, young men looked on, children slalomed on trikes, students pedalled schoolbags home. Runners ran, joggers jogged, and the five of us whizzed by, leaving our readings safely napping on our hilltop home. We were among people. We were living 'the history of the church in Asia', right here in Shatin. We saw fields white unto harvest, cheerful fields, really, right by the Shing Mun river.

The sun glazed the world with a crimson benediction before retiring below the hills; the rising moon blushed glowlingly at the attention. We still biked, through the dimming day, happy to be part of the kaleidoscopic miracle. Then we prayed prayers of thanksgiving for nature, for friends, for studies, and for play.

And we headed home and had a feast of HK-style western food. Deeeelicious Day!

overflowing

Wednesday already. What a beautiful morning God has given us. The chill in the air reminds us of the approaching winter, while the sharp sunshine falls spritely on our faces, as if God were pouring out living golden oil to coat us with His blessings.

And a blessed start to the day it was indeed. Terence, Duo-Hao and I had a wonderful time sharing about Matt 25:14-30. We each had a different take on the story, and they were mutually reinforcing. We talked about what a servant's role was, why that last servant was considered wicked. We talked about having given different amount of talents, and the Master's grace in the distribution. We talked about fear and being afraid; we talked about laziness; and pondered about the defiance and malicious attitude behind someone who would dig a hole so the talent is inaccessible to the whole world. It is so good to share, so good to laugh, so good to learn together.

And we prayed.

How happy we are that God had put us all together in this nurturing ground of LTS. How happy I am to have these new friends who love You, O Lord, and to have professors who are humble and honest and diligent in working out their salvation. Thank You for all these new siblings of mine. Thank You for the comfort and encouragement You have given me through them. Thank You for showing me how a family works, when Your love binds us together.

Lord, please bless these brothers and sisters of mine. Help us to live out Your Kingdom value while You give us our earthly lives. Help us to see today with Your eyes, and do that which is Important. Help us to be faithful and diligent. Give us the courage O Lord, to serve You with everything we have, because You indeed are a good and compassionate and generous God. You are not mean and unfair, as the wicked servant had accused.

You have been so good to me. My cup overflows.

Lord, save me

God, I enjoy learning so much.
But Lord, save me from deceit while accumulating knowledge. Save me from desire for worldly recognition. Save me from insecurity which breeds competitiveness. Save me from deviated devotion, loving studying about You but not loving You. Save me from self-importance when my service is requested. Save me from a hardened heart, turning living flesh into theological stones. Save me from my schedule, that I might remember my neighbour's needs. Save me from deafness, that I might continue hearing Your whisper.
Forgive me for all the above. Forgive me my sins, my deceived thinking, my thirst for power, intelligence, recognition for my own sake and for my own glory.
Save me from myself, O Lord, and by Your Grace, please let me be found in You.

a party of parties

I am still reeling from the sweet wine God supplied for the party last night. Now that was a PARTY if there ever was one!

Our sumptious feast was prepared and supplied by Lynn, Angie, Edith, Dorothy and Dad. A huge thank you to all the stalwart chefs who slaved in the kitchen! We are indebted to you. May God bless you all richly, with rest, with peace, and with joy. Whoever reads this, please remind me to show my appreciation to these folks when I go home this weekend.

The Fashion Show was brought to us by Jaycee and the koolies--spiderman/superman, robin/jedi davey, kimono doll, spicy girl. What a show they put on, to the Nemo tune (name?). Then AJ and Gare gave us jazzy tunes, with AJ on the SAXOPHONE!! Woohoo! Good going! The mirth and merriment enticed Bar and Mom to dance, Dad to sit on the horse and percuss with a cheese grater and chopstick, the mui-mui's to add shakies and drumbeats, Davis to whirl around like a dizzy turtle, JJ to show us his Judo moves, Grandma to shine her brilliant smile, and the rest of us busy enjoying ourselves with one another. It was a home jazz club. Then we sang a Chinese Psalm, number 121, and Godmom shared blessings from Jeremiah and Deuteronomy.

And we prayed, and we sang, and we praised and we fellowshipped.

What a great evening.

Lord God, Almighty Loving Father--all good things indeed come from You. Thank You for Your mercy on our family, for Your abundant blessings last night. Thank You for being with us, and for binding us together in Your love. Let us never forget Your Presence and Your Grace. O Lord, You talked about an even much bigger feast. It will be infinitely more joyful than what we experienced last night. Send us out, Lord, with Your invitations to Your honoured guests around our neighbourhood, along the streets, in the cornerstores, in shelters and dark alleys, and in churches as well. It will be such a huge party. Oh that Your guests would mark it down as THE MOST IMPORTANT event on their calendars! And I pray Lord, that we will also remember to spend time getting prepared for it, and that we'd come in the appropriate outfits too, designed and given by the One who gave His creativity and life for BC, my talented brother, and for all of us--Jesus Christ Himself.

O Lord, that Your Kingdom will come, on earth as it is in Heaven. Use us, use our family, O God, to glorify Your own Name. We love You and we thank You. We praise You and we marvel at Your goodness!

a real crabby Sunday

Today is Sunday, and a Special Sunday is today. A crabby Sunday. I can't wait.

We're celebrating my brother's 10 1/2-month-early-minus-one-year birthday. He wasn't in town on Sept 25th, so that's why today has become his special day. I can't wait.

We're going to have a marvellous party tonight. Everybody will be here, Mom and Dad, Godmom and Goddad, my other brothers and their families. And we're ALL going to have hairy crab for dinner. What a feast! It's been more than 20 years since I've had hairy crab here in HK. Hmm...and the best part is the vinegar with ginger. I'm looking forward to tonight so keenly. If I were a leaf, I'd be trembling with excitement-- not just because of the culinary delicacy we'll be savouring, but because I love family gatherings, and I love happy family gatherings. I've prayed about tonight. God knows we're having a party. In fact, He's our special guest. We're all here only because of Him, and we want to thank Him with all our might for my brother, because he is so awesomely created. We're going to have a good time thanking God tonight, and He will supply all we need even though we might only have six jars of water.

He has been so faithful and patient in His protection and care for all of us in this family. O God, that You would have free reign to do whatever You please with each of our lives, and with our family as a unit, to the Glory of Your Majestic Name. Lord, we love You, because You have loved us so dearly first. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. May Your Name be forever praised, our Lord and our God!

stuffed full of stuffin days

Can it be that half our semester is over? What happy times we've already shared! Strangers becoming acquaintances; acquaintances becoming friends; friends becoming siblings--the running minutes like a gallery of memories, with blessings burgeoning in belligerent brilliance.

The days are stuffed so full of stuffin' that dusk has had a tough time zipping up the seams of radiance. Who would've guessed at the crisp break of day, that laughter and joyful noise, dancing and clapping hands, profound truths and incredible stories, bike rides and char-siu bao's would splash on us their sloshy splendour? All gifts from the good hands of God: yesterday, today, and all the tomorrows. Praise the Lord, O my soul, let all that is within me praise His Holy Name. How majestic is Your Name above all the earth!