Almost There

For the benefit of those who have been asking about the house,.....the renovation is almost done. In the next couple of weeks, it will just be fittings and final touch ups. What a relief !
We really thank God for everything ….. for making our dream come true. As the months rolled by , we have seen the house transformed right before our very eyes. It actually turned out better than our imagination. We decided from the onset that the house would be designed to suit our needs so we have kept it very simple.

It's a 'no frills house'. No filifala designs .


The living room looks out into the patio and a tiny garden.

The slits allow sunlight to stream thru.


The dining room looks out to a small tiny slip of side garden.


The wet kitchen is separated from the dry kitchen by a set of sliding doors.


The music room is right behind the house near the wet kitchen n laundry area.


The laundry area is large enough to air – dry clothes during the rainy season.


The master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and links to a walk in wardrobe area which is large enough to be a sitting room as well.


During these last few months …. our knowledge of construction materials and other related stuff have greatly increased. Indeed our whole life is filled with learning opportunities. We are glad for the enriching experiencing.

A Much Needed Hols

The last few months have been really busy for me at work and with a few more things pending, I am so glad to have a break. 2 weekends ago we were back at Permai Rainforest Resort. It was good to shut my mind off from work and just sleep and read. I always love the sound of the rainforest. I find the combination sounds of the rainforest and the sea very therapeutic. The kids got the chance to see a few monkeys swinging up in trees. We had an excellent view as we stayed high up in the tree house.



Last weekend , anticipating another break from the city, we drove up to Damai Puri & Spa with Jac's family and spent the weekend there. As it was the start of the school hols, the place was packed ,packed packed..... but Jac and I had a good relaxing massage at the spa.







Heather usually occupies her hols with reading ( as she is a bookworm like me), and she never really tires of playing piano or guitar or even her trumpet.




Prior to the hols she was spending hours rehearsing in the school brass band and school band as they prepared for St Teresa's School 125th Celebration.
Jordan on the other hand is glued to his DS. He is only allowed to play DS during school hols so he is maximising his time on it. One thing we noted about him is that he tends to eat a lot during the hols. We just bought him 2 new pair of shorts. He is not fat but he tends to outgrow his clothes pretty fast. As Philip is not having any hols, it's work as usual for him . The good thing is that he doesn't need to pick me or the kids from school so it's more relaxed. Now he is very busy preparing students for exams and at the same time, checking on the house renovations. The house should be ready soon and we are hoping to move in sometime in July. So this school break is good for both of us as it gives us time to shop and search out things together. It's exciting but stressful as well. Correction. Stressful for me but not for him. He takes it all in his stride... calm, cool and collected.

A Wonderful Unexpected Experience

On a fine Thursday morning, I was supposed to go swimming and then dad suddenly had a change of plans.The conversation went something like this. “ Heather ! Daddy has to go meet the contractor at the new house... So I am dropping you off at mummy's school first ok?”said Daddy. “O.o. ok.”

So I went.. bringing my iPod to fill up my time.. When I reached there... “Hat, why are you here?” asked a horrified mummy. “Owh. Nothing. Daddy need to meet the contractor so I come here as he says all the dust is not good for me. Relax,”I said. “Haiya. But I got visitors coming and and I am busy. Nevermind lah, you go into this classroom and help the teacher,”mummy said. “WHAT??!!! But I don't know how... ??? I have never worked with people having intellectual disabilities,”I suddenly freaked out..

So anyway, I went and to my surprise, I was amazed at what these kids ( well, 14-18)...teenagers .. can do.. I'll tell you one incident.

In Chinese..
Teacher: Eh. Why you don't chia Heather to eat?
Student: I chia her tomorrow.
Everyone laughs... (Heather: (Blush^^)
Student: I'll buy 6 packets of keropok tomorrow.
Teacher: Haiya, 6 packets where got enough? So many people .
Student: Nevermind. I buy 6 ta pau (big ones). Then enough?
Teacher: Hmm.. I think like that enough.

I was like... WOW!! I didn't know these kids could actually talk fluently like that.. In Chinese... (Better than mine),.. LOL. So in conclusion, I had a fabulous time.. even though it was only for about 45 minutes. I truly enjoyed my time with them and I 100% want to go back and help as much as I can nowadays rather than just helping annually during the sales.. I think it'll be fun hanging out with these kids... I can actually learn A LOT....

The Good ,The Bad & The Ugly

Am I super glad the charity sales is over. I can now take a breather. Having been involved in charity sales for over a decade, I get to meet and deal with all kinds of people.

The good ones.....thank God they are the majority. They help cheerfully and are always very encouraging. They are the sort that I like to meet. Calling them to help is not burdensome. They are willing to sacrifice either their time or money or both for a noble cause. In addition, they don't blab about how great they are and what wonderful deeds they have done. I owe them a lot in the way they contributed and only God can repay them for their amazing support.

The bad....hmmmm...this are the “paksa-rela” not the “sukarela”. Someone (usually from the top) has forced them to do charity so they have no choice but to comply grudgingly. They make sure you know how inconvenient their lives are now coz of the charity sales.They sing their whinge-ing ,whining, moaning song hoping that you see their point of view.

The ugly....this group comprises people that I would like to pulverize but due to fear of landing in jail I exercise restrain. They blab about how wonderful they are, and would like me to know that they are the saints of charity sales. In lengthy prose they tell you that they have the magnetic powers to attract money, hence people like yours truly should at all times give them preferential treatment. God forbid that you should cross them but alas I have done so coz I couldn't comply with their ridiculous demands. Some have even gone to the extent of issuing threats when they realised that I wasn't going to budge from my decision.

Another set of people that makes me really cross are those who take advantage of charity sales to line their own pockets. Shame on them. Wonder what happened to their conscience??? Over the years, we have blacklisted a few people who thought they were raising funds for themselves.

Organising a charity sale is stressful and a lot of hardwork but the rewards are numerous. With the money earned, we are able to subsidize the fees for the students, improve the facilities at the school , send staff for training etc etc. Though it is a stressful project, I thank God for the opportunity to learn and by His grace He helped me through every charity event. He showed me that they are many wonderful people out there whose hearts are sincere. He also trained me to deal with difficult people. All in all , every sale comes with an enriching experience.

Work In Progress

As I look at the renovation work being done at our house, I couldn't help but think that we are all also having renovation works done in our lives.
Renovation work is usually messy and can be an eye sore especially if it is a major one.

Debris everywhere and dust floating in the air. This is one of the reasons I don't go to the house much.I can't stand mess. I am actually a neat n tidy freak !!!
Back to the topic... when God sees us, He sees the butterfly we can be. Hence the need for transformation.


Many a times the walls that we build around ourselves need to be knocked down eg wall of pride, walls we build after we have suffered pain or rejection etc.

In many instances,we need to be re-wired to have the mind of Christ. Beliefs that are not in line with Scripture have to be discarded. Walls of faith need to be constructed. This shield is crucial in our fight against the evil one. A lot of times, repairs to broken areas are essential ...likewise God heals damaged areas in our lives to bring wholeness SHALOM into our very being.

More often than not, the renovation process is unpleasant but it is essential in our life journey with God.

Because of Your Great Love

Because of Your Great Love

I love You Lord,
For You have heard my cry.
You turned Your eyes to me,
You looked upon me with love.

I love You Lord,
For You have heard my cry.
You reached out and raised me up
And gave Your best for me.

Because of Your great love
I will call on You as long as I live
B'cause of who You are.
I will exalt Your Name.


I used to think that I was insignificant, not as good as others... until one day God's love touched my heart, and He had to reset my mind, and convinced me that I am well loved, special and unique in His sight. He showed me His plan for my life, and gave me a new reason to live on this earth.... to fulfill His plan for me. That is something only God can do, all because of His great love for me. You see, God does not want us to live a second-best-lives, because we are sons and daughters in His divine kingdom.

God’s love for all of us is so great that He gave His only Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. There is NO greater love than this. I especially like how the Psalmist said in the Bible that “ what is man, that You are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him ?” (Psalm 8: 4) I think of myself, just one out of billions on this earth, yet I know God is mindful of me, and each day He is showing me His great love and His plans for me. It is the same with all of you. You are always on His mind. Because of who He is, we can all call on Him daily, and draw strength from Him. What a wonderful God we have !

Mission Accomplished

Who would have believed that one day Bethel Ministries would be invited to lead the entire church service ? But that was exactly what happened . Our original plan for a retreat to Bintulu with Colin & Claire ministering to us did not turned out as planned. They had to go off to NZ and instead we were asked to lead the church service for that Sunday. Initially I thought it was a joke.
When reality finally sets in... & with the team members all agreeing , we embarked on this adventure knowing that this was what God wanted us to do. The Bible says in Proverbs" Man may plan but God has the final say. ” God's plans are always much BIGGER than ours.
Alex, Philip, Alie, Shirley & Heather led the worship n Nathan did the power point. Testimonies were shared by Philip, Jackie, Jimmy & myself that morning centering on healing, God's favour, His provision & God the fulfiller of our dreams.

We felt so privileged to have been given this wonderful opportunity to minister. To receive such encouraging feedback from the church members really touched all of us. We appreciate the hospitality shown to us by the church members. Indeed God is amazing. I am happy to report that all of us came back safely and we were glad that we didn`t miss the return flight. All in all we had great fun !