God's Salvation Is For All

Today's homily was indeed very enlighting, well at least to me. In the past, we may have heard that "Unless you are a Catholic/Protestant/Methodist/etc, you are not guarantee a place in heaven." Meaning to say, unless you are baptised, God's salvation is not for you.

Today, it is a new understanding. The Church now says that God's salvation is not only for you and me, but for all, Christians and non-Christians alike. God made ALL human being in His likeness, therefore, salvation is for all. The only thing that God will look at the end of the day is how had we lived our life. Have we lived according to God's command ? Treating one another with equal respect, doing good deeds towards all, and not just the selected few, being honest, etc...

Once again, this is a reminder to all of us. God's mercies is for all of us for He said, "I will accept offerings from all, as long as My covenant is kept."

Keeping The Bibles Holy, Just As Keeping Ourselves Holy

The recent spat about stamping the Holy Bibles or Alkitab with serial numbers (as though the holy scriptures are criminal men and women) and the wordings "For Christian only " (which is confusing, as though people wouldn't know that Bibles are meant for Christians until they need to see the sentence) and also "By The Order Of The Minister" (wa, now man can dictate Bible is it ? ) is very disturbing and I personally and strongly reject this kind of injustice call.

"There is no compulsion in religion" - is a phrase I remembered very clearly from a friend of mine who converted to Islam.

The 10-points resolution proposed by the Government is indeed a step forward to solving this problem. My question is - how permanent is that step ? And why must it be a bias act between Penisular and Sabah Sarawak ? Why can the bibles in Sabah Sarawak not stamped but for those that will be circulating in Penisular, it must be stamped ? Are we implying that the people in Peninsular does not know the national language very well ?

I sincerely hope that in spirit of 1Malaysia, everyone will be allowed the same courtesy to worship in their respective religion. And the holy books of any religion should just be kept holy, and not desecrated in any way as it is disrespecful.

And let us try to be holy men and women as well, and "DO UNTO OTHERS AS WE WOULD LIKE OTHERS TO DO UNTO US".

Prayer for Tracy Wong

The sister of my colleague was diagnosed with cancer (stage 2 going into stage 3) recently and is now undergoing treatment at Sime Darby Medical Centre.

I am not someone who knows how to speak eloquently or provide comforting words especially in times of need. All I can do is offer up prayers for Tracy - that she will be given the strength, courage and faith to undergo all these trials. For when the Lord closes a door, somehow He opens a window. Trials are placed unto our shoulder to make us stronger and more faithful in Him - I truly believe that.

I pray that she will recover soon, and the Lord will be merciful on her, sparing her with much pain. God bless you and keep you safe always, Tracy. Amen.

Selamat Berpuasa or Happy Fasting

Today marks the first day of fasting for all my Muslim friends. Therefore, wishing everyone, Happy Fasting and may this holy month of Ramadhan brings peace and solitude to all those who are seeking for it.

May it also bring us all closer to one another - after all, we are all human beings, brothers and sisters, who, by God's grace, were given a chance to live on the Earth.

Yoke of Faith

I once knew a woman who called herself "a recovering Catholic." It seems that as a child, she was taught a religion that was all about guilt. Impossible demands were placed on her requiring strenuous efforts that were doomed to frustration. Turn the other cheek. Don't even THINK about romantic flings. Love your enemies.

Attempting this by sheer willpower was all too much for her, leading to an abiding sense of guilt. No wonder she rejected such a religion.

But clearly, what she rejected was not the religion of Jesus Christ. It rather resembles the approach of the Pharisees, who laid heavy burdens on people's backs, but did not lift a finger to help.

In Matthew 11:25-30, Jesus appeals to those who experience life as one unending chore. He offers rest and refreshment. His yoke is easy, he says. His burden is light.

Note though, that following Jesus does mean that you are foot-loose and fancy-free. To be a disciple means to come under the discipline of a master. It means voluntarily putting a yoke on ones shoulders, and walking in a direction set by the master. It just happens to be the direction that the master knows will lead to pasture, refreshment, and happiness. But when oxen are told to move, they can't necessarily see the pasture at the end of the trail. All they see is a long, dusty road leading to nowhere.

There are some masters that are harsh and overbearing. When the oxen slow down due to fatigue or stubbornness, out comes the bullwhip. The journey turns into a guilt trip. The Pharisees were such masters. But Jesus is not. He is gentle. Gentleness does not mean whimpiness. He is strong and decisive, insistent on the direction to go and the pace to keep. Yet his strength is quiet, loving strength that builds up rather than tears down.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus uses the image of the yoke? At least two oxen are hitched together by a yoke side by side. Oxen are called "beasts of burden." So why he calls his yoke easy, his burden light?

Because he humbly yokes himself to us. Simon of Cyrene helped carry his cross; he helps carry ours. And he bears most of the weight, if we let him. That's why his yoke is easy. And he gives us His Spirit within (Romans 8:9-10) to give us the inner strength to bear our share of the burden, which is, of course, the far lesser share to begin with.

Easy yoke, light burden. You may reply that it sure doesn't feel that way most of the time. This could be for one of two reasons. What we are carrying may simply not be the Lord's yoke. Sometimes we deliberately disobey the Lord (that's called sin) and allow a tyrannical master to dominate our lives. No problem. That's what the sacrament of baptism is all about. Renouncing an oppressive Pharaoh in favor of a liberating Lord. If we've betrayed our baptism and gone back to the fleshpots of Egypt, we have the sacrament of penance to bring us back across the Red Sea to the Promised Land of Freedom.

The other reason the yoke may seem heavy is because we are not allowing the Lord to carry the weight. Or because we are not keeping his pace. We could be dragging our heels or racing ahead of him. Either way, we are chafing and straining. Perhaps we need just to quiet down for a few moments in the green pasture of prayer and adoration to attune our ears once again to the voice of the Master. The solution is easy: Let go and let God.

Source: http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/644/Yoke_of_Faith.html

APC 2010

Anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang 2010 Kementerian Sains, Teknologi Dan Inovasi

Indeed, I feel very much blessed and grateful to God for His endless love for me. He always said to me, "I will not give you the tasks if I know you could not do it." So I really believe that whatever God puts me to it, He will pull me through it.

I started working as a Research Officer in 2005. Finally, in 2010, my contributions and work was recognized. I was given Anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang this year. Well, I am sure there are others whom I felt also deserved this reward for they put in as hard effort as me, if not more. Next year will definately be their turn.

Thank you God, thank you Syg for being there for me, as always... Guiding me, propelling me forward. Thank you Daniel for his pure and unending love..

Indeed, I feel blessed as I was listening to Jac's song - Cinta Tiada Akhirnya. How true it is that LOVE is ENDLESS ... 

I have a passion for music, and I loved to sing. I have created a new blog: SING YOUR PRAISES TO GOD, which is dedicated to those who share the same passion with me - singing. There is nothing more joyful, wonderful or powerful than singing and praising God. I truly believe that God's healing power comes is just a breath away.

Therefore, I would like to share with you some of the songs I have collected over the time. Some comes from the Penisular Malaysia Hymnal Book entitled Sing Your Praises To God (SYPG), some charismatic songs by great people such as Don Moen, Franky Sihombing and many other more. If you have any song that you would like to share with all of us, please email me at ek_lena@yahoo.com

Thank you, and I hope you'll find comfort and peace in God's promise through the hymns.

God bless.

Spirit of Lent

Harian Metro yesterday reported that a church in Johor Bahru WILLINGLY AND WITHOUT ANY CONDITION offered RM2000 to a single mother to help her only daughter pay for university fees. It was reported that the mother, who practices Islam faith had gone to several places like Baitulmal and Pusat Zakat Negeri to ask for help as she was unable to pay for her daughter's fee.

Unfortunely she was turned down by her own people of same faith!

As she sat at a bus stop crying, a man came forward and asked what had happened. She relate her story to this man who had then brought her to a church to seek for help. The priest, after listening to her plight, gave her a cheque amounting to RM2000, with no obligations whatsoever.

Now, this is what I called the spirit of Alms-Giving. And this is what the Season of Lent is all about - Helping another person regardless of their faith and religion.

This is Christ's teaching to us (Matthew 25: 35 - 36, 40):

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.... "

"The King will reply, 'Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me... "


And when someone is doing good to others out of their own free will and with no strings attached, it is not right for us to make speculations or find ulterior motives behind the gesture. After all, we are only practising what our faith had taught us to do...

Please do not mistake the help as an intention to lure away other people of different faith ....

Listening To God In 3 Ways

1. EAR OF THE MIND
   WITH THE EAR OF THE MIND ,WE TRY TO USE OUR INTELLECT TO UNDERSTAND GOD’S WORD.WE MAKE THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD IN THE BIBLE COME ALIVE TO US…
   As an example ,St Ignatius asked us to use our imagination and our five senses to get into the scene of the birth of Jesus in the Bible.
   


2. EAR OF THE HEART
   THIS MEANS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW BIBLE PASSAGE APPLIES TO ONE’S LIFE IN THE HERE AND NOW…
   “I knew of a couple who were so engrossed in making more money that they hardly saw one another .In spite of my warning, they said that they wanted first to make lots of money and then settle down to married life. I quoted them Luke 9.25 ‘ What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul.’ My warning came true .Their marriage broke up.” – Bishop Paul Tan
   


3. EAR OF THE SOUL
   MEANS TALKING TO GOD AND ASKING HIM WHAT HE WANTS US TO DO..
   “ Of course , God does not speak to us like I am talking to you." God speaks to us through events , movements in our hearts to do good, through people, especially wise persons, through our conscience and like. God always wants us to do what is good and what is better, never what is less good and what is bad.

Breakfast At McDonald

This is a story which never fails to give me goose bumps and tears in my eyes, no matter how many times I read it. And it gives me hope that God is there, listening to each of our prayer, answering our prayers in His time. And there are angels surrounding us, not the ones that flutters, but real people, who stood by us no matter us, who supported us, who laughed with us, cry with us - these are normal people, but yet, they are God's angel for God send them to watch over us...


I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with.

Her last project of the term was called, 'Smile.' The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions.

I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.

Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son.

We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved.

As I turned around I smelled a horrible 'dirty body' smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was 'smiling'. His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance.

He said, 'Good day' as he counted the few coins he had been clutching..

The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation.

I held my tears as I stood there with them.

The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted..

He said, 'Coffee is all Miss' because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm).

Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action.

I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray.

I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand..

He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, 'Thank you.'

I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, 'I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope.'

I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, 'That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope..'

We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give.

We are not church goers, but we are believers.

That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love.

I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand. I turned in 'my project' and the instructor read it. Then she looked up at me and said, 'Can I share this?'

I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class.

She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God share this need to heal people and to be healed.

In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my son,the instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student.

I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.

Much love and compassion is sent to each and every person who may read this and learn how to

LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE

Must Read For Everyone

I came across this article on Marina Mahathir's blog Rantings and I think everyone must read especially those who felt threaten by the High Court's ruling earlier.

Prophet Muhammad’s Promise to Christians

The document is not a modern human rights treaty but even thought it was penned in 628 A.D. it clearly protects the right to property, freedom of religion, freedom of work, and security of the person, says Muqtedar Khan.

Muslims and Christians together constitute over fifty percent of the world and if they lived in peace, we will be half way to world peace. One small step that we can take towards fostering Muslim-Christian harmony is to tell and retell positive stories and abstain from mutual demonization.

In this article I propose to remind both Muslims and Christians about a promise that Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) made to Christians. The knowledge of this promise can have enormous impact on Muslim conduct towards Christians. Muslims generally respect the precedent of their Prophet and try to practice it in their lives.


In 628 AD, a delegation from St. Catherine’s Monastery came to Prophet Muhammed and requested his protection. He responded by granting them a charter of rights, which I reproduce below in its entirety. St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of Mt. Sinai and is the world’s oldest monastery. It possesses a huge collection of Christian manuscripts, second only to the Vatican, and is a world heritage site. It also boasts the oldest collection of Christian icons. It is a treasure house of Christian history that has remained safe for 1400 years under Muslim protection.


The Promise to St. Catherine:

"This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by God! I hold out against anything that displeases them.
No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses.
Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world)."

The first and the final sentence of the charter are critical. They make the promise eternal and universal. Muhammed asserts that Muslims are with Christians near and far straight away rejecting any future attempts to limit the promise to St. Catherine alone. By ordering Muslims to obey it until the Day of Judgment the charter again undermines any future attempts to revoke the privileges. These rights are inalienable. Muhammed declared Christians, all of them, as his allies and he equated ill treatment of Christians with violating God’s covenant.

A remarkable aspect of the charter is that it imposes no conditions on Christians for enjoying its privileges. It is enough that they are Christians. They are not required to alter their beliefs, they do not have to make any payments and they do not have any obligations. This is a charter of rights without any duties!

The document is not a modern human rights treaty but even thought it was penned in 628 A.D. it clearly protects the right to property, freedom of religion, freedom of work, and security of the person.

I know most readers, must be thinking so what? Well the answer is simple. Those who seek to foster discord among Muslims and Christians focus on issues that divide and emphasize areas of conflict. But when resources such as Muhammad’s promise to Christians are invoked and highlighted it builds bridges. It inspires Muslims to rise above communal intolerance and engenders good will in Christians who might be nursing fear of Islam or Muslims.

When I look at Islamic sources, I find in them unprecedented examples of religious tolerance and inclusiveness. They make me want to become a better person. I think the capacity to seek good and do good inheres in all of us. When we subdue this predisposition towards the good, we deny our fundamental humanity. In this holiday season, I hope all of us can find time to look for something positive and worthy of appreciation in the values, cultures and histories of other peoples.

Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Director of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware and a fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, when that delegation from St Catherine's monastery came to meet with Prophet Mohamad (pbuh), I suppose it's fair to assume that they spoke Arabic to one another. And when they were conversing, surely the word 'God' must have come up. As in "May God Be With You" and such like. What word did the Prophet (pbuh) use for 'God' I wonder? And what did the St Catherinians use in return? For monotheists like them, was there a 'your God' and 'my God' type of situation, or did they understand that they were both talking about the same One?

While some idiots are mourning over the 'loss' of the word 'Allah' and therefore basically telling the world that they are people easily confused by nomenclature, and others are predicting riots over what is basically a 'copyright' issue, let me define what I think a confident Muslim should be:

1. A confident Muslim is unfazed by the issue of God's name. God speaks to all of humankind in the Quran and never said that only Muslims could call him by the name Allah.

2. A confident Muslim has 99 names to choose from to describe that One God. My favourites are Ar-Rahman (The All-Compassionate) and Ar-Rahim (The All-Merciful).

3. A confident Muslim never gets confused over which is his/her religion and which is other people's. For instance, a confident Muslim knows exactly what the first chapter of the Quran is. And it's not the Lord's Prayer.

4. A confident Muslim will not walk into a church, hear a liturgy in Malay or Arabic where they use the word 'Allah' and then think that he or she is in a mosque. A confident Muslim knows the difference.

5. A confident Muslim is generous, inclusive and doesn't think that his or her brethren is made exclusive through the use of a single language. The confident Muslim is well aware that in the Middle East, all services of ANY religion are in Arabic because that's what they all speak.

6. A confident Muslim knows the basis of his/her faith are the five pillars of Islam and will not be shaken just because other people call God by the same name.

7. A Muslim believes in only One God. Therefore it makes sense that other people should call God by the same name because there is no other God.


ART THOU NOT aware that it is God whose limit­less glory all [creatures] that are in the heavens and on earth extol, even the birds as they spread out their wings? Each [of them] knows indeed how to pray unto Him and to glorify Him; and God has full knowledge of all that they do:(Surah Nour, Verse 41) (Asad)

So I would ask those people demonstrating against the Court decision, have you no pride? Are you saying you're easily confused?

And before anyone says I have no qualifications to say these things, read what Dr Asri Zainal Abidin (who does have qualifications no matter what JAIS says) has written about this very subject here.

And here's something interesting. In 2007, the Majlis Agama Negeri Perlis, which is a large majlis filled with people very learned in Islamic religious knowledge, discussed the question of the use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims. Their unanimous decision? They issued a fatwa to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with non-Muslims using the word at all.(This was told to me by Dr. Asri but I cannot find the fatwa anywhere online because all the religious departments' websites are so useless.)

Are we now going to excommunicate the whole of Perlis?

'Judge Not For Ye Shall Be Judged'

That was the homily given by Fr Michael yesterday when we had our BEC mass at Tony and Sandra's house.

How true it is and yet how very often we fail to follow God's teachings ?
How many times I have judged others ?
How many times I have spoken ill about others ?
It seems so simple, yet it is so hard.
That's why Jesus is the Son of God, perfect in everyway.
We are often called to live as He had lived, to love as He had loved. Did we do that ?

Its time for confession. God knows how long I have not receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

God's Gift to Us, Catholics

** Updated **

Today's paper, The Star has published an article over this matter.

** Previous **

Herald has been granted permission to use the word 'Allah' in its publication. This is a victory for the Catholic Church.

It is indeed God's gift to us...

Praise be to God....

(But I have yet to see this news on any pof the major paper. Lets hope tonight's news will have something on this.)

Back To Work Again

I started working as of 16 Feb 2009, after 2 months of maternity leave.

How should I describe my feeling - I am contented by just staying at home and looking after Daniel and the house, but at the same time, I am also looking forward to come back to the office.

Anyway, lets not dwell on the possibility of staying at home full time for it is not possible. Not when we need the money to pay our house loan and other expenses...

So, when am I gonna get rich so that I can goyang kaki at home ? Never mind, the Lord has blessed me and family in every way. He tends to all our needs as He said "My grace is sufficient for you..."

Advent Season ...

Once again, we are in Advent Season.

Not so long ago, we were making final preparations for our wedding. Now, we are making final preparations for the coming of our baby .... Can't believe how fast the time flies... 2008 is almost gone, and 2009 is coming.

Lets look back at the year 2008. What have I done that I am proud of and what have I done that I shouldn't have do it?

Geez, this is definately a hard question. Well, not so hard actually. I am proud

• to becoming a mummy soon, to go through the 9 months so smooth and easy,
• of my contributions to the church,
• that I am able to play keyboard in the church now (though I am cheating by using Casio chords),
• to be able to do translation for homilies, and
• that finally our Phase 3 project is once again going after picking up pieces and trying to assemble it together when the previous director left with all info scattering and missing,
• to own a home of our own.

I am not proud when

• I allowed people to accuse me of things that I did not do;
• Not being to stand up for myself, to defend myself agaisnt the accusations;
• Hating those who accused me, unable to forgive them (till recently few months ago);
• I felt I neglected my family when I spend too much time with church activities (e.g. bringing my mum to market is something that I seldom do this year which resulted that she tumpang other people - makes me feel so guilty at times);

Will 2009 be a better year? I guess it is up to ourselves on how we wanna make it better. Need to be more positive thinking, that's for sure. Also, must find a balance between church activities and family.

But I am sure, with God's grace, everything is possible. Nothing will be too burden for me to carry, for God knows my strengths and weaknesses.

Meanwhile, I just wanna enjoy the remaining month, faithfully anticipating the arrival of our new member in the family.

Happy Advent to everyone !

For We Walk By Faith, Not By Sight

Anthony posted this in an email, and I was deeply touched by the story. It serves as a reminder to me that God is always there, guiding us day by day ...

I hope it will give you the same encouragement as it did for me...

The Legend of the Cherokee Indian Youth's Rite of Passage
Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of Passage? His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it.He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own.

The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man!

Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold.

It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.

We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.

Moral of the story:
Just because you can't see God, doesn't mean He is not there. 'For we walk by faith, not by sight. Trust in Him and do right.

Happy Birthday To Me

I just wanna thank God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon me.

' Thank You God for giving a healty life, healthy baby, loving husband, understanding family members, good colleagues and many more .... Though there are ups and downs in my life, but I know that You will never forsake me nor leave me. You gave me strength and hope when I am down, and You gave me love.

Thank you Jesus for your ever lasting love to me and my family. For your salvationand many teachings that You have gave us.

And thank you Mother Mary for intercedes all our prayers to your Son.

Amen. '

Car Broke Down !

Just imagine on jam-packed Sunday afternoon, cars are basically bumper-to-bumper scenario, your car's cluth suddenly failed you and you are stuck, right in the middle of the 3 lanes !

Scary ?

Yup, that was what happened to me last Sunday ! The clutch suddenly gave some scary sound, and poops, it went dead. I was unable to engage into any gear at all, thus had to leave the car's hazard lights on immediately. I was thankful that no car came and honk me, or worse, bang me from behind as it was very jam that day.

Having 4 ladies in the car makes it even more difficult to move the car away to the emergency lane though I know that should be the thing to do while awaiting for two truck to arrive. Unless I was not pregnant, I could probably do that. But since I am pregnant, I decided to sit in the car (in the middle lane) while awaiting for some kind hearted stranger to assists us.

God was kind to us, He gave us 2 angels to help us pushed the car to the emergency lane. God bless these to Malay samaritans. Finally, we are out of danger. So, we waited patiently for the truck to come Meanwhile, made some changes to the plan whereby asked my mum and sis to take a cab to Mid Valley and later we (me and syg) will come and pick them up at Mid Valley.

So, now everything went according to plan B. Truck came and mum took a cab, me followed back to service centre, and there, upon seeing the familiar Kembara parked by the road side, and my syg waiting for me, you got to imagine the amount of relief that I felt at that time. Syg came immediately from church meeting (which I escaped coz need to bring Mum to Mid Valley to get new pinafore for my youngest sis). I was so thankful to God for keeping all of us safe from any harm.

Talked to Mr Teoh about the incident and was rather sad that should the worse case scenario happen (have to change the entire clutch pad), the cost will be around RM500. And that was excluding the towing service, which amounted to RM150. Well, things happened and nothing much can be done about it. After all, there is a need to spend this money - is for our safety after all.

Then , I made a prayer - I actually did. I asked God to have mercy on us, coz money is certainly very tight for us now. Whats more with the baby coming and the purchase of the house. God does listen to our prayers. A thorough check on the car revealed that only the clutch cable and some minor repairs need to be done. So, all in all, I spent RM185 for it.

Thank you God - for listening to our prayer, for keeping us safe from harm.

I love you, Jesus !