FBC Church Camp 2014

We had our Church camp from 26th July to 28th July 2014 at One Hotel, Santubong.

Our speaker is Pastor Liaw Yong Lam, his wife Mrs. Liaw and their daughter Grace.  Pastor Liaw had been a missionary to Papua New Guinea (PNG) for 14 years, his job was the translation of the Bible to the local language.  His story of how his family is blessed by God because they were obedient was inspiring.  Before they went to PNG Mrs. Liaw was already suffering from kidney disease so much so that doctor said she needed a dialysis machine.  However, by grace of God she could cope with the usual medical care.  They were obedient to God and trust God in their stay in PNG.  Their two daughters were also blessed with scholarships to study in USA.  Grace has graduated and she has been a missionary to China for more than two years now.

During our camp Pastor Liaw spoke on the subject of "Mission" and he is most qualified to speak on this subject as he has practical experiences in PNG.  His teachings had been inspiring and also helped us to understand the real meaning of mission.  He said in mission, it is not necessary one needed to share the Gospel to the people we are helping.  There are missionaries who are purely teachers in the mission fields and they not necessary share the Gospel with their students.  It would be good if they can do so.

Another good point about serving is that we must be intentional in serving.  We can not be a "convenient" Christian.  He shared a story of "convenient" Christian, he said most time we will give lifts from church to our church friends if it is convenient for us, meaning if we are going the same way as our friends, otherwise we will not help.  He joked that most time, the pastor is the one who will give lifts to church members because he is located at the church, and their is no specific direction for him.

Overall, we had a good camp and our speaker has imparted valuable messages to us.  We pray that most of us can be involved in mission.  It is not necessary to be away from our country, the mission fields are also numerous in our own country.

You can red an article about some of their work in PNG here : http://www.sil.org/story/its-time-school

To see pictures in PNG go to this link :  http://s529.photobucket.com/user/Liaw/library/?sort=3&page=1

Note : Top picture is Pastor Liaw, bottom picture Mrs. Liaw

Nursing Home

It is inevitable that we face old age.  When we are old there are limitations to what we can do physically as well as mentally.  It will come a time when we need others to care for us.  This is what my mother is facing.  In her case, her mind is deteriorating because she has dementia.  Over the years it seems her mind has lose many abilities including recognising people.  Sad to say, now she cannot remember all her children.  Because she could not take care of herself any more and because of our family circumstance, we have decided to admit her to a local nursing home, Lions Nursing Home, Kuching which is a non profit ran by Lions Club of Kuching.  As much as we do not want to send our mother there, the circumstances left us with little choice.  She has been admiited there since 9th July 2014.

Thank and Praise God that these few days my family members have been visiting her there and observed that she has been well taken care by the care givers there.  We had heard of unpleasant stories at nursing homes, and thank God this one is alright.  At least we know that our mother is well taken care off there.  We need not worry unnecasserily.  While there I have spoken to a number of residents and most of them are happy living there.  There are a few who yearned to go home.  Who wouldn't ?

Dementia is a serious dieases which caused the patient to "lose his/her mind" over time.  They can be totally dependant on others at the late stage.  Over here in Malaysia facilities for such patients are limited.  There is no specialised nursing home for such patients.  However, it is different in Holland.  There is a dedicated village meant for patients with this diease.  Watch it below: