ELIJAH n HIS ANCIENT DESK TOP

SPOT - OUR BELOVED DOG 

BROWNIE - OUR BELOVED DOG

ELIJAH AND MICHELLE 

BLAST FROM THE PAST - the early years of 2000 -

ELIJAH 

THE FAMILY 

   

UNCLE EDWIN'S WEDDING


This is a photo of my uncle Edwin's marriage to my aunt Emily. My uncle, a warrant officer, was a shipwright in the Royal Malaysian Navy. She was a nurse, a matron in the government hospital. They were very much in love.

Uncle Edwin passed away several years ago. They have 2 sons, Christopher and Michael; and a daughter, Angeline.

I am on my uncle Edwin's left. He helped me arrange my tie before we went to the church for the church service.

On aunty Emily's left is my sister Rebecca. My father and mother are behind the newly weds.

My uncle Edwin was my mother's younger brother. He and aunty Emily were married in Johore Bahru, Malaysia.

YOUNG BOY

This photo was taken in May 1966. I was 9 years old, and studying in  primary 3 at Anglo Chinese School in Coleman Street. My family and I were living in Lorong Lalat, Jalan Besar

REMEMBERING MY 
PARENTS

Joy of Reading!

My father, JWD Samuel and my mother, Ruby Samuel occupy a special place in my heart. 

They've both passed on to glory but they gave us, their 4 children, Rachel, Reuben, Rebecca and Raphael, the joy of reading. 

My father was a voracious reader and so was my mother. Dad used to concentrate and read under the bright lamp in his room. Mum read in the hall. The arrival of TV changed their reading habits but they still maintained their love for the written word.   

 My parents introduced us to different worlds by inculcating in us a love for reading. Dad gave us the newspapers every morning and reading the daily news helped me to discover politics and sports. He also subscribed to magazines which dealt with socio-political issues, both international and and regional. Mum in buying comics, mostly DC, for us once month at a 2nd hand book shop helped us discover fantasy and adventure. She also, more importantly, bought and gave me my first bible when I was 15 years old.

The photo was probably taken in the 1960's

EVANGELIZING SPANISH SPEAKING LATINOS IN SINGAPORE!

Michelle and Elijah met up with a group of South Americans in Singapore and yakked away in Spanish with them.
I was caught up with work and could not be a part of this event.

Victory Family Centre, a dynamic church dedicated to missions and outreach, is trying to reach out to Spanish speaking folk through their missionaries who served in South America!

Ten years ago the idea of Spanish speaking Singaporeans
reaching out to Latin Americans would have been unthinkable!
Its amazing - the world has shrunk.

Michelle and Elijah enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

GETTING THROUGH TO WOMEN!

Don't snigger guys...its actually possible...

Men don't take their wives seriously. We normally smile, listen half heartedly and give a platitude to convey the impression we're attentive to their needs. Some of us just grunt. Impressions even when they're not false don't last, especially under the corrosive effects of reality and time. 20 year old birthday cards get brown around the ages. The goodwill generated through an anniversary dinner lasts only for a couple of weeks. Sooner or later impressions, especially the false ones, run their course, quickly.

Taking others seriously is work. Its easier do overtime at the office or read a book. Or better still just switch on the TV. Its easier to feel the angst of empty celloluid TV figures than to work through issues with real people. Undoing emotional knots, in love, is not for the lighthearted nor the cowardly. Its costly - like carrying the cross. Hence the hard work to not only listen patiently but to also take seriously our spouse's comments and needs. That's tough, especially for men. At times we just don't have anything to give, be it emotional support or money.

All the doors seem closed until the Saviour steps in to pour His love in our hearts. In ways beyond human understanding, Christ's love for His church fills our wounds. His love for us is cruficied and bloody; true love flows from pain none of us can truly bear. Its strange - this daily invitation of our Lord to share in His sacred love within the nitty gritty of married life. And we say YES to the invitation.

Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her...Ephesians 5: 25

Appa and Amma (edited 14/10/2019)

I dedicate the Bolivian Beat's 100th post to my father, JWD Samuel, and mother, RubyYesudian (lady on his left)

FATHER

My dad belonged to an extinct group of high-grade nursing staff called "Hospital Assistants". They did the combined work of general practitioners and nurses. He excelled in his job, took on more administrative responsibilities and before long, his superiors appointed him "Chief Hospital Assistant"

I told my friends he worked as a nurse because many of them didn't know the difference between a hospital assistant and a hospital attendant. Dad looked dashing in his uniform - a white 4 pocket cotton safari suit and pants. His well-ironed starched uniforms smelt of medication most of the time and he never failed to take his flask-filled coffee every day to work. He served diligently at the clinics as an administrator but his first love was to dress the wounds of those ridden with injuries.  I can't remember him ever taking leave from work.

His parents migrated to Penang, Malaysia, from India, in search of a better life. His mother gave birth to him in Penang as her firstborn. He returned to India, as a boy, with his parents and siblings. His father had made some money in Penang and so he decided to return to Tirunelveli, South India.

My grandfather, a farmer at heart, bought land and grew crops in India. His business flourished but a serious economic recession wiped out the old man's capital and savings. He had no means to adequately care for the family. And so my grandfather sent my dad back to Malaysia to earn a living for himself and to send back money for his siblings.  My father, the eldest son, had no choice but to return to his birthplace, Penang, as a teenager. He studied, worked hard, and sent money back to help his dad and his siblings.

It must have been tough for him because he probably lived on the generosity of relatives and friends in Malaya.

My father, because of his life experiences, helped the downtrodden and championed the underdog. On more than one occasion he served others at the expense of his own family, much to the annoyance of my mother!

We called him Appa - a term of endearment amongst Indians only reserved for fathers. A voracious reader with a social conscience, dad grew to be a "self-made" man. He worked his way from isolated rural areas to the emerging urban centers in Malaysia and Singapore. My dad saw a huge chunk of significant history - the Japanese occupation, liberation, independence, merger, racial riots, the separation between Malaysia and Singapore. He kept a mental note of critical events and never lost sight of those who made an impact on Malayan history, he stubbornly believed that Singapore and Malaysia were one country, Malaya. 

In terms of faith, his high church Anglican instincts convinced him of the eucharist's power to mediate God's saving grace. Long sermons made him bristle but he loved to sing the hymns - in the church as well as in the streets!  . He loved football and supported Liverpool and Arsenal.

Sam, as he was affectionally called by his friends, lived to celebrate his 82nd birthday before he passed away. One day he slipped, fell awkwardly and broke his hip; there was no one in the house. He crawled to the phone and rang for help. An ambulance immediately rushed him to the hospital; complications stalled his recovery, and 3 months later the Lord took my father to Glory. I served him the sacrament a month before he was called home to the Lord. My sisters, Rebecca and Rachel together with Reuben my elder brother took care of my dad's funeral arrangements.

The distance between Bolivia and Singapore made it difficult for me to return to be a part of my father's funeral. He began to pass away on a Sunday morning and on that same morning I preached in Bolivia to the congregation on the challenge to carry the cross.

MOTHER

My mother, Ruby Yesudian, born and raised in Singapore, witnessed the calamity of the Japanese Occupation during WW2 as a young girl. We called her Amma. Her father worked as a proof-reader in a big publishing house in Singapore and epitomized the educated middle-class Indian gentleman; his wife, a strict homemaker, disciplined her children and struck fear in them. My mother scared us with stories of our grandmother rubbing chili powder in their eyes if they misbehaved. My mother admired her father and distanced herself from her mother. My grandparents on my mother's side were first-generation immigrants from India. They passed away in Singapore unlike my grandparents on my father's side. I have 2 uncles and 1 aunt from this side of the family.

My mother kept it all together at home with the help of my Aunty Rani; they raised the four of us (I was the youngest) in some very trying circumstances. She fed and clothed us with the little of what was available to us in the 60s and 70s. She put a lot of weight on our education and engaged tutors to help us get better grades. They don't come any better than my mother. Her diligence and perseverance in the face of trials and setbacks continue to inspire me. Amma introduced me to the joys of reading; she regularly took us to Bras Basah road to buy 2nd hand comics for her children to read. Her gift of a Bible to me for my confirmation changed my life. She urged me to read it but also warned me to not become a fanatic! The daily Bible reading habit motivated me to grow in my knowledge of the Lord and poised me to receive Christ as Savior.

In her early 50's, my mother experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit in St Paul's parish; her life changed dramatically. She studied the courses on the bible, learned to play the guitar, sang choruses to old folks and served with the Anglican Welfare Council as a social worker and counselor in the prisons. Her mentor and friend, Mrs. Felicity Carter encouraged her to and opened doors for my mother to exercise her gifts and talents to the glory of the Lord. She kept long hours and on more than one occasion she returned home looking very tired; she never gave up but her sense of fulfillment in ministry kept her going. My mother, blessed with an innate ability to empathize, possessed great listening skills.

The years, however, took their toll and she left the Anglican Welfare Council. The years passed quickly and she suffered from Alzheimer's. She finally succumbed to a stroke after having spent an extended period of time with my sister Rebecca in the US.

My parents struggled to give us a good education and sacrificed gave up the comforts of life for the greater good of their children. They never claimed to be model parents in their struggles to raise us. I regret not doing more for them. And I speak for my siblings when I say how blessed we were to have them as our parents. Sam and Ruby, that's how they were called by their friends, continue to inspire me on many different levels. The Lord loved them deeply in their tribulations. They hit rough patches also in their marriage but they stayed together in His love. Yes, I'm deeply grateful to the Lord for having given them to us as our parents.

Thank you Appa and Amma!!

God bless both my parents!!

The black and white photo above is ancient (thanks to my cousin David for sending it to me):
On my mother's left is my elder brother Reuben; on my father's right is my elder sister Rebecca; next to her is Rachel - the eldest in the family- on her left is my mother's sister, our Aunty Ranee.

CELEBRATING 21 YEARS OF MARRIAGE!

Today Michelle and I celebrate 21 years of marriage. We were married at the Church Of Our Savior in 1985 on a Saturday afternoon. Pastor Derek Hong led the service. Bishop Moses Tay was present to give us his blessings. Rev Villlie D. read some of the prayers in the service. My classmates at Trinity College stood by us as we exchanged vows. Revd Kenny Chee (blogpastor) agreed to be my best man and Susan Verghese was the bridesmaid. We are grateful that our friends, parents, and relatives made the effort to support us at our wedding. I remember someone sharing a marvellous prophecy of how the Lord would make us a blessing and a light to the nations. And that was fulfilled when we left Singapore to serve the Lord in Bolivia.

There are no short cuts nor secret formulas to marital happiness. Listening to each other, praying together and not taking your spouse for granted are some of the basic components in any marriage. By God's grace we've survived some of the rough patches in our relationship; I can't imagine our marriage without Christ. One of the most difficult things to work through is the daily grind of simply living together: managing schedules, adapting to your partner's habits/customs, ensuring transparent financial transactions and accepting your spouse's idiosyncrasies.

Pray that we will be a witness to God's love and mercy.

MARRIAGE IS NOT PURGATORY BUT A BLESSING!

Michelle and I have been married for almost 21 years; Yup that's her next to me. We were married in the old Church Of Our Savior at Prince Charles Crescent, Singapore. The children involved at the wedding have grown up. Our page boy, Teofilus, recently got married; his sister, Teonna (my god daughter) was one of the flower girls; she is happily married lady with a baby! Teorine, the other flower girl is a teacher in Sarawak, East Malaysia.

My wife is good looking classy lady. She's into worship and the creative arts - music, dance, silk painting. Where to get such a mix in a woman? We are very very different; complementing each other can be joyous, frustrating and rewarding.

So would I recommend marriage? Yes, marriage is a good thing; its challenges have constantly brought us to the foot of the Cross. Without Christ there can be no happiness in marriage; He sustains and keeps couples together, be they Christian or not. Don't forget, marriage was embedded as part of God's creation in Genesis. That's why marriage is a universal cultural phenomenon. Man's disobedience however has sadly left a trail of marital misery. Its painful when couples split. Its also very exciting to see couples rebuilding their marriages in Christ. There is hope always in Him.

Can't take the other half for granted. Your spouse is like a little plant in a pot. Make sure the plant is well watered and protected from bugs of resentment every day. To the guys... just love your woman; work at trying to please her. To the gals...just hug him and stand by your man!