This afternoon I was with a group of old folks living in Chinatown just opposite the Subordinate Courts. I had a simple lunch with them to celebrate the Lunar New Year. We have been doing this for a couple of years already.
I knew them in the late 90s when a friend of mine was working around that area. I got to know this aunty who always sat by a raised pavement selling some kuehs that a kind hawker would always give her daily in a rattan basket. All the earnings are for her keeps. I would always buy some stuff from her when I was around that area.
Her name was Aunty Poh Geok. She has since passed on but I still keep in touch with the rest of her friends whom I got to know along the way. They are now my friends.
Whenever I passed that pavement, I could still recall how she would sit on it waiting for customers. When there was no one patronising her make-shift stall, she would lean forward and backward repeatedly, just so that she would not feel bored.
I will always cherish this friendship I have with her. When I was suffering from my kidney ailment in 1998, she used her hard-earned money to buy some Chinese tonics for me, asking me to drink them so that they would make me well quicker. I was very very touched by her kind gesture.
She would also asked when I will get married and I would always tell her hopefully one day. She would then kindly offer to help me find one girl in Chinatown and asked what kind I would like to have for a wife. She was just so sweet.
I remembered we started with 12 old folks but this year, there are only 6 left. 4 of them (excluding Aunty Poh Geok) have passed on. One is in hospice care because she has cancer. Many of them are already in their 80s and 90s. I doubt this annual get-together will last much longer when one by one would leave this world eventually. But so long as these old friends of mine are still alive, I will make it a point to celebrate the Lunar New Year with them. Even if it is just a day when I can bring a smile to their faces, thanks be to God for that!
Our annual feasting is always very simple because all of them have dietary restrictions. We basically had century-egg congee served with some promfrets steamed with salted vegetables, ginger and tomatoes. To them this is already a luxury because they do not have much money on them since all of them are supported financially by social welfare.
After eating we would all drink Chinese tea. We would catch up with one another and some of them (those who still have good memory) would reminisce those times when there were more in the group. I really miss those who are not around anymore. There was this Uncle who would always bring a packet of roasted pork (char-siew) to the gathering and he would always say red is an auspicious colour. The number of pieces of pork were just enough for one each but still all savoured like they had a suckling pig on the table. His laughter was loud though he was small-built. He passed away two years ago when he fell while walking home.
At every gathering, I would share with every one present about how God has been touching my life lately. Some of them are still pre-believers. Though there is an urgency to evangelise to them, I will not force it upon them. Out of the twelve, 3 accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour over the years. Aunty Poh Geok was one of them.
Well, for those who are still considering, I guess I can only pray for them that one day they will open the door of their heart to Christ.
I give thanks to God for this day. Hallelujah!
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:9-10
"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Colossians 4:5-6
I knew them in the late 90s when a friend of mine was working around that area. I got to know this aunty who always sat by a raised pavement selling some kuehs that a kind hawker would always give her daily in a rattan basket. All the earnings are for her keeps. I would always buy some stuff from her when I was around that area.
Her name was Aunty Poh Geok. She has since passed on but I still keep in touch with the rest of her friends whom I got to know along the way. They are now my friends.
Whenever I passed that pavement, I could still recall how she would sit on it waiting for customers. When there was no one patronising her make-shift stall, she would lean forward and backward repeatedly, just so that she would not feel bored.
I will always cherish this friendship I have with her. When I was suffering from my kidney ailment in 1998, she used her hard-earned money to buy some Chinese tonics for me, asking me to drink them so that they would make me well quicker. I was very very touched by her kind gesture.
She would also asked when I will get married and I would always tell her hopefully one day. She would then kindly offer to help me find one girl in Chinatown and asked what kind I would like to have for a wife. She was just so sweet.
I remembered we started with 12 old folks but this year, there are only 6 left. 4 of them (excluding Aunty Poh Geok) have passed on. One is in hospice care because she has cancer. Many of them are already in their 80s and 90s. I doubt this annual get-together will last much longer when one by one would leave this world eventually. But so long as these old friends of mine are still alive, I will make it a point to celebrate the Lunar New Year with them. Even if it is just a day when I can bring a smile to their faces, thanks be to God for that!
Our annual feasting is always very simple because all of them have dietary restrictions. We basically had century-egg congee served with some promfrets steamed with salted vegetables, ginger and tomatoes. To them this is already a luxury because they do not have much money on them since all of them are supported financially by social welfare.
After eating we would all drink Chinese tea. We would catch up with one another and some of them (those who still have good memory) would reminisce those times when there were more in the group. I really miss those who are not around anymore. There was this Uncle who would always bring a packet of roasted pork (char-siew) to the gathering and he would always say red is an auspicious colour. The number of pieces of pork were just enough for one each but still all savoured like they had a suckling pig on the table. His laughter was loud though he was small-built. He passed away two years ago when he fell while walking home.
At every gathering, I would share with every one present about how God has been touching my life lately. Some of them are still pre-believers. Though there is an urgency to evangelise to them, I will not force it upon them. Out of the twelve, 3 accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour over the years. Aunty Poh Geok was one of them.
Well, for those who are still considering, I guess I can only pray for them that one day they will open the door of their heart to Christ.
I give thanks to God for this day. Hallelujah!
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:9-10
"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Colossians 4:5-6
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