Balik Kampung for CNY?

Mum went home to Batu Pahat this morning to prepare for Lunar New Year. I will miss her for the next few weeks.

This year, Lunar New Year falls on Sun 18 Feb 2007. This might be the first time I'm unable to go home for family reunion dinner due to my medical condition. First, I'm still not able to eat solid food. Second, carrying packets of Novasource home might be too troublesome. Third, I'm afraid the journey might be tiring for me. Anyway, there are still 17 days to the Eve of LNY. Still praying & looking to the Lord for a speedy recovery of my mouth.

thanks for journeying with me,
tsk tsk

Rejoice in the Lord

I had visitors yesterday night - Elder Boon, his wife Cheryll & Mary. Elder Boon & I were colleagues 20 years ago. Mary is a good friend of mine – we both grew up in sweet old Batu Pahat, a bustling small town in Johor, Malaysia. They came to fellowship & minister to me. We had such a wonderful time together. They sang me hymns, one of which I love very much. It is titled, “Rejoice in the Lord” written by Ron Hamilton. Coincidentally, this was also the hymn Elder Boon sang to me when I was warded at SGH in Oct 2006.

Rejoice in the Lord

God never moves without purpose or plan
When trying His servant & molding a man
Give thanks to the Lord though your testing seems long
In darkness He giveth a song

I could not see through the shadows ahead
So I looked at the cross of my Saviour instead
I bowed to the will of the Master that day
Then peace came & tears fled away

Now I can see testing comes from above
God strengthens His children & purges in love
My Father knows best & I trust in His care
Through purging more fruit I will bear

Chorus :
O rejoice in the Lord
He makes no mistake
He knoweth the end of each path that I take
For when I am tried and purified
I shall come forth as gold

I pray that the words of this beautiful hymn will minister to you as you walk your life journey with the Lord by your side.

thanks for journeying with me,
tsk tsk

Reflection 4 : God is my Healer

dear brothers & sisters in Christ

Some of you are asking about my recent MRI scan. Thanks so much for your concern. I had written about it in my blog & had assumed that you would read about it. Just in case you had lost the blog address, here it is --- simply click on this link : http://sockkim.blogspot.com.

The MRI results had confirmed that the tumour behind my nose is completely gone. And so is the thyroid nodule. The Lord is my Healer. I thank the Lord that the worst is over. The past five months had been the most trying period in my life. But the Lord has been faithful & good to me. He gave me the strength to overcome every pain & suffering. It was by God's grace I survived the ordeal.

Many of you have written or spoken to me that you have been praying for me everyday without fail. I'm truly very touched & encouraged. It is your faithful prayers that have kept me going. The Lord has been so wonderful to send me so many angels like you to pray for me & to minister to my needs. My illness has turned out to be a blessing to me in many ways. I have experienced God's presence & power. I have experienced Christian love & compassion in practical ways. Yesterday morning (28 Jan), the Honorary Pastor of my church spoke from Luke 10:25-37 on "The Good Samaritan". I could not help feeling like the wounded traveller who was attended to by the good Samaritan. But in my case, I was so blessed to be attended to not by one, but by many good Samaritans during my time of illness. Thank you for being the Good Samaritan who attended to my needs & for seeing me through to the end.

Thank you for continuing to pray for me as I recover from my illness. The recovery process may take months. My most immediate prayer is the dryness effect caused by radiotherapy -- dry mouth & weak teeth (caused by lack of saliva in my mouth as the salivary glands & jaw bones were weakened by radiation). The doctor said they will heal but it will take time. As a result of these side effects of radiation, I am still not able to eat solid food. Pray that I will have the patience to wait upon the Lord to heal me of these side effects in His way & in His time.

thanks for journeying with me,
sockkim

A new BSF term

The new BSF term began yesterday. This year, we are studying the book of Romans.

It was all excitement for the Children's Leaders as we welcome the students back to the BSF School Program after a 3-month break. For CF & I, it was a wonderful change to be given Level 1 class to teach this year. These P1 & P2 kids are so cute & adorable!

I praise God for the privilege to serve. At first, I wasn't sure if I would recover in time for the new BSF term. But here I am, back once again as a Children's Leader, but with a new "handicap", my dry mouth. For days, I was full of concern for my dry mouth. Will it affect my teaching? I prayed & pleaded with the Lord. And the Lord was faithful to His promises. He took care of my mouth throughout the 2-hour session. CF told me my voice sounded normal. I knew that it was the Lord's enablement. Thank You, Lord, for teaching me to be dependent on You for everything. Thank You, Lord, for showing me what a great God You are!

thanks for journeying with me,
tsk tsk

PTL, the tumour is gone!

Yes, the MRI results confirmed today that the tumour behind my nose is completely gone! And there is also no sign of any thyroid nodule, which means the nodule is not there either.

All praise & glory to the Almighty God for His faithfulness & goodness. Lord, thank You for healing me. Brothers & sisters in Christ, thank you for praying for me.

Please continue to uphold me in your prayers. My most immediate prayer is the dryness effect resulting from radiotherapy -- dry mouth, dry tongue, dry throat, dry skin, weak teeth (all due to lack of saliva in my mouth as the salivary glands had been affected by radiation). As a result, I have difficulty eating normal food. I'm still feeding on liquid food called Novasource until I can eat solid food again.

thanks for journeying with me,
tsk tsk

PS makes exit ...

This blog was started by PS (me) on behalf of TSK in Aug 2006. Most times, I could only second guess and write what I thought and felt was in TSK's heart.

About time, TSK takes over and handles her own blog now, so she can really journal here and share with you right from her very own heart.

It has been such a privilege and so much fun for me to "play" around on this blog. I guess this will be my final entry ... as PS makes exit.

Flom de 1 n oni cheen phai see (pardon the lingo here but I just couldn't resist)
To my dear friend and X koh-lidder, as always and will always be ...

May God's Angels Keep You

May God's angels greet you every morning,
And guide you throughout the night,
May they comfort all your sorrows,
And help you win the fight.
May they keep watch over your soul,
And show you God's perfect way,
May they guard you while you're sleeping,
And see you through your day.
May they calm your every fear,
And hear you when you shout,
May they show you bright new hopes,
And still your every doubt.

Review session

Tomorrow is my Review session with Dr Wee. Review what? Review the results of the MRI scan. The review will determine if the tumour behind my nose is completely gone. It will also determine if the left thyroid nodule is completely gone too.

Please pray for good results. My appointment is at 11.50am. Thanks, Kim, for volunteering to chauffeur me to NCC, SGH.

thanks for journeying with me,
tsk tsk

PS.......here I come!!

Hmmm.....PS was having lots of fun the last few days teasing me on this blog. Her intention? To "force" me to take over her job as blog manager. She thinks I am now well enough to update the blog myself. She is right. I'd better take over now before her creative mind starts writing more non-sensical things about me. PS, watch out.....here I come!!

On a serious note, I must put on record my heartfelt thanks to PS for being both my personal manager & blog manager during my time of illness. PS was the brains behind this blog. Her daily postings on the blog kept everyone updated on my prayer needs. The blog was read by many friends from all over the world - Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China, UK & USA. As my personal manager, PS coordinated all my transport, food, prayer & other needs. When my illness took a heavy toll on me, PS had to run all over the place to get things done for me. I wouldn't know what to do without her. No matter how busy she was, PS always had time for me. She was my pillar of support (PS) & pillar of strength (PS). Lord, thank You for sending me this super-angel who has made a lot of personal sacrifices to share in my pain & suffering. PS, thank you for all your hard work in creating & managing this blog. Thank you for all that you had done for me.

Brothers & sisters in Christ, from now onwards, you will see a different style of writing on this blog. Hope you will continue to read this blog & support me in your prayers.

thanks for journeying with me,
tsk tsk

A visit from good old friends from abroad

Yesterday I was so blessed to have Pastor Lam Kee Hing, Elder Lee Fook Choon & his wife Wee Tsan to visit me. Pastor Lam is serving in Sabah & has just arrived in Singapore for a Retreat while Fook Choon & Wee Tsan are working in Shanghai & are back in Singapore for a short stint. Visits from good old friends are always spiritually uplifting & encouraging.

thanks for journeying with me,
tsk tsk

First BSF LM

This morning, we had our first Bible Study Fellowship Leaders' Meeting (BSF LM). Had to wake up earli earli. Am so thankful that another leader gives me a ride. Meeting ended past 8am.

Then I went to London to see the Queen, in my dreams, yawn yawn ...

Wonderful Wednesday

This afternoon, SK visited Joy(s) who is always so cheerful and joyful. She also got to see baby Nathanael, who is 17 days old.

Oooh, so small, so cute, so adorable.

Wonderful Weekend

Wow! The weekend was still so cold and wet.

Thank God for the great news! SK will be teaching Level 1 at BSF Sch Prog with co-leader CF. The first leader's meeting will be on Saturday 20 Jan and the first class meeting will be on Tuesday 23 Jan.

Pray that all will run smoothly ... although this pair of leaders is capable of causing a riot. Everyone, beware!

TGIF

Oh wow, it is such a wet day today ... thank you, Lord, for the rain!

BSF 2007 starts tomorrow with the Workshop for Leaders. It is so wonderful, it is such a privilege to be able to serve God in BSF once again.

Check-up time II

Today, SK went for the ENT check herself ...

In her own words, the ENT consultation was nothing, just a routine check on the nose and thyroid. The doctor cannot do anything about the ringing sound in her left ear, cannot confirm whether her thyroid nodule is gone or not.

Check-up time I

Today, SK went to SGH for her MRI scan. Tomorrow, she has an ENT check-up.

The MRI went smoothly, it was her second scan in 4 months. Dr Wee will review the results at the next consultation on Monday 22 Jan.

After that, SK visited the Singapore Thong Chai Medical Institution in Chin Swee Road. The TCM oncologist sees patients only from 12.30pm to 3pm. The queue was so long that SK waited 3 hours before it was her turn, followed by another hour of waiting for prescription.

By the time she got home, it was almost 5pm. Aiyoooh, poor SK was so hungry because it was way past feeding time. Lagi teruk, she was freezing as it rained the whole day.

Do pray that SK's dry mouth and dry throat will recover with saliva production once again. Thank you for your prayers!

Thanksgiving Time

Thank God for this evening ... friends, fun, food, food and more food, and presents.

Thank God for the fine weather, we could hold the party in the garden.

Thank God for all the guests.

Best of all, we thank God for this special time of singing praises and thanksgiving to Him! SK's sharing is really testimony of how good, how great our God is. He is our ever faithful provider in our time of need.

Honour and Glory to our Lord Jesus Christ !!!

On the 12th Day of Christmas

Today is the last day of Christmas! And it is SK's birthday!

One year older, one year wiser ???

On the 11th Day of Christmas

SK is getting all set for an adventure. Tomorrow afternoon, she will be going to office to get some work done. After that, to the National Cancer Centre's NPC support group meeting (NPC = Nasopharyngeal Cancer).

Do pray for stamina and strength to last through the activities. And good weather, for her to get from one place to another easily.

On the 10th Day of Christmas

SK is preparing for the time of thanksgiving to God. It is only a small group, so we cannot cater the food. Some will cook, some will buy.

Looking forward to this party.

On the 9th Day of Christmas

SK is well enough to go ahead with a small gathering this weekend. Let's pray for good weather.

On the 8th Day of Christmas

Happy New Piggy-Pig Year!

To all my family and friends, here's wishing you a wonderfully exciting new year!