Chinese new year has been traditionally a long break for me where I travelled back to Malaysia to spent time with my family in KL & then with my in-laws in JB. However this year instead of one long break, it was two smaller ones. The first part was in Johor Bahru with my in laws. As my brother in law just had his first baby (Samantha), that adds to kids that are already in abundance amongst the cousins from this side of the family. I overhead Mag saying to one of her friends trying for a family that the thing about having children is that we start giving to them and stop doing things that we want to do. Hmm I thought that really identifies us with Christ; To be living for others rather than for self.



After 3 days in JB, I came back to the office to work. I enjoyed the opportunity to work in the silence due to the longer break that my colleagues took for the new year. Yet at certain times I missed having them around. Nevertheless, God can be found in silence and I took the opportunity to have more of Him to come out of the short week refreshed and strengthen.



On Friday I had the second part of my break. I took leave to help host dad's side of the family who came from KL to spend 3 days with us in Singapore. All 15 of them, mostly elderly folks of my dad's generation. It was exciting but yet a nervous time as I need to organise a site seeing trip that Saturday for them. No problem normally but with the requirement that they don't want to go shopping nor to Sentosa Island or the Zoo which they have been, that really left me wondering where else is there to do in Singapore ? "Go to the farms" someone told me, which I thought was a brilliant idea if farms do exist in Singapore. To my delight, there do! So I booked a day tour with a travel agency to the Qian Hu Arowana Fish Farm, an Organic Veggie Farm and a Plant/Flora landscaping farm. Then I was shocked when I was told the package didn't include a tour guide so I convinced myself that we can do without one because we are 'own people'. Anyway on that day dad asked after we boarded the bus, 'So who's the tour guide?'. Everyone looked at me ! So that day, I became a tour guide. Thank God, Dad volunteered to lead a long singing session on the bus so with that I had a little less to do. Ok after all that I think I did okay considering I wasn't prepared and didn't have fish nor vegetable farm experience.



The tour ended with traditional Dim Sum at Chinatown with a short visit to the Chinatown Heritage Centre. At the Heritage Centre, my dad took over to share what he is passionate about which was what is on exhibit "The Chinese Immigrants And Early Settlers in Singapore". I stood aside and listened how our family travelled from northern china from Shanxi to Shangdong to sourthern china at Fujian and Guangdong until finally across the seas southward to Nanyang (or South East Asia). While its not the first time I've heard all this, this time with the help of the displays, the stories touched me. Deeply they did, particularly the acount of my great grandfather (whom I have an image of in my mind), had to travel on a boat from Guangdong to Malaysia to find a better life. Dad described the storms and sick-sickness, the overcrowding, the small & terrible living condition on the boat as well as subsequently on land. When he mentioned that many others died on the journey and have their bodies thrown to the sea, I almost teared. How we take things for granted today? The Chinatown Heritage Centre is a great place for anybody who share the same roots as us and wants to tear. I'm touched because I'm reminded if any of these happened I would not have existed.

my great grandfather died on the journey (or anytime else before dad was born)

any of my ancestors from my mum or my dad side died before their time

my mum or dad did not meet and married someone else or even any of my ancestors and spouse did not meet or married.

my fellow sperm friend swam faster than me

With so many conditions to warrant my survival, it is so amazing and so special that I exist today.

On Sunday, after the group went back to Malaysia, after church and after visiting some church member's house, we did a little miracle putting all our kids to bed by 9:30 pm. Mag and I seized the opportunity and caught a movie at 9:45pm. It was so late we had little choice so we watch "Memoirs of A Geisha". We liked it. Perhaps because its been almost a year since we last dated in a movie. But I think its more because we both knew so little of the profession of Geishas before and the movie gave us the details and we were enlightened.

I realise we know so little of our heritage. As an asian and as a chinese. We subscribe so much to the western culture that it affects us in the way we live and even as Christians how we worship God. Isn't it true that so much we learned about Christianity we learned it from the West (with the origin of the media and books we read). Christianity is not a western religion, it is a relationship with a universal God who embraces all and works in all regardless of nationality and culture. While God and theology remain the same, how we express & worship must be unique. How I see people worship in Africa is different from in Thailand, in Australia and different here. I'm a child of God with unique roots that go back to Perth, to Kuala Lumpur, to Guangdong, Fujian and to Northern China, to the land of Jacob, Isaac and Abraham and way back Eden and finally to my heavenly home, so should my liturgy of worship resemble exactly those who has roots from America or Europe ? It may be but it is unlikely.

This Chinese New Year, I learned during my time spend with my dad's family that we have a rich heritage and we should not ignore as it shapes us even as a Christian and during my time with my in laws, that we ought to consider living for children who is our next generation by leaving a legacy & helping them find the roots of their existence.

It was a rewarding time for me this year and I look forward to the new Chinese year!

posted by Hiew Hong Teck  # 12:25 PM Tuesday, February 07, 2006