3Editorial

4Tahniah! Anda ditempatkan ke Sarawak

8Waiting for the Command

13Bekenu - A Big Mistake?

15Seeing Kapit with New Eyes

18His Story of My Life

20Who Teaches? Who Learns?

28To Marudi with Passion

30To Telaga Pitas with Love

33A Coal Away from the Furnace

36In Partnership

EDITEDITEDITEDITEDITORIAL COORDINAORIAL COORDINAORIAL COORDINAORIAL COORDINAORIAL COORDINATTTTTORSORSORSORSORSGoh Hai Bee

Yap Kun Han

EDITORIAL COMMITTEEEDITORIAL COMMITTEEEDITORIAL COMMITTEEEDITORIAL COMMITTEEEDITORIAL COMMITTEEPeggy Foong

Irene YuIndyrany Kannaiya

Liew Nyuk LanPang Ngan Yue

Leow Lee LinGoh Suzie

LALALALALAYYYYYOUT / DESIGNOUT / DESIGNOUT / DESIGNOUT / DESIGNOUT / DESIGNDaniel Gan

ILLILLILLILLILLUSUSUSUSUSTRATRATRATRATRATTTTTORORORORORNoah Lee

TCF OFFICETCF OFFICETCF OFFICETCF OFFICETCF OFFICEC10-0-05

Subang Perdana Goodyear Court 347610 Subang JayaSelangor, Malaysia

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IN STEP IN STEP IN STEP IN STEP IN STEP is a non-profitChristian newsletterpublished four times a yearby the Teachers’ ChristianFellowship Malaysia (TCF).It is dedicated to Christianeducators and issued FREEto TCF members. For moreinformation, please contactthe address above.

VIEWS EXPRESSED ARETHE WRITERS’ AND DO NOTNECESSARILY REPRESENTTHOSE OF TCF.

Contents

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Be Refreshed!Editorial

During a recent mission trip to Cambodia, I was very touched by thepowerful sharing of a young church-goer who shared that manyCambodians go to dip in a pool in the tourist town of Siem Reap asthey believed they would be cleansed of their sins. But, Vuthy, the youngCambodian testified that we Christians are saved by the blood of JesusChrist that has been shed on the cross. Vuthy further emphasized thatwe do not need to go anywhere or dip in any pool to be forgiven of oursins. We just need to confess our sins to our God wherever we areand He will make us clean. Thus in this way we experience God’s graceand mercy. What a wonderful privilege we the children of God have!

The outworking of this saving grace can be seen in the sharing of theyoung teachers whose lives are testament to how they have chosen tolive lives worthy of our Lord Jesus. These young men and women haveaccepted their rural and semi-rural postings with much optimism andsense of purpose. In this issue, it is refreshing to read of how God isusing them to impact their school and community. And in so doing,they themselves are changed into better and more effective teachers.As we read their stories, I am sure each one of us will be reminded ofour first postings too. Each of us will probably have an interesting storyto tell too.

As we read about the experiences of Sheena, Marcus, John, Dih Ting,Teorene, Esther, Sylvia and Jan Lyn, may we also regain the freshnesswe ourselves experienced at the beginning of our teaching career.

A blessed Christmas and New Year to all of you.

Blessed through His Grace,Peggy

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Tahniah! Anda ditempatkan keSARAWAK Dih Ting

“Uh oh...”

I was to make the journey from Kuchingto Betong Division by bus. The eveningbefore, when I got to know that mydestination was SMK Spaoh, BetongDivision, I made a quick call to abrother from my KL church, who hailsfrom Kuching. “Betong, hmm… neverheard of it before,” was his response.“Uh oh...”

It turned out that the only bus that goesinto Betong town belongs to theSarawak Transport Co. The Hino bus,supposed to ferry me and five otherteachers looked the most weather-beaten amongst the buses in theKuching Third-Mile Terminal.“Uh oh…”

Into the bus we went, together withstacks of The Borneo Post, POSMalaysia parcels, and various goods.Not only does the bus ferrypassengers, it also offers ‘courier’services by courtesy of the driver. I’dnever taken an ‘express’ bus that canbe flagged down by passengers at anypoint along its route. The five hoursspent on the rickety-old-lady wasphysically and emotionally exhausting.

Three of us disembarked at Betongtown where we were met by the schoolcounsellor and packed into a van. Afterwhat seemed like hours, ...“Are we there yet?”“No, Donkey, we’re not there yet.”

An hour later, the infamous Ikan Buntalsculpture greeted me.“Are we there yet?”“No, Donkey, we’re not there yet.”

Uphill, downhill, and…“Are we there yet?”“YES! Donkey, we’re here.”

I had finally arrived. This Malaykampung that looks almost like“setinggan” in KL, except that it’ssurrounded by green jungles insteadof concrete ones. The houses on stilts

5

stand erect even at impossible angles.I saw no church.

I broke down that first night, and thesecond night, and the following night. Iwanted to bail out. I had never felt soalone, so helpless.

The pulpit message in my hometownchurch back in Sitiawan, on my firstSunday on the other side of the SouthChina Sea, which my mother relayedto me, was from Genesis chapter 12. 1The Lord had said to Abram, “Leaveyour country, your people and yourfather’s household and go to the land Iwill show you.2"I will make you into a great nationand I will bless you;I will make your name great, and youwill be a blessing.3I will bless those who bless you, andwhoever curses you I will curse;and all the peoples on earth will beblessed through you.”

For six months, I had no opportunityto go to any church. I had no means oftransport to take me to the 2 p.m.chapel service in Betong town, an houraway. The public transport from thekampung is in the form of “van sapu”that operates only in the morning, untilnoon.

The 6-month “sabbatical” was one ofthe most significant periods in my walkwith God. God was drawing me closerto Him.

Unless the seed falls to the groundand dies,…

My self-centeredness had to go. I sawonly my own unfulfilled needs anddesires. I was so full of myself. I sawmyself as a misfit in Spaoh. Theschool, a semi-residential school, ispredominantly Malay; about 30% ofthe students are Iban and there is asmall number of Chinese students.The Iban students are mostly nominalChristians and none of the Chinesestudents are Christians.

The harvest is plentiful but the workersare few…

The Iban students were astonished tosee a Chinese teacher, who wears across and says grace before meals.Many of them have yet to comeacross a non-Iban Christian.

“Cikgu, Cikgu orang Cina atau Cinacampur Iban?”“Kenapa kamu tanya begitu?”“Cikgu pakai ‘salib’. Orang Cina sini,takde yang Kristian.”

There are only two Chinese Christian

6

teachers in the school. Ms. Sylvia isthe other. I had asked an Iban Christianteacher if there was a ChristianFellowship in the school, and the replywas negative. There was no church forme to go to. There was no ChristianFellowship in school. “Dear God, I wantto serve you and your people, but…How? Where? Who? When?”

God is the Master Painter. He knowswhich colours to use on thebackground. He knows which coloursto mix. He knows how long to alloweach coat to dry before applying thenext. The Master was preparing me.He was using the first 6 months toprepare and equip me. He waited forme to refocus, from seeing only myown needs to the needs of the children.

“Dear God, You don’t make mistakes.You called me to teach. I was notposted here by mistake. You are myProvider. You will provide for my needs.Please reveal to me what You want meto do.”

Over the months, God has beenrevealing to me the needs of mystudents. Many of the Iban studentsin the school are a needy lot. On theschool academic performance scale,these Iban children are mostly at thelower end. On the other hand, they

score the highest in frequency ofindiscipline cases; break-ins, gang-fights, bullying, smoking, glue-sniffing,etc. They are poor, economically andspiritually. Many of them have theirfaith mixed-up with ‘miring’ and othertraditional practices. One studentshared his fascination with witchcraftand psychics. These children do notknow Jesus personally; they are notgrounded in the Word of God. Many,when they leave school, marryMuslims, Buddhists, etc. “Dear God,I see the needs of the children. Helpme to meet their needs.”

Two days later, a senior teacher cameand spoke to me. “Chieng, I have beenmeaning to speak to you and Sylvia. Iknow that both of you are Christians.You see, we have Perjumpaan PelajarAsrama Iban/Bukan Islam on Thursdayevenings, but not frequently…”According to her, it is compulsory forthe two hundred odd residential Iban/Non-Muslim students to attend thesemeetings. The Iban wardens willsometimes use the meetings tolecture the students on misbehaviour,and of course they don’t like it. But,occasionally, this senior teacher willplay Christian songs for them, and theylove it. “Dear God, Wow! That was afast one! And a clear one too!”

7

I am continuously amazed by God.More than 200 students! I got myself acopy of “Bup Kudus”, the Ibanlanguage Bible, and as I didn’tunderstand the language, I got myselfa copy of “Alkitab” the Indonesianlanguage Bible. I was determined topick up some Iban language.

Ms. Sylvia and I teamed up with severalother Iban Christian teachers and wegot into gear. God willing, our objectiveis to revive the Christian Fellowship inthe school. The students are excitedand enthusiastic. After the first fewmeetings, the students would speakto me along the corridors and inclassrooms:

“Cikgu, kita bersaudara, kan?”“Cikgu, bila kita nak nyanyi lagi?”“Cikgu, kita buat perjumpaan tiap-tiappetang. Kalau tidak, boringlah.”“Cikgu, kesian Jesus dalam moviesemalam. Sedih. Saya turutmenangis.”

There was positive feedback from theother teachers as well. Students werereported to be better behaved and notso rebellious.

To my students, “Jesus sayau kanuan, Cikgu rindu ka nuan!”To TCF, praise God for all the goodwork and giant network you have!

*****

Dih Ting, Sheena and Teorene with Mary Ng

Sylvia CheeWaiting for the Command

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“So have you got your posting?” Thiswas the question people wereconstantly asking me at the end ofAugust , knowing that I had finishedmy degree early March. It was the endof August and I heard rumors that wewould receive our posting anytime. AsSeptember approached, my friendcalled me up to inform that I could pickup my letter at the educationdepartment in Kuching (which is verynear my house). I did as I was told. Isaw the brown envelope and picked itup. At the same time I could hear the“thud”… “ thud” of my heart. I thought,well, this is what I have been waitingfor for the last 6 months. By hook orby crook, I just have to gather up mycourage, open it and face the fact thatI’m going to be sent to the jungle totame monkeys.

The letter read: “ …Dengan sukacitadimaklumkan bahawa tuanditempatkan di SMK Spaoh dalamBahagian Betong……”. That’s it!!! Myheart stopped for a moment and Ithought, “Which hole is this inSarawak? I have been staying inSarawak all my life and I had neverheard of this place called Spaoh. Now

where is this Spaoh place?” I calledmy Dad and told him about the good/bad news. What a relief! He said it’ssomewhere near Betong and heshowed me the map.

Taking off to the jungleEarly in the morning, my parentsloaded our car with all mypossessions. I felt horrible as westarted the quest for this Spaoh place.Thus off we went heading east, off tothe place where I’d be tamed. Thejourney took 5 hours plus and I keptasking my dad, “Pa, are we there yet?Why is it so far away and yet on themap it seems so near?” As weapproached the next junction, we saw

9

the sign: “Spaoh 11km …oh mygoodness another 11km…oh boy…ohboy…this is really very ulu, and I’ll behere for another …..only God knowshow many years.”

As we were approaching the school,happily my dad announced, “Da da!!Here you are, your Spaoh!” He soundedso happy and I was thinking, “Pa, can’tyou sympathize with your daughter thatshe’ll be stuck in the jungle for Godknows how many years?” I checkedinto the flat and it was empty. I theninformed the assistant principal that Iwould be back after my convocation. Itoured Spaoh town (only 4 rows ofwooden shop houses) before I wentback to Kuching with my parents.What a relief!

God sends an AngelWhen I told my friends I had beenposted to Spaoh, all they said was,“Oh, God has a purpose for you there.”I got very frustrated with the reply andI was thinking, “Gosh, you people can’teven sympathize with me and you arenot the one who is being posted there,you don’t know how I feel.” The firstfew months working in the school wasa real challenge and struggle for me.It tested my patience to the uppermost limit. I took some time to adaptto the new ulu surroundings, new

colleagues, students and creatures(bugs and lizards are my constantcompanions and housemates).

The ordeal lasted a few months. I toldGod, “My friends are telling me Youhave a purpose for sending mehere…but I’m alone here, no Christianfellowship, no church, no one to helpme with my spiritual growth, nonothing…and what do You expect?” Iwas mad at God, I told Him plainly howI felt and I was really angry with Him. Itold God, “God, You can’t expect meto serve here alone…I don’t haveanyone … I have nothing…are Yougoing to send someone who ispractically good at most things? Inother words, a superman orsuperwoman? Hahaha, You must bekidding me. I really doubt the existenceof such homo sapiens or should I saycreatures.”

It was early January, and new teacherswere being posted here. As a newteacher, I could somehow sense thatthey were also trying to adapt to thealien surroundings and sometimes theprocess of adaptation can be verychallenging. For some it can beunbearable. I tried to be friendly andto show my concern and love. Idecided to approach one of the newteachers, Miss Chieng Dih Ting. At the

10

same time, I asked God “Is she theone You have sent?…Is she aChristian?...I doubt…”…Then I thoughteven if she’s not a Christian I could stilljust show my concern, no harm afterall. Our first conversation went like this:“Hello, how’s everything? Is everythingok?” She turned to me with a stern faceand replied in Mandarin, “Actually I’mnot a TESL major, I majored in Biologyand minored in Mathematics but I’masked to teach English”. Then I said,“Oh, I see” and in my heart I thought,she didn’t even answer my question.

That was the end of our shortconversation. She didn’t look friendlyat all. We were put to sit side by side.We didn’t talk much. She was ratherquiet, and so was I. One afternoon, inthe office, somehow we started talkingto one another. The rest is history. Nowwe are PIC (Partners In Crime - pardonme, I think it would sound better if Ichange it to “Partners In Christ”). Wenow share our thoughts, try out manythings and thank God that we are onthe same wavelength and are able topromptly detect jokes and feelings. Wehelp, encourage and support oneanother. We are growing in Christ aswe discuss His Word. I thank God forsending her to work with me and sheis truly an angel to me.

I’m happily serving God in the schooltogether with my PIC and at the sametime learning to be humble to gain asmuch as I can from the other teachers.I pray that God will put in me humilitythat I would die little deaths(selfishness, self-glorification, egoism,etc.) everyday and as days pass, thatI would serve HIM better. If God canhelp me, why can’t He help you? Godwill provide as He has promised…..

“and my God will meet all your needsaccording to his glorious riches inJesus Christ”. Philippians 4:19

Who’s taming who…?When I joined the school, I was madeform teacher of 3 Yakin, the third lastclass from the bottom. It’s not theworst class academically but in termsof discipline problems, we come outtops. The majority of the tyrants arein my class! As the form teacher ofsuch a class, I had a hard time tryingto tame them. I tried all the skills andtechniques I could think of, but noneworked. I was upset, frustrated andthought perhaps I was in the wrongprofession. I wanted to quit. I sharedwith Cikgu Dih Ting, my PIC. We bothdiscussed and worked out ways totame the kids. It turned out that it

11

wasn’t the kids who were the problembut my approach. I was a commanderin the class and the kids didn’t feelthat I cared for them. They werecraving for my attention. I startedusing the soft approach. I talked tothem more and showed that I cared. Iprayed for them too and I saw theeffect! It worked! God answered myprayer. They behave better now.

expressive person. I know that I haveto learn to be expressive verbally justto show the students that I love andcare for them. It was tough initiallybut now I guess I’m slowly getting thefeel of it, though I still need to brushup and practise more…perhaps forfuture use…ahem… Nevertheless, itis worth all the hard work. As I change,so have my students’ attitudes . It isall about the willingness to be molded.

Sylvia, Dih Ting and Teorene at MtHosanna Church, Serian

“If you remain in me and mywords remain in you, askwhatever you wish, and itwill be given to you”. John 15:7

Now it seems like theyhave tamed me instead. Ihave to change in order forthem to change. Yes, Ihave to be an armycommander and at thesame time, I have to besoft-spoken, loving andcaring. What acontradiction and it reallyrequires willingness andhumility to let God moldme.

I’m naturally not a verballymushy person. I am allergicto uttering mushy words. Ina nutshell, I’m not an

12

Thus says the tyrant….I had a peculiar boy in my class, tall,dark and gangster-like. Lesly is thename. He was infamous for beingrebellious. As a result he was the manof the class and the rest looked up tohim. However, one strange thing wasthat he consistently got the highestmarks for my paper (English). Oneday, he was late for my class and hecame in with a torn left sleeve. I couldsee patches of big tattoos on his upperleft arm.

“Lesly! What happened to you?Where did you go?”“Some students from 4G beat me up!” “Why? What did you do?” “I didn’t do anything, teacher. Theysaid they don’t like the way I look atthem, so they beat me up!”

I took the opportunity to talk to himand showed that I was concernedabout him (applying the soft side ofthe commander). I managed to calmhim down. As weeks passed by, withPMR just round the corner, I heardnews of students involved in gangfights again. I was thinking, Oh Lord,is my Lesly involved? As I popped myhead out of the office door, I wasrelieved Lesly was not involved.

It was a week before PMR and I asked

*****

the class to write comments about myteaching. I decided to improve myselfby taking note of the students’comments. I believe comments fromstudents are authentic and willenhance my pedagogy. As I walkedpast Lesly, I saw that he was notwriting. I asked him why and he said,“Cikgu, saya tidak ada apa-apa naktulis sebab saya suka cikgu.”(Teacher, I have nothing to writebecause I like you, teacher.) I froze fora moment. I didn’t know how to answer.

When I got back to the office, I satdown and shared with Cikgu Dih Tingand we both had a good laugh. I justrealized that I had made a tyrant say,“I like you teacher”. During the revisionperiod before PMR, he did all theexercises that I gave him and evencame and asked me questions likehow to score in the summary! I givethe glory to God! If it isn’t You, God,who else would it be?

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Bekenu - A Big Mistake?Teorene Ponniah

One whole school year has passedsince I was first posted to SMKBekenu, Miri. Wow! What a journey ithas been. I still can’t believe one yearhas already passed…

When I first landed in Bekenu, I wasso thankful to God that I was not alone.I had 3 other teachers with me. All ofus were from the Peninsular and aboutthe same age. So we decided to stickto each other no matter what. However,when we arrived at the school onFriday, 6 January, I felt that I would bemiserable for the rest of my liferegardless of how many people werewith me! Haha.. so glad I can laugh atthat now.

A lot of things shocked me, like howthe school didn’t need any scienceteachers. They desperately neededteachers for BM, English, Art etc. I alsodidn’t expect to be living in a kampung.But that was the only place around.All the teachers stayed in the nearbykampung. I was staying with someother teachers temporarily while Ilooked for my own house in thekampung. But the condition of all thekampung houses was the same. Nooffence to anyone living in a kampung

but I was just not used to it. I felt solousy and I just wanted to go home.Since it was a Friday I was wonderingwhere to go for church on Sunday. Iended up in the SIB Bekenu church. Itwas a house actually. Services arealways at someone’s house since theyhave no building. And everything wasin BM, sometimes Bahasa Iban!!!! Allthese things put together made me feelthat being posted here was a big, bigmistake and I was ready to leave myposting and find another position backhome in Klang. I worried family andfriends with my crying andcomplaining and went home the firstchance I got (Chinese New Yearholidays).

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But my God is a great God! And Hewas with me every step of the way.So, although there was an opportunityto move to a town school in Miri, Idecided to stay in Bekenu. I was stillfeeling pretty miserable about beingin Bekenu at that time but I knew inmy heart that moving to a town schoolwas not the answer. I even spoke tothe principal (a Christian by the way)about that town school and he toldme that it would be better for me toremain in Bekenu. The reason? I wasallowed to teach my major in Bekenu– Form 4 Chemistry! He said that wasa golden opportunity I would not getin a town school, and he encouragedme to be obedient to God’s ways andleading. After making my decision toremain in Bekenu, I felt better. Thingswere still difficult but I knew I wouldbe ok.

One year on now and I can say thatI’m pretty happy where I am. I decidedto stay in the school quarters (whichis very modern!) to avoid transportproblems. The staff members inschool are really easy to get alongwith and the students aren’t all bad.Going to town is pretty easy as well.The people in church have been reallynice and welcoming. I even sat in asampan (rowed by an 8 year old!) a

*****

few times to get to church. There weremany TCFers who called me duringthe first few months to find out how Iwas doing. Indy also gave me a contactin Miri – Audrey, who has been reallygreat and she introduced me to a wholelot of young adults. I’m also gratefulJohn Liew put me in contact with theSIB church in Bekenu. Talking tofriends (Anne, Sheena, Addrienne)who were going through similarexperiences helped tremendously.God really blessed me with all thesegood people to make my life a wholelot happier and easier. I have had somany experiences both good and badin this one year of teaching. Each onehas made me stronger and I am quiteexcitedly looking forward to anotheryear in Bekenu.

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Why do I say this? I was born and grewup in Kuala Lumpur. The location ofthe university that I attended enabledme to go home once a fortnight. I neverthought I would end up in some uluplace...well, I was wrong. It started on 12th September 2005,when all the newly recruited teachersneeded to assemble in KL beforeleaving for Sarawak. Let me rewind abit. When I received the offer letter toSarawak, my world collapsed. I wasreally sad and angry. I asked God,“Why me?” Most of my coursemateshad been posted to Johor. The funnything is when I visited Sarawak for acouple of weeks after I had received

Seeing KAPIT with New EyesEsther Woo

my offer letter, God seemed to hint tome twice that I would be sent to Kapit.I was really not prepared. I stillremember praying to God half-heartedly regarding this. God confirmed He had sent me to Kapitin two ways. You see, I had replied tomy offer letter a week later than thedue date. On the day when all therecruited teachers gathered, twoteachers still hadn’t got their tickets.They had sent their replies in time. Ihad sent mine in really late, yet I couldget my flight ticket. That’s one.

Then the moment of truth was revealed.Indeed, I was sent to Kapit. I asked

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one of the officers, “Is there Maxiscoverage?” He was so confident andanswered. “No. You better go and getyourself a Celcom line.” Some of theteachers that were sent to Kapittogether with me had already changedtheir handphone line. Me? Well, Iprayed hard that a miracle wouldhappen. I wasn’t sure about God’spower, honestly. I was praying with myheart full of doubt and uncertainty. Toreach Kapit, I needed to take a 3-hourspeed boat ride. Along the journey, Iwas constantly checking the signal barlines. Guess what? None! I thought tomyself I should have gotten myselfCelcom, just like the rest! When wereached our destination, I checked mybar lines again. PRAISE GOD!! Fullbar!! And this is the secondconfirmation. You may think it’s not abig deal. But for me it was, becauseGod had actually established Maxiscoverage for me a month before Icame. Isn’t God amazing?

Let me share with you my teachingexperience in Kapit. I was assignedto be a form teacher of Form 4students in 2006. I prayed earnestlydays before school started. I wasfearful of the language barrier. And itturned out to be true. My class, 4Ccomprised 34 Bumiputras and 6

Chinese. Being a city girl I had zeroknowledge of the local languages. Iwas also informed that my studentswere a collection of notorious studentsfrom different classes when they werein Form 3. These students had beenput together in my class.

This class broke my heart so manytimes with empty promises. They havecaused me to shed a lot of tears too.The early part of the year was toughfor me. I didn’t know my students welland always had high expectations ofthem academically. It built pressurewithin me. I had arguments with mystudents that nearly ruined ourrelationship. I always prayed that Godwould open ways for me to reconcilewith my students. I thank God for Heis always faithful. He did help me toreconcile with them.

I also want to thank God becausealong the way, God sent friends toencourage me. I want to take theopportunity to thank them: they areMiss Mau, Miss Sasikala and MissGuna. During the first few months, allthe classes needed to decorate theirnotice board. I was having problemswith my class monitor, and things wentout of hand. I went to the staff roomand cried out loud. I remember all ofthem sitting next to me and comforting

17

me. I really thank God for them. If theywere not there, I would have given upa long time ago.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 “Two are betterthan one, because they have a goodreturn for their work: If one falls down,his friend can help him up.”

After six months of teaching 4C, Ifinally understood what God wantedme to do. My students were very poorin almost every subject. God put methere, of course, to teach them, butmore importantly, I believe His divinepurpose is for me to instil goodcharacter and essential civic valueswithin my students. Moreover, I wasreading a book entitled ‘God is in myClassroom’. It really inspired me a lot.I was challenged by the author to seethe students through God’s eyes. Itwas difficult at first. Most of the subject

teachers that taught myclass complained to meand most of the time theywould come out from myclass angry. That’s howproblematic my class is.As time passed, I got toknow each individual better.I thank God that I could getto know them personally invarious ways.

Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be givento you; seek and you will find; knockand the door will be opened to you.”

It’s funny, after so many heartbreaksand headaches, I actually requestedthat I would be their form teacher againnext year. You may think it’s suicidalto go through all the pain and sufferingagain. But, after spending my time withthem, I believe they need a shepherd.Just like Jesus when He saw themultitudes without a shepherd, He feltcompassion for them. That’s how I feelfor them. In addition, they will be sittingfor the SPM next year. Besides, I’mHis tool to be used to finish His workthat had started in January 2006.

Lastly, I really don’t know what willhappen next year. All I need to do isjust pray and lean on Him constantly.

*****

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Let’s start at the very beginning. In theyear 2003, towards the end of my finalyear in the university, I was wonderingwhat to do with my life. It was thenthat a friend commented: “Sheena, youshould be a teacher!!”

That set me thinking. It is true that I’veenjoyed tutoring a number of students,and teaching seems to be so much apart of me…so…as things would haveit, the government was giving out ascholarship program (KPLI: KursusPerguruan Lepasan Ijazah) to anyinterested graduate. That was when Isaid to the LORD, “If this is what you

His Story of My LifeSheena Jeremiah

want me to be i.e. a teacher, then opendoors for me to be accepted as one ofthe candidates for KPLI.” The rest ishistory.

Batu Pahat – that was my next stopand my first taste of being away frommy family back in Kuala Lumpur. Butthis separation was not too difficult asI was able to go back home everyweekend and get all the love that Ineeded from my loved ones. Life wasstill a breeze and I was enjoying thisthought of being a teacher…until…

NEXT DESTINATION …. Sibu…This was

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the start of one of my many heartaches. When the letter from theMinistry of Education came saying,“Sukacita dimaklumkan bahawa andatelah dihantar ke Sarawak.” (It is ourpleasure to inform you that you’ve beenposted to Sarawak). In my heart it wasvery ‘dukacita’ (sad).Tears flowedfreely in my household when each onecame to hear of this news.

To cut a long story short, my familyand I attempted every means possible- from pillars to post - to get me out ofmy posting to Sarawak. We prayed,we knocked on doors. But in the end Iwas told that the Ministry of Educationwas not entertaining any requests fora change of posting. It was then thatthe Word of the Lord: ‘My ways arehigher than yours and my thoughts arehigher than yours’ came to me, and Iknew in my heart that I was safe inHis hands even though I did not knowwhat was around the corner.

3 Jan 2006 came and I was headedfor the Cat City, Kuching, Sarawak andthen to be told that I was to go to Sibuthe next day. So Sibu, here I come!!

Sibu, oh Sibu… By the mercies ofGod I had received a list of contacts inSarawak. When I heard that I wasdestined for Sibu, I contacted the 3

names that were listed under Sibu. Ireceived an immediate reply and waswarmly welcomed by these folks whenI landed there. By my second week inSibu, I was already given a role to playin the Youth group of WesleyMethodist Church. I marveled at theopen door that God had placed beforeme here and though I don’t have manyideas about Youth work, I was makingmyself available to Jesus to touch asmany lives as He would have me todo.

As for the school, what can I say. In aplace where I stood out in the sea ofChinese faces and where the localdialect is foreign to me, I learned tohumble myself under God’s mightyhands and do things His way and notmy way. I picked up a smattering ofMandarin in order to connect with mystudents so that I could begin to teachthem English. I learned that a touchcan communicate a thousand wordsto my students. And I learned thepower of prayer. Oh Lord, lead me alongthe path, lead me along the windingway. I trust enough not to know the‘why’ if You’ll show me to the ‘where’.This is my prayer for my time here inSibu. *****

Who Teaches? Who Learns?Marcus Khoo

I was watching an Astro advertisementthe other day, something about ateacher sharing a little bit about herlife as a teacher. The ad ended with areally interesting tagline: “SometimesI wonder. Who teaches? Who learns?”

Indeed, who is really the teacher andwho is really the learner? As a teacher,I find it impossible to just BE a teacher,someone who imparts knowledge,without first being taught myself. I canthink of so many instances when Ibecame the learner and my “teachers”are my pelajar-pelajar yang dikasihi.These instances can be summed upin stories. Stories that can only be toldby pictures, and here are some of myfavourites.

Story#1One afternoon when we wererehearsing for a Choral Speakingpresentation for Speech and PrizeGiving Ceremony, it suddenly startedto rain very heavily.

The rain was still coming down whenthe rehearsal ended. Suddenly, one ofthese boys came up to me and said,“Cikgu, mari. Main hujan!” It was themost bizarre request ever. My

immediate reaction was to decline, asI had just recovered from a fever, and Ifeared for my students’ health. (Myguess is that part of this reaction alsocame as a result of playing theteacher’s role. I guess you kind of growinto it as time passes.)

But they persistently kept going on andon, trying to push me out into the rain,in the hope of getting me wet, and thushaving an excuse to start playing inthe rain.

In the end, we had our 7 minutes ofsheer unbridled fun. It must have beena sight, to see this big buffalo with 5kids running, catching, splashing andgetting each other as wet as we couldin the rain, without any worries, withoutany cares.

I miss that sometimes. Sometimesbeing all grown up is good and all, butI thank God that I can still be remindedof the simple joys of childhood.

After everything was over, we dried off,took our baths and they came over tomy place for some mandatory photosnapping. It was an evening wellspent. I guess our faces just show it,no?

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As I look at this photo, I’m remindedof Ecclesiastes 3:1 – “To every thingthere is a season, a time for everypurpose under heaven.” To be achildlike teacher - that is something Ihope never to lose as I continue in myjourney as a teacher. A teacher is ateacher but when necessary he hasto be a parent as well. Sometimes hehas to put aside these roles and justbe a kid enjoying fun times with hisstudents. Playing in the rain remindedme of that.

Story #2I came across this drawing during prepone night while talking with a student.I absolutely LOVE this picture that hedrew. He’s one of the students in myclass, and he has a really infectiousand cute laugh.

Isn’t it something? I like to think of itas a nice way to picture our Fatherrunning with arms open wide to greetHis prodigal children. Or it could bean interesting interpretation of Matthew11:28.

Really, really nice. I’m humbled andamazed at the creativity that God putsinto each child.

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Story #3One of my first official duties this yearwas to be the Form 1 Coordinator. Thisrequired me to register new Form1 students, collect their school feesand handle other paperwork.

One day, I was speaking to a momabout her daughter’s fees. When I toldher the grand total (of RM 61), she

asked me if she could pay byinstalments as she had not broughtenough money.

Now, this is pretty common for thepeople here due to the poverty rate.Some even come in without anymoney, but just to register theirchildren.

After I said she could, this lady gave ahuge sigh and started goingthrough her bags. She paid RM 30 innotes, and another RM 20 in coins.She then told me that the coins in thebags had been collected and saved formany years, so that her daughter (andher other 2 children) could at least goto school this year.

My heart goes out to these people. Idid not realise the extent of theirpoverty until today. Since the beginningof registration and fee collection, I’ve

listened to the stories of many parentswho have given up a lot for theirchildren’s education. Some have gooddecent children, but some are just hereto play. That just makes things worseand more unfair.

How I wish that my students couldknow and understand their parents’sacrifice. Their parents believe thateducation will take them far in life. Asa teacher, I’m reminded that I’m notjust teaching students. I’m also fulfillingthe wishes and hopes and dreams oftheir parents. How important it is thento make sure the children receive thequality education that they deserve..

Story #4One thing that I really can’t get enoughof is joy in the simplicities of life here.I grew up in the city and it has createda longing for the really simple life.What can beat beautiful sunsets (andsunrises) and clear blue beaches, whileenjoying coconut drinks and eatingtarap (a local fruit here)?

I sometimes look at the lives of someof my students with envy. I’m quiteclose to the boy who’s drinking fromthe coconut, and in our interaction, I’mhumbled sometimes by how little Iknow about so many things: the bestway to cut down a tree, how to get

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honey, how to pluck ripe fruits, how todifferentiate between the jagung thatis already masak and the ones thatare not, how to differentiate betweenikan merah and ikan lumahan, how tomengetam, how to memukat etc etc.You don’t learn these things from aScience textbook.

The best part? They actually enjoydoing all these things! Oh, to go to thejungle and look for wild fruits, climb upthe trees, pluck the fruits and eat themon the spot. To be able to jump intothe river to search for lukan (a localseafood, looks a little bit like oysters),and then to roast them and eat themwith home-made sauce. Ah, the simplejoys of life! I long to experience andenjoy them, if only for a while.

Story #5There is no picture for this, for obviousreasons. But the memory will alwayslinger in our minds.

I’m talking about the students we don’tlike to talk about. These are thetroublemakers of the school, the onesthat we feel are hopeless. The oneswho only care about having a good time.The ones that drive you insane withtheir never-ending disrespect. The onesthat are in school to make trouble. Thekids that continue to laugh and applaudeven when you’re scolding them. Theones that have an answer to everythingyou say to them. The students thatwe feel disgusted with just looking atthem. The ones that we wish we couldget rid of or get them expelled as soonas possible. The ones we just can’twait to say goodbye to at the end ofthe year. Need I say more?

What can I say? It makes me sadsometimes to know that thesestudents just don’t care. And itsaddens me more that I can’t do muchto change them.

Sometimes I wonder what can actuallybe done to help these students. I findit so difficult to love them, the way Ilove my other students. Can this becalled favouritism?

At moments like these, I am remindedof our Lord Jesus Himself. He wentthrough all these, He still loved andforgave those who crucified Him.

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I guess love is really tough, even as ateacher. I am called to love even thosewho do not love me in return. It’s notimpossible, but, the Lord knows, it isextremely difficult.

Story #6I can never get tired sharing about thisboy, Eklin, the “son” I shared aboutlast year. I took him under my wingslast year to teach him to read. Wecontinued this year, every night for anhour, just reading and writing in BM.As expected, there would be nightswhen he would feel fed up with thework, nights when I would want to tearmy hair out trying to get him toremember one simple thing I hadtaught just the night before. There werenights when we would smile in pridebecause he had finally rememberedsomething. I’m glad that he hasprogressed so much since the timewe first started. I’m proud at how muchhe has grown in this past year.

This year, I said goodbye to Eklin. I donot think he will return next year, andpersonally, though I very much wanthim to come back, I don’t think heshould. He just sat for his PMR exam,but his work is way below the Form 3level. I cannot imagine how he wouldbe able to cope with the SPM workwith his limited reading and writing

ability. Wouldn’t he be better off gettinga job? That is, of course, for him andhis family to decide.

Looking back at the times we have had,I think I have never learned as muchfrom anyone else about being a teacheras I have from him. He reminded methat being a teacher means to look atsomeone the way Jesus looks at us,and not to look at someone’s worth bywhat he does or achieves. It is to seethe beauty of the person and who hereally is, as someone that Jesus lovedand died for. That’s what really counts.That’s what drives me as a teacher towant to work for my students, to wantto be with them as much as I can, andI guess that drives my students in turnto want to work for me.

Being a teacher also means to wantto be the best for your student, even if

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it means having to sacrifice what youwant, even if it means having to saygoodbye.

One of my favourite school stories isthe Malory Towers series by EnidBlyton. There is one scene that I like,the one where Miss Grayling (Head ofthe school) imparts her legendarywords of wisdom: “One day you willleave this school and go out into theworld as young women (and men). Youshould take with you eager minds, kindhearts and a will to help. You shouldtake with you a good understanding ofmany things and a willingness toaccept responsibility, and showyourselves as women (and men) to beloved and trusted. All these things youwill be able to learn at Malory Towers(or SMK Telaga) – if you will.”

“I do not count as our successes thosewho have won scholarships andpassed exams, though these are goodthings to do. I count as our successesthose who learn to be good-hearted andkind, sensible and trustable, good,sound women (and men) the world canlean on. Our failures are those who donot learn these things in the years theyare here.”

At many points this year, I felt a pangof sadness as the time to say goodbye

approached. I sometimes feel like I havenot done enough, like I still need moretime to nurture and care for this studentto make sure that he grows to be asuccess. I find myself asking whetherhe will be alright, whether he will makeit, and whether he will remembereverything that I have taught him. Ishudder at the thought of him goingastray, being led into wrong companyand ultimately throwing everything thatI have taught him out of the window.Yet, I cannot escape the inevitabilityof his leaving. I can only leave him withhope in my heart.

No matter what he may do in thefuture, I count my time with Eklin inschool as precious moments of joy.My hope is that he will grow to be theright kind of success, and that he willpass on this knowledge to those whocome under him in the future. This isas much as a teacher can hope forany of his students.

*****

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The Great Ular StoryMustard Seed

Ular story (Part 1)I was walking to class when I saw themonitor, a girl, rushing out of the classand hiding behind me. When I askedwhy, I only got some gibberish...

Since I could only catch 3 words, ular,anak, and main ..., my interpretationwas, “Someone had brought a toysnake to school.”

So, I walked into class and started toteach. The monitor scuttled in behindme and took her seat. Out of the cornerof my eye, I saw the Lead Superheroputting something in his pocket. Iignored him.....

Ular story (Part 2)After teaching my lesson and givingthem work to do, I sat down at theteacher’s desk... to catch my breathand to answer students’ queries.

And... soon, (as usual) the studentsstarted to come forward....Some genuinely to seek assistance...Some just to kacau.....Some just to chit chat....

I was sitting in my chair, leaningforward, on 2 legs (chair),... when the

Lead Superhero (out of nowhere) saidto me, “Cikgu, duduk elok-elok nantijatuh.”

Without giving it much thought, Ileaned my chair backwards..... andfelt..... Something cold sliding down,slowly... down my right calf....

For a micro-second, I froze. In thatmicro-second, many things flashedacross my mind... “It’s a snake... it’sTHE SNAKE!” I thought to myself...

But, I must keep cool, I told myself, “IfI lose my cool and scream…or evenshow the slightest expression of fear,I’ll lose the class for the rest of theyear. They will never listen to myinstructions anymore... becausethey’ve found a sign of weakness inme....”

With much difficulty and unexpressedagony, I kept my cool and pretendedthere was nothing. I didn’t even botherto glance down my leg.

Ular story (Part 3)Then, I felt it no more. The snakemanaged to make its way down thefloor. (Up to this point, I had only “heard

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about” and “felt” the reptile. I had yetto see it. So, I had no idea how big itwas, what its colour was, etc.)

I believe many eyes were on me,waiting to see any change ofexpression. Since I kept my faceselamba (although my heart waspumping like crazy), I guess thepranksters were rather disappointed.

When masa habis, I packed mymaterials and stuff and got ready toleave the class. Again, the girl-monitorscuttled behind me, and followed meout.

Me: Masuk kelas. Nanti cikgu lainmarah kamu.Monitor: Cikgu,... takut ular... takmau... Mereka main!

This time, I was ready (Anger canbe motivational and it can give birth tokeberanian). I marched back into theclass, and walked up to the LeadSuperhero....

Ular story (Part 4)Me: Keluarkan isi poket kamu!(Sticking my rotan into his face...)LS: Apa... cikgu, takde!Me: (A few decibles higher)KELUARKAN!LS: Takde, cikgu!Me: Saya kira sampai 5.... kalau tidak,

saya akan bawa hal ini terus kepadaPK HEM! .....SATU.... DUA....TIGA....EMPAT... LIM....

LS (Lead Superhero) took IT out of hispocket and placed it on the teacher’sdesk!!! It was olive green... about 5-6inches long, and it was alive!

But poor snake, poor baby snake. Ithad been manhandled too much. Thesnake was looking very weak. Still, Idared not touch it.

ME: Masukkan dalam kotak ini. (Ipushed forward my chalk box which Icarry around everywhere. I intended todispose of the reptile somewhereelse.)

Lead Superhero refused to comply. Heknew he “kalah already this round”. Iscored a point! He grabbed the snakeand flung it out the doorway. The reptileflew in a perfect trajectory... andlanded in some bushes some distanceaway.

This round... CIKGU MENANG!!!!!

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*****

Why did you choose to take upteaching?I chose to take up teaching becausemy life has indirectly revolved aroundteaching. I had helped a few youthsin their studies while I was waiting formy SPM results. I was also theswimming instructor for children aged10 to 14 years old when I was in form4 till 6. I was also very involved inteaching the Word of God to a groupof youths mostly (form 1 - 3) when Iwas in form 6. I only chose to teachwhen I was in upper six and I did noteven see all this. Before that I was notsure what I wanted to do. In April 1997,as I was praying about my future, Godbegan to open my eyes and I beganto see that my life had revolved aroundteaching. Every week, God gave mesome new insight about teachingwhich activated my interest. I diddouble math in my form 6 and I wasoffered a place to do my degreein engineering in Singapore. I felttempted to change my field but deepin my heart I knew I really likedteaching. So I guess God opened myeyes and showed me, but most of all,it is my INTEREST in teaching.

To Marudi with Passion

How have you found teaching inSarawak?Sarawak is a good place to start off inthe teaching profession. Here, youreally learn. The situation here is verydifferent from West Malaysia. Thestudents here are totally dependent onyou and they respect you a lot. Theparents even give you the permissionto punish or cane them for the good ofthe students. In West Malaysia, moststudents go for tuition and they do notwant to listen to the lesson a secondtime. So teachers are not motivatedto teach because students do not wantto listen. Furthermore, everyone wantsa better lifestyle, and most teachersgive tuition. (It is not wrong to givetuition as long as we give our best in

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John Liew

school and have time for our wife andchildren) How are you settling down?Marudi, the place I am teaching in, isa very safe town. We never hear ofhouses being broken into or of snatchthieves. No parking tickets, so youdon’t kena saman for not putting in thecoins. No traffic jams. Everything isjust 5 minutes away by road. Well Iguess, in West Malaysia people areworried about many things which I don’thave to worry about here. I only useabout RM 60.00 petrol a month. Theallowance that the Kementerian givesis able to cover even your airfare homefor the holidays.

I told my friend that Malaysia hasRancangan Malaysia 9. Well I have myRancangan John Ketiga. It’s my sixthyear here and praise God, I became adaddy in October this year. So I amgoing to extend my stay here for atleast another 3 years (my third plan). I always believe we affect the placewe go to.

Deuteronomy 28:3“Blessed shall you be in the city, andblessed shall you be in the country.It does not matter where you work orlive, what colour your skin is or whatyou do for a living. If God blesses you,

you are blessed! And it is all becauseof Jesus. So say to yourself, “I amblessed wherever I am — blessed inthe city, blessed in the country!”

When I chose teaching as myprofession, my mum was not happy.Back in 1997, teaching was the worstprofession. Having all Ds in yourSTPM result could still get you intoan education programme in universitythen. When I graduated in 2001, thegovernment increased the pay of thecivil servants by two tangga. And thenwhen the SSB was changed to SSMthey naik our gaji again. Thegovernment also gave a month’s bonuswhich had not been given for a very long time (economic slump in 1997).In 2003, science teachers were givena laptop and fortunately I was givenone. All this is because of How BIGMY GOD IS. If you believe that youwill have a miserable life in teachingor going to the interiors, you are goingto have a miserable life. If you knowhow big our God is and know that byyour obedience, many will be blessedbecause of YOU, it will be so. Are you involved in the localchurch?Being in school gives you theopportunity to reach out to students

Continued on pg 3229

To Telaga Pitas with Love

Why did you choose teaching?Initially I didn’t really think I wouldbecome a teacher. I wanted to be adoctor, a lawyer or a musician!However, circumstances didn’t allowme to have the luxury of what I wanted.Even when I signed up for the teachingcourse in university, I was still unsurethat I wanted to become a teacher. Ionly chose it because someonesuggested the idea to me, and I thought“why not?” I still didn’t really think thatI was cut out to be a teacher. Theturning point came when I took a 7week guru ganti job at a friend’sschool. Believe it or not, I was readyto quit on the second day! But thanksto a few teacher friends, they managedto pujuk me to stay on, and the 7weeks becamethe most well spenttime. After those 7weeks, I realisedthat God hadactually led me allthe way here,because He had apurpose for me.Since then, it hasbeen no turningback. Praise God!

How have you found teaching inTelaga Pitas?Well, I guess it’s ok. The school ispretty small (about 310 students with20 teachers), so everyone knowseveryone. To be honest, I like it likethis. But of course, teaching here hasits own set of challenges. English hereis a huge problem. And don’t be fooledinto thinking that kampung folk aregenerally more demure than city folk.We have our own disciplinaryproblems too. But I think the “standard’problems like hair, cutting classes,smoking etc. are everywhere la.Except maybe for us here, it’s notsuch a BIG problem (probably becauseof the size of the student population). You have to be ready to teach

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Marcus Khoo

Marcus Khoo and his look-alikes

ANYTHING. As a new teacher, don’texpect to teach what you majored in,especially if you’re in a BIG school.I’m not an English major, but last year,out of my 24 periods a week, I spent15 teaching English. This year, out of22 periods, I teach 10 periods ofEnglish. One thing that teaching has taught methus far is to be creative. That can onlycome if you keep an open mind and asensitive eye to everything. You can’talways use the same teachingmethods for each class every year.Different students respond differentlyto different teaching methods ondifferent chapters and subjects.Variety is the spice of life. There aredays where you have to be strict, thereare days where you have to be fun,there are days where you have to beapologetically boring. Be alive, besparky, be childish but be professionaland be sensitive. Remember, you’redealing with a lot of HUMANS, notROBOTS. Like you, they also havefeelings, but unlike you, they may nothave the capacity to be asunderstanding as you. How are you settling down?Well, I don’t stay in the kampungoutside, as I’m staying in the school.So my community pretty much

comprises other teachers here andstudents in the hostel. I like it this waysometimes, because I get to know mycolleagues a bit better than if I were tojust see them in school. We playbadminton, watch tv, play volleyballand have jamuans together. It’s great. I spend the bulk of my time withstudents. Ask anyone of my teacherfriends here, and they’ll tell you thatout of the 24 hours in a day, I’m onlyat home for about 8 hours. Most of thetime, I’m either in school doing workor in school hanging out with students(even on weekends). I know it’s not sohealthy, but it does make meappreciate time alone by myself, whenI’m not thinking about work. As a single teacher, you have to knowhow to cook! I have my students tothank on how to choose and clean fish,how to recognise the differencebetween sawi and kangkung, how tocook etc. Oh, and of course, I owe allmy culinary expertise to Adabi,Brahim’s and Maggi. There are only 3great ingredients in this world: garlic,oyster sauce and Ajinomoto. Neverleave home without them! Are you involved in CF / localchurch etc?There is no local church here. The

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nearest church is about 2 hours walk away from here at a 100% Christiancommunity, but it isn’t in a language I understand. I used to go to church whichis about an hour’s drive by gravel road, but some complications came up regardingtransport and I decided maybe it’s best not to go for now. There is no official CF in the school, but this year, we started a small Sundaymeeting at 7 pm for the hostel students. There would be a reading of the Word,and then I would give a short sharing (about 10-15 minutes) and then a closingprayer. We’re still in the process of asking for an official CF. Many students here are nominal Christians, as they ‘inherit’ their religion fromtheir parents. Some are committed, and some are eager to learn, some justdon’t really care, and only prefer to come when there’s singing. Out of 150Christian students, only about 50 come regularly to the Sunday meetings.

*****

where pastors, deacons, or church leaders cannot do so. Your lifestyle is yourtestimony in school. I am more involved in the Inter school Christian Fellowship(ISCF) than in church activities. Don’t over commit to church activities to thepoint that you neglect your calling to be a teacher. I am very sad to see someso involved in church till they don’t have time to help out in the CF in school.Remember CF is part of building up the students in school. It is part of theschool activities and you are paid to do so. No doubt you will never get rewardedin the school for what you do for the CF, but our Father in heaven watches andHe remembers. Look at the reward I have shared about. Right now the ISCF inmy school is hitting 400 members. In July, we had about 500 watching ‘ThePassion of Christ’ by Mel Gibson. Two months later, the police thanked Pastorbecause there were no juvenile cases for the past 2 months. Amazing Grace! At that time 50 people gave their lives to Christ. In August, 50 students werebaptised. We also have a short mission trip to the interior by boat and we seeGod moving in wonders and miracles in the school. There is so much to sharebut the best thing is for you to visit me and see for yourself. Your heart will beset on fire for Christ after your journey here. All glory to Jesus.

Continued from pg 29

32*****

Thy Kingdom Come, ThyWill Be Done…In January 2006, about 1000East Malaysian teacherswere posted to PeninsularMalaysia to address theshortage of primary schoolteachers, especially in ruralareas in the state of Johor.In return, an estimated 600secondary school teachersfrom Peninsular Malaysia teachersreceived their first posting, to Sabahand Sarawak.

Churches have expressed concern overthe issue of young Christian teachersbeing posted to areas where they areisolated from Christian communities.These young teachers may facedifficulties and inconveniences infinding churches for worship orChristian support groups to help themadjust to the new environment.

Shouldn’t the church be rejoicing andpraising the Lord? Here, you haveyoung Christians being sent into theharvest field. The church talks aboutoverseas missions, seasonal missiontrips and etc. Why doesn’t the church

capitalize on this valuable manpower,the Christian teachers, in the localscene? Train and equip our youngChristian teachers so that we can beeffective Christian witnesses in ourareas of postings, regardless howmodern, urban, rural, remote, isolatedit can be.

Leaders of the churches, be‘Moseses’ and mentor the youngteachers-to-be as your ‘Joshuas’.Equip our young Christian teachers.Give us the rooting and grounding inGod’s word. Empower us with GOD’SWORD. Help us to put on the fullarmour of God so that we can takeour stand against the devil’s schemes.Young Christian teachers need tostand firm, with the belt of truth

A Coal Away from the FurnaceMustard Seed

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buckled around the waist, with thebreastplate of righteousness in place,and with our feet fitted with thereadiness that comes from the gospelof peace. In addition to all this, weneed to take up the shield of faith, withwhich we can extinguish all the flamingarrows of the evil one. We must takethe helmet of salvation and the swordof the Spirit, which is the word of God.Pamper us no more. After spendingyears growing up and being groomedin the comfort and protectiveenvironment of the church, it’s time toleave the nest. We are all but pilgrimson a journey. It’s time to pack our tentsand move on. The harvest is plentiful,yet the workers are few.

The churches can help the youngChristian teachers by using theirnetworks to link the teachers with localchurches within proximity of the areaof their postings. Other than that,

Teachers’ Christian FellowshipMalaysia (TCF) has a giant networkall over Malaysia; Peninsular as wellas Sabah and Sarawak.

Easier Said Than Done…Is that so? Well, the Bible tells methat I can do anything through Him whogives me strength!

“I have my needs and desires. Theplace is so ‘ulu’ and inconvenient.”The Lord will guide you always; He willsatisfy your needs in a sun-scorchedland and will strengthen your frame.(Isaiah 58:11)

“How about my own spiritual needs?There’s no church in sight.”Now he who supplies seed to the sowerand bread for food will also supply andincrease your store of seed and willenlarge your harvest of righteousness.(2 Corinthians 9:10)

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“I’m still single and what if I can’t finda suitable life-partner.”The eyes of the Lord range throughoutthe earth to strengthen those whosehearts are fully committed to him. (2Chronicles 16:9)

“I’m not being appreciated here. Theschool treats me like a spare tyre.”But, “Let him who boasts boast in theLord.” For it is not the one whocommends himself who is approved,but the one whom the Lord commends.(2 Corinthians 10:17-18)

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You Are Not AloneThe challenges and issues are as real as can be. ‘Mustard Seed’ can attest tothat, having been and is still living through them.

Dear fellow Christian teachers of today and tomorrow,

Do not fear, for I am with you;Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you;I will uphold you with my righteous hand. Isaiah 41:10

*****

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IN PARTNERSHIP

I have been greatly inspired by thetestimonies of the beginning teachersin this issue. I am currently waiting fornews of my posting which is expectedto come next year. (I did two and ahalf months of temporary teaching atSt Xavier’s, Penang this year). I haveto admit that I was once fearful of arural posting. But my friends’ storieshave opened new perspectives andstrengthened me to “trust in God andlean not on my own understanding.”

Indy did a powerpoint presentation atthe Penang Student-Teachers’ campin November on how this batch ofnewly-posted teachers are doing inEast Malaysia. The trainees and I werevery stirred by their passion and great

service for the Lord.

Teaching was not the first choice formany of the trainees. But after hearingthe testimonies of John, Marcus,Sheena and Dih Ting, they have a newperspective of the teaching profession.

Without the beginning-teachersknowing it, they have caused a waveeffect and created a renewed zeal andpassion for our calling as teachers. Soguys, keep running the race and keepgoing for Jesus. The lives we touchcontinue to create a ripple effect. Mayour Master Teacher guide us and grantus His wisdom in our vocation andcalling.

by Ooi Jan Lyn

Jan Lyn (in skirt) with student-teachers from Penang