Gladys Aylward

I don't think many of us have heard who Gladys Aylward is. I only read about her recently in a book. And I am utterly amazed at this heroine of faith.

She was a poor English woman who felt the Lord's calling for her to go into mainland China as a missionary. That was a few years before 1930. However, she was rejected by a mission organization because she was deemed to old to learn the Chinese language.

That did not stop her. She worked as a parlordmaid (similar to our present-day domestic helper) and saved up most of her savings to purchase a ride to China. Even then, her ride to China was not easy. She had to take ships, trains and even do some walking because of wars and battles. She survived and made it to China.

In summary, look at the odds stacked against her:

1. She was poor.
2. She was rejected by a mission organization.
3. She had to endure an arduous and difficult journey to China (alone!).
4. She can't speak any Chinese language when she first reached China.
5. She had to do share the gospel to people who considered her 'foreign devil'.
6. The Japanese attacked China and she was caught in the middle of the firefight during WW2.
7. The civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists happened after WW2.

All the above did not stop her. She helped started an inn to share the gospels with people who stopped by, became a foot inspector and shared the good news with women, put down a prison rebellion, adopted orphans and most incredibly, evacuated 100 orphans to Xian with little resources via treacherous mountains and Japanese patrols and warplanes nearby.

Subsequently, she served in Taiwan till she was called home to be with the Lord in 1970. 

Here was a life, totally expended and given to the Lord. Besides Glayds' great faith in the Lord, she overcame all of the odds mainly because she had a willing heart. And God certainly used her to transform many others.

That caused me to reflect on my life. Complaining and grumbling at times when serving God. What I had experienced is only but a small fraction of what Gladys went through. 

My prayer today is: "God, I am willing."

This is me, checking in today

Last night, Pastor Khong preached a message about "The King and I - The Divine Romance". As he was reading out this poem about old Jim, I was deeply touched. Somehow, in the midst of so-called busyness, I have often neglected my devotion time with God.

I want to learn from old Jim. Here it goes (extracted from http://www.fathershands.com/jim/):

A minister passing through his church
in the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar
and see who had come to pray.

Just then the back door opened,
a man came down the aisle,
The minister frowned as he saw
the man hadn't shaved in a while.

His shirt was kinda shabby
and his coat was worn and frayed,
the man knelt, he bowed his head,
then rose and walked away.

In the days that followed,
each noon time came this chap,
each time he knelt just for a moment,
a lunch pail in his lap.

Well, the minister's suspicions grew,
with robbery a main fear,
He decided to stop the man and ask him,
"What are you doing here?"

The old man said, he worked down the road.
Lunch was half an hour.
Lunchtime was his prayer time,
for finding strength and power.

"I stay only moments, see,
because the factory is so far away;
as I kneel here talking to the Lord,
this is kinda what I say:

"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM CHECKING IN TODAY."

The minister feeling foolish,
told Jim, that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome
to come and pray just anytime.

Time to go, Jim smiled, said
"Thanks." He hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar,
he'd never done it before.

His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
and met with Jesus there.
As the tears flowed, in his heart,
he repeated old Jim's prayer:

"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN TODAY."

Past noon one day, the minister noticed
that old Jim hadn't come.
As more days passed without Jim,
he began to worry some.

At the factory, he asked about him,
learning he was ill.
The hospital staff was worried,
but he'd given them a thrill.

The week that Jim was with them,
brought changes in the ward.
His smiles, a joy contagious.
Changed people, were his reward.

The head nurse couldn't understand
why Jim was so glad,
when no flowers, calls or cards came,
not a visitor he had.

The minister stayed by his bed,
he voiced the nurse's concern:
No friends came to show they cared.
He had nowhere to turn.

Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up
and with a winsome smile;
"the nurse is wrong, she couldn't know,
that in here all the while
everyday at noon He's here,
a dear friend of mine, you see,
He sits right down, takes my hand,
leans over and says to me:

"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM,
HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP,
AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN.
ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY,
I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY,
AND SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS
CHECKING IN TODAY."

Remember the Poor

Galatians 2:10 "All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along."

During this festive period, while it is not wrong for us to celebrate and have some fun here and there, I think that it is very important for us to remember the poor.

Very often, when many of us think about this phrase "remember the poor", the first thought that comes to our minds would be something like we need to donate some money, visit some homes, help out at some centres, etc. Yes, these are all things that we can and should do.

But I would like to approach this "remember the poor" from another angle.

My sister-in-law just came back from a short-term mission trip to Batam. There, her team and her met many people who lived in poor conditions. There was this particular lady that she met who had problems making ends meet. In fact, everyday she would have to walk to a far away place just to get food for her family. When my sister-in-law asked the lady what her prayer requests were. Her simple answer was "please pray that I am able to attend church every week".

She didn't ask for food, nor other material things. She only asked to be able to go church every week. My sister-in-law was deeply touched, as were I and my wife when we heard the story.

Materially, we may be far better off than this lady from Batam. But spiritually, she is probably way richer than most of us here.

When I remember the poor now, I also remember that the poor may be happier and spiritually richer than me. And I hope to love and desire Jesus as much as they do.

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday.

For Christians like me, this day is the day that we remember our Lord Jesus for going to the cross. My heartful desires today is to enjoy God's presence, rather than God's blessings.

My heart's prayer:

"I just came again to tell You, Lord,
How happy I've been,
Since we found each other's friendship
And you took away my sin.
Don't know much of how to pray,
But I think about You everyday.
So, Jesus, this is Sze Kiang
Checking in today."

The above prayer was adapted from the following poem link: http://www.strangecosmos.com/content/item/105351.html. I found it through one of my spiritual nephews - Samuel's blog post. Tears swelled up in my eyes as I read the poem. Here it goes.

Checking In

A minister passing through his church
in the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar
and see who had come to pray.

Just then the back door opened,
a man came down the aisle,
The minister frowned as he saw
the man hadn't shaved in a while.

His shirt was kinda shabby
and his coat was worn and frayed,
the man knelt, he bowed his head,
Then rose and walked away.

In the days that followed,
each noon time came this chap,
each time he knelt just for a moment,
A lunch pail in his lap.

Well, the minister's suspicions grew,
with robbery a main fear,
He decided to stop the man and ask him,
"What are you doing here?"

The old man said, he worked down the road.
Lunch was half an hour.
Lunchtime was his prayer time,
For finding strength and power.

"I stay only moments, see,
because the factory is so far away;
as I kneel here talking to the Lord,
This is kinda what I say:

"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM
CHECKING IN TODAY."

The minister feeling foolish,
told Jim, that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome
To come and pray just anytime.

Time to go, Jim smiled, said "Thanks."
He hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar,
he'd never done it before.

His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
and met with Jesus there.
As the tears flowed, in his heart,
he repeated old Jim's prayer:

"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I
THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN TODAY."

Past noon one day, the minister noticed
that old Jim hadn't come.
As more days passed without Jim,
he began to worry some.

At the factory, he asked about him,
learning he was ill.
The hospital staff was worried,
But he'd given them a thrill.

The week that Jim was with them,
Brought changes in the ward.
His smiles, a joy contagious.
Changed people, were his reward.

The head nurse couldn't understand
why Jim was so glad,
when no flowers, calls or cards came,
Not a visitor he had.

The minister stayed by his bed,
He voiced the nurse's concern:
No friends came to show they cared.
He had nowhere to turn.

Looking surprised, old Jim spoke
up and with a winsome smile;
"the nurse is wrong, she couldn't know,
that in here all the while everyday at noon
He's here, a dear friend of mine, you see,
He sits right down, takes my hand,
Leans over and says to me:

"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM,
HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP,
AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN.
ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY,
I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY,
AND SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS
CHECKING IN TODAY."

That's life...

Just a day ago, I received news that one of my secondary school classmates, Eugene (not his real name) suffered a relapse. He was found to have cancer of the blood a few years. Thankfully, he was able to overcome the illness at that time.

Until now.

And so it happens that Eugene had a very good friend, Jason (not his real name again). I was in the same class as the two of them when I was Sec. 3 and Sec. 4.

Jason had passed away about 4 years ago. Cancer of the blood as well.

I really asked God "Why?". Eugene and Jason are both of the same age as me. Good academic results. Good people. Good characters.

My heart was really heavy when I went for service today. When I read Psalm 27, together with the rest of the church, it gave me great comfort. Though I still don't have an answer as to why things had to happen to Eugene and Jason, I believed that I will eventually see the goodness of God in this fallen world, and not just tragedies. I just need to wait.

13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Life can be unpredictable. Are you cherishing every moment of your life as if it's the last?


There's something practical you can do for Eugene. If you're between 17 - 50 years old and are reasonably healthy, do go down and register yourself as a Bone Marrow donor. You just need to give a small amount of blood to be checked and fill up a simple form. Find out more at this website: The Bone Marrow Donor Programme. You can save lives.

My Heart's Prayer

Early in the morning, I came across this Christian song (by Planetshakers) that bears the following lyrics. Let this be my prayer to Jesus today.

"If You can use anything,
Won't You use me.

Take me and break me
And mould and make me.

You died for me,
So I'm living for You

I'm living for You,
I'm living for You."