A Word From An Ex-Advisor

Heart to heart with Asso. Prof. Dr. Phua Kia Kien

The PPK of CF as we call today, was already in existence in May 1986 when I first reported for duty as a lecturer in the department of Chemical Pathology, PPSP. Dr. Low Heng Chin, who joined the Department of Community Medicine in July 1984, had taken over responsibility for a small group of Christians at PPSP in the Penang Campus when Dr. Graham McCall (from the Department of Surgery) was transferred to the Kelantan Branch campus in 1985. The 2 CFs continued to exist as 2 separate groups until June 1990 when the two halfs of the Medical School finally merge to form PPSP as we know it today. Through the encouragement of Graham and Jenny McCall and the perseverance of the Christian student leaders then, the group was first registered as the Persatuan Pelajar Kristian Kubang Kerian (PPK KK) toward the end of 1989, which was also the year the McCalls returned to UK. By the grace of God the group grew in size as Dr. Low and I remain faithful to the calling. With the merging of the 2 halfs of PPSP and the opening up of new courses for diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (1992) and Nursing (1994), there were more students at the new PPSP complex in Kelantan. Later, it was called the ‘Health Campus’ (HC) when new schools, ie. School of Dental Sciences and School of Health Sciences, were formed in 1998 and 1999, respectively; and with it a rise in the Christian student population.

In its infancy the group was besieged with many problems, but by God’s grace, the CF survived and now stands as a towering witness to the power and wisdom of a might God. As part of the requirements of USM, Dr. Nick Jackson and I were appointed advisors to the CF. This we were willing to do as it would further the cause of the CF. There we serve as conduits for the CF to channel our request to the authorities. We were indeed blessed with facilities and opportunities that allow us to have an impact on the community in the HC. Personally, I felt much blessed by the comradeship of Dr. Nick and Dr. Alison Jackson (Department of Community Medicine). They not only took the burden off my shoulders sharing in the teaching ministry at the CF which Dr. Low’s passion and love for the students had sustained us for 5 years, but also encouraged me by their selfless sacrifices for others. As the population grew, we moved from our home-fellowship meetings to the lecture halls. Sometimes our gatherings were small and sometimes they were large, but we desired above all to meet with the Lord every time we got together. We saw the hand of the Lord in many projects we undertook, inspite of racial polarization problems that broke up in the campus.

In 2003, after 17 years at the CF, I relinquished my duties to Dr. Tee Meng Hun when I took my Sabbatical leave. I felt it was time to pass the baton along to a younger and more suited lecturer – for the responsibility and priviledge! One of my greatest joys as a member of the CF was being able to introduce people to Jesus and to help them discover of rediscover their faith. It has been my blessing to see young people turn to Christ, from a lukewarm heart to one that is full of enthusiasm and love for Him. It is indeed a joy to see people discover their potential to serve the Lord and be willing channels of blessings for others.

Over the years, I have seen many CF members come and go, and many have left behind a legacy of the love and faithfulness of an endearing God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who paved the way for this small group to grow and prosper even in the midst of real challenges. Indeed, many can testify that it is through those trials and tribulations that we grew as a community as remain faithful to the cause of the Gospel Message. To those of you who are new to CF of you have just joined as a student, do rest assured that God has provided the best for you, and you are precisely where you should be at this time of your life. Open your heart to the opportunities and possibilities around you that calls you to be His messenger. For it is in answering this call, to be His ambassador in this campus, that we will most satisfaction. If you have not been going to the CF, may I encourage you to do so, for there you will find enduring friends that will last a life time! Trust me, for I have been there….

Experiencing God in Christmas

Testimony by L. B. Liang

Hi brothers and sisters,
First of all, for those who have never heard of me, I am Lau Bik Liang, a 4th year medical student from Sibu, Sarawak.

Christmas night is coming soon. This is the biggest event for CF. I have been through three meaningful Christmas nights in USMKK that has brought me a lot of good memories.

In my first year, I was so excited about Christmas night that I wished to participate in a lot of performances. However I ended up with only joining choir. Haih… Maybe I really am not a talented person, haha! Never mind, I still enjoyed myself during that Christmas because I found something special about CF – love among brothers and sisters. CF had given me a sense of belonging and we are all like in a big family with lots of care and encouragement from each other. During that time, we spent a lot of time and effort in practicing choir. Despite feeling exhausted, we got support from each other. Besides that, many Christians who seldom turn up for routine CF meeting also came to help for Christmas night. There was a great deal of fellowship among us. It was a warmth Christmas night for me staying so far away from my family

The following year, I was surprised to be asked to take charge of Christmas night choir. In the beginning of our practice, we faced problems like a lack of musicians and song selections. We have a very limited number of musicians as compared to now during that time and most of the musicians were final year students who were very busy in their study. Thus, I feel quite stress at that time. Thanks to the Christmas night committee that year who prayed continuously for these matters and we finally got the musicians. I think God had answered our prayers and that’s why most of our problems were solved. Prayer is great!

Last year’s Christmas was a struggle to me, the most struggling, in fact. I actually felt bored after serving two years in Christmas night. However, David (our previous CF president) came to my room and asked me to become vice president for the Christmas night committee. At first I rejected because of my Pro 2 exam. I wished to focus more on my studies since that was my Pro 2 exam year. Previously we rarely see a Year 3 medical student taking such a heavy job in any CF event. Thus, that discouraged me in taking the position as the vice chairman for Christmas night. The thought of worrying about “others would have a chance to study much more than I do as they continued to stay in their room” had ruminated in my mind. Thank God that in the end, I did agree to become vice president and my results was considered good enough for me to enter my 4th year. Haha! I think this was the first time I struggle to participate in God’s work and I am glad that I had chosen the correct pathway

This coming Christmas, I wish I can continue to involve in the work of God and experience God’s work on me. For those brothers and sisters who still hesitate to help in Christmas night, please hurry to lend a helping hand. I am sure God will make this a special Christmas for you as He had made it for me in the past three years.

May God bless you all!!!

Tuesday with Morrie

Testimony by T. Liszen.

… a book that I read during early in my fourth year in University, I could recall not much of the book’s messages, but there is one chapter, one particular that keeps on lingering in my mind until now…and will once in a while pop out to echo loud in my mind. It is a chapter where Mitch, the author asked his old, bed-ridden professor, Morrie, who had been afflicted with a disease known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS, about his opinion of the Book of Job. I suppose Mitch was wondering how a suffering patient like Morrie would see God’s deeds on Job in order to test Job’s faith.

As a Christian who was very enger to know more about God then, I am ashamed to admit here that I was terrified when reading through the Book of Job.
Yes, I was terrified.
“If I were to give all out for God, will I be experiencing the same situation as Job?”
It was not the adversities to come in the way that I feared the most; It was the process of testing my faith to God.
I love God very much; at least that was what I thought I was then. “But will my faith survive all those adversities if I were Job?”
Despite all these thoughts, I could not help but try to learn to be a good servant of God, because without His salvation, I will not be here writing this. Hallelujah!
Hence I began my journey to learn to be a good servant since my Year 4 in University. And more often than not, I would be encountering helplessness, loneliness and being perceived as a weird person or hypocrite. I survived these and I said to myself. “Hmm, not bad…may be it is not as bad as I thought it will be. Yes, as long as I put my eyes on God, God will help me to go through all those trivial trials. He will be my strength when I am weak.”
I had been holding to that thought whenever I encounter difficulties, until a few months ago, I found myself too weak to even to think of that thought.
I was confused, bitterly in pain emotionally and physically, and worse, I blamed God for what had happened.
I blamed Him for giving me a problem that could not be undo, I blamed Him for allowing that incident to happen, I blamed Him for involving the people I care and love all this while, if all these were to help me to grow…why it could not be that I being the one and only who undergo it?
Then during the CF meeting when Mick came to preach about “Encounter”, he said about how job demands of God an explanation of his plight, and God said,

“Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer me.
Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?”
Those verses were like a slap on my face.

Who am I and what am I to question and to even blame God? Then I realized that I had been loving and worshiping not God, but rather God’s gift and blessings upon me. I love what God can bless me with, to the extent that I idolize the gifts, not the Giver. That is the reason, I suppose, I agonized so much when things gone so wrong in my eyes, and forgot that sometimes, humans will never be able to comprehend all of God’s ways. For God’s ways are higher than our way.

The recently, God put me through a serial of events to help me to seize the meaning of true faith in Him. I could not share with people I love what are in my mind, what are troubling me and why am I acting in such ways. It was indeed a true agony, when the people you love started to doubt you and you could do nothing to make them understand. Then I learned at that time, am I not the same? Putting God into such situation myself? I doubted Him so many times, while deep inside, I know He loves me, and He has always been there for me. It must have been very painful for God too, to have His child to doubt Him, when all the things He has been doing, are for the good of His child, just that it is beyond the child’s ability to learn the blessings behind. Thus, I know now, Father in Heaven, that I should keep on having faith in You, even if the situation looked terribly grim and messed up at that moment.
And at the end of that chapter, Morrie answered Mitch, “I think, God overdid it.”
Personally, I think, God was doing things in His ways, in accordance to His will.
Well, so now I am really grateful and praising God for the trials He has been giving me, and I think there are more to come…but thank you, Father in Heaven, for promising me that You will not give me burden that I cannot bear. And I would really love to end this by sharing with you all these verses.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4.

Interaksi and Intergrasi Persatuan Photos

Its been a very long time since i updated this blog. Poor internet connection in campus really really frustrates me a lot, plus the busyness studying and ward work at HUSM. Now that Im having Hari Raya break, this is really a good opportunity for me to post blogs on my life from since Convo break til now. Wow! Wat a long period!!! Many ppl actually tell me that they viewed my blogs but sometimes i do wonder why they didnt post any comment here…

One eventful event in campus recently (not really recently la…) was the Hari Interaksi dan Intergrasi Persatuan. It was a day for all the societies in USMKK to participate in common activities such as choir presentation, futsal and sukanneka. Im really glad that CF took part in it, it shows that CF is not just another closed society but a society tat plays a role in campus events. I do really hope tat
CF can continue to play a significant role in building up lives within and outside USMKK. I was involved in the sukaneka and futsa. In futsal, we drew once and lost twice. Though didnt qualify for semifinal, we really had a nice time ‘fellowshiping’. The girls came in to watch our last game and supported us. Wow, how touched! But 1 good news we got, CF won the sukaneka event. Thanks to God

CF Welcoming Night…

CF welcoming nite was over bout 2 hours ago. Year in, year out, they organize this specially for the 1st years beginning of the semester. I edi cant remember the previous CF welcoming nite, so much events and memories.

Every year I see new students, and for the past 3 years, I was among the first few seniors who see the first years as they stepped in USMKK. (What to do, Im PPMS ma…) I see them coming with hopes, dreams, inspirations. But as the years go on, as I see some of them grow older and more matured, changes happens. People gets less excited bout campus life, less excited bout studies, less excited bout CF, etc etc. We dont blame them, maybe they have found other purposes in campus. Even me myself, sometimes lost motivation in CF events. Old edi gua…

But I know clearly, seniors have to set a good example for juniors to follow. And its through this CF events that we get to relate to the juniors, show to them what campus life is all about. How they can find God in this stressful and lifeless place, is through our sharing to them. Only when we learn to sacrifice, then they will learn to do the same to the younger ones, and the cycle goes on. There may be times we fail, but as long we gets up, and put our focus on God, the fruits will come.

Last friday, during the Cell leaders meeting, I ‘hantam’ all other Cell leaders. I told them, if you all just become Cell leaders for 1 year and then quit, you all are gonna bring more harm and good to your members. It was actually the previous Cell leaders who quitted after just 1 year of serving, but I was reminding this new Cell leaders, that if they follow the footsteps of those Cell leaders who quit after 1 year, the members are the ones who will find it difficult to cope with new Cell groups. And because of this problem, CG members are owiz changing every year.

Its not that I purposely wanna ‘hantam’ them but this problem of Cell leaders quitting has been a chronic one. I felt the need to voice this out and solve it once and for all. But, anyway, I really thank God that this year will be my last year serving as Cell leaders. Even after graduate, I will not be a Cell leader in church for some time. Really ‘traumatised’ edi…

Anyway, back to CF welcoming nite… I really had a nice time playing those childish games, as if im back in 1st year… But some juniors were like saying I look too serious during the nite. But sadly, the pretty murni girl did not come…