The Cross of Christ

Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry the cross of Jesus. One of the thieves crucified with Jesus was convicted by Jesus dying on the cross. Albert Orsborn wrote a beautiful song:

Many thoughts stir my heart as I ponder alone;
Many places attract me with charms all their own;
But the thought of all thoughts is of Christ crucified,
The place of all places, the hill where He died.

O the charm of the cross! How I love to be there!
With the love that shines from it, what love can compare?
The seal of my ransom in Calvary I see,
All my sin, O my Saviour, laid upon Thee

'Tis the end of my sin and the source of all grace;
'Tis the word of God's love to a prodigal race;
'Tis the greatest, the grandest gift God could impart,
Surpassing my reason but winning my heart.

For the sake of the Christ and the love of His cross
I have yielded my all and not reckoned it loss;
There's a place in my heart which the Saviour must fill;
No other can take it, and none ever will.

What beautiful words! They really touch my heart. Hope it does yours

Palm Sunday at William Booth Corps

I'm glad I belong to William Booth Corps. Our Corps Officer, (pastor) Major Pascoe keeps faithfully to the church calender and observes the various seasons like Advent, Lent,Whitsun, etc. Yesterday was Palm Sunday. The hall was decorated with Palm branches, the songs were appropriately chosen and the message was on Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on the donkey to the cheers of the crowd. After the last song, children marched into the hall waving palm branches and singing hosannas to the Lord. What a delight to see the kids looking so happy singing praises as they marched round and round the hall much to the delight of the adults.

There were more than 200 people in the congregation and we all joined in singing and praising God. Sing, sing hosanna!

We now look forward to our meeting on Maundy Thursday when we shall meet to reflect on Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. On Good Friday we shall join with our brothers and sisters of the other corps in worship at Bishan.

Easter will begin with the usual Sunrise Service at 6.30 a.m. followed by breakfast. We shall meet again in the main hall for our Easter meeting at 10.00 a.m. when we shall celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Changi Corps Retreat for local officers

I was privileged to be invited by Lieut. Colonel Prema Rajan to speak at the above retreat held at the Training College at Praisehaven. What a great time of fellowship. My wife and I were truly blessed.

The retreat began on Friday evening when Major Pascoe (CO of William Booth Corps) gave the keynote address.

On Saturday, I gave four talks on the theme "DARE TO BE DIFFERENT" based on the life of Joseph and ended with the final message emphasising on "The secrets of fruitfulness in the life of Joseph" (Gen. 49:22)

The title is taken from Commissioner Harry Read's song: "I dare to be different." Commissioner Dick Krommenhoek wrote the music to this lovely song.

I dare to live a life of faith,
The life of challenge God has planned,
Of holiness and victory,
For truth and righteousness to stand'

Chorus:
I dare to be different, I dare to believe;
I dare to be different, God's Spirit receive;
I dare to be different my life sacrifice.
I dare to be different by living like Christ.

I dare to ask the Spirit come
To match with all my heart's desire;
My life to cleanse and energize
With mighty Pentecostal fire.

I dare to want to be like Christ
According to His will and way.
His love to know, compassion show
And serve Him only every day.

In this world of changing values, I pray that our our people continue to uphold the values of God's Kingdom. Dare we to be different.

The Donkey - G K Chesterton

Palm Sunday will be celebrated this Sunday. We recall the prophecy of Zechariah

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9

C K Chesterton has written a beautiful poem - a monologue by the donkey upon which Jesus rode into Jerusalem. This donkey describes himself using phrases like "monstrous head, ears like wings"- quite a grotesque picture. The last stanza says

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born;

When monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody
Of all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet;
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.

Think of it, that poor despised animal had its moments of glory when it took the Lord of lords and the King of kings into Jerusalem to fulfil His mission.

Servanthood

We are in the Lent season and I've been thinking about servanthood. I don't think anyone likes to be called a servant. Jesus took upon Himself the form of a servant, or slave and died on a criminal's cross.

Today there are many Christians who have the false assumption that trusting in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins is also a guarantee that they will immediately enter into the unrestricted blessings of God. Such folks tend to believe that they need not experience sickness or suffering in this life. They believe that God wants them to be prosperous; to enter into heaven’s blessings immediately here and now. They fail to understand that those who trust in Jesus become His servants, and as His servants, they will share His rejection and suffering at the hands of others. Just think of it - how did they treat Jesus? Servants should not expect to be treated better than their master.

Jesus said, "Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me."

The Lord's Day

This morning I did Lesson 11 - Paul's perspective on Profit and Loss (Philippians 3: 1-11) The things Paul formerly considered as assets he now regards as liabilities because of Christ. His conversion changed his values totally. He used to be proud of his Jewishness - circumcised on the eighth day, a native Hebrew of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee who kept strictly the law of Moses. He new regards his assets as liabilities so far as salvation is concerned.

Paul now looks ahead to his ultimate goal which he describes as 'gaining Christ.' He experiences the resurrection power of Christ in his daily life even in his sufferings.

I have three more lessons to go before beginning a new series on the Book of Revelation.

On Friday evening I received a phone call from Major Pascoe asking me to take over the meeting this morning. She is now in hospital. Well the programme for Sunday was already prepared. So I asked her for the subject and Bible reading. I spent Friday evening and Saturday working on the subject chosen "Extravagant Worship" based on Matthew 26: 1-16. I came up with three points for the message - Mary anointing the feet of Jesus.

1. The Costliness of the gift
2. The Criticism by the disciples
3. The Commendation by the Master

I'm glad my wife and I can still serve. She led the meeting and I gave the message. We thank we can be of service in the Salvation Army.

I recall last year during the Lenten season I used the same incident and had this message:

1. Martha the worker
2 Lazarus the witness
3. Mary the worshipper

This is my story - 24

24 - Pastoring Penang Corps

We arrived in Penang by train in November 1959. It was my first visit to this beautiful island and my wife’s second for she was there as a cadet for her out-training in 1954. We were welcomed by the officers in charge of the Boys’ Home, Major and Mrs. Roy Page.

Penang Corps Building was The Salvation Army’s first purpose built building at 53 Perak Road. Behind the hall was a small Corps office and band room. Adjacent to it was the garage. At right angle on an elevated level was the quarters which had three bedrooms. We were simply delighted when we walked into the premises. In front of the building was a beautiful lawn. To us it was paradise!

Every Sunday we began the day with Directory class for children. Those attending were mainly boys from the Boys’ Home. Following this we had the Holiness meeting at 10.00 a.m., then Sunday School at 3.00 p.m. which catered for the neighbourhood children. In the evening at 5.00 p.m we had the open air meeting at Dato Keramat Road Padang which usually attracted a large crowd of people. We had the support of the Corps band and folk would march back to the hall. This was followed by the Salvation meeting at 6.00 p.m.

In the congregation were some Australian Salvationists serving at RAAF at Butterworth Camp, but they and their families lived on the island. They gave excellent support, especially Geoff Oakley who was the Corps Sergeant Major. After the meeting they would stay for supper at our quarters. All of them contributed towards the refreshments provided at this fellowship.

We had a small band and Songster Brigade. The Songster Leader was Mrs. Major Page. Neoh Ah How the YPSM was the Songster organist. He is now in his seventies and still active at the Penang Corps.

My wife ran the Guides and Brownies every Saturday afternoon. Among those who joined the Guides was one named Patricia Loo, who later married Tan Thean Seng, now Lieut. Colonels serving in Singapore.

We had two outposts – one at Glugor in the home of the Matthews family, and one at Bayan Lepas in the home of Reuben Michael. I visited these outposts on alternate Saturdays. So every Saturday, I would commute to an Outpost by bicycle. The present Corps Secretary Jacinta, daughter of Reuben Michael was the product of the Bayan Lepas Outpost near the airport.

Every Saturday morning I would cycle to sell the War Cry in the neighbourhood and in the evening would sell the War Cry at the Restaurants along Penang Road. My wife took her turns to sell the War Cry along Penang Road, and she was always accompanied by Corps Cadet Tan Thean Seng. Both rode on bicycles to Penang Road to sell the papers.

The War Cry costing 10 cents each was sold usually by the Corps Cadets. They were given points for selling the papers and participating in meetings and at the end of each session would be given certificates. We had very enthusiastic Corps Cadets.

Major and Mrs. Roy Page were missionaries in China for a term of seven years prior to their appointment to Malaya. Mrs. Major Page in addition to being the matron of the Home was also the principal of the Primary school which catered mainly for overage students, the majority from the Home. I taught Scriptures at this School twice a week. Among the contacts made for the Corps, were two sisters – Ng Lan Ying and Ng Kan Ying. They started at the Corps Sunday School, later joined our Youth Group.

Lan Ying completed her secondary elsewhere then went to UK to be trained as a nurse at St. Giles Hospital at Camberwell. She joined the Camberwell Corps and became a Salvationist there. I was invited by the Corps Officer Lieutenant Ray Kirby to conduct the enrolment when I was at the International College for officers in London in 1963 but it was ‘in-Sunday’ for the delegates and permission was denied for me to leave the College. Thirty two years later in 1995 the Divisional Commander of the Northern Division, Lieut. Colonel Ray Kirby invited me to conduct the Salvationists Rally at Newcastle. We had a great time at this rally.

In the 1980’s we met Lan Ying in Taiwan where she and her husband were running a church. Her children attended our Salvation Army Kindergarten and one morning when she took them to the kindergarten she saw a poster announcing our visit. So we were able to go to her home for a meal and had fellowship together and talked of old times.

She and her family are American citizens and Lan Ying now attends the New York Salvation Army Chinatown Corps. We still keep in contact today. She supports the Penang Children’s Home. Her three daughters are married with their own families living in the States.

Mrs. Page was our Songster Leader. She took turns with Neoh Ah How to play the piano for the meetings. It was quite a luxury for the corps to possess a piano in those days.

Our two older children Gladys and Stephen both of them were born at the Penang Seventh Day Adventist Hospital at Burmah Road in 1960 and 1962 respectively. Doctor Odelhyde delivered both babies and he waved the delivery fees of $50.00. We were pleased with this waiver as there was no maternity grant given to officers. We were given financial help only in cases of sickness and hospitalisation from what was called “Sick and Wounded Fund.” A woman was not considered sick or wounded when she gave birth! Those were the days!

One Sunday night just as we were about the start the meeting, a couple, Bob and Si Lin Preston walked in. When the invitation was given after the sermon both of them walked hand in hand to the Mercy Seat. Later they were enrolled as soldiers. When they got to the platform, she noticed the name of her uncle engraved on the one of the three chairs on the platform. The words were “Dedicated to the glory of God in memory of CSM Lim Seong Cheng.”

Lim Seong Cheng was one of the early day converts. He came from a strong Buddhist family; in fact his father was the chairman of the Buddhist Association. Seong Cheng felt emptiness within him and searched in vain for peace from different religions. One day someone gave him a copy of St. John’s gospel. He read it avidly and found the Lord and later became a salvationist, much to the opposition and anger of his father. He later became the Corps Sergeant Major.

When Penang fell to the Japanese Lim Seong Chen hid Adjutant Harvey’s concertina and uniform. He then fled to the hills for safety as the Japanese were after him. Adjutant Harvey heard that he was seriously ill and rushed there to find Seong Cheng had gone to meet the Lord. In 1945 after the war, the family returned the concertina and uniform to Harvey.

After the war, at the opening of a new hall, Major Harvey discovered that sitting in the gathering was Lim Seong Cheng’s father. Still a staunch Buddhist, he had come to present three platform chairs in memory of his son! The gracious father had forgiven his son.

Bob Preston gave me my first driving lessons using his own car. Later because of his employment the family moved out of Penang and eventually emigrated to Australia.

In 1960 Major and Mrs. Page were appointed to Singapore, he as the Public Relations Secretary and she as the Editor of the War Cry. They were succeeded by Captain and Mrs. William Davies at the Boys’ Home. The captain became the Songster Leader. Both husband and wife gave good support to the Corps.

After two and half exciting years in Penang, we received farewell orders to go to Kuching Corps.

10th Anniversary Peacehaven Nursing Home

What a joy it was to share in the 10th Anniversary celebrations of Peacehaven Nursing Home. The well attended fund raising dinner was held at the Keppel Club at Bukit Chermin.

The guest of honour was Mr. Matthias Yau, Deputy Speaker and Mayor of South East District of CDC and Member of Parliament. He gave an excellent speech giving high marks to The Salvation Army. I hope and pray that we in the Army live up to the high expectations of the public.

We have been involved in Peacehaven activities since our return to Singapore to retire thirteen years ago. My wife and I conduct chapel services every Tuesday. We go round to speak and sometimes pray with the residents and staff. We thank God for the privilege of this ministry.

Madam Low Mui Lan and her staff are doing an excellent job ministering to the residents. She is also the Corps Sergeant Major of Changi Corps. I do not think there is any other employee or even officer who works harder than this wonderful lady. I believe God has brought her to the Army for such a time as this. My wife and I pray for her and her staff everyday without fail.

We were pleased to see former Executive Directors of Peacehaven who came at their own expense to join in the celebrations. God bless them. Majors Grant and Lorainne Effer, the first officers appointed to Peacehaven worked hard to get the Home started. That was no easy task moving the Home for the Aged from Pasir Panjang to Changi and turned it into a Nursing Home. They were people for the hour!

We had Lieut. Colonels Ian and Mary Begley, retired officers from Australia. They came at the right time when Singapore was hit my the SARS epidemic in 2003 They were the God's people to be there at that particular time. They were people of great experience having worked in different appointments in The Salvation Army, including running Salvation Army hospitals and Homes for the elderly. The Colonel was born in India, grew up in China, served in South America and Australia and in retirement served in Hong Kong as the Financial Secretary.

Last night present at the celebrations were Ian and Isobel Robinson, American officers who contributed much to the running of Peacehaven during their time here. Due to the shortage of officers they had to wear several hats - responsible for Peacehaven, Changi Corps (church) and Programme Secretary for the territory. Now they are Corps officers of Sheringam Corps in England.

God has his man or woman for the hour. The words of Esther came to my mind as I type this message. You and I are called to serve Him for 'such a time as this.' Let us not fail in our duty to God and man.

I used to drive my grandchildren, but now it is the reverse. Last night David and Rachel, two of our grandchildren came for us and fetched us to the dinner and brought us home. We were pleased Yurong was able to join us for the occasion.

Attitude towards foreigners

We have been told repeatedly that our country needs foreign talents if we are to progress and remain competitive. These people come with their skills and expertise and make a vital contribution to our country and economy. This in turn leads to the creation of jobs for our local people. So we have in our midst those in the top echelons of our society like executives, lawyers, medical specialists, university lecturers, teachers, scientists, consultants in different fields. They are welcomed and respected and on the whole socialise well with local citizens.

On the other end of the scale there are many who are here to perform the menial tasks, by no means less important. They work as cleaners, sweepers, construction workers and domestic helpers, the latter known as maids. They come from third world countries now facing much hardship and unemployment. They cannot get jobs in their own homelands and to survive have to leave their families and be here to earn money and send home for their families.

Take for example, the maids who work in individual homes, doing the cooking, cleaning, laundry and looking after children or the sick elderly. They form a vital part of our workforce and to a certain extent quite indispensable. Without them many of our women would not be able work outside the homes. There are an increasing number of local women who have special skills needed by the Government as well as the private sector.

The majority of maids work well with their employers. They are accepted into the families they work for and their services are appreciated. However, we do read and hear of conflicts between employers and maids. The media reports incidents of “maid abuse” with horrendous descriptions of punishment meted out by the employers at times. The maids may be at fault in not complying with instructions, or maybe they were caught stealing or neglecting their duties. Whatever the wrongs may be, these can be dealt with in the proper way without resorting to violence and abuse. Quite often it is due to misunderstanding which can be cleared if both sides are willing to listen to each other.

I cringe with horror when I read of “molest of maids.” There is no justification at all to treat someone as a sex object or to satisfy the male employers’ lust.

Let us treat those who come to our country to live and work with dignity and respect for they too are made in God’s image. Let us be aware of the dangers of stereotyping or lumping together all those who come from one particular country or engaged in one particular occupation. We attribute the same behaviour patterns to the individual person the characteristic traits of the group where he belongs. Let us love one another for we all have the same Father – God.

How do we treat these people who are living in our midst? What should be our attitude towards these “aliens” as the Bible puts it? What does the word of God tell us? Let us look at some verses from the Bible.

"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.” Exodus 22:21 "Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow." Deut. 27:19 “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God. Lev. 19:33-34

Here are clear instructions on how to treat those who have come to live in our country. To the Israelites, they were reminded of their ancestors who were once upon a time foreigners in Egypt. We need to remind ourselves too that our ancestors came from other lands like China, India and Europe. They were at one time the “strangers and aliens” in the land. They had their share of suffering and it is important that we should not inflict pain and suffering to anyone regardless of their racial origin.

Darwin wrote a book called “On the origin of species” The sub-title of his book is “The preservation of favoured races in the struggle for human life.” Darwin had the belief that the white races had evolved separately from the other races and therefore are a superior people. He was racist in his thinking. Are we any better when we think that as ethnic Chinese, Indian, Malay or Caucasian we are better than say the Filipino, Indonesian or Burmese? Such thinking grieves God the Creator of the whole universe.

One race cannot be better than another because we are all of one blood. We can trace our ancestry to the same couple whom God created at the beginning of the world – Adam and Eve. Everyone living in this world is precious to Him.

God does not assume one race better or superior to another. He shows no partiality to any one race. He is hurt when any one person regardless of race or occupation is hurt. Peter after receiving the vision from God said, “I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.”Acts 10: 34-35. Let us respect one another for we are all His offspring.

This is my story - 23

23- Trials, Tribulations and Triumph –Penang

After three and half gloomy years of suffering and ordeal under the Japanese occupation, came freedom. The Allied Forces landed at Penang. The Japanese surrendered on 6th September 1945 and there was much rejoicing in welcoming a new era in Malaya.

When Captain George Tan heard the news of the surrender of the Japanese, he got in touch with Captain Tan Eng Soon, who had been working for the Japanese at a Cattle farm at Sungei Dua. Tan Eng Soon was one of the earliest converts in Penang. He became a Salvation Army officer in 1939. Both of them were eager to recommence the work of the Army even though there were no instructions from Headquarters. They found an empty house at 102 Burmah Road, which the Japanese had used as a geisha house. They put on their uniform, went to the Police Headquarters to see the Head of the Administration. They expressed their desire to begin Army operations in this empty house.

“Who is the owner?” ask Major Drake-Brockman the officer in charge.

“We don’t know” replied Captain George Tan, “but we feel that this is the place we need to start a Red Shield Club.”

The British major remained silent for a few minutes then instructed his assistant to prepare a requisition order for the building to be made available to The Salvation Army! So the Lord provided the building!

The enterprising captains had no money. The Japanese currency was as good as useless. However that did not deter them going round asking for donations of furniture, equipment, utensils and foodstuff. Then they rounded up Yeo Kok Chin, an ex-officer and others to clean up the place and even repainted it with donated paint.

They prayed for a vehicle. One morning, the two captains went to a motor repair shop hoping to find a used vehicle. They saw a car driven by Japanese. The captains stopped him and spoke to him in Japanese, but the poor fellow who was trying to escape to the mainland just handed the keys to the captain and fled for his life into the jungle! So now they had a vehicle! They made a license plate out of a piece of hardboard and wrote “SA 1”

Along the way they saw a group of young men pulling a handcart with two 44-gallon drum of petrol. They mistook our captains for the military police and fled for their lives leaving behind the stolen petrol. The captains returned the petrol to the owners who were so grateful that they gave our captains a large quantity as a reward! Later someone gave the Army a second car which they named it “SA 2”.

There is always music in The Salvation Army. Captain Tan Eng Soon suggested that they rent a piano. But they had no money. One day, the captains were driving along Pulau Tikus, when suddenly, Tan Eng Soon noticed some people wheeling a Grand piano along the road. He alerted George and both got out of the car and turning to the people with the piano asked, “Where are you taking the piano?” Without stopping to answer, they fled in different directions and left the piano to the captains! Well it was only about half a mile from the Red Shield Club, so with some help and a handcart, the piano was taken to the Club!

During the Japanese occupation, Tan Eng Soon at great risk to his own life had hidden the navy blue serge uniform belonging to Major Fred Harvey, and also the Army flag. He took that flag and placed it on the building! Triumphantly it waved in the breeze!

Lieut. Colonel Thomas Ward and Major and Mrs. Jewkes en route from Rangoon to Singapore had to stop at Penang. They entertained little hope of seeing the Army started by Major and Mrs. Harvey seven years earlier to be functioning. Some servicemen told them about the Red Shield Club about to be opened. This surprised them and they were taken to 102 Burmah Road where to their amazement and delight saw the two enterprising Chinese captains in uniform busy serving the people.

Major Frederick Harvey freed from Changi Prison was sent to re-establish the work in Penang. What a pleasant surprise for him to see the Army already functioning under the leadership of the two captains.

The Governor of Penang was elated to welcome Major Harvey and greeted him with the words “You’re just the man we want.” They gave the Major an office at Police Headquarters, plus a member of the staff from the Assessment Department to assist him in relief operations. People were soon queuing up for food parcels outside the Army centre.

The Red Shield Club house was used on Sundays for worship; Salvationists were delighted to be able to worship again openly even if it was at the Club House! A Salvationist brought out Harvey’s concertina which had had hidden during the war. Harvey returned to Singapore to be the General Secretary.

Captain and Mrs. Frank Bainbridge were appointed to take charge of the Penang Corps. He did prison work sponsored by the Rotary Club .He helped many to re-establish themselves back into society. Y.P.S.M Rueben Michael rented the premises of the Lutheran English School at Dato Kramat Road. Here the Army held Sunday school and conducted worship services. There was a thriving Y.P work under the leadership of YPSM Reuben Michael. His daughter Jacinta is now the Corps Secretary of Penang Corps.

Captain and Mrs. Bainbridge and the folk worked hard, raised funds and eventually the Army put up a new building, hall and quarters at 53 Perak Road. We thank God for the officers and comrades who despite trials and tribulations kept the Army flag flying triumphantly in Penang.

And to this Corps my wife and I were privileged to be appointed in November 1959.

This is my story - 22

22– Penang Corps – its beginnings

The Officer Commanding Lieut. Colonel Herbert Lord set his sights on the Malay Peninsular. Adjutant and Mrs. Harvey were appointed to commence the Army’s work on the island of Penang in 1938.

At their farewell meeting in Singapore they were presented with an Army flag on an eight-foot pole, made in one piece, to take with them to Penang! They were accompanied by their only son Arthur to pioneer the work of the Army. They arrived in Penang and immediately began work.

For a whole month the Harveys distributed handbills printed in Chinese, Malay and Tamil, and visited the neighbourhood, talking to the inhabitants in the Malay language. I recall him telling me that one day he forgot what he had learned in Malay and went from house to house greeting them “ayer panas.” (“hot water”). He received polite smiles from the people in response. He got his Malay phrases mixed up; he meant “selamat pagi” or good morning. Later he became very fluent in Malay and was able to preach in that language. To my knowledge, there were only three officers who became proficient in Malay – Adjutant Harvey, Captain Frank Bainbridge and Major Margaret Burns. For many years Frank Bainbridge used to write an article in Malay in our War Cry.

Harvey started to conduct open-air meetings with just his wife supporting him. And his concertina, of course! Their six year old son Arthur handed out invitations to the meetings. Arthur and I became very good friends in later years and when we were in Balestier Corps he used to fetch us home in his car after the Sunday night meeting. He was a very faithful soldier of Balestier Corps for many years.

For a hall and quarters Adjutant Harvey acquired a former YWCA building. The ground floor housed the hall, with quarters upstairs. Opening day arrived, when the doors were opened one old European gentleman walked in. The Harveys had their first congregation! They gave him a drink and prayed with him, then waited to see what the evening meeting would bring. That night 12 came – the Army’s first corps (church) in Penang was established.

Many children in Penang were unable to attend school, so the Harveys commenced their own. Within a few days there were 150 pupils, and the school was recognised by the Education Department. Years later in 1959 when we were appointed to Penang there was a Salvation Army Primary School.

Adjutant Harvey decided to expand the work to a poorer area where the need was greater. He found an old rubber factory in Jelutong. This had been turned into flats, occupied by Chinese folk. One day one of the residents there hanged himself and the building acquired the reputation of being haunted. Adjutant Harvey, undaunted by the tale, rented the entire building for just one dollar a year and started his second Corps! Lieutenant Foo Kia Pang was appointed to assist the Harveys and he ran this second Corps.

War came and thousands of people in Penang were killed or made homeless by the bombing raids. Two thousand refugees were housed in an evacuation camp provided by the Government and run by The Salvation Army.

Suddenly an order was issued for all overseas women to leave the island. Mrs. Harvey, accompanied by her son Arthur, left for Singapore. From there they were evacuated to Australia. Adjutant Harvey could have fled the island, but chose to remain in Penang. He gave permission for Lieutenant Foo Kia Pang to leave Penang, but the Lieutenant’s response was clear and resolute “If you stay, I stay! We are together to serve the people” Both remained in Penang to share the baptism of fire. (At the time of writing 92 year old Mrs. Foo lives alone at Lengkok Marian in Changi, Singapore. She is frail but very alert)

Bombs began falling in the crowded streets of Georgetown destroying buildings, leaving half the city in flames and hundreds killed or injured. The two men did much to help the suffering people of Penang. They thought nothing about their own safety and worked selflessly to bring relief to the suffering. Harvey and Foo used the Army vehicle to pick up the wounded in the streets and transported them to hospital.

One day while doing their rescue operations a bomb fell near their car. Harvey and Foo jumped out of the vehicle and lay on the side of the road. Though the car was hit the two officers escape unharmed. God had protected His servants.

The enterprising Lieutenant Foo still in his uniform commandeered a rickshaw and pulled this vehicle himself!! In those days all officers had to wear full uniform everyday – white drill tunic with long sleeves, high stand up collar and long trousers! He pulled this rickshaw all over the city of Georgetown picking up the wounded and took them to hospital. He worked day and night, stopping to eat only when Harvey ordered him to do so. When he saw crying children who had been separated from their parents he ferried them to safer places.

Hundreds of refugees flocked to the Paya Terubong camp under the supervision of Fred Harvey. Both men worked selflessly to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, nurse the sick, heal the wounded, and bury the dead.

Penang fell to the Japanese on 15 December 1941. Harvey was arrested by the Japanese invaders and sent to Penang Prison where he endured severe ill treatment for 13 months prior to his transfer to Changi Prison in Singapore.

These saints of God are now with the Lord. We thank God for their lives, their commitment to the Lord, and their service to humanity.

“For all the saints who from their labours rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blessed, Hallelujah!

Thou wast their rock, their fortress and their might
Thou, Lord, their captain in the well fought fight;
Thou in the darkness drear their one true light, Hallelujah!

William Wahlsham How (SASB 876)

Thank You Lord for all your goodness

This morning, my wife had to go to the Bukit Batok Polyclinic for her blood test. We took Bus No. 178 outside the building to get there. It was raining and traffic was heavy. Vehicles were inching along the congested road made worse by the road works. We could see the drivers were getting impatient, but our bus moved smoothly along the bus lane. Wasn't I glad I don't have a car! We sat in comfort in the air conditioned bus which got us to the Polyclinic quicker than a car would.

God is good to us. Thank You Lord for all your goodness.

This is my story - 21

21 – Husband and wife Team ministry

After our honeymoon in Malaya we returned to Singapore. When we disembarked from the train at Tanjong Pagar Station we were pleasantly surprised to be met by Major Arthur Hall, our Divisional Officer. He and his wife had been our Corps and training officers and had much to do with us. They were a very godly couple who gave of themselves for the people they came to serve.

We wasted no time to get to work at Balestier. Mrs. Ong called the folk together and gave strict instructions to address my wife as Mrs. Lieutenant Lim. There were two other Mrs. Lim at the church – Mrs. Norman Lim and Mrs. Irene Lim.

I was very happy to hand over the responsibility of running the Home League to my wife. It had not been easy for a man to run this programme specifically catering for the women.

In those days the only vehicle provided in every Corps (church) was a bicycle. All Corps officers took public transport, walked or cycled to do their rounds of pastoral visitation. It was clearly stated in the Orders and Regulations for Corps Officers –a minimum of eighteen hours per week. Each Corps kept a red visitation book with the names of all members and friends of the Corps. We had to record the dates our people were visited.

When I went out alone I would ride the bicycle, but when we travelled together, we walked or travelled by bus. Often we would do our pastoral visitation together.

Major Thelma Watson the Social Secretary quite often would ask my wife to help with the translation as majority of the clients who came to see her could not speak English. Headquarters then decided that my wife be asked to work three mornings a week at the Social office and Balestier Corps be given an additional grant for her services. We were pleased as this brought the Corps nearer to self support, a subject quite often emphasised.

We were kept busy not only with the Corps programme, but also with fund raising for our new building. We held jumble sales and Food and Fun Fairs etc every now and again to raise funds for our new building. The whole Corps co-operated very well.

Every Saturday evening the songsters would come to our quarters for Songsters’ practice, after which we would all join the Central Corps folk and all officers for the Combined Open air meeting at Orchard Circus. Every Thursday evening there was the United Holiness meeting. Balestier Songsters would take their turn to sing at this combined meeting.

At Corps level we both shared the platform. Always one would lead the meeting the other would give the message. Usually once a month we would have visiting speakers from Headquarters or one of the Homes. For music we had the band and I used the concertina for choruses and some of the songs. There was no piano at the Corps at that time.

We had excellent local officers – Mrs. Ong Kay Sung – Corps Treasurer was the leading local and matriarch of the Corps. John Ooi the Corps Secretary was my right hand man and would do anything for the Lord in the Corps. He was in every meeting and practice. During the week he worked in the Finance Department at Command Headquarters – the only employee in that department. The Finance Officer was an officer. I commissioned Jimmy Lim as the Singing Company Leader. Frankie Ng was the leader of the Torchbearer Youth Group.

One of the unique features of the Corps was the Chinese New Year Eve Watchnight Service. The comrades would gather in the evening to have a service of thanksgiving at the Corps after their reunion dinner in their own homes. The officers and comrades of Central Corps would come and join us for this service. Most of the folk lived in the neighbourhood, so it was easy for them to get together for activities.

We enjoyed our Corps work and found much joy and fulfilment ministering to the folk. We had expected to see to the building of the new hall and quarters, but we received farewell and marching orders to take charge of Penang Corps.

Sunday blessings

Praise the Lord - another Sunday, the Lord's day. It's the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's a day of worship, fellowship with believers, listening the word of God.

We had our usual Adult Bible class and our lesson today was "Living out our faith." Philippians 2: 12-18. Paul urges his readers to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling." We cannot work for our salvation, for salvation is offered freely to us. All we need do is repent of our sins, have faith in Him and accept His salvation.
But as Christians we are to work out our salvation. This means expressing the faith we have in Christ or living out our faith. Our faith must be expressed in our conduct or behaviour.

We had a good meeting this morning. Good to see our friends Lieut. Colonel and Mrs. Ian Begley from Australia worshipping with us. They have come to join us in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the opening of Peacehaven Nursing Home. The CSM of Changi Corps Low Mui Lan was with them.

After the meeting, we had lunch together at Orchidville Restaurant at Mandai Road. We had a wonderful time together. Thank God for these good friends God has brought into our lives. We've been truly blessed by them.

This is my story - 20

This is not Plagiarism. I was about to write my next chapter on our wedding. Seeing my wife has already written her article on the same subject, I decided to use hers. She will be posting this in her blog www.livingforjesus-pcfong.blogspot.com

THE FIRST NATIONAL OFFICERS ARMY WEDDING
In 1957 Lieut. Colonel John and Mrs. Helena Blake, from Australia Southern Territory, and serving in the Pakistan Territory, were appointed here as the new Command leaders. With the commissioning of the Faithful Session in July 1957, we now had a whole bunch of Lieutenants. We were joined by Lieutenant and Mrs. Ken and Betty Spikin from Australia and Lt. Moira Wright from New Zealand.

We planned our wedding to coincide with the Command Anniversary the following year. We felt that this would help the officers stationed outside Singapore with travelling arrangements. Fortunately permission was granted, so I was farewelled from Malacca at the end of May 1958 and stayed with Ku Ma in Singapore a few days before the event. Lieutenant and Mrs. Ken and Betty Spikin, in charge of Singapore Children’s Home, very kindly arranged a “kitchen shower” for us among the officers. This was all new to us, but their thoughtful gesture was much appreciated. Our guests came with articles for kitchen use, like a rolling pin, a spatula etc. Later on we found there was also a combined gift of a clock from all the officers in the command! It was all right because we were ignorant of its significance among the Chinese who are superstitious!

Our wedding took place on 7th June 1958, the Saturday morning of the anniversary weekend. We still have a copy of the order of service conducted by Lt-Colonel John Blake, the Officer Commanding, and Major Arthur Hall, the Corps Officer of Central Corps. Lieut. Ken Spikin was the flagbearer, Lt-Colonel Bertha Grey, the Social Secretary prayed; Captain Norina Staples read the Bible; and Lieut. Ruth Ong and her sister Janet Ong of Balestier Corps, sang a duet. Captain Tan Eng Soon was the bestman while my sister Fong Pui Sim (Angela) and Lieut. Chan Chin Chye were my bridesmaids. Ku Cheong (uncle) Mr. Ho Pak Khuan “gave me away in marriage.”

Most of the wedding guests came from the Balestier and Singapore Central Corps. However, a few of the boys from the Youth Group, led by Ng Kim Loh, cycled from Malacca, staying overnight at a police station on the way. It took them more than one day to make the journey!

We were married in uniform of course. I also wore an Salvation Army tricoloured sash over the white uniform dress. We needed to hire a car, so my request was for a red car, and decorated with white ribbons. My beloved could not find a car with that colour, as almost all cars were black in those days. Major Hall was very kind and loaned us his personal dark green car which he had bought with a legacy from his father. So I had pink ribbons, but they were almost white by the afternoon, being in the hot sun! The driver was Enche Aziz from CHQ.

Immediately after the wedding service a reception was held in the front garden of a Home for missionaries at Cairnhill Road. The English people who ran this place did a very good job when they catered for the wedding of Lieut. and Mrs. Douglas and Jean Kiff the year before. They were just as kind and good in doing the same favour for us. It was an English garden buffet tea party, serving finger-food like sandwiches, cakes etc. There was a carpet in the middle of the lawn for our three-tiered wedding cake on a small table. The top tier was a real cake, but the other two were dummies. When we cut into the bottom cake, a trap door opened, and inside were slices of fruit cake wrapped in silver foil, ready for distribution to the guests. It was made to order from a shop in Orchard Road, costing $75.00 which was half my monthly income! We did not have ready cash, so my beloved and I took turns to draw from our post office savings accounts for the various expenses leading up to the wedding.

We did not have a dinner, not even for our relatives. My father and our overseas friends were sent by airmail each family a piece of the wedding cake, packed in a special box. Years later, I heard from our stepmother in Hong Kong that Father was very pleased.

That evening we travelled by train to Kuala Lumpur on the first leg of our honeymoon, staying at a Chinese hotel. The next morning we went out to buy a newspaper and were recognised by the vendor who showed us a photo of ourselves in the Sunday Times! This happened, due to the initiative of our Public Relations Secretary, Major Stanley Gordon. We made news because it was the first Salvation Army wedding of national officers in this command, though we were number 9 in the wedding register.

On our return from furlough (in this case our honeymoon) I joined my husband in united service at Balestier Corps.

This is my life - 19

19– Balestier Corps – my home Church

I was taken by surprise when I received marching orders and appointed as the Commanding Officer (pastor) of my home church. I was only 25 years old, very inexperienced and immature. A number of the older folk in this church had known me since I was only five years old when I first came to the Army. It was with fear and trepidation that I took up the appointment. Jesus said on one occasion “No prophet is accepted in his own town.” Luke 4.24.

The comrades of Balestier Corps were tremendous and warm in their welcome. Many expressed their pride and joy to welcome their own ‘boy’ home to be their leader. Mrs. Ong Kay Sung the matriarch who was also the Treasurer of the Church called the folk together and told them they must address me as Lieutenant Lim. She commanded great respect by the whole church and no one questioned her authority.

Balestier Corps was and still is an English speaking corps, a number of them were peranakans. It was the second corps to be opened Lieut. Colonel Herbert Lord since he came to Singapore to pioneer the work.

Adjutant and Mrs. Harold Matthews were appointed to start a Boys’ Home in the Balestier area. He rented a bungalow at the corner of Kim Keat Road and Lorong Limau for this purpose. Then he reached out to the neighbourhood and started meetings in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Syd Hensen who later became Salvationists.

Later as the numbers increased, The Army rented a shop house at 339 Balestier Road and opened this second corps in 1936. It was to this church that my brother, sister and I first attended the Sunday School our first contact with the Army.

War came and in February 1942 the British surrendered to the Japanese. Army officers were taken prisoners and the Army was proscribed. The Salvationists met secretly in the homes of Mrs. Palmer at Martaban Road, Mr. and Mrs.Yeo at Kim Keat Lane or Mr. and Mrs. Ong Kay Sung at Balestier Road. This group of believers moved from house to house as it was illegal to hold religious meetings.

Three and half years later in August 1945 the Japanese were defeated and Singapore became a British colony again. Officers were released from prison and the Army recommenced operations. Mrs. Palmer a Home Leaguer (she became a salvationist later in 1947) offered the use of her land for the Army to put up a temporary wooden hut with atap roof at Martaban Road. Later, she sold this land to The Salvation Army for a token sum of $3,000.00 to build a permanent church.

Although I was single I did not cancel the weekly Home League meeting. Mrs. Lieut. Colonel Helena Blake, wife of the Officer Commanding arranged for women visitors to visit Balestier Home League once a month. I was greatly encouraged when Mrs. Palmer said to me one day, “I like the Home League. It is the best meeting for the week.” We had a group of very faithful women who attended regularly and gave full support. One lady, a Mrs. Galistan who lived in Katong walked all the way from her home to attend the Home League every Wednesday!

The Torchbearers were an enthusiastic lot. Every now and then we would combine with the Torchbearers of Central Corps. This gave them the opportunity to interact with the young people of the other Corps.

My quarters was at 207 Clemenceau Avenue. For transportation it was either by bicycle of bus. Most of our members lived in the Balestier area.

I was also responsible for the Towner Road Kindergarten. The purpose was to raise funds for the corps and the building fund. There were two sessions – one from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and the next in the afternoon from 1- 4 p.m. Mrs. Irene Lim and an assistant ran the morning session and Miss Lai Sui Hong with her assistant was responsible for the afternoon session. I visited the kindergarten every day from Monday to Friday. On Saturday we had Joy Hour Children’s meeting in this rented shophouse.

Later the Ministry of Education Inspector turned up and found we were not registered as a kindergarten. Lieut. Colonel Bertha, the Social Secretary insisted that no registration was necessary as we were operating it as a Day Nursery. Whatever name we used, we were really running two kindergartens, so we were compelled to close down.

We had a lot of activities at the Corps. It was a thriving church with many young people from the neighbourhood. We had activities almost everyday of the week.

Our activities were as follows:

Sunday morning - 8.30 a.m. Directory Class (for children)
10.00 a.m. Holiness meeting
3.00 p.m. Sunday school or YP Company meeting
5.00 p.m. Open air meeting
6.00 p.m. Salvation meeting.

Every Saturday morning I would clean the hall and do the gardening. So with all the activities, plus eighteen hours visitation per week, and responsibility for the kindergarten, I was kept busy. The folk were very supportive and I enjoyed this appointment which lasted two and half years.

The Boys’ Home was situated at 151 Thomson Road (now Goldhill Plaza). The van would bring the officers and some boys to join the Corps for Holiness meeting. In the afternoon, the boys would walk from the Home to the corps for Sunday School, followed by open air meeting and salvation meeting. Major and Mrs. Tan Eng Soon were the superintendents in charge of the Home and they gave good support.

It was during my term as the Corps Officer of Balestier Corps that we got married.

Bosses or leaders

The boss drives group members; the leader coaches them.
The boss depends upon authority; the leader on good will.
The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.
The boss says ‘I’; the leader says ‘we.’
The boss assigns the task, the leader sets the pace.
The boss says, ‘Get there on time’; the leader gets there ahead of time.
The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.
The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.
The boss makes work a drudgery; the leader makes it a game.
The boss says, ‘Go’; the leader says, ‘Let’s go.’
– Author unknown

Pastors and leaders - are we bosses or leaders? Set the example in holy living. Christ came and set us the perfect example.