Farewell 2009, Welcome 2010!

Blessed New Year 2010!

Come Friday will be the year 2010! How quickly time flies. How quickly our children have grown. How rich an experience my whole family has gone through. Most importantly, how wonderful for us to connect with God more intimately.

For Nic, this year was his turning point. Before he turned 6 this year, he could not read or spell not even “is’ or “a”. He could not stay focused in completing his homework and it was like squeezing blood out from a rock to get him to do any school work! We’ve tried caning but it only made matters worse and he can’t seem to remember the pain he received! The turning point came when in March, we put him for full day in school and called it “Homework school”. We explained to him that it was to allow the teachers to help him with homework since he had difficulty focusing at home. Amazingly, he started to become more responsible. Very soon, he even knew what home work he had missed out. We believe that because of the familiar surroundings, teachers as well as peer pressure, Nic started focusing on his homework.

Today, Nic can read more words but still has a long way to go. His spelling has only just started. I have no idea how he coped in school the whole year with comprehension when he could hardly read! Nic attended a highly academic kindergarden designed to send children to Chinese school. Interestingly, Nic did extremely well in Mandarin. He actually loves the flow when writing Mandarin – like drawing fountains (which is his first love since 2 years old). So, we are at least at ease with the decision to send him to Chinese school for Standard One in 2010. We just pray that the Chinese school will enhance his creativity and his love for music!

Ethan on the other hand loves doing home work and would play pretend doing his home work. He’s the sports guy. Having myself played squash before, I can tell you he has very good squash strokes for a 3 year old boy. He has the “finishing swing”. Football, basketball, badminton, tennis – he will be only too happy if you will play with him! I haven’t found any court though that will let him play tennis or a squash or tennis racket light enough to let him practice!

Both Ethan and Nic have common love for ultramans, aliens, monsters, babies and swimming. Their latest favourite movie is Avatar. “I be Avatar girl, you be Avatar boy” says Ethan.
So, it was a pleasant surprise for us that Nic has fallen in love with Jesus and in healthy food too, would prefer to tell “Jesus story” to friends over “monster stories”. It was a surprise to us that Ethan understood that the devil caused him to be ill and it is Jesus that kicks the devil out. It was a surprise to us that Nic changed from being curious about what the devil looked like 2 months ago to disliking the devil now! This November, both Nic and Ethan found Jesus.

Previously, it was such a chore to share kids devotion with them and to lay hands on them to pray for them. All the whining and the restlessness! It was very difficult to get them to pray!
Like us adults, we find it hard to pray too when we have lost touch with Jesus. We give thanks to God that because of the cancer, it has brought Henry and I closer to God again so close that He is like daddy to us. Not only has Christ love been so real to us but it has also overflowed to our children, to our home group, to friends in church and to our family. So many of our friends have experienced that God is a miracle working God, a prayer answering God and have tasted His goodness once again. Our prayer is that Liz’s testimonies will continue to inspire others to “catch the fire” again and start a journey of knowing Jesus all over again.

We thank all our friends and family for praying for us especially for Henry, my mother, my mother in law and employer for sacrificing so much of themselves to allow Liz to rest and recover; for supporting us financially and for encouraging us. We thank God for the new found friendships and closer relationships with family and friends as a result of this trial. Indeed good things do come out from difficult situations. The devil intended it for evil but God intended it for good, to accomplish His purpose. We focus on God’s finished work on the cross and the victory He has given to us and by His wounds, Liz is healed.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”- John 16:33

Have a blessed and wonderful New Year 2010 and we pray that your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ will be increased. We pray that you will truly experience the Holy Trinity – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We pray that you will experience His love more and more and that it will be so infectious that you too will want to pass it on to others. Wishing you an Infectious Faith In Christ 2010!

Love,

Henry, Liz, Nic & Ethan