Grace be unto you, and peace, from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:1)

And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. (2 Cor 12:9)

Paul asked the Lord thrice to remove a thorn in his flesh that God gave him. God did not. God gave him sufficient grace to bear it instead. He accepted God’s gift most gladly and experienced the power of Christ. When he was weak he became strong.

Indeed, it was God’s sufficient grace that sustained me through the busy months of May to September last year when I had to travel outside Penang so often. Hence, I was glad for a respite to minister to my home assembly and others in Penang in October and November, mainly challenging them to have a Vision and a Mission in preparation for the coming year and the new millennium.

The climax of last term was the organisation of the BRGH 4^th Workers’ Conference on 7^th and 8^th Nov. with the theme: Courage to Change to Meet the Challenges of the Millennium – to Know, to Keep up and to Knit together. It was a successful conference with believers coming forward to offer themselves to be used by the Lord to meet the challenges of 2000AD trusting solely in God’s Sufficient Grace to do so.

The 3^rd North Region Fellowship Camp with 38 married and unmarried singles and retirees at Bukit Merah on 25^th to 27^th Nov had a similar theme, Made for the Millennium. For the first time in my ministry, I was given the use of a multi-media projector to present my message on the Camp’s theme. It was based on I Thes. 4:1-12 with the message Be Holy, Be Honest and Be Honourable for the coming Millennium.

This camp was a wonder in experiencing God’s Sufficient Grace. For the week before the Camp, I was coughing very badly, and was down with fever. Yet the three days, I was there, God’s grace was so sufficient that miraculously the cough and fever disappeared completely to allow me to take part in all the camp activities. However, the cough returned immediately after the Camp! – to cause me to postpone my scheduled cataract operation from 2^nd Dec. to the 9^th, and finally to the 23^rd.

The highlight of this Camp was not the Camp itself, but what happened on the last day. Immediately after we all broke camp, a kind brother rushed me to Butterworth Gospel Hall to attend the wedding of Alicia Phang Hooi Pheng to Edward Seah Choon Bok. They were the firstfruits of the North Regional Fellowship Camp. They attended our 2^nd Camp at Pulau Langkawi in 1997 They Saw the beautiful character in one another, Struck up a Fellowship and Followed up in letters of Friendship, leading to Courtship and Finally ended in a Marriage Partnership. I rejoice with them and may the Grace of God ever shine on them always. The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. Num 6:25.

December was a "dull" month for me as I had freed myself of all speaking engagements in anticipation of my cataract operation on 2^nd Dec. However, the expected rest vapourised as I wrestled with bout after bout of persistent cough. Though physically exhausted, God’s grace was sufficient to see me through that tedious period.

Praise the Lord, and thanks to all prayer partners I had a successful eye operation on Dec. 23^rd. The cataract was shattered and removed by ultra sound. A new lens was implanted in its place. It was over in less than 15 minutes. My sight in the operated eye has brightened up tremendously in contrast to the literally aged pale vision of the other eye. However, I will still have to wear glasses, as my high astigmatism cannot be corrected. It does not matter, His Grace is still sufficient to allow me to see clearly. I have yet to remove the cataract in the other eye later.

I have never stayed in hospital nor undergone surgery all my life, yet last year I did both twice! – once for my thyroid operation in April and now for my cataract in December.

The Grace of God has never proved itself so real to me as it did a couple of days later.

On Christmas Eve night, I found myself having respiratory problems. My wife rushed me to hospital on the stroke of Christmas. My "thorn in the flesh" – an allergy that caused my nose to be congested, and my throat to be corrupted with a post-nasal drip, acted up that night. Result - I had difficulty in breathing. In the hospital I was given two types of anti-histamine pills by the ENT consultant who yawned to examine me! That Christmas morn, my wife and I missed the Christmas service in our assembly for the first time in our Christian experience.

On 27^th Dec., as was my usual custom, I went downstairs, presumably to the mailbox outside, to get the newspaper at dawn. But I returned to my room upstairs with a stack of Christmas cards I received in the past days instead! Then I rebuked my wife for sleeping on my side of the bed (actually it was not true). I then babbled and gabbled, asked questions and questioned the given answers, chattered and gibbered on, perhaps for almost an hour – not knowing what I was saying. I was completely disorientated and hallucinating. But God’s grace was sufficient. My daughter and her husband were with us for the holidays at that time. Thus, while my wife and daughter assured me, he read Phil. 4:6, 7 and prayed. Gradually I recovered. The above was what I was told happened then.

By God’s sufficient grace, a sister at SNGH innocently phoned up in the afternoon just to find out how I was for the Christmas season. [I thank God for such personal concern of prayer partners from time to time.] When told of what happened, she suggested that my wife should check on my medication. Then she asked, "At what time did this happen?" About 6.30a.m. That was the time I recovered – the time she happened to pray for me that morning! . Coincidence?

It is at such times like this that I thank the Lord and treasure my faithful prayer partners. To this beloved sister as well as to those of you who have been praying for me consistently, I take this opportunity to say a very big THANK YOU. In fact, while typing this, a sister from IGGC, just phoned up to find out how I was and to assure me that she too had been praying for me.

Later we checked on the medication given me by the ENT specialist. The two types of anti-histamine contain a drug pseudoephedrine. Their combined dosage of 210mg of it daily over-drugged me. My family doctor confirmed that he would never give the two together. For those over 60 years, such drug not only would cause hallucination, but also heart palpitations, which since then have affected me. [A heart scan a few days ago showed that the Lord has still more work for me to do before He takes me home!] Again it was through God’s sufficient grace that all these were checked in time and I am well now.

Praise the Lord, I started my New Year aright and was able to deliver a message to my home assembly on their theme for the year, "Church Alive" on 2^nd January. Since then I have been back to my normal ministry though my allergy still is a cause for concern, but praise the Lord, His Grace is sufficient and I am able to cope with it.

For the Chinese New Year season (Jan-Feb.), I shall be ministering to seven assemblies in Penang on The Year of the Dragon – as follows:- [If you need the message outline, you can email me for it. It will be an expanded version from the one distributed.]

23^rd Jan. - Bukit Mertajam Gospel Centre.
30^th Jan. - Sungei Ara Gospel Hall.
6^th Feb. - Burmah Road Gospel Hall (English)
6^th Feb. - Burmah Road Gospel Hall (Chinese)
13^th Feb. - Sungei Nibong Gospel Hall.
20^th Feb. - Island Glades Gospel Centre.
27^th Feb. - Butterworth Gospel Hall

In March, it will be Church Alive – a study of the seven churches in Rev. 2 and 3 at Bukit Mertajam Gospel Centre, and in April, it is back to my home assembly for a series of studies on Modern Cults. [There is a possibility that I may join a Mission trip to Chennai, India from Mar. 16-20, DV.]

Another testimony of the sufficient grace of God, is the Grace that individual members and assemblies share with me from time to time so graciously and generously. This term the Grace of God is more than sufficient so that I can share with a number of God’s servants this same Grace that God has bestowed upon me through you all.

Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, … and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. Phil. 1:7

The following were recipients of such grace this term (October, 1999 to January, 2000)
 

23 Oct. -	the late Mr. Wiliam Wilson (Ireland)  He was called home to be with the Lord a little past midnight on 10th Jan. (Irish time). Mr. Wilson served in the Klang Valley and then moved to Burmah Road Gospel Hall in early 1963 and returned home to Ireland in 1979/1980(?). He last visited Penang with his wife, Sadie in November last year. In Ireland, the over-80-year old Wilson was operated on for gall stones on 23rd Dec., developed water in the lungs at Christmas time and was in and out of the ICU until he went home to be with the Lord.
03 Nov. -	David Jeveraj (New Tribes). He is stationed in KL to coordinate the ministry of the New Tribes.
18 Nov. -	Jey Lingam (formerly of Cambodia). She has enrolled for a two-year course in a Bible School in N.Z.
11 Dec. -	Arnold Clarke (Thailand). He is still recovering from a stroke in Bangkok.
11 Dec. -	G.D. James (Australia). He just had a successful prostate operation on Jan. 17 in Sydney. Lastyear, our brother celebrated his 80th birthday and 60 years of commended service for the Lord worldwide with our assemblies and with the Asia Evangelistic Fellowship which he founded.
22 Dec. -	W.G. Stott (Tasmania). Mr. Stott last served as a Principal at GLO Bible Training School  (Taiping) in its first year of inception. He had to return to Tasmania for health reasons later. Mrs. Stott suffered from a stroke last year and is recovering from it now. She also just recovered from Prolapsed Bowel and Hemorrhoids problems in Dec., and may go for a cataract operation on Feb. 9.
04 Jan. -	Peter Ferry (Scotland). He and his wife, Peggy returned to Scotland last year after having served the Lord in Malaysia and Thailand for several years. They have to start a new life back home, but our brother plans to return to Asia every year to continue ministering to the saints here.
09 Jan. -	N. Sinnappan (Butterworth). He is a commended worker in Butterworth Gospel Hall but also helps out in the other assemblies in Penang, as well as in the Tamil work in Cheras and elsewhere. He is now deeply involved in the new outreach work in Lunas and Kulim also.
13 Jan. -	Leong Lai Yan (Nilai Gospel Centre). She was the Secretary of GLO Taiping before she was led by the Lord to serve in Nilai. There is an assembly there now and it just celebrated its 1st anniversary.
13 Jan. -	Francis & Joy Chan (Gopeng). They were commended by Gopeng Gospel Centre effective this year. Before that, they were serving the Lord in Batu Gajah Gospel Hall for the last ten years.
13 Jan. -	Loh Ah Asiau (Kajang Life Chapel) – He is the Principal of Emmaus Bible School, Kajang and he pioneered the work in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
13 Jan. -	Sook Ching (SLCC, Phnom Penh)
13 Jan. -	Sok Lan (SLCC, Phnom Penh)  The above two sisters have served at Shalom Life Care Centre, Phnom Penh since the beginning.
13 Jan. -	Eik Lin (SLCC, Phnom Penh). She joined SLCC last year. She was the replacement for Jey Lingam.
18 Jan. -	A sister in need in Penang

Once again to all of you who have participated in this ministry of Grace to me so that I can share with others Christ’s cheer and joy this Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year season, THANK YOU very much. It is the Lord Who will reward you accordingly. Do pray for these faithful servants of God and their families. In the meanwhile, I am sure God’s grace is sufficient for you too.

For even in (Penang) ye sent once and again unto my necessity, not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of (you all) the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:16-19

I take this opportunity to wish all of you……