Teacher

 

Photograph of the primary school students and me at my old home

During the holidays, I was offered relief teaching at the primary school near my home at that time.  It was Boon Lay Garden Primary School.  I was offered to teach the students for a term.  At the end of the term, they wanted to come to my house and we spent some time at home.  It was fun time to be with the children.  

When the holidays ended, I began my studies at National University of Singapore.  I was a part time tutor at night.  Children called me 'teacher'.  After graduation from NUS, I worked at a tuition centre for a few months.  I was happy teaching and love being a teacher at that time.  Later on, I was offered to be a teacher or environmental health officer.  I chose to be a teacher.  However I did not know that I need to take English test to be offered a permanent post.  So I worked for one year at Admiralty Primary School and I was pregnant later, so quitted the job.   

I stopped teaching after having two children to care for, and I tried to take the English proficiency test.  I never get to pass.  Several years later, I tried again.  This time I failed again.  I tried two times and I failed.  I did not want to try any more and I became a homemaker after that...

Six years ago, I saw an advertisement at Facebook, looking for Childcare teacher, and I went for interview.  I got a job and went training to become a Childcare Teacher.  I worked at the Childcare centre for five years and then I decided to quit.  It was quite okay to 'teach' in the childcare centre.  However it was so different as compared to teaching the primary school students.  The working environment and the people I worked with are so different.  

Everyday, the children called me Teacher, principal and teachers also addressed each other as Teacher.  A few days back, as I was taking orders from the shopping centre, crossing the road, I heard a voice saying, "Hey, your teacher!"  I wanted to turn back to see who it was, but I did not.  I was rushing to go deliver the food.  I supposed it must be one of the children in the childcare centres.  

Then I began to think, do I like people to call me 'teacher'?  Probably not now already.  It takes so much to be a great teacher, someone like Jesus.  Imagine Jesus came and ask me to follow him.  I am a disciple of Jesus.  I am not someone great, a divorcee, and it takes so much to be a role model teacher. 

"Who do you say I am?"  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. (Matthew 16:16-17)

My Sacred Heart Jesus which was blessed by Father Vincent Chee 

 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? (Mark 10:17)  

Jesus is my master, my teacher.  Follow Jesus if you want to be saved.  

Follow Me

 It's 13 years since Jesus came to me, and he said "Follow Me". 

I was dead and was then given a new life till now.  What does it means to follow him?  

I was lost but found by Christ.  I wanted to acknowledge that I am a Catholic, a christian and a follower of Christ.  

In the past, an interviewer asked me, "Are you a Christian?"  I told him, "No, I am not a Christian." 

I even shifted all the Catholic statues out of the house, put them in the corridor cupboard and then brought them to my mother's house.  I stopped praying to Jesus.  I stopped going to church also.  

But because of something which I had done many years back, I was saved.

What did I do?  I thought that since my sister can do it, I will do it too.  Can you guess what I did?

It's not a glamourous thing to do.  It is my own flesh and blood.  I killed it.  But I did not know that I actually killed it.  I was blinded.  Doing things without knowing it.  I was dead.  Even at the clinic, I told them I wanted abortion, they did not stop me.  They just let me sign papers.  They were supposed to tell me the consequences of abortion, which until now I don't know.  I asked the nurse, but she never told me the answers -- what effect does it have?  She just told me some 'unrelated stuff' about her husband.  "You know lah, man ....." things like that.  And at that time, I happened to know the nurse.  It was someone I knew at the workplace.  She had changed her workplace.  

So I never know that I had sinned, greatly sinned.  

What's more, after that then I realized that my father had taught me that, "If you have a mortal sin, you cannot receive holy communion."  Oh, how greatly I had sinned.  Not only do I have mortal sins but also venial sins.  

Before my husband came back, we committed adulteries too.  He had new girlfriend and I had my boyfriend.  So wretched, so badly sinned.  

Then I wanted my children to raise up as good Catholics.  I started to go church.  Little did I know that I had done the wrong things.  I never went for confession (reconciliation) and I just went forward to receive Holy Communion.  It really never come to my mind what my father had taught me.  

So the miraculous things happened on 8 March 2008.  I had a dream of Jesus, telling me about 'Singapore'.  I woke up and I heard him saying, "Follow Me".  I was so broken.  I cried for all my sins.  Next, I walked to the window and I saw the 'map of Singapore' in the clouds.  And Jesus was saying I am the bread of life.  Back then I have no idea at all Jesus was the bread of life!  I learned from my dreams!  During my bath, I was 'cleansed' and washed again with new spirit...  Jesus helped me to wash away all the evil spirits.  

Now, Jesus said, "Take up your cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34 and Luke 9:23)  

If I want to follow him I have to take up my cross.  I am still learning now how to take up my cross.  

Photographs showing the map of Singapore.  Picture taken from my window.

  A closer view of the map of Singapore.  

 

 Buy Me Tea