My amazing mum and my amazing God

So many things have happened this past one week! Last Friday evening 11th March 2011, I recieved a call that my 76 year old mum had fallen and could not walk at all. The ambulance was on its way to send to her to the hospital. I made some emergency calls to ask Kim to handle my Bible Knowledge class from 5-7 pm, quickly sent my laptop and the exam scripts to her and then rushed to the hosiptal. I arrived a few minutes after the ambulance reached the hospital and Mum was wheeled into the emergency room. The Bible Knowledge students prayed for my mum.

The X-rays showed she had bilateral fractures in both her left and right femurs( thigh bone). The orthopedic surgeon told her this would be major surgery and he would consider doing both legs at the same time only if she was physically well. Otherwise he would do one leg and do the other leg at another time. A doctor mentioned she would be bedridden for at least two weeks since both legs were injured. I am shocked!

When I checked with my mum, i found that she did not fall because she slipped or fainted. She fell because her leg just gave way - the bone was too porous. Actually she was scheduled to fly out to Shanghai on Saturday with my dad and my sister's family for a holiday. God's timing is perfect - if she had gone to Shanghai and fallen down, it wouold have been very very messy and she could have gotten hurt in more places than just her two legs

That night, her blood pressure was good although a bit high due to the pain and other readings showed she was in good condition so the decision was made to operate on both legs.

Saturday 12th March 2011. She was given one jab at about 10 am the next morning. I prayed with her. At 11 am, the nurses wheeled her to the operation theater and I followed behind. At one point just before the OT, the trolley was stuck because of the swing doors swung back . To our surprise, my mum raised her hands instinctovely and pushed open the swing door! The nurses and me laughed! Here she was being wheeled into OT and here she was trying to help us!

3 pm. She is being wheeled out of the OT. I see her eyes opened and I see recognition in her eyes as i drew near. She tries to speak but no words come out. The nurses do not allow me to follow her to ICU.

4.30 pm. WE are allowed into ICU. She is fully alert and conscious of only a bit of pain. I looked at the records and saw the photographs of the long nail held with 3 tranverse screws in 1 femur and another long nail held by 2 transverse screws and she tells me she has no pain!

9.30 pm. The nurse allows her to eat. She insist on feeding herself- she says there is nothing wrong with her hands. She consumes quickly two half bowls of porride made more liquid by adding chicken soup.

14 March Monday. She can move her toes and flex one knee slightly.

15th March Tuesday. She tells me the doctor asked her to walk a bit using the walker this morning - from her bed to the toilet door and to the chair and back to the bed. I am amazed at her quick recovery!

16th March Wednesday. She walks a bit more and there is pain when she gets up and sits down but not when she walks.

17th March Thursday. She has walked more and can put her one foot completely down with no pain.

Thank you Papa God for preserving my mother's life! Thank you for your wonderful timing and her speedy recovery. By faith I also thank you for her salvation! Amen. Thank you - all of you who prayed for her and supported us in our time of need.

Streets of San Francisco

If you are going to San Franscisco,

Be sure to wear to wear

some flowers in your hair

If you are going to San Franscico

You gonna find ... some gentle people there.

We had so many nostalgic songs about San Franscisco....



Sue Jan is the only one who wears some flowers in her hair .. wonder if she knows this old song?






What beautiful sight caught my eyes and brought a smile to my lips? I really don't remember.... .
We rode the trams up and down the streets of San Franscico from our hotel which was next door to the starting point for the trams. Trams were 5 USD per ride but we had a 12 USD pass and we rode buses and trams all day and well into the night.
You can sit inside where it is totally covered, sit outside where it is not covered or hang from the bars and enjoy the wind and the rain.
Brrr...!






Sue Jan against the backdrop of the up and down streets of San Franscisco.






































Only in the up and down streets of San Franscisco can you ride these sort of wheels





We searched for Crooked Street - the most crooked street in the whole world. We really had to walk and walk
and walk UP UP before we found Crooked street




It's one of the backdrops scenes for American Idols when it was filmed in SFO.


Sue Ann standing in Crooked Street.
Try to count how many bends Crooked Street has.









The expensive houses and the elaborate driveways from Crooked street

Proud of Convent Sentul

Harkiren is grinning like a Cheshire cat because she and her group of friends has succesfully captured an image of the convex lens on a screen

Beauty in the sunlight and the snow

This beautiful snow lattice made by the branches, the snow and the sunlight took our breath away!













Then every now and then as we walked through the forest, we would kena bombed but ever so gently by falling snow spray from one of the snow laden tree branches. See the fine snow spray in the sunlight behind Sue Ann


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Adventure - all of us had to cross this little creek . The instructions were clear!

Walk carefully on the plank across the creek and then stride purposefully and quickly in short steps up the little slope or risk sliding backwards down the slope and get wet falling into the creek

The mathematical wonder of God and nature's DNA. All these branches sticking from the tree trunk came out from exactly the same spot in perfect symetry. Even dead wood looks beautiful!



I am confident that Papa God who created all these beautiful sights by combining nature DNA, the weather, the environment will do no less for any one of us because we His beloved children are the apex of His creation.

And in those days and moods where I think I am full of flaws, my heart rejoices because despite my flaws, He has crafted us such to become who we beacause we are all things of beauty.

1Yeong family.

I am simply and quietly in awe and wonder of God's superb timing and guidance during this recent trip to US! Grateful thanks and love exude from my heart to Papa God for His goodness.


As usual we were all busy ( overly busy and caught up with work ) in Malaysia and left many technical details right to the very last minute so much so that we only booked the Yosemite National Park trip about 2 days before we left. Then on the morning before we flew off - they emailed us and told us they could not go on our requested date as the weather forecast on the said day was very bad. So we changed our date and had to wait for email again via transit etc. Finally when we got the whole thing settled - the day we went for the trip -the weather was the best it had been for several days - we had 15 cm fresh snow and glorious sunlight and the beautiful weather allowed us to see many lovely things we hadn't seen before.


Have you seen this type of natural snow whorl before? A little stone rolls down a slope and triggers the snow to wrap itself round and round in whorls much like butter whorls. I think this could be how an avalanch could be formed. But look and see - how pretty this snow whorl is and especially in the bright sunlight and the shadows of the bright sunlight!



Next picture shows me, Jason and Sue Ann snug inside the hollow of a giant sequoia. Sue Jan took another photo with all of us fitted into the hollow and I am waiting for her to post it.



As a child - I read and studied in my Geography book of the giant sequioa tree - now as an adult - I see what I studied is in truth - reality. Our guide told us an SUV can pass right through the hollow. One day I hope to see the giant tree where a bus can pass throough its hollowed base. And the acorn from which it grows is so tiny. So small acorns can grown into big things - don't despise small things.




It is God who has made possible our - the Yeong family frolic in the snow. Of course my husband Jason provides all the money for it and the technical details team mainly Jason, Sue Ann and Ken Jon get the trip hitched together in all its logistics.



My role in the trip : I like John Lennon says in his song Imagine I am just a dreamer and I dream and surf about places I like to go so I will tell Jason I want to go to Yosemite National Park and I want to go to .......

Sue Jan says her job is not the technical details - in fact she is simply delighted no one bothers to consult her on the technical details so she figures her family has figured out her strong and weak points very well. Her job is to create the ambiance and the atmosphere of the trip and the beautiful photos.

So the Yeong family reunion trip is a reminder to us all how we can each be our very own and very strong personality and yet be a happy family and how led by God's superb guidance in all of our happy differences have a fantastic holiday!

As in 1Malaysia - so 1Yeong family

It's good to be loved.

It's GOOD to feel loved and it's good to feel missed!




Here I am surrounded by presents from the students and teachers and staff in Seksyen 5 who loved me and missed me despite all my shortcomings and imperfections. It took me several days to complete opening all the presents. Sue Ann and Jason came home and saw this mountain of gifts in the hallway.




I have books which I will love to read and Jason already started reading one of the books I recieved. I have yards and yards of lovely textile material - now I need to find a good tailor .

I recieved so many bling bling to make me more beautiful - thank you for the lovely brooches, bangles, bags and baju - all the B's to make make me more B ( beautiful) And the lovely gold watch from the form 5 and the gold ring from Kelab Staff. And the list goes on and on......




Thank you students, staff and PIBG of Seksyen 5 for making me feel loved and missed.





I have flower bouquets and blooming orchids in a lovely basket.



For all the labour , tears, prayers and love that I have poured in Seksyen 5 in the five years I was there, God has rewarded me many fold far beyond what I have put in.












I see the smiles on the students' faces, the teamwork of the teachers and staff and their dedication to give of their very best to the students and my response is that It is very berbaloi amat berbaloi!! Yes, it's been very very worthwhile! This will encourage me to pour all my heart has into Convent Sentul. It is a strong affirmation that God is a very good rewarder of those who seeks His face and His will.

The Majlis Pesaraan (Farewell ceremony ) surprised me! The minute I opened my car door and saw the reception of teachers ad students, tears immediately form in my eyes. And yours truly being the ever sentimental person I am, I immediately armed myself with wads of tissue and resolved both in my heart and aloud to HM Pn Habshah- "Okay okay today we won't cry - we will be happy!" Sometimes in the busyness of being a new principal, I don't realize how much I miss Seksyen 5 until I stepped foot inside Seksyen 5 again and all those feelings well up from within me and tears begin to flow.

Seeing the familiar faces of the prefects and the students and teachers in the guard of honour was a joy! Thank you for the poems, the songs and the presentation. The majlis was very meaningful in so many ways. Many things in the program touched my heart especially the specially composed poem and the PKP student who read it with meaning and great articulation! And I am so happy to find the poem written in the book PKP gave me and Margie tells me she will send me the framed poem.


I had great fun when the prefects sang with me and the students waved as in unision as we sang. Thank you prefects - for the song, for the guard of honour, for the lovely gifts and the cards and the little notes. I want to stay friends forever with you guys.


And friends are friends forever
If the Lord 's the Lord of them.
And a friend will not say never
Cos' the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go,
In the Father's hand we know,
That a life time's not too long to...
live as friends
No, a life time's not too long to..
live as friends


And when I did the final inspection of the prefects and librarians and others
Lynn said " I am so proud of you" I think that was because finally although many times I was close to tears, but I didn't cry. It was a happy time for me.

And the jamuan was wonderful especially with Noraini's out of the world laksa!! Yummy!


Now I have finished opening all the gifts. And I enjoy so much all the little cards and notes and letters I find together with the gifts. Thank you for the many reminders of your love.









I am indeed honoured by PIBG's big turnout at the jamuan perpisahan. Thank you. The PIBG AJK meetings was a great learning experience! In these meetings, I got to interact with professionals who although were not educationists but had the heart for education. And the intellectual exchange both real and virtual was stimulating and help me grow beyond
the narrow world of just school.



And finally ... this cute gift from Pn. Mahmudah and Fairuz makes me smile and grin and realize something...





I thought this part of me would have escaped the teachers and the students' attention - this innate part of me that I try sometimes to keep a little undercover but i think from the gift - the secret's is out.





It's good to know that the teachers and the students know me well and know me for who I really am. They know in my heart of hearts, this teacher is like not so conventional but a little radical much like the Hard Rock Cafe Teddy bear with sunglasses on his head holding a musical instrument!


You guys must have caught me in those unguarded moments when I hum and sing on the way to class and during class and they know I got music and songs in my heart and the music flows into the class lesson.





So ...let the music and songs continue to flow and stir the joy of teaching and learning.



















































































































































































































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What encourages me.

The past first week as Principal of Convent Sentul has been a sort of baptism of fire.

On the very first day the school had 4 official visitors. On the 3rd day two other official visitors came. On the whole, all the visitors wrote very good reports save for one set of visitors who had come for a very short visit but with a certain agenda.

I enjoyed most the very diligent visitor who reached Convent Sentul at 7.30 am that very first day of school and stayed till almost 6.00 pm. She personified true diligence. I accompanied her as she checked every room (We opened all the locked rooms and cupboards for her ). To my surprise, I noted she turned every sink tap and opened practically every cupboard. I am absolutely delighted to report that there was only one sink tap that malfunctioned out of the many taps she turned that day. She observed the morning teachers in the class and waited patiently to observe the afternoon teachers. She was very professional in her comments and conducted the pre- meeting before inspection with us so that we would understand the purpose for her visit and the post meeting after the inspection to let us know her fair findings. I was so happy with her diligence and professionalism that I gave her an autographed copy of my 2nd book.

There were certainly many things at work in the spiritual realm that week - both against us and for us. I was instructed and advised by certain officials to make a certain decision which I found unpleasant. I also fell severely ill and had to be nebulized and was on mc on Thursday in the very first week of school! I think I have not had an mc for several years in Seksyen 5

When I sought help from the other Christian principals, I recieved ready help and advice. I was much encouraged by the many phone calls from the Catholic Church and others who affirmed they were praying for me in view of the crucial decision I had to make that first week despite being severely ill.

Now I clearly realized I am not alone in this battle for the students and teachers' hearts, minds and souls. I am very much reassured that God has gone on ahead of me and He walks alongside me and He is my rear guard.

This 2nd week God helped me win certain battles on the Monday morning. This morning I am much encouraged by Sister Luke and Sister Ben's visit to the school. They are simply so gracious and I am simply encouraged by these two sisters who toiled on and worked despite their age.

But God always knows the final secret as to what warms my heart the most!

See how beautiful these two tone purple flowers creepers blooming above the two benches near the school's little field. On my first visit to the school, the two vines were not in full flower and actually looked quite pathethic and scrawny. So I had a word with the gardener Maran.

And lo and behold - it has been only a few weeks after that first visit but Maran has done wonders and the flowers are in beautiful bloom! Oh the joy that beautiful sight stirs in my heart! Can anybody out there tell me the name of this flowering shrub?

I am also so delighted by the fact the school is not so big and I can complete my morning rounds quite quickly. Behind these two flowering vines are the Form 3 classes and also the corridor which leads to the library and the science labs.

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My heart sings grateful thanks to the God who always encourages me - by people, by circumstances and by the flowers which bloom so profusely under His care.