In 1954, a couple sailed from New York to India for what they thought would be a one-year missionary. 50 years later, the Buntains' ministry has grown from a small shop above a night club to 800 churches, schools, colleges, orphanages, a blind school, a hospital and a nursing school. The Buntains' Calcutta Ministry also include feeding 25,000 people daily, performing cleft palate surgery and blood transfusion on patients.
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This morning I had the privilege to hear Huldah Buntain, 79, share at the Assembly of God church about how she gave her life to Calcutta. The entire congregation gave her a standing applause the moment she walked to the stage. Huldah has such a heart for the people in India that hearing her speak about them made me weep for the people in India. Not that they need my tears, but that there was so much to love through Huldah.
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It's an amazing experience to be in the presence of such a wonderful woman of God and I'm so dying to share this with you. :P Tales about her deeds of love and acts of faith were unheard of that they made me redefine what love and faith means. A case in point was the construction of a hospital in Calcutta by the Buntains. See, when they started building churches (esp in Muslim territories), people burnt them down. Then, they decided to build hospitals instead because when services are being provided to the community, burning them down would mean having no treatment.
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Anyways, the city (council) granted them an area to build a hospital. The moment they started digging the land, they found that it was on a lake! Calcutta is 12 ft above sea level and they needed pilings, which they couldn't afford, to lay the foundations. So Mark, Huldah's late husband, gathered some people around that plot of land, tied a string to a bible, lowered it to the water and commanded the waters to recede in the name of Jesus.
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Today, their hospital basement is one of the driest area amidst the monsoon and flood. It houses heavy instruments which non-christian engineers from Toshiba, CA, said would rust after surveying the location. But, after inspecting the basement for dampness, they asked, "Can you (Huldah) tell me your story, again?"
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This story made me recollect on my mom's testimony of the all-things-are-possible-God we have. My grand-father donated a plot of land in a fishing village in Kuala Kedah to the Southern Baptist missionaries to build a church. It was one of the first Baptist churches in M'sia btw. Once, a fire came upon their village, got carried by the wind and consumed all the wooden houses. Amazingly, the wind stopped at the direction of the church. It was the only building that was spared by the fire in the village. Amazing, ya? Today, the church is converted into a firehouse, however.
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Anyways, you can read more about the Buntain Calcultta ministry here. When Huldah said, "and my God will supply ALL your needs.", she meant every word she spoke. It wasn't just words, but life to me.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Friday, October 02, 2009
update from SC
Here are some happenings of my life in SC:
1. Summer was blown away. Just last week, it was 50-70F, which was nice, like Cameron's, now it's 40-50F.
2. Which means the trees are changing colors. Now it's half green half autumn.
3. Since it's getting colder, I'm in layers.
4. I've been really stressed out with work and classes. I'm working as a research assistant if you don't already know.
5. I'm living with an American house-mate and a furry jet-black cat. I'm spending more time with him than his master. :)
6. I dream about Malaysian food every now and then. I felt very home-sick after returning from summer.
7. I'm attending a bible class on the New Testament Survey in my church.
8. I'm 'trying' to read a book called "Head Cases" by Michael Paul Mason. The author is a traumatic brain injury (TBI) case manager and in his book narrates about the stories of individuals after TBI. Apparently 1.4 mil Americans suffer from TBI every year. That figure itself can fill a city. Pennsylvania has a silly law that allows bikers, who are the rich and influential with big toys, unlike our mat rempit, to bike without a helmet.
9. wonders whether the distance is too far when she say things like, 'it's a friend's'
10. Is learning more about Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and advocating for people with disabilities. AAC is an adaptive assistant for people who can't meet all their communication needs through speaking or writing. That includes using symbols, pictures, sign language or voice-aided machine to speak. Apparently the credentialing speech and hearing board here, ASHA, defines communication as human rights. It means, every individual should be entitled to communicate. If speech won't do the job, then they should be provided with alternative means.
11. misses someone.... :p
1. Summer was blown away. Just last week, it was 50-70F, which was nice, like Cameron's, now it's 40-50F.
2. Which means the trees are changing colors. Now it's half green half autumn.
3. Since it's getting colder, I'm in layers.
4. I've been really stressed out with work and classes. I'm working as a research assistant if you don't already know.
5. I'm living with an American house-mate and a furry jet-black cat. I'm spending more time with him than his master. :)
6. I dream about Malaysian food every now and then. I felt very home-sick after returning from summer.
7. I'm attending a bible class on the New Testament Survey in my church.
8. I'm 'trying' to read a book called "Head Cases" by Michael Paul Mason. The author is a traumatic brain injury (TBI) case manager and in his book narrates about the stories of individuals after TBI. Apparently 1.4 mil Americans suffer from TBI every year. That figure itself can fill a city. Pennsylvania has a silly law that allows bikers, who are the rich and influential with big toys, unlike our mat rempit, to bike without a helmet.
9. wonders whether the distance is too far when she say things like, 'it's a friend's'
10. Is learning more about Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and advocating for people with disabilities. AAC is an adaptive assistant for people who can't meet all their communication needs through speaking or writing. That includes using symbols, pictures, sign language or voice-aided machine to speak. Apparently the credentialing speech and hearing board here, ASHA, defines communication as human rights. It means, every individual should be entitled to communicate. If speech won't do the job, then they should be provided with alternative means.
11. misses someone.... :p
Sunday, March 08, 2009
the ironies of life
It hit 60s F on Friday!
This is the first time since 5 months that I felt warm. I can't explain the joy I felt walking out on the streets with just one layer ! The air didn't sting anymore. The sun brought happiness. The birds are back and the voices of children fill the air again. I see people hanging out the building, jogging in shorts and clothing in bright colors. Winter was pretty outside, but for most of the time I experienced life as a cocoon.
Since being in State College, I find myself changing to balance up the lack of something... here's how it goes...
1. Back home, I cherished my weekends home alone, where I can shy away from the crowds for a moment of peace. I felt recharged painting a picture or reading a book. Now, I'm mostly home alone and I have become such an extrovert. I hate weekends alone because the quietness is so loud. To avoid home alone, I've stayed-over at a friend's place or even brought homework to socials, just so I can be with people. I used to love the privacy of my room. Now, being alone in my tiny apartment feels like being in a prison. I'd rather be out, taking pictures in the open or with people... just out.
2. Don't we all hate being in the sun and heat in Malaysia? Right now I'm celebrating warmth ! Remember how we used to laugh at the ang mos for getting a tan? Now I can relate to them. After months of greys and cold, the sun is a big welcome. It's not a fun feeling having chilly bones. I've become phototropic here. I'd purposely walk in the sun or stay near light source or ask my friends to switch on more lights in the room because it makes me happier.
3. I used to jog away from my playground, towards the bungalows where there's less people so that I can empty my mind a bit. Now, I would purposely jog near children, families or where people are tossing Frisbee or football. It's very refreshing to hear the sounds of laughter and squeals in the open compared to being quietly enclosed in a room.
4. I used to turn my phone to silent mode when it was getting too busy and that i needed to concentrate on work. Now, a beep or vibration is a welcome. I guess that's cause I don't get as many calls or activites going on :(
I'm in Jo's house now. I'm having one week of Spring break. I miss home alot and have been having Malaysia (people,places and food) in my dreams.
This is the first time since 5 months that I felt warm. I can't explain the joy I felt walking out on the streets with just one layer ! The air didn't sting anymore. The sun brought happiness. The birds are back and the voices of children fill the air again. I see people hanging out the building, jogging in shorts and clothing in bright colors. Winter was pretty outside, but for most of the time I experienced life as a cocoon.
Since being in State College, I find myself changing to balance up the lack of something... here's how it goes...
1. Back home, I cherished my weekends home alone, where I can shy away from the crowds for a moment of peace. I felt recharged painting a picture or reading a book. Now, I'm mostly home alone and I have become such an extrovert. I hate weekends alone because the quietness is so loud. To avoid home alone, I've stayed-over at a friend's place or even brought homework to socials, just so I can be with people. I used to love the privacy of my room. Now, being alone in my tiny apartment feels like being in a prison. I'd rather be out, taking pictures in the open or with people... just out.
2. Don't we all hate being in the sun and heat in Malaysia? Right now I'm celebrating warmth ! Remember how we used to laugh at the ang mos for getting a tan? Now I can relate to them. After months of greys and cold, the sun is a big welcome. It's not a fun feeling having chilly bones. I've become phototropic here. I'd purposely walk in the sun or stay near light source or ask my friends to switch on more lights in the room because it makes me happier.
3. I used to jog away from my playground, towards the bungalows where there's less people so that I can empty my mind a bit. Now, I would purposely jog near children, families or where people are tossing Frisbee or football. It's very refreshing to hear the sounds of laughter and squeals in the open compared to being quietly enclosed in a room.
4. I used to turn my phone to silent mode when it was getting too busy and that i needed to concentrate on work. Now, a beep or vibration is a welcome. I guess that's cause I don't get as many calls or activites going on :(
I'm in Jo's house now. I'm having one week of Spring break. I miss home alot and have been having Malaysia (people,places and food) in my dreams.
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