Baby Food

These days, parents really go the extra mile in preparing baby food for their toddlers. I mean, just by reading what goes into Prissy’s porridge would make me salivate. Here is the menu:-

“Rice porridge cooked with free range chicken and organic veggie harvested from the day (ie long beans or spinach), double boiled and slow cook for eight hours to a smooth mushy paste, totally delectable for toddlers and babies alike, including some hungry parents! You could be assured of quality & zero seasoning - only natural flavours that arise from the seepage of chicken juice into the porridge and fresh veggie.” 

Except of course, Prissy can't read yet. So, I am like Prissy’s cupbearer everyday, sampling the porridge before feeding her. “If I were a baby, I would gobble up everything and not a mushy grain would be left on my plate.” I told myself. But babies have the fussiest taste incomprehensible. When I offered one spoonful of mouth-watering porridge, all she did was turn her head away! Another attempt was met with a slight pursing of lips – she used her lips to determine if the food was acceptable, worse than any customers you could find in the restaurant: Even fool knows that there is no taste bud on the lips!

So there we have it: grown-ups could put in as much effort as possible in pleasing a baby but such effort could quite often go unappreciated. But the times when Prissy opens her mouth and welcome every spoonful, I am on cloud 9, savouring the “floodgate” that is before me and quite often, forgetting how difficult she had been. Parents are so easily appeased too!

I feel immensely blessed to be in this position, where I am placed to please my 10- month baby. I have no doubt that my Father in Heaven too is looking at me, as His prized possession and treasure, pleasing me with His many wonderful gifts, and Prissy is no doubt one of them.

Our First Meeting

Today, we had our 1^st info session, introducing our international school to the public! This was a realization of my dream, of establishing a holistic school that focuses not only on academic performance, but more importantly, in bringing out the best in every child. Just the mere thought that this day had dawn, was a reminder to me that with God, nothing is impossible!

I could still vividly recall that starting an international school in Kampar was a crazy idea. Afterall, Kampar is not the place to even begin if we were to make money (between you and me: this is not meant to be a profit driven project). To pour more cold water to the already bad idea, getting teachers is a challenge. Just over one month ago, our principal (I know, we have a principal onboard, and a very well qualified one too!) shared, “Team, we may have to start thinking about advertising for teachers as I am not getting any application from anyone I know! To make matter worse, schools in the Klang Valley are pinching teachers from one another; some had even gone as far as India and Sri Lanka to recruit!”

As the author of this crazy idea wasn’t me (although I would be very tempted to take the credit for it), but God, He had impressed upon me that He had already prepared the teachers for us. “How is that possible Lord?” I kept asking myself when the meeting ended, too timid to even share my conviction with the team then. In the weeks that follow, people whom I know started to come to me, asking for teaching positions in the school. To add icing to the cake, they even recommend their friends from Kuala Lumpur to join us! I could almost hear our Father in Heaven chuckled “See, didn’t I tell you so! Have faith!” The picture of Noah’s ark came to my mind: when the ark was completed, God just called the animals by pairs to enter the ark, predestined, pre-prepared and the best part was: no human intervention required!

Today, we had expected about 20 pax to attend our briefing, but almost 30 turned up. After the session, R came up to me and inspired me with this “Fee, 2 years ago when you shared about starting a school in Kampar, I thought it was a crazy idea. Now, when I tell my friends that I am moving to Kampar because my wife will be teaching there, they are calling me crazy! Now, the thing that strikes me is this: Your craze has brought crazy people like us to come to Kampar! Don’t you feel blessed?!”

My engine of worry in whether we could bring in enough students died that very instant! “Yes, I do feel immensely blessed!” He, who could bring in the teachers, would also bring in the students. :)

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

PS: To date, we have a principal, one curriculum director and one student affair & admin director onboard. These are all very highly qualified individuals who gave up their high-flying career to settle with their families in hilly Kampar. In addition, two extremely talented and sought after teachers will be joining us here. When I asked the husband of one of the teachers how he felt about relocating, his reply was most unexpected "Whereever my wife is happy, I am happy!"This could only be possible, when God called His people. Glory to Him.