Christmas

December 24th, 2007

Christmas this year was a little somber.

We visited Uncle Raju in the Serdang Hospital. It was my very first time visiting him in the hospital, although he was there for more than a month. It was sad, seeing him there, because that meant that we couldn't gather at his place to open our presents, as was the tradition.

From there, we went to the farm to visit Aunty Hannah, his wife, who was busy cooking for the rest of the family. We ate a little and rushed back to my parents' place for their Christmas party.

We arrived at 9.45pm and by that time, the crowd of 300 dropped to 150. Many people stayed and did the Christmas countdown.

December 25th, 2007

Morning - Christmas service in church

Afternoon - Lunch

Evening - Visited Uncle Raju at the Serdang Hospital

Night - Went to Dr. Bob Samuel residence for his Christmas party

December 26th, 2007

After work, we went to Aunty Grace's place for her Christmas family get-together

A Christmas Musical - From Heaven's Throne

We had our Christmas Musical three nights in a row and many people turned up each night.

On the first night, the lights flickered even while Thomson was songleading. There were 2 blackouts (well, not a total blackout) and something was definitely wrong. We discovered later that it was because of the lights where the canopies were. We switched those off and everything went smoothly after that. Thank God!

The stage, which was 9.5 ft in height, was built to accomodate 50 people on the highest tier, also known as the 3rd tier. This was a challenge for Bro Pang as we had a tight budget this year. Thank God for wisdom and available sources. Scaffolding was placed under the stage for a firm and strong support.

The entire choir (a.k.a the angels) was placed on the 3rd tier, where Heaven was. Little dancers danced whenever there was a heavenly scene.

About 60 people were involved in the drama. The key actors and actresses had to sing their lines.

Key Actors/actresses

Joseph - Derrick Yeoh
Mary - Jennifer Woon
Jesus (crucified) - Edwin Bala
Jesus (before birth) - Bernard Mariadass
Angel Gabriel - Philip Leong Wai Kok
Angel Michael - Michael Ong & Thomson Fam
King Herod - Chong Voon Fui
High Priest & elder - Dr Lim & Jeremy Kwan
Inn Keepers - David Gan and Godwin Tan
Three Kings - Chow Kwai Hin, Alexi Pang & Ray Gomez
Speaking Narrator - Mok Chooi Yee
Singing Narrator - Jocelyn Chen

All good things must come to an end. After our last performance, we gathered as many people to help with the first part of "undressing" the stage.

Preparation for Christmas Musical - From Heaven's Throne

... to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul - Deuteronomy 11:13b

This year's musical was a challenge for me. I have been involved in musicals for more than 20 years. From being in the choir to working backstage, I've never had much of a problem with anything I was asked to do.

It was very different this time. There were many challenges and stressed-related headaches. At first, I thought it would be a breeze. I could even picture the whole stage and the different scenes during my first discussion with a few key people.

The time came when I had to do a mock-up of the stage. It was a simple design but I remember taking five whole days just making the stage model.

End October came and Bro Pang had to start working on the construction of the stage. There were many calls flying back and forth. I had to revise my drawing plans 3 times because of the budget. Finally, after my 4th floor plan, the construction began.

Mid November came around and I had to start dressing the stage. I remember telling Eunice that I wished it were December 1st because that was when the stage would be completed. I absolutely had no idea if what I had in mind was going to work or not. I depended a lot on the play of lights but that didn't come in until one week before the Musical.

I gathered many volunteers to help me. And I prayed A LOT. I really couldn't do it with my own strength and creativity. I needed God to help me.

Well, two weeks went by so quickly. I was stressed and I'm sure I "barked" and offended many people. Things got done. We had to repaint most of the stage because I wasn't satisfied with it. There were lots of murmurs.

We spent 160 hours on the "heavenly" background. Once again, there were lots of murmurs. Seven people helped sew sequins onto several huge cloths. I would say that it was worth it.

I guess I would say that November was my most stressful month of the year. On the positive side, I felt God's hand upon me and I know for sure that it was a way of God wanting to extend my creativity and expanding my boundaries.