An afternoon with Samo

I have not been blogging because I have not been particularly inspired. It wasn't that life was boring or bad - the past two months actually have been pretty great. But nothing moved me enough to set aside time to blog. Musing about whether my blog had breathed its last, inspiration literally walk in through my door.

The lights in my office always do a major short circuit when the stormy season sets in. Old buildings and slack management may make for great rental rates but poor maintenance.
So I made an appointment with the in-house electrician to get my lights up and going again.

My management has a knack for hiring the funkiest looking electricians - the supervisor is a 40 something Phua Chu Kang clone, from fluffy Afro to long fingernail; his junior is also in his 40s, resembling a slightly skinnier Samo Hung complete with bowl-shaped haircut and teeny old man whiskers. They are truly old-school, honest-to-goodness blue collar to the bone types - their PDAs come in the form of mamak shop bought 30 cents spiral bound notebooks; their skin uncompromisingly tough and pockmarked; their accessories only come in towkay-gold.

PCK was away so Samo turned up, all apologetic for missing several appointments he had made earlier on with me. I left him to fiddle with the electrical wiring while I went into the next room to tidy up files. Feeling whimsical, I played an old Hillsongs CD and wondered what God had in store to show me for the year ahead. 2005 was full of encouraging random encounters and I asked Him in my head when would be my next. Turns out it was going to be in a couple of minutes and iut was gonna be good ole Samo himself.

Samo walked in and mused, "Eh, miss, you Catholic ah?"

"No, I am Christian. Why? You are, ah?"

"Eh Miss, you tell me, don't mind me asking, why my uncle can become so powerful?"

"Emm...did your uncle become a Christian?"

"Ya ya. Aiyohhh he was very naughty,miss, last time, so naughty that he went to jail you know? Smoke, gamble, drink. Very naughty ah! But then he ah...go church. Then now, very good already! I cannot believe. How come he got power ah?" He looked at me earnestly.

At this point, I could not stop smiling at him. He really looked very perplexed.

"Emmm....it's not magic power like bomoh or taoist priest that kind. Different power. Your uncle became Christian. He knew he had no more power to change himself so he let God change him. You know what we always want to do good but diedie also end up doing some bad thing. Can be very frustrating and feel very sad. We have no power."

"Ah miss, I am not Christian. Then I try to run away from my uncle because he always bother me to go church go church. So I go to give him face then he stand on stage and talk you know? I don't believe he so naughty last time, can stand up there so neat, wear tie, comb hair, like good like that! Wah I really cannot believe."

"Heh."

"Some more, miss, I tell you, I never tell anyone before....er am I wasting your time ah miss?"

"No, no , it's ok."

"Goodgood....you know when I went to the church ah, I dunno why you know! I don't understand what they are saying, what plihplahplihplah but you know miss, I CRY you know? Dunno why also! I dunno why I cry! And when I ask my uncle he also say he dunno why. But he say he believe I will become Christian one day. But you Christian too right? Maybe you can tell me why it happen?"

I could not believe my ears. That was exactly my conversion experience. Dragged to church by a friend, God pierced through all my unbelief and ignorance with a bout of inexplicable tears from nowhere as well.

"That happened to me too." It was such a cool moment, to meet another person whom God reached out to in the same way.

Just then, his handphone went off - a crazy caophony. It was another tenant bugging him about another appointment.

"Oh sorry miss, sorry I must go fix another light. Eh you don't mind, I talk to you about this Christian thing another day ok? Sorry I waste your time ah."

I told him anytime was good for me. And he had definitely not wasted my time.

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Postscript - For some strange reason God keeps sending people who are far more proficient in dialects and chinese down my path. Maybe he is telling me its about time to reclaim my mother tongue. ha!