The Day I Took My First Emergency Leave

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PROLOGUE
I was nudged awake by my ringtone that went "ONE PUUUUUUNNNNNCCCCCCHHHHHH!" Who in the world?! I took a look at the time, it was 3:34a.m. The caller ID ended with "AirBnB GUEST". Oh no! I thought you are the nice guest I've been waiting for?

"Hello, sorry ah. No electricity oh." said the other side of the phone. Paraphrasing my mind, "Well, that is painfully inconvenient." I have to paraphrase this because it only had two words and one of them starts with the letter "F".

I was kept awake by the matter for the rest of the night. TNB wasn't helping and there was no one to turn to. I had to do some PR routine and the guests were willing to go through the night without electricity. Of course, a discount must be in place. "God, please take care of my guests and help me to rest." I prayed. O me of little faith, I didn't.

Sunday morning, 9am. Something didn't feel right. I had a feeling that my car was going to give me a kick to the nuts, just in case this day didn't start bad enough. I wish I could have the same feeling on hitting a jackpot: My car wouldn't start. It just kept giving me that "LET'S.....*COUGH*.... *cough*....zzzz"

Sigh, and I still have that electricity problem to solve.

On translation duty for Sunday Service again. What do you mean again? It's not like there is a rotation anyway. Translation was a mess: kept turning Pastor Matthew to Gospel of Matthew; mind went periodically blank; an impactful message turn into a slap by a dry sponge.

So tired. Oh God, please help. My tear won't stop flowing as I sing praises to Him.

Monday 7:43pm, my fan stopped working. Grr, when I said: "Can this day get any worse?", I didn't mean it to be a challenge!

CHAPTER 1: D-DAY
Before I went off work yesterday, I made up my mind to take an emergency leave today. This had to be solved by today otherwise I can't find peace. I really don't want to turn my guests away for this weekend. Made several calls to the management yesterday and made appointments with electricians. Colleague offered some of their wisdom as well. But I can't sit this one out like I used to anymore. This is not something I can solve by making a few calls.

My housemate was shocked to find that my car did not leave earlier than his. Came up to my room to wake me up just in case I overslept (or died). I was wide-awake. Told him I took a day off with a smile. Left home at 9am and stopped by McDonald's for breakfast and coffee. I must start today well.

Greeted by the enthusiastic building supervisor, Andy as I arrived. The electrician was having his smoke while waiting for me. I was shocked by what I saw. The electrician went on to give me a crash course on wiring and electricity. I knew a thing or two.

Relieved when our inspection on the in-house fuse box found nothing wrong. Thank God it didn't start a fire. Andy remarked that I could be in worse situation. Apparently there's a unit below mine had their wire burned that very same night. It was so severe, they had to re-wire everything and costed them nearly RM1000. The electrician suggest that I change my 10mm diameter wire to 16mm diameter wire to take more load. 10mm is just too small for a unit with 4 1.5 horse-power air-conditioners. We broke the deal at RM200.

By 11:30am, I took a breath of relief. Electricity is back.

CHAPTER 2: RIDING ON HIS GRACE
Well, here I was. Problem solved and I had half a day of light to go. I might as well give this place a thorough cleaning that had been a little long overdue as well as some upgrades it deserves.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I asked myself: How can I, as a Christian, carry myself differently in business? "Generosity" was my answer. I recalled how I was not being generous to my guests. Even when the Lord had blessed me well, I did not turn to bless others. For the past 5 months of business, by God's grace, I had no major loss but 3 wonderful months of abundance and surplus. But instead of blessing my guests by offering delights, I remained careful with my spending and ungenerous. And surely enough, my miserliness and sloth had brought me more trouble than bliss: complaints of unsatisfactory cleanliness, moldy fridge and etc. This has to change.

During the 3 hours of cleaning, I jotted down a list of things that could make my place more welcoming. If I want to honor God with my business, I must reflect His generosity and grace. He has given me grace, I must ride on that, so that anyone who comes in may be blessed and to find that my God is a God who is generous and does not withhold anything good from those who trust in Him.
I want to place bottles of water in the fridge, so my guests could grab one and stay hydrated when the travel in Penang under the hot sun. I want to prepare teabags and tea sets for my guests too, so they can wake up to a wonderful morning with a warm cup of tea. I want to make electric plug points more accessible so that my guests can have their devices charged and stay connected. I want to provide towels for my guests so that they can have a good time swimming or taking a refreshing shower at my place. I want to place some books and Bibles for my guests so that they can read by the balcony with the refreshing hill breeze on their faces. I want to bless my guests more than I want to make money from them. I'll let God take care of the business part.
A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. 
Proverbs 11:25
FINAL CHAPTER: A BLESSING IN DISGUISE
In hindsight I think all the bad things that happened were a series of wake-up-call for me, much like the call I get half-past-three in the morning. It reminded me to rely on God's resources even in my secular work. It reminded me to rely on God to provide sufficient grace at all time. It reminded me to rely on God to give me the right lesson to learn at the right time. It reminded me to rely on God to connect me to the right person for the right job.
Met up with Li Xin English Cell Group after a day of work. Blessings!
There were many blessings to count: Thank God for nice guests that were willing to put up with the inconvenience and understood my difficulty. So much so, they even offered some ideas and solutions. Thank God for sparing my guests from potentially dreadful fire hazard. Thank God that the damage was small and my landlord was willing to cover the cost. Thank God for sparing me from worse. Thank God for helpful Andy and electrician.
Thank God for wonderful friends that became my listening ears and helping hands. Thank God for the church brother who came to pick me up and brought me for awesome roasted pork to cheer me up. Thank God for gracious congregation that forgave my translation mistakes. Thank God for my best brother who gave me a ride home, a jump-start for my car and a comforting Sundae. Thank God for Gabriel who sheltered me and woke up 3:30am wondering if something bad happened to someone dear to me. Thank God for stretching my car battery lifespan far longer than it's supposed to. Thank God that it did not break down somewhere that I cannot get aid. Thank God for that friend who texted and asked if I was okay.

Thank God that I have a spare fan.

The day I took my first emergency leave, is the day I have learned so much more about my gracious God and what it means to rejoice in Him.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 
2 Corinthians 12:9a
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 
Philippians 4:4
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 
Romans 8:28
Love • Christ • Unity

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