Christmas 2009 Party for Children - Good Shepherd Church, Setapak

Christmas Party for the children was held at Good Sheperd Church, Setapak on 19 December 2009. Started with a Children's Mass celebrated by Rev Fr Patrick Boudeville at 10 in the morning. Quite a number of children turned up, especially notable ones were the foreigners from neighbouring countries.

After Mass everyone were treated with refreshment while the Setapak carollers belted out Christmas carols. After that the kids ad a gala time indulging themselves in some games, but Santa Claus took centre stage when he appeared dancing and giving out sweeties. That's when he was bombarded by excited kids stretching out their hands for some sweets.

Enjoy some snapshots:

Secret Christmas Deed

Can’t help but to succumb to the spirit of giving, without which Christmas has no meaning for me. Back when i was 16 (1980) just finished my Form 5 exam, me and my buddy planned to give a surprise Christmas gift to a poor family who lives near the Blessed Sacrament Church in Labuan, Sabah (before Labuan was declared Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur). Couldn’t remember if the family have any children. We bought some basic stuff like canned foods, biscuits, etc, put them all in a carton placed it just outside their door before the Midnight Mass was about to begin. What happened next we never knew but I guessed if I were to see their expression upon seeing the gift I would get emotional.

Lonely Christmas

When I was in my teen Christmas to me was being together with good friends during carolling practices, preparing some word-art late nights to decorate the church altar wall, making crafts out of cardbox as presents for my sisters, attending midnight Mass, hanging around a while after Mass and just taking in the spirit of Christmas all around me at 1am after midnight, walking home alone after that (home was just half a kilometre from church)..

But the next day, on the 1st day of Christmas, the day would just like any other day (cos my parents do not belive in celebrating Christmas, they don’t even attend Mass), only worse. I could literally feel loneliness and silence surrounding me at home. God knows what I did, how I’d survived the Christmas day but I guessed He deemed it fit not to imprint those memories into me.