IN LOVING MEMORY OF AUNTIE JEMIMA

Thessa Lagapa

My instant reaction when I received the news about Auntie Jemima’s homegoing was devastation. Didn’t we pray for healing? my heart cried. Like the human I am, I felt disappointed that our prayers for a miraculous healing weren’t answered. Even though I prayed, “not my will, but Thine be done,” my heart still crumbled in sadness.

Did that make God any less good? Any less powerful?

I thank God that I never thought of answering yes to those questions, even at the time when the news was still fresh.

God is still good. Not just in the good times, but also in the bad times. Indeed, “the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

I think Pastor phrased it perfectly when he said he felt handicapped, like he lost something. Even though it is not to the greater extent as in his case, I think all of us, who have been touched by the life of Auntie Jemima, have this “handicap” feeling. Especially for me as an FEBC student, Auntie Jemima played a huge role in our lives. She went the extra mile to make us feel welcomed in a place that is not our home.

My earliest memory of Auntie Jemima would be landing at Changi Airport in 2009. We came to Singapore because my dad was going to study in FEBC to enter the fulltime ministry. Both Pastor and Auntie Jemima were there to meet us. My first thought when I saw her was “She looks like Miki San!” (a wife of a Christian family friend from Japan). Even though Pastor wasn’t a pastor yet (he was an elder at the time), Auntie Jemima was every bit the Pastor’s wife. She was warm, kind, and friendly. She talked to us the whole car ride as they fetched us to our new home. She had a special gift of interacting with children, and my siblings and I were blessed to have experienced it.

Auntie Jemima brought me and my siblings to Sunday School. And I have come to realize that she played an important role in helping us discover our spiritual gifts and developing them. She made my brother sing solos in the children’s choir. She made my sister teach the children. She got me started in playing piano first for the children’s choir, then prayer meetings, fellowship groups, and then worship services. She was gentle but firm. Every Sunday, she would lead the singspiration before we went to our respective Sunday school classes. Her prayers were simple for a child to repeat. The songs she taught us are still engraved into my heart to this day. It was her heart’s desire that all the children in church would come to Sunday school and children’s worship. She would talk to the parents so that they would bring their children.

Auntie Jemima was always by Pastor’s side. She would go with him to special speaking engagements and other events. She would go for mission trips with him. Pastor and Auntie Jemima were able to go to Philippines for certain conferences. I think they have gone three times or more if I’m not wrong. People, even from other countries like Philippines, who would only come to know her for a few days, would instantly like her. She just had a cheerful disposition and knew how to communicate the love of Christ to Christian brethren. My family also had the privilege to go to Japan with her, Pastor and May Lynn. It’s a mission trip I will always remember. There were a lot of moments and events that made it special. It was also there that I saw her care and love for Pastor. It would become rather humorous at times, but I think back on them fondly now.

Auntie Jemima taught me to serve God unconditionally: in good or bad health. She always kept herself busy for the Lord, and it remained the same even after being diagnosed with cancer. At times, I would think that she needed to rest and not do so much, but she always wanted to come down and see us, students. She took care of everything so that we were very sheltered especially during the circuit breaker. We were provided meals three times a day, seven days a week during that period. She made sure we exercised so that we wouldn’t become flabby and fat, and whenever we did, she would be so happy, she would come down and watch us play. Even though she herself was sick, she made sure we were well taken care of in health. When one of us fell sick, she made sure that person was “quarantined” so that the rest of us wouldn’t be infected as well. That person was sent food and constantly checked up on by her. When the COVID situation here in Singapore became better, she organized walks and outings for us to take a breather amidst our studies. While the Principal made sure we studied hard, Auntie Jemima made sure we also had times of recreation. She balanced it. During the circuit breaker when physical worship was prohibited, as much as possible, she would play the piano for the worship service recordings as Pastor preached.

At first, she responded well to the treatments but earlier this year in February, things went downhill. Even then, she made sure she finished the syllabus of her course on “Sacred Music Throughout the Ages”. Even when her teaching was interrupted every few minutes by her coughing, she pressed on. She had make-up lessons with us and gave us the exam early so that we could finish the course as soon as possible.

She really finished the tasks that God gave her.

She gave of herself, her talents, and resources. She gave and gave liberally. And for that, God blessed her richly. Auntie Jemima’s life is a sweet savour. She has a good name. “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth” (Eccl 7:1). Whenever I think about her, I am reminded of Christ’s love. I think of all the times she kept herself busy serving others, and that really is what true greatness is all about. In the subject on Life of Christ, I learned that the world will measure greatness by the number of people who serve you. But in God’s eyes, true greatness is measured by the number of people you serve. I will remember her gift of making people feel warm, welcome, loved and cared for. I will remember the things she taught me, not just in Sunday school or in the lecture hall, but also tips on playing the piano, daily life skills, and many other things.

My heart goes out to the bereaving family in this time of grief, but I know that as much as they and all of us miss dear Auntie Jemima on this earth, we are strengthened to know that God’s plan is always good even if we do not understand.

This absence is but temporary, and we shall see her again someday in glory.

She is safe in the arms of Jesus, free from cancer and all the pain and miseries of this sin-sick world.

Her life is one that brings glory to God, and we praise Him for it.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20).

WITH CHRIST ON THE MOUNT

Rev Dr Timothy Tow

“With Christ on the Mount” was the message of the Highlands Camp. The message was now spoken not by the living but by the dead. Hearts were melted, washed by tears of sorrow, mingled with love and repentance. “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him…” (Job 13:15). The dead spoke again when the three caskets bearing them were brought back to Life Church, Gilstead Road. At their combined funeral service on April 22, 1965 conducted by Revs. Quek, Ng and Grauley, and Mr. Jacob Fung of Grace Cantonese Church, no sermon was needed. The mountain theme song “Is not this the Land of Beulah” was sung by the fifty campers to the sympathising tears of the thousand mourners.

Was this triple tragedy sheer accident? Could it not have been avoided? One very close to the beloved deceased, being thus perplexed, took pains to find out the facts of the case. She came to the conclusion that “God has worked in a mysterious way for a higher purpose, to His Glory”. Thus wrote Mrs. Lim Siew Yong (my younger sister) in The Malaysia Christian, May 8, 1965:

“The recent departure of my sister-in-law Mrs. Nancy Tow, my niece Le Anne and my aunt Mrs. Tow Keng Chuan was most sudden and unexpected. The news of their deaths came as a great blow. I was struck speechless and I could only weep and mourn over the great loss. The three were with a group of fifty campers on their way to the Life Church Bible Camp up on Cameron Highlands when the fatal accident took place…. In my deep grief, I was determined to find out the cause of this seeming calamity. After much praying, observation and interviewing, I have come to realise that what had happened was all through God’s mysterious guiding power.”

The conclusion of Mrs. Lim that it was God who had worked in a mysterious way for His own glory is right. For our Lord has promised His children protection to the last strand of hair on their head (Matt. 10:30). Such a great calamity could not have happened without His decretive permission. Now that it had happened according to His will for His own glory, good must come out of it. (Son of a Mother’s Vow, 225–7)

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28)