FATHER'S DAY: A MAN OF GOD ESTABLISHES CHURCH

Today, June 14, 2008 is Father's Day and millions of people all over the world celebrate Father's Day in honour of their fathers. My father had been called back to the Lord after serving God faithfully for over 32 years in Ipoh, the capital of Perak, Malaysia as the minister of our church and in 1973 came to Toronto where God led him to establish His first church in Canada (1979).

It is by the will of our Lord God to establish His church here in Canada in the early seventies. The non-denominational church is indigenious to China and was established in 1917 in Beijing. In 1973, Britannica Encyclopedia wrote that the church was the third largest church in China. When China became a Communist country, the church was shut down and moved its headquarters to Taiwan. The International Assembly also has its headquarters in Los Angeles. My father was the second or third generation Chinese in Malaysia, I am not quite sure. His father was a court interpreter in Ipoh, Perak (the silver state) in Malaysia. We are Hakka Chinese like the ex Governor General Adrienne Clarkson of Canada.

Who are the Hakkas?

Hakka - An Important Chinese Cultural Group

Asiawind.com

The Hakkas are a unique ethnic group of "Han" Chinese originally active in the Yellow River area. They are thought to be one of the earliest "Han" settlers in China. One theory has it that many of the early Hakkas were "royal bloods". The truth may be more complicated than that. It is highly likely that while Hakka may be a stronghold of Han culture, Hakka people also have married other ethnic groups and adopted their cultures during the long migration history of 2000 years. Due to the infusion of other ethnic groups from the northwest, north and northeast, these original settlers gradually migrated south and settled in Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong. They were called Hakka by the locals when they first settled in. This term has been used since by non-Hakka and Hakka people, and in international publications. The spelling "Hakka" is derived from the pronunciation in Hakka dialect ( pronounced as "haagga" in Hakka and "kejia" in Mandarin).

Student Essay on Malaysia

"Due to its strategic position, as far as maritime trading and warfare goes, Malaysia has always been an extremely popular country as far as colonization goes. For Malaysia, it was empire after empire competing for the key real estate.

In 1511, it was the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch in after a fierce battle. In 1795, when the Netherlands was captured during the Napoleonic Wars Malaysia was given to the British to prevent it falling to the French. It was returned to the Dutch in 1818 under the treaty of Vienna but was later exchanged by the British for Bangkahulu, Sumatra. From 1826 until the Second World War, the British reigned over Malaysia and various other countries in the area.

European colonialism

Portuguese Malacca (1511-1641)

Dutch Malacca (1641-1824)

Kingdom of Sarawak (1841-1946)

British Malaya (1874-1946)

The Chinese people were fairly influential in Malaysia during the British occupation of Malaysia. Most of the professionals like doctors, lawyers, dentists were all Chinese. Our family, being educated in English for three generations and many not knowing how to read or write in Chinese do not have the option of going to China. Some Chinese migrated to Australia, United Kingdom and Canada where they might be able to fit into the society because of their knowledge of English. By profession, he was a teacher in the Methodist School for boys until his retirement in his fifty-fifth year of his life. He taught English, art, wood work or carpentry and also in charge of the tuck shop. He also coached the school football (soccer) team. The principal, Rev. R. Kesselring, an American from Costa Rica was his good friend.

GOD'S PREPARATION

God already knew what was going to happen in Malaysia and had sent me ahead of the family in Canada to make it easy for them to migrate here. In 1966 I went back to London, UK planning to settle down there. Due to unforseen circumstances, the Immigration Law changed one year before I went back to London and I could not stay there permanently. I already had a job in London as secretary to Prof. James Greig, University of King's College, London, UK. I was a Fellow of the Society of Commercial Teachers, UK but was still rejected as an immigrant.

I did not want to go back to Malaysia and decided to migrate to Canada. Before I was a teacher and now in Canada I worked as a secretary to the Provincial Court Judges in Toronto. I came to Canada in May 1968, and I had no idea why I bought a house in December, 1968 and another house in January 1969. The fact that I had bought two houses by the time the racial riots broke out in Malaysia facilitated the immigration process for my parents and three other members in the family.

Thank the Lord for helping us! Thank Him for allowing me to sponsor five members of my family to Canada. My parents had eight children and my parents would not want to leave any children behind when they migrated. My two younger sisters were engaged to be married and my parents waited until they married before they left for Canada. The good Lord granted their wishes. The two younger girls also left Malaysia, one with her husband came to Canada and the other one left for Melbourne with her husband. None of the members was left in Malaysia.

My father, Dn. Zacchaeus was a humble man of faith. He never did wish to be famous or rich. He was a friend to the poor as well as to the rich. The baker, grocer as well as the doctor, dentist or business man were his friends. He never commented on the physical beauty of beautiful women. Every woman was beautiful according to him. He instilled on his children to help the less fortunate relatives. We used to contribute for the education fees of some poor relatives and our house was always open for meals to relatives and friends.

Our church has non paying ministers and a deacon performs all the duties of a minister, presiding over Holy Communion, preaching, funerals, etc. The minister is also called upon to exorcise evil spirits and performs acts beside preaching. He preaches Monday evenings to Friday evenings and Saturday morning and afternoon throughout his official duties in Malaysia.

LISTS OF IMPORTANT EVENTS (1940'S - 1970'S)

1. Stopped the Japanese soldiers from raping the women

2. Praying for a young girl whose hand was to be amputated

3. Instances of exorcism

4. Baptism of a sick old lady in a lake in Taipeng

5. A Paralytic Man healed during baptism

6. Getting a Paralytic Man to be baptised in the Kinta River

7. Healing and Baptism of Corporal Chen and his son

8. The First Holy Communion in Toronto

9. The First Baptism in Toronto

10. Healing of a paralysed woman with diabetes and high blood

See: A Man of God http://www.arkpw.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=203:manofgod

LIFE IN CANADA

Father adapted easily into Canadian society. He had no problem with anything in Canada. He got used to the idea of living in a condo instead of a house where we had a real garden of three quarters of an acre with lots of fruit trees including an avocado tree, mango, papaya, rambutans, durian trees and lots of flowers, orchids, bouganvilleas, hibiscus, caccti, frangipani, roses etc. He was an avid gardener. He accomplished what God had sent him to do and that was to establish a church which he did.

He did not look back to his earlier life. He made friends with people and accompanied them to community halls and Allen Gardens to preach. The church members consisting of seven members of our family grew to twenty members and we decided it was time to register the name of the church with the government of Canada. Our family decided to buy an apartment in the building as a house church and paid half of the price as a deposit. We renovated the large bachelor apartment which was approximately 30' by 20'.

The registration took nearly two years because there were churches with fairly similar names. Eventually, the church was registered wtih the name "TRUE JESUS CHURCH (Apostolic Faith), a non-denominational church. Great is the love of God for His church and He had chosen my father to establish His Church in Canada. We cannot thank God enough for this honour. Praise the Lord! How can we forget Father's Day!

Tony Wong, Staff Reporter of Toronto Star wrote that on August 3, 2011 the Canadian government awarded the coat of arms to the Wong families to honour 150 years in Canada.

"The Canadian Heraldic Authority has granted permission for the Wong Kung Har Wun Sun Association of Ontario (also known as the Wong Association of Ontario) to have its own unique family symbol.

The family crest will be used to represent Wongs across Canada."

The True Jesus Church built a new building at a cost of $1.2 million next to our former home 40 years after my father left Malaysia in 1973 and dedication of the new church coincided with Father's Day on June 16, 2013. The church tried various times but did not succeed due to various objections.

Praise God that Ipoh church has eventually succeeded after 40 years.

Three Generations of the Same Family Born on the Same Date http://hubpages.com/hub/threegenerationsbornonsameday

GOD chose a FAMILY of 5 MEMBERS to PREACH to a PARALYTIC http://hubpages.com/hub/godchose5memberspreachparalytic

A TEST OF FAITH: 4 Members of Family with 4 types of Cancer http://hubpages.com/hub/testoffaith4memberswith4cancers

THE HOLY SPIRIT EMPOWERS 4 WOMEN in EXORCISM http://hubpages.com/hub/holyspiritempowers4womenexorcism

Faith of My Father http://arkwriter.hubpages.com/hub/Faith-of-My-Father