​Year 2020, COVID-19 outbreak, it spread out to the whole country and everyone was affected; under privilege families took the hardest hit. While they were striving to survive, they had to take prevention steps as well. Fortunately, during these difficult time, there were few groups of people who were willing to stand out to serve the under privilege. Puchong Christian Alliance Centre was one of them.  When they saw the need of the under privilege group in their community, without any hesitation, they stepped up to help them.   
 
August of year 2020, Puchong Christian Alliance Centre joined 7979 Holistic Care Relief Network and set up 7979 Holistic Care Station.  2021, 1st of March, they set up Love Companionship Class, focus on serving the under privilege students in their community, by providing homework guidance, meals and transportation of students to and back from the school. 
 
SJK (C) Han Ming Primary School is about 6 to 7 km away from Puchong Christian Alliance Centre, it is the school that Love Companionship Class focuses on. Actually there are few primary schools in the vicinity of Puchong Christian Alliance Centre, but due to limited resources, they can only focus on one. When the church submitted the proposal of “Under Privilege Children Companionship Class program” to the school, the program was immediately accepted because of its high feasibility. Henceforth, the school gave Love Companionship Class a list of suitable students for this program. Love Companionship Class ministry was launched promptly after visitations to the relevant families were completed.     
 
 
The Team Precedes Over the Students 
 
 
“Without a team, it is impossible to start the ministry.” Ps. Evelyn Ting believes the key factor of managing Love Companionship Class is a willing and committed team. When Love Companionship Class was found, the work-force was around 10 persons; one fulltime teacher and the rest were volunteers. During that time, the number of students did not even reach ten. Ps. Evelyn hold strongly to the point that the running of Love Companionship Class cannot solely depends on one person or the number of students enrolled. She asserted once again the team precedes all other things, when they can walk together in one united heart, then the ministry will be able to sustain.    
 
Ps. Evelyn Ting was a co-worker of HISTEAM, worked under 7979 department, she currently serves in a church. She was encouraging and looking for church members who are willing to commit themselves in Love Companionship Class ministry to join the team. After the team was formed, every co-worker and volunteer was assigned to specific job and role, some were teachers, some were in-charge of meals and some were assigned as transporter who in-charge of fetching and sending the students. Hopefully, as the team serves the under privilege children through Love Companionship Class, the team will take social concern ministry more seriously, and know that they can respond by playing a part in this society.   
 
‘There are people in our team who had been serving since the founding stage, and now they are still going strong.” Whenever, Ps. Evelyn talks about her team, her eyes would be sparkling, the radiance originated from every team member, has reflected upon the whole Love Companionship Class.   
 
 
Did Not Give Up Even During Bottleneck Stage
 
As I walked pass the main classroom of Love Companionship Class, I saw four teachers were teaching 10 students at different corners. The room was filled with joyful atmosphere, some students keep raising their hands to answer teachers’ questions, some were quietly doing their homework with teachers assisting at the side. In another classroom, I saw a teacher was teaching only one student. Looking at its present condition, it is hard to believe that there was once in the past this Love Companionship Class hits its bottleneck…
 
“The process of hiring teacher can be very tedious, at our initial stage, we had a fulltime teacher before, however she left after about a year of teaching. During those days, we were in short of teachers and with no fulltime co-worker. The teachers took turns to teach.” Ps. Evelyn shared that Love Companionship Class experienced about 3 months of bottleneck. During the period when we were in shortage of teachers, the number of students has increased to 12 persons. Thus, she who does not possess any teaching experience had to put down other works on hand, started to teach the children fulltime, until the present fulltime teacher, Sis. Siew Mei Ling come on board. 
 
 
Although, those days of teaching fulltime in Love Companionship Class were very exhausting. “It is very common to see only two teachers on duties, sometimes three.  However, when someone is on leave, then there would only be two teachers to handle a class of twelve students of different standards and levels of understanding.” Praise the Lord, because the teachers serve on the basis of love for the children, no teachers ever thought of giving up on Companionship Class.

​All Exhaustion Gone When We Learned in Joy
 
Other than the 5 days in a week attending Companionship Class, some students also joined the Saturday “Grow Happily Class”. Hopefully, through games, activities and talent classes, the children’s character may be shaped, their interest in learning and confidence will increase as well. Ps. Evelyn said many of the students disliked learning when they first joined Companionship Class, now they love learning, enjoy the fun of learning, to them learning is no more tiring and boring. They can also make many good friends from Companionship Class, some who were initially very introvert and had social phobia, did open up gradually and finally able to build relationship with teachers and other students. 
 
In order to give the students a platform to showcase their talents, Love Companionship Class organizes graduation ceremony for standard 6 students, all parents are invited to attend and watch their children’s performance. We wanted them to know that they can be successful, with the encouraging applause from the spectators, the students will get the affirmation they needed. Graduation ceremony is an effective platform for students, parents, teachers, volunteers, donors and others to witness the students’ “Learn Happily attitude” and obvious growth in every aspect. “Now I see that every meal that I cook is very valuable; it is not just a dish.” One of the volunteer who is in-charge of meals realized her contribution when she saw the students’ performances. 
 
Through Companionship Class, students do not only spread happiness to each other, they successfully transferred it to the adults as well. To sum it up, learning could be a very happy thing, sincere contribution could also be a very happy thing. For these, Ps. Evelyn Ting is willing to march forward happily together with her team.  
 

​The viability of a Companionship Class cannot depend solely on student attendance. First of all, we need to assemble a team of people willing to serve the socially disadvantaged group. This is what Pr. Evelyn belief when she started Companionship Class in their community (Puchong Christian Alliance Center). Every member of the team, full-time or part-time, is expected by Pr. Evelyn to have burden for these children. Another teacher from Sabah, Qian Ni, also has a passion for the Companionship Class.

​Chien Nei, who once worked as teacher at day care center and tuition class, devoted a lot of energy to her family. When her daughter grew up, Chien Nei wanted to venture into what she really wanted to do, she began to explore those possibilities that she might undertake in the future, and asked God to open the way for her.
 
Having worked as a tuition teacher before, she has the burden for Companionship Class. In the midst of the pandemic, she watched a video of a Taiwanese institution that serves under privilege children. The Reverend said. "Don't worry, as long as you are willing, God will prepare resources for you." She took that message to heart and looked forward to one day being part of a Companionship Class. At first, she considered becoming a teacher at her relative’s church, which was preparing to start a Companionship Class. She pondered on the possibility of returning to Sabah for development.
 
Until one day, Chien Nei met a former colleague, Leh Hong, who attends Puchong Christian Alliance Center. After knowing Chien Nei’s desire, Leh Hong introduced her to Loving Companionship Class and gave her contact Pr. Evelyn. That night, Pr. Evelyn contacted her, she readily agreed, soon started to work at Loving Companionship Class (in January 2020); later, she stopped teaching for a while for some personal reason, in August 2022, she returned to Companionship Class, and became full-time staff in 2023.
 

​Every year, 7979 will hold an annual UPC Teachers’ Training Camp to equip Companionship Class’s teachers. In 2022, when Chien Nei felt that she need to be upskilled, she came to aware of this training, henceforth, she and her four fellow workers of the church signed up for the camp which held in September 2022, during which she had the opportunity to meet other Companionship Class’s teachers.
 
"What touched me the most in the UPC Teachers’ Training Camp was that it allowed us to build good rapport with each other."  Teacher Chien Nei appreciated one of the aspects of the UPC Teachers’ Training Camp, is that it provides opportunity for fellow workers to share their genuine feelings and thoughts of serving in Companionship Class, including hardship stories. This session allowed the fellow workers to break barriers, heart to heart, hand in hand, cheering each other to move on. It was necessary to establish a good relationship between fellow workers so that they can easily coordinate with each other and build a strong team. She said, "If a Companionship Class has a strong team, I believe it can work well. Because all the teachers will be cooperative, and when there is a problem, they can talk it out instead of indulging in negative thoughts."
 
Chien Nei said that we should not regard teaching in Companionship Class as a job, it will absorb our energy. She encourages teachers to participate in UPC Teachers’ Training Camp, where they may find different answers or learn something new.

​ 
"In my 30 years of teaching, I've never taught from a desk. It would be too boring." Teacher Chien Nei shared. In Loving Companionship Class, she applied what she has learned in various fields in the past to her Companionship Classes (implemented after discussing with other teachers), such as “Brain Gym”[1]. She felt the need to deal with the condition of students being force to sit for long period of time in a day, hence the teacher and students would do Brain Gym’s exercise for half an hour before class. "When students study the whole day, they will feel restless and start to grumble. So, when I enter the classroom, I don't teach them right away. You have to let them play first, make them happy. When they're happy, they will easily enter into a conducive mood for homework. "Office workers can't even immediately enter into their working mood upon entering office, let alone students.” She added.
 
Teacher Chien Nei was also grateful for her rich teaching experience, and now she can share the knowledge and experience she has learned in the past with other teachers to solve any problem in Companionship Class. In addition to applying what she has learned, she looks forward to build good relationships with every teacher so that they may build a strong team that able to serve together in Companionship Class.

As long as you are willing, God will provide resources for you. The door of Companionship Class’s teacher is open for you.
Please inquire our co-worker Choo Sow Yee, the PIC for 7979 Under Privilege Children Companionship Class (013-7917979).

​On a Saturday morning, while children were happily playing chasing game in a room, a mother was standing at the door smiling as she looked at her tall slim daughter who was wearing a black blouse and pants, her name is Yili (Pseudonym).
 
This year, Yili is standard 4, she had been attending Love Companionship Class for three years, her older sister is also student of Love Companionship Class. They are raised by single parent, their mother works as a saleswoman, she doesn’t have a fix income.  Few years ago, the mother moved from another place to Puchong together with her daughters, she applied for school transferred. When the teacher at the new school found out about their family condition, she introduced them to Love Companionship Class. Thus, both of them joined Companionship Class.  However, Yili was very reluctant …
 
“When she just joined us, she often threw tantrum, she would get upset from morning till almost lunch time.” Love Companionship Class main teacher in-charge Sis. Siew Mei Ling shared openly. During the early period when Yili just joined Companionship Class, many people felt uncomfortable and disturbed due to her bad temper. When things did not go according to her ways, she would immediately give you a “sour face”, screaming and threw tantrum in class, or she would cry quietly at a corner. However, she would be ignored by the teachers because there were other students who they need to attend to. She would always end up with Ps. Evelyn Ting leading her out of the classroom to calm her down. Fortunately, Yili’s temper “comes like the wind, and goes like the wind too”. When she calmed down, she would quickly put those unhappy thoughts behind her. 
 
 
The mother explained, actually Yili would only showed her temper, when she is at Companionship Class or with people that is close to her. “When this child comes to Companionship class, she felt that she found a place to release her emotion, because she is not afraid of the teachers here, so she would show her temper. This is something very natural. When she is at home, she always shows her temper at us.” Companionship Class teachers and Yili’s mother realized that looking at her present condition, they can’t be hard on her, they resorted not to use physical punishment on her. Yili’s mother shared that usually she would wait until Yili is calmer, then only she would talk to her.
 
Other than bad temper, Yili always chooses to avoid dealing with things, she would refuse to go for classes. Yili’s grade is above average, yet she couldn’t go beyond that point, especially in her very common “zero marks” spelling result. This caused Yili who has strong self-esteem to become very guilty, it had become a tremendous stress to her, this has been the reason that she refused to deal with the issues. She refused to attend school, the mother got worried and sent her for tuition, because of their financial limitation and Yili’s grade was not so bad, so she just put it aside.  
 
 
When Yili joined Companionship Class, the teachers taught her how to control her negative emotions, she gradually decreased her number of temper outburst. Teacher Mei Ling felt relieved, as the duration of Yili’s temper outburst has gradually reduced, she could settle down her negative emotion in 15 minutes’ and  then continue to do her homework.
 
Besides this, the Companionship Class’s teacher found a suitable way for her to learn; her spelling grade finally broke the “zero marks” record. Once her spelling improved, she became more keen to learn, and now she loves schooling, sometimes, she could even score up to 100 marks. Being an active child with strong social skills, now she can mingle well with the students in the Companionship Class, and makes lots of friends.   
 
 
Yili loves to attend Companionship Class, she would always share with her mother  happenings in the Companionship Class.
 
Other than the weekdays from Monday to Friday, she also attends their Saturday “Grow Up Happily Class” where she learns drawings. On Sunday, she will attend the Sunday School.
 
 
Witnessing how Yili has grew and transformed, her mother felt grateful towards the Companionship Class for providing room for her to grow. She knows that Yili still has a lot of rooms for improvement, and she wishes that she can continue to breakthrough in every area of her life. 
 

3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. Mark 2:3-4
 
There was this beautiful picture among the footprints left by Jesus on earth: A man who had been paralyzed for years received helped from his 4 friends, so that he might appear before Jesus and be healed. For without these “buddies”, it would not be possible for him to appear before Jesus, and he would not be healed from his chronic illness, his sin would also not be forgiven. Due to these selfless friends who came together to help, the paralyzed man was able to overcome social prejudice (so inconvenient still wants to come out) and unfriendly condition (the room was so crowded that he had to be lowered down vertically from the roof); not to mention the financial issues, the time and efforts that involved when he was paralyzed.       
 
Post pandemic lives inevitably became more challenging and difficult, the lives of lower income group who had been living in the pit of poverty are worsening. Global inflation, natural and manmade disasters that affected globally will cause more to be jobless, depress and homeless. Therefore, everyone who is still alive needed help from each other even more, through our relationship network, we may be able to locate those who needed help and support. This is a priceless opportunity which can’t be bought! The existence of Companionship Class under 7979 Holistic Care Relief Network, is to provide appropriate and warmth company to under privilege children: accompanying them in homework revision, accompany them in character shaping, accompany them in living skills enhancing and lastly accompany them in every storms they may face in their growing years.    
 
Actually, those men that held the mat had a name, but it was not mentioned in the bible, but from their acts of service, we know their name were:
Adventurous: For the welfare of others, they were willing to take the risk of digging through the roof, lowering down their paralyzed friend vertically to receive Jesus’s blessing;
Serve:       Saw their responsibilities in others’ needs, they approached helpless people to serve them;
Persistence: Because of the needs of their neighbours, they were not afraid of troubles and difficulties, they insisted in accompany their friend until breakthrough and changes came;
Accompany:   They purposefully spared some time out to appear in critical and desperate moment, so that the other party might feel faith, hope and love.    
 
Two is better than one, because labor of two both will share the goodness:  If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.  But, if move alone once fall no one is there to help them up.  The loner will fall into trouble.

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep each other warm.  How can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.                                                                                                 Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
 
 
Do not remain still and wait for these friends to appear in your life, you have to be more proactive, let’s make a vow that you will be a friend to those around you, and willing to be “Adventurous”, “to Serve”, “Persistence” and “to Accompany”. Come on! Let’s keep going.