NOC IV - Chapters of Life

“….There’s more to this life, then living and dying….”

“…..Death is just another chapter of life…….”

On the 16^th of February 2006, when everyone was either having their dinner, or doing homework, or busy with assignments and projects, a group of dynamic and enthusiastic youths from the Christian Fellowship(CF) of MMU Malacca, stage a one-night-only, one-year-once performance at the main hall at 7.30PM, which is called, Night of Celebration. This is the 4^th year they had been doing this, and every year without fail, it managed to attract people by the hundreds to come and witness the message and the performance. Backed by a live band, beautiful and cheerful ushers, young and charming actors and actresses, energetic and vibrant backstage crew and dancers, ever vigilant technical crews and security team, and not forgetting also the sweet and handsome event coordinators and directors, the night proves to be a smashing success and accomplishment, minus the enormous and tremendous efforts they had been putting up for the show. It was the night, that people began to see how God moves in that campus, it was the night where people come and gave their utmost best to The One above, praising and glorifying His name. it was the night where people rejoice and celebrate, that with God, nothing is impossible. It was the Night of Celebration

The night kicked off with a splendid display of the NOC IV trailers, followed by an “AI” controlled instructions on screen, telling the audience to clap and cheer, followed by a happy birthday tribute to Grace Goh, the event’s director, in conjunction of her birthday. After that, the audience was taken aback when they actually planned a sound and light test, similar to when you play “3D” games, or some “advance 3D digital movies”. The dazzling lighting and the thunderous sound resonates in the hall, leaving each other gasping for more. I was there sitting at the front of the front row (on the floor: P), and am enjoying every second of the show. In collaboration with the Red Crescent Society of MMU Malacca, they revealed the report by the National Cancer Registry of Malaysia, that >20 thousand people are diagnose with cancer in our country, with leukemia ranked top 5 and 10 in males and females respectively. As caring and loving Malaysians, we donated to the goodwill of the cause and feat by MAKNA (Malaysia Cancer Foundation) and by giving, we hope that those people will gain a new life.

The show started soon after, with Abigail (Abi), even though being diagnose with leukemia, continue to strives to live each day, with the help and strength by God. Her brother Chris however, looked down upon her faith, and criticized and condemned her belief, that God would heal her. When the news from the hospital came to say that Abi will have a 90% chance of survival after a donor found matching her bone marrow, and that she would go through a transplant and transfusion, joy and happiness can be seen in all her friend’s faces, including her lover, Sean, and Violet. But tragedy struck when Abi was killed in an accident involving a truck and her car, Family members and friend were devastated by the incident, Chris blames himself for killing his sister (he was the driver of the car), Violet lost her best friend; her dance instructor, Sean gone psycho after that, and began to find new partner(s), forgetting his former friends. The story continues to portray how Chris, Sean, Violet and their friend are keeping with the death of their best friend, sister, and partner. Along the show, there had been several musical, sung by the actor and actresses themselves, on how is their feelings and thoughts. The songs were beautifully sung, and to add icing to cake, they were accompanied with a live band and cheers from the crowd say it all, that they were simply great and wonderful. It speaks of how well they were coping in life, and despite the loss, there’s more to this life, then living or dying. The crowds were glued to their seats for the duration of the performance, and if there’s one word to describe the whole scene, it’s Awesome.

Soon after the end of the night, camera flashes were seen flashing around the hall, people were hugging each other, smiles and cheers from the people blankets the tiredness of everybody involved; loud cheers were heard erupting from the four corners of the hall. Everybody was happy that night, including Pastor Joanne, who oversees the entire NOC IV preparation and by giving her support and prayer. Indeed, this night was the happiest night, and judging by the looks of the organizers, from the ushers to the musicians to the crew to the directors to the actors, it was indeed the most memorable night for all of the crew.

I would like to extend my deepest and heartiest congratulations to Grace Goh and her team, for the great show given us; to Deric and Vijay and the rest of the CF committee, for arranging and organizing this event, and making this a reality; to Jessica(Abigail), Renee(Violet), Justin(Chris), Aaron(Sean) and all the casts of the drama, for portraying that there is a new chapter of life, even when death approaches; to the ushers, who with their broad smile and warm handshakes, made everyone (at least for me) happy and welcomed; to the musicians, for the good music and lively upbeat; to all the various crew, from cameraman to lighting to sound to security, without you, there won’t be order and it won’t be good. And most importantly, I want to praise God for extending His blessing upon everybody who is involved in arranging, organizing, setting up this night. It was truly a night to remember and I’ll be looking forward to NOC 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 ……. Hahahahah……

God bless you, and happy always….

p/s : For futher related stories and information, click HERE