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1965-73: Childhood
My name is Goh Kok Soon. I was born in Penang, Malaysia, on 27 October 1965. My father was a building contractor, working mainly on government projects. I have five brothers and one sister in my family. My sister is the eldest amongst the six children, and I am the fourth, or third son in the family. At the time of my birth, our family was poor and we were living in an old colonial shop house in Georgetown. Later when I was 2-3 years old, my father was slightly better off financially and we moved to a wooden house, located somewhere between Jelutong and Perak Road. When I was 1-5 years old, I cried very often. I remember I would cry for a long time if someone annoyed me. I can't remember the reason, or why I behaved that way. I guess I was the most difficult child in the family. I can't remember many things during that time. But one thing that strikes me most was my eldest brother accidentally cut and injured his finger while chipping the woods in the kitchen. I remember pool of blood on his hand. My grandmother used a napkin to rap around his hand and took him to the hospital with a trishaw. Even now, the mark still exists on his second finger. I remember the flood in our house. My brothers and me played with the water, while helping our parents to drain out the water from the sub-basement. When I was 6 years old, I was enrolled in a kindergarten located about a hundred meters away from our house. I dislike going to the kindergarten, crying all the way when mum brought me there. I can't remember much then, but certainly I am glad that I was the best student in the class. In 1972, when I was 7 years old, my father's business was blessed, and we moved to a semi-detached house in Bukit Dumbar, nearby to Glugor. I was enrolled in a primary school in Jelutong. I didn't like it, cried as usual. I was canned by my mum a few times, because of my dislike of going to the new school. Later I was transferred to Sum Sun Primary School at Perak Road. During my early days in primary school, I wanted my mum to stay around when I was in the class. I would cry if my mum walked away from my sight. That continued for several months until I got used to the school life. During my early age, I spent lots of my time with my sister, grand-mum and my fourth brother. We used to walk around in the neighborhood. We liked to walk to the nearby hawker center at Green Lane to buy foods. My father's business got better each day. He managed to get many good government contracts all around the northern region of Malaysia. Me, my fourth brother, my youngest brother and mum used to travel with dad in his car to his construction sites, in various states in the northern region. I enjoyed traveling with dad, as I could play with my brothers, and really had great fun during the trips. Forewords . 1965-73: Childhood . 1974-75: God's Call . 1976-81: The Relationship Continued . 1982-83: Singapore . 1984: Kuala Lumpur . 1985-87: Sydney . 1988-89: Penang . 1990-1991: Sydney . 1992: Year of Graduation . 1992-95: Working in Architecture Firm, Penang . 1995: Meeting My Wife . 1996: Year of Marriage . 1996-98: Discovering the Purpose of Life . Conclusion . Appendix I: Question & Answer . Appendix II: The Words of Christ |