Several days ago I received an email from my brother. Someone we know has been diagnosed with leukaemia. I immediately felt sick and thought of another late brother from the Klang church, who died a couple of years ago from the same illness. I wondered how he and his family felt, and I still wonder how they are now feeling. This has been a man who has taught me so many lessons in life. His was a life of simplicity and humility. He holds a PhD in public finance, from the University of Chicago. If he was Malay, he would have made it to the very top in civil service (Ministry of Education). He wasn’t, and didn’t. He is a Chinese, and despite his top class qualification and years of loyal service, retired with only an AMN or KMN or some other token reward like that. He always took the bus to work, all the way from Klang to KL, with his office in the heart of the city. After his retirement from the civil service, he joined a private college. That was the first time he ever drove anything remotely resembling a luxury vehicle. He was given a Volvo – an 850 or something like that. He looked good in it but was ever the humble person I had always known him to be. In family gatherings he would sit in a corner and would invariably take a snooze. When he is awake however, he is always keen to walk into some conversation and shoot a smart repartee to whomever he was inclined to have a go at, smiling widely as he does it. He was always wearing a cotton shirt and a pair of shorts. In church, I would usually not see him until after the service. He would then, usually, be in some corner having his coffee and biscuit, and having a warm conversation with someone. He was always pleasant when we spoke, and even if I don’t always show it, there was always deference in my heart. I was always conscious of speaking with an intellectual who didn’t behave anywhere near like one. He was a man of God as well. His mother was a lay preacher and I always remember her to be the one who brought my maternal grandmother to Christ. She was a frail, gentle and most pleasant woman, who had lost her husband while the kids were all still very young. If this sounds like a eulogy I hope I’m way too ahead of events. He can of course, be treated, although one of his daughters (a dear cousin) had in an email, said the prognosis wasn’t good. He is one of my many many loving uncles whom God has blessed me with. He was one of many beacons to my path in life, and because of him, I often try to think of how I too, can become a beacon to others. I have been praying for him everyday, and I hope to continue doing so. I hope they opt for treatment and try to keep this wonderful man shining for as long as possible, so that more can have their lives illuminated by him.