Remember me this way...

A few days after hearing about the death of Mr John Lim, I was tasked with leading a team to organise a memorial service for him in NYJC. So since tuesday till friday, life became a blur as I and many other people, esp my dear sis Jia shyuan who helped me so much, started to make preparations for Mr Lim's memorial service. At first it was a small student thing to be held on the grandstand and very simple. Then on wednesday, so much support came in from the admin and teachers of NYJC that the memorial service evolved to become a much more sophisticated one held at the school hall. And the preparations continued....leaving me no time to actually deal with any of my feelings.

And then came friday evening. After a frustrating search for the venue, I finally found the church where the funeral for Mr Lim was held. I sat down, and I looked at the photos on stage. And for some reason, it all started to sink in then. A tear rolled down my cheek, then another one. And soon I was sobbing away. I just couldn't help it. Thankfully I regained my composure before the end of the service.

The next day was the NYJC memorial service. Lots of student leaders had arrived to help me out. Some teachers also came quite early to help out with the preparations. Darwin and myself started preparing the centerpiece which was the so-called alter which was actually a two platform structure with Mr Lim's photo and candles on the higher platform. Initially, I had only put a floorball stick and a soccerball on the altar to commemerate Mr Lim's life. Mrs Koh and Ms Foo later added in some of Mr Lim's artefacts from his desk and because of that, the altar really looked very meaningful and very beautiful. I'll try to get a picture up here when I get some. Preparations went on quite quickly with few hiccups. I just worried about the attendance for the event....would people come? It seems I didn't have to worry at all. Over 1000 people attended the memorial service, showing how many people's lives were touched by Mr john Lim in one way or another. He was truly a great teacher.

Mr Lim's family was also present, which we were all very thankful for. Mr Lim's father broke down when he saw the set-up and i believe, the altar. My heart goes out to his father. It must be so difficult to lose his son.

I started off with a slight intro, where i shared some of my personal experiences. Then was the flag lowering to half mast followed by a one minute silence. Then was a presentation showing Mr Lim's photos on various aspects of his life including photos of his last days in NZ which were extracted from his camera. Ms Foo gave many of the photos, darwin helped me to make the presentation look better and jun hui did a great job with the slide transitions. After that were the touching eulogies from the teachers, followed by a piece from the band. Then students came up to give eulogies. I almost gave way to my emotions when they were speaking but managed to hang on.

Then came the songs, which many people later told me was the part where they felt the most emotion. The first song was "If we hold on together" because mr lim always got his students to reach out for their dreams. the next one was "you raise me up" because he always lifted our spirits. The last one was "remember me this way", in his memory. With lighted candles and led by the NYJC choir, everyone sang their best.

In the last song, these words struck me:
"I know you can't stay, a part of you will never ever go away, you heart will stay"

Then it was time for everyone to leave a flower and perhaps say a silent prayer at the altar. I was touched by what the soccer team did. They all stood in front of the altar together, prayed together and took a bow in front of the picture of the teacher who had touched their lives in such an incredible way.

I finally went up, and said a silent prayer, stood for a while, trying to absorb what happened, and left my flower, before saying goodbye.

It was then all over.

This morning, all the feelings which i kept at bay the night before came out. I was at the office and I went to a quiet corner to just let it all out. Ms Foo sent me some supportive smses.
Why did you have to go so fast Mr Lim? We still had so much to talk about... so much a dvice you could have still given me... So many things left unsaid. I dunno if I could ever truly accept your loss sir.... I don't think I ever can.

I would like to thank everyone who helped out yesterday esp Mrs Koh, Ms Foo, Mr Ng, Mdm Tan, Jia Shyuan, Hui Xiang, jonathan lim, Seniors, student leaders, 26th and 27th student councils, soccer team, people who delivered the eulogies, the band and the choir.

Mr Lim's dream was to see all the students of NYJC working together hand-in-hand. I think the memorial showed that Mr Lim's dream had come true.

Goodbye Mr Lim. I'll always remember you. You'll always be alive in our hearts. Take care, where ever you are.

-HoZe-