Where hot air rises...

Yup, that’s the California Fitness gym sauna.

Since last week, I have occasionally taken time to sweat out at the sauna after a cardio &/or weights training workout. I find that it’s an excellent way of sweating out the dirt trapped in my skin pores.

There are 2 different sauna rooms – one made out of wood & the other made of clear glass. I have not gone into the glass room, coz I prefer the wooden one. To me, it looks so much more homely compared to the glass room that looks like a greenhouse filled with steam. *Laugh*… but maybe 1 day I’ll just pop by to check it out. =)

Through a few instances at CF gym, I discovered that God has an interesting way of using me at times. For example, I found out that I’m able to start out a conversation with lonely people there. Lonely, as in they go to the gym alone. Somehow I find that this category of people naturally open up to me quite easily.

Last Saturday, after I went for Suhaimi’s Body Combat class, I met this Malay guy in the sauna. Both of us were alone in that wooden sauna… & somehow my heart twitched a bit & I felt compelled to make conversation with this guy.

Thus, I started a casual talk with him, with much caution as I didn’t know how he would respond. At first, I could see that he was nervous & didn’t want to talk much. But I displayed body language that says that I’m just relaxing at the sauna & I think that started to make him feel more at ease.

It’s interesting that I always begin with asking the person whether he has just joined the gym. This question always works! *Laugh*. Soon, this Malay guy shared that he’s working at the Inter-continental Hotel just across the street & this is his first week here. I asked for his name & he told me to call him ‘Ju’. I can’t remember his full name, but that’s the short-form. After a short chat, I decided to go off for my shower.

This happened again today. That’s why I said, it’s quite interesting how God can use me in a place like the sauna. I went for Christina’s Body Combat class & noticed this Chinese guy wearing a red basketball shirt & red shorts. He was entirely dressed in red & looked like a secondary school basketball player! It was a short few minutes break, so somehow this Chinese guy started talking to me.

It’s odd how we continued our conversation because I asked if he’s about my age & that caused him to laugh & he replied that he’s 32. He said, “Thank you ah...” happy that he still looked young. But I really thought he was my age or younger.

We exchanged names (his name is Kelvin) & he started sharing that he is working in the manufacturing industry. He also plays basketball & volleyball. He also used to practice Taekwondo & long-jump. I was shocked that someone this busy & working in the west side has the time & energy to come to this Bugis gym!

We became friends within that short while & he invited me to join in at the gym on Saturday afternoons, if I came by. You see, God opened up opportunities for me to talk to ‘lonely’ people.

Today’s Body Combat class was pretty tiring & at the last 10 minutes to the end of the session, I was huffing & puffing as if I was climbing Mount KK again. Don’t know why my stamina seemed to have dwindled today. I thought I was breathing much better already, since I have been attending weekly Body Combat sessions.

Anyway, I decided to skip my weights training & stretch off at the sauna before taking my shower. While I was there, a few guys came in & out. Then after about 10 minutes, this very skinny Malay guy walked in. He was really skinny & didn’t look like he had much flesh on him, except bones.

As he walked in, he smiled at me, so I returned the smile. Once he sat down, he started to ask me if I was a full-time or part-time member. In my mind, I was confused – what full time, what part-time? After clarifying, I found out that he had signed up for the 6 weeks trial at $20. So that was what he was referring to as ‘part-time’. I still don’t see why this should be called ‘part-time’, but that’s not the point of discussion anyway.

It’s very strange. People somehow start talking to me out of the blue at CF today. Out of the blue, this skinny Malay guy (he told me to call him ‘Ahmad’) started telling me that his legs have been experiencing occasional pain & feel weak. This has lasted for about 1 year & the western doctors that he went to couldn’t diagnose the problem, as the X-rays didn’t reveal anything wrong with his legs.

Ahmad shared that he’s quite lost at what to do. My heart cringed when I thought of asking him to come to church for the Wednesday healing service. But I hesitated because he was Malay. I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to ‘jump the gun’ this early when I have just spoken to him for 2 minutes.

So after listening to him, I suggested that he consult a Chinese doctor to treat his legs, as it could be a bone problem which western doctors cannot detect through mere X-ray. Surprisingly, he was quite open to this topic & even clarified if I was referring to TCM – Traditional Chinese Medicine.

I said yes & he started to share that there are Malay doctors who also treat in a similar manner, but he didn’t like it coz these Malay doctors tend to get superstitious & claim that there are ghosts in his bones because he may have accidentally stepped on something that he shouldn’t step on.

I smiled in my heart. To me, this is a sign that he’s not so staunch in his Muslim teachings & practices… which means that he may be open to hearing the gospel! But I wasn’t sure yet, so I didn’t bring up this topic.

I couldn’t remember the name of the Chinese clinic that I went to, near Paya Lebar MRT station & I didn’t know how to describe the directions to him. Ahmad decided to give me his pager number which I keyed into my hand-phone. Then I think he realized that it was pointless coz giving me his pager number would only require him to call me back. So he decided to ask for my hand-phone number. I thought about it & gave it to him, coz it shouldn’t be too bad, since I didn’t give him my address & home contact number.

I tried to arrange a day & time to meet to pass him the clinic appointment card. And he was grateful, but told me that he will call & arrange with me again, coz he’s working 7 days a week, from 7am – 7pm. I felt sorry for him, but he told me that he needed the money. So I told him to call me, if he’s free to come by CF gym on one of these days.

Of course, it’s important that I stay cautious until I’m able to trust him. But as for now, I believe this happened for a reason, so I decided to recommend the Chinese clinic to treat his leg condition. Hopefully it would help him. If not, I’ll ask if he would like to come for the Wednesday healing service. Just ask in faith, then see how he responds.

It’s interesting how God works… even in a sauna… *Laugh*.