Bummed Into Jeffrey Goh At Career Fair 2007

Rebecca & I visited the Career Fair 2007 that was held at Suntec Convention Hall in early September. It was there that we had the opportunity to listen to this 2 hour sharing by Jeffrey Goh about 'Live & Work With Purpose'. We didn't register for this talk, but God had His plans for us... & we were allowed in! Its just so amazing how a 60 year old man can share for 120 mins with just 4 slides! And each slide had merely 4-5 pointers per slide!

How was this possible? Well, Jeffrey Goh has lived many years, done & served in many areas & therefore has LOTS of stories to tell! He worked for many years as a school teacher (back in the early days of the 1960s), became 'best recruit' in his NS days, spent 12 years in MINDEF as a Head of Public Relations (btw, he is holding the rank of Major in the SAF) & thereafter, teaching as a lecturer at SIM for about 7-8 years (oh yes, he is my SIM lecturer!) & now working as a trainer/facilitator/consultant to NIE teachers, polytechnics students, etc after his retirement (while living off his pension from Government).

In addition, he is also an Elder in his church, serves in the Prisons ministry & ALPHA ministry for outreach to new believers & has also been granted a license to wed Christian couples! With this vast extent of life experiences, it is no wonder that he is MORE than credible to be & do what he is doing now. And I'm sure that there are other things that he does, which I'm not aware of. I still recall him saying that just by telling people his age & them seeing his wrinkles is enough for them to sit up & listen to him. Wow... 'solid' lah, this person... How I wish I could be like him... but everyone's path is different & I have to carve out a path for my own...

So much for that background about Jeffrey Goh. He is definitely one person that Rebecca & I look up to. But honestly, God planned that we meet with him at the Career Fair (I didn't expect to be granted entry into this talk, despite not having registered) & thereafter, a series of events slowly unfolded. It wasn't about this philosophical presentation title, but rather the testimonies & stories that he told that made an impression in my mind & heart.

I wanted to impact lives with the gifts that God has given me too! Its just encouraging to see this 60 year old man, past retirement (back then, retirement was at 45 years of age) for 15 years, but still so active in church, teaching & impacting lives. Just seeing him stand there & share, is enough inspiration to believe that this too is possible for anyone who wishes to make a difference in people's lives.

Jeffrey Goh loves teaching & through this, he is able to impact lives... & he loves every opportunity to teach & use this gift. I recalled that he said that he feels so joyful, just standing here to share about many things. Even if just 1 person walks off after this session, feeling inspired... he has succeeded in his efforts to make an impact in at least 1 person's life.

I also remembered that he shared that even nowadays, there are some aunties that have a sense of purpose in what they do too. He shared about aunties in their 50s & 60s who took up swimming just to be able to bring their grandchildren to the swimming pool! When an aunty was asked what made her take this bold step to learn to swim, that aunty answered - 'purpose'.

I was taken aback... even aunties can find purpose in what they set themselves to do... why can't I? Why shouldn't I? I wanted to... & I knew that I could... & that was what led me to ask Jeffrey Goh for his name card, so that we could arrange to meet up to talk more...