Inter-Generation Carnival Time

Inter-Generation Carnival... this was held on Wednesday at Trinity Baptist Church, bringing together the different churches with members from different ages. My gal was asked to take part as she is among the youngest in my graying church now.

She was a little apprehensive about going but still a little excited. We were getting ready when friend came with her kids in swimming attires. Somehow there was a miscommunication between us and the appointment got mixed up. My gal asked them to accompany her so that they can watch the tele-match.

But the apprehension turned to excitement when this greeted us at the entrance to the church. A huge castle all pumped up.

And this!!! A contraption for bungee run! The 2 imposing contraption were already fun just to look at! The carnival was organized by SU and I saw many familiar faces. There were many young people I know helping out too!

Anyway, they had this Rock-Scissors-Paper game as ice-breaker. Losers had stickers stuck onto their faces. 8)

This was followed by games outside. There were different stations with different games. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

It's good to get the young people out into the open for some outdoor games. Else, most would probably veg it out in front of the computer or television screens playing computer games or watching shows! And this also enable everyone to have fellowship with each other.... bonding time!

The highlight of the day was, of course, the bungee run. I left the church to go home for a while and by the time I went back, the young people were having a go at it... some were having repeated go(s). Kudos to SU for the effort in organizing this event!

Weddings...

There has been a flurry of wedding activities these past 12 months or so; with many of our church kids, now grown up, getting married. And so it was with great joy that we witnessed yet another one over the weekend, this one particularly even so.

And this is also the first time Other Half and I actually attended dinners from both the bride and groom. 8) Started off with dinner on Friday from the bride's side. Both Other Half and I felt like 'ancients' at a table of young adults... how time has flown. But we enjoyed ourselves. Dinner conversation was relaxed, fun and we had lots of laughs, basically with the kind of energy that one can expect when one is with the young people! Karyn gave a heartwarming speech to the bride... and of course the groom too.

This was followed by the church wedding and dinner from the groom's side the next day. Am happy for both MY and BP; MY especially since I've more or less watched her blossom into the person she is today; though she is her own person, I still see bits of her mom in her. Eow Sim would be very happy.

Weddings, I think are one of those few events in life which I feel have a way of profoundly affecting me; I think probably on many of us generally. The joining of 2 lives, the journey that they'll make, the commitment, friendship, patches of highs and lows, kids, pain, joy...; it generally sums up a good many parts of life's facets.

When you see the soon-to-be minted couple making their vows, it will always somehow remind you your own vows, or perhaps even remind you of those days, long ago, or even if not that long, that warm feeling that you feel yourself or seeing the glow in the faces of the bride and groom. Sharing a wedding is also a reminder of the greater possibilities, with someone there rooting for us.

In days of old, marriage was used as a tool to form alliance. The Bible refers to the Church as the bride and Christ's sacrifice on the Cross for the Church. I've begun to understand this allegory better. A good marriage is I think the closest thing on this side of the divide where it is possible to see an almost complete willingness to sacrifice oneself for one's spouse; an alliance to something better, hope of better things to come.

A weekend filled with reminders that life is about the people around us... no matter what shortcomings we each might have; life is more meaningful when shared.

50 years...

How does it feel to be married to the same person for 50 years? Does the "and they live happily ever after" work that long? Today we share this celebration of 50 years of the Khors journey together, their Golden Wedding Anniversary. They are known as Uncle Pete and Aunty Ruth to many. Ruth was the one who named our daughter. So, I always have a soft spot for her. She chose a good name for our gal. And so when I look at my girl, I'll always remember her.

I think to stay married today is a difficult thing. Divorce rates are on the rise. Marriage is an institution considered by some as archaic today. Many live together without getting married (even though studies show that actually married couples tend to stay together longer compared to those who live together without any strings attached).

Marriage is not a bed of roses, that's for sure... plenty of onak and duri tales. To fall in love, I think, is easy. To remain in love is the hard part. Boy meets girl (or vice versa). Boy falls for girl... dates and proposals. Those are the heady days. Then reality sinks. Living together brings quirkinesses together. You think you've got it all figured out, but reality is you've got to be flexible to learn and adapt as you go along. Norms and culture set roles for the man and woman. But lines become blurred with changing times and expectations, some for the better but very often too for the worse. Hence we have the institution of marriage in trouble today.

Love is actually no just a feeling... it involves more than that...

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 sums it up very well...

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Living up to these verses is no easy feat. But to see Pak Khor and Mak Khor celebrate their 50 years together gladdens me. Mak Khor shared in church a couple of months ago about their relationship and it's nice to hear that they are still there for each other, for better and for worse. And is the "they live happily ever after" true? Apparently so according to Mak Khor, in her sharing tonight. It was a good sharing.... one spoke in Mandarin while the other translated, in between they got mixed up... the languages, LOL! The sharing was humourous but contained many snippets of wise words and advice. This is one dinner which I truly enjoyed attending....

Pete & Ruth from amech7 on Vimeo.

And this is little presentation that I did for them. The sound got lost when I uploaded it to the Net. Been having problem rendering it with the sound but somehow, yesterday night, when I converted it into the DVD format, just for once, the DVD copy worked. After that, I just couldn't get it to comply again. Divine providence??? I don't know. Technology is supposed to be straightforward.... but maybe... God bless them both!

Going Out to Jitra After the Flood

I was half-hearted about going cos I was thinking of sprucing up my house these next few days. And I was still feeling tired from so many things... flood, cleaning up and work. But because they adjusted the visitation time so that I could finish cooking my lunch, I went for this little outing with my church friends to distribute some food aid.

This was at Jitra, at one of the 'kongsi(s)' just in the outskirt of Jitra town. We went out to distribute some aid to those affected by the flood. This was our first stop. Kim's sister was the one who brought our attention to this place. She liaised us with a young Indian Pastor who was familiar with the areas we were to go. This is also an area where the foreign workers congregate. You find Indonesians, Bangladeshis, Vietnamese and Myanmarese (I think) apart from our own locals. This particular place was around 1 1/2 - 2 feet of water from the water mark that I saw on the wall.

Our next stop was a house in Kg Giam, where I think the first victim of the flood, a 64-year old German woman was swept away by the strong currents. A young man we talked to told us the water went above the rooftop of this house. Everywhere we could still see the waterline on the tree leaves. At such a house, you don't get to see waterlines cos the whole house is submerged. He also told us that the currents were very fast and strong during the flood and one would be easily swept away. You just flee with whatever you can because you don't have much time to do anything else.

Another house that was completely submerged. Everything looked so normal when we were there. Yet, the people here had just gone through a terrible time. Can you imagine, everything you own being totally swallowed up by the rising waters? I saw some mattresses being dried in the sun. In the towns, we throw away our flood mattresses. Many of these people don't have that sort of extra cash to buy a new mattress. As a church, we send funds to the villages in Cambodia to help them build schools and support their teachers. We are part of medical teams to countries like Vietnam. Yet, I feel we've missed something here; our own people. Perhaps there is less glamour working among local people.... I wouldn't know.

This was another house that was flooded. Hidden behind the bushes, it's difficult to spot the house if you don't look for it carefully. At the height of the flood, you can't even see the rooftop! And again, the currents here were fast because it's near the Jitra Irrigation Canal. The mother of the lady of the house had just undergone an operation and could not walk much. The Pastor said a prayer for her before we left. And the lady, herself had just had a baby. She was only 2 weeks post delivery when she had to clean the whole house all by herself. Most of us would still be pampered at 2 weeks post delivery. Her kids were so happy to see us.

These are folks with less who lost more. We throw away our old TVs in working condition and don't think much about it. In one of the houses, I saw a small old diode TV sitting on the table. We throw away so many of our usable things. These people find it hard to afford those things. Our kids eat out at KFC, MacDonald's, Pizza Hut at whims. For these kids, I think it would be a grand treat to be able to eat at those places. And these folks are in our midst.... not just found in some other countries which we seem to be sending our mission teams. We spend so much of our resources and manpower there.... those which can be utilized here too. Perhaps it's a time to evaluate ourselves.

It's been a while since I went to places like this. I get too insulated by my comfortable life that I often forget what is out there. I wonder too if they get enough aid. I get the impression that aid these days is filtered by race first too, just like the recruitment of the civil servants. Cos when the head begins to rot, it'll spread downwards. And we, the people are the parts below.

So did I regret going? Nah! Sometimes everyone of us needs a little push to move. I am glad to be reminded of the blessings that come my way and that each of us can do a little to make our world a better place.

Flood and Cleaning Up

There are so many things memorable this flood. When the water rises, we flee, especially if your house is single-storey cos there is not a single dry spot in your house! A state of panic tends to set in. And once the water level stabilizes, your hopes rise cos you know the flood will recede soon. And you begin to make plans to clean up...

This time, my church members organized themselves into groups, armed with pressure pumps, wiper and push brooms.... and food. Kudos to the Social Concerns Committee. As soon as the water receded, groups would move in to help with the clean up and also the lifting down of the furniture from whatever higher level. Cleaning up was a massive task as the mud would be everywhere. And if you leave it to dry, you'd need more effort in the clean-up process. And while the groups worked, there'd be those who prepared food. Cold drinks would make their appearance as we were in the midst of working. People just stepped in once someone did the organization. Truly God sent!

KL gave me a call to go over with my pressure pump on Monday morning. I had gotten up very early to clean my porch as I knew that a busy day awaited me. With my boy's help we cleaned up our porch in 40 minutes!

When I arrived, the stench and sight that greeted me was enough to bowl me over. Sometimes, the shock is just so great that you don't know where to start. But start we did.

I phoned LF and asked for reinforcement. Both she and her other half came with another pump. Soon other friends came and we began to clean the house section by section. It was a lot of hard work but 4 hours later, the house was clean again.

Doors get warped after being soaked in the water. There are lots of repairs which need to be done. There was one door which totally refused to budge even after we hammered it. And furniture made from chipboards would literally disintegrate in your hands when lifted up. Only solid wood would withstand the soaking, hence, everywhere now, you see piles and piles of damaged furniture by the roadside. The damage is extensive!

Then Ah Ho phoned me and told me I was needed at another friend's place. As there were already enough reinforcements and only a small section left, off I went. When I got there, the kitchen had been done but the pump that had been working there was on its last legs. Another church member also came with his pump at around the same time I arrived; and dividing up the work into sections, we were soon done too. We then met up at Esther's place to clean up her kitchen and porch. When I got there, lunch was on the table! We tucked in as we were all famished. Fried beehoon had never tasted that good! 8) The other group had also just finished at KL's house and were there as well.

And it was time to move again. I went to 3 more houses that day. In each house, we would divide our work and clean our areas. With everyone pitching in, work got done very quickly. Many hands indeed make light work.

This is my second major flood in 5 years, and this is far worse than the previous. I know foremost in everyone's mind in the aftermath is the cleaning up. It's daunting! The mud and stains would mean hours of scrubbing, what more caked ones! But very often, because the water gets to so many things, you are left with a feeling of despair. The first thing that can bring back that sense of normalcy is a clean house. Else, everywhere you turn, you are reminded of that despair. So it's very heartwarming that so many offered their help, including people like LF and Andy whose house was flooded too. They went beyond their own troubles too...

I dropped by KL's house yesterday night! The house was spotless... it was a total makeover! Except for a few hidden corners in cupboards and shelves still with some dried mud... they had replaced some of the 'melted' furniture and everything looked so normal again. I am sure it's the same in all the other houses too. Life is slowly moving back to the way it was before the flood....

I did 2 more houses the day after and another today; the porches... I've never cleaned so many houses in such a short time. Every single joint ached the day after! LOL! It was good that so many made the effort to bring that normalcy back into our lives. And it was also a good time to bond... sometimes it's just nice to know that there're people there for us. Sometimes it takes a calamity to bring people together too....

Another Edition of Camp...

Finally some time to sit down and put these down.... been meaning to but have just been bogged down and almost sinking in my tiredness of so many things....

Skipped last year's camp... decided to attend this year's on account of Lil One. Son kept insisting we've missed it for the last 4 years cos his last memory was watching the World Cup at camp. How memory fails us sometimes. But I remembered writing about the 2008 Camp... this time it felt kinda strange cos I was asked whether I'd want any programme for my kid while sessions were carried out... I mean, this is after all a Family Camp! So we only skipped last year's.

Like many aging small churches away from the major cities, there are not many young families. So small kids are scarce. And they're often overlooked these days, these kids, made all the more easier cos hardly any church leaders have small kids. I guess the church ages together with the leaders. I always remember what Mr. Ling KN said to us when we were schooling about being a good teacher... that he has to stay relevant. His clients are in the 16-19 year old group. And he told us, that's why he should always remember to remain 17 at heart to stay relevant and effective. He cannot 'grow old'. Guess that should hold the same with a church too... we must cater to the needs of all ages in order to meet the needs. A church should not grow old with its congregation or leaders.

And as we grow older, we tend to overlook things like fellowship to bond cos all of us are tired from our work. So on the one afternoon when there was some free time, most of us preferred to catch up on our lost sleep. In the end, very little little bonding took place. Perhaps like the flock we need a shepherd; to take lead and see the need to organize activities so that opportunities are created for relationships to be healed and strengthened. When the shepherd does not shepherd, then the flock is at lost as how to spend their time. So they do what is most natural... they sleep or wander off.

So, church camps... remembering the young 'uns when ours have grown up. Strengthening relationships to remain strong.... these are the two things most glaring to me this round. Some thots to ponder over....

Husband and Wife...

The big day.... for Daniel and Emily.

An afternoon of chasing pictures... more of Other Half's chase, actually since he was one of the 'official' photographers....

An evening of being reminded again how blessed our journey with our spouses have been... weddings have a way of doing that.

Then a night of fellowship over dinner. That's how I'd sum up the first wedding of WMC.

Marriage... embarking on a new life together.

I've always liked the exchange of the wedding vows... and like many who were there, we were reminded of our own vows taken so long ago. And also to those about to walk down the aisle..... It's good to be reminded...

Family and friends turned up from near and far.. Everyone hung around a while for some photo shoots.

Then we adjourned for the wedding makan besar... straight from the church to the restaurant. Bride and groom were punctual to the dot. It's the guests who were trickling in, stretching our rubberized time.

So, to Daniel and Emily, hope and prayers for everything good in a blessed journey together!

An Evening With Phua Seng Tiong

Have known about him for over 20 years; first as an undergrad in University Malaya. Attended his church at SS Methodist for a year before moving on to DUMC for my remaining time at UM. He came across as a strict disciplinarian even back then. He was one of the church leaders and taught well from the pulpit.

Over the years, I would hear about him; how he turned schools around as a Principal. He was one of the first Pengetua Cemerlang(s) in the country. When he was in SMK Jinjang, I had a colleague whose daughter taught in his school and she was full of praises for him.

He went on to serve full time after he retired from the civil service. Last year he was awarded the 2009 Tokoh Guru. And last Sunday, he was invited to speak in church . We asked him to stay back another day to have a session with the teachers from our church as well as the other churches, to share his wealth of experiences with us.

It was a good sharing from a man who lived up to his calling, first as a Christian, second as a teacher. I took down what I could from his sharing yesterday and put it up in my church blog here.

Ladies Night

This was on Monday night.. our Methodist Women's (MW) first meeting for the year. New year and a new committee also.

Like Zacheus they stood, while the teacher taught... LOL! Only different was they wanted to know the secret to a good cookie. 8)

Anyway, I was there to lend my support. I've not attended many of their meetings cos it coincided with my lessons with my boy and co the last 5 years. So, this year, I thought I'd try to make it for a few of their meetings since I'm done with him... I've written about it in the church blog here.

Ladies.. I think they are like the backbone of the church. Many of these ladies I've known for many years. And they have contributed a lot and silently. Anyway, it was a nice night out... I was there more for the food and fellowship more than anything.

We had a learn-to-bake-cookies session. Ah Ho conducted. I helped to eat.. and so did a few. 8) These are Cheddar Cheese Sables.. Tasty and savoury; what more fresh from the oven.

Public Holiday Well Spent

Yesterday was Israk and Mikraj PH for Kedah. I had a packed day. After a heavy breakfast we headed to the Parsonage to help with the move of the Church Office.

By the time, we (Other Half and Daughter included) arrived at the Parsonage, it was already brimming with people and the lorry was there. The move was underway. When we walked into the Parsonage, much of the stuff had been cleared.

Ah Ho cooked lunch for all those who helped.. and of course lunch tasted good to hungry stomachs after a a good workout.

In the afternoon, I had another session of durians under the tree with friends, followed by tea at Old Town with another 3 friends for a session of catching up. I've not got together with them for some time... so it was a good get together. By the time we were done, it was already evening... rushed home and it was time for lessons. Quite zonked out by the time the night was over but well worth it.

WMCAS Website...

This is what Other Half and I have been up to for the past week or so. Setting up our church website with a blog incorporated.. He did all the layout stuff while I worked on the input and content. We've learned about Joomla, Fantastico. And an old friend gave a lending hand by directing us to what to use. I am still amazed by how connected we have all become through applications like FB and our ACS Forum cos it was through these two that we've reconnected after so many years. And an old friendship like that has come back to assist us this time around!

Anyway, now I am learning from him the layout part. Earlier on, my job was to fill up the pages and write... But the learning curve becomes much less steeper when there is someone to teach. 8) The site is up and running now. It still needs some work but we'll have to wait for approval from above. 8)

It's been kinda fun... in a way, us working together for this. Anyway, it took a while for this to come to fruition. We were sitting on it for quite a while because of my apprehension that we may not be able to find people to help maintain it. But in the end, we decided that it has to start, we have to give it a try. So, Other Half got the domain name and paid up all the necessary fees....

So, here it is... finally, the WMCAS Website!

I.B.I.G. @ WMC

I.B.I.G Band.... I Believe In God. It's a Christian band from Korea and they came a-visiting to WMC on Monday night. Twas yet another 'lesson' night but I took the 4 kids out just the same. Opportunities like this come rarely, so I figured it'd be worth it to bring them. And it was!

This, after all, is another contact with the outside world... in a way. We live rather insulated lives here, sometimes. Often, we think God is sombre and worship should be along that line; that God would frown if we move out of the norm which we are settled into.

Made up of talented young musicians and singers, it was quite a refreshing session of praise and worship with them. The young people probably enjoyed it lots. 8)

By the time I got there, the church was half-filled. My rough estimate... probably 400+ people there that night! The young people were ushered to the front. I went to the back of the church and watched from behind the glass partition. Was quite an uplifting time...Message was by Pastor Daniel Kim... interesting life he has led. Born in Korea, raised in Japan and America, now 'stationed' in China. He looked mighty fit... probably has lots of guys (and gals too) drooling over his build! 8) Has covered a great deal of China and was able to describe the rail journeys to the far flung corners of China; the railway line leading to Jerusalem. I am always taken up by such tales of adventure, through the rough hinterlands, the dry and windy desert... And to do what he is doing... you've got to be on fire for God!

Message was divided into 3 parts.... The Gospel, Missions and The Ultimate Goal. In a nutshell, the need for salvation and for workers to work in the fields (the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few) and the ultimate goal which is the return of the Lord. Nicely put by a young man, passionate for God's work. God bless him!

I think most people agree that it was quite a meaningful sharing... of music and the Word of God.

Up Penang Hill...

This was yesterday.. we took our Church Community Tuition Outreach Programme students and MYF'ers up Penang Hill. There were around 40 of us... youths and adults. Other Half, Son and I went. I ended up the sweeper... Sweeper punya kerja - sweep everyone up! Make sure nobody sesat or strays. Last 2 hikers made it up in 3 hours. Yours truly was one of them! 8)

We started our hike at almost 9. It was raining but the youths were keen to give it a go in the rain. For many I guess that was one of the rare times they actually got to walk in the rain. 8) For safety reasons and also because many of these 'city' kids have not gone hiking before, we took the tar road up, though the jungle trail would have been more fun. But when we came home, read in the papers that 2 men were lost there for about 12 hours before being found.

The gradient was actually quite steep in certain stretches... As in any group, some were really fast and others, really slow. But whatever it is, once you start, you'll have to plod on to the top of the hill; guess it's very much like life. Once we begin, we have to plod on; high or low moments, life goes on. I always feel that hiking is a good activity... apart from the good workout that it gives, there are also many lessons of life one can get out of it.

View of Penang from the top! That's Komtar sticking out in the middle. The rain sort of washed the haze that covered the island the day before. The view and cool air up there were actually quite nice.

This was a surreal scenery captured by Other Half from up there...

And these 2 were caught trying out the tandem bike... they didn't get far on it. Found it difficult going and returned the bike for normal ones. Half an hour on the tandem is RM10, normal bikes go for half of that two.

Touristy behaviour... these kids were gathering around the cap stalls... The caps had all these hebat brands printed on them.... and Son bought one as well.

Going down was via the other alternative, the funicular train. But I feel they should not jam so many people into the train. There was hardly enough standing room. You've the change trains at the halfway mark. The trip down via the train would be a pleasant one minus the sardine packed conditions. The air became more humid after the halfway mark. Good thing it had been an overcast afternoon.

We saw this at the exit of the train station. We were half tourists, half hikers... so got the sequence of welcome and goodbye terbalik also. LOL! But it was a good outing for many of us. And for some, it was an achievement of sorts, being able to make it up to the top. That, I supposed is also another lesson about life... sometimes we think we are not cut out for certain things. But if we adopt an open mind about it, and prepare yourself mentally for the challenges, be determined and adopt a certain stoicism to the task ahead you might surprise yourself... and along the way, God will send people to encourage, remind, nudge you along too.

Mother's Day

Last week we did this... at LF's place. Wrapped up the presents to be given to all the mothers in church..

These porcelain jars with covers are quite useful for soups. I'm putting mine at work. It's great for making my half boiled egg. Yummy!

And very aptly, we had this for tea...

Wife Cake... direct translation. LOL! All the way from Ipoh! Biscuit was really thin but quite nice, though. It has this sweet filling. There're a few stories as to why...

In ancient China, there was a poor couple. They adored and loved each other, staying in a small village. When a mysterious disease spread, the husband's father became very sick. Although they tried really hard to raise money to provide treatment for him, it wasn't enough. Sadly, the wife decided to sell herself as a slave, exchanging herself for her father-in-law's medicine.

Once the husband learned about what his wife did, he made a cake filled with winter melon and with a crispy crust. A cake for his wife. However, his cake became so popular that he was able to earn enough money to buy his wife back.

There's another one in which the husband got himself into debts and sold his wife into slavery. Guilt laden, he made the biscuit in her memory... Can Google it...

Anyway, this is the end product. Many hands make light work. The youths distributed one to each lady over 21 in church. Mother's Day is also MW night. Speaker for the night was May Chin from FGC... one of the rare lady speakers to grace the pulpit at WMC so far.

No fanfare for me this Mother's Day. In fact I cooked dinner some more. When I came back, my gal had 2 cards for me. Very typical of her... thoughtful! One she made on her own, the other her teachers asked the students to make. When I was schooling, there was no such thing... Mother's Day was just not something we 'celebrated'. I guess times have changed, at least on the outside. But on the inside, I'm not sure. Mothers.... the pillars to who we are. Just that very often many of us take them for granted.

Another visit to Precious Home...

This is like my third visit to this orphanage.

Last visit was about 6 months ago... saw one or two familiar faces. But could not remember the rest. Some are temporarily abandoned while their parents undergo rehab. Hopefully, these families get a chance to be reunited again.

There were around 19 of us, including some youths. Hopefully the youths will feature more in our social outreach.

Decided to do a movie instead of putting up pictures. Flavour of the day now is iMovie. Been trying it out these last couple of weeks and it's thumbs up, so far. Problem in putting in music since there're copyright issues to deal with. So just hentam with one that doesn't have-lah.

We brought lunch to share with them, also some clothes and toys. The kids were quite excited with the toys, mostly Lil Gal's. She was quite apprehensive to part with some of them but we told her the kids there do more justice to them.

Kids like mine... they are fortunate, as in those who went. I hope they realise it. Without the family support, their paths would be so much more difficult. Who knows, some of them might actually be out there working for their own living now.

Easter Service..

Easter Service.. first at the new premise. Also, there were almost 200 in attendance. Noticed that we had quite a number of guests and those who have not been around for some time.

The choir under Mrs. Khoo's charge gave a very good performance.

This year's group was quite big...easily 25, I think. Why is having a choir good?? Well, I could think of a couple of reasons. But one of them would be, it gives everyone an opportunity to get together for a common cause - young and old alike. Good for bonding also. Plus why karaoke, when you can sing your heart out in a group? 8)

They performed at the SP WMC yesterday night. The theme for this year's choir is God who comes to save..

Pak Khaw gave the sermon.. from Matthew 28: 1-6. It's always good to be reminded of God's love for us.. and also His salvation - and it's free. To walk in the steps of Christ... that's the tall order for all of us.

Service was followed by dinner, which was sponsored by a kind soul. It's buffet style. Yours truly went to help to dish out the food! Queue was actually quite long. In order to make All of us had a good time.

It was nice to be able to eat with everyone. The conditions may not have been restaurant like but it was nicer even though we had some insects for company. 8) God was good too! It was raining just as we were going to church. And we've been having torrential rains in the evenings the past coupla days. The rain stopped and the weather was really nice. It was a good night to have such a makan. Some say, we should do it like this more often.

And this was dinner! The rib curry was yummy-licious. Went really well with the beehoon and rice. Not too hot but has a nice smell and taste. Some went back for seconds, mainly the young. But know what... kids are having it good these days. The big prawns were not too popular cos many found it 'mah-fan' to peel it. Life is really treating them well!

Easter... Sunrise Service

Sunrise on Easter morn.... another first at the new premise.

Had a combined church service this morning... been having this combined service for some years now. The congregations from some of the other English speaking churches such as TBC, FGC joined us at WMC. Started at 6.00 a.m. just as the sun was rising.

There was a good crowd. Church was quite filled; was told that there were almost 200 people in attendance. There were quite a number in school uniforms, quite a number were from FGC; they were going to school after service. Talked was on the women at the tomb of Jesus; their devotion, distraction - who is to roll away the stone... their determination to the task at hand, to anoint the body... and to proclaim that Jesus is alive..

Then there was an elaboration about the stones in our lives.. like the stones of fear, unbelief, unforgiveness, etc., etc..

Service ended at around 7.00 a.m. And breakfast awaited all who went.

Pies, 'ang-ku' await those who fought grogginess and came. Ah Ho and her gang were responsible for the fare. The pies disappeared in no time. And after all that, the kids went to school and those who needed to go to work, left for work... coming up.. Easter Service in the evening.

Tea with friends

Weekdays are busy for me. When Sugar & Spice asked me to join them for tea, I was at first a little reluctant. But I went in the end, cos we've not done this for some time and the Ngs were coming in from KL for a short visit. After paying bills in town, I dropped in and these 2 were already busy on the floor... another was watching. With such company, how not to want to come, leh?

They were cutting out the patches for Christina's patchwork. Unlike patchwork of old, these ladies actually go buy the cloth and do a mix-n-match thing. Our grandmothers would be shaking their heads at such 'waste', I supposed. But what to do, these days we don't make our own clothes, so no leftover cloths.

I wanted to bring my tatting stuff but forgot... am stuck and have not progressed. But was too lazy to go home and get as it was really humid outside. Noticed the new tea set. Sugar & Spice had actually brought her new to set to tea! Even brought the bell along! LOL!

Before long my growling stomach led me to this... This chef comes from a fish mart in Sydney and his toque has been replaced by brush, for a good reason too. He plays a very important role in our tea. LOL!

This is what 'he' does! Our main course for tea was Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Goi Cuon) and he was needed to soften the rice paper wraps... to make it gelatinous and pliable. Ah Ho had also brought her puffs. I 'slipped' quite a few of them into my stomachs as well. Ha! Ha!

While we were busy trying out our hands at this new hands-on experience, Christina came out with this. Green bean soup in wine glass! Complete with coconut milk! What more could we ask for! She had even put on a new table cloth...

Anyway, the Gui Cuon rolling continued...it's like playing masak-masak, but it's real food that goes into our stomachs. 8) This filling is more of our Chinese popiah filling.... simply delicious!

The Ngs made it to Alor Setar for tea with time to spare for chit chat; that despite heavy downpour down in Ipoh. We see little of them ever since they moved to KL. Ah Ho lost her 'cooking' kaki... Poh Choo had also brought some food from PJ to add to the tea. 'Tong-Tong' brought some homemade ice cream by her Other Half and Bailey to compliment it. She and Siew Wah immediately hit off with their golf tales!

It was tea cum dinner for me... conversations flowed freely; a short gathering of old friends. More would have come if it had not been a working day.... but if we were to wait for the hols, we'd have missed out on something else. It's like seize-the-moment kinda thingy. Though my day was hardly over by the time I left Christina's, it was good to be able to get together cos we also got to welcome the Ngs.