The last day of 2010

Today is the last day of 2010. Another year has come to an end.

I've been a pastor's wife for 3 year already (& a lecturer for 2 and a half). When I first came to Ipoh, I was having cultural shock, after living in Thailand for almost 6 years. My first year back to Malaysia was quite difficult for me; I almost went into depression. But thank God I got through all these. Now I'm able to serve Him much better than before. I'm already used to staying in Malaysia, though the weather is still too hot and humid for me. I still miss Muaklek's (where I stayed in Thailand) winter.

Anyway, these 3 years have been very satisfying. I made many friends, visited many places in Malaysia (which I don't have the chance to go if I'm not a pastor's wife), and completed my Master's coursework after about 3 years of part-time study (my graduation will be in March 2011, hopefully! Still struggling with the final project report). The first batch of students I was teaching are also going to graduate next year.

I really look forward to 2011, because it means that we are closer to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The New Year falls on Sabbath. I'll be busy in the church and I don't think I'll come up here. So on this New Year eve I'll like to wish you all a

Happy New Year

&

May God bless you abundantly

Tomorrow is public holiday!

[The  white board above is in my office]

On Wednesday Malaysia beat Indonesia and won the ASEAN Suzuki Cup for the first time [read about it here]. Our prime minister, Najib, declared that tomorrow is a public holiday. I don't really watch football, but I hope Malaysian teams (in any sports) will win more in the future, so we will have more holidays! :-P

Blackie the Doggie

This is Blackie. He is so black that it's difficult to see his eyes in the picture. He is the day/night guard at the church. When he first came to the church, he was only a little bigger than my palm. He was not even able to cross that drain in the picture. I remember one of his front legs fell into it and he was yelping weakly. Pr. Andrew Hau bought him from a vet. After 1 year+, he has grown up to this size, and is still growing. Now he can jump so far that crossing 2 or 3 drains is not a problem for him. He runs fast too. Blackie is very strong; he broke his chain (it's made from iron!) a few times.

A closer look at Blackie:

 Now you can see his eyes better

Blackie also barks very very loudly. He barks at a cat, a stranger who walks by, a car that passes by. But he never barked at me nor Pr.WS, because he knew us since he was a baby. He eats very very fast too. He eats one meal per day in the evening and he could finish it within 5 minutes (I don't think he ever chewed his food). He eats everything, including jackfruit seeds, durian, tuna sandwitches etc. That's why Blackie is not only a good watch dog, but also a good janitor, because he cleans up all the leftover food.

Pr.WS patting Blackie

 

Blackie enjoys being patted. Every time he saw us he would lower his head and wait to be patted.

Frequently Blackie got overexcited during patting and started to lean on people. Then his master would take out his disciplinary tool - a ROTAN (cane in Malay) - and gave the dog a smack. Blackie is afraid of that stick. Even before it struck him, he became quiet and behaved himself. But then when the rotan is kept, he would revert to his overexcitement.

Sorry to say this, Blackie is a bit racist. He barks super loudly at people who are non-yellow, including the Indians, Africans, and Whites. Probably he is already used to staying with Chinese.

Blackie is a hero. Because of him and another dog (Bobby, he has another story, will tell you next time), the recent break-in at parsonage failed. I guess they barked too much that the thieves got nervous and ran away taking only a very old guitar (which don't have much second-hand price). At night their master release them and they patrol the whole church compound, digging holes here and there and marking their territory (how? :-P).

So next time when you see Blackie, remember to pat him. If he barks at you, it means that you need to spend more time making friends with him (talk to him nicely)!

ICS on Sin Chew Jit Poh

The ICS was on Monday's Sin Chew Jit Poh (Perak edition)!

We were singing at Syuen Hotel during Christmas eve. Pr.WS remembered seeing 2 photographers (1 Indian & 1 Chinese) taking our pictures. The stage light was very bright and I didn't even notice them. This was my first time on the newspaper! (actually I felt weird looking at my own face printed on it) :-)

Gunung Lang [26 Dec 10]

Last Sunday was Catherine's last day at Ipoh. She is a medical missionary sent by the Mission to Ipoh 9 months ago. Before she left, Pr.WS brought her to Gunung Lang (gunung = mountain). Paisly was with us too. It was sunny and very hot.

This is not a natural waterfall. There's pump at the back to bring the water to the top of the rock. The water was getting lesser because the pump was turned off. I took this picture before there's no water left.

 Be careful! Don't feed or stay near the monkeys!
Usually there are lots of monkeys (1 big family with an alpha male), but yesterday I didn't see any. 

 Waiting for...

ICE CREAM!

Paisly & her ice cream

Blue couple

Cat, what are you looking at?

Where is Pr.WS?

Catherine left Ipoh at 1.30pm to KL. When she first came to Ipoh, she was very shy and quiet. But then after we got to know her better, she became talkactive. She was close to us and sometimes she also came and stayed overnight at my house.

Cat, we will always keep you in our prayer.  When you've decided to study, remember to let us know. All the best & God bless~

ICS: Syuen & Impiana Hotels [24 & 25 Dec 10 ]

We went to Syuen & Impiana Hotels during Christmas eve, and on Christmas night we went to Impiana again.

Santa Clause at Impiana Hotel  

  

A gift box + mineral water from Impiana

Tuna & egg sandwitches + an apple + an orange 

Decoration at Syuen Hotel 

On 25 Dec 10, we didn't put on our formal uniform (because we wore it for church service and we sweated a lot). It's a bit more casual and relaxing.

Singing at the lobby in front of the grand piano

All of us (Pr.WS was holding the camera)

Pinky ladies

That was our last caroling. Most of the members won't be in Ipoh anymore next year. So this was also our last performance. Should we continue with the choir next year? (Pr.WS, what do you think?) I'll leave this to God... 

ICS: Rumah Sejahtera [19 Dec 10]

After Praise Girls Home, we went to Rumah Sejahtera, an government-funded old folks home at Jelapang. The wooden building was quite old but very clean. It's located at an remote area that I'd never been before. Pr.WS found the place a few weeks ago by driving around Jelapang (I wonder how...).

Welcome!

The old folks

Singing

Giving out gifts (oranges & apples again)

With everyone

What a day! After singing, we went to Golden Point food court in 1st Garden for our dinner. We were supposed to sing at another hotel at night, but thanked God it was canceled (at the last minute, the entire hotel was booked by the government). I was very tired and I didn't feel like singing anymore. That's it for my busy weekend!

ICS: Praise Girls Home [19 Dec 10]

On Sunday we went to Praise Girls Home, an orphanage run by the Church of Praise.

This is the home. It's a double-storey bungalow.

A puppy at the home. 

The kids. There are 17 girls staying in Praise Girls Home. The boys are from Praise Boys Home, which is nearby and is also run by the Church of Praise. Many of them are not "real" orphans, but abandoned by their parents.

Singing with the kids

Playing games

Don't step outside of the newspaper!

Hahahahahahahaha....

Run!

Singing our last song - We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Our names are stitched on the T-shirt

All of us

After 2 hours of singing and games, we were all tired, but, happy. Those kids can even remembered our names by now. It's a joy watching them laughing and shouting. We don't have to do something very big to make people happy. Simple things will do. Visiting this kind of places helps me to appreciate my life. God blesses us so that we may share the blessing with others. Life is short, and there are many things to do, many people to help. I'm thankful that God has given me a chance to serve. :-)

ICS: House-to-house caroling [18 Dec 20]

After visiting the old folks home, we went back to the church to have a rest before house-to-house caroling. Pr. Andrew Hau & Angie cooked a big pot of veggie soup for us:

After a briefing by Pr.WS, we went to 4 houses that night.

 At bro. John's house:

At bro. Soong's house:

At sis. Sou (苏姐) house. We didn't sing, because Sou Jie's husband was sleeping. He was recently discharged from the hospital. We just greeted the family and prayed with them.

At bro. Jeffrey & sis. Jennifer's house:

Caroling at houses is a totally different experience from caroling at cafes & hotels. In cafes & hotels, the audience are strangers. They might or might not listen to us. And it's more formal. When we were done with our singing, we left the place soon. But at houses, the atmosphere was more relaxing, and the people would always be listening (that's the reason they invited us). After singing, there'd be chitchatting & eating & laughing. I had a wonderful time with all the families. I hope next year we'll have house-to-house caroling again!

ICS: My Place [18 Dec 10]

My Place is an old folks home not far from the church. The ICS went there last Saturday afternoon. We sang a number of Christmas songs, and then gave out oranges and apples to the old folks. This was our second time caroling at My Place.

The girls relaxing at our house before going to the old folks home.

 

The old folks

 

Ready to sing!

 

Oranges & apples for the old folks

 

Giving out gifts

Pr. Andrew Hau leading a prayer

With the owner of My Place

Pr.WS giving instructions about the next program

The red T-shirt is our "casual" uniform.

The woman in the middle is Mrs. Choo, a church member. She got a stroke last year and recovered quite well. She has gained weight and her hair is not as gray as before. She was delighted to see us.

It just felt so good to these old folks smiling and clapping their hands while we were singing. I wonder how it is like to stay in place where you can see people pass away now and then.

Recently another church member who also stayed in My Place had passed away. She had no children & no relatives to mourn for her. When we got the news that she passed away, my husband and I went to the place to arrange for her funeral. It was 11.30p.m., an hour after her death, and she was lying there, pale and cold. When she was still alive, she was senile and had no memory of anyone except a few church members. We visited her many times and she never recognized us.

Sometimes I wonder, will this also happen to me when I get old? Will my memory slowly slip away from me? Will I die in an old folks home (I hope not!)? Visiting old folks home always makes my heart heavy. I think I better stop here, so that I won't ruin the happy mood of Christmas. :-)