27/12 : Reverend Joshua Hong's last sermon on "Jesus Christ is Lord" & distant relative's birthday disguised as a Christmas party :-)

Picture 1
I knew it was the reverend's last day of service at KCMC. But I didn't expect to feel so sad at the end of it. Mr. Joshua gave quite a number of gifts as a token of appreciation to the various ministries in the church, including 2 guitars (1 guitar to bless the young church in Setia Alam).

After the sermon and gift presentation, the chairperson asked Mr. Joshua & his family to come in front to give the congregation an opportunity to say their farewell. At first, it was just the leaders who came up, shook their hands & gave them a hug. Then, all the others followed.

I can see tears & emotional exchange of words in the eyes of the family and church members. Guess it's partly due to the sad "Shalom, my friend" tune & us singing it.

Though I'm not close to the reverend, I felt sad & almost had tears in my eyes. It was the knowledge that he's going to JB for good that got to me. Thank God it's just separation by distance, not a permanent one (death).

He's the second separation I experienced this year. Another was someone close to me who is now working in a foreign land. I'm starting to wonder, who's next?

Picture 2
This was a happier event at night on the same day. My mum got invited by a distant cousin of hers (Not blood related) to a Christmas party. Since I'm familiar with Bukit Tinggi, I was naturally chosen as the driver :-D Though we got to the wrong road once, we managed to find our way.

We got to her house on time, but didn't know what would happen next. Red eggs & a big birthday cake made their way into the house. That was when we knew it was actually a birthday party. Good thing my mum gave wine as a gift as it seems to be appropriate for the occasion.

Why didn't the distant relative told us the reason earlier? I don't know, but my mum speculated it's because she doesn't want people giving her red packets.

Mum and I enjoyed the food, particularly the satay. I'm not sure when I started having a strong liking of it :-) Then, we proceed to chat & catch up with relatives & church friends (Distant relative is a member of KCMC).

Looking at the picture, you should be able to see 3 generations of family: Grandmother, mother, sons & their wives. All looked happy to me. One of grandson called Victor is taller than me; 6 feet 2 inches. But my mum still thought I was nearly as tall :-)

My mum's distant cousin is now 83 years old. She's a contented & bright person, always with a smile. And she can still walk. I'm impressed by the old people I come in contact these days. Wonder how I'll be if I'm able get to their age? Anyway, Victor was telling her that when she reaches 90, he'll buy a bigger cake for her :-)

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Xander Harris

Xander Harris


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