The Calender

January

• Erwyn started to attend kindy.  Wow!  He adjusted pretty well.  No crying spell.  We are so proud of you, little boy! 

•  Daddy celebrated his birthday at Bei Zhan Restaurant with the LCEC members. What an honor!

February

• Je Ee and Uncle Lloyd visited us.  Engaged ourselves as tourist guide as we showed them around.

March

• A quiet month?

April

• Oversea trip: Hong Kong.  Thank God for such a blessing from an anonymous person.  Though there were a fe hiccups in the trip, we are so privilege to visit Disneyland, Ocean Park & Science Museum.

• Family get-away at PrimaLand Resort.  Children thoroughly enjoyed the water slides.

May

• Our very first All-Night-Prayer-Meeting in Wesley Melaka.  The response was overwhelming and we had a non-stop 6 hours of sweet communion with the Lord.

• Celebrated Ah Gong's birthday. We are so glad to have Ah Gong staying with us for the past few years.  It is at this time we missed Ah Ma even more. 

• Celebrated Erwyn's birthday at kindy.  He was so shy yet excited.  My boy is growing!  Loving you always!

 

• Kindy excursion: Melaka Zoo! It was a let down as the zoo was not very well maintained and there weren't many animals.

June

• Started serving in Sunday School.  It's really been awhile since I commit myself in a ministry.  Real challenge as I re-adjusted my life from 100% fulltime mom to sacrificing some time to be involved in other children's lives.  It wasn't easy at first but I'm slowly letting go of my children.  Perhaps it is time for them to learn to be more independent and understand the importance of putting God first.

• Erwyn dislocated his arm... oh boy! 

• Church Camp at Cheringin Hill.  Mommy was helping out with the Children Ministry this year.  Had some of the most exciting fun we had - face painting, water gun... tiring but rewarding. 

July

• Attended my very first DG in Wesley Melaka.  It was funny as one member asked which pastor's wife am I (there are two pastors in Wesley Melaka).  A bit of cultural shocked at first but I'm beginning to fall in love with this group of wonderful people.

August

• Sunday School outing - Mamee Jonker House!  

September

• We were invited to join another DG to celebrate Lantern Festival.  Children had fun painting, walking around the neighbourhood with lanterns and playing with sparkles.

 

• Uni/IK/Old friends get-together.  Visited A Famosa Safari Wonderland with our children.

• Back to JB for a family gethering.

• Another group of secondary school old friends visiting us.  Missed them to the max!

• Celebrated Elyse's birthday at kindy.  My girl is now 6 year old!

• A short trip to Penang.  Met Andrew's granduncle and grandaunt for the first time!  Elyse tried out paragliding.

• Our first visit to the state public library.  Not too bad.  Plan to re-visit soon.

• Celebrated 10th Wedding Anniversary with LCEC leaders at Bei Zhan Restaurant.  It was a memorable evening with hubby dedicated a poem to me and we exchanged our vows again.  

 

October

• Erwyn finally discovered how delicious ice cream is!  It may sound weird, but my boy didn't like to eat ice cream until now. 

• Andrew had an encounter with a snake right in front of our gate. 

• LCEC retreat at Methodist Centre, PD.  Hubby and the rest of the leaders worked round the clock while kids and I had maximum fun at the pool and beach.

• Sis and family visited us.  Cousins get-together!

• Record-breaking: Within half an hour, Andrew caught three lizard!  

November

• Enrolled in a Mandarin tuition class for Elyse. 

• Kindergarten concert.  Both my children did so well in their performances.  It is Erwyn's first concert but he does not experience stage fright.  Good job, boy!  Congratulations, Elyse!  You have achieved another milestone in your life.

• Kindy 2nd Excursion - The boat museum.  This time, mommy did not follow the children.  They were totally on their own with the teachers.

• Celebrated my birthday.  Love my 'pizza' cake. 

• Sunday School year end party!  Prize redeemed: A pair of hamsters!

• Attended the Ordination Service at PD.  Congratulation, Rev Andrew!  You are now officially an Elder.

• Had fun in the sun at PrimaLand Resort.  Splash!!!

• Bought school uniform and Primary One books for Elyse.  Our little girl is not so little anymore.

• Finally dyed my hair for the very first time in my life!  (No choice, white hair is growing more and more.   Self-deception - trying to cover up my age)

• Last DG of the year - Steamboat!

December

• Enrolled in swimming lesson.  End result: a super tanned skin!!!

• Sunday School Christmas Party - The best gift!

• Visited sis in JB.  Stayed a night in Sentosa.  Elyse tried out ice skating for the very first time!  Guess what?  Even without a proper adult instructor, she did pretty well.  Bravo, my girl!

• Andrew first short mission trip in Wesley Melaka.

• Received our biggest present ever - Proton Exora!

• Back to PJ for a couple of days.  Visited a few old friends.

Thanking God for yet another exciting year.  The blessings of God is ever flowing and we are grateful for His protection and care for each one of our lives.  We continue to pray for God's guidance and leading as we face more challenges in the year 2015.

Our Journey to Melaka

This article was published in Berita Gereja Wesley (the church magazine), issued dated Jan 2015.  I was approached by the editor to write our journey to Melaka Wesley church in the last 2 years and our experience here.

“Wesley Methodist Church Melaka, Rev Andrew Lim, Pastor-in-charge “ 

As the District Superintendent read out the appointment of each pastor, we knew that it’s going to be an exciting year.  Moving???  By now I’m quite accustomed to it.  After all, we had been on the move for the past 3 years.  Packing and unpacking motivated me to throw away all the junk and restrict me to think twice before I make any purchase.

The only thing that was unbearable this time was that Elyse has to bid farewell to her kindergarten teachers and friends.  She has grown to be very close to her class teacher, Mrs Siew and headmistress, Mrs Lucy Tan.  Those four months of nightmare when she cried day and night when she entered into kindergarten still lingered at the back of my mind.  I wondered would that happen again after we move her to the new kindergarten in Melaka.  That was my main and only concern for now.

We settled into our new home pretty quickly.  My first impression was the gigantic trees in front of our house.  What a magnificent view!  You certainly could not find these trees in Klang Valley.  I love to hear the chirping of birds and enjoy the sound of trees swaying from left to right.  Nature itself paints a beautiful picture.  What a privilege to be found in this place.  However, hidden beneath this picturesque landscape is the abundance of creepy crawlies surrounding the house which often finds its way inside our beautiful sanctum. 

Several church members were so thoughtful of bringing us around.  In fact, the very first day when we arrived, one church leader bought a few packets of food and brought it over to our door step.  Many others took turn to give us a treat as a welcoming gesture.  My heart truly thank each one of you for your generosity and kindness.

My worries soon turned out to be unnecessary as Elyse was very at ease in her new kindergarten.  She loved her new class teacher, Mrs Chan.  Occasionally, she still misses her former teachers and kept asking us to bring her back for a visit (which we did … trice).  She even told daddy “Please don’t move again or else you have to bring me back to visit two kindergartens”.

As we entered into our second year in Melaka, I began to be more involved in ministry.  I missed serving God.  This is one thing that I am guilty of not doing for the past 5 years.  What an honour to be found in the ministry together with many of you!

Attending DG is yet another breakthrough for me.  The warmth and friendliness amongst the members made me feel so relaxed.  Thank you for enriching my life with your jokes, sharing and openness.

Perhaps the only thorn in the flesh is the hot weather.  Somehow we reckon the weather here is hotter than Klang Valley.  Of course, for Andrew, a home grown city boy, he misses all the flyovers, highways and amenities of city life.  Nail it on the cross, man!  Children and I are comfortable in this historical town.  Wait a minute … I reserve some protest.  I found myself getting darker.  Perhaps, I need to apply a stronger sunscreen!  But as for me and my house, Melaka is the place to be! ……… for now.

Sidenote:

It took me awhile before I agreed trying to pen down something for Berita Gereja Wesley.  I was very reluctant as I was not confident to have my article published in a church magazine.  Writing my thoughts and stories down on my blog is meant to be a snapshot of our lives.  When Andrew and I are old and senile we can then read back all the old stories and take a stroll down memory lane.

This article was written last year and now we are entering our third year in Melaka Wesley.  Thanking God for yet another fruitful and blessed year ahead!

School Holiday Part 7 - Subang

No, I'm not going to write Part 8 anymore though the school holiday has extended.  This would be the last blog on School Holiday.

We were all so happy to be back in Subang.  Staying in Malacca is wonderful, but Subang has a special place in our hearts.  This is where Andrew grew up.  This is where Elyse and Erwyn were born.  Needless to say, this is where we spent precious years with my mother in law before her passing.

The house was very dusty.  I repeat: very, very dusty.  The last trip my father in law (not us) came back was two months ago.  So, my father in law and I washed up the entire house while Andrew took the children to the nearby McDonald for a snack.  Well, it is only 1 min away. 

We went to JM Nasi Bariani for lunch.  This is Elyse's favourite food.  Amazing huh?!  My super fussy eater likes nasi bariani.  As for dinner, we headed to Ikea.  Ohh... how we have forgotten the crowd in Ikea during such holidays.  There was no tables available at all.  People needed to wait next to tables until others have finished their meals.  Of course, some took their own sweet time.  Andrew always love the salmon in Ikea.  It is the cheapest salmon he can find.

Their tauhu bakar - not excellent, but reasonably good

plain nasi bariani - Elyse's favourite

The very reason we visited Ikea was to get Erwyn a soft toy mouse.  We bought one for Elyse a long long time ago.  She has many bedside soft toys.  Many come and go but not with this soft toy mouse.  One afternoon, Erwyn asked to buy for him a soft toy mouse as well.  He was so upset that we couldn't get him one immediately, he cried.  Daddy, who has a soft spot in this area, gave in and promised the next time we come back to KL we'd buy one for him.  So, we bought two - one for Erwyn and another one for Elyse.  Now, my children are sleeping with 3 mice every night.

Saturday morning we had our breakfast at Hassan, used to be one of our favourite roti canai shop.  However, the roti is no longer as crispy as before.  The dhal has a funny taste.  The shop looks a bit run down, in fact.  I doubt we will come back again.

We visited a few friends this trip.  It was so lovely to hang out with them, even for a short time.  The demands of ministry, the time constraint associated with raising young children and the constant moving the last few years have caused many friendship to drift apart.  For those of you who stick with us through thick and thin, we are ever grateful.  Nevertheless, we understand and learn to let go as we move on.  However, long or short, every friendship enriches our lives one way or another.

It's Sunday and we've decided to visit Metro Tabernacle this time.  There were traffic wardens everywhere as we drove into the church compound.  Greeters were stationed in every corner of the church, ever ready to greet you with a warm handshake and a big smile.    

Erwyn described this church as a 'hotel church' which I find it quite approriate.  The cleanliness, the spaciousness, the lightings - a typical modern church design.  Nothing too elaborate, simple yet comfortable.  I was so delighted there were four tambourine dancers with their white satin dress on the stage.  Nowadays not many of them dance on a weekly basis.  Especially not with this traditional white satin dress.  They played tambourine for the first 2 fast worship songs, followed by flags for the next 3 slow worship songs.  I love the drummer.  He was fantastic.  I enjoyed how the second keyboardist played the accompaniment.  However, what really caught my attention was the shofar blower.  There were 4 men in their mid 40s' or early 50s'.  When they were not blowing the shofar, they sang along with hands lifted up.

Elyse went to the Sunday School and she thoroughly enjoyed it; but not my boy.  He only stayed for a little while.  Finally we brought him back to the main hall.  The sermon was delivered by one of the assistant pastors.  To be honest, I find the sermon a bit long.  I was losing attention/interest by the second half of the sermon.  Oops, not a very good listener am I. 

Since we are not familiar with Batu Caves (where the church is located), we headed back to Subang Parade for a nice western food - TGIF.  It has been a loooong while since we stepped into this restaurant.  I ordered my favourite Jack Daniel's chicken, Andrew ordered his medium rare beef steak, and Ah Gong had his rack of rib.  The children had fish and chicken fingers with fries on the house.  Over the years, the portion served in TGIF has shrunk and the taste has not lived up to its expectation.  What a disappointment!

We did not visit many shopping malls this trip due to the shortage of time.  I was rather upset to find that the three shopping malls that we visited have taken down their Christmas deco.  But overall, we had a good time back in Subang as a family. 

Check this out!  Hamleys at 1Utama is the latest toy store in town.

You are allowed to play and explore the toys

My boy was glued to this Thomas and Friends play area

Even the man of the house found something he is interested... ehh, trying to change your profession to a magician??!

Look at all these cute little dolls!  I always like the story of Camelot, Merlin and Arthur.

Not only are you allowed to explore the toys, there are booths set up and staff assist you to have one of a kind experience.  My little princess had her chance to try out nail art.

Another staff demonstrated a magic show

There is a vast collection of Lego with several play wall such as this

My boy tried out the nerf gun at the shooting range

After visiting Hamleys, children had fun riding on this big animal

A train ride around the mall

Finally a decent Christmas tree for a couple shot

Our day out would never be completed without a visit to the nearest bookstore.  Look at this whole selection of Frozen!

While Jie Jie was reading, the little one roamed around the bookstore and posing for photo

Never miss out the toy section in the bookstore

'A mini slide', Erwyn said

School Holiday Part 6 - Christmas

After the Christmas Day Service, hubby was so relieved that finally everything was over and he was looking forward to going back to Subang the next day.  He missed his hometown.  He missed all the highways and flyovers.  He missed all the amenities in the big city.  Whereas I missed all the Christmas deco in the various shopping malls.

Back then when we were still staying in PJ, every year we would visit numerous shopping malls during Christmas season - simply soak ourselves in the Christmas carols and admiring the Christmas deco.  Though Jusco and Mahkota Parade did quite a good job this year in decorating the concierge, it is still not as grand as shopping malls like Mid Valley, One Utama, the Curve and etc.

It's Opening Present Time!!!  We are so thankful to have so many church members blessing us with many gifts.  Of course, many were for my two little kiddos.  My girl insisted we sang a Christmas carol followed by her telling us the Christmas story before we opened our presents.

The children get to open one present each on Christmas Eve.  Erwyn received a mini remote control car from Ah Gong.

Frozen is a big hit and everyone knows that.  My little girl has shown much interest in this magnetic dress-up doll.  It was a surprised gift as she did not anticipate us to buy for her.

My Snow White, dress up for the Cantata and finally changed into a more comfortable outfit.

These are Elyse's presents this year thanks to all the uncles and aunties in the church

My boy has also received many presents from the church members

Remember the 'biggest present of all time' that I mentioned in my previous blog?  It is indeed very big in size.  It could easily fit 6 of us in it.  We have chosen the elegant brown this time.  The children have their own special seats (baby chair and booster) secured at the third row.  What surprises all of us is there's an overhead DVD player with flip out LCD screen.  We never opt for that.  Hubby said the paper did not mention this in their spec (a gift from Santa?!?  No way!!!).  Well, do you have any idea what is this 'biggest present'?  It is a Proton Exora 7 seater MPV.

Do you still remember Andrew met with an accident Sept 2013? Andrew was waiting at the traffic light at Kota Laksama when suddenly, an Avanza rammed into his back.  It turned out the driver was drunk.  Due to the impact, Andrew's car knocked the car in front.  Hence, the sandwich.

A few things we are thankful to God:-

1.  The accident car was Proton Wira and not Peroduo Kancil
Imagine the impact on the Kancil, it could certainly caused a serious injury to the driver

2.  It was a Sunday morning but that morning Andrew did not need to preach
The first service carried on as usual without any interruption.  Andrew was unable to be there as he needed to go to the police station to make report.  However, he came back for the second service.

3.  Andrew suffered no injuries
Not a single cut or scratches on him.  However, his neck was painful for the next couple of days.

4.  There's no one else at the back seat
We couldn't imagine if this happened when the children were in the car.

It took almost one month to repair the car.  When it came back, the condition was not very good.  We sent it to another workshop for servicing and paid the extra $$.  After that, this old faithful car continued to serve us for the next couple of months without fail.  However, we did notice a significant change in its engine.

Weeks later, we received a token from a person who is very closed to our hearts.  The person generously blessed us with a huge amount in order for us to buy a new car.  Andrew was very reluctant though.  Finally, we recognised the increasing need of getting a bigger car as there are 6 of us in the family and the children are growing.

It was months later before we finally placed our order with Proton.  There was a promotion and we trade-in the old Wira.  With the big ang pow we received, we only need to fork out a sum of RM5k for the balance.  The MPV came in just the right time.  We drove back to Subang on Boxing Day.  It is so steady and comfortable.  Words could not describe how grateful we are to this special person and to God.

To be continued...