Malaysia 2023

Wednesday, I was up early after a good night’s sleep and out the door as dawn was breaking, for my morning jog. I’m really enjoying being able to jog again, I’m sure it’s what keeps my back healthy.  I’d packed my suitcase the night before, leaving half of my things in the cupboard to lighten the load, enabling me to pack both my computer and my pillow inside the suitcase to take with me.  I now only had a suitcase and my small backpack with snacks and water.  In the morning I had to pull out my computer again to get blog 205 online, then repack my bag before leaving.

What a blessing to be driven to the train station where I caught the train into KL Central.  Here I found my way to the departure area for all the trains heading north.  I sat next to a young Chinese family who were seeing their mum off to look after her mother who’d just had an eye operation.  I took this opportunity to help them take a family photo and then asked them to take one of me too.  Then gave the mum one of the Christian tracts with a website which takes you through a Gospel presentation. I also told her I’d pray for her mother’s speedy recovery.  She was taking the express train which left before mine.  Next a Thai lady sat down beside me.  At first she was hesitant to talk, but when she realised I was speaking Thai she relaxed and opened up a little till a guy signed her to follow him.  It seemed he didn’t speak Thai and I was a bit concerned for her but didn’t know what I could do other than pray for her.

The train eventually arrived and everyone jumped up to get in the queue except me.  I can’t be bothered rushing when we all have our allotted seats.  I joined the line when it had reached the check point, then descended to the platform where I searched for my carriage.  It was the second last one; finding my seat, I sat next to a young Chinese civil engineer who works on the water pumps in Sabah. We talked about sustainability, plastic waste and other environmental topics.  He was alighting before Ipoh so I gave him a tract too and prayed he will make the effort to watch the Gospel presentation.

Another Chinese couple were the last people I chatted to before reaching Ipoh.  They were originally from Malaysia but had moved to the Netherlands due to his work. They had just returned from visiting their son in Japan; he was doing a two week course there, and they were now visiting family in Malaysia before returning home. A funny coincidence was the wife had relatives in Ayer Tawer where I was going.  After asking her if she knew which bus I should take from Ipoh, she rang her relatives to inquire. This was very helpful as there was a bus station quite a distance away and one very close.  Praise the Lord the one I needed to go to was within walking distance.  What an interesting journey I’d had.

Parting ways at Ipoh station, I called my friend Dr Wong who had tried to call me on the train but the reception wasn’t good.  Although the bus station was only eight minutes’ walk from the station, dragging a suitcase with a broken wheel along rough surfaces wasn’t the best thing for it.  I thought of taking a Grab but they wouldn’t be interested in such a short ride. Arriving at the bus station, I inquired about the next bus to Sitiawan and was told one had only just left.  The next was at 4pm. I’d have to wait an hour and a half!  No thanks, especially as I was breathing in the diesel fumes from the waiting buses.   I walked out of the station to see if I could get a Grab, but first I needed an address, which is very difficult as the house I was going to had no proper address.  It took us awhile to work out what address to put in. Dr Wong suggested the Chinese Methodist Church, then directed the driver when I was approaching Ayer Tawer.

The Grab wasn’t cheap but cheaper by half than the price of an Uber from Perth Airport to my place and here I was going nearly 60km!  The drive was pleasant enough as I was able to recognise many familiar sites along the way.  We did have a bit of difficulty finding the driveway to the house as so much had changed since I was last there in 2015.  Finally a familiar face waiting to open the remote gates into the compound.  The driver pulled up, opening the boot for me to retrieve my bags before I greeted Maria, Dr Wong’s faithful Filipina helper, who has been with them for nearly 17 years. Dr Wong was waiting for me inside; she has difficulty walking due to arthritis.  Later that evening her husband Dr Chua arrived home from the clinic where he continues to practice as a GP in Sitiawan. Mickie, their driver, who was one of Dr Wong’s converts from the drug and prison ministry she started in 1985, was dropping Dr Chua at home. They had brought with them Musang Durian, Malaysia’s king of durians’, what a treat.

Thursday morning I was up early having had another good night’s sleep.  The 13 dogs gave me a chorus of concerned greetings as I slipped through the front gate and down the road.  Jogging along the main road wasn’t the best with diesel fumes, but I didn’t know where else to go and it was still not quite light enough to be able to see where I was going.  I took note of how long I’d gone in one direction and when I’d done around 10mins I headed home and still I’d only done 2km. I was hot and sweaty, which caused me to think I’d done much more.  I’ll have to keep up with my jogging to get back to the 3km I usually do at home.

Back at the house I showered to cool down and spent some time with the Lord before washing my clothes so they would be ready for the next day’s jog. By 8am I was having breakfast.  Maria was already up, Dr Wong was up soon after, then Dr Chua.  Every morning they take communion together before eating breakfast.  What a wonderful way to start the day, giving thanks to the Lord for what He has done for us.

Later that morning Lisa arrived; she is also Filipina and helps Dr Wong in the garden.  Together, with Dr Wong being pushed in a wheelchair to help her get around, we wandered through her garden, looking at what was fruiting and what had been planted. I was amazed at the varieties of plants she was growing.  We collected some of the avocados which were ripe, a few of which had fallen. After lunch Micky picked us up to take us shopping in Sitiawan.  Maria did the grocery shop while I looked at suitcases.  I found one with four duel wheel and expandable case in the size I wanted.  It was just over $45 AUD so I bought a bright red one.  Thank you Jesus.  When I got it home it was the same size as my black one but so much lighter and with swivel wheels.  Dr Wong said she would keep mine for storage as it was very sturdy.  It had been a very successful shopping trip.

I had a lovely online chat with Gayle in Bali, catching up with all her news.  She called me again in the morning to ask for prayer for her dear friend and mother figure, who was in palliative care with only days to live.

On Friday I got up late after being woken by the dogs at 1:30am.  We think one had accidently been shut out of the compound and was looking to be let in. I finally slept at 4am, waking still exhausted by 7am, not feeling like jogging. Before breakfast I took apart the noisy table fan, gave the dusty blades a wash and put it back together making sure everything was tightened. Lo and behold the rattling stopped.  Hallelujah!  Thank you Jesus!  I joined the family for breakfast, then was out the door with Micky to drop Dr Chua at the clinic.  Micky and I then went to an Indian restaurant for Roti Chani. I had been looking forward to this since arriving in Malaysia. We had a lovely chat, reminiscing and hearing about his plans to visit his sister in Sydney for his niece’s wedding next month.  Coming back to Ayer Tawer, we stopped at a knickknacks shop.  I told him I didn’t need anything but would take a look around anyway and ended up buying another small towel and a net laundry bag.  One more stop to buy some huge mangos by the side of the road. Then home.  Dr Wong was cleaning the pineapples recently picked.  These pineapples had pups growing from below the fruits.  From the two fruits she was able to prepare 8 new plants ready for propagating in plastic bottles just like I do.

I was delighted to be able to talk to another old friend of mine, Mrs Surresh, who used to invite me to lunch when I lived near her here in Ayer Tawer, when I was church planting in 1986. Unfortunately this visit to Malaysia I wasn’t able to catch up with Dr Paul Chelliah and his family, as they had family commitments and were very busy. I knew Dr Chelliah from before I was a Christian, when I was wandering around Asia in 1980-82.  He was instrumental in me coming to the Lord as he often witnessed to me when I visited his Veterinary clinic for a chat.

Saturday I woke just on 6am, eager to be out jogging again.  This time I decided to go left at the main road and then first left into the outer suburb of Ayer Tawer.  On one side of the road was an oil palm plantation, on the other were homes, so it was very quiet, especially this early.  I then took another road west through the back streets past the Chinese Methodist Church and then back through the houses till I came back where I had begun.  I hadn’t realised it was four kilometres. The previous time my legs had ached after a shorter run, but this time I felt hot and sticky due to the humidity, but energised.

Once again I took a lift with Dr Chua into Sitiawan, hoping to get to the shops as I was looking to replace my sandals which were wearing out.  Having not found a replacement in Bali I had hoped to find them here.  I had forgotten that shops opened later on a Saturday so back to Ayer Tawer for Micky’s breakfast and some noodles for me.  I asked to be dropped off near the Methodist church so I could walk back, otherwise it was a long trip through the town and out to where we could turn around as there were large road dividers all the way down the main street except for a few places.  Where Micky dropped me was right in front of a local shoe shop.  I popped in to try on some sandals, which were very similar to mine but I didn’t buy them as they weren’t as comfortable.

Back at the house I made some apple fritters and had a bit of a rest before Micky picked me up to check out some shoe shops in Sitiawan.  Before leaving Ayer Tawer we stopped to buy Malaysian kuih.  They didn’t have my favourite so I opted for curry puffs, char siu bao, a cassava cake and a nasi lemak and sweet desiccated coconut wrapped in banana leaf. Later after a dismal sandal shopping experience, Micky bought some chendol, an iced dessert, to take back for everyone at the house.

Sunday morning I was out jogging again but this time only for 3km. Breakfast of my usual oats with kafir which I have continued to make nearly every morning since bringing it from Perth.  To this I’ve been adding wonderful tropical fruits such as dragon fruit, papaya, jackfruit, pineapple and of course bananas. I never tire of this summer or winter when I make it into a porridge adding the fruit last.

Dr Chua then drove us to church in Sitiawan.  It was lovely to see some familiar faces, especially the sisters of my dear friend Dai Lee, whom I was informed was coming out from the UK with her son next month.  I’ve only just missed her by a couple of weeks!  Her sister Dai May preached a very encouraging sermon, after which we prayed for the nation of Malaysia.  I was then asked to pray for their youth who were going to KL for a combined church youth conference.  This was followed by communal lunch and their AGM before we said our goodbyes, heading home for afternoon tea of mango and dried banana crisps.

That afternoon I had a long chat, catching up with Dai Lee through WhatsApp.  Then the next morning I spoke to Joshua, who is the son of Dr Chur and Dr Wong; he does outreach through rural and urban churches, helping to establish vertical gardens, fish and quail farms.  This is done mostly through local churches and Feed the Hungry programs.

On Monday, I had decided not to go jogging as I wouldn’t have time to wash and dry my jogging clothes which get soaked with perspiration from my run.  Instead I packed my bag, then repacked it as I’d forgotten to put in my power-board. Already there was too much to squeeze in and as I wasn’t going by public transport, I decided to carry my pillow separately, just carefully packing my computer, padded well inside the case. We had quite a long wait for Micky to return as he was attending a broken water tank at the clinic. We were finally on our way to Ipoh just before midday.

My stay in Ipoh will not be long as I take the train back to KL on the Friday in preparation for my flight out Saturday evening arriving very early Sunday morning in Perth.

Photos: 1. A flower from Dr Wong’s garden    2. Waiting for the train, KL    3. Ipoh to Ayer Tawer    4. Fruits from the garden – avocado and    5. Dragon fruit     6. An enormous bee     7. Me and Dai May, church Sitiawan     8. Maria, myself and Dr Wong lunch en route to Ipoh

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for safe journeys throughout Malaysia and all those I’m met along the way, old friends and new.

Praise Him for His provision and protection.

Please pray that I adjust quickly to being back in Perth and opportunities for me to share His love to those around me.

Please continue to pray for Joshua’s Indonesian citizenship application.

Please uphold Jen in prayer as she continues her travels in Europe and the UK.

Continue to pray for world peace and for the refugees who are caught up in the suffering this war has caused, both in Ukraine and Russia.

Please keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers.  Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus.