Christmas Eve Service

The long wait before the combined BM Christmas eve service was worthy, because the coming programme was going to make the evening an unforgettable one.

Ps Albert was busy fetching church members who had no transport with the church van. Since Vilman had gone back to Sabah and that nobody else volunteered, Ps Albert had to take over the driver's job. I followed him once to pick a family in town after his morning service in Sungai Udang. Then we went to the afternoon service in Ayer Keroh. The distances between the places were long. And I doubt if he had any lunch break. I would like to give him a hand but I was not confident of driving a big vehicle. The help I could offer so far was still in the Hospitality Ministry.

I purposely dressed up in a red and black to fit the Christmas theme.

Sarma, who was tall and slim, always looked nice in whatever she was wearing.

The service finally started at around 9pm with the worship.

We sang Christmas songs in English and BM to celebrate the birth of our Lord.

Then, Ps Albert asked those who had been born in December to raise their hands and he announced that I was also a birthday star. So, the whole congregation sang a birthday song to me.

When Marten talked about the progress of his health and sang solo to testify his faith in God, it was another touching moment.

CLA members from the Sungai Udang outreach also presented a song on stage to cheer up the festive atmosphere even more.

When I was in France, I followed Nicole and Ernest to the Christmas Eve service in their Catholic church in cold winter. After that, people went back to their respective houses to have the dinner party. Here, the pot bless dinner was part of the programme. I was too busy to fill my hungry stomach with three types of rice and many kinds of nice food, namely fish, chicken, pork, wildboar meat and vegetables, cooked by our sisters, and guava slices prepared by Sarma, that my camera had no chance to witness those mouth-watering dishes. Later, I gave out small packets of cookies that I had baked to children.

The service ended by the showing of a sequence of a film. It was about the birth of Jesus Christ to remind us that God loved the world so much that He gave his one and only Son to save the world through Him (John 3:16-17).

My best Christmas gift this year was the fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ.

To Ps Albert, it must be the arrival of his beloved wife and two other dear children from Sabah the previous night. Now the blessed family was complete with six charming members.

My Sunday Afternoons II

Had I not known Ps Albert's BM service at the end of September, I would still be spending my Sunday afternoons either at Jusco shopping mall or in front of the television at home.

Now from 2pm onwards, I will be helping Kee Ming and Sarma to arrange the chairs. Then we will wait for the arrival of Ps Albert's team to get ready for the service.

When other musicians or singers are not available, Ps Albert will play the guitar, or sometimes the piano, to accompany Marten who performs a solo to lead the worship.

The dancers dressed like little angels are Ps Albert's skinny daughter Sarah

and Marten's chubby Pamela.

Besides singing, Marten often gives testimonies, especially on his health.

Sometimes, we have a guest speaker. In the end of November, Ps Albert's cousin Ps Alfred came all the way from Puchong to give a sermon.

Some who usually attended the service in Sungai Udang also joined us in Ayer Keroh. During the worship, all the mothers went on stage together to sing praise to the Lord.

As I cannot play any musical instruments, nor am I gifted for singing, I prefer to participate in the preparation and serving of the afternoon tea.

By the time we say goodbye to one another, it is usually over 5pm. So I have spent almost eight hours in the CLA church on Sundays, as long time as on campus during other working days. And God rewards me by blessing my following week!

My Sunday Afternoons I

The meeting of the Children Ministry was towards the end when VC, who was waiting for me to go home together, texted me through his mobile phone that he was at the Bahasa Malaysia (BM, Malaysia national language) service in the multipurpose hall. I decided to find out how the service was like. A few weeks earlier, I had heard their worship while attending a training session from a room nearby. I had thought that those were Filipinos singing in Tagalog.

When I pushed the door and stepped into the hall, I was immediately attracted by the worship in BM by unfamiliar faces. Some were playing musical instruments while others were singing on stage. Two little girls were dancing in front of a standing congregation who were also singing. Ps Albert from Sabah who usually attend the English service for the Holy Communion on the first Sunday of every month was busy filming the worship with a digital camera. I took a seat at the back next to a few ladies. After several songs, VC who was at the front row noticed me and signalled to me to join him. Then only Ps Albert realized my presence and smiled to me.

The worship was specially for the recording purpose and DVDs on the BM service would be given out later as souvenirs for members to bring back to their respective home towns. I was able to sing those beautiful worship songs which were totally unknown to me by following the music and reading the lyrics on the screen.

During the prayer and sermon, Ps Albert talked in a vivid and humourous manner. I did not understand every sentence due to his Sabahan accent and my limited vocabulary. Later VC told me that the language Ps Albert was using was closer to Indonesian than Malay.

After the service, snacks and soft drinks were served outside the hall. Ps Albert warmly approached VC and me. He had been preaching in Melaka since a year ago and was probably going to stay another year. The congregation, mainly composed by Sabahans, Sarawakians and Indonesians, was small but everyone felt being in a family. I also saw a Chinese gentleman. He was the one who had invited VC to the service. He was married to one of the Indonesian ladies and both were studying in a bible college in Kuala Lumpur under the scholarship from CLA.

I really enjoyed the worship, the sermon and the fellowship that day and I promised Ps Albert that I would attend his service again the following Sunday afternoon.