2nd May, 2006...

Exactly 3 years ago on this day, 2nd May, 2006, I was in Penang together with my bestest of buddies, Vive & Sathy. I still remember that day well enough. I guess, it was a day of change for both Vive & Sathy. All I could remember was that we really had a few hectic days earlier especially with the packing of their belongings and also, pre-packing it for their movers. I remember too that Vive & Sathy had to take care of the Family Day event that year. It was tiring enough planning for the event but it was even more tiring packing your stuff, uproot where you have been planted and moved to a brand new place as God leads.
I had the honour of travelling with Vive & Sathy to their new place in Penang. After completing the Family Day event, we had a few hours sleep before beginning our journey to Penang. Prior to this I had taken 3 days leave from work to accompany Vive & Sathy to Penang. It's the least I could do for very good friends of mine whom I have come to accept as my own family members. We started out quite early that day and by the time, we arrived at Penang. It was already at mid-day. It was also the first time, Vive & Sathy met up with Pastor Geoffrey Yee at Tabernacle of Praise ( TOP) Penang. It was also the first time we met Sis.Felicia, the other half of Pastor Geoffrey who was at the church at that time. It was a marvelous meeting and I could really see that Vive & Sathy are in good hands of the Lord.

I could sense the warmth and the hospitality of Pastor Geoffrey and Sis.Felicia. There is genuine expression of warmth, sincerity and honesty. Uptill today, even though I've met up with Pastor Geoffrey and the family whenever I am in Penang, I must say that this is a humble and really caring man of God. I am very comfortable with such a person. Anyway, after meeting up with Pastor Geofrrey, I joked with Vive & Sathy that finally, they are out from the sweltering & parched desert and has found the Promised Land indeed! We laughed and deep in my heart, I thank God that He has provided a great place of worship and discipleship for Vive & Sathy. I was so happy for the both of them. Yunno, when you genuinely care for good family friend like Vive & Sathy, you feel good when good things come their way. God really take good care of those who honors Him and Vive & Sathy are no exception. BTW, it was a frustrating wait for their things/belongings to arrive in Penang. What a wait it was indeed! It seemed the movers had lost their way while travelling to Penang and when they finally arrived, it was late. Anyway, we had a lot of fun unpacking the stuff and it was again very tiring. We compensated that with some great Penang food for supper and then rested. Earlier, we had travelled along the road leading to Vive & Sathy new working place. The place they were staying were not far from their working place and that's good, actually.

What I couldn't get used to was their apartment. It was small compared to their new home in Melaka but I guess, it'll do for the time being. It was a two room apartment with a great view of the pool. Cosy but small indeed with not much space to hang their washed clothes and so on. Somehow, I felt so fortunate to own a house back home in Melaka. I remembered kissing my house floor when I arrived home. It was more of a sigh of relief that at least I have a spacious home while Penangites live in apartments,man. No! I didn't mean it in a bad way. It is just that they have so much less space and they make do with what they have while we complained like mad seeking more space when we have more than enough space, actually!

Oh!Yes! I get to meet up with my sister in Penang and I get to bring back a lot of goodies from Penang. My sister bought a lot of stuff for me to bring home like " tau sa peah", pickled mango, sambal belacan and a whole load of goodies. Anyway, when I left for home that day, I really missed my two family members, Vive & Sathy. These are people who are very very dear to my heart and I really missed them a lot. It wasn't that much for the physical being but for their honesty, sincerity and their kind hearts. I missed their solid and sound advice, their genuine friendship and their caring ways. That's why they are a blessing to many no matter where they are. That, to me, is true Christian living.

Three years have passed and I have visited them many times in Penang since then. It is always a delight and a joy meeting up with them and their new found friends in Penang. That's the beauty of friendship. It reaches out no matter where you are when your heart is true & honest. Thanks for the memories, Vive & Sathy!

This one is dedicated to the both of you! Cheers to you!~