Easter Week-end

Easter is something of a forgotten holiday in Kuala Lumpur. While merchants in the large shopping malls go all-out to decorate for Hari Raya (Muslim holiday), Deepavali (Hindu holiday), Christmas and Chinese New Year's, there's not even a nod to the importance we Christians give to Easter.

Good Friday is a regular working day for all, so, since our friends Jim & Sara Orvick had just arrived the night before from Wisconsin, Easter week-end really began for us on Saturday by taking them to Chinatown on the "LRT" (Metro train), along with Tracy, Reeve and Gabi. It was fun walking through the Central Market, eating lunch at the food court (pix), and wandering through the meat, fish and vegetable market -- narrow aisles and lots to see!
Sunday morning we all went to church at the 8:30 service at St. Andrews Presbyterian and discovered when we got there that they served brunch after the worship service! (pix below) You will notice that Rania was definitely into the celebration ...
It was a thrill to sing the traditional Easter hymns in a multi-cultural congregation and rejoice together in Christ's resurrection.
Of course Easter Sunday wouldn't be the same without a dip in the swimming pool, right?
So, after worship and the brunch we all gathered around the pool prior to Doug, Tracy and the kids driving home in time for naps prior to our 4:30 p.m. Easter dinner and an Easter egg hunt for the kids in the area right around their house.
Notice that we do have a picture to verify that Grandma Nancy did come through with the traditional bunny cake! Also, it was great that Jim & Sara could bring Rania's birthday present from Tasha (known to Rania only as "La-la") all the way from the U.S. of A.! All in all it was a joyous family Easter celebration. - rw

Learning Bahasa Malaysia

As members of the American Association of Malaysia we receive a monthly magazine that notifies us of outlings, classes, social groups, etc. So, early in the year when I saw that there was a beginning Bahasa language class being offered each Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. (2 hours) at the AAM Headquarters building (pictured below), I signed-on. The class runs for 15 weeks and we just finished week #8.
Pictured to the left is our teacher, Puan (Mrs.) Mas Ayu Zahrah, a charming young Malaysian woman who is excellent at teaching conversational Bahasa. (Bahasa is also the language spoken in Indonesia, but it's "Bahasa Indonesia" -- most of the same words but a more formal approach to the language.) The class has 11 students, 9 women and one other guy besides myself. Often a number of us will go out to lunch after class. This past Tuesday there were just four of us at a table at the California Pizza Kitchen at KLCC (I took the pix).


When you come to visit us, you will need to know some of the language, so here's what to work on:
Thank you - Terima kasih (the "e" in Terima is slurred; the "i" in kasih is a long "a"
Good Morning - Selamat pagi
Good night - Selamat malam
I want rice. - Saya nak nasi.
I want rice with chicken. - Saya nak nasi ayam.
I am retired. - Saya sudah pencen.
Where is the rest room? - Tandas di mana?
I have a computer. - Saya ada komputer.

Don't forget to practice! - rw

A Small Dream Realized

On Saturday, March 8th Nancy and I drove down to the headquarters of the American Association of Malaysia (unimpressive bldg. pictured above) to view a display of items brought up to KL for sale by Malacca Woodworks. Anyway, for me it didn't take much wandering around in the display area before I spotted a roll-top desk that caught my eye. (Years ago I'd gotten very close to coveting one at the Amana Colonies in Iowa, but saw immediately that Amana roll-top desks were way beyond our price range [currently listed online at $6000+].)

Anyway, after looking around a little more Nancy and I decided we were ready to make a purchase at a mark-down price of RM2210 (about $690). So, with delivery on Monday of this week, the desk now happily sits in our living room and will be one of the main items that we'll ship back to Oregon when our days in Kuala Lumpur come to a close. Notice the hand-carved drawer pulls (pix below) that have a Chinese motif. The shelf that protrudes slightly just below desk level comes all the way out and is reversable -- completely flat on one side for writing, but with recessed compartments on the other side for pencils, paper clips and other desk items. Anyway, we're both happy campers with this new acquisition! - rw

Birthday in Kuala Lumpur

My 73rd birthday (ouch!) turned out to be a double-header -- with my actual birthday being celebrated with chocolate cake and ice cream that Nancy brought to a 7:00 p.m. weekly "Home Fellowship Group" (home Bible study) on Wednesday night, 2/27 at the home of a couple from St. Andrews Presbyterian Church where we've been attending. It's a very supportive group of ex-pats. Several "regulars" were absent and not pictured, including Anita Stansell from NFC who had a prior engagement. Paul Vaughan, our host, was also absent on a business trip to Perth, Australia.(Unfortunately, Nancy isn't shown since she took the picture.) Both of us have enjoyed getting acquainted with everyone in the group in the course of our current study and discussion of Ken Sande's book, Peacemaker, which I got drafted into leading on my very first visit to the group!
The "nightcap" of the twin bill occurred on Saturday night and Sunday when Reeve, Gabi and Rania were all at our place for a sleepover prior to re-connecting with Doug & Tracy at 8:30 a.m. worship on Sunday morning. (Doug & Tracy took advantage of the occasion to go out to dinner and attend a play at ISKL on Saturday night.) The picture above was taken at our place after a Sunday noon dinner for ten (an ISKL teaching couple joined us), with the cake & candles being provided by Tracy. (Yep, I still had the strength to blow out all the candles the first time around!)

I accomanied a friend and spent most of the day on Saturday at a "seminary-level class" in Petaling Jaya on "Justification by Faith in Paul's Epistles" which I'm just auditing. So, since I wasn't at home when the kids arrived Saturday afternoon, I missed the kids' creativity with play-dough, but was delighted by an enthusiastic greeting from Rania when I walked in the door. What a gift it is to have grandkids so close! And, Doug reminded me that he was sure he hadn't been present to celebrate my birthday since his senior year in high school 20 years ago. - rw