On the Way Home From School # 9

On the way home from the Junior - Senior banquet Garth saw something dart across the front of the ceiling of our van.  This was at night so it was a bit more "freaky" than it would have been if it had been in the daytime.  He lowered the visor and there was a cicak [pronounced chee-chuk] which is a kind of gecko.  Cicaks are known for quick moves and jumping - huge potential for an accident if I had been driving - but Garth just put the visor back up and we drove home with no incident.  When we got home the cicak just went somewhere into a crevice of the dashboard, not to be seen again. 

   

Here area some interesting facts about cicaks:
          - They eat cockroaches (among other things), so I like them
          - Some have special pads on their feet that help them climb vertical surfaces
          - They can change colours to camouflage
          - They can shed their tails and grow a new one, which is one way they can get away from their              enemies, including little children who try to catch them

          

This is what the ones that live around here look like up close

Coronation Day Malaysia - April 24, 2017

On Monday, April 24th, Malaysia gets a new king.  It came up very suddenly, only announced 3 weeks ago that the whole nation would have a public holiday. It was a big surprise!  No one is supposed to work on this day (subject to a RM10,000 fine).  The holiday marks when one of the state Sultans is crowned as monarch for the whole country.  Usually a state sultan is a hereditary title but in some states it is an elected position. The monarch is crowned every five years on a rotating basis through the states. This year the sultan that will be crowned monarch is from the state of Perak, the state that is immediately south of Penang.  This new monarch, Sultan Muhammad V is 47 years old.    

Kate's Easter Baptism

On Sunday, April 16th, Kate was baptized!  It was at Dalat in the ocean (the school is on the ocean - the Andaman Sea part of the Indian Ocean) at a 7:00 sunrise service.  She gave a short testimony about why she wanted to be baptized.  Here is how it went:

Kate is in the pink shirt.  The man speaking is the school chaplain

Kate giving her testimony.  Here it is:

I gave my life to Jesus at five years old.  I was mostly following what my parents had told me and I did not really decide for myself if I was going to follow God.  That changed for me in 4th grade when my parents told me they were moving to Malaysia.  I was shocked and sad.  I did not know where Malaysia was and so I did not really think that this would ever help me and that I was leaving a lot behind.  When I arrived in Malaysia till now I realized that my parents sacrifice in moving to Malaysia and difference between here and Canada has really shaped me.  Moving to Malaysia made me make a lot of hard decisions.  One of the decisions that I had to make was that whether Christianity was mine or if I was just following what my parents were telling me.   From 4th grade till now I think that my relationship with God is not just for my parents but my own. I have gotten to know how much God loves me and what his plans are for me through MEW and SEW.  I decided to get baptized today because when I heard about baptism, I felt like God was telling me to get baptized.  I used to think that you had to be the best person that you could be to get baptized but now I realize that God accepts me into his family no matter how much I have sinned.  One of the verses that I really like is Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Kate asked Miss Wood (the middle school principal who was also formerly Kate's mentor) to give a word of encouragement

Kimberly (one of Hannah's closest friends) giving a word of encouragement to Kate

Ruthie (one of Kate's closest friends) giving a word of encouragement

A couple from the school who have been influential in Kate's life as encouragers

J. Edwin Warkentin

My grandpa was the very best grandpa a person could ever have.  I knew he loved me very much, and that is the greatest legacy that I will remember him for.

Here are some memories that I have of his life.  I was proud when I was a little girl to brag to my friends that I had a Grandpa (and Grandma) who were in World War II.  I remember him teaching at B.C.I.T. in the engineering program and we would see him there sometimes in his office with lots of wires.  Later, after he retired from B.C.I.T., he opened a picture framing store and gave me my first job, working for him there.  He also started a picture framing school, travelling across B.C. teaching others that skill.  I thought those were very cool jobs for a grandpa and I admired that he kept working (and reinventing himself) even after "retirement".  Grandpa was also a published writer and even asked me when I was in university to edit one of his books.  I was pretty intimidated by that! He inspired me to submit my own writing to be published.  My Grandpa was a man of many talents and skills.

Here are some memories of life we shared together.  One of my earliest memories are the family gatherings we would have at his and Grandma's house on LaSalle.  They were always rowdy and fun with lots of great food.  In my childhood memories, they almost always also included a football game on T.V.  It was really special to me that for many years while growing up our family attended the same churches as our Grandpa and Grandma and we saw them regularly there.  One of my most treasured memories however was the summer when they took us kids and my mom for our first and only trip to Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm, all 7 of us living and travelling down and back in a small R.V.   It remains as a memory of how much they cared for us and wanted to be part of our lives and I will never forget that. 

More important than anything else, however, was who my Grandpa was as a person to me.  He was always gentle and kind and I never heard him speak an unkind or harsh word to anyone.  He was an excellent conversationalist and storyteller with a very detailed memory, better than mine at half his age.  He sent me many birthday cards through the years and I have kept them all, not only because they tangibly showed he cared but also because many of them contain descriptions of his life of what he had been doing when he was my age.  I remember him for his warm and peaceful smile, his calm nature, and his love for his family.  I am blessed among granddaughters to have had this wonderful Grandpa in my life.

                                                  

December 23 - Holy City and Shabbat Tour, by Aimee

Shabbat Tour: On Saturday night we went on a Shabbat (Sabbath) tour.  The Jewish Shabbat starts 18 minutes before sunset on Friday and goes until after sunset on Saturday night when three stars are visible.  The purpose of this tour was to have a bit of an inside view into the Jewish Sabbath and to learn more about the Jewish culture.  We first visited the Western Wall where there were crowds of people seriously praying by the wall but also many joyful, noisy celebrations happening.  Many of the Jewish youth were dancing together in circles and singing out loud.  The teenage and younger girls were in their own groups separate from the boys.  Their enthusiasm was contagious and I just wanted to join in!  It looked fun and joyous.  Then we walked around the Jewish quarter where many Jewish families were rushing around getting ready for dinner or heading to the Western Wall.  We learned about the different types of clothing and hats that Jewish men wear and what they mean.  We also learned a bit about the rules of the Sabbath, for example you are not allowed to do something in a full circle, meaning you could not open a door (the doorknob goes around in a circle), press an electric button like elevator buttons, a stove switch, or light switches because they complete a circuit (a circle), or walk in a circle around the holy city.  There are elevators especially used during Shabbat where you just get on and don't press any buttons because the elevator stops at every floor.  People leave their stove on the whole day at a low temperature so they avoid completing a circle by turning it on.  The rules seemed really finicky.  However, the Jewish sabbath also seemed like an exciting time, almost like a holiday every week.  It would be cool to just turn off all appliances and technology, and not have to work, just relax and visit.

People rushing to get to the Western Wall.  This is outside Damascus Gate next to the wall around Jerusalem

Crowds gathered at the Western (wailing) Wall during Shabbat - the busiest time of all week.  Everyone was very dressed up, mostly in black, many in hats, as nice as we would dress on Christmas Day, even though was very cold.  People were rocking back and forth on their heels praying, writing little notes to put in the crevices of the wall as prayers to God, visiting with each other, dancing and singing, reading their Bible, and like us - taking pictures and staring with wonder

It was really great to be there!

White Water Rafting in 2015, by Elizabeth

     On Christmas Day (in 2015) we went white water rafting in Indonesia but before white water rafting we had a breakfast of hot Milo (a.k.a. malted hot chocolate) and scrambled eggs. It was really good. After our breakfast a guy showed up and said that he was going to take us white water rafting so we rushed up to our room to get changed into our bathing suits. When we finished we walked through the village near where we were staying and then we got onto this bus with no back and we drove 1 and a half hours toward the river. When we got close to the river we unloaded all our stuff and we waited until they got the raft ready. Once they got the raft ready the guides brought us down to the river and they showed us how to row. I was really disappointed though because I wasn`t allowed to row until after lunch when the water was calmer. Once we got on the water it was amazing. We stopped once to go to a hot spring on the side of the river. There were waterfalls and gigantic rocks too. About halfway down the river we got to a beach where we stopped for Christmas Day lunch and while the guides were getting lunch ready we found a small waterfall so we went under and it was more awesome. For lunch we had rice with curry and noodles with fried chicken, and lots of fruit like watermelon and pineapple. It was delicious. We had to be watchful about the monkeys though because they wanted to steal the food, and they did eat the bit of fruit that was left out for them after we started floating away again.  When we finally got back on the water I got to row. I liked rowing better because it was more of an experience. Two hours later we reached our stopping point and I was really sad but when we got back on the buslike thing it was a shorter ride back to the place where we were staying.

(No pics because we didn't bring our non-waterproof camera.)