With the vagaries of flying, I sometimes feel like this…
Kuala Lumpur Diary: 05 – 19 December 2023
Complete the sentence: The LORD is my…
I am guessing that ‘shepherd’ comes to mind. Psalm 23 v 1: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
In the Bible, the Lord is also: my rock, my fortress and my deliverer (Psalm 18 v 1) and my strength and my defense (Exodus 15 v 2).
Psalm 27 v 1 declares: The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
As I pondered upon these verses whilst flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet, I wanted to add one more job description to this list. I really wanted the Lord to be my expeditor. That is, someone who goes ahead to make sure I get to my next appointment by removing any obstacles.
Mr Gochugaru and I arrived in Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago, to look after my mother. To cut a long story short, there was a strong possibility that we would miss our connection in Singapore as our flight departed London Heathrow later than scheduled. I sent (fired off, really) an SOS message to my church group. Lovely ladies, they all prayed that we would not miss our next flight. On this occasion, though, we did not have the tailwind required to make up for lost time.
I hate being late for appointments, but sometimes things happen that are out of my control. My personal prayer always is: God, if I cannot be early, please make the other person late. I have just remembered this as I write, but it seems that God has a better and longer memory than mine. So he did something quite miraculous.
Nothing says Welcome to Singapore more than orchids
Upon landing, and asking the staff at Changi Airport about our next flight, we were told that it had been delayed. I could not believe it. Not only we, but also our luggage, would now make it to Kuala Lumpur albeit two hours late. The reason for the delay was adverse weather in Malaysia affecting the incoming flight from KL (Malaysia Airlines uses the same plane for their shuttle flights).
In the two weeks since we arrived, I have relied on God’s provision to get through the day. I start the day by praying for the right path to open up. There are many challenges, and caring for an elderly person is like a live game of Snakes and Ladders. Any upward progress my mother makes with her recovery is so easily lost when she slides down because of some mishap.
I never thought I would be saying this, but same old, same old and Groundhog Day is what I look forward to each day. After the dramas of the previous trip with multiple medical interventions and hospitalisations, I relish regular days with the same routine, both for my mother and for myself. Mr Gochugaru, who is perfectly self-contained and self-reliant, fits in with our day. I think what keeps him going is his work and his hobby of catching Pokemon.
We are enjoying local fruits, with avocados from Australia and cherries from South Africa
The local passion fruit are large and juicy, perfect with a bowl of yoghurt
We have been fortunate enough to meet up with friends and relations who are either visiting or based in KL. Mr Gochugaru and I paid a visit to my father’s burial site to pay our respects. My favourite treat is still a matcha latte, and the best is from Niko Neko. Ever the optimist, I did order this at several other cafes, but am giving up now because no one makes a matcha latte like NN. All the others were disappointments. As the Katie Melua song goes: Now that I’ve found you, I’ll call off the search.
My iced matcha latte on a hot afternoon, from Niko Neko
