(A Report on the 150 th Anniversary Celebration of Assembly Testimony in Penang)
By KC Ung

At long last, the day for which months of diligent preparation targeted arrived. It was both Memorable and Meaningful as it should be in Celebrating Generations of God’s Faithfulness.

Over 180 years ago (circa. 1825/6) God’s Spirit lit up various lights on the shores of Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland and elsewhere, almost simultaneously and definitely spontaneously, to merge them into a bright torch that was carried beyond countries and climes to brighten up many lands in Europe, the United States, Canada, West Indies, New Zealand, Australia, etc. The light was finally relayed to the shores of the Prince of Wales Island and it is now documented in the Echoes of Service Annals and their publication That The World May Know Vol. 5 – The Mysterious Far East, page 167, “Assembly work commenced in 1885 in Pinang, when Mr. Bausum of Swiss assemblies began work here… He was joined in 1859 by Mr. & Mrs. John Chapman who had been commended from Bristol, U.K.”

150 years ago God lighted the beacon that was then to shine from shore to shore, from state to state in the peninsula of Malaya. Penang became the hub of missionary activities from which missionaries would reach out to neighbouring states right down to Singapore in 1864.

It was in commemoration of this Memorable date, that May 28 this year marked the coming together of the assemblies in Penang, viz. Burmah Road Gospel Hall (English-speaking) which was the new location of the original first assembly testimony at Farquhar Street Mission House and Chapel when the latter shifted there in May 1938, Butterworth Gospel Hall (1959), Island Glades Gospel Centre (1970), Sungei Nibong Gospel Hall (1982, originally Sungei Nibong Home and Centre), Bukit Mertajam Gospel Centre (1984) and Sungei Ara Gospel Hall (1988) and their Chinese-speaking brethren from Burmah Road Gospel Hall and Green Lane Gospel Centre.

Prior to this thanksgiving celebration, there was a series of Pre-Celebration Ministry Meetings at Sungei Nibong Gospel Hall from 25 th to 27 th May nightly. Mr. Koh Ting Tiew, elder of Klang Gospel Hall, spoke on Those Brave Men and The Footprints. The last night was a Gospel challenge.

Saturday, May 28 at 3.00p.m. saw nearly 700 people from the Penang assemblies converging at Kompleks Masyarakat Penyayang at Jalan Utama for the Thanksgiving Service. They included representatives of about 20 assemblies outside Penang, a group of ex-BRGHallers returning from the other Malaysian States, from Singapore, Australia, Thailand, England, and elsewhere, as well as a number of special guests who came on their own because of their association with their home assembly in their young days It was emotional, nostalgic and joyful as friends who had not met for almost half a century embraced each other, trying to size up and comparing one another to what each knew of the other in those bygone years. The noise at the front rows, reserved for these special guests, was a bedlam of sorts, but orderly and touching.

At 3.05p.m. Dr. Lim Kim Chuan, elder from the BRGH Chinese-speaking assembly called the gathering to order and the hall reverberated to the call To God be the Glory as all sang with gusto with their enthusiasm projected on a mega-screen in front. The Penang representative children’s choir was not the least threatened by the august atmosphere as they went up the stage. They rose to the occasion and sang their hearts out, anticipating the roles they would one day play in the future should the Lord tarry. The senior youths of yester-BRGHallers then took their turn as they tried to outperform these children by singing a medley of Sunday School choruses which they learned when they were children. The competition was keen and it was difficult to judge who came out better. The climax of the service was Dr. Don Nicholls’ address as he challenged those present to give “A Thousand Thanksgivings” unto the Lord supplemented by a 50-page booklet of the same title that he wrote which was distributed to every family present. Dr. Nicholls is from Gospel Literature Outreach, Tasmania and he was one of the early missionaries in Farquhar Street days. He was also the speaker at the Golden Anniversary of Burmah Road Gospel Hall in 1988. To heed the call to give thanks were two elders, Mr. Tan Tiong Leng and Mr. Khor Teik Choon representing the two English- and Chinese-speaking assemblies. An almost 30-strong adults choir from the Penang assemblies then rendered their piece followed by a prayer by Mr. Ong Eng Guan, elder from the BRGH English-speaking assembly, to conclude this memorable Thanksgiving Service. The people inside then adjourned outside to a heavy downpour of blessings that cooled the humid weather down – a timely reminder to thank the Lord for all things under all circumstances as they prepared to go to Tanjong Country Club for the Thanksgiving Dinner

The Thanksgiving Dinner was eventful. After three courses, I was invited to relate the Highlights of Assembly History from 1825 to 1855 to 1938 – the Golden Era of the Farquhar Street Days. This historical essay was illustrated with photos of the pioneers, the events and the buildings of that era in a Power-point presentation projected on three big screens located at strategic places for all to see. This was followed by an oral report of the Highlights of History of the Chinese-speaking assembly work by Mr. Khor Teik Choon as he invited them to carry on eating because they only needed their ears to listen to him.

I came on again to recount the Highlights of History of Burmah Road Gospel Hall (English-speaking assembly) from 1938 to 1988 taking the audience back with me to Memory Lane for those who could still remember and for those who could not, the account served as a challenge to follow the footprints of those early role models in so far as they followed Christ and were fully committed to Him. I highlighted the Evangelization and the Expansion of the work in those early days, the Education and the Consolidation that followed that made the assembly what it is today.

The youths then took over with a mime presentation followed by a song rendition by the over-80 trio of Mr. & Mrs. Fred Sabapathy from Singapore accompanied on the accordion by Ms. Martha Samuel representing the octogenarians who, after that, were called out to cut the Anniversary cake. They were those in the Farquhar Street days.

Mr. David Lim, the chairman for the occasion, with Mr. Joseph Lim, his translator into Chinese, then called the whole function to a close. It was time for all of us to stand up and give the Lord

A Thousand Thanksgivings

Before I end this report of this Memorable Occasion, I need to report too on how Meaningful the 150 th Anniversary Celebration of Assembly Testimony in Penang was. Towards the end of my Power-point presentation earlier, I introduced to the gathering, sis. Chan Mei Lai. She was commended by Burmah Road Gospel Hall (English-speaking) to the work in Indonesia – the first in 150 years of assembly testimony to be commended by an assembly in Penang in a special service on Sunday, 22 nd May, 2005 (just a week before the Anniversary) after the Lord’s Supper.

In the last issue of The ECHOS, a missionary bulletin I edit, I posed a challenge in the Editorial: viz., However in this joyous Celebration, there comes a solemn Challenge too. Many past servants of the Lord sacrificed much to travel from their home assemblies far away to bring the Gospel to those in Penang. Since then, how many of the saints in Penang have been commended by their assemblies to go outside the country, to the regions beyond, to bring the Gospel to other people in the uttermost parts of the earth and to start more assemblies for these 150 years?

There is None!!!

At this juncture, The ECHOS Mission Committee takes pride, with the humble knowledge that this is all God’s doing, in giving God A Thousand Thanksgivings that He has called their former secretary of the Mission Committee to such service. They would further give God A Ten Thousand Thanksgivings that it was at a Mission Night that they conducted in 1988 that she first heard the call to go to Indonesia. Yea, they would still go further and give God A Hundred Thousand Thanksgivings, that at that same Mission Night, another brother, Andrew Cowell was called to go to Indonesia. It was at the Mission Night when Mr. Chuck Harrison, a missionary in Indonesia spoke of the work there and challenged the people to go there.

TWO heard the call. This is just the beginning of great things that God will do in our midst.

A Third may be waiting!

We give God A Thousand Thousand Thanksgivings for the wonderful work He is doing.

Then on Tuesday, 31 st May, there was a rare and unexpected coming together of Chuck Harrison, Andrew Cowell and Chan Mei Lai at a Mini-Mission Night called at short notice at Sungei Nibong Gospel Hall to give God Thanks to these three whom God has called to serve in Indonesia. Appropriate to the occasion, Andrew spoke on Giving God Thanks for this very rare occasion to give testimony to the wonderful way God has called these servants of His to serve in Indonesia. It was hoped then that others would soon follow.

Thus, in anticipation of many more to follow, we give God…

Thousands of Thousands of Thanksgivings

Halleluiah, Amen. Let us all say, AMEN!

Appendix:

The ex-BRGHallers had booked the Christian Convention Centre at Batu Ferringhi for a three-day Reunion and Retreat of their own. They had their own programme when they were there and all came down to Komplex Penyanyang for the Thanksgiving Celebration. The next day there was a special gathering of these ex-BRGHallers with the present BRGHallers for fellowship, singing, and a generous dinner sponsored by them after an indoor and outdoor games tournament between the Youths Then and the Youths Now.

I shall now let Ng Hon Yuen, an ex-BRGHaller, take over from here. Attached is his perspective of the ex-BRGHallers’ Reunion.

Report from the ex-BRGHallers’ Reunion

Hello everyone, this is your official CNN reporter or scribe. Sorry for the delay, as I just got my computer fixed. What a reunion! What a marvelous time we had! As Choi put it nicely - thanks for making me come. I am still on high for getting to see Choi, Jimmy and Sunny, whom I have not seen for years. I only met Francis when he drove up to my door. I met his tribe in Penang – twice! After the trip, it was as if we had known each other for a life time. That's what the reunion camp is all about - a bonding of relationships that would last a life time! A word of thanks to our dear organisers.

Everyone started trickling in on Friday afternoon. It was a time of real joy to meet up. The excitement was overwhelming. The guys stayed in the 'boys' dorm. The ladies upstairs. All gathered and settled in, we trouped off for dinner at the nearby stalls. Finally I could place faces to the names on the BRGospelhallersPenang website. People after my time, like Boon Chye, the okra man, Francis and Weng Wah.……. I almost fainted! He looked the same. Same face, same satchel across his back. Wow! He resurrected in my mind. The sharing started after dinner. Anthony and Chee Seng floored us with their power-point slides presentation bringing us down memory lane. Surprise of the night was our man from New Zealand, Hock Beng joining us. We even received bottles of “sambal haebee” from him. It was off for supper as Hock Beng had no dinner. Lights out at 1:00 am, and we were treated to a cacophony of planes taking off at full throttle. Kenny won with his imitation of a 747 taking off, with engines dying intermittently. Kok Joo and Choi lost as they woke at 4:00 am (cannot sleep) to patrol the premises.

Arise and shine on Saturday morning at 7:00 with an eat-in breakfast. Our worship was also the
practice for the choir item. Everyone sure can sing. Perfect! The sharing was furious and at times poignant. Sunny understandingly, allowed overflow of time as the participants were oldies (very long winded). After lunch, we arrived at Dewan Mesyarakat Penyayang (next to Residency) Western Road for the official Anniversary Service. The crowd was so huge, that the air-con could not cope. Our song item came on and we sang our hearts out. Old favourite choruses we had sung thousands of times as kids. On invitation to the crowd to join us in the last song, we could see Tiong Leng and Esther Ong singing along. Considering, the little we practiced, some people actually said, we were good! So folks give yourself a pat on the back. It was raining heavily yet some brave souls went to Penang Road for chendol. Others just gravitated to the Tanjong Country Club in Tanjong Bungah for the evening's Anniversary dinner. Again, what a crowd! The fellowship and meeting up of old friends was ecstatic. The shocker was Yap Kwee Fatt who showed up on holiday in Penang. I doubt that if he was not announced, none of us could have recognised him as he had put on so much weight. The evening programme went on smoothly. The highlights of the night were Ung Kim Cheng’s slide presentation of the history of the church since 1885, (kudos to him for the effort and research), aunt Martha Samuel's rendition on the accordion, and the cutting of the Anniversary cake (only those over 90 or from the original Farquhar Street need apply!). We were greeted to a sack of durians at CCC donated by Lye Yin's brother, David Wang. The ladies were reassigned to another dorm as their dorm's aircon did not work. The varied roar of mini-buses and motor vehicles was deafening. But who cares, a lot of us were really tired.

Sunday saw us awaking at 6:00 am. We rushed down to BRGH for the Sunday Service but not before we adjourned to the nearby “mamak” shop for our “roti canai” and “teh tarik.” Incredible was the word! The same rattan seats for pews, the long ceiling fans, the frangipani trees outside, what memories! The only change was the pulpit. I took a long, long look knowing that soon this will be gone. New plans have been submitted for a new building. After the service we were invited to the Mission House for tea. The Book Room is no more there. A group photo and we were off to Chow Thye Road to visit our old haunts. We gathered at Penang Road for “chendol” and “char koay teow.” Back at CCC, a quick change and we were off to Balik Pulau to the Fruit Farm. We then proceeded to the durian farm and ordered MYR140 worth of durians and ate our hearts out. Kenny was the king pin (Twoa-Koh) who orchestrated the orders much to the delight or chagrin of Ah Pek, the durian seller. To get more bargains and favours, he even offered me in marriage to Ah Pek's daughters. Thank God, his daughters are all married!

Laden with durians, we got ready to do battle with the young’uns at CCC. First the introductions, as we sang our favourite songs and then it was into battle. The 'YP Then' rode bravely onto the captain ball and tenniquoit court and was soundly trashed by the 'YP Now.' The battle was furious with injuries to Pathi, Sonny and Hoe Bok. Even Tiong Leng and Kim Cheng could not resist the lure of playing. Of note was Choy Kin's effort in breaking the rubber ring in her enthusiasm and Jimmy instant mending with glue to allow the game to go on. Alas, time has taken its toil and we held our heads high (and our stomachs in) and just said we “give chance” to them. Carroms and ping pong followed. Aha! Where we lacked brute force, we excelled in delft and wisdom in experience. Overall results: 12 - 12. A massive draw. We will share the challenge trophy (dugged up by Sonny from his store) for 25 years each until the next anniversary. Fellowship dinner took place in-house followed by tearful farewells to those who turned up to support us in the games. More sharing for the night followed by early retirement.

The last day was a time for sharing for those who were left out. We packed up after this and a small group of us invited David Yeoh for lunch at Sun City. It stormed while we were there but we totally enjoyed the catching up.

A great time with great friendships fostered. Wish you were all there.

Ng HonYuen

150th Anniversary of Assembly Testimony (Celebrated on May 28, 2005 in Penang) A Thousand Thanksgivings
(A Report on the 150 th Anniversary Celebration of Assembly Testimony in Penang) By KC Ung At long last, the day for which months of diligent preparation targeted arrived. It was both Memorable and Meaningful as it should be in Celebrating Generations of God’s Faithfulness. Over 180 years ago (circa. 1825/6) God’s Spirit lit up various lights on the shores of Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland and elsewhere, almost simultaneously and definitely spontaneously, to merge them into a bright torch that was carried beyond countries and climes to brighten up many lands in Europe, the United States, Canada, West Indies, New Zealand, Australia, etc. The light was finally relayed to the shores of the Prince of Wales Island and it is now documented in the Echoes of Service Annals and their publication That The World May Know Vol. 5 – The Mysterious Far East, page 167, “Assembly work commenced in 1885* in Pinang, when Mr. Bausum of Swiss assemblies began work here… He was joined in 1859 by Mr. & Mrs. John Chapman who had been commended from Bristol, U.K.” 150* years ago God lighted the beacon that was then to shine from shore to shore, from state to state in the peninsula of Malaya. Penang became the hub of missionary activities from which missionaries would reach out to neighbouring states right down to Singapore in 1864. It was in commemoration of this Memorable date, that May 28 this year marked the coming together of the assemblies in Penang, viz. Burmah Road Gospel Hall (English-speaking) which was the new location of the original first assembly testimony at Farquhar Street Mission House and Chapel when the latter shifted there in May 1938, Butterworth Gospel Hall (1959), Island Glades Gospel Centre (1970), Sungei Nibong Gospel Hall (1982, originally Sungei Nibong Home and Centre), Bukit Mertajam Gospel Centre (1984) and Sungei Ara Gospel Hall (1988) and their Chinese-speaking brethren from Burmah Road Gospel Hall and Green Lane Gospel Centre. Prior to this thanksgiving celebration, there was a series of Pre-Celebration Ministry Meetings at Sungei Nibong Gospel Hall from 25 th to 27 th May nightly. Mr. Koh Ting Tiew, elder of Klang Gospel Hall, spoke on Those Brave Men and The Footprints. The last night was a Gospel challenge. Saturday, May 28 at 3.00p.m. saw nearly 700 people from the Penang assemblies converging at Kompleks Masyarakat Penyayang at Jalan Utama for the Thanksgiving Service. They included representatives of about 20 assemblies outside Penang, a group of ex-BRGHallers returning from the other Malaysian States, from Singapore, Australia, Thailand, England, and elsewhere, as well as a number of special guests who came on their own because of their association with their home assembly in their young days It was emotional, nostalgic and joyful as friends who had not met for almost half a century embraced each other, trying to size up and comparing one another to what each knew of the other in those bygone years. The noise at the front rows, reserved for these special guests, was a bedlam of sorts, but orderly and touching. At 3.05p.m. Dr. Lim Kim Chuan, elder from the BRGH Chinese-speaking assembly called the gathering to order and the hall reverberated to the call To God be the Glory as all sang with gusto with their enthusiasm projected on a mega-screen in front. The Penang representative children’s choir was not the least threatened by the august atmosphere as they went up the stage. They rose to the occasion and sang their hearts out, anticipating the roles they would one day play in the future should the Lord tarry. The senior youths of yester-BRGHallers then took their turn as they tried to outperform these children by singing a medley of Sunday School choruses which they learned when they were children. The competition was keen and it was difficult to judge who came out better. The climax of the service was Dr. Don Nicholls’ address as he challenged those present to give “*A Thousand Thanksgivings” unto the Lord supplemented by a 50-page booklet of the same title that he wrote which was distributed to every family present. Dr. Nicholls is from Gospel Literature Outreach, Tasmania and he was one of the early missionaries in Farquhar Street days. He was also the speaker at the Golden Anniversary of Burmah Road Gospel Hall in 1988. To heed the call to give thanks were two elders, Mr. Tan Tiong Leng and Mr. Khor Teik Choon representing the two English- and Chinese-speaking assemblies. An almost 30-strong adults choir from the Penang assemblies then rendered their piece followed by a prayer by Mr. Ong Eng Guan, elder from the BRGH English-speaking assembly, to conclude this memorable Thanksgiving Service. The people inside then adjourned outside to a heavy downpour of blessings that cooled the humid weather down – a timely reminder to thank the Lord for all things under all circumstances as they prepared to go to Tanjong Country Club for the Thanksgiving Dinner The Thanksgiving Dinner was eventful. After three courses, I was invited to relate the Highlights of Assembly History from 1825 to 1855 to 1938 – the Golden Era of the Farquhar Street Days. This historical essay was illustrated with photos of the pioneers, the events and the buildings of that era in a Power-point presentation projected on three big screens located at strategic places for all to see. This was followed by an oral report of the Highlights of History of the Chinese-speaking assembly work by Mr. Khor Teik Choon as he invited them to carry on eating because they only needed their ears to listen to him. I came on again to recount the Highlights of History of Burmah Road Gospel Hall (English-speaking assembly) from 1938 to 1988 taking the audience back with me to Memory Lane for those who could still remember and for those who could not, the account served as a challenge to follow the footprints of those early role models in so far as they followed Christ and were fully committed to Him. I highlighted the Evangelization and the Expansion of the work in those early days, the Education and the Consolidation that followed that made the assembly what it is today. The youths then took over with a mime presentation followed by a song rendition by the over-80 trio of Mr. & Mrs. Fred Sabapathy from Singapore accompanied on the accordion by Ms. Martha Samuel representing the octogenarians who, after that, were called out to cut the Anniversary cake. They were those in the Farquhar Street days. Mr. David Lim, the chairman for the occasion, with Mr. Joseph Lim, his translator into Chinese, then called the whole function to a close. It was time for all of us to stand up and give the Lord A Thousand Thanksgivings* Before I end this report of this Memorable Occasion, I need to report too on how Meaningful the 150 th Anniversary Celebration of Assembly Testimony in Penang was. Towards the end of my Power-point presentation earlier, I introduced to the gathering, sis. Chan Mei Lai. She was commended by Burmah Road Gospel Hall (English-speaking) to the work in Indonesia – the first in 150 years of assembly testimony to be commended by an assembly in Penang in a special service on Sunday, 22 nd May, 2005 (just a week before the Anniversary) after the Lord’s Supper. In the last issue of The ECHOS, a missionary bulletin I edit, I posed a challenge in the Editorial: viz., However in this joyous Celebration, there comes a solemn Challenge too. Many past servants of the Lord sacrificed much to travel from their home assemblies far away to bring the Gospel to those in Penang. Since then, how many of the saints in Penang have been commended by their assemblies to go outside the country, to the regions beyond, to bring the Gospel to other people in the uttermost parts of the earth and to start more assemblies for these 150 years? *There is None!!!* At this juncture, The ECHOS Mission Committee takes pride, with the humble knowledge that this is all God’s doing, in giving God *A Thousand Thanksgivings* that He has called their former secretary of the Mission Committee to such service. They would further give God *A Ten Thousand Thanksgivings* that it was at a Mission Night that they conducted in 1988 that she first heard the call to go to Indonesia. Yea, they would still go further and give God *A Hundred Thousand Thanksgivings, that at that same Mission Night, another brother, Andrew Cowell was called to go to Indonesia. It was at the Mission Night when Mr. Chuck Harrison, a missionary in Indonesia spoke of the work there and challenged the people to go there. TWO heard the call. This is just the beginning of great things that God will do in our midst. A Third may be waiting! We give God A Thousand Thousand Thanksgivings* for the wonderful work He is doing. Then on Tuesday, 31 st May, there was a rare and unexpected coming together of Chuck Harrison, Andrew Cowell and Chan Mei Lai at a Mini-Mission Night called at short notice at Sungei Nibong Gospel Hall to give God Thanks to these three whom God has called to serve in Indonesia. Appropriate to the occasion, Andrew spoke on Giving God Thanks for this very rare occasion to give testimony to the wonderful way God has called these servants of His to serve in Indonesia. It was hoped then that others would soon follow. Thus, in anticipation of many more to follow, we give God… *Thousands of Thousands of Thanksgivings* *Halleluiah, Amen. Let us all say, AMEN!* Appendix: The ex-BRGHallers had booked the Christian Convention Centre at Batu Ferringhi for a three-day Reunion and Retreat of their own. They had their own programme when they were there and all came down to Komplex Penyanyang for the Thanksgiving Celebration. The next day there was a special gathering of these ex-BRGHallers with the present BRGHallers for fellowship, singing, and a generous dinner sponsored by them after an indoor and outdoor games tournament between the Youths Then and the Youths Now. I shall now let Ng Hon Yuen, an ex-BRGHaller, take over from here. Attached is his perspective of the ex-BRGHallers’ Reunion. Report from the ex-BRGHallers’ Reunion Hello everyone, this is your official CNN reporter or scribe. Sorry for the delay, as I just got my computer fixed. What a reunion! What a marvelous time we had! As Choi put it nicely - thanks for making me come. I am still on high for getting to see Choi, Jimmy and Sunny, whom I have not seen for years. I only met Francis when he drove up to my door. I met his tribe in Penang – twice! After the trip, it was as if we had known each other for a life time. That's what the reunion camp is all about - a bonding of relationships that would last a life time! A word of thanks to our dear organisers. Everyone started trickling in on Friday afternoon. It was a time of real joy to meet up. The excitement was overwhelming. The guys stayed in the 'boys' dorm. The ladies upstairs. All gathered and settled in, we trouped off for dinner at the nearby stalls. Finally I could place faces to the names on the BRGospelhallersPenang website. People after my time, like Boon Chye, the okra man, Francis and Weng Wah.……. I almost fainted! He looked the same. Same face, same satchel across his back. Wow! He resurrected in my mind. The sharing started after dinner. Anthony and Chee Seng floored us with their power-point slides presentation bringing us down memory lane. Surprise of the night was our man from New Zealand, Hock Beng joining us. We even received bottles of “sambal haebee” from him. It was off for supper as Hock Beng had no dinner. Lights out at 1:00 am, and we were treated to a cacophony of planes taking off at full throttle. Kenny won with his imitation of a 747 taking off, with engines dying intermittently. Kok Joo and Choi lost as they woke at 4:00 am (cannot sleep) to patrol the premises. Arise and shine on Saturday morning at 7:00 with an eat-in breakfast. Our worship was also the practice for the choir item. Everyone sure can sing. Perfect! The sharing was furious and at times poignant. Sunny understandingly, allowed overflow of time as the participants were oldies (very long winded). After lunch, we arrived at Dewan Mesyarakat Penyayang (next to Residency) Western Road for the official Anniversary Service. The crowd was so huge, that the air-con could not cope. Our song item came on and we sang our hearts out. Old favourite choruses we had sung thousands of times as kids. On invitation to the crowd to join us in the last song, we could see Tiong Leng and Esther Ong singing along. Considering, the little we practiced, some people actually said, we were good! So folks give yourself a pat on the back. It was raining heavily yet some brave souls went to Penang Road for chendol. Others just gravitated to the Tanjong Country Club in Tanjong Bungah for the evening's Anniversary dinner. Again, what a crowd! The fellowship and meeting up of old friends was ecstatic. The shocker was Yap Kwee Fatt who showed up on holiday in Penang. I doubt that if he was not announced, none of us could have recognised him as he had put on so much weight. The evening programme went on smoothly. The highlights of the night were Ung Kim Cheng’s slide presentation of the history of the church since 1885, (kudos to him for the effort and research), aunt Martha Samuel's rendition on the accordion, and the cutting of the Anniversary cake (only those over 90 or from the original Farquhar Street need apply!). We were greeted to a sack of durians at CCC donated by Lye Yin's brother, David Wang. The ladies were reassigned to another dorm as their dorm's aircon did not work. The varied roar of mini-buses and motor vehicles was deafening. But who cares, a lot of us were really tired. Sunday saw us awaking at 6:00 am. We rushed down to BRGH for the Sunday Service but not before we adjourned to the nearby “mamak” shop for our “roti canai” and “teh tarik.” Incredible was the word! The same rattan seats for pews, the long ceiling fans, the frangipani trees outside, what memories! The only change was the pulpit. I took a long, long look knowing that soon this will be gone. New plans have been submitted for a new building. After the service we were invited to the Mission House for tea. The Book Room is no more there. A group photo and we were off to Chow Thye Road to visit our old haunts. We gathered at Penang Road for “chendol” and “char koay teow.” Back at CCC, a quick change and we were off to Balik Pulau to the Fruit Farm. We then proceeded to the durian farm and ordered MYR140 worth of durians and ate our hearts out. Kenny was the king pin (Twoa-Koh) who orchestrated the orders much to the delight or chagrin of Ah Pek, the durian seller. To get more bargains and favours, he even offered me in marriage to Ah Pek's daughters. Thank God, his daughters are all married! Laden with durians, we got ready to do battle with the young’uns at CCC. First the introductions, as we sang our favourite songs and then it was into battle. The 'YP Then' rode bravely onto the captain ball and tenniquoit court and was soundly trashed by the 'YP Now.' The battle was furious with injuries to Pathi, Sonny and Hoe Bok. Even Tiong Leng and Kim Cheng could not resist the lure of playing. Of note was Choy Kin's effort in breaking the rubber ring in her enthusiasm and Jimmy instant mending with glue to allow the game to go on. Alas, time has taken its toil and we held our heads high (and our stomachs in) and just said we “give chance” to them. Carroms and ping pong followed. Aha! Where we lacked brute force, we excelled in delft and wisdom in experience. Overall results: 12 - 12. A massive draw. We will share the challenge trophy (dugged up by Sonny from his store) for 25 years each until the next anniversary. Fellowship dinner took place in-house followed by tearful farewells to those who turned up to support us in the games. More sharing for the night followed by early retirement. The last day was a time for sharing for those who were left out. We packed up after this and a small group of us invited David Yeoh for lunch at Sun City. It stormed while we were there but we totally enjoyed the catching up. A great time with great friendships fostered. Wish you were all there. Ng HonYuen