The first few days...

First of all I'd like to apologise for taking so long to get this first update posted; it's taken longer than expected to find time to do this. In fact I'm currently typing this in the early hours of Saturday morning, having just got back from a classic Malaysian late evening 'supper' (the 3rd cooked meal of the day), somewhere on the streets of KL.

Here's what's happened so far:

We arrived at KL airport after 5pm on Tuesday, tired and confused by the jet lag; not helped by the fact we were served some form of beef stew for what felt like breakfast. A great chap called Ju gave us a lift from the airport into the centre of the city, where we met some of the members of the church team at the apartment of Andrew, the main SMACC minister.

KL Skyline in the distance.

Rob and Alice are staying with Andrew and his family. Nicky is staying with a lady called Shanty, and Wiggy and I are living with a church apprentice called Brian. We are very grateful for the hospitality and welcome we've been given by the members of the church we're met so far. On Wednesday we spent most of the day meeting other members of the SMACC congregation over lunch and dinner. Lots of hands were shook and plenty of food was eaten. And it was great to see in practice the universal unity we all share trusting in Christ for our salvation, and the willingness these guys have to serve His work out here.

We had a couple of hours in the afternoon to wander around the area close to the cathedral building and visit some bustling markets in the Chinatown district (unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me). Kuala Lumpur is a mish-mash of many different ethnic and national groups, and there are many cultural differences in different districts of the city. One thing that doesn't change here though is the temperature; 30C is considered a 'cool' day.

On Thursday we had chance to visit a couple of Chin refugee schools in the morning and evening, where the church helps to teach the Bible to the kids. We spoke to the head teachers of both of the schools and learned much about the hardships of the refugees from Myanmar and their struggles living in KL. But even with the problems of this world, it was great to see the faith these guys had in Christ, looking forward to their future home in heaven. 

Roger from the Chin Student Organisation

In the evening, the girls spent time at a church home group and us three lads went along with Andrew to a Bible overview class he runs in the city. We were looking through Deuteronomy to 1 Samuel, where we see the great need for a true king and saviour for God's people, and how we see this fully resolved in Jesus. 

That's it for this instalment. Check back soon.