This is my story - 14

14- Life in Malacca

I was quite excited to be the Corps Officer (pastor) of Malacca Corps (church). The first Sunday Lieutenant and Mrs. Douglas Kiff were there to welcome me. In those days officers were not installed not even the Officer Commanding. The Army has progressed and become more sophisticated with installation meetings. This is good as it involves the people in making pledges and be reminded of their responsibilities.

The Corps Programme was a follows:

Holiness meeting 10.00 a.m.
Sunday School 3.00 p.m.
Open air meeting 6.00 p.m.
Salvation meeting 7. 30 p.m.

Weekdays we had Joy Hour plus a Thursday night Holiness meeting. Later I started an English meeting for the youth of the Corps. Every night we had free English and tuition classes for those who attended our meetings. The text book was the New Testament in modern English.

The Sunday morning meeting was not well attended, usually we had about half a dozen worshippers but the Sunday night was well attended, about 30 to 40 people – all Hokkien or Teochew speaking. The meetings were conducted in Hokkien. We used the Methodist Hymn Book because this was written in Chinese characters as well as Romanised Hokkien. I acquired a Romanised Hokkien Bible and learned read in dialect.

Every Wednesday, Mr. C Y Chang, a Methodist Lay preacher (brother-in-law of CK Tang) would come and help me with words pertaining to the Christian message – words like salvation, holiness, sanctification etc – theological words not used in our everyday conversation. He taught me a lot of hymns and choruses in Chinese that they used in the Methodist church.

Every month I would visit their shop at Newcome Road to collect their monthly contribution to the Army. Mrs. Chang ran the shop while Mr. Chang concentrated on church and mission work. They made sure that every Chinese New Year Eve I would join them for their family reunion dinner. The Changs, all Methodists were very caring people.

Mr. and Mrs. Ng See Siah were very good Salvationists. Mr.Ng was quite placid and spent his time looking after their sundry goods shop. Mrs. Ng was the unofficial Corps Sergeant Major. She was illiterate, but she knew her songs and Bible and quite often would give her testimony. Her stories were quite colourful and relevant to the people. She never missed an open air meeting or salvation meeting and always ready to testify or pray in the meetings.

In the early part of my command, she would accompany me on my pastoral visitation. We would go in a trishaw – she occupying two thirds of the space, while I squeezed into one third holding on to the side of the trishaw for dear life for fear of falling out of the vehicle! She knew everyone in the Church and also had many friends she was so eager to introduce to her Bok Su (pastor).

Her son Ng Kim Loh was a great supporter in all meetings. He was not schooling but helping out at the ‘kedai’ (sundry goods shop). One day with the agreement of his parents, I got him registered at the Methodist Afternoon School. It was bold move when I took him to see the principal who agreed to accept him on condition that I tutor him to keep up with the Primary 4 pupils! Well I kept my promise and gave him lessons everyday. He did well and later entered the Day Training College for teachers and became a school teacher.

Joy Goh and her cousin Edward Yeo both still in school were excellent supporters in the Corps and the tuition programme. A group of young people from the neighbourhood started to attend our meetings and tuition programme. One of them was Pauline Ho. Well, she and Edward fell in love; later got married and raised a family. One of their sons is Raymond Yeo who came to Singapore to study, became a Salvationist and was commissioned Bandmaster of Singapore Central Corps. He went to Australia for further studies and is now working in Kuala Lumpur. Sister Joy Goh and her mother, both retired, worship regularly at Singapore Central Corps.

It was mandatory for Corps Officers to fulfil a minimum of 18 hours of visitation per week. I carefully recorded the hours in the statistical returns sent to Headquarters every month. In any case, regulation aside, I found it necessary to keep in contact with my folk. I cannot see how any pastor can have an effective ministry if he is not in touch with his people - in church as well as in their homes. Pastoral visitation is an indispensible part of his ministry.

When officers from Headquarters came to visit the corps, they would occupy my bedroom, while I slept on a grass mat on the platform in the hall. It was good to receive visitors as there was no other officer in the area. Good to hear of happenings in other parts of the Command.

I had some very interesting encounters and experiences in Malacca. One day during the meeting an old Chinese man with a long beard walked into the meeting. He must have heard the singing and decided to find out what it was all about. At the end of the meeting when the invitation was given for those who wanted to accept Jesus, he went forward to the Mercy Seat. Then he told us his story.

He had been searching for his son who had left home many years ago for overseas. War came and they lost contact. Word got to this elderly man that his son was somewhere in this part of the world so this father from China came searching for his lost son in Malaya. That night at the Army hall he heard the message of the loving God who gave of His Son to come into the world to seek and save he lost. He came to the Mercy Seat and made his decision to return to the Heavenly Father. During the week I met him and spent much time counselling him. Then one day he just disappeared no doubt to continue his journey looking for his prodigal son.

Another time an elderly lady who had been attending the meeting came forward to the Mercy Seat to accept Christ. As she progressed spiritually she expressed her desire to have her idols and ancestral tablets removed, but did not know what to do. These icons had meant a lot to her in the past. She didn’t need them anymore but she was afraid of the consequences of upsetting the gods and her departed ancestors. After much prayer, I took a few of our members and went to her home. We had a house meeting, sang Christian hymns, read the Bible and prayed. Then I gently took these icons outside and burned them and gave glory to God. To the ancestor worshippers this was a major decision to make, for to get rid of the ancestor tablets would be tantamount to cutting ties and disowning their ancestors.

In 1955 there were severe floods in Malaya and Malacca was badly affected. Most of our folk lived in Kampong Bukit China a badly affected area. I hired a sampan and went to rescue those who were stranded and filled the hall with these flood victims. The sampan was leaking and I had to keep bailing out the water from the boat. And I could not swim and still can’t! I waded through the flood waters to the General Post Office and made a telephone call to the Officer Commanding, Lieut. Colonel Harvey. Obviously he was pleased with what I was doing and said to me, “Do what you can, I’ll send you a cheque immediately.” These folk stayed for about a week in the hall till the waters subsided.

After three wonderful years in Malacca, I received farewell order to return to Singapore to take charge of Balestier Corps – my home Corps.

My successors were Lieutenants Norina Staples and Fong Pui Chan. The latter and I were officially courting. The moves were made so that Pui Chan and I could be nearer to each other – 150 miles apart and permission was granted for us to meet once every six weeks! No daily or weekly dating! Only one day every six weeks! But we wrote each other everyday. We had no telephone in our quarters and had to use public telephones, so no phone conversation either! She would travel on the Sing Lian Singapore/Malacca express on Wednesday and return to Malacca after the Thursday night Holiness meeting. Of course expenses were personal.