Visit of Ng Kim Loh of Melaka

On Monday 15^th August, we received a pleasant surprise. Our doorbell rang and when I opened the door, there stood two men and a woman! I immediately recognized Ng Kim Loh, one of my former young people Melaka Corps. His sister and husband are Singaporeans. Lily was a little girl of four when I was the pastor in Melaka. What memories!

Sixty two years ago at the age of 22, I took up my first appointment as the pastor of Melaka Corps (church) On the Thursday following Commissioning the Public Relations Secretary, Major Stanley Gordon, fetched me to the Sing Liang Malacca/Singapore Express Bus terminal at Beach Road to begin a six hour journey by bus to Malacca. It had to cross two ferries, at Batu Pahat and Muar. There were no expressways then!

On arrival, I was met by my predecessor, Lieutenant Douglas Kiff. He and his newly married wife, Jean, had delayed their departure for Penang in order to conduct my welcome meeting. Douglas and I sat in one trishaw, while all my worldly possessions, comprising a suitcase, a small bag and a carton of books, went into another. We did not have far to go from the bus station to 69-A Wolferstan Road. Malacca Corps occupied the premises above the wine shop.

On the front of the building was the sign board with the words THE SALVATION ARMY in English, Malay and Chinese. Directly below it was another signboard - CHOP SI SOON, WINE AND SPIRIT MERCHANTS. What a strange juxtaposition!

We ascended a narrow staircase and entered the corps premises. The main floor area was the corps hall, with 30 chairs. A small corner at the back was partitioned off for quarters - a cubicle, which served as a bed-sitting room cum office for the Corps Officer. It was most convenient for the officer to get out of bed and there was the office desk to work! At the back was a small kitchen and bathroom, but toilet facilities were downstairs. To get there meant descending the spiral staircase, walking past the living area of the people living downstairs, past a fierce German shepherd, tied up during the day and freed at night to roam the backyard!

There was plenty to occupy me – Sunday Holiness meeting in the morning, and Salvation meeting at night, the Sunday School in the afternoon and an open-air meeting prior to the night salvation meeting. During the week there was a tuition programme, Joy Hour and Thursday night Holiness meeting. Later on I added Youth fellowship, plus Saturday night English meeting.

Ng Kim Loh  then 16 years old was one of my young people. He helped his Mum run a provisions shop in the village. I managed to persuade his parents to let me teach him English. He progressed very well and I was able to get him into a Christian School for those who were overaged. He had only four years of formal education, then entered training and started to teach in Muar. He continued his studies and returned to teach at the ACS Melaka till he retired.

Memories! How precious they are to us as we reflect on the past. Thank God for calling me to be a Salvation Army Officer.  Sixty two years have gone by, thanks be to God.