This is the first part of the History of the Church in Kuantan. This history is recorded from May 2006, the month that my wife and I arrived to settle in this beautiful town by the beach. If you missed the very first post, please do click the following link to understand the background of my missionary work visiting those who were isolated from the church in the areas I served:
So, on with Part 1 - On Our Own
(28th May - 9th October, 2006)
Fidelia and I arrived in Kuantan, a brand new town to the both of us. Neither of us had ever lived here before, nor did we know anyone who lived here. We came with no job, no source of income, no friends, and, no church.
That was hard. I had lived my whole life up to this point without having to worry about meeting for church every Sunday. I attended my local Glenfield Ward about a 10-minute drive away, and had never considered that some day I would not be living near a church meetinghouse.
We had decided upon Kuantan for the simple reason that Fidelia was still in the middle of her studies at UMP (University Malaysia Pahang, formerly known as KUKTEM) in Gambang. To facilitate her travel to her university, we settled in Kuantan, which is about a half hour drive away.
On Sunday 28th May, 2006, shortly after we had arrived and begun our married life, we dedicated our apartment. I offered the prayer and it was a very spiritual experience. Our first home, this apartment in Bukit Sekilau, in which we stayed for 9 years, developed into a place of great spiritual learning, gospel and scripture study, and where we later held sacrament services and welcomed our two children into the world.
But before all of that, there was just me and Fidelia. On our own. It was both exciting and tough. We sometimes wondered whether we could still be good and active members of the church being so far away and not attending our Sunday meetings as usual. Would that mean we would be classed as 'less-active' or 'inactive?' We weren't sure. But we determined that we would do what we could to study the scriptures, pray, and keep our faith alive.
On Monday 29th May, 2006, we had our first FHE (Family Home Evening) together. We learned about marriage and family, perfect for us as newly-weds.
On Sunday 4th June, 2006, we attended the KL District Conference at the Raintree Club in Kuala Lumpur. I can tell you that it was awesome to see all of the church members, all of the familiar faces that I love so much, and it was a really great boost for us to know that there is life in the church here in Kuala Lumpur. Yes, we were living far away, but it was just a 3-4 hour bus ride to the fellowship of the Saints!
I remember this particular District Conference because on the morning of the Conference I realised that I had forgotten to bring my smart shoes. There was no way I was going to be in my Sunday best with a pair of sports shoes. So I determined that it would be better to wear my sports shoes with a pair of jeans and my white shirt. Yes, it felt awfully embarrassing, especially as my wife was correctly dressed!
On Sundays in Kuantan, we kept ourselves busy with extended scripture studies. We could at least say that we were spiritually active. It was a little worrying to us personally not having the sacrament, and I often mused how long it would go on like this. Would this absence from the church and the ordinance of the sacrament disqualify us from having a future temple recommend? There were a lot of questions, but we did what we could of gospel study each day.
On Saturday 24th June, 2006, we travelled to Kuala Lumpur once more for a wedding reception party put on by the members of the PJ2 and Klang branches. We had a really amazing time that night! We attended both PJ2 and Klang branch church meetings the next day. I just had so many friends in both branches that it was impossible to choose one over the other! So we made the most of being at church that weekend.
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| Here we are posing for a photo with Martin Wong and his family at the PJ chapel on the night of our wedding reception party on Saturday 24th June, 2006 |
We couldn't bus it to KL every weekend as it cost money, which as a newly-wed couple with no job, was diminishing by the week. I must say here, that my endeavours to find work played a huge role in the history of the church in Kuantan. I tried everything. I tried English tuition centres, applied for a job at Parkson and Tesco, and attempted working with Diamond Water. I stuck up posters around the neighbourhood advertising English classes, and even went gate knocking like a missionary in an effort to find people to teach, to start earning money. We exercised a lot of faith, prayer, and hard work, and slowly but surely, people came to me for English classes. I soon began building up a number of students and confirmed that I would be a private English tutor. Trying to get employed by others was proving almost impossible, so this was the best course of action.
These were challenging times, but in the end, it all worked out perfectly. We spent many days and weeks checking our finances, wondering where the next RM50 would come from, and just as our finances ran low, we were blessed with income. They were faith and testimony-empowering times. Being alone and far from the church, we came to rely more completely on the Lord for help, and He didn't disappoint us.
We were in KL on Saturday 15th July, 2006 for a branch dance at the PJ chapel. Now, I am not an accomplished dancer by any stretch of the imagination, but I now had a wife, and we danced away, not really caring (too much) how I may have looked! I remember Brother Jacky Chin, who was present that night, watching on as Fidelia and I danced to various songs.
The following day during church in the PJ2 branch, President Perumal pulled us into his office to have a chat with us. I guess he too, was a little concerned that we were living so far away from the church, and proceeded to encourage us to stay strong in our scripture study and prayers. I found it very considerate of him to be mindful of us and take the time to privately motivate us. We felt the care from the church leaders and that was very important for us.
It just so happened that President Martin Wong of the Klang branch was in Kuantan for business on Wednesday 26th July, 2006. He called me up and to our delight we arranged for him to come over to our house (this was before the days of whatsapp, so we couldn't simply send our location to him. We had to give directions over the phone, which was not easy!).
On Saturday 26th - Sunday 27th August, 2006, Fidelia and I both gave talks in sacrament meeting on the topic "Preparing for the Blessings of Eternal Marriage. We had spent the previous few weeks working on them at home in Kuantan and it felt great to be able to stand in front of a congregation of the church and speak on this topic.
Monday 25th September, 2006
We were recently contacted by a gentleman named Raymond Chan. We were delighted to discover that he was a church member in Kuantan! We met him and his wife, Nina, from mainland China, tonight and brought them back to our apartment to get to know each other. How exciting it was to know that we were not all alone anymore!
We went on our final trip to KL before things changed for us, from Saturday 30th September - Sunday 1st October, 2006. We enjoyed staying with Bro. Rama & Sis. Luisa and just had a lovely time with them, and at church again on the Sunday. President Martin Wong spoke with Fidelia and I and shared a suggestion on how to grow my English teaching clientele. Again, it was really nice to know that members were thinking of us and doing what they can to help us succeed out in Kuantan.
It is recorded in my journal that Fidelia and I held our first ever sacrament meeting in Kuantan on Sunday 8th October, 2006. I am not sure who authorised us to do so, but I am presuming it must have been one of either President Perumal (PJ2) or President Martin Wong (Klang), in whose branches we had been attending sporadically over the past few months.
The following day, Monday 9th October, 2006, we met with our new friends, Raymond and Nina, to have FHE together at our apartment. We learned about faith and how to develop it. I had devised a plan based on 2 Peter 1:3-10 to teach about one virtue each week for 8 weeks. The lesson was received really well, and Raymond remarked how much he enjoyed it and it was exactly what he needed.
To conclude this portion of the history of the Church in Kuantan, it was a challenging time for us as we settled in this church-less place, and into our marriage. Through plenty of faith, study, prayer and hard work, we began to earn money for a living, attended the PJ and Klang branches as often as we could, and got acquainted with another member couple right here in Kuantan.
The history of the Church in Kuantan will continue in Part 2.
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