"That's a really BIG turkey!"
"Who said one turkey not enough haa?"
"Wah! This one sure make very nice turkey porridge..."
"This is the best part..." So said someone in a striped red t-shirt while carving out one of the two drumsticks remaining on a poor roasted turkey (which probably had no idea it would end up like this on the wonderful day it hatched out of the egg into this world) that appeared licked to the bones by hungry piranhas or ravenous vultures.
"We will have another gathering called the Turkey Porridge Day!"
Surely an end befitting a joyous Celebration of Hope at Sam and Aiwa's beautiful home!
The waitingIt started like any Malaysian expected -- late (can we ever truly be punctual?). But one remembers that good things are worth waiting for! So by delaying the scheduled dinner (to almost an hour later!), our hunger were multiplied many folds. As the food were laid down piece by piece on the table, mouths were salivating, stomachs were growling and the number of people gathered around the table increased while those in the living room diminished. (Pretty soon, I was left alone on the sofa holding a guitar while Jessel was talking to Wayne at the other corner.) Yes, believe it -- food attracts, my dear brothers and sisters!
The Pastor gave thanks to the Lord. "Amen!"
"Ladies first..." The CG leader announced, and the men (some of them anyway; yours truly included!) held their composure (and their bums glued to the seats against the crying pleas of the satiety centre sitting in the hypothalamus of their brains) as they battled the urge to rush forward. When the last human being carrying the XX chromosome had filled her plate, I made a beeline for the table.
The foodI was spoilt for choice. Can we ever really match franchise outlet pizzas against home-made ones? Needless to say, the latter won hands down. Keiko's pizzas made a lasting impression on many people -- pizza topping with large shrimps in generous quantities, yummy! I heard Evelyn asking for the recipe. Don't forget me when you make them, okay!
Of course, one tries to behave gentlemanly in such formal occasion by filling up the plate with modest amount of food in the beginning. But the forebrain succumbs to the hypothalamus (yes, it was mentioned earlier!) in the end and the plate somehow got filled very nearly to the milimetre edge with Shepherd's pie, salad, pasta, fried bee hoon (with super spicy chilli), mash potato, turkey (and the stupendous stuffing) and lamb.
"This sauce goes with turkey and that sauce goes with lamb," I heard a dear sister said but I remember from my undergraduate days that in the human stomach everything gets jumbled up, mashed, mingled and mixed into one big lump of goo that will eventually pass through the alimentary tract. So I just put everything on my plate and hope that they will sort themselves out in my tummy.
After foodHonestly, I recognized Patrick Leong and Juwita Suwito in the music video but didn't know who the other guy singing the next segment was. These two Malaysian singers, blessed with astounding musical talents, dedicated a touching and meaningful song to the Lord. All glory to God!
Reverend Wong Kim Kong's story of his life brought a tear to many an eye. Could a man struck with the devastating effects of poliomyelitis, rendering both his legs useless, overcome his disability to land an honest job and have a family? With God, nothing is impossible! God is able! Yes, indeed. The day he received Jesus, God started to change Reverend Wong's life and turned his weakness into his strength. By God's goodness, he found a job in the teaching profession and married a beautiful wife and was blessed with three children. All the time, God was using him to influence and serve the people around him, his community and the society. And here I am worrying about what I am going to eat or wear -- Who feeds the sparrows in the air and clothes the lilies of the fields? Who?
Yes, why worry? The testimony shared was personal and truthful; the way it should be shared. If we trust the Lord, let Him be our Lord of all. This is a timely reminder for many of us because pressure and demands in our lives sometimes preoccupy our minds unnecessarily. We lose sleep (and hair!), gain wrinkles and develop hypertension for the sake of the world; definitely something worth pondering over, don't you agree?
Remember to follow-up on your guests after the Christmas prayer. Yes,
YOU, remember!
The fellowshipMore food! Sometimes it is funny to find that we can actually make extra room for dessert when we have admitted that our stomach are already filled to the gastro-oesophageal junction (that's the part where your oesophagus ends and your stomach begins; well, it just means that your stomach is VERY full!). Cookies, jelly, cheesecake, ice-cream, pudding and "keropok" were served.
During this time, we also "exchanged" gift -- basically, it's just picking out a gift from under the Christmas tree. The only condition was to not pick the gift you brought, no matter how much you think your gift overshadowed the others. A couple of gifts of note were the book on understanding cholesterol which Rachel received (and ironically, her hubby Calvin received a pack of muesli bars) and the glassware which my dad discovered was shock-resistant by (un)intentionally dropping it on the cold hard floor from a height of 2 feet.
The memorable moment of the dayPhoebe went to "Uncle Calvin" and discovered that he has recently shaved and developed a foreign accent spoken with a deeper voice.
The endIt is great to share the joy and love of Christmas with our friends and families. I was very glad to have my parents, Irene and my colleague, Sujana there celebrating this wonderful hope we all have in Jesus.
Kuan
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