Sometimes one has to choose between family and God. It is either following Jesus or burying one's father. One can't do both, according to Jesus. But in the past week and the coming weeks I will be trying to do both. After exactly 24 hours in Ranau, I drove back to KK to see to my father's needs. The 24 hours in Ranau were impactful. I conducted the communion for both services. In the first service I led prayers for the newly elected leaders. I even joked that my former youth pastor is now my boss having been elected Secretary General. Thankfully he texted me and thanked me for my advice as to what elected office to go for during the AGM. In the 2nd service, I prayed for the State level Youth Conference starting tonight. We expect 5,000 youths to turn up. The old lady who pleaded with me not to leave the church kissed my hand as she whispered a thanksgiving to the Lord that the HQ had not taken me away from the church (Mount Kinabalu at 6.15 am 30th Nov, near Kundasang).
God is the defender of widows and the aged. At night I took an elder and we went for a "casting out of evil spirits" service in a village 6 kms towards Kundasang. Five people from the family passed away within 3 years and strangely two of them died after a family member dreamed of their impending deaths. Was the dream from God? Just before I drove back to Ranau on Sunday, I had an encounter with a thing. I slept early but got up at 1am. A man all in black about 8 feet tall and 200 pounds came towards me. Was it the angel of death? I remember how Martin Luther encountered the devil and fought against him. But the dream was a preparation for my Sunday night meeting in the family's home. They had seen people in black walking in the dark and doors shaking in their house without anyone there. Was it an earthquake I wonder? But after discerning what was happening my elder and I prayed for the family of about 20 people gathered from old and young.
Reaching Ranau we stopped for supper and I reached home by 9.30pm. By 5.45am the next morning I was again speeding back to KK. Losing a bit of weight is the least of my worries. My dad's situation is serious enough to warrant the whole family gathered together. For the first time in 4 years my son is coming back for several weeks to see his grandpa. It has been a long time but we may just have every member of the extended family meeting in KK since my father turned 70 years old eight years ago. My son was very understanding and was concerned how I could afford to pay for his trip back. I texted back and said I had more than 10 Christmas sermons in 6 places and that should cover half the cost of the tickets. Indeed he who preaches the Gospel lives by the Gospel.
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