Keeping my Promise: Celebrating 80th birthday of an Elder

By next Monday I would have completed my first 100 days in my new pastorate. This Sunday I shall be preaching on the 99th day of my ministry in this small local church of average 90 adults assembled in a one shop lot unit at the border of Kota Kinabalu and Penampang, about 14kms from my house. My first Likas church was only about 6kms away, then 9kms in my third church and now a few more kilometres away. Yet, it is within the Kota Kinabalu city precinct. I spent the weekend in Ranau on the 1st March, About 7 years ago, two years after I relinquished my 2nd pastorate of a rural church in Ranau, I told an elder who frequently required medical review that he would be celebrating his 80th birthday and I would come and celebrate with him. I have kept my promise.

I was seated at the table with the birthday "boy" and the guest of honour whom I call a friend, the Ranau MP. When we greeted each other, he quipped: "Pst you are the only person who prayed for me before the General Election in 2018" and this is his second term. Throughout dinner he conversed with me, though there were several other guests seated at the same table. 

A few of our senior leaders were also seated at the next table, but they came to greet me and I responded in kind. Seated next to me was the senior pastor of my former church. And when he opened his remarks, he acknowledged my presence and said that I was his teacher 30 years ago. Indeed, he was one of my first students when I was Treasurer-General when I went up to the Namaus College once a fortnight to teach homiletics (preaching).   

The next morning I got up at 5am, and left the hotel room early to avoid disturbing my wife and do my quiet time in Ranau town car park for 15 minutes. I knew there was this corner shop that opened for breakfast just before 6am and when I went there it was already opened. I sat there for another 40 minutes reading my Bible and one of the waiters noted that and asked me where I came from and I told him I was a pastor here in Ranau 10 years ago. 

Then the elder friend called me and invited me for breakfast which I already had but I went to him at the Hakka Food Stall to fellowship with him from 6.50 to 7.30am. I drove him home and went back to the hotel to fetch my wife for the 8am service and we arrived 5 minutes late with the opening prayer being said. The worship was lively led by the pastor's wife and I preached at 8.40am. Due to a cold that I got since Thursday, I preached for only 25 minutes but it was fluent and everyone, about 200 worshippers heard God's Word. It was good to see the numbers increased since I visited two years ago during Christmas 2022 and we had about 120 members then. 

The senior pastor took me for coffee in Ranau town after brunch and fellowship from 10-11am in church. But in less than an hour of conversation, the hotel management texted me and asked me to check out at 12 noon and we duly went back before finishing our cheese cake. So we drove from Ranau from 12.10pm and reached Tamparuli at 2.30pm due to heavy traffic especially a few kilometres leading to Kundasang. After a short break for coffee and my wife went to buy some vegetables in the Tamparuli market, we left for KK and reached home just before 4pm.