Our stop in Kuala Lumpur was primarily for reconnecting with our friends, Sam and LeeAnn Krishnan. Although LeeAnn is Canadian, she married Sam, a Malaysian, in 1999 and they have been living and working in Kuala Lumpur ever since. Of particular note is the ministry work they have been doing – Sam is the leader of a drug rehabilitation centre called Breakthrough and Lee is intricately involved in many areas of the ministry as well as raising their 4 children. 13 years ago, we had our first foray into Malaysia; however, had not seen one another since with limited contact. With both of our families expanded significantly (they have 4 children now), we were excited for our families to explore daily life together.
Breakthrough is a ministry supported by a mega Methodist church in KL – with over 3000 people attending services and involved in programming, it was amazing to enter a Muslim country and join in Sunday services with vibrant worship and a message of hope. Having attended churches in many different countries and of many different denominations, we were curious about this predominantly Chinese congregation. Suffice it to say, that it is near impossible to exit the building without being in some meaningful way connected to an individual or group – offers of meals, coffee, or joining in on various activities abounded. It was an encouragement to see our friends so well supported and involved in a vital faith community!
Kuala Lumpur is an interesting mix of third world and modern development. The downtown core is filled with towering skyscrapers, fancy cars, sophisticated shopping malls, and efficient public transit. Head outside of the core, and you will discover streets filled with adhoc market stalls, random shops, and the ever present hoard of scooters with 4+ passengers drinking pop in a plastic bag (really – everything is in a plastic bag here!).
It was the daily life of KL we loved. Food is important in Malaysia – good food! Sam and Lee took us to many incredible food spots where we were able to taste Thosai, Roti Telur, Nasi Goreng, the famous Durian fruit (check out the boys’ expressions after eating it), Beef stomach and tendon soup… Eating together and hearing all of the kids make sense of one another’s daily lives in different countries and context was a joy.
The laughter, arguments, and good natured teasing that may have sometimes ended in a few tears was just what our boys needed. Thankfully our apartment complex had a huge pool and with the weather being +36 and feeling like +45 degrees, this was a central gathering place when we weren’t out and about.
We all enjoyed small purchases from our Petaling Street market visits. Sam was outstanding as we walked slightly ahead of him and indicated any items we were interested in. He would then go into the stall and get the “local” bartering price, and not the price including ‘skin tax’ as they refer to it in Malaysia. I liken the bartering in the market to a special kind of dance – facial expressions, posture, and sounds of ‘hmmm…’ and ‘ahhhh’ all combine to equal the art of the barter. Sam was able to abscond with some lovely knock off products at a fraction of the starting price. Kelly and I returned to Petaling street without Sam a few days later and for those of you who know me (Joanne), you will chuckle as I was keen to purchase a sweater for Anderson. As the shopkeeper started off with an outrageous amount, I demonstrated my ‘delicate’ approach which is to say, I firmly believe that a lot of guess work can be avoided by being upfront. True to form, my response was “Right, I was here yesterday with my friend Sam who is Malaysian, and he bought the exact sweater for 25 RM (ringitt). How about, we save time, and you go from your price of 75 RM to 25 RM or I walk?” Needless to say if you liken my bartering move to dancing, you may wish to second guess volunteering as my partner, for your feet may be somewhat battered by the end of the song…but I did get the sweater for 25 RM. Success!
One of our outings involved a trip to the Batu Caves, famous limestone caves and also a central Hindu shrine. With 272 steps leading to the entrance of the caves, it is a daunting climb given the need to be nimble as you avoid the rather ferocious monkeys flitting about looking for any piece of food to scavenge. Every phobia one might have of monkeys may well be proven here and we made sure to strategically pick our route. The gigantic statue of Murugan, a Hindu god dwarfs the cave entrance; however, once up in the caves, the limestone stalagmites and stalactites are remarkable and take over in terms of grandeur. We had to laugh though as of course the kids fascination with chasing pigeons will probably take precedence in their memories – they were obsessed with running into the large flock at the base of the stairs – some of us spent more time ducking our heads in hope of avoiding being hit by special deliveries from the sky as the pigeons flew about!
Our family was so blessed by our time in KL and once again – yes there is a theme here folks…it is the people with whom we spend time with, and next to, not the location, that make this experience special and life changing.
Pitter Patter 
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