Leaving home was a scramble complicated by 80th Birthday celebrations on Saturday 20th. First stop was a stay at Richmond in Vancouver where we met up with a series of old friends.

Japan Airlines premium economy proved to be a wise choice bringing us to Tokyo in good shape after the 10 hour flight. Overnight, in Tokyo, an airport change from Hameda to Narita and we are en route for Kuala Lumpur another 7 hours away.

Accommodation in KL this time is not with a family (a preferred choice) but in a new building of serviced apartments in which a mature student has taken a financial interest.

The program has been influenced by the end of the Muslim fasting month which makes an occasion for local holidays. The lunch hour meetings have resumed, small groups but committed people. Sermons at Sunday with responsive groups many of them young people of Chinese background. On Saturday 10th the Seminar on Leviticus - Lay Leadership for the 21st Century.

Churches solve the building challenges by buying or renting in shopping malls. The meeting hall upstairs and office down.

Malaysia not quite as advanced as Singapore and Hong Kong but not far behind. Chinese Christians who we met mostly doing well but yet due to their minority status and the dominant Malay majority still insecure and uncertain. Christian outreach to the majority community continues to be limited by legal restrictions against change of religion. The political climate is stable although the Malay majority are feeling the pressure of rising minorities who are enjoying economic advancement. There remains the usual rural/urban divide with higher aspirations of the rural majority and the reluctance of the urbanites to invest in areas they have little contact with.