Church Visits to Raub & Bentong

On Sunday, Yours Truly  was with this group of seniors from the Holy Redeemer Church , Klang and they  were on a spiritual mission-visit to the churches of the Annunciation, Raub and Sacred  Heart Church Bentong, Pahang. Seniors are on a shoestring budget, so the organisers  reckon, RM40/- would be manageable for young autumn and winter "ducklings" -let's not use..the "spring chicken" word ..."ducklings" take to the water like a fish but they adapt to land with equal ease. and they waddle  along  so much more  gracefully...... 

Before 7.00a.m. , the whole group had assembled at HRC, ready to go...but no, "Tai Koh" (Big brother) said..."into the church premise..let's spend a few minutes with God, before we leave..."Seven fifteen, we were on our way...

Mass at Bentong -9.00a.m.???..nope ,  too much of a rush.....better  at the Church of the Annunciation at Raub, - 11.30a.m. -celebrate mass with Our Lady, respect the Holy Mother...

That gave  the group  some time to visit the town's Tau Foo Factory...and wah! the tau foo pok were so delicious...you know -the yum yum taste of freshness! The soya bean  was thick, and concentrated, tasted real good, too !  So they do make use of modern machineries to mix and blend and beat the daylight out of those soya beans! And they don't need very much space either! Imagine the tools of yesterdays...big, big stone grinders..pulled manually...

The Groundnut "factory" was equally fascinating... There were the whole process of sorting, washing , drying and packing...Not that cumbersome,-  machines had taken the chore out of manual labour..But you will still need know how-  and the  process from the raw - the start to finish product was rather interesting. There was this very delicious wispy aroma,  of toasted ,roasted and deep dried ground nuts, flooding,the air...all of us were more than eager to part with cash in exchange for a measure of  those " nutty"  goodness. 

THE CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION , RAUB

Narrow village road....plenty of greeneries and suddenly you are at the Church of the Annunciation , Raub. The church stood on elevated grounds...a simple house of God,  and yet how sacred and precious this sanctuary- to the Catholic community of Raub! As YT climbed up the steps from the back road....the first thing, she noticed were a number of  large, large trees , plenty of shrubs and tall grass just outside the compound of the church premise..Haven't seen those big  trees in a long, long time. The very unique grotto of Our Lady stood high  on high grounds, overlooking the grounds of the church.  


She looks inviting  and very indulgent-a mother happy to receive, the faithful and all who come and celebrate the Eucharistic celebrations with her... Inside the simple church...stood the cross of Jesus in the middle, flanked by a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary with her eyes lifted skywards,  on one side and on the other end, was a picture of the Immaculate Conception  holding the baby Jesus in her arms...and it was not the usual serene smile on her face.. she  looked  rather serious,  ...as though there is still so much to do...at ..the Church of the Annunciation, so many more  hearts to convert...so many people to embrace. 

Rev. Father Andrew Kui, was on hand to greet us...it was a beautiful mass celebrated, in a unique fashion...the readings were in English and Tamil, whilst the homily was  in Bahasa and English. ..Yes, priests certainly have to fit into  their roles befitting their environment -as good dispenser of nutrition and what better way, than making full use of native tongues to dish out the word of the Lord??? Only when parishioners understand..the teachings of the Lord...only then..can they grow in the faith and in turn be equipped to shepherd, other people in their lives.Father Andrew's homily is reflective of the readings of that day...the call for shepherds not to neglect their flocks..but to continue caring, guiding, leading and nurturing them. 

THE SACRED HEART CHURCH BENTONG, PAHANG

What a lovely new church! The Sacred heart Church of Bentong. Pahang is situated inside the large sprawling grounds of the town's SMJK Catholic School. Rev. Father Andrew who is also parish priest to this parish took time to be at this church - to lead this group of devoted hearts through the novena,praise and worship to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For many, if not all, this is the first time, we have set foot inside this church and it was  marvellous that Rev. Father Andrew  read our needs  and actually  lead us through the novena, praise and worship session! Thank you Father! Afterwards, we were all given an autographed  draft copy of the booklet -The re-dedication of the Sacred Heart Church, Bentong, Pahang., for remembrance -..good read for the background of the church.

No grotto? Not yet, but the good Rev is working hard on that project., yes Rev?? ..Next time, when we drop by...will we be able to light candles and pray at the grotto Rev??

LUNCH AT THE BENTONG EATERY

A  most sumptous  8 course lunch at one of the eateries in Bentong....joined  by Rev. Father Andrew Koi, very thoughtful gesture, I must say..makes this church visits more oomph.! Priest also must eat...what more meaningful than sitting down with visitors to his parishes? You know people, the  stamp of pastoral care extends far beyond the boundaries of  the individual parishes. Flocks from other regions, still belong to the One Body of Christ and it was so lovely to be acknowledged, accepted and received as such.. God Bless!!

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